Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce says his Newcastle side deserved at least a draw against a Stoke City side tonight, who were dominant in the second half of their FA Cup clash.
Sam Allardyce - pleased with dogged performance from his team
The first half belonged to Newcastle and they should have been ahead at the break with several chances they should have done better with. The best chance fell to England striker Michael Owen, who should have scored when clean through and only goalkeeper Simonsen to beat.
After the game Allardyce, who appeared tired out at the end of a thrilling game, told Sky Sports:
“I thought we controlled the game, the first half particularly.” “I am a little disappointed over 90 minutes but it’s a very, very good draw.â€
“We will see who we get and hopefully try to finish the job off.”
“Overall, it was a satisfying result and we look forward to the draw.”
And Allardyce had plenty of praise for his defenders, who all played their hearts out - as Sam added:
“They were tremendous. We spoke about the size and strength of the Stoke team, I thought we dealt with it well.â€
“We are short of numbers at the moment with African Nations (Cup) players going away and a few injuries.â€
It was a good game for Sam tonight, even though it wasn’t the win all Newcastle fans had craved. But the performance was a strong one and several new players shone during the game.
We thought Spaniard Jose Enrique looked good and solid, and why he hasn’t played more this season is beyond us. Charles N’Zogbia was again dangerous on the left wing, and we hope Sam keeps playing him there. And 17 year-old Kazenga Lua Lua looked more than useful when he made his very first senior appearance for the club.
Comments very welcome.
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94 responses so far ↓
1 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:20
NOB!
Scared to attack Stoke.
2 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:28
this guys wrong in the head, should be done for crimes to football at nufc
3 ObaFan2 // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:32
Already moaning about losing players to ANC lmao.
Also Roz was lost at times @ rb but Smudge looked lost the whole game !
4 yo // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:33
lol. nice picture of Allardyce…
5 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:34
sure we should be beating a team in championship but so should liverpool. it could have been a lot worse and even though we could have done without the extra game considering our current form i reckon we did pretty well. cheer up people
6 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:34
if our chairman and ashley were footballing men i can guarantee you sam would be out already
7 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:35
he wasnt scared to attack stoke.
he played the 4-4-2 we’ve been asking for, with zogs on the wing and enrique at lb, as everyone craved.
the only problem with the squad was butt and smith in the mid. should have swapped one of them for emre, because it didnt work at all. probably should have played taylor at rb aswell, roz looked sh!t scared at times.
he’s right to be proud of his defence, faye and taylor were top notch for 90 minutes.
it wasnt a good performance by any means, but promising signs were shown in the first half by some of the lads, zogs quality as per.
get them to sjp and finish the job.
8 James // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:36
Can anyone name me a game under Sam where a player didn’t play out of position? I’m getting sick of seeing the line up and screaming at the TV. Square pegs in round holes gets you nowhere.
Smith in the creative midfield slot (no pace or creativity since he was born).
Duff best left winger we have - on the right wing
Rozenhal at right back
Manure are going to turn us over at the weekend
9 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:36
hard working,descent good people pay good money to follow the toon everywhere they go, and to see the likes of smith wonder round the pitch like a headless chicken and a cm pairing that even my 8 yr old cousin knows wont work.
10 Edd Case // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:40
Sam - Newcastle Defense Tremendous - No, try ‘lucky’.
I’ve just got home and skipped through the recorded match, looked painfully similar to every other game this season…
Rozy at right back? What’s that all about?
Smith back in the starting 11 then? Funny, I didn’t realise both he and Butt were better than Emre / Faye combination.
Butt’s passing, shooting and tackling looked shocking tonight…sigh…sam old, same old.
Sam is a peanut.
11 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:51
allardyce is missing something. the defense was good but it was against the mighty stoke.
12 Jon // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:51
Yeah we were very very lucky tonight. I’m afraid Ashley and Mort don’t know a thing about football.
For them NUFC is business not football.
13 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:53
i dont understand why butt keeps havin a pop cuz he cant shout he’s a ball winner but to be fair in the starting 11 thers nobody (apart from the wingers) who can bag from outside the area. viduka cant run 6yrds, its jst not how owen plays only emre can who was sub.so he’s most proberly on his way which is sad. buy diego……
14 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:55
face it we miss dyer swap him for butt tonight we win 3-0
15 Nobby's dad // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:55
Tom Toon ….Ashley must have no interest in football ….he only invested about 150 million in our club ……obviously not a football man. Why don’t you engage your brain before you type??
16 Robert(From Serbia) // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:57
jesus,i dont want to read this blog any more…do u cheer for Sunderland ???man,i dont know what you expect from Newcastle this seasson…why dont you look on the bright side ! we were solid against Stoke! look at the BlackBurn,Everton and Birmingham ! they should be unhappy !!! anyway,Newcastle will win on the SJP,and im out of here,bye-bye
17 Dragoner // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:01
Centre of the park was awful and is the reason we cannot create anything apart from on the wings. Best passes came from Zoggy. Butt and Smith in the middle is just pathetic and it makes us so predictable. Opposition simply double up on Zog and Duff cos they know Smith and Butt are useless. Speaking of which, where the hell was Smith today??? he needs to get benched. Butt wasted about 30 passes again as usual. Rozenhal looked awful at rb. And overall good defensive performance but we weren’t up against much were we? The so called “great championship striker” Ricardo fuller is utter shite and couldn’t even join Derby.
18 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:01
doesnt mean just cos he invested money in the club he is a football man. he is a business man you clown like our most of are players in it for the money. if he was a football man why did he not support a team before buying us
19 Nobby's dad // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:01
Robert …get used to some of the stuff on this blog. I think many are Mackams who come on to stir the sh*t, cos they are not Toon fans. Most are whinging glory hunters who haven’t a clue about football
20 Dragoner // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:03
Lua Lua and Carroll both looked bright and enthusiastic. Lua Lua could be our answer to our right problems if we train him up right. Oh well, back to SJP. I hope it aint another repeat of last years FA Cup return to SJP.
21 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:03
nobbys dad are you just happy to sit back and settle for second best just like most the team
22 Leo // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:03
no injuries is a positive… oh and we didnt loose. theres being a toon supporter of late…
23 Leo // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:04
yeah and lua lua and carroll looked good.
24 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:08
nobbys dad and robert. i think u 2 have both lost your ways five yrs ago our team was feared by everyone even across europe do u rember when we beat juve 1-0 we wher part of europes elite our quility on paper hasn’t changed u could argue its better!owen and given world class talent taylor milner zog we keep under-achieving and we’re starting to get used to it we’re suprised when we win.and now we’re supposed to be happy with a draw to stoke in a league that watford lead!
25 Hammy // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:12
Say what you like about Allardyce but you’ve got to admit he has skin like a rhino……laughing and waving at the crowd, either that or he’s on prozac. The guy has been under tremendous pressure and most lesser folks would have walked or topped themselves by now.
Anyway like him or not you’ve got to admire him for that imo.
In the conditions and how we’ve played lately I’d have settled for 0-0, hopefully they’ll slash admission prices for the replay and fill St James.
Faye will be a big miss when he travels to the ANC.
26 Hammy // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:14
ROBERT DON’T DO ANYTHING RASH!!!
it’s only a game….
27 Nobby's dad // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:17
John - I don’t sit back, I go to the games - OK wasn’t there today but I’m a long time season ticket holder and first went to SJP in the late 60’s - so I ‘ve seen them come and I’ve seen them go.
Ashley may be a businessman but he decided to invest in a football club (he didn’t have to and could have put his money somewhere else). To suggest, like Tom Toon does ,that because Ashley hasn’t sacked Allardyce he knows nothing about football is plainly ridiculous. Maybe he thought that it doesn’t make sense to change the manager every five minutes and what the club needs is stability. If Ashley is in our club to make money then the club will have to be successful for him to do that - so we all win.
I may not be happy with the football but if Ashley and Mort are prepared to give Allardyce him time then I am - 40 + years a supporter., I’m no glory hunting Manc or Chelski fan. Toon till I die whatever the football….it’s in my blood and I support all who wear the Black and White because that’s what we are SUPPORTERS!!
28 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:18
emre never plays away from home cos he is like solano never used to perform away from home
29 Frustrated Santa // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:19
Players out of ther intended and best position, all over, game after game.. This club has becomone an embarrasment, loosing at home 0-2 to City, and 0-3 to Liverpool, and not able to finish of Stoke.!!?? Patience yes.. but hello? If a team of the size of Newcastle can not win their home games instead of loosing by several goals, and not finish of Stoke, something is seriously wrong..
30 Zx // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:23
Haha, wonderful defense Sam. Do you need 3-5 years to create a team that can beat Stoke?
If we can’t beat Stoke, how can we even start dreaming of becoming a top side? We got Man Utd next week, let’s see what excuse you can churn up again.
I’m getting used to us not winning games already. Can’t believe St.James is actually filled for every games. I won’t pay money to watch this kinda football that’s for sure.
31 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:24
I really think CM and MA are already looking for a replacement.
Lualua to play as our creativity in the centre or right wing for Milner.
32 Toon Andy // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:27
I don’t know what the fuss is about. I though this was NUFC’s best performance in a damned long time.
Big Sam’s team selection was, for a change, spot on. Smith and Butt in the middle was exactly what we needed in this game and those thinking that Rozenhal had bad game pay too much attention to BBC commentators (God knows why - they can barely pronounce the lad’s name!). Enrique, as has been mentioned, looked great and with N’Zogbia much happier on the wing this must surely be the way forward, especially with the club short on full backs with the ANC coming up.
We had our least favourite ref, Steve Bennett, today. I don’t know if you lads have noticed, but this lad hates the teams from the Northeast and he, unsurprisingly, gave everything against us. All those little decisions add up and stopped us having a big impact on the game.
This performance gave me lots of optimism for the replay and the season ahead. We have difficult games coming up, but if fans and players stick together as we did in this game then we can produce results.
I really hope this game is a sign of things to come: with the media, the country and the officials against us, we still produced a performance and our defence had to be flawless in the face of such pressure. Long may this type of performance continue…
33 Nobby's dad // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:28
Spen….football has changed in the 5/6 years since Griffen scored that goal against Juve. Man Utd / Chelsea and Liverpool have spent muli millions since then - what funds we spent were mostly wasted by Bobby and Souness (loved SBR but he did WASTE millions) Hated Souness and he wasted millions. Look at Chelsea this Jan - need a defender as cover - spend 10 million. Need a striker as cover 13 million on Anelka.
To move forwards we need cash and stability…..say what you like but BSA record in the transfer market at Bolton was very good (given he had next to no cash). I’d argue his signings at the Toon aren’t that bad (given the money spent) plus we’ve got rid of some dross. I’m not happy believe me ………..but there has to come a time at our club when we decide not to sack managers after 6 - 12 months and actually stick with one.
34 Robert(From Serbia) // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:29
Spen…yeah right,every body feard the mighty Newcastle with terrible defence…Bramble,Bernard,Griffin,Hughes,O’Brien…LOL
well,i wil tell you that PARTISAN BELGRADE didnt feard of Newcastle….am i right? i was on that game,and with the NUFC fans,here in Serbia.We wont be a good team if we dont agree…we need stability in our beloved club,and sacking managers and changing them like socks,wont help…N’Zogbia or Martins,or some one else,will get tired of seeing more,and more managers and will want to go away…wait dude,we played 20 games,and you already judge Sam Allardyce,who is working hard for Toon…he is the man,and i would luv it if he stays here for 2-3 sesons,and then we will see what will happen…
35 Marc Kobrin // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:30
how the hell can he praise the defence when stoke should of scored 3 or 4 times in the 2nd half - the on the line block and the fluffed shot at given etc
36 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:31
i like the look of lualua another zog i hope our youth as ever looks bright but the youth we used to have did jenas gone dyer gone viana gone fair enough jenas is a p*ick and im glad he’s doing pap at spurs and not in england frame but carrol should have come on at the hour mark viduka cant run!
37 steve chrome // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:34
why don’t people get the facts straight before critisicing the line up. christ all mighty. Beye had a tight hamstring, emre anke, milner sick. do you reckon sam should just play nine people rather than butt and smith. FFS get a grip and stop critiscing.
38 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:36
he could’ve played edgar, lualua there or moved faye in and played capaca in defence.
39 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:36
robert- with tht terrible defence we finished 3rd not a lucky 3rd 8 losses 3 draws and 27 wins 27! i dont think we should sack sam i just dont want another bolton long ball counter attack
40 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:38
doesnt mean cos your 40 year supporter you are a good supporter. allardyce is saying the same things as roeder and souness. he said when he joined he had a great squad of players to work with when things started going wrong he said he needs to put his stamp on the club. always moaning about the amount of injuries when he has signed players with bad injury records. he has already said he doesnt trust his players so what kind of message does that send out. and has said his signings were 2nd and 3rd choice
41 ToonKing // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:40
i was just about to write that Steve Chrome.
people should really get their facts straight before moaning about sam.
Anyways i really liked the look of Lua Lua but i dunno about Caroll…..i think he and Joey will be cell mates one day………
42 Dirk // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:42
considerin sum ppl here are sayin we were crap i didn think we were awful, we played very good attacking football in the first half and should hav scored, second half taylor showed wa sort of defender he is. tbh i thought butt, viduka, taylor and duff were brilliant 2day all tried hard and played well. i reckon zog should start in the team as creative midfielder down the middle wiv duff n milner on the wings n then faye as holdin midfielder.
43 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:43
3 to 5 year job what a joke. just look at man city what a good owner, good manager, good players can do. and man city had more debt worse team
44 ToonKing // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:46
Dirk i agree………..except Viduka and Butt ……..they were utter shite
. We need Ashton.
45 steve chrome // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:46
i think sven’s got lucky. but he hasn’t built a team that will last. i can’t see man city having the same success next season with the same players. Sven’s a typical european coach - won’t be there beyond 3 years i reckon
46 daiv // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:48
The defence and attack is not the problem. No invention in midfield. Butt and Smith have no movement. Smith is an embarrassment. He is the CAPTAIN. Can you believe it? I’ve written loads about him in previous weeks. Come on Sam, we’ve got two old/slow men in midfield who could not get into Arsenal reserves. get real. Our weakness is central midfield./ Emre is also too slow and lightweight. He goes down every time he is touched and Barton is too slow… and history.
47 Hammy // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:49
ToonKing, yeah Carroll looks like he’s on day release from Acklington…..
48 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:49
lualua, 17 to be fair he should be playing in the prem in our squad if big sam wont play emre.
49 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:50
viduka will always be shit as long as they keep kickin high balls up at him. he will create chances all game if they pass the ball into feet when hes backin in
50 Nobby's dad // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:51
Oh John I actually think that if you have supported a team for 40 + years that you ARE a good supporter - I’ve put a small fortune into the club, my money and my emotions.
I don’t remember Allardyce saying this was the best squad of players he’s ever had (that was definately Souness). I also don’t remember him mentioning injuries (that was Souness and Roeder).Who’s he signed with ‘bad’ injury records out of the nine he’s brought in (yes Viduka’s record is not great but he was free)? Our most injury prone players are Owen / Baba - kicked out / Dyer - sold and then probably Emre. None are BSA signings.
Don’t you think it’s true that he didn’t get his first choice players. Remember the summer when Ashley was stalling on giving any money. He obviously missed players he was after….why shouldn’t he say that? The bloke has every right to be annoyed - the players have shown in certain games what they can do but are too often found wanting. It’s not all Sam’s fault - the player have to take some responsibility.
51 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:51
ashton ffs mola ameobi is better then ashton we need a world class centre back who can lead also diego. we dnt need a striker just the service
52 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:53
ashton ……. to sit on the treatment table all year he is also over weight just like carr enrique and fat head allardyce
53 Hammy // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:55
The Toon was on a hiding to nothing today…..
expected to win but probably most the country and some fans hoping for a reversal…as the Big Sam media driven guillotine rumbled on….
TBH it now looks like Sam is going nowhere….
you never know we may win a few games…
playing attacking football (yeah I know…)
Thought Sir Bobby looked a bit shabby today, hope he’s o.k…..
54 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:55
the talk of diego is pretty ridiculous.
him and frings are the base of the werder bremen attack, he’s brilliant.
anyway, i doubt ashley would give sam the money he’d set us back.
if we’re gonna take a pop at signing him, try van der vaart whilst we’re there.
55 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:57
if you havent heard allardyce goin on about injurys you need your ears tested and when he was at his first press conferenc he said he was working with a lot better quality players
56 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:59
ROSS- its not ridiculous becuase we’l pay a stupid wage with diego our 4wards will get the service through the middle not the wings, which if owen stays fit(fingers crossed) would relish
57 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:00
van der vaart would probably cost more than diego
58 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:01
and diego is better
59 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:03
we couldnt get either, be realistic.
Dudu, Kahlenberg and Arshavin are the best and most feasable options for a club like us.
60 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:04
Spen-i agree, it wasnt his style or contribution to the team he would make i was calling ridiculous.
it was the idea of the toon signing him. can you really see allardyce
1) looking to sign a player like diego
2)being given the money to do so?
he’d be an unbeleivable addition to the squad, i just couldnt ever realistically see it being a possibility, sadly.
61 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:04
an attacking cm
a big powerful striker
a centre back/ right back
a right midfielder
theyre the positions i think we need to be looking at and i agree with sam that they should preferably have premiership experience.
62 ToonKing // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:05
when’s the replay by the way ???? the date is
determined even before the first game is played so anybody know ???
63 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:06
so far we have no idea what kind of funding we are getting from ashley, so id like to be optimistic and think its not as restricted as some people seem to think.
64 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:09
true, we have no idea.
but if ashley was giving sam a bundle of cash, surely we’d have seen some sort of indication by now?
man c looking to take martins from us, looking at afonso alves for 14 million, thats an indication of cash.
so far we’ve been realistically linked with wes brown, and now apparently kevin nolan?
65 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:11
why does allardyce goin on as though the fans want to much. all we want is the team to play decent football, 100 pct effort and if we lose the manager and players to come out and say how bad we really were instead of filling us with complete allashite
66 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:11
dont get me wrong
i’d love to think sam has good money to spend and that we’d be able to bring in some real quality to the squad
i just dont see any indication of a desire to do so thus far.
67 Mac // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:12
It’s the FA cup things don’t go as they should that why 4 Prem teams fell at the first hurdle that’s why Chelski were lucky and i mean very lucky to scrape through 1-0 liverpool 1-1 draw,are all their web sites full of supposed fans asking for their managers head????? I doubt it very much. NOBBYS DAD i agree with everything u say i am 29 so somewhat younger that you but i have been a season ticket holder for 13 years
68 Magjp // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:14
haven’t seen the game meself, but this is what I gather. We seem to perform well and lose games (Against Man City, Chelsea) or we we perform crazily and draw games (Derby, Stoke etc)
I would rather play Faye in the middle and Cacapa as the central defender. Then Smith or Butt can be the attacking mid.
69 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:15
im not sure ross but id like to think the reason behind this is that we arent as open in our transfers as they seem to be (that or its all just paper talk),
as well as the fact that everyone is very aware about us spending huge money in the past on players that simply have not performed for one reason or another. maybe eriksson has just been lucky so far, or maybe we have just been reliably bad in the past.
70 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:16
ahaha smith or butt attacking mid, that is complete comedy, its a sick joke, neither can pass for sht.
71 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:16
magjp have you forgotten how bad we played against liverpool and pompey smith, butt att mid .hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
72 spen // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:18
with a billionaire at the helm we’ve got to have money to spend i think ashley is a fan he’s ther with his smudge top on wes brownpants should be a good signing but so should bramble n roz(roz might might come good) its just a shame to me linked with albalda n deco in summer and now nolan? who? why buy beneath the talant we have
73 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:39
thats how i feel spen.
if sam makes cheap good quality signings i’d be more than happy.
im not looking for us to break the bank with every player we try and lure to sjp, i just want a bit of quality and consistency.
i just cant see the need for us to buy players who compared even to the squad we have now, are a step backwards as far as ambition goes.
i think in this case, we genuinly do need to get the chequebook out a bit and look for one or two class players, who will make a noticeable attacking difference for us every time they step out in the black n white.
74 JP from The Rock of Gibraltar // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:43
Man all you guys just need to lighten up! OK so we didn’t win against Stoke nor did we lose, not bad considering the amount of shots they had. We didn’t play bad considering our season and we played with balls and heart! Apart from Rozy having a nightmare in RB and Smith running around in circles we did very well. I think Emre was injured thats why he wasn’t next to Butt in midfield. Sam is slowly realizing what players play best where and in what system. He has now adopted a 4-4-2 formation in a couple of matches. Just imagine all the hassle if we would go for another manager now. We would have to start all over again..and wait even longer for the new manager to know the players and what their qualities are. It’s stupid to even think it, Sam has only been here 7 months or so including the Transfer market. To his credit his players are starting to gel and Beye, Cacapa, Faye and from what I saw of Enrique tonight we have quality defenders. We need to give Big Sam time guys, after all we gave Souness more than a year!!
75 thelongshanks // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:45
The defense would want to be good,there were 11 of them out there!no attacking mids zogbia was man marked and when he got the ball there were 2 on him.Smith and butt were rubbish,and butt couldnt finish his dinner as he put every effort over the bar.
I am not waiting four years to be gettin a 7th or 6th finishing place like he did at bolton.Im serious he is bringing the toon to the same level bolton where at so he can do what he did there. 4-4-2 attack its what we expect against lower teams.why the f8*k would we want to contain yeovil which is what he would do if we where playing them.
What i have seen this season is consistancecy.consistance rubbish that is.
76 UTD111 // Jan 6, 2008 at 23:51
Dominated the first half. 59% posession overall for the whole game. Faye and Taylor were superb. Pity Milner was sick as we lost our balance a bit because of that. Enrique was fine at LB. Well done Sam.
77 john // Jan 7, 2008 at 0:07
doesnt matter how much possesion. the fact is we couldnt score agianst an average championship side see where stoke finish at the end of the season a bet there not in the top 10 same as us
78 Dragoner // Jan 7, 2008 at 0:13
i wanna see more lua lua, get rid of smith in midfield as he is no leader, i didnt even see him today. We need players who can pass a ball. Butt is a veteran of pro football yet he cant pass a ball. what a joke he is.
79 ravatooniac // Jan 7, 2008 at 0:28
yeah yeah we could not score against stoke but the big bonus tonight was that under all the pressure they put on us our defence was fantastic, lets build with taylor/ faye when he returns/enrique/ beye when he returns, we also not gonna score many goals with smith/butt in midle of midfield as there’s little creativity and not enough work rate from viduka/owen up front, tell duff that if he put as much running in as he does moaning then he’s bound to improve his game, zog and milner playing well, young lua looked neat too, midle midfielder a must in transfer window!!!
80 Ed Harrison // Jan 7, 2008 at 0:36
Edd Case - we were lucky - how Newcastle didn’t concede twice in the second half - still don’t know. But we also played well at the back except for that crazy 10 minute period when we looked all at sea.
Hey - you’ve got to pick as many positives as you can out of games. I think the chances we missed cost us a win tonight.
81 Chris // Jan 7, 2008 at 0:44
This was the banana skin that the whole media wanted us to lose and we haven’t. What is odd is that Sam is under the same pressure as Benitez, however Benitez has spent millions this season and has had years to improve as he took over a club who finished 4th compared to Allardyce who has been here for a few month and we’ve been sh*t since Souness.
82 Jon // Jan 7, 2008 at 0:58
ToonKing!! Sams football is ugly. I don’t care about about winning or not winning. I just don’t like his way of playing football! Go home Sam!
83 Magjp // Jan 7, 2008 at 1:08
I agree that Smith is no midfielder. Have been saying that for quite sometime. But seeing that BS-Ala-dice will NEVER drop Smith when he is fit, then we better play him in some sort of attacking role.
In my opinion the very best team we can put forward (when available) is ;
Given
Beye, Taylor,Cacapa,Enrique
Milner, Faye,EMRE,Nzogbia
Martins,Owen/Viduka
For the next few weeks when the African players are away, I had go with the following, depending on the opposition
Given
Taylor,Roz,Cacapa,Enrique
Milner, Butt,Emre, Nzogbia
Smith,Owen
An experimental team, seeing that Nzogbia can run with the ball, I had play him in the middle
Given
Taylor,Roz,Cacapa,Enrique
Milner,Butt,Nzogbia,Duff
Viduka,Owen
As you can see, Smith will be on the bench, or playing as a forward.
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, this is all fantasy football coz BS will never play those line ups…
Lets just hope and pray….
84 iain // Jan 7, 2008 at 1:31
also where was troisi last night ???
he looked good in pre season.
442
given
edgar taylor cacapa/roz enrique
duff butt faye zog
smith/owen/viduka
away from home with no passing cm, a winger on wrong wing seems pointless playing viduka imo, also he wont close down the opo back four like you need away from home. and the lack of crosses will affect his number of headed chances. his link up play is ok but wasted with no cm going beyond him.
or 433
given
edgar taylor cacapa or roz or faye enrique
butt & smith or faye or roz or cacapa/ & zog
smith viduka duff
cacapa/roz cant be any worse than smith in mf imo, at least they have good technique and stay on there feet.
85 Adam B // Jan 7, 2008 at 2:20
pleased for Enrique today.
86 Aussie geordie // Jan 7, 2008 at 2:44
Will someone tell Butt that whislt we appreciate him getting the ball occassionally what he then needs to do is pass it to someone with skills in distribution. They say it’s a sad inditment on the strikers when a midfielder has most shots on goal but thats cause the cockhead kept shooting every chance he got instead of laying it off to a ’striker’.
Although Smith as a striker c0uld confuse things as he does not seem to have anything to do in the team let alone taking a shot at goal….His team mates dont ever pass the ball to him….. has anyone else noticed??
87 Tom Cairns // Jan 7, 2008 at 3:00
what did people think of zog tonight, i know that both wide men were pretty much double marked everytime they got the ball so it wasnt the best time to judge but to be honest i was a bit dissapointed with him tonight and much more impressed with duff. i havent seen him play for a while though so maybe zog was just having an off day.
88 Chris F // Jan 7, 2008 at 3:17
troisi is in holland having a trial with roda jc ahead of a potential loan move.
89 Graeme // Jan 7, 2008 at 8:34
From lastnights performance several things are obvious. Rozy is NOT a right back, he looked totaly uncomfortable all night. Butt and Smith in midfield is a travesty. Smith is a Striker (so rumour has it!) and if he isnt good enough to play there, get rid.
We desperately need some attacking influence in midfield and should look to buy someone like Areshavin or Baptista. This would give some creative drive in midfield.
We need a better target man than the Duke - he played well for the first hour, by which time he was knackered. If liverpool will part with Crouch, we could do a lot worse bringing him to SJP.
90 James // Jan 7, 2008 at 8:48
They needed to be tremendous because the midfield were shocking and allowed Stoke so much possession and shots on goal. Butt and Smith were hopeless. I bet Sir Alex was laughing his ass off that he sold them to us.
For those above that believe Sam will buy an attacking creative pacy player - forget it. Unless they are touching 30 and have PL experience he is not interested.
What is wrong with Newcastle at the moment is that Sam continues to buy the wrong type of player. So we end up with so many with no legs.
Paying over £6 million for Smith is a waste of time unless he is used as a squad player for upfront.
91 Hammy // Jan 7, 2008 at 9:49
Maybe Mike Ashley has told Sam to play Smith regardless, let’s face it if it was your club you might be tempted to pick the team.
92 nightfall // Jan 7, 2008 at 10:09
it’s sad but sth’s wrong with sam… he’s been testing smith as a midfielder for 7 months now and the only time we played well was when he was not on the pitch or used as a striker… but sam’s keep playing him in midfield… i mean…WTF?! i don’t get it… i’m trying to understand him, but i can’t…i don’t see any logic in that… but if sam wants to play 442 with 2 DMC, our line up should be:
Given
Beye Cacapa Taylor Enrique
Milner Faye N’zogbia Duff
Martins Smith/Viduka/Ashton(if we really are after him)
i think we should sell carr, shola, owen, geremi, smith?,… perhaps a swap: ashton-owen or ashton-smith…
(…that’s if we stick to sam’s plan/style!!!)
93 Andy C // Jan 7, 2008 at 11:09
Ed I love your eternal optimism and ability to see the positives in all things NUFC!
94 stk // Jan 7, 2008 at 16:09
im getting bored now and have lost all enjoyment watching nufc, sad fact.
smith was clueless, why the bloody hell was he playing deeper than butt?!?
i give up. this bafoon we have in charge better sort things out coz we should be anhiliating teams like stoke, not defending then… “oh draw away from home lads, well done”
what a loads of balls!
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