Non-news about Mevlüt Erdinç and real news about a 3-2 win over Utrecht
Posted on July 24th, 2011 | 23 Comments |
I’m a bit confused. News is doing the rounds that Newcastle have had a £6.5m bid for Mevlüt Erdinç accepted and that Alan Pardew was informed about the situation in the States.
I thought we’d already had a bid accepted by PSG anyway and that it was just the personal terms where things were being held up, so that bit saying that Alan Pardew was informed about matters threw me as that made it sound like a new thing.
The French press – which, rightly or wrongly, I tend to see as more reliable in terms of truth than our own – has nothing new to offer in relation to our potential interest in Erdinç and is only quoting the rumours in our own newspapers here and there.
I’m therefore of the opinion that this is a bit of a non-story. What I mean to say is that I’m pretty sure we are indeed pursuing Erdinç’s signature but that nothing has changed to prompt the ‘news’ appearing in the Sunday press.
On another subject entirely, whilst our game against Orlando resulted in a disappointing 1-0 defeat (see Thump’s excellent match report), our ‘bad boys’ (as far as the US visa authorities are concerned) did somewhat better in Holland.
This was the line-up for the game against Utrecht:
Ole Soderberg; Michael Richardson, Jeff Henderson, Mike Williamson (C), Yven Moyo; Brad Inman, Greg McDermott, Ryan Donaldson; Sammy Ameobi, Phil Airey, Joan Edmundsson.
Subs: Aiden Grant, Paul Dummett, Joey Barton, Wayne Routledge, Xisco, Nile Ranger.
Despite going 2-0 down, we came back and won 3-2, with goals from Joey Barton, Michael Richardson and Ryan Donaldson.
Pedro was pleased with the way it turned out and said:
“It was very unjust for us to be 2-0 down because from the first minute to the last minute they were outstanding, they really were.
“Not everything is perfect in pre-season but the attitude was sensational. We pressed them high in their half, caused them problems and thoroughly deserved to win.
“It was a really good game. The Dutch play good football, we knew that, and Utrecht won the Dutch Reserve league last year so we knew they’d be decent.
“At 2-0 down we almost felt like we’d had the dirty done on us because they didn’t deserve to be two goals up.
“But the character to come back from 2-0 down with less than half an hour to go was brilliant. And in the end, it was going to be four or five rather that 3-3.
“It’s two-in-two on this tour for Joey and two-in-two for Ryan, who has done very well.
“I thought Michael Richardson was really good. Right-backs sometimes score from set-plays but for him to end up, in an attacking move, right in the centre of the box was great.
“And it was very clever play from Phil Airey, who played the pass to him.
“Jeff (Henderson) was really good alongside Willo, Yven was outstanding and Sammy Ameobi for an hour was really, really good.
“But everybody was outstanding and it was one of the best performances in my short time – 14 months or so – that I’ve seen from us.
“The effort to get the ball back, the commitment – it was outstanding.”
Sounds like Pedro’s having a better time of things than Pardew!
NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen
I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10).
Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.
Pardew dosen’t know his arse from his elbow never mind who we are signing, I ll be shocked if we spend money on a striker, I’m even more shocked we aren’t linked with the Argentine striker pimping himself round Premier Leafue teams (Swansea and Blackburn) as he is free with no club – sorry can’t remember his name