There was some good news in the relative gloom of being beaten once again by Liverpool at Anfield last night.
Fab Coloccini – in aaction last night
Both Fab Coloccini and Cheick Tiote were on four yellow cards before last night’s game, and neither of them received another yellow card, which would have seen them suspended for one game.
But the slate is now wiped clean, and they are back to zero yellow cards starting next year – that is – tomorrow.
That’s good news, because we really still have nobody to come in and deputize for either Coloccini or Williamson if either one of them gets injured.
And that’s before hopefully we sign a new center-back next month – fingers crossed.
This is what Alan said about the two of them today:
“They were very professional. You couldn’t say Cheick pulled out of anything. He was in the midst of everything, but he didn’t get booked.”
And Coloccini seems to be our Man of the Match from last night with 33% of the votes so far, with Tiote second on 17% and Cabaye in third place on 15%.
Fabricio was again very efficient at the back, and tried very hard to organize the defense, but we were disappointed the lads let in another three goals last night.
Hopefully we’ll get better once there is a an unchanged back four, which we thunk will see Davide Santon in at left back, and sooner rather than later.
And let’s not forget that Newcastle played quite well in patches last night, so when we play the weaker sides, as long as we keep doing well against them and not the top six sides, we’ll be very happy with that, thank you very much. 😀
And it seems the game next Wednesday evening against Manchester United at St. James’ Park could be Tiote’s last game before he goes off to report to the Ivory Coast squad for the African Cup Of Nations next month.
This is what Cheick said today:
“Maybe after the Man United game, I will go.” “We have a training camp in Abu Dhabi and I may have to go to that.”
“It is hard for me I want to play for my country and I want to stay here and play for Newcastle.”
“I just hope we do well while I am away. We have some tough games and we need to start taking more points.”
Given that the tournament doesn’t even start until 22nd January, that’s seems a long time to go off and report for pre-tournament preparation, especially when it’s bang in the middle of the European football season.
Surely Cheick can play against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup a week today, and then report to the squad the next day – January 8th?
And Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is still hoping to have him for the FA Cup tie as he said this morning:
“Hopefully, we will have Cheick and Demba Ba for January 7.”
“And if Yaya Toure doesn’t go until later in the month, why should Cheick go? We are all in the same boat.”
And when Cheick does go we suspect defensive midfielder Mehdi Abeid will get a chance while Cheick is away, and he will play alongside Yohan Cabaye.
And talking about defensive midfielders, what is Alan Smith doing these days at Newcastle, and he’s not even on the bench.
For £60K a week that’s a lot of money to pay for a fringe player, although we suppose Alan did the job for us in the Championship.
Alan Pardew seems to favor Haris Vuckic in central midfield, and the Slovenian got another start last night at Anfield, and although we thought he was quiet, he needs games to progress to a potential Newcastle starter next season.
This is what Alan said about Haris’ performance last night:
“I thought Haris grew into the game.” “You’d expect that. It is at Anfield, and Liverpool have some great players, but we went toe-to-toe with them.”
“Hatem was always going to be first choice to come on, but the game had perhaps gone away by then.”
Haris is a good player and for Alan to have preferred him to Ben Arfa last night, means that the Slovenian must be impressing in training, and he could become the next youngster to make the breakthrough to the Newcastle first team.
For the record, last night was Haris’ 12th first team appearance for Newcastle.
Comments welcome.
178 comments so far
catchy in norway
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:31 PM
Comment #41Rotonda heights
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE SPINE OF THE TEAM COMMENT,
iv been saying that for a while now,
why guti is looking so bad imo, is for a few seasons now we have only attacked down the left, (mainly) jose did most of the good crossing for him
but at least guti has work rate, ober has zero qualities to offer football, maybe athletics
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:33 PM
Comment #42@Boater – Obertan doesn’t deserve his place in our starting 11 neither does Jonas on his current run of form but neither of them have anyone challenging them for their positions, as poor as Obertan was last night, he’ll still start the next game
ochytoon
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Comment #43Would anyone else like to see Cabaye play on the right instead of Obertan. He has the passing/crossing ability and would offer better defensive cover. You could then move Ben Arfa to the middle with Tiote.
boater
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Comment #44Terrible, terrible game by De Gea – timing could not be worse with window opening tomorrow and Ashley more than happy to trade his next fattened calf at market.
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:38 PM
Comment #45boater – If De Gea is worth 19mil, what price for Krul?
boater
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:40 PM
Comment #46JB – I have never bought the competition for places argument. A team is either motivated or it isn’t.
I read a comment saying Pardew’s tactical plan was just a bit off last night – I agree. He tried the same slow burn approach for 60 min’s that worked at Bolton, and took a gamble on Vuckic – neither paid off, but that’s hindsight talking.
We fell apart after scoring ourselves which showed you that Pardew hadn’t set up for an early lead.
I don’t rate Best or Obertan – Jonas is a bit off but hey Liverpool’s side contained 4 or 5 duds and still got the win last night.. it aint just Obertan’s fault. No one was running through the middle like Liverpool were.. we were too passive – that’s it really.
Rotonda heights
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:41 PM
Comment #47GOOD OLD BLACKBURN
NEWEXPATMAGPIE
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:41 PM
Comment #48Manure-2 Blackburn-3!
Well done Blackburn!
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:42 PM
Comment #49ochy – In Cabaye we have the man that created the most goals in France last season but with the long ball tactics that Pardew is playing, he’s wasted
Toon-Barmy
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:44 PM
Comment #50Obertan has a foot injury and will be out for at least 3 weeks so now someone else will get a chance, let’s see how they do!
Rotonda heights
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:46 PM
Comment #51Jail
I suspect if ashley had done due diligence he wouldn’t have touched it. Maybe he initially bought it to have fun, but then it kind of bit him on the backside.
ochytoon
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:46 PM
Comment #52JB
Oh why can’t we be blessed with manager who’s not tactically retarded
Rotonda heights
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:48 PM
Comment #53Jack
Would be great if we had someone like Martinez who plays good football and has somehow kept Wigan in the premiership.
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:49 PM
Comment #54boater – I would not just single out Obertan last night, the whole team were poor and we got what we deserved which was nothing. Tiote, Simpson, Raylor, Jonas and Vukic were all very poor. Regarding the competition for places argument, when you have a player who is well below what is needed and expected with his performances and he’s still picked for every game what does that tell the player? Ok we may not have the biggest squad but we have some great young players who can do a good job and deserve a chance to replace players that are simply not doing it
Rotonda heights
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:51 PM
Comment #55Jack
I think Abeid and fergie are worth a go
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Comment #56I would love to see Brendon Rogers as our manager one day, he love to play football and with a better squad to choose from he could turn someone in to a class side
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:57 PM
Comment #57Its just a shame that Ranger hit the self destruct button on his own career, he showed so much promise but I guess being a Gangsta is more important to the lad
Benry
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Comment #58Gievn our win/loss ratio for the year, the consistent long ball style of football we play, and tactical ineptitude/stubborness from Pardew, any ambitious toon fan who wants to see this club move forward must look to scrutinise Pardew more heavily going into next year. Alan certainly talks the talk in post match interviews and is quick to point the finger, but has anything Pardew done footballing wise this year fill you with optimism? Of course we had a wonderful run at the beginning of the season vs mediocre oppostion, with a fair bit of luck I might add, but Pardew is consistently coming up short when an element of brain power and tactical nous is required.
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Comment #59Rotonda – Abeid and Fergie couldn’t be any worse that who are playing week in week out
WWJBD
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:03 PM
Comment #60Post match blues got everyone down I see remember lads was just 1 game and one where everyone was poor even the golden boy Krul was poor
Bring on Utd and let’s see if we can bounce back like we have done before
2_goal_tino
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Comment #61Obertan needs to be replaced. I’d let raylor play in his actual position. He’s got good delivery and can actually control the ball unlike Obertan.
I know people keep saying you can’t slate obertan without doing the same for jonas, but while both have little end product at least jonas could produce something because he actually gets the ball under control. The number of times Obertan gave the ball away after his first touch yesterday was embarrassing
JackButler
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Comment #62Obertan is definitely out of the Man U game with a foot injury, wonder if Abeid will get a chance or will Shola or Gosling start on the right???
Benry
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:06 PM
Comment #63The problem is whether Raylor, Obertan, Jonas would make it into the first team for any of the top 6 teams? No chance. Certainly you can make a strong argument for Jonas, but does he fulfill the necessary requirements for a top winger? he doesn’t have pace to burn and cannot beat any half decent fullback. He has unreal workrate, but then you might as well have a defensive midfielder playing at LW, for example Guthrie and you would still get high workrate. For me Jonas must play either LB or RB, with Santon on other side, then lets buy a winger who can beat players, Hoilett?
barkerslovesnufc
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:06 PM
Comment #64Obertan= horse sh#t! R-taylor= waste of time! There the culprits……. N Ben arfa should b a starter!
Benry
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:11 PM
Comment #65Krul
Jonas Willo Collo Santon
Ben Arfa Tiote Cabaye Sammy
Vuckic
Ba
solano
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Comment #66Benry@57….the need to invest in good players and back the manager in his job is here in the window.
Being overly critical of Pardew’s style – even though some of his selections perturb me – should not get away from the root cause of our problems.That is, a total dearth of genuine talent and stength in depth. Even more worrying, is the seemingly minor role our “coach” has in trying to rectify this situation when the windows are open. He has played the Patsy/Fall Guy for over a year now but the majority of fans, I think, can see that we can’t expect someone to consistently get blood from a stone.
ochytoon
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:18 PM
Comment #67From United fan Adam in EXETER via text:
Lol, not from Manchester like most United fans
bob52
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:18 PM
Comment #68JackButler Where did you hear the good news that Obertan is out for the ManU game, would love to see Fergie or even Abeid in. Gosling is a 100% effort player and at this stage we want 100% from everybody, players that pull out of tackles and cruise around should get out of St James Park.
solano
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:20 PM
Comment #69bob..it’s reported on nufc.com
2_goal_tino
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:24 PM
Comment #70Can’t wait for Man U to come up here and try and get some revenge for today…
GeordieToon89
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:32 PM
Comment #71a would just go all out against Man Utd
————Krul
Simo-Wilo-Colo-Santon
–Cabaye-Tiote-Vuckic
———Ben Arfa
——Best——–Ba
barkerslovesnufc
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:32 PM
Comment #72Krul.
Santon. Willo. Collo. Jonas.
Tiote
Loven Cabaye. Sammy
Arfa.
Ba.
Dannyo
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:41 PM
Comment #73Pretty gloomy on here atm, but i still think we can nab 7th spot. Lots of players who didn’t show up yesterday.
Some transfers would be good news 🙂
GeordieToon89
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Comment #74Has they been anything else on that Zimbarbwan kid from Young Boys.? Mayuta or something
arroeben
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Comment #75Why is people saying ben arfa should start? He did nothing when he came on. I think he has poor work rate.
And also, ben arfa was open quite a few times. But no one passed the ball to him. Maybe even the team are afraid that he might lose the ball too much?
Mancgeordie
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:47 PM
Comment #76I thought last night we was poor all through the team we had no attackin threat i don’t mind obertan n jonas they are good players but they don’t try n run at there full backs enough or try n get in behind the def obertan especially with his pace he could skin most of the def he plays against but they are always either to deep or just hold it until the fb overlaps
warwick
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:53 PM
Comment #77We were a disgrace last night, no fluidity.
Although not many teams go to anfield and win, our only saving grace. We need to beat the teams like stoke around us, 7th is the ticket.
Bet the neggers are having a field day. Howay the lads!
warwick
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:55 PM
Comment #78Rotonda heights // Dec 31, 2011 at 2:18 PM
contradicts himself, the managerial appointments have been very dodgy
LMAO you mean the manager who has guided us to the best start ever in the premiership?
again….LMAO you only turn up when we lose.
warwick
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:59 PM
Comment #79Benry // Dec 31, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Gievn our win/loss ratio for the year, the consistent long ball style of football we play, and tactical ineptitude/stubborness from Pardew, any ambitious toon fan who wants to see this club move forward must look to scrutinise Pardew more heavily going into next year
You mean pardew out banners and having a go at every minute detail and substitution.
Toon fans over the years have lost a bit of realness imo. Our away fans are our saving grace.
Too many fairweather idiots shoot ourselves in the foot.
Mancgeordie
Dec 31, 2011 at 3:59 PM
Comment #80Not being a neggar just would like to see our wingers get the ball turn and run at people rather than stop and wait for the fb overlap n ben arfa shold start just cos he will run at def and commit men yeah he will give the ball away until he back to level he was before the inj but he can do to others what bellamy did to us