2-0 will do the job!Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Thurs 11th April, 2013. Kick off: 8.05pm. Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia). UK TV: ITV 4.
Hello, good evening and welcome to our “match banter” feature for this evening’s Europa League second leg against Benfica.
As you probably know, the Magpies were soundly beaten 3-1 in the first leg at the Estdio da Luz. However, they did get an away goal so a 2-0 victory tonight will get them through to the next round. Although this might seem like a tall order against a team as strong as Benfica, Alan Pardew helped to put things in perspective by reminding us that all the team have to do is play as well as Barcelona did when they beat them 2-0 in the Champions League earlier in the season. On this the Silver Supremo said:
“There’s only one team which has beaten them by two clear goals, and that’s Barcelona, so that’s the size of the task, so we are under no illusions there. This is a Champions League team, really, and if it weren’t for Celtic’s fantastic performance in the group, they could have been competing in the Champions League. That’s the quality we are up against. I don’t think there are going to be many better sides that have played here than Benfica.” (more…)
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…)
Jesus vs Pardew – Who will come out on top?Venue: Estadio da Luz, Lisbon. Date: Thurs 4th April, 2013. Kick off: 8.05pm. Referee: Antony Gautier (France). UK TV: ITV 4.
Hello, good evening and welcome to our “match banter” for this evening’s Europa League clash against Benfica from the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
Before I proceed further, you might also be interested in my two part guide to Benfica here and here.
Now I’ve got that out of the way, the first piece of good news is that due to an major oversight by UEFA, they have allowed a French referee called Antony Gautierto officiate. Don’t they realise that Newcastle United are a French team now?
Another piece of possible good news (for Newcastle anyway) is that Benfica’s primary right winger and one of their biggest goalmakers and goalscorers, Eduardo Salvio, could be an injury doubt with his knee. Having written that though, there are still several very able players who could step into the breach. It is also true that Benfica’s injury worries are still less than our own, with Salvio being about the only top player who might be a concern. (more…)
Manchester City v Newcastle.Venue: City of Manchester Stadium. Date: Sat 30th March, 2013. Kick off: 3.00pm. Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancs.). UK TV: None.
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our “match banter” feature for today’s game against Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Of course, this should be a tough one. Going on previous results, if the score is predictable, it should either a 2-1 or 3-1 victory to them (3-1, 2-1, 2-1, 3-1 to them in the last four games at their place with roughly similar results at SJP too). There is also some discouraging team news too. Although the Citizens displayed a soft underbelly in their previous game, a 2-0 defeat at the hands of bogey team, Everton, they were missing some key players throughout the spine of the team in that one. Those players were Captain, Vincent Kompany, at the back, Yaya Toure in the heart of midfield and Sergio Aguero at the front, all of whom could be making a return today. The fewer the better, hopefully. We will be without quite a few of our key players of our own too, with Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon, Mathieu Debuchy, Cheick Tiote and Hetem Ben Arfa all missing. (more…)
Wigan: Can be tricky customers late in the season.Venue: DW Stadium, Wigan. Date: Sun 17th March, 2013. Kick off: 4.00pm. Referee: Mark Halsey (Bolton). UK TV: Sky Sports.
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our “match banter” feature for this afternoon’s game, which sees Newcastle United taking on Wigan Athletic at their place, the DW Stadium.
Of course in recent seasons, Wigan usually spend much of their time toward the bottom of the Premiership, then suddenly come into form at just the right time to save themselves from the dreaded drop around this time. Although they took a bit of a pounding against Liverpool in their last game but one, the signs have been there this season too, as the game before that Liverpool defeat was a convincing 3-0 victory over fellow relegation strugglers Reading, and in the one after they knocked Everton out of the FA Cup by the same scoreline. (more…)
