Before we go any further we have to tell one on ourselves, so you understand where we are coming from for this article.
We are great fans of Oba Martins and just love the guy. We also believe in the years to come he can even emulate the great things our very own Michael Owen has accomplished in the game. That’s a huge compliment for Oba, but we think he can realize his potential.
We thought he played very well on Saturday and certainly he”s fast and full of energy and creativeness, something the team lacks in midfield.
Oba Martins – loving it at Newcastle under Big Sam’s guidance
Oba’s goal was excellent, the way he killed the high ball from Geremi stone dead with one touch and turned and lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Hart as he advanced in his next movement – superb. Good skills for the up and coming youngsters on Tyneside to try to perfect. Looks like the City center-backs got a good look at it too, as they were caught watching Oba on either side of him 😀
Oba Martins tells Newcastle World TV he is full of confidence and full of goals having hit his 4th of the season at Man City on Saturday to go top of our goalscoring list. And we know he hit 17 last season, his very first in the Premiership.
Here’s what Oba said:
“I think we were unlucky because we played well in the first-half,” “But we could not get our rhythm after half-time and they have scored so early it has made it difficult.â€
“It’s upsetting to score and not win because the most important thing is the three points.â€
He’s spot on there. Martins continued:
“For my goal I have managed to bring it down with my left and finish with my right and I was pleased with the finish.†“I am always full of confidence. When I play I always give my best and I always feel like I will score.â€
“Next week against Everton will be tough because the are a good team on a good run, but it is an important game for us and we will be looking for three points.”
All this nonsense about Owen coming back next Sunday is just that, nonsense and it’s a disservice to young Oba. It’s also true the fans love watching him play at St. James’ because he is an exciting and explosive player to watch. When he gets the ball near goal he can hit a rocket with either foot. On Saturday, in the second half, he hit just such a rocket with his left foot from the left channel. We weren’t sure if it was a goal or not as it rebounded back at speed. The replay showed it went wide, hit the support post of the nets and came right back. But you had to watch it in slow motion to see that Oba had hit the ball at such tremendous speed. Shots hit at that velocity give a goalkeeper little chance whatever the direction of the shot.
Oba’s got 21 goals for us now and we believe that figure is going to rise a lot before he’s finished at Newcastle. Come to think of it we wonder how the contract negotiation are going on his long term contract which tie him up at Newcastle for the next 5 years or more. Sam is sage in getting all his young good players signed up on extended deals while he also looks for new talent to bring into the club. Oba’s still got a lot of improvement in him and he’s not the finished article but the fact that Wenger was interested in him (and he’s not even French) tells you his potential is very high. Under Big Sam he can develop that potential to the good of Newcastle.
Finally, we find him not only a great talent but also a very likable lad and the fans love him and he and his extended family love it on Tyneside 😀
Comments welcome.
24 comments so far
Hammy
Oct 1, 2007 at 10:25 AM
Comment #1Thought Martins and the Duke teamed up well at City……..unfortunately a stale midfield let them down…..would love to see how Owen and Oba could do for a full game with balls into feet….but will it ever happen??
Anybody else noticed a slight dip in form by Le Zog in the last couple of games??
col
Oct 1, 2007 at 10:29 AM
Comment #2zog at left back and enrique on the bench…the mind boggles….we need to see whose available and whose injured when january comes…the african nations cup is around that time…so we may meed to buy more than just some french youngsters !!!
Ed Harrison
Oct 1, 2007 at 10:34 AM
Comment #3Hammy – I’m not a big believer in playing Owen and Martisn together but it’s fast becoming obvious it would be great if we could get both on the filed at once – like when Oba created Michael’s goal against Wigan. But Sam needs to ensure they are both involved in every game when fit – that’s his challenge – but there’s no way we should get rid of either of them – it has to be scary to the opposition that we have both available. And they’re both great guys too.
Ed Harrison
Oct 1, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Comment #4col – excellent point.
sirjasontoon
Oct 1, 2007 at 11:08 AM
Comment #5Owen should be given time to heal properly rather than keep rushing him back.
We have plenty of cover and Martins and Viduka should be strating ahead of Owen anyway on present form.
Big Sam is definatly starting to feel the pressure and I give him until xmas before he is shown the door by mort and ashley.
The footabll is woeful and his 4-3-3 clearly does not work anywhere near effective as he seems to think..defence is not the key , you need creativity too and at the moment we lack either !
adam
Oct 1, 2007 at 11:11 AM
Comment #6oba needs to playing week in week out. hopefully when barton comes into the team he will provide oba more in ways of service. we look so much better in a 4 4 2 where oba is central and not just playing of one wing cutting inside. i agree that we should be playing enrique at lb and zoggy at left wing because he is much better going forward.
oba is ahead of owen when both fit in my book.
common newcastle!!!!!
hadrian
Oct 1, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Comment #7spot on ed.
we got the lads contract sorted yet?
and your right , us geordies love to watch great attacking football , and you just never know what this kids gonna do next , but you can always guarentee that it’ll be pretty spectacular .
now all we need is to get him knocking the easy ones in .
p.s im waiting on an article saying were after boltons keeper, so we can all shout in unison WTF !!!!
true
Oct 1, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Comment #8If Oba scores in every game between now and when Mr Sick note is fit again HE WILL STILL BE DROPPED. Big S has set his stall out by picking Given infront of Harper, yes Given may be the better of the two in some peoples opinions but if a player is doing well he should keep his place., HARPER was doing FANTASTIC. From a sports mental viewpoint big S has dropped his first clanger, and its a big’in.
When you hear the term competition for places you have to smile
Steve c
Oct 1, 2007 at 12:34 PM
Comment #9I really beleive we should plaay 4 4 2 and push Zog up to the left wing position. I also think that Geremi and Butt are too static in midfield either one of them playing but we must have a playmaker/flair player who can release the front two or spread the play out to the wide men, then we will be able to break down teams like city who i thought were worth the win on saturday.
Hulio Geordio
Oct 1, 2007 at 1:01 PM
Comment #10We should be playing 442 to support the likes off Martins and Viduka. However, Alladyce hasn’t a clue. I was prepared to give him a chance to see what he could offer, but I’m afraid he’s going for the route one to Viduka hoping for a layoff.
His decison to bring back Given was wrong, yes a gloridfied shop stopper, but his bad positioning contributed to the second goal, and he failed to align his wall correctly for the 3rd goal (as well as himself). Harper must be gutted. Given also guilty of route one, he always kicks the ballout and gives possession away. He gives the advantage to the oppo. Taylor was rubbish again giving cheap balls away. 3 defensive midfielders was a joke. I can’t see the faithful putting up with this dour brand of football. Where’s are flair players (answer we aint got any).
Rich
Oct 1, 2007 at 1:07 PM
Comment #11I honestly think geremi and butt are useless they bring nothing to the team, i mean they cant even pass the ball. Barton and Emre should be starting , we are possibly the slowest team in midfield in the premiership! City play slick one touch football, great on the eye and very effective and im not even going to start on our style. Wish we got Eriksson i really do he knows how to play football
Callum
Oct 1, 2007 at 1:39 PM
Comment #12Rich – Butt brings nothing to the team, but Geremi does, look at what hes done with Zogbia for a starters and then he’ll slowly hit form with his set pieces aswell as start assisting more which is what he done on saturday with a beautiful pass to Martins, but Butt needs to be left out when Barton returns or either put Faye in for Butt untill Barton returns.
Aussie geordie
Oct 1, 2007 at 1:47 PM
Comment #13Arghhh the backline was a little frustrating last night. Zog should not be relied on too much. If you are going to build a team round a creative young midfielder like Zog, Ronaldo or Fabregas then they need to be able to play in their preferred position. At the moment Zog should be in the middle where he can get support defensivly from those around him and work to create chances to score and assist in goals. I hope Enrique can start playing a permanent role asap. Taylor was not particularly inpressive and perhaps should have taken Petrov out non mencingly of course to stop that cross ever going across. Elano credit where credit is due. Good goal
Ed Harrison
Oct 1, 2007 at 2:08 PM
Comment #14Aussie Geordie – hey good point we should probably play Zog in central midfield or Emre – but we need some creativity. With Zog’s form so far he may be a good starter for us there on Sunday against Everton. Hard to imagine much of a better goal than Elano’s and he seemed to hit it so effortlessly – well I guess that’s skill and technique for you – fabulous!
Ed Harrison
Oct 1, 2007 at 2:11 PM
Comment #15Hadrian – yes- but I think the goalkeeper news about Jussi Jaaskelainen is coming from his agent only. The last thing we need is another keeper. I’m sure Jussi would love to come here – like lots of other good players 😀
Ed Harrison
Oct 1, 2007 at 2:13 PM
Comment #16No new news on Oba or Taylor’s new contract negotiations – maybe Oba’s delayed because he wants a 10 year contract 😀
Johann
Oct 1, 2007 at 2:41 PM
Comment #17Fantastic point Hulio couldn´t have said it better myself. Already earlier talked about Givens fault for the second and third goal, finally someone who is not blinded. And you point about Given always givening possession to the opponent is partly correct. He does have good touch and kicking. But I feel Given just kicks it somewhere while Harper kicks the ball to a newcastle player. And I also love the handling of Harper. How he spreads the ball with his right or left arm fast. And he knows the right moment to be relaxed. Some fans have been annoyed when we are not leading like against Derb when Harper took his time on goalkicks. I myself liked that, it makes the team more relaxed but too bad for us we didn´t have our team show up that day.
carl
Oct 1, 2007 at 5:25 PM
Comment #18well i guess you guys have got it spot on, big sams really pissed me off. if he continues to drop clangers and play wrong tactics/lineup i can see big mike getting rid. mourinho anyone?? people are right in saying no well how oba or harper plays, sam will bring in given and owen whatever.
Sinead
Oct 1, 2007 at 5:36 PM
Comment #19Can I ask, is there any player that ye don’t spitefully criticise, even when they’re doing well??
people are right in saying no well how oba or harper plays, sam will bring in given and owen whatever..ya ya, that’s why Given had to wait till now to get back into the team after he played well, he’d to fight to get in, Owen had to show up. If it was up to Sam he’d play Harper and Owen all the time.
Sinead
Oct 1, 2007 at 5:39 PM
Comment #20Like Johann..did you close your eyes till the ball was in the back of the net and said..oh must be Given’s fault. Are you married to Harper or something or did Given stand you up, every bloody time you talk about him, are you actually thinking..God dalmnit he stoped it?? I’m seriously beggining to think you are.
Jóhann
Oct 2, 2007 at 1:10 AM
Comment #21No that thought doesnt really enter my mind because first and foremost I want nufc to do well. But if we are leading 4-0 with 5 minutes to go then one mistake from given wouldn´t be bad 😀 but seriously I support the team that plays though I dont agree with selections
SingKing
Oct 2, 2007 at 3:27 AM
Comment #22Oba could possibly be on the path to greatness. No question he has the physical ability and doesnt seem to be injury prone. His overall team play seems to be improving. There are question marks around his behaviour. And he needs to start regularly. I think ahead of Little Mikey Owen. Owen should not be starting for us until he is fully fit AND playing better than Oba (why 4 weeks in the reserves to get Barton fit and nothing for Owen?). Letting him play 90 against Estonia and then another 90 against Russia in the freezing cold on an artificial pitch would be bloody criminal. Sam choice of words here is interesting “we have to protect our most expensive asset”. Means what? Let me play for England, play me first choice or I leave?
sirjasontoon
Oct 2, 2007 at 9:53 AM
Comment #23Totally agree with your comments Carl,Sam is doing us no favours and I see us getting hammered by everton at the weekend.
That will push us further down the pecking order and we have played non of the so called big boys yet.
I fear this season will be a struggle if Sam stays..we are not bolton and his football is negative and cowardly as well as boring to watch.
My dad reckons Mourinio will be in the hot seat come christmas..now there is a man that collects silverware for fun.
sirjasontoon
Oct 2, 2007 at 10:14 AM
Comment #24The Everton clash is looming large on the horizon and I feel physically scared of that gang of well organised Scouse pirates as they sail up the River Tyne destined to crack open big Sam’s defensive treasure chest and steal all 3 points.
I predict another dull, disorganised debacle at the former fortress and after 20 minutes the fan’s will turn angrily and start venting their frustration that has built up like a mini tidal wave since Big Sam began chucking away points like chocolate money.
All fun aside I predict 3-1 to Everton who will be well up for this fun day out at the park.