|
| Home | This Season | Reserves | Academy | Womens | Squad | Stadium | History | Tickets | Gallery | Downloads | Toon Shirts | Forum |
|
Match Report By Wullie
(26 August 2005)
Quite simply this was disgusting, but was exactly what we all expected to see from a side for who even a goal looks a million miles away, never mind three points. Graeme Souness tells us he laughs at the idea that this is a crisis. At least someone has something to laugh about, because this is a crisis of potentially epic proportions, which we have less than a week to put right, a week which also features the visit of Manchester United and, very possibly, the departure of the manager in the same week that has seen off each of our last three bosses. Even if he doesn’t go, it’s truly astonishing that we should find ourselves in the exact same situation for the fourth time, showing a staggering lack of foresight over and over again in keeping yet another man who is not up to the job. The morning’s announcement that an alleged £18m bid had been accepted for Michael Owen only made this reporter angrier at this summer’s events. Ignoring the fact that £18m is ridiculously over-inflated for a player that cost Real Madrid £8m and has warmed the bench since, are we forever destined to be mugs who’ll lap anything up as long as we have one 20-goal-a-season striker to look up to? Are we really prepared to sit clapping like black and white seals with ‘Owen’ branded on our backs while the team as a whole flounders? Have we been ignoring the problem position for so long in the hope that he will join? I’d love nothing more than to see Michael Owen playing for Newcastle, but not at the expense of everything else, which is surely what an £18m transfer would be, unless the chairman has made a fruitful search down the back of a very large sofa. We’ve only had good times with Shearer when we had good players to compliment such a world class striker, but bearing in mind our inability to ever see the bigger picture, it’s no surprise that we’re prepared to put all our eggs in one basket and expect this current mob to turn into something resembling a football team because of it. We have a potentially excellent first team, but if this is what we get served up when we suffer more than two or three injuries, we’re in for a long, hard season. This disbelief at the Owen bid was only made worse by tonight’s shambles. It’s clearer than ever that it’s going to take a lot more than wee Michael to sort this mess out. Totally devoid of any ideas, by my (admittedly lacklustre) count we’ve had just five shots on goal in three games, with our two efforts in this game being a Bowyer half-volley cleared off the line by Speed and a late 25 yard Shearer drive which stung the fingers of Jaaskelainen. Those apart, our creativity was nil, and we barely seem able to string two passes together. Putting together a simple attacking move of note feels like the stuff of fairytales and the players look like they haven’t the first idea what they’re supposed to be doing. Bolton were distinctly average, and were playing a centre forward at left back, but we made it ‘Eaz-ah’ for them, as the clapping morons in the home end took great pleasure in reminding us. Even the bright lights in the side showed that they are not the perfection we need them to be at the back, as Given carelessly let a Diouf header inside his front post before Boumsong got dragged out of position enabling (a marginally offside) Stelios to poke home Bolton’s second. The midfield was awful, with Faye terrible and Jenas outdoing every woeful performance he’s put in over the last two years with a disgraceful, disinterested showing but after Chelsea and Mourinho, Scott Parker must wonder just what the hell he’s stumbled into, as he did the work of two men in the centre. Out “wide”, continuing with the ridiculous 4-5-1, Shola had one of his worst games for the club, while Bowyer worked hard but was hopelessly lost between middle and wide, attack and midfield. Clueless, the whole set up. Up front, Shearer looked again a forlorn figure which raises another question: will Owen play up front alone in the 4-5-1, which won’t suit him a bit in my opinion, or will he partner Shearer, whose legs are gone and should not be starting? I’d be surprised if anyone had even thought as far forward as that, not to mention the left side conundrum. Shola, N’Zogbia and Milner have all shown themselves incapable of doing the job, so just who will fill that space if all the money is spent in one fell swoop is a massive question, with 6 days to find an answer (although reports on Thursday suggest Luque will arrive on Friday, which is finally some good news). Not just on the pitch does the rot need clearing out. If Shepherd thinks that signing Owen or even sacking the manager will wipe his slate clean, he’s got a shock in store. The scattered pro-Souness chants emanating from the top tier of the Reebok Stadium weren’t particularly in support of the manager, but to let the man at the top know that most fans see it as his neck on the line if this transfer window slams shut without adequate reinforcements and that come Sunday, that old favourite ‘Sack the Board’ could well be reverberating round St James’ Park. It’s difficult to predict how the chairman or board would react to such a thing, but there’s only one way to find out. Let’s not let any potential signings paper over the cracks and put us under any illusion that this summer has been anything but farcical.
Lineups & match facts
Goals: Diouf 37, Giannakopoulos 50. Newcastle: Given, Carr, Boumsong, Taylor, Babayaro, Jenas, Faye (Clark 60), Parker, Bowyer (Milner 67), Shearer, Ameobi. Subs Not Used: Elliott, Harper, N'Zogbia. Booked: Taylor. Att: 25,904 Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).
Post Match Reaction
"We overcame a lot of obstacles which we thought may have caused us a problem. "Certainly my praise goes to Henrik Pedersen first and foremost. He played at full-back and it's the first time he's played there in the Premiership. "After all that, Radhi Jaidi picked up an injury and Abdoulaye Faye came in for his first Premiership appearance." Graeme Souness "It's no secret what area we feel we need to improve in. "Michael (Owen) would make us a different animal altogether. He has a track record of scoring goals and I'm sure he would here if he chose to join us. "We've played three games and tonight is the worst we've played so far. To get a result here you need to scrap." |
|
Contact
| Write
For Us | About
Us | Advertise
| Privacy
| Newsnow
| Copyright
| Site
Map | We
Support | Top
|
Match Report: Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Newcastle United
