Newcastle United Vs West Bromwich Albion |
|
Date:
Saturday 25th September 2004
Kick Off: 3.00pm BST
Venue: St. James' Park
Ref: Mike Riley
Comp: Premiership |
| Match Preview
In Association With Toon
Ale |
|
By
Craig Hope
After a week that has rather surprisingly witnessed the absence of
Newcastle United from the front pages of the tabloids, the visit of
WBA to SJP presents Graeme Souness' side with the opportunity to make
back page headlines by recording three consecutive Premiership victories. October
2003 was the last time we managed such a feat (four victories in total)
defeating Southampton, Boro, Fulham and Portsmouth.
Minor tales of discontent 'reported (!)' by the Daily Mirror have
passed by without interference, leaving the impression that our preparations
for Saturday’s match have gone well - the players were even awarded
Wednesday off (as of yet no confirmed sightings of Tuesday night Quayside
escapades).
Newly promoted West Brom are our opponents and at 1/2 in the betting
market we are the strong favourites to earn yet another three Premiership
points. The optimism that surrounds the build up to Saturday’s game
should not however be replaced with complacency come kick off - it
cannot be forgotten that both Norwich and Spurs have headed south
from SJP this season with points in the bag.
They are nonetheless a team in trouble. A midweek Carling Cup defeat
to Colchester United has done little to boost morale. It was indeed
though the Carling Cup last season when, minus a rested Shearer, we
were beaten 2-1 at SJP by West Brom thanks to a Lee Hughes strike.
This time around they are without a Premiership victory and in Robert
Earnshaw they have purchased what can be argued a terrific striker
at 1st Division level – for the same money Gary Megson paid Cardiff
City we have managed to acquire both Butt and Kluivert (and still
have half a million left over!). The Second Division is not the Premiership
however and having seen what I have of Earnshaw to date it is evident
that his addition will not save what looks like an already doomed
West Brom side.
Baggies boss and ex-Mag Gary Megson is under pressure and was this
week linked with a move away from The Hawthorns to Sheff Wed. A defeat
on Saturday and Megson could join both Sir Bobby and Paul Sturrock
in those receiving early season P45’s.
As was the case last weekend it remains to be seen just who Souness
will select. It has to be said that he surprised the majority at St.Mary’s
by including Kluivert, Shearer and Bellamy. His decision to play Jenas
on the left was met with a certain degree of caution before the game.
But, following the victory and Souness’ subsequent explanation that
Jenas played there to combat the threat of Fernandes cutting infield,
we were all left reassured by his tactical acumen. The midfield last
weekend looked far more resilient and compact without Robert. At home
Souness may decide that we can afford to play the Frenchman and revert
back to a Bellamy/Shearer front line with Jenas playing right midfield.
Bowyer and Butt are sure to maintain their central berths. Bowyer
needs to improve upon his last two performances. With Nicky Butt behind
him he has the perfect platform from which to attack and not have
to worry about defensive duties. He should utilise this freedom and
continue to make those runs that can often distort the shape of the
opposition defence thus creating space for other players. This additional
space is what Alan Shearer thrives upon. It would be exciting to see
all three of our strikers accommodated once more and if Souness subscribes
to the 'never change a winning team' adage then that will be the case.
At the back, pending fitness, Carr and Bernard are expected to continue
with a central pairing of O'Brien and Elliot/Hughes.
VERDICT
It is often the way that a team like WBA rise to the challenge in
the face of adversity. This I feel will not happen on Saturday and
we will run out easy winners against a team surely heading for 'Championship'
football next year.
It would be good to see the man on the ball presented with more options
on Saturday - something that has been sadly lacking this season. The
likes of Jenas and Bowyer, as all good midfielders should, must be
looking to make themselves available to every Newcastle man who has
possession. They need to show an eagerness and a hunger to want the
ball and to drive us forward. Too often this season our midfield,
excluding Nicky Butt, appear all too happy to participate when the
play comes their way. An energetic, eager display from our midfield
on Saturday will surely ensure three points and add yet more numbers
to the growing herd of Toon supporters who are stepping down from
the fence and signalling their eventual approval towards the appointment
of Graeme Souness.
Likely Lineup:
Given |
Carr |
O'Brien |
Elliott |
Bernard |
Jenas |
Butt |
Bowyer |
Robert |
| |
Shearer |
Bellamy |
|
For Them: Nwanku Kanu
(ST)
The Nigerian has on occasions been outstanding during his time in
the Premiership, most notably when scoring a hat trick for Arsenal
against Chelsea. He is yet to set alight the Midlands but did score
against Fulham last weekend and certainly has a few tricks up his
sleeve. Our much documented 'suspect' back line has performed well
recently and lets hope this Saturday is no different and that they
are not undone by Kanu’s trickery. One we definitely have to keep
our eye on.
For The Toon: Stephen Carr
An unconvincing opening four games was followed up last week by a
solid display and a fantastic goal. His distribution at times still
looks careless and we are yet to witness any real evidence that he
is defensively superior to Hughes in the full back position. Give
the Irishman credit though, he gives 100% and never stops talking
- even finding time last week to give Bellamy a rollicking after the
Welshman was beating all too easily. Saturday will give us the opportunity
to see Carr going forward. Much has been prophesised about his attacking
credentials and against WBA I expect to see him getting down the right
flank; no doubt spurred on by last weeks winner. Tougher defensive
challenges will present themselves later in the season but on Saturday
let’s hope we see Carr attacking and offering an extra option going
forward that Aaron Hughes failed to present during his period at right
back.
Bernt Haas
Bernt Haas of course used to play for Sunderland. The Swiss international
full-back played a total of 28 games for the Mackems before joining
Gary Megson's men in July 2003 for £450,000. Give him the Mickey
Gray treatment lads and lasses :)
| NUFC Squad News &
Pre-Match Reaction |
Manager Graeme Souness on the match:
"Some people may be saying this is a good time to play West Brom but
I would not agree.
"In fact, I'd say it's a bad time because they will be angry. Egos
are damaged and I prefer to see it differently from other people -
I think they will be wounded and their pride is hurt.
"The vast majority want to play for the manager. He's a demanding
but popular manager among the players.
"They will be dangerous and we have to start off in the right frame
of mind and make sure there are no slip-ups.
"The attitude has to be right. It doesn't matter how talented you
are, if the attitude is not right then you could come unstuck."
United squad:
Given, Harper, Hughes, Carr, O'Brien, Elliott, Bernard, Milner, Ambrose,
Jenas, Butt, Bowyer, Robert, Shearer, Kluivert, Bellamy.
| WBA Squad News & Pre-Match
Reaction |
West Brom squad:
Hoult, Kuszczak, Contra, Gaardsoe, Scimeca, Purse, Albrechtsen, Haas,
Clement, Greening, Koumas, Johnson, Chambers, Murphy, Kanu, Horsefield,
Earnshaw, Sakiri, Moore, Dobie.
Midfielder Jonathan Greening on the match:
"Newcastle are such a big club.
"It will be a difficult place for us to go and it's Graeme Souness'
first league game in charge so we've got to be going there in the
right frame of mind.
"We've trained hard over the past couple of days to be prepared for
it.
"We'll have to be on our game whatever the scenario because they've
got so many world class players and internationals throughout the
team.
"We'll all need to be giving 110 per cent and playing well. We can't
afford to be lapse. We all need to be putting it in and not just the
starting XI, but the subs as well."
Mike Riley: Last officiated a Toon game a few weeks back
in what turned out to be Sir Bobby's final game - a 4-2 defeat at
Villa Park to Aston Villa. Didn't have a great game, nor a poor one.
| Last Meeting (at St. James'
Park) |
NUFC 1-2 WBA (League Cup 3rd Rnd: 29th of October 2004)
Newcastle were dumped out of the League Cup by the then 1st Division
West Brom at St. James' Park on a bitterly disappointing night on
Tyneside. Against the run of play West Brom opened the scoring in
the 10th minute via an Ameobi own goal and from then on in they sat
back as Newcastle poured forward at will, racking up shot after shot,
corner after corner and in the 65th minute that attacking play paid
off when Robert equalised. The away side hung on for extra time and
when that come they sneaked a winner however through substitute Hughes
to send 46,000 plus Geordies home unhappy. Sir Bobby had rested Shearer,
Hughes, Speed and Given from the side and was missing Dyer and Woodgate
but the side he put out created enough chances to win 5 games, poor
finishing and sloppy defending cost us this game.
The teams that day:
NUFC: Harper, Griffin, Bramble, S.Caldwell, Bernard,
Solano (Ambrose 84), Jenas, Viana (Speed 45), Robert (Shearer 98),
Ameobi, Lua Lua. Subs not used: Given, Hughes.
WBA: Hoult, Gaardsoe, Gilchrist (Volmer 96), Gregan,
Haas, Sakiri (Wallwork 58), Johnson, O'Connor, Clement, Dobie, Hulse
(Hughes 84). Subs not used: Murphy, N'Dour.
Toon scorers: Robert
WBA: Ameobi (og), Hughes
Attendance: 46,932
| Previous 5 Meetings (at SJP
- all competitions) |
| Date |
Score |
Comp |
Toon Scorers |
| 5/10/2002 |
Won 2-1 |
Premiership |
Shearer (2) |
| 27/10/1990 |
Drew 1-1 |
Div 2 (old) |
O'Brien |
| 10/4/1990 |
Won 2-1 |
Div 2 (old) |
Quinn, Anderson |
| 25/10/1989 |
Lost 1-0 |
Div 2 (old) |
None |
| 14/9/1985 |
Won 4-1 |
Div 1 (old) |
Reilly (2), McDonald, Clarke |
| |
Newcastle
wins |
Draws |
West
Brom Wins |
| League |
35 |
27 |
38 |
| FA Cup |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Total |
36 |
27 |
40 |
| Form Guide (League &
Cups) |
| Newcastle |
West
Brom |
| Opposition |
V |
Result |
Opposition |
V |
Result |
| Southampton |
A |
W 2-1 |
Colchester |
A |
L 2-1 |
| Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin |
H |
W 2-0 |
Fulham |
H |
D 1-1 |
| Blackburn Rovers |
H |
W 3-0 |
Liverpool |
A |
L 3-0 |
| Aston Villa |
A |
L 4-2 |
Everton |
A |
L 2-1 |
| Norwich City |
H |
D 2-2 |
Tottenham Hotspur |
H |
D 1-1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
H |
L 1-0 |
Aston Villa |
H |
D 1-1 |
| Middlesbrough |
A |
D 2-2 |
Blackburn Rovers |
A |
D 1-1 |
| Liverpool |
A |
D 1-1 |
Nottingham Forest |
H |
L 2-0 |
| Southampton |
A |
D 3-3 |
Stoke City |
A |
L 4-1 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers |
H |
D 1-1 |
Reading |
A |
L 1-0 |
| *Last
10 matches in all competitions. Keys: V
= Venue L = Loss W
= Win D = Draw |
Graeme Souness' first League game in front of his new home crowd,
a very large crowd too from the 31,000 plus who turned up to witness
a new era against Sakhnin. I can't see anything but a Toon win and
a handsome one too. West Brom are a solid, disciplined side who will
come to SJP with a game plan to keep it tight and to hope to sneak
a draw, or even a win like in the League Cup last Season. But with
the quality in our ranks, an early goal and a constant roar from the
stands could see the Toon chalk up a big convincing win. I expect
something in the middle. A 3-0 win with Robert, Bowyer and Shearer
getting on the scoresheet. |
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