Can he get his form back?It’s been a subject of much discussion in recent weeks, our central midfield and their performances, but it seems Chris Hughton is happy with the form of our current top scorer Kevin Nolan and has rebuffed any suggestion of resting the player from the punishing Championship schedule.
Kevin Nolan has looked out of sorts over the last 2 games but was particularly woeful in our last game at Swansea. Add to to that the fact his goals have somewhat dried up in recent times which is another reason why the thought of giving Nolan a rest is crossing people’s mind’s. Speaking on Nolan’s work on the pitch, Hughton said;
“It wasn’t one of his better games, but the stats show he did as much running as he normally does.”
“His physical contribution was no different but as with every player, there are ups and downs in form.” (more…)
Point to prove?Newcastle go looking for their third ‘double’ of the season on Wednesday, to go along with the victories home and away against Crystal Palace and Cardiff, against a Coventry side unbeaten in five games and offering something of a resurgence since we beat them at the Ricoh Arena.
And while our home form looks good, we’ve suffered a few stutters in the last few games, so Chris Hughton will undoubtedly be looking to buck the recent trend and get back to winning ways. In order to do that, we’re going to have to start scoring goals, and preferably not at the death to rescue a point.
Hughton has some difficult decisions to make, with a number of options upfront and the obvious decision to be made whether to go with a 4-4-2 at home. Having come on and created Carroll’s late equaliser, Leon Best has given Hughton food for thought, who said of Best’s performances:
“You always want substitutes to have an impact and Leon has done that”(more…)
Scored but shoulda been wearing a balaclava...The scoreline doesn’t even begin to tell the story, on a day when Newcastle United were outplayed and outfought by a Swansea City side, more determined and far more capable than their Magpie counterparts. And how we manged to nick a point at the death will remain a mystery to those who sat and watched the full 90 minutes.
With a number of injuries to contend with and still bedding in new recruits, Hughton nonetheless fielded a strong side against the Swans, with three changes from the Derby game. Colo came in for Williamson to partner Fitz Hall. Gutierrez didn’t even make the bench, allegedly due to an illness, with Smudger back in the middle of the park and Guthrie moving to the left. Leon Best was dropped for Lovenkrands and Hughton seemed to go for a 4-4-2 from where I was sitting, though Sky kept insisting it was a 4-5-1. (more…)
Will Toon get their away form back on track?Newcastle face Swansea City today looking to bounce straight back from a heavy defeat at Derby. Hughton might well ring the changes, depending on whether he saw that defeat as just a bad day at the office. Either way, whichever team he puts out will be tested by a Swansea team in decent form.
As with most fans for today’s game, yours truly will be making do with Sky coverage and you have to take your hats off to those travelling down for the game, considering the kick off time. As ever, the broadcaster and FA barely considering the inconvenience of travelling supporters in their re-scheduling, with fans leaving as early as 2am to ensure they’re in time for the game. Not everyone will have access to Sky either though, so if anyone can find radio links etc to the game for people who don’t have it, I’m sure that would be appreciated.
As ever, this can be the place to come together during the match and p*ss and moan, as we usually do. (more…)
Cyril, the Swansea City mascot.A 700 mile round trip faces the Toon Army for tomorrow’s televised game at the Liberty Stadium, when 5th place Swansea City take on Newcastle United with an undecently early 12.45pm kick off.
This will certainly be a stern test for the lads, as Paulo Sousa’s team play good football and are unbeaten in their last four home games. They are strong defensively, and following our 3-0 defeat at the hands of Derby County midweek, they now have the same number of goals conceeded as us. However, all is not perfect as the strikers, or in fact anyone else having a go don’t seem to have much luck finding the target with only a paltry 26 goals scored in 29 matches. Only bottom club Plymouth have scored less.
The last time the two teams met at Swansea City was amazingly over twenty years ago, with Newcastle Utd. beating the Swans 2-1 in a second division match. Since that time Swansea have moved to a new 20,500 capacity stadium, and more recently have earned a reputation as a decent footballing side. That was evident under previous manager Roberto Martinez and has carried on with their current boss, another good young manager in the making Paulo Sousa. (more…)
