[Archived] Newcastle United 0 Blackburn Rovers 1

[Paul Mellelieu]

Times report here which is kind to the Rovers. This week's good luck makes up for last week's bad luck.

[Brainfreeze]

I thought this was pretty funny from the BBC Rovers forum -

52,000 Newcastle and they call themselves the best fans in the country... at times you could hear the following as it was so quiet

1) A pin drop

2) Harry Shouting at Pompy

3) Souness' P45 folding to go into an envelope

4) The pin on the microwave warming up the pies

Someone else on there adds a 5th to that list - Souness' dodgy ticker skipping a beat!

P.S. I am aware that my last two posts have just been quoting from other forums. I must state however that I believe this one to be by far and away the best!

[Ozz]

Notice Savage isn't getting a mention very much on here. Why? I thought he was superb

Nelsen 1,  Shearer A great Big Zero

Savage super.

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Scuse Me Den...

[andy82]

I bet a pound(thats about 1.4 Euros Phil) that it contained the words Lady and Luck somewhere.

Do they have Euros in Malta?

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spot on:

Ferguson's injury marred what was a hugely successful afternoon on Tyneside for Rovers, who claimed all three points against a disappointing Newcastle courtesy of teenager Paul Gallagher's 72nd-minute strike.

The 19-year-old appeared to handle the ball as he challenged Aaron Hughes to reach Brett Emerton's cross, but Souness was happy enough to accept a stroke of luck as referee Mark Halsey saw no offence.

"The goal was fortunate, but we've scored one other fortunate goal this year, which was against Tottenham which won us the game," he said.

"Other than that, I can't think of any other time this year whenLady Luck has been with us. We've not had any penalties this year and I think the law of averages would tell you you'd expect a penalty if you've gone through half a season, and we haven't.

"But I think our defensive display has been the rock that got us the points. The goal we got was fortunate, but hopefully we'll get a few more of them, hopefully that's the start of us getting a bit more of that type of luck that makes a difference in a game."

United boss Sir Bobby Robson was unhappy with the goal, but admitted that his side had not done enough to win the game despite having a strike by Michael Chopra on his Premiership debut ruled out for offside.

"It's gone," he said. "I can't complain - what's the point? I can't change it. He's knocked it in with his hand - what can I do about it?

[den]

I said "very much" OZZ.

Your unusually bright insight into the finer points of footy, excepted of course.

[thenodrog]

Notice Savage isn't getting a mention very much on here. Why? I thought he was superb.

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From the BBC site...........

"Robbie Savage, for all the criticism he receives, is a midfielder that many teams up and down the country would lust after. The Wales star was at the centre of starting many of Blackburn's forward forays. One almost led to an early goal for the visitors, but striker Dickov was foiled by Given's sublime reactions from just two yards out. "

The first sentence just about sums Savage up imo Den. Course that wont be enough for waggy et al to give any sort of praise.

[herbergeehh]

Pleased with the result, good team performance!

Not too happy with the strikers, neither Kuqi or Dickov (how did he miss that??) did much to trouble Boumsong and Bramble, which was disappointing.

Friedel did very well today, safe-hands is back!

Neill was his usual self, best right back in the Prem imo.

Nelsen and Zura did okay aswell, struggled a bit with the lively Chopra, but handled Shearer well. Poor passing though, Nelsen's distribution the last few matches hasn't been good.

The midfield four played well together, especially the middle two. Tugay was brilliant again, and Reid really impressed out on the right. Hard-worker, a real athlete, and lovely passing aswell! As for Gamst, he scored.. again.

Also I was very impressed with the workrate of young Sergio Peter, he really got stuck in and was a real help to Gray in defence. Unafraid of taking people on, good pace and trickery. Great prospect!

[herbergeehh]

From the BBC site...........

"Robbie Savage, for all the criticism he receives, is a midfielder that many teams up and down the country would lust after.  The Wales star was at the centre of starting many of Blackburn's forward forays.  One almost led to an early goal for the visitors, but striker Dickov was foiled by Given's sublime reactions from just two yards out. "

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Wasn't that Reidy?

[thenodrog]

Wasn't that Reidy?

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Good spot! It was indeed ........but you get the gist.

[philipl]

I don't know whether this belongs here or in the Souness thread. Anyway nufc.com provide this gem of a report:

Dead man walking

Newcastle 0 Blackburn 1

It's a fraction over 16 months since Graeme Souness walked into St.James' Park as Newcastle Manager in waiting, taking a lofty perch to watch his former charges from Ewood Park soundly beaten 3-0 by a John Carver-marshalled Magpies side.

On that day in September 2004 we called the Blackburn side led by perennial caretaker boss Tony Parkes "a dispirited rag-bag of an outfit that slouched out to line up against us."

Now in January 2006 the boot is firmly on the other foot, as the fans who cheered the departure of our Manager from Lancashire predicted his imminent exit from Tyneside from their Level Seven seats.

This time it was the home side who were bereft.

Bereft of confidence, lacking anything approaching good fortune, perpetually hamstrung by injuries and now, perhaps fatally, deserted by their fans.

The pre-match build up had been punctuated by a plea for unity from the Chairman and a desperate call to arms from the Manager.

Neither cut any ice with the rank and file.

And this time the good fortune Souness had enjoyed in recent home games deserted him.

A 93rd minute penalty miss from Gareth Barry salvaged a point against Villa, then an extra time leveller from Lee Clark did the same against the smoggies.

And of course with the dark clouds beginning to form against Mansfield, up popped that man Shearer to take a share of Wor Jackie's record and divert attention away from an unsatisfactory display against a side who could be playing in the Conference next season.

Today though there was no late solace for Souness.

And with the usual touch of farce and folly that seemingly dogs this club at every turn, the crucial goal came from the hand of a player Souness signed for Rovers - after having seen his nimble footwork and long-range shooting prowess.

Morten Gamst Pedersen netted with 15 minutes remaining via what TV replays confirmed was a hand - helping Shefki Kuqi's goalbound effort into the Leazes net.

Of course this is nothing new; Blackburn having won here by the only goal of the game in December 2003, thanks to Paul Gallacher's punched- in effort at the same end of the ground.

So, let's just set the scene. Almost 50,000 Newcastle fans in their own stadium, a player one goal away from breaking the club's all-time scoring record and fifteen minutes left to turn things around.

What followed was deeply depressing and deeply predictable.

The players were unable to lift ourselves from the rut that we'd slipped into after a bright opening to the first half - and worse still, nobody seemed to believe that we were capable of doing so.

Souness sat rooted to his seat, his cohorts around him equally motionless - aside from the usual Dean Saunders mime show.

And from the stands came nothing - no boos, no great walk out, but no attempt at lifting the players.

Had it not been for the "Taxi for Souness" and "sacked in the morning" taunts from the travelling fans it would have been eerily quiet.

In the end Souness and his side were condemned by the sound of silence.

Forget the Sky-hyped protests of charver children outside SJP after the game - the real story was the air of resignation that settled across the ground during the game.

People simply don't believe Souness; don't believe in his tactics, his rhetoric or his purchases.

To nobody's great surprise the promised return of Emre failed to materialise, despite the claptrap in the Friday press conference.

As ever the defence looked flaky and shaky: big name acquisitions Boumsong and Babayaro found wanting both technically and in terms of commitment.

Quite simply, they didn't look as if they gave a clumsy, hit shift + 8 again!! what the score was.

And once again the £10m Spaniard barely featured - one early shot clattered against the 'keeper and thereafter a handful of forays down the left that confirmed he cannot take a man on to save his life.

His withdrawal though saw him spark into life, as he raced down the player's tunnel with a purpose that had hitherto been lacking from his afternoon's output.

It's the injuries you know - we have a sick list, so all bets are off.

Never mind that what we still put out on the park is an extravagantly-paid, expensively assembled side who have international experience and pedigree but who are playing listless, lifeless football that us breeding apathy and indifference among supporters of the club.

To give Souness a penny to spend in transfers or even in sanctioning wages (Gregory Vignal aka the French Craig Moore) would seem like a vote of confidence in the management that was conspicuously missing from the Chairman's pronouncements this week - where he failed to mention the words "Graeme" and "Souness" but included "Europe".

A televised embarrassment at Whaddon Road may see the axe fall on Souness, if Freddy can reign in his fury for that long.

It seems that the only thing keeping Souness in post is a lack of suitable candidates to succeed him and an unwillingness or inability to pay the large severance fee that was negotiated in 2004.

Souness should never have been here in the first place but he wasn't going to turn the job down was he? He knew he was on to a good thing and if it all went pear -shaped then he would get a bigger pay -off than Blackburn were about to offer him.

Once again we find ourselves in an impossible and self -imposed situation.

The mood of the fans seems to provide ample evidence that we have no future under Souness, but what lies ahead with him gone?

Quite simply, who in their right mind would come into this madhouse and attempt to work with the current administration?

Your guess is as good as ours, but the view from the stands today suggests the current incumbent has had a bellyful - something that is patently obvious from what his dispirited team is serving up.

It's debatable whether anyone else could achieve any less with what's at his disposal. Yes, talent is missing - but so apparently is heart, desire, pride, organisation and motivation.

Be sure of one thing: the so-called big hitters who are crocked certainly won't be rushing back to bail us out of the crap in the closing months of the season.

No, the only thing those missing players will be rushing to do is phone their agents and tell them to seek pastures new ASAP.

And in all this two more words were never mentioned: "Craig Bellamy".

Perhaps the symbolism of the Welshman returning to his old stamping ground to inflict collateral damage on us would have stirred the Chairman into action, or at least wound home fans up.

But instead he was left to reflect on what his reception on Tyneside might have been - and doubtless glorify in the success of his current employers.

PS: The final insult was perhaps provided by the Saturday evening Sky game, when a Steve Watson own goal gave the mackems a 1-0 win at the Hawthorns.

In our present predicament, that was a good result for us, keeping the Baggies as it did from moving with one point of our lowly fourteenth placing.

[1864roverite]

now thats an enthralling read

[broadsword]

Surely he's just waiting for his whacking great pay-off now.

That club is in one hell of a mess.

[thenodrog]

I find it odd to say the least that Freddie Shepherd isn't the target of their anger. Sure Souness is performing worse than even we dared hope but the buck surely stops with Shepherd. The fat fool upset the mags fans by comments made in Spain, he got rid of Robson and appointed Souness, he is the one who runs the show and who appears now to be unhealthily engineering the increasingly manipulative alan shearer into the managers seat.

I know he is chummy with the Hall family but just how did he become chairman and how does he manage to stay there?

[jim mk2]

Surely he's just waiting for his whacking great pay-off now.

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Newcastle won't sack Souness because it would cost £5 million to get rid of him - money they do not have.

And Souness won't resign - he made that point again after Saturday's match - so the impasse will probably continue for some time yet.

Just enjoy the spectacle as the club limps along and slowly get dragged into the relegation fight.

[Jan]

I don't know about you, but all of this gives me a warm glow.

In some ways I kinda don't want the inevitable to happen - at least it would be good if it didn't until they ARE relegated- I'd like Sourmess to suffer even more! However I suspect that £5m will make up for the fact that he's an abject failure. It's not as if he cares about Newcastle any more than he ever did for us!

[Manchester Blue]

They won't go down even if Souness stays all season. They simply have too many decent players and once a few are back they will pick up points. Saying that I would have thought a finish around 15th would be no surprise. I really can't see Shepherd sacking him largely down to the money but also because they isn't an awful lot of potential replacements around. I would think most Rovers fans would do well to hope Souness does stay as one of the top prospects around at present is Hughes.

[grizfoot]

I decide to have a look at the differences between the team that lost 3-0 against newcastle (the team that souness left behind) and the team that won yesterday.

September 2004

Newcastle 3-0 Rovers

Newcastle: Given, Carr, O'Brien, Elliott, Hughes, Dyer, Jenas, Bowyer, Robert Shearer, Bellamy

Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Short, Matteo, Gray, Emerton, Ferguson, Flitcroft, Pedersen, Dickov, Stead

January 2006

Newcastle 0-1 Rovers

Newcastle: Given, Ramage, Bramble, Boumsong, Babayaro, Solano, Bowyer, Clark, Luque, Shearer, Chopra.

Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Nelsen, Khizanishvili, Gray, Reid, Tugay, Savage, Pedersen, Kuqi, Dickov

Just thought it would intersting to see the difference.

[LeChuck]

Newcastle is about 100 miles North of us so I think this is actually further proof of the existence of southern bias!

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Hah...my thinking was slightly blurred last night, in fact everything was a bit blurred, seems my geographical skills went out of the window as well.

But the theory holds up for now...

Edited January 22, 2006 by LeChuck

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

High above a hill overlooking the A1 road into Tyneside, the 'Angel of the North' keeps a watchful eye over the proceedings in Newcastle. A couple of miles away at St James' Park though, it's not so much angels wings but a dark cloud that is hanging over the club and in particular their rather beleaguered manager Graeme Souness.

Newcastle face Cheltenham in the FA Cup next Saturday and a defeat away there would surely be the final nail in the coffin for Souey's reign in charge. Cheltenham, most famous for it's horse racing, might prove to be the venue where Freddy Shepherd's reckless gamble in sacking Bobby Robson and appointing an abrasive Scot in his place, comes to it's final sorry conclusion. (Sorry for him that is - not sorry for the rest of us.)

For the first time since the Championship winning season of 94/95, Rovers have won three consecutive away games - and for that Mark Hughes deserves a lot of credit.

About fifteen minutes into yesterday's match, Paul Dickov should have made it 1-0 to Rovers. In his media interview afterwards, Hughes praised the save from Shay Given, but in all honesty it was a weak effort from Dickov who should have directed his shot more towards the right-hand side of the goal away from the Irishman's reach.

I haven't always been Steven Reid's biggest fan - sometimes feeling that he's inconsistent and doesn't create enough - but he deserves praise for his performance on Saturday. He made some good quality runs forward and looked pacy and dangerous on the counter-attack. Tugay also had an excellent game in midfield.

The partnership in defence of Nelsen and Zurab generally looked strong and stood up to Newcastle's sporadic attacks. The weak link in our side is the big lumbering Finn/Kosovan up front who struggles to trap a bag of cement and resembles a barrel-chested pub player who has all the grace and subtlety of a rhino. However, with 15 minutes to go, it was the big Kuqi Monster who rose high to head down Lucas Neill's cross towards the back of the net - with a helping hand, literally, from Pedersen.

Last week on the M/B it was suggested that Pedersen should be moved forward from the left-wing to a position up front and that happened for the final 35 minutes in the second half after Dickov was taken off with his unfortunate shoulder injury.

For me, Kuqi has never been Premiership class, but I'm grateful for the part he played in yesterday's goal. His scoring record is fairly mediocre - 6 goals in 27 League and Cup matches this season, but to be fair to him, those 6 goals were all important ones - two away to Middlesbrough, two at home to West Brom and goals in the 3-2 win against West Ham and the 3-2 Carling Cup victory over Charlton.

If Mark Hughes manages to get another quality striker onto our books before the end of January, then a top 6 finish for us is a possibility. A couple of months ago I thought that was a remote prospect, but credit to the team for doing well in recent weeks.

Edited January 23, 2006 by Anti Euro Smiths Fan

[AussieinUk]

His scoring record is fairly mediocre - 5 goals in 27 League and Cup matches this season, but to be fair to him, those 5 goals were all important ones -

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Smithy, 6 goals he has.. Goal agianst Charlton

Edited January 22, 2006 by AussieinUk

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Smithy, 6 goals he has..  Goal agianst Charlton 

Yep, you're right. Post ammended.

[philipl]

Scadenfreude (if that is spelt correctly) is probably why I am posting this piece which also says nice things about the Rovers.

Elsewhere, the Guardian says definitively that Souness will be replaced by Roeder "assisted" by Shearer today.

The Newcastle fans seem distinctly underwhelmed by the prospect- I wonder why?

[thenodrog]

Roeder and a Geordie ex-England international forming a management team?

Sounds like something Burnley would do!

[Presty On Tour]

well chuffed with the 1-0 result, happy days!!!!

thought we were solid throughout the team, savage was outstanding and didn't getted booked so he is available for the manky on wednesday.

thought sourpuss was going to be booted out before i sat down for my tea, the aftermatch protest was great

hughsey once again proved what a genius he is and i bet bellamy was loving it large

revenge is soooo sweet!!!!

[stuwilky]

well chuffed with the 1-0 result, happy days!!!!

thought we were solid throughout the team, savage was outstanding and didn't getted booked so he is available for the manky on wednesday.

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He would have been if he had been booked.