The Toon Army thread

[apollo_creed]

r we playing rugby or football?

yep, that was my impression.

all you did was went overly physical against a weakened and somewhat one dimensional Arsenal midfield.

why was Alan Smith out there? what exactly does he offer?

Barton had an irrelevant game I thought. Some of his passing in the final 1/3 at decisive times left alot to be desired.

A good second half and a quite dominant performance but this physical football can only get you so far.

How many times did you get Martins on the ball?

Milner had a good game. Your best player I thought.

Nicky Butt is incredible. I was actually thinking about this the other day - he'd make my England side.

 

[Darealrath]

Well done on the point guys. I'm a bit pissed we slipped up but I don't mind newcastle. Just do us a favour and take some points off the other top 3.

 

[Masss#10]

yer milner was fantastic...our style doesnt suit martins he should be always getting the ball around the box and just unleash with a shot but he gets marked tightly now...

 

[tige19]

Well I currently AM in Newcastle and have followed the club since I was a little nipper. I've had many conversations with the locals over here, some agree, some dont. Thats the thing with OPINIONS.

So supporters that support them from all over the world aren't really hurting?



Well I'm going to the match tonight. Is that close enough for you?

Where did you sit mate?? where the boo boys in full voice after Arsenals first goal?? make sure you get into Shearers bar at some stage, real good spot and you can have a good chat to some of the locals.

And yes mate your close enough for me, in fact your a star

 

[ShearMagic9]

yep, that was my impression.

all you did was went overly physical against a weakened and somewhat one dimensional Arsenal midfield.

why was Alan Smith out there? what exactly does he offer?

Barton had an irrelevant game I thought. Some of his passing in the final 1/3 at decisive times left alot to be desired.

A good second half and a quite dominant performance but this physical football can only get you so far.

How many times did you get Martins on the ball?

Milner had a good game. Your best player I thought.

Nicky Butt is incredible. I was actually thinking about this the other day - he'd make my England side.

Usually I respect your opinions but:

Alan Smith was superb. His best match in a black and white shirt by far. You might not see it as much on TV, but he is everywhere. He won nearly every header against Kolo Toure/William Gallas, held the ball up superbly and never stopped running.

Milner was good, but he's a right winger, not a left. He is so easy to defend against because you know he's always going to cut inside onto his right foot.

Nicky Butt can have my babies!

Physical football can earn us very good points against sides more technically gifted than us. BSA has only lost 4 times in 13 matches against Arsenal, how you say? By playing physical football. If it works, why not play it?

Brilliant battling performance. Every single player gave 110%. We were actually unlucky not to win against the league leaders. Fair enough they weren't at full strength, but neither were we.

Two points:

N'Zogbia is not a left back. He always comes into the centre of the park, leaving the right winger from the other side all by himself. Better balls over the top and we would've bee undone for this reason.

Geremi is not a right winger. Always in the middle of the park.

N'Zogbia left wing, Milner right wing, Enrique left back, Geremi bench.

Why is it so hard?

Where did you sit mate?? where the boo boys in full voice after Arsenals first goal?? make sure you get into Shearers bar at some stage, real good spot and you can have a good chat to some of the locals.

And yes mate your close enough for me, in fact your a star

I sat on the corner of the Sir John Hall stand, pretty close to the Arsenal supporters in all honesty. Cracking seats. They were free too, my uncle has a season ticket but he's not going to a match from now until Chrissie, so I have his ticket

Brum game tomorrow should be good too

The atmosphere was cracking. Even as Adebayor scored, as we were putting the ball back in the middle a huge chant of 'UNITED' erupted from the whole stadium. No-one booed once. A standing ovation at the end of the match too.

 

[apollo_creed]

I always respect your opinionn, no but's:

Alan Smith was superb. His best match in a black and white shirt by far. You might not see it as much on TV, but he is everywhere. He won nearly every header against Kolo Toure/William Gallas, held the ball up superbly and never stopped running.

And? should I do cartwheels.

I've never questioned his workrate or effort.

If talent was workrate, effort and such then he'd be a fantastic player.

Unfortunately talent is not.

The only thing he offers in the final 1/3 of any substance is that he's a composed finisher.

Martins, Viduka and Owen are all far better strikers.

Smith is not a midfielder either.

He's really a squad player who can be relied on to give 100% and provide a physical presence.

I'm not disagreeing with anything you've said.

And I'm not surprised it was his best performance in a Newcastle shirt. Considering how rubbish he's been every week.
For most players, turning up would succeed Smith's best effort of the season prior to the Arsenal game.

Pushing forward, with ambition he really isn't good enough to start for your team.

A decent player to have in your squad as I say but anything more?
Obviously not.

Struggles to get into goalscoring positions and offers nothing in the way of creativity.

A poor man's Joey Barton.

Milner was good, but he's a right winger, not a left. He is so easy to defend against because you know he's always going to cut inside onto his right foot.

Funny you say that because some defenders are just stupid.

It's like with Carlon Cole, every single time he cuts inside on his right. I noticed him doing this the other night against Tottenham. And the defenders were still covering the outside move. Why exactly? He can only go right and inside. He'll always go onto his right. If he's on the right, he'll cross it. If he's on the left he usually cuts in and tries to get a shot in. Ridiculously predictable yet Michael Dawson, Crayon Chimbonda and the likes sort of didn't get the message.

Defending is as much about quick thinking and using your brain as anything. If you know a player, have his strengths and weaknesses on file and the player is limited then he'll never get the better of you.

How a defender could fall for such moves when a player is one sided or too stupid to realise he's doing the same thing over and over always puzzles me.

And it annoys me when defenders also don't play the obvious percentages when it comes to certain things.

I could talk about this all day and specify. But I'll save it for another day.

Nicky Butt can have my babies!

Excellent player.

He's England's best tackling/defensive/holding midfielder. And if you're going on form then he's the best by that much it defies belief.

Should be in the England XI, let alone the squad.

Physical football can earn us very good points against sides more technically gifted than us. BSA has only lost 4 times in 13 matches against Arsenal, how you say? By playing physical football. If it works, why not play it?

Perhaps. As I said, play differently against Birmingham as they'll be looking for such an approach. McLeish knows all about physical sides and tactics and using the same ideas would only fall straight into Birmingham and McLeish's hands.

Brilliant battling performance. Every single player gave 110%. We were actually unlucky not to win against the league leaders. Fair enough they weren't at full strength, but neither were we.

True.

Damien Duff = 2 x Fabregas.

However, Arsenal probably don't have replacements for Hleb, Fabregas and van Persie.

Arguably their three most important attackers.

Point is valid though. No team had any excuses in this regard.

Two points:

N'Zogbia is not a left back. He always comes into the centre of the park, leaving the right winger from the other side all by himself. Better balls over the top and we would've bee undone for this reason.

Yep, as Bresh said in another thread.

Why not Milner + N'Zogbia.

I won't quote Sam 'Sunshine' Kekovich (for reasons obvious) but I'm tempted to.

When Duff's back just let him have the forward 1/3 to himself.

He'll deliver like the Milk Man. Knock! Knock!

N'Zogbia left wing, Milner right wing, Enrique left back, Geremi bench.

Geremi isn't great but Barton has been very average so far.

And was certainly more poorly performed than Geremi against Arsenal.

If you're picking on the new guy, at least pick on the other one who deserves it just as much. (remembering how much he cost, his recent comments etc.)

Why is it so hard?

I think that's the talk your Dad is meant to give you before you reach puberty.

It's probably too late to tell you now.

Brum game tomorrow should be good too

It will be certainly that way if you lose.

The crowd will be a pleasure to listen to.

The atmosphere was cracking. Even as Adebayor scored, as we were putting the ball back in the middle a huge chant of 'UNITED' erupted from the whole stadium. No-one booed once. A standing ovation at the end of the match too.

You see, alot of clubs have United in their names and like to call themselves as such. The way I see it, the United club highest on the English League tables has the exclusive right to the name.

So effectively, your fans were cheering on United. Which makes sense because either way they were cheering on the Newcastle equaliser/winner.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Celestine Babayaro has been shown (read 'pushed out') the door by Newcastle.

http://nufcblog.com/?p=4080

 

[ShearMagic9]

Devastating.

 

[tribey]

Is Rozehnal doing a cracking performance as the albino Boumsong or what? No seriously, imagine him with loads more pigment in his skin and they're identical, right down to their penchant for 70s tennis sweatbands:

How can you go from looking ridiculously top-drawer to paying royalties to Titus Bramble so quickly?

 

[cookie33]

I think Rozehnal is our best defender.

 

[tige19]

God we play rubbish football, almost the worst team to watch in the PL, 3 points you cant complain though. Well done BSA and lads, nice penalty Mr.Barton congrats.

 

[tribey]

God we play rubbish football, almost the worst team to watch in the PL, 3 points you cant complain though. Well done BSA and lads, nice penalty Mr.Barton congrats.

No disrespect to Fulham, although it clearly is, but honestly. Honestly. We should be crushing rabble like that. They were atrocious - and the fact they could well have beaten us on the night speaks volumes as to where we're at.

Tactically we're a mess. Apart from Habib the defence was again shaky and left massive holes that a greater side would've exploited, and the N'Zogbia/Milner traffic jam on the left-hand side is a farce.

Against Derby I'd love to see BSA go out on a limb and play both James and Charlie in their natural positions, as avant garde as that concept is, I know.

Up front Oba had no idea what was going on, chasing longballs and aimless punts all night - and seeing him subbed off instead of Smith was a massive slap in the face, regardless of the latter penno Smudge won.

To be quite honest, the last three positive results have been down to that ye olde English combination of good old fashioned graft and luck - hardly a recipe for ongoing planned success.

There's no system, no shape, no clue. Just a stack of individually talented players getting the rub of the green more often than not of late.

Not impressed. Boltonewcastle Unitederers.

 

[ShearMagic9]

Crap game. Crap performance. Good result.

Pleasing to see our defence keep a clean sheet, and yes it was only Fulham, but they are no worse than Birmingham, Derby, Sunderland, who we've all conceded against.

You can complain all you want about the style, but our away form was absolutely atrocious, and even with that win it's still bad, but any win away from home is a good result. Let's not forget, whilst there are some poor sides in the premier league this season, there is no such thing as an easy game, especially playing at places like Fulham. Very pleasing to be able to go down there and get a result.

I'll get hammered by Nip and probably D/T for this, but Alan Smith once again played exceptionally well. That's not just my opinion, it is also the opinion of many other geordies. His link up play is phenomonal, just a pity Oba is no good at playing with a link-up striker.

Charlie is playing at left back because at the moment Jose cannot speak a word of English. You can't play in defence and not be able to communicate with the other defenders, it's a recipe for disaster.

Cacapa was great, N'Zogbia was good and Beye was fantastic. Rozehnal was solid, but I'm always nervy whenever he has to defend. We defended well as a unit.

Our midfield has too many of the same players though, Emre has to start, as he is one of the few who offers creativity and is technically gifted.

Sam has reverted back to the 4-3-3 style he played at Bolton. Whilst not pretty to watch, at the moment it is proving effective.

We can continue to play that way and finish 6-10, or we can try and play with some flair and finish 10-12. Our team doesn't have the players to play with flair, lets face it.

I know which of the above positions I'd prefer to come.

We deserved a draw if not more against Arsenal, deserved our win against Birmingham but were probably lucky to get all three against Fulham. That's football though, and it's the 3 points that are most important.

We're right back in the mix now, only 5 points behind 5th place, and we have Derby and Wigan coming up.

 

[apollo_creed]

If you honestly think you'll ever get anywhere as a club with Alan Smith up front then you're deluded.

The team is a bit of a rabble at the moment.

Terrible football, boring/unwatchable side, ridiculously average signigns/players.

Something has to change.

Big Sam isn't the man to take you to heights new or deserved.

There's gifted players there (strikers and wide players) and with the right manager, philoshpies and additions the team could well flourish.

At the moment the team is stuck in a lets do the timewarp.

 

[tige19]

Why Alan Smith starts over Viduka when the big man is fit is beyond me, if we are talking about a player who can hold up play and direct some descent balls to Oba and Joey and Emre then the V-Bomber is the man. The only reason Smith got that penalty was because of Vidukas strong play over the ball and the deft little touch he gave Smith.

Nzogbia looks like a tiger in a cage ready to break down the bars and go on a hunting spree, we are just waisting his talent at LB, Geremi did alot of nothing as usual and Joey Barton tried as always but didnt deliever until slotting that penalty. Cacapa was good and Beye was fantastic, Rozehnal is still our best CB but I would still like to see Taylor partner him.

Poor Oba gets killed by the stayle of football BSA plays, it would be highly mighty of the guy if he stayed at Newcastle but I hope for the sake of his career that he moves on, he is better than the shite that we play and his talents are only getting wasted.

Anyhow, another week and some more hope lets see if BSA decides to give us a little more to cheer about.

P.S did anyone see that Geordie girl asleep during the game?? she was laying on her boyfriends shoulder, the dude wasnt far off either quite funny.

 

[ShearMagic9]

So wait - We complain when we lose

AND

- We complain when we win.

The style isn't the best, but as long as it's working I'm not really bothered.

We're not going to sack BSA, and rightly so.

So either get used to it and support your team, or find yourself a side thats 'better to watch'

 

[tige19]

So wait - We complain when we lose

AND

- We complain when we win.

The style isn't the best, but as long as it's working I'm not really bothered.

We're not going to sack BSA, and rightly so.

So either get used to it and support your team, or find yourself a side thats 'better to watch'

1-0 against Fulham in a game where we just bang it long to 1 bloke who is 170cm and another bloke who is barely 180cm, the style of football doesnt match the talent in the side. The problem is the style of play BSA has the lads play provides little hope for continued and sustained success, I mean dont get me a wrong I am happy with the 'fantastic' lucky winner we got against Fulham but to be honest we were complete garbage.

I think BSA needs to recruit Yao Ming and Dwight Howard, maybe then we can play 150 skye balls up front.

 

[moomba]

So either get used to it and support your team, or find yourself a side thats 'better to watch'

I don't think it's as simple as that. Newcastle have a good enough squad to aspire to win games and play with a bit of style as well.

There'll be times where you have to play dogs of war, but it seems that is pretty much plan A, B and C with Fat Sam. And to be perfectly honest I reckon you would be just as effective (if not more) if you played to your strengths.

 

[tribey]

I don't think it's as simple as that. Newcastle have a good enough squad to aspire to win games and play with a bit of style as well.

There'll be times where you have to play dogs of war, but it seems that is pretty much plan A, B and C with Fat Sam. And to be perfectly honest I reckon you would be just as effective (if not more) if you played to your strengths.

That is precisely it. We shouldn't be relying on simple graft and luck in order to defeat the likes of Birmingham at home and Fulham away.

Regardless of the last 7 points out of 9 we aren't seeing any semblance of a plan that will eventually see us take 65-80 points in future seasons, which is what the mission ultimately is for the club.

Let's recap:

Arsenal [h] - A neat finish from Steven Taylor after Arsenal failed to clear their lines and the ball luckily fell to him.

Birmingham [h] - A penno won and converted by Martins and a last minute near-post header by Habib from a corner.

Fulham [a] - After looking poor, aimless and clueless for ninety minutes we snag a last minute penno scored by Joey Barton.

Hardly anything to rub one out about, surely - could just as easily been 3, 1 or no points at all - and then where the hell would we be.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest Sam has the tactical chops to ultimately deliver the sort of results required to push for a UEFA Cup berth let alone the top-4 and beyond.

His hit-and-hope Bolton style - reminiscent of Peter Reid's method of choice at Sunderland - only gets you so far.

Even best case scenario - 7th in both cases - this is not far enough. Especially when you have the likes of Viduka, Martins and Owen to call upon instead of the likes of Kevin Davies and one-hit wonder Sewpa Kev.

 

[ShearMagic9]

Our last two home matches have been very entertaining to watch, the Birmingham game was a drab in parts, but for the most part was entertaining.

Our last away game was shit to watch. But we were away from home, and even against the likes of Fulham, where we should be attacking slightly more no matter if home or away, it still was away from home.

It was crap to watch, but Sam Allardyce is here to stay ladies and gentlemen, so I'd suggest getting behind him instead of bagging his every move.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest Sam has the tactical chops to ultimately deliver the sort of results required to push for a UEFA Cup berth let alone the top-4 and beyond.

Well, he did it with a weak squad at Bolton. What was that down to? Pure luck? No, it was down to his tactical nous. Yes, we're different to Bolton, and yes, he has to realise this, but to say he doesn't have the tactical chops is ridiculous.

 

[tribey]

Well, he did it with a weak squad at Bolton. What was that down to? Pure luck? No, it was down to his tactical nous. Yes, we're different to Bolton, and yes, he has to realise this, but to say he doesn't have the tactical chops is ridiculous.

By that logic Graham Taylor was a mastermind.

He took little Watford up through all four divisions and eventually got the England job after all...

 

[ShearMagic9]

By that logic Graham Taylor was a mastermind.

He took little Watford up through all four divisions and eventually got the England job after all...

Bit before my time

 

[tribey]

Bit before my time

[youtube]5DHO8p0ce38[/youtube]

Enjoy.

Incey and Merson's reactions - priceless.

 

[ShearMagic9]

Some humerous jokes about our mackem friends:

# Figures released today show that two out of every ten men on Wearsiede work for nationalised industry. While the other eight sit and watch them

# Wearside Council planning chiefs today announced that they have found a major design fault with the Stadium of Light. The main stand faces the pitch!

# Alan Shearer and Kevin Phillips were away with the England squad in Holland, when a prostitute propositioned them in Amsterdam. Kevin asked here "How much for a little wank?" Then Shearer asked "and how much for a superstar?"

# A Geordie, a Smogmonster and a Mackem are walking through the countryside when they see a sheep with its head stuck in a gate. Geordies says "I wish that was Britney Spears." The Smoggie replied "No, I wish it was Naomi Campbell." The Mackem looked lovestruck and whispered "I wish it was ****ing dark"

# Roy Keane has made a new signing. He has signed Frankie Dettori as he thinks that it's the only way they will win the next DERBY.

# Roy Keane has just announced the signing of a top Chinese international for Sunderland at a price of £250,000. His name; WY ME

 

[TorresIsGod]

Interesting stuff there FC...