James Perch and Tamas Kadar: Stepping out from the shadows.As someone once said: “Defence is just another way to attack.“ You can just start to imagine (go on, imagine it) how important our stable defence has been for our attacking play this season.
Take the two central defenders out of the equation and what happens? Well, we may find out next weekend if Coloccini doesn’t make it as he hopes for our next game against Norwich. Alan Pardew and Newcastle United have managed to keep the same defence throughout the season, but could now be forced to make a big change with Steven Taylor out for the season and Coloccini possibly missing with a thigh strain. The aim of this piece is to shed light on the different defensive options for the team, and then argue which would be the strongest.
Natural Defenders Available:
Danny Simpson, Ryan Taylor, James Perch, Tamas Kadar, Shola Ameobi and Davide Santon.
Possible Defenders:
Alan Smith, Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye and Jonas Gutierrez. (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…)
Destination Anfield?Rumours are once again doing the rounds about Liverpool interest in Newcastle United’s captain. Whether there’s and truth in those rumours remain to be seen but should we even consider letting our captain go?
The press has decided to regurgitate the story about Liverpool’s alleged intent to try and lure Fabricio Coloccini to Anfield in the January transfer window.
The Daily Mirror claims that Liverpool’s Director of Football Damien Comolli personally led a team of heavily armed scouts in a black ops mission to St James’ Park to watch our captain in action, although they don’t appear to have any quotes from anyone important to back that up.
If it’s true then I’m guessing they’ll come in with a decent offer and a salary that we won’t be able to match.
Colo may not want to leave Newcastle of course but, as one of the few remaining über-salaried players at the club, I’m sure Mike Ashley will give much consideration to the right offer.
But should we let him go for the ‘right’ offer or should we work extra hard to keep him? (more…)
