Point to prove?Newcastle go looking for their third ‘double’ of the season on Wednesday, to go along with the victories home and away against Crystal Palace and Cardiff, against a Coventry side unbeaten in five games and offering something of a resurgence since we beat them at the Ricoh Arena.
And while our home form looks good, we’ve suffered a few stutters in the last few games, so Chris Hughton will undoubtedly be looking to buck the recent trend and get back to winning ways. In order to do that, we’re going to have to start scoring goals, and preferably not at the death to rescue a point.
Hughton has some difficult decisions to make, with a number of options upfront and the obvious decision to be made whether to go with a 4-4-2 at home. Having come on and created Carroll’s late equaliser, Leon Best has given Hughton food for thought, who said of Best’s performances:
“You always want substitutes to have an impact and Leon has done that”(more…)
Scored but shoulda been wearing a balaclava...The scoreline doesn’t even begin to tell the story, on a day when Newcastle United were outplayed and outfought by a Swansea City side, more determined and far more capable than their Magpie counterparts. And how we manged to nick a point at the death will remain a mystery to those who sat and watched the full 90 minutes.
With a number of injuries to contend with and still bedding in new recruits, Hughton nonetheless fielded a strong side against the Swans, with three changes from the Derby game. Colo came in for Williamson to partner Fitz Hall. Gutierrez didn’t even make the bench, allegedly due to an illness, with Smudger back in the middle of the park and Guthrie moving to the left. Leon Best was dropped for Lovenkrands and Hughton seemed to go for a 4-4-2 from where I was sitting, though Sky kept insisting it was a 4-5-1. (more…)
Will Toon get their away form back on track?Newcastle face Swansea City today looking to bounce straight back from a heavy defeat at Derby. Hughton might well ring the changes, depending on whether he saw that defeat as just a bad day at the office. Either way, whichever team he puts out will be tested by a Swansea team in decent form.
As with most fans for today’s game, yours truly will be making do with Sky coverage and you have to take your hats off to those travelling down for the game, considering the kick off time. As ever, the broadcaster and FA barely considering the inconvenience of travelling supporters in their re-scheduling, with fans leaving as early as 2am to ensure they’re in time for the game. Not everyone will have access to Sky either though, so if anyone can find radio links etc to the game for people who don’t have it, I’m sure that would be appreciated.
As ever, this can be the place to come together during the match and p*ss and moan, as we usually do. (more…)
Still a baby-faced assassin?The predictable platitudes are already forthcoming from within, as Chris Hughton seeks to demonstrate how hurt Newcastle players were by last night’s heavy defeat to Derby County. Despite being denied an apparently legitimate goal in the second half and with some dubious decision from the officials, Hughton refused to blame anyone but the collective in black and white.
Having watched Derby categorically destory our impressive record-breaking unbeaten run in the league, supporters were given a reminder that the Cardiff demolition was perhaps a distraction from the otherwise inauspicious form leading into and out of the Christmas period.
However, Hughton was keen to point out that the results perhaps flattered the hosts, saying:
“It’s a very hurt changing room. The manner of the defeat has hurt them and I’m quite sure there’ll be a desire to turn this around.”
“It’s certainly a big blow. We’ve done something that we haven’t done all season and that’s concede three goals. If you do that then there’s a good chance you’ll lose football matches.”(more…)
This may or may not be the Derby goalscorers...Andy Carroll was already there after being formally charged for assault on Monday but his Newcastle team mates joined him in coming back down to earth with a bump, as our apparent bogey team Derby County turned us over convincingly. After the Friday night demolition of Cardiff, hopes were high of more of the same but Geordie expectations couldn’t have been more spectacularly wrong, with Derby running out 3-0 winners in front of a bumper and boisterous crowd.
Like many, I was restricted to radio commentary and Deb, who was unfortunate enough to be there, will provide us with the gory details all in good time, though some of us may not have the stomach for it. Hughton named an unchanged side, much to the delight of supporters who thought he might revert to a more defensive formation and there was undeniable confidence that we could do some real damage but it all went horribly wrong. (more…)
