50-50?Newcastle United have injury worries ahead of their visit to Eastlands on the weekend, so who will be fit enough to play on Saturday?
There are a couple of ways to look at our next three games against City, United and Chelsea: either we’re in with a chance of some points if we have a fully fit squad or we have no chance and it’s therefore a ‘good’ time to suffer injuries, given that we have to suffer them at all. Either way, we do have injuries and I thought I’d round up the latest news I can find on them.
Cheick Tiote had a medial ligament injury which has caused him to miss the last two games. Apparently he’s been working with medical staff all week to try and get fit for Saturday’s game and as far as I can tell it’s about 50-50 as to whether he’ll be fit in time. It’s (usually) caused by a high-impact landing on a slightly bent knee and the fact that Tiote has any chance of being fit for the game at all probably means it’s the lowest grade of medial ligament injury, which can apparently take anything from 2-10 weeks to heal.
Presumably Guthrie will continue to be the man to step in for Tiote if the Ivorian remains injured. (more…)
Ben Arfa: Not a winger says Pardew, but is he a singer?Of course, Newcastle United are still riding high, still undefeated in the Premier League so far with Alan Pardew seemingly sticking steadfastly to an “if it ain’t broke, dont fix it!” philosophy in our Premiership campaign.
Obviously, when a team which should be nestling somewhere the middle of the table is actually third it’s hard to argue. As Napoleon Bonaparte once said (or wrote, I’m not sure), “Success is the most convincing talker in the world”. This is certainly true, at least for the moment, in Pardew’s case; though as we already know, he could blather for England anyway! However, even in the midst of success, there are always problems to be solved, and one of Pardew’s is how does he solve a problem like Hatem Ben Arfa?
He is undoubtedly one of the most talented players we have, on the ball he is almost certainly THE most talented. However, since finally returning from his double injury nightmare with his appearence against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, he has only made four fleeting substitute appearences in the Premiership (out of six games). (more…)
Practising for contract negotiations?Newcastle United have some player contracts to sort out, in particular the contract of team Captain Fabricio Coloccini who – it is rumoured – will initially be asked to cut his wages by half.
With all the furore over the stadium naming, let’s not forget that there’s a football team somewhere there in the background!
Apparently the international break is being used to sort out some contract issues with players, most notably those of Fabricio Coloccini and Danny Guthrie.
But one item of news I did read in connection with Coloccini worried me a bit. It comes from the Northern Echo, which first suggests that Coloccini’s wages are currently around £80k/week and further suggests that the club will be looking to cut those in half as part of a renewed contract.
I have seen quotes of £60k/week – £80k/week for Coloccini’s wages in the past, so I’m not sure how accurate the Northern Echo’s assessment is, but surely the club will struggle to get Coloccini to cut his wages by half won’t it? Again, I’m not sure how the Echo knows that’s what the club intends to do but I’m hoping that, if there’s any truth in it at all, it’s merely a starting point for negotiations. (more…)
Hurrah for the two Dannys!When Danny Guthrie arrived at Newcastle I instantly thought of the time we signed Robert Lee!
I know, hang on a min how the hell did I come up with that comparison? Also, in the seasons that have followed he has been mostly a bit part player only showing flashes of what he is capable of. But the comparisons were there as it was one of Keegan’s first players to arrive after taking charge for the second time. He wasn’t expensive and has that very hard quality to find in a midfielder, in that he’s a box to box type of player with a broad range of passing, has an eye for goal, who can win the ball and drive the team on like a poor mans Steven Gerrard!
Also with Dan Gosling, when we also managed to sign him on a free with the feeling amongst the fans that finally we are looking at sensible up and coming players and not getting ripped off paying for expensive big names who don’t perform. Having arrived injured we are still waiting to see the best of the former England U21 who had shown so much potential at Everton and warranted the cheeky deal that we managed to get him on. (more…)
Newcastle United's dugout last Saturday.After a gutsy win over Everton this weekend I picked myself up from the floor after a nervous last 20 minutes or so and began to wonder, “Did the performance display Newcastle United’s squad depth and quality, or did it highlight our lack of it?”
Let me explain. Most so called “pundits” have attributed the main factor of our success to the ability to put out the same team each week without injuries, now with Gabriel Obertan, Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux picking up little injury niggles as highlighted in a previous blog, I think a few fans are beginning to wonder how this will affect the team in the coming weeks against the big boys of the Premier League.
In the first 35 minutes or so at St James Park we dominated Everton in my opinion. They had a couple of chances with Seamus Coleman and Louis Saha but no real sustained pressure. Then the injuries began to appear. Cheik Tiote, having already been sidelined previously, was then joined by our midfield maestro, Cabaye. For me that turned the game on its head, something that Pardew agreed with. The lads that were brought on to plug the gaps so to speak (Dan Gosling, Hatem Ben Arfa etc) did the job and brought the 3 points home. However I can’t decide if it was a quality defensive display, or just Newcastle struggling with our 2nd string. (more…)
