Had a Prem team been given that big of an advantage, we'd be sunk right now. Thankfully Brighton botched it.
F*cking hell, knee-high tackle on Cabaye nowhere near the ball and the crowd boo for the ref giving a free kick. He could have been off for that. Incidentally I've noticed when HBA is running with the ball the rest of the team tend to stop and watch.
Well the coaching staffs getting into it have added a little life to the match. Although I think I'm putting my money on Carver if it comes to blows. Just seems to have a bit more junk yard dog in him and is a little thicker as well.
Well looks like Pardew doesn't have to worry about resting players in the league for an FA cup run. They have played like s*** today.
Williamson owngoal, surely. That's purely on Simpson. Pulled out of the challenge because he was on a yellow when he might have won it. Should have laid off if he wasn't going to make the challenge.
Pardew with his second straight match with poor in game management. Sham-eobi should have been off long before that goal was scored. The offense was screaming for something different and Pardew failed to make any changes when he had the opportunity to change the course of the match. Best has been fouling like crazy, Sham-eobi has done nothing and none of the wide players have added anything even close to serviceable balls in. Waiting till the 83 minute is a joke and leaving Sham-eobi and Less-than-Best in a horrible decision.
Why is Cabaye, our most creative player left on the pitch, sitting at midfield with our defenders while the rest of the squad is bombing up the pitch?
I'd say those substitutions show how much Pardew wants to invest in this match - regardless of what he has said publicly.
Newcastle have given up. Why else do you foul when they are stalling? This is a Joke. the team, the tactics, all of it. I don't think I've been this pissed all season.
Pardew has to hold his hand up and admit he put a side in a formation where they were toothless. Had Best had the lone striker role, that could have been enough, but Strolla just wasn't in it. I also don't get the Jonas in the middle and Hatem out wide situation. Perhaps an earlier switch of Gosling or Vukcic for Guthrie, with Cabaye dropping back into the holding role would have made a difference. Santon is carrying the ball into good positions, now we just have to get him to shoot. Poor Mike Williamson, he's git to be living in fear of the FA Cup 4th Round after this.
After a couple hours of steaming, I'm more disappointed than angry. Disappointed that it's now be 58 years without a major trophy and disappointed in the general lack of effort. Outside of Cabaye, Perch and maybe Santon I thought the outfield players offered next to nothing. All things considered, other than another year without a trophy, I guess it's not the end of the world. We weren't outplayed, lost because of a deflection and a lack of a cutting edge up front. If we'd taken our chances in the first half we'd've been up 2 or 3 at the break and the handball issue never becomes a talking point. In the end, we're still sixth in the league, and we have a thin squad. If we want to qualify for Europe, then we need to maximize our output in the league. Still got a great shot of getting there, especially with the Dembas coming home.