No giant killing to see here (please!)Good afternoon lads and lassies, welcome to the match banter thread for Newcastle United’s third round FA Cup tie against Stevenage.
League Two’s Stevenage have had a decent start to their first season of league football, securing a mid-table position and having only lost twice at home this season.
But the Toon are also amidst a run of form having picked up wins against Wigan and West Ham in the last two matches.
Given that our players are starting to build up a bit of a queue outside the treatment room, we could really do with a comfortable game and no faffing about with replays like we did back in ’98 with Stevenage.
Stevenage manager Graham Westley has this to say about today’s encounter: (more…)
Toon take on Stevenage in the cupIt’s all the fun of the FA Cup today as Newcastle United visit Broadhall Way to take on League Two’s Stevenage.
Newcastle are 73 places above Stevenage who currently sit at 13th in League Two in what is their first season in the Football League.
This is the only Premier League v League Two tie of the round and I suspect neutrals will be hoping it results in a ‘Giant Killing’.
Truth is, it’s never as easy as the gulf in league positions would suggest to go to these places and dominate, so we should not be complacent.
We last played Stevenage in the FA Cup in 1998 when the then non-league team held us to a 1-1 draw to force a replay that we won 2-1 at home. Kenny Dalglish – our manager at the time – didn’t fancy that game at all and he complained about all manner of things from the size of the stadium to the quality of the balls. Kenny liked a good moan. (more…)
Our third tussle with the Pilgrims this season.Another wave of Cup Fever comes to Tyneside in the shape of the 3rd round replay with the Plymouth Argyle. Thankfully, this time, it’s the Pilgrims who have to make the long hike, and wor lads will have the hordes of (probably frozen) Geordie radgies behind them.
In terms of recent league form, The Toon should lord it over struggling Plymouth, especially with home advantage. However, Toon manager, Chris Hughton, has made it clear several times that the Championship and promotion is his prime objective, and that he will not shy away from puppywalking a few junior members of the squad in cup games. Unless, that is, he feels that some of the big boys are out of practice with the big freeze wiping out Newcastle United’s Reading away clash at the weekend. Of course though, if football was played on paper, we probably wouldn’t be playing a replay in the first place!
Anyway, more speculation on that kind of thing is available in Geordies Deb’s excellent match preview of the game, and I will try to post team news etc before the match begins. (more…)
Pilgrim Pete says "It's a fair old poke!"Away I go with my next Toon fan’s away guide, which will feature the long, long, long trip, all the way to the south coast resort of Plymouth for our FA Cup 3rd round tie against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park. You may even bump into Big Dave and Janner from that TV advert!
With the journey from Newcastle weighing in at over 400 miles, it is sure to be a very very long day stuck on a coach or in a car. If your lucky enough and have the cash to catch a domestic flight, to perhaps Bristol, then i’m sure you’ll be the envy of many! With the distance, combined with some notoriously busy roads and traffic hotspots, I would estimate at least an 8 hour journey from start to finish.
We’ll start of heading out of the Toon down the A1 then onto the M1 at Leeds. Follow the M1 down past Nottingham and leave at J23a (A42/M42). It will turn into the M42 after a while and you’ll need to be aware that around Birmingham airport can be pretty sticky for traffic. Follow the M42 all the way to the end where you will pick up signs for the M5 south. Follow the M5 south for around 140 miles – it really is a long journey! (more…)
Old boy makes PilgrimageOur path to FA Cup glory could be thwarted by an old acquaintance, if reports are true that former Newcastle United coach John Carver is back in football. It’s been mentioned on .com that JC is going to be assistant to Paul Mariner at Plymouth Argyle, who has taken charge after Paul Sturrock was removed from the Home Park hotseat.
Carver coached our reserves and academy sides, before being promoted to assistant to Sir Bobby Robson, and stepped in as Caretaker when Robson was sacked. When Souness got the job, he then moved onto Leeds as first team coach before once again stepping in as Caretaker for Kevin Blackwell, who he then followed to Luton Town before taking up the role of head coach at MLS side Toronto. (more…)
