Has been a key player for us.Having already taken a look at our goalkeepers and defenders, the focus for the next edition of our player review moves up the pitch again to see how our midfield have performed throughout the season.
It’s been a strange position for us this year. On one hand, some say the midfield has been our achilles heel, it lacks mobility and creativity. On the other hand though, it has been a position that has yielded a return of 30 goals from the season. Without checking, that is probably a damn sight more than what we have had in return from the past few seasons. Of course 17 of them have come from Kevin Nolan which has helped improve that figure, but despite the criticism that has been aimed at them from time to time they have chipped in with their fair share of assists aswell. After all, strikers need service from somewhere, right? (more…)
Routledge: Key man since his arrival.Now the job of promotion has been achieved we can pick start to pick through it and have a look at what we have done right and wrong throughout the season.
The very fact we have won the title would indicate that the right outweighs the wrong through the course of the season, but it’s January that held the key to promotion for me. In the first half of the season we tended to wear opposition down and never really looked like a balanced team, with most of our play coming down the left side with Jonas Gutierrez and Jose Enrique whilst virtually nothing coming down right through Danny Guthrie. That sounds harsh on Danny G, but it wasn’t meant to be. What I was trying to say is that Danny Guthrie is not a winger, although he did get his fair share of assists from crosses and free-kicks out wide. Guthrie is a central midfielder, that is his favoured position which meant he tended to be drawn into the middle of the pitch, forcing us to look more lopsided as a team. Anyway, he was just doing as he was told and it was a case of needs must, so credit must go to him for giving it a go and playing where he is needed, Kieron Dyer should take note! (more…)
Pancrate: Moving on out.It looks like the Newcastle United squad is already starting to be trimmed down and relieved of the players have failed to make an impact this season.
Fabrice Pancrate, Fitz Hall and possibly Leon Best will be moved on as Hughton looks to free up as much cash as possible to help him in the transfer market. I can’t see them three players leaving freeing up too much to be honest as I’m not so certain that their wages will be massive, or whether we will recoup the majority of money we paid to Coventry City for Leon Best back in January. Either way, Pancrate, Hall and Best appear to have not done enough in their time on Tyneside to warrant being a paasenger in the Premier League.
Fabrice Pancrate was signed as a free transfer back in November, and marked his arrival on Tyneside with a spectacular goal against Watford which left a few fans thinking that we could be seeing something exciting in what was otherwise a non-existant right side of midfield at the time. It didn’t work out that way, and Danny Guthrie found himself played out of position on the wing in preferance to the Frenchman. With the arrival of Wayne Routledge back in January the writing appeared to be on the wall for Fabrice and he found himself eventually struggling to even make the bench towards the climax of the season. (more…)
'Big' miss?If reports in the The Dail Mail are accurate then top goalscorer, Kevin Nolan has joined Newcastle’s list of crocks and misses out on the trip to Watford. With Wayne Routledge a disappointing absence from the first team squad against Preston after a good start to his Toon career, Danny Guthrie almost inevitably moved across to the right. Smith took over his role and Newcastle fans were left frustrated by a narrowing of the play, after we’d played with such freedom on the wings in previous home games.
Tightening things up and narrowing the play away from home is something that Hughton has done throughout the season mostly to effective, if ultimately a little uninspiring, ends. Certainly after the Derby hammering, you imagine he will be more cautious than ever, as proved at Swansea where we played a 4-4-2 but mostly tucked in as a 4-4-1-1. (more…)
James Linnington before the game?I only caught this on Radio Newcastle so whatever follows is partly second-hand but…
Amidst some baffling officiating, Newcastle’s ‘Wembley Dream’ was shattered by a strong West Brom team who went two better than their plundering at St James’ last Monday, to take them through to the next round of the FA Cup. But the matchday officials can expect lifelong infamy round these parts, as they more than played their part in the fortunes of the victors.
Chris Hughton made expected changes from the 2-2 draw earlier in the week, which saw Tim Krul replace Harper between the sticks, Ryan Taylor come in at right back for the newly-acquired Danny Simpson and Tamas Kadar slot in for Steven Taylor, who appears to have suffered a serious knee injury following a shoddy challenge from Bednar in the previous game. Fabrice Pancrate and Andy Carroll also started, with Lovenkrands understandably being given time away to spend with his family and Ameobi dropping to the bench. The shape of the team changed as we elected for the 4-4-1-1 approach with Pancrate allowing Guthrie to move into the middle with Smith, Gutierrez in his usual wide left role and Nolan pushing in behind Carroll.
West Brom manager, Roberto Di Matteo, had suggested he would also make changes to protect his squad for the priority of promotion, but it was a very familiar starting eleven which ultimately trotted out. And yet despite that, it seems like they lacked the quality and drive on display in the league game. However, in a first half where Newcastle players were again found wanting for some creativity and where a number barely applied themselves, it was West Brom who took a deserved 2-0 lead into the break. (more…)
