Roy Collins: add another one to the list

[Jimbo 175]

Newcastle clowns fail to cope with Aston Villa

 

 

 

By Roy Collins at Villa Park

 

Aston Villa (0) 4 Newcastle United (1) 1

 

How deluded were we and all those bare-chested Geordie fans who, in the opening 45 minutes, sang of living in a Keegan wonderland. By the end they and their team looked well and truly in limbo land.

 

Owen's goals, the only ones Newcastle have scored under Keegan, at least gave him the satisfaction of putting up a metaphorical finger to England manager Fabio Capello and his assistant Franco Baldini, who was watching here.

 

Capello now looks silly not giving Owen a run-out in midweek, one problem he cannot blame on his inability to speak English.

 

The problem for Newcastle is that Owen will probably need to score a hat-trick every away game just to secure his team a point, since they cannot give up their long-established tradition of defending like drains. In three games on the road under Keegan, they have now conceded 10 goals and they were so abysmal in the second half that they could have let in that amount here.

 

Having said that, Villa manager Martin O'Neill got his reward for his bold decision to make two changes at half time, seeing his team score twice in the opening six minutes. Wilfred Bouma's speculative shot deflected in off Habib Beye and John Carew rose in a packed penalty area to head in Ashley Young's corner.

 

advertisement

There are far too many clowns in Keegan's circus, mainly in defence, and once those goals went in, all confidence evaporated. So much for the passion we had been promised under Keegan, while Villa, who suffered their first defeat in eight league games last week, sensed that they could improve their goal difference as they chase a spot in Europe.

 

Newcastle were unlucky to lose keeper Shay Given, who injured his groin as he slipped for the first goal and came off just after the second, when it appeared he had just had enough of playing behind incompetent defenders. It turned out almost to be a blessing, as his replacement, Steve Harper, made two glorious saves from Craig Gardner.

 

A few Villa fans had booed their team off at half time, but they were in full voice as they launched their thrilling comeback. O'Neill said: "It was a brilliant second half. The players' response was fantastic and so was that of the fans."

 

Victory sent Villa above Liverpool in the table and dreaming, like Everton, not just of qualifying for Europe but doing so in the Champions League. A Liverpool defeat at Chelsea today, where they have never got a point under manager Rafa Benitez, would leave the race for fourth spot wide open, although O'Neill said: "They are by miles the best side of those chasing that final spot."

 

Villa struggled to create anything in the first half, though they should have had a penalty when Gareth Barry's shot was handled by everyone's favourite player, Joey Barton - appearing courtesy of Her Majesty's Prison Service - just after Barton had wrestled Shaun Maloney to the ground. And although they had most of the possession after the break, they relied on set pieces and Newcastle's inability to cope.

 

Number three landed in Carew's lap when Young's corner caused confusion and consternation and, after a good old-fashioned goalmouth melee, he stabbed it in. His hat-trick was completed in the final minute when he hustled Stephen Carr into a handball and crashed the penalty into the roof of the net.

 

The fans offered a rousing chorus of "There's Only One Kevin Keegan", but, unfortunately for him, they were dressed in claret and blue. It must be worrying for him that it is only opposing fans serenading him, happy to see his team in the certainty that they will come with three gift-wrapped points.

 

Poor old Keegan was looking pretty pensive in his dugout by the end and with Nigel Pearson, Sam Allardyce's number two, having walked out on Friday night, he now has only his old pal Terry McDermott off whom to bounce ideas. He cannot hope for any helpful words from his new director of football, Dennis Wise, who sat in the stands with the sort of face he normally reserves for London cab drivers.

 

Keegan said: "I was disappointed by our reaction when we fell behind. Before you knew it, we were being bullied, particularly by Carew and [Marlon] Harewood and they were doing what they wanted with us at times." At least Owen's goal, a near-post header from James Milner's cross, cheered him. Keegan said: "The more people try to shoot holes in him, the more he proves them wrong."

 

Then he was off to prepare for a nice easy game next week against Manchester United. One suspects Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo can hardly wait.

 

Man of the match

John Carew (Aston Villa) 9

• Scored a hat-trick from four shots on target

[Howay 12496]

I really don't get these peoples problem all we do is support our team yet we get abuse for it. The fans were chanting "walking in a Keegan wonderland" when we were winning and they get abused by him yet the Villa fans boo their team off at half time and he jizzes over how they then cheered their team when they were winning and then bleats on about how they sung theres only one Kevin Keegan . Yes we aren't playing well but neither are some other teams and I haven't seen any other team getting this needless stick, it's about time they packed it all in talk about flogging a dead horse everyone knows we're shite even us the fans know we are yet these tossers still feel the need to keep on telling us we are in 'witty' and 'humorous' ways .

edit/ It's also great how they make these stereotypes of us and then rip them to bits we cant win can we

Bunch of Racists

Edited February 9, 2008 by Barton7

[marci 0]

I dont think it worths another thread, but thats just ridicilous.

FA may probe Barton clash

Last updated at 22:41pm on 9th February 2008

 

Newcastle's Joey Barton was involved in an off-the-ball incident during the 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa yesterday.

 

Barton, currently on bail on assault charges in Liverpool, tussled with Villa striker Shaun Maloney in the first half.

 

Television replays highlighted the incident but the referee, Lee Mason, took no action. The FA may now investigate.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...amp;ito=newsnow

[Offshore Toon 0]

There's no point in posting articles like this. It's true that we're almost as bad as scousers (obviously we'll never be as bad. That's just impossible).

[luckyluke 2]

I dont think it worths another thread, but thats just ridicilous.

FA may probe Barton clash

Last updated at 22:41pm on 9th February 2008

 

Newcastle's Joey Barton was involved in an off-the-ball incident during the 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa yesterday.

 

Barton, currently on bail on assault charges in Liverpool, tussled with Villa striker Shaun Maloney in the first half.

 

Television replays highlighted the incident but the referee, Lee Mason, took no action. The FA may now investigate.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...amp;ito=newsnow

 

Good, hopefully they'll ban the useless twat.

[ewerk 31597]

As far as the national media goes I really don't care any more. When they're short of a story they'll always focus on us because they can fabricate a drama somewhere along the line.

 

I don't believe a word they say, though unfortunately there are many who do.

[Asprilla 96]

Money for old rope. I'm sure he feels all big and clever!

 

 

 

 

The little fucking twat.

[Tom 14021]

Ive been so saturated with - and wound up by - articles like this that im not fussed anymore, i can read it with out screaming at the monitor.

 

Just another poor journalist with another poor story, who knows very little about football and clearly displays it.

 

Give a 1000 monkeys a typewriter...

 

Give ten cockneys and Louise Taylor a Laptop...