The man in the mask salutes hat-trick hero, Demba Ba.Venue: Britannia Stadium, Sir Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-upon-Trent. Date: Monday, October 26th, 2011. Kick-off: 8:00pm. Referee: Mike Dean.
Demba Ba’s second hat-trick of the season powered Newcastle United to a 3-1 victory at the Britannia Stadium and up to 3rd place in the Premier League.
Stoke usually start apace at home but it was us who made the running from the off today and Stoke’s defence of a strange flick from Obertan to nobody in particular gave us our first corner within 2 minutes. Our first attempt came to nothing but Stoke only managed to clear for another corner and from this one Ryan Taylor fashioned himself a chance with a long shot that was wide and high, although not by all that much.
Most of our play was up the right and Best and Obertan looked busy in that area but the deadlock was broken with a move started by Tim Krul. A Stoke attack led to a goal kick, with which Krul found Guthrie. Guthrie put the ball into space on the right of the box and Obertan caught Stoke sleeping, chipped a lovely ball across the box right onto the head of Demba Ba who made no mistake finding the net after only 12 minutes. 0-1 to us. (more…)
They have shirt hating weight watchers too!Venue: Britannia Stadium, Sir Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-upon-Trent. Date: Monday, October 26th, 2011. Kick-off: 8:00pm. Referee: Mike Dean. TV: Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports HD 1.
Well, The Magpies must pick themselves up from their disappointing capitulation against Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup and prepare themselves for a trip to another of the nation’s great beauty spots, Stoke-upon-Trent.
A game against Tony Pulis’s hard tackling long throwing giants will be no Vicarage tea party, that’s for sure, and though there probably won’t be much “Champagne football” on the menu, it will be a stiff test for the lads. Especially so after a gruelling extra time midweek thriller which ultimately ended in disappointment. As if that wasn’t enough, we could also be without our own head of enforcement, Mr T, but more on that in the team news. Consolation for us however is that whilst the Magpies were exerting themselves in the ultimately doomed encounter at Ewood Park, Stoke were also playing in the competition, suffering the same kind of disappointment when they were knocked out by Liverpool in a 2-1 defeat.
If you won’t be at the game, make sure to check out our regular “match banter” feature, which will be posted around an our before kick off. (more…)
Ben Arfa: Ready for a starting place?Hatem Ben Arfa has had a somewhat unfortunate time on Tyneside thus far, but with his injuries now hopefully behind him, will we see him make his first Premier League start this weekend against Wigan Athletic?
You may remember the 3rd of October 2010, when a psychopathic Nigel De Jong decided to attempt a ‘tackle’ on our French-Tunisian play-maker, resulting in Ben Arfa sustaining two breaks in his right leg (tibia and fibula). The road to recovery was long, and despite Alan Pardew’s hope of Ben Arfa returning before the seasons end. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see him in action again that season.
Pre-season began prior to the 2011 – 2012 season, and Ben Arfa played in our first friendly, a 2-0 victory at Doncaster. Ben Arfa lined up as one of a midfield five, playing just behind loan striker Leon Best in a 4-3-2-1 formation. As United began their tour of the U.S.A, many of us must have thought it would be the perfect opportunity for Hatem to settle back down into the first eleven. Unfortunately again, he was victim of another injury, this time damaging his ankle in a match versus Sporting Kansas. (more…)
Same master plan for world domination.In the wake of Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon, Managing Director, Derek Llambias, has released another club statement.
The statement once sgsin highlights the clubs finances, summer transfers, youth development, managing / coaching staff, training facilities and supporters. Basically, I’m still struggling to dissect the differences between this statement, and the recent Q&A with the Evening Chronicle a few months back.
Either way, it’s good to have some communication from boardroom to fans, and below I have included the whole statement for your viewing pleasure. I hasten to add also that the statement, unsurprisingly, has a little bit of information about our new under-soil heating.
Enjoy…
Introduction
Now that the summer transfer window has closed and the new Premier League season is underway, the board of Newcastle United Football Club wish to present this review of our progress and set out our aims for the 2011/12 campaign and beyond. (more…)
Hopefully fit enough to playGood news for Newcastle United as both Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa look to be in contention to play on Sunday.
Some good news for Newcastle fans.
The first bit of good news is that Demba Ba is reportedly fit enough to play on Sunday. He picked up an injury during his last outing for us against Wolves and there was speculation that it might be related to his old knee problem but apparently that was not the case.
He returns to Darsley Park today and will still need to pass a fitness test for our own medical team, but apparently his chances are good.
And Ba isn’t phased by the pressure of history either having recently said:
“I knew about the history here and the names of the past. It does not daunt me. I am a striker, so I want to score goals anyway.
“I’m the type of striker who likes to play and help out in other areas on the field.
“It is about all-round performances, not just goals, and I want to contribute more in that way.” (more…)
