The Toon Army Thread

[scon]

Forgot to record it but that would be a great trifecta:dropping points when in control,signing no backups,Shelvey copping another suspension for another brainfade.
Fuquen Great!

 

[robertg22]

Forgot to record it but that would be a great trifecta:dropping points when in control,signing no backups,Shelvey copping another suspension for another brainfade.
Fuquen Great!

Let's hope Brighton lose to Huddersfield. Would still be nice to win the league.

We have Derby this weekend, at home again thankfully. The return of McClaren to SJP! We couldn't lose to him? Surely.....

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Saw the awful play by Perez when all he had to do was square the ball and it's a guaranteed goal. Can tell he's low on confidence at the moment as he went for glory rather than do the team thing.

89th minute own goal to equalise. Shelvey for all his talent really needs to pull his head in because we can't afford to lose him. Frustrating result to say the least. Worryingly, Rafa seems to be in the dark why we didn't sign anyone (seems to give the impression he wanted players but was perhaps overruled/let down by the chuckles bros Cashley and Charnley).

Would love to go up as champions but at the moment, I'm more worried about the chasing pack catching us!

Still 18 games to go...

 

[robertg22]

Saw the awful play by Perez when all he had to do was square the ball and it's a guaranteed goal. Can tell he's low on confidence at the moment as he went for glory rather than do the team thing.

And then a few minutes later, he was heading towards a 1on1 with the keeper and decided then to cross it and completely missed everyone.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

And then a few minutes later, he was heading towards a 1on1 with the keeper and decided then to cross it and completely missed everyone.

Too scared to watch the highlights haha. From all the match coverage I was following this morning, it sounded like Perez must have worn Mitro's boots as he squandered a handful of good chances.

Just goes to show how tough the Championship is. Have to take your chances when they come or you'll regret it. Maybe we'll get a bit lucky and Huddersfield will hold Brighton to a draw...or knock them off (though that would mean they are a bit closer to us as well).

 

[robertg22]

Just goes to show how tough the Championship is. Have to take your chances when they come or you'll regret it. Maybe we'll get a bit lucky and Huddersfield will hold Brighton to a draw...or knock them off (though that would mean they are a bit closer to us as well).

Yeah now you mention it, a draw is the best outcome for us I guess.

We better bloody beat Derby!

 

[scon]

Shelvey's petulant child shit was identical to what had him sent off against Forest.Studs first kicking out at a player while on the ground.
Rafa needs to give him an uppercut.
Certainly not 'The Entertainers'!
No control of the game after Shelvey's goal.
Weren't too many that were terrible or good.
Yedlin was probably the best.
Perez certainly in the worst vein of form.
In Clarke's defence he looked really wobbly on his feet when he left to be stitched and his left eye was closing up.Darlow should have called,kept coming and cleaned him up if necessary.
We made chances but the little Aussie Luongo could have had a hat trick by half time.
Something needs to change,not even convincing for a point,although that was probably the fair result.

 

[robertg22]

Huddersfield beat Brighton and Brighton had a player sent off. Probably a good result for us.

 

[scon]

Does seem others bolstered their stocks and have improving form we sadly have neither.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Makes the dropped points even more annoying given we could have really taken a step ahead. The Mag had an article saying how QPR targeted Lascelles and it was up to Clark to 'carry' him a bit. Makes you wonder if Mbemba will perhaps earn a reprieve.

Though Brighton lost Dunk to a red card who I think is their best CB - might be handy for us if Brighton stumble a bit more. Can't afford to lose to Derby this weekend - can you imagine the headlines if McClaren (who was sacked by Derby, appointed to the Toon, largely helped relegate the Toon, returns to Derby) got a win over us?

The speculation that Rafa is at odds with Cashley is a definite worry though.

In some 'good' news - Ghana were knocked out of the Cup of Nations this morning so Atsu should be on his way back soon. Could certainly use his pace and explosive play style to help rejuvenate us through this mini stumble.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

What a difference a week can make. Don't want to get too ahead of ourselves just yet but some perspective helps!

We're back on top and Brighton no longer have a game on hand on us, Gayle is a chance to return this weekend vs Wolves (lord knows we need his predatory finishing), Diame is back and doing well, Atsu is on the way back from the cup of nations and we grinded out a win over an in form Derby with the McClown at the helm (the usual script involves a returning manager beating us haha).

Given we went 5 games without Shelvey and then 4 weeks without Gayle - to be on top is actually a pretty decent effort given the importance of both. Could have easily stumbled and lost a grip on one of the automatic promotion places but we 'hopefully' have gotten through some testing waters.

As it stands, we're 6 points, a game in hand and 29 goals better off than Reading in third. We're also 15 points clear of 7th so at the very least we're looking good for at least a playoff spot.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Forgot to mention, seems Tiote has left for Beijing BG in the Chinese second tier. Should clear a big chunk of wages off the wage budget (scary when you think we still have Thauvin, De Jong, Riviere, Saivet and Krul all on loan who'd be on big money I'm sure).

Tiote had some great moments for us - none bigger than his stunner in the 4-4 draw with Arsenal. For a while there, him and Cabaye were a great midfield tandem. Tiote was one of the better defensive mids in the league IMO at his peak and attracted some big bids from memory. Used to boss the midfield and break down attacks (as well as collecting many many cards haha).

CM stocks are a bit light at the moment which is a worry - Tiote gone, Hayden has a niggling issue, Anita injured and am not sure where Colback is (was injured a while back but hasn't really been sighted since - not even on the bench IIRC).

 

[robertg22]

Tiote looks thrilled! Good move for him, probably about 2 years too late.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Tiote looks thrilled! Good move for him, probably about 2 years too late.

Yeah not wrong....a few years back, clubs were sniffing for a 15m odd transfer. Would have been handy.

Oh well, good luck to him. Only cost us snip at something like 3.5-4m (ironically from Steve McClaren's Twente IIRC).

 

[robertg22]

Yeah not wrong....a few years back, clubs were sniffing for a 15m odd transfer. Would have been handy.

Oh well, good luck to him. Only cost us snip at something like 3.5-4m (ironically from Steve McClaren's Twente IIRC).

Yeah Arsenal were keen on him at one stage from memory!

 

[robertg22]

Pretty lackluster game against Wolves but we got the 3 points and remain on top, so that's all that matters.
Tricky mid week fixture away against Norwich, they just won 5-1 over Forest. Hopefully Gayle is back.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Good for Mitro's confidence too to net the winner -confidence probably been knocked around a bit in the last few weeks. Probably lucky to have not gotten a red either judging by the highlights haha.

Good response from us given we had the late game. Brighton went top with their healthy win so we had to respond. Most importantly though we're now 7 points clear of third placed Huddersfield.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

2-2 draw this morning. You'd probably take it if you knew Brighton would also manage a draw.

Frustrating for us as both goals were courtesy of mistakes and we had a few good chances to win it by a couple ourselves.

Huddersfield, Sheff Wed, Leeds and Reading all won too ensuring the chasing pack got a bit closer to Brighton and us which is also a worry.

Gayle returned coming off the bench - that's a small win to take from the game I guess.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

2-0 win over Villa this morning sends us back on top. That clown Lansbury providing an own goal for the second.

From most reports, we didn't get out of third gear. Gayle started but went off early - hopefully not a play up of his hamstring...

Mitro came on and supposedly changed the dynamic of the game though. Villa's CBs couldn't handle his physicality.

 

[robertg22]

Watched most of the second half, we were cruising. Bristol City on Saturday, I'd expect us to rest a couple as the big match is Brighton on Tuesday. Need to at least draw that one.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Agreed rob, need to win that Bristol game and make the most of the home advantage. Our next 3 after that are huge and could really shape up the title/play off positions. Brighton, Huddersfield and Reading - all promotion rivals and all 3 are away matches for us. Thankfully our away form is our strength this season.

 

[scon]

Went to bed and forgot to record it I'll get the replay later today.
3 pts is what it's about basically.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Went to bed and forgot to record it I'll get the replay later today.
3 pts is what it's about basically.

Where can I find the replay?

 

[scon]

Where can I find the replay?

Foxtel beIN Sports 2,Channel 514 @ 4.10pm West Aussie time today,ie in about 20 mins.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

The last 2 games really show what the Toon rollercoaster is all about.

Going 2-0 down at home to Bristol City before managing to salvage a draw.

Away to Brighton who have the best home form in the league, concede a dubious penalty and get outplayed for most of the match and kept in it after some great Darlow saves. Diame scores a freak equaliser and then Perez snatching a late winner in the 89th minute.

Oh well, better to be lucky than good they say. If we can get another win at Huddersfield, I think that would almost clinch promotion.... Let's go lads!