Will history repeat itself?Newcastle United entertain Manchester City on Sunday at half past one of the afternoon clock in what could be a crucial game for both teams.
Venue: St James’ Park. Date: Sun 06th May 2012. Kick-Off: 13:30. Referee: Howard Webb. TV: Sky Sports 1.
Manchester City last won the League in 1967-1968 and they did so by beating us 4-3 at St James’ Park on the last day of the season. They could effectively do the same again tomorrow if Manchester United slip up against Swansea, so let’s hope that history doesn’t fancy repeating itself in that respect.
This is a huge game for both teams. City want the title of course but if we want any chance of playing Champions League football next season we just can’t afford to drop any points from here on in. Even then, we’d have to hope that Spurs drop points in their last two games (away to Villa & home to Fulham) or that Arsenal do likewise (home to Norwich & away to West Brom). (more…)
Catch of the season?One-time Newcastle United chief Freddy Shepherd has been putting a downer on things by suggesting that Papiss Cisse could be sold in the summer, but how much truth is there in that?
Ex-Toon phlebotomist Freddy Shepherd seems to think our chances of hanging on to resident goal-merchant Papiss Cisse will be slim this summer and suggests that we may receive offers too good to refuse for the player. Shepherd had this to say about our prospects of keeping the player:
“It’s impossible, if they want to go, it’s no good keeping them. I think there may be an offer Newcastle can’t refuse for Cisse coming in.”
However, there’s an important part of his statement we shouldn’t overlook and that’s: if they want to go. There is perhaps an even more important thing that Shepherd didn’t mention and that’s if Ashley wants him go because when all said and done that will be the deciding factor.
I can’t say for certain what Cisse wants of course but my guess would be that, with a good finish under our belts this season and some sort of European football to look forward to, he might just fancy staying with the club. There’s always the risk that a club like Man City or Chelsea – or maybe even Spurs or Arsenal – would offer a big wage and a better finish (this season, anyway) to try and tempt him away, but we’re not too far from the running ourselves and our club could be seen as one on the up. Maybe Cisse would choose to stay with us anyway. (more…)
Going all out for 4th placeNewcastle United gained a valuable 3 points at Stamford Bridge that keep the prospects of a Champions League finish alive. Here’s some reaction to the match and to the prospect of playing Manchester City on Sunday.
Mancini was in the crowd at Stamford Bridge yesterday, no doubt composing his tactics for the weekend’s game when Manchester City visit St James Park. And it’s going to be a high-pressure game for both teams, neither of which can afford to drop points if they’re to achieve their respective targets for the season.
Pardew is going to go all out for a 4th place finish and Champions League qualification:
“It’s not often in a professional career that you get an opportunity to actually break into the top four in this country,” said Pardew.
“We’ve been in and around it all year, we’ve touched fourth placed and touched third a couple of times.
“We’re going to give it everything. If we miss out, it’ll still have been a phenomenal season and I’m looking forward to the highlights video because some of the goals have been unbelievable, they really have.” (more…)
Cisse does it again, in style.Newcastle United keep their Champions League – or, at least, 4th place – hopes alive after beating Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to go level on points with Spurs.
It was a sedate start to things at Stamford Bridge although Torres caused a bit of concern by standing shoulder to shoulder with our defence and taking care not to fall foul of the offside trap. In doing so, he managed to set Meireles up for a shot that went sky-high and then got away from our defenders to run into the box himself, but he was driven wide by the advancing Krul and the attack came to nothing.
Sedate it may have been but Tiote still managed to pick up a yellow card in under 4 minutes for clumsily bringing down Torres a few yards outside our box. Fortunately the resulting free kick was hit straight to Krul.
Our first meaningful attack came when Santon made a run up the left, cut inside and tried to take a shot, although it was blocked by the defender in front of him. Shortly after that Tiote seemed to be flirting with danger when he brought Ramires down but fortunately the ref just had a quite word with him. (more…)
Response to defeat required at Stamford BridgeNewcastle United suffered at the hands of a top-quality Wigan on Saturday and it will be a big test of their character to see if they can bounce back from that in Wednesday’s match against Chelsea.
The weekend’s defeat by a resurgent Wigan brought us down to Earth with a thump after a 6-game unbeaten run. It got worse too because Spurs beat Blackburn 2-0 to leap over us into 4th on goal difference and Chelsea hammered QPR 6-1 to pressure us up the rear, just one point adrift in 6th place.
We didn’t play particularly well on Saturday but Wigan were outstanding and they played as well as any team we’ve faced this season. You have to wonder why it took them so long to find their form. Things didn’t go our way in the short spells when we did get the upper hand but, then again, some weeks we’ve had things go precisely our way when perhaps we’ve been lagging behind the opposition on pure footballing merit. We were beaten by the better side on the day – it’s as simple as that.
We’re going to Europe come what may now and that’s a great achievement after so many years without European football. Credit goes to the players, Alan Pardew and the club’s upper echelons for orchestrating that – it’s more than most people expected of us. (more…)
