Match Preview: NUFC Vs Crystal Palace
Our penultimate home game of the season
sees Crystal Palace come to St. James' Park desperate for a win. It's
really tight down in the relegation places and Palace know that a
win would put them in a great position to stay up. Newcastle on the
other hand put an end to that awful 5 game losing streak Wednesday
gone with an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Boro. We've got nothing
to play for but pride and extra financial incentives by finishing
as high as possible where as they've got it all to play for - their
top-light existence.
[Read
Full Match Preview]
Patrick Kluivert Wants Toon Stay
He would do wouldn't he... Speaking on his Icons website the Dutchman
had this to say regarding his Toon career:
After what
looked like an exciting end to the season, we find ourselves out of
the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup. But there is still much to play for in
our final five games, starting with Middlesbrough tomorrow night.
OK, to be honest, the thrill of going for the cups is lost now. But
as professionals, we have our own personal pride to think of, and
we've still got the obligation to do our utmost for the club. The
higher up the table we finish, the more prize money the club will
get, so it's our duty to end the season as strongly as possible. Also,
it's never good to end a season the way we are at the moment. The
players are all still playing for their futures at the club too, and
that should be motivation enough.
Despite what people have said, I don't feel that the players have
let the manager down this season. We all tried very hard, but we didn't
have much luck on the way. We reached the FA Cup semi-final, and we
could have beaten Manchester United, but on the day they were the
better team. You can talk about it till the cows come home, but they
deserved to win.
I think the abuse that Nicky Butt got after that match was not right.
I don't think it was fair to put the blame on one player, because
it's a team sport and a team effort. From my own experience, I can
tell you that it's quite tough if you have your first season with
a new club and you're plagued by injuries, however small they are.
It's hard to find your rhythm and to reach your best form, and that's
what's happened to Nicky.
We also reached the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup and we were only
20 minutes away from reaching the semi-final. So it hasn't been a
disastrous season. But it has been a disappointing end. We should
never have lost to Norwich, for example. A team of our stature should
always win a game like that.
But I wouldn't say I felt sorry for Graeme Souness in particular.
If I feel sorry for anyone, it's for the whole team, including the
manager. It's a team effort, and although the manager is not on the
pitch, he is part of the team.
I also don't think that there is a problem with there being too many
big personalities in the dressing room. That is never a problem. Looking
at previous dressing rooms I have been part of, like FC Barcelona,
we became Spanish champions with personalities like Rivaldo and Luis
Figo in the side. Look at some of the other English sides. They do
very well despite the strong personalities in the dressing room.
Alan Shearer has said that Newcastle United need players who are not
only talented, but are prepared to work hard. But I don't take that
personally. I think Alan was talking about the future of the club,
I don't think he was referring to anyone in particular. In fact I
agree with him. Talent is never enough on its own; even Maradona had
to work hard.
Finally, will I be staying at the club at the end of the season? Well,
I would prefer to stay at Newcastle, and that is still my aim. I have
no other plans.
I hear that the rumour has been spread around that AZ Alkmaar have
an interest in me, but I can confirm that this is only a rumour. There
has been no serious chat between me or my agent or anybody connected
with the club. I can only repeat that I want to stay at Newcastle.
But my future will be determined in May and not until then.
 |
Hugo Viana's Future
Today's Chronicle are reporting that a Newcastle United delegation
has flew to Portugal to decide Hugo Viana's future who's loan deal
at Sporting Lisbon expires on Sunday. The local paper goes on to further
claim that the purpose of this visit is to find out whether Sporting
want to buy the midfielder and if not, they will listen to offers
from other clubs.
Over the past few months Viana has been linked to a whole host of
clubs from Italy including AC and Inter Milan as well as one or two
from Spain but the £8.5m signing wants to stay in Portugal.
Speaking to the media back in his homeland Viana said:
"Newcastle do not want me. The board have told me personally that
my sale is a priority.
"I was happy to know that. Not to upset the club, but because I had
two unhappy seasons in England.
"I understand when they said I don't have the maturity to play in
The Premiership, but I'm ready to progress with Sporting - where I
want to be."
Was Bellamy Right?
The alleged text message saga between
Craig Bellamy and Newcastle has once again put us on the back pages
for reasons other than what is happening on the pitch but it does
raise a pertinent question. Although no one can deny Shearer holds
hero status on Tyneside and you can't condone what Bellamy said, if
indeed he did send the text messages, you just cant help wondering
whether Shearer is "past it".
[Read
More +]
Buying From Our Premiership Rivals - Arsenal
So Graeme Souness wants to bring in
players who have Premiership experience or who can perform in the
League, then? Well lets take a look at our Premiership rivals and
see who is available, who could be available and who we could potentially
attract. In the first of a daily series, lets start with Arsenal.
[Read
More +] |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
 |
Toon
Shirts |
|
Sponsors |
|
