Leon Best Against Bolton

Newcastle put in a very good performance against high flying Bolton and were without doubt the better Team, Jose "the Bull" was fantastic, Kevin Nolan had a great game (and won me a few quid as first goalscorer) but for me the most impressive performance came from Leon Best, he was up against two big men in Wheater and Cahill and gave them a torrid time, he won every header and was in their faces from the off, he hasn't impressed that much since being at St James but boy did he do himself justice on Saturday, the only blight on his overall performance was when he took too long to shoot and should have scored early on.
As for Lovenkrands by comparison he looked out of his depth and instead of playing with an old head didn't seem to know if he was up front latching on to Leon's many knock ons or playing in the hole but somehow missing the ball every time, and why oh why was he defending corners when at least one of our players should be on the half way line looking for a break!!
We should have won on Saturday and despite the thin squad and lack of investment the Team is performing well above expectations.

 

I didn't manage to watch the game as the streams were incredibly frustrating (been in touch with BeTty about quality of the connection speeds.... again!)

Had to make do with with the radio and sky sports app.

 

I'd have to agree with you on Best, apart from not hitting the target enough he is doing plenty to try and get there.
As for Lovenkrands, I think him and Best just need to work up an understanding. The flick at the near post which the keeper saved was quick thinking.
I like Lovenkrands as a player, having his movement around the box to help unsettle defences is something we've missed in the first half of the season. Playing the ball more on the ground rather than lumping it up to the 2 big front men.

 

Best had his best game for us and yes Lovenkrands was woeful and didn't seem to know where to go.

You'd think they'd work something out in training so that they'd know each others play and be able to understand and feed off one another.

It was a great game but it was one in which we should have had 3 points instead of one.

 

Lovenkrands was exactly the same with Judas, he just didn't have a clue, the man still has some pace left in his legs so he should be on the shoulder of the last man expecting Best's headers.

Nobody looked out of place on Saturday with the exception of Lovenkrands.
Jose was outstanding

 

I've been really impressed with the way Best has been growing into a good quality premiership striker since his breakthrough game against the Hammers. Like you say he is looking very good at winning headers and seems to me to be a good prospect as a traditional english centre forward target man. His finishing with his head (and his feet for that matter) could do with improving, but hopefully in time that will happen. But i am getting more and more optimistic with every game that we have a good player here and one that can be a significant part of our attack for years to come. Lets hope he lives up to my expectations!

 

Agree about Lovenkrands, always been a fan of his but this season he's been a little out of his depth. Thought Ranger looked bright when he came on and were it not for a marginal offside he may have notched for the first time. Hopefully his attitude continues to improve as I think he has all the attributes to be a quality player.

 

I think Kuqi needs a mention, he certainly got stuck in up top for the final 4 minutes and gave Wheater and Cahill the fright of their lives

 

I'd like to see Kuqi get more time. Even if it's just 10 minutes or so. 3 or 4 minutes is barely enough time to get onto the pitch and get in position.

 

Kuqi will be good to stick up front when we play Stoke away, big physical player to get stuck into there defence and for best to play off of.

 

I would say that we would be better off playing Lover against Stoke, as he has the pace to torment their big, physical defence - IF we play properly...

 

The Ultimate 5-a-side Team:

Roger Daltrey, David Gilmour, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Bruce Springsteen



like your taste!

 

They will eat him for breakfast man, Ranger and Best all the way. Or Ameobi and Best if hes fit.

Best played great against Bolton though, some would say a very Carrollesque performance.