After Newcastle had threatened to win this game substitute Matt Derbyshire broke Newcastle hearts when he scored the only goal of the game on 90 minutes to send Newcastle tumbling to yet another defeat and into the relegation quagmire.
But Newcastle had many chances to score in this game and they can blame their own missed chances for not getting more out of this game. The main culprit today, of all people, was captain Michael Owen, who had three great chances to score but didn’t take any of his gilt edged chances.
The first chance came after 35 minutes when Michael rounded Brad Fridel but could only shoot wide from a narrow angle. Then Friedel denied Owen again when he turned the striker’s close range header over the bar 10 minutes into the second half. Then just 5 minutes later and Owen was through on goal but Friedel diverted his low effort around the post.
When you don’t take chances like that you don’t win games, and Newcastle are now well and truly in a fight for their survival in England’s top division.
It looked ominous for Newcastle when after 88 minutes Santa Cruz had a wonderful chance for Blackburn but Harper made a fantastic save. But it looks as if Newcastle didn’t heed that warning and finally Matt Derbyshire secured all 3 points for the Rovers.
Unfortunately teams below Newcastle won their games as Birmingham thrashed Tottenham at home by 4-1 and Reading beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside with a goal in injury time by James Harper.
Sunderland also gained on Newcastle be securing a 0-0 draw at Derby, so Newcastle are really in the relegation wars now after this terrible defeat. With this defeat we’ve gone from 6 points above the drop zone to just 3 points above 3rd bottom side, Reading.
Here is the latest league table with Middlebrough also in a fight for their survival.
Pos Team Games Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Pts 12 Middlesbrough 28 7 8 13 25 42 -17 29 13 Newcastle 28 7 7 14 30 53 -23 28 14 Sunderland 28 7 6 15 26 46 -20 27 15 Birmingham 28 6 8 14 31 41 -10 26 16 Wigan 27 7 5 15 26 42 -16 26 17 Bolton 27 6 7 14 27 39 -12 25 18 Reading 28 7 4 17 32 55 -23 25 19 Fulham 28 3 10 15 25 48 -23 19 20 Derby 28 1 7 20 13 57 -44 10
The next game is Liverpool at Anfield, and the Newcastle hierarchy must now be getting very nervous about the status of the club in the Premier league for next season.
Who would have thought we’d be in this position last August?
In our last 11 league games we’ve lost 8 and drawn just 3, the worst run we’ve ever had in the Premier league.
If we can’t get out of this freefall we’ll be relegated, and the management will not have to at least plan for that event, because it’s getting more and more real with every successive defeat we have.
Comments welcome.
46 comments so far
Plex
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:32 PM
Comment #1What a load of bollox
Why cant we fisish ??
Because we have a striker who hasnt scored in over 2 years thats why.
The more i look at our fixtures and the table i can accualy see us getting relegated tbh
YongMalaysia
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:34 PM
Comment #2i think we wil soon relegate… just ready for it. and keegen stil as a manager, take his responbility.and he now qualify for moden football as championsip manager. never get a single win for us at EPL !
yet_another_indian_toon
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:37 PM
Comment #3Championship, here we come again!!!
GP
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:39 PM
Comment #4Next season will be lovely, we’ll get to go to wonderful places like Hull and Barnsley.
shay is shit
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:41 PM
Comment #5we need a win next game to go into the fight with spiret if we lose we will go down
YEMOZONE
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:41 PM
Comment #6all the players are loosers
mitch
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Comment #7I think we were really unlucky ad luck has deserted us big time our players do not know how to win matches if we do go down keegan will still be the man to look after our club
Dragoner
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:44 PM
Comment #8players like michael owen, alan smith and damien duff should be ashamed of their finishing, professional footballers who cant find the back of a net
Kevin Lawson
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:48 PM
Comment #9We have no one to blame but ourselves and anyone that is calling KK head already should hang there head in shame.
The fact is we have decent enough players, including smith and butt. It’s just that confidence is so very low at the moment. The club keeps shooting itself in the foot by sacking managers before they have really had a chance to change things. Some of the fans that post here are no better.
We battered Blackburn today (who won 4-1 last week btw) and we were unlucky in the extreme. MO had the chances that he would normally eat for breakfast and squandered them.
I do agree there is a chance we could go down, but i don’t agree that sacking Keegan is the answer. He cares about this club and TBH i don’t think that any other manager would be able to do that much better with the same players.
We just need that bit of luck and for the F*CKING players to show the quality that we ll know they have got and we will do ok.
I don’t want to be relegated, but i’m starting to think it might serve as a good reality check to all those fans who think that we are automatic top 7.
Maybe liverpool away will get us a surprise result, theres gonna be no pressure now cos there shouldn’t be one single fan that expects a win.
Here’s hoping COME ON THE TOON!!!
Mad_Magpie
Mar 1, 2008 at 5:49 PM
Comment #10I guess today showed the difference between Keegan and Allardyce. With 5 minutes left under Big Sam, we would have taken the foot off the gas and settled with a draw, a result I would have taken before the game. Under Kev, we gambled and paid the price.
We dominated the match in general and luck was not on our side, something which Kev just hasn’t had and Big Sam did, otherwise he would have got the chop earlier.
Today we played better football than we ever played under Allardyce, and yes I’m devastated at the defeat but a part of me is happy at the general performance, which was barely ever the case with Allardyce.
People have to accept Kev’s methods. Yes, he’s tactically inept but he makes up for it in other areas. Do you really expect instant results with a squad he is only coming to terms with and is full of some pretty s**t players to be honest. Allardyce had this time in the summer, playing meaningless friendlies to come to terms with his squad, and get players in. Kev is doing all he can, and although we wasn’t my ideal choice for manager, we must back him 100%. To say Allardyce is a better choice is ludicrous. People really forget so much in only a couple of months.
Outlaw
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Comment #11LMAO
Watch this you guys…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/sol/newsid_7270000/newsid_7273000/7273074.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&news=1&ms3=4&ms_javascript=true&bbcws=2
Michael
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:05 PM
Comment #12@ mad_magpie: I am tired of hearing better football. If we did play better football as you have so opined, then this is empirical evidence that better football does not get you points.
We could have a disco on the pitch with players dancing modern dance steps entertaining the masses, but points are not allocated for entertainment. Points are allocated for wins or draws, with that said, would you rather the draw than the loss?
Yorkie Dave
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:06 PM
Comment #13toon4lyf no way this is a game imo that we cannot win we are not good enough. a team that lacks this much confidence will not beat a liverpool side that are chasing for CL. my personal team for next week has to include edgar, carrol, lua lua, tozer, kadar to name a few give these lads a chance with harper, beye, faye, milner, duff, martins, owen, emre,
GK-Harper
RB-Beye
LB-Tozer
CB-Edgar
CB-Faye
DM-Emre (could spray the ball about and tackle)
AM-Duff (run off the strikers)
RM-Milner
LM-Lua Lua
ST-Martins (out and out striker to shoot from anywhere, even shoot from goal kicks hehe)
ST-Carrol (drop abit deep to nod on)
Subs – Forster, Owen, Kadar, Smith, Butt.
if by anychance we get in front and looking ok bring Carrol off for Butt and play martins up alone and have 5 in midfield as one option to close out the game.
No one should of expected keegan to turn around these ULTRA LOW confidence players. i dont expect a result next week apart from a loss. We will be pulled further down next week but the games against Fulham, Sunderland (makcam f**kers), Birmingham, Reading are the key games and need from the others a few good performances.
a-liverpool 0pts
a-birmingham 3pts
h-fulham 3pts
a-tottenham 1pt
h-reading 3 pts
a-portsmouth 0pts
h-sunderland 3pts
a-west ham 1pt
h-chelsea 0pt
a-everton 0pt
thats best case scenario and would give us 14 points from our remaining games but i think that is being optimistic. birmingham more like 1 point, spurs 0, reading 1pt and west ham 0pt that would give us 8 pts on what we have and i think that could still be a problem!!! i think 36 points for our season is the least we can expect but anyworse and we are definately gone.
John
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:07 PM
Comment #14this is bollox…
Were going down…we have the worst run off fixtures andsome people on here think were going to win the games at home against, Fulham, Reading, Scum , even get something awayat westham and birmimgham…We’re the worst team in the PL at the mo and beingh honest, i can only see us winning the fulham game..Can’t see us beating the others..
Confidence is to low and Keegan does’nt have the balls to drop the one’s with nio confidence and try the kids or someone esle..
I can only see us going down now….Championship here we come…we’ll probably stay there for years then aswell…
Here come’s the dark days again
toon4lyf
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:07 PM
Comment #15we hav gud players and we have been very unlucky with keegan…but i think we will get a result v liverpool next week with emre back
Obafan
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:07 PM
Comment #16We need points ASAP. And I don’t care if KK tries to bring nice football. If it does not results in points, deserved or not, I don’t care. SA would have taken at least 6 points more than KK. Those 6 points would heve been so welcome. KK will not manage 1 win if he keeps continuing like this.
Mad_Magpie
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:09 PM
Comment #17FFS Outlaw what do you expect him to say? Slate the team and lower morale even more so than it is? He’s always positive for a reason and you’re blind to think today that we deserved to lose.
Michael – I agree, we should have sat back in the last few minutes but in terms of the general game we were really positive, only playing for a win, which we almost got. I just think under Allardyce we would of gone for the draw from the off, that’s all
toon4lyf
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:10 PM
Comment #18john we have better player than most of them teams if we can get 1 win we will get ar form back
John
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:10 PM
Comment #19Yorkie Dave a pointat totenham ..Are you crazy… 3 points at blues..
Mate wakey wakey…
John
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:11 PM
Comment #20toon4lyf are you on drugs
Obafan
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:13 PM
Comment #21toon4lyf – why Emre???? The guy does not get a chance under SA nor under KK. Why all of the sudden would KK let him play. No he will stick with his good old friends Butt, Barton and Smith. After the game they can go to the pub and get drunk. Isn’t that something they like to do???
m. stockley (nicky butt is crap)
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:14 PM
Comment #22toon 4 lyf, your optimism is admirable and i wish i could share it mate, but we aint taking anything from anfield
Mad_Magpie
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Comment #23toon4lyf – I admire you’re optimism. But although Emre is a good player, he wont make a massive impact. I hope I’m proved wrong though because we need some magic from somewhere. On paper we are better than the teams around us, but if you cant play as a team you’re going nowhere.
MiMo
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:20 PM
Comment #24Team performed well today, and this was an unfair result. The problem is that this is the equivalent of quick sand and we are now in it up to the neck. Wins against the Mackems, Fulham and Reading will put the team on 37 points. After Birmingham today I’m now seeing West Ham as our best chance away from home but 3 points might just about do it. Funny enough the performance today left me more confident than I was before kick off, but the players will have to continue the level or they are down.
toon4lyf
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:24 PM
Comment #25emre has saved us many times this season he has the most assissts also in jus a few games
Michael
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:26 PM
Comment #26Keegan has no tactics and this last minute sucker punch demonstrates this fact.
Kamikaze football has no place in a league. We are fighting for safety yet Keegan is fighting for reputation. He had 89 minutes to see we were not going to score, he did not go for the point, every point counts. Kamikaze destroys yourself.
If he had any ounce of tactical ability in him he would have called for the point. Playing percentages and going all out attack is strategic . Keegan does not know at what stage of the game we should be doing either.
Gambling with all points is not a prudent way to go gambling. You know Birmingham, sunderland Reading are coming up, this is where we go for the three points but prudently. You know Liverpool are coming up, we were blasted by Manchester united last week, confidence is low, surely the point was then our greatest probability of achiving our goal of safety.
I declare this now, I do not care if Sunderland finish above us, so long as we are not relegated. I am willing to be the bottom of our trio but so long as safety is in the bag.
This needs to be thought out, not just throw players on and tell the be “get up at em”. We need to think this through. It is not about ability but utilising it correctly. Keegan knows nothing about football and is only living on his past….. the last time he was good was in the 90s we are in 2008 that is over a decade ago.
ronaldeano
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:34 PM
Comment #27Ive just got back from the match and i feel sick to my stomach. 3 pts above the drop zone is going to make me sqirm in my sleep tonight, not just because we got beat, but because WE WERE THE BETTER SIDE BY FAR and we could not convert ‘one’ of the many chances we had, it’s so fustrating,no, ENFURIATING, ITS FOOKIN ENFURIATING. We can take a lot of positives from this game tho, we started creating chances and put in a good performance. I hope wor lass puts in a good performance when she gets in from clubbing just to cheer me up!!! 🙂 KEEP THE FOOKIN FAITH LAD’S, WE WILL GET OUT OF THIS SHIT
greek toon
Mar 1, 2008 at 6:58 PM
Comment #28ronaldeano, spoken like a true gentleman and scholar. You just cheered me up. 🙂
mikeygd
Mar 1, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Comment #29the fans have to keep the fooking faith, stop whinging and back the team or we will go down.
Tripp
Mar 1, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Comment #30Keegan can’t be blamed for today’s performance. The side created loads of chances, we just didn’t finish them off. That’s down to the players, not Keegan. This talk about SA getting more points is bollocks. The man had two chances to beat Derby and failed…twice. He went to the JJB to “contain” wigan. FFS, he was shite and we’d have done no better with him still in charge. We were very lucky at craven cottage and at home to Brum. We deserved the win against boro. We really should have 2 extra points. Today we out played a good side, but our luck continues. We’re rapidly running out of rope, but we still have another shot at Reading, Fulham, Sunderland, and Brum. We’re gonna need all of those points I’m afraid.
milnerfan
Mar 1, 2008 at 7:49 PM
Comment #31in a way i think getting religated would show that we are not the big club we used to be and shows how bad the the managers etc used to be. And perhaps spark sum serious changes that have be needed for years.
But then i think it will be a massvie step back for newcastle if we were to get religated, because i could see us strugling to get promoted again, thats the worrying thing. Another leeds on the way?
Mitch H
Mar 1, 2008 at 7:51 PM
Comment #32I’d just got back, jesus we was robbed.
For those who havnt seen todays game yet.
Have a watch tonight, we played so much much better today. lots of positives.
I’m 100% sure we will start picking up points & moving up the table soon.
Keep the Faith bonny lads & lasses !!
Ho’way the lads.
Mitch H
Mar 1, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Comment #33If Mike Ashley is serious about this club, then we should invest heavily during the summer.
KK & the scouting team need to bring in 5-6 youngsters, 4-6 first team players.
30-50 mill.
Coz if he does , Kev will have us playing good football again soon enough.
We carnt expect to challenge the big boys straight away, but i think we will progress each season, playing attacking free flowing football as we go.
KK is the man for the job, of that i’m sure.
So lets all get behind our boys in black & white, coz “after the darkness, cometh the light”.
NUFC, to the death & thats that!!
Aslan
Mar 1, 2008 at 8:10 PM
Comment #34Free ticket to the aston villa v newcastle match for the best constructive message posted…competition lasts till friday on http://blog.ukfootballfinder.co.uk –
Thanks…..
LongBeach Toon
Mar 1, 2008 at 11:50 PM
Comment #35This was by far the teams best game in as many weeks. Yes we lost, but we played the kind of attacking, agressive football that NUFC fans have been calling for all season long.
If we are to be relegated, I’d rather have a team playing the type of game we saw today than the passive-aggresive football that got us here during the first half of the season.
marcus owen
Mar 1, 2008 at 11:59 PM
Comment #36Look at the team selection this result no surprise me.This shows that KK is so stubborn and willing to gamble his fate on players like Smith,Butt & Barton.
If we can stay up next season MA must spend like Roman to help KK.If not,then we better change him because his tactical knowledge is so awful.I think even Glenn Roeder is better than him.
Steve
Mar 2, 2008 at 12:13 AM
Comment #37Whilst disheartened to lose a game at the death again, if we play like we did today, there’s no way we’ll be relegated. Say what you want about Owen but Friedel pulled off 2 freakish saves to deny him. Harps and Friedel were brilliant the whole gae and unfortunately, if they had somebody else in goal, we may have won by 2 or 3 goals
AdamCF
Mar 2, 2008 at 1:20 AM
Comment #38The game seemed to flow like a typical 4-3 Keegan win. They just simply couldn’t net anything. There were some positive signs which was good. Who know’s? If Keegs plays Martins and Carroll up front and N’Zog as a LM from the start, the result may have been different.
arctoa
Mar 2, 2008 at 1:44 AM
Comment #39One word, I think, sums up our present situation:
F*ck.
hanzemre
Mar 2, 2008 at 6:00 AM
Comment #40okay i’m now more convinced when ppl who actually attended/saw the game wrote that we approached to win the game & play positively just somehow unlucky. Soon luck’ll be on our side so stop worrying too much as we’ll be collecting points very soon.hopefuly against liverpool who knows eh?