Welcome one and all to our magical, magnificent, marvellous match banter article that will cover the Tottenham vs Newcastle fixture this afternoon.
There is some bad news for us all to digest regarding the fitness of Jose Enrique I’m afraid.
It would appear, according to Jose’s Twitter account, that our left-back will miss the game this afternoon as he is suffering from a tight hamstring. We will, of course, await official confirmation, but if it is coming from Jose then you would have to assume that it is true.
This news will give Alan Pardew a bit of a defensive headache as he looks to try and negate the loss of our star defender, but one way around it would be to play Danny Simpson at left-back, Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini at centre-back, and fit Steven Taylor in at right-back. It isn’t ideal, but it’s probably the best we can do in the circumstances. (more…)
Just what is it with these new contracts at Newcastle? Since the summer we have seen Andy Carroll, Nile Ranger, Mike Williamson, Tim Krul and now Steven Taylor all tied down to long-term deals with the club.
This is, of course, good news for Newcastle United and gives us a bit of stability with regard to the playing staff going forward, but does it signal that there could be more going on behind the scenes? Could Mike Ashley be making the business more saleable?
There is no doubt that the offering of new, long-term contracts is good for the club, but it would also be good for Mike Ashley’s bank balance in the event of a sale. After all, a stable club with it’s best potential assets tied down to long-term deals would be worth a lot more money compared to a club that was floundering along with no forward planning. I mean, even the manager has a contract that could last over five years, although there is a rather cunning clause put in by Ashley that will allow Pardew to be disposed of for minimal compensation, something that would appeal to both Ashley and any new owner who will more than likely want to install their own man in the event of a change of ownership. (more…)
Newcastle get back to footballing action today, just two days after they last took to the field against Manchester City.
Of course, it is the same for most clubs at this time of the year as the demanding festive fixture list kicks in, so in that regard we are all in the same boat.
Newcastle have had a habit of being Tottenham’s bogey team over the past few years, so that should give us hope as we head to White Hart Lane this afternoon. Another beacon of hope should our record in London this season. Usually we don’t get much joy from visits to the capital, but this season we are currently unbeaten after victories at West Ham and Arsenal in the league aswell as a victory against Chelsea in the Carling Cup.
Newcastle will be without Kevin Nolan this afternoon as he sits out the game after picking up his fifth booking of the season during the defeat to Manchester City. Andy Carroll is a slight doubt for the match but is expected to play despite picking up a slight ankle knock towards the end of that match against City. (more…)
It’s old news now, but I’ve been out in the pub all day so now is the first chance I have had to write about the fact that Steven Taylor has signed a new five-and-a-half year deal at Newcastle.
This will hopefully end speculation regarding the future of the player and will allow the press, the club, the player and the fans to move on.
Taylor had been on the transfer list since late last summer when contract talks between the club and Taylor’s agent, Paul Stretford, broke down. There was a lot of rumour and speculation with regards to why the talks broke down, but I guess we will never know now why they did, not for a while anyway. Love him or hate him, Paul Stretford has done his job and got his client the deal that was required for Taylor to stay at the club for the forseeable.
Apparently Taylor wanted to see signs of the club moving forward and signs of stability at Newcastle before committing himself to a new deal. He has obviously seen enough of those signs since Alan Pardew took over three weeks ago to warrant him signing on for the long term, although I would argue that a lot of this stability was instilled under Chris Hughton back when any agreement with Taylor looked to be dead in the water. (more…)
Newcastle succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at St James’ Park this afternoon, but it wasn’t as straight forward as the scoreline may suggest.
It may well be a cliche in footballing circles, but there was certainly enough about the performance to give me hope despite the defeat.
It’s a strange feeling really, as usually I would be pulling what is left of my hair out after a 3-1 defeat, but I feel strangely mellow after witnessing a performance which saw us have the bulk of possesion and create many more chances than our rich, title-chasing visitors. Another heartening factor was the effort and determination on show from the players today. They didn’t give up, despite being behind for 88 minutes of the game.
Fabricio Coloccini returned to the starting line up in place of the poorly Sol Campbell. Wayne Routledge was recalled to play out wide with Joey Barton pushed into his favoured central midfield role whilst Kevin Nolan effectively took the place of the injured Shola Ameobi meaning that Newcastle lined up in a kind of 4-4-1-1 formation. (more…)