Anyway, over to Chris:
“We are constantly looking at possible signings, but there isn’t anything pressing at the moment. I can’t see anything happening in the short term. We don’t want to sign players just for the sake of it, they have to be the right players as we work towards the January transfer window.”
Referring to the return of ‘big hitters’ such as Coloccini, Steven Taylor and others, he added: (more…)
The No.9 shirt is almost as synonymous with Newcastle United, as St James’ Park, the black and white stripes or that deed funny accent we’ve got. It’s been made partcularly special in this part of the world because it’s been worn by some of the best players this country has seen. The likes of Gallacher, Milburn, MacDonald, Cole, Shearer have graced that shirt and it will undoubtedly always be a big shirt to fill.
Ironic then, given that the No.9 shirt and the prestige it carries with it is currently up for grabs, that we have a group of strikers who fall somewhat short of the standards we’ve come to expect from our centre-floorboards, and that none of them look like earning that honour just yet…..
So how far short have they fallen so far? – (more…)
Surely it’s no coincidence that the last three games have been relatively fruitless as the young striker has sat as a frustrated spectator on the bench?
Of course, the beginning of Ranger’s end as a regular starter was the QPR game, and ironically the new boy’s arrival and his replacement that day, Marlon Harewood, came on to grab a valuable equaliser. But since then, Harewood has had more involvement and along with Carroll and Lovenkrands have occupied the front position(s), leaving Ranger with the odd ten minutes at the end.
It’s easy to be quite literal and say Ranger hasn’t actually scored but for me, Ranger offers far more than the other strikers and is more valuable overall. I’ve waxed lyrical before about his attributes but it has been glaringly obvious that his movement, desire and ability to bring people into the game are sorely missed. And he has already proved, once he breaks his duck he will almost undoubtedly score goals for fun. (more…)
Despite having plenty of possession and creating a number of decent chances, Newcastle spurned several of them and were unable to prevent Scunthorpe scoring twice and that was all it took to swing this game the Iron’s way.
Due to work commitments, I was left to listen to the game on Radio Newcastle and the commentary of Mick Lowes and former assistant to Sir Bobby, John Carver. It didn’t sound great. Scunthorpe were backed by their biggest crowd in 21 years, and as with many teams this season, were obviously pumped up for this as they’re playing a relegated ‘big boy’ who are second in the league. But Newcastle appeared to have the better of the first quarter, although they couldn’t convert possession into goals.
Scunthorpe began to have the better of the play towards the end of the first half but the teams went into the break all square. Having missed a chance before the break, Woolford made no mistake after Khizanishvili was outpaced by Hooper, to make it 1-0. Hughton responded by swapping Geremi for Harewood but it was Kevin Nolan who equalised just after the hour, following what sounded like great build up play. (more…)
The law of averages suggested that our luck was due to run out sooner or later again, and that when playing badly, some team at some point would take advantage. That team was Nottingham Forest. Of course it didn’t help that our, surprisingly, solid defensive start to the season was shattered with the news that both Steven Taylor and Coloccini would be missing. Really, of all the recent admissions I’ve made over things I’ve said which I never thought I’d say, to say that I never thought we’d miss Colo is right up there with the corkers……
But it’s a fact, he’s settled in a unit and has looked half decent at this level so missing both him and the combative Taylor was sure to spell trouble. Particularly when Forest came into this game with some decent form and two strikers proving to be a handful. However that aside, staying with the word ‘average’, does the whole set-up still not smack of something distinctly average? (more…)