Barton: Victimised by Refs?Newcastle United striker, Peter Lovenkrands, has come out in defence of teammate, Joey Barton. Speaking in an interview, the Danish international said of the midfielder’s treatment at the hands of the men in black:
“Joey gets decisions given him against just because it’s Joey Barton that’s involved.
“There’s no doubt that officials look more towards Joey than they do to anybody else on the pitch. If anything controversial happens, it’s his fault. It’s a shame for Joey because he’s a good player, but he’s always having to deal with other issues.
“The treatment he’s getting is not fair, and I feel sorry for him. He’s dealing with it though and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Lovenkrands went on to cite a specific example in Newcastle United’s last game. against Aston Villa, where he felt that a free kick which eventually led to the only goal of the game and defeat for the Magpies.
“The free-kick that Aston Villa scored from at the weekend was only awarded because it was Joey, it happens to him all the time. (more…)
The Leazes: Should the singing end?Recent plans unveiled by the powers that be at Newcastle United have revealed that the traditional “singing” section in the upper reaches of the Leazes End is to be terminated and used to expand the “family enclosure” of the ground.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, this has had some sections of the Newcastle United fanbase up in arms at the loss of what they feel adds significantly to the “atmosphere” of St James’s Park on a match day. This has led to the organisation of a petition by fan’s group, “United for Newcastle” in a bid to make the club change their minds over the plans.
When plans were originally made to create an official “singing section” in this area in 2008, then Chairman of the club, Chris Mort said:
“Over the course of the year I’ve spoken to lots of fans about how we can improve things at St James’s Park.
“Two themes have regularly cropped up in those conversations.(more…)
Dynamic duo or terrible two?Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has always divided opinion in the past, but what do we think of him now?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy had some advice inscribed on the front of it for galactic residents challenged by such things as hyperspace bypasses, Vogon poetry, Ravenous Bugblatter Beasts and The Triple-Breasted Whore of Eroticon Six. It simply said: ‘Don’t Panic’.
I’m wondering if the same advice should be appear on the front of The Supporter’s Guide To Newcastle United. Or maybe ‘Divvent Panic’ would be better.
The reason I say this is because, as ever, there seems to be a divide between fans as to whether Ashley is right for the club, whether Pardew is any good, whether selling Carroll was good or bad, whether selling Enrique would be good, etc. etc. etc.
So what I’d like to do is look at the situation without emotion or sentiment. (more…)
How is he doing?Alan Pardew has now managed Newcastle United for 10 games, but is he doing a good job?
Chris Hughton divided opinion as a manager with some rating him highly, others insisting he was ‘clueless’ and a plethora of opinions in between the two extremes.
His sacking, though, was a shock. It might have a pleasant shock to those who never rated him but it was a shock nonetheless. There were rumblings in the press before it happened, but I think most fans thought he’d at least to get to see out the season. I think most people appreciated that the constant changes of manager were one of the main reasons for our demise and relegation, and were hoping the club would ease up on the revolving door approach.
Hughton says he still doesn’t know why he was sacked. Ashley said he wanted someone “with more experience” and, beyond a lot of speculation and rumour, that’s just about all we actually know about things.
So in comes Alan Pardew. He didn’t really arrive to a fanfare – more of a squeak – and I think most fans were either unhappy about his appointment or, at best, nonplussed.
We’re now 10 games into Pardew’s tenure as manager and he’s clocked up 3 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses, so what do we think about him? (more…)
Dan Gosling: Ready for action at last!As most of you are no doubt aware, midfielder, Dan Gosling, was signed by prevous manager, Chris Hughton on a free when his contract lapsed at Everton. This was despite him carrying a fairly serious anterior cruciate injury, which he picked up after been flattened by Wolves goalkeeper, Marcus Hahnemann, in an Everton game with Wolves. This was always going to keep him out for several months, and he is still to make his Magpies debut. With the latest news coming in that the young star is finally ready for action, with current manager, Alan Pardew, arranging a special training game against Colin Calderwood’s Hibernian, I will take a look at Gosling, and what he brings to Newcastle United as a player.
Playing style.
I suppose that primarily, Gosling is what would usually be described nowadays as a classic “box to box” midfielder, ie a dynamic midfielder who can operate in many areas of the pitch, combining both attacking and defensive qualities as needs must, and not a million miles away from existing Newcastle players such as captain, Kevin Nolan, and Joey Barton. He is also what could be described as a “versatile” player too, who can play both on the right, in the centre, and also in defence at right back. He is also a player of some talent who has been sought by major clubs in the past, has played with England Under 21s and is still only twenty years old.
When he signed for Newcastle United, Chris Hughton described him thus: (more…)
