Newcastle will meet Chelsea later today in another one of those cup ties Alan Pardew keeps talking about – we have 14 of them through the end of the season, and we’ll also have Demba Ba to contend with up front today.
Demba Ba while at Newcastle
Ba left the Magpies on January 4th, through the release clause in his contract, and it will be interesting to see what kind of reception he gets at St. James’ Park today.
Newcastle had only our third win in 14 league games on Tuesday night at Aston Villa, but it should do a lot for the confidence of the lads, and with five new French players through the door last month and Fabricio Coloccini staying at the club at least until the end of the season – things are looking up at Newcastle.
But the manager says the fans cannot get carried away and we are still 6th bottom of the league table, and this is what the Newcastle manager said today:
“I think very much the fans need to keep their feet on the ground. I don’t think we got carried away with the victory in house. Last night was a great example of the Premier League when you’re trying to get a win over the line.”
“Chelsea were cruising and then they weren’t cruising and it was two all. There were only four teams that won. Us, Everton, and United were hanging on. It is very tough to get wins over the line.”
“We cannot think we are out of the woods in any shape or form until we get to 40 points. We are going to drive to that figure as quickly as we can.”
We did solve one problem when Ba left – and that is Papiss Cisse and Ba never worked well together up front – and new signing Yoan Gouffran looks to be an excellent player with movement and skill, and he should work well in a front three with Cisse and Ben Arfa when he returns from injury – or Sylvain Marveaux today – since he’s fit again.
In our poll on how today’s game will turn out 43% think we’ll win and 36% think we’ll draw, and we’ll be happy enough with a point.
But really a win is what we want in every remaining game – to help take us away from the relegation zone.
A win today would be fantastic.
Howay The Lads!!
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26 comments so far
Jail for Ashley
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:22 AM
Comment #1Having sausages for toes on his annual fox hunt is too good for Ashley.
Hatem's better than Messi
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:23 AM
Comment #2“the fans need to keep their feet on the ground.”
f off Pardew, don’t tell me what do do with my feet.
some people …
magpie6699
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:24 AM
Comment #3(Repost) Not sure about the team today. Think it has to be Colo and Saylor to start – but we need a job doing on Mata and someone to track Ramires’s surges. Let’s just say if we play Marv and Anita it could be a high-scoring game!
magpie6699
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:26 AM
Comment #4Hatem – but I do know what Pardew means. Some people think we’re certs for relegation if we lose a game and certs for Europe if we win a game! Today will be very hard – but I think /hope the crowd will be really up for it .
Jail for Ashley
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:29 AM
Comment #5Hatem,
I’m starting to dislike the guy more everytime he opens his mouth, we were talking about it in the boozer last night, why on earth would you say that life long NUFC fan Danny Graham wasn’t good enough six weeks before he’s about to play you.
AwToonnufc
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Comment #6Looking forward to this game today, my team would be
——————-Krul———————
Debuchy—-S.Taylor—-Colo—-Santon
——————-Anita———————
———–Cabaye —— Sissoko———-
Gouffran————————Marveaux
——————-Cisse———————-
I would like to see m’bwia in the team but I think that its such a hard game for him to make his debut, that it could knock his confidence. I would happily bring him on at half time though…I think anita will have a good game today as his debut game was against chelsea and he gave away a penalty so he’ll have a point to prove…
I’m 90% sure that Pardew will drop either Anita, Marveaux or Gouffran or play them out of position in order to make way for the useless Gutierrez
Jail for Ashley
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:34 AM
Comment #7Magpie,
While STaylor is fit he has to start, he knows the Prem and has been in this position before, although I think Mbwia and Willo will start the mentalist game, I think this new CB will see the best out of Willo as I don’t think he’s as bad as people make out.
Hatem's better than Messi
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:35 AM
Comment #8Exactly, I posted about that yesterday. Madness to insult the guy. He might have fluffed his chances (like Chopra) not now.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Comment #9I really don’t think we need to rely on Danny Graham fluffing his lines in order to beat the scum at SJP 😉
croftus5678
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Comment #10my wishfull thinking team would be
——————–krull—————-
———saylor–collo–mbiwa—–
debuchy——————–santon
——–sissoko-cabaye-anita—–
—————goofy-cisse———-
do not think this will happen though
peaco1980
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:37 AM
Comment #11Whilst I hope for the best; I do fear the worst. We’ve finally made SOME of the signings that SHOULD have been made in the summer. I’m not about to throw myself at the feet of Ashley et al in gratitude since I consider these signings to be long overdue replacements (lest we forget we lost Ba and Best, and bought in only one striker).
Quality players are one thing. A manager who is tactically astute, can get the best out of quality players and plays to their strengths is something else. The league table, and angry punters suggests Pardew in not this manager, whilst our run in does not appear to suggest that 40 points is achievable. As I said at the top: I hope for the best; I do fear the worst.
Hatem's better than Messi
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:38 AM
Comment #12JFA
Willo panics.
He pulls shirts because he ball watches and players he’s marking can lose him. He hoofs where a steadier head would find a pass.
He does a job but we need better in he summer.
veto
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:40 AM
Comment #13not loads of points around in the coming weeks , april is a huge month for us .
magpie6699
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:41 AM
Comment #14I think there’s some wilful misrepresentation of what Pardew said about Graham Way I read it, he said Remy was the only big-name striker move that happened and Danny Graham wasn’t at that (ie Remy’s) level. Didn’t say he wasn’t up to Newcastle standards.
On another tack, I was struck by the line-up suggested in a previous post of 3-5-1-1 (or 3-5-2). We now seem to have 2 full backs whose propensity is to bomb on, and 3 decent centre backs. I’ve seen us try to play 3 at the back many times over the years, including under Keegan, and we seem to have a problem with it but logically a back 3 of Colo, Saylor and Mapou with Debuchy and Santon as wing-backs looks good on paper. Midfield would then be Cabs, Sissoko and Anita / Marv with Cisse and Marv / Goofy up front. Thoughts??
Jail for Ashley
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:42 AM
Comment #15Peaco,
We also lost Loven and shhhh, Xisco so in theory we have lost three and a half strikers and brought one in, so at first Mashley doesn’t believe in defenders and has now taken a dislike to strikers, and some people on here wanting SJP renamed the Mike Ashley stadium last week.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:44 AM
Comment #16Peaco
What a little ray of sunshine you are dear friend 🙂
Well consider the differing positions of both Aston Villa’s owner and our own and I think we do have quite a bit to be grateful for.
Both teams in free fall, misfiring youngsters and seniors not making the grade and both on relegation form. One owner decides to gamble and allow his team to stay as it is in the blind hope they pull out of it, the other decides to open the wallet in order to prevent their seemingly inevitable demise (whether those signings were overdue or not is quite irrelevant).
As for the run in, football is by its very nature unpredictable so I would love to see what algorithm you have used to predict our final points tally.
Bowzer912
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:46 AM
Comment #17@AwToonnufc I think as Chelski are likely to play 4-2-3-1 with Oscar,Mata and Ramires so your 4-3-3 would work as Sissoko has the pace and power to match Ramires.Anita has the pace and technique to track Oscar/Bertrand and last of all because Mata isn’t that pacy but still weaves through teams I reckon Cabs would do a class job on him because Perch would get destroyed like.
Howay The Lads 3-2 The Magpies
yo-yo
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:50 AM
Comment #18JfA
If we’re looking for a Ba replacement then Remy is a no1 or no 2 striker but Graham would be a no 3 striker.
IMO you can expect No 1/2 strikers to hit 15+ goals and no3 strikers <10.
I don't mind AP's mind games at all but they do go over a lot of people's heads. He's a WUM. It's part of his job.
Hatem's better than Messi
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:53 AM
Comment #19You have to be very good to play three at the back.
I takes los of discipline.
Teams playing a lone striker and one in the hole will always pull CB out of position and you can be over run in midfield
toonarmydownsouth
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #20Im sorry JFA but i see no logic in taylor playing, he was part of the problem with the defence before he was injured so whats changed? Benteke hanmered him with pace and his physical presence well chelsea have the combination of that mata and oscar and ba will hammer the lad, he may have PL experience, what 14 games a season for 3 years? But mbiwa has more match time experience, was captian of his team, has won a league title, played CL and is a full international
Taylor is a slightly better willo
No contest for me
Aa for people saying we need to slowly bed players in, were in a relegation battle, we dont have time to bed people in
Lu-toon
Feb 2, 2013 at 9:58 AM
Comment #21Let me be your ray of sunshine fellow Toon fans.
The sun is shining where I am and I have that bounce in my stride, you know that feeling when you just know it’s going to be a wonderful day, Chelsea are there for the taking, I feel not just a win but a barn storming performance is coming.
Can’t believe some think we are still in the mire. Look at our team, look who we have coming back, lets get safe, and use the rest of season as a appetiser for what is to come next season.
We will win today we will survive and we still have the EL to go for.
Toon_Tom
Feb 2, 2013 at 10:01 AM
Comment #22magpie6699 – my post I believe –
Perfect line up which is effictively 5 defenders but with Debuchy and Santon playing wing-back who can run and run so makes sense to me
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Feb 2, 2013 at 10:03 AM
Comment #23Lu Toon
The Yin to Peaco’s Yang. Harmony and balance has been restored 🙂
croftus5678
Feb 2, 2013 at 10:06 AM
Comment #24you can only class players gone by there worth to the club !
ba has gone but goofy has come in that is this season.
the season before “best” was our only usefull squad striker (he was not first team) that went but we got cisse so over the past few years we have always had the same amount of strikers.
imo ba has been replaced but i still think we need another quality striker to push the squad on even further and weaken our now new weak link.
croftus5678
Feb 2, 2013 at 10:17 AM
Comment #25@20
i’m the first to call saylor as he has never looked the same as he did before the injury a few years back !
but against villa i did not see any negatives in honesty as he looked like the player he used to be and i thought he did an ok job of benteke when he was on saylors area.
and i agree that mbiwa is in a totally different class to him but would you really expect mbiwa to move to the prem and face chelsea who have one of the if not the best attacking squad in the prem while you have a battle hardened cb who has played a lot more with collo and understands him and the way chelsea play !
a cb position is a lot more high risk than any other on the pitch (apart from gk) i would rather make sure he knows what he’s dealing with in the prem first than have teams like chelsea running rings around him due to lack of inexperiance to dampen his confidence in playing in the prem.
peaco1980
Feb 2, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Comment #26Ruddy,
Thank you so much for clarifying the unpredictable nature of football; I suppose that simply passed me by as I was busy working into the night devising functions, artificial neural networks and numerical models to arrive at the conclusion that 40 points appears to be a tall order.
From now on I promise to always be grateful for not being an Aston Villa supporter, and promise never to try to predict the outcome of an event based on experiential data. Thank you for this great day……thank you!