Hard done by? Newcastle 1-3 Manchester City.

December 26th, 2010 | 141 Comments |

It may well be a cliche in footballing circles, but there was certainly enough about the performance to give me hope despite the defeat.

It’s a strange feeling really, as usually I would be pulling what is left of my hair out after a 3-1 defeat, but I feel strangely mellow after witnessing a performance which saw us have the bulk of possesion and create many more chances than our rich, title-chasing visitors. Another heartening factor was the effort and determination on show from the players today. They didn’t give up, despite being behind for 88 minutes of the game.

Fabricio Coloccini returned to the starting line up in place of the poorly Sol Campbell. Wayne Routledge was recalled to play out wide with Joey Barton pushed into his favoured central midfield role whilst Kevin Nolan effectively took the place of the injured Shola Ameobi meaning that Newcastle lined up in a kind of 4-4-1-1 formation. (more…)