Newcastle-Online comment: 26th August 2004
Shay Given - 6
A poor game from Shay. Was at fault for Norwich's first goal when
he allowed a tame Bentley effort to slip through his hands and into
the back of the net. Seems angry and at unease. Don't really blame
him.
Stephen Carr - 6
Another mixed bag performance. Looks great in patches but looks shoddy
in others. Tripped his man down at the corner leading up to the free
kick that brought about their second equaliser. Comfortable on the
ball and good going forward but he needs time to find his feet and
to develop the right flank partnership.
Aaron Hughes - 7
A relatively comfortable night for the Irishman who won most things
in the air and read the danger pretty well. Had to bail out Bernard
on a few occasions and scored a cracking goal from Robert's corner.
Overall a decent performance from Hughes who just
gets on with it where ever he plays...unlike Dire.
Andy O'Brien - 5
Again he didn't look sharp and found the pace and trickery of Huckerby
to be a problem all night. Won a few tackles and put in some important
interceptions but overall he was sloppy.
Olivier Bernard - 5
Very poor in both the defensive and attacking halfs. Looks to me as
if his head is elsewhere and once again his positional play left big
holes down the left flank. Lots of huff and puff but the quality just
isn't there at the moment. Come in field a lot to further congest
an area where we needed movement and failed to go past Robert to the
byeline when the space was there for him quite often.
James Milner - 5
Again he worked his socks off and ran up and down that right-flank
showing flashes of quality but his final ball left a lot to be desired.
It seems to me as if he is trying too hard and isn't relaxed enough
to play his normal game. Looks tense and edgy. His partnership with
Carr hasn't hit off just yet and it will take time. The lad is low
on confidence.
Nicky Butt - 7
Not a great performance by any stretch of the imagination but a solid
one where even though his final ball wasn't as good as it has been
he was still the main driving force in our engine room and covered
every blade of grass as he did the job of two men - the destroyer
and the creator. A central midfield of him and Dire is a no-no. He
tried to grab the game by the scruff of the neck but those around
him just weren't on the same wavelength.
Kieron Dire - 3
After all the crap we have had to put up with over his desire to play
in the centre we got a typical Dire performance - an empty one. His
contribution amounted to nothing but eating up air. He ran and moved
but he didn't get anywhere near enough on the ball to make an impact.
He simply disappeared. In stark contrast to his opposite number David
Bentley who had a storming game and Lee Bowyer who made way for the
little waster made a bigger contribution to the evening with just
one touch. If Dire plays one more minute in a shirt he has no respect
for it will be a minute too long. GET RID NOW! He is a disgrace to
the shirt, Bobby, his team-mates and our loyalty. Enough is enough.
He just isn't good enough on the pitch. he can't pass, shoot or do
anything constructive other than to run.
Laurent Robert - 6
A mixed bag of a game for Robert again. Slightly better going forward
than he was against Spurs and his set-pieces were much better if not
still short of his usual standard, but overall another poor performance.
Got forward well like I said and got on the ball a lot but his final
ball just wasn't accurate enough. It's worth mentioning he also pulled
out of one or two 50/50 challenges as well.
Alan Shearer - 6
More movement and more involved than he was against Spurs but this
was yet another sub standard performance from our Captain. No real
clear cut chances despite one or two sniffs at goal and overall he
was dominated in the air. What was worrying was the ball just kept
coming back off him - it didn't stick much. Bobby should have replaced
him around the 70 minute mark for either Shola or Kluivert.
Craig Bellamy - 7
Not his usual all-action game but he was still the best player on
the pitch. Took his goal well and worked his socks off despite some
close attention from Norwich. Like Butt he tried and tried to grab
the game by the scruff of the neck but his team-mates just weren't
on the same wavelength. One lightning 50-yard run that took him past
two yellow shirts all the way into the box nearly saw Shearer get
on the end of his pass and overall he was my man of the match
(again).
Subs brought on:
Shola Ameobi - 4
Brought on for Milner on 78 minutes and didn't get in the game much.
Played on the right once again...
Lee Bowyer - 4
Come on for Dire on 83 minutes to great applause and made more of
a contribution with one touch - testing the keeper with a 20-yard
shot that Green tipped away for a corner. HE MUST START IN THE CENTRE
ALONGSIDE BUTT BOBBY!
Patrick Kluivert - 0
Come on for...Oh he didn't get on. WHY? |
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