Sorry lads, havent bothered looking at history / stats to be honest, have been swept in work.. So use this as a build up / opinion type thread
I think we need 4 points from the last 2 games, last time we done that was Norwich (A) & Swansea (H) and have only done it twice all season.(Man City & Everton both home). Not looking good but Newcastle have been on free fall and the stick given up there would make Cardiff City look like angels, so who knows. I'm going for a 2-1 win for City.
To be honest Dai, I have accepted the fact we are down.. It will be just our luck to win tomorrow, giving us a tiny beacon of hope just to get them all crushed again when we get stuffed by Chelski next week. There's me keeping faith!
I was away last weekend and the bluebirds I chatted to, were saying they would be happier to go down and try and wrestle their club back rather than survive and give Tan vindication....perhaps it was the beer talking after a bad defeat, but do any of you feel the same? I can see where they were coming from and I dont think they were seriously wishing a defeat, but more contemplating 2 evils. I imagine they may feel a bit different come kick off. Anyhow, for the decent lads on here ..good luck (through gritted teeth)
Swim To wrestle the club off VT would cost about £150m. If you know anyone with that sort of spare cash sloshing around send them over. Cheers.
Not my words and considerations BfB, but some of your fellow fans ps if you had asked me 1/2 hour earlier I had it, but just had to pay the paperboy
I know a lot of fans who have accepted our fate playing championship football next season. It's up to the players now to prove us wrong (and results going our way of course). As much as I am anti Tan and do not hide my opinions and feelings towards the man that has made a mockery of our history and pissed all over our past, If he were to leave, it would leave us in an even deeper pile of manure than we could imagine.. But as BFB said, who else has 150 million quid who can come and save the day? Not exactly queueing at the doors are they? Cheers for the luck wishes, you also
I hope we are not the first to be relegated, and that we can survive until the final day at least. Newcastle fans are making a protest today by walking out on 69 minutes apparantly, perhaps we can launch an assault at that time by bringing on Kim and Cowie to scare them and take advantage eh? Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa trained away from the first team on Thursday and may again not feature - he has not played since 12 April. Forward Luuk de Jong has returned to the squad after an ankle injury. Cardiff defender Juan Cala will miss out following his dismissal at Sunderland on Sunday. And former Toon striker Craig Bellamy could start on Tyneside after making a substitute appearance at the Stadium of Light having shaken off a virus. Mark Lawrenson "Newcastle manager Alan Pardew does not have to worry about relegation but he is another man who is in real danger of losing his job. After six straight defeats, the Magpies fans have turned against him in a big way. "Once the supporters do that, it is not long until the owner and chief executive come under pressure to do something about it, and they usually react. That reaction is not to hand the manager a new eight-year contract The North East has already witnessed one potential miracle in Premier League survival in recent weeks. Cardiff will hope a victory there will help them set up one of their own. They will need to perform better on Tyneside than they did on Wearside last weekend. The 4-0 defeat to Sunderland leaves them with a foot in the Championship. Their remaining faint hope is to win at Newcastle then beat Chelsea at home and see if 36 points is enough for the greatest of great escapes. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returns to St James' Park where he first took charge of the Bluebirds for the FA Cup victory in January. Only 12 points from 16 league games have followed though, as he's tried to learn quickly about his players and find a formula to maintain their top-flight status. He knows it's now or never. There's no doubt that this fixture has taken on greater importance for Newcastle too. Their 3-0 loss at Arsenal on Monday was their sixth in a row, their worst run of defeats in the top flight since 1987. The supporters let their feelings be known. Whilst they remain on target for their pre-season objective of a top 10 finish, the fans want to see some pride restored. It's been a difficult watch in recent months. Yohan Cabaye was sold and not replaced and the statistics do not lie - 13 defeats in 18 games and only 10 goals scored in 2014, fewer than any other Premier League club. That's not Newcastle United, where entertainment is a pre-requisite. By the start of the next transfer window, it will have been 18 months since the club signed a permanent first-team squad player. The future is pivotal, but more immediately they are desperate for a lift in their final home game which would end the Cardiff dream of that major miracle.
Cardiff City FC: Marshall; Fabio, Caulker (C), Turner, John; Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Kim, Mutch, Zaha; Campbell. Subs: Lewis; Jones, Eikrem, Cowie, McNaughton, Berget, Bellamy. No Medel. Looks like we're going to struggle...
A bit more attacking than normal with Whitts, Mutch, Kim and Zaha in the middle. But a bit lightweight with only Gunnar shielding the back 4 though. No KTC either, well he was very poor last week. Another inspired or insipid Malky purchase? I can see Whitts trying to give John some cover but Fabio will be on his own. If ever there was a game for Zaha to show he is worthy to play for us then today is the day. Personally I don't think Medel has really been there for a few weeks. His agent must have been touting him around Europe for some time.
I generally believe that any team that include Gunner will struggle at this level. At least Medel shows some promise in that role.
Sheep With what we paid for him and are probably paying him we needed a darn sight more than promise. I won't argue that he has done some good things but his early season form did not last and he is not really suited to the role we use him in. I suspect once the other clubs had him watched they realised his limitations. Not likely to be so exposed for pace and stamina when playing in the back 4 for his country. Also, why is he subbed so often? At least 12 times this season in 35 starts - over 34% of games. To me he seems to run out of puff after about an hour. I wouldn't be surprised if he is a heavy smoker.
Just reported on 5Live there has been a virus in the camp affecting Medel, Daehli and KTC in particular. Just what we needed. I had missed there was no Daehli.
