To us yesterday was a water shed game because, as you may have guessed from our reports last night, we are becoming fed up with too many of our players not being up to the fight of relegation, which is now staring us in the face.
Oba Martins – Keegan must play him if he wants goals
Yesterday’s game told us quite a lot about the characters of some of our players and most of it was not good. But here are some things that we have to do if we are to survive relegation this season.
- Drop Alan Smith. he plays every minute of every game and takes up space when other players – like Martins – could be doing something good for the team. Is it written in his contract he cannot be substituted and must start every game? Look at the history this season – he’s been left out of the starting line up once, and he made a big stink about it to Big Sam.
He started the next game.
- We do have some fighters in the side, none more so than big Abdoulaye Faye, who was dominant for us yesterday, and won most of the high balls in style. And he nearly scored from a corner in the first half when his glancing header was just punched away by Reina. Play Abdoulaye every game. He would even make a decent captain – he could at least scare the life out of our players if they didn’t perform. 😀
- Lamine Diatta starts to look an important player for us, because the time may have come to rest Steven Taylor. If Lamine can get match fit he could come in as a straight replacement for Taylor. Since he’s played with Faye and Beye for Senegal, there should be an understanding there. Maybe Senegal can help save us this year.
- We are told that Lamine looked really good last week in practice – play him and since he’s playing for his future he’ll be motivated. Kevin will not have to wrap Lamine in cotton wool and try to coax him to play his best. He’ll do it himself so Kevin can do something more useful like work with the players on the field.
- Up front we’ve scored 6 goals in our last 12 league games and only 4 in our last 11 games. We have failed to score in 7 of our last 11 league games. What does that tell you?
Well it leads to depression for most of us Newcastle fans this season, who just cannot understand why these well paid players continue to let the team, themselves and most of all, the Newcastle fans down. It’s nowhere near good enough. We hope they know that. - We need people who can put the ball in the net. Playing Martins in every game will help, even if Michal Owen needs to be dropped to the bench to make way for a couple of games.
We also have no aerial threat at all up front, and if Mark Viduka continues to hide out in the treatment room, then we’d do worse than play Andy Carroll up front. He’s a local lad and he will not let the team or himself down.
He will also try his very best – play Carroll if the Australian isn’t up for the fight – then get rid of Mark in the summer.
- At the back Beye and Enrique are doing reasonably well at full back, but we do have David Edgar available and he will give us 100% and David has always looked good when he’s played in the first team. He may be an option to try for a few games.
- We think Kevin is making a huge mistake by relying on his mature players with big reputations, who continue to let him down with non performances. Like most managers who played under Shankly (Graeme Souness is another good example) he doesn’t think you can win with youngsters.
He’s plain wrong. - As far as midfield goes we were without Barton and Emre yesterday. Both are decent players but we are questioning why Emre has been out for so long with a slight hamstring strain. Surely he can give it a shot against Birmingham, even for just the first 45 minutes.
- We think it’s good we are away at Birmingham before our next home game against Fulham. The players have a chance to redeem themselves before they return to St. James’ Park. They need to earn the respect of the fans and yesterday’s game will do nothing to help that.
- But make no mistake – too many of our squad are fast becoming too faint hearted for the fight. If Kevin cannot turn the attitudes around of a lot of our stars who he continues to favor, we could be doomed, and we’d deserve it.
We hope some of the players read this and get annoyed. That would be showing some emotion, which they didn’t show much of yesterday. They should play for their own pride, and quickly because they are sadly letting the club down – big time.
Comments welcome.
21 comments so far
Eric
Mar 9, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Comment #1The time is now to pick gutsy players. Oba must play every game. We have got to admit that Smith, Butt and even Owen are a waste of space.
Our back four should be Beye, Diatta, Faye, Enrique. The middle four Milner, Emre, NZogbia and Duff, with Martins and Carroll up front. Harper is fine in goal and a local too. I am sure these with Lua Lua, Edgar etc as backup would do us justice in the run in. KK has got to get it into his head that the has beens are playing on their past reputations and have no guts for a fight. It is our city as well as team we are fighting for!
Toon_Boy
Mar 9, 2008 at 2:01 PM
Comment #2I agree that martins should be on instead of smith, he is a million times better!!!And much more likely to score or spark something but i know fine well why smith is being played, and its because KK believes we are in a battle and will have to battle our way out and smith is the sort of player for that. . .if only he could see the light. Maybe Martins spectacular 40 yarder off the bar will make him think. Cos Martins did look like he was out to prove something. Hopefully next mon we will see owen/ martins up top vs Brummy . They might both be small but i believe it could work.
dougnufc
Mar 9, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Comment #3Apparently, we have scouts that are scouting on Samir Nasri, Bafetimbi Gomis and Carlos Cuellar…
BILLY - B
Mar 9, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Comment #4I agree with every thing you have said Ed it is time to drop the has been no hopers and give the young lads like Edgar and Carrol a go one thing is ceartain they wont be lacking for efort and will give every thing they have. last season Edgar played and never let the side down i dont understand why he has never been given another chance in the first team, and when Carol has come on he has made things happen same goes for Lua Lua.Now is the time to drop the overpaid prima donnas and give the players who care a chance.
Viper
Mar 9, 2008 at 2:31 PM
Comment #5Tasty yet ballsy line-up Eric.
No midfield defence in there and an occasional lose-cannon in Emre.
And brum did turn spurs over a bit too well for comfort for us I think. Boo.
Timbo
Mar 9, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Comment #6I think Keegan should take the team to a few championship grounds & explain that this is where they will be next season unless they put an F-in shift in & earn the megabucks.
If sir Bobby robson was ten years younger, Im sure he would be managing us again now, Keegan has lost it completely, he should ship out now back to the football circus
& let Dennis Wise take over…No one likes him, & he doesnt care. We need gritty performances now, if Keegan doesnt get a result from the plastic geordie Bruce then we are doomed.
Ti
nightfall
Mar 9, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Comment #7dougnufc – where did you hear that..if we are after nasri i’d be thrilled…he plays like zizou…he copies him very well 🙂
Gordon d
Mar 9, 2008 at 4:58 PM
Comment #8Terry Mac was at Ibrox in midweek watching Rangers v Werder Bremen Carlos Queller is a steady player
m.
Mar 9, 2008 at 5:27 PM
Comment #9smith is shit! send him to the mackems, the right place for manutd garbage!
obamagic
Mar 9, 2008 at 5:57 PM
Comment #10we should have kept sibierski instead of signing viduka… smith should have nver been bought and martins should start instead of smith.
Davet
Mar 9, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Comment #11I agree with all these comments if you keep on what you are doing you will get more of what you have got !!
Smith must go – carrol up front with Martens and Diatta for the shell shocked Taylor are the minimum changes required
Dave
Mar 9, 2008 at 7:38 PM
Comment #12What colour is the sky in Damiem Duffs world?
As one of our bigest under achievers (remember this is the man whose second touch is always a tackle) has the nerve to plead with KK to give Carr another contract rather than give him a good kick up the arse as he waves him goodbye.
The state we are in reputations mean nothing grit and determination is the only thing to get us the 9 points we need – what has happened to us in the space of 5 months ? – its not that long ago (5 months) that Big Sam was hailing the best start we have had in 12years – He has a lot to answer for – We have to stick with KK he has been lumbered with the current set of deadwood.
My best scenario is that we hopefully just stay up and have a clearout in the summer. Do these players have no pride in there own abilities (not to mention the club) – surely their over inflated egos can’t enjoy being a laughing stock throughout the length and breadth of the country ?
anonymous
Mar 9, 2008 at 7:40 PM
Comment #13I seriously think smith had a clause written in his contract that will guarantee him a place in the starting line up..
daiv
Mar 9, 2008 at 7:49 PM
Comment #14Smith will always play cos KK is bonkers
Leo
Mar 9, 2008 at 8:33 PM
Comment #15oba obafem oba obafem oba obafem obafemi martins… please king kev give the lad a go instead of smith… if smith has this contract term, go speak to him appeal to his heart and get him to take it out of his contract…
its seriously bad that this contract term could be the truth because it means we are seriously limited when it comes to squad choices
Jamie
Mar 9, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Comment #16What can we do to get through to Keegan that Martins has to play instead of Smith? We need to play at least Barton for Butt, though I would prefer Emre. Carroll for Owen would be good also as Owen is well past it now, he would be fantastic in the Championship – look at Kevin Phillips, but in the prem he can’t cut it.
Is there anyway we can get our views across to Kev?
marcus owen
Mar 9, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Comment #17Yes! Martin is THE ONE.
Ausgeordie
Mar 9, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Comment #18When Milner came off it showed a lack of squad depth that Geremi was the best right winger we had. If only Lua Lua had of been on the bench it would have been great to see a young lad getting some playing time. Why Owen or Smith were not replaced with Carroll I dont know. Shame the Zog was pretty invisible throughout the game.
Toooooooooooooooooon
Mar 10, 2008 at 12:06 AM
Comment #19i would prefer geremi for nicky butt (a young but experience player compare to an old and soon-to-retired player)
Martin over Owen (Owen being playing since January and is still useless…)
ArtyH
Mar 10, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Comment #20Well it sure looks like we are in the shite now. This is the result of many things that have not been addressed at turning points in our last ten years, since the Sheperd era began. Yes he made money available for players but bleed the club dry and only begrudgingly bought trophy players to supposedly keep the supporters happy, and it worked. Until the shite hit the fan and Mike Ashley took over and discovered ( possibly too late ) just exactly what every NUFC supported feared but liked to think was untrue, that the club was in a shambles.
I cannot understand how any true NUFC fan can turn on M.A in the way they did last saturday, it just shows the club up as being supported by idiots, and brigs us again to the front pages of the press and not the back!
Everyone has their own idea of what is right for the club, or choice of who should play, that is human nature. However the men in charge are entrusted with the running of the club and should be supported not gunned down.
I wonder what K.K REALLY thought of the squad he inherited., especially the run of form they were in at the time. Then there was the chance to buy players in the transfer window, yes right , just who was available, who would have improved the squad? Not many , and if anyone was available we would have been held to ransom again for journeyman players at extortionate transfer fees and equally ludicrous wages. Were we not trying to get away from this merrygoround? I am glad we did!
I do think that BSA was sacked at the wrong time though, as the fixture list at that time was always going to be a mountain for the new manager. By this time K.K was always going to be on a looser, in reality who of our own most educated supporters could have seen a different result from any of the games played under K.K except for the Blackburn game of course, which we should have won. NO the die was case months and maybe years ago, and now we have to rebuild, but NOT by biting the hand that feeds us.
If we survive…….just wait and see what happens for next season….if we go down……oooh forget it!
David Nouriet
Mar 10, 2008 at 1:47 PM
Comment #21as an outsider, I find it strange that Smith is always ahead of Martins. My view is that Martins should even play before owen. He is the best striker Newcastle has. If you don’t win a game ater 8 games then you must change things around. I think Butt should be droped and Smith too. Bring in Martin and Geremy to replace them. or play capaca and and taylor as centre halves and faye in front of them. I also think Mcdermoot should be replaced by a younger coach. If changes are not implemented then I guess the Newcastle fans will be calling for Fred Sheperd to come and save the club.
david