Tamás Kádár: Future may lay elsewhere.It appears our young Hungarian central defender is becoming fed-up with waiting for his chance to show what he can do on Tyneside, and believes his future could lay away from St James’ Park if he is to develop his undoubted potential. At just 20 years old Kadar is one of a handful of bright talents to come to Newcastle in the hope of getting the training and first team games needed to develop his game but feels that games are needed to help him improve, something that he currently isn’t getting many of.
The defender has played well and not looked out of place in the handful of first team appearances this season, a season that it was thought would be ideal for taking the promising young players we have at our disposal and giving them proper competitive playing time. Of course, Chris Hughton will know more than us about the player as he has the luxury of watching the players train and may see something we can’t, but from the outset I would say that Kadar is probably the player that is closest to making the step-up towards a regular first-team place. (more…)
James Linnington before the game?I only caught this on Radio Newcastle so whatever follows is partly second-hand but…
Amidst some baffling officiating, Newcastle’s ‘Wembley Dream’ was shattered by a strong West Brom team who went two better than their plundering at St James’ last Monday, to take them through to the next round of the FA Cup. But the matchday officials can expect lifelong infamy round these parts, as they more than played their part in the fortunes of the victors.
Chris Hughton made expected changes from the 2-2 draw earlier in the week, which saw Tim Krul replace Harper between the sticks, Ryan Taylor come in at right back for the newly-acquired Danny Simpson and Tamas Kadar slot in for Steven Taylor, who appears to have suffered a serious knee injury following a shoddy challenge from Bednar in the previous game. Fabrice Pancrate and Andy Carroll also started, with Lovenkrands understandably being given time away to spend with his family and Ameobi dropping to the bench. The shape of the team changed as we elected for the 4-4-1-1 approach with Pancrate allowing Guthrie to move into the middle with Smith, Gutierrez in his usual wide left role and Nolan pushing in behind Carroll.
West Brom manager, Roberto Di Matteo, had suggested he would also make changes to protect his squad for the priority of promotion, but it was a very familiar starting eleven which ultimately trotted out. And yet despite that, it seems like they lacked the quality and drive on display in the league game. However, in a first half where Newcastle players were again found wanting for some creativity and where a number barely applied themselves, it was West Brom who took a deserved 2-0 lead into the break. (more…)
Kádár: Still developing says Hughton.In the wake of the hunt for defensive reinforcements in the January transfer window, Chris Hughton has gave an insight into his policy for gradual development of the squad’s younger players, especially the defenders.
Speaking about 19 year old Hungarian centre / left back, Tamás Kádár, who has started just five matches in all competitions so far this season, Hughton explained:
“He’s young and a player we see as a developing player,”
“It’s a tough league this one and we’re talking about a young player in a position that’s generally what you call a man’s position.
“You see a lot of good, tough centre-halves in this division, and we feel the development we’re giving him is right for him.
“He has ability, there’s no doubt about that. If we felt he was ready and the finished article, he’d have played more games, but we feel our approach is the right one, particularly given the position he plays.”(more…)
Thou shalt not pass!Two months (and a bit) on from the last review, with the transfer window looming, I thought it might be worth having another look at how the players are doing. With off-field sagas taking a backseat for now, the focus is thankfully on the pitch and given our recent blip, does it add significance to the opportunity to invest this month?
We’re just about halfway through our first season in The Championship since our untimely relegation, and as we sit proudly at the top of the table, it goes some way to proving the quality and endeavour that we have available in the squad.
There is still that underlying fear that our position owes much to the lack of quality elsewhere in the league, an argument which holds some water. Much of our good start to the season is undoubtedly owed to a tremendous defensive record, which was something surely none of us expected.
For what it’s worth here’s my own term review of the keepers and defenders. I’ve only included the lads who have played at least a couple of games so far and I’ve just added to my initial review from back in October. (more…)
'Road to Wembley' slightly longer now...John Anderson probably summed it up nicely towards the end of his Radio Newcastle commentary, that both managers would have been happy with a draw before this game. But as the referee blew the final whistle with the score at 0-0, it will surely be Plymouth boss Paul Mariner who will be happier than his Newcastle counterpart Chris Hughton. Obviously this despite the inconvenience for their fans of another 800-mile-round-trip to St James’ for the replay, a week on Wednesday.
The FA Cup throws the form book out of the window, and even though Plymouth have improved in recent games, that suited them due to their lowly position. Newcastle, conversely at the summit of the Championship, made several changes to protect the squad from a demanding run-in ahead. And so if anything, with home advantage, you’d have been excused for putting Plymouth as favourites. However, Hughton still fielded a strong team, and but for some good goalkeeping and wayward finishing, we did enough to win this game. (more…)
