Danger, danger...As a portion of the football world still await us tripping up and falling flat on our faces, Newcastle United continue to do what we’ve done best so far this season. A clean sheet and three points in the bag! Tonight’s 2-0 victory over Coventry City, meant it was our fourth clean sheet in a row (twelve in total) and our seventh win on the trot. The last time we did that, King Kev was in charge over 13 years ago. Let’s hope our season doesn’t turn out the way that one did though…
Would you credit it though? We were again outplayed for long periods of the game and yet we did the important thing which was to come away with a win. Despite being outplayed overall, Newcastle started well and with the confidence expected of the league leaders. Hughton also rang the changes from the previous game and with Nicky Butt coming in for Nolan, Pancrate in for Guthrie and Ameobi back from a long lay-off, there were three players buzzing to impress. Andy Carroll didn’t get involved at all.
This was another match for which Radio Newcastle were my eyes on the game, but with our defence looking shaky again to begin with, Jonas Gutiérrez gave us some respite against a Coventry side seeking a first win in ten league games. Fabrice Pancrate appeared to struggle against the pace of their other full back. (more…)
Pick that one out...If you asked me at half-time if I’d be happy with a repeat of the first half after the break, we’d have walked away with three points following a 2-0 victory and I would have been bemoaning the obvious lack of quality in our side once again. As it was, the scoreline was the same and the manner in which we won was far from convincing. But following the early second half dismissal of Kevin Nolan, this result held an awful lot more satisfaction than it might have, and proved once again that winning is a good habit to be in.
Having started with the same eleven as we did against Swansea, we started brightly enough although our defence seemed less than sure of itself this week. Despite a number of scares, including a goalline clearance from Steven Taylor, we took the lead on 20 minutes after Harewood had blocked the keeper’s clearance and Lovenkrands was left with a straightforward tap-in to make it 1-0. (more…)
Making a difference!Despite carrying round a sizeable pot and an ar*e the size of Bowburn Services, Kevin Nolan once again produced the goods, just when it looked like we’d have to settle for a draw. And instead, Newcastle United again managed to snatch victory from the jaws of a pretty dire televised encounter almost inevitably destined for a bore draw, and ensured we once again reign supreme at the top of the table.
Having committed my pocket money to the upcoming Barnsley and Sheff Wed encounters, I had to make do with a seat in front of the Sky cameras, and after an hour I was grateful for my decision-making. With Hughton initially opting for a 4-5-1 formation, Andy Carroll presumably being supported by the roaming Nolan, he was forced to make changes even before the kick-off as Ryan Taylor apparently pulled a calf muscle in the warm-up.
So Newcastle started with the same side that beat Peteborough, what seems almost months ago now after the international break. And of course with the more traditional 4-4-2, Newcastle fans were probably hopeful of a slightly more cavalier approach, compared to previous games away from St James’ this term. But in a first half that proved once again that this level is a million miles from the quality in the upper elechons of the top flight, we struggled to make an impression on an average looking Preston. (more…)
Toon's 'Three Amigos'.Toon midfield dynamo, Danny Guthrie, has been expressing his admiration for Newcastle United’s ‘Three Amigos’, Jose Enrique, Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez. As Newcastle United prepare for a wet Monday evening at Deepdale in Preston, Guthrie mused on how they have defied the stereotypes about fancy foreign players who aren’t up for a good scrap in the English Championship.
On their spirit, and the so-called ‘English mentality’, Guthrie gushed:
“You might talk about the so-called English mentality, about being able to fight when your back is against the wall and showing strength in adversity,”
“But the foreign lads have also shown plenty of spirit and that’s really good to see. You sometimes hear stories about players who don’t really fancy a battle when they come over to play in this country, but Jose, Jonas and Fabricio have really knuckled down. It would have been easy for them to fob it off once we had been relegated, but they have stayed and they have got on with it.
“People have preconceptions about what foreign players are going to be like and whether they have the stomach for it, but they have been brilliant and haven’t been fazed by anything this season.” (more…)
It's crazy!Danny Guthrie reckons Newcastle United won’t have it all their own way in the ‘crazy’ Championship.
The midfielder said:
“When you look at this division it’s a bit of a crazy one. Everybody is capable of beating each other. And that has shown in some of our games so far this season. It’s something we can’t lose sight of.
“Every team still sees us as a scalp and we’ve got to be prepared for it. We won’t have it all our own way this season, that’s for sure.”
Guthrie, who chalked up his fifth assist of the season against Peterborough, goes on to say:
“We’ve had a few games where we went through a period when the ball didn’t bounce for us. Things weren’t happening for us in front of goal. In our last two or three games it has done that, it’s evened itself out.”
Spirits sound high though and Danny Simpson’s still getting ribbed about his goal:
“It was definitely a cross, especially on his left foot! There was no way he meant to shoot. We’ll take it – we needed a bit of luck. It was an important goal as it put the game out of their reach.”
