It’s going to be a difficult game today for our lads, and of the 13 games remaining in the league, manager Alan Pardew has said the game at Manchester City is the only one tougher than this one.
Gareth Bale – the danger man for Newcastle today
And we haven’t fared well away from home at all this season, and the last game on the road at Aston Villa was our first win – but things work in strange ways, and maybe we can get our second away win on the trot today, against what is a good Tottenham Hotspur side.
In our match preview yesterday we said that Gareth Bale would be the danger man, and he scored a superb winner last week at the Hawthorns, when he fired in an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty area to win the game 1-0 at West Brom, and gain 3 points on Chelsea, who Newcastle beat 3-2 last weekend.
Tottenham are now in 4th place and only one point behind Chelsea in the league table.
Alan Pardew certainly thinks Gareth Bale is the danger man Newcastle must watch today:
“Gareth Bale is definitely amongst those top five or six players in the world right now.” “If anyone picked a World XI, you would have Bale in at left midfield for sure. I can’t think of anyone who would dislodge him from there. That’s the level he is playing at.”
“There are not too many in the Premier League who could get in that World XI team, but he would be one of them.” “I think what you have to do is make sure you contain him to the best of your ability and shape. But you can’t take your eye off the fact they also have Mousa Dembélé, Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor.”
“They have some really offensive players with great technical ability.” “But we did pretty well against Oscar and Juan Mata last weekend in the Chelsea game, so we can cope.” “Any away game is a test. I have said all along, since the day I walked in here, that we should win our home games. I don’t care who the opposition are.”
“But away games are much more difficult and this one, with no disrespect to Chelsea, is much more difficult than last week.” “AVB has done a good job there. He’s gone quietly about his business, as he does, he’s a very thorough coach and I’ve got a lot of admiration for him.”
Those last two sentences from Alan seem to be setting us up for a loss today, but we’ve done so poorly in the league this season, that we must try to win every single remaining game, and that includes today’s game at White Hart Lane, where our new look side with be in for a tough test – but we still can win this game.
What do you think?
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45 comments so far
~ Phoenix Warrior Perch~
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:41 AM
Comment #1Reading between the lines, Tiote should not be in the starting line up. 🙂
toon smart
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Comment #2Reading between the lines, i should have gone to specsavers
yo-yo
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Comment #3check
The last thing we want is KK coming back to the Toon, rocking the boat, scrapping the development squad and playing 0-4-6 formation 🙂
croftus5678
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Comment #4i’m thinking bale up front is a mistake on there part in honesty and will fall in our favour 🙂
the problem with him is his movement and speed that a winger can not mark him as his position is mid park but as a striker we have defenders constantly near him so that he has a player on him straight away rather that a team wondering who will mark him.
bills-son
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Comment #5We’ll win 2.0.
Rotonda heights
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:51 AM
Comment #6I think the greatest thing about the French invasion is not having to see Simmo and Willo’s names in the team sheet any more.
Debuchy is a footballer, Simpson is a quick athlete but has no footballing brain or skill. To do 2 dodgy and costly throws 2 years running at the Emirates clearly demonstrates this.
Everyone says Perch or Tiote, but I feel really sorry for Anita who had 2 m.o.m’s in a row.
Pardew clearly does not play people on form or merit as Marv had also been playing well yet immediately gets shunted for Jonas who had his best game after a whole season of indifference. It’s the inconsistencies I find annoying.
Despite Saylor and to a lesser degree Colo playing well, I am worried about both their lack of pace and maybe we should be looking at M’Biwa as a sweeper behind both of them in a 3-4-3. M’Biwa is too good to leave out for too long.
Krul
MiBiwa Saylor Colo
Debuchy Cabaye Sissoko Santon
Gooofy Cisse Marv
tequilamag
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:54 AM
Comment #7Rotonda, not sure how you can say Marv has been shunted in favour of Jonas. Marv was playing CM and was replaced by Sissoko.
SpaceGhost
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:56 AM
Comment #8@ Rotonda
That should be our home formation. damn good looking team!
croftus5678
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:56 AM
Comment #9@6
i would have a bet that mbiwa will definatly be in the euro starting line up m8 and the same with marv/anita to try keep them happy as he knows they are 1st team players but fortunatly we have more than 11 first team players now 🙂
croftus5678
Feb 9, 2013 at 10:59 AM
Comment #10its a good job arfa is injured tbh or even he may not get into this team ^^
Rotonda heights
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:02 AM
Comment #11Thanks space
i was quite proud of that ! for me it’s got everything
JAMSHA
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:03 AM
Comment #12Reading between the lines, Im off to play fifa 13
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Comment #13If I was the manager I would play Willo and ask him to take Bale out within the first minute.
That would be Willo red carded and Bale off injured.
We would have much more chance of winning! 😉
proudtobageordie
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:09 AM
Comment #14troy
we find it very diffucult to win away from home with 11 men never mind 10 men for 89 mins. spuds arn’t a 1 man team they have quality all over the pitch so if bale dosn’t hurt us they have other quality players who can
Rotonda heights
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:10 AM
Comment #15troy
radical but one way of doing it I suppose. hopefully bale will get 2 yellow cards for diving.
Rotonda heights
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Comment #16proud
I don’t think troy was serious lol !
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Comment #17@Rotunda
No, I was being serious. 😀
Ok Proud, I would leave it til the second minute and then we would only have 88 minutes to survive. Your thoughts on that idea? 🙂
croftus5678
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Comment #18i think we should log onto the totenham blog and see how much they are scared of playing us not the other way around 🙂
clinta2
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Comment #19I live in China. So a few days off for Chinese New Year at the moment means i can watch the game for a change tonight. But all pubs are shut. Anyone got a link?
clinta2
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:23 AM
Comment #20I watched the Soccer AM piece with Olivier Bernard earlier today. Still lives in Newcastle and married to a Geordie lass. Didn’t know that!
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16497_8482039,00.html
croftus5678
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:24 AM
Comment #21@19
i would do but we get told off for things like that so go onto your search engine and type vip box there are streaming tv on there 🙂
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Comment #22@Croftus
They will be worried now if they are tuning in here. Arry will be telling his players to surround Bale for the first two minutes like American footballers and watching Willo like a hawk! 😀
I’m giving the toon tactics away here like!
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Comment #23@Clinta
Olivier Bernard is often seen at Gosforth park football centre training kids and I bumped into him at the Irish club last year watching a toon game.
He loves the Toon.
geordiemark
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Comment #24bale is just a player yes hes classy and aye hes quick man mark him, theres lennon to who I class as a really good player.
we have our own danger men for the spuds to watch out for cissie,cisco called him that cos hes a bit like a brazilian 🙂 cabaya and ive noticed santon having a lot of shots at goal in the last few matches and dont forget taylor can get onto crosses from corner kicks to so aye its not just spuds here they have to keep watch on us more I reckon
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:36 AM
Comment #25Just a quick one. I own a horse which I’ve got tethered on my front lawn and since the horse meat scandal came out, it looks at me differently now.
Do you think it knows about it? They say they have a sixth sense.
croftus5678
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:40 AM
Comment #26@25
its ok buddy just re-asure it that they will never findus (find us sorry >.< )
yo-yo
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:41 AM
Comment #27troy
neigh lad
clinta2
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Comment #28@Troy
It’s good hear lad. I didn’t know that having never lived in Newcastle. I’ve just been there a couple times to see games. It seems a lot of our past players have a real affiliation and love for the toon after they stop playing for us. Must be the fans.
Nufc-83
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Comment #29Jamie-mac is clearly related to simmo as anyone who cant see the massive gulf in class needs to go and concentrate on rugby or golf. Simmo cant cross at all and never wants the ball at his feet so just for that alone he is clearly not on Debuchy’s level. The only thing i can say is i did think debuchy was a lot quicker than he actually is but still a good player and someone who is decent at the back and good going forward.
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:48 AM
Comment #30Yo-yo
I’m neighing. What next?
We will have to stop cos its not funny anymore. Sorry. 🙁
Toon-Prodigy
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:48 AM
Comment #31Send Tiote in to look after this kid Pardew!
Where are these starting line ups? Howay!
papattack
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:48 AM
Comment #32marveaux for gouffran the only change tiote on bench
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:48 AM
Comment #33Lee Ryder ?@lee_ryder
#nufc #thfc bench Harper, Yanga-Mbiwa, Anita, Tiote, Marveaux, Obertan, Shola Ameobi.
Expand
2m Lee Ryder Lee Ryder ?@lee_ryder
#nufc Krul; Debuchy, S.Taylor, Coloccini (c), Santon; Cabaye, Perch; Gutierrez, Sissoko, Marveaux; Cisse.
Marv starting or not?!? Where is Gouffran?
papattack
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:50 AM
Comment #34scatch that marveaux is starting and on the bemch according to twitter. hmmm…
Troy Stavers
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:50 AM
Comment #35@Croftus
As above. 😀
@Clinta2
I believe it is. Just listening to Micky Quinn on talksport and he gushes everything about the Toon and the fans.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:51 AM
Comment #36pap…I’m guessing they’ve mistaken Marv with Gouffran somewhere….but is it starting or bench?
Happy enough either way tbh.
Let’s take them down!
Nufc-83
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:51 AM
Comment #37Marv is starting and on the bench so i would guess gouf is playing
dannyboy
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:51 AM
Comment #38strange goofy isnt starting, impact sub?
papattack
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:52 AM
Comment #39we’re unchanged marvs on the bench
dannyboy
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Comment #40any1 got spurs team????