News regarding the NUFC Blog prediction competition in relation to the Christmas/New Year fixture schedules.
GeordieMagpie and El Toro hold the number one and two league positions in our prediction competition, but with 4 sets of predictions still to go there’s still a lot of points up for grabs. There’s still scope for an exciting finale.
I do, however, need to clarify some things because they faff around with the fixtures lists a lot over Christmas and New Year, which means there’ll be some odd times by when you need to make sure you’ve done your predictions.
This weekend – Week 16 of the prediction competition – is a normal weekend and predictions need to be made by midday on Saturday (17th) as usual.
Week 17 covers the games on Tues 20th, Weds 21st and Thus 22nd of December and predictions for those games need to be completed by 19:00 on Tuesday 20th.
Week 18 covers the games on Mon 26th and Tues 27th December and predictions for those games need to be completed by midday on Monday 26th December.
Nearing full fitnessNewcastle United centre-back Mike Williamson nears fitness and, whilst an alleged bid for a West Ham defender fails, it seems that Modibo Maiga is actually heading to Tyneside.
With our central defence currently emptier than a Mackem’s head, there’s some welcome news that Mike Williamson managed 45 minutes for the reserve team against Bolton yesterday and apparently feels okay after it. Williamson said:
“I feel completely fine. That was the plan today – to play 45, to get myself back in and try and get the cobwebs out and then train on Thursday and Friday.
“It reminded me of what I’ve been missing. It was good and I enjoyed it. It was great to get the boots back on and now that I’m back, hopefully I can just get fitter.
“Injuries are frustrating but it’s just part and parcel of football. It has been really good to see the team doing so well and enjoying the plaudits that they deserve for working so hard.
“I’ll accelerate it as quickly as possible, but not to the detriment of anything. But my knee and ankle are completely fine now, so it’s just about getting the minutes under my belt. And I’ll try to get as much fitness and running as I can.“
I still doubt he’ll be fit enough to play in the Swansea game though.
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.
Who will replace them?Newcastle United’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea pales into insignificance compared to the prospect of playing without Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor.
I’m not particularly worried about the 0-3 scoreline on Saturday. Things didn’t go our way with the sending off that didn’t happen, the loss of Coloccini early on then Taylor near the end of the game and the infernal woodwork that saved Chelsea on a number of occasions.
That’s not to say that Chelsea weren’t threatening – they were – but on another day I could have seen us get a draw from that game, or at least only lose to a scoreline that was more reflective of the game than 0-3. I think what I’m trying to say is that we certainly weren’t completely outclassed or anything like that.
Looking ahead, though, what is worrying is our extensive injury list, particularly in the defensive region. (more…)
Back in contentionNewcastle United injury round-up and manager’s opinions ahead of Saturday’s visit to Old Trafford.
There’s good news for Alan Pardew as the word on the street is that Gabriel Obertan will be fit for Saturday’s game, although it remains to be seen whether or not he gets a start. Less encouraging news is that Tiote is still ‘doubtful’ with his knee ligament problem, although as far as I understand he hasn’t been ruled out yet.
Leon Best is likely to be back in contention for his usual place up front alongside Demba Ba too but I wonder how Pardew will set things up. Hatem Ben Arfa showed signs of some of the skills we bought him for when he played against Manchester City, but is it enough for Pardew to start him even with Best fit?
Anyway, Pardew fears a backlash from Man United’s midweek draw and said:
“I know he will be smarting from Wednesday’s draw, so unfortunately, we are on the back of a negative from Manchester United’s point of view, so it will be a tough game for us.” (more…)
