In what has been a disastrous Christmas program so far for Newcastle United, the Magpies went down to a Ryan Taylor goal after 64 minutes at the JJB this afternoon. That’s just one point from two successive games against the two bottom-placed teams in the league.
Taylor put the ball over the Newcastle wall and well beyond Shay Given to give the Latics all 3 points against an uninspired Newcastle United side this afternoon. It was a brilliant free kick and the only skill shown by either side all afternoon. Wigan looked poor, that’s why they are second bottom – but Newcastle were even worse. That’s the bottom line on this game, and it’s just not good enough.
Any hopes the Newcastle faithful had that the team could collect 6 points against Derby County and Wigan Athletic in successive games, have been well and truly dashed this afternoon. This result will put tremendous pressure on Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce. We should be beating teams like Derby County and Wigan Athletic – everybody else is.
There was probably some evidence of Newcastle wanting to hold out today at the JJB, when Big Sam said before the game the team wouldn’t be “go hung†like they were against Derby County on Sunday. If that was gung ho we wouldn’t like to see a dour defensive display.
But this is a very bad time to collect just a single point from teams we should be beating easily, and it will bring some gloom and doom on Tyneside. It was only recently the team went 6 games in getting but a two points. Over our last 10 games we have just 2 wins and 3 draws for a measly 9 points.
It’s just not good enough with the players we have in the squad. Our next game is at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on Saturday – 3:00 pm KO.
Comments welcome – please try to keep the language decent – thanks.
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Here is the Sky Sports commentary of the game this afternoon.
Full-time: WIgan 1 Newcastle 0. It’s all over, Wigan pick up the three points in a disappointing contest.
90 + 4 – Deflection: Emre with the last effort of the game, but once again it is blocked by heroic Wigan defending.
90 + 3 – Launch: Emre drops the ball into the Wigan area, but Bramble stands firm again and clears the danger. He has had a good game against his former club.
90 + 2 – Careful: Emre with another mistimed tackle. He has already been booked and needs to be careful.
90 – Well worked: More good football down the Wigan left almost gets Kilbane in behind. The Newcastle clearance goes straight out of play and hardly puts an end to the pressure.
89 – Shift: Aghahowa creates a yard of space in the left of the box but his shot hits the side netting. Some of the crowd thought it was in, but Newcastle remain in touch.
88 – Booking: Wigan enjoy a spell of keep-ball and Taylor’s rash tackle is rightly cautioned.
87 – Bounce: Newcastle finally get the ball into Viduka’s feet on the edge of the area, but his touch is awful and another opportunity goes begging. Newcastle just can’t hold the ball up.
Last five minutes and Newcastle don’t look capable of finding an equaliser.
85 – Fighting: Brown is still chasing everything down in midfield. Wigan need these three points.
84 – Needed a touch: Valencia drives a ball right acorss the six-yard line but there are no Wigan players to put the chance away.
83 – Bad touch: Taylor gives a poor ball back to Given. The keeper’s touch is a poor one and he is forced to slice the ball behind his own goal.
82 – Lucky: Steven Taylor’s clearance goes straight up in the air, and Given has to come out and help his defender out. Taylor can look solid one minute and shaky the next.
Booking: Smith adds his name to the referee’s list with another poor challenge. It was only a matter of time before Smith picked up a yellow card.
80 – Unlock: Good combination between Viduka and Martins, but the Australians through ball is just too strong.
Sub: Duff has been replaced by Jose Enrique. Duff has not been able to stamp his authority on the game.
78 – Chance: Milner skips past Olembe down the right and closes in on goal. He pulls the ball back towards Martins but the Nigerian misses his kick.
76 – Head tennis: Wigan fail to clear their lines but hopeful balls back in by Newcastle never look like opening up the Latics.
Sub: Ryan Taylor is to be replaced by Olembe. Taylor has been the best player on the park and scored a wonderful goal.
73 – Lurking: N’Zogbia with a solid headed clearance with Bent waiting in acres of space behind him.
72 – Parried: Taylor again threatens, but this time his swerving drive is pushed behind by Given. Newcastle clear the corner.
Sub: Sibierksi makes way for Aghahowa as Wigan change things around.
70 – Same again: More wasted possession by Newcastle. Milner with time to deliver but his cross goes behind.
69 – Almost caught: N’Zogbia wants too much time on the ball and his clearance cannons off Valencia towards Bent. The striker is in an off-side position though.
67 – Not good: Viduka sums up Newcastle’s afternoon as his attempted pass to Milner goes straight out of play.
Sub: Geremi replaced by Martins for Newcastle. Attacking move by Allardyce.
64 – GOAL: Wigan 1 Newcastle 0. Ryan Taylor with a fantastic free-kick. He swings the ball over the wall and across Given into the top corner. Taylor’s free-kicks always looked like Wigan’s biggest threat.
64 – Clumsy: Smith trips Brown on the edge of the box. He is not happy with the decision and needs to calm down.
63 – Chase: Valencia and Faye chase a long-ball down the right and the Newcastle man wins the race and thumps clear.
Taylor’s deliveries from set-pieces are beginning to let him down. Another free-kick is cleared by the first man.
60 – Not needed: Melchiot tries to shield the ball safely out and Duff pushes him in the back. The defender was going nowhere.
Booking: Emre was also booked in the same incident as Milner.
58 – Long-range: Another ambitious effort from Scharner which dips in front of Given, but the Irishman holds on. The ball was actually drifting wide anyway.
58 – Free-kick: Taylor hits his worst effort of the afternoon straight into the wall.
Booking: Milner cautioned.
56 – Well out: Sibierski finds space in the box but the ball across to him is intercepted well by Steven Taylor.
54 – Burst: N’Zogbia breaks into the middle, but his promising run is stopped in its tracks by a crunching Scharner tackle.
52 – Mix up: Melchiot and Kirkland have a misunderstanding on the edge of the box. Viduka lobs an overhead kick goalwards and Bramble has to head the ball off the line. Closest we have come to a goal.
51 – Good footwork: N’Zogbia dances past Valencia, who hacks him down. The resulting free-kick is dealt with.
50 – Free-kick: Emre delivers, but it is cleared by Bramble. Beye strikes the breaking ball goalwards but their are too many bodies in the way and it bounces clear.
49 – Claim: Milner gets down the right and his cross is plucked out of the air by Kirkland. A rare touch for the Wigan keeper.
48 – Pressure: Damien Duff has hardly got into the game, and on this occasion he is forced to give the ball back to Given under good pressure from Melchiot.
46 – Danger: Another good delivery by Taylor onto the six-yard line and Faye is forced into a hurried clearance.
Kick-off: Newcastle to get the second period started.
Half-time: Wigan 0 Newcastle 0. Defences definitley on top at the JJB. No real chances for either side and both goalkeepers could have had the afternoon off. Hopefully the second-half will see more openings.
45 + 2 – Last chance: Ryan Taylor with a free-kick but it is easily cleared by Faye.
45 + 1 – Off-side: Geremi lifts the ball over the top to Duff, but just as it seems we may have a clear-cut chance he is given off-side. The decision is correct, but the game needs a chance.
Two minutes of stoppage time to be played.
45 – Battle: Sibierski attemtps to steal the ball inside the box, but Taylor is once again in his way.
43 – Wild: Landzaat with a shot from the edge of the area, but it is awful and flies high and wide.
41 – Long-throw: Ryan Taylor delivers into the box, but Sibierski is surrounded by defenders are hardly gets off the floor as he attempts to win the ball.
39 – Missed: Steven Taylor takes a wide swing at a clearance, misses the ball but is saved by Faye as Bent chased the loose ball.
37 – Good defending: Difficult bouncing ball for Bramble to deal with, but he calmly heads it back to Kirkland under pressure from Viduka.
35 – Free-kick: Emre with a promising opportunity 25-yards out in the middle of the goal, but his effort hits the wall. Disappointing strike.
Both defences are holding up well so far and any danger is swiftly dealt with.
Booking: Brown cautioned for a rash challenge on Emre.
30 – Mistake: Kilbane with a good run down the left and his cross into the box is headed up in the air by Faye with no-one anywhere near him. Given comes and claims to end the danger.
29 – Waste: Both sides are lumping long balls forward but their front-men are not able to hold the ball up well enough.
28 – Good head: Sibierski rises well to flick the ball towards Bent inside the box, but he gets too much on the ball and it loops harmlessly into the hands of Given.
26 – Safety: Wigan put Newcastle under a bit of pressure and N’Zogbia is forced to just hammer the ball clear. Newcastle haven’t seen much of the ball in the last few minutes.
24 – Poor: Duff lays the ball across to Geremi 20-yards out, but he takes his eye off the pass and it rolls under his foot.
23 – Distance: Valencia with a well struck effort from 20-yards which hammers into the head of Faye and goes up in the sky. N’Zogbia manages to deal with the dropping ball.
21 – Too high: Beye slips past Kilbane down the right but his centred cross is fractionally above the head of Viduka.
19 – Almost: A long-throw is allowed to bounce inside the Wigan box and Duff almost pounces, but Scharner hammers the ball clear.
18 – Stray ball: Valencia with a wayward back-pass which is chased by Viduka but Bramble gets the ball safely back to Kirkland.
17 – Free-kick: Emre delivers to the back-post but no Newcastle player can get a head on it.
16 – Barge: Free-kick into the box and Taylor appears to push Sibierski in the back. The striker takes a tumble but Dean waves away the protests.
15 – Stabbed away: Taylor manages to get a toe to the ball as a Brown header threatens to free Sibierski through the middle.
13 – Free-kick: Dangerous delivery by Taylor which is put behind for a corner. Valencia threatens with a good ball back into the box after the initial set-piece was cleared, but it is just too high for Bent.
12 – First shot: Scharner allowed to roam forward and hits a left-foot shot from 30-yards, but it is straight down Given’s throat.
11 – Too much: Viduka tries to beat Brown about eight times on the edge of the box and ends up standing on the ball.
10 – Good football: Wigan knock the ball around well in midfield, but everything is sideways and Newcastle are happy to let them have the ball.
9 – Muscled out: Duff comes all the way across the pitch to pick up the ball on the right, but he is easily nudged off the ball by Bramble.
7 – Quiet start: Both teams yet to really test the opposition defence and the ball is just pin-balling around in midfield.
Smith has started in midfield meaning Viduka is a lone figure in attack for the Magpies. That may change depending on how the game unfolds.
3 – Problem: Sibierski was caught on the back of the head by Faye and has stayed down. Referee Mike Dean is slow to allow the physio onto the pitch. The Frenchman looks like he is going to be OK to continue.
2 – Chase: Bent chases a long ball from Valencia and almost gets to Given before he can clear Taylor’s back pass.
1 – Intent: Wigan straight on the offensive. Sibierski is throwing his weight around up front and looks like he will be a handful for Taylor and Faye.
Kick-off: Wigan to get us underway.
45 comments so far
Toon Barmy
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:30 PM
Comment #1He fooled us with a 442 line up then switched.. terrific stuff big fella.. not be long now till payday
Rob Kirton
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Comment #2Just been reported on Radio 5. Fans singing anti Sam Allardyce songs on the bus on the way home. Here’s the catch. …
Mike Ashley is on the bus with them. Not only has been in the away end again today – he’s taking to riding in the bus with the fans. We live in interesting times.
Obafan
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Comment #3I think SA wants to give himself the time by always saying that he needs time to build up something new at Newcastle, but let’s be honnest;
if you want to build up something you need to see improvement. I think we don’t see improvement at all, on the contrary week after week it starts to look worse and worse. If we didn’t have those lucky last minute results we would already be in a relegation battle by now.
Jeffrey
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Comment #4so hopeless
playing players out of position again
no movement, no coordination
I have lost all my faith to Sam now
stjames
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:45 PM
Comment #5It’ halftime and strangely enough we still have to play 6 of 8 matches against the top four. So I guess it’s damage control from now on.
deano
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:47 PM
Comment #6big sam is no good, we need a manager who wants to keep the ball on the deak,bottom 3 all beating us sack him now???ashley weres the money?????????????????????????
RAHUL
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:48 PM
Comment #7its simply disgusting i am from india and followed the whole damn game from nufc.co.uk and it ends up in this way lets be honest sam was never my choice but like all loyal supporters kept backing him even after the derby game. but this has gone too far and my patience is really wearing thin still not convinced that sacking him would help without having a backup plan i dont want to compare with other sides but look at spurs and man city it just adds insult to injury ashley and mort has to understand that it is not only the results and performances but the mentality and mindset going into games as Ed sir mentioned if we do not go gung ho against wigan then who do we attack its awful smith gets a game instead of martins
i am not too concerned abt results but the fact is have we progressed in 6 months the answer is no it is the same as roeder and souness
Len
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:48 PM
Comment #8People have asked this before and its worth asking again. Is he just looking for a 10,000,000 payout and retire? It must be tempting?
deano
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:49 PM
Comment #9we only had 1 shot?//////////////
Arthur Prince
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:49 PM
Comment #10What price a relegation struggle? How many points to be safe ? We are not Bolton . God only knows what happens next !
Ashton
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:51 PM
Comment #11Given is responsible for the goal
and he has been shite this season so far
and milner is just pathetic he makes me sick with his stupid dribbles !! yukkk !
geremi is a waste of space he is pure shite he cant pass the f*&king ball !!
i don’t want to be negative but we are playing like shite shite SHITE ! and Im sick of it
it’s time to sack fat sam and get Pellegrini he is a great manager .
deano
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:53 PM
Comment #12we should have went for big phil not big sam,get phil in give him money and watch the brazilin magic
com on ash get him in
Domininufc
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:54 PM
Comment #13Marry marry crappy Christmas! What the hell is going on with Newcastle?
I appreciate that people say that we must give him time to put things right but surely we can expect to beat teams like Derby at home and second placed (from bottom) Wigan.
The team is now a Sam Allerdyce team and not one that he inhereted. Why should we be forced to accept this when mangers like Ramos, Redknap and Sven Goran can get results straight away.
The managers above can get their team to overperfom while Newcastle have been under-performing all season. Ignore the wins against Birmingham and Fulham where we managed to get a goal right at the end this was more lucky than deserved.
Mike Ashley act now before it gets worse Martin Joll is unemployed at the moment I am told as well as Jose lol
Howey the lads!
Toon Barmy
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:54 PM
Comment #14we are 1-0 down, free kick to us 30yrds out 4 players around the ball! positive football??? no shots again??? something is going on here, the players arnt this bad are they?
pcbl
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Comment #15Come on, guys. It isn’t just football. You look at any team, any sport, there’s hardly a coach who can make his team brilliant right away.
But we know from the before and after at Bolton that he is a very good coach, that his success at Bolton wasn’t just a fluke. If you guys were bottom three I’d understand the reason to panic and make changes, but the fact is that you can afford to keep him on for a year or two and actually give him a chance to take over the team. Again, I’m sure he’ll come good as long as you actually give him the chance to.
Rob Kirton
Dec 26, 2007 at 5:56 PM
Comment #16Arthur Prince: the only good news is that maybe 30 – 35 point will be good enough to stay up. We already have 26 (though a large number from good luck) we should be easily able to gain or fluke enough to get well clear of that.
It is hard to use the argument about there being a lot of worse teams at the bottom. We’ve played them all and of course look no better !!
Rob Kirton
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:01 PM
Comment #17pcbl : Allardyce was not a success at Bolton.
He once just qualified for Europe and once was beaten in a cup final. Newcastle had far more “success” in the same period. Sad but true….
The only thing big thing about Big Sam Allardyce is that he talks a big game. That is apart from talking to the BBC who he once promised to sue, but for some reason changed his mind. I suspect he knew that it would have been one defeat too many for his career.
Tom_Toon
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:08 PM
Comment #18Ashton, fat fred tried to get pellegrini before big sam 🙂
billy
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:11 PM
Comment #19sam thinks achieving what he did at bolton (crappy final and europe) is success .if he thinks thats good enough here he is in for a shock. even when we were poor we got to finals and europe now with his style of play and tactics we are fu***d.
Steeley
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:14 PM
Comment #20Still any members of the “give Sam a few years to build the squad ” fanclub??
No, thought not! And if you are still in that club then I think you have a take a good hard look at yourself!
This was shocking. Shocking isnt the word for it. Abysmal. Disgusting. Sickening. All seem to be appropriate.It’s possibly a good thing we lost, as I would doubt very much that we will get anything from Chelsea. Perhaps therefore, Sam will be given the boot before he makes any more purchases in January.
Needless to say, this result and perfomance today has confirmed with me that Sam isnt capable of managing NUFC. If he cant motivate the team to anything other a lucky point against the two worst teams in the Prem then he needs to go asap. He started the day by saying that he wont “go gung-ho like against Derby” – I genuinely think he may be going a bit mad. Firstly, because where on earth does he think that we went “Gung-ho” against Derby??? Secondly, if he’s too scared to go to the 2nd bottom club (who incidentally hadnt kept a clean sheet in 15 games!) and do anything other than attack then somethings up.
At the end of the day, even if he had went there with a defensive plan, it failed, coz we conceded and then didnt score at the other end to even it up. Well done Fat Sam, your great tactical display has failed spectacularly….AGAIN!!
Now get out of my football club before we end up doing a Leeds!!
Tom_Toon
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:15 PM
Comment #21Right lads lets have a bit of vote, not that it will do any good: (All with shearer as an assistant)
Houllier
Klinsmann
Pelegrini
Van Gaal
Bilic
Jol
Arthur Prince
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:20 PM
Comment #22Sir Bobby as mentor Kevin Keegan as manger with Alan Shearer as assisstant . Tongue in cheek but why oh why Sir Bobby was sacked is still a mystery to me well done Tom Toon good idea . I tprobably wont make any difference but as dominufc says other managers get things going first and then develop from there Harry redknap etc
Hadrian
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:23 PM
Comment #23arrrg !!
keegan 😛 im telling you he’d come back !!
to much sniffing around after the new owners and commenting on the toon .
Toon Barmy
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:25 PM
Comment #24I would go for houllier, Van gaal is arrogant (not as much as big sam!) but his teams play damn good football the way it aught to be played.
Arthur Prince
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:28 PM
Comment #25Howay the lads ” I would just love it if . . . . .”Too much to ask but what a reception eh He would play 3 2 5!!!!!!!
Toon Barmy
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:28 PM
Comment #26My dream team would be
Shearer as boss
KK assistant
Bobby director
Beardsley 1st team coach
Terry Mac ???
But would take any top boss with the right qualities = play football positively
mo_nufc
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:36 PM
Comment #27You cannot say He wasn’t succesful at bolton. Do you know any other managers in the world let alone the premier league who have taken a rubbish team from the championship with hardly any supporters or money and transform them into a top 6 side who can at times challenge the top four (big sams last game in charge of bolton was a draw against chelsea at stamford bridge). He did all that alone and the proof is that the moment he left it all fell apart. Do you think that will ever happen again.If that isn’t success what is?
Rob Kirton
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:36 PM
Comment #28Toon Barmy: Good to see you’ve kept Terry Mac in his usual role :0)
Ashton
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:37 PM
Comment #29Pellegrini is the righ man for us
he is better than ramos and he is an engineer so he should know how to speak english !!
ToonUSA
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:41 PM
Comment #30Marcello Lippi
Ben
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:42 PM
Comment #31We are the worst team in the PL as we play the worst football. And that has been the case for quite some time.
Why pay descent money for zero entertainment? I don’t like booing, instead don’t go to the games. That will show the owners what we think and hurt them were it hurts them most – in the wallet.
Arthur Prince
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:42 PM
Comment #32Dont know much about Pellegrini? who does he manage at present?
Eve
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:44 PM
Comment #33Ashton ..Your always negative and always over exaggerating.
Toon Barmy
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:45 PM
Comment #34Rob: sam has made terry mac head of 1st team coaching duties, he’s told him he’s got a interview with the bbc to go to nobody knows whats going on! terrys gone to the bookies.
(unconfirmed)
Ashton
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:46 PM
Comment #35Villarreal , and he don’t give a shite about local players 🙂
mo_nufc
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:53 PM
Comment #36Big sam has worked very hard to get to where he is now and it would be a shame if he blows it.
Tom_Toon
Dec 26, 2007 at 6:55 PM
Comment #371 carling cup and a 1 european qualification, thats fkin bollocks.
Toon Barmy
Dec 26, 2007 at 7:07 PM
Comment #38Quote taken from shields gazzette. NEWCASTLE United’s 5,000-strong travelling fans turned on Sam Allardyce and his side after their Boxing Day clash with Wigan Athletic ended in defeat.
United’s four-game unbeaten run was brought to an abrupt end by a stunning Ryan Jarvis free-kick at the JJB Stadium.
And the away end chanted “We’re s***, and we’re sick of it” as the clock ticked down on another disappointing Premier League defeat.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, who was among the club’s success-starved fans, would have been given plenty of food for thought.
Allardyce’s side saved one of their worst away performances for the fixture against the relegation-threatened side, who had been second-from-bottom of the league at kick off.
And in the end United were well beaten, registering just one genuine shot on target.
Good enough ?
I know some fans are saying give him time but have we enough time to give him, there has been a few games with no shots or very little shots on goal. Wigan?
TimesUp
Dec 26, 2007 at 7:41 PM
Comment #39I think managers who can demonstrate that they have achieved something in the past should be given ample opportunity to get it right at NUFC. This clown has never shown anything, other than the ability to bullshit previous chairmen and hide from the press.
deano
Dec 26, 2007 at 7:48 PM
Comment #40scholari