Newcastle Vrs Spurs

[TicTacWoe 0]

Playing Ben Arfa behind Ba could work well but to be fair, Best has scored a fair few goals this season. He gets into decent positions.

[Noelie 103]

Another we could have won game, but I'm happy with the result as I honestly thought we might lose this one.

It was good to see Santan given a short run out but I was surprised to see him replace Simpson on the right.

At that point it surprised me even more that Pardoo did not take Oberton off and put Marceau in.

I think that with Ba playing a lone front man with BenArfa behind him might prove to be a better strike force than Best & Ba.

[Ayatollah Hermione 14071]

Shola was quite literally the West Denton Drogba when he came on.

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Shola played like a man possessed.

 

I hope he was tested for drugs after the match, blatantly took something, can't get away with it.

[Park Life 71]

 

 

A winger who never beats a man, constantly give the ball away, never puts a cross in and doesn't do any work and a championship striker.

 

The only reason I put it was harsh is that Best tries - whoopy fucking do - he's shit.

 

We have better players.

 

An unfair comment that can only be based on his very slow start at the club. He's scored and set up a decent amount of goals. And no, if we're playing 2 strikers up front we don't have better players.

 

It's (your original post) also a completely stupid comment because it doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. Are you saying they're anonymous? Invisible?

 

 

Obertan offers nothing except breaking down moves.

 

Best can't trap a ball, wins very few headers and gives the ball away.

 

When players contribute as little as they do I think they are pointless - if it comes down to defending them as simply bodies on the pitch then thing are bad.

 

As for playing two strikers I've been saying since May we needed wholesale changes as those left at the club were all shit. Ba is starting to look the bargain we hoped but given the qualities of the rest I wouldn't bother with two - I'd play Ben Arfa.

 

Agree with most of that. Less power and running about and more culture.

[JaMoUsE 0]

liked the bit with gazza celebrating the goal

[OTF 7559]

Shola played like a man possessed.

 

I hope he was tested for drugs after the match, blatantly took something, can't get away with it.

 

Does he seem to be at his best when he has just returned from injury?

 

Whatever it was, it worked.

 

Best had a poor game, but doesn't necessarily means he should be dropped. Shola is a definite fader where-as Best contributes little across an entire match but is likely to pop up with the odd goal despite that because of the advanced positions he occupies.

[2bias 3]

delighted with the draw.

[The Fish 10972]

Am I the only one who thought Best played quite well? I thought he showed a few decent touches, ran the channels well and when King went off Bassong got very little change from him.

 

I'd definitely start Santon and Ben Arfa against Wigan, they're ripe for a thrashing by a confident Newcastle side who should be advised that if we take all three points, it gives us more a cushion when we face the top 3 in November

[David Kelly 1260]

I pretty much agree with NJS that Best and Squidward are shite but I wouldnt say we carry Best if only for his graft.

The pair of them offer very little to our game though. Most importantly we have better players to take their places.

To the match as a whole though, I think it was a very good performance with Cabaye and Colo in particular outstanding again (we must get Colo signed up to a new deal and Yohan is an absolute steal for what we paid).

Great bottle shown which even more than the result bodes well for the rest of this season.

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Am I the only one who thought Best played quite well? I thought he showed a few decent touches, ran the channels well and when King went off Bassong got very little change from him.

 

I'd definitely start Santon and Ben Arfa against Wigan, they're ripe for a thrashing by a confident Newcastle side who should be advised that if we take all three points, it gives us more a cushion when we face the top 3 in November

 

He wasn't great. Difference between him and Ba was that Ba seemed more willing to put a shift in further away from goal and on the wings. For all our good play we didn't actually create much for Best to work with.

 

Certainly wasn't as bad as some make out. But then it's to be expected, players are either "great" or "shit" on the internet.

[ChezGiven 0]

Jonas, Tiote, Colo and Krul were all superb today.

 

Ryan Taylor had a good game, Steven Taylor continues to make mistakes.

 

Cabaye, Ben Arfa and Obertan were very mixed, their contributions ranked in that order.

 

Ba and Best were good, Best played well but he made a couple of minor mistakes.

 

Santon for Simpson looks like improving us further.

 

Shola's goal was obviously the highlight of the game and shows that we do have a bit of depth to our attack. The double substitution worked well for Pardew who continues to notch up credit. Feeling positive but Spurs are an excellent side and we'll be lucky to get a point at their place.

[toonotl 3116]

What a game that was.

 

-To go behind twice and respond twice shows this team has real character,

- We never got over run in midfield for long periods even with vdv dropping in.

 

We actually could have won and 'Edgar Leatherface' Redknapp could not have felt aggrieved about losing. This team of ours has quality and spirit and we should all be very proud of them. Its good to know that when we go a goal down the players will respond. Having that confidence in them to perform when they need to is refreshing.

 

The two goals weren't the result of Spurs mounting enormous pressure on our goal either. They came from Saylor mistiming a tackle under no real pressure and Raylor failing to get goal side of his man on the edge of the box from a harmness through pass. I think they both played quite well apart from that though as did the rest of the team.

 

Best had a good game linking up well and he and Ba continue to look good together. Obertan played well and although he wastes a bit of quality possession at least he is normally heavily involved.

 

Colo and Jonas were immense and Jonas deserved to be man of the match (was he?). Simpson got forward well and generally did nothing wrong.

 

Cabaye and Tiote were great, Cabaye broke up their play and apart from losing possession before the first goal contributed well against what was a 2.5 man midfield for the most part with vdv dropping deep. Tiote especially broke up alot of their play and it seems his passing in advanced positions has improved. His best game this season on the back of some solid recent performances. A central midfield pairing that is the match of any imo.

 

Ba was awesome. Good goal. Held the ball up well. Always looked a threat, he has great touch and is definitely no. 9 material.

 

Shola. This is why the man is so frustrating for me at times because when he plays like he did last night he is something else. Great goal, great involvement and great attitude. Turned the game when he came on and if he played like that more often he would be the England striker he was touted to be all those years ago. Not to turn this into a Shola bashing he was great and deserves any praise he gets for last nights performance.

 

Ben Arfa was good. Adds another dimension to the side when he came on. It seems he is still lacking a yard of pace to go past people but that will come with game time. He is a special player and the sort of player we need. He has the ability to turn games, he has the ability to win games as we've already seen a year ago against Everton. He will come good for us and be a true no. 10.

 

All in all very happy with the performance. I feel greedy in thinking we could have stolen it at the end when Colo was free on the edge of the 6-yard box but at least we can take belief from the performance, if not from the result, that we belong in contention for a Europa spot this season on merit.

[Kitman 2207]

Looking forward to watching this. Delighted with the draw, as I honestly thought we'd lose. 4th place and unbeaten after 8 games, with Santon and Ben Arfa yet to start - great stuff. Also the injury list makes cheery reading, with really only Williamson missing as back up.

[dbsweeney 0]

IF we're around about top six come January, I really hope that Ashley does something similar to when we were in the Championship. That is, realise that we can really turn this season into something if we have a bit more depth and put up the cash for the extra striker, CB and LB.

 

Famous last words though ... and I'm not holding my breath—at all.

[JonTheMag 4]

IF we're around about top six come January, I really hope that Ashley does something similar to when we were in the Championship. That is, realise that we can really turn this season into something if we have a bit more depth and put up the cash for the extra striker, CB and LB.

 

Famous last words though ... and I'm not holding my breath—at all.

 

To be honest I don't think a center back is a major priority. I wouldn't dare disrupt the Taylor-Colo combo, and Williamson is decent enough backup for the Premier League.

[Happy Face 29]

All credit to Pardew. I had a pop after the Wolves game, despite being over the moon with the result, that he was over cautious with the changes.

 

Going behind in this one one, he had nowt to lose, and being at home, he's had to be more adventurous and push for a result, but he did well to make the changes he did. Taking BOTH strikers off wouldn't have been my move at the time, but it paid off. As much as it'll pain a lot of the haters to hear, Best and Ba could learn a thing or two about holding the ball up with back to goal from Ameobi....he learned from the best

 

And Santon coming on was pleasing. Simpson needs a kick up the arse much more than Raylor does, so i was happy to see Santon used on the right rather than the left.

[donaldstott 0]

Good performance yesterday and the second half especially was a joy to watch.

 

With Manure, Chelsea and Man City on the horizon it's important that Ben Arfa gets some minutes, cos i can see Pardew going one up top against all three with Ben Arfa in behind.

[manc-mag 1]

First goal was pretty awful, but behind twice against a very good team and battled back each time I'm happy with that. Spurs are clearly a step above us in terms of playing personnel, so all you can ask for in those situations is the spirit and fight to level things out and that's exactly what we showed. Ben Arfa clearly still well off the pace when he came on but the value of his sub can't be underestimated iyam-it allowed us to run at them with the ball in the last phase instead of just hoofing it hopefully looking for the equaliser. Colo/Krul/Jonas/Tiote/Raylor really good games. Saylor the trademark type of error (as Wolves) which means he's never a top defender, but the blame was on Cabaye anyway for getting caught in possession, so not really worth dwelling on more than that. Plus theres no better replacement for him anyway. Obertan and Simpson on the other hand need to be looking over their shoulders now-time for their contributions to be from the bench. I'd maybe give Obertan the first half against Wigan just to see if he fancies it, but if he can't muster the desire that's being shown around him then he can't have any complaints if he makes way.

[Guest alex]

Alreet, hands up who else thought 'what the fuck are you doing?' when he brought Shola on?

Would largely agree with manc-mag but I thought Ryan Taylor was poor defensively, not least for their 2nd goal. That said, his delivery into the box is pretty invaluable to us at present so it's a tough one. Santon looked comfortable when he came on and looks a far better footballer than Simpson. If Pardew isn't going to look at playing Ferguson at left back I'd suggest we need someone else to play there in the long run given Ryan Taylor isn't a left back and Santon is right-footed. Thought Steven Taylor's mistake for the pen wasn't too dissimilar to the one he got away with against Wolves. Poor technique for the tackle and poor decision making both evident on this occasion. Hopefully he'll learn from it though. I thought Coloccini was outstanding and Guitierrez had a good game too. Tiote looks to be getting back to his best as well. The game passed Cabaye by a bit I thought. Great result under the circumstances (coming from behind twice) and a good, battling performance too.

Edited October 17, 2011 by alex

[Barney 0]

Hopefully he'll learn from it though.

 

The exact same fucking thing as against Wolves though. Absolutely no need for it, Colo was coming across to meet Adebayor(on his weak foot-bu he may not have made it in time) and Krul still had to be beaten as he was moving away from goal.

[Guest alex]

Split-second decision which he got wrong basically. And I was trying to be kind to him on the basis he's done well overall this season / back end of last. I don't think he'll ever eradicate that sort of thing from his game, thus preventing him from ever being 'top drawer', if I'm being honest. HF was spot on (after the Wolves game iirc) when he said Taylor's just been doing what he always has done, only it's been paying off. Not even a dig either, just saying it as it is imo. I've been quite impressed with the physical side of his game of late like. Especially as I've always had him down as a bit of a tart.

[McFaul 35]

Shola played like he was on the best e anyones ever had, like pure MDMA. He was so good even before his goal, I uttered the words for the first time in my life "give it to fuckin Shola!!!!" I did as well, what a brilliant substitute performance, Alex Mathie-esque. We showed them far too much respect in the first half sat too deep Cabaye didn't get much of the ball, and I wasn't happy. The ref I honestly thought he did that to wind people up "I'm Mr Important" point at the spot straight away you fuckin nob. I thought we've got away with this, took ages.

 

Second half we were better they're ordinary when you get in to them, Tiote was class TEN times the player Parker is or ever will be, and we got the ball wide a lot more, Jonas was fantastic I thought on the day. Santon straight away you can see what a top player he is, three players aroond him in that corner, nee bother at all, a win would've been nice but a draw isn't the end of the world, they might come forth which shows you don't have to be that good to do it these days.

[Barney 0]

Split-second decision which he got wrong basically. And I was trying to be kind to him on the basis he's done well overall this season / back end of last. I don't think he'll ever eradicate that sort of thing from his game, thus preventing him from ever being 'top drawer', if I'm being honest. HF was spot on (after the Wolves game iirc) when he said Taylor's just been doing what he always has done, only it's been paying off. Not even a dig either, just saying it as it is imo. I've been quite impressed with the physical side of his game of late like. Especially as I've always had him down as a bit of a tart.

 

I agree with all of that. Stupid tackle to make though.

[Guest alex]

Spot on about the ref with the pen btw. What a dick.