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Toon Player Ratings Vs Manchester City (h)
 Match
Date: 24 September 2005
By Aphrodite
We take a look at each individual performance from the 1-0 win over
Stuart Pearce's Man City at St. James' Park, rating the players, the
manager, the Toon fans, the opposition and the referee. Also included
in our match analysis are ratings for City with a brief review of
their performance too.
Shay Given - 8
Shay put in an excellent performance. He looked confident throughout
the match, and made a fantastic reflex save with his legs early on
in the game from a Sibierski header. He also swept up, cleared his
lines quickly, handled and kicked well and generally looked far superior
to his opposite number in the Man City goal.
Steven Carr - 6
Whilst he didn't particularly do much wrong, he didn't seem to play
as well as he has done previously. However, he did work well with
the rest of the defence and never looked like making a mistake. Carr's
problem is that he lacks a natural partner down that right flank and
this I feel is restricting his attacking play. Hopefully when Nobby
is fit, he'll get more involved in that sense.
Titus Bramble - 9
Bramble looked constantly strong and commanded the defence brilliantly,
and he appears to have improved his reading of the game and his footballing
brain. He also delivered some Beckham-esque long balls and had the
Man City centre forward in his pocket. An excellent display and a
welcome boost. He had one or two sloppy moments but that's to be expected
given this is only his second start in a couple of months. Excellent
game. My man of the match.
Jean-Alain Boumsong - 7
A much better performance from Boumsong who has looked short of confidence
in recent weeks with a few below par matches from the Frenchman. He
did have one or two shaky moments, but overall he was commanding,
and excellent in the air. His partnership with Bramble was very solid
which gave us the strength we needed at the back. He looked so much
better alongside Bramble.
Celestine Babayaro - 7
Babayaro seemed a lot more involved and pacy than he was against Fulham
in our last match at St. James' Park prior to this one. He made some
good attacking runs and his positioning and passing had seriously
improved since then. He also made one or two decent interceptions
although he could have cleared his lines better once or twice. Overall,
decent enough. Good game.
Lee Bowyer - 7
Bowyer wasn't our best midfielder, but he deserves some plaudits for
the beautifully timed through ball for Owen's goal. He did sometimes
look threatening and gave good support to our front two but he is
no right winger, often drifting in to the centre which left Carr exposed
once or twice down that flank. Better in the centre but a decent shift
from him.
Scott Parker - 9
As ever, Parker looked at ease when he had the ball and surely an
England call-up must be beckoning. He was calm and collected in centre
midfield, and hopefully he will continue to perform well with Emre
when the Turkish international returns to fitness from injury. An
energetic, snappy, disciplined performance from Parker who continues
to impress everyone at Newcastle.
Lee Clark - 7
A very promising performance from the Geordie in his second full start
in a week. Clark always looked interested and was very committed to
the cause, passing the ball well and helping out at both ends of the
field. He played a lot deeper than he did against Blackburn Rovers
at Ewood Park which allowed others to get forward. A fine game.
Charles N'Zogbia - 9
N'Zogbia challenged Bramble for man of the match in my opinion. His
work rate was top class and he seems to possess the flair of Laurent
Robert, but with a lot more effort. He looks to be incredibly promising,
and hopefully one for the future. He was quick, took on the City full-back,
sent in some decent crosses, got stuck in and has become a real attacking
outlet for us. Another excellent performance from the Frenchman who
has given us as much a lift as Owen has in recent weeks.
Michael Owen - 8
Owen has provided to the attack exactly what was needed. The pace
and the vision he displayed in this match is what Newcastle were crying
out for last season, when the attack was static and slow. He had some
fantastic chances, which although he only scored one, on another day,
it could have been two or three. His timing of runs, movement and
positional sense is world-class.
Alan Shearer - 6
Again, Shearer looked slow and cumbersome in open play, only really
threatening from corners or free kicks. He did quite well up against
Dunne though, dominating him in the air and he had his moments in
this match. It was probably a good decision to take him off for Ameobi
however as he was tiring and huffing and puffing by then.
Subs
Shola Ameobi - 5
Ameobi was decent enough, and never really had any chances. although
he did miss a golden opportunity at the death after Owen laid it on
a plate for him. Hope to see more from him in the future.
Amdy Faye - 6
He never reached the levels of uselessness that he did against Fulham,
which is a good thing I suppose. However, I really hope that when
our midfield is full strength, it won't be necessary for Faye to play
for us.
The Boss Man
Graeme Souness - 7
Surprisingly, Souness seemed to do little wrong. The decision to start
Clark instead of Faye was certainly a right one, and Newcastle looked
very impressive in the first half playing controlled football with
lots of neat passing. He also made the right changes I felt, bringing
on Faye to bolster the midfield and replacing a tired Shearer with
Ameobi. The defence still needs worked on and at times we played far
too deep but overall, well done Graham, hopefully the tactical skills
shown in this match will last.
Magpies
Toon Fans - 5
Newcastle fans seemed very subdued to me. Where I was in the Milburn,
the atmosphere was incredibly poor. What happened to St. James's being
a fortress? It seems to only rise for the big games. Come on everyone,
sing your hearts out for the lads. Another poor showing at home, mind
the City fans weren't much better...
Referee
Graham Poll - 9
I thought the referee had a superb game. He was prepared to let the
game flow, got all cards correct and was up with play. He had no contentious
decisions, which prevents him from getting full marks, but the performance
shows why he refereed the UEFA Cup Final last year.
The Opposition
Man City
James: Flapped a few times on crosses but was quick
off his line. 6
Onuoha: Ran ragged by N'Zogbia. 6
Distin: Solid throughout, good pace. 8
Dunne: Dominated by Shearer in the air and too slow.
5
Thatcher: Never got involved. 5
Jihai: Got forward well but lacked quality on the
ball. 6
Barton: Drove at United and tried to change the game,
impressive. 8
Reyna: Overweight, overpaid - did nothing. 4
Musampa: Very quiet. 5
Sibierski: Went missing after his miss. 5
Vassell: Was he even playing? 4
An awful week for ex-Mag Stuart Pearce then. He has his side well
organised, they play neat football and work hard, but without Cole
they look toothless up front and that could be a problem for them
as the season kicks on. |
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