Manchester United Vs Newcastle United |
 |
Date:
Sunday 24th April 2005
Kick Off: 4.05pm BST
Venue: Old Trafford
Ref: Neale Barry (Lincolnshire)
Comp: Premiership |
| Match Preview
In Association With Toon
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By
Ally
Another defeat against Norwich in midweek saw us drop to 14th in the
table and we've been stuck on 38 points for a while now. The rot needs
to end, but in typical NUFC fashion we get Man Utd away to make things
easy for us!
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I didn't get to see the game on Wednesday,
only the highlights on TV and from what I saw we certainly had the
chances to win the game. On another day Shearer would have scored
both of those chances and Robert would have rocketed his shot in the
back of the net. It wasn't to be and we were outdone by a last minute
goal. Against Man Utd you need to take your chances when they come,
you can't afford to think that you'll get another one later to make
amends.
We're running out of players and our squad is being stretched to the
limit. Bramble, Jenas, Hughes, Babayaro and Bowyer are all definitely
out, whilst Faye faces another fitness test. Steve Taylor returns
from the knock he picked up and I imagine if he's fully fit he'll
replace O'Brien in central defence. Another option is to play Taylor
at left back to try and limit the threat of Ronaldo. If Elliott plays
there again we run the risk of being destroyed down the flank as he
isn't quick enough.
One plus is that Kieron Dyer returns from his 3 match ban and we've
missed him. His recent form has been brilliant and if he keeps it
up then he's an attacking threat, and one we sorely missed in the
last few games. We were toothless going forward at Cardiff and Dyer's
pace and penetration should make a difference. The only dilemma is
where to play him. Does he play right wing instead of Milner? Or upfront
instead of Ameobi? Or will he return to central midfield alongside
Butt? My gut instinct is that N'Zogbia will continue in midfield and
Dyer will play up front as we all know Shearer benefits so much from
a pacy partner.
Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are both suspended for this game which
is a bonus, but they'll no doubt be replaced by top quality players!
The only way to get anything from this game is to go at Man Utd, sitting
back again will see us beaten convincingly again and it's a thought
that terrifies me to be honest. I'm not confident, but anything is
possible and knowing NUFC we'll probably beat them!
Given |
Carr |
Boumsong |
O'Brien |
Taylor |
Milner |
Butt |
N'Zogbia |
Robert |
| |
Shearer |
Dyer |
|
| NUFC Squad News &
Pre-Match Reaction |
Graeme Souness on the match:
"We will go to Old Trafford on Sunday and give it a go.
"And I'd like to think we'll give it more of a go than we did last
week in the semi final.
"I think for different reasons we never got started last week. We
were disappointed last week. We'd played in midweek, they had a free
week. We had players missing, they had a full team out.
"This time I think it's a bit more even. We've both played in midweek
and lost. They have a couple of key players who they'd regard as regulars
missing on Sunday. It's a bit more even this time around, so let's
see how the game pans out.
"It's been a hard week for us, but we'll all learn from it. I'm finding
out about people now, because these are the times you find out what
you have.
"These times are testing on all of us, and thouygh I've not enjoyed
it, I've learned a great deal."
United squad: Given, Harper, Carr, Elliott, Boumsong,
O'Brien, Taylor, Ramage, Dyer, Robert, Butt, Faye, N'Zogbia, Milner,
Ambrose, Shearer, Ameobi, Kluivert.
| Man Utd Squad News &
Pre-Match Reaction |
Sir Alex Ferguson on the match:
"Second-place is a different objective but there should be a pride
factor involved for the players as well.
"I don't need to say how important it is to finish second. We're in
a tough position and you would have to say Arsenal are the red-hot
favourites.
"Hopefully they will drop points but we need to win our matches."
Man Utd Squad: Howard, Carroll, P Neville, Ferdinand,
Brown, Silvestre, Heinze, O'Shea, Fletcher, Fortune, Ronaldo, Kleberson,
Keane, Giggs, Miller, van Nistelrooy, Smith, Rooney, Bellion.
 Neale
Barry (Lincolnshire)
Newcastle are unbeaten in the three games in which Neale
Barry has officiated this season. All home games, the 3-1 win over
Coventry City in the FA Cup, the 3-1 win over West Brom and the 1-1
draw with Everton. He did send Laurent Robert off last season. A bit
of a mixed bag this one.
| Head To Head All-Time Record |
| |
Newcastle United wins |
Draws |
Man
Utd Wins |
| League |
38 |
33 |
62 |
| FA Cup |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| League Cup |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Total |
39 |
33 |
69 |
I can't really see anything other than a defeat in this game, it'll
probably be 2-0, but feel free to prove me wrong Souness! |
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