Archive for category: Facts and stats.

Newcastle United vs Fulham match banter!

April 7th, 2013 | 99 Comments |

Newcastle United v Fulham.
A must win game for the Magpies.
Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle.
Date: Sun 7th April, 2013.
Kick off: 3.00pm.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leics).
UK TV: None.

Hello, good afternoon and welcome to the NUFC Blog “match banter” feature for this afternoon’s vital home game against the Cottagers of Fulham.

With only seven games of the season to go, Newcastle United are still not out of the relegation quagmire. With a strong, winning performance from Aston Villa yesterday, and Wigan going on their perennial end of season run, the pressure is well and truly on Alan Pardew now.

Pardew’s long balls.

Despite our awful season however, Pardew has stuck to his guns, insisting with the “route one” style which has made him one of the managerial greats. Indeed, as you can see from the table below, we have been the biggest long ball side for the whole of this season, eschewing the more Continental “passing” style embraced by top clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and so on. Here’s hoping it can keep us away from another season in the Championship. (more…)

S.L. Benfica – A complete guide for Geordies (part two)

April 2nd, 2013 | 45 Comments |

Estadio da Luz (Stadium of Light) - Lisbon.
The real Stadium of Light.
With the Newcastle United being drawn against footballing aristocrats Benfica for their Europa League quarter final on Thursday, here is part two of my guide to Benfica.

In part one, I took a look at some aspects of Benfica’s history, including it’s links to Newcastle United and the North East in general. In this one, I will looking at things like the club’s current form, it’s coach Jorge Jesus, tactics, some of Benfica’s key players and that sort of thing.

Benfica and Newcastle United have never played each other competitively, so we can get that one out of the way pretty sharpish and take a look at their current form.

Current Form.

Benfica’s form in the Portuguese League is pretty predictable. If they’re doing well they’re top of the League, and if they’re doing not so well they are second, usually behind their fierce rivals, FC Porto. Their other great rivals in the Portuguese “Três Grandes” (Big three) are fellow Lisbon side Sporting Clube de Portugal, but they seem to be in a bit of a pickle at the moment, currently languishing in eighth in a sixteen team league. (more…)