Newcastle United getting sucked into a relegation dogfight
Newcastle failed yet again to register a win in the league against Manchester City at the City of Manchester stadium on Saturday - for the eighth game in a row - and their precarious position near the bottom of the league is becoming more of a reality each day.
The good news in this game is that we didn’t concede a goal - the bad news is that we didn’t score either. With the imminent loss of Shola Ameobi to a hip operation in Denver (which he should have had last summer but experts said an injection would be enough), Newcastle will find it difficult to score before they get reinforcements in the January transfer window, this being the fourth consecutive league game in which they have failed to score.
The strikers available to Newcastle are Sibierski, Martins and Rossi, who will now likely return to Manchester United at the end of the year. Sibierski and Ameobi started the game but Newcastle should have been a couple of goals down at half time but Steve Harper is looking increasingly confident in goal and made some good saves.
I still believe that if Harper was at another Premiership club he would be in the England squad - and can’t quite understand quite why he wouldn’t want to give it a go elsewhere - but there again he is a Newcastle lad and wants to stay at Newcastle.
It was only towards the end of the game that Newcastle looked dangerous and Kieron Dyer (on for Ameobi after 56 minutes) had the ball kicked off the line and Antoine Sibierski also went close.
Georgios Samaras did put the ball in the net in the first half for City but Graham Poll disallowed the goal because of a foul by Corradi on Carr. This was at best a debatable call - but maybe Newcastle are getting some luck at last.
Young Giuseppe Rossi was not even on the substitutes bench and Alex Ferguson probably would not want him involved in a relegation dog fight this season…..and also doesn’t want him to get too familiar with losing.
Manchester City certainly looked the better team and seem to be regaining some of their confidence and form after a nervous start to the season with Joey Barton looking particularly good in this game.
Newcastle should have Martins and Given back next week - but with Harper playing well in goal it will be interesting to see when Given returns. The last time he couldn’t get back in the team (under Sir Bobby Robson) he put in a transfer request. With Given having been voted the best goalkeeper in the Premiership last season (for the second time) he will not remain patient - so that’s a situation to watch closely.
While Newcastle have a lot of class players their Premiership record of 9 points from 12 games is worse than relegation form - and it doesn’t even bear thinking about if we get relegated. It will put the club back several years and we will lose some of our best players like Owen, Emre, Duff, Milner, Given and Parker.
The pressure is certainly on Roeder to pull the team back from the brink - as the consequences of relegation will be disastrous for the club.
With Kieron Dyer now looking fit (and good) maybe he can return some of the faith shown in him by the club - that would certainly be a welcome relief. He has certainly become a man during his disastrous run of luck over the last couple of years - so we will see if he can indeed repay the club - it will certainly not be for the want of trying.
Finally, the next league game - Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Do you think Newcastle will survive this season, or will they do the unthinkable and collapse under the pressure?
Personally, i think getting shot of Sir Bobby was a huge mistake. He saved the club from relegation in his first season, and bought European football back to Newcastle. You guys have been on a downward spiral since Sir Bobby was sacked. That i think has hurt the club massively. Graeme Souness was bought into to stem the indiscipline at the club seemingly….but just looked completely out of his depth there.
No matter what people say about Freddy Shepherd, there hasn’t really been a manager he hasn’t backed financially. Unfortunately, the majority of managers have overlooked defenders as that is clearly what Newcastle need. Titus Bramble is a laughing stock. Craig Moore isn’t much better.
Once the barcodes get their defence sorted out, then that will bred confidence back into the team. Having a good defence allows the midfield to push up and support the forwards, instead of them having to keep an eye out at the back.
As a Man United fan, i wouldn’t mind taking Scotty Parker off your hands. Think he’s a great player and deserves to be playing for a big club (lol)
I cant understand what is going wrong ok we have no strikers to score but the rest of the team are not playing well either. Not creating chances for them selves or others and generally are not moving the ball well enough, whats happening why are we not performing? we are much better than this.
Shepherd is the problem. From top to bottom NUFC is rotten. Nothing will change for the better until Shepherd goes he is a laughing stock of European football. He hasn’t invested a penny of his own money into the club and the cash managers are given is generated by the club
SHEPHERD OUT
At the start of the season I told my mates that there would be one big club going down and it was either going to be Villa or the Toon. Villa then got a new owner, manager and some players. As for the Toon - time will tell, but there’s not much to smile about at the moment for their fans.
I just dont understand the guys running Newcastle. You have a defense that is a loose as Pamela Andersson’s legs, a very disjointed midfield and a non existant striker dept. Sure you cant blame them for Owen and Martins but everything else you can. I just dont understand why NO MANAGER changes the bloody defense. Strikers must be relishing looking forward to the defensive rock in Bramble ! And no matter what you say, emre and Parker cant play together. They both like sitting back, and though emre is creative, he sits too deep and doesnt attack enough. Duff plays left wing, right wing, central and striker. Play him on the dam left, where he is best ! Solano is good, but ageing and a right winger is on the cards (Routledge for me). If dyer is fit then him and parker is fine with me as long as one goes forward and the other shields. And the strikers will be back, but i still think they need another one, and not one of SIbierski’s callibre ! And Luque, my god man. He said is himself, he is hating Tyneside, wants to play on the left and isnt getting games. give him a prolonged run(2 months), let him prove himself. If not. sell him, that simple. And lastly, Roeder did a good job stepping in when Souness left, but thats all he was, a great stop gap manager. Shepard had the likes of Sven, Curbs and Guus Hiddink available but he decided to go for an inexpereinced, unlicensed youth team coach, Shepard really does need to go.Im a Man Utd supporter but hate seeing the Toon in the relegation zone.