The Silver Supremo and Dreamboat - My men of the match (apart from the Toon Army that is).Firstly, let me just start by saying Newcastle thoroughly deserved their win and it was a win by United more than a loss by Manchester.
They were never allowed to settle on the ball, from the off. Newcastle also took the game to them, showed no fear whatsoever, gave no respect and pressed on with their own game regardless of what Man U brought to the party.
It wasn’t as if they had a depleted team, or even squad. When you looked at the team sheets, you would be forgiven for feeling pretty apprehensive, if not a little queasy. That didn’t seem to bother the Lads one iota though as they showed their intension to play a quick passing game, pushing forward as often as possible. The recent overuse of the long ball game was quelled, but it was used to good effect to catch the visitors on the break. (more…)
Steve: A very natural writer and a great human being..It was four days ago when I learned of the tragically premature death of Steve Thompson, aka “Thomma” to his friends, and in the NUFC blogiverse, “Bowburn Mag”.
He was a writer on this site from it’s inception in 2009, writing a total of 234 articles for us in our first year. It is probably thorough his writing, and of course numerous comments on several different blogs and forums that most will know him. As well as being a genuinely nice person, he was also a natural writer who had the capacity to communicate his real humanity in words and genuinely connect with the reader, which is a rare talent. It was this which inspired me to ask him to write some pieces here when the ‘blog was about to start. Even though all I had to go on at the time were his comments on other blogs, his talent still shone through. Being a keen footballer himself, he also had a very good understanding of the game, and with both of these qualities I genuinely felt that he could have been one of the best sports writers around if his life had taken another path. Sadly that life is over now so we will never know, but he still left some great pieces of writing which encapsulated perfectly his passion for football in general, and Newcastle United in particular. (more…)
I was shocked to learn that Steve Thompson, aka Bowburn Mag, has passed away and I’d like to offer condolences on behalf of NUFCBlog.org and myself to his family and friends.
He was a great guy and I thoroughly enjoyed the banter we used to have. He will be missed.
It goes without saying that he was a passionate Toon supporter and he posted 234 articles here back in the early days of the ‘blog. He was an excellent writer, generally making his articles both informative and amusing, and he had a knack for great – and sometimes esoteric – headlines (“Haris, Haris who the Vuckic Haris” is one that springs to mind!).
Unfortunately, I never got to meet Steve properly, although we got to know one another well enough electronically that I feel like I’ve lost a friend.
A post such as this is hardly a worthy tribute but I felt the event should at least be marked in some small way.
Kevin Nolan helped Newcastle United step within one point of picking up the Coca Cola Championship title, with a brace tonight against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. In a game which saw us below par, Reading may feel hard done by that any lingering hopes they had of making the play-offs all but disappeared with our victory by the odd goal.
However, as with many teams this season, Newcastle’s ability to score goals and grind out the result meant Reading would have to have a go and they were left wanting when it came to a cutting edge. In fact, it took a combination of Steve Harper, Jose Enrique and Danny Simpson producing an own goal before Reading got off the mark. At the other end, Kevin Nolan re-established himself as the club’s leading goalscorer with another two crucial goals, taking his tally for the season to 18 in all competitions. (more…)
Tangerine dreamers!I played a song recently for a mate who often goes to Newcastle games with me, though not the Blackpool game ironically. It was relevant because it was number one on his birthday back in 1991 and he’s just suffered the discomfort of turning 30. The song was “The One and Only” by Chesney Hawkes and it’s spun on ‘Old Skool’ nights in University and college dance-floors up and down the country.
It’s become a bit of a cult classic, as sh*t songs go, though unfortunately I’m old enough to remember it being released first-hand and to be honest I love it so bollocks to you all who hate it.
Anyway…, heading up to the Blackpool game on Saturday, with the sun bleaching down and a sea of black and white mixing in with the tangerine of the visitors, I couldn’t help but wonder about the words in the second verse of that song. Lowbrow though they may be to music snobs, the lines “High hopes and aspirations, and years above my station. Maybe but all this time I’ve tried to walk with dignity and pride”, hit home with a certain poignancy. Though I refrained from singing them out loud as I walked past the Strawberry… (more…)
Kevin Nolan helped Newcastle United step within one point of picking up the Coca Cola Championship title, with a brace tonight against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. In a game which saw us below par, Reading may feel hard done by that any lingering hopes they had of making the play-offs all but disappeared with our victory by the odd goal.