In an exciting FA Cup tie tonight, Stoke City and Newcastle United fought to a 0-0 draw at the Britannia Stadium tonight, in a game that was beamed around the world live on TV.
Faye was Man Mountain for Newcastle tonight - along with Steven Taylor
It was anybody’s game right until the end but Stoke City only have themselves to blame when they had two excellent edged opportunities within a couple of minutes.
Fuller to chase, the Jamaican striker gets the better of Taylor and nicks the ball by Given, luckily he is diverted wide with goal gaping, he controls on the by-line and pulls back for the supporting Parkin, he has an empty net to aim at but somehow Taylor
First of all Steven Taylor somehow diverted substitute Jon Parkin’s close range effort on the goal-line, when it looked like the ball was going into the net. Another shorty after was after Smith lost possession on the halfway line. The ball was played quickly to Fuller and his low shot deflected off Steven Taylor, as Given was beaten but the ball went just wide of the upright for a corner.
Two guilt edged opportunities for Stoke and they really should have scored from one of them.
Owen had Newcastle’s best chance in the first half when he was clean through and one-on-one with Simonsen, but the Stoke goalkeeper rushed from his line to block the attempted lob and the ball was cleared. It really should have been a goal for Newcastle, and Michael just has to start putting these half chances away.
Kazenga LuaLua was introduced for his Newcastle debut and was involved in the move which almost saw fellow youngster Andy Carroll find a late winner, the birthday boy seeing his far post strike hit the side-netting. Young Lua Lua looked very promisign and was able to run at the Stoke defenders and showed good speed.
And with just minutes remaining Andrew Carroll came on for the tired Mark Viduka, and managed to cause some trouble in the Stoke defense.
We said before the game that a draw would be an OK result and the lads certainly gave their all tonight, and especially in the first half looked good. But we were surprised that it was Stoke City who had the better of the second half and all in all Newcastle can consider themselves fortunate to still be in the Cup.
The good things were many for Newcastle. Faye and Taylor played magnificently at the back and Jose Enrique is going to become a very good player at Newcastle. Duff and N’Zogbia were prominent on the wings and Charles added an unseen commodity this season -speed. Surely Sam will not waste Charles at left back any more. David Rosehnal looked steady at right back, although he committed himself twice on the half way line and was left for dead by the Stoke winger. David has played full-back a number of times for the Czech Republic.
The things we were not good at is putting the ball in the net. Again,. we were worthy of being ahead on the first ha;f but when you don’t take your chances you leave it open for the other side to come back as Manchester City did last Wednesday.
Owen should have score din the first half and Charles N’Zogbia could have done better with a couple of his left foot shots. We are finding it very difficult to put the ball in the net but our defense played outstandingly well. Unfortunately that’s Faye’s last game for a while. What a player this lad is!
All in all, it wasn’t a defeat which would have been tragic and ill deserved. We were good in the first half but let our guard down too much in the second and Stoke almost stole the game. The replay at St. James’ Park will be no easier than tonight, and is likely to be another corker.
What do you think?
Let us know - comments welcome.
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45 responses so far ↓
1 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:34
“most exciting FA Cup ties seen in a long time “….oh dear Ed, I think your TV might have been on the wrong channel!
It wasnt a bad game, but exciting is not a word I’d use for it being a NUFC fan.
This results in a replay which we really dont need…especially looking at he games we have coming up and becuase of 4 of our players being away at ACN.
CM was pitiful today Ed, you must at least admit that??
2 Canuck // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:34
Where was Emre tonight?
3 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:34
we were outplayed most of the time ,shit performance, smith was shit and simply isnt worth the boots hes wearing and butts passing was like a schoolboys.stoke had more determination,better movement than us.yes we could of grabbed it late on but stoke should of scored.mort and ashley need to get moving in the market .
4 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:36
cm was awfull, butt and smith? we need to replace the both of them.and at the end big sam smiling and waving to the crowd as if weve just won 4-0 ,im utterly dissapointed.only good was faye,taylor and enrique did ok, needs to learn on short passing bit better but hes quick and strong.
5 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:38
was weird to see one of our worst shooters on the pitch in butt having the most amount of shots
6 Callum // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:39
Today i saw 2 matches and 2 sides of football
First game was Luton vs Liverpool - Luton gave their all and are struggling to survive financially as well as in terms of the league - so they gave their all, fighting for every ball, playing with a bit of skill too - switchign play from left to right or vice versa and they were enjoyable to watch
The second game was Stoke vs Newcastle - Newcastle strongest team and they were outplayed by Stoke tbh and some of the players couldnt give a crap about the club they play for and are absolute shite - No names, they know who they are
7 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:39
tom- agree, imagine what a good attacking mid would of done today.
8 Greg P // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:39
Poor game against a Championship team who deserved the draw. Smith, Owen and Viduka were poor while I thought Rozenhal had a nightmare at RB - he looked totally confused to me??? Why didn’t Shola come on instead of Carrol? I’m assuming he’s off to Norwich (can we send that useless Carrol as well?).
9 thelongshanks // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:40
We have to get a top class midfielder or newcastle in serious trouble.Butt had the kinda chances that emre would have put away.smith was useless he has to play up front or get sold.I hope the chairman payed attention today.
10 KevinHann // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:44
I noticed sir Bobby Robson was on the stands. Any known reason for his presence? I know, I know, it is a long shot, especially given his health issues, but yet?
11 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:45
a top quality attacking centre mid would have relished some of butts opportunities today. i would like to mention tho that emre isn’t an attacking centre mid, he drops back deep just as much as butt and smith were today and hardly ever makes forward runs.
what confuses me is why smith doesnt play further forward…he is naturally a striker so you would have thought he would have been a more attacking mid wen asked to play there.
12 Soren // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:46
We really need to strengthen that central midfield position. We were let so much down by Smith and Butt today, and certainly Smith didn’t look like he was ready at all.
Was dissapointed to see Smith playing more like a defensive midfield rather than a attacking one.
But back to the midfield problem. We are loosing the games there.
We don’t really have any creativity, beside Emre who isn’t playing :s, and we don’t really have any physical presens either. Faye did well against Chelsea, but would like to see a midfield who besides being big and strong, also could pass the ball.
13 Elliott // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:47
Unless Barton comes back we need 2 CMs hopefully 1 pacey driving one who carries the ball forward and one who can keep and pass the ball, someone like Carrick, for eg.
14 Mehzeb // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:47
Sam fails to inspire players.
The result is a sulking, uninterested line-up of players who act like they’re 80-year-olds when on the ball.
Butt and Smith looked awful today. The worst pairing in the centre of midfield in the history of time. Smith hardly passed a ball, and his movement was woeful. While his partner, Butt, could not create a single goal scoring opportunity for the forwards. Butt was however involved in incidents of confusion, wrong passing, heavy touches, and missed opportunities.
N’Zogbia, though lively, is selfish, and he deserves a talking-to. The guy thinks he can do everything on his own. He should use support from his team-mates when they’re available. Someone needs to tell him that he’s got 10 more team-mates on the field, and that passing the ball to them, or doing a one-two won’t kill him.
Duff was good, today. He played his heart out. Full-marks for effort.
In the end, Viduka also showed what a waste of our time he has become. He is so uninterested in play that he doesn’t chase down balls, nor does he possess the slightest prowess at passing the ball. He can’t even make a pass over a yard. Disgraceful.
Rozehnal is proving to be another Jean Alain Boumsong for us. He makes too many mistakes to be taken seriously. He was absolutely shocking at right-back. We need a specialist full-back asap. Rozehnal is manure wrapped in a black-and-white shirt, sorry to say.
I feel bad for Owen. All he needs is a bit of support. But alas, Big Sam is such a short-sighted Neanderthal that he can’t get a decent player in who can create some chances for the forwards to pursue. Delivery is key. But sadly, we have no one to deliver.
Kazenga Lua Lua impressed me. Blistering pace, and he can pass the ball. The boy has flair. He is one for the future. Carroll did reasonably well, when he got near the ball, and in my opinion, he should’ve been brought on long before he actually was.
Faye and Taylor were solid. If it weren’t for them, I don’t think we would have gotten away with a draw. It would’ve been 2-0 to Stoke, undoubtedly.
All in all, a woeful performance from an underachieving side lacking flair, creativity, and motivation. We need to buy wisely in this window, or the season may be up for us, potentially becoming a struggle against relegation.
15 Rob Kirton // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:49
The good news from tonight has to be the performance of the two centre backs and that we tried to keep the ball on the floor and play some football instead of mindless hoofs up field.
The bad news is that Owen / Viduka both really need a pass to feet and we had Butt / Smith in centre midfield and that was never going to happen. Butt has his detractors becasue of his erratic passing, there is no doubting his willingness to get stuck in and mix it a bit. Smith - well words just fail me. I would love to see N’zogbia given a run out in centre midfield. The time just about seems right for that.
Our standards have fallen / are still falling that much, that I was glad for the draw, though I am no more confident of getting a win in the replay. Things are a long way from being fixed and it is unsure which way we are heading.
I don’t think that the transfer market is the right answer. With decent tactics, coaching and management we could get better from the likes of tonight team. Having said that, we may actually need to buy cover for positions with the ACN being played, however you would have thought that would have been taken into account at the start of the season. Thoughtful management and planning ahead my @rse
- We can be thankful for replay
- Sam can be thankful for still getting a pay check this month…
16 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:50
pig sick of this teams effort, smith was walking with the ball at times.shall we all chip in and get a hitman to take out a kneecap lol
17 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:52
i dont think it was that bad! they played well and yes at times we had to hang on a bit but the cb’s were really good and given some drive from cm it could have been a very different story. hopefully milner can get well soon and we can see him and duff out wide and barton back in cm with either butt OR smith but not both!
18 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:53
bartons just as bad tom in my eyes, we need help
19 Chris F // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:54
have to agree, Rozenhal was by far the worst player on the pitch today.
i’ve never seen a defender, a centre-half by trade no less, pull out of so many tackles in my life.
he was woeful and just came across as a big soft shite, really. a block of warm butter is more solid than that guy.
we are also crying out for a creative central midfielder, and today only served to emphasise that. there was no cutting passes, or good runs coming from the middle of the park.
you have to question why nicky butt, a defensive midfielder, was the only one of the pair getting forward to help the attacks.
alan smith is a disgrace to himself, nevermind to the club. he’s utterly useless.
overall, i think we looked ok, especially in the first half, but one or two of those players out there just aren’t good enough.
sadly one of them is our f***ing captain.
20 Leo // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:54
In one of the most exciting FA Cup ties seen in a long time Stoke City and Newcastle United fought to a 0-0 draw
was that sarcasm? im confused, was i watching a different game
smith and butt are sh1t
21 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:56
ye carl you may be right, im probably just hoping he could bring back some of his good performances from man city days. although then again he may never play for us again, we dont know.
22 James // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:57
Truly woeful. We looked like a second division side. Same old fat Sam Newcastle, no pace, or creativity, and just Smith snarling at the opposition. Viduka is so lazy it’s annoying. Rozenhal was all over the place is one of the worst defensive displays by a player all season. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse it’s been confirmed Sam has bid for Nolan. When we need players with pace and creativity he thinks only of a Bolton defensive player…that just about says it all about the direction he wants us to go in.
23 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:58
If Fat Sham wont play Emre theh it should be a 4-4-2 diamond with Lualua in AM and Butt in DM for the united game.
24 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:58
james where did you see its been confirmed?
25 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:00
i hoped that too but it isnt happening, that can only point to one big problem- our manager. i think rob kirtin is right in saying above that the transfer market isnt the answer, yes we need to strengthen due to the acn but it all falls down to big sam. this current team of players should be good enough
26 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:01
James, whAT DID I TELL EVERYONE, A 6 MIL BID FOR NOLAN.
27 Azvael // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:01
Now i see why Big Sam put N’gozia LB!!!!! Enrique isnt great at all. He cant pass the ball or tackle. He need to go back in la Liga!!
28 Rob Kirton // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:03
Chris F: You’re right about Rozy. He oftens backs out of challenges or goes down injured too easily. He just doesn’t seem suited to the rough and tumble of the English game. To me he looked vaguely competent at right back tonight as they didn’t pose a huge threat down that side, however against premiership teams he could be skinned alive. I didn’t expect anything of him going forward on the overlap, being a centre half - allegedly :0)
29 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:06
what a load of shit lads, read this. its big sams interview after game
Allardyce said: “I thought we controlled the game, the first half particularly.”
He told Sky Sports: “I am a little disappointed over 90 minutes but it’s a very, very good draw. We will see who we get (in the draw tomorrow) and hopefully try to finish the job off.”
And Allardyce praised his defenders in particular, adding: “They were tremendous. We spoke about the size and strength of the Stoke team, I thought we dealt with it well.
“We are short of numbers at the moment with African Nations (Cup) players going away and a few injuries.
“Overall, it was a satisfying result and we look forward to the draw.”
30 Jamie // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:06
Watched the whole game, we were looking good in places, and bad in others.
As has been said before - we cannot have smith and butt playing in central mid at the same time, it just doesn’t work. IMO Smith should be upfront with either Mark or Michael, not in mid. Michael wasn’t playing well, his touch and sharpness was missing for most of the match, Smith should have been pushed up front where he can ‘actually’ play well. But what really pleased me was the central defense and Enrique, all had very good games, espec the central pairing. We need more height in the side in the middle, so Nolan for me would be a decent signing, Martins when he returns should always play upfront, his pace is so much more useful than the hit or miss Viduka.
Anyone watch the Arsenal game? they were out played for long periods of the match but still won, why? because they defended excellent and had some creativity up front and was used to deadly affect twice for the Two goals.
We are not a million miles away like said, but a Gerrard esc midfield player is needing 110% as well as a settled pairing upfront - Id have liked to seen Fuller upfront for us today, bit of muscle Michael!!!
31 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:09
so wheres it confirmed about nolan?
32 Howie // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:10
i think people r over reacting big time. i would have taken a draw at the beginning. stoke are the in form team in the championship and are doing well in 4th. we are still in the cup unlike many prem teams. yes the replay will be tricky but as i say we are still in the hat and thats all that matters
33 James // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:12
Well we must have really worried Sir Alex in the stands…..he knows he can rest his first 11 and he’ll still beat us by 3 or 4 goals at the weekend.
34 Rob Kirton // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:12
James: Your right about Viduka and his attitude, however surely Sam knew this when he signed him. I actually rate him in what he does, however he has to played one way and one way only. Ball to feet edge of box - back to goal. He has built a career out of it. It is crazy buying players and not playing to their strengths.
Viduka is limited in what he does and can appear to be very one dimensional, but for what he does he is the best.
Right guy? probably not - but at least lets try and get the most out of him. We’re caught beteween the devil and the deep blue sea here by two of Sam signings. Smith when up front runs all day causing trouble - but not scoring. Viduka strolls around all day but will bag the goals given the right service.
35 Rob Kirton // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:16
James: 3 or 4 at the weekend? Only if we get a joiner in to board up the goal posts early on. Look out for an early substitution.
20 minutes. A. Smith substituted for A. Joiner
36 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:16
definitely agree howie, we’re still in it and it wasnt that bad a performance, just frustrating at times.
37 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:16
can anyone confirm where they heard bout nolan?
38 James // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:22
Rob - Thing about Viduka is that in his day he was terrific. But he has completely lost his appetite for playing. Unlike his other appetite. Fat lazy living off his reputation striker.
Not once did he come deep to link up the play for Owen. In the end Owen was having to come deep and do Viduka’s job for him.
I agree with your comments about Smith up front but neither him or Viduka are good enough for Newcastle. We need a striker who gets the best out of Owen. We didn’t create one single clear cut chance for him tonight.
39 Ross // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:22
sir bob was in the stands cos he’s a die hard newcaslte fan like the rest of us.
he’s been through enough, i dont think another bout at newcastle would help his heart to be honest!
i thought butt wasnt as bad as everyone makes out today. dont get me wrong however, his performance wasnt a good one and why he was the one shooting from outside the edge of the box was beyond me.
though smith was crap.
only players worth mentioning today were faye, taylor, and zogs in the first half.
and if we’ve ended up lodging a bid for nolan, that no doubt will be accepted, then god help us.
today proved we needed a midfielder with pace, and bags of creativity. a player that can come forward from midfield, and attack.
Kevin Nolan im sorry, is not the answer.
40 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:32
nolan would suite allardyce dirty, not creative, one paced, energy but like most his signings SHITE
41 Chris F // Jan 6, 2008 at 22:17
nothings been confirmed about nolan, it’s just in the sunday sun, which is only good for wiping your arse with if you run out of bog roll.
42 Len // Jan 7, 2008 at 2:52
Not a bad performance which is an improvement. All the young players looked good which is very good. Viduka looked tired running out of the tunnel. I notice Owen and Viduka screaming at midfield to pass to feet not over their heads.
43 Tapir Angkasa // Jan 7, 2008 at 4:02
we are strugling against Championship team ?
Who we are?
Mackem or Derby??????
Something have to end and it is Big Sam!!
44 Fumi // Jan 7, 2008 at 6:14
I don’t get any idea why Big Sam had a smily face when the match ends. Maybe he thinks that is rare clean sheet for such a long time. Is totally hopeless……….our passing is like shit even a Championship team is better than us. that 2 CMs are super useless on the pitch, all we need r creative CMs, not the most fouls committed duo.
45 ronaldeano // Jan 7, 2008 at 12:48
We need an attackin midfielder with quality 2 feed the strikers, not 2 defensive ones, especialy alan smith who is not a d-mid in any way, shape or form. we need goals quick. Fred from lyon will get us them. New signings soon please.
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