Brighton's Amex Stadium.Venue: Amex Stadium, Brighton Date: 28th January 2012 Kick Off: 5.15pm Referee: Lee Probert
It’s the 4th Round of the FA Cup and we’re still in it! Added to that some notable teams such as Manchester City have already left the competition, and the so-called “big boys” keep getting drawn against each other for a change which can’t be bad. Could this be our year? I would love it, just love it if we went all the way (and beat Tottenham in the final, but that’s just a personal wish…). At least six Premier League sides will go out in this round so there’s everything to play for!
But first there’s the small matter of facing a rather good Brighton and Hove Albion for a place in the last 16 at the 22,500 capacity American Express Community Stadium in East Sussex. Brighton needed a replay to knock out non-league club Wrexham, in the last round. They also reached the fifth round for the first time in 25 years last season, and have lost only one of their last 11 home FA Cup matches over six years.
Brighton play a style of football which has been likened to that of Swansea City, technically very good keeping the ball and passing it well. They come into the game on the back of three straight wins in the Championship and can be expected to be confident and present a really stiff challenge for United. (more…)
Craven Cottage: Home of the "Cottagers"Fulham are one of those inconsistent teams that seem to go from one extreme to the other. This season for example they have crushed Queens Park Rangers 6-0 at Craven Cottage, including a hat-trick for Andy Johnson, but also lost 0-5 to easy meat like Manchester United (did you see what I did there?). As far as this game goes, one of the factors influencing the result will be which Fulham team actually turns up!
This inconsistency could, of course, be partly due to their squad being stretched to it’s limits with their extra games in the Europa League. They are no longer involved in that particular competition following a draw with Odense which ended their interest. As a result however, the game against Newcastle United will be Fulham’s 38th match of the season, and more than one commentator has been heard to remark that they have looked a bit tired lately. Lets hope that continues for at least one more game!
2012 got off to a good start for Fulham with an impressive 2-1 home victory over London rivals Arsenal, and this was followed by a 4-0 victory over another London team, Charlton, in the FA Cup – also at Craven Cottage. Then the inconsistency kicked in when they travelled to struggling Blackburn last weekend and lost 3-1. The danger for United is that Fulham have a pretty good home record, having lost only to Everton, Spurs and Manchester United. (more…)
Africa Cup of NationsThe recent signing of Senegal striker Papiss Cisse by United added to the fact that Demba Ba is also a Senegal star potentially means that Geordie fans will take more of an interest in the African Cup Of Nations (ACON) which kicks off this weekend. And of course we also have our very own (at least at the time of writing!) Cheick Tiote involved as part of the Ivory Coast team.
Obviously, we hope the lads do well – but not too well considering the legions of scouts who will be out there – and that they return to Tyneside fit and injury-free. Here’s a look at the two teams that our African players will be representing.
Senegal – The Lions Of Teranga
The Senegal national football team are nicknamed “The Lions Of Teranga”. They first appeared in the World Cup in 2002 and made an immediate name for themselves by beating France 1-0 in the opening game of the tournament. They made it to the quarter finals that year eventually going out to Turkey. Subsequently, they failed to qualify in 2006 and 2010.
The team have featured more regularly in the ACoN since 1965, their most successful year being 2002 when they were runners-up. Senegal qualified for the finals of the ACON as top of their group, winning 5 of their 6 games between September 2010 and October 2011. This included a 9-0 aggregate demolition of Mauritius and notably beating Cameroon 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away. (more…)
Cisse: He's here! He's gone! But he'll be back!First of all dear reader, I would like to apologise.
I meant to have this posted yesterday evening. However, due to a certain bearded Newcastle United shirt sponsor, his chronically unreliable Broadband and constantly engaged customer service (who’s existence I am beginning to doubt), that sadly wasn’t possible in the end. As a certain Mr.J.Rotten once (rightly) said in regard the fellow in question:
“Never trust a Hippy.”
But I suspect that you don’t really want to read any more of my enraged rambling (unless perhaps, you want to know which Broadband provider to avoid like the plague) so I’ll get on with it!
Below is the interview given by Papiss Demba Cisse to “NUFC TV” after his signing was confirmed yesterday, along with additional verbiage from Alan Pardew and Derek Llambias (Booooooo!)
This is what Cissé had to say on his signing: (more…)
Papiss Demba Rodney Cissé: No plonker when it comes to goals!Papiss Demba Cisse and his current club Freiburg have now agreed a deal in principle for the player to join Newcastle United for a fee of around £7.5 – 9 million according to Sky Sports’ David Craig, though the deal will be subject to a medical.
The player was spotted at the club’s Benton trainng ground before he departs to join Senegal teammate, Demba Ba, at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea.
As I pointed out in a September story, Cisse is the striiker that Newcastle United should have been going for all along, and he should already have a very good understanding with Ba with their previous experience together in the Senegal national side. (more…)
