Shearer and Bellamy

[James]

One of the successes of the Sir Bobby era was the Shearer and Bellamy partnership. We could dwell on their attacking ability, but there was another side of their game that was much less attractive but just as important to our relative success.

 

In Bellamy, we had a player who would work his socks off chasing lost causes and not allowing the opposition to dwell on the ball. This would affect our opponents causing them problems in retaining possession, and pressure would therefore be taken off our defenders as a lot of their time would be spent mopping up loose balls, rather than have to defend raggedly against precision playing opposition.

 

Meanwhile, in Shearer we had a cynical player. There is no doubt that the cynical side of his game affected the concentration of many defenders, and he knew perfectly well that when he loses the ball (which happens to all strikers a fair deal) a little push or nudge would force the ref to blow, allowing the team to regroup.

 

Interestingly, we were difficult to play against for most teams, although a few of the better teams were able to brush us aside much like they still do now. The reason of course was more composed and focused defenders, and in reality we always had the same team weaknesses, only Shearer and Bellamy could do a job at covering up against the majority of opponents.

 

We aren't going to get another Shearer, although perhaps we could find someone a little more cynical to play up top. There are a few Bellamys out there, but they've been mopped up by other clubs. If we got enough cutting edge in other areas, Dirk Kuyt would certainly interest me if he became available.

[James]

Shearer was world class at defending set pieces on the near post as well. Who does that these days?

[Dave]

Shearer was world class at defending set pieces on the near post as well. Who does that these days?

 

[Tooj]

He was better than Dyer and his so called defending on the post.

[Dave]

He was better than Dyer and his so called defending on the post.

 

He was excellent at it. I was merely laughing at the suggestion of such a category. Like Taylor being 'world class at blocking'.

[Tooj]

He was better than Dyer and his so called defending on the post.

 

He was excellent at it. I was merely laughing at the suggestion of such a category. Like Taylor being 'world class at blocking'.

 

Dave, I know man.

[James]

Shearer was world class at defending set pieces on the near post as well. Who does that these days?

 

 

Well can you ever remember him being beaten at the near post in his ten years here?

[tmonkey]

Beardo + Cole >>> Shearer + Bellamy.

[Crumpy Gunt]

Shearers career was effectively over the day Bellamy was hounded out of toon.

[Alberto2005]

Shearers career was effectively over the day Bellamy was hounded out of toon.

I normally disagree with your cynical comments but not on this occasion.

[Wullie]

Shearer was world class at defending set pieces on the near post as well. Who does that these days?

 

 

Well can you ever remember him being beaten at the near post in his ten years here?

 

John Terry in the cup.

[The College Dropout]

Shearer was world class at defending set pieces on the near post as well. Who does that these days?

 

 

Drogba the greatest near post defender of all time?

[Fatwax]

Shearers career was effectively over the day Bellamy was hounded out of toon.

 

Spot on.

[Guest Sniffer]

While Bellamy's careers has had a meteoric rise and he's  gone from strength to strength.

[NE5]

One of the successes of the Sir Bobby era was the Shearer and Bellamy partnership. We could dwell on their attacking ability, but there was another side of their game that was much less attractive but just as important to our relative success.

 

In Bellamy, we had a player who would work his socks off chasing lost causes and not allowing the opposition to dwell on the ball. This would affect our opponents causing them problems in retaining possession, and pressure would therefore be taken off our defenders as a lot of their time would be spent mopping up loose balls, rather than have to defend raggedly against precision playing opposition.

 

Meanwhile, in Shearer we had a cynical player. There is no doubt that the cynical side of his game affected the concentration of many defenders, and he knew perfectly well that when he loses the ball (which happens to all strikers a fair deal) a little push or nudge would force the ref to blow, allowing the team to regroup.

 

Interestingly, we were difficult to play against for most teams, although a few of the better teams were able to brush us aside much like they still do now. The reason of course was more composed and focused defenders, and in reality we always had the same team weaknesses, only Shearer and Bellamy could do a job at covering up against the majority of opponents.

 

We aren't going to get another Shearer, although perhaps we could find someone a little more cynical to play up top. There are a few Bellamys out there, but they've been mopped up by other clubs. If we got enough cutting edge in other areas, Dirk Kuyt would certainly interest me if he became available.

 

canny points there James.

 

We got into the Champions League with a back four that included O'Brien, Hughes and Bramble. If nothing else it shows that its quality up front that you need to have the most dramatic effect.

 

Shearer, Bellamy, Robert and Solano shot us into the Champions League. Dyer to a lesser degree, as when he wasn't injured, was inconsistent due to his injuries. He had potential when he joined and did well in the first few years, but went downhill and in the end had to go.

 

Shearer was simply the best, albeit on the way down after the turn of the millenium, but still a big force. Bellamy turned bad balls into good ones, he forced situations through his sheer will to win and his pace. There are very few players I've seen at Newcastle with an attitude and desire to match what he had.

 

Shows that for all the techically skilled players, without the desire to make it count then it doesn't count for much. Bellamy performed for Newcastle over his time here far more than most. When he was injured against the mackems, we had crept into 2nd place with only 7 games or so left, there was a real chance we could have nicked that title if he hadn't been hurt. He had a massive impact on our game. The 3-0 win against Villa in the November or December of that season was one of the best performances I've ever seen by a front partnership. Shearer and Bellamy were just awesome that day, they ran all over the Villa central defenders, just murdered them. I always thought Bellamy was a good player at Coventry but that day made me realise that we had a real top quality partnership up front and a team that was going to finish very high in the league, and those 2 were the driving force.

 

He could still come back and to be honest, if he is still the player he was, I'd snap him up.

 

There aren't too many Shearers around, we might not see the likes of him again for many years, but all we can do is replace him with another quality player, and Owen was the man who was signed to do that, being one of the few players able to fill the void as best as possible.

 

 

[NE5]

Shearers career was effectively over the day Bellamy was hounded out of toon.

 

absolutely spot on

 

 

[fredbob]

I think we;ve proved somewhat in our recent history that at times its best to build from the front. ive always belived that the most imprtant thing in a game is to be able to put pressure on the opposition and keep them under pressure and we did it brilliantly well under keegan and SBR.

 

It released pressure off the defenders and we had 2 excellent outlets for our defense when under pressure - the attack was multi dimesional, it could both chase long balls and turn defense inot attack in a flash or we could hold up the ball and keep possession in the final third waiting for the midfield to catch up and take pressure off the defenders that way.

 

You look at our current forwards and in my opinion only Martins is exrtremely simlar to Bellamy- but we dont have our own Shearer who can hold up the ball, viduka isnt even close to sheaer when it comes to hold up play.

[Keefaz]

One of the successes of the Sir Bobby era was the Shearer and Bellamy partnership. We could dwell on their attacking ability, but there was another side of their game that was much less attractive but just as important to our relative success.

 

In Bellamy, we had a player who would work his socks off chasing lost causes and not allowing the opposition to dwell on the ball. This would affect our opponents causing them problems in retaining possession, and pressure would therefore be taken off our defenders as a lot of their time would be spent mopping up loose balls, rather than have to defend raggedly against precision playing opposition.

 

Meanwhile, in Shearer we had a cynical player. There is no doubt that the cynical side of his game affected the concentration of many defenders, and he knew perfectly well that when he loses the ball (which happens to all strikers a fair deal) a little push or nudge would force the ref to blow, allowing the team to regroup.

 

Interestingly, we were difficult to play against for most teams, although a few of the better teams were able to brush us aside much like they still do now. The reason of course was more composed and focused defenders, and in reality we always had the same team weaknesses, only Shearer and Bellamy could do a job at covering up against the majority of opponents.

 

We aren't going to get another Shearer, although perhaps we could find someone a little more cynical to play up top. There are a few Bellamys out there, but they've been mopped up by other clubs. If we got enough cutting edge in other areas, Dirk Kuyt would certainly interest me if he became available.

 

canny points there James.

 

We got into the Champions League with a back four that included O'Brien, Hughes and Bramble. If nothing else it shows that its quality up front that you need to have the most dramatic effect.

 

Shearer, Bellamy, Robert and Solano shot us into the Champions League. Dyer to a lesser degree, as when he wasn't injured, was inconsistent due to his injuries. He had potential when he joined and did well in the first few years, but went downhill and in the end had to go.

 

Shearer was simply the best, albeit on the way down after the turn of the millenium, but still a big force. Bellamy turned bad balls into good ones, he forced situations through his sheer will to win and his pace. There are very few players I've seen at Newcastle with an attitude and desire to match what he had.

 

Shows that for all the techically skilled players, without the desire to make it count then it doesn't count for much. Bellamy performed for Newcastle over his time here far more than most. When he was injured against the mackems, we had crept into 2nd place with only 7 games or so left, there was a real chance we could have nicked that title if he hadn't been hurt. He had a massive impact on our game. The 3-0 win against Villa in the November or December of that season was one of the best performances I've ever seen by a front partnership. Shearer and Bellamy were just awesome that day, they ran all over the Villa central defenders, just murdered them. I always thought Bellamy was a good player at Coventry but that day made me realise that we had a real top quality partnership up front and a team that was going to finish very high in the league, and those 2 were the driving force.

 

He could still come back and to be honest, if he is still the player he was, I'd snap him up.

 

There aren't too many Shearers around, we might not see the likes of him again for many years, but all we can do is replace him with another quality player, and Owen was the man who was signed to do that, being one of the few players able to fill the void as best as possible.

 

 

 

Agree 100%.

[Guest optimistic nit]

you can add Given to that list NE5. without him our defensive frailties would have cost us a lot more. speed was also a very good player for us, although quite a few people forget it.

[James]

Beardo + Cole >>> Shearer + Bellamy.

 

Perhaps, but they had better players behind them, whereas Shearer and Bellamy were carrying a gifted but flawed team.

[Dave]

I think we;ve proved somewhat in our recent history that at times its best to build from the front. ive always belived that the most imprtant thing in a game is to be able to put pressure on the opposition and keep them under pressure and we did it brilliantly well under keegan and SBR.

 

It released pressure off the defenders and we had 2 excellent outlets for our defense when under pressure - the attack was multi dimesional, it could both chase long balls and turn defense inot attack in a flash or we could hold up the ball and keep possession in the final third waiting for the midfield to catch up and take pressure off the defenders that way.

 

You look at our current forwards and in my opinion only Martins is exrtremely simlar to Bellamy- but we dont have our own Shearer who can hold up the ball, viduka isnt even close to sheaer when it comes to hold up play.

 

For years though we've not had a solid base to rely on. I'm not disputing that attacking from the front is effective, but I feel we achieved under Robson despite the defence, not thanks to it. With Enrique, Faye, Taylor, Beye and Harper in the defence I think we have as solid a look as we have for a long time; it's a complete defence, with no outstanding weak links. Got to thank Allardyce for three of those too.

 

This summer we need to make sure we are as formidable going forward, and that means targetting and bringing in players who can create and score goals.

[Tooj]

Beardo + Cole >>> Shearer + Bellamy.

 

Perhaps, but they had better players behind them, whereas Shearer and Bellamy were carrying a gifted but flawed team.

 

Pedro and Cole did not have better players behind them though, not in the team as a whole.

[James]

I think we;ve proved somewhat in our recent history that at times its best to build from the front. ive always belived that the most imprtant thing in a game is to be able to put pressure on the opposition and keep them under pressure and we did it brilliantly well under keegan and SBR.

 

It released pressure off the defenders and we had 2 excellent outlets for our defense when under pressure - the attack was multi dimesional, it could both chase long balls and turn defense inot attack in a flash or we could hold up the ball and keep possession in the final third waiting for the midfield to catch up and take pressure off the defenders that way.

 

You look at our current forwards and in my opinion only Martins is exrtremely simlar to Bellamy- but we dont have our own Shearer who can hold up the ball, viduka isnt even close to sheaer when it comes to hold up play.

 

For years though we've not had a solid base to rely on. I'm not disputing that attacking from the front is effective, but I feel we achieved under Robson despite the defence, not thanks to it. With Enrique, Faye, Taylor, Beye and Harper in the defence I think we have as solid a look as we have for a long time; it's a complete defence, with no outstanding weak links. Got to thank Allardyce for three of those too.

 

This summer we need to make sure we are as formidable going forward, and that means targetting and bringing in players who can create and score goals.

 

We showed last season that better defenders doesn't equal a better defence. Yes, we need players who can attack and score and create, but we need these players to do a defensive shift as well, as that is the best way to stop our opponents performing when they have the ball.

 

For example, Tevez has been integral to Ronaldo's form this season.

[fredbob]

I think we;ve proved somewhat in our recent history that at times its best to build from the front. ive always belived that the most imprtant thing in a game is to be able to put pressure on the opposition and keep them under pressure and we did it brilliantly well under keegan and SBR.

 

It released pressure off the defenders and we had 2 excellent outlets for our defense when under pressure - the attack was multi dimesional, it could both chase long balls and turn defense inot attack in a flash or we could hold up the ball and keep possession in the final third waiting for the midfield to catch up and take pressure off the defenders that way.

 

You look at our current forwards and in my opinion only Martins is exrtremely simlar to Bellamy- but we dont have our own Shearer who can hold up the ball, viduka isnt even close to sheaer when it comes to hold up play.

 

For years though we've not had a solid base to rely on. I'm not disputing that attacking from the front is effective, but I feel we achieved under Robson despite the defence, not thanks to it. With Enrique, Faye, Taylor, Beye and Harper in the defence I think we have as solid a look as we have for a long time; it's a complete defence, with no outstanding weak links. Got to thank Allardyce for three of those too.

 

This summer we need to make sure we are as formidable going forward, and that means targetting and bringing in players who can create and score goals.

 

100% agree. It was literally the defense that needed sorting - it was such a strange situation - i could and will never understand why not a sinslge manager chose to really bulk up the defence and add real quality - we easily had one of the best attacking units in the prem.

 

Really frustrating in hindsight.

[Mick]

 

We showed last season that better defenders doesn't equal a better defence. Yes, we need players who can attack and score and create, but we need these players to do a defensive shift as well, as that is the best way to stop our opponents performing when they have the ball.

 

For example, Tevez has been integral to Ronaldo's form this season.

 

Our defence was OK when we took the pressure off them and allowed them a chance to settle.