Rafa said that Jamaal Lascelles missed the game today because of an ankle injury.
He should be back for the game at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, but it looks like Jonjo Shelvey will be out for a couple of weeks.
It does give some of our five new players a chance, and all five played today in the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea with four of them starting the game.
Rafa Benitez – this afternoon on the touchline
Rafa made six changes in total for the game today from last week’s starting eleven at Cardiff.
This is what Rafa said after the game about his game-plan:
“It depends on the players you have. If I had Eden Hazard I would give it to him and he would make the difference.”
“We know that we can be better with the ball, but I think we did well until the end.”
“Jamaal Lascelles has an ankle problem but he is already working with the physios but Jonjo Shelvey will have to wait one or two weeks.”
Hopefully, Jamaal will be fine for the next game. Jonjo may need a couple of weeks.”
“It was frustrating. We were working so hard, so close.”
“Against these teams you can lose because they play a quick pass, a fantastic cross but to concede two goals and a doubtful penalty and free-kick and not win the second ball, I’m disappointed.”
“I think we were nearly there. Last year we were the best team in the bottom ten with goal difference and maybe we stayed up for that.”
“When I was at Liverpool we beat Real Madrid 4-0 – we were offensive. I was offensive at Napoli.”
“You are at Newcastle in the Premier League – you have what you have. Credit to my players for the effort. It depends on the cards you have.”
“Each team is different. It depends on the players you have.”
There’s a message in there for Mike Ashley.
Comments welcome.
121 comments so far
manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:21 PM
Comment #1manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:19 PM
Comment #13
People keep saying the tactics were terrible we should have done more
With who? Seriously our best 3 players out aswell as lejuene
Wat different set up?
Look at the state of our squad ffs its shocking people say its the same as wat we beat chelsea last season truth is its closer to our championship team if not worse!!
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:22 PM
Comment #2Lilongwe… 😀
Our Toon
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:23 PM
Comment #3Manx
Teams in the championship would have had more of a go at home against Chelsea than we did today. I would have dropped Clark and played muto behind Rondon.
c-dog
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:24 PM
Comment #419% possession at home
That’s concerning
catchy in norway
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:24 PM
Comment #5Manx
you just made my point, it’s got nothing to do with today’s result, it’s every game we play with who ever we put out.
explain Cardiff
lochinvar
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:27 PM
Comment #6Rafa got it spot on.
The ref didn’t.
Chelsea want to win the title and so need as many away wins as possible. Such games are often won or lost in the last 20minutes as was the case. Hold them for 70minutes then exploit the gaps on the break was the right tactic.
So far this season
Lost a goal to goal line technology yet hit the woodwork twice against Spurs
Pissed away three points at Cardiff with s poor penalty
Today lost up a dubious penalty and an own goal via a dead ball move and poor defending. Granted Chelsea hit the post but we had chances in the first half and it was Newcastle that scored from open play.
jane
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:27 PM
Comment #7“its shocking people say its the same as wat we beat chelsea last season truth is its closer to our championship team if not worse!!”
main difference is Chelsea had little to play for last season and rested players ahead of the cup final.
Lilongwe Geordie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:30 PM
Comment #8Manx,
It isn’t the formation. It is how it is used. Conceding possession and sitting so deep just invite the opposition onto you which, with the quality top Prem teams have, will result in a goal more often than not.
That lineup today had plenty of experience and is more capable of using the football than we did today. We could have held possession better. It makes life very difficult as a defender performing like that, and will lead to clumsy challenges or errors.
Nothing wrong with being tight and compact with a defensive mindset, but there are extremes.
As for Lascelles, Shelvey and Kennedy, we were awful at Cardiff as well.
Chancel My MBembaship
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:31 PM
Comment #9People saying Rafa is clueless or a dinosaur or a manager are a joke. We all want to see the Toon playing like Man City, but we don’t have the players to match those big spending teams. Rafa is playing to our strengths against those teams expected to finish in the top five or six. We’re defensively stronger than we are in attack.
Look at the goal difference of the bottom two at the minute. That could be a big deciding factor at the end of the season. I miss the days of Keegan’s Entertainers and I want to see us going hell for leather and winning 5-0 or 4-3, but look at our squad. We just don’t have the players available to do that.
There’s a generation of supporters who want goals, goals, goals and they want it now because they see Liverpool and Man City smashing teams with flair, but we need to be realistic and Rafa is doing the best he can with what he has. To say he’s a bad manager after what he achieved last season is absolutely daft.
Lindisfarne
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:32 PM
Comment #10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff
Charlie in the Gallowgate
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:33 PM
Comment #11Did anyone else have a problem getting in with their season ticket ?
I was declined and security had to ring up the ticket office to see if my ticket was legitimate
Let me in in the end said it was a dodgy chip and gave to take my ticket to the box office next week
Just a fan
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:34 PM
Comment #12Keegan used to try five at the back and I used to hate it.today it was working well we had as many half chances as Chelsea. They scored I thought that was it.we equilised. I hoped that was it.they scored I think from a dubious free kick.i was going to back Chelsea to win the league but I’m not sure how good they would be without hazard.time will tell
Lindisfarne
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:34 PM
Comment #13Chelsea had two shots on target, same as us.
manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:35 PM
Comment #14Ourtoon dropped our most experienced defender and started a new forward?
Yet chelsea scored 2 flukey goals from bad reffing decisions
Surely that tells ya that we defended very very well infact watching it it shows you the numbers in the box stopped us conceding more
The fact people are having a go at rafa instead of ashley for the squad and the fact we will have to play this way is shocking wat more does this fat cockney crettin have to do!!!
jane
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:36 PM
Comment #15why do i find Lindisfarne’s posts funny!
manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:36 PM
Comment #16Well said chancel
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:38 PM
Comment #17I don’t believe for one second that Rafa set the players out to to just get a point. You know to just defend and not offer an attacking threat.thr first 10 mins we started well with rondon, Murphy, Ritchie and often one of ki or diame joining in to press. Ritchie and Murphy were supposed to be our outlets. Murphy offered this in flashes but was either too weak, in a position with his back to goal or was fouled and had no free kick given. Ritchie was not much of an outlet but did a lot of work on hazard and alonso. The intent was there from the start but despite this start Chelsea began to dominate the ball but what do you expect. The commentators mentioned how the average price per player was £35m for them, ours was £4m per player.
With shelvey, lascelles and kenedy missing, along with Lejuene. It’s understandable we didn’t play like we did v Tottenham which is what I would have expected had lascelles and shelvey played.
I will say this, we crying out for someone like Adama Traore lol.
cyprus
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:38 PM
Comment #18We needed three four game changers, Traore style, we didn’t get them.
So unless these new players prove better than what we have, it will be more of the same. Dross football, some wins, more losses.
Survival, in the balance. An eye on fxxxxg goal difference. It’s pragmatist, but man it’s still sad. And a pain to watch.
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:41 PM
Comment #19babeandbp
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:06 PM
Comment #52
So, I’m a troll, am I Ronaldo Aarons? Your stupidity beggars belief.
Yes you are a troll. I’ve never seen you post before and your first comments are to say that Rafa was found out at Chelsea, just ask the fans. Lol the same guy that won them the europa league. They certainly found him out alright.
League 1 blog still this way ———————–>
jimiley
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:41 PM
Comment #20If you sit in the box for 80 minutes and just hoof the ball away and wait for the next attack then 9 times out of 10 you will lose. Its that simple.
You have to have an attacking threat. If the other team senses you are just hoping to clear the ball they will park their whole team in your half. Thats exactly what happened.
Cowardly and ultra defensive. Worthy of nothing.
Rafas tactics and he gave the team no outlet or attacking threat. Play defensively because the other team is better but have a threat as well on the break.
Rafas tactics stink. We can attack and we saw it in the last 10 minutes when Rafa changed tactics. We nearly stole a point. You get those pen decisions when you continually attack and funny enough you do not get them when you continually defend. You just get the same old fans saying the ref robbed us. It looked like a penalty to me at normal speed but not on replays. Some so called clever people are even saying its still a penalty. The ref cannot get it right all the time but I would rather be attacking all the time rather than defending. Event
ually you get a debatable call go for you or a deflection go in or the keeper drops it
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:41 PM
Comment #21Cyprus
Traore. Snap!
cyprus
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:43 PM
Comment #22Saw that after I posted 🙂
Jail for Ashley
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:44 PM
Comment #23The bottom line is we are team that consists largely of relegated players and players bought to get out of the championship. Very much trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. I think we’re in trouble and not helped by this tricky fixture list. I think the feel good factor we had last season. Very much like the 12/13 season when Ashley lied his ambition bare to the players which devastated the players morale and which imo Pardew was unfairly blamed for. The players must surely know that Rafa will not be here next season, it has to affect them and the crowd. Yet another completely unnecessary circus created by our illogical owner.
manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:45 PM
Comment #24Lilo we were awful at cardiff but that was because cardiff did the same to us can you see the pattern tho? It was a great point for cardiff!
We havent the players to compete with the teams whos strike force are worth more than our whole squad so we have to change it up esecially without our best players all out
Lets face it a whole new defence plus a whole new midfield as well as rondon upfront up on his own for the 1st time we aint gonna be playing unbelievabley regardless so that set up was right and oh so nearly worked!
So the abuse is bollocks in my view
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:50 PM
Comment #25Last season it was widely accepted that our team was a relegation candidate. Our squad may have improved somewhat (arguable) but the only first team signings that we made that can strengthen the first team is rondon or muto. So essentially we are still the relegation candidate s we were last season. Only one person to blame and his name aint rafael Benitez. Rafa said as much after the window closed. So expect more of this perceived negative football against the likes of Mann city and Liverpool. It’s the cards we’ve got unfortunately.
Our Toon
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:52 PM
Comment #26Manx
It was a poor point for Cardiff as we were down to 10 men, fortunate not to be down to 9 men tbf. Yes I’d have started with muto in place of Clark or Perez in place of Clark.
All we did was lump it forward and Rondon had no chance with them tactics
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:52 PM
Comment #27Cyprus
It’s true though about traore. Someone like that would have transformed us and for £18m, it really isn’t a lot. The average transfer this summer was £16m.
Lindisfarne
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:52 PM
Comment #28Not saying they were quality like, but the lads played well and we scored the winner
manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:53 PM
Comment #29Who is our attacking threat?
Name them please name them minus kenedy of course
Oh and the newbies who the manager has watched every minute of training with to come up with this team
catchy in norway
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:55 PM
Comment #30Jail
Tell us about the Gulf of Tonkin. go on give us all a laugh again. how is how ignorant you are
Charlie in the Gallowgate
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:55 PM
Comment #31My criticism if Rafa is
Yes Rafa nearly got us appoint but our play is so predictable
Our set up is always playing with one up front even against Cardiff
Will be the same against Forest
We get eleven men behind the ball for every corner and free kick as when we clear the ball there is no outlet just gives possession back to the opposition
Also his subs are always like for like
Love to see us play with two up front and have a go against teams sometimes
As for Mitro – I liked him and was not given a decent chance to prove himself
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:57 PM
Comment #32Catchy
Come on, there are posters talking football and about the match just gone. Don’t need to talk about things unrelated to football. Fair enough, when it is quiet it will happen but now isn’t the time.
jimiley
Aug 26, 2018 at 7:59 PM
Comment #33Football is supposed to be entertaining. Watching your team cede 90 per cent possession at home and parking in the box for 90 minutes and then proving they can attack in the last 10 minutes when it is forced on them is not entertainment. All down to Rafas tactics.
Before you have a go at me ask yourselves: were you entertained by that home performance. The manager has a duty to get points firstly but also provide some entertainment.
Entertainment to my mind means being competitive.Offering a challenge. There was no challenge there only an acceptance of inferiority like a boxer hunkering down in the corner and covering up and being too scared to throw a punch.
Chancel My MBembaship
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:01 PM
Comment #34Rafa is doing his best with what he has to work with. Look at our squad. Do we have a single talismanic player who gets you up off your seat? Someone who makes you feel confident of a decent game when you see his name on the team sheet? We have no one like that.
Liverpool have Salah, and even Mane and Firmino. Man City have a whole raft of those exciting players that make it a beautiful game to watch at times. I’m not enjoying what I’m seeing so far this season but at least I can see WHY it’s that way. Isn’t it obvious?
Rafa isn’t ever going to be given 30 or 40 million (at least) to go out and buy that world beater that makes a difference. Sure, he could spend 5 or ten on someone and we end up with someone amazing, but that rarely happens these days. Let’s have a little more realism on here. Of course vent your frustrations, but let’s be a bit more sensible about what we can expect to see this season.
You should support your team through thick and thin. This is the time when the players and manager need it most.
manxpie
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:03 PM
Comment #35Exactly ranaldo but it seems people forget the state of this squad
Ourtoon it was a great point as their manager said but the sending off isnt my point cardiff played the same against us hoofing and defending
Its a bit different when we have to make 3 changes regardless (our best players) late on by the sounds of it too
Against a billion pound chelsea team how much was their keeper again????
ronaldo aarons
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:08 PM
Comment #36Jimiley
Would I be right to assume that if we ‘have a go’ every game, get relegated, you would be happy because you were entertained? I imagine like many posters with that narrative they would be quick to call for Rafas head if that happened
Our Toon
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:08 PM
Comment #37Manx
Chelsea squad coat alot more than ours no doubt about it, still doesn’t condone them tactics today. I’d argue citeh squad cost a lot more than wolves did yesterday but wolves actually had a go. We had no intention of having a go till the end, funnily enough we looked dangerous when we did attack them.
If we set up like that away from home then I’m not to fussed but at home we’ve essentially wiped out the 12th man (fans) by having no intention to attack.
Jail for Ashley
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:08 PM
Comment #38Catchy,
So you think I’m ignorant for thinking that the Vietnam war had it’s roots far deeper and older than the incident with a ship in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Jib
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:08 PM
Comment #39The funny thing is Catchy talks as if the US haven’t acknowledged
that Vietnam was a total screw up – as if it’s some huge cover up.
Catchy have you never been to the movies ?
Try
Platoon
Full Metal Jacket
Apocalypse Now
Forrest Gump
The Hanoi Hilton
Air America
The Killing Fields
Deer Hunter
Born on the 4th of July
They all wear the USA heart on their sleeve
You are a dope
catchy in norway
Aug 26, 2018 at 8:09 PM
Comment #40rolando
in all fairness, i have get my digs in when i can. he was trying to get one over on me earlier.
his ignorance is really quite astonishing.
as for the football, what can you say, when his tactics work, you all call him a genius, when he gets it wrong it’s always someone else’s fault.
the guy has won the lot, and used to playing with a much higher quality of player, where these tactics work out more often. and that right there is the crux of the problem, he hasn’t adapted his style to the caliber of player we have, he sets them up for failure most weeks, instead of playing to the players strengths.
even u can set up a team to defend. 1 up top, who shouldn’t be a rondon type, he needs a Perez running type player to chase things down, munto and perez would probably be better suited than Joselu and rondon.