The Toon Army Thread

[scon]

Yep for a non-bovine I'm veryMOOOOOING!!

 

[NUFC Tiger]

First win for the season last night. We looked much better after Shola came off. Remy impressed me to suggest he will add something to the team and Gouffran was very good too when he came on and should have ended up with 1 or 2 goals on another day.

Ben Arfa a clear MoM - the only player to keep trying all game. That goal...Amazing.

Another clean sheet. Dare I say it, a bit of optimism back around the club?

P.S Jedinak's Palace also sent scumberland packing

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Transfer window is now closed and while we kept Cabaye, we didn't sign anyone except Remy on loan and that 17 year old Kemen.

Judge me on our signings Kinnear said - well...

Let's hope we can hold out to January with this paper thin team..

 

[Golumless]

So Kinnear has been an absolute flop.

Why did we think this was a good idea... We should be ok 'till January.

 

[scon]

Ashley appointed him after they drank 25 pints each,Pardew's defending the man as he must,but I don't think too many people thought it was a good idea.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

A bit of a positive news for once, wanted to share this yesterday but was flatout at work

Steve Harper's testimonial - drew just under 51k fans to see heroes of yesteryear running out in the name of charity. Just goes to show how loyal our fans are! Some clubs can't even draw 35k and we did that for a charity match. Here's what AC Milan and Italy legend Paolo Maldini said “Newcastle United is such a big club and deserve to be at the top. I never got the chance to play against them in my career but heard so much about them. I loved the idea of playing here.” “You took my breath away.”

Oh and in other news, Sunderland's first team lost 3-1 to their under 21 side earlier in the international break in a closed doors friendly. Fair play to Di Canio though (who played for AC in the friendly), he played the crowd well - Barton got a nice pop from the crowd too when he lay a heavy tackle on him haha.

Let's hope we can get an away win at Villa this weekend!

 

[Moo]

Ben Afra

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Ben Afra

He's in ripping form - 2 MOM performances in 2 games. Really need to keep him fit!

 

[Moo]

He's in ripping form - 2 MOM performances in 2 games. Really need to keep him fit!

Not selling him would help too

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Not selling him would help too

If he keeps up this form, he will get some serious interest. I think he genuinely loves the fans though - probably moreso than someone like Cabaye. Hopefully the adulation he gets from the St James' park faithful keeps him happy. Who knows, if we are sitting well in the league come January, he might not even want to contemplate leaving

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Great win and great performance by the team - loved the attacking chemistry of Cisse, Ben Arfa and Remy. Sissoko, Cabaye and Anita bossed the midfield well and Colo and Yanga Mbiwa were rocks down back. Krul didn't have much to do and probably should have done a bit better with their goal but thankfully Gouffran managed to restore our lead.

2 wins in the league on the trot, suddenly the doom and gloom I was feeling has eased up. Next game at home to Hull. Winnable but a team we have historically struggled against their last time in the EPL. Hopefully we can bring our good form and make it 3 wins in the league

 

[NUFC Tiger]

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...aim-for-newcastle-united-s-ben-arfa-1-6052326

With HBA in his current form, is top 5 out of the equation? We still have a very good team just lacking depth. With no injuries and some luck, who's to say we can't mix it up in the top half - maybe even the top 8.

 

[scon]

Agree with your assessment of the match and our strengths.Team actually played solidly for the 90 and there were some passages of real quality.So enjoyable to watch and to be able to think that the promise can be built on and provide a realistic optimism.
The squad is thin and the season is a long one but if we settle in the top half and restore some confidence amongst the squad and supporters that'll do for me.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Agreed Scon - I think if we can get a nice run of wins happening and get the players confident in their abilities and the team, it will make a world of difference. We saw at the end of last season how shellshocked a lot of the players were.

I'd happily take a top 10 finish - right now though, I'm just counting down the points needed to get to 40. Anything more will be a bonus

 

[Moo]

I'm the same - avoid relegation is always my first aim.

Our depth is the worry - so glad we are off to a flyer. Going for the W on Saturday and not settling for a point was an important insight into the teams character.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Saw this on one of the newcastle fan pages on facebook - pretty encouraging stats so far!

1) Newcastle are ranked 4th in terms of shots attempted per game. Only Tottenham, Chelsea, and Everton have attempted more shots this season. They are also 4th on the list of most shots attempted from inside the six-yard box.

2) The Magpies have an impressive 81% pass completion rate after four games.

3) On average, Newcastle have kept 48% of possession in the four games they have played this season.

4) The Magpies have attempted the least amount of long balls in the Premier League this season (48). Southampton lead the long ball charts with 74.

5) Newcastle are ranked 6th in terms of interceptions per game.

6) In terms of dribbling, Newcastle have the 3rd highest successful dribbles in the league, behind only Tottenham and Everton.

7) The Magpies are ranked 4th on the offside table, with only six offside decisions going against Toon players in four matches.

8 ) Newcastle are 6th best in the league in terms of goals from open play (3 goals).

9) The Toon are 7th in terms of crosses attempted per game

10) Finally, the Magpies are 4th highest on the list of teams which have played the most through-balls this season.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

After a poor showing on the weekend, good to see the boys bounce back with a win - even if it is the Carling Cup!

2-0 win over Leeds in a pretty entertaining game. Great to see Cisse finally break his drought (first goal in 11 games) and for Gouffran to score his first home goal for the club. Dummett and Sammy Ameobi both got starts and impressed - combining well on the left. Sammy had 2 assists with 1 of those assists coming from a great pass by Dummett.

Unfortunately we have Man City at home in the next round so looks like this cup run might come to an end (especially as City have a great record against us...).

 

[scon]

Sorry Tiger a bit preoccupied with the progress of my team in the other code.
Was disappointing to lose that way at home after leading twice and conceding such amateurish goals.Even Coloccini was guilty of having a little snooze in defence.Can ill afford that sort of stuff against weaker teams at home.But as you say at least things didn't get worse with a Cup defeat against Leeds.
The squad does have potential to play good footy.The little Dutchman Vurnon Anita is a real metronome in the midfield and offers more than Tiotte because of his passing range,lack of stupid errors and overall intelligent ball use and he's always available.
Anyway I'm off back to the Dockerdream about to become real!!

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Sorry Tiger a bit preoccupied with the progress of my team in the other code.
Was disappointing to lose that way at home after leading twice and conceding such amateurish goals.Even Coloccini was guilty of having a little snooze in defence.Can ill afford that sort of stuff against weaker teams at home.But as you say at least things didn't get worse with a Cup defeat against Leeds.
The squad does have potential to play good footy.The little Dutchman Vurnon Anita is a real metronome in the midfield and offers more than Tiotte because of his passing range,lack of stupid errors and overall intelligent ball use and he's always available.
Anyway I'm off back to the Dockerdream about to become real!!

Haha you can be forgiven Scon!

Yep, defence was definitely at fault vs Hull but I guess we can't dwell on it now. Definitely need to be picking up the points especially at home given our away form last season was very ordinary.

I'm a big fan of Anita's work in the games he's started - he looks really good in his natural position of DM. Anita has played some absolutely great balls too!. If our defence could be a bit more solid, we'd have no real need for Tiote to be in the starting 11 as he gets a game purely because he can break down attacks quite well - our CM positions are probably our strongest area depth wise - Cabaye, Sissoko, Anita, Tiote and even Gosling who impressed in preseason can all play there. Good to see 4-3-3 being played as it can allow any of the 3 to all get a game.

Anyway, best of luck for tomorrow mate! I'm going for the purple haze

Hopefully a freo win is a sign of a nice win away to Everton to come later

 

[NUFC Tiger]

After a poor first half where we conceded 3, good to see the team fight back and score 2 though obviously fell short of a point. For the second week in a row, our fullbacks got exposed and proved our undoing. I think the problem with playing the 4-3-3 system is that while it gives us quite a bit going forward, we don't play any wingers (unless you count Ben Arfa and Gouffran) so we lack cover for the fullbacks - I know Gutierrez has his share of detractors and can be pretty frustrating at times but while he isn't great offensively, his work rate defensively is first class.

Cabaye really should have started as he changed us a lot in the second half and scored arguably the pick of the goals. Good to see Remy score again too, might be a good pick up at this rate. Williamson was very good when he came on too which is surprising. Probably deserves a game vs Cardiff this weekend.

Everton probably deserved the win due to our poor defending (2 games in a row our defence - particularly fullbacks have been exposed, this time Santon at fault) but with a bit of luck could have been a draw with Gouffran hitting the bar and Barry blocking a shot with his hands (outside the box) while already on a yellow. I think I read that Everton hadn't conceded since March at home since March so to score 2 while only showing up for a half isn't a bad effort.

Lukaku though...what a freak. No idea why Chelsea loaned him out - sure it's good for him to be playing week in week out but reckon he could easily be doing that for Chelsea.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Some interesting rumours over night. Remy apparently is unwanted at QPR - even if they come up so may be able to become a permanent signing next season should he and the club want to extend the deal

Another one was Zaha apparently is going to be farmed out on loan and he has reportedly said Newcastle would be his preference (who knows why?). Some food for thought anyway I guess - With Ashley and Kinnear pulling the strings, I can only see bargain and loan signings being made.

 

[scon]

Can't for the life of me figure out why Pardew would start with Ben Arfa and Anita on the bench although I didn't see the Everton game,but I was impressed with the football the team played in the first half against Cardiff.Remy is a serious talent and Tiotte seems to have simplified his game to great effect.Excessive Caol Isla consumption saw me nod off at half time so I'll have to catch the replay but with that kind of gutsy selection decisions I may have to give Pardew more credit than I have done previously.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Can't for the life of me figure out why Pardew would start with Ben Arfa and Anita on the bench although I didn't see the Everton game,but I was impressed with the football the team played in the first half against Cardiff.Remy is a serious talent and Tiotte seems to have simplified his game to great effect.Excessive Caol Isla consumption saw me nod off at half time so I'll have to catch the replay but with that kind of gutsy selection decisions I may have to give Pardew more credit than I have done previously.

Yeah, I was the same as you scon - was completely baffled as to why Anita was benched given he had probably been our most consistent mid so far this season. Ben Arfa I was a bit surprised with as well but I guess Pardew wanted to add a bit more defensive steel to the side, hence Tiote coming in. Tiote has been quite good so far too, he's not overplaying like he did last season and playing within his skills and keeping it simple which is good.

Wiliiamson had a good game too apart from the goal we conceded - other than that, didn't set a foot wrong and arguably, the goal was more Santon's fault as he was no where to be seen when Odemwingie (spelling?) scored. Cabaye was back to his brilliant self pulling the strings in midfield and really could have scored a cracking free kick if not for the upright.

Next up is Liverpool at home which will be tough. Hopefully we can contain Suarez and Sturridge and do a bit to reverse that 6-0 drubbing last season.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Good to see Rob Elliott getting a call up to the Republic of Ireland squad - can only be good for him to be involved at international level.

Was looking at the French squad for the upcoming friendly vs the Socceroos and we (NUFC) have Remy, Cabaye, Sissoko and Debuchy all representing. Would love to see the socceroos get up but if we don't, happy for our NUFC players to play well so they can bring their good form back to Tyneside

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Here is our third kit just revealed overnight - very similar to the gunners/Sweden kits.

It's not too bad I guess - would rather that blue be black though!