Martin Dubravka had an excellent game on Saturday for Newcastle.
So did Yoshinori Muto – who was making his first start for the club.
And the Japanese International celebrated that start with a terrific goal after just 10 minutes to put Newcastle 2-0 up.
Kenedy had scored a goal with that great left foot of his three minutes earlier, after being put through by Perez.
And it’s Muto who with a late surge of votes has just pipped goalkeeper Martin Dubravka as our Man of the Match for Saturday.
Dubravka had another terrific game and he seems to be getting better and better after picking up from where he left off last season.
Yoshinori Muto scores his first goal for Newcastle
And Muto worked his socks off once again for Newcastle and was also appreciative of the fans’ support as he put this tweet out after the game.
Thank you very much for your support at the away match. Without your support, I wouldn’t have scored my first goal. Next game, I will do my best to get 3 points for the team!… https://t.co/VU18KUpcY8
— Yoshinori Muto/?? ?? (@yoshimuto18) October 7, 2018
Newcastle were superb for the first hour or so on Saturday and it was so cruel we took nothing out of the game.
But that’s life at times – and that’s football.
We will do a lot better before this year comes to a close.
Comments welcome.
155 comments so far
Nostradamus the Geordie
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:39 PM
Comment #121The blog has officially turned into an I’m right, shut up, your stupid-fest. The issue here is everyone has a valid point, Rafa could have done things differently, Ashley could have backed him, players were they good enough, should they have been sold. The main thing is until Ashley gives his 100% backing to the manager and lets Rafa purchase the players he really wants we will never know who’s right on the blog.
Yes, I feel sometimes when we play defensively we actually hurt ourselves, but that’s just my opinion, on other days I feel we need to play more defensively.
There is no balance in the team right now, we don’t have the players to do either, its a no win situation, the feel if Rafa does get backed in January and I mean some serious money something north of 80 Million then we are just going to be should we, could we, would we team.
If Rafa is backed with the money and he purchases players that put balance into the team, like most top six teams they have a spine, Goalie covered, Central Defender covered, Midfield covered, number ten not yet and striker not yet.
If when and only when Rafa gets his players then maybe we don’t need to be defensive, we don’t need to be attacking, we just need to be balanced so we can cope with both options in the game, we know we can go forward and not worry about teams coming at us.
We have about 12 – 14 weeks to see what happens, right now its frustrating as hell, Rafa hopefully gets his #10, Striker, Lb and probably a midfielder.
Now if Rafa gets this and only if he does then we can not really judge him, its never really ever been his team, the one he wants to put out on the pitch to compete in the Prem, roll on Jan window, god I hope that Ashley turning up to games is his way of saying, yes I screwed up and I really want to fix this, time will tell.
Jail for Ashley
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:43 PM
Comment #122cyprus,
We made a profit of gawd knows how much this summer. We spent next to nowt. Because of this we are in a mini league of five teams. Have a look at their results against the teams that finished in the top six. Soton were humped 0-3 off Chelsea yesterday and were never in the game after Chelsea scored. I loved being called a Rafa happy clapper. It is even more satisfying being called one off someone who has had unwavering support for Mike Ashley over the years.
Jail for Ashley
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:47 PM
Comment #123Nostradamus the Geordie,
He has to fix it or we may well get relegated. He’ll spend to try and avoid relegation, not to keep Rafa happy, he’ll not want to hire another manager with clout ever again.
RobLeenio
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:48 PM
Comment #124Nostro – “I’m right, shut up, your stupid-fest” Lol, made me chuckle
I do wonder at Ashley’s change of behaviour. Lots of people are saying it’s only short term, he’ll revert to type, as if that makes what he’s doing now less valid.
The fact is that he’s now attending games, taking an interest in the club, speaking with Rafa and the players and these are all good things. If Rafa can use the increased contact to get his point across, that’s even better. If Ashley then sees a reason to change his behaviour in the long term then that’s a win.
Let’s not forgive him yet and let’s keep the pressure on, because there’s only one thing bringing him to the table now and that’s the power being exerted by the media, the politicians and the fans and these are the only thing that will keep him there long enough to make a difference.
Jail for Ashley
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:58 PM
Comment #125RobLeenio,
Alan Shearer reckons he would have told him to stick his holiday up his ar$e in his column today.
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 2:59 PM
Comment #126Lets blame Rafa for MAs greed
He trousered about 100 million in the summer
Its never MAs fault with these people,just ordinary views from your average fan
None of which ever seem to mind us not spending our transfer budget on a shop
The only place youll ever see a football fan not want to spend money on players
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:01 PM
Comment #127How many more years until we have an owner who wants to build a club and not his retail empire?
How many more years until we have a striker who could do the number 9 shirt justice?
catchy in norway
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:01 PM
Comment #128Cyprus
you are 100% correct,, there is never really a winner, when its just opinions.
and your right about him cashing in on his PAST record of titles,, I cannot judge how he played myself to win those trophies, as i never really paid attention to him back then.
His record with players, is not so good though, from Stevie G, Alonso, Bellamy, Gamez and many many others, they dont have that many nice things to say about him as a man manager or his coaching sessions, and for me as a fan, I dont like how he treats our players,, its well known im no fan of Lascelles, i just dont think he is that good, but If the Manager asks a question about tactics, It was wrong of Rafa then to punish Lascelles for giving an answer he didnt like. I think in his time here, he has used the players as scape goats,
He won far more than both KK and SBR, but if someone gave me the choice, id take there football of his record everyday of the week, and live in hope, but happy we tried, AS IMHO I think its a sad life watching this type of football when you 100% know your not going to win anything.
RobLeenio
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:03 PM
Comment #129Yeah, I saw that. To be fair, it’s a crappy offer but at least it’s communication and an attempt at motivation – that’s better than we’ve had before so it’s a step forward at least.
If he’s not going to sell, we need him to back the manager and the players. He can’t do that unless he starts talking to them. If he feels comfortable offering them a holiday as an incentive, that’s a start, albeit a poor one.
RobLeenio
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:06 PM
Comment #130I reckon it’s a play straight out of the Sam Hammam book of football club ownership and advocated by none other than our friendly neighbourhood Joe Kinnear, Ashley’s big mate and geezer with his finger on the pulse of modern football.
After all, if it worked for the Crazy Gang in the 80s, it has to be a winner now!
Lascelles sells sea shells by the sea shore
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:06 PM
Comment #131Toonbotherer
‘please say hi to your mom for me’
Are you for real kid… Grow the f*@k up you moron… That’s a step too far on an online blog… And you have the audacity to call a dedicated fan a lowlife?
Hypocrisy at its finest!!!
Our Toon
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:08 PM
Comment #132Didn’t want to comment over the weekend as people on here were just going mental for no reason in my opinion.
The performance made me happy, yes we didn’t get the result, I’d say we ran out of steam but about time muto started though, that’s the reason why I’ve been asking for him to play. Much better performance, we were massively unlucky with the pen.
If anything we’ve shown this squad isn’t as bad as some make out on here, it has talent and going forward if we play like that we will get the right results.
Well done rafa for being brave, I’ve been a big critic this season but can’t fault what I saw on Saturday, shame some can’t see past blaming rafa only. It’s pathetic really, as long as we set up like that and on the front foot we will get results. I’ve always said I try to be balanced, the pen changed everything
catchy in norway
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:11 PM
Comment #133Mag P
They’re extremely rational points as to why he may have sold them. You’re just not willing to be open minded.
I am open minded,, I could give you a reason why any would love to stay and love to go.
At some point you have to be open minded to think, hey, we played Forest or Cardiff, and that simply wasnt good enough, and be open minded to think, Hey, We demand that football that we seen at Man U against every team we play outside the top 6,,
If they have shown there capable a couple of times now against the big teams, why are we so poor against the poor teams,, LCFC finished 3 points in front of us, yet they played us of the park at our home. 1 week later with the same players, we go and batter Man u for 45 mins away from home and should have been 4-0 up,, that was only 1 week.
I never asked him to play Joselu up front, Muto was available to him last week,, who was to blame for that?
catchy in norway
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:15 PM
Comment #134OT
1 x 45 mins dosnt make up for all the crap football we watch.
his time is done for me,
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:20 PM
Comment #135MA
Couldnt sell the club to one of the richest people in the world,insulting him along the way
Has asset stripped the club,bought a shop with this season transfer money
Has lied on every occasion in the last 11 years
But some how you think changing the manager is the key to our future success
You not deluded,its beyond that
It seems youve been posting here for years
Why bother ?
You only ever want to say how rubbish the manager is,and post bizarre opinions
All sounds like a payed opinion,ive never met a single person who has anything like the twisted views of yourself
Its never MAs fault
Rob1971
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:22 PM
Comment #136I wonder how much he has clawed back:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mike-ashley-claws-back-slice-13384065
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:23 PM
Comment #137Youve decided as a fan to post on some blog just how much we are rubbish and pin the blame on the current manager
Ignoring reality along the way
Cant have people see the truth and acting against your mate Mike can we
As its simple enough
If your so any Rafa your simply being Pro MA
Makes you worse than a mackem
Moonraker15
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:23 PM
Comment #138Ashley must have utter respect for Rafa as, despite being lied to, starved of funds and quite frankly asked to do an impossible job, Rafa has never slagged Ashley off and just got on with the job.
If we spend big in January it must surely signal a change of policy for Ashley and with luck Rafa will sign up again!
If we can get challenging top 8 again someone will come in with an offer for the club Ashley can’t refuse! Fingers crossed as always!
Reilly
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:24 PM
Comment #1398 games into a new season and wanting the manager out.
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:26 PM
Comment #140Id say about 100 million this season
Wonder whos keep account of who owes what?
Probably Mike is ,im sure we can trust him
DubaiMicky
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:26 PM
Comment #141Rob1971 Well the most recent accounts said that debt payable within a year was £33m. So I’d suggest that’s the figure.
Our Toon
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:31 PM
Comment #142Catchy
Mistakes have been made, I’m merely discussing the game on Saturday, the performance can’t be faulted in my opinion. The set up was right, and we were unlucky not to get a pen which ultimately would have finished the game off.
What’s happened has happened and by continuing on twisting about it won’t change anything, as long as we continue to play like we did on Saturday we will give ourselves the best chance of staying up. It’s what I’ve asked for all along and we looked much better.
Moonraker15
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:35 PM
Comment #143The original “loan” to the club just after the acquisition should count as part of the purchase price and therefore is not a loan! Just because they’re supposed to have not known about the outstanding mortgage on the ground means they had to pay more than first thought. If there was proper transparency in the accounting then we would know, but the barrow boy has to operate under smoke and mirrors. Basically he owns the club so he can take what he wants out, but he doesn’t declare it!
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:37 PM
Comment #144When you think about it he probably has to pay back the cash he “loaned “ us
Meaning he starts paying for the adverts
It’s what the MPs wanted to investigate
Now he can pay us a penny a year for it
And dodging the investigation into the free advertising on the BBC
He’s never going to sell us
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:39 PM
Comment #145Wonder whats in those accounts he’s not willing to turn over to the courts ?
Wonder why nobody will audit his company?
Wonder why his last auditor is in court being investigated with papers he won’t turn over ?
Answers to KBA
Moonraker15
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:45 PM
Comment #146I think Mourinho has more questions than answers after Saturday’s game.
What’s his best team? Well he can’t start the next game with the team he finished with and he can’t pick the team he started with!
TBH we shouldn’t be surprised we were 2-0 up when you look at their recent results! We probably should have done a lot better! Never mind we’ve discovered Muto, and Shelvey and Kenedy have found a bit of form! It’s all there for us in the next 10 games!
beermonkey
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:51 PM
Comment #147toon22
can you prove he has trousered 100mill in the summer
given what you are doing sticking to facts would be better
Zele
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:54 PM
Comment #148Our Toon,
‘….Well done rafa for being brave, I’ve been a big critic this season but can’t fault what I saw on Saturday,…’
Well said, me too. For 70 minutes our Championship relegation rejects were as equal to and in parts better than their multi-million pound mega star opponents.
There have been periods, albeit too short, in previous games were the defensive shackles have been released and we have attacked convincingly and effectively.
Perhaps this game was a wake up call / turning point in our season for Rafa. The team can play attractive attacking football so please let them try. Not a lot to ask for.
Jib
Oct 8, 2018 at 3:55 PM
Comment #149catchy in norway
I am open minded,
ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 4:09 PM
Comment #150In the absence of facts,and the history of MA running of our club
Are we to believe he has given Rafa every penny>?
IF he payed off the “loan” its exactly the same as trousering it
Since nobody knows im making a guess,probably something similar to his accountants
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 4:11 PM
Comment #151Zele
You mean the same kind of football Fulham played ?
With the star man Mitro we should have kept?
We played well i agree
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 4:12 PM
Comment #152The same way our owner sold that land
Or were we supposed to ignore the inconvenient stuff and just believe he isnt shafting our club ?
toon22
Oct 8, 2018 at 4:13 PM
Comment #153This is what he thinks of us
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NINTCHDBPICT000439129851.jpg?strip=all&w=960
Zele
Oct 8, 2018 at 4:19 PM
Comment #154Toon22,
No I didn’t hint or say Fulham.
We played well, really well for 70 minutes. Even the die hard Manc commentators said so.
In previous games there have been (all too) brief periods where we have attacked teams.
I will give Rafa the benefit of the doubt and say circumstances in all the previous games didn’t allow him to select a team and then instruct them to attack to the extent we saw in Manchester.
My hope is that he keeps faith with those players and the tactics against Brighton.
Nufc 4ever
Oct 8, 2018 at 4:26 PM
Comment #155Jail
I called scratchy from who cares regarding his 140 million plus spend of rafa last week
He spouts facts and cant back them up .he does not reply as he is full of utter crap day after day
He did not come back with your quote today i even named all the players no reply what a moby he really is