A run out for the fringe players this evening.Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Weds 25th Sep, 2013. Kick off: 7.45pm. Referee: Mike Jones (Chester). UK TV: None.
Hello, good evening and welcome to our “match banter” feature for Newcastle United’s League Cup game, this time against the sleeping giants of Leeds United.
For a more in depth look forward to the game, I would suggest checking out the match preview I prepared earlier, which has all the team news, previous form, what the managers have been saying and other stuff too.
Since the abovementioned match preview, the club have reiterated on the eve of the match that cup competitions are no longer a priority for the Magpies, with the club concentrating on a top ten finish in the League as this is far more lucrative for Mike Ashley. Instead, they will be used as an opportunity for the club to look at fringe players, but here’s hoping that this evening will not bring a reapeat of cup fiascos such as Stevenage, Brighton etc anyway. (more…)
The men in black go into battle once again.Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Weds 25th Sep, 2013. Kick off: 7.45pm. Referee: Mike Jones (Chester). UK TV: None.
This game will see Alan Pardew taking on his Reading protege Brian McDermott once again. Of course, the last time they met as opponents was when McDermott was manager of Reading, and predictably, two of the great masters of “route one” football served up a festival of long balls with Reading eventually coming out as the 2-1 victors. McDermott’s latest side certainly aren’t setting the Championship table on fire right now though, being 13th with 11 points after 8 games.
Previous results.
Newcastle United and Leeds Uniteds last six games in all competitions (most recent first).
In it I take a look at how Pardew, like a madman, seems to keep making the same tactical mistakes over and over again, always expecting a different result. It makes supporting Newcastle United like ‘Groundhog day.’ I also take a look at a few other things too, but I’ll leave that for you to find out. In hindsight though, I did omit to mention another Pardew tradition, bizarre substitutions, a tradition which goes way back in his career and if you don’t believe me, ask a West Ham or Charlton fan! Of course, I am referring to his decision to throw on Cheick Tiote and leave Sammy Ameobi on the bench when the side were 2-3 down with five minutes to go and the Magpies desperately needed a goal, but there you go.
