This guide takes a look at Newcastle United’s next away game at Reading’s Madejski Stadium, scheduled for Saturday 9th January with a kick-off of 3pm. Again its quite a long trip from the Toon, but I’m sure that wont put the dedicated Toon Army off or stop some of our more local fans from making a shorter trip.
We’ll set off for the 300 mile trip down the A1, meet up with M1 at Leeds and carry on south. Just keep following the M1 past Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester until you hit J15A (A43 / Northampton / Oxford). Leave the motorway there and follow the A43 towards Oxford. If you keep folowing the signs for Oxford then you’ll eventually meet up with the M40. Head southbound on the M40 and leave at J9 (A34 Oxford / Newbury). Follow the A34 for around 30 miles until you meet the M4. You’ll join the M4 at J13, so you’ll need to head east towards London for 2 junctions, making sure you leave at J11 (A33 Reading). The whole Madejski complex is well signposted from the motorway, but just in case you miss the signs, you’lll be fine as long as you bear left! (more…)
Well you can’t keep an average striker down. Love him or hate him, he’s entirely unpredicatable and yesterday Shola Ameobi managed to give us a brief period of respite with a convincing hat-trick which sent Reading packing.
From his first slightly fortunate headed goal to his perfectly-timed three goal tribute to Sir Bobby, it truly was Shola’s Perfect Day.
And so, you find yourself thinking perhaps he’s found his level. There will inevitably be sterner tests than Reading’s rearguard but there is a suggestion that Ameobi will benefit from playing against defenders perhaps half a second slower, mentally and physically, than their Premiership counterparts.
That it wasn’t a ‘classic’ hat-trick, didn’t detract from a fine performance and evidence that he can get goals in The Championship. Instead, yesterday was all about putting his substantial frame and head to good use and as one fine blog-owner mentioned, his head was quite literally on fire, on a day when he could and maybe should have had more. Therein lies the key perhaps, on yesterdays showing, Shola will find more room to maneouvre in the box, with less pressure and can expect to get more opportunities than he did in the top flight. (more…)
A decent attendance considering, a few grey, bald patches but not too bad after scare stories of less than 30,000. A cosy looking threesome involving Mike Ashley, Barry Moat and Derek Llambias in the Director’s box was a newsworthy event in itself.
In this, the first home game since the death of Sir Bobby Robson, a minute’s applause was once again observed, as it was in last week’s game at West Bromwich Albion. But an even better tribute followed, as Newcastle United played the kind of enterprising, attacking football that even the great man himself might have been proud of for long stretches of the game.
United got off to a busy start in the first few minutes, until Reading finally managed to contain them a little, managing to get in a few nice tackles and interceptions to nip Newcastle’s attacking flair in the bud. However, single strikered Reading seemed to have great problems lauching attacks of their own, keeping the impetus with the Toon. The customary break for Alan Smith to receive his yellow card happened after around twenty minutes this time, which was pretty good going for the Leeds butcher, though he’s capable of much better. (more…)
Newcastle United’s honourary Vice-President, Malcolm Dix, says he does not expect fans to wash their dirty linen in public during our home clash against Reading on Saturday evening. Speaking to Tyneside rag, the Chronic, he said:
“For 90 minutes I think the fans will divorce the politics from the club and get behind the 11 players who are picked for the Reading game.
“This club is ultimately about what happens on the pitch.
“I think there was a good team spirit displayed at West Brom and it’s a start we can build on against Reading.
“If Newcastle can win well it can lay the foundations for a good season, one we all hope that we can return to the Premier League in.
“The game is also in front of the TV cameras and judging our crowd over the years, it’s usually the sort of occasion in which the fans get right behind the lads.”
Dix, an accountant who was an important part of the John Hall Politburo at Saint James’s Park in the ‘nineties added: (more…)