A beautiful strike from the Great Dane!As I took my seat at a rainy Loftus Road, it was amongst the home supporters, so it was always destined to be something of a quiet afternoon for me! As we waited for the game to commence, I reflected on my first visit to see the team in the capital this season, the 6-1 thrashing by Leyton Orient, and how far they had come since that time under the leadership of dynamic duo, Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood. From an uncoordinated rabble that was riven apart by division and lack of leadership, to a cohesive unit.
After a minute’s applause for recently deceased QPR legend, Tony Ingham, the kick-off was taken. There was some excitement as Newcastle went on the offensive almost from the off. Wayne Routledge fired in a cross, which was headed behind the goal by QPR’s Leigertwood. The resultant corner was also dropped invitingly into the area, this time by Guthrie, but the effort was cleared. A few minutes after this (about five oir six minutes in after checking), Guthrie attempted to supply Ameobi with what would have been an excellent chance, but the ball was out of control, which may have had as much to do with the highly ‘greasy’ playing surface as anything else. Around a couple of minutes later, Routledge made a decent turn and shoot, but, alas, he fired stright into the arms of the QPR goalkeeper, Radek Cerny. (more…)
Ready to sign on the line?It looks like Steven Taylor is set to be offered a new contract by Newcastle United during the summer in an effort to persuade the possible future captain that his future does lay at St James’ Park. Manager Chris Hughton will urge Mike Ashley to sit down with Taylor and thrash out a deal that will tempt the defender into putting pen to paper on a new improved contract.
I have my own very cynical view of this, of which I will go into in more detail later on, but it does look like a very positive move from the club as they look to secure the future of the lad who has spent nearly his whole life on Tyneside. It also moves to quash any lingering doubts surrounding whether Steven Taylor and Andy Carroll can put any differences aside after their now infamous bust-up a while back. Unfortunately it looks like we won’t see Stevie Taylor in first team action again this season as playing him at QPR is deemed too much of a risk for the 24 year old, but few can deny that up until the knee injury suffered back in January he was a very integral part of what has turned out to be the meanest defence in the division. (more…)
The quiet man hasn't let us down so far.With the start of the transfer window a little over a month away, the tide of conversation is understandably shifting towards the signing of players that will aid in our attempt to stave off relegation next season.
The thought was that given the fact that Newcastle United have gone about the business of promotion quietly and efficiently, and secured their Premier League place for next season in record time, that this could signal some early transfer activity as we seek to get a headstart on other teams who are also looking to strenghten. People are now starting to point out that other teams are beginning to strengthen their squads, with Liverpool capturing the signature of current Charlton midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey. But that is the only confirmed transfer activity as yet so I feel the early activity of other teams is being somewhat overstated. (more…)
Heading away for a well earned break.After getting the chance to lift a trophy in front of the home fans last Saturday, Jonas Gutierrez now heads off to the sun for a well earned rest before the start of the World Cup in the summer.
There is no need for him to stick around Tyneside when he isn’t needed and all the targets that really matter are all sorted already, so why not give a player that is sure to be heavily involved this summer the chance to rest for a while? After all, he has been one of our most consistent performers of the season and has worked wonders when combining down the left hand side of the pitch with another one of the three amigos, Jose Enrique. We have even got to have a look at this Spiderman mask malarkey that we had heard about, the one that the Premier League wouldn’t allow as part of it’s ‘no fun’ policy. As it happened it was largely irrelevent anyway as Spidey never really looked like scoring in what was a fractured team last season. (more…)
Hoping to help Hughton?There have been some worrying murmurs recently about our club treading over old ground again and looking to appoint another person in the role of Director of Football. Thing is though, do we really need one?
Owner, Mike Ashley, is apparently looking to appoint someone who has experience in negotiating the financial aspect of transfers and player contracts whilst holding extensive contacts throughout the game to aid in the role at board room level. Now this could be a dangerous tactic, as we have had our fingers burnt with a certain Dennis Wise in his role as Director of Football, and we all know how that turned out! One would hope that Mike Ashley, who has appeared to be learning from the mistakes of the past, will continue learning and recruit someone who is good for the job and will help Chris Hughton, not undermine him. We really need to get things right next season, and making sure the board and manager are singing from the same hymn sheet will be vitally important in avoiding any repeat of last the turmoil of last season. (more…)
