In a great finish for Newcastle, in today’s FA Cup semi-final tie, Andy Carroll headed the winner for Liverpool after 86 minutes to put Newcastle into Europe.
Andy Carroll scores winner against Everton today
Oh yes, I almost forgot, and Liverpool reached the FA Cup final with their 2-1 win over Everton.
And over the 90 minutes Liverpool probably deserved to win the game although their defending at times was not good.
It hadn’t looked good for Liverpool in the first half , when Jamie Carragher had given away a terrible goal after just 23 minutes, when he dithered instead of thumping the ball away, and Jelavic hit the ball into the back of the net, and Liverpool were 1-0 down at the half.
But Liverpool were a much improved side in the second half, although Andy Carroll missed an absolute sitter from just five yards out on 47 minutes, when he somehow headed the ball wide.
He used to score those when he wore the black and white stripes of his home town club Newcastle.
But then it was former Newcastle center-back Sylvain Distin who made a terrible mistake for Everton, and his poor pass back was jumped on by Luiz Suarez, and he had the ball in the back of the net in a jiffy.
It was anybody’s game now, but then on 86 minutes, following a corner, it was that Geordie lad Andy Carroll, who back-headed the ball into the back of the net, to see Liverpool into their second cup final this year, and it was Andy’s second goal this week.
But much more importantly, it means that 6th place in the league will qualify for Europe, and Newcastle are currently 12 points ahead of 7th placed Everton.
While it’s still technically possible for Everton to catch Newcastle, we will go a long way to making that almost impossible, with a win against Stoke next Saturday.
We need just 4 more points in our last 5 games to make 100% sure, but that also assumes Everton will win every one of their remaining games.
We’re in Europe next season – believe me – and it’s unbelievable.
Now let’s see if we can make it the Champions League!
Howay The Lads!!
218 comments so far
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:10 PM
Comment #161Well I am thanking Andrew Carroll for the following:
Leaving our club and putting £35m in to the transfer fund.
Leaving us so we could buy better players that work to a finer tactical system than just belting the ball up to your knuckle head.
Having a crap career after leaving the club that made your name, just so you could be very very rich instead of just very rich.
Scoring perhaps one of the most painful goals of your career, helping us to prove you and your mate Jose wrong.
And thank you for not coming back.
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:15 PM
Comment #162Anyway, time I stopped thinking about AC, his ilk just annoy me and anyway, he’s reasonably inconsequential now, isn’t he?
Nice rants there by the way, beattie.
toonarmydownsouth
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:19 PM
Comment #163But judas couldnt believe his luck when that ball hit in the back off the head!
Also were in europe cos we deserve to be, weve grafted all season and this is are reward, f liverpool n f the 2 who thought they were on too bigger things if we dont qualify for the UCL then i really hope we dump the bindippers out of europe!!
toonarmydownsouth
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:20 PM
Comment #164But judas couldnt believe his luck when that ball hit in the back off the head!
Also were in europe cos we deserve to be, weve grafted all season and this is are reward, screw liverpool n screw the 2 who thought they were on too bigger things if we dont qualify for the UCL then i really hope we dump the bindippers out of europe!!
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:21 PM
Comment #165Anyway, relegation maters – Wolves and Blackburn are scrooooooood. Bolton look favourites to join them but as they still have a game in hand, it’s not a bad bet that it could be Wigan /QPR to fill that third slot. I care not a jot about any of them tbh, save for Joey going down the pot, but here’s my point – please, oh please can Aston Villa hit the iceberg? PLEASE?
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:22 PM
Comment #166toonarmydownsouth – right. Oh, and I forgot to add my tagline –
Oh, and Andy? thanks for Nothing!
2_goal_tino
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:25 PM
Comment #167I’m not concerned at all about us taking the foot off the pedal after today. As far as I can see today just means we have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. We won’t go out trying not to be beaten to ensure Europa and instead we’ll be able to have a real go at the likes of Chelsea and City to see whether we can sneak into what would be an absolutely unbelievable 4th place. Today has taken the pressure off us completely!
So proud of the lads for everything they’ve done this season!
mondziu
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:29 PM
Comment #168While keeping my feet firmly on the ground, I wanted to clarify what WOULD await us in quals to the Champions League IF we get there, as many people asked about it.
We WOULD start in the Play-off round by the virtue of England having one of five best country coefficients. The play-off round winners go straight into the UCL group stage, while the losers drop directly to the group stage of Europa League.
As things stand at the moment in the tables of the best domestic leagues in Europe (bar the EPL, which would of course promote Spurs, but the assumption we beat them and Chelsea to 4th is the whole point of this), the 15 teams competing for 5 places in the group stage as non-champions of their domestic leagues would be:
Ten teams starting from Third qualifying round:
Seeded:
CSKA Moscow 80.566
Braga 63.002
Dinamo Kiev 62.026
Panathinaikos 50.920
AZ Alkmaar 44.103
Unseeded:
Glasgow Rangers 43.728
Fenerbahce 41.615
Club Brugge 35.480
Dinamo Bucuresti 13.264
FC Nordsjaelland 8.005
The five winners of the Third round meet five teams from highest ranked leagues in the play-off round.
Play-off round teams:
Lille 38.835
Lazio 29.996
Newcastle United 16.757
Malaga 16.465
Borussia Moenchengladbach 14.903
HOWEVER, the seedings are based on CLUB, not COUNTRY coefficients. Moreover the Play-off round draws are made before the outcome of the Third round and are based on the assumption that the higher-ranked team win, so if the lower-ranked team win its Third round tie, it virtually uses the coefficient of the team they defeated.
This means, that as it stands now, none of the clubs from England, Spain, Germany, France or Italy would be seeded, so they cannot meet each other and it works exectly like they are all seeded. 🙂
There are still couple of games to go, though, and this can change easily with:
Valencia 89.465
Lyon 94.835
Roma 69.496
Schalke 77.903
still possible participants in the Play-off round.
And last, but not least, Newcastle aren’t even in the 4th spot yet, and may not be when the season ends, so we have to keep wining to keep this dream alive.
HWTL!
ShieldsGeordie
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Comment #169Hello lads new to the blog but i have been reading it for quite some time now and finally decided to start a account on the day we get them passports out FINALLY!
Spuggy
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:35 PM
Comment #170In a way I think Europa would be perfect for us next season, I think Champions League would be overtrading. That said the 30M+ would sure help in the summer transfer window so mixed feelings on that one – we also may never get this opportunity for a long time.
I’d be thrilled with Europa though, wow, a team that was recently promoted from the champions league!!
ShieldsGeordie
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:38 PM
Comment #171Spuggy- even though most champions league teams would batter us and it would hurt the squad physically you have to take the chance of playing champions league footy
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:40 PM
Comment #172mondziu – top post lad great reading. Looking forward to it now. Newcastle, don’t fail me now!
mondziu
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:40 PM
Comment #173Do you remember a certain Mike Ashley saying he will increase the capacity of our ground up to 60.000 if we qualify to the Champions League couple of years ago?
I wonder if he would say he meant St. James’ Park, not Sports Direct Arena if we really do reach the CL.
ShieldsGeordie
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:43 PM
Comment #174why does it say all my comments are awaiting moderation can people see my comments?
toonking
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:43 PM
Comment #175oleg
league cup has to be won for qualification so if liverpool won fa cup it will still mean 6th place gets the league cups way into europe. for us to avoid greatest no. of europa game we need spurs to win as i have read that fa cup runner up would then earliest of the 3 and group stage goes to 5th. chelsea winning cup mean we enter playoff
Spuggy
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:46 PM
Comment #176I think with all but securing Europe Pards will get a nice cheque for summer signings (15m+), and Simpson and Guthrie will sign contracts.
We’ll have to grab this opportunity to attract good players with both hands. There’s a good chance that Hoilett and Douglas will come here with European football.
NEWEXPATMAGPIE
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Comment #177Just got back from a shopping trip in Germany!
First thing to do when your home! Computer on! Check out the Blog!
Happy we are more or less confirmed of a European spot!
Not too happy that Manure are now sniffing around Douglas when he has been on our Radar for almost a year! It will really piss me off if Douglas goes to Manure instead of coming to us!
Everyone flipping reacting on here as if we won a cup or summit! Lets just win every game we got left this year and steal fourth spot too!!!!!
I am not going to thank Carroll for a flipping thing! As far i am concerned he is old news and i hope he never don the black and white colours again! Would,nt want him back, No way!
PontiusLee
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:55 PM
Comment #178glad that we clinched a place in europe next year.
maybe this might convince some of our GOOD fringe players to stay. (ba, guthrie, tiote)
and im excited to see what prospects we can bring in now!
absolutely ecstatic now that we are back in the top where we should be.
HTL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lee Dodd
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:58 PM
Comment #179Next Week Against Stoke We will have it Nailed. Champions League I think its 1 Season To Soon for Us. Is Ashley Going to Spend Daft money for New Players For the Champions League ??? It will Be good for sports Direct etc but can we afford to do a Birmingham ????
Toon_Army
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:01 PM
Comment #180@135
Why would we step off the gas now?
The team has worked it’s socks off all season not knowing where it would end, expectations were top half if I remember correctly so they could very well have taken their foot off the gas a long time ago, I have faith that the team will give their all over the last 5 games regardless of their position in the league as they have done all season, I get the feeling we will spring a couple more surprises yet too!!! We might not get 4th, might, but if we don’t you can guarantee our performances against both Chelsea and Man City will cement that we need to be taken very seriously next season, remember against spurs we had a weakened side and the scoreline flattered them, with HBA in his current form, the rest of the squad finding their stride at the right time and that little bit of luck we have been having lately I am quietly optimistic about that 4th spot, I see no reason according to current form and fixtures why we could not finish above Spurs and Chelsea.
Toon_Army
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:04 PM
Comment #181Oh as for Carroll, Welcome to the Karma Hotel.
Louis583
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Comment #182@178, did you really just include Ba and Tiote in our fringe players.
PontiusLee
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:08 PM
Comment #183@182
i meant fringe as in, they are on the fringe of staying or leaving.
as soon as i clicked “submit” i knew i would get asked what i meant.
haha my bad, my bad.
2_goal_tino
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:12 PM
Comment #184@173 – No, that was Shepperd and we are pretty much at capacity. can’t expand East Stand because of the listed terrace houses behind, while expansion of the gallowgate is restricted by the fact it is above the metro line so there are weight restrictions. We could make The other two stands even bigger but that would lookridiculous seeing as they are already amongst the tallest stands in the country
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:23 PM
Comment #185does that mean we are moving then? 😉
jakesome
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:24 PM
Comment #186epl finest
———–krul————–
richards–collo–kompany–santon
hba—tiote—fellaini—bale
———-cisse—rvp————
maybe a little bit of bias there
magpie6699
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:27 PM
Comment #187We have to fight on – it’s like a series of battles in a long war. Next week we have to try our best to make 6th place secure – then we can really go out each game to keep ahead of Chelski and scare Spuds. Can’t see us catching the Arse as they seem in decent form
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:29 PM
Comment #188so what was the upshot on the backup for Krul then? we definitely need a class GK in case Timmy gets nobbled. IF Aston Villa go down, d’ya think Shay would deputise? 😉
magpie6699
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Comment #189jakesome – just a bit of bias! I like Santon but don’t think he would make top 5 LBs in the EPL! The case for Colo,Tiote, HBA, Krul and Cisse has a bit more substance.
Indian Magpie
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:31 PM
Comment #190real madrid 0 gijon 1 🙂
Indian Magpie
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:36 PM
Comment #191jose mourinho is a clown
Indian Magpie
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:37 PM
Comment #1921-1
VTnufc
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:38 PM
Comment #193“Carroll fires Newcastle into Europe”
1-Carroll dived because he didn’t want to score verse is hometown club
2-He has two reasons for celebrating his game winning goal today..
Indian Magpie
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:44 PM
Comment #194if guthrie leaves, we shd go for nuri sahin, madrid may let him go
eaststandgeordie1982
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Comment #195were all going on a european tour, european tour, a european tour
f*****g get in passport is ready bring it on
mallyonthetoon
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:49 PM
Comment #196Does anyone know wat the odds wer b4 the season started that newcastle would qualify for europe watever thay wer i wish i had a tenner on it
Tsunki
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:49 PM
Comment #197I said it would be a slow news week………………………..
eaststandgeordie1982
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Comment #198were all going on a european tour a european tour a european tour
get in there its unreal my passport is ready
NotAGhostToon
Apr 14, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Comment #199Mally, I’m not sure but less than halfway into the season i put £5 on us finishing in top 4 (think i also put the same on us winning the FA Cup but that didn’t happen) at 28/1 so i’ll get £140 back, double whammy if it comes off!
2_goal_tino
Apr 14, 2012 at 8:05 PM
Comment #200@ Mally
100-1
http://tyneandwear.sky.com/sportsnews/article/18062