Kevin Keegan thinks that Joey Barton played his best game on Saturday against Fulham in our 2-0 critical win.
Joey Barton - best game on Saturday
It’s hard to disagree with Kevin on that one because, along with Nicky Butt, the two of them looked great in our midfield, and Joey is finally showing signs of his marauding play while at Manchester City.
Keegan spoke with the Evening Chronicle today:
“I felt it was definitely Joey’s best game – I thought he played with his head, and not his heart, so much.â€
“He has stopped wanting to run every game, and instead is just trying to do a good job for the team. He will catch the attention of people by doing that as he’s a strong and determined lad.â€
“He did all the things he’s capable of doing, and did away with some of the things that are tougher for him.â€
“The things you want to do and the things you’re capable of doing are sometimes different.â€
Interesting comments from Kevin, who seems to be a much better coach than people give him credit for.
We watched the game again last night, and we were mildly surprised just how well the team played. The team kept their shape and everyone played well - a good team performance. Joey and Nicky Butt were great in midfield and Michael Owen had an even better game than we first thought.
His vision and passing were first class, and he still managed to score one goal out of the two chances he had, and he almost scored with a 25 yard shot in the first half, which was well saved by Kasey Keller.
It will obviously be a lot tougher at White Hart Lane on Sunday, but the team has to be brave, and think they can win this game. They can then go all out for another 3 points.
Comments very welcome.
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43 responses so far ↓
1 indian toon // Mar 25, 2008 at 12:49
give credit where its due. cmon toon!
2 Leo // Mar 25, 2008 at 12:50
kellers save for owens 25yarder was a camera save for sure, it was easier than it looked haha… but credit to owen we were talking previously about him not having a long range shot, but 10mins later he gives it a go, he is changing his game play to improve himself.
joey barton did do well. but i dont understand why geremi isnt getting the praise he deserves, he had a good game and made some good passes
3 ToonKing // Mar 25, 2008 at 12:52
yeah Joey was great, like him or hate him he’s a good player and i have a feeling he’s going to play a big part for us next season.
4 Leo // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:00
####does anyone know if there is a restraunt inside st james park? im sure i read somewhere that there was one called harveys’, but i rang the club to find out and the receptionist said she hadnt heard of it… hope someone knows better#####
5 CJ // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:21
With his performance against Fulham Barton is way to good for Walton prison starting 11 i would prefer Geremi and Smith to leave and KK get the best out of Barton.
6 King Kev-4-3-3 // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:21
i am fully expecting something out of the game saturday, i have had an extra skip in my step for the past few days after the win on saturday, i was very impressed with joey, i love the guy, always have but he has had a torrid time of it, much bought on by his ways, i now think he is settled wich can only be a great thing. i really like jose enrique, his pass for when joey wasnt offside but was given, is exactly the range of passing we need from our full backs, can anyone tell me if habib beye is injured, or just taken off as a precaution?
7 DC Magpie // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:26
I agree that Geremi also played well, probably the best he has played for the club. It was still all too evident that he lacks any pace but as long as he moves the ball he does ok. I would still prefer to see Charlie in that three man midfield.
Beye, Taylor, Faye, Enrique
Barton, Butt, N’Zogbia
———Owen———-
Viduka, Martins
8 simen // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:31
Geremi did okay on Saturday, but i still think his corners, and free kicks are poor! He did well to find Owen when we got our 2nd, but when you hit one out of about ten, thats not good enough! Know its not right to compare with manu right now, but i think Nanis corners are fantastic. Nearly every one of them.
Think we need an exiting player with skills like that who also are creative. We have Emre, but hes so often out injuried…
9 broon ale // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:32
geremi did not play well. what were you watching
10 simen // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:37
I agree broon ale… and he even had two assists :S
11 Cockney Magpie // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:48
i will never take Geremi serious since Sir Bobby admitted that Mourinho told him Geremi’s legs had gone and thats y he wants rid of him and Bobby told this to big Sam b4 we signed him but Sam bought him anyway
12 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 13:55
Cockney Magpie
That sums up Allardyce in one his head is as big his belly, He thinks he knows best and wont listen to others more learned opinions.
Which other managers would totally ignore Sir Bobby and Mourinho.
13 Cockney Magpie // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:01
exactly CRAIGG
14 James // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:06
Barton had a terrific game on Sat, but he is still scum and will hopefully be going to jail next month. He has constantly abused his status as footballer and beaten up more people than most convicts.
Geremi was terrible at the one thing he was asked to do - cross the ball. The first defender saw the ball more than anyone in the box.
Only Fat Sam would sign such players as these two.
15 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:15
James it does beggar belief that Sam would Sell Parker, Dyer and Solano and replace them with Barton, (Who is a good player but a Thug) Geremi and Smith
16 James // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:21
Craig - Only reason I can see that he did is because the three you mentioned are very injury prone. They haven’t played for West Ham all season.
Add to the mix Smith, Rozenhal, and Cacapa, and anyone can see why Newcastle struggled with pacy teams.
17 Cockney Magpie // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:26
iv stil not got over Parker, he was fantastic, but i have to disagree about Barton i hope he stays he can be a great player, so the lad has a few problems and obviously needs some help sorting his head out but as long as he is in black n white he wil get support from me all the way. basically bcoz i no how good he could be and hate to see footballers not reach their potential bcoz of personal problems
18 Nev // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:27
chuffed for barton .. im from the same area as merseyside were he was born, so i chuffed to see a local lad from my area to well for the toon lol
19 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:37
I agree about the bit about west ham but they all played a full season last season and Parker and Solano werent really injury prone during their time here.
To be honest i would have hated to seen Nobbys talent wasted lumping long balls to the likes of Smith.
God i cannot wait to be there when Sam brings his next club of scrappers and cheats to play at SJP, Hell get a nice reception and theyll probably play local hero as a tribute to his fine contribution to the club.
20 Cockney Magpie // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:43
how have there been 56 ppl tht hav voted Geremi as Big Sams best buy?
21 ToonKing // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:46
it was his family and friends that’s 55 and then Fat Sam voted for him too.
22 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:47
I looks like 56 people had been let out for the weekend
23 ToonKing // Mar 25, 2008 at 14:50
oh and i just heard that we released Mark Cook, Mark Bertram, Alex Francis and Alex Patterson from the reserve side.
But on the good side Darren Lough, Callum Morris, James Marwood , Frank Wiafe Danquah, Jonny Godsmark and Mark Doninger all received new contracts.
24 simen // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:06
Where have you heard about the reserve players ToonKing? And hey, the 55 votes was probably only from his family
25 ToonKing // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:11
it’s on NUFC.com somewhere in the middle.
26 Leo // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:26
anyone seen on sky sports that cacapa is likely to miss the rest of the season with a groin injury.
27 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:34
To be fair if he was fit i doubt that Cacapa would play for the club again now we have signed this Diatta fella and Young Edgar to play if Faye or Taylor were injured or suspended.
Although its a shame it didnt work out because he looked great at lyon and i was over the moon when we signed him.
28 ELFER // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:35
I’m pleased that some of the players now finally are waked up before it’s too late!
But make no mistakes, Fulham was a very easy “oponent” (I was shocked how easy!)…and next sunday it will be completely different agains tottham…but I think something good is that all other teams below us have also hard games!
But agreed with Kev, yes indeed he played good. I hope he can build on it as all other lads and then soon we will not have to fear relegation anymore!
29 simen // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:36
Yep Leo… He will probably leave in the summer too. So we may as well start the “Kompany For Newcastle” campaign sooner rather than later
30 CJ // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:41
I am going to hand Jimmy Grieves a bottle of cheap killer russian vodka so he can drink himself to a slow and painful death.
31 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:41
Elfer if we didnt score early Fulham may have been a harder game, but we knocked the stuffing out of them
The same we should of against Boro when that clown Schwarzer dropped the ball in the 5th minute and owen was penalised despite not touching the big dopey bas**rd.
If the refs and linemen had done their jobs we would be midtable and safe as houses like Spurs and West ham
32 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 15:42
CJ i think Greaves is about 50 years ahead of you with that
33 CRAIGG // Mar 25, 2008 at 16:03
Look at this:
Manchester City have expressed an interest in Barcelona’s 18-year-old forward Giovani dos Santos, according to the player’s father Zizinho.
Mexico international Dos Santos broke into Barca’s senior squad last season, but the rise of fellow young star Bojan Krkic has limited his appearances in the Catalan giants’ starting XI.
“There is interest from Manchester City,” Zizinho told Mexican newspaper El Universal.
“However, I cannot give more information now as Giovani’s agent is the one in charge of all this, it’s him who is dealing with negotiations.
“I can’t say for sure if Giovani will go to another team. There are still games to play in La Liga and while there are he’s only thinking about Barcelona.
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, there is interest but first he has to concentrate on Barcelona.”
This is a joke how can a club containing Vassell, Benjani, Mills and Dickov have such ambition!
34 Leo // Mar 25, 2008 at 16:04
yeah i think so… i had my name as Leo Kompany for the toon, and someone thought my name was leo kompany haha
35 Callum // Mar 25, 2008 at 16:44
Allardyce was doing TV work for ‘The football Channel’ over here in Singapore at the weekend =)
36 steve // Mar 25, 2008 at 17:13
Great win over the weekend - as they say, you can only beat whats put in front of you.
However we should hold back praising individuals as Fulham were quite possibly the worst team to be seen at St James this season, other than Bullard they effectively had no fight, skill or ambition, rarely went for a 50/50 ball and generally gave up as soon as we scored (sounds like the toon).
Lets wait till Sat when we have a real challenge to start praising individuals - if we get anything other than a thrashing from the Spurs game I’ll be happy (although we did the double over them last year even when they were all over us
37 Tom_Toon // Mar 25, 2008 at 17:17
Craigg, Dos Santos has nowhere near lived up to his hype this season, hes been quite average.
38 ANDY TOON // Mar 25, 2008 at 19:51
just before xmas(i think or after cant remember precisely sorry ) tony adams was holding an evening with people who had problems with alcohol and other substances in gloucestershire .joey turned up unanounced and sat at the back of the meeting, it was only a member of the audience who recognised him that he was brought to the attention of everyone.reports say he took questions along with adams through the night !he has problems and at times a thug but i think he deserves some slack and dare i say it respect.sometimes our demons are stronger than us !
39 ANDY TOON // Mar 25, 2008 at 19:53
by the way everyone the games on sunday!
40 richie // Mar 25, 2008 at 23:24
toonking complety agree, i rate joey hes gettin better with fitness, hel b a player for us next year
41 richie // Mar 25, 2008 at 23:29
i watched inside sport interview on him and he comes accross as an honest working class lad who speaks his mind, i actually have a gut feeling if things do turn around for newcastle next season joey will b a big part of it and could exceed everyones expectations in next couple of years, he reminds me a little of keane and plays a role in team similar to keane ,, england role in a few years is not beyond possiblitiy,,
42 clinta // Mar 26, 2008 at 0:08
i don’t think bartons up for the fight, remember that interview he did a while back, he doesn’t have the drive to play to class football week in week out, he’ll have more off days for the toon than on days i think.
43 KKN39 // Mar 26, 2008 at 7:31
in football terms Barton is equally good if not better than Parker. he’s the closest thing to Gerrard if only he keeps his focus on football and works hard and intelligently for the team. he’s still only 25 if he decides to start playing his best football he’ll become a very valuable player for us no doubt. don’t understand why some of our “fans” want him behind bars even he plays well (relatively). don’t think Rio Ferdy is a better guy than Joey (maybe less impulsive and more cunning tho) but he plays well for ManU and England and no one cares about his past. why not the same for Joey …
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