Post Match, Post 2000 thread

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match reports here.

what a win. what a way to send out the year 2000.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Answers

course it FELT like a win, what with losing the webcast and everything

:)))

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


'Sir'(the official one, not the deserved one) praised us very highly in postmatch interview- said he was very happy with the point, how very difficult it will be for teams especially the bigger ones coming to SJP. Also said we had loads of hunger+desire and were 1st to almost every ball. Beckham and Taggart also waffled on about their missed chances not mentioning the fact we missed a few too.

Its the main MOTD game tonight along with the makems- although i said this last week and we got a 1 min showing :-)

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


It's on TV here at 1:30 this afternoon....

This from the Sky Sports website:

"United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will no doubt see it as two points lost rather than one gained, as his side had established a lead over Newcastle that for most of the game had looked unassailable."

1/ The United boss is, of course, SIR Bobby Robson [how he hasn't been officially knighted is beyond me, but that's the South and the Royals for you]

2/ did their lead look unassailable for most of the match? It didn't sound like it and they're the only one to suggest that we didn't deserve to draw.

then again, they'll probably change the report to reflect the 'general consensus' after the match, as most of these reports are written before the game has even kicked off.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


Watched the match live on TV. I have to admit I didn't think we would come back. It certainly wasn't a classic, but I was very very impressed with the "never say die" attitude of ALL the players. They didn't give up, heads didn't drop. I thought our defenders for the most part were awesome. Thought the penalty was a sh!te call by the ref. Nice to see the heart back in the team. I hope it isn't just a Christmas thing. If we can keep the attitude and work rate shown today, for the rest of the season, we will see Europe for sure. Well done Lads, very well done.

Oh, by the way, Warren Barton, you have to play the simple easy pass, too many long (dare I say it) Beckham style passes. Other than that, very well played Captain.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


Well, as an entirely unbiased observer I thought we shaded the game and were a little unfortunate not to win.
Having said that it had reached to the point where it didn't look as thought we were going to get anything out of it - three subs on at once looked like desperation measures.

You couldn't help but admire the spirit in the team and they kept going all the way.

I thought we were the better team until they scored. They then enjoyed a good spell until HT. I thought we were the better and more adventurous team in the second half - Harper had little to do during this period - and we certainly deserved the equaliser, which was well taken by Glass.

I didn't think we played as well as against Leeds, but manure were better opposition. Our passing and movement weren't quite as good as against Leeds, and we seemed a little inhibited - perhaps not really surprising. However, we competed very well with them and never allowed them to dominate possession.

Amoebi had a really tough time today - including missing a sitter - but will have learned enormously from the last two games. Dyer had another useful and very energetic game, caused them lots of problems, but occasionally held onto to the ball just a little too long. Our midfield battled away manfully and all contributed meaningfully. Bassedas "nailed" Becks, and if the big girl's blouse hadn't made an absolute meal of it I fancy Bassedas might have been sent off. As a side note, I thought Beckham's overall performance was rubbish.

The two CB's - Goma and Hughes - were excellent, and Bobby really must now tell Goma that he can't leave until the end of the season. Griffin had a real battle on his hands with Giggs, stuck to the task, and for me shaded it over the 90 minutes. Barton did some good work defensively, but his distribution was generally poor.

Another very encouraging performance by a team with a renewed desire to get forward at every opportunity. Without ever hitting the peaks of Tuesday's performance, they created a lot of chances against the top side in the League, altough we didn't really look like converting them, and I was left wondering how this side would perform with Carl Cort playing up front. The lack of a legitimate, experienced target man over the next few weeks could prove to be real problem for us.

Another very satisfying performance.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000



I'm too drunk to tell you how good it was. Everyone was magnificent, some more than others... it's a great way to end the year.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

2 good performances in a row? Thats a change! Thanks again for your views Clarky. Feels great to get 4 points from these 2 games. Hard to complain about our crap performance vs Derby but 3 points from that also wud have made it a fantastic Xmas. I desparately hope these 2 games and the support from the crowd, showing just what good performances really means to the fans, will gee them all up for the rest of the season and give us something to really be happy about.

P.S. Shud we start a thread about why Dyer is suddenly revelling in his forward role? Has he just got back into form with extra responsibility on him or does Als presence put him under extra pressure?

P.P.S theres spare tickets in the away section for the Spurs game on sale at WHL on Tuesday(some tickets were sent back from SJP!!)but dont spread it around cos i want to get my greasy hands on one!! Anyone from here meeting up in a pub????????

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


Taggart's verdict:

"It's a point gained, I have to say that, a good point. I don't think many teams will win here.
They showed an incredible energy and desire, hunted every ball, fought for everything, and I don't think we deserved any more than we got.
The only thing I'm disappointed with - apart from the performance, because I think we should be better than that - was that we had the chance to finish them off after half-time.
We missed three terrific chances and we've suffered now because of that. If we'd have scored the second goal, we'd have won the game comfortably.
Newcastle always had something to hang on to, and the three substitutions changed the game for them. They got width on the left-hand side through the lad Glass, put Dyer into midfield, and I think they fully deserved the point.
I think teams will find it very difficult to win up here. In fact I'm surprised they've lost a game here this season.
Yes, it's a good point for us, an excellent point for us
."

Praise indeed!

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


LOL! Loved seeing Bobby jump on ?Wadsworths back!! Plenty of life left in the ol' man :-)

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Cant believe Cordone actually played the perfect ball to help create the goal- not long ago hed have gone for the shot. Same cud be said for LuaLua except his pass to Glass wasnt exactly intentional. Godd to see Glass getting a goal- also heard on the webcast he got a great cross in and his corner on MOTD was great.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000


Thanks for the match report Clarky! Sounds like some of the players are still a bit `green`, but what a joy to hear that we fought for every ball! The crowd were magnificent too - it gave us gooseflesh listening to them. I loved the fact that Wor Bobby took the bull by the horns and put the three subs on at once, it all added to the `do or die` atmosphere - and I loved his reaction when we scored. Even Pete got carried away and was punching the air when we equalized!(:o)

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000

One unexpected change to the team that comfortably beat Leeds last week was the introduction of Alain Goma. Marcelino being the victim of a freak snowballing accident earlier in the day.

The team lined up:-

Harper

Griffin .... Goma ........ Hughes ..... Barton

Bassedas ...... Acuna......Speed ..... Solano

Dyer

Ameobi

On the bench and unused, Given, Glass, Cordone, Caldwell, LuaLua Robson has told his South American contingent that wearing gloves does not go down too well on Tyneside, and Clarence Acuna, Christian Bassedas and Nolberto Solano duly appeared bare-handed. They had come out looking to carry on where they let off against Leeds, giving man u little time to settle, defending higher up the pitch and going in hard against their soft southerner opponents. Acuna, especially, looked in the mood for a bare-knuckle fight, the Chilean challenging Roy Keane and Nicky Butt with impunity. Shola, also wanting to leave his mark went in for a great challenge on Keane, leaving him crumpled on the floor. It was just what the fans wanted, drowning out the cockneys in the balcony. Mike Riley , after sending off Chadwick against Liverpool was determined to make up for what Ferguson had branded "a grave mistake". When Giggs broke into the box, he had only one thing on his mind, and it wasn't to try to score. His fall was firstly greeted with a shake of the head and a "no", but then realising it was a a chance to earn some brownie points quickly changed his mind, pointing at the spot. Beckham, sporting a lovely pair of posh spices gloves hammered the ball past Harper.

Newcastle had been down against Leeds after a poor decision and had come back, so there was no reason why they couldn't do the same again. Ameobi had settled in very well and gave Harper a target for his dead ball kicks. Wear as Shearer struggles to win high balls either getting bundled to the ground by a defender, or being adjudged t have backed into his marker. The lanky Shola won the majority of balls and passed them onto his team mates. Dyer also seems to have got around being caught offside, which helped him and the game to flow with ease. Man U were back pedaling for the remainder of the half. Ameobi did make a huge blunder when he spooned the ball over the goal following a cross from Dye, It would probably been easier not to put the ball in the net, Mike Riley saved Shola the embarrassment by awarding an offside to Man U. Solano also came close when he was awarded a free kick from 30 yards out his sot went narrowly wide.Beckham had been kept quite by Bassedas, and in the 30th minute the Argentinean went a bit too far, sliding in a bit two hard and scything Beckham to the ground. He was booked, but got a great reception from the toon army. Solano had a couple of chances to draw level, when clean through he crossed into the box, but no one was there, a shot would have been a better option, and a shot it was just a few minutes later, it was well wide.

The second half was as passionate as the first. Goma was not only defending very well but getting forward. His run down the right wing looked unstoppable, but Silvestre stopped him in his tracks with a callous tackle. Heshould have been sent off but to the annoyance of the toon army was only yellow carded. Solano's free kick resulted in a header from Speed. The ball went wide, but Speed was i trouble. He looked lifeless in the penalty area as Barthez tried to revive him. The kiss of life by old garlic breath would surely have revived Speed, instead smelling salts and a slap of the face brought Speed back to conciseness.

Man United started to come more into the game and if it weren't for Harpers splendid save with his left boot,Man U could have been two up. The defence also played their part. Griff blocking a Yorke effort and Hughes giving Solksjear so much close attention that he was replaced with Scholes. Robson decided that the best form of defence was attack and in the 73rd minute made a triple substitution that was to change the course of the game. The defence stayed the same but the midfield and forward line were completely restructured.:-

Solano ....... Dyer .......... Speed ........ Glass

Cordone ........... Lua Lua

Now made up the front six, with the emphasis on attack. Stephen glass made a immediate impact taking on a tired Neville and beating him with ease. His work resulted in a corner, which unfortunately was wasted by Cordone. To his credit though Cordone set up the equalising goal, Dyer had played a ball through to Cordone on the right of goal, he raced into the box and squared it to LuaLua, his brilliant pass on which many believed to be a misskick fell to Glass on the left of goal who banged it past Barthez. The final ten minutes were excellent , Newcastle really wanted the three points and the crowd could sense a victory. The whistle came to early, The players and Bobby Robson were all clearly delighted with the performance.

Unfortunately the game was marred slightly when a group of fun loving geordies going out of the game were cautioned by the police after they tried to start a snowball fight with the cockneys. No one was hurt but there is believed to have been a couple of arrests .

The next game is away against a struggling Spurs on Tuesday (weather permitting) . I'll not mention how long it is since we won in London, but can see no reason why the curse of London can't be broken. As for the team that should play, it would be nice to have Stephen Glass in the side to give it some balance, the only problem is who would you drop? They were all excellent it'll be a tough decision to make.



-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000


Oi Spud...."Beckham and Taggart also waffled on about their missed chances not mentioning the fact we missed a few too."

BOLLOX!!!!!! You had very few clear chances and The Wizard praised you to high heaven..........ffs man.

Best we stay as were normaslly perceived I think.....graciousness gets fuck all recognition on this forum.

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000


They came, they saw and we nearly conquered.

For the second time in five days, we entertained two of England's contenders in the European Champions League. And for the second time in five days, we acquitted ourselves very well indeed.

The atmosphere inside SJP was again better than earlier in the season, but still not up to the potential that a Fortress St James' could offer. The Mancs I spoke to after the match (LR, and his mates Simon aka Sam and Sean) felt the home support was not very loud. I think a lot of this is down to the accoustics in the corner of the Milburn and SJH stands. The away support are gathered up there and as we all know, when you're in the asway corner at most grounds, all you tend to hear is your own supporters. I think this also potentially works against us as the noise made by away fans is focussed like from a megaphone across the rest of SJP. I think NUFC should review this and see if there is a more suitable/less accoustic place to put the away fans. Leazes Park might be a good idea!

Anyway, I felt the atmosphere was pretty good from my vanatge point just below the away supporters. I just wish I could get the family in front of me to react to anything other than Stand up if you hate Sunlung. I'm sure they must have had a nasty experience at Chipperfireld's Circus when they were young. And as for the guy on my left - well, if the undertakers came in at half time and removed him, I wouldn't be surprised. We should get 'em in the Straabeery - trhat would get them gannin'. Yet again, a full hoose in there and we were blessed with guest appearances from Sounder and Ciara, both all the way from the US of A, along with Jason an dthe other US Mags as well as our own Geordie. No sign of Josh tho' so I suspect the weather took its toll on the ticketless one.

The game was very entertaining, just like against Leeds, with both sides wanting to win rather than stifle the opposition. It seems we can play pretty well against such teams if Tuesday and yesterday are anything to go by, but we struggle against the battlers. Something to work on there to try to prise open a solid defence. Maybe, just maybe, the absence of Shearer can work to our advantage with the new boys Ameobi, Cordone and Lua x2 being unknown to opposing defences and coaches??

ManUre were quite frankly not as good IMHO as they are made out to be. Barthez is a character, but is a solid keeper. Neither FB looked much good and we should have made more of the open spaces down our right, especially in the first half when Ameobi missed a glorious oipportunity from a driven cross. That should have been recognised and more play out wide should have resulted. Down the left, Barton continually had no openings in front of him to pass to, and the only movement we made down the left came from diagonal balls played out of midfield. Shola caused a few problem in the air but his touch isn't yet good enough to beat the likes of Wes Brown who had a relatively easy time mopping up the loose balls.

Up front, ManUre were poor. Neither of the "gloved wonders" (Yorke Solskjaer) made any impression and it was testament to Hughes and Goma that the Norwegian was subbed. I can understand a West Indian playing in gloves on a freezing December afternoon, and we know Becks does it 'cos Posh tells him to, but a Norwegian? Haven't they come across snow and ice up there? Midfield is where ManUre are at their most dangerous, but yesterday they didn't have the bite nor sparkle that I expected. Beckham had probably one of the worst games I've seen him play and only Giggs posed much of a threat. Butt did little, and Keane was quite subdued - perhaps the memory of last season was still with him?

Now, was it simply that ManUre were poor, or did we not allow them to play? Well, on the back of a similar performance on Tuesday, I'd say we didn't allow them, or Leeds, to play. Our midfield is starting to believe in itself, and again, Acuna had a good game. Nobby linked well with LKD and Speed had another solid performance, always posing a threat in the air from set pieces. Bassedas was a bit of a disappointment, and when Glass and Corblimey came on late in the second half, along with Lua x2, we posed much more of a threat down the left. If your reading this Clarky, I think Glass and Corblimey will come in for Bassedas and Ameobi on Tuesday. Keeper still undecided 'cos Haprs did nowt wrong at all and made some brave saves.

So, again we came back from a controversial goal and could have won it. There's plenty of teams in the EPL would be pleased with a draw against ManUre.

Verdict: more of the same please and a bit more decisiveness in front of goal.

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000


Thanks for the tips Screach - look forward to seeing your 'official' team selection for the Spurs game!!

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000


Pretty much as I said above Clarky. I'd leave the defence as it was yesterday and draft Glass in on th eleft of MF in place of Bassedas and have Corblimey up front in place of Shola. My only difficult choice is in goal but I see no reason why Harps shouldn't continue. Injuries, snowball fights and New Year revelling permitting of course.

BTW - sorry for calling the missus "Margaret". I must have drunk something which affected my speach, tho' for the life of me, I can't think what it was - the first, the second, third.........or was it that glass of waata aah had? Hope she enjoyed her indoctrination and that it doesn't queer your pitch for future bevvies in the Straabeery.

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000


Nah, don't mention it marra - she enjoyed her visit and the smooth patter, not the mention the interesting cyber-names. Sends her New Year regards to the Smoocher and Pot Belly!! So, its best wishes from her, and best wishes from me for a prosperous, healthy and successful 2001.

;-{)



-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000

LoL. Smoocher and Pot Belly. What happened to Croaky?

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001

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