Snowy St James' Park.Newcastle need to start winning games again, especially at home, and that is what they should be aiming to do against Chelsea tomorrow.
Of course it is very easy to write that, but it will be much harder in the real world to beat the current Premier League champions and FA Cup holders.
However, they have been out of sorts recently, which perhaps opens up a window of opportunity for Newcastle to spring another surprise this season. I mean we have already beaten some top teams, so why can’t we add another to the list? Naturally the bookies and pundits will fancy Chelsea to end their recent run of poor form, but they are still missing some key players, so perhaps we have a chance after all?
Throw the rather cold weather and thick blanket of snow that has covered the North-East into the equation and perhaps those conditions could play into our hands? Will the Chelsea mega-stars be up for the fight? Hit them hard, but fair, and hit them fast I say. (more…)
Taylor made?The Bolton debacle last weekend was disappointing to say the least. Not only was our team well beaten, we also lost another two players to three game suspensions.
But with Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Wlliamson both absent from the team, it gives other players the chance to impress.
I’m looking squarely in the direction of Steven Taylor on this one as he looks set to make his first competitive appearance for ten months against Chelsea on Sunday, and it’s a chance he will have to take with both hands, for a number of potential reasons.
Firstly, the game on Sunday will give Taylor the chance to play for his boyhood team again, in front of the home fans aswell. It’s something that Taylor hasn’t experienced for some time thanks to a rather horrific run of injuries. It also gives him a chance to prove his fitness and start to prove that his injury troubles are well and truly behind him. (more…)
Williamson - Guilty as charged.Mike Williamson has been found guilty of violent conduct and will miss the next three games.
Williamson had decided to appeal the charge after The FA had found him guilty using video evidence after the match against Bolton last weekend, but it would appear that the appeal held no water and will mean that Williamson will sit out the matches against Chelsea, West Brom and Liverpool.
On the slightly positive side, at least The FA didn’t decide to extend his ban to four games, which they can do if they deem the appeal to be frivolous, but it does kind of leave me scratching my head as to why the appeal was not deemed to be frivolous? I must admit that I was fully expecting The FA to extend the ban to four games, so on that front I am pleasantly surprised.
I mean surely, given the speed at which they charged Williamson, you could be reasonably assured that The FA saw the video evidence and managed to pass judgement rather quickly. An open and shut case so to speak? (more…)
Guilty?The breaking news is that Mike Williamson has denied the charge of violent conduct thrust upon him by The FA.
Williamson had been charged after an incident with Bolton’s Johan Elmander during the weekend defeat at The Reebok.
Williamson escaped punishment at the time as referee Howard Webb claimed that he didn’t see it, which left the door open for The FA to use retrospective punishment with the aid of video replays, just like they did with Joey Barton.
I’m not sure whether or not denying the charge is a good move in all honesty.
To me it looked like Williamson was gulty, although I don’t think he meant to go into Elmander as hard as he did, or with his head leading. Instead I think it was an attempt at a bodycheck similar to what Nicklas Bendtner did to Williamson a few weeks back when we played Arsenal in the Carling Cup.
Williamson is in risky territory now. The FA have obviously seen enough to warrant charging him, so I think it is unlikely that they will change their mind. That will mean that Williamson will face an extended ban for making an appeal that is deemed to be frivolous. (more…)
Ranger - Contract extension?It looks like Nile Ranger could be set for a new long-term contract at Newcastle.
The Shields Gazette is suggesting that the young forward could be in line to sign a new five and a half year deal that would keep him at the club until the summer of 2016.
Ranger has yet to start a Premier League game for Newcastle, but he has looked the part whenever he has been called upon as a substitute or in the Carling Cup.
Newcastle have already pinned Andy Carroll down to a new five year deal, which is understandable given the good impression that the Gateshead lad has made on the Premier League, and there are also rumours, that are still to be confirmed, suggesting that Mike Williamson could be in line for a new three year deal.
Is this move evidence of longer term planning starting to happen at Newcastle? Shocking as it seems, it certainly looks that way! (more…)
