The first notable piece of news was the absence of usual Captain, Kevin Nolan, who wasn’t even named in the squad. Apparently, it was a minor knock which kept him oput of the fray this afternoon. Danny Guthrie was back from his injury though, with Peter Lovenkrands also making a rare start upfront in place of the mildly crocked Nolan. (more…)
The performance was sound enough for us, we played well enough throughout the game and deserved something from the match, in my opinion anyway.
Referee Martin Atkinson though had an absolute shocker as he took control of the game this afternoon.
If his decision to award a penalty to Manchester City after Mike Williamson won the ball from Carlos Tevez, outside the box I hasten to add, was harsh then his decision not to award a penalty to the away side was ridiculous after Joleon Lescott took away the legs of Shola Ameobi in the City penalty area. (more…)
After sleeping on it I have to say that my disappointment has stayed with me. I’m not disappointed that we lost, I never am providing that the team have given it their all in trying to win the game. They didn’t do that yesterday though in my opinion, which is why I am still feeling angry about it.
Stoke came with a gameplan, stuck to it, and took the three points back home with them. For all the ball that Newcastle had, the fact is they did very little with it. It was the wrong formation from Hughton in my opinion, and too many players had an off day. If Newcastle want to survive in the Premier League then both of those issues will need addressing if we are to keep our destiny in our own hands. (more…)
Lost for words is one way I felt after last nights match at Stamford Bridge. It may only have been the Carling Cup, but if there were more matches like last night in the competition then I very much doubt that it would be carrying the label of being devalued by teams playing weaker sides. (more…)
The reality is that Newcastle deserved their win despite Everton looking below-par. They deserved to take the three points back to Tyneside this evening and the 2,500 travelling fans deserved to have something to cheer about for their efforts – Once again they were magnificent.
Much debate was had before the match regarding the team selection and whether or not Chris Hughton would ring a few changes. It’s his job to make tough decisions, and that is what he did today by handing both Cheick Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa their full debuts in the black and white stripes at the expense of Alan Smith and Jonas Gutierrez. It was a decision that ultimately paid dividends. (more…)