Premiership Wrap

Round 21 in the Premiership was a bit of a strange one. Two games were cancelled, and Newcastle didn't lose. I know - strange.....
The weather was quite cold and dangerous in parts of the country, which caused many smaller clubs some serious headaches, mainly with frozen pitches. But the games that did go on were not without some serious drama.
First, before any kickoffs even occured, Rafa Benitez came out with a pretty surprising tirade against Sir Alex Ferguson of Man United. Not surprising based on what he said, since everything he said was pure fact and very well known by everyone in the league. But it was quite surprising that anyone actually have the gawl to say an unkind word against the Patron Saint Sir Alex, who, if it were up to the British media, would be immediately crowned king and Savior, and a new "Alexian Church" would be started where instead of stale bread for a host, we'd nibble off used pieces of Sir Alex's gum, and instead of a cross or star of david, we'd all worship a photograph of one of Ferguson's famous geriatric goal celebrations.
Rafa Benitez went down a pre-written list and stated all the media outbursts by Ferguson, and the FA's response (or, lack thereof). He compared that to other managers' outbursts, and the following fury which was unleashed upon them by the FA. Basically proving, fairly simply, how biased the FA are towards the biggest of the clubs. Now myself being a supporter of a team much, much further down the table, I can see some incredible hypocracy with this outburst, since Rafa and his players have gotten off the hook on many instances as well - case in point, Saint Steven Gerrard being arrested by Mersyside police for a barfight - almost the same as Joey Barton's charge. Now, Barton, being a Newcastle player gets put in headlines every day for the next week or two, and with Gerrard - POOF! A day after his arrest, it's completely disappeared from the headlines, and lips, of any media outlets. Let's talk about bias, Rafa.
Now to the football.
Newcastle were lucky to get a point at home against fellow struggler West Ham. Recent reports suggest that roughly half our team is looking to move to a better club, with Michael Owen having already reportedly agreeing to terms with Man City for a summer move, N'Zogbia opening his huge, annoying mouth again, stating that while his agent hasn't actually spoken with anybody yet, he'd looooove to go to Arsenal, and Given being one foot out the door, also to Man City. Anyway, Owen is still here, and he did his job well, putting away a nice goal to give us the lead. Our defense couldn't handle Bellamy all day (I never realized just how quick that guy was until Saturday) and I wasn't surprised at all to see him equalize quickly. In the second half, Seb Bassong fouled a player in the box, and we were lucky that it wasn't called for a penalty. Besides this play, he was MONEY all day, as he has been all season.
Their second goal, though, was truly horrific. Culminating a spell of 20 minutes of just about the worst football I've seen by any team this year, we gave Carlton Cole about 45 seconds to receive the ball at his feet, put a few moves on a few players, bend down, tie his shoes, give himself a good old spitshine, play a quick game of Go Fish with Scott Parker and Lucas Neill, and cooly put away the go-ahead goal. Shay Given, at that point, held up a sign saying "Man City or Bust."
But with just over 10 minutes to play, we were threatening time after time. Unfortunately all of our crosses were easily cleared before they could cause any trouble.....until the young'n Andy Carroll, sporting a classy new cornroll infested hairdo finally put his height to good use and powerfully shot home a header to tie the game up. It ended that way, but we were REALLY lucky to escape with a point, because the way I see it, we are a team in crisis, and I'm really concerned for the rest of the season.
In contrast, today's match between Man United and Chelsea displayed football at its finest - as it usually does. Watching the Newcastle match contrasted with the Man U match today, it was like watching two different leagues. Man U ran out deserving 3-0 victors, and Liverpool can now officially begin shaking in their boots, because with two games in hand, and only sitting 5 points behind them, Manchester look to really be hitting their stride now. Their youngsters put in good performance after good performance, with Johnny Evans coming through today INCREDIBLY strong, after Rio was a late scratch after waking up with a bad back. He, Raphael, Nani, Anderson, Possebon, and Danny Welbeck are all going to be the stars of about 6 years from now, and Man U show no signs of letting up. That was the most clear difference today - Manchester looked full of spring and energy, and they completely ran past and confused Chelsea. It was a demolition - and Big Phil was correct when he said that if his team continues to play like this, they'll quickly be removed from the title race.
Good thing Newcastle doesn't have to worry about that.

2008....AF&F style.

Thanks to Brett's great suggestion to do a "year in review" post, I'm doing a "year in review" post.
If you look back on 2008 with that 20/20 vision everybody always talks about, one word sticks out in your head: "Shite." I mean, barring Obama's wonderfully emotional and uplifting election, some great individual holiday/family/personal moments, some good food, and an occasional (and I mean REALLY occasional) Newcastle victory, 2008 was littered with economic crises, joblessness, wars wars wars, bad baseball, bad football, and even bad American football.

I'd have to say my favorite moment of the year was, of course, the moment when CCN predicted Obama's victory on the big screen at Grant Park, and I let out of surge of joy and excitement with all my friends there that night. From that point on through the rest of the night it felt like we were all together, on one team. Walking back home on Michigan Avenue, all was right with the world. People singing and dancing in the streets, not a single frown on a face as far as you looked, and somehow, we would all come out of this mess that the GOP had put us through for the past 8 years.
Some other highlights were: Of course, our trip to Japan, Christmas with my little nephew and some great food prepared by my Mom, the day Keegan was announced to take over NUFC's reigns, our emphatic victory over Spurs last season at White Heart Lane, our trip to Via Osteria, and another trip we took to a little restaurant called Bistro Campagne in Chicago, which I did not document on this site.
The lowlights were: definitely the day that many of my friends and coworkers got laid off at the firm, and it sunk in REAL QUICK how tough the next year or so is going to be, if we're lucky enough to stay employed for the next year, and the day that King Kev left Newcastle. I like to keep this place a happy one, so I won't get too into the downers of 2008.

So, it certainly was a tough one to get through, especially the last few months. But look - we're all here. We've made it. Let's get our chins up off the dirt, and keep walking forward. Because at the end of the day, as long as there is still architecture to enjoy, football to watch, and good food to stuff your face with, the world is still worth hanging out in.

Gotta love the holidays.

Why must I keep writing about my teams losing?

The Cubs choke in the playoffs. Newcastle are just awful, and inconsistent. The Bears, justly so, choked on the last week of the season to NOT get into the playoffs. Where shall I begin on the ever so easy criticism of any of my favorite sports franchises?

First, Newcastle. Mike Ashley has decided that - hey - since the market is junky and since my team has won a game or two, I don't feel like selling any more. Maybe next week though. Stay tuned! Oh boy, Newcastle is such a caaraaaazy place - these Geordies are gonna LOVE me when I tell 'em the good ol news!! Uh - sorry Mike. As this week has shown we are nowhere NEAR being able to compete for European spots. We beat Tottenham at the last breath, which we all knew we would do (we somehow OWN Spurs), and that got us all in a hot mess. But then we go on to lose to Wigan on Boxing Day (even though it truly was down to some awful decisions by the ref) and then get ABSOLUTELY SPANKED by Liverpool at home. This match was just pitiful. It shows the gap in teams within the Premiership. Similar to the Bears, we do not deserve anything from this season, if anything, we deserve to go down so that the board will be forced to basically declare bankruptcy and start again. It's that bad. We're paper thin, our defense is an absolute JOKE (especially when Steven Taylor shows his face around the pitch) our midfield can NOT provide decent service to our strikers, who, by the way, will pretty much all be on the way out either in January or this summer. So we'll be left with a carcus of a squad anyway - might as well do it in the Championship.

The Bears, who truthfully were awful all season long, didn't make the playoffs, even though all they had to do was WIN against the TEXANS today, based on some other results going our way, and we could have gotten in.

But think about how poor this team is.

Lovie Smith clearly doesn't know how to emotionally prepare a team for a big game. The defense has been shite ever since Rivera left, and how DARE any NFL franchise to hire an ex-Illini coach to ANY position on the coaching staff.

The defense is the most overpaid group of players assembled in the league. Time after time after time today, they blew their coverage, didn't get adequate pressure on the qb, left GAPING holes all over the field, whether it be running or passing, made stupid penalties at inoportune times, etc etc.

The offense is run by Kyle Orton, who literally might not get a starting job on ANY other NFL team, and for some reason, we haven't gone after a QB for a few drafts now. Or free agents. Or trades. We seem to be happy watching the little bitch fight that is the annual Orton-Grossman "QB Controversy." Our wide receivers are awful. Both tight ends are better than any of our receivers. Devin Hester is an absolutely spoiled little brat who's fast with ZERO hands. He's a terrible receiver, and he didn't return a single punt this entire season. So.....what's the benefit of having him on offense -- I mean -- our team, again??? Matt Forte is clearly the best part of our offense, and he's a frigging rookie - we didn't even expect anything out of him this season, and he came on and blew it up. So good for him - but why do I see Adrian Peterson out there so much in clutch situations when Forte is the only opportunity we have of producing?

Special teams have been phenomenal all season, especially the punter and kicker. But when we needed an on-sides kick today to give us a chance, Gould put forth the most pathetic attempt I've ever seen. It's clear we hadn't practiced that - and if we had, good thing we wasted all that time, because it was certainly a waste.

Oh well, at least now I get another 5 months of watching Newcastle embarrass themselves, watching the Bulls embarrass themselves, and soon enough, I'll get to watch the Cubs embarrass themselves too. Go Blackhawks, I guess.

What on Earth is going ON?!

So, somebody stop me before I get carried away here, but have Newcastle actually turned a mini-corner, here? This weekend we took on Portsmouth away. Portsmouth - not the toughest team in the Prem since 'Arry left for Spurs, but the quality is obviously there. And we truly crushed them. 3-0, all goals coming in the second half. Their all-star strike force was left goalless by a new, gelled defensive four (Beye - Curlycini - Bassong - Enrique), our midfield showed calm, patience and intelligence to control the game away from home, and our strike force showed that the Owen/Martins front line can most certainly work.

Take a look at our recent matches:

11/3: 2-0 win vs. Villa

11/9: 2-1 loss at Fulham

11/15: 2-2 draw vs. Wigan

11/22: 0-0 at Chelsea

11/29: 0-0 at Middlesboro

12/6: 2-2 vs. Stoke

12/14: 3-0 win at Portsmouth

And a recap:

11/3, we CRUSHED Villa, now a top-4 side.

11/9 was the match that Cacapa lost for us, where our team played quite well, and he was to blame for both goals. We haven't seen a bit of him since that horrific effort.

11/15 we had WON, but Bramble saved a point for them on THE LAST PLAY.

11/22 was a solid away clean sheet against a top-4 side

11/29 was another solid away clean sheet at our rival's stadium

12/6 we were 2-0 up and playing well, and SOMEHOW gave it away. After this match, I said we were going down.

12/14 (today) we truly deserved 3 points away from home.

Now that's 3 clean sheets out of our last 4 matches, 10 points from our last 7 matches, and some VERY good performances all around. In the Stoke match, we were up by 2 with a clean sheet, until Kinnear switched up our back four, which was playing so well. He brought Steven Taylor on, and we lost the lead. Today, there was not a sign of Steven Taylor, and the clean sheet was kept. I think JFK has learned from his mistake with Stoke, and he'll be playing it safe at the back for a while.

Now we've got Tottenham at home, Wigan away, and Liverpool at home to round out 2008. We have a VERY strong record against Tottenham, so if we don't get a win it will be a disappointment. Wigan away might be tough (because I really like what Steve Bruce has done with the club and wish he would manage Newcastle!) but we should still get 1 or 3 points if we play up to our ability, and then Liverpool at home. Can't see 3 from that, but should be able to secure a draw. That's either 5 or 7 points. If we get 5, it will surely put us in a strong, mid-table position going into 2009, and we will be able to try shooting for a spot in Europe, rather than trying to avoid relegation. It's a massively exiting table right now if you look at it. We're sitting 14th at the moment, only 1 point away from the relegation zone, and only 4 points away from 8th spot!! And it's almost Christmas! So, anything can still happen, and even though I had all but given up hope last week, with every quality performance that we put in, the closer I will be to saying "Intertoto Cup- Here we come!" But not yet.

Turning a Corner? Doubt it...

The feeling must be bittersweet for all of us Newcastle fans today...While we can take a good amount of heart knowing that we well and truly stuffed an almost full and certainly stronger Chelsea squad at their home field, we also found out that the sale of our club won't happen until after Christmas.

The match was a classic one - we were certainly played off the pitch by a stellar Chelsea club, who were oozing quality with every move forward. Great buildup in the midfield, easy and solid defensive stops, a confident goal keeper. The only thing they couldn't do was score - which is surprising, knowing our defense. But as I always knew, Sebastian Bassong was IMMENSE at the back - FAR better than Steven Taylor has ever been. He was a great partner of Coloccini, and with Beye, they made 3 wonderful defensemen. Jose Enrique, on the other hand, was slow, scared, and immature most of the game, and he must be replaced. He did make a few nice defensive stops, but as soon as he gained control of the ball, he IMMEDIATELY gave it away. Butt was also strong in defense, but as always, horrible on the ball. The rest of the midfield played very intelligently, and did the best they could, but were simply outmatched by Chelsea. But as a squad, we showed we could play as a unit, play with heart, and battle for a very hard-fought draw, which will satisfy all.

Then, later in the afternoon, the news came that Joe Kinnear had been told he will be the manager for another month, meaning we're not close to a sale. This can't be a surprise for anyone, and in certain ways, I'm incredibly comfortable with Crazy Joe. He's a no-nonsense manager, which is something that we DESPERATELY need right now. After the emotional antics of King Kev, and all this rubbish talk about Shearer coming on to manage us (heaven forbid!!), what Newcastle need is a professional, stern, intelligent manager who will lead us in a NEW direction. No more of these comemorative picks from days gone by. Joe Kinnear has been a shot of what we need going forward. He isn't intelligent enough, but he's a start - and he's a FANTASTIC short-term guy, always telling the truth, being the microphone to the fans that Mike Ashley has never been.

But we do, indeed, need Ashley to sell this club. We need stability, first and foremost (how many times have I said that) and with Ashley around, it will never come. We need a solid base. We need Dennis Wise to leave. We need the manager to have control of the club - from the tactics to the purchases and sales. The January transfer window is coming up fast, and there will certainly be some movement of current Newcastle players OUT of the club - I mean - who on Earth would want to play for a club like this? Let's just hope Kinnear can convince Ashley to get some new faces IN as well - so we can stay up in the Premiership after this horrendous season is once and for all behind us!!

But for the next few weeks, we've got a great, memorable win to build on, we've got a few manageable games coming up, and if we can win or draw a few in a row, I think we'll be in a much more stable position by Christmas. It's REALLY congested down at the bottom at the moment, and I believe that the next few weeks will really set the table and define who will be battling relegation this season. If we can keep our heads above water now, it'll help us a LOT down the stretch.

**Update**

I just watched the highlights of the Manchester City v Arsenal match. If anybody hasn't seen this game, please try to catch some highlights. I predict this match will be the beginning of the long, slow, inevitable culture shift which will bring Manchester City into the upper echelon of the Premiership. Man City looked so good, and hungry, and frightening, and talented, and Arsenal looked so weak, and pathetic, and confused, and young and immature....with the obvious glaring difference in funds for the two clubs (Man City becoming instantly more wealthy than many countries in this world, and Arsenal consistently having to rely on Wenger's talent to find young, unknown stars of the future) there will be a change in heirarchy in the next few years...and I'm afraid for Arsenal they won't be on the benefitting side. As much as I love the football they try to produce, they're being picked apart game after game, and the other clubs are rapidly catching up to them. Keep your eyes on Man City because they are one exciting team to watch. They played real football against Arsenal - the way Arsenal once thought they could beat all others. And it was a sight to see.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Not much to say about this weekend, unfortunately, since I didn't watch any of it due to the holiday. Maybe I should make that a habit, considering how well my boys played, so I have heard.

I'm obviously glad to see Dyer playing up to his ability, and so far, looking to be quite healthy. People forget how dominating he can be, since we scarcely see him play. But from what I read, he had a few devastating through balls and shots which almost created goals. What's beginning to happen is with a slow increase in speed and quality, defenders are starting to play more cautiously around Dyer AND Martins, creating chances for others, like Sibierski to strike while the iron's hot.
I'm getting quite sick of hearing Roeder stick up for Martins every game that he doesn't score. The truth is that Martins is playing very well, he's been just barely off in the last few games, but he's CREATING chances. His presence is opening up our attack, and if the club is scoring, who cares if it's Martins or Sibierski. I think Roeder over emphasizes Martins' quality just to make up for his denial of Luque's quality. Obviously Luque has some dedication issues. But his inability to play well and get amped for matches can only (historically) be pinned on the gaffer. So Roeder feels guilty. Rightly so... Luque has shown his skill in Europe and other fairly meaningless matches. It's his lack of playing time that has cost him his spot in Prem matches. And insisting to play Ameobi up front, even while he was injured and desparately needed a hip surgery, was not the wisest decision for the club, in my mind.

But here's to the up and up. We're now 3 points clear of the drop zone, and as poor as that sounds, at least it's SOMETHING to get a bit excited about.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Newcastle are going to be one of the best Championship sides the league will have ever seen. That is, if they somehow change the form that they've been showing this entire season. As I said a couple weeks ago, this form will continue, and I repeat it here today - This form will continue throughout the season, and Newcastle will be relegated. And when that happens - they might actually have a battle to get back up into the Premiership.

This post will most probably represent the last regularly-posted entry (at least regarding NUFC) since it's not going to benefit myself or any readers to read the same rant-attacks on the same manager and coaches every week. I'm throwing my hands up in the air and saying "that's it - I've had enough." Really, the Magpies just aren't an interesting story anymore.

But one more rant won't hurt, will it? For old times sake...

Wow - it's actually really dark down here at the bottom of the table. I can barely make out the red and blue of Chelsea and Man United up at the top - even lowly Fulham looks happy and sparkly, sitting mid-table. I must be wearing hundreds and hundreds of sunglasses. That's how "bright" my "future" is. Hehe. Oh, boy..

Well, once again, Roeder came out with a ridiculous side, as my previous post stated. Babayaro, Moore, Bramble and Carr in the back. Babayaro has no interest in football, Moore, who looked like some sort of shameless hitman on the pitch today, is learning quickly from Bramble, who is too poor to waste any time on in this post. Carr looks like he's pushing 50 years old, as he consistently ruins offensive opportunities and gets caught out of position. How long has this record been broken for? Is Glenn deaf? Can't he hear this record skipping?
I won't even write about our midfield because they never touched the ball. Thanks to the defense lofting the ball forward every time they touched it, Parker and the rest of the ONLY positive attribute to our team was non-existent.
Again, Roeder played Duff up front, where he had no impact whatsoever. I can't stop laughing when I picture Glenn alone, in the shower or in his bed tonight, crying and asking "what else could I do? What else could I do?" Well Glenn - any number of things, really. All you listeners know my positions - since I've repeated them 3-4 times after seeing exactly the same failures week after week and not having anything new to talk about again.
But to place all the blame on the manager would be irresponsible and pointless. The players are the ones who are losing these games. All four defensive players (who were soully at fault for this game - and none of whom were ever substituted) were indescribably poor. I've already went over this. What I did NOT go over - is the exclusion of Steven Taylor AND Peter Ramage - easily the two most skilled defensemen. They were possibly injured, but I never heard anything about it. If so - that's the only adequate excuse.

So anyway, from here forward, I will put less effort into writing about Newcastle United, more effort into writing about more general, idealogical or theoretical football topics, but the MOST effort into writing about architecture. It's been sorely lacking, and I've had numerous requests for it.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup (+ personal announcement)

The only thing worse than having to sit through a depressing 90-minute match and then write about it, is having to sit through a depressing 90-minute match, having to write about it, having the POWER temporarily go out while I'm beginning my concluding paragraph of a really great post, then having to write about it again. But it's because of the LOVE that I keep coming back. So here I am again.

Where shall I begin? Umm....hhhmmmm......welllllllllllll, Okay! I'll start with Glenn Roeder's idiocy.
If you recall my preview, I suggested that we got with the time-tested 4-4-2 formation. But instead, the brilliance and genius that is Glenn Roeder, decided to form the almost as popular 4-4-1-1 formation. Has anybody out there seen the commercial where some moron is trying to save money on color copies, so he brings a CAT in the office who can somehow manage to hold a paint brush, and begins mimicking things with oil paints onto a canvas, and the guy calls it a COPY CAT? Well, it almost seems to me that good ol' GR has a similar method at picking lineups before every match. Let's break it down. It's really not that complicated.

A) He plays Titus Bramble. DONT PLAY TITUS BRAMBLE. Now, even though we did manage to keep a clean sheet this match, Titus was EXTREMELY close to giving up another one of his bone-head, game-losing plays for us again. I almost spit up my lunch when I saw that ignoramus trip and fall and kick the ball DIRECTLY to Darren Bent who only had the keeper to beat. But luckily, I DIDNT spit up my lunch, and generous Mr. Bent, somehow, missed his shot by a mile.

B) He messes with the formation again. Glenn, just keep it simple, okay? That's how you brought us out of the cellar last season - by not trying to ruffle feathers, and by playing the players in their desired rolls, and letting them play their own football, without any coach getting in their way. And all of the sudden, this season, you think you're Albert Einstein with a clipboard. I understand why you think 5 midfielders MIGHT work, but it won't. Trust me. It HASN'T. We all have dreams of "hey - I'll bet if we played a 8-1-1 all season, we wouldn't give up a goal against ANYBODY!!" or "You know, Our keeper has a really strong foot. We should play a 4-4-3 without a keeper, because we'd score so many goals, who needs him?!?!" But you know what? Only video game coaches act on those instincts. Not premiership managers. (I realize the difference between 4 mids and 5 might not be quite as wide as I made it out to be in this paragraph, but I'm ranting, here. Cut me some slack.)

C) As I alluded to before, he played Damien Duff in a striker role along side Giuseppi Rossi. Now, I really like Duff AND Rossi, and they both showed that they're class players on Saturday. (Actually, I think Duff should have gotten man of the match instead of the no-thrills defensive mid, Butt) They both created numerous, numerous chances. But you know the difference between an out and out striker who's out for blood, and a midfielder who has a strong shot? Just watch Duff on Saturday and you'll KNOW the difference. The guy was able to get around all of his markers, but once he got the chance, he would (no pun intended) duff it. (Well okay, I sort of intended that pun. Wasn't it fabulous?) Most of his shots were with his weak right foot, a natural occurrence if you're put in a position that Damien was. I lay no blame on Duff whatsoever - and a LOT of blame on the gaffer for this one. As I said in the preview, two other options who would have performed better in that role would have been Charles N'Zogbia and James Milner. I know that Roeder chose Duff for his size. But both of those guys know how to get in front of goal and SHOOT the ball to score goals.

D) And this is sort of a tangential thing, because it didn't really cause us to lose the game, but it DID illustrate Glenn's poor decision making, as if attempting to drive the steak FURTHER into my heart. His substitution in the 83rd minute of Milner for Solano. 1) We're dominating the game. Change the lineup to a 4-3-3 and put Milner up front. We need goals. Solano had been doing a fine job of getting crosses in but was, in fact, winded at that stage of the game. But substituting a wing for another wing THAT LATE in the game isn't going to accomplish anything. Milner had no impact on the game once he got in. He only had a few touches, and barely got warmed up. He should have brought in Milner in the 70th minute, moved Duff back to left wing with Parker and in the middle and Solano on the right. Take out Butt, and play Rossi at the top of the striking triangle with N'Zogbia and Milner on the sides. That would have been something and I'm sure would have been more effective.

Now, I can already hear all the critics of the international footballing blog-sphere ((namely RAY WRIGLEY)(HA!)) start to get all hot and bothered, saying things like "Monday evening gaffer!" And "Sure, it's easy to say in YOUR position." Well, for them, I'd like to now make a personal announcement. Eghhhgghhem. (Sorry I had something stuck in there)

This season, I will officially begin training to obtain my first official coaching license, better known as "The Badges." There are five steps to this process, and it will be a long journey ahead if I ever want to manage my beloved Newcastle United Football Club. But beginning soon, I will be undertaking (technically) the same process as SIR ALAN SHEARER, and obtaining the required licensure to be a legitimate football manager. (Note: The infinitely wise Glenn Roeder does NOT posess the usually-required licenses, and he has obtained his post by extenuating circumstances, which I happen to agree with and support, in his case. Just wanted to put that out there, though.) So you can count on the fact that before you know it, I'll be climbing the ranks to become a big time football gaffer.

Newcastle Weekend Review and Preview

UUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.


Must I go on?
Since all these losses have started to run together in my mind, as will my posts. It's becoming difficult to differentiate how we appaulingly lost this past game from the previous 2 or 3 disappointing matches....oh yeah! Got it. THIS TIME, we had the lion's share of posession and chances in the first half (AGAIN) but couldn't capitalize on any of them (AGAIN), then in the second half we came out flat (AGAIN), our opposing team changed their formation and we couldn't keep up tactically (AGAIN) and we gave up a heart-wrenching last gasp goal (AGAIN) to tack up a big "L" on the results sheet (AGAAAAIIIIIIINNNNN). Forgive me if I begin to forget the specifics in the coming weeks, because all my beloved team has provided me with is fodder to believe that THIS FORM WILL CONTINUE.

One good piece of wisdom that occured to me while Kramer and I were discussing my emotional footballing depths this week is this: I know why I'm destined to be a Newcastle supporter: because I'm a Cubs fan! Think about it - I didn't choose the Cubs. They chose me. (well, really my father chose it for me when I was too young to be discressionary. And I still thank him for it to this day.) My point is, being a Cubs fan is my lot in life. And the Cubs always lose. They ALWAYS lose. Even when they're a few outs away from going to the World Series (hypathetically, of course), a fan (proverbial fan) with his little headphones and turtleneck-sweatshirt combo will stick his mit out and take away an easy out, thus destroying every hope and dream we had of actually achieving something.
But I digress. I've been taught to love a loser. I love losers who try and try and try and put on a great show, and who have all the heart in the world to go out there and give the fans so brilliant sporting action. And the fans, in return, MUST show love to the team. Are we seeing any similarities here? Cubs -> Newcastle. Newcastle -> Cubs. It makes PERFECT SENSE!!

Okay - on for the preview. Being the ignorant, blind, adoring fan that I am, I'm predicting a BIG VICTORY for us today against one of the top sides in the premiership in the Carling Cup. I love the Carling Cup, and I hope we stay in it long enough to visit some tiny, adorable countryside stadia. The great news for nufc is that Kieron Dyer is coming back into the fold today, a wonderful player who's been out for far too long. I think he'll have an impact going forward (teaming up with Rossi, who is starting today!)
However, this game will be determined by our back 5 (or 4 or 6 or 9.3, depending on whatever ridiculous formation GR comes out with today) If we can do a decent job of pulling some offsides, not giving up easy crosses into the middle, and keeping set plays under wraps, we'll come out victorious.

My Official Prediction:
Newcastle United: 2-1 :Portsmouth

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Wow, a weekend wrapup on Thursday. Now THAT'S dedication. Well, it's taken me these four days to wipe the tears from my eyes, send in my keyboard to get repairs after tears got it in and caused a malfunction, clean up all the glass and parts from my tv after I sunk my foot in it after the match through frustration, and waited patiently for the knots in my stomach to untangle themselves.
Now look, this last weekend was somewhat of a watershed moment for all our beloved Magpies. It was Bolton, who are a quality side, but did NOT play as well as they can. It was at St. James Park, a place where we hadn't LOST to Bolton in like 30 years. Where, before this season, teams would come in, HOPING for a draw, and not being too confident even on that. St. James Park was a major advantage for us in recent history. And, looking at our current form, we'd just had two very disappointing matches, at Old Trafford and Anfield, losing 2-0 in each. We did have one underwhelming Uefa Cup win in there and a very strange tie at home against Everton. But it had been a full month since our last QUALITY performance against West Ham (who everyone seems to be having a quality performance against.) If we pulled three points from this game, we'd rocket back up to 11th place, close to the top half. And as we found out from last year, it only takes one nice string of wins in the second half of the season to pull yourself up. So if we can stay in mid to upper table, we can manage the latter half of the season.
But no. We dropped three points, putting us only 2 POINTS from the drop zone. 2 POINTS. The entire first half, we controlled posession, and there's no reason why we only came away with one goal. We need to learn how to finish. But obviously, this is not our main priority. First, we need to learn how to defend. Harper has been shy like a kitten between the sticks. He need to A) Learn how to come off his line early enough to let people know that he's there and ready to take the ball and B)Learn how to HOLD the ball, rather than just punch it away. Man, that annoys me.
Then there's the defense. Again, Roeder gives Bramble the nod. Again, Bramble is slow of his mark, slow to mark strikers, uncoordinated with the ball, and in the end, he is to blame for (at least) one goal. But Roeder ALWAYS gives him more starts. So why would he be bothered if he lost the game for us? There are no repurcussions for him. He goes about his business, waiting for that next game, so he could "turn things around." Please.
The ONLY shred of light on the defense was again, Peter Ramage. He played with fire, he was smart, and he rarely was caught out of position. He's quick enough to get back on defense when he makes forward runs (unlike Steven Carr) and he's got a fire in his belly. I recall the play where Diouf came down his sideline, and as he tried to turn on Ramage, he efficiently took down Diouf and the ball, a questionable play which rightly got the whistle but could just as well have gone without one, but as he got up he looked Diouf right in the eye as he lay on the turf and said some rather harsh and impacting words. Didn't him to forget what just happened. I liked that, after seeing the fearful, flat, unknowing stare of Titus Shambles all season.

So, as I said before, we're two points from a relegation battle, I've lost all confidence in Roeder to field a side that makes any sense (his side was different than my predicted one) and we're not getting any better in defense. Something drastic has to change, very soon.

Newcastle United Weekend Wrapup

Well, obviously this weekend was a rough one for the Black and Whites. Not a great weekend to remember whatsoever. Typically, I like to look on the bright side of things, especially when it comes to Newcastle, but this one is a tough pill to swallow, particularly because we played as bad as we did against the Red Devils, a team who a very close friend of mine supports. And a team who we play this bad against virtually every year we travel to Old Trafford.

From the first until the 40th minute, things weren't going too bad. Now, nothing we going WELL, to be said, but nothing had been destroyed yet. Then it all came crashing down in the next 15 minutes, and although no goals were scored in the final 35 minutes, the tone continued to get worse and worse for the Magpies. By the end of the match, it was laughable how different the level of play was between the two sides.

First things first: ANOTHER goal conceded in the final five minutes of the first half. That makes three on the season. Three. In seven games. Am I the only one noticing this?

Next: Glenn Roeder's questionable decision to play 4-5 1. Starting lineup w/ player ratings: Harper(7/10), Carr(6/10), Ramage(7/10), Moore(5/10), Taylor(5/10), Milner(8/10), Butt(5/10), Emre(7/10), Parker(6/10), Duff(6/10), Ameobi(5/10).
Now - This was a good back four to play with. I mean, who else was he going to play? He really had no other options back there, which shows just how sad our team sheet is these days. We've got two men out for the match, and we field a Championship-level back four. As for my opinion, Carr and Moore both need to go. I LOVE Ramage. He had the only decent shot of the second half. And Taylor will flourish if he gets playing time this year. I trust him, although his botched header in the second half completely GIFTED the second goal.
We should have played a 4-4-2 with Butt on the bench. Parker and Emre completely dominated the middle of the field for the first 30 minutes, and if they would have had somebody to play it to at the front, the Manchester mids and defense wouldn't have been able to take so many liberties going forward, therefore halting some of the pressure which came in the middle of the match. Roeder needs some freaking trust in his own players, or this whole managerial thing won't work out too well for him. Duff was nowhere to be found all game, which surprised me, but Milner had a brilliant one. The kid is faster than people give him credit for. He just needs a bit better touch on the ball to set up crosses. Of course, what's a good cross if there's nobody in the middle to receive it? Ameobi did all he could at the front, but he's freaking injured, so what was GR expecting of him? It was a terrible decision. If we had Martins' speed to accept a few balls at the top of the box, or send in some low crosses, Ameobi wouldn't have had to run so much with his bum hip AND ankle. I love Ameobi. His game was awful, but only because he didn't get the support he needed from his teammates OR his coaching staff.

All that being said, Manchester United played brilliantly. I have to give it to them - Fletcher, despite what I said in the preview, had a better game than any of the nufc midfielders. Ronaldo should have scored a hattrick, and albeit BOTH incredibly fortuitous goals, Ole had the knack of knowing EXACTLY where to put himself on the pitch to be effective. But the midfield was who really impressed me. The one-time touches and incredible, quick movement was what changed the game. With two passes, the Mufc midfield spread out our mids and defense so much, getting from 18 to 18 was virtually a giveaway. It was only a matter of time before they sprung their attack. Whereas we were typically stuck on our end of the halfway mark trying to find a hint of an opening. They were brilliant on Sunday, and deserved even more than the 2-0 win.

This week, we've got a precious week off, for Emre and Ameobi to heal, and for Parker to shine in the ridiculous Euro qualifier. Let's hope he plays well enough to keep his spot!! Then, next Sunday we take on Bolton for what SHOULD be 3 points at St. James, despite Bolton's recent upsurge. If we can have a healthy Ameobi to partner Martins like we should, we can take it and start the up and up of what should be a very manageable October.