Defence and Enrique

[Thorpinho]

It will be an absolute travesty if Enrique or the other defenders get dropped because of the Man U scoreline but the midfielders walk straight back into the team.

[ShearMagic]

The mood Man Utd are in, I think they would've at least scored 4 or 5 against most other defences in the league.

 

The two games before they beat Villa 2-0 & Brum 1-0 & have not scored 5 or more against any other team*. It would be intresting to see if they people finding positives in the result are the same people who couldn't work it out that we are s**** when we got beat off Derby away.

 

 

*=They humped Shenzhen FC 6-0 in a pre-season game.

 

Aye, but they didn't play half as well against Villa or Birmingham as they did against us.

[Northern Monkey]

The mood Man Utd are in, I think they would've at least scored 4 or 5 against most other defences in the league.

 

The two games before they beat Villa 2-0 & Brum 1-0 & have not scored 5 or more against any other team*. It would be intresting to see if they people finding positives in the result are the same people who couldn't work it out that we are s**** when we got beat off Derby away.

 

 

*=They humped Shenzhen FC 6-0 in a pre-season game.

 

Aye, but they didn't play half as well against Villa or Birmingham as they did against us.

 

They wouldn't have got 4 or 5 against most other teams. Look at their results this season. How many times have they humped teams 4/5-0?

[Benwell Lad]

The mood Man Utd are in, I think they would've at least scored 4 or 5 against most other defences in the league.

 

The two games before they beat Villa 2-0 & Brum 1-0 & have not scored 5 or more against any other team*. It would be intresting to see if they people finding positives in the result are the same people who couldn't work it out that we are s**** when we got beat off Derby away.

 

 

*=They humped Shenzhen FC 6-0 in a pre-season game.

 

Aye, but they didn't play half as well against Villa or Birmingham as they did against us.

 

They wouldn't have got 4 or 5 against most other teams. Look at their results this season. How many times have they humped teams 4/5-0?

 

They turned the SMB over at the SOS and could have had 10.

Against us they got 6 - in a very strange game - the 2 first were gifts and a couple at the end when we were waiting for the whistle.

And if the linesman hadn't cocked up and cheated us and we'd been 1-0 up at HT it would have been a different scoreline, not saying of course that they wouldn't have gone on to beat us.

 

Their victory over the macums was a far more accurate result though - don't you think so ?

[Northern Monkey]

The mood Man Utd are in, I think they would've at least scored 4 or 5 against most other defences in the league.

 

The two games before they beat Villa 2-0 & Brum 1-0 & have not scored 5 or more against any other team*. It would be intresting to see if they people finding positives in the result are the same people who couldn't work it out that we are s**** when we got beat off Derby away.

 

 

*=They humped Shenzhen FC 6-0 in a pre-season game.

 

Aye, but they didn't play half as well against Villa or Birmingham as they did against us.

 

They wouldn't have got 4 or 5 against most other teams. Look at their results this season. How many times have they humped teams 4/5-0?

 

They turned the SMB over at the SOS and could have had 10.

Against us they got 6 - in a very strange game - the 2 first were gifts and a couple at the end when we were waiting for the whistle.

And if the linesman hadn't cocked up and cheated us and we'd been 1-0 up at HT it would have been a different scoreline, not saying of course that they wouldn't have gone on to beat us.

 

Their victory over the macums was a far more accurate result though - don't you think so ?

 

My question was, in response to the typical NUFC blinkered comment that in the mood they are, they'd have scored AT LEAST 4 OR 5 AGAINST MOST OTHER DEFENCES, how many times, after 20-odd games, they had done so against these other defences, as they have played them all at least once.

 

The way we played in the second half, we deservedly got battered, lets not allow a few days of excuse making blind us to how little we coudl keep the ball, etc. The victory against us was a VERY accurate result, because thats what they scored, its simple fact. I can't rememebr many times this season they've got "at least 4 or 5", but clearly we were robbed, and didn't deserve it. After all, we're Newcastle United, we're ace.

[Benwell Lad]

The mood Man Utd are in, I think they would've at least scored 4 or 5 against most other defences in the league.

 

The two games before they beat Villa 2-0 & Brum 1-0 & have not scored 5 or more against any other team*. It would be intresting to see if they people finding positives in the result are the same people who couldn't work it out that we are s**** when we got beat off Derby away.

 

 

*=They humped Shenzhen FC 6-0 in a pre-season game.

 

Aye, but they didn't play half as well against Villa or Birmingham as they did against us.

 

They wouldn't have got 4 or 5 against most other teams. Look at their results this season. How many times have they humped teams 4/5-0?

 

They turned the SMB over at the SOS and could have had 10.

Against us they got 6 - in a very strange game - the 2 first were gifts and a couple at the end when we were waiting for the whistle.

And if the linesman hadn't cocked up and cheated us and we'd been 1-0 up at HT it would have been a different scoreline, not saying of course that they wouldn't have gone on to beat us.

 

Their victory over the macums was a far more accurate result though - don't you think so ?

 

My question was, in response to the typical NUFC blinkered comment that in the mood they are, they'd have scored AT LEAST 4 OR 5 AGAINST MOST OTHER DEFENCES, how many times, after 20-odd games, they had done so against these other defences, as they have played them all at least once.

 

The way we played in the second half, we deservedly got battered, lets not allow a few days of excuse making blind us to how little we coudl keep the ball, etc. The victory against us was a VERY accurate result, because thats what they scored, its simple fact. I can't rememebr many times this season they've got "at least 4 or 5", but clearly we were robbed, and didn't deserve it. After all, we're Newcastle United, we're ace.

 

Their victory over the macums was a far more accurate result though - don't you think so ?

[Guest luquemartins]

Enrique is our long time solution at LB. There is no need to get another LB.

 

Enrique is gonna be world class LB and gonna represent Spain. Mark my word

[Optimistic Nut]

I'm hoping, talentwise anyway, he's more Domi than Pistone. At the moment, I'd say he's somewhere in between but with potential.

[bodson]

Our problem in defence is our midfield. We have midfielders that just aren't good enough at the moment. We need a better defensive midfielder and som other mifielders thats comfortable with the ball and can keep the ball in our side with good passing and creativity. Our midfield has som good payers but its a bad combination of players.

[Rocker]

Something I did for my blog...

The Newcastle United defence. The target of ridicule and abuse over the years, and for the majority, rightly so. For years we've been laughed at by opposition fans and pudits alike, whether it be a Titus Bramble miss kick, or a Dabizas own goal, we've never been to shake off this reputation of having a less than water-tight back four.This season, it's been no different. With former manager Sam Allardyce introducing an entirely new back-four into the Premiership, supporters had the right to suggest that we'd be difficult to break down, if anything, this season. The players who arrived in the summer, in all seriousness, were no mugs. Habib Beye, Jose' Enrique, Claudio Cacapa and Abdoulaye Faye were all highly thought of, and highly rated at their former clubs. So why didn't they work at Newcastle?

 

Well, you can play you're highly rated Spanish left-back for a start. We didn't want to see our new exciting defender on the bench and our current highly rated best left winger, playing left back. I respected the fact that Enrique might need a few games to bed in, and we'd of all given him time, but as we stand today, the lad has only made seven league starts this season. Only five under former manager Sam Allardyce. Let me say this, Jose Enrique is a good player. He is physically cut out for the busy Premiership, and apart from a few iffy moments, he's been steady. This view is generally shared from the supporters I converse with, both online, and on the terraces.

 

 

I don't want to turn this into an evaluation of the defence, individual by individual, as we all know Habib Beye is a very good right back and makeshift centre back, we know that Faye is a beast who has yet to have a bad game for the club, and we all know Cacapa (although he too has had a few Bramble-esque moments), is usually a very composed and a ball playing centre back.

What I do want to mention, is the pressure placed on the back four, caused by the tactics of the previous regime. The ultra-defensive, and very narrow style of play we adopted meant we very rarely had possession, and the purpose of the midfield wasn't normally to move forward, it was usually to sit back and invite pressure onto the team. This was quite a problem, because our midfield players were in no way capable of playing this way, and were quite often overran by a more physical team (seem Pompey at SJP). Therefore, if our midfielders were not dampening the threat further up the field, then the majority of the play was usually in our box, and sooner or later, you're going to concede, and concede we usually did.

 

I truly believe, now we're under new, attacking, footballing management, we'll see our defence prosper, as our midfielders will be out to play the ball forwards, keeping possession, and creating pressure, instead of soaking it up. Our full backs have the potential to go forward with style ( both Beye and Enrique, in my opinion, are foward thinking defenders), and when the lads come back from the ACN, I truly believe we can form a steady centre-back partnership with the current crop.

 

We don't need more defenders in this transfer window (unless it's an offer too good to turn down), we need midfielders that are going to release the pressure from the defence, and carry the ball forward. In the words of the former, failure of a manager, Graeme Souness, we need 'door openers'. Deco anyone?

 

See you tomorrow.

 

Howay the lads.

[Guest Knightrider]

I like the look of Enrique based on what I've seen so far. He appears to be a cultured left-back who uses the ball well both short and long and has good technique and control. He's also strong and quite bullish for a full-back. However I don't see him as a mobile attacking full-back and therefore I don't think he'll prosper much under Keegan who likes his full-backs to be nimble, adventurous and able to give and go. Wingers almost.

[Slugsy]

Solid but less than impressed with his distribution in the last few games and he isn't as fast as I first thought, certainly isn't going to be bursting forward greatly to link up play.  My personal opinion is he isn't as good as some are making out and not as bad as the press go on about, I think we were diddled in terms of what we paid for him but the optimistic view is that we haven't seen the best of him yet due to age and new to the premiership.  The pessimistic in me sees nothing better than a left sided Andy Griffin.

 

 

[MyPalAl]

I like Enrique, and I think his style is the type that would appeal to Keegan. In fact, had Keegan signed him, some of the negative posters may well look at him in a different light! Best LB we have had for ages. :happy3:

[gazza ladra]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Match_Report/0,,2244202,00.html

Happily one little touchline cameo contained a glimmer of hope for Newcastle's future. Having seen Nigel Pearson, Allardyce's erstwhile assistant, step into the technical area and instruct his full-backs to launch the ball deep into opposition territory, Keegan hastily shrugged him aside and signalled he wanted it played through midfield.

 

...

 

Judging by the way Keegan - a man prone to instant judgments - constantly chided José Enrique, the less than sophisticated Spanish left-back who cost Allardyce more than £6m, the defender dubbed "The Bull" - as in a china shop - is unlikely to be here next term.

 

Keegan could do worse than replace Enrique with Ricardo Gardner...

 

Ok, it's Louise Taylor. And I'm already convinced that she's pretty clueless because she noted--in a previous column-- that the Keegan should acquire Chimbonda because the club was lacking a dynamic  RB-- I can only assume that she has not seen Beye play. Moreover, her list of targets did not include a single creative CM.

 

So, when was Keegan chiding Enrique? After the game?  Or perhaps, to Keegan's urging him to push forward and support Duff?

 

[Adam]

haha, these journalists crack me up. Maybe if she watched the match instead of just making it up. Judging by the fact enrique has now played 8 games from that start (or is it 7 ?), he can tackle he can pass and he has pace he isn't going anywhere. Keegan seemed to be passing stuff on to enrique in the first half, as he was usually closest to the dugout.

[tmonkey]

Fucks sake. Enrique was ok, nowt special, and got pwned more than once.

 

but suddenly he's f****** ace, and its not the defences fault THEY let the opposition scroe 6 in one half, yadda yadda.

 

why do we always pretend that we're better than we are? its nort optimism, or beig a good fan, its f****** stupid.

 

Bolton didnt even have any wingers for Pete's sake. Certainly noone half decent on that side of the flank, and whoever it was didnt stick to their task. In fact, Bolton had noone good on the pitch in an attacking sense, which is probably why Carr had another "decent" game.

 

If we played a shit team with no wingers that camped in their own half for most of the game week in week out at home, Enrique and Carr would be adequate for a top 6 push because they would never really be tested defensively.

[Yorkie]

Why in hell's name would anyone choose to have a vendetta over Jose Enrique, of all people?   Dumb bitch; does she not like Spaniards or something?

[Benwell Lad]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Match_Report/0,,2244202,00.html

Happily one little touchline cameo contained a glimmer of hope for Newcastle's future. Having seen Nigel Pearson, Allardyce's erstwhile assistant, step into the technical area and instruct his full-backs to launch the ball deep into opposition territory, Keegan hastily shrugged him aside and signalled he wanted it played through midfield.

 

...

 

Judging by the way Keegan - a man prone to instant judgments - constantly chided José Enrique, the less than sophisticated Spanish left-back who cost Allardyce more than £6m, the defender dubbed "The Bull" - as in a china shop - is unlikely to be here next term.

 

Keegan could do worse than replace Enrique with Ricardo Gardner...

 

Ok, it's Louise Taylor. And I'm already convinced that she's pretty clueless because she noted--in a previous column-- that the Keegan should acquire Chimbonda because the club was lacking a dynamic  RB-- I can only assume that she has not seen Beye play. Moreover, her list of targets did not include a single creative CM.

 

So, when was Keegan chiding Enrique? After the game?  Or perhaps, to Keegan's urging him to push forward and support Duff?

 

 

She knows nothing, NOTHING about football.

[Wullie]

It's not so much that she knows nothing about football (although that's also true), the problem is largely that she's a bitter mackem wench with a chip on her shoulder to match the size of any amongst her inbred unwashed comrades.

 

I don't condone violence against women but I'm all for violence amongst them. A medal to the first Geordie lass to slap her to the ground and kick her in the cunt.

[Yorkie]

How do you know she's a mackem?

[garth]

It's not so much that she knows nothing about football (although that's also true), the problem is largely that she's a bitter mackem wench with a chip on her shoulder to match the size of any amongst her inbred unwashed comrades.

 

I don't condone violence against women but I'm all for violence amongst them. A medal to the first Geordie lass to slap her to the ground and kick her in the c***.

 

You are very subtle about how want to get at someone, aren't you?

[Wullie]

It's not so much that she knows nothing about football (although that's also true), the problem is largely that she's a bitter mackem wench with a chip on her shoulder to match the size of any amongst her inbred unwashed comrades.

 

I don't condone violence against women but I'm all for violence amongst them. A medal to the first Geordie lass to slap her to the ground and kick her in the c***.

 

You are very subtle about how want to get at someone, aren't you?

 

 

Yorkie, she's well known as one of them. She used to write for the sunderland fanzine before she got into "serious" journalism.

[Guest sondre]

i would play enrique every week. not just because i think hes a good player, but hes also somebody for the future. he has pace, can pass, safe on the ball and when he clears it, its often up the field, not over the sideline. this also frees up the mighty ZOG to our midfield.

 

could be a success to try ZOG as a link between the midfield and a lonely striker, playing faye and barton at CM. this is if we dont bring in any diegos or van der vaarts though

[danswan]

i would play enrique every week. not just because i think hes a good player, but hes also somebody for the future. he has pace, can pass, safe on the ball and when he clears it, its often up the field, not over the sideline. this also frees up the mighty ZOG to our midfield.

 

could be a success to try ZOG as a link between the midfield and a lonely striker, playing faye and barton at CM. this is if we dont bring in any diegos or van der vaarts though

 

What's a sideline?

[Guest sondre]

i would play enrique every week. not just because i think hes a good player, but hes also somebody for the future. he has pace, can pass, safe on the ball and when he clears it, its often up the field, not over the sideline. this also frees up the mighty ZOG to our midfield.

 

could be a success to try ZOG as a link between the midfield and a lonely striker, playing faye and barton at CM. this is if we dont bring in any diegos or van der vaarts though

 

What's a sideline?

 

the line where you get a throw in if the ball crosses it. you must excuse me if my english doesnt satisfy you.