King Kenny has the last laugh.It was chucking it down with rain as the teams took the field at Anfield, with Newcastle United wearing their first choice kit of Puma’s version of black and white stripes. Three ex-united players were in the Liverpool team: Bellamy, Enrique, and of course, Andy Carroll. There was also some bloke called Jordan Henderson, who, as we know, has a dodgy past.
First Half
The first 10 mins saw United getting plenty of the ball without actually threatening the Liverpool goal. As expected, Mike Williamson got the job of marking Carroll. I was going to say “Williamson was preferred to Perch” but I thought better of it.
Both teams were taking a while to settle and the first bit of excitement came in the 11th minute when Downing hit the ball against Ryan Taylor’s hand. There was a shout from the Kop for handball rather than the Liverpool players, but there was nothing doing from the referee.
After a quarter of an hour we saw a dangerous cross from Enrique – cue the chant from the Geordie faithful “you’re just a s**t Ryan Taylor!” I’m sure they both saw the funny side. (more…)
On their way to SJP? Probably not.I was thinking about this recently – if I was sitting down writing my letter to Santa Ashley c/o the Sports Direct North Pole, what would I want as a Newcastle United fan this Christmas?
I suppose the first thing I’d ask is for Santa not to take any of our best players away and deliver them as presents to the boys and girls who’ve been good at other clubs. But knowing the track record of Ashley in dealing with transfer business I don’t suppose that’s very realistic. If the money is right, the presents will be delivered. So I’m left with the line from the current Fosters TV advert ringing in my ears “that thing you’re thinking? It won’t be that!”.
So let’s concentrate on what we could get – the positives. We believe that Santa Ashley has already got Modibo Maiga wrapped up in Christmas paper and hanging in our Christmas stocking. That pressie sounds like a really good one, with the mouth-watering prospect of Maiga lining up alongside Demba Ba as a perfect foil for our top scorer. (more…)
Chelski: The last of our terrible trio of fixtures.Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Saturday 3rd Dec, 2011. Kick-off: 12.45pm. Referee: Mike Dean.
Newcastle United will be looking to maintain their fine home form (undefeated in ten games) and increase the pressure on Chelsea’s beleaguered manager, André Villas-Boas in the 12.45 kick off at St James Park, Newcastle on Saturday.
NUFC report that the game is sold out so a capacity crowd will be able to watch an intriguing match up between the fourth and fifth placed teams both of whom have injured DM’s missing from their respective sides.
Cheick Tiote, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea in recent months, will definitely miss the game adding to concerns by some fans that he’s been left out deliberately in order to avoid further injury in the run up to January’s transfer window.
Worryingly, manager Alan Pardew said:
“I am not going to say he will be fit for next week. We must make sure he is right because he is a very important player to us.(more…)
In demand?Newcastle United captain Fabricio Coloccini is allegedly on Liverpool’s Christmas shopping list whilst Steve Harper might be off for a spell at Brighton.
Shockingly, it’s only 10 weeks until Christmas, which for a humbug like me is a disturbing thought. And shortly after that it’s the January sales, although in this case I’m talking about the transfer window rather than the mad squeeze to get into Harrods (where I’m sure all Toon supporters shop) for a cut-price pair of socks.
If reports in the weekend press are anything to go by, Liverpool intend to do some shopping at St James’ Park by way of Fabricio Coloccini. Apparently Kenny Dalglish is keeping a close eye on Colo’s contract situation and is ready to make a reported £12m bid for the player if Colo has not signed with Newcastle before the end of the window.
After they’ve recently taken Carroll and Enrique from us, you could be forgiven for thinking they see us as some sort of feeder club for them, but in this case I say enough is enough and they can keep their grubby mitts off our captain. (more…)
Llambias: Understands fan's frustrations?Most of you will be aware by now that yesterday, Newcastle United’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, issued a statement on the club’s performance in the latest transfer window. It read:
“Now that the transfer window has closed, we have had some time to reflect on the business we have conducted over the summer.
“Our aim was to secure young players who represented value for money and could add real strength to the squad. The majority of our transfer dealings were completed in the early part of the window and we feel we have signed some players of exceptional quality. Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Mehdi Abeid, Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan were all brought in early and we have seen these players settle quickly into the squad and perform well on the pitch.
“Earlier this week we were delighted to sign Davide Santon from Inter Milan to fill our left-back position after the departure of Jose Enrique. Davide is an excellent young prospect and we’re sure he’ll be another superb addition to the squad. We also welcomed young goalkeeper Rob Elliot from Charlton Athletic who will help us retain healthy competition for that position after loaning out Fraser Forster to Celtic.(more…)
