Goals from Cisse and Jonas not enoughNewcastle United are unable to finish off Wolves despite taking a two goal lead into half-time. Goals from Cisse and Jonas in the first half are neutralised by goals from Jarvis and Doyle in the second.
According to one of the commentators on my feed, this match was taking place at the ‘First Direct Arena’, which made me giggle.
Wolves kicked off and had their first chance in under a minute when Doyle went past Williamson but failed to to guide it into the far corner. Two minutes later Wolves had a free kick after a Williamson foul but all they could do with that was smash it into the wall. A lively first 5 or 6 minutes from Wolves but they hadn’t made it count, which was a mistake we weren’t about to make in the following 10 minutes or so.
The fun started in the sixth minute when Cabaye caught Berra in possession and passed to Ba who tried swiping the ball into the net with his right foot going behind his left. It was on target and produced a great save by Hennessey. However the ball eventually found its way out to Tiote who hammered it broadly in the direction of goal and Cisse managed to toe punt it past Hennessey. 1-0. (more…)
Wolves at the door on SaturdayVenue: St James’ Park. Date: Sat 25th Feb 2011. Kick-Off: 15:00. Referee: Peter Walton.
Having had a couple of weeks off to banish the ghosts of the 5-0 thumping by Spurs, Newcastle United hope to get back to winning ways when they host Wolves this weekend.
This is the second time I’ve done a match preview when it has been the opposition’s first league game after sacking their manager. Last time is was after Neil Warnock was ‘let go’ from QPR and this time it’s after Mick McMuppet’s dismissal from Wolves.
Wolves haven’t had much luck appointing a new boss yet and have allegedly had two attempts to get Alan Curbishley turned down. Apparently Wolves also asked for permission to talk to Reading manager Brian McDermott but it seems he’s signed a new contract with the Championship club instead (and they’re looking fairly good for a play-off spot themselves). Additionally there’s news today that ex-Rangers manager Walter Smith has told Wolves he’s not interested in the job either. Earlier in the week they said they’d have a manager in place in time for the Newcastle game but that’s looking a bit doubtful now. (more…)
Identity crisis for our ground.The renaming of Newcastle United’s ground continues to rankle people, this time in parliament where a Commons motion has been taken out to object to it.
Ashley’s plans to rename St James’ Park after his T-shirt company have certainly caused a stir, one that stretches as far as House of Commons.
12 MPs have signed a Commons motion condemning Ashley’s attempts to strip away 100 years of history in favour of shifting a few more shirts. Those that signed the motion – should you wish to either vote for them or pelt them with eggs, depending upon your particular stance on the matter – are Labour MPs Ian Mearns, Pat Glass, Catherine McKinnell, Chi Onwurah, Nick Brown, Ian Lavery, Dennis Skinner, David Anderson, Mary Glindon, Stephen Hepburn, Alex Cunningham and Sir Alan Meale.
Their motion brands the act as ‘corporate vandalism’ and David Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon, said:
“They’ve got no interest whatsoever in the ordinary football fan. They are ignoring the people who have made this the club what it is, who spent more than 100 years building this club up into an icon for our region.
“It is total disrespect for the history and culture of our region.” (more…)
How does the run-in look?With two-thirds of the Premier League season now complete, this author looks at what the final third might have in store for Newcastle United.
We’re now into the home stretch – the final third of the 2011/2012 Premier League season. We have no Cup distractions so our only aim is to finish as high as possible in the league and I thought I’d take a look at the run-in and see what I think we can achieve.
I’ve take a cautious – even pessimistic – view I think. The attitude of the pessimist is often derided but I reckon if you set your expectations on the lower side of realistic there’s a greater chance you’ll be pleasantly surprised when those expectations are exceeded.
Anyway, enough of the philosophy, let’s see how the the remaining 13 games look.
February
There’s just one match left this month and that’s at home against Wolves. They’re currently without a manager but they have said they expect one to be in place by the time they play us next weekend. Alan Curbishley has apparently ruled himself out of the running and Agent Bruce is now touted as the favourite in most areas of the press. Whatever happens in terms of their manager, I expect us to pick up all three points.
So for February I have us getting: 3/3 points. (more…)
A possibility?Newcastle United’s current 6th place Premier League position with 2/3rds of the season gone raises the possibility – albeit an outside one – of European qualification, but how will we cope if that happens?
I think it’s fair to say that Newcastle United have exceeded most people’s expectations so far this season. There are still 13 games left this season, which is plenty time for things to collapse in a heap of course, but – as I write – we’re currently 6th, 3 points clear of Liverpool in 7th and just 1 point behind Arsenal and Chelsea in 4th and 5th respectively.
You can credit our lofty position to Pardew, the team or even Ashley, or you can call it blind luck and quantum silliness if you like. But we are where we are and with cracks in Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool this season you might have at least one eye on the possibility that we might qualify for Europe.
We’re not completely safe from below. Liverpool – cracks notwithstanding – are still a threat and both Everton and the Mackems have been charging up the table recently while Norwich have gone quietly about the business of finding themselves the 8th spot at the moment.
So we certainly we can’t count our chickens before we’re sure they’ll fit through the eye of a needle, but it would be a very pessimistic supporter indeed who hasn’t once wondered if would might just edge into a European spot this season, even if it’s just that Europa League thingy, which could stretch as far as 6th or 7th depending on where teams like Chelsea and Liverpool finish and how they do in the domestic cup competitions. (more…)
