It’s games like today’s fixture against Aston Villa at home, that Newcastle will have to win if they are to finish high up in the league table come mid-May.
Charles N’Zogbia – when he was at Newcastle
If Newcastle do win today and Chelsea lose to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in the later game, Newcastle will be in joint 4th place on points, but 5th because of an inferior goal difference to Chelsea.
And the Chelsea vs Manchester United game is the first Premier League game to ever be shown live on network TV over here – as a lead-in to the Super Bowl tonight.
The European Champions League and 4th place is probably a Tyne Bridge too far this season, so to speak, and Alan will not even talk about that at the moment:
“When we get to the last six or seven games, if we’re in or around that area, we’ll give it a go.”
“Talking about the Europa League – that’s different. We’re in a good position to try to achieve that.”
“It would be a fantastic achievement, but we’re not getting carried away.” ” Today is a game where we have to be careful.”
It’s not too much different from Europa League qualification, because 5th place gives automatic qualification, and for that Newcastle would need to finish higher than both Arsenal and Liverpool.
Of course we could get there depending on who wins the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, and if it’s teams that have already qualified for Europe, we could finish lower than 5th and still qualify for the Europa League.
Newcastle fans will see former players Shay Given and Charles N’Zogbia returning to St. James’ Park today, and they both left Newcastle in January of 2009, which turned out to be a short four months before we were relegated.
When Charles was here with Wigan Athletic last season, he scored two goals and looked good, and he even managed to out-jump 6’4″ Mike Williamson to head one of the goals.
So Newcastle will need to keep an eye on him this afternoon, as he seems to finally be showing some good form for Villa.
But the win is what we need today, and we’ll be happy if we can get that.
We’ll be very happy if we can get that – in fact – we’ll be ecstatic if we can get that. 😀
Comments welcome.
127 comments so far
shearermania
Feb 5, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Comment #41@ochytoon….their good striker relatioship must be off the football pitch then….
Mc abaye
Feb 5, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Comment #42does best still carry a stomache bug? he came off blackburn with it. if so strolla will start.
GeordieoftheSouth
Feb 5, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Comment #43I wouldn’t put Ameobi in the same sentence as “good striker relationship”!
I like Ameobi and love him for that goal against the yids but he has been very poor since then and would put him behind Lovenkrands in the pecking order.
Best and Ba to start for me.
Mc abaye
Feb 5, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Comment #44the dawty mackems wont win all there games 🙂
Nick 69
Feb 5, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Comment #45Lawrensons problem is he still hasnt got over the fact he was sacked as defensive coach by us, ever since he has put us down at every given opportunity. Sour grapes
Mc abaye
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:01 PM
Comment #46the mans got the worst haircut ive ever seen hahahaha
thai-mag
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:01 PM
Comment #47whats the weather like in the Toon today lads, any chance of game getting called off,, seen on world news its very bad
JC148
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:03 PM
Comment #48This team will win us the game today:
Krul
Simpson – Colo – Willo – Santon
Perch
Ben Arfa – Guthrie
Best – Ba – Gutierrez
(Obertan for Ben Arfa and Best for Cisse on 60 mins to raucous applause from the toon army.)
3-0 (Ba, Guthrie, Cisse)
HWTL!
shearermania
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:03 PM
Comment #49maybe best and shola are actually in a relationship?
would explain why best have a weird tingling in his tummy and that shola seems to be day dreaming…
pbNcl
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:03 PM
Comment #50I respect shola as a top professional and as a man, he seems like a really down to earth lad and thats reflected in young sammy. However to push higher up the table we need the demba’s firing and I doubt wor ameobi’s gonna knock in another 10goals for us. If he can do what he did against tottenham id be thrilled : D
Nick 69
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:03 PM
Comment #51there is absolutely no good reason to not start demba and cisse today. best and shola have been disgraceful the last few games, plus they both played on Wed where as Demba and Cisse havent played since sun, and even then they only played 45 mins each, so they should be fresh enough
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:04 PM
Comment #52Guys I really think boater is Shola Ameobi in disguise! Well, either that or he is receiving head from him, like every toon manager has! Move over boater some of us have been waiting in the Shola bj queue for ages!
pbNcl
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:04 PM
Comment #53@47 -weather’s fine mate no problems
boater
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:04 PM
Comment #54Some snow but fingers crossed. Thai Mag- don’t they have to postpone at least an hour beforehand?
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:06 PM
Comment #55pbNcl – what so u mean knock in another 10 goals for us lol he has only knocked in 1 goal this entire season! In fact how many times has shola scored double digits over the last 12 seasons or so?
SurefootedShola
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Comment #56Mark Lawrenson looks like a discarded teabag. Nothing enrages me more than to see prats like him, being paid thousands per appearance, yet yesterday on Football Focus he thought Arsenal were 4/5th in the league (before their game). Just shows how committed they are to providing a good insightful show, when they can’t even gt the basics correct. As licence fee payers we should be allowed to select at the start of a season, our ‘line-ups’ for such shows.
Spuggy
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Comment #57Ba and Cisse will play today – maybe not from the start, maybe Ba from the start (most likely).
I for one don’t care too much who they start with etc. Ba and Ameobi were excellent v Manu, Best can play well of a more mobile striker, even Lova has his moments.
So whoever Pards decides to play I will get behind them 100% because they’re in the black and white. And I will look forward to see Ba and Cisse at some point.
Excited!!!!! Ooooook!
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Comment #58looooool, in his entire career Shola has only scored double digits in a season once! A staggering 10 goals in our championship season!!
Pretty sure a few of those were penos aswell.
pbNcl
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Comment #59really tho, those people who slate our players and the team when things aint goin well or were playin badly dont deserve to join in our celebrations when were kickin arse. constructive criticism is fine but hate towards our own team is shameful. us geordies are the best supporters in the land and its not cos of the gobshite slanderers! charlatans
SurefootedShola
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Comment #60And this is what I believe is looping through Shola’s mind, apart from the 5% of the time he manages to snap out of it – http://www.pown.it/4957
Spuggy
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Comment #61Here here pbNcl
JC148
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:11 PM
Comment #62Well said pbNcl. Anyone knocking Ameobi is not a true fan. Fair play saying we have better options but please recognise the man’s contribution. Go and re-watch the Man Utd and Spurs games.
boater
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:11 PM
Comment #63Lendixon – No I just don’t like seeing disloyalty or herd mentality. There are players I don’t rate as highly – such as Best, but the day I say ‘I will puke’ about him playing for us is the day I let myself down.
Suggesting I ‘receive head’ from Shola is unforgivable… strictly reach arounds and hand jobs.
pbNcl
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:11 PM
Comment #64lendixon- are you a geordie? if so then act like one and show some togetherness! shola’s our very own heskey! you gotta love him
Spuggy
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:14 PM
Comment #65TBH I’m so sick of the Shola bashing, is he a world beater no, is he 10 goal a season striker – no. But he is a newcastle played, and Heskey-esque, he can hold the ball up and help the play.
He’s been out of form th last few games but was excellent v manu with Ba.
We have Ba and Cisse now so we probably won’t see shola too often so can al the shola bashing PLEASE STOP – it’s doing my head in.
I’m leaving this blog if it continues as it’s all I see now.
toonarmydownsouth
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Comment #66Len dixon you are on par with paul merson in the complete tw@t chart son
Support the 11 on the pitch whoever they are
HWTL!!!!
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Comment #67Look there are a few players in our side who aren’t good enough like Perch, Simpson, Best like you mentioned, but I support those players 110% no problem. Why? because when they put on the toon shirt they give 110% effort. You can see every pass, tackle, goal line clearance means so much to them.
Now Shola on the other hand can’t give a flying f@ck what happens on the pitch as long as he doesn’t have to run more than 10metres every time the ball comes in his vicinity. Couple this with his shockingly bad ability (for a supposed prem footballer) and the also the wages he gets, then there is no way I will support him.
boater
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Comment #68Lendixon – Shola has been asked to play as a target man/ outlet for Ba or Best to play off. I know you are looking at goals, but if you can think a little bit about the concept of tactics – and how Pardew sets up his team you might see things differently.
I know goals are exciting mate! We all love them, but there is the other 95% of the game to think about as well i.e. holding on to the ball and stopping the other side scoring.
GeordieoftheSouth
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Comment #69Uh Oh, come on everyone, we can’t be having Spuggy leaving the blog!!
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, if we all thought and said the same thing, how boring would this world be!
I for one love Ameobi but can see why others wouldn’t.
sweendog
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Comment #70agreed on the support of Shola .. he’s a geordie and he’s our player .. support him on the pitch .. everything else is secondary..
Rotonda heights
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Comment #71pb
It’s a blog, people have different opinions. These players are paid fortunes.
If they have poor games and contribute little, then they deserve criticism. If by the same token they can up their game like Perch and Obertan have done for the last couple of games, then people can appreciate that too.
It works both ways. Saying people don’t deserve to enjoy an improvement in the same players’ improvement is a strange comment to make, as we are all NUFC fans and all want the best.
I certainly don’t go along with the personal insults to certain players though, that has no place anywhere in my opinion.
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Comment #72Please stop saying Shola destroyed Man utd, its embarrasing. He was playing against a makeshift defense of Rafael and Carrick I believe? and all he did was a misscued header to Ba which was probably meant as a pass to Cabaye. Even then, it still left a ridiculous amount left to do for Ba to take that half chance and convert it into a goal. SO much so that Rio didn’t close him down as much as he could have because very few strikers on the planet could have done what Ba proceded to do.
Now I will post no more Shola comments for today.
Spuggy
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Comment #73You know what I’m fine if you don’t care for Shola, but doesn’t mean you have to spout disgusting crap on this blog every day about him.
Here we are on the cusp of seeing the best toon strike force since shearer and ferdinand, and all people can do is slag Shola. Then next it will be Pards shocking tactics which have got us in contention for Europe. UNBELIEVABLE.
Grow up.
boater
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Comment #74Lendixon – That’s hilarious. Shola has played through painful injury so many times. His mobility is lessening true, but why ON EARTH can you think Pardew keeps playing him if he ‘doesn’t give a f**k’ about the team.
That makes no sense.. just like a ‘supporter’ who picks and choses who he supports every game. That doesn’t sound like a supporter to me.
toonarmydownsouth
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Comment #75Len dixon rafeal and carrick?? Ferdinand and jones you tool two fully established international cb’s
Mark
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Comment #76I’m not 100% certain, but an app i have on my phone has the team line-up on and it goes as follows:
Krul
Simpson – Williamson – Coloccini – Santon
Ben Arfa – Raylor – Guthrie – Jonas
Ba – Cisse
Don’t know if its accurate though!
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Comment #77Yea my bad it was rafael and ji sung in centre mid for them that day.
toonarmydownsouth
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Comment #78GeordieoftheSouth i agree every1 is entitled to there opinion but ppl like dixon indian magpie roshan magpie plan b etc just post vile abuse about perch n ameobi all day everyday on every article and seem to actually have very little opinion about the club as a whole
Magpies-till-d3ath
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Comment #79A win today takes us level we Chelsea and den they have to play manure later on.
6-0 toon double demba hat-rick!
LenDixon
Feb 5, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Comment #80Boater what are you talking about picking and choosing who I support? I’ve supported Newcastle all my life and because I voice my opinion on the worst player to ever grace our stadium you call my support into question? Give me 30k a week and im sure I can play with a freaking facemask. Shola isn’t the first – nor the last to do it.