Shefki Kuqi

[Disco]

Sure Alkmaar got a dodgy penalty at our place giving them a second away goal

 

Was handball like (must've forgotten to hold his stomach this time) if a little harsh. Probably the best game Martins had for us against teams that didn't include Michael Dawson.

[Kanji]

Wasn't Martins just unstoppable in the home leg? I remmeber that 1 run he had where he nearly beat the whole defense on his own.

[quayside]

Sure Alkmaar got a dodgy penalty at our place giving them a second away goal

 

Yes Taylor hand ball was given as a penalty - his arms were down by his sides, really was not a penalty    

[Yorkie]

Yeah Oba's best game, definitely. Should've made it 5 shortly after their penalty, mind you.

[M4]

Sib didn't score, but he was great in that home Alkmaar game too.

[Optimistic Nut]

Was that the game where his flick set up Dyer?

[M4]

Was that the game where his flick set up Dyer?

 

Yes

[Optimistic Nut]

I can't really remember much of that run. Remember the others perfectly, but I think I'd became that much of a UEFA Cup snob by the 2006-7 season I didn't really take much in.

[80]

Yeah, wrongly disallowed, but i was done with Roeder after that night - as were the majority i think. Lisbon was absolutely devastating but AZ was the angriest i've ever been. Alkmaar were actually the top scorers in world football at the time, and Roeder went there looking for a 0-0. As he had actually stated beforehand. Infuriating.

 

And of course, we'd absolutely ruined them when we actually attacked them in the first leg.

[Disco]

I can't really remember much of that run. Remember the others perfectly, but I think I'd became that much of a UEFA Cup snob by the 2006-7 season I didn't really take much in.

 

Only other things I remember are that Estonian team bringing 1 fan and winning £60 predicting Nestor Cannobbio would score the first goal when we beat Vigo 2-1.

[Kasper]

Ahhh Sibierski's goal in his debut..I was there

[ponsaelius]

Ahhh Sibierski's goal in his debut..I was there

 

Tallinn away was it? Just a hop over the border I assume.

[ponsaelius]

Or the Baltic sea.

 

[/geographyfail]

[Alberto2005]

Ahhh Sibierski's goal in his debut..I was there

 

Tallinn away was it? Just a hop over the border I assume.

His post match interview on keeping clean shits was great.

[Kasper]

Ahhh Sibierski's goal in his debut..I was there

 

Tallinn away was it? Just a hop over the border I assume.

 

Yeah. 2 hour ferry trip. I had two tickets Bought one before hand just to make sure I got a ticket, and got one to the away end when I got there

[Optimistic Nut]

The only other thing I really remember from that season's UEFA Cup was Onyewu acting as touchline reporter during the games against that Belgian team.

[Pilko]

that was class.

[Disco]

Ah Channel 5 with Murray, Nevin, and Joe Royle

[Ryan_Taylor]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/safc05/kuqi.gif

[GoranBadlund]

So this is the "Shefki Kuqi signs for NUFC until end of season thread" ?

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Welcome to Newcastle's Plan D: From £35m Andy Carroll to the Finnish journeyman without a club - Colin Young, The Mail

How did it come to this?

From England's best young centre forward, a local lad brimming with potential and the presence to handle the Newcastle No 9 shirt, to a 34-year-old released by a Championship club, who last played in November and is best known for his celebration, rather than his goals.

 

This is presumably Plan D.

 

A was for Andy.

 

B for Best (and Shola) and Buying a last minute replacement. Both failed.

 

C was to Continue without Carroll. Shola Ameobi's broken cheekbone in the first game without a new man to replace Liverpool's £35 million striker hastened the need for more cover.

 

D looks like it smacks of Desperation. But D for Dilemma is fairer and D for 'what have we got to lose?' doesn't quite work.

 

As Alan Pardew pointed out this week, teenage local lad Michael Richardson has been on the bench for the last two games and he has played in five reserve team matches. Even if he was ready, he's not ready.

 

Pardew has poured over the continent's unregistered players and it didn't make great reading.

 

'I didn't have much of a list if I'm honest,' he said. 'A couple of players mentioned weren't even eligible, it was false information, etc. A couple of the players, looking at their references, looked very... Obviously, you ask yourself, why are they out of contract?'

 

Kuqi's name did stand out. The makers of EA Sport's FIFA 12 computer game set up camp at Newcastle's training ground this week to take their player recognition technology to a new level. It's mind-blowing stuff.

 

In a tent in the corner of the indoor pitch, they set up 18 cameras, positioned all the way round a small circular chair, to take facial pictures of every member of the squad.

Each player enters the tent, sits down and, pose ready, (in some cases, hair perfectly gelled, stubble cleared), the 18 flashes go off simultaneously. It takes a couple of minutes. Hopefully Kuqi was asked to take his seat, too.

 

Then again, any snub is unlikely to send out the wrong messages to the former Finland international striker. Kuqi knows he is only likely to wear the No 42 shirt until the end of May.

 

Pardew said: 'I've said to him "let's be honest, there's probably nothing at the end of the season for you, we just want you to bring your personality and your playing ability to the club to see us through to the end of the season" and he's absolutely fine with that.'

 

Amid all the hullabaloo of Cheik Tiote's unforgettable equaliser last weekend, the importance of the point earned against Arsenal was overlooked.

 

As well as sealing the Premier League's greatest comeback, it lifted a squad which looked destined for complete humiliation until Abou Diaby's moment of madness.

The draw also took them to 31 points, six short of last season's safety total. A defeat, even 4-3, and the wounds of Carroll's exit would have been exposed. And the signing of Kuqi might not have received the same response from supporters who are sympathetic to Pardew's helplessness on transfer deadline day.

 

They just expect safety, and waiting to see if Mike Ashley will deliver a promise to spend all of the Carroll transfer money.

 

Kuqi is not the answer but he will be the best Pardew had on offer. And he has a presence and confidence about him, he has experience of the Premier League and he is undoubtedly up for it. You just have to say good luck to the fella. Let's hope we see that daft flying swan celebration.

 

Pardew also hopes to have Ameobi back within a month. The striker flies to the United States this week to be fitted with a specially-made mask, designed by Jeremy Murray who has made more than 500 for NBA players. It's a commendable effort by club and player.

 

Until then, Pardew thinks the incredible lifeline offered to Kuqi might just pay off. He said: `Shefki was in a different situation. He's a player I know, he's honest and he's a gentleman. I've always admired him as a player. I'm not going to go too much into his performances but he gives an honest performance and he's a physical presence.

`After Shola's injury and with no big Andy, that's something I felt we needed. It's a great challenge for him to try to rise to and he's pointed that out to me. He's absolutely thrilled to be here and I can understand that. But he's not in awe of it, that's the difference.

 

`He's somebody I don't think too many players here are going to have complaints about. He's a big guy who knows how to handle himself. I knew him coming into the dressing room wouldn't be a problem. Whoever I brought in, he isn't going to be Andy Carroll.

 

`We paid huge sums of money for Peter (Lovenkrands) and Besty so he's never going to challenge them unless he rises to the occasion, comes on the pitch and attacks it. I've just got a sneaky feeling he might just do that, he's got that sort of character.'

Kuqi could make his Newcastle debut tomorrow at one of his 12 former clubs, Blackburn Rovers. And you just get the feeling...

Lovenkrands was free and Best cost around £1m.

[Disco]

Welcome to Newcastle's Plan D: From £35m Andy Carroll to the Finnish journeyman without a club - Colin Young, The Mail

How did it come to this?

From England's best young centre forward, a local lad brimming with potential and the presence to handle the Newcastle No 9 shirt, to a 34-year-old released by a Championship club, who last played in November and is best known for his celebration, rather than his goals.

 

This is presumably Plan D.

 

A was for Andy.

 

B for Best (and Shola) and Buying a last minute replacement. Both failed.

 

C was to Continue without Carroll. Shola Ameobi's broken cheekbone in the first game without a new man to replace Liverpool's £35 million striker hastened the need for more cover.

 

D looks like it smacks of Desperation. But D for Dilemma is fairer and D for 'what have we got to lose?' doesn't quite work.

 

As Alan Pardew pointed out this week, teenage local lad Michael Richardson has been on the bench for the last two games and he has played in five reserve team matches. Even if he was ready, he's not ready.

 

Pardew has poured over the continent's unregistered players and it didn't make great reading.

 

'I didn't have much of a list if I'm honest,' he said. 'A couple of players mentioned weren't even eligible, it was false information, etc. A couple of the players, looking at their references, looked very... Obviously, you ask yourself, why are they out of contract?'

 

Kuqi's name did stand out. The makers of EA Sport's FIFA 12 computer game set up camp at Newcastle's training ground this week to take their player recognition technology to a new level. It's mind-blowing stuff.

 

In a tent in the corner of the indoor pitch, they set up 18 cameras, positioned all the way round a small circular chair, to take facial pictures of every member of the squad.

Each player enters the tent, sits down and, pose ready, (in some cases, hair perfectly gelled, stubble cleared), the 18 flashes go off simultaneously. It takes a couple of minutes. Hopefully Kuqi was asked to take his seat, too.

 

Then again, any snub is unlikely to send out the wrong messages to the former Finland international striker. Kuqi knows he is only likely to wear the No 42 shirt until the end of May.

 

Pardew said: 'I've said to him "let's be honest, there's probably nothing at the end of the season for you, we just want you to bring your personality and your playing ability to the club to see us through to the end of the season" and he's absolutely fine with that.'

 

Amid all the hullabaloo of Cheik Tiote's unforgettable equaliser last weekend, the importance of the point earned against Arsenal was overlooked.

 

As well as sealing the Premier League's greatest comeback, it lifted a squad which looked destined for complete humiliation until Abou Diaby's moment of madness.

The draw also took them to 31 points, six short of last season's safety total. A defeat, even 4-3, and the wounds of Carroll's exit would have been exposed. And the signing of Kuqi might not have received the same response from supporters who are sympathetic to Pardew's helplessness on transfer deadline day.

 

They just expect safety, and waiting to see if Mike Ashley will deliver a promise to spend all of the Carroll transfer money.

 

Kuqi is not the answer but he will be the best Pardew had on offer. And he has a presence and confidence about him, he has experience of the Premier League and he is undoubtedly up for it. You just have to say good luck to the fella. Let's hope we see that daft flying swan celebration.

 

Pardew also hopes to have Ameobi back within a month. The striker flies to the United States this week to be fitted with a specially-made mask, designed by Jeremy Murray who has made more than 500 for NBA players. It's a commendable effort by club and player.

 

Until then, Pardew thinks the incredible lifeline offered to Kuqi might just pay off. He said: `Shefki was in a different situation. He's a player I know, he's honest and he's a gentleman. I've always admired him as a player. I'm not going to go too much into his performances but he gives an honest performance and he's a physical presence.

`After Shola's injury and with no big Andy, that's something I felt we needed. It's a great challenge for him to try to rise to and he's pointed that out to me. He's absolutely thrilled to be here and I can understand that. But he's not in awe of it, that's the difference.

 

`He's somebody I don't think too many players here are going to have complaints about. He's a big guy who knows how to handle himself. I knew him coming into the dressing room wouldn't be a problem. Whoever I brought in, he isn't going to be Andy Carroll.

 

`We paid huge sums of money for Peter (Lovenkrands) and Besty so he's never going to challenge them unless he rises to the occasion, comes on the pitch and attacks it. I've just got a sneaky feeling he might just do that, he's got that sort of character.'

Kuqi could make his Newcastle debut tomorrow at one of his 12 former clubs, Blackburn Rovers. And you just get the feeling...

Lovenkrands was free and Best cost around £1m.

 

Aye but the bastards have the cheek to wanting pay n all. Greedy fuckers.

[Dinho lad]

didn't put a foot wrong, imo.

[BONTEMPI]

didn't put a foot wrong, imo.

 

Yeah but did he look like he was capable in the brief time he had?

[Thespence]

Solid debut.