NUFC 2 - Man City 0 Goals by Shearer in the very first minute after a blunder by Nash and Bellamy on a nice cross from Robert. Distin booed very much.
Up to third and still a game in hand! Excellent game, what a treat to be able to catch this one on TV. Fastest-ever goal in the premiership, yet another award for Big Al. Gotta love Keegan's post-match quotes, calling Shearer a "bargain" and referring to him as "the best." Solid performances by all, even from Dabizas and Caldwell. Still, the City attack wasn't overwhelmingly troubling and they really should have scored at least one, if not two. Keeping on the hot topic of the moment -- Laurent Robert -- he did an excellent job in setting up the second goal, first running like a banshee into space with the ball and then playing a perfect roller for Bellamy at the far post. BUT. This certainly felt like match where Robert really could -- arguably should -- have done a lot more. A number of his passes and attempted through-balls went straight at the feet of City defenders, and it appeared that he was having difficulty communicating with his teammates. In his second year with the club this really shouldn't be a problem, especially when you saw that nobody else had trouble communicating with each other -- including the likes of Solano and Bernard. This isn't to say that Robert was the only one making mistakes, just that he seemed to have far too many opportunities go astray. Twice he was within 10 yards of the goal yet was unable to put on a solid attempt, both times because he was compelled to switch the ball from his right to his left. It's hard to imagine a professional at this level that so favors one foot over the other. Would that Robert had played with the intensity shown by his fellow midfielders, this match might have been a true rout in favor of the Toon. Dyer was a complete animal, with relentless pace on and off the ball. I lost track at the number of times that Dyer chased down a City player to win the ball back; sames goes for Jenas, who while like Robert floundered a few goalscoring but remains a solid 8 years younger. Solano while not brilliant on the right was solid and without significant error, this being his first game back it was somewhat understandable. Finally, what more can be said about Bellamy? He's simply a terror for opposing defenses. When he's on his game, he's half of what is arguably the Premiership's best striking tandem. Now if only we can start to play like this on the road. Howay the lads!
sorry lads but it's not the fastest it's equal with someone else. Bernard man of the match outstanding performance. The whole of the defence played well but they wern't up against much. Also the weather was nice a bit nippy but not wind thank god
During the TV broadcast they at first said it tied Ledley King's goal for the fastest, but in the second half declared that Shearer's was indeed the fastest. Just going by what was reported...
Leady Kings goal against Bradford City in 2000 was 10.0 seconds .4 seconds faster than Sir Alan's. rokstedy are you implying that the mighty Newcastle United should buy a player from Sunderland? By the way the Mirror is reporting that we've made a new bid for Woodgate after Fowlergate. Also were are supposted to be after Bastia midfielder Mickael Essien according to Tribalfootball.com
Only because I'm a Yank and feel sorry for the fellow Yank. Didn't we get Lionel Perez from the mackems too? I forgot if he was bought or free. Maybe Reyna should've stayed with Rangers.
Oh well. Bummer. Thanks for the clarification though. The announcers may very well have said King's was faster. Things get pretty hazy at 9AM when you're watching the Toon and drinking the Broon.
It was a very good performance by our lads, particularly going forward. I agree with Greenie's comments about Robert. He did a few things very well, but generally I thought - and so did the people sitting near me - that he had a poor game. He didn't just miss tackles, he shirked several on Saturday. He was continually out of positon when Citeh counter attacked (either stranded up front with Bellamy and Shearer or out on the wrong wing) and seemed to make very little effort to get back into position. His overall distribution was poor as well. Sir Bobby went out of his way to say what a great game Robert had. He is a much better judge than I am of course, but I suspect that this was part of some "kiss and make up" deal with Robert.
Yes he did, on loan from Blackburn. He was their best keeper in many years and played a huge part in getting them promoted. Just think how annoyed they are to see him play for us!