Just got home. A few points after a game with quite a few positives - Diallo excellent - oh my, we have a player in Alcaraz, we really do - Orsic nowhere near just yet. Looked totally off the pace. - Alcaraz - Mara looked a real player today. Was very surprised when he was taken off for Che Long. Felt like a pre-planned substitution. - The people booing Beddy can do one. He was actually very vocal when he came on, and looked every inch a leader. He was also first one over to applaud all the fans at the end. He knows he has a bit of making up to do, and he’s started in the right way. - Alcaraz - as Libby said, the road barriers on the way out were pointless, stupid, and dangerous. - Alcaraz - Newcastle really remind me of George Graham’s Arsenal. Really well organised and physically dominant, and buggers to play against. Howe has done an excellent job. - Alcaraz
I just got in too. Nightmare journey, road closures all over the ****ing place and freezing fog as a bonus. Nothing to add to Laces’ post except I think Alcaraz did rather well. By the way, that’s Alcaraz.
Well now, without getting too far ahead of myself, Alcaraz would seem to be the absolute shizzle. Oh how I've missed seeing an actual technician trying to get the ball forward, at pace, at every opportunity. Please let that performance be a harbinger of what is to come.
Guessing Newcastle will have some players missing next week seeing as about 4 of them died in the first half.
Dare I say it btw, but I think we'd have done far better last night if Mo had played rather than Orsic... Can definitely see why Jones has been reluctant to start him.
i agree with all this. Alcaraz is some player but Diallo (until the last few minutes before he was subbed) was a monster in midfield. Adam Armstrong was also hungry and made so much happen when he came on!
Yeah for sure but he was miles off the pace last night and was a big part of why we were constantly getting murdered down our left.
If you're talking about the barrier thats by the corner between the Chapen and the Kingsland heading into that little industrial estate, they've been closing it all season. No idea why, it just creates a bottleneck for no reason.
Nah this was the opposite chapel corner, to get from car park onto Britannia Road. Sounds like a deliberate tactic then. Don't really understand why though? Seems completely unnecessary. Plus if you're going to do that you HAVE to be putting stewards there to control the flow, otherwise you get people pushing and shoving behind because they can't see the obstacle ahead. Basic ****ing **** ffs. People having to climb over/through a gate is pathetic and shouldn't have to happen. Club really are amateurish in every department at the moment.
Pluses: Good, battling performance with some flashes of quality. If we’d played like that vs Villa, we wouldn’t have lost. 1-0 HT. We’ve still got a chance. Alcarez looks a gem. Minuses: Too many players who just haven’t got the quality at this level. Early days but Orsic looked poor. Che so out of form, no confidence. Shout out to the ref for the first half, time wasting booking. Consistency at its best. Footnotes. Think Bedders will take this chance & become a key player for the remainder of the season. SR, you REALLY need to find another striker. Oh yes & nearly forgot, Murphy you are a total & utter knob.
Diallo did play well, but was still shocking when it came to making simple passes. I get so tired of watching Saints just pass the ball out or give it to the opposition, it's infuriating and he's a top culprit for that. It says something that his best game for us is still not that great? On the second point in bold, yeah we did play okay in the second half and with someone who can finish, we'd have scored at least once. The problem is we still lost the second half despite playing okay and creating a few chances. That's down to the strikers and also comes back to my comments after Villa about our team having a losing mentality. I also think Newcastle should have scored at least three. Joelinton's disallowed goal in particular should have stood.
Was the Saints fan arrested? Presume the Newcastle fans and a few Saints fans were kicked out after that?
Yeah I agree with pretty much all of that though their goal was rightly disallowed based on the rules (which are a crock of ****). Our lack of quality up top is just painfully obvious, especially during that second half spell. I don't think a draw would have been undeserved but it also easily could have been 1-3. Diallo's passing was poor admittedly but that's not his strength. His tacking and breaking up play though was Wanyama like though, really was superb. I know I sound like a broken record but he really needs to play as part of a 3 as he can be so effective in the right system.
Maybe the new ticket policy is if you see an away fan in the home end, headbutts are allowed? Not sure what Newcastle fans would expect by doing that to be honest.
Part of me thinks I'd like that sort of thing if it was us but it just comes across as incredibly unprofessional and petty. There's a line of what ****housery is acceptable and that crosses it imo. If karma really exists then DCC will return the favour next week after we beat them on pens.
