[R] FULHAM @ Newcastle, Pre, Postgame

Well, its up to St. James Park we go. Although they have not scored a goal yet, they will be in high spirits with their new signing Michael Owen. It figures they would make a huge signing come the end of the transfer window, right in time to play us. Fulhamish???

First things first, one thing that may save us from Owen is the England match vs. Northern Ireland tomorrow (wed.). Owen may very well get the start so lets hope he is tired for Saturday.

Secondly, in the long term, I really don't think anything can save Newcastle from Souness, not even Owen. The guy has taken a possible Champions League team and has plunged them further down the Prem.

Your thoughts?!

 

RE: FULHAM @ Newcastle

Last year it was 4-1 our way...why not again?

 

RE: FULHAM @ Newcastle

With the debut of Owen for Newcastle, the Geordies are going to be extra fired up for this one. If they do not beat us, I feel it could be the end of the brief Grame Souness period at Newcastle.

Regardless, we need to go out and play good attacking football against them. Lots of injuries are mounting up for the Magpies midfield. Emre, Dyer and Bowyer are likely all out through injury and newly acquired Norberto Solano will miss due to a suspension he picked up while still with Aston Villa.

I am predicting a 1-1 draw. We will score first, but Owen will equalize in the second half.

 

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I'd settle for that. Owen is a difference maker but Newcastle is still a mess at the moment. An away win is not out of the question.

 

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Owen or no Owen, the fact they havent scored in 4 outings concerns me, Actuarily....

So I cant call it at all.

 

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Check out this preview on one of the Asian betting sites:

http://www.asianhandicap.com/Bruger/Tip ... r=Bekantan

Favorite quotes:
"Fans have been worrying and manager Graeme Souness start to feel his chair heat."

"Pickings besides victory will make Mr. Souness packing his goods from St James Park."

Mr. Souness can pack his goods in private, thank you very much.

 

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Now that's the first time I've actually seen the word "actuarily" used in a sentence... I like it...

 

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Yeah me too...I should'a put {sic} beside it.

I'm sure someone at State Farm or Nationwide Insurance HQ has used it in a chalk talk, though... Going Forward.

 

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1-1 sounds good. I'm in Maine this weekend, so I'll follow the game through the 4thegame cellphone scoreboard (www.4thegame.com/wap/#mainpage).

 

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It's on fulhamfc.co.uk this week Dave: No fee for Gent Jim.. and 1-0 to us right now!!

 

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I can not believe how well we played today. The team looked like...well...a TEAM! Our passing was fantastic and we created enough chances to go up 5-0. I would've taken a point before hand so I will not complain.

Steeed, McBride, Bouba, C. Jensen...all were just awesome.

Very proud to be Fulham today...COYW's.

 

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A lot better than I expected all year!!! A draw is great considering all of that emotion from Newcastle today!!! I'll take that, and I will not go into their next matches expecting a lot more. They sure have improved their pace since the summer sessions in the US. COYW!!!!!!!

 

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Goood call, Tom!

And very close to the mark, considering the circumstances of the toon goal.

I am amazed; havent seen that much sunshine on the offal MB since... well, I dont recall EVER...

Amazing though that so few see the MAIN reason why Zat has picked up his performance the last few games.

 

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This is a superb article about yesterady's game...I especially like the bit about Voltz having a pep talk with Zat before the game - it demosntrates a real team spirit.

Article:

Newcastle?s huge support turned out to worship their new legend, but they will need patience before he can blossom

Walking towards St James? Park yesterday, it seemed only right to stop for a while at the statue of Jackie Milburn. ?Wor Jackie?, it said affectionately of the man who was born Jackie Edward Thompson Milburn. Erected by the people of Newcastle three years after Milburn?s death in 1988, the statue reminded you of how people around here value a good centre forward.

It was inevitable, also, to wonder what they will say about Michael Owen after he has gone. Wor Michael? Perhaps. There is a long way to go. Or, to be more charitable, it can only get better than it was yesterday. Owen had the quietest of debuts and a draw was more than his new club deserved.

There had been so much expectation. Long queues to buy programmes with Owen on the front cover and everyone believing it would be debutant's day. Hadn?t Malcolm MacDonald, Kevin Keegan, Andy Cole and Alan Shearer all scored on their debuts for this great football club? Owen walked on to the pitch, the last but not the least of Newcastle?s players and the thunderous ovation from 52,000 fans was for him. But sport?s most reassuring quality is its refusal to play to pre-ordained scripts. As Owen acknowledged the welcome, Fulham's German defender Moritz Volz pulled Zat Knight to one side and spoke animatedly to the central defender. You knew precisely what Volz was saying.

This was an afternoon for Knight to remind Owen that the return to the Premiership will not be easy and, to be a little perverse, to let him know that his reservations about joining Newcastle were justified. Knight is uncommonly tall, good in the air, quicker than you?d think but, surely, still vulnerable to a striker as sharp and as well balanced as Owen? Not yesterday. Knight had a fine match while Owen was quieter than quiet. Much of that was down to the way the respective teams performed. Chris Coleman set up his team cleverly, deploying Papa Bouba Diop in front of Alan Shearer when Newcastle aimed long balls towards their old centre- forward.

Shearer is good in the air but Diop is a tall order and he cut much of the supply to the Newcastle front man. Without Shearer winning those balls, the service to Owen was sparse and of very low quality. Neither was Newcastle?s cause helped by a midfield comprised of Stephen Carr, Amdy Faye, Scott Parker and Alberto Luque.

Luque was the only one of the four with the potential to create. Worryingly, the ?9.5m Spaniard didn?t achieve much before tearing a hamstring in the 33rd minute.

By then, the game?s course was set. Newcastle's defenders too often lumped the ball forward and played to Owen's weaknesses.

Once he latched on to a clearance from a Fulham free kick and knocked the ball wide of Volz and Carlos Bocanegra. Though 50 yards from goal, there was space and a chance for a surge on goal. Possibility flickered for half a second before the American Bocanegra cut Owen down: even in California, they know you don?t give Owen that opportunity.

There were other fleeting chances; once when a Luque corner beat everybody and came to Owen at the far post. It fell awkwardly, hit the inside of his right knee and careered through his legs. Oops! With more games, his sharpness and his reactions will improve.

Then there was danger when he ran at Knight, twisting, turning, tempting the centre back into a hasty tackle. To his credit, Knight waited and waited, forcing Owen to push the ball past him and then turning in a flash to sweep the ball to safety. At that instant, you thought ?Good, Knight?. ?Good Knight, Mr Owen?.

Newcastle improved a little in the second half but Fulham created more chances. But when Newcastle tied the match, it was Owen?s street wisdom that earned the free kick from which Charles N?Zogbia struck a fine goal. Otherwise, the new striker might as well have been on the Bernabeu bench. ?We didn't get any real supply to him,? said his new manager Graeme Souness.

Everyone was being as polite as could be, Owen himself thought it was a strange old game. ?They nick a goal, we had a player carried off, then we lose another at half-time. It just wasn't to be.? No one dared to wonder if the ?17m striker looked a tad expensive on his first Newcastle appearance.

This wasn?t a day for questions. Nor one for answers.

 

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It is indeed, a good article in the Sunday Times...
But I have to put on my "Moderator" black hat and remind everyone that articles should not be copy/pasted whole and attribution must be given.

And preferably a link to the original. While quoting only a fractional portion.

Just as I used Google {Search: "Jackie Milburn" "Michael Owen"} to pin down the source in less than 10 seconds, the opposite can be done. Perhaps, not immediately and perhaps the Times itself wont care about the odd repost on this type of site... but some (like MLSMet, for example) do mind unattributed and/or unauthorized use of intellectual content.

 

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We need to drop Radz for the next game and start John. It seems to me that his progress is starting to slow down and he will soon probably lose the confidence he had from last year.

 

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I think so, too.

????'s me is those who call for McB and HH to team up.

All I read is that he and Brian play the same roles.. so why would you do that?

 

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From reading the postgame comments, I was very happy. Last year, it seemed like we were always being outplayed but squeaking by to get the point. This year, in our two draws, we've really outplayed the opposition. That is SO different than last year.

You can throw out the game at Highbury--we hung with them quite a while, and that's a killer fixture. That means that in five matches, there is only one real dog--the Blackburn match.

 

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Its good to see that the 'spirit' of the Internet is alive and kicking. Pettyfog, tell me, do you iron your underwear?