Butt Gets The Nod As Sven Ignores JJ & Dyer
England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has chosen not to start with either
Jermaine Jenas or Kieron Dyer for tomorrow's friendly against the
Ukraine at St. James' Park but one Newcastle player will be on show
from the start - Nicky Butt. JJ and Dyer are expected to appear at
some stage in the second half however.
England starting 11 to face Ukraine:
James, G.Neville, A.Cole, Terry, King, Beckham, Butt,
Lampard, Gerrard, Owen, Alan Smith.
Bobby's Substitutions Against Middlesbrough...
Were being blamed In some quarters for our inability to hold onto
a lead at the Riverside. It seems many felt that we handed the initiative
to Boro on the flanks when Bobby brought on Dyer for Milner and Ameobi
for Robert into the second half.
Both of Middlesbrough's goals come down our right and left flank so
there is some substance in this but what could Bobby do? Robert if
you remember only recovered from Conjunctivitis a few days before
the match and is nowhere near match fitness - he wasn't going to last
the full 90 minutes. And Milner was already running on empty having
ran himself into the ground prior to his departure.
Bobby had to bring them off and looking to the bench he didn't exactly
have many options for the flanks did he? So he put on Ameobi on the
left and Dyer on the right.
The biggest finger wagging however was reserved for his substitution
of Big Al for Patrick Kluivert with 3 minutes to go. When Big Al walked
off the pitch we were 2-1 up - 2 minutes later we were level at 2-2.
If Shearer had of been on the pitch we would have hung on for the
win was the after thought of many, especially when the Captain basically
alluded to this in his post-match comments.
Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing...
At 2-1 up with a few minutes left Bobby brought off Al to run down
the clock - within seconds of replacing our No.9, Jenas should have
made it 3-1. Had he done so, or had we managed to hang on for the
3 points this wouldn't even be an issue.
We had 4 full-backs in defence. One of those 4, Elliot, hadn't started
a League game for United in over 2 years. Carr had only been at the
club for 2 days. Robert and JJ were only passed fit the day before
the match. Butt, Milner and indeed Carr were all making their full
competitive debuts. All this on top of the Conjunctivitis scare that
wrecked our Pre-Season preparations and key players missing through
injury - to come away with a 2-2 draw was an achievement in itself.
Instead of nit-picking we should be looking at the positives.
Fresh start and all that...
No Hiding Place For Dyer Now
Following on from the Chronicle's hard hitting article yesterday where
they claimed Kieron Dyer should never be allowed to play for the Toon
again, after seemingly refusing to accept the Captain's armband at
the Riverside on Saturday as well as his reported bust up with Bobby
over his desire to play in the centre and not the right flank, the
national media have now cranked up the situation a few notches with
almost blanket coverage.
If Dyer wasn't aware of the true feelings of those who pay his wages,
you and I, then he will be by now. Internet forums, TV & radio
phone-in's and both local and national press have been stoking the
flames. Using "sources" close the the man himself citing
he will not play on the right and highlighting his reported weekly
wage packet - ranging from 45K to 65K, as embers to further enflame
those of us who already think he's a complete waste of space.
I'm not going to jump on any 'bandwagon' regarding this issue. Regular
readers of Newcastle-Online will know my thoughts on Dyer - I'd love nothing
better than to see him as far away from the Gallowgate as possible
- preferably with a kick up the arse just to help him on his way,
but as I write he is still a Toon player so I'm taking a step back
from the 'storm'.
Academy Friendly: Walker Central 0-1 NUFC
United's Academy team beat Walker Central last night at Monkchester
Road in a friendly match. David Edgar grabbed the decisive goal for
the Magpies. For a full match report visit Nufc.com |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
 |
 |
Toon
Shirts |
|
Sponsors |
|
