Collymore - pundit, of sortsStan Collymore claims Newcastle United defender James Perch should be given a 3-match ban for ‘diving’.
Alleged pundit Stan Collymore has had plenty to say about the game against Liverpool on Sunday. First of all he said that Andy Carroll should be banned for his dive in the box and then says Perch should be banned for being headbutted by Pepe Reina. Collymore chose Twitty to express his views and said:
“Not many suggesting punishments for diving, so is it now with us for good? I say give Carroll/Perch three game bans. They won’t do it again.”
Whilst I tend to agree that diving should be punished and would therefore support the idea of Carroll being banned for 3 games, I can’t support the idea that Perch should be banned for 3 games too. Clearly I’m writing on a Newcastle United ‘blog and would expect cries of unfair bias, so I ought to try and justify myself before the tar and featherers dust of their tar and feathering kit and make their way to Somerset to try and find me.
In Carroll’s case the various replays showed that there was definitely no contact on him from Krul. I can’t say for definite that he didn’t merely ‘stumble’, as Kenny Dalgish claimed, but it looked very much like a dive. Make what you will of that but in Perch’s case there was contact between Reina’s head and Perch’s. He was nutted, basically. (more…)
Who's the messiah?Newcastle United appear to have sorted themselves out after a long period of woe but are there are certain similarities between what Liverpool are going through now and what Newcastle have been through in the past?
Liverpool seemed in turmoil on Sunday. We beat them fairly comfortably, their goalkeeper was sent off and Andy Carroll looks like he’s heading for a bust-up with Kenny Dalglish after allegedly voicing his distaste at being substituted with a word rhyming with ‘luck’, of which they had little, followed by ‘off’, which Carroll certainly was.
But I feel just a little for Liverpool because they are currently ‘doing a Newcastle’. We’ve been in their situation in the not too distant past. They’ve brought back a ‘messiah’, spent a fortune on players not living up to their price tag, have an unsettled fan-base and they seem to be plagued by controversy, the Suarez incident being perhaps the most notable example.
Granted they haven’t imploded like we did and got themselves relegated yet, and they are one trophy to the good this season and in with a chance of the second. If truth be told, I think Liverpool will turn out to be a bit more resilient than us and will bounce back, although whether that’s under the leadership of King Kenny and with Andy Carroll leading the line remains to be seen. But it struck me that there are certain parallels between our past and what they’re going through though. (more…)
Will these scenes be repeated today?The new era begins in earnest at St James’ Park this evening when Alan Pardew takes charge of his first Newcastle match since being appointed manager during the week.
There are many views on what the Pardew era will bring, but in amongst the speculation, rumour, hearsay, unrest, anger and dismay, there is the small matter of trying to beat Liverpool.
Yes that is correct – football.
With everything that has gone on this week it has perhaps been easier to put the football on the backburner whilst the events have been digested. In all probablility there is likely to be some form of protest against Mike Ashley at the ground, which is fine if that is what people want to do. I just hope that the protests don’t spread to the players in much the same way they did just over two years ago against Hull City. (more…)
Can Carroll be the key to survival?The month of December will mark the half way point in the Premier League season, and will hopefully give us an indication of whether or not we look set for survival or struggle for the rest of the season.
Of course nothing will be guaranteed, but it should give us a decent idea of where we stand with regards to ensuring Premier League football for next season.
With the way the season has gone so far it would be foolish to count any chickens until safety is mathematically assured. Teams are taking points from each other, from top to bottom, in what is turning out to be a very tight Premier League season. A couple of wins can push a team into a European spot, but also a couple of results that go against you could see a team being sucked into the relegation zone.
Luckily for us it has been the former so far this season, but there is always a chance that we could hit a sticky patch of form. Some will say that we are in one now having only taken two points from a possible 12 on offer, but all that really matters is getting enough points on the board to survive this season. I couldn’t give a toss where the points invariably come from, as long as we have enough come May. (more…)
