Newcastle United looked like they were back to something like their best form this afternoon against Swansea City at St. James’ Park.
Demba Ba – put ball just over the bar this afternoon
And certainly it was a much improved performance from last week, with Coloccini back in central defense, and this player is now so important to this Newcastle side.
Note to Newcastle Board – sign up this player – please!
With any luck Newcastle would have won this game in a canter, but it was one of those games when the ball just wouldn’t go into the back of the net.
And following the game Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said he had no complaints, even though Newcastle controlled this game almost from start to finish.
Alan Pardew had this to say after the game:
“It’s frustrating in so much that we played well.” “Swansea have eight clean sheets in the Premier League, they drop deep and defend deep.”
“But they didn’t keep the ball as well as they have been because we wouldn’t let them.”
“They held on – we did everything but score.” “I have no complaints we just couldn’t get the goal we needed.”
“I can’t fault my players.” “It’s frustrating, you don’t want to draw but you give credit to the opposition.”
“We just couldn’t get the breakthrough.”
Newcastle fans will rightly be disappointed in not being able to get all three points, but there were a lot of good stuff to take out of this game.
One was that young Davide Santon looked a very good player and we expect he will now be the starting left back for Newcastle, and in our Man of the Match poll he is out in front with 39% of the vote.
He is followed by striker Demba Ba on 29%, and the Senegal striker everything today other than score, and in one of these games Newcastle are going to take all their chances and go in three or four goals up at the break.
Newcastle hit the woodwork twice in that first half period, when the only mystery at half time was how Newcastle were not ahead in the game.
Maybe that can be against WBA on Wednesday night a St. James’ Park – or even at bottom placed Bolton next Monday evening.
But win these two games and Newcastle will be looking up again and will take that confidence into the final game of the year at Anfield a week on Friday – December 30th.
It was a good performance today, in fact very good – but the only thing missing was that one goal, that would have given the lads a deserved 3 points, and we’d all be flying high.
Sometimes you just don’t get what you deserve, and that happened with Newcastle today.
Howay The Lads!!
28 comments so far
london_mag
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:33 PM
Comment #1PARDEW YOU IDIOT
Why is he so obsessed with Sammi and Shola Playing together??
SAMMI IS NOT READY, NOT GOOD ENOUGH, NOT A WINGER
NO BEN ARFA?!!!!!!!??!!!?!?!?!?!!
london_mag
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:34 PM
Comment #2oh and 1st
london_mag
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:36 PM
Comment #3…so there
danishmag
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:37 PM
Comment #4i agree with you london mag
GeordieToon89
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:39 PM
Comment #5must say im getting fead up with the fact he wont play a perfectly good winger on the wing and would rather keep him on the bench cos he cant play the no10 role, a said it in the last post Ben Arfa has basically been used as a winger his full career and has been very good at it so why he cant play there is beyond me… He’s quick, he likes running at people, he can cross with either foot, he can cut inside he’s more a winger than anything else he looks lost in the middle cos he hasnt got space oh and he’s 95x better than Obertan
GeordieToon89
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:40 PM
Comment #6Also Benny must be so peed off cos he was all stripped and ready to come on then Tiote gets cramp and he has to get ready again and he brings Vuckic and Sammy on.. a would of brough Vuckic and Benny on, we should send Sammy on loan to champ team in jan
beefman13
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Comment #7been left a bit flat tonight by the result today, not the worst performance just one of those days were you got the feeling it wasnt going to happen for us, player ratings krul7 simpson6 santon8 colo8 perch7 cabaye7 tiote7 jonas7 obertan6 best6 ba7 oh just to get our wide men to get down to the bye line and bang crosses in like the good old days instead of this stop start thing that both jonas and obertan do it can get very frustrating we need to be more direct especially when the ball is played out wide.
beefman13
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:45 PM
Comment #8Nice to see vucic get a runout today i was quite surprised, he would only get better with more playing time, sammi is starting to flatter to decieve like his brother, ben arfa must have been frustrated as hell that game was made for him we needed the magic touch around the box but today we just did not have it, you get days like that sometimes.
AndyMac
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:48 PM
Comment #9Let’s get this right Ed. it was a poor performance and a poor result. Lack of direction, inventiveness and, I would suggest , creativity.
If Pardwho insists on 4-4-2 then play wingers who can get “chalk on their boots” and who can “get to the byline” to feed two hungry strikers.
Otherwise get real, look at the squad you’ve got and play to their strengths which aint 4-4-2.
Lee Dodd
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:49 PM
Comment #10I think HBA will get his chance on Wednesday Night … Davide Santon Played well today !!!! We need new Players with Experience in January !!! Not Championship Players – Tiote was Very Rusty Today !!!!! Leon Best Tries His Very Best But Is Just Not the real Deal !!!!! Haris Vuckic Came on and Did well He Deserves a Start !!!!! Bring on West Brom !!!!
toonLYF
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:53 PM
Comment #11beefman how come you give simmo a 6 and guti a 7, did you watch the game? simmo didnt put a foot wrong however guti was…well, shite
toonloon
Dec 17, 2011 at 8:54 PM
Comment #12(Repost from earlier thread, much more appropriate here)
I know I’m not the first to express concern on this one but this game should have been dead and buried by halftime. It wasn’t so…that begs the question.
What is the problem concerning Hatem Ben Arfa. The game is crying out for someone who can do the unpredictable, unlock doors, whatever cliche you want to apply. HBA, perhaps the man in the squad best suited to undoing a park-the-bus defence is foever sitting on the bench looking understandably glum. So there must be a problem with him, either physical or attitudinal. If not, then there is most certainly a problem with Pardew’s increasingly stubborn insistence of bringing on the Ameobi Bros and just about anyone else on the bcnch before HBA. We’ve got to see once and for all whether this kid is as good as we thought. And the only way Pardew, we, anyone will ever know, is during time on the pitch.
Dennis Twice
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:05 PM
Comment #13Attack! Attack! Attack!
Last?
AndyMac
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:08 PM
Comment #14toonloon says:
“We’ve got to see once and for all whether this kid is as good as we thought. And the only way Pardew, we, anyone will ever know, is during time on the pitch”
Pardwho insists on playing him as a “No. 10” which he (as a manager and supposed football expert) has got wrong from the outset.
HBA is far too selfish a player to want to play others into a goal scoring opprtunity unless he’s lost the chance himself. Maybe when he’s matured at the ripe old age of 28-30 then possibly he’ll do that job ?
Right now he needs to play on the left of a front three with Jonas on the right linking with Ba. Forget the defensive tracking back stuff just give the remaining eight players three targets to aim at.
ash1001
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:09 PM
Comment #15Will not complain about effort, but frustrated by one or two things:-
The inability to deliver a good ball into the box.
Corners going straight to the defender.
Lack of strength from the wingers at times.
AP’s inability to chase the pattern of play, i.e introducing HBA – whats the point of him sitting on the bench, even more so when he takes of 2 and brings on Shola and Sammy, who were like for like but incapable of changing the game.
Sorry AP this one is laid at your door, for poor tactics, also please stop using the press to sell our players, you continually fuel the fire with your comments.
stuart no9
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:27 PM
Comment #16i have said all along i am not convinced pards is the man for the job. Yes we had a goodstart to the season , but it was always going to take me more than 11 games to pass judgement on our manager.nothing has changed,He got found out when we lost our 2 CBS, ie no plan b.Against norwich and today the game was crying out for a peter beardsley , enter HBA,.or not. A mate of mine is a norwich fan, he could not believe why norwich were allowed to pump so many high balls in the box when it was obvious we could not cope. Why did perch give away that foul out wide to set up their 4th. i did not have an answer except to say “ask pards” coz he is the only one who knows why we let norwich play to their strengths. his history speaks for itsself. under him and ash. we are heading where we belong, mid table on a good season.
angelswithdirtyfaces
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:46 PM
Comment #17@ stuart
AP is not SAF or Wenger. He has still to build the team he wants and has to fight against his best players getting sold on and I’m sure is a 4-3-3- man – NONE of the top teams play 4-4-2 so he’s shoe horning average players into a temporary formation. GIve him time he is doing a great job and has really not put a foot wrong – he just doesn’t have the quality in the squad to work miracles. Tactics depend on player availability.
Robbanufc
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:53 PM
Comment #18Jeez guys, listen to yourselves!
It was just one of those days! We had many chances, and just werent clinically enough in the final third. As for HBA, the reason why I think he doesnt get the start on the wing is because he doesnt track back as well as Obertan and Jonas. They do an immense job defensively, and Pardew needs that to protect the back four – Hence our good defensive record this season.
What I will say though, Santon, world class! What a player! Easily MOM today! And its well good to have Toto and Colo back!
Robbanufc
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:56 PM
Comment #19And to question Pardew at this point is rediculous! He’s done a wonderful job so far, and with some backing financially in january, some magic scouting done by Carr, we will come good at the end of the season! Top 8 if we get funds in january!
london_mag
Dec 17, 2011 at 9:56 PM
Comment #20angelswithdirtyfaces “he just doesn’t have the quality in the squad to work miracles.”
at lease USE the quality you have. Ben Arfa has not played at all in the last two matches while Shoala (hasnt been bad recently) and Sammi roam free. Ben Arfa has been labelled a prodigy and is supposedly one of our top assets- you just cant leave those players out. I just DONT GET IT
Same goes for Santon, good to see him playing now that pardew hasnt got another choice. Why did that take so long? He was good today, lovely little cross in the box to Shoala (i think) but obviously needs time.
stuart no9
Dec 17, 2011 at 10:19 PM
Comment #21angels,
granted, i understand his frustration trying to build a team for the future when , in the next window, his plans are sold to top 4 clubs. As you know, in modern day football, we have 2 formations we have a home formation , and an away formation, Pards got the stoke game 100% right, probably his best piece of work since he came to the club. A gainst norwich IMO we were unable to stick with the away formation due to the lack of CBS. a change HAD to be made, we had to relieve the pressure at the back , so and this is OMO. play 2 up front, play a creative midfield. play further up the field leaving 2 defenders back and perhaps introducing a sweeper, to clean up thebits and pieces , and no i dont know who at the club could take that role on, I could be totally wrong, but one way or the other we had to have more possesion, then use it wisely
Scottishtoon95
Dec 17, 2011 at 10:19 PM
Comment #22Now we know how QPR felt after they’d played us. lol
NUFC_DOWNUNDER
Dec 17, 2011 at 10:25 PM
Comment #23Imagine having santon on the right and someone like Taiwoo on the left.. He’s a good player but sill cuts into the middle cos he’s right footed..
HBA would have been perfect for this game and should have replaced Oberton instead of Sammy..
Perhaps the subs were a little too late as well.. First striker change should have been at 60minute mark as that is when Swansea started to get back into the game..m
Some simple things for pards to consider really
gavgrewcock3
Dec 17, 2011 at 10:56 PM
Comment #24By the looks of things today ben arfa was going to come on until tiote went down with cramp, after that happened pardew had to bring vuckic on because 1) to keep the shape of the team and 2) ben arfa doesnt put enough work in
anyone else notice that perch didnt put a foot wrong today? thought he looked good alongside collo
Brutooon
Dec 18, 2011 at 2:40 AM
Comment #251) Shola Ameobi back to his BEST – got no idea what to do with the ball. Welcome back you “Legend”
2) Santon will be our first choice left back for the next 10 years. Raylor to find another “position”
3) Perch play well – simple because Collocini play alongside him. But Perch had to stop playing the long ball, NEVER accurate.
4) I like Obertan but i think maybe its time to replace him with HBA???
5) Despite Perch performance, he is not a CB and not a first team player – lets keep him at the bench (cant wait for williamson to get back)
Perch
Belly
Dec 18, 2011 at 4:04 AM
Comment #26Hold me to this. Tiote will not leave in the window I can guarantee you. He is commited untill the end of the season at the very least. No matter what the fee or contract he will not leave us. And if we make into Europe he will stay
Belly
Dec 18, 2011 at 4:10 AM
Comment #27Obertan is hopeless
tweaked
Dec 18, 2011 at 5:40 AM
Comment #28santon looking excellent, obertan tries to hold the ball to much and only does something when its on his right foot.. he should try run more and bomb in the crosses instead of trying to dribble thru everyone, other than that his a decent player
i still think we are a top 6 side, we have to pick up 9 points in these last three games