Glenn Roeder leads us into Riga, Latvia for the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Cup tomorrow against what you’d expect at this stage of proceedings: a typically obscure opponent. FK Ventspils are clear at the top of the Latvian League but have just been knocked-out of their domestic cup competition with a surprise 2-1 defeat to Skonto Riga at the semi-final stage. The United boss claims to have had Ventspils looked-at enough to be confident of victory and with the players at our disposal we should ideally be aiming for a comfortable away victory and a clean-sheet.

With the pressures of finding a new striker (or two) overshadowing what is probably considered a “nothing” fixture by a lot of fans, one hopes that the players who are already at the club once again demonstrate their worth by putting Ventspils to the sword - a performance like the one we saw in Norway a couple of weeks ago would be just the ticket.

It is surely essential that the defence performs with a lot more composure and confidence than it did against Villarreal and PSV Eindhoven recently, but Ventspils’ forward options are hardly as intimidating as messrs Farfan, Forlan and Vennegoor of Hesselink. A relaxed performance from whoever Roeder picks at the heart of defence is essential for both club and fans alike, but the fullbacks will have to muck in as well. Stephen Carr has been strangely free of criticism this pre-season in most sections of the media, what better opportunity for him than here to extend this charmed reputation into more sections of our support?

Aside from the traditional worries about the defence, another area of great interest (for the right reasons, for once) is the midfield. With an abundance of players on good form, or with big reputations and the mooted incoming of Thomas Gravesen from Real Madrid, coupled with the imminent return of the perennially-crocked Kieron Dyer, it’s hard to think of a time when we have been so well-stocked in the middle of the park. Nicky Butt has thrust himself back into the limelight with two excellent goals last weekend and it’s fair to say Glenn Roeder is spoilt for choice in this area: at least until the injuries start, anyway. It will most certainly be interesting to see who gets the nod, perhaps only Duff and Parker are guaranteed starts.

So then, an important route into the UEFA Cup proper is currently blocked by a Latvian object in the shape of the yellow-and-blue clad FK Ventspils who will, as always in these sorts of affairs, be desperately hoping for a brave performance and maybe even an upset. It seems this has been the case in a great number of Newcastle United fixtures in the recent memory - but we have come through all of them fairly unscathed. It’s up to the players to make sure that this trend continues and we take our place in the last 32 of the competition and then, from there, who knows what might happen?

Team News

Newcastle United Squad

Shay Given, Stephen Harper, Tim Krul, Stephen Carr, Peter Ramage, Steven Taylor, Craig Moore, Titus Bramble, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Celestine Babayaro, Paul Huntington, Nolberto Solano, James Milner, Scott Parker, Belozoglu Emre, Nicky Butt, Damien Duff, Charles N’Zogbia, Matthew Pattison, Alan O’Brien, Shola Ameobi and Albert Luque.

FK Ventspils Squad

Vanin, Davidov, Kachanov, Ndeki, Gorksh, Bichka, Soleichuk, Pokarynin, Vukovic, Dubensky, Sokolsky, Zangarejevs, Butrik, Zizilev, Rimkus, Stukalinas, Slesarcuks and Kolesnichenko.

Injuries/Suspensions

Newcastle have only the long-term injuries of Michael Owen and Kieron Dyer to contend with going into this European encounter. While Dyer is reported to be making his return to full training towards the end of this month, the news for Owen is still that he is not expected to return to first-team action until at least the first quarter of 2007.

Scott Parker was the only NUFC player to pick up a booking in the Lillestrom tie, if he is booked in Latvia he will miss the home leg of the Ventspils tie.

FK Ventspils have a fully-fit squad and no suspensions - but Ndeki and Gorsch are on yellow cards.

Our Approach

Well, first and foremost we need an impressive performance from the lads - there is absolutely no denying it. With a fanbase growing increasingly worried about the lack of any “striking” arrivals to Gallowgate, the current crop of players are once again forced to carry the load and help us to progress into the UEFA Cup. With a national audience watching on Channel Five it is essential that our players step-up to the plate and remind everyone just exactly what sort of quality is already at this football club.

I imagine that Roeder will demand that we take control from the first whistle - it is essential that we do not give the Latvian fans a moment of hope or optimism in the opening fifteen minutes of the game. Keeping a hold of the ball and making Ventspils work for it is probably the best method of achieving this, but there’s no use is passing it idly around the defence: our players must look forward and they must have options when they do so.

Damien Duff will no doubt want to impress on his European debut for the club and my only hope is that we get the ball into his feet enough - our main tactics should surely be in getting our wide-men as far forward to support the striker/s as possible. I can see the gaffer playing things in a similar vein to what he did in Lillestrom to great effect; with Shola leading the line backed up by the likes of Emre, Milner and N’Zogbia… whoever gets the nod in the wide positions will have a massive onus to support the front-man.

Ventspils’ left-side was apparently fairly dubious in their recent defeat to Skonto Riga, with both of their opponents’ goals coming from that side. With this in mind I would hope that James Milner is given the nod ahead of Nolberto Solano on our right-flank in an attempt to get at their fullback, much like he did to Lillestrom’s right-back in Norway.

All-in-all, it’s a simple case of stating our intentions from the outset and getting about our opponents with a bit of fire and lashings of pace. It would be ridiculous to underestimate Ventspils in such a crucial encounter, and while there no doubt will be players who do; I think it’s fair to say we have enough professional squad members to get the job done here. People are nearing full match-fitness and are battling for their place in the line-up - this is, after all, the final stop before the league commences - and so we should expect nothing less than a full-on approach to this match.

Key Players

Newcastle: Shola Ameobi - with Albert Luque flattering to deceive once more in the black and white, the burden of scoring goals rest squarely on the wide shoulders of the Nigerian lad from Walker. The much-maligned striker has weighed in with more than his fair share since Glenn Roeder took the reigns from Graeme Souness last season, scoring at an average of more than a goal every game - impressive stats for anyone, especially a player with such a poor reputation in the eyes of his own. Shola seems to thrive on the European stage and opposition like FK Ventspils are his bread-and-butter… I would expect at least a goal from Ameobi in this one, although I do hope for a good performance along with it. At the highest level in football, goals alone aren’t enough - just ask Ruud van Nistelrooy about that.

Ventspils: Igor Slesarcuks - FK Ventspils’ top-scorer this season will be looking to score potentially the biggest goal of his career against Newcastle tomorrow. The Latvian striker has enjoyed a good partnership up front with Vits Rimkus this season and has individually been on fine form for the yellow-and-blues, scoring the final goal in Ventspils’ 4-1 aggregate win over GI Gotu of the Faroe Islands in the last qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. Definitely a player to keep an eye on, their main threat.

Potential Selection

Shay Given
Stephen Carr
Craig Moore
Steven Taylor
Celestine Babayaro
James Milner
Scott Parker
Belozoglu Emre
Charles N’Zogbia
Damien Duff
Shola Ameobi

Pre-Match Comments: Glenn Roeder

Training…

“Pre-season is over, and we’re into the real thing now with the UEFA Cup tie on Thursday.

“The players will be happy pre-season is over because training will alter slightly.

“We have got a good tank of stamina, now it’s about bringing the speed and sharpness back into the legs and we will see that on Thursday.”

The UEFA Cup Final…

“You can only get to the final of the competition if you are in it.

“We are in it, and we will be giving it our best shot.”

The squad…

“When you are in four competitions like we are this season you need to be lucky with injuries and have a squad big enough to cope, and we’re working on that - as you know.

“We’re making progress. If I get in the players I have in mind in the next two weeks, or by the end of August, I’ll be happy to go into the season with that squad.”

Defending…

“The mistakes that have been made in those games can be ironed out quite easily, as they are mistakes lads of this quality should not be making.

“Maybe with them being friendlies we were a little too relaxed when defending, and we let Shay Given be exposed.

“But we have got those games out of the way now and hopefully those mistakes will be eradicated, and we will not see them for the rest of the season.”

Ventspils…

“We have done a very professional job.

“We have done as much as we can do, I’ve had great help from Gary Johnson at Bristol City who was international manager of Latvia for a while, and Simon Grayson from Blackpool, who has watched a few Latvian teams including this one and he has sent us reports on them so we cannot be any more prepared than we are.

“There are no excuses.”

Scouting…

“It was informative. I saw lots of good players and I will be back away next weekend in another country.

“I have seen lots of teams and lots of good players. Of those on our list, we have got to find out which ones are available and at what we think is value for money.”

Pre-Match Comments: Roman Grigorchuk

“I think that Newcastle’s main strength is the pace and all round professionalism of their players.

“The players are very excited. They can’t wait to play Newcastle. I understand that and I like it.”

The Verdict

Although you’ll hear from people that games like this “are never easy”, the away leg against Lillestrom proved what a fit Newcastle United team should be doing to teams in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup. Villarreal and PSV have provided sterner tests since the tie against the Norwegians and the squad can only be stronger physically and mentally as a result of those high-class friendlies. FK Ventspils might be running away with the Latvian title, but we cannot go to Riga expecting anything less than a resounding victory for the lads.

For Newcastle these things are usually goal-gluts or we’ll make a right meal of the whole thing and nick it by a solitary goal at the end, there is very rarely any middle ground to be had. For this encounter, though, I’m going to be fairly bold and traditionally optimistic as I go with the former and a 4-0 victory for a fighting-fit Newcastle United, with a couple of goals from Shola Ameobi, one from Charles N’Zogbia and hopefully a first in black-and-white for perhaps the signing of the summer so far: Damien Duff.

Howay the lads!