I honestly thought yesterday was going to be really tough to win our first Premier League game of the season, against Aston Villa at home.
The Villains had done so well once new manager Unai Emery came in last season and they finished in 7th place with 61 points, just 10 points behind Newcastle.
But I was completely wrong.
Newcastle went ahead with a great goal from debut boy Sandro Tonali after 6 minutes.
And then the debut boy for Villa, Frenchman Moussa Diaby, a former Newcastle target, scored the equalizer after just 10 minutes and looked like a great player in the first half.
We went ahead before halftime with a good goal from Alexander Isac after just 16 minutes.
A beautiful free kick from Tonali from right midfield was sent back across goal by Sven Botman and Isak was there to hammer the ball past Martinez, who would later make some good saves to keep the score down.
The second half was basically one-way traffic as Newcastle lifted their game into a higher gear, and went after Villa.
Goals from Isak on 58 minutes – a great chip over the goalkeeper, then Wilson after 77 minutes, who was set up nicely by new-boy Barnes from the left, and then Harvey Barnes himself scored one of his trademark goals after 91 minutes with that right foot of his coming in from the left.
What a player this lad is going to be for us this year – he’s certainly got an eye for goal.
That made it a wonderful 5-1 win and one of the best performances by a Newcastle side in their first league game of the season.
The Newcastle fans were absolutely magnificent and the place to play your football right now is in the great City of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
🙂
This is what Eddie Howe Told Match Of The Day after the game:
“We scored five – we could have scored more. Everything clicked for us,”
“It was a tight game decided by our ruthlessness in front of goal. Villa were also in the game, so we’re very pleased. We had to be at our best.”
“We knew we had a difficult start [with the fixture list], so you look at this game as a massive moment in our season.”
“Now we have to go to Manchester City, which is the hardest place to go.”
“We’ve got to embrace the challenge and then of course Liverpool, but we will focus on City first.”
And so to our Man of the Match and we have to say not one single player had an off day yesterday.
And it showed just how strong our bench is with the contributions of Wilson and Barnes coming in the second half.
Tonali, who will become a world-class central midfielder under Eddie Howe’s coaching, is our Man of the Match with 59% of the vote currently.
Second is Aleksander Isak with 20% and third is Anthony Gordon with 16%.
Note that all three players were signed over the last year by our recruitment team under the leadership of Sporting Director Dan Ashford.
Please vote if you haven’t already done so.
We cannot expect this every week, so we will have to calm down, just a little bit.
There again maybe Newcastle will dish this out in every game – they will certainly try to do that under Eddie Howe.
🙂
Hope so, because our long-suffering fans deserve this and the new owners, players, and coaching staff have allowed Geordie fans all over the world to dream again.
And we will.
Newcastle United is a happy family these days – and there’s more to come.
Howay The Bonnie Lads!!
211 comments so far
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:17 PM
Comment #161Drive for show, putt for dough. How many times have I put a video on here to show putting practice?
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:18 PM
Comment #162Aye Salah was properly hoying his toys oot oh the pram at being hooked and Klopp made a point of avoiding him.
Trouble at t mill?
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:18 PM
Comment #163So I’m guessing nobody around knows if your subs score counts in FPL
I’ll wait for the FPL ITK lads come on
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:20 PM
Comment #164That Sunderland thingy, Skinchies is a word we used in Dunston and probably other parts of the NE.
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:21 PM
Comment #165two players booked in the Chelsea game for waving imaginary cards.
lochinvar
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:21 PM
Comment #166Mac
There was a new energy of noise from the Leazes corner with the East stand
I wondered if some of the Gallowgate fans had been relocated because they didn’t want to stand !
BBC are up to their old subliminal tricks with the early part of MOTD featuring Man City, Man U and Liverpool as the main background content to the programme content.Really very obvious and boringly predictable.
JohnJ
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:22 PM
Comment #167EGB, They’ll regret that when the number of cards mean a ban!
Vask
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:23 PM
Comment #168Sub scores only count if the people in your starting haven’t played in that game week.
Automatic subs occur at the end of each game week taking out those haven’t played for those on the bench who have.
The position of each sub matters too. So the player in position 1 on your bench (leftmost) is the first to get subbed on. GK can only come on if your first choice GK has not played.
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:23 PM
Comment #169Coming Home, Last time I looked USA Woman’s team were world #1. Ok Knocked out this tournament in 1/4’s I think But you can’t win them all.
England are now favorite’s to win the WC. Get Behind them. They even have a woman called Toone!!!!
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:26 PM
Comment #170Vask
Thank you mate
The Taco Taker
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:26 PM
Comment #171Catchy,
I agree to disagree with that totally. I barely know where to begin and you are entitled to you opinion I suppose.
One thing I will respond to is ways in which the Mens game is close to a ceiling…
Unless we send TV’s and Sky subscription application forms to North Sentinel Island or outer space how much room does it have to realistically grow further? How much more can the Mens game eek out of sponsors, branding etc etc?
How quickly is the Womans game growing? How much potential is there?
In general, I think your view of the Womans game is very disrespectful and blinkered.
Let’s just imagine you have a young daughter who loves football wants to play it and is really good at it. She nutmegs her elder brother for fun in the back garden. She convinces you (or her mother) to take let her join a local football club, after a few years it is clear she is really talented at it. Then one day an NUFC scout approaches you and wants to sign her for NUFCs first team in the WSL. Would you still say the crap you came out with then or would you be proud of her?
Raj of Hailsley
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:27 PM
Comment #172ch,
No they don’t unless one of your first eleven don’t start and even then, if you have a back three it’ll be your first defender that comes off the bench, not necessarily your highest scorer.
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:27 PM
Comment #173Pug
Surely dogs are better footballers than the women
Vask
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:28 PM
Comment #174Ch
You can also use your ‘bench boost’ chip in one given game week to have your the scores from the players on your bench count towards your game week total.
You probably want to wait for a double game week for that though. 😉
If you don’t know what a double game week is hang fire and all will become clearer closer to a double game week.
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:28 PM
Comment #175Thanks Raj
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:29 PM
Comment #176JohnJ
Indeed, I made that point in an earlier comment, the refs seem to be a tad gung ho with the YCs and we might well need a good back up bench this season.
Fortunately we have!
lochinvar
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Comment #177EGB
Wonder if Salah is engineering a divorce from Klopp do he can take up the lucrative offer and dollars he has to play in Saudi Arabia. Scousers won’t pay him more and he’s getting older.
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Comment #178I could only ever drive 250 ish at best. But my putting…. practice makes perfect.
600 yrd par 5. 250 drive, 225 3 wood, chip onto to green and par (or even better a birdie), chip would have to have been good.
Vask
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:31 PM
Comment #179There are indeed limits to growth but they don’t want you to know that.
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:32 PM
Comment #180Loch
I hope that wasn’t a ‘suspicious energy’ from the east stand! 🙂
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:32 PM
Comment #1813 Brazilians in my midfield and got 1 point each
Think this might be harder than I thought
Will take me 4/5 weeks before I sort this shit out
lochinvar
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:35 PM
Comment #182Tonalis yellow should be appealed. He was on the touchline while the officials faffed on with the substitutes. The ref carded him from behind without giving him any suggestion or view of what was happening. Cowardly.
The Taco Taker
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:35 PM
Comment #183CH,
Subs score only counts in 2 cases:
1. you have a player (or players) in your starting 11 that did not play a single minute. In that case subs will be used to replace those player(s) but in a certain order. All the rules of how this works are available here:
https://fantasy.premierleague.com/help
2. You click the “bench boost button” That means that all your subs count as extra points whether you needed to sub them on or not (see above rules) but you can only do that once per season and it has to be done before a specific GW closes in terms of changes.
niafron
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:36 PM
Comment #184Bonsoir Mesdames et Messieurs!
What a game yesterday!
I just took a look to pundits predictions for the season, it’s crazy to see how underestimated we are…
lochinvar
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:39 PM
Comment #185EGB
Must have been the Magic Beans available from the new street food vendors on the concourse ?
More likely numerous pints in town before kick off
The Taco Taker
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:39 PM
Comment #186Speaking of FPL…..
Loving todays results, both for NUFC and me personally….
As things stand I remain top of Ed’s FPL league. Of known blog players Scythe could well catch me up (if Luke Shaw has a good game tomorrow) He or I should end up top of Div 1 H2H this GW.
As of this morning I was also ranked 1,397 out of 8,520,102 FPL players Globally!! – I worked that out as a percentage too – it put in the top 0.016%.
Worst case after todays scores i might drop into the top 0.05% kinda territory Globally.
What was key to my success you might ask? Simple – I backed NUFC players when so many FPL’ers didn’t.
Sorry for the shameless FPL self-gratification but I will enjoy it while it lasts.
As for tomorrow what Toon fan in their right mind want’s Man U to win? Come on Wolves!!!
🙂
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:40 PM
Comment #187Thanks Taco
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:42 PM
Comment #188TTT
Revel in it mate! 🙂
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:44 PM
Comment #189Niafron
I think that is great, makes them look all the more stupid as we soar up the League.
Although we are top so soaring is not so easy! 🙂
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:44 PM
Comment #190Taco
I’m 5 poins ahead of the carnivore but he has 3 manu players the keeper dodgy Bruno and Rashford
You reckon I’m done ?
niafron
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:45 PM
Comment #191The only surprise was to see BDB on the left again.
I thought Targett was back in favour… well, i suppose in this case the mysterious future recruit EH spoke of the other day could be a LB.
Essex Geordie Bill
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:46 PM
Comment #192I also had to chuckle when the fans are singing E I E I O up the premier league we go, at the moment we cannot go up! 🙂
niafron
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:46 PM
Comment #193Tonali is so accurate with his right foot…
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:48 PM
Comment #194I love Miggy but going forward I see Barnes and Gordon as left and right forwards
I seriously think we can push City all the way
niafron
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:50 PM
Comment #195I think the biggest problem for EH this season will be to manage the egos of his players, especially in attack.
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:50 PM
Comment #196And Isak is world class and it might be hard to keep him when he finishes top or second top goal scorer this season
The Taco Taker
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:53 PM
Comment #197CH,
Ask Raj – he can look at division 3 quicker and better than I can. I would say that if all your players played already and he has them 3 left then it to his advantage big time. But like me (and anyone sane) you will be wanting a Man U defeat so anything is possible.
onmeedsun
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:54 PM
Comment #198What a match yesterday. Just arrived back south. Everyone seemed to be wearing their b & w shirts and SJP was like a giant barcode. Yes we thrashed them in the end but it was a tight game, even at 3-1. Villa missed a sitter. We then punished them on the counter. I thought the Villa front 3 caused our defence issues, especially both full backs. And Tripps free kick delivery was poor. But our finishing was clinical. Great result but not getting carried away.
coming home
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:54 PM
Comment #199Pug
250 yard drive is still a very good drive I’m a 230 at best 210 average but my straightest club
A Geordie Mongrel
Aug 13, 2023 at 7:54 PM
Comment #200I’ll happily associate myself with the minority here. Catchy, if everyone subscribed to your philosophy there wouldn’t be a football pyramid. You’re comparing apples and oranges IMO. A big difference is the funding. Gateshead Town cannot complete with a premier league team, they don’t have the funds.
Women’s Football was huge but then had it’s throat cut by the FA. It’s starting to resurge but they’ve effectively started from scratch. As supporters get priced out they will turn to alternatives, be it U21s or the lasses or the lower leagues. It’ll take time but I can see all women’s sports growing massively.
As for the notion that lasses can’t dunk I actually laughed. Here’s some High Schoolers (so 18 and under) doing just that. The first ones a bit painful mind and yes they are full size 10 foot hoops.
Oh and having had a Season Ticket for Newcastle Eagles for 26 years I’m not a fan of dunks. I’d much rather see a 5′ 10″ Point Guard break the ankles of the defender guarding him. That means put him on his backside by wrong footing him. We all enjoy different things mate.