Abdoulaye Faye and Habib Beye both start for Newcastle United today but it looks like Steven Taylor failed his fitness test.
Surprisingly Mark Viduka starts on the bench and Alan Smith is included in the starting line up, presumably to play upfront with Martins.
It looks like N’Zogbia wll start at left back with Enrique on the bench but Big Sam also includes Barton, Geremi and Butt in the starting line-up, so we are again overloaded with central midfielders. It will be hard to keep the play wide with this team. Barton is preferred to Emre, who starts on the bench, and we expect Faye and Rozehnal to be in central defense.
This team looks like its main aim is to control the midfield. We’ll have to see how the team lines up when the play starts in 30 minutes.
For Blackburn Rovers, Ryan Nelsen serves the first of a two-match, and his place is taken by Tugay which results in a shuffle in the way Rovers line-up. Andre Ooijer will fill in for the absent Nelsen at center-back and Brett Emerton will move back to his more familiar right back role, with Tugay accomodated in the center of midfield.
BLACKBURN ROVERS: Friedel (c), Emerton, Ooijer, Samba, Warnock, Bentley, Tugay, Mokoena, Dunn, McCarthy, Santa Cruz.
Subs: Brown (GK), Savage, Pedersen, Reid, Roberts.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given, Rozenhal, Barton, Martins, N’Zogbia, Milner, Smith, Geremi (c), Beye, Butt, Faye.
Subs: Harper (GK), Carr, Enrique, Emre, Viduka.
218 comments so far
ToonKing
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:35 PM
Comment #1Were gonna play 4-3-3 Ed.
So it will be:
—– Milner– Oba- – Smithy—–
—-Butt—–Barton —-Geremi—
Zog—–Faye—-Rozehnal——Beye
—————-Given—————–
It’s a good team if u ask me but i’m afraid were gonna loose the midfield with only 3 guys there and only 1 able to give a decent pass.
Anyways…25 mins to go so we’ll soon find out.
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:35 PM
Comment #2OMG it is a 4-3-3 formation.
oba-smith-milner
barton-butt-geremi
zogbia-faye-rozenhal-beye
actually the formation doesnt bother me much. the tactic is the thing i more concern. no long balls. keep the ball well.after see all geremi performance i dont really rate this guy. he is not good enough to wear that shirt and not even good as captain (his long throw sucks) gary speed can do much better than him not just in long throw.he just a good communicator who knows a lot of language but i barely see him commanding on the pitch.Hope u can hear me GEREMI and prove me wrong.
Mac
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:36 PM
Comment #3Well the writing is on the wall with that team selection. I just can’t see any goals and with or suspect defence i see Blackburn winning by atleast 2 possibly 3
ToonKing
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:36 PM
Comment #4Actually it’s probably gonna be Milner – Smithy-Oba.
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:37 PM
Comment #5lolx toonking u a bit faster than me. zzz sigh my cable has just being cancel. cant watch on tv.not even delayed. Oh my god, pray pray let newcastle win.
yemozone
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:37 PM
Comment #6why is butt and geremi in the starting line up? emre on the bench!!
I’m having a bad feeling about this one but smith and martins in front is giving me some hope
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:39 PM
Comment #7oba left footer so left haha. nvm all i care is result. result result plz win. i want have a good weekend.i have been sad and gloomy since quite long ago.
ObaFan2
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:40 PM
Comment #8Ah well no surprises there then lmao
Emre n Viduka on the bench ? both geremi n butt in mf ? any wingers anywhere? oh yes as lb !!! Milner suppose he’ll be on as cb :/
ok gl lads give it ur best
admin
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:40 PM
Comment #9Toon King – yes – think that’s the line-up ….
admin
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:41 PM
Comment #10So Sam dropped Viduka to give Alan his game this week – but we expect Smith to have a good game today – and he needs to score 😀
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:41 PM
Comment #11yah i love smith. i love his fighting spirit. with smith and oba i can see something created out of nothing for goal.and i hate the toons that booed smith when announce man of the match. he really put 100% on the field. and he play not well is cuz of the position he is forced to play by that fatty.
wsq
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:42 PM
Comment #12Ok I’m happy that Faye can play, he can handle both Santa and McCarthy.
I’d tweak Toonking’s formation to:
Oba–Smithy–Milner
Zog–Butt–Barton
Geremi-Rozenhal-Faye-Beye
Given
That front line looks more sense to me, but not sure if BigSam stubbornly sticks with his milner to the left tactic.
Midfield looks more balanced like this for me. But very unlikely. Toonking’s midfield is most prolly the real formation.
Rozehnal on the left center just because he’s been playing there since the outset.
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:43 PM
Comment #13the only chance we may win is blackburn players get red carded. hope we can take advantage of that.
Leo
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:44 PM
Comment #14im trying to watch the sopcast of the nufc game and its alot of oriental people speaking, i have no idea whether im on the right channel. haha anyone help????????????
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:45 PM
Comment #15yah how to watch online?
Hadrian
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:45 PM
Comment #16bbc have it as
Given, Faye, Beye, Enrique, Rozenhal, Butt, Geremi, Barton, Milner, Martins, Smith
no zoggy acording to them 😮
nightfall
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:45 PM
Comment #17“nice tactics” Cartman… milner is a RIGHT winger…and why is geremi playing..and enrique is not
given
beye rozehnal faye n’zogbia
geremi butt barton milner
smith martins
ToonKing
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:46 PM
Comment #18anyways it’s a good team and should get something from this game but i’m concerned about Butt and Geremi and their constant long passes. Barton is the only one showing willingness to keep the ball on the ground.
I would have made a triangle midfield:
Emre——Barton
—–Geremi—–
Leo
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:46 PM
Comment #19well i tried downloading sopcast. just go to google and type in sopcast. download it. extract the files and use the application, then put http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=2800&part=sports into the address bar at the top and what came on seemed to be chelsea west ham….??????????????
Hadrian
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:46 PM
Comment #20nmind , zoggy not enrique .
not a bad line up.
wsq
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:46 PM
Comment #21hadrian, that might be better.
Hadrian
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:47 PM
Comment #22leo , yeah toon match will be on same channel at kick off .
wsq
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:48 PM
Comment #23that triangle is brilliant 3 in the middle toonking
ToonKing
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:48 PM
Comment #24Leo your probably in the right place.. they always speak their gibberish in the studio but for the game they switch to Sky Sports or whatever but it’s ussually in english.
Leo
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:49 PM
Comment #25nice one toonking, cheers
Leo
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:51 PM
Comment #26its channel 2800 on sopcast
malaysian youngster
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:51 PM
Comment #27when i click at the play link in toonking link. it said dns error. what is that mean?
ToonKing
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:52 PM
Comment #28I’ll go even further…….i was playing 4-3-3 with todays squad this is how it would look like :
————–Smithy————–
–Oba————————Milner
———Barton——Geremi——–
—————Butt————–
Zog——Rozy——Faye——–Beye
—————–Given—————
Cockney Magpie
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:52 PM
Comment #29i think …
Given
Beye Faye Roz
Geremi Butt nzog
milner Barton
SMith
Martins
wsq
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:53 PM
Comment #30i hate these pundits, sometimes i wonder whether they actually pay attention to our team. they keep on saying we want entertaining football. Well i just want football, we’ve nothing at the moment. One shot?? one shot?? that’s not even on target. There’s no percentage football even.
Cockney Magpie
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:53 PM
Comment #31geremi and nzog as wing backs
Cockney Magpie
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:53 PM
Comment #32hopefully
Leo
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:53 PM
Comment #33hmm, did u do the google sopcast download thing i said to do??? it worked for me after trying other things, including clicking the link
Rob Kirton
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:54 PM
Comment #34Another week
Another line up
Another formation
Hope Barton plays as well as he talks.
Sam might accidently stumble on a formual yet. Then again…..
Kick off in 5 mins. Howay the lads !!!!
wsq
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:58 PM
Comment #35i like alan smith’s hairdo
Loisss
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:58 PM
Comment #36People seem to be fairly content with this lineup… I’m not. Sam does not have the players to play 4-3-3… Should be 4-4-2 every game… I repeat that Geremi is at his best on the right wing, in a 4-4-2… And putting Viduka and Emre on the bench, Zog again in defense… No, Sam just don’t care about logic, disappointing.
Davy
Dec 1, 2007 at 2:59 PM
Comment #37I think it’l be more like a 4:5:1 formation with Martins alone up front Barton linking from the middle, Milner from the left (even though he should be on the right) and either Smith or Geremi pushed a bit wider on the right. BS’ll no doubt be looking to “contain” again as he’ll take a draw over another defeat at this stage.
Howay the lads – let’s see Martins doing cartwheels today!
Leo
Dec 1, 2007 at 3:01 PM
Comment #38smith looks stupid, but if he puts a proformance in i wont be jipping him
ObaFan2
Dec 1, 2007 at 3:01 PM
Comment #39Listening to all the pundits on tv/radio 2day ……Barton you’ve embarassed us and lucky you ain’t got 52 k telling u so 2day.
wsq
Dec 1, 2007 at 3:02 PM
Comment #40haha milner on the left!