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Toon Player Ratings Vs Portsmouth
(h)
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 Match
Date: 4 mFebruary 2006
By Paul
Mosley
An in depth look at each individual performance from Newcastle's SUPERB
2-0 win over Portsmouth at St. James' Park, rating the players, the
manager, Toon fans and the referee. Also included in our match analysis
are ratings for Portsmough.
Players |
Shay Given - 6 |
A rare (in the League anyway) quiet afternoon for Lazarus between
the sticks. He had no real saves to make of note, and his handling
of crosses was impeccable. A change from lumping it long to Shearer
was also good to see as he generally kept the ball on the floor, allowing
us to build from the back. It was alarming to see him rushing out
from goal a couple of times when not completely necessary, but calm
defending on both occasions ensured he wasn’t punished.
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Peter Ramage - 8 |
Ramage continues to improve and put in another good performance on
the day. His defending was as good as ever, and he linked up very
well with Nobby down the right hand side, providing a brilliant cross
for Big Al which eventually saw N’Zogbia open the scoring. His crossing
is coming on really well, as it will have to if he is to keep Carr
out of the side if he ever comes back.
|
Jean-Alain Boumsong - 7 |
Phew, a clean sheet and a pretty solid outing for the Frenchman who
must be relieved to have finally achieved this milestone and got through
a game without a real clanger. His defending, while scaring most fans
to death, was relatively assured at times, and the majority of his
passes generally found a black and white shirt. His positional sense
was also better, as he followed the man in the centre rather than
being sucked out wide as he had been recently. More of the same please,
Jean-Alain.
|
Titus Bramble - 8 |
A real return to form for Titus, and his very strong performance can
only have helped his partner in crime at the back. He won plenty in
the air, his tackling was good, and when Given had his rushes of blood
who was there to calmly mop up on both occasions but Titus, looking
so much more assured than he has so far this season. His passing was
good, although a few long balls failed to find the desired target,
but on a day like this it didn’t really matter.
|
Celestine Babayaro - 8 |
A good effort from the Nigerian, one of his best performances in a
black and white shirt. He was up for it for a change, making challenges
when required and supporting N’Zogbia well down the left. He was cool
in possession and only rarely wasted the ball.
|
Nobby Solano - 8 |
New manager, new Nobby. Maybe I should say old Nobby actually, because
it was as if we’d whipped the Solano of the Champions League years
out of the box and put him on the field on Saturday, for he was back
to his best. Intricate passing and neat touches, together with some
excellent crosses from the right flank, and decent set pieces too,
made a super day’s work for the little Peruvian until he departed
early as usual.
|
Scott Parker - 9 |
After a couple of half-fit performances since his return, Scott now
looks back to fitness and back to his best. Again he fought for every
ball, made vital challenges and gave absolutely everything for the
United cause which is exactly what we want to see. He was also able
to make use of more options going forward and pass in that direction
instead of spending the game spinning round in circles and passing
to Boumsong. He was just about outstanding, and had to be virtually
dragged off with a few minutes to go with what looked like a little
knock but nothing too serious.
|
Emre - 9 (My man of the match) |
The little magician was back at St. James' for the first time since
his match-winning goal against Birmingham in November, and couldn’t
you tell? The Turk turned in a superb performance which, if he can
begin to repeat away from home, as well as avoiding injuries, will
make him a big player for us over the months and years ahead. Some
absolutely wonderful touches, trickery and passing brought a huge
grin to my face on many occasions, and his 1st time control and use
of the ball was a joy to behold. He was rarely caught in possession
and was a key component in our attacking formula, thereby shades his
midfield partner as my Man of the Match, by a hair’s width.
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Charles N'Zogbia - 8 |
Charlie had been left out for the last few games of the Souness era,
apart from the final throw of the dice at City on Wednesday when he
wasn’t able to have any influence on the game because of the ex-manager’s
bizarre game plan (or lack of), but today he was wide left where he’s
at his best, and showed some wonderful touches, giving Andy Griffin
a torrid time in the 1st half, so much so that the ex-Toon man was
booked for hacking the Frenchman down and subbed off at half time.
Charles also provided that vital breakthrough with a very calm finish
in a high-pressure situation which lifted a huge weight off the shoulders
of the whole of Tyneside.
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Alan Shearer - 8 |
Yes. It took another 4 and a bit games after the 200th to come, and
it was fitting that it had to come at the Gallowgate End, in front
of what he so often refers to as ‘his people’, after out-jumping and
then out-pacing former colleague Andy O’Brien to do so, as well as
beating Dean Kiely, who he beat to score his 200th Premiership goal
at the same end of the ground back in 2002 when the Irish keeper was
playing for Charlton. 201 goals, Newcastle United’s record goalscorer
of all time, and I personally am so proud to support the club associated
with this man. Of course, it wasn’t just about the 201st goal, but
there was certainly a new spring in Shearer’s step, as he had a few
chances to break the record, including a 25 yard spontaneous 1st half
effort which was safely gathered, and a bullet header which was saved,
only for N’Zogbia to strike home the rebound. It wasn’t just the efforts
on goal, as he gave O’Brien a torrid afternoon in the air, and was
involved in much of the inter-play going forward. The man is a legend,
and our assistant caretaker manager lead by example from the front.
A true pro, a true legend. There’s only one Alan Shearer.
|
Shola Ameobi - 8 |
Shola was back after having Wednesday off, and back in his more familiar
forward role (a move a certain Mr Shearer probably recommended), and
for once the 2 worked well together. Shola worked bloody hard all
afternoon, and can count himself unlucky not to have got a goal or
two, which he would have deserved. He made a crucial contribution
to both goals, with a flick for the 2nd that Ronaldinho would have
been proud of. Sadly Sholadinho needs to get himself onside more often,
and needs to stay on his feet more in the box, but this was a definite
improvement, and let’s not forget he’s half-fit and requiring injections
to keep going.
Subs |
Kieron Dyer (74 mins, for Solano) – 6 – Welcome back
Kieron, let’s hope those injury problems are finally behind you and
you can begin contributing to our charge up the table. In his time
on the field he showed some nice touches and put in a dangerous cross
which had Kiely worried, and fired in an effort which hit O’Brien.
Lee Bowyer (74 mins, for Emre) – 6 – Tidy in possession,
got himself stuck in and worked hard in the final 15 minutes.
Lee Clark (87 mins, for Parker) – N/A – Nothing to
say really.
Boss Man |
|
Glenn Roeder - 9 |
On his big day, Glenn made good use of the options which were available
to him, probably picking just about his strongest side available based
on who was fit both mentally and physically. His reasons for leaving
Albert Luque out were absolutely correct, and the way he dealt with
the situations was a breath of fresh air compared to his predecessor.
Pairing Shearer and Ameobi made sense, as Ameobi’s physical presence
gave Primus and O’Brien a tough time, and his hard work enabled him
to get at them from the off. He also ensured Solano and N’Zogbia were
pushed wider, enabling them to get deliveries into the box which is
what we’ve been lacking for the past 18 months, with Ramage getting
forward well in support on the right. Most of all though, he restored
passion and belief to the Newcastle United side, and gave the fans
something to shout about, as well as getting the lads to play football,
which is what we want to see. If this turns out to be your only game
in charge, thanks for a superb day.
Mags |
|
Toon Fans - 10 |
It cannot be coincidence that the best atmosphere this season was
against Blackburn, as chants of ‘Souness Out’ rang around... ok, that’s
a joke, the best atmospheres were against Sunderland and Arsenal,
because in those games the players gave everything for the cause and
fought tooth and nail for every single ball. They were also massive
games, and we also managed to win both of them. Saturday was another
massive game, which we won, and in which the players gave everything
for the black and white cause and, sure enough, the atmosphere was
electric. Even more so than in those 2 games, because we were playing
football as well as fighting. The belief and hope was back in the
stands, and so was the noise. Some unimportant goal by that bloke
with 9 on his back raised noise levels for some reason, if anybody
can tell me why please send a postcard.
Referee |
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Mark Halsey - 9 |
A referee who is not having his best season turned in probably his
best performance of the campaign so far. His season has been blighted
by fitness problems, but those appeared over today as he was always
up with play which enabled him to make correct and credible decisions,
notably the penalty appeals which at 1st glance appeared poor decisions
but when checking replays, Mark was absolutely correct. The 1 caution
for Griffin scything down N’Zogbia was as easy as they come, and the
game flowed brilliantly with Halsey always looking to play an advantage.
Well done.
Opposition |
|
Portsmouth |
Dean Kiely – 9 – Made a string of remarkable saves and for a while
looked like he was going to have one of ‘those afternoons.
Andy Griffin – 4 – Was given the run around by N’Zogbia and Emre down
the left, resorted to fouling and was taken off at half time.
Andy O’Brien – 5 – Welcome back OB, but he was outstripped for THE
goal and was pretty much bossed by Shearer all afternoon, although
made a superb challenge on Shola in the box in the 91st minute to
deny goal number 3.
Linvoy Primus – 5 – Struggled against Shola and Al.
Matthew Taylor – 7 – Pompey’s best defender and whipped in a wicked
cross early in the 2nd half.
Wayne Routledge – 4 – Is this the same guy who was so impressive for
Palace last year?
Pedro Mendes – 4 – No 50 yard goal this time.
Sean Davis – 5 – Worked hard but had no chance against Emre and Parker.
Gary O’Neil – 5 – Same as Davis, really.
Andres D’Alessandro – 5 – Not in the game.
Benjani – 3 – Oh dear. Has Harry signed Ali Dia?
Subs Noe Pamarot (for Griffin, 45 mins) – 4 – Only slightly better
than Griffin, really. S
vetoslav Todorov (for Routledge, 45 mins) – 4 – Never in it.
Salif Diao (for Davis, 76 mins) – 4 – Did he touch the ball?
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