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Match Report By
Gaz
Pearson (02 December 2005)
The Scot put out the best team available to him where as Paul Jewell opted to blood some youngsters and give a run out for some old pro's. And for the first-half, quite blatantly, they pulverised us! Super Shay was flying around like a scolded cat in his goal as shot after shot flew his way. The impressive Lee McCulloch was tearing the Toon defence to shreds, a defence that included Robbie Elliot at centre-half and Charles N'Zogbia pushed in at left-back. We were so disjointed it was a joke. Surely there are some good youngsters in our reserves and academy that can come in for games like this? If not, then where the hell is the money going on training the new stars of the future? If Wigan can have a decent reserve team then why the hell haven’t we got one? For me that just isn’t an excuse. Irregardless of where the players were fielded Newcastle should have come away with a victory that takes us into the next round, given the team we had out and the so-called reaction Souness was claiming we'd see following the awful Everton performance. They didn’t look interested at all in the first-half and any semblance of team spirit seemed to evaporate down Wigan Pier. For the first 15 minutes of the second half Newcastle came out fired up and looked to take the game to Wigan admittedly. However, the mini-Toon revival didn’t last long and Wigan were soon on the ascendancy again. If Souness does leave Newcastle then perhaps the best thing he leaves us with is Emre perhaps who had our best shot of the game, just whistling past the post. However, the little Turk compounded Souness’ woes when he limped off with what appears to be yet another hamstring injury... Wigan squandered chance after chance and a very late notable miss from Alan Mahon left the traveling faithful thinking, maybe just maybe... but in the same instant that thought had arrived, the home side were awarded a penalty right at the death to crush any hopes. Robbie Elliott was judged to have pulled on the shirt of Robert's, a decision when watched a few times seems harsh but I have seen them given for less. Up stepped David Connolly to smash the ball past his Irish counterpart Shay Given to send Wigan into the next round of the Carling Cup, thus ending our only realistic chance of picking up any silverware for the 37th consecutive season running. As referee Bennett blew the final whistle the boos from the Newcastle fans were audible. The chorus of calls for Souness head is no doubt still ringing in his ears even today. Co-incidentally, contrary to reports, that was not Graeme Souness who was seen jumping of Wigan Pier... maybe the Tyne Bridge will have that luxury come Sunday? In all honesty, I cannot see how Souness can survive at Newcastle, he has tried his best and in all fairness to the guy he should never have been given the job in the first place. That’s Shepherd’s fault. So what does he do? He releases a statement asking the fans to unite. The media seems to be all quiet on the Souness front for whatever reason, old pals act or whatever, but I for one am going to be the un-silent majority. It's time for Shepherd to swallow some pride and do the right thing, he had no qualms doing it with Sir Bobby, he was ruthless in that sense. Time to do it again, admit you made a mistake and get us the right man in, Freddy before we descend into further farce. When Souness does leave, resign, get sacked or whatever, (it's inevitable) I wont be bitter towards the man however. He has tried his best and it has been tough at times. But if he is allowed to continue to take us backwards, then it's not his head we should all just be screaming for, but the head's of those who appointed him in the first place. This Shepherd, at this current moment in time, has lost his flock. Whether he can round them back in remains to be seen! The clock is ticking though...
Lineups & Match Stats
Booked: Skoko. Goals: Connolly 88 pen. Newcastle: Given, Ramage, Boumsong, Elliott, N'Zogbia, Bowyer (Brittain 45), Parker, Solano, Emre (Faye 71), Shearer, Luque (Chopra 57). Subs not used: Harper, Clark. Booked: Emre. Ref: Steve Bennett (Orpington) Att: 11,574
Post-Match Reaction: Newcastle
"People say we played their reserve side, but don't forget we were far from our strongest 11 as well. "We had a back four with young Charles as left back who's never played there before, we had Robbie in at centre half, we had young Ramage at right back. "We had a far from full strength team out there. "We were short of numbers, so for me the result was extremely disappointing, as was the manner of the defeat, but it was not a total surprise because that can happen in football. "We've said all the long to anyone who asked the question, the time to judge us is when we have a fully fit squad, and when all the players are out on the pitch together. "But we're now in December, and that hasn't happened yet.
Post-Match Reaction: Wigan
"If you offered me the choice now of winning our next three league games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United or winning the Carling Cup, then I would take winning the three Premiership matches. "Don't get me wrong, I would love to do both, but we want to stay up at all costs, whatever it takes. "I didn't think the goal was going to come. We played exceptionally well, and I thought the lads who came in were terrific. "The penalty was a bit debatable but it was well deserved because we were the better team from start to finish." |
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Match Report: Wigan Athletic 1-0 Newcastle United