DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC!Speaking in his pre match press conference for tomorrow evening’s Atromitos game, Alan Pardew has suggested that the club’s policy of making very low bids for transfer targets, hoping to unsettle the players until they force a move from their current clubs may have failed this time, and that all the transfer targets we have in mind all seem to be “secure at their clubs.”
The Silver Supremo told reporters:
“We know who we are watching and if there is any movement on them we may trigger ourselves. Agents keep offering us players but we scout our own targets. The players we have in mind all seem secure at their clubs.”
Also, when Pardew was asked if there was still the possiblity of a deal being on for potential prodigal son, Andy Carroll, Pardew reponded:
A disappointing and rather predictable first half performance from Newcastle United which saw us two goals down by the interval after a 22nd minute penalty by Hazard when Torres was brought down by Anita on the 22nd minute, and Torres himself scored on the stroke of half time. Although we had a better performance in the second, it was too little too late and Chelsea maintained their two goal advantage. (more…)
Here's hoping it goes like last time!Venue: Stamford Bridge, London. Date: Saturday 25th August, 2012. Kick-Off: 5:30pm. Referee: Phil Dowd. UK TV: ESPN / HD.
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our “match banter” feature for this evening’s game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
A repeat of our last fixture here would be just what the doctor ordered, though of course, it took two very remarkable goals to pull that one off. As Chelsea manager, Roberto di Matteo pointed out though, Newcastle United do actually have a very good record at Stamford Bridge. Despite the home advantage, Chelsea haven’t actually beaten us there since 2007, which is a fairly remarkable record against such strong opposition on their own turf. Having written that though, we have only won one in eighteen Premiership encounters at Stamford Bridge, and the fact remains that this should be one of our most difficult encounters. As is usual with the Pensioners, they have made some remarkable additions to their squad since last time, not least the remarkable Eden Hazard. Still, we have the remarkable Benny in a similar role, and he was somewhat cheaper, not to mention the hero of our last gane at Stamford Bridge, though he is still warming up this season. Let’s hope he can recapture some of last season’s remarkable form at the Bridge this evening. (more…)
Two Phoenixes who have risen from the ashes.In a football world which is used to great turns of fortune, the two protagonists in today’s game at Stamford Bridge, Swiss Supremo, Roberto di Matteo, and our own Silver Supremo, Alan Pardew, have arguably seen two of the greatest.
Firstly, there is the fall and rise of Chelsea manager, Roberto di Matteo. After getting promotion with West Brom alongside Chris Hughton and our lot, and a good start to their subsequent Premiership campaign, his and West Brom’s form then nosedived, with only one win in ten games. The then seemingly perennial “yo-yo” club looked like they were heading for relegation once more, and the Swiss Italian was sacked and thrown on the managerial scrapheap.
After losing out to the aforementioned Hughton for the managerial position at Birmingham City, a blessing in disguise some might say with the chaos unravelling behind the scenes there, he was taken on as assistant to Andre Villas Boas at Chelsea. Of course, it would be something of an understatement to say that Villas Boas’s new approach had a few teething problems, and there is no time for those with Chelsea managers. So within months, di Matteo found himself in charge of one of the world’s richest clubs, and competing for some of the highest honours in the game. In less than 25 games, which were full of the grit and defensive discipline that was missing under his predecessor, and less than a year and a quarter after being thrown on the managerial scrap heap, di Matteo was a Champion’s League winning manager, and an FA Cup winning manager to boot. (more…)
