Tim Krul: A fine exampleI think it’s safe to say that recently Tim Krul has been on fire, I believe that he has been instrumental to the best defence in the Premiership so far.
Danny Simpson doesn’t turn into a fantastic left back overnight, it’s Timmy who won the 3 points for us at Wolves with a couple of ridiculously good double saves, some of which a certain Mr S.Given would be proud of.
I remember that away game against Palermo when he made his debut so many years ago, whilst looking jittery (to be fair it was a hell of a game to be thrown into) he made some cracking saves, and if memory serves me right, a certain Albert Luque scored to bring home an away win.
With Tim having “matured” so to speak, we must look again to our youngsters to see who else we can promote through the ranks. I think it’s fair to say that the Toon will drop down the league as time goes on, so why not try and integrate a few younguns into the team if and when it can be permitted. (more…)
Pardew: Keeping expectations down.Alan Pardew states in a recent interview that the team is keeping it’s collective feet firmly on the ground.
After Saturday’s dramatic win away to Wolves that has us still in the top four after all the weekends games, briefly peaking at third spot, it’s good to know that the lads are aware that there are bigger fish to fry just around the international corner.
Some will say we’ve had an easy-ish set of early fixtures, but you can only beat what’s put in front of you. We’ve done that and we are where we are through some solid hard work and a little bit of the fortune that has frequently deserted us in the past. There are always going to be knockers of NUFC, that’s par for the course, but this set of lads has given the manager a good headache about selecion, when everyone’s fit.
Here’s what Pardew had to say:
“To be where we are now is an outstanding achievement, not just by the players, but by the staff I have around me,” (more…)
More cash for the club?In my previous blog “The Lesser of Two Evils” many people commented that Mike Ashley has no commitment to NUFC and will sell up as soon as he gets the right offer.
The question that has to be asked then, is, “How attractive is Newcastle United for a takeover?”
If you imagine yourself as a potential investor of NUFC you have to admit that it does look an attractive business move. A huge loyal fan base, who despite their misgivings of the current ownership are relatively content at the moment. All the club debt is out in the open, in a manageable way and is a relatively small given the revenue of the club. The team is playing well and we are flying high in the leagues and cup competitions, if we had beaten West Brom last season we would have only been a few places short of Europe.
Once that debt is cleared (hopefully in a few years) provided we continue to reside in the Premier League we could prove to be quite profitable on a long term investment.
The relegation was fantastic for a new potential owner; all the dead wood and high earners are almost out of Tyneside (Alan Smith I’m looking at you) with a new sensible wage structure and transfer policy in place. I’d argue that maybe another £20 million in transfer fees to get us a new Striker and Right Back / Centre Back would set the team up for a few years; our squad is not in need of a complete overhaul as we have a relatively young squad. (more…)
We should have had a 3rd goalNewcastle United manager Alan Pardew identifies some areas in which we can improve, despite our creditable 4th place Premier League position.
There has been a lot of comment since our 2-1 victory over Wolves on Saturday, much of it of the pat-on-the-back variety, which – it has to be said – is better than the poke-in-the-eye variety that might follow a defeat.
Alan Pardew, however, still has some room for criticism. Pardew said:
“I’m just disappointed we didn’t get the third goal – it wouldn’t have then been a grandstand finish, it would have been game over. We missed a couple of big chances in that period.”
Indeed, whilst it may appear churlish to criticise a team that’s currently performing beyond expectations – at least in terms of league position – one problem I think we do have is that we don’t close games down very well.
It seems to me that there are two ways of doing that. The first is simply to score more goals and put the game completely beyond the opposition. The second is to nullify the opposition with possession, not allowing them to put us under pressure. The latter trait in particular is one which I think we can improve upon a lot. (more…)
Pardew: Missing the old codgers in midfield?Speaking in a rare interview, Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, bemoaned the loss of experienced players such as Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton from the side in games like yesterday’s against Wolves. He also added that Newcastle United still need to learn to see out games.
Of course, Newcastle chalked up their fourth win of the Premiership season against Wolves, though they took something of a battering in the latter stages of the game, and were undoubtedly helped by a couple of incorrect decisions by the referee, Mark Halsey and his linesman. The first was a free kick which should have been a penalty for a Steven Taylor foul which took place a yard inside the area, and the second being a perfectly good goal which was ruled out by the linesman. Pardew acknowledged the luck in his post match interviews, and also gave credit to the performance of Mick McCarthy’s Midlands men.
Speaking on the lack of experience in the revamped side, Pardew said:
“We haven’t got that experience of a Kevin Nolan or Joey Barton who might have stopped or slowed down the game.(more…)
