Newcastle United 0 - 2 Chelsea - 04/04/09 - Post match reaction from page 14

[jep]

I wouldn't have a problem with playing two small statured strikers, if they'd be intelligent in their movement and quick. Martins is really f***** useless. He can only run straight forward and Owen just lacks the engine and aggression for the type of movement that is needed up front. Lovenkrands has been pretty good with his movement up front and despite lacking fitness seemed to know what he was doing. His performances actually showed how poor the two, Martins and Owen, have been all season. 

 

 

They both are. Owen not as quick as before obviously, but all the more intelligent in his play.

 

What's exposing them both, is the glaring lack of teamplay on our side. I've never ever seen such a bunch of out-of-synch headless chickens in my time as a supporter, but it just dawned on me in this match. Even the simplest two foot passes they manage to misplace, cos none of them have a fucking clue what they're supposed to do as a team (no doubt a consequence of the fantastic Kinnear/Hughton school of football). Any player has to be able to rely on others working for them as well, that's what makes the top four so good - they know where to pass, without even looking up - there's players making runs before their team has the ball.

 

I really hope Shearer and Dowie do some basic football in their training now.

[Jayson]

Theres defo a glaring lack of movement in our side. Meaning the simple passes they could have become even harder & theyre just not capable enough half the time.

 

Pass and move is such a simple concept you'd think. Half the time they dont even try to get into space, think it comes from the fact that they dont really want to have the ball...a key factor when a side has a lack of confidence. Negative thinking. None of them want to be the ones to cock it all up...so they pass it and dont try as hard as they COULD to get it back again.

 

You watch rooney and gerrard for England, rooney especially. He ALWAYS wants the ball...he never stops trying to get away from players to get it...just so he can get his head up and find someone..create a move. The mark of a player with real confidence in himself & his ability.

 

We just dont have that atm. Hopefully shearer will bring it back into them..they defo need a leader. Having Beye & Barton out we've really lacked that.

[Ronaldo]

How is Carroll a battering ram? Because he's tall? please

[Disco]

Thought we did well in the 1st half and I don't believe that it was a coincidence that Duff's arrival on the field signalled the team's surrender.

 

Duff was abysmal.

 

He did his usual trick of standing on the byline waiting for the ball, very rarely trying to find some space.  He was woeful tracking back, often leaving Enrique exposed as he slowly trotted back after losing possession.  Duff was that bad during the game that I half wish we'd brought Smith on instead since he'd have actually tried.

 

Taylor was crap, just crap.  His set pieces were a complete waste of time, his passing was poor and his marking was often non-existent.

 

I didn't think that Martins was anywhere nearly as bad as some people have made out, he had a couple of chances but he needs about 5 good chances to score anyway, had the midfield managed to produce more opportunities then I'm sure that he and Owen would have had done better.

 

Owen looked far more interested in the game than he's looked for months but once the supply dried up in the 2nd half he was largely ineffective.

 

I'm not sure what was going on when we should have been counterattacking, but on a number of occasions when Harper picked up the ball we'd have 7 players on the edge of our own box and they'd all be slowly jogging out.  The midfielders should have been charging up the field to try and start an attacking move.

 

Our problems are all largely in the midfield, they don't create enough chances and they don't break up play well enough when required.  It's been the same since Sir Bobby left but no one has really managed to deal with the problems there.

 

100% agree with all of that. Good post

[Dr Venkman]

When has Carroll inflicted damage? He's out of his depth in premiership football, much like Shola

a battering ram like carroll (no one's saying he's a great player) or a xisco to try and hold up the play and allow the midfield to join and/or bring owen into the game is a must imo

 

as i say stick with the top two from saturday we'll go down i reckon

 

Spot on.

 

The only mistake has been that Ameobi was given the role of battering ram earlier in the season and thus that tactic didn't pay off as much as it could had. We'd really ought to put Carroll in there.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with playing two small statured strikers, if they'd be intelligent in their movement and quick. Martins is really f***** useless. He can only run straight forward and Owen just lacks the engine and aggression for the type of movement that is needed up front. Lovenkrands has been pretty good with his movement up front and despite lacking fitness seemed to know what he was doing. His performances actually showed how poor the two, Martins and Owen, have been all season. 

 

 

 

agree with the lack of movement but as i said in a post elsewhere i also think a large part of that comes down to our diabolical midfield...if they were providing better balls to the front, MORE INTELLIGENT BALLS, then oba & owen would be able to improve themselves

 

look at it from their pov at the moment as 2 small strikers....what kind of pass are you likely to get in our team?

 

 

 

 

;D

 

post of the year!

 

i agree fwiw

[mrmojorisin75]

How is Carroll a battering ram? Because he's tall? please

 

if i say he's not a battering ram will you disagree with that too?

[mrmojorisin75]

When has Carroll inflicted damage? He's out of his depth in premiership football, much like Shola

a battering ram like carroll (no one's saying he's a great player) or a xisco to try and hold up the play and allow the midfield to join and/or bring owen into the game is a must imo

 

as i say stick with the top two from saturday we'll go down i reckon

 

Spot on.

 

The only mistake has been that Ameobi was given the role of battering ram earlier in the season and thus that tactic didn't pay off as much as it could had. We'd really ought to put Carroll in there.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with playing two small statured strikers, if they'd be intelligent in their movement and quick. Martins is really f***** useless. He can only run straight forward and Owen just lacks the engine and aggression for the type of movement that is needed up front. Lovenkrands has been pretty good with his movement up front and despite lacking fitness seemed to know what he was doing. His performances actually showed how poor the two, Martins and Owen, have been all season. 

 

 

 

agree with the lack of movement but as i said in a post elsewhere i also think a large part of that comes down to our diabolical midfield...if they were providing better balls to the front, MORE INTELLIGENT BALLS, then oba & owen would be able to improve themselves

 

look at it from their pov at the moment as 2 small strikers....what kind of pass are you likely to get in our team?

 

 

 

 

;D

 

post of the year!

 

i agree fwiw

 

  poor choice of words, granted!

[joeyt]

I got a picture of the Guus on Saturday. He's a legend

 

[Ronaldo]

How is Carroll a battering ram? Because he's tall? please

 

if i say he's not a battering ram will you disagree with that too?

 

Why is he a battering ram? Drogba is a battering ram type, albeit with a lot more to his game, Heskey, Carew, a latter day Shearer, Shefki Kuqi if you want to bring it down a few levels

 

why on earth would you consider Carroll a battering ram?

[mrmojorisin75]

How is Carroll a battering ram? Because he's tall? please

 

if i say he's not a battering ram will you disagree with that too?

 

Why is he a battering ram? Drogba is a battering ram type, albeit with a lot more to his game, Heskey, Carew, a latter day Shearer, Shefki Kuqi if you want to bring it down a few levels

 

why on earth would you consider Carroll a battering ram?

 

he's big, challenges defenders and wins headers against them and from the little i (and everyone else) have seen he throws himself about up front

 

not sure what you're using as a definition for battering ram like mate

[Ronaldo]

a very strong, agressive striker exerting constant pressure in the box, excellent with his back to goal

[mrmojorisin75]

a very strong, agressive striker exerting constant pressure in the box, excellent with his back to goal

 

fair enough, that's not mine though, especially as you've brought ability into it rather than simply attributes

 

you don't dig carroll though, i get it

 

 

 

[pedro111]

Dunno if its been mentioned but I was just reading in the ronnie gill that there was fights breaking out in the Central Station area between groups of Newcastle, Chelsea and RANGERS fans.

 

I told you loads of them were coming down to support Chelsea.

 

Mugs the lot of them.

[Guest BooBoo]

Dunno if its been mentioned but I was just reading in the ronnie gill that there was fights breaking out in the Central Station area between groups of Newcastle, Chelsea and RANGERS fans.

 

I told you loads of them were coming down to support Chelsea.

 

Mugs the lot of them.

 

It was all kicking off outside the Lounge about 7pm. There was also a Rangers flag on display in the Chelsea end during the match.

[Guest toonlass]

Good touchline insight

 

Even Alan Shearer fails to halt Newcastle United slide

Newcastle 0 Chelsea 2George Caulkin

No fanfare, no milking of the moment, no team huddle, no nonsense. And at the end of it all, as the hullaballoo dissipated and emotion seeped away from St James’ Park, no points to show for it. The new manager remained straight-backed and steely-eyed.

 

“There’s been enough said, written and sung about me,” Alan Shearer stated (he was not offering an opinion). “Now that’s all gone. Time to concentrate on what we’re here for.”

 

Newcastle United do not need a saviour. They are not, in spite of all those clichés, in the market for Messiahs. What they require is prosaic; organisation, discipline, pace, ability, better players. Off the pitch, they yearn for an owner with a bit of class and a modicum of good sense. And, yes, supporters crave a figure that they can construct their hopes around, but no more so than at Anfield, or at Arsenal or any other club.

 

In some ways, Saturday was a disheartening experience — partisan frenzy never quite consumed St James’ Park, its team was not transformed into tigers and Chelsea were mean-spirited — but in others, it was necessary. Mike Ashley and his cohorts have drained belief dry and Shearer does not want his arrival to make grown men weep; he wants it to feel like a splash of icy water.

 

 

Shearer is not offering dreams. He and Kevin Keegan are driven to their core, but they are different men; Newcastle is Shearer’s domain and his return is romantic, but his sentiment is calculating. Or, as he put it: “I can understand why people have chanted my name and want me here. But that means nothing to me — I want to be here to save this football club.”

 

After a season of turmoil and fractured promises, few Newcastle fans have their heads in the clouds. Under Ashley’s leadership — a contradiction in terms? — calamity always looms; despair has eased through Shearer’s appointment, but it has not been erased. They had eight games to avoid relegation. Now it is seven. They are still in the bottom three, three points short of safety.

 

Should it be grasped and Shearer stays — as he wants — there are rich possibilities but, for now, it is an idle, irresponsible thought. The good news is that the 38-year-old already looks, sounds and acts like a manager. The fit is natural. “I enjoyed it,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy coming away with nothing and then walking into the dressing-room, but that’s part of the job I was well aware of.”

 

Five minutes gone and he was shaking his head and bawling at José Enrique. “José! José! Hit it long.” As Chelsea attacked, Shearer swivelled on his heels and glared at his bench. “Who’s marking John Terry?”

 

A little later, there was a botched cross from Jonás Gutiérrez. “That’s f***ing useless!” He does not need soft-soaping; he will have recognised Fabricio Coloccini’s witless defending, the dearth of shots.

 

How Newcastle could do with Shearer as a player; the elbows, the backside, the free kicks, someone to hoard possession. “Have you seen my knees?” he said. “But, yes, you’re kicking every ball. And saying a few things, too. I apologise about my language, but I’m probably not the only one this season. It’s very different, very frustrating. But I can’t wait to get back in with them, to work with them, to see where we get.” The bug has bit.

 

Excuses were not embraced. A deflected effort from Michael Owen appeared to cross the line when Newcastle were two goals behind, but Shearer accepted that his side were already beaten. They held out until the 56th minute, when Coloccini’s sluggishness allowed Frank Lampard to score with an easy, stooping header, but had no answer, nor to Florent Malouda’s second. Steve Harper, the goalkeeper, was their best player.

 

So a battle lost and more to come. Hope is not rampant, but there is some. And Newcastle now have a figurehead, direction, a reason to be proud.

 

“Alan is very intelligent, a great personality,” Guus Hiddink, the Chelsea interim manager, said. “Normally when a team in this relegation zone are 2-0 down against Chelsea, they drop morale. But they fought back. This is basic for the upcoming time for Newcastle. He can manage it.”

 

 

Another good piece from Geordie Culkin.  

[Decky]

Dunno if its been mentioned but I was just reading in the ronnie gill that there was fights breaking out in the Central Station area between groups of Newcastle, Chelsea and RANGERS fans.

 

I told you loads of them were coming down to support Chelsea.

 

Mugs the lot of them.

 

They come over here to see Linfield and cause trouble aswell

[Dinho lad]

Five minutes gone and he was shaking his head and bawling at José Enrique. “José! José! Hit it long.” As Chelsea attacked, Shearer swivelled on his heels and glared at his bench. “Who’s marking John Terry?”

 

A little later, there was a botched cross from Jonás Gutiérrez. “That’s f***ing useless!” He does not need soft-soaping; he will have recognised Fabricio Coloccini’s witless defending, the dearth of shots.

 

don't like nit picking... but this dosen't sound encourging, regarding his style, does it?

[Robster]

Five minutes gone and he was shaking his head and bawling at José Enrique. “José! José! Hit it long.” As Chelsea attacked, Shearer swivelled on his heels and glared at his bench. “Who’s marking John Terry?”

 

A little later, there was a botched cross from Jonás Gutiérrez. “That’s f***ing useless!” He does not need soft-soaping; he will have recognised Fabricio Coloccini’s witless defending, the dearth of shots.

 

don't like nit picking... but this dosen't sound encourging, regarding his style, does it?

It could kind of depend on the situation that Enrique was in. It may have been a position where safety and a long clearance was required. Without knowing at what stage of the game he shouted this at, its difficult to put into context.

 

 

[ikri]

Five minutes gone and he was shaking his head and bawling at José Enrique. “José! José! Hit it long.” As Chelsea attacked, Shearer swivelled on his heels and glared at his bench. “Who’s marking John Terry?”

 

A little later, there was a botched cross from Jonás Gutiérrez. “That’s f***ing useless!” He does not need soft-soaping; he will have recognised Fabricio Coloccini’s witless defending, the dearth of shots.

 

don't like nit picking... but this dosen't sound encourging, regarding his style, does it?

It could kind of depend on the situation that Enrique was in. It may have been a position where safety and a long clearance was required. Without knowing at what stage of the fame he shouted this at, its difficult to put into context.

 

 

 

I can imagine that Shearer had seen that the Chelsea defence were pushing pretty far up the field & a well placed long pass between that defence and the keeper would have seen Martins in.

 

Clutching at straws? Why yes. Yes I am.

[Dave]

Enrique frequently hits a lovely long ball - down the line (or over it if the linesman's not looking ) for Martins/Jonas/Duff. Might have been referring to that for all we know.

[Frazzle]

Good footballing teams never have their left backs hit long balls do they....

 

Good football doesn't mean playing 5 yard passes up the field all game.  Watch Barca and you'll see countless crossfield, long balls (especially for Messi) as well as intricate play.

[jimmymag]

How is Carroll a battering ram? Because he's tall? please

 

if i say he's not a battering ram will you disagree with that too?

 

Why is he a battering ram? Drogba is a battering ram type, albeit with a lot more to his game, Heskey, Carew, a latter day Shearer, Shefki Kuqi if you want to bring it down a few levels

 

why on earth would you consider Carroll a battering ram?

 

Perhaps N'Zogbia and Ameobi think he's a battering ram, didn't he chin both of them earlier in the season?

[Rich]

Enrique frequently hits a lovely long ball - down the line (or over it if the linesman's not looking ) for Martins/Jonas/Duff. Might have been referring to that for all we know.

 

It would have been just after Enrique lost the ball badly early-doors, instead of playing it back to Harper. Nowt to debate IMO.

[Dave]

Enrique frequently hits a lovely long ball - down the line (or over it if the linesman's not looking ) for Martins/Jonas/Duff. Might have been referring to that for all we know.

 

It would have been just after Enrique lost the ball badly early-doors, instead of playing it back to Harper. Nowt to debate IMO.

 

That one where he started off trying to let it run out then realised it wasn't going to?

[Rich]

Aye! You could see Shearer having a word with him just afterwards.