Hey guys, I havenât posted in a while but in my effort to procrastinate from my university studies, I decided to share some of my thoughts on Newcastle so far this season. Firstly what a season it has been so far, I couldnât be happier with how we are playing and Alan Pardew has done a fantastic job. When he was first appointed I didnât know what to expect, I wasnât against him at all but I did feel sorry for CH as I thought he was a fantastic manager. AP has won me over this season and I now have full trust and faith in his management and signings. Moving on to the team, they have been superb so far. You can really sense the spirit in their game and you can see the players are working their socks off for the shirt. Itâs great to see that the team is truly united. When I found out Krul was going to be our No. 1 I was a little worried, not because I think he is a bad player but because I feel he was still prone to making mistakes. But what great form he is in and I feel most of our results were due to his splendid performances. I now fully trust him in goal and I think he proved his critics wrong, terrific player. Take nothing away from the defence though as Colo and Saylor have been fantastic at the back. I have always liked Saylor in particular and he has really impressed me this season. I can really sense his passion for the club; the lad plays for the shirt. A good example is when he broke his nose last week but continued to give 100% on the field and that is admirable. Raylor has been impressive on the whole but I think it is Simpson who is struggling at the back. He hasnât really been that bad but compared to the rest of the team he is not good enough. I think AP should consider bringing in Santon , who I believe was a fantastic signing by the club. Santon for Simpson is a welcome move in my opinion. There isnât really much I can say on our two CMs, they are simply outstanding. A truly great combination and partnership, they will be the key to our success I believe. Jonas has also been in great form and I am not too surprised by that as I feel he is a very good and important player. Obertan on the other hand isnât as important; he is a good player and has made some positive impacts but as many of you have already said, he is not very good at crossing or decision making. Marvauex has been great from his last few sub appearances and cup games. He is a good player and I think AP should be starting him and leaving Obertan as an impact sub. Obertan would be good as an impact sub and I think that would be the best place for him at the moment, until he improves his game and consistency. Ben Arfa is another play who should be starting, hopefully today. Yes, he isnât at his best, but give him a few premier league starts and I believe he will be back to terrorising defences in no time. He is a good player and I think he will be one of the best this season, assuming he isnât injured again. Ba and Best have been good too, Ba in particular. When he signed for us I was very happy and relieved. I felt he is a good player who is capable of producing goals and support. He has done just that. I do think Best is good, but not as good as Ba. Recently Best has recently been very wasteful in front of goal and I feel he should have scored more goals by now. But with that being said Ba and Best have formed a good overall partnership upfront and Best has done well to set up Ba on a couple of occasions. Mike Ashley, Could he be turning things around? I do think he is. I still donât trust him, but if he provides some funds in January and keeps the club stable then he may start to gain support on Tyneside. Finally, the game today. I see no reason why we canât win. Stoke are a good team but I think they have been overrated a bit. We are going there expecting a hard game, but certainly not an impossible one and I do feel we are capable of taking all 3 points and going 3rd in the league. I may be getting ahead of myself, but I see no reason why we should be scared to face the likes of City and United. We have proved we are capable of consistent and good performances and we can compete with top teams. We tend to play well against good teams and I hope that is the case when we verse the big 3. Itâs a fantastic time to be a Newcastle supporter and long may that continue. This is a long and a little bit of a pointless article but I think you lot will forgive me as itâs my first one in months.
This Also procrastinating! Uni work sucks!! Agree with a lot of it. Best, Ba and Ben Arfa, the 3 B's, are going to be our big main 'forwards' (using this term loosely for Benny really) this season. But the trouble is, which 2 do you start? Best and Ba have worked a fantastic partnership so far, and we're only 10 games in. They could easily forge a much better stronger partnership by the end of the season if they always play together! But we still have Ben Arfa of course! Clearly they're doing well to keep HIM out of the team! Tonight might be a chance to see what Ba and Ben Arfa can do together, but I just think Best and Ba are doing so well together I'm worried it'd disrupt that! Blimey, what a dilemma to have eh! The 3 dynamic duos! Colo and Saylor, Cabaye and Tiote, Best and Ba! Love it.
Good article and I agree with pretty much all of it. It's been a great start and the squad seems to have knitted together very well irespective of the pre-season fiasco involving two tours due to visas. We have a strong backbone to the team with Krul, Colo/Saylor, Tiote/Cabaye and Ba/Best. Take into account the other players that would be in the usual starting XI such as Jonas, Raylor and Obertan and we've a strong squad with depth in many cases with the likes of Marveaux. Santon and Ben Arfa to add flair and attacking potential. The young lads are flying in the reserve league as well and we've got the likes of Vukic, Abied, Ferguson etc to come through as well.
