earthquake

Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
0








images


PARDS WALKS
alan-pardew.jpg



Alan Pardew is the latest name to fall by the wayside at Newcastle after a series of fall outs with owner Mike Ashley. The news comes as a shock to many as the pair were considered friends when Pardew got the job last season but more and more news of unrest in camp has lead to Pardew walking out on his post at St James'. With the new Premier League season less than 2 months away Ashley will have to act fast to replace him.


TNimg2723jeff_header02.jpg

Newcastle United next manager odds:


Martin O'Neill 4/1
Alan Shearer 6/1
Alan Curbishley 6/1
Sven Goran Eriksson 10/1
Lee Clark 12/1
Chris Hughton 25/1
Dave Jones 25/1
Kevin Keegan 50/1



martin-o-neill-300x193.jpg

O'Neill - Bookies Favourite




Background info..



NAME: STUART TODD
AGE: 36
PLAYING CAREER: NEWCASTLE (YTS), DARLINGTON,
HEARTS, MILLWALL (LOAN), DERBY, GATESHEAD
RETIREMENT: 2003 (AGED 28)
PREVIOUS JOBS: NEWCASTLE U16'S MANAGER (05-07), NEWCASTLE YOUTH COACH (07-09)
CURRENT JOB: NEWCASTLE COACH ( 2010 - PRESENT)



My story starts here...

We had just heard the news about the Pards walking, a shock to the fans and the outside world but we knew the relationship between him and the chairman was damaged, we'd seen and heard arguements and i can honestly say most of them were about the money from the Andy Carroll transfer, genuine disagreements about the money not being pumped back into the sqaud. Pardew had felt he had been lied to and that false promises were made, the guy stuck to his principles and walked which was ballsy considering the chairman had plucked him from the managerial abyss to give him one of the leading jobs in the country.
The rumour mill was obviously rife with names, i had heard whispers again of Shearer and Keegan but being around the club when those two guys returned i knew it would be unlikey they would return under the ownership of Mike Ashley. Martin O'Neill was the bookies favourite but my money was on someone like Alan Curbishley it seemed likely with the 'Cockney Mafia' connections but only time will tell i guess.



stjamespark001a.jpg





 
NewcastleUnitedShield2.jpg




A week went by, John (Carver) and Peter (Beardsley) were preparing for the first team lads to return for pre-season assisted by myself and Steve Stone, all four of us were still unsure as to what was going to happen. Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan had both ruled themeselves out of the race to return to St James' and myself and the other coaches were speculating on who it could be.

_40061944_carver203.jpg

CARVER - PHONE CALL



Two days later i received a phone call from John Carver telling me Derek Llambias the managing director had offered him the job as manager, i was surprised but pleased for John because he'd been a loyal servant to the club and works extremely hard in and around the training ground but i was even more surprised when he told me he'd turned it down. He carried on telling me that he didn't think he could handle the pressures of being No1 and was enjoying the role what he was doing at present which was assistant, he then dropped the bombshell of telling me to expect a phone call from Derek, i of course thought he was pulling my leg but after, a serious conversation followed on which i couldn't get my head around, was i seriously going to be offered my dream job?


images



133054d1297372833-new-chapter-after-sir-alex-man-utd-story-sky-sports.jpg


BREAKING NEWS: NEWCASTLE APPOINT TODD AS MANAGER

BREAKING NEWS COMING OUT OF ST JAMES' PARK IS THAT NEWCASTLE HAVE APPOINTED COACH STUART TODD AS THEIR NEW MANAGER REPLACING ALAN PARDEW WHO WALKED OUT OVER A WEEK AGO.
36 YEAR OLD TODD HAS BEEN WITH THE CLUB SINCE 2005 COACHING AT VARIOUS YOUTH LEVELS AND MORE RECENTLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SINCE 2010 HAS BEEN GIVEN A TWO YEAR CONTRACT. THIS NEWS WILL NO DOUBT COME AS A SHOCK TO NEWCASTLE FANS WHO WIDELY EXPECTING BOOKIES FAVOURITE MARTIN O'NEILL TO BE INSTALLED AS THE NEW MANAGER. NEWCASTLE BORN TODD WHO STARTED HIS PLAYING CAREER AS A YOUTH WITH THE CLUB BEFORE MOVING ON IS EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW CHALLENGE AHEAD...



I AM DELIGHTED TO BE GIVEN THIS OPPORTUNITY, THIS MEANS THE WORLD TO ME, AS A BOY I STOOD IN THE GALLOWGATE END WATCHING MY HEROES, AT 15 I WAS SIGNED AS A SCHOLAR HERE AND IT HURT WHEN I WAS RELEASED AS AN 18 YEAR OLD, I CAME BACK AS YOUTH COACH IN 2005 AND HAVE WORKED EXTREMELY HARD AND GIVEN EVERYTHING FOR THIS WONDERFUL FOOTBALL CLUB AND TO BE GIVEN THIS CHANCE IS AMAZING AND WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO SUCCEED
TODD ON APPOINTMENT

IT'S BEEN A LONG AND HARD WEEK FOR US AT NEWCASTLE UNITED MYSELF AND MIKE HAVE HAD SOME BIG DECISIONS TO MAKE IN REGARDS OF MANAGEMENT OF THE TEAM BUT WE BELIEVE STUART IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB, HE'S YOUNG, AMBITIOUS AND ALSO HE IS FROM THE AREA AND UNDERSTANDS WHAT THESE FANS WANT
MANAGING DIRECTOR DEREK LLAMBIAS ON TODD APPOINTMENT
 


barry-moat-with-sharon-fletcher-and-derek-llambias-after-he-put-cash-into-the-academy-875625753.jpg

TODD IN TOON, PICTURED WITH DEREK LLAMBIAS (RIGHT)



Well the news was out, i had been confirmed as the new manager to my disbelief still, it was like a dream i hadn't awoken from. I hadn't heard much from Mike Ashley directly just Llambias, his monkey as we'd often referred to him as jokingly down the years. Privately we'd spoken about about how i wasn't exactly first choice as they'd asked John (Carver) before me and heard murmurs Peter Beardsley wasn't interested or didn't think he would play the part of a 'yes' man well. I obviously aired my concerns over how the club would be run, how much was available to strengthen the team.
I had my views on Mike and Derek and the other people running the football club and i didn't want to share them as they had just given me the managers role, the feeling i got from Derek was the feeling that they ran the show, and i would simply keep quiet and run first team matters in a professional manor. I wasn't going to argue with that, aslong as they didn't interfere with my job i felt everything would be fine.




Soccer---Newcastle-United-007.jpg

THE HARD WORK BEGINS.....




There was an air of uncertainty around the training ground when the lads returned for pre-season, obviously they had heard about Pardew leaving, also during the off-season key players had left Jose Enrique to Liverpool, captain Kevin Nolan re-joined his old manager Sam Allardyce at West Ham and arguably the biggest departure was Joey Barton who had left for newly promoted QPR. These guys were key players over the last few years so it was obviously going to be tougher without them.
The club had been working behind the scenes to bring players in and they did, none of which where my signings but i was asked about a few of them. Demba Ba who i was extremely pleased about especially on a free transfer, Lille captain Yohan Cabaye, wingers Gabriel Obertan and Sylvain Marveaux who i had my reservations about and young Inter Milan full back Davide Santon. So alot of French players in the squad this season maybe it was a language i would have to learn as it seemed prominent in the dressing room.

It was time to get down to business and after a meeting with the players and staff it seemed like we were on the same level, the lads seemed to react well to what was said, we all agreed we should be looking for a steady mid-table finish this term. As for the coaching staff it would be kept near enough the same, John Carver would remain as assistant with Peter Beardsley, Steve Stone and Willie Donachie working closely with first team matters. Goalkeeping coaches Andy Woodman and Chris Terpcou wre told they were no longer needed aswell as two of the three fitness coaches Jack Ade and Rich Akenhead. I had ideas who to bring in to cover these positions i had spoken to ex Newcastle fitness coach Paul Winsper who in my opinion is at the very top of the game in that profession, we had also hired ex West Ham man Ludo Miklosko and Joe Corrigan to coach the goalkeepers. The youth setup would would remain the same with Joe Joyce remaining in charge.



0,,10278~9122373,00.jpg


NO MAJOR SHAKE-UPS IN THE BACK ROOM



I felt as i had worked inside the club for years and last year with the first team i knew which players would feature in my plans and who wouldn't. Alot of young players where to go on the loan list to help their development and progression in particular Nile Ranger who i felt had stalled recently and had off field problems, i felt the boy needed a kick start. As for other departures i placed James Perch, Ryan Donaldson and Alan Smith on the transfer list. Perch as far i'm concerned isn't anywhere near Premier League standards a poor player who i was looking to move on, as for Smithy i told him he would remain in the first team picture but if an offer came in for him he would be moved on, he understood the situation and like the true pro that he is he knuckled down and got on with his pre-season training.



alansmith_20110715.jpg

SMITH: ON WAY OUT?


James-Perch.jpg

PERCH: NOT WANTED



newcastle-united-fc-pin-badge-492-p.bmp

PRE-SEASON FIXTURES

GATESHEAD (A)
BARCELONA (H)
IPSWICH (A)
ST PATS ATHLETIC (A)
BENFICA (H)

 
So i had now had a few weeks in the job, pre-season was done and dusted we had some decent results and i was generally happy with the performances of the squad throughout the period.

GATESHEAD 0-3 NEWCASTLE
NEWCASTLE 1-2 BARCELONA
IPSWICH 1-3 NEWCASTLE
ST PAT'S 1-3 NEWCASTLE
NEWCASTLE 1-1 BENFICA





I was particularly pleased on how the lads dealt with Barcelona, sure we lost the game but there was positives to take from that match, it was also great to see the mighty Los Cules come to the North-East and it gave me personally the hunger for us to strive to get Newcastle United back on the european stage, that would be great and obviously a long term aim as i believe its where this magnificent club belongs. I remember going to watch the Toon on some of those european nights even whilst i was still playing the game.
Demba Ba looked in good shape throughout pre-season bagging 3 goals in 4 games which was pleasing as there's alot of pressure on this guy to show what he can do, Lovenkrands got 2 goals in pre-season and looked quite sharp also.


As for transfer matters i had been promised money in January, whether this was the case or not time would tell. The squad was looking a little light in the central areas of midfield and defence but felt we should be able to cope, Alan Smith might feature afterall with Danny Guthrie sidelined for a couple of months, we also have a young French lad Medhi Abeid who looked quite good in pre-season when he played. Myself and the scouting team however did make one signing, that was Aalborg's highly rated 16 year old midfielder Lucas Anderson who was picked for £500,000 potentially rising to £1 million. The scouting team had said he showed the promise of a young Michael Laudrup and at the tender age of 16 would go straight into Joe Joyce's under 18's. I had also made the decision of letting Nile Ranger and Tamas Kadar join League One Preston on loan deals until January, we had a clause in Nile's loan deal that we could recall him if we had an injury crisis. Also other youngsters had left on short-term loan deals Ole Soderberg (Scunthorpe), Ryan Donaldson (Morecombe), James Tavernier (Chesterfield) and Conor Newton (Shrewsbury) had left to gain experiance.






demba-ba_1940462c.jpg


BA - SOLID PRE-SEASON





200px-Newcastle_United_Logo.svg.png


NEWCASTLE UNITED FIRST TEAM SQUAD 2011/2012

GOALKEEPERS: TIM KRUL (26), STEVE HARPER (1), ROB ELLIOT (35)

DEFENDERS: DANNY SIMPSON (5), DAVIDE SANTON (3), MIKE WILLIAMSON (6), FABRICIO COLOCCINI(C) (2), STEVEN TAYLOR(VC) (27), RYAN TAYLOR (16), SHANE FERGUSON (31)

MIDFIELDERS: YOHAN CABAYE (4), DANNY GUTHRIE (8), ALAN SMITH (17), CHEICK TIOTE (24), DAN GOSLING (15), GABRIEL OBERTAN (25), HATEM BEN ARFA (10), SYLVAIN MARVEAUX (22), JONAS GUTIERREZ (18), MEDHI ABEID (13)

FORWARDS: DEMBA BA (19), SHOLA AMEOBI (23), PETER LOVENKRANDS (11), LEON BEST (20), SAMMY AMEOBI (28)


In pre-season i had been using a 4-5-1 formation, but also focused the players to play in a 4-4-2 aswell, as these would be the formations i would employ throughout this campaign, i felt the 4-5-1 was working well in pre-season so we would probably go with that one for our first Premier League game against bitter rivals Sunderland. What a way for us to start the season, what a way for me to make my managerial bout.. at St James' Park against Sunderland it was a classic in the making, not only that but it was also a Super Sunday game, 1.30 kick off on the first Sunday of the season, i couldn't wait for it but with bragging rights at stake the pressure was immediately on from the off.


 
Last edited:


(I WILL NOT BE PUTTING DETAIL LIKE THIS IN EVERY MATCH REPORT ONLY DOING SO BECAUSE IT IS FIRST MATCH IN SAVE AND AGAINST RIVALS, WOULD APPRECIATE FEEDBACK ON THIS AS WOULD BE UP FOR HEARING DIFFERENT WAYS OF WRITING MATCH REPORTS, THANKS)


NEWCASTLE V SUNDERLAND







newcastlevsunderland.png








So the time had come, Super Sunday, first game of the season and against the Mackems live on Sky, it doesn't get much bigger. I had been at the ground since 8am preparing for this one, preparation is key and the feeling was totally different to going out there and doing it as a player, although to my regret i had never walked out there in front 52,000 at St James' Park as a player and as a local lad and a Newcastle fan it was 'the dream'. I had been on the books as a kid and the i will never forget the day i got told i was not going to be offered professional terms with the club, It is something which has strived me on to do better with football and is the reason i am here today waiting to lead out the lads in a Tyne-Wear derby.
I had finished my pre-match Sky interview and headed back to the changing room to reveal the starting line-up and pre-match talk...

RIGHT BOYS 4-5-1 LIKE WE PLAYED IN PRE-SEASON, I WANT YOU TO ATTACK FROM THE
OFF...TEAM TODAY KRUL IN GOAL, DANNY (SIMPSON) AND SANTON FULL BACKS,
STEVEY TAYLOR AND FABRICIO IN THE CENTRE, MIDFIELD 3 OF TIOTE AND CABAYE WITH
GABBY (OBERTAN) GETTING FORWARD WHENEVER POSSIBLE, JONAS RIGHT WING,
DEMBA ON THE LEFT CUTTING IN AND SUPPORTING SHOLA UP TOP....
OKAY LADS LET'S DO THIS, THIS ONE MEANS THE WORLD TO THESE FANS OUT THERE,
LETS SHOW THEM HOW MUCH WE WANT THIS!!!!!!!!







images

BLACK AND WHITE PRIDE RESTS ON THIS RESULT



1_9.jpg

THE NEW SEASON KICKS OFF......






I received a great reception from the fans which was amazing but it was time to get down to business, i shook the hand of Steve Bruce and wished him luck. Mark Halsey blew his whistle and we were off, we started the better side i felt, having more of the ball like a home team should then in the 17th minute i was out of my seat 1-0!! Ba! although we all thought, it had been ruled out for offside, slightly dubious but i'll give the lino the benefit. Sunderland were starting to look more dangerous and on the 26th minute...






Nicklas-Bendtner-scores-debut-goal-for-Sunderland-in-2-2-draw-against-West-Bromwich-Albion-101605.jpg

BENDTNER SENDS AWAY FANS CRAZY






1-0 , Nicklas Bendtner a free header from a corner, shoddy marking i was upset in the manner we conceded and had left us with an uphill struggle. To be fair we showed great charachter and the heads of my boys never went down. 6 minutes later a great pass from Cabaye set away Demba Ba...






demba_ba_2008316c.jpg

BA - LEVELLER







1-1! on 32 minutes Demba one on one with Mignolet and he slid the ball past him for the equaliser, the noise inside St James' was mental, i leapt up off my seat in celebration, what a moment!
The lads seemed up for this one now but in the 40th minute Sunderland had a goal ruled out through Bendtner who was clearly offside, nevertheless the guy was becoming a handful for our back line. Half time.

Back in the dressing myself and John Carver discussed our worries about Bendtner and our thoughts on our players performances, i was happy with Demba Ba he was causing Angeleri all kinds of problems down the left, Shola was very quiet up top, told him to dig deep and keep working hard and his chance would come. I reminded the lads of what this game meant to the people in the North-East and to go out and really put a shift in for the fans.






st-james-park-newcastle.jpg


ST JAMES' BOUNCING AWAITING SECOND HALF







We really come out the traps in the second half and were looking comfortable on the ball which i was pleased with, Jonas was looking more effective and in the 60th minute he went on a mazy run down the right hand side, squared the ball in what i can only describe as a cross come shot which Mignolet could only parry into the path of...







Shola+Ameobi+Newcastle+United+v+Sunderland+tjKbuvpQh3Zl.jpg


AMEOBI







Big Shola! 2-1 to us and i was ecstatic, a simple finish, a tap in, did we care did we ****! we were 2-1 up against Sunderland at St James' Park after going 1-0 down. The crowd were going wild, Blaydon Races was the voice of the stands but we needed to keep focus, we kept solid, kept the ball well, on the 75th i had to make changes Jonas looked tired and so did Obertan and fair play they had put shifts in out there, i was especially pleased with Gabby Obertan as i he had been asked to play in a central role which he wasn't used to. Gosling replaced him and Peter Lovenkrands come on for Jonas Gutierrez on the right hand side to sit in behind Shola.

On 80 minutes disaster struck, our search for a 3rd goal to kill the game off had seen us get caught on the break. Sunderland's new signing from Lille Ludovic Obraniak had nocked the ball past Steven Taylor our last defender and was free to go one on one with the keeper....






Cg_1377691a.jpg

OBRANIAK MAULED BY TEAM MATES






2-2....a gutting feeling really, i felt we really didn't deserve that and with 10 minutes to go what a finale we had in store, it was nail biting stuff, what a way to start football management. Two minutes later Shola had picked up a knock and had to come off, i moved Demba up top as the lone striker and brought Sylvain Marveaux to slot in on the left.
There was still 8 minutes plus stoppage time left and i could sense another goal, the worrying thing was i wasn't sure which team would get it. We still looked the better side and on the 84th minute Demba Ba had the ball on the right hand side similar to where Jonas put that ball in which lead to our second, Demba squared it inside to Lovenkrands who dinked a ball into the 6 yard box.....






fan-pic.jpg


UNBELIEVABLE SCENES AT ST JAMES'!!!!!






3-2!!!!!! WHAT A FEELING! what a rollercoaster of emotions... super sub Sylvain Marveaux got his head on Lovenkrands's ball to be what surely was the winning goal in the 84th minute. Sunderland looked deflated and surely there was no way back this time. We had another chance late on with Ba to make it 4-2 but it wasn't to be.. the full time whistle went and St James' Park erupted! The players were overjoyed and as for the fans it was like nothing i had ever witnessed in football, this is what i'm here for, this is what i was put here to do. After a brief handshake with Steve Bruce it was time to enjoy the moment.

We had won 3-2 against Sunderland in an epic clash, i had won my first league game as a manager and what a feeling, what a buzz, its a feeling i now want every week. I can't wait for the next one!
In the dressing room I told the lads i was delighted with the character they had shown to come back and win the game. I grabbed hold of Sylvain Marveaux and said "this is the Premier League son! enjoy it you won't have to buy another drink in Newcastle again!" he seemed to understand as he had a beaming smile on his face. I also congratulated Demba Ba who was magnificent out there. It was a moment to savour for everybody involved.
I told the lads to unwind and enjoy tonight as we had Monday off, but also to be ready for Tuesday's training as we had work hard for next weekend's game against Wigan, well i say weekend we were to play in front of the Sky cameras again on Monday Night Football at the DW.





worldygame-1.jpg


L
PLAYER RATINGS



NEWCASTLE (4-5-1)

KRUL 7, SIMPSON 7, SANTON 7, COLOCCINI 7, S.TAYLOR 7, TIOTE 7, CABAYE 8, OBERTAN 7 (GOSLING 6), GUTIERREZ 8 (LOVENKRANDS 7), BA 8, AMEOBI 7 (MARVEAUX N/A)
UNUSED SUBS: HARPER, WILLIAMSON, SMITH, BEST

SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1)

MIGNOLET 7, ANGELERI 6 (RICHARDSON 7), BARDSLEY 7, BRAMBLE 7 (WICKHAM N/A), TURNER 6, JALI 7, VAUGHAN 7, OBRANIAK 8 (mom), LARSSON 7, SESSEGNON 7 (KILLGALLON 6), BENDTNER 7
UNUSED SUBS: WESTWOOD, NOSWORTHY, LAING, EGAN





feedback much appreciated folks, keep following
 
Last edited:


END OF AUGUST UPDATE

Back down to business it was for us after derby day and morale in camp was high as you can imagine after a win like that. I had been informed that our next Premier League fixture against Wigan was to be re-arranged as it co-incided with their second round Carling Cup tie, so we had a week off which i wasn't particularly pleased about, i wanted this momentum to push on but with a week off from League action it was to be put on hold.

So our next game pitted us against League One Rochdale at St James' in the Carling Cup second round. A good cup run would be nice i thought this year and it has been over 50 years since we have won a trophy and it would be great to achieve a success like that for Newcastle. Nevertheless I decided to field a reserve side for the visit of Rochdale handing starts to Sammy Ameobi, Haris Vukic and James Perch among others also the players who needed match fitness such as Ryan Taylor was recovering from a minor injury.
We scraped a 2-1 win after extra time with Peter Lovenkrands bagging both our goals, we had lead for the majority of the match until the 5th minute of added time in the second half when Rochdale nabbed an equaliser. There was only supposed to be 3 minutes added on not 5!, obviously i vented my anger at the fourth official but that's football. We saw them off in extra time despite ending the match with 9 men. Lovenkrands grabbed his second, Williamson saw red and Sammy Ameobi had to come off injured after we had made all 3 subs, he would be out for 6 weeks with strained knee ligaments which was unlucky for the lad because he looked sharp out there.

1777170


LOV - 2 GOAL HERO





LINEUP (4-5-1)
HARPER, GOSLING, R.TAYLOR (FERGUSON), PERCH, WILLIAMSON, ABEID (L.HENDERSON), SMITH, VUCKIC, SAMMY AMEOBI, LOVENKRANDS, BEST (SHOLA AMEOBI)
UNUSED SUBS: ELLIOT(GK), S.TAYLOR, MARVEAUX, OBERTAN

ATTENDANCE: 25,970



Next up it was back to League action finally, at home again, this time Norwich City were the opponents. Preparation was going well although i had heard Alan Smith wasn't happy with my team talk after the Rochdale game, he never spoke to me directly about his issue but somehow the press knew, funny that.
The 3rd round Carling Cup draw had been made and it was a journey to West London to face QPR that would be on the cards for us but it was the Norwich game that was prominent in our minds, a Saturday 3 o'clock at St James' you can't beat em. I had always been of the mentality of not changing a winning team so everybody who started against Sunderland would play if fit. Unfortunately for us Peter Lovenkrands was ruled with a bruised thigh so there would be no place on the bench for him.






175px-Newcastle_United_Logo.svg.png
V
150px-Norwich_City.svg.png

NEWCASTLE 3 - 0 NORWICH



BA (46)
AMEOBI (57)
GUTIERREZ (84)


Well it was another home win and more fans going home happy in the end. After a dull first half of football we needed something else in the second half and i knew the lads would step it up, you could tell, they were confident and less than a minute after the second half started we had scored Demba Ba again proving priceless with a nifty near post finish to get the ball rolling. Just over ten minutes later Ba linked up again to play a brilliant one-two with big Shola, who scored with a great placed bottom corner finish. The fans went wild with cheers from the stands of 'OOOOAAAAHH SHOLA AMEOBI' to the tune of the hokey cokey, he was certainly enjoying it, playing with a smile on his face which was great because the lad has took alot of stick over the years. Then on the 84th minute, a moment of individual brilliance from Jonas Gutierrez who skinned the Norwich left back and scored with a fantastic finish from the edge of the box, great goal.
So it was played 2 won 2 in the League and i couldnt fault the lads, we looked deadly in the second half especially Demba Ba who was at the centre of all of our attacking work. The Toon Army would be sent home smiling again.





demba-ba-pic-pa-770513105.jpg


DEMBA BA - ON FORM AGAIN





LINEUP (4-5-1)
KRUL 7, SIMPSON 8, SANTON 8, S.TAYLOR 8, COLCOCCINI 7, TIOTE 7 (GOSLING N/A), CABAYE 7, OBERTAN 8 (MARVEAUX 7), GUTIERREZ 8, BA 9 (mom), AMEOBI 7 (BEST 7)
UNUSED SUBS: HARPER, PERCH, SMITH, FERGUSON

ATTENDANCE: 50,530


So it was a great way to end August, 3 games played and 3 wins in all comps. there was no action on deadline day. Lyon had enquired about Cheick Tiote but it was dismissed, there was no way i was selling Cheick, especially not on deadline day. Things were starting to go well and starting to fit into place, So far so good though and i was really enjoying this football management malarky.
Next up in September we had two away trips on the bounce, next was Villa away followed by Wigan this should be a test.




 
Last edited:


SEPTEMBER


At the start of the month and i woke up to the news that i was named manager of the month for August, it was pleasing despite only having 2 League games but with 2 wins i wasn't going to argue. Just seeing my name top of a list of 3 including the legendary Sir Alex and young Villas-Boas of Chelsea made me extremely proud.

As we where on an international break, i watched the England match on the Friday night on the television and was pleased with what i saw, a 5-1 win in Bulgaria with Rooney running the show, i though, was itching for next weekends trip to Villa Park.

After a good week of preparation on the training ground we had arrived at Villa Park around 1pm, this place holds bad memories for everyone associated with Newcastle, i certainly won't forget the time we lost here a few years ago to confirm our relegation to the second tier. However this time spirits were high amongst the lads and i had a fully fit squad to choose from apart from Hatem Ben Arfa who still needed another week or so to recover and Mike Williamson who was still suspended.



150px-Aston_Villa.svg.png
V
175px-Newcastle_United_Logo.svg.png

ASTON VILLA 1 - 2 NEWCASTLE UTD


AGBONLAHOR (63)
OBERTAN (29)

​S.TAYLOR (52)


A very good first half of footbal at Villa Park, real good old end to end stuff. Again i was pleased with the start we had made and on 29 minutes big Shola fed the ball into the path of Gabby Obertan who raced into the penalty area and followed through with a clean cut strike straight past Shay Given and into the back of the net infront of the Holt End, a very good goal and again i leapt off my seat in celebration, a great start.
In the second half i could hear Villa fans start to get on the players backs, so if i could sense they definately could and it was working to our advantage and seven minutes after the re-start Jonas won a corner, a great delivery sent over by Cabaye was met by the head of Steven Taylor, 2-0! once again i couldn't have wished for any better, this was dreamland material. The Villa fans' groans were made clearer and it seemed to kick them into life and just over ten minutes they made it 2-1, ex Newcastle winger or whinger (whichever you prefer) Charles N'Zogbia drifted a deadly ball over to the far post which Gabby Agbonlahor somehow got his head on to get them back into the game. It was starting to look grim for us, Villa looked like they had a certain confidence about them and on the 67th minute Agbonlahor made a trademark pacey run into the area and was tripped by Steven Taylor....PENALTY! what a kick in the teeth, we were 2-0 up away from home and now it looked grim, 2 points dropped rather than one gained. Ex Sunderland man Darren Bent placed the ball on the spot, he looked cool, calm and confident as he began his run up.....SAVED!!! Tim Krul pulled off a blinding stop and i celebrated more than when the second goal went in.
After a nervy ending we managed to hang on for the 3 points and what a massive 3 points it was, an away win is a priceless win and we went back to the North East happy men.


1ea00_d25ab__55789999_timkrul.jpg

KRUL - PENALTY HERO



LINEUP (4-5-1)
KRUL 7, SIMPSON 7 (R.TAYLOR 7), SANTON 7, S.TAYLOR 8 (mom), COLOCCINI 7, TIOTE 7, CABAYE 8, OBERTAN 8, GUTIERREZ 7, BA 6 (LOVENKRANDS 6), AMEOBI 7 (BEST 6)
UNUSED SUBS: HARPER, PERCH, GOSLING, MARVEAUX

ATTENDANCE: 40,289



We arrived back in Newcastle on Saturday night knowing we where top of the league, Man United and Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in the early kick off that day which meant our victory at Villa put us top with a game in hand over the chasing pack, of course it was my job to keep everybody's feet on the ground and we weren't getting carried away but we had to enjoy it, if you don't enjoy these moments in football what's the point in being involved?

BarclaysPremierLeagueOverview_Stages.png

FLYING HIGH









After a weekend full of positives, it was back to the grind, Monday morning training. The media had shown us in alot of glory over the weekend asking the question 'are Newcastle United the real deal?' which after 3 games was rather over the top but it goes to show that the hard work pays off. The re-arranged Wigan game was on Wednesday night at the DW and i didn't want the players turning up thinking the game was won before we put the black and white shirt on.



_45306762_wigan_newcastle.gif

A midweek game in Wigan it was then and one change to the side that beat Villa, i decided to rest Shola Ameobi as i had doubts over his fitness so i decided to give Leon Best a go up top as the lone striker obviously supported by then influential Demba Ba.
The first half was shoddy as far as we where concerned, we didn't look like the Newcastle who'd won 3 on the trot, after 17 minutes Yohan Cabaye came off in pain with a foot injury. The weather was awful it was a drab evening constant rain and it got even more miserable for us on the 27th minute when Steven Taylor was meant to have pushed Rodallega in the back in the penalty area, it was given but for me Rodallega made a meal out of it, i was raging on the touchline and got a rather funny look off Roberto Martinez and his staff. Rodallega converted and we went in at the break 1-0 down.
At half time i told the lads we needed to lift it, we weren't good enough out there against a poor team in my eyes, a team we could actually beat. Leon Best had to go off at half time as he had a niggle so i told Peter Lovenkrands to get stripped.
The lads definatley took on board what i had said at half time because in the second we looked like a different team, this team was hungry, they wanted to turn this around and on 51 minutes we got what we deserved. A shot by Obertan in the area was parried by Mike Pollitt into the path of Demba Ba who scuffed his first effort back to Pollitt who again couldn't hold onto it due to the wet surface, the ball again fell to Demba and this time he wasn't going to miss, the ball squirmed over the line for the equaliser and we were back in the groove.
I was delighted, we looked like a different side in the second half and we made Wigan pay in the 64th minute. Jonas Gutierrez went on a dazzling run down the right hand side and played in a great ball over to the back post where Peter Lovenkrands rose like a salmon above Ronnie Stam to score a powerful header in front of the travelling fans who went crazy. Wigan never looked like getting back into the game and we did enough to see it out and secure another yes another 3 points!


WIGAN 12 NEWCASTLE
RODALLEGA (27)( PEN)BA (51)
LOVENKRANDS (64)




Newcastle-v-Wigan-David-Jones-Jonas-Gutierrez_2668831.jpg

JONAS - THORN IN WIGAN'S SIDE


LINEUP (4-5-1)
KRUL 7, SIMPSON 7, SANTON 7, S.TAYLOR 7, COLOCCINI 8, TIOTE 7 (R.TAYLOR 7), CABAYE 6 (GOSLING 7), OBERTAN 7, GUTIERREZ 8 (mom), BA 7, BEST 6 (LOVENKRANDS 8)
UNUSED SUBS: HARPER, PERCH, MARVEAUX, SHOLA AMEOBI

ATTENDANCE: 15,333



So 4 was certainly the magic number for us at the moment, played 4, won 4 and 4 points clear of Manchester United in second place. When i first took on this job i would never have imagined a start like this in a million years. The city of Newcastle was buzzing as was the North East in general, one thing i have learned over my time is that when the football team is doing well the region seems to be a different place, it's mental. Not only that but the Mackems had got over the first day defeat at the hands of us and were also performing, 5th in the league, not a bad start for them either so the North East was flying high in terms of football. Local football phone in's were bombarded with happy geordies singing our praises and as a Newcastle lad it gave me a real sense of pride, i was so proud of the team and my backroom staff.

We had two days before Saturday's visit of Liverpool, undoubtedly our biggest challenge of the season yet, King Kenny's Reds were coming to town and i don't need to tell you that these two teams have had some tasty encounters over the Premier League years.
Physio Derek Wright had confirmed to me that Yohan Cabaye would miss the Liverpool game, a week with a stubbed toe was the verdict, disappointing because Yohan had been influential in that midfield three so far this term.



34986439.jpg

NEWCASTLE V LIVERPOOL


In the pre-match build up i was being asked questions on Arsenal, Chelsea, United, it was like the media had somehow written us into the title race after 4 games, i didn't like it, it wasn't the pressure, for me it was just sheer ridiculous, 4 games? i mean if it was at least 10 then fair enough but i suppose it showed we were playing good football. I wanted to enjoy the build up of coming against a club like Liverpool for the first time in my managerial career, coming up against an old veteran like Dalglish who's Liverpool side had taken 7 points from their opening 4 games and were lying in 7th place in the table. There would also be returns for ex Toon pair Jose Enrique and the now infamous Andy Carroll. I worked with Andy in his time here in the youth setup, he's a good enough kid but sometimes he had this attitude about him and I never thought he'd break into the first team at Newcastle in his earlier days to be honest, never mind make a £35 million move to Liverpool.

After saying a few words before we went out to do battle the lads seemed fired up and raring to go, I drafted Alan Smith in to replace the injured Cabaye, it was a toss up between him or young Dan Gosling but i opted for the experience of smudger. Young Davide Santon would also miss out as he was still jaded from Wigan.
Boos echoed around St James' when Andy Carroll's name was announced over the PA system which was greeted with a smile by the lad, he knew what to expect. The match got underway and it was a packed out St James', Liverpool were looking dangerous early doors and in the 12th minute Luis Suarez started a one man tirade on our back line. He pick up the ball, skinned Steven Taylor and went on to smash the ball past a stranded Tim Krul, 1-0 Liverpool. It was turning into a disaster, a minute later Lucas played a neat ball out wide left to the storming figure of Steven Gerrard who drilled a low cross into the path of that man Suarez who tapped the ball past Krul. We were 2-0 down after 13 minutes and sinking without a trace.
We picked our game up and started to battle hard to try and get back into the game, my thoughts were if we could sneak one before half time we might have a chance. We won a corner on 31 minutes and Jonas' cross was met by Steven Taylor who's header looked to be going wide until the fuzzy haired figure of Fabricio Coloccini came out of nowhere and turned the ball home with a diving header at the far post, 2-1, we were back in business. The fans really got behind the lads it was a cracking atmosphere inside the stadium with chants of 'Stuey Todd's Black n White Army!!' which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, it seemed to be affecting the players because now we looked up for the fight and a minute before half time Alan Smith played what i can only describe as a world class ball, over the top of Liverpool's defence which Demba Ba ran onto...he was one on one with Reina and powered a shot from the edge of the area....GOAL! 2-2 right into the roof of the net. We had done it again! it was classic stuff but it wasn't over yet, we went in at the break at 2-2.

_51076812_suarez_466x282reuters.jpg

SUAREZ - FIRST HALF DOUBLE


In the dressing i told the lads to keep believing, i praised them, they had done brilliantly coming from 2-0 down against Liverpool, alot of teams would have crumbled and surrendered. No changes from us and we were ready for the second half, why couldn't we beat Liverpool?
It was an edgy second half and my boys were starting to look jaded, we had only had 2 days rest from the Wigan game but we were still hanging in there. Tim Krul was called into action and twice denied Suarez the chance of a hat-trick. on 75 minutes i had to make a triple change, i don't like doing it but it had to be done Ryan Taylor, Obertan and Lovenkrands made way for Gosling, Guthrie and Shola. It was a nervy ending to the game and the worst case scenario happened on 87 minutes when Dirk Kuyt whipped a ball over to the back post... who else was there but big Andy Carroll who nodded the ball across the face of goal only to turned in by a hapless Tim Krul, 3-2 to them. I felt for Tim, i couldn't really blame him although it went down as Krul own goal and a cruel own goal it was, but to be honest i'd rather that than see Andy Carroll's name on the score sheet against us, even though it was really Andy's goal and to be fair to him his celebration was quite respected and muted. It was enough to secure the win for Liverpool and our first defeat of the season, i mean it couldn't go on forever, we all knew that, but to lose in that manner at home was annoying, especially coming from 2-0 down to get ourselves back into the game.

NEWCASTLE 23 LIVERPOOL
COLOCINNI (31)SUAREZ (12,13)
BA (44)KRUL O.G (87)




PA-105249982.jpg

CARROLL - MATCH WINNER



LINEUP (4-5-1)
KRUL 7, SIMPSON 6, R.TAYLOR 7 (GOSLING 6), S.TAYLOR 7, COLOCCINI 7, TIOTE 7, SMITH 7, OBERTAN 7 (GUTHRIE 6), GUTIERREZ 7, LOVENKRANDS 6 (AMEOBI 6), BA 7
UNUSED SUBS: HARPER, WILLIAMSON, MARVEAUX, BEST

ATTENDANCE: 50,234


I had time to reflect on the defeat, briefly, because it was another 2 day gap before we had yet another game, the Carling Cup third round and a trip to Loftus Road to face QPR, so we couldn't dwell on the Liverpool game for too long, we had to learn from this. I had it in mind that i would field a second string for QPR as we would be in West London on the Saturday to face Fulham in the league which would be the last game of the month.


_55235420_qpr_new.gif
images

A second string 11 is what i decided to field at Loftus Road and i expected the same from Neil Warnock as his side lay bottom of the Premier League, i thought he'd have focused on that. However when i seen the team sheets the names of Wright-Phillips, Anton Ferdinand, Luke Young and of course their captain and ex Newcastle player Joey Barton who was making his first appearance against us since leaving in the summer, i thought we could have a tricky night in store.
We started immensely and an early double from Leon Best put us in the driving seat, QPR never really threatened or caused us much problems. Barton looked like he had something to prove but never really influenced the game like we knew he could. Wright-Phillips got one back for Rangers in the 56th minute but we still looked comfortable and had done enough to see the game out and book our place in the next round of the cup.

QUEEN'S PARK RANGERS 12 NEWCASTLE UNITED
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS (56)
BEST (7,11)




article-1294304626893-0CA82049000005DC-68531_304x205.jpg

BEST OF THE BEST - 2 GOALS FOR LEON

LINEUP (4-5-1)
HARPER, GOSLING, SANTON, PERCH, WILLIAMSON, SMITH, GUTHRIE (ABEID), VUCKIC, MARVEAUX (FERGUSON), LOVENKRANDS, BEST (mom)
UNUSED SUBS: ELLIOT, S.TAYLOR, M.RICHARDSON, GUTIERREZ, SHOLA AMEOBI

ATTENDANCE: 14,084


I was happy again, we had come away with a nice cup victory against a top flight side with a second string team, a manager's dream really. Leon Best had a great game and took both goals well, Alan Smith had another decent game and James Perch did a job at centre back! it might now make sense to me to take this cup more seriously, i'd love to see us at Wembley, but we'll take it one step at a time.

Fulham away next up at the weekend who were in 17th place in the league, a false position for me as i rate Fulham as a good side especially at home so it would be a tricky fixture for us. Good news was though we had Cabaye back and even Ben Arfa was pushing for a place on the bench but the last thing i want to do is rush him back in.





fulham-v-newcastle-mb.png


FULHAM V NEWCASTLE


We were looking to use our extra days rest to our advantage, Fulham had traveled to Burnley the day after we played QPR and were beaten 2-1. Hopefully my lads were fresher but i couldn't take that for granted. Also we had the draw for the last 16 of the Carling Cup had been made on the Saturday morning and we'd drew Portsmouth at home which i was happy with.
It was a nice afternoon down at the Cottage for this Saturday 3pm kick off and i knew the team i would pick to face this lot, i'd had it in mind since QPR. Before i named the team and gave the team talk we had finished watching the early kick off game on Sky, Man Utd beat Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates to leapfrog us and go top of the league. After my words of what i hoped was wisdom the lads went out confidently, they wanted to win, they had tasted life at the top and they weren't ready to let it go just yet.
The game got underway and the first of what was to be a bunch of bad things happened, Leon Best signaled to me he couldn't continue, we were only 15 minutes in and had to bring Lovenkrands on, it did however get a whole lot worse, on 24 minutes Demba Ba went in two footed on Senderos, i didn't look malicious but it was so so stupid and he was red carded, no complaints from us and i told Demba that as he walked past me and headed down the tunnel he had let us all down. Things do come in three's though not pairs and i was forced into making another sub on 35 minutes, Steven Taylor had a problem with his groin and was struggling so he couldn't continue, big Mike Williamson was sent on. That's 2 forced changes and a red card and we're not even at half time yet! the misery was compounded on 39 minutes though when ex Toon man Aaron Hughes scrambled past Krul from a corner now we were 1-0 down. This was a living nightmare, but how football can turn on its head. Two minutes after Fulham's goal Cabaye and Obertan linked up well, Obertan finished off the move putting the ball out of the reach of Schwarzer after a clever back heeled pass from Cabaye 1-1 at half time.
I'd take a draw if offered it at half time, without a doubt, we had 10 men and were in lady luck's bad books. Martin Jol's men come out storming in the second and re-took the lead on 48 minutes, Zamora played a great ball over which was pounced on by Clint Dempsey. We did have chances though which was frustrating, Gabby Obertan missed a sitter and halfway through the second half i brought Shola on for Tiote in search for an equalizer. It wasn't to be though and Fulham ran out 2-1 victors. Two league defeats on the trot for us now, has the bubble burst?

FULHAM 21 NEWCASTLE
HUGHES (39)OBERTAN (41)
DEMPSEY (48)BA SENT OFF (24)



Dejected-Newcastle-fans-001.jpg

IS THE HONEYMOON OVER?


LINEUP (4-5-1)
KRUL 6, SIMPSON 7, SANTON 7, S.TAYLOR 6 (WILLIAMSON 7), COLOCCINI 7, CABAYE 7, TIOTE 7 (AMEOBI 6), OBERTAN 7, GUTIERREZ 7, BA 5, BEST 6 (LOVENKRANDS 6)

UNUSED SUBS: HARPER, R.TAYLOR, SMITH, MARVEAUX

ATTENDANCE: 25,342



Back in the North-East after what seemed like a real long journey home the problems where starting to set in a bit, the realism of this management lark were coming to the fore. I'd had a few restless nights of late and on the Saturday of the Fulham game i didn't sleep a wink, Steven Taylor ruled out for 2 months, Best for 2 weeks, Ba suspended, two league defeats on the trot, a total lack of numbers at centre back. Mike Williamson and Coloccini were the only fit centre backs at the club well apart from the kids, if one of those guys got injured Perchy would have to come in at centre back, now if that doesn't give you sleepless nights what does?
It wasn't all doom and gloom i suppose, we were still 3rd in the League after 6 games, I just couldn't help thinking my managerial honeymoon period was over, there was still alot of positives to take even from our defeats and that's what had to be looked at, and Ben Arfa should be returning soon, what aplayer that guy could be for us.

BarclaysPremierLeagueOverview_Stages-2.png

LEAGUE TABLE - END OF SEPTEMBER



So all in all September wasn't a bad month, more of a learning curve is the way i'd like to see it. The players were still confident, the media in general were still filling us with praise but most importantly the geordie nation seemed happy and content, that's all i want at the end of the day, my own people to be proud of their football team.
Despite his sending off at Fulham, Demba Ba was leading the scoring charts for us with 4 goals in 6 league games and looked like he was really enjoying playing for the club, he was looking like the greatest free transfer of all time. I was also impressed with Obertan and Cabaye who had taken to their new surroundings like a duck to water. The fans were starting to forget the likes of Nolan, Barton, Enrique and co, new players were stamping there authority on this team.



763513-9007179-317-238.jpg


TOP SCORER - DEMBA WITH 4 GOALS



gabriel-obertan-image-8-833563768.jpg

A NEW LEASE OF LIFE - OBERTAN



st_james_park_newcastle_afl03_aerofilms_685586_1109706.jpg

MANCHESTER CITY NEXT TO VISIT ST JAMES'



















 
Last edited:
Top