Newcastle United 0-0 Aston Villa - 18/08/07 - Post Match reaction from Page 12

[Skirge]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

[Guest alex]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

[Cronky]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

[Guest alex]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

You can't agree we played a lot of long balls on Saturday?

[Cronky]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

You can't agree we played a lot of long balls on Saturday?

 

I'd say we played with a mixture of long balls and short, depending on the situation. There was variety. We played the ball through the midfield or out to the wings just as often as long, down the middle. Viduka struggled to get involved either way.

[toptoon]

You were unlucky in that Martin Laursen was in absolutely inspired form (and not in his frequent injured state).

 

According to the Telegraph he completed 20 clearances and his pass completion ratio was 84%, plus he very nearly scored. I can't remember the last time I saw a defender so consistently win everything in the air.

 

 

 

Yes he had Viduka in his pocket, but to be fair it was Viduka v Laursen AND Mellberg most of the game and the ball was getting hoofed up in his direction out of defence far too much for my liking with most times Viduka being the only NUFC player in your half! Ameobi suprisingly won a few headers, knock ons and drew a few free kicks (from Mellbery mostly) when he came on.

 

Agreed. Viduka was completely dominated by the Villa defence. Ameobi did more in his 10 mins than Viduka did in his 80, very surprised that Viduka didn't get subbed for Owen, as Martins although not brilliant looked far more likely to create something than Viduka.

 

I'd also play Ameobi before Viduka next game. 

[Guest alex]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

You can't agree we played a lot of long balls on Saturday?

 

I'd say we played with a mixture of long balls and short, depending on the situation. There was variety. We played the ball through the midfield or out to the wings just as often as long, down the middle. Viduka struggled to get involved either way.

I'm not suggesting for a minute he had a good game but the service to him was shit man. We definitely played a lot of long balls and if you're saying we played a variety of different good quality balls into him I can't agree with that for a minute. If you're not saying that, what are you saying?

[Cronky]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

You can't agree we played a lot of long balls on Saturday?

 

I'd say we played with a mixture of long balls and short, depending on the situation. There was variety. We played the ball through the midfield or out to the wings just as often as long, down the middle. Viduka struggled to get involved either way.

I'm not suggesting for a minute he had a good game but the service to him was shit man. We definitely played a lot of long balls and if you're saying we played a variety of different good quality balls into him I can't agree with that for a minute. If you're not saying that, what are you saying?

 

I'm saying that Viduka looked slow and played shit. The idea that there were too many long balls or the ref wasn't strict enough with the Villa defenders is just looking for excuses for him.

[Guest alex]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

You can't agree we played a lot of long balls on Saturday?

 

I'd say we played with a mixture of long balls and short, depending on the situation. There was variety. We played the ball through the midfield or out to the wings just as often as long, down the middle. Viduka struggled to get involved either way.

I'm not suggesting for a minute he had a good game but the service to him was shit man. We definitely played a lot of long balls and if you're saying we played a variety of different good quality balls into him I can't agree with that for a minute. If you're not saying that, what are you saying?

 

I'm saying that Viduka looked slow and played shit. The idea that there were too many long balls or the ref wasn't strict enough with the Villa defenders is just looking for excuses for him.

I would agree with him looking slow / sluggish. There were too many long balls and Viduka got absolutely nothing off the ref though. He was giving ridiculous decisions as fouls against him at times (not that I even mention that beforehand btw). That's how I saw the game. That's not making excuses.

[Mowen]

Dukes didn't have a good game, but his moment of class, one of the few times he had the ball at his feet created the best move of the game. Wouldn't have happened had Shola been playing.

[Guest alex]

Dukes didn't have a good game, but his moment of class, one of the few times he had the ball at his feet created the best move of the game. Wouldn't have happened had Shola been playing.

Aye, closest we came to creating a goal was from his great pass round the corner.

[Rich]

Dukes didn't have a good game, but his moment of class, one of the few times he had the ball at his feet created the best move of the game. Wouldn't have happened had Shola been playing.

Aye, closest we came to creating a goal was from his great pass round the corner.

 

That was a delightful move on the whole, something we haven't seen the like of for a while. That pass was particularly lovely.

[McCormick]

 

You can see Viduka isn't suited to this 433 system. he needs a creative midfielder to to pass it through the defence and let him finish it off.. mark has always been a solid finisher. 4-3-1-2 would be the way to go, owen and martins up front with viduka possibly playing just behind the front two, seen as he's the only one who looks like they know what a good through ball is..

[Northern Monkey]

Viduka missed getting the ball into feet, most of the time it was just banged up to him at head height and he was being fouled a lot and getting nothing, seemed to lose interest in the end.

I agree with that assessment...as did Sam apparently. It looked like he got fouled quite a bit and I'm not sure if either Villa center-half was whistled for anything in the entire game. Then when frustration set in he basically gave up.

 

Also, do we have anyone else who can take a corner? Geremi has been weak to say the least in that area so far.

Alex will say I am talking s**** about Viduka

 

Geremi's corners were a let too on Saturday, I think he has been okay in the other games, but against Villa they were all over hit.

Zoggy tends to under hit his and gets very little height, I suppose Milner will take them if Emre does not play.

 

 

I think you're the only one who noticed we played a lot of long balls on Saturday, well done

Despite his size though, humping it upfield to Viduka doesn't suit him, especially against two centre-halves like Villa have.

 

I can't agree with any of that. There were plenty of balls played into Viduka's feet, but he was so slow off the mark, the centre backs invariably beat him to it. I didn't think the Villa centre backs fouled him any more than is usual in a Premiership game, and once or twice Viduka bought a free kick which he didn't deserve. Shola was far stronger and much more mobile.

 

Viduka strikes me as a lazy trainer who has got by on his talent alone in the last few years. He needs to buck up his ideas or he'll lose his place.

You can't agree we played a lot of long balls on Saturday?

 

We played more long balsl than i was comfortable with, but it wasn't ALL long balls by any means. And of the long balls we tried, we had the wrong players at both ends of the pass to do fuck all with them.

[Guest alex]

Who said it was all long balls?

[Northern Monkey]

Who said it was all long balls?

 

No one. It wasn't a rebuttal, it was a statement.

 

We played a canny few like.

[Guest Ebolarama]

This might be the wrong place to ask, but I am loathe to bump that other Luque thread, but does anyone know his status at the club right now (apart from "non-event," "cripple," etc. etc.)? Since the Levante thing fell through, has there been any further developments?

[Northern Monkey]

This might be the wrong place to ask, but I am loathe to bump that other Luque thread, but does anyone know his status at the club right now (apart from "non-event," "cripple," etc. etc.)? Since the Levante thing fell through, has there been any further developments?

 

Fuck knows, but don't worry, there'll be an "ITK" along any time now to make something up for you.

[Guest alex]

Who said it was all long balls?

 

No one. It wasn't a rebuttal, it was a statement.

 

We played a canny few like.

That's ok then

[Guest Ebolarama]

This might be the wrong place to ask, but I am loathe to bump that other Luque thread, but does anyone know his status at the club right now (apart from "non-event," "cripple," etc. etc.)? Since the Levante thing fell through, has there been any further developments?

 

f*** knows, but don't worry, there'll be an "ITK" along any time now to make something up for you.

Jolly good, I need some entertainment.

[Shak]

Luque will see out his contract here IMO, he's apparently unwilling to take a wage drop and no other club that would have any interest in him is going to be able to match them.

 

So we're stuck with him, and he'll almost certainly never be of any use to us on the field.

 

Got to be the greatest flop in our history.

[Mowen]

Dukes didn't have a good game, but his moment of class, one of the few times he had the ball at his feet created the best move of the game. Wouldn't have happened had Shola been playing.

Aye, closest we came to creating a goal was from his great pass round the corner.

 

That was a delightful move on the whole, something we haven't seen the like of for a while. That pass was particularly lovely.

 

It was just a glimpse, but it's one of the few pieces of football that has been really pleasing on the eye there's been at SJP for a while now.

[olliemort]

To be honest it wos a dissapointing result,no offense to Villa but should be beating them at home although in saying that I have to say we would have lost this game last year.Also thought Roz had a very good game,pity Geremi wosnt great,but at least he battled on.By the way did he pick up an injury?Wos a strange one,subbing him off for a defender with only a min left!

[Yorkie]

Watched the game on Italian TV with Italian commentary (was surreal) and i know, it's a few days on now, but i'd like to give my thoughts on the game.

 

First of all, thoroughly naff match. To be honest, you can call me a kneejerker, and i suppose it isn't really fair to look into the crystal ball at this stage, but to me that was two 8th position teams, on par in several playing departments, slogging out an inevitable scrappy draw. There's a fair chance there'll be very little between us and Villa come May, in my opinion.

 

It was a rubbish game but i think Allardyce will learn from that. I don't judge him for starting with the negative tactics, because we were always going to be susceptible to their pace on the counter-attacks. Agbonlahor and Young with lots of speed about them - we tried to counter that danger with the negative long-ball. Ultimately though, it was getting us nowhere from an attacking point of view (i thought Butt had a crap afternoon, personally), and it was becoming pretty damn pointless given that the two Villa players in question were both having shite days anyway.

 

I'm not gonna have a go at Allardyce for starting with long-ball, but i really think he should have scrapped it sooner in the game (did he at all, infact?). Viduka should have gone off, not Martins; Martins actually had some whip about him.

 

Which leads me onto another point: Viduka is absolutely wasted as an aerial targetman. That's simply wasting talent, when he's only average in the air - with his back to goal anyway - and yet he's so exceptionally good with the ball at his feet. That Laursen fella had a great game and the ref was kind to Villa, but Viduka shouldn't be used like that i don't reckon, certainly not at home anyhow.

 

Milner and Martins ran their socks off - i really think they can work in those wider positions. Unfortunately, as i've said, we were playing long balls (that were pretty mehh-ish themselves) and they, Martins in-particular, couldn't get into the game.

 

The same went for the likes of Smith, who's a player who's in there to grab us by the balls. I reckon he can be a really important player for us - he and Barton will rival that starting spot - but he can't get into the game and do what he does best, when the balls are flying over his head all the time. The whole of the centre-midfield was fruitless. Butt was having a bad afternoon: couldn't master the long ball and gave away possession needlessly, which meant Smith couldn't get onto the ball. And Geremi, who needs players around him to play well, was susceptible to the same contageous 'rubbish effect'. ... If that makes sense; a bit exaggerated, no doubt.

 

Nevertheless, the two centre-backs were class aswell as Harper, and i though on the whole, that we were worth the clean sheet. We didn't deserve to win though, and we didn't. Allardyce will undoubtedly have got a lot from that though, it wasn't a hurrendous performance, and we'll fucking hammer Boro.

[Optimistic Nut]

Newcastle a été tenu en échec par Aston Villa pour le seul match sans but de samedi (0-0). L'ancien Parisien David Rozenhal a trouvé le cadre mais aussi les mains du gardien de Villa pour la meilleure occasion des Magpies juste avant la pause. Claudio Caçapa, l'ancien capitaine de l'OL a fait ses débuts sous le maillot de Newcastle. Le défenseur brésilien, rentré pour les dernières minutes, est le 1000e joueur à porter le fameux maillot noir et blanc. Mais sa plus belle ovation, White Park Lane l'a réservé à Michaël Owen, qui a joué la dernière demi-heure.

 

No need to translate, just a little summary from L'Equipe about our match...shame about the bit in bold!

 

...and from L'Equipe today giving a preview of the action around Europe this weekend...

 

En ALLEMAGNE, Bochum a pris le commandement en battant Hambourg (2-1), jusqu'alors seule équipe à tenir tête au Bayern qui reçoit Hanovre samedi tandis que le Werder joue à Nuremberg. En ANGLETERRE, Liverpool joue à Sunderland, samedi. Chelsea et Arsenal accueillent Portsmouth et le leader Manchester City. Manchester United reçoit Newcastle dimanche.