The match with Spurs on paper was a tricky.  Spurs with on-form Van Dar Vaart could’ve nailed us to the wall but a fantastic goal by Coloccini was breath taking and put us in the lead. Best and Ameobi both came close but were both denied. We should have had the match in the bag but chances were squandered. Lennon managed to get the equaliser in injury time and Newcastle were left scratching heads again.

Tottenham are slowly losing their grip on the fifth spot but we don’t want Sunderland or Black burn there. Re-enforcements can’t come soon enough but all we seem to hear is that players are on the way. With Carroll out for possibly a month with a torn thigh ligament, the team have no excuses – they must prove that the team can play and win just as well without him.

Personally, I’m nervous for the next match Away against Fulham in February. As I’ll be attending that match I obviously want nothing more than a resounding win!

We host Chelsea this coming weekend and Ancellotti isn’t the only one looking to get out of a glut of poor results. If we lose Williamson as well, Hughton will have to make do without two key defenders and hoping that Steven Taylor may have to return. We may even get to see the under-used Sol Campbell who hasn’t really seen any action of note.

The least said about the game on Saturday the better. Bolton were able to run the game comfortably and despite the Carroll goal, it was a bad day for the team.

Hopefully, with Chelsea’s own poor form and uncertainties, we can take advantage of  of this and get a point or three.

UPDATE: Mike Williamson has been charged with violent conduct against Bolton striker Johan Elmander. The off-the-ball- incident was reviewed by Howard Webb. Williamson has until 6pm today to contest the charge otherwise he faces an automatic three match suspension.

Steven Taylor could return from a knee injury (or broken jaw depending on how you look at it). However, latest is that he won’t feature. Fitness issues with Fitz Hall and Nile Ranger would mean that they’ll be out. Gutierrez has flown out to join his national squad in Argentina.

Quoted in the Chronicle, Chris Hughton said:

“What we’ve got to do is get ourselves up again.

“There are still targets to go for. We want to finish on a high, that goes without saying.

“We know the emotions of the past two weeks, particularly on Saturday, but it’s back to business again.

“We have a group of supporters going to watch the game, and of course it’s a game we want to get something from.

“Anything other than a defeat will get us 100 points, which would be a nice way to end the season.”

It’s been the best of seasons in a long while and fans have been going mental but largely keeping it into perspective. This season has been a chance to stand back a take a look at the team and club and ask questions. Some of questions have been answered when players left the club at the summer of 2009. The next was getting the right man for the managerial job, some thought Shearer was the man but faith was put in Chris Hughton. Admittedly, Chris had many detractors including myself but the man grounded out results with a team that some thought needed a massive overhaul. 12 months later and the team is solid with Andy Carroll, Ameobi, Alan Smith, Steven Taylor leading the way. Even the much derided Coloccini  managed to gain some kudos! What a season for Newcastle fans! We’ll enjoy it for now but we know that the Premier League will be a different beast altogether.

Online World Cup Betting with Totesport Football bets

Of the night’s loss, Hughton summed it up:

“Of course it’s a blow because it’s something we’ve had all season but that doesn’t deter from the fact that the objective this season is to get promotion, whichever way we do that.

“The fact we’ve been where we’ve been all season means we’ve been one of the best three teams in the division for most of the season, and for most of it we’ve been the best team.”

Whilst some may hit the panic button, I’m not extremely worried about this result. A four month unbeaten stretch was bound to end at some point and a bad game only serves a reminder that the team can’t be complacent at this stage. We’ve got some tough fixtures still ahead of us and Newcastle will put focus back in keeping the opposition goals out. Fair enough, Coloccini and Taylor are out but what are all the new loan signings about if they are not there to defend? I still got the faith!

Our next fixture will be against Swansea on Saturday where fans would certainly expect Newcastle to turn up the heat.

Hughton has some choices to make. Alan Smith goes back into contention for a midfield slot whilst Butty remains sidelined again. Coloccini will also play no part in this match. Other then that players are fit and Hughton will probably put all six new signings in. Leon Best will most likely start again after coming close to getting a first goal in Black n White on his debut on Friday. He’ll play along Carroll, whose place will be safe despite having to be in court this month. Let’s hope he’ll stay focused on the job in hand as he’s probably the only player most likely to wear the #9 shirt in future if he keeps knocking ‘em in!

Looking at the stats, it seems we are most likely to get something from this game. Derby have not managed to beat a top 10 side this season other then a woeful Nottingham Forest. Newcastle fans will be hoping for a repeat performance of Friday’s spectacular score line.

Totesport Online Betting – The place for football betting and odds

The first half was played with some determination by Newcastle. Our newly appointed Captain , Alan Smith, didn’t disappoint holding midfield with some aggressive tackling and quality. However elsewhere that quality was sadly lacking . I can pin point Gutierrez, Coloccini and Ameobi myself. Coloccini was especially guilty of being pretty clueless in man marking and tracking department. His first half blunder allowed a Baggies corner set piece to put us one down before half time. He laughably stood by and watched whilst his man, Martis, simply ran around him! As for Gutierrez, he made some blindingly fast runs along the wing but his passing was woeful.  It puzzles me why Ameobi remained on the field whilst Andy Carroll was subbed late in the second half. I think my sister could take the ball off Ameobi! Also, it seemed that every-time he had the ball, the next second he’d be flat on his arse. What’s that all about Ameobi?

Damien Duff proved the man who had the knack of producing a quality finish worthy of the team. It was sorely needed to be honest. His goal was created from a deft touch pass from Nolan for Duffers to power it low into the corner.

Finally a shout out to Tim Krul. I knew he was capable of making some fantastic reflex action saves but count ‘em here. Krul produced four immaculate saves to keep us in the match! Newcastle United has the gift of having superb keepers (no matter how terrible the defence) and Krul was exceptional today.

Overall, a game played with frantic pace at times and finely balanced. A draw was a fair result at the end of the day. Hopefully, we’ll be able to tidy up some of the defensive errors for our next fixture against Reading. Another  note was Alan Shearer provided the BBC punditry and he’s still keen to take on Newcastle United managerial role IF someone asks him to. What we saw on the pitch shows up some of the team’s frailties which needs fixing desperately – let’s hope this week coming delivers some positive news as regards to the sale/ permanent manager as we need to be in the transfer market now!

West Bromwich Albion 1 – Newcastle United 1 – Early days yet!

Manchester United were naturally looking to kick start their season with a win, especially since Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal won their matches without conceding. For most of the match in the first half, Man Utd looked dangerous on the break but failed to convert chances into goals. Newcastle were comfortable most of the time with new boy, Coloccini showing some adept defence and not to mention Shay back from injury looking sharp to deny Fraizer Campbell’s close range hit with his head! It took a clean header from a corner set piece to unlock the game as Martins seemed to have grown wings and raised high above his markers to take Newcastle one goal ahead. The silence from the Manchester United fans was deafening. However, the celebrations for the Toon were short lived as Fletcher popped a goal at the other end within two minutes from a Giggs (including greying hair) ball.

The second half began with much of the play from Manchester but Newcastle made a concerted effort to contain their opponents. Keegan was so confident with his setup, he made no changes throughout the match. Jonas Gutierrez’s performance was exceptional for most of the match. He was able to cut through Man U’s defence with some ease whilst almost creating near chances via a few lone runs at Van der Sar. A late challenge from Butt on De Silva in the dying minutes of the game, almost was called a penalty, however, Riley judged right to call a free kick. It was still a dangerous spot but Rooney managed to hit wide. Danger averted and Newcastle walked away with a much deserved point. A lot better then being defeated  6-0 but Manchester United will quite possibly be a much tougher opponent when they next come to St James’ Park.

Next match will be against Bolton at home but a promising start to a tough season for Keegan and the lads.