Charlton Athletic Vs Newcastle United |
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Date:
Sunday 17 October 2004
Kick Off: 4.05pm BST
Venue: The Valley
Ref: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)
Comp: Premiership |
| Match Preview
In Association With Toon
Ale |
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With internationals out of the way we can finally take up where we
left off at St. Andrews with a trip to The Valley on Sunday to face
a Charlton side who have only conceded 1 goal at home all season -
on the opening day. Prior to the start of this new campaign I tipped
the Addicks to challenge, like they did last season, for a UEFA Cup
spot and although they haven't looked the part yet, they are well
placed in the League and are a tidy, decent team moulded in the spirit
of their manager Alan Curbishley.
Armed with a war chest from the sale of Scott Parker Curbishley's
Summer spending saw him bring in Danish international Dennis Rommedahl,
former Liverpool man Danny Murphy and one-time Toon target Francis
Jeffers. Not surprisingly the striker is struggling to be fit for
the match. Regardless however, the London team will always represent
a tough nut to crack as we have found out in recent years with only
1 win in our previous 6 meetings.
Charlton will fancy this and with good reason. They have won 3 of
their 4 home fixtures this season, drawing the other one. Our last
win in the Capital come, funnily enough, in the month of October when
we beat Fulham 3-2 at Loftus Road back in 2003 and we will need all
the spirit and fight that we had in us that night to pick up the 3
points.
Without Patrick Kluivert (hamstring), Alan Shearer will rekindle his
relationship with Craig Bellamy once again you feel with James Milner
maybe getting his chance to shine with a first start under Souness
out wide on the right. With Jermaine Jenas proving a strong defensive
arm down the left, it's hard to see how Souness could drop him and
he isn't going to drop Nicky Butt and Lee Bowyer so it looks like
Laurent Robert will have to settle for a place on the bench once again.
Unless he pushes JJ to the right but you get the feeling the Scot
is itching to unleash Milner from the start. I guess we'll have to
wait and see.
Either way the midfield will have to be right as this is where Charlton
are at their strongest and where the game will most likely be played
out. Playing square pegs in round holes has worked so far, to an extent
and we do look stronger defensively but against teams like Charlton
we have by far the superior attack and that's where the focus of attention
should go because it's goals that win games and with 14 thus far,
only Arsenal have scored more than us. Another couple at The Valley
wouldn't go amiss and nor would 3 points. We are capable, can we do
it?
Given |
Carr |
O'Brien |
Elliott |
Hughes |
Milner |
Butt |
Bowyer |
Jenas |
| |
Shearer
|
Bellamy
|
|
For Them: Kevin Lisbie
(ST)
The
diminutive Charlton striker has pace to burn and will prove a handful
for our back four. Lisbie shot onto the scene last season with a hat-trick
against Liverpool but the young Addicks man hasn't found scoring to
be such an easy art form and doubts remain whether he can cut it at
this level. What he will do is run all day, press, harass and use
that electric pace of his so our lot will be in for a busy afternoon
where they will have to remain on their toes if they are to stop Lisbie
from causing any danger which he can do if in the mood.
For The Toon: Craig Bellamy
With
Patrick Kluivert missing the trip to The Valley due to injury, Bellamy
will find himself in that familiar role that he loves so much. Up
alongside Big Al. Without a goal since his strike at home to former
club Norwich back in August and having been stuck out wide since Souness
took over, the little Welshman will be looking to take it out on someone
and what better opportunity to stake a claim for a regular slot up
front than by grabbing a goal or two this weekend.
| NUFC Squad News &
Pre-Match Reaction |
Manager Graeme Souness on the match:
"Fortunately, our lads have come back okay, but
we won't know until Sunday just what all the travelling (internationals)
has taken out of them.
"Charlton will be a similar test to Birmingham, they will want to
get about us physically and see if we are ready for the challenge.
"They are an in-your-face side and it will be a test of our character,
but we should be going there in confident mood."
Alan Shearer on the match:
"Charlton has never been an easy place to go to.
It's another game where we have to stand up and be counted.
"Alan Curbishley always has his sides wound up, they like to play
football and they like to mix it."
United squad:
Given, Harper, Carr, Bernard, Hughes, Elliott, O'Brien, Bramble, Butt,
Jenas, Bowyer, Shearer, Bellamy, Ameobi, Robert, Milner, Ambrose.
| Charlton Squad
News & Pre-Match Reaction |
Manager Alan Curbishley on the match:
"They
have got back on track and had some reasonable results since he (Souness)
has been there, so I think it will be a tremendously hard game.
"Their side is full of top-class international players, and their
fans expect a top four finish every season."
Charlton squad:
Kiely, Andersen, Young, Perry, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Murphy, El Karkouri,
Kishishev, Rommedahl, Stuart, Holland, Euell, Johansson, Jeffers,
Lisbie, Hughes, Fish, Bartlett.
 Peter
Walton
We've never had the pleasure(?) of having the Northamptonshire referee
officiate one of our matches before. Indeed Walton has only officiated
10 Premiership games since winning 'promotion' to strut his stuff
in the top-flight. Lets hope he's one of the better refs...
| Last Meeting (at The Valley) |
Charlton 0-0 NUFC (Premiership: 10/12/ 2003)
Newcastle gained a well earned point from the Valley in an uneventful
game where neither side did enough to win the match.
The teams that day:
Charlton: Kiely, Kishishev, Perry, Fortune, Hreidarsson,
Holland, Parker, Jensen, Stuart, Euell, Di Canio (Cole 78). Subs not
used: Royce, Powell, Johansson, Turner.
NUFC: Given, Hughes, O'Brien, Bernard, Solano, Dyer,
Jenas, Speed, Robert (Ambrose 87), Shearer, Ameobi (Lua Lua 77). Subs
not used: Harper, S.Caldwell, Viana.
Attendance: 26,508
| Previous 5 Meetings (at The
Valley - all competitions) |
| Date |
Score |
Comp |
Toon Scorers |
| 15/3/2003 |
Won 2-0 |
Premiership |
Shearer (p), Solano |
| 1/12/2001 |
Drew 1-1 |
Premiership |
Speed |
| 11/2/2001 |
Lost 2-0 |
Premiership |
None |
| 17/1/1999 |
Drew 2-2 |
Premiership |
Ketsbaia, Solano |
| 5/1/1997 |
Drew 1-1 |
FA Cup R3 |
Lee |
| |
Charlton
Wins |
Draws |
Newcastle
Wins |
| League |
16 |
15 |
29 |
| FA Cup |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| Total |
18 |
16 |
30 |
| Form Guide (League &
Cups) |
| Newcastle |
Charlton |
| Opposition |
V |
Result |
Opposition |
V |
Result |
| Birmingham City |
A |
D 2-2 |
Arsenal |
A |
L 4-0 |
| Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin |
A |
W 5-1 |
Blackburn Rovers |
H |
W 1-0 |
| West Bromwich Albion |
H |
W 3-1 |
Grimsby Town |
A |
W 2-0 |
| Southampton |
A |
W 2-1 |
Birmingham City |
A |
D 1-1 |
| Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin |
H |
W 2-0 |
Southampton |
H |
D 0-0 |
| Blackburn Rovers |
H |
W 3-0 |
Manchester City |
A |
L 4-0 |
| Aston Villa |
A |
L 4-2 |
Aston Villa |
H |
W 3-0 |
| Norwich City |
H |
D 2-2 |
Portsmouth |
H |
W 2-1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
H |
L 1-0 |
Bolton Wanderers |
A |
L 4-1 |
| Middlesbrough |
A |
D 2-2 |
Southampton |
H |
W 2-1 |
| *Last
10 matches in all competitions. Keys: V
= Venue L = Loss W
= Win D = Draw |
Charlton have a decent home record where as we have a shocking away
record, especially in the Capital. This is a tough game to call as
Charlton's home form this season is superb and we are in a good run
too. I fancy a 2-0 win with Craig Bellamy and Lee
Bowyer getting on the score sheet. Fingers crossed... |
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