A drunken hooligan invades the pitch at Carrow Road.Venue: Carrow Road, Norwich. Date: Saturday 10th Dec, 2011. Kick-off: 3.00pm. Referee: Martin Atkinson. Pies: D.Smith.
The Magpies of Newcastle United will be looking to pick themselves up after a tough trio of fixtures and recent injury woes as they visit the Canaries of Norwich City.
Even though this is an away game, some may have thought this would be an easy three points, until recently that is. The loss of Fabricio Coloccini with a thigh strain, as well as Steven Taylor for the whole season with a knacked achilles tendon puts a new complexion on matters as our lack of strength in depth has eventually been exposed. Like ourselves, Norwich have been something of a “surprise package” in the Premiership so far. Though Norwich City’s entire first team squad is worth far less than the amount Mike Ashley received for Andy Carroll alone, they are currently sitting quite comfortably at 11th in the table. That is quite an achievement for such a modest squad who were expected to be rooted at the bottom of the table, and not to be sniffed at, especially in the light of our recent circumstances injurywise. More on that below however…
Fabricio Coloccini: Hoping to be fit for Norwich game.Well, there was some good news (maybe) on the Fabricio Coloccini injury front as Alan Pardew struggles with Newcastle United’s post Chelsea defensive crisis.
Speaking at an awards ceremony in Gateshead, the permed paragon of our central defence revealed that a start in Saturday’s game against Norwich City at Carrow Road may indeed be a possibilty saying:
‘It is tight but I am hoping to play in the next game.’
Steven Taylor will still be out for the season with his Achilles tendon injury which requires surgery, but of course, Coloccini’s swift return without missing a game would be a huge boost for the team if it happens. Whilst Taylor will undoubtedly be a big loss to the side, losing two key defenders at the same time was testing Newcastle United’s lack of strength in depth beyind it’s linits, with Alan Pardew facing the prospect of playing someone out of their usual position, or turning to players on the fringe of the fringe such as Tamás Kádár, the out of favour Hungarian who hasn’t seen any first team action for some time, and was recently relegated to the reserve squad. However, on the other hand it would do no good in the long term if Coloccini is rushed back out of desperation, risking the chance of a more serious injury which will leave him out even longer. (more…)
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…)
Kadar - on standbySteven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini face late tests to prove their fitness for Newcastle United’s game against Forest this weekend.
Both players have been hit by hamstring injuries – Colocinni’s a few weeks ago and Taylor’s just recently – and Hughton has this to say about their chances of playing on the weekend:
“Steven has a hamstring problem, but we’re refusing to rule him out. We’ll see if we can get him involved with the main group first, and get him up and running before we rule him out of Saturday.
“Coloccini is probably up to about 90 per cent in the work he has been doing and is another one we are not prepared to rule out. Hopefully we will get him on the training pitch on Friday.”
Tamas Kadar is on standby in case he’s needed, with Hughton commenting thusly on the lad:
“Tamas has done very well for us,” Hughton told the Gazette. “He hasn’t had the opportunities he’d have liked, but he’s developing with each training session with the first team, and he’s very much part of that group now. He gives us valuable cover at centre-half and left-back.” (more…)
