In a stunning result at St. James’ Park this afternoon, Newcastle were beaten at home for the first time since May of last year, as Blackpool beat the Magpies by two goals to nil.
Blackpool captain Charlie Adam opened the scoring from the penalty spot just before half time, but unlike in the last home game against Aston Villa he didn’t miss, and it was a great time for the Tangerines to score their goal.
The penalty was after Alan Smith brought down Luke Varney in the penalty box.
And then on 90 minutes, just to rub salt in the wounds, DJ Campbell scored Blackpool’s second goal and this was the first defeat since Fulham beat us 1-0 in the last home game of our relegation season.
So in Newcastle’s first two home games of the season, we have had two stunning results – the 6-0 win against Villa and now the 2-0 defeat against the side that finished 6th top in the Championship last season, although they won the playoffs in great style to get that 3rd promotion spot.
And that’s two away wins for Blackpool with an aggregate score of 6-0 after they whipped Wigan 4-0 in the first game of the season.
Blackpool were very well organized in this game, as indeed they had been in their previous games and were very difficult to break down, as Chris Hughton had warned in the run-up to this game.
And even the eagerly anticipated arrival of Ben Arfa, who was brought on in the second half for his Magpies debut, couldn’t inspire any kind of comeback by the Newcastle side.
Newcastle played the same team for the 4th league game in a row and things looked a bit ominous after just 12 minutes, when goalkeeper Steve Harper had to make a superb double save from Campbell and Brett Ormerod.
Newcastle had a lot of the ball in this game but found it very difficult to break down the well organized Blackpool defense.
But on 30 minutes Kevin Nolan forced goalkeeper Matthew Gilks into a good save from an Andy Carroll flick, and in a keenly contested first half Blackpool got the vital breakthrough when Smith brought down Varney inside the box, and it was Blackpool captain Adam who beat Harper easily with the resulting penalty.
In the second half Lovenkrands replaced Smith after Gilks had saved a Joey Barton shot after 60 minutes, and would you believe Marlon Harewood was booed on to the pitch when he was brought on.
What was that all about? Marlon did well for Newcastle and scored 5 goals when he was here on loan – maybe it was because the lads were behind in the game.
It was after 73 minutes that Ben Arfa made his very first appearance for Newcastle to a huge ovation form the crowd and Newcastle pushed and pushed for an equalizer to preserve their unbeaten home record, and Wayne Routledge had a shot that was just stopped on the line.
And goalkeeper Matt Gilks also produced a string of superb saves during the game to deny Newcastle a goal, and even with just a couple of minutes to go he somehow blocked Andy Carroll’s goal-bound shot with his foot.
To round off what was another surprising win for the unlikely Blackpool, Campbell struck on 90 minutes and the game was over at 2-0. Who would have thought that it would be Blackpool who would be the first side to beat Newcastle at St. James’ Park in 16 months?
But now Blackpool move to 7 points from 4 games and are 4th top right now, and Newcastle have just 4 points from their first 4 games in 13th position.
It was not a good day for Newcastle United today, but it’s also not time to wildly over-react on the negative side either. Any side can beat any other side in the Premier League this season, and that was proved by Blackpool today, who played a very good game.
And Newcastle also had precious little luck in the second half, when they pushed and pushed for a goal, and in the game they had 22 shots at goal to Blackpool’s 8 – but goals of course are all that count.
Next up for Newcastle are Everton at Goodison Park next weekend, with the Toffees scoring two injury time goals to get a miraculous 3-3 draw with Manchester United earlier today, when the game seemed all over.
We do expect Chris Hughton to make a few changes in his starting eleven for the next game, and we may even see starts for Campbell and Tiote in that game.
Newcastle United: Harper; Perch, Williamson, Coloccini, Enrique; Routledge (Ameobi, 81), Smith (Lovenkrands, 63), Barton, Gutierrez (Ben Arfa, 73); Nolan, Carroll. Subs not used: Krul, Campbell, R Taylor, Tiote,
Blackpool: Gilks; Keinan, Earley, Evatt, Crainey; Vaughan, Adam; Ormerod (Harewood, 65), Grandin (Carney, 85), Varney; Campbell. Subs not used: Halstead, Euell, Phillips, Edwards.
Goals: Adam 45 (pen), Campbell 90
Bookings: Vaughan 25, Perch 47, Adam 71, Coloccini 72, Campbell 90
Sent off: None
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Attendance: 49,597
39 comments so far
nimo
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Comment #1still not convinced it was a penalty after seeing it on the tv in the bar at half time
Toon XI
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:35 PM
Comment #2Wake up call for all involved. Squad and fans. There were many positives to take away just need some changes in the squad. I am nervous about next three games as I don’t see points coming from anywhere except possibly Stoke. Disappointing performance and day nevertheless. Absolutley gutted at this defeat.
listie
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:37 PM
Comment #3A very dissapointing result, but the Blackpool keeper played out of his skin, we need to learn, forget and move on and be ready for the Everton game, as watching them on Sky earlier they could batter us
brighter
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:39 PM
Comment #4Why manager decied not to send Ben Arfa until 72 mins??I can’t truely understand it.
Toon XI
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:43 PM
Comment #5Agree Brighter. CH has lacked creativity with his substitutions. It appears to be his biggest weakness. He has done such a fantastic job with the squad. I just wish he would show more courage and ingenuity with roster/sub selects. HBA should have come on earlier. He looked cool and confident with the ball. I think he’ll start at Everton. At least I hope he will.
nimo
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:43 PM
Comment #6still early doors, everyone forgets everton may have played well today but still havent won this season. howay the lads
GeordieGerman
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:44 PM
Comment #7So to all those who where getting carried away and saying things like 4th, 6th place finish. Good morning… ! We are now where we will probably finish. Anything above will be a bonus.
Turkish Magpie
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:45 PM
Comment #8The referee is a ***** *** *** ***** ***** ***** **** ***** **** **** ***** **** ******************* ******* *****
ginkoh
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:52 PM
Comment #9We let ourselves down not Blackpool. It’s the game we look back and said It’s the worst day of the season !!
giimps
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:53 PM
Comment #10Reality check for everyone, maybe Hughton will now realise Smith Nolan and Barton do not work well in midfield ,I didnt realise Smith was on the field till he gave the Penalty away.
Hughton needs to grow some nads and play Carol with another quick player cos he was flicking balls on to nobody ,no person anticipated the flicks and moved ,We were a shambles, and we will struggle all season if we cant play well against the blackpools.
Everton then Stoke at home, we need Ben Arthur and Tiote instead of Smith and Nolan.
He wont drop Nolan ,so we will struggle .
Hope not though !!!
brighter
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:55 PM
Comment #11Toon XI
Thank you for approving my comment.
I think you said it too.
And I want to say that CH msut more study football game with no fears of own squad.
Toon XI
Sep 11, 2010 at 5:55 PM
Comment #12Reminds me of 2007-8 when couldn’t beat Derby County in our two matches against them. Although, Blackpool appears to be a much better side than County.
AngelOfDeath
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Comment #13Off-topic.
Do you guys notice,since Fraser plays for Celtic,Celtic don’t concede any goals. 😆
That’s 2 clean sheet for 2games. 😉
Brutooon
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Comment #141)Wake up Call
2)Smith is anonymous, if u guys can recall starting we bought Alan Smith the team is moving downwards.
3)Alan Smith is a DM, he should hold the ball more, pass the ball – be someone like Scott Parker or Scholes. he so called “tackle” are all crap
3) CH SHOULD change his first eleven for everton
4) We will get at MOST 3 points from the three match
5) we are relegation battler and please keep that in mind
6) if we were to be relegate, a nice headlines would be “6-0 over aston villa but still relegated”
7)it hurt more when sunderland win AWAY with 10 MEN.
CT
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:09 PM
Comment #15Charlie Adam controlled the game and tactically we did nothing about it! Worry that for me!!
cynicaltoonfan
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:10 PM
Comment #16Just been to the match and have a few points
1) This result is a big wake up call to both the fans and the players who seem to think he have a devine right to stay in this league and the few deluded people who thought a top 6 finish was near !!
2) Give credit to Blackpool they did not sit back however despite us being poor we created so many chances and payed the price foor poor finishing
3) Alan smith is shocking and i am glad we signed Tiote , hopefully he is quicker and more comfortable on the ball than Smith.
4) Ben Afra i thought was excellent when he came on and in the 15 mins he was on did more than jonas or routledge. He showed wonderfull technique and close control and was beating blackpool players left right and center
5) I think today showed that we have a weakness upfront other than Carroll ( maybe Lovenkrands) we should Definetly try and get another foward in January
6) Colo was great today i was sitting in the stadium and people were singing his praises it seems that a season in the Championship wasnt too bad for him he seems stronger now
Finally We are not an abysmall side today we had no luck and lets not here fans calling for CH head its ONE GAME ! give him a fair chance
That my rant finished feel free to agree or disagree !
StuW
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:11 PM
Comment #17Beefheart will have a field day….
GeordieTartanArmy
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:11 PM
Comment #185 things to blame:
Hughton – terrible decision making
Nolan – Just got in the way and killed own attacks
DM double – unusually poor in passes and tackles
Referee – worst ref i have ever seen at this level
Goalkeepers – Blackpools played well, Harper continued his shit form despite 1 great double save
Brutooon
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:14 PM
Comment #19cynicaltoonfan: nice comments but :
1) blackpool players are below average players compare to ours
2) hope CH got the balls to dropped smith
3) we need a 4-4-2 at home, forget 4-5-1.
nufc.romania
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:19 PM
Comment #20can everybody know where i can see the game ?? … or i can download it …
Toon XI
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:19 PM
Comment #21For Everton match I would like to see Tiote for Smith, HBA for Jonas and Raylor for Perch.
I feel Routledge is performing at higher level than Jonas.
antmanbee
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:24 PM
Comment #22I reckon the Captain’ll be as gutted as we all are…shows he’s mebbe’s more astute than some give him credit for.
I thought we’d got beyond the inconsistency of underestimating opposition and overestimating ourselves…back to the drawing board…
arcarius
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:25 PM
Comment #23GTA@18
Just about right.
Dont know whats bothering him at times, but he needs to be bold and have more courage at deciding whats best for the team.
Looking forward to the next game, hopefully with Arfa starting
Bad result,REALLY, at home 🙁
HWTL!
sweendog
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:25 PM
Comment #24bad defeat .. hughton should have kept Guti on and Arfa .. we needed the win ..
as long as its just a blip ..
get tiote blooded for everton .. arfa on from the start .. lets see what they can do ..
Disappointed but we’ve the quality to do better .. just means fellow strugglers have gained 6 points ..
Tommy Gibb
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Comment #25I remember not too long ago that the blog owner referred to todays opposition as LOWLY BLACKPOOL.
Your arrogance has bitten you on the arse hasn’t it you daft yankee git!
BeeGuy
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Comment #26I don’t know who is to blame for this loss. NUFC has better speed and guile, but played the game nearly all Route 1. I don’t know if this was the strategy, or if the players just fell into it. But it completely cut off any advantage NUFC had over the older and slower Blackpool.
If Perch is the weak link on defense, and Smith is the DM, then why is SMith so late getting to the area needing assistance? And then compounding the situation by fouling?
To me, CH needs to plan better, or demand players follow the game plan.
hHere was no sense that NUFC was really in control of this game, they just had a lot of the ball in poor positions.
GeordieTartanArmy
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:31 PM
Comment #27Hughton is a great manager but he has one weakness: substitutions
This is such a vital part of the game and intelligence must be equipped when making a substitution, this was not present today.
Lov for Smith : we needed danger up top but by making this change we were left with just barton in mifield as nolan could not keep up with pace in the CM. Tiote was ready for his debut and would have provided more to the midfield with maybe nolan being the one replced by lov
Shola for routledge: routledge was not great and I wasnt too surprised to see him taken off but for Shola??? Yes, Ameobi was decent but he is not a left midfielder where he seemed to sit in despite having left sided lov up front. Ben Arfa was then left alienated in his first ever PL game and despite playing well, CH only just got away with treating Hatem so poorly
Ben Arfa for Jonas
This was a change that needed to be made as Jonas’ crosses all went to keeper at front post unless he came inside where he had no support. Ben Arfa showed great flair and creativity but he was in no doubt, fully fit to play and should have been brought on
CH has some big decisions to make ahead of Everton and must contemplate starting Krul but it may be wise to break him in during home matches as the season progresses. Tiote should be given half an hour but CM should remain the same just in case. Perch is terrible and should be replaced by the slightly less terrible Ryan Taylor until Simpson returns. Ben Arfa should enter the fray ahead of either Nolan or routledge too.
CT
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:38 PM
Comment #28Beefy`s still in WIGAN!!! Getting beat 2-o, wifie watching Sickly come vomit, Z fuctor, crashualty and I can`t bring mysel to watch MOD! Another thing my bloody turn to cook the bloody supper!! PERFECT POXY SATURDAY!!! Still never mind eh? at least I`m not a smoggie!!!
Brutooon
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:38 PM
Comment #29Jonas or Routledge – i go for Jonas and Ben Arfa – routledge to play as sub if either one dont perfrom
Centre Midfield should be Tiote and Barton/Nolan
toonster88
Sep 11, 2010 at 6:41 PM
Comment #30this game will finally end the hype that is andy carroll.martin o’neil for manager.enuff said.
Steve_48
Sep 11, 2010 at 7:03 PM
Comment #31I knew it was a jinx when Football Focus was broadcast from St James’ Park, talk about a curse
GeordieDan
Sep 11, 2010 at 7:25 PM
Comment #32That’s what happens when you play the same effing team again and again and again.
Sooner or later other teams will learn exactly how you play and how to beat you.
WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING PLAYING 1 STRIKER AGAINST BLACKPOOL AT HOME!!!!
Beggars belief. Lovenkrands must be fuming he isn’t getting played.
AAArrrrggghhhh!! So frustrated by that result and so avoidable-So bloody negative tactics as well.
Irish Toon
Sep 11, 2010 at 7:33 PM
Comment #33hull beat us twice the season we went down and pipped us at the post please dont let that happen again but with blackpool!
Geordiedoonsooth
Sep 11, 2010 at 7:39 PM
Comment #34I agree with Geordie Dan we should be looking to e more attacking agianst the sides we have to beat. I don’t think we should panick but we have to beat teams like Blackpool if we are going to stay up. Even at this early stage this was a 6 pointer. We now haver to go to Blackpool & win. Correct me if am wrong but is CH’s record as manager (fulltime or caretaker) in the prmier league is won 1 game only. I really hope I’m wrong but this could be a long, long hard season.
Robby Bobson
Sep 11, 2010 at 7:49 PM
Comment #35Ill admit i was saying we should be dominating and beating blackpool comfortably….and i still think we should be with the team we have got.
But hey, just like 6-0 villa was a freak result, i think this was a freak result. A typical stupid tackle by Smith had us chasing and their keeper had a blinder.
Nolan is good in the hole, but he isnt playing there, hes playing up front, so play two strikers ffs!
Anyway we had two international players who won their respective leagues last season start on the bench, guthrie to come back in soon.
Its how the team respond that im worried about. I think hughton isnt a tactical mastermind and thrives on creating a positive attitude, so i worry when that goes, how long it will take to get back. We need to respond fast.
Toon XI
Sep 11, 2010 at 8:04 PM
Comment #36The Stoke match is huge now. Everton and Man City are probably loses so we need points at home to Stoke or we will be in relegation zone come late October.
Thump
Sep 11, 2010 at 8:17 PM
Comment #37Forget Everton and Man U – did anybody watch the Preston game? 3-1 down, Burnley scored 3 in about 10 minutes to take 3 points.
Great game.
toonbrother
Sep 11, 2010 at 9:28 PM
Comment #38I guess Blackpool arent so LOWLY after all!!!!!Hughton needs to grow a pair and drop Alan Smith for Tiote, Colociinni for Campbell , Gutierrez for Ben Arfa and Routledge for Gosling (once he’s fit).
Its incredibly frustrating to see all that talent wasting away on the bench because of some outdated policy of “not changing a winning team”.
We desperately need Hughton to be proactive not reactive or else we’ll be relegated once again this season
Ericles
Sep 12, 2010 at 8:11 AM
Comment #39I think toonbrother has made a lot of sense. CH will not alter his unimaginative stance at all. He will persist and take us back down as long as the talent warms the bench and his favourites play on the pitch.