Newcastle v. Scunthorpe (Carling Cup)

Well that was crap.
Win and all, it was crap.

If Ba broke a sweat it was because he had spicy food before the game. Best just couldn't steer a shot on target to save his life. If Pardew wasn't desperate for another striker he is now.

Thank god we had some youngsters on the bench who actually wanted to play. Ameobi/Vukcic made a huge difference when they came on.

The announcer keeps talking about how Cabaye has impressed, but what impresses me about him is how hard he drive a pass right to the feet of the opposition. Looks like he needs time to settle, or something.

Marveaux got going after a while and looked lively. Krul was amazing.

But against a League 1 team, really it was crap.

 

Sammy's goal was class. From what I gather Vuckic was hugely important and everyone was was kind of meh.

 

[ame="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkq1b0_sammy-ameobi-vs-scunthorpe_sport"]Dailymotion - Sammy Ameobi vs Scunthorpe - a Sports et Extrême video@@AMEPARAM@@http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video@@AMEPARAM@@video[/ame]

 

Sammy's goal was complete class - to be fair, Ryan's wasn't half bad either. Sammy had a very good match when he came on- lots of good touches and definitely has pace. Vuckic also played well when he came on. Both should slowly be introduced into the first team as the year goes on.

Their goal came off of shit defending, guy wins the header over Williamson and noone is tracking a man inside the six. Poor stuff, typical Newcastle really.

Thought Marveux was very impressive at times. Had some mazy runs and good crosses, looked short of match fitness but he will be a good player for us if tonight is any indication.

Cabaye is still gaining match fitness, but he is really showing glimpses of his quality. He had one half volley pass from 60 yards away that fell absolutely perfectly for an on-rushing Leon Best (who missed the volley badly). Also, there is literally no reason for Barton (if he stays) to take set pieces going forward, especially corners. Cabaye's not only went past the first man!!! they were actually dangerous. Shame nobody could get anywhere near them.

Gosling is yet another that looks short of full match fitness. Wasn't much of a threat going forward but some solid tackles and sprayed the ball about nicely at times.

Bored of me saying "short of full match fitness?" Well, don't read the next sentence then my friends. Demba Ba- short of full match fitness. Not too many moments for him but we didn't create all that much for him in the first half. A few nice touches here and there but he looks probably the most out of it at this point.

Krul had a few very nice saves, showed pretty good composure throughout- definitely nothing he could do on the goal.

Any questions? Kudos for making it this far in the post.

 

The only thing I saw about Ba in the highlights was him playing their guy onside to score.

 

The first half was dire. If it wasn't for everyone falling asleep on their goal, I would say the regulars (defense + Cabaye) looked OK in the first half. The rest of the team looked out of sync with everyone else. Ba and Marveaux showed a little bit of what the needed to do (win headers/make passes).

Once the second half began, I think you could see two things:

1) Pardew really knows what he is doing in the locker room at the half. Maybe that's because he gets it all wrong in the first more often than not, but the team has shown a great ability to respond to changes in formation/tactics/the hairdryer (I'm not saying he got it wrong tonight, you've gotta rotate the squad to see what you have, and we have shit up top right now, at least depth-wise).

2) The gulf between Premiership and Div 1. We ran them into the ground. Sure, their heart kept them in it, and on another day they would have pipped their equalizer to send it to penalties (as will happen several times this season against PL teams). But the gulf in class showed. I'm guessing the majority of their fouls came late, the one on Lovenkrands that led to the goal was lazy. And no way does Sammy get that shot off against Premiership center backs.

I'm glad we advanced. Once we get a roster set and the draw for the next round comes out we can hope the team starts a few more regulars and gives us a chance at the quarter finals. I mean we're on pace to have survival wrapped up by the new year, right?

What happened to "If Sammy scores, we're on the pitch?"

Thx,

Jay!

 

Wouldn't surprise me (Ba) He looked very short on energy

Russ- I understand your sentiment- I think I was a bit less harsh on some of the players because I know they aren't up to the English pace yet. Not saying you are any part of this, however, I can't fathom how people are calling for Cabaye and others to be dropped- give people time to adjust. Cabaye won't be fully adjusted to the EPL until next year- it's just a fact. Take Jose for example...so many people called for his head that first year.

Agreed on Ameobi over Lovenkrands- as I've said on numerous occasions, the latter has no business being part of this team. Neither does James Perch. Guess we can keep Ryan Taylor just for FKs.

And lastly, 100% agreed on the striker, as I've said before. Have no ideas where goals will come from

 

I nearly tossed my remote through the TV when the announcer, Peter Brackley, intimated that Danny Simpson would be under pressure at right back now that Perch is returning to full fitness.

Thx,

Jay!