Newcastle United looked a very good team in the first half this afternoon, showing lots of confidence going forward. With some luck the Magpies could have been ahead at half time, but it was not to be.
Claudio Cacapa – had best game of the season this afternoon
Arsenal came back into the game in the second half and started to take control of the game and with two late goals it was a comfortable win in the end 3-0.
Kevin Keegan told Sky Sports after the game:
“In the first half we actually matched them and probably outplayed them,” “The challenge was to put 45 minutes on top of that. But we couldn’t do that today.â€
“We were not scared to play them. It is a shame we did not get a reward for that. There is a lot of quality at this club.â€Â “In the second half there were some things that were not good enough.â€
“The biggest thing that is missing is confidence. It is the one thing that makes a player find that extra step.â€
“We have got to get the players thinking a little bit differently because I am different to [former Newcastle boss] Sam [Allardyce].”
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager also thought Newcastle were very good in the first half as he told Sky Sports:
“Newcastle started very brightly and created some chances. It took us some time to take control of the game,” “We did that slowly in the first half and completely in the second – that is why we scored the goals.â€
“It was not easy at all. Kevin brought them here with drive going forward and belief in what they do. They were dangerous.â€
“We have learned you need to be top class to beat Newcastle at the moment.â€
“I like the fact that he (Adebayor) grows from season to season. You always want your players to improve.”
Some good words from Wenger there, but from a Newcastle viewpoint, while the performance was much improved this afternoon, it was another loss.
In our last 8 games we’ve now lost 5, drawn 2 and won one. That win was against Stoke City 4-1 and we have scored only 5 goals and conceded 15 in that time. In 6 of our last 8 games we have failed to score.
But looking on the bright side – which is all we can do right now – the only way is up – and while we have another tough game at Arsenal on Tuesday night, we are at home to Middlesbrough next Sunday afternoon.
That’s the game when we can start turning things around this season. 😀
Comments welcome.
29 comments so far
Stamford Toon
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:11 PM
Comment #1I think Cacapa will come good and do great things for us in the future. The critics have given him time to adjust to the prem and the boo boys will not have helped his confidence.
scotty
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:13 PM
Comment #2Ed – i think your confused between class and luck.
Benn..Geordie Down South
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:14 PM
Comment #3Was At The Game Todaay.. Was Awesoome..
Every Player Played Well..
Defence Were Good and 3-0 scoreline was harsh..
Owen Didnt Look Comfortable At all though ..
Kazenga LuaLua looks like a footballer with lots of potential .. hope keegan can get the best out of him..
Duff was Quality..!!
xxx
scotty
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:15 PM
Comment #4where you from Stamford Toon?
Benn..Geordie Down South
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:16 PM
Comment #5Ohh and got me photo taken with ashleey.. Hes a ledge.. He Was asked about woodgate and we put a better package together for middlesborough and him but then he shut up after that..
xx
keegan
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:21 PM
Comment #6ITS NICE TO HEAR A MANAGER SPEAK HONESTLY ABOUT A PERFORMANCE IMAGINE WHAT ALLARDYCE WOULD HAVE SAID
Leo*
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:27 PM
Comment #7rozehnal will come good i think, cacapa i believe is more of a stop gap until faye is back as our full time center back along side taylor because it doesnt look like we will get woodgate
anyone wants to make alot of money bet on sam alardyce being the next manager of the REPBULIC OF IRELAND 50-1 on boylesports and ive been told by a good source that it will happen. they are apparntly sorting out contracts for him… put a 5a on it if ur interested.
graham
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:29 PM
Comment #8I thought we played well in the first half but really only created half chances. We have little imagination in midfield which leads to the ball being given away on the final ball which leads to the defence being under undue pressure hence the goals being conceded.
We desperately need our midfield to keep the ball and create better chances for owen and co. I’m sure that given time keegan will sort this so no need to panic or become restless.
keegan
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:32 PM
Comment #9what a sponser BOYLESPORTS bet you mcshane has a few boyles
Benn..Geordie Down South
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:33 PM
Comment #10ahahahahaah jokes..
Benn..Geordie Down South
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:34 PM
Comment #11ahahah jokes..x
tippo
Jan 26, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Comment #12I think that if Newcastle had repeated that first half performance in the second half, it could have been a different result.
Lets home for a better result in the league in midweek.
scottish mag
Jan 26, 2008 at 9:05 PM
Comment #13cacapa has been performing really well lately
i think he had one bad game, wen he was injured, and every1 jumped on him straight away it wasnt fair on him
he has proven he is a solid cb, captain of lyon and five league titles
cloudstrife
Jan 26, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Comment #14thing is… when we play well we’ll still lose to a lot of teams in the league. we need to improve the quality, i have no doubt KK will achieve that. look at Cacapa. he’s become a football player again!
James Oliver
Jan 26, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Comment #15Why does people keep asuming that Taylor will be the man playing beside Woodgate or Faye? Taylor is not as good as either Capaca or Faye. I think Rozenhal is better then Taylor. Today he cost at least one goal and gave away some major chances.
Capaca was captain of a team that won 5 championships in a row!
GrantosUK
Jan 26, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Comment #16I was going to give match of the day a miss tonight after the 3-0, even though for the first time in a while I was’nt down hearted at the defeat. I know KK needs time but after reading this article I am intrigued to see how well we played in the first half now.
I don’t post often but was at the Bolton game and was definetly impressed by the difference in play even with the draw.
If we can apparantly play so well against arsenal, who, lets be honest, want to be the entertainers re-born 😉 then the only is up
Hail KK
😉
Tripp
Jan 26, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Comment #17Graham, it just a shame that we’ve played Derby and Wigan twice already. At least we’ll have arsenal out of the way on tuesday. We still have some how games against teams we really should beat… reading, fulham, boro, mackems… that’s 12 points we REALLY need. We have some tough away games… toffees, spurs (as much as I hate to admit it), liverpool, hammers. Those games will test our mettle. We don’t have a best schedule going forward, but it’ll certainly give us an idea of where we’re headed at the end.
I hope we can get a good mid-field player in during the window. And of course geting beye, faye, and martins back will be a big help. Emre has 2 more games to sit out, right?
ToonKing
Jan 26, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Comment #18as far as i know he only has more game to miss. He got a 3 match ban, he sat out Bolton and today so 1 more to go!!
I HATE THE YIDD
Jan 26, 2008 at 11:18 PM
Comment #19steven taylor is overated hes making mistakes every game and costing us points
I HATE THE YIDD
Jan 26, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Comment #20milner was shocking at arsenal i know he has’nt got any experience but i would give lua lua a go he could’nt do any worse than milner has been recently
TrungHieu
Jan 27, 2008 at 3:02 AM
Comment #21come on magpies ! We can beat Arsenal on Tuesday.
Toon_Under
Jan 27, 2008 at 3:23 AM
Comment #22First half was brilliant, but we were always going to struggle in the second half especially with Adebeyor getting more involved in the game. Why is it we can’t find players like him? For me, him getting more involved in the 2nd half was the difference..
Must say that I was very impressed with Steven Carr’s efforts, and Cacapa had a solid game too. You can’t question the kids commitment, but for mine James Milner either needs a spell away from the team to refocus, or he has shown us all his tricks and he’s just not up to scratch. When Lua Lua came on I was a bit disappointed to see Duff come off because I thought Milner was the one not contributing much. Maybe give Kazenga a start next game and have James on the bench and see if things improve??
KKN39
Jan 27, 2008 at 3:56 AM
Comment #23give Milner a break – even tho he’s not a star for us (i dont think he’ll be anyway) he’s useful and versatile backup anywhere across the midfield. no matter what get Arshavin – this lad may not be world class but is available at reasonable price, able to at least firm up our midfield and more importantly, he wants to join us and can certainly adapt to weather and life in NE! DM is top top top priority. throw Butt into the bin. play Rozehnal there n get whoever can play like a half-decent footballer there and is available ATM. if we can’t get Elmander or Pandev now, leave it until summer. wait for Martins and give Carroll or even Ngo Baheng a chance. Zog is definitely part of our future and hey, the lad is just 21 but has played almost every single game we hv so far this season. give him a break n some +ve guidance.
evildick
Jan 27, 2008 at 5:20 AM
Comment #24GrantosUK – you should watch the full match if you can get your hands on it. i watched it live on ESPN here in Australia.
There were alot of positives to take from the first half, we actually played some football! The first half was even better than the Arsenal game at St. James.
If we can play that well after 2 games with Keegan back then we will be back challenging for top 7 next season.
Faroe Geordie
Jan 27, 2008 at 9:17 AM
Comment #25Steven Taylor is overrated and is at best a substitute. Rozenhal is not a player. Butt a disgrace and Smith showed yesterday that if he is to be used at all, it is up front. Keegan has to do a major overhaul of the squad starting from the back.
A geordiedoonsooth
Jan 27, 2008 at 9:54 AM
Comment #26I think some of the people who come on here know jack sh*t about football. Taylor is a future England centre half and possibly captain. When Tony Adams was a 22 year old he made loads of mistakes & oppossing fans used to make donkey noise when he played. He turned out to be one of the best centre halfs England have had, Taylor is similar to Adams in many ways. As for Milner he is a class act he lacks a bit of pace but is a tricky 2 footed player. Players like Taylor & Milner along with N’Zogbia & Lua Lua are the future backbone of the team. Disappointed about Woodgate but I am sure KK will get us great players, playing great football can’t wait for next season.
Orangina
Jan 27, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Comment #27Leeds fan in peace! Much improved performance and as a lifelong supporter of Smudger I was pleased to see him upfront and getting a half chance or two, he was maybe a bit unlucky that Clichy just got to his effort in the first half…it’ll happen for him if Keegan perserveres at least you know with Smudge you’ve got a player who won’t give up fighting for the cause.
If any of you see Smudger at a game say oi Smudge your old nutty fan Georgina is still writing about you where’s her free football ticket??? (joking!)
hanzemre
Jan 27, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Comment #28yea i saw some encouraging performances after 2 or 3 games.If our team confidence grow plus better quality players in for CM, AM & RM/RW very soon/in the summer i bet we’ll be okay this season & then challenging top 6 again next season.Rozehnal for DM for now. Just bench Milner,Butt,Smith & play the youngsters.No more Ameobi.
Eve
Jan 27, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Comment #29Leo..don’t waste your money, Sam said no, and Venables or Houllier are looking favs at the moment, especially Venables. He looks set on to take it.
Anyway can you imagine if Big Sam did get the job, I bet Given would be a wee bit unhappy. It’s no secret that they didn’t get on, not to mention that Given is the first name down on the paper. How would that work, lol!! Plus Sam would completely destroy the young Irish talent around the place. Which in fairness there is a lot of.