The Magedia Thread - Sunderland suck trollolololol

[Guest sydneycove]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/alan-green/alan-green-newcastle-wonrsquot-crow-after-taking-on-premier-big-guns-16074538.html

 

It may surprise some people but, honestly, I don’t get to choose which games I commentate on. So, it was entirely at the whim of BBC producers that it was November before I got to see the side who, for a couple of hours on Saturday, reached the giddy heights of second place in the Premier League.

 

Until then, any judgment I made on Newcastle United leant on what I could glean from television which isn’t always a sound base to view from. ‘Highlights’, in particular, can be very misleading.

 

I went to St. James Park with an open mind. Was it time to treat Newcastle seriously? Could they end up in a place that would see them qualify for the Champions League? I’m afraid I left without having my doubts assuaged.

 

Oh yes, the facts speak loudly in favour of Alan Pardew’s team. Though Everton did score, Newcastle still have the best defensive record in the country having conceded only eight goals in eleven league games.

 

While teams like Arsenal, Chelsea and, yes, even Manchester City leak too many goals, Newcastle know the value of clean sheets.

 

And they haven’t lost in fourteen games which is their best run in the top flight for more than sixty years. That is testament to momentum and confidence. The manager speaks, rightly, of their hard work and their unity.

 

No opponent has the ball without being hustled by at least two or three wearing black and white stripped shirts.

 

I could see why Pardew promotes the case for Steven Taylor playing for England and why Fabricio Coloccini is suddenly being tracked by, supposedly, superior clubs. Yes, the defence looks sound.

 

But Jack Rodwell’s header just before half-time wholly changed the atmosphere: Everton — this is the Everton that have lost five of their last six league games — became energised; Newcastle, and their fans, nervous.

 

Pardew speculated afterwards about how far his team had come, about the importance of the Geordie fans in the light of Everton’s second half surge and about how unlikely it would have been for Newcastle to resist it had they been playing at Goodison Park. “Somewhere along the line, things will go against us.”

 

Injuries, perhaps? Cabeye has been massively influential in the centre of midfield alongside Tiote. Both are now injured, as are Obertan, Best, Marveaux and others.

 

While everyone is fit and functioning, it seems Newcastle could withstand the loss of key players who’ve left them during 2011: Barton, Carroll, Enrique and Nolan. Now?I’m not so sure.

 

The international break (another one!) comes at a good time for Newcastle. They probably need a breather and certainly time for injuries to heal because, shortly, they’ll face an acid test of their ability to maintain a presence close to the top of the table.

 

In order, they play Manchester City away, Manchester United away and then Chelsea at home. Want a bet that they’ll lose all three?

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/alan-green/alan-green-newcastle-wonrsquot-crow-after-taking-on-premier-big-guns-16074538.html#ixzz1d8mZZwA8

 

Cringe worthy parts in that article.

[Sifu]

For Alan Green, that's actually an okay article.

[NG32]

Thought it was ok, much better then the one earlier.

[Interpolic]

Yeah, it's mainly the last sentence where he panics and thinks "hang on, I haven't been enough of a prick here".  At least he mentions the injuries.

[Big Geordie]

Alan Green is a twat. And as for the earlier piece - has Mick Dennis suddenly moved to NZ and writing under another name? Shocking stuff.

[Beren]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15666185.stm

 

Magedia

 

Alan Shearer on why Newcastle can stay at the top end of the table

 

I didn't expect Newcastle to make such an exceptional start to the season, and I don't think anyone else did either.

 

Alan Pardew's side are third in the table after 11 games, unbeaten and only six points behind leaders Manchester City. They are playing with freedom and confidence which is great to see and they definitely deserve to be where they are.

 

The big question is, can they stay there? I hope they can, and the more I see of the Premier League this season, the more I think they can stay near the top of the table. I don't think they will end up finishing third, but they can definitely make the top five or six.

 

After the international break, the Magpies have got three tough games coming up in a row against the rest of the top four - Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea - which some people might think will be the end of their run.

 

But that trio will not relish playing Newcastle either, because they will have had them watched and they will have seen how well they are playing right now.

 

There are lots of theories why Newcastle are flying - that it's because they have a settled side, are well organised at the back, or that they work hard - but I think it is a combination of all of those factors.

 

Some big names and big personalities left when Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique departed in the summer but the players they have got now are giving everything they have got, and they are playing for each other and for their manager.

 

They have got pace and ideas coming forward and are defending very, very well too - with great discipline - and it's not very often in the past 15 or 20 years that you could say that about a Newcastle team.

 

The only real doubt is whether they have got the strength in depth in their squad to sustain their form throughout the entire campaign.

 

I'm sure Pardew would tell you he would have liked to have signed another couple of players in the summer, and he will probably try and get them in the January transfer window too. But there is definitely money to spend, which is another reason to be positive.

 

And Pardew definitely deserves credit for how well they are dong, as well as his players.

 

At the back, Fabricio Coloccini has particularly impressed me with his energy and work-rate and I think he has played a huge part in their success. The goalkeeper Tim Krul looks a top player and obviously Demba Ba's goals have stood out as well.

 

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley got a lot of criticism when the last transfer window closed in August for failing to spend some of the £35m they got from Liverpool for Andy Carroll on a new frontman but I wasn't surprised by that because of the number of strikers they had on their books already.

 

They have got five or six strikers fighting for two places and they know they are out if they don't produce the goods. That is a huge incentive to do well.

 

Ba's form has surprised people but he did well for West Ham last season and he has got a decent goals per game ratio. He struggled when he first came to St James' Park but he has settled down now and he is a key example of why they are doing well - he is a player who is full of confidence, not afraid to try things and, of course, scoring goals.

 

The longer that continues throughout the whole team, then the better chance they have of staying in the top four.

 

Another strength at the club at the moment is their scouting network, which has developed a knack of finding a string of talented players in France who can quickly adjust to the Premier League.

 

Yohan Cabaye has come in from Lille over the summer and made an excellent start to the season while last year it was Cheik Tiote who had a big impact.

 

From tactics and results to scouting and team spirit, it just seems everything is going well for them at the moment, but that is down to planning not luck.

[Sifu]

Well in Big Al.

[Beren]

Alan Shearer is a weird one as a pundit. Seemingly, his attempt to appear neutral has gutted any charisma or cheekiness that would have made him mildly entertaining as a pundit.

 

It's taken us rising to the dizzy heights of third to stop him from over-compensating with negativity towards the team in his quest to appear objective. As nauseating as we find the bias of Lawro and Hansen, part of me would quite like a Newcastle representative (who pissed off fans of the other clubs! ).

[jdckelly]

theres nothing wrong with a hint of bias from pundits they're only human after all but Lawro and Hansen go way overboard and why hasn't Hansen eviscerated some of Liverpools defending this season like he would if it was anyone else?

[TBG]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/default.stm

 

Picture 3 in the slideshow.

 

Magedia.

[FrenchWilliam]

How a new French influx has boosted Newcastle United

 

By Jimmy Smallwood

 

It is the eve of a three-week period that could burst the bubble Newcastle United seem to have been playing in all season.

 

Alan Pardew's side are unbeaten in their 11 league matches and lie third in the Premier League table.

 

But their big test comes now as two away games in Manchester on successive Saturdays - firstly against leaders City and then United - are followed by Chelsea's visit to the North East.

 

"We can't wait," claimed Pardew this week, the Magpies' boss insisting the pressure is all on his opponents.

 

To the neutral, the next few games look a tall order but one fact remains - Pardew's side have enjoyed their best start to a season in eight years.

 

That is all the more astonishing as the last 18 months at Newcastle have been a mixture of continuity and change. The side still features players relegated from the top flight in 2009 but also boasts some of the most exciting imported talent around.

 

In particular, a French contingent has arrived, and their skills, ability and vision have lit up the same St James' Park pitch graced 15 years ago by the likes of David Ginola. Yohan Cabaye, 25, Hatem Ben Arfa, 24, Gabriel Obertan, 22, and Sylvain Marveaux, 25 have all joined, while Senegal striker Demba Ba, 26, and Ivorian Cheik Tiote, 25, both come from French-speaking countries.

 

French football expert Ben Lyttleton believes it is no coincidence that Newcastle's success has come at the same time as the emergence of French talent. He said: "Newcastle are building a team with a coherent strategy and a concept that other players can buy into.

 

"Newcastle scouted Yohan Cabaye for five years. The coach convinced him he could improve his game. He was a French champion with Lille who turned his back on the Champions League - now he is a France regular."

 

The improvement is all the more surprising when you consider that in two years the club has had to cut its costs enormously. The club lost over £17m as a result of relegation and slashed its wage bill by 33%. However, according to Lyttleton, the smaller pay packets now on offer to playing staff still dwarf salaries in Ligue 1.

 

"Cabaye admitted he gets paid more at Newcastle," he says. "He told a French magazine, 'What I get here, I would never have earned at Lille'."

 

Former France international Laurent Robert, who played in the black and white 110 times between 2001 and 2005, believes the Gallic connection is important.

 

"I played for four years at Newcastle and it was the best time of my career," Robert, 36, explained from his home in Clairefontaine. "When I played, I had Sylvain Distin and Olivier Bernard. We had three French players and the communication was very important."

 

Robert says he is very impressed with the integration and development of the new breed of French stars on Tyneside. He added: "I saw Yohan Cabaye two weeks ago when he came to play for the national team. I spoke to him and he really likes it at Newcastle. He knows the fans like him."

 

He is equally pleased that, despite a serious injury sustained while on loan last season, Ben Arfa has settled following his permanent move to the club. Robert said: "He's a player who likes to win. Newcastle was the best thing that could have happened. He's now confident, has a good relationship with his manager, and it's great for the player."

 

The successful start has boosted the profile of the Magpies across the Channel, with French television channels increasingly opting to screen Newcastle's Premier League games ahead of their rivals' matches.

 

Lyttleton believes Newcastle will continue to look towards France for talent. He said: "Whether or not the successful results continue, Newcastle will still sign players from France.

 

"They have agreed a deal with Sochaux for striker Modibo Maiga in January - and have been linked with Olivier Giroud from Montpellier and Alain Traore at Auxerre."

 

There are those who predict Pardew's men will be taught a footballing lesson over the next three weekends. They say these young French footballers will struggle as the cold of a North East winter bites.

 

Not so, says Robert.

 

"I don't believe the standard of their play will drop," he said. "The weather and cold doesn't matter. In Lille the winter weather is just like it is in Newcastle!"

 

Analysis

Mick Lowes,

BBC Newcastle football commentator

 

Having scoured the world for two decades in search of sustained success in the transfer market, it's ironic that Newcastle should finally reap the rewards 30 miles across the English Channel.

 

United have spent considerable time and effort in France over recent times, diligence that has secured players that have helped the Magpies to their best start since 1994.

 

Dictated largely by financial constraints - gone are the days of breaking world records for Alan Shearer - players of the quality of Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux and Demba Ba have all arrived on Tyneside for a fraction of previous monies spent.

 

Throw into the mix the hugely talented 19-year-old Mehdi Abeid, picked up on a free transfer from Lens, and United have a "band of brothers" who've not only settled in remarkably quickly, and saved the club a pretty penny, but are showing what good players they are on a far bigger stage.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15752874.stm

[oldtype]

A bit late to the party, but I'm surprised that Shearer would write anything like that BBC piece.

 

I always got the impression that he bended over backwards to appear impartial towards us.

[Beren]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15792986.stm

 

Mancingedia

 

Saw us at Stoke, we play good football.

[Optimistic Nut]

There's an interview from Saha in L'Equipe comparing us to lucky newly promoted clubs. Ill translate it if I can be arsed.

[relámpago blanco]

There's an interview from Saha in L'Equipe comparing us to lucky newly promoted clubs. Ill translate it if I can be arsed.

Theres an article in my head comparing him to a whining french bastard with glass bones and muscles made from rubber bands.

[Ronaldo]

Where is he getting 30 miles from?

[relámpago blanco]

Where is he getting 30 miles from?

The approximate distance as the crow flies from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Lille is 332.32 miles.

[Ronaldo]

Er, thanks for clearing that up.

[Optimistic Nut]

[relámpago blanco]

Er, thanks for clearing that up.

No probs big fella.

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

#NUFC trending on twitter.

 

[Fenham Mag]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/simon-bird/Newcastle-United-column-Potential-Chelsea-transfer-for-Tim-Krul-could-wreck-top-seven-challenge-says-Simon-Bird-article839843.html#.Tt6XPKG93_E.twitter

 

Simon Bird is such a cunt.

[KDT]

Was thinking about that article earlier, do they just pick a club at random to link a player with without actually thinking about it? No mention of Petr Cech who's only 29 or Courtois who they spent a fortune on in the summer.

[Cajun]

Cech is 29? Fucking hell I thought he was a fair bit younger than me!

[Ryan_Taylor]

Was thinking about that article earlier, do they just pick a club at random to link a player with without actually thinking about it? No mention of Petr Cech who's only 29 or Courtois who they spent a fortune on in the summer.

 

Maybe Joe Kinnear had a point after all...