We are still trying to recover from another woeful display from Sam’s Newcastle side today – but we wanted to put down some initial reflections about the game today. We’ll have to wait until we get a good night’s sleep tonight and recover from this game, before we reflect further on what was as depressing a display from Newcastle United today, than we have seen in many a day.
- Sam just has to start playing more attractive and attacking football. If he doesn’t then he shouldn’t expect the fans’ support for this tripe that is being served up as football. It just passes the bar when we win, like last week at Fulham, but when we cannot even beat the worst side in the league at home – it’s just not good enough by a long long way.
- We must play an attacking 4-4-2 formation against 2nd bottom of the league Wigan Town on Boxing Day. PLEASE let’s have Milner on the right wing and N’Zogbia on the left wing.
- Smith should be played as a striker or central midfield player or else he should be a sub, but not on the wing.
- Don’t play Martins way out on the right wing ever again – he’s too far from the goal and his potency is completely lost.
- Play Cacapa and Taylor as central defenders. Rozehnal was again a little dodgy for their second goal today. Give David a rest on Wednesday, he deserves a break and will be all the better for it.
- The only way we can have a good recovery from today’s nightmare (and we use our words advisedly), is if we win at Wigan and attack them from the very first whistle. Another Fulham type performance will see a lot of Newcastle fans turned off even more.
Sam will not last very long if he serves up this kind of football, because it’s just not good enough. We remember the beautiful flowing football Sir Bobby Robson played and the wonderful exciting fare served up by Kevin Keegan. This may be good enough at Bolton but it’s just not good enough on Tyneside – especially because of the much classier players we have at Newcastle that were never available at Bolton.
Let us know what’s on your minds. Please try to keep the comments fairly respectable – well as much as you can in the circumstances – many thanks.
92 comments so far
Southern_Magpie
Dec 23, 2007 at 8:47 PM
Comment #41I fear he doesn’t know any different in terms of his tactics. These tactics served him so well at Bolton and now he thinks that they will just work for us. When will he learn that we’re not Bolton and wont except dreadful performances like today or winning ugly with last minute goals from dead ball positions (Fulham, Birmingham)
In all honesty I think there is so much more strengthening in our team that needs to be done but even with the squad we have now we are so much more capable of performing better than we are currently. We don’t expect miracles, only gradual improvement. Well part from against Bolton we’ve been the same all season.
9th place is not disastrous and there is some daylight between us and the bottom three luckily, mainly down to how poor the bottom 6 or 7 have been this season. Only 4 points off 6th place leaves us still in a relatively good position, more than we deserve for how we’ve played this season compared to the likes of Pompey and Everton.
Hadrian
Dec 23, 2007 at 8:47 PM
Comment #42the toon may have leaked in goals in the past , but that never stopped KK and bobby, and those two guys are a big reason we pull in 52k each week , there was que’s for season tickets a miles long when we were knocking it about with a bit of flair .
sam allerdyce was never going tobe the manager for the toon . maybe in sheperds (we need to get tough) head , but never in any toon fans heart .
steve
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:07 PM
Comment #43Sams comments on skysports are a joke as are his tactics and team selection – I really wanted him to do well but its just not working
I reckon he’ll sell oba and emre and maybe owen if he can find any buyers
Southern_Magpie
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:14 PM
Comment #44I don’t care if Owen leaves but please not Martins. Oba is the better player and we could get two players much better than Owen to share his 100k per week wages. Emre is our most creative central player, but I wouldn’t be disappointed to see him leave if we can get at least two replacements who know how to actually pass the ball and create chances through the center. We are just so predictable that opposing teams just know how to exploit Sam’s tactics.
Hadrian
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:20 PM
Comment #45if sam looks tobe offloading all our favoured players , he will really lose whatever support he has left .
last thing we need is another hoof it and run manager (souness) comming in , flogging all our players then getting the sack .
how the farkin hell can sheperd sack bobby in august , yet our buissnes savy chairman is letting this muppet have a run till xmas .
i miss keegan 🙁 .
he’d come back i reckon , been sniffing around and not outright distancing himself since we got new owners .
Toon Barmy
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:22 PM
Comment #46He wants the push, he never got the cash shepherd would have gave him and countless knows what else, ashley will give him nowt either way we as fans lose out.why else would he continually persist with these tactics, even the players told him they are not happy with them sam admitted it & the fans are certainly not happy, he’s having us for mugs, they dont want to pay him off.
Roger - W/Bay Mag
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:25 PM
Comment #47I took my youngest daughter, who is only 4, to the match today and I can honestly say that the highlight of the whole afternoon was her singing of Christmas songs on the metro on the way in…class. Pity that I cannot say the same thing about BFS’s tactics, team selection, etc, etc.
I could go on and on about playing players in their correct posiitions, playing with width, passing the ball accurately, moving off the ball into space, keeping possession, getting behind defences. It’s called football for a reason but obviously not one known to BFS…airball would be a better description.
I resigned myself some time ago to the type of dross that will be served up by BFS. We do have a decent squad of players the problem is that they are not being empowered.
My little girl asked me in all innocence at one point which team was the mackems…she knows that they are the great unwashed from over the river! However has anyone considered that BFS used to play for them…is he actually a mole on a mission…to destroy football at St. James Park for ever.
Remember…we will be here long after BFS has gone. Keep the faith.
Toon Barmy
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:28 PM
Comment #48Shearer as Manager, KK assistant, Bobby as director & Terry Mac as Terry Mac.
What a christmas prezzy
Southern_Magpie
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:33 PM
Comment #49Even if Sam is not given much money in January, he’s still been spending significantly more than he did with Bolton and look where he got them. Sure, it took him a few seasons at the Reebok to get the squad he wanted but with the better players at his disposal at SJP and a summer of spending £20m+, there is no excuse. I can fully understand if Mort is not willing to hand over the dosh.
Joe
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:57 PM
Comment #50Today WAS a disgrace but here are my reflections on the game:
1.Barton needs to spend a little time in reserves practising the basics. His passing and ball control were amongst the worst I’ve seen for a player in black and white.
2.Rozenhal needs a rest. He looked off the pace again.
3.Enrique needs a game. How on Earth can our most creative attacking midfielder play at left back constantly? I’m starting to think Enrique took a dump on Sam’s merc or summit, anything to explain why our big money signing isn’t getting a game.
4.Sam needs to work out the best 11. I have no clue whatsoever who the best eleven are, and by mixing it up and playing the guys out of position he really won’t get a clue what their strengths are.
5.Team selection needs to be tougher. Sam can’t be afraid to drop big name players. It’s the only way the best 11 is ever gonna gel.
6.Habib Beye is starting to look the shit! I had my doubts because of his reluctance to join the toon and the fact he’s an older player whose experience of English football is limited but has been our saviour in the last couple of games.
7.Glad to see The Duke back
This season was always going to be difficult with the transition period for the new players but fans need to realise it’s a massive transition for Sam too. He IS making his job harder by picking dodgy selections but he’s finding his feet and trying to explore the players. And let’s be fair here, even Sir Bob wasn’t completely successful in his first two seasons and look where we ended up with him. Playing this badly and being 9th is a lot more refreshing than playing superbly and being 19th. We’re not gonna make Europe this season – did anyone really expect us to considering all the off-the-pitch malarkey in the last year or two? – but we can still get a reasonable league position and build a foundation for next season.
No team ever achieved anything by constantly sacking managers.
Cockney Magpie
Dec 23, 2007 at 9:57 PM
Comment #51Toon Barmy that looks good to me apart from id have king kev as manager and sir alan as asst.
u may think im jokin when i say this but im deadly serious…. Lets start a petition to get Kevin Keegan back in the hot seat. Maybe Ed can whip sumin up online and if we got thousands and thousands of people on there they would have to listen!!
BRING BACK KEEGAN!!!!
Toon Barmy
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:08 PM
Comment #52In any order for me the Geordie dream team!
Remember KK said you’ve got to give these fans what they want!
Gareth
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:26 PM
Comment #53Right, everyone needs to calm down and cheer the hell up. If anyone had watched today’s game not knowing where Derby were in the league or their previous form, and basing their judgement purely on today’s performances from both teams there wouldn’t be half so much vitriol and negativity flying around. Not that I’m saying it was good enough, it does need to improve, but it’s not as bad as most are making out. Derby were an absolute country mile better than when we played them away and we lost that one – and if it were the same performance from different opposition people’s perceptions would be more balanced.
Plus it definitely puts to rest the daft notion that Newcastle fans would rather be entertained than win, as that was undoubtedly hugely entertaining – but I reckon most Newcastle fans would still have been disgruntled even if Emre’s effort gone in at the death.
scott 9
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:29 PM
Comment #54Ed i agree with every single point u have made there play a 4 4 2 play smith up front or not at all i say not at all hes a decent lad but viduka is much better we could have closed the gap to 2 points today on top 6 but no we f*cked it up this should be opur team with the players available at the moment.
Given
baye taylor cacapa enrique
milner barton emre zog
oba duke
we should buy a rb or centre back in jan or both we should buy arshevin he is a must and we should sign diarra/gilberto i would happily take both but that will not happen if we gat these players then diaRRA/GILBERTO SHOULD REPLACE EMRE IN CENTRE MID OR BARTON BUT I THINK HE WILL FIND FORM ARSHEVIN AND DUFF SHOULD REPLACE MILNER ON THE WINGS AND OWEN IF HE KEEPS FULLY FIT SHOULD REPLACE OBA UP FRONT BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE MORE CLINICAL IN THE OPPOSITIONS PENALTY AREA .
if we play this team get these players have owen and duff fit for the rest of the season i think we could have a last gasp push for europe considering sam plays 4 4 2 and p[lays players in there correct positions.
scott 9
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:30 PM
Comment #55sorry my comment is so long but my computers crashed i i was dying to get that out i fell better now still distraught about the result though
stk
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:31 PM
Comment #56when all is said and done, drawing with derby at home, and especially after that performance is in itself a sackable offence, i dont give a hoot about five year plans, if sam buys in jan and we’re still serving up this dross, we’re stuck with players that the next manager would have to just get rid of.
sam, this is nufc, we love our club, this aint bolton, step up and realise you’re allowed to play football here, we’ve got the players, no one trick ponying!
stop playing players out of position, it confuses them, and makes me want to cry at having lost the excitement of watching mz team!
the players might not be to blame, sometimes if you’re a true leader, you take teh hit, it relieves the pressure and allows your men to concentrate on their jobs without fear of being constantly critisised.
if anyone say we as fans demand too much i say you havent got a clue, 50,000 plus loyal fans buying strips and other rip off nufc items all the way down to the confectionery, paying thru the nose, when we actually have some really class players, we demand something in return, like maybe to watch an actual game of football. its a required minimum!!!
stop bumming smith coz i dont care about his work ethic, if you cant produce the goods, you aint good enough, simple as.
finally, guys if you lose the ball at home, bloody run after it and dont even think about stopping until you have it back in your possesion! and when you do, make some space so the player in possession has options to pass to, coz players getting cornered by three opposition players at home, with no one helping out, something wrong. i saw something horrible, 3 players all ran into eachother out on the left wing and derby picked it up. last time that happened was under souness and we know how shit he was.
talk to the players, and if they dont understand you sam, maybe you need to change to fit around them, coz fitness and training alone aint gonna win you matches!
im so angry, upset and depressed that i actually dont even bat an eyelid when newcastle play anymore. if i do, its coz ive fallen asleep!
stk
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:44 PM
Comment #57if anyone covers up todays game with any good comments, they were watching a different game!
Cockney Magpie
Dec 23, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Comment #58iv jus had a horrible thought, he is tryin to turn Martins into Diouf!
jason masters
Dec 23, 2007 at 11:01 PM
Comment #59one garingly obvious thing you all seem to be forgetting, is that one of the best managers in the world is currently sitting around taking his kids to WWE shows?? or summat, Jose Mourinho maybe wouldn’t jump at the chance to join the toon, but i do think he needs to prove he can do it with a club that hasn’t got unlimited funds (chelsea) and he’s still more likely to come than KK
It may not bring the sexiest of football, but it would be organised and WINNING football, and he’d be able to bring BIG players, come on Mike Ashley break the bank if need be, cos it’d be the best investment ever for NUFC!
Lum
Dec 23, 2007 at 11:04 PM
Comment #60Joey Barton sums up SA’s approach to football lots of effort but no skill. Can’t see SA lasting much longer. We made a rubbish Derby team look good. It can get no worse than this.
Leo
Dec 23, 2007 at 11:19 PM
Comment #61big stevie bruce was at the game today, he was getting out his taxi just outside of the ground, shook the blokes hand, hes a real canny bloke.
Ross
Dec 23, 2007 at 11:44 PM
Comment #62get jose on the blower?
get my f***g nana on the blower, even she can give you the simplest attacking 4-4-2, every player playing in the RIGHT POSITION.
James
Dec 23, 2007 at 11:44 PM
Comment #63The biggest problem is unlike City, Villa, Everton, and everyone else above us, Sam didn’t buy one single player with pace or creativity. He bought Bolton style footballers to stifle the opposition. As we all know that will never bring success or popularity at SJP.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel, Mort and Ashley have never wanted him in charge. Hence why they won’t give him any proper money, because they know he’ll waste it on another Bolton style footballer.
We will have many more days like this under Sam. But I have a feeling he will still be given until the summer. 100% confident we will start next season with Ashley’s number one Manager choice from the outset…Shearer
Ausgeordie
Dec 24, 2007 at 12:41 AM
Comment #64Gives me the shits to see them play that way but the fans need to stick behind them. It cant help the players booing them and in the end we need to do whatever helps the team not what helps ease our frustration. Its a shame we have never seen the team we want to play go on the pitch. I think Sam owes us an explanation regarding enqrique as well. Why are we buying left backs right and left if the plan is to convert one of fastest and most creative midfielders into an attacking back…….How bout a defending back?? That might help our casue Sam
Dragoner
Dec 24, 2007 at 1:26 AM
Comment #65i know the tactics were bad, but what people fail to address is that if the tactics were the problem then we wouldnt have had as many chanes as we did, the fact of the matter is we wasted our chances and derby didnt. I just heard sam in the sky sports interview. i get the impression sam doesn’t like martins as he sees him as two wasteful. i can see him selling him in the summer. If he brings in a quality signing then i wont mind. WE NEED TO FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE TEAM, NOT ON LOYALTY TO CERTAIN PLAYERS
Tom_Toon
Dec 24, 2007 at 2:16 AM
Comment #66Exactly, fk off smith dont show loyalty, no talent. We didnt have a pleahora of clear chances like sam says, he recons we dominated, was he at the game!?!
Dragoner
Dec 24, 2007 at 2:22 AM
Comment #67was YOU watching, we had more possession, ball was mostly in their half, more corners, more shots on and off target, that is called comination my friend
Dragoner
Dec 24, 2007 at 2:23 AM
Comment #68‘domination’
wsq
Dec 24, 2007 at 2:57 AM
Comment #69Nevermind entertaining football, the football is not effective as promised!
That should be a good enough reason to scrap the 4-3-3.
I bet when owen is available he doesn’t play 4-3-3!
Why can managers be so stupid!
geordie_jordan
Dec 24, 2007 at 3:16 AM
Comment #70absolute tripe. what a shocker. i’m still aghast over this. 1 point from 6 against the worst team to grace the premier league in many a year….
goalcentre.com
Dec 24, 2007 at 5:55 AM
Comment #71Get the highlights:-
http://www.goalcentre.com/newcastle-united-vs-derby-highlights/
Daniel Petersen
Dec 24, 2007 at 6:57 AM
Comment #72I’ve been a stanch supporter of BSA this season, but this is a little too much to take. Playing Oba out on the wing was pointless, Barton was useless (how many times did they just run up behind him and just steal the ball). I just don’t get it. Also, was it just me or were Derby just barbaric out their? I’ve never seen so many rugby blocks and blatant fouls in a football match. I’m not making excuses for the toon, but WTF. It was good to see Damien back though.
azza jones
Dec 24, 2007 at 8:50 AM
Comment #73BRING BACK KEEGAN AND SHEARER AND MAYBE HAVE SIR BOBBY AT THE MATCHES AS A CONSULTANT OR DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL………………………
Pi55 Off Sam
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:08 AM
Comment #74People need to wake up Sam is useless and we are shite! He had a full pre-season, bought 9 of his own choice players and nothing!
Wise up people he’s a fat mackem bar steward
mark
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:18 AM
Comment #75I dont understand all the fans that say n’Zogbia is great…he is nothing special, he is just a nugget who runs and blasts the ball. Thats it.
Also, Duff should be left wing. Zog should not get a look it.
Yesterday we had 23 shots, tell me Ed, what is not attacking about that??? I dont actually recall us just hoofing the ball up either, Barton, Butt and Emre when he came on all had the ball and sprayed it around. Did you actually watch yesterday?
Frankieboy
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:21 AM
Comment #76Sam is NOT the man for this club. Am sure Mike Ashley has been taking note of the mood when he has stood on the terraces at some games. Just wonder who he would like to bring in cos can guarantee it has crossed his mind given the woeful displays this seaeson.
Slavan Bilic could be worth looking at
steve
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:30 AM
Comment #77Yes we are 4 points from 6th but we now have Wigan, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City coming up – we may get a point from Wigan (although even that’ll be tough) – can’t see us getting owt from other games.
We’ve had a what should have been our easiest run (although we tried our best to make hard work of it) we quite rightly should have expected to get a full quota of points – we’ll def start dropping down the table in Jan.
I’ve siad it all season but we look like relegation candidates and are in a totally false position in the league, scraping wins / draws against the bottom 3rd teams are simply not good enough, thats why we sacked Roeder, Souness et al.
Lets get the FFS era well and truely out of the toon and sack his last employee, he’s never going to fit in at newcastle playing bolton style football
Nick Dryden
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:37 AM
Comment #78It was crying for Smith to be taken off and get Emre on. What does Smith do apart from get yellow cards? No assists, no goals, just a total waste of a shirt, but a Fat Sam ”undroppable” favourite. Why is it that we can all see this and so many other obvious things, but the idiot who counts, on £3M a year, never has a plan B?
Pi55 Off Sam
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:42 AM
Comment #79Mark if you can’t see Zoggy’s raw talent you have shite in your eyes, and shite on your brain!
Steeley
Dec 24, 2007 at 9:51 AM
Comment #80Some cracking comments today (particularly from stk) – it was terrible, and those who say Sam needs time to build a squad (in the Keegan/Robson vein) are wrong – they were given so much time because they started out playing exciting football and carried on doing that until something bad happened (personal stress in Keegan sake, and a shit board in Robson’s sake). The fans would have given both men all the time in the world because we appreciated their style of play. When we lost, it was forgiven, because most of the time we played a good game, and the results either side of a loss were inevitably spirited performances where we went out to attack and got goals (and sometimes wins….especially at home; fortress St James’ bla bla bla).
Sam is different. Way different. He has come and played dire football and come up with some extraordinary tactical displays…and not in a good way. What the optimists who say “give Sam 5 years to settle in” obviously dont realise that in 5 years all we will be able to do is perfect the art of the long ball and going away from home for a 0-0 bore draw. Oh, and at home it’ll be exactly the same.
Derby were not there for a draw – it was a must win (bookies had them down at 20-1 to win 1-0 yesterday)….to almost lose was not even in the brains of th Derby players, and their fans are right in wanting to play us every week. I bet every team in the Prem watched that and now thinks “Right, when playing Newcastle, just chase down their midfield (who are scared to run forward with the ball) and they will inevitably backpass to defence (who also dont like to run foward with it), who will then pass to the goalie, who will then hoof it forward….hey bingo, we have the ball back).
I wont even get started on playing players in the wrong places (Martins, Zog, Milner), but I am more worried about what’s happened to Enrique!!
On a positive note, I thought Duff bossed the game when he came on – here’s to more of him (or Zog) in on the LW, Milner RW and 2 out and out strikers up front in a standard 4-4-2.
Come on the Toon – we need to be United regardless of the manager, but crikey, there’s not much more I can take of him if we keep playing like this.
Article SPOT ON by the way Ed!