Just a quick a blog to tell readers that I have moved to a different site. I felt that I needed to progress my blog further and the opportunity arised by Jason Teo a blogger on Football Manager Guru which is the site that I am moving to. My thanks got to Jason and everyone who has read my blog over the past month hepfully you will decide to keep on reading at the new site. Below is the sites adress.
http://footballmanagerguru.com/
Thanks for everything
warren
Sunday 28 March 2010
Newcastle United - Rest of the season
Hi readers and welcome back, this will be my last blog of my second season and I am hoping to end it on a good note by qualifing with my Newcastle United team. I had a tough final two months ahead of me. In April I will face Stoke at home witch will be the easiest of the lot before I face a away game to Manchester City and at home to face Liverpool before ending April wih a game against Spurs at White Hart Lane. In May I faced to games first up I would face Bolton before a final day fixture with Chelsea.
v Stoke (h) Barclays Premiership
I started off the month with a home game and a chance to get the ball rolling for the chase for Europe. Our pressure built up in the first 20 minutes and chances were getting closer and closer to breaking the deadlock. After 24 minutes the Magpies were ahead through Fedrieco Macheda. A pull back from Simpson from the byline saw Macheda smash the ball from 10 yards beyond the reach of the Stoke keeper. The longer the game went on the more chances Stoke created I was suprised with the effort they put in considering that they weren't really playing for anything as they were safe in the league but were do far away from Europe. The second half started badly for Stoke and they were reduced to 10 men when Glen Whelan picked up his second yellow card of the game. Disaster struck 5 minutes til the end of the game when former Newcastle employee Abdoulaye Faye got on the end of a Matthew Etherington and he silenced St James when the ball hit the back of the net. I was really dissapointed with this result as this was one of the games that I really needed to win idf I had hopes for Europe. Nextup was Manchester City at Eastlands
v Man City (a) Barclays Premiership
We were now set to face Man City in a game that will test my players to the limits as Ma City are currently top of the league and look like winning the title. The game was a real end to end contest with both teams really going for it for seperate reasons. At the start of the second half I thought that we could possibly get something out of the game but I dream was dealt a blew when City took the lead and Adebayor got the goal. With that setback it was looking less likely that we were going to get anything out of this game and we never really created enough chances to put sustained pressure on Man City. The game was effectivaly over when Steven Ireland doubled the Citizens lead with a nicely curved shot from inside the box. Mac City also had the chance to make it 3-0 when they got a penalty for a lazy challange from Coloccini. Tevez stepped up and it was saved from Consigli this was in vein as Manc City ran out 2-0 winners and this was another blow to the chance to qualifing for Europe. Next up was a home game against Liverpool.
v Liverpool (h) Barclays Premiership
My last home game of the month saw us face a Liverpool side that we had only beaten once in 8 games and that was a friendly match at the start of my first season. In the 22nd minute I was deligted to see that we were ahead and that Okaka was the player who got the goal after a lovely flick on from Macheda from a long ball upfield he was left with a simple chance to put the ball in the goal. I was delighted with the effort of everyone in black and white and we deserved our half time lead. We were pushing for the second to kill the game off but the more we pushed the more dangerous Liverpool were looking likely to score next but in the 64th minute of the game we astonishinly took the lead and Guido Davi got his first goal of the season and one of the most important goals he will score. A corner from Guthrie which was header away from Skrtel fell to Davi on the edge of the box and he volleyed a low shot into the bottom corner and we were 2-0 up. When the final whistle blew we had won 2-0 we took a massive step to Europe and I belived that we could get there. Next up was Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
v Spurs (a) Barclays Premiership
After the brilliant win over Liverpool I was expecting for this next game against Tottenham to be a close encounter. Spurs were a team that we just above us in the league and whoever won this game would take a massive step in securing the final European spot. With both team eager to get the win it was a bit of a scrappy match and in the 23rd minutes Spurs's goal machine Jermain Defoe gave them the lead after a mistake from Burdisso left Defoe a glorious chance to put Spurs ahead and he took it. We finally got into the game after that goal and started to create chances but Gomes was playing really well and at half time Spurs were 1-0 up. In the 67th minute they were 2-0 to the good and it was Defoe who was the scorer for the second time this game. Unfortunatly Spurs finally won this game and this looked like the European dream was over after this game and Lennon made the game theirs with 15 minutes left to play. It was a bit of a blowto my chance but I was keeping my hopes high and their was still 6 points up for grabs.
v Bolton (h) Barclays Premiership
My last home game of my second season saw me play against Bolton in a must win game if I was going to have a good chance of getting into Europe for next season. My nerves were increaing the longer the game went on and when I saw that Spurs were winning if results stayed like this their was no chance of finishing higher than 8th. I got a small sigh of relief when we took the lead in the 64th minute through Stefano Okaka after a one-two with Carroll he placed the ball past Jaaskelainen to put the Magpies 1-0 up. I nerves got higher when hothead Alan Smith got sent-off for two late challanges. We were down to 10 men and needed to work really hard to keep this lead. Bolton were pushing for a equaliser and this meant that their were big gaps in their defence. We took advantage of these spaces and we got the three points when Macheda scored in the 92nd minute. This was a good win and I also found out that Spurs had drawn meant I leapfrogged them into 7th place. I just needed to a win in the final game of the season to secure the European spot but this game was agianst Chelsea what made it worse was that Spurs only had to play Bristol City who were unlikely to beat Tottenham.
v Chelsea (a) Barclays Premiership
The final cruch game of the season saw us play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was a bit of an uphill struggle but I belived that we could get at least a point out of this game. The chances of that happening became less likely when Michael Ballack gave Chelsea the lead after 14 minutes. The longer the game went on the more threatening we looked and Macheda hit the post from 20 yards out this was our best chance of the first half. My season seemed to be crumbling before me when Chelsea doubled out when Alex scored. Our season fizzled out to a dissapointing end when Chelsea made it three and Scott Sincliar was on the scoresheet. Our season was over and unfortunatly we didn't qualify for Europe.
Season 2 Final League Table
After all the hard work that I put in through the season I was a bit dissapointed that we weren't rewarded with a European spot. Anyway i was elated with the team as we exceeded above expectations, my prediction for the season was to finish 13th but we finish 5 places above that in 8th. It was a good effort from the players and I was hungry for more and couldn't wait for the next season.
v Stoke (h) Barclays Premiership
I started off the month with a home game and a chance to get the ball rolling for the chase for Europe. Our pressure built up in the first 20 minutes and chances were getting closer and closer to breaking the deadlock. After 24 minutes the Magpies were ahead through Fedrieco Macheda. A pull back from Simpson from the byline saw Macheda smash the ball from 10 yards beyond the reach of the Stoke keeper. The longer the game went on the more chances Stoke created I was suprised with the effort they put in considering that they weren't really playing for anything as they were safe in the league but were do far away from Europe. The second half started badly for Stoke and they were reduced to 10 men when Glen Whelan picked up his second yellow card of the game. Disaster struck 5 minutes til the end of the game when former Newcastle employee Abdoulaye Faye got on the end of a Matthew Etherington and he silenced St James when the ball hit the back of the net. I was really dissapointed with this result as this was one of the games that I really needed to win idf I had hopes for Europe. Nextup was Manchester City at Eastlands
v Man City (a) Barclays Premiership
We were now set to face Man City in a game that will test my players to the limits as Ma City are currently top of the league and look like winning the title. The game was a real end to end contest with both teams really going for it for seperate reasons. At the start of the second half I thought that we could possibly get something out of the game but I dream was dealt a blew when City took the lead and Adebayor got the goal. With that setback it was looking less likely that we were going to get anything out of this game and we never really created enough chances to put sustained pressure on Man City. The game was effectivaly over when Steven Ireland doubled the Citizens lead with a nicely curved shot from inside the box. Mac City also had the chance to make it 3-0 when they got a penalty for a lazy challange from Coloccini. Tevez stepped up and it was saved from Consigli this was in vein as Manc City ran out 2-0 winners and this was another blow to the chance to qualifing for Europe. Next up was a home game against Liverpool.
v Liverpool (h) Barclays Premiership
My last home game of the month saw us face a Liverpool side that we had only beaten once in 8 games and that was a friendly match at the start of my first season. In the 22nd minute I was deligted to see that we were ahead and that Okaka was the player who got the goal after a lovely flick on from Macheda from a long ball upfield he was left with a simple chance to put the ball in the goal. I was delighted with the effort of everyone in black and white and we deserved our half time lead. We were pushing for the second to kill the game off but the more we pushed the more dangerous Liverpool were looking likely to score next but in the 64th minute of the game we astonishinly took the lead and Guido Davi got his first goal of the season and one of the most important goals he will score. A corner from Guthrie which was header away from Skrtel fell to Davi on the edge of the box and he volleyed a low shot into the bottom corner and we were 2-0 up. When the final whistle blew we had won 2-0 we took a massive step to Europe and I belived that we could get there. Next up was Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
v Spurs (a) Barclays Premiership
After the brilliant win over Liverpool I was expecting for this next game against Tottenham to be a close encounter. Spurs were a team that we just above us in the league and whoever won this game would take a massive step in securing the final European spot. With both team eager to get the win it was a bit of a scrappy match and in the 23rd minutes Spurs's goal machine Jermain Defoe gave them the lead after a mistake from Burdisso left Defoe a glorious chance to put Spurs ahead and he took it. We finally got into the game after that goal and started to create chances but Gomes was playing really well and at half time Spurs were 1-0 up. In the 67th minute they were 2-0 to the good and it was Defoe who was the scorer for the second time this game. Unfortunatly Spurs finally won this game and this looked like the European dream was over after this game and Lennon made the game theirs with 15 minutes left to play. It was a bit of a blowto my chance but I was keeping my hopes high and their was still 6 points up for grabs.
v Bolton (h) Barclays Premiership
My last home game of my second season saw me play against Bolton in a must win game if I was going to have a good chance of getting into Europe for next season. My nerves were increaing the longer the game went on and when I saw that Spurs were winning if results stayed like this their was no chance of finishing higher than 8th. I got a small sigh of relief when we took the lead in the 64th minute through Stefano Okaka after a one-two with Carroll he placed the ball past Jaaskelainen to put the Magpies 1-0 up. I nerves got higher when hothead Alan Smith got sent-off for two late challanges. We were down to 10 men and needed to work really hard to keep this lead. Bolton were pushing for a equaliser and this meant that their were big gaps in their defence. We took advantage of these spaces and we got the three points when Macheda scored in the 92nd minute. This was a good win and I also found out that Spurs had drawn meant I leapfrogged them into 7th place. I just needed to a win in the final game of the season to secure the European spot but this game was agianst Chelsea what made it worse was that Spurs only had to play Bristol City who were unlikely to beat Tottenham.
v Chelsea (a) Barclays Premiership
The final cruch game of the season saw us play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was a bit of an uphill struggle but I belived that we could get at least a point out of this game. The chances of that happening became less likely when Michael Ballack gave Chelsea the lead after 14 minutes. The longer the game went on the more threatening we looked and Macheda hit the post from 20 yards out this was our best chance of the first half. My season seemed to be crumbling before me when Chelsea doubled out when Alex scored. Our season fizzled out to a dissapointing end when Chelsea made it three and Scott Sincliar was on the scoresheet. Our season was over and unfortunatly we didn't qualify for Europe.
Season 2 Final League Table
After all the hard work that I put in through the season I was a bit dissapointed that we weren't rewarded with a European spot. Anyway i was elated with the team as we exceeded above expectations, my prediction for the season was to finish 13th but we finish 5 places above that in 8th. It was a good effort from the players and I was hungry for more and couldn't wait for the next season.
Thanks for reading, next post will be here in a day or two
warren
Friday 26 March 2010
Newcastle United - March 2011
Hi everyone, hope that you are all well and welcome back to the next blog in my Newcastle United story. I had a quiet month ahead of me with only four games to play. I started the month an the travels to face Aston Villa before my FA Cup Quater Final tie with Liverpool and finishing the month of with games against Birmingham and Nottm Forest.
v Aston Villa (a) Barclays Premiership
The first game of March saw us take a trip to Villa Park to play an Aston Villa side who were out of from and were having a dissapointing season as they were in 10th position. I was slightly dissapointed when Villa took the lead in the 16th through Sergio Floccari's shot from just outside the area. I was so pleased when we got our equaliser as it now only did it take the game to 1-1 but the scorer was Macheda his first goal in nearly 4 months. I have to admit that he hasn't played every game but it was nearly 1900 minutes before he scored and to my delighted just like buses you wait for a long time for one bus and two come at the time. Macheda got his second goal just 9 minutes later when he got on the end of a Jonas cross to put Newcastle in the lead. It was a feisty game after that and you could tell that Villa were getting more and more frustrated by the minute. When the final whistle blew I was thrilled as we had come to Villa Park and took the game by the scruff of the neck and ground out a really good result. Next up was the FA Cup Quater Final game against Liverpool.
v Liverpool (a) FA Cup Quarter Final
I wasn't sure what team to play for this game as I wanted to keep going in the FA Cup but I felt that securing Europe was the more important target and the more realistic to get. I played a slightly weakened team with Krul in goal, Williamson and Kadar in defence, Pancrate in midfield and Lovenkrands and Donaldson up front but the rest of the team was the usual starting 11. Liverpool took the lead in the 5th minute and it was the summer signing of Milan Jovanovic who scored (this was more annoying as he had struggled in his first season at Liverpool scoring only 4 goal in 20 games but he had to score against me didn't he) :-(. We tried to get back in the game up the lack of quality was a disadvantage. At the end of the game I was out of the cup but this put more time for me to challenge for Europe.
v Birmingham (h) Barclays Premiership
The final home game of the month saw us face Birmingham City who were currently in the relegation place and keeping Sunderland in the league so I was looking for maximum points in this game. This looked like more of a realistic prediction as we took the lead after we had dominated the start of the game and Macheda scored in the 16th minute. We doubled our lead in the 29th minute when Stefano Okaka got on the end of a Guthrie free-kick to volley to ball home. Thats the way it stayed until half time and we were crusing in this game and I dont think that Consigli had to make any sort of save. It was then 3-0 ten minutes into the second half when Jonas got his 8th goal of the season. He tokk the ball past two Birmingham defenders before placing the ball into the top right hand of the goal. It was another win and if I gcould repeat this result in the next game against Nottm Forest I would have competed a 100% league record in the month.
v Nottm Forest (a) Barclays Premiership
The last game of March saw us on the road to the City Ground to face Nottm Forest who were a team that got promoted with Newcastle in the season before. They were currently bottom of the league and really need to win this game if they were going to realistically stay up. It was 1-0 in the 35 minute when Tamas Kadar got his second goal of the season. From a Routledge corner he got his head first to the ball before he powered his header past Lee Camp in the Forest net right infront of the travelling fans. We got a second start away and it was Stefano Okaka who grapped the goal just three minutes after the first. A through ball from Smith and a diagonal run than took him away from his marker set up the goal and a powerful shot that flew into the back of the net. The second half begun and Nottm Forest were the better team and they were the team that looked like they were winning 2-0. The pressure was getting more and more but some decent saves and good defending from my Newcastle player saw the game through and it was a cleen sheet at the end of the game and I had competed a 100% record in the league this month.
March Results
A very good month even though I had been knocked out of the FA Cup Quarter Final by Liverpool I got maximum points in the league to move up the league table.
March League Table
I had moved up to 6th place with a 100% record in March and 3 league wins out of 3. I dont expected to finish this high as most of the teams below us have at least a game in hand our my Newcastle team but I would be brilliant if I finished this high.
v Aston Villa (a) Barclays Premiership
The first game of March saw us take a trip to Villa Park to play an Aston Villa side who were out of from and were having a dissapointing season as they were in 10th position. I was slightly dissapointed when Villa took the lead in the 16th through Sergio Floccari's shot from just outside the area. I was so pleased when we got our equaliser as it now only did it take the game to 1-1 but the scorer was Macheda his first goal in nearly 4 months. I have to admit that he hasn't played every game but it was nearly 1900 minutes before he scored and to my delighted just like buses you wait for a long time for one bus and two come at the time. Macheda got his second goal just 9 minutes later when he got on the end of a Jonas cross to put Newcastle in the lead. It was a feisty game after that and you could tell that Villa were getting more and more frustrated by the minute. When the final whistle blew I was thrilled as we had come to Villa Park and took the game by the scruff of the neck and ground out a really good result. Next up was the FA Cup Quater Final game against Liverpool.
v Liverpool (a) FA Cup Quarter Final
I wasn't sure what team to play for this game as I wanted to keep going in the FA Cup but I felt that securing Europe was the more important target and the more realistic to get. I played a slightly weakened team with Krul in goal, Williamson and Kadar in defence, Pancrate in midfield and Lovenkrands and Donaldson up front but the rest of the team was the usual starting 11. Liverpool took the lead in the 5th minute and it was the summer signing of Milan Jovanovic who scored (this was more annoying as he had struggled in his first season at Liverpool scoring only 4 goal in 20 games but he had to score against me didn't he) :-(. We tried to get back in the game up the lack of quality was a disadvantage. At the end of the game I was out of the cup but this put more time for me to challenge for Europe.
v Birmingham (h) Barclays Premiership
The final home game of the month saw us face Birmingham City who were currently in the relegation place and keeping Sunderland in the league so I was looking for maximum points in this game. This looked like more of a realistic prediction as we took the lead after we had dominated the start of the game and Macheda scored in the 16th minute. We doubled our lead in the 29th minute when Stefano Okaka got on the end of a Guthrie free-kick to volley to ball home. Thats the way it stayed until half time and we were crusing in this game and I dont think that Consigli had to make any sort of save. It was then 3-0 ten minutes into the second half when Jonas got his 8th goal of the season. He tokk the ball past two Birmingham defenders before placing the ball into the top right hand of the goal. It was another win and if I gcould repeat this result in the next game against Nottm Forest I would have competed a 100% league record in the month.
v Nottm Forest (a) Barclays Premiership
The last game of March saw us on the road to the City Ground to face Nottm Forest who were a team that got promoted with Newcastle in the season before. They were currently bottom of the league and really need to win this game if they were going to realistically stay up. It was 1-0 in the 35 minute when Tamas Kadar got his second goal of the season. From a Routledge corner he got his head first to the ball before he powered his header past Lee Camp in the Forest net right infront of the travelling fans. We got a second start away and it was Stefano Okaka who grapped the goal just three minutes after the first. A through ball from Smith and a diagonal run than took him away from his marker set up the goal and a powerful shot that flew into the back of the net. The second half begun and Nottm Forest were the better team and they were the team that looked like they were winning 2-0. The pressure was getting more and more but some decent saves and good defending from my Newcastle player saw the game through and it was a cleen sheet at the end of the game and I had competed a 100% record in the league this month.
March Results
A very good month even though I had been knocked out of the FA Cup Quarter Final by Liverpool I got maximum points in the league to move up the league table.
March League Table
I had moved up to 6th place with a 100% record in March and 3 league wins out of 3. I dont expected to finish this high as most of the teams below us have at least a game in hand our my Newcastle team but I would be brilliant if I finished this high.
Thanks for reading, next blog here soon
warren
warren
Thursday 25 March 2010
Newcastle United - Feburary 2011
Hi all, hope you have all been well and welcome back to the latest installment of my Newcastle United blog. I was currently 9th in the league and was chasing a european place. I will start off the month with a replay of the 4th round of the FA Cup to play Blackburn then tavelling down to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal before a game against Wolves at St.James then a league game agianst Blackburn and finishing off the month against Fulham and Wigan.
v Blackburn (h) FA Cup 5th Round replay
The first game of Feburary saw us in a 5th round replay against Blackburn. I was really hoping to progress as I would face Liverpool in the next round a team that I haven't beaten yet and have knocked me out of every cup so far in my 2 years at the club. The game never really got out of first gear and unsuprisinly the game finished 0-0 at full time and 0-0 at the end of extra time. The tie was now going to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. I was really pleased with my team as we managed to score all 5 penalties and that put us in with a excellant chance of winning the penalty. This was the case as it was Kalinic of Blackburn Rovers who missed the decisive penatly after Consigli guessed the right way. We were in the quarter finals and I think we had a really good chance of progressing. Next up was Arsenal at the Emirates.
v Arsenal (a) Barclays Premiership
I was fully expecting for this to be a very tough game and it turned out tht way as Arsenal lay seige to our goal but their was some inspired saves but Andrea Consigli who had performed well during the season but he was now really showing me why I bought him and it looked like nothing was ever going score against him. I thought my defence as brilliant and showed why we e in the position that we are in. We had a few chance on the counter attack but they never really looked like threatening Almunia. We had grounded out a result against one of the best teams in the league.
v Blackburn (h) Barclays Premiership
I was now facing Blackburn in the league and I was looking to win every game as possible from now if I had any chance of gaining a european spot for next season. I did take till the second half for the game to get its first goal and it came from Jonas Gutierrez. A delightful pass from Davi played in Jonas and he had the simpliest of tasks to put the ball in the back of the net. I thought that we were annoyingly were only going to get a point when Kalinic scored in the 84th minute with a free header in the 6 yard box after a deep Pedersen cross but in the 88th minutes an unlikely scorer of Fabricio Coloccini got his head first to a Ryan Taylor corner and we were back in the lead and were heading for another home win. These were the games that I really need to pick up points from as I had a difficult end to the season ahead of me but I was going to take the season game by game.
v Fulham (a) Barclays Premiership
I now faced a league game against Fulham, I was expecting this to be a hard game as Fulham are known to be a hard team to break down especially at home. I was then suprised to see that we had taken the lead in the 3rd minute of the match. Some good one touch passing from my midfielders and a cheeky thoughball for Carroll and he found himself one-on-one and he lashed the ball into the top corner. After the goal we decided to keep the ball and Fulham were having to work hard to try and get it back it was a real dogged performance and we secured the game in the 83 minute when Carroll got his second of the game from a Routledge cross he powered in a heder from 8 yards out. Fulham did get a consolation in the 93 minute when Zoltan Gera rounded the keeper to slot the ball in the back of the net. It was another 3 points and three points closer to the european places.
v Wigan (a) Barclays Premiership
My final game of the month took me to the DW Stadium to face to Wigan side who were just above the relegation places. When we got there the first thing we noticed was the state of the pitch, it was getting to the end of the season and with a seasons amount of game played on this pitch you could say that it was slightly worn out. I felt that because of this we needed to chance our tactics as the pitch would not let us play our usual "carpet football." After 5 minutes I needed to reshuffle the team as Coloccini had picked up an injury and needed to be taken off. I decided to give Kadar a chance to prove why I should keep him at the end of the season. He played well and I was satifised with the performance of the teams ecpect the forwards they had too many chance that weren't converted and this cost me the three points and could also cost me a place in europe next season.
Feburary League Table
With only 9 games left of the season. I was currently three points away from a european spot I needed a good end to the season as it is looking like a unlikely option with the teams I still have to play in the league.
v Blackburn (h) FA Cup 5th Round replay
The first game of Feburary saw us in a 5th round replay against Blackburn. I was really hoping to progress as I would face Liverpool in the next round a team that I haven't beaten yet and have knocked me out of every cup so far in my 2 years at the club. The game never really got out of first gear and unsuprisinly the game finished 0-0 at full time and 0-0 at the end of extra time. The tie was now going to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. I was really pleased with my team as we managed to score all 5 penalties and that put us in with a excellant chance of winning the penalty. This was the case as it was Kalinic of Blackburn Rovers who missed the decisive penatly after Consigli guessed the right way. We were in the quarter finals and I think we had a really good chance of progressing. Next up was Arsenal at the Emirates.
v Arsenal (a) Barclays Premiership
I was fully expecting for this to be a very tough game and it turned out tht way as Arsenal lay seige to our goal but their was some inspired saves but Andrea Consigli who had performed well during the season but he was now really showing me why I bought him and it looked like nothing was ever going score against him. I thought my defence as brilliant and showed why we e in the position that we are in. We had a few chance on the counter attack but they never really looked like threatening Almunia. We had grounded out a result against one of the best teams in the league.
v Blackburn (h) Barclays Premiership
I was now facing Blackburn in the league and I was looking to win every game as possible from now if I had any chance of gaining a european spot for next season. I did take till the second half for the game to get its first goal and it came from Jonas Gutierrez. A delightful pass from Davi played in Jonas and he had the simpliest of tasks to put the ball in the back of the net. I thought that we were annoyingly were only going to get a point when Kalinic scored in the 84th minute with a free header in the 6 yard box after a deep Pedersen cross but in the 88th minutes an unlikely scorer of Fabricio Coloccini got his head first to a Ryan Taylor corner and we were back in the lead and were heading for another home win. These were the games that I really need to pick up points from as I had a difficult end to the season ahead of me but I was going to take the season game by game.
v Fulham (a) Barclays Premiership
I now faced a league game against Fulham, I was expecting this to be a hard game as Fulham are known to be a hard team to break down especially at home. I was then suprised to see that we had taken the lead in the 3rd minute of the match. Some good one touch passing from my midfielders and a cheeky thoughball for Carroll and he found himself one-on-one and he lashed the ball into the top corner. After the goal we decided to keep the ball and Fulham were having to work hard to try and get it back it was a real dogged performance and we secured the game in the 83 minute when Carroll got his second of the game from a Routledge cross he powered in a heder from 8 yards out. Fulham did get a consolation in the 93 minute when Zoltan Gera rounded the keeper to slot the ball in the back of the net. It was another 3 points and three points closer to the european places.
v Wigan (a) Barclays Premiership
My final game of the month took me to the DW Stadium to face to Wigan side who were just above the relegation places. When we got there the first thing we noticed was the state of the pitch, it was getting to the end of the season and with a seasons amount of game played on this pitch you could say that it was slightly worn out. I felt that because of this we needed to chance our tactics as the pitch would not let us play our usual "carpet football." After 5 minutes I needed to reshuffle the team as Coloccini had picked up an injury and needed to be taken off. I decided to give Kadar a chance to prove why I should keep him at the end of the season. He played well and I was satifised with the performance of the teams ecpect the forwards they had too many chance that weren't converted and this cost me the three points and could also cost me a place in europe next season.
Feburary League Table
With only 9 games left of the season. I was currently three points away from a european spot I needed a good end to the season as it is looking like a unlikely option with the teams I still have to play in the league.
Thanks for reading, next blog will be here soon
warren
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Newcastle United - Janurary 2011
Hi all, hope you have been well. I was getting towards the business end of the season and I needed to put the foot down to start picking up points that were going to get us closer to the European spots. The first game saw my Newcastle team on the road to face Portsmouth in the F.A Cup. I then was going to face West Ham in the league before playing Bristol City at home. I then faced Manchester United at Old Trafford and finishing off the month with games against Wolves and Everton.
v Portsmouth (a) FA Cup 3rd Round
The first game of the month saw us on the road to Fratton Park to play Portsmouth in the FA Cup. I was expecting to progress to the 4th round but I played with the strongest team I could put out. We took the lead in 39th minutes when Okaka shot was perfectly placed into the back of the net. Portsmouth got an equaliser just before half time though David Nugent and annoyingly they took the lead with the last kick of the first half and it was Nugent again with the goal. I really layed into my players and gave them the hairdryer treatment. This worked as we were easily the better team second half and we got our second goal again the scorer was Okaka with a brilliant solo effort. Ten minutes later we made the score 3-2 when Dan Gosling scored with a good header. We completed the scoring in the 93 minute and Okaka was able to take home the match ball when he scored his third goal of the game. We had successfully made our way into the next round where we were set to play Blackburn. The next league game was at home to West Ham.
v West Ham (h) Barclays Premiership
After a poor month in the league last month I was looking to get back into form and were set to play West Ham at St. James. We got off to a good start when Andy Carroll took us into a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute his goal from a Dan Gosling cross his half-volley was brilliantly placed into the bottom corner. It was soon 2-0 and Okaka continued his goal scoring form when a one-two with Dan Gosling played him through with only the keeper to beat so Newcastle were now 2-0 up and crusing. We completed our scoring when Carroll got his second of the game and it was a hat-trick of assist by Gosling and it was a typical header from Andy Carroll. It was a really good win as we totally dominated the game and hopefully this would be the start of a winning streak that would take us up the league.
v Bristol City (a) Barclays Premiership
Our next game was against Bristol City at Aston Gate a place where I always seemed to struggle to score against and this game was no different as it seemed that Bristol looked to get a lot of players behind the ball and this frustrated my Newcastle side. They put us under a lot of pressure as soon as we crossed into their half and closed every player down quickly. This worked but I knew that they coundn't keep this work-rate up for the whole of the 90 minutes so after 60 minutes I decided to put of Okaka and Routledge as there pace will hopefully frighten the Bristol City's tiring defence. In the 91st minute a deep cross from Jose Enrique found Okaka at the back post and he side footed the ball into the back of the net infront of the Newcastle fans to send joy on the travelling supports faces. I have to say that Bristol City played really well and probabally deserved a point but thats football sometimes and it may work the other way round the next time round. Next up was a visit to Old Trafford and Manchester United.
v Manchester United (a) Barclays Premiership
This is probabally the hardest (mentally) game a team will play in the Premiership. Playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford, before the game I told my players that they had nothing to worry about as I didn't want them to feel under pressure when they walk out into the pitch. This had a posivie affect on my Newcastle players as they came out and played some really good football. We were creating chances but with Carroll out with a ban for getting 5 yellows (means a 1 match ban) and Macheda not able to play because of his loan from Manchester United this left Okaka to batle upfront on his own. Manchester United did score however but not until the 72nd minute when Darren Flecthers shot rattled the underside of the bar and bounced in. Unfortunatly they were soon 2-0 up and the game was all but over. A low cross from Nani was turned in by Tamas Kadar for an own goal (this was a shame becaue he had such a good game). The match finished in a 2-0 defeat but I was porund of the effort the lads put in today. Next up was a slightly easier game against Blackburn in the FA Cup.
v Blackburn (a) FA Cup 4th Round
The had a short break in the league to concentrate on the FA Cup and we had Blackburn in the 4th round at Ewwod Park. The home side started the better and thought they were ahead but Kalinic was adjudged to be offside. They did take the lead however in the 82nd minute when Morten Gamst Pedersen got on the end of a Gael Givet outswinging cross to put Blackburn ahead. I really didn't want to go out at this stage in the competition so decided to throw caution into the wind and go really offensive and I got my reward in the 84th minute when Andy Carroll was first to a rebounded Okaka shot to put Newcastle on level terms and in for the draw for the 5th round where unbelievably I could be set to face again Liverpool if I won the replay of course. Could they knock me out of a fourth consecutive cup. Before all of that though I had to concetrate back in the league and a match against Wolves at St.James.
v Wolves (h) Barclays Premiership
Our next match was against Wolverhampton Wanderers they were currently just above the relegation places but had not lost in their last 4 matches. We got off to the perfect start when Mike Dean pointed to the spot and he had given the home team a penalty for what seemed to be miss timed tackle by Ronald Zubar on Federico Macheda and it was the captain Alan Smith who stepped up to take the penatly. He cooly placed the ball right into the bottom beyond the dive of Hennessey in the Wolves goal. The game queiten after that goal and it was quite a boring match the only talking point after the goal was that Danny Guthrie sustained an injury and he will be out for 3 months which is a shame because he is one of my main playmakers. Next up in the final home game of the season was at home to Everton.
v Everton (h) Barclays Premiership
The final game of Janurary saw us play against Everton who were doing well in the league and were currently 5th. Everton took the lead when James Vaughan's pace got the better of Steven Taylor and he was able to get infront of the defender to be one-on-one with Consigli and Everton found themselves in the lead. After the goal we suddenly responded and were unlucky not to be level when Macheda hit the bar. I was starting to worry about Macheda as he had not scored in about 2 months. After all the pressure that we put on Everton we couldn't convert our chances and we ended the month in a home defeat. It was very dissapointing as I felt that we were the better team.
Janurary Results
We had a very good Janurary with 4 wins in 7 games. I hope to keep this sort of form until the rest of the season to push the teams above me as much as possible for the Europa League spot.
Janurary League Table
The month of Janurary saw us move up unto 9th position and with only 9 games left it looked as if I still had a chance to get into Europe but with each game without a win it was looking less likely but I am still keeping positive.
v Portsmouth (a) FA Cup 3rd Round
The first game of the month saw us on the road to Fratton Park to play Portsmouth in the FA Cup. I was expecting to progress to the 4th round but I played with the strongest team I could put out. We took the lead in 39th minutes when Okaka shot was perfectly placed into the back of the net. Portsmouth got an equaliser just before half time though David Nugent and annoyingly they took the lead with the last kick of the first half and it was Nugent again with the goal. I really layed into my players and gave them the hairdryer treatment. This worked as we were easily the better team second half and we got our second goal again the scorer was Okaka with a brilliant solo effort. Ten minutes later we made the score 3-2 when Dan Gosling scored with a good header. We completed the scoring in the 93 minute and Okaka was able to take home the match ball when he scored his third goal of the game. We had successfully made our way into the next round where we were set to play Blackburn. The next league game was at home to West Ham.
v West Ham (h) Barclays Premiership
After a poor month in the league last month I was looking to get back into form and were set to play West Ham at St. James. We got off to a good start when Andy Carroll took us into a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute his goal from a Dan Gosling cross his half-volley was brilliantly placed into the bottom corner. It was soon 2-0 and Okaka continued his goal scoring form when a one-two with Dan Gosling played him through with only the keeper to beat so Newcastle were now 2-0 up and crusing. We completed our scoring when Carroll got his second of the game and it was a hat-trick of assist by Gosling and it was a typical header from Andy Carroll. It was a really good win as we totally dominated the game and hopefully this would be the start of a winning streak that would take us up the league.
v Bristol City (a) Barclays Premiership
Our next game was against Bristol City at Aston Gate a place where I always seemed to struggle to score against and this game was no different as it seemed that Bristol looked to get a lot of players behind the ball and this frustrated my Newcastle side. They put us under a lot of pressure as soon as we crossed into their half and closed every player down quickly. This worked but I knew that they coundn't keep this work-rate up for the whole of the 90 minutes so after 60 minutes I decided to put of Okaka and Routledge as there pace will hopefully frighten the Bristol City's tiring defence. In the 91st minute a deep cross from Jose Enrique found Okaka at the back post and he side footed the ball into the back of the net infront of the Newcastle fans to send joy on the travelling supports faces. I have to say that Bristol City played really well and probabally deserved a point but thats football sometimes and it may work the other way round the next time round. Next up was a visit to Old Trafford and Manchester United.
v Manchester United (a) Barclays Premiership
This is probabally the hardest (mentally) game a team will play in the Premiership. Playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford, before the game I told my players that they had nothing to worry about as I didn't want them to feel under pressure when they walk out into the pitch. This had a posivie affect on my Newcastle players as they came out and played some really good football. We were creating chances but with Carroll out with a ban for getting 5 yellows (means a 1 match ban) and Macheda not able to play because of his loan from Manchester United this left Okaka to batle upfront on his own. Manchester United did score however but not until the 72nd minute when Darren Flecthers shot rattled the underside of the bar and bounced in. Unfortunatly they were soon 2-0 up and the game was all but over. A low cross from Nani was turned in by Tamas Kadar for an own goal (this was a shame becaue he had such a good game). The match finished in a 2-0 defeat but I was porund of the effort the lads put in today. Next up was a slightly easier game against Blackburn in the FA Cup.
v Blackburn (a) FA Cup 4th Round
The had a short break in the league to concentrate on the FA Cup and we had Blackburn in the 4th round at Ewwod Park. The home side started the better and thought they were ahead but Kalinic was adjudged to be offside. They did take the lead however in the 82nd minute when Morten Gamst Pedersen got on the end of a Gael Givet outswinging cross to put Blackburn ahead. I really didn't want to go out at this stage in the competition so decided to throw caution into the wind and go really offensive and I got my reward in the 84th minute when Andy Carroll was first to a rebounded Okaka shot to put Newcastle on level terms and in for the draw for the 5th round where unbelievably I could be set to face again Liverpool if I won the replay of course. Could they knock me out of a fourth consecutive cup. Before all of that though I had to concetrate back in the league and a match against Wolves at St.James.
v Wolves (h) Barclays Premiership
Our next match was against Wolverhampton Wanderers they were currently just above the relegation places but had not lost in their last 4 matches. We got off to the perfect start when Mike Dean pointed to the spot and he had given the home team a penalty for what seemed to be miss timed tackle by Ronald Zubar on Federico Macheda and it was the captain Alan Smith who stepped up to take the penatly. He cooly placed the ball right into the bottom beyond the dive of Hennessey in the Wolves goal. The game queiten after that goal and it was quite a boring match the only talking point after the goal was that Danny Guthrie sustained an injury and he will be out for 3 months which is a shame because he is one of my main playmakers. Next up in the final home game of the season was at home to Everton.
v Everton (h) Barclays Premiership
The final game of Janurary saw us play against Everton who were doing well in the league and were currently 5th. Everton took the lead when James Vaughan's pace got the better of Steven Taylor and he was able to get infront of the defender to be one-on-one with Consigli and Everton found themselves in the lead. After the goal we suddenly responded and were unlucky not to be level when Macheda hit the bar. I was starting to worry about Macheda as he had not scored in about 2 months. After all the pressure that we put on Everton we couldn't convert our chances and we ended the month in a home defeat. It was very dissapointing as I felt that we were the better team.
Janurary Results
We had a very good Janurary with 4 wins in 7 games. I hope to keep this sort of form until the rest of the season to push the teams above me as much as possible for the Europa League spot.
Janurary League Table
The month of Janurary saw us move up unto 9th position and with only 9 games left it looked as if I still had a chance to get into Europe but with each game without a win it was looking less likely but I am still keeping positive.
Thanks for reading, next blog will be here tomorrow
warren
Monday 22 March 2010
Newcastle United - December 2010
Hi all and welcome back to the latest installment of my Newcastle United story. After a mixed December I was looking to get a run of wins on the bounce. The first game of the month was against Spurs at home then a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool then an away game against Bolton followed by two home games against Chelsea and the Tyne-Tees deby to face Sunderland.
v Spurs (h) Barclays Premiership
The first game of the month saw us play Tottenham Hotspur who are one of the teasm that are chasing the european places and I was expecting this to have a good tempo to the game. It was an even first half with both teams creating chance but netiher could take their chances. It took until the 54th minute of the match for the first goal to be scored and it was the visiting team who were ahead thought Aaron Lennon. A good cross from Luka Modric seemed to evade everyone apart from Lennon and he had a simple tap in to make it 1-0. The final whistle had gone and my run of bad form had continued. Hopefully I can turn things round in my next game against Liverpool at Anfield.
v Liverpool (a) Barclays Premiership
It was now three straight defeats and I needed to start getting back into the habit of winning but had a tough encounter against Liverpool and I knew it was going to be something special to win today. Liverpool did take the lead when Alberto Aqualini's shot took a slight deflection off Taylor and wrong footed Consigli, Liverpool were winning 1-0 ahead. I started to create more chances in the second half and was starting to think that I could knick a point here. My wish was then shattered in the last five minutes of the game when Milan Jovanovic slipped free on his marking to slide the ball into a empty net. I was dissapointed with the end result as I felt in the last ten minutes that we were the better side. Next up was Bolton at the Reebok.
v Bolton (a) Barclays Premiership
I now faced a game against Bolton Wanderers and this was the game that I felt could get the winning run back on. That seemed less of a reality when Bolton took the lead halfway through the first half with Johan Elmander getting the goal. A mistake by Burdisso let in Elmander and he cooly chipped the ball over the keeper to give Bolton the lead. I needing a immediate response and I got one straight from the kick off. A long range effort from Davi hit the post but it was the ever reliable Macheda who was on hand to pick up the pieces and slot the ball home. I think that after that goal both teams felt that a draw was a good result as neither made any real threatening chances. I will take this final result but I am still without a win this month and my next game is agianst Chelsea. (things just dont get any better do they)
v Chelsea (h) Barclays Premiership
Wiith no win in five I needed a return to form but I was unlikely to get it in this game as I was facing a Chelsea side who were top of the table and had not lost a signle game so far this season. So you could imagine the joy on my face when Andy Carroll's trademark headers gave my Newcastle team the lead. After this goal I turned the teams philosophy to counter attack to try and restrict the Chelsea chances and to possibly grab a goal on the break. This seemed to work until Didier Drogba scored the equailser 10 minutes later with a near spitting image of the header that Carroll scored. Normal service resumed after the second half when unsuprisingly Chelsea took the lead when Frank Lampard's drilled shot nestled into the bottom corner of the Newcastle goal. I decided that I had nothing to lose after this goal and put my team on the offensive. With just ten minutes left to play we scored again and the scorer for the second time today was Andy Carroll. His goal was a brilliantly curled effort from the edge of the box the score was 2-2. The final whistle blew and I was delighted with the performance as we managed to grap an unlikely goal to draw with Chelsea. Special praise has to go to Carroll, he is down he pecking order in the starting line-up behind Okaka and Macheda but he has proved to be a valuable assett and has scored in most of the games he has started in. Hopefully my players can take confidence in this result and win the Tyne-Tees derby at St. James against Sunderland in the next league game.
v Sunderland (h) Barclays Premiership
This was the last game of the month and probabally the most important game for a Newcastle fan in a season. The home game against their most hated rivals Sunderland. I was hoping for a carnival atmostphere from the fans to spur on my players and this seemed to work as we took the lead in the 3rd minute of the match. A through ball from Danny Guthrie saw Okaka pick up the ball on the edge of the box and a bullet strike fired Newcastle into a lead infront of the Leazes End. It was certainy turning into a derby day game with a lot of rash tackles and bookings but things got even better of the team in black and white when Alan Smith's pass fell to Gosling and he had time to pick his spot and place the ball into the back of the net to take Newcastle into a 2-0 half time lead. I felt hat I needed to keep it tight for 5-10 inutes in the second half but Sunderland got one goal back through Kenwyne Jones. He outmuscled Coloccini in a 50-50 and took full advantage of the chance presented to him and Suderland found themselves back in the game. Lukily for me they couldn't create any more chances and the game finished 2-1.
December Results
After a poor start to the month I really turned it round after the Bolton game and got a brilliant point against Chelsea and derby win against Sunderland.
League Table
This month saw us slip down the league ito 10th and I was hoping for better in Janurary to move back up the table.
v Spurs (h) Barclays Premiership
The first game of the month saw us play Tottenham Hotspur who are one of the teasm that are chasing the european places and I was expecting this to have a good tempo to the game. It was an even first half with both teams creating chance but netiher could take their chances. It took until the 54th minute of the match for the first goal to be scored and it was the visiting team who were ahead thought Aaron Lennon. A good cross from Luka Modric seemed to evade everyone apart from Lennon and he had a simple tap in to make it 1-0. The final whistle had gone and my run of bad form had continued. Hopefully I can turn things round in my next game against Liverpool at Anfield.
v Liverpool (a) Barclays Premiership
It was now three straight defeats and I needed to start getting back into the habit of winning but had a tough encounter against Liverpool and I knew it was going to be something special to win today. Liverpool did take the lead when Alberto Aqualini's shot took a slight deflection off Taylor and wrong footed Consigli, Liverpool were winning 1-0 ahead. I started to create more chances in the second half and was starting to think that I could knick a point here. My wish was then shattered in the last five minutes of the game when Milan Jovanovic slipped free on his marking to slide the ball into a empty net. I was dissapointed with the end result as I felt in the last ten minutes that we were the better side. Next up was Bolton at the Reebok.
v Bolton (a) Barclays Premiership
I now faced a game against Bolton Wanderers and this was the game that I felt could get the winning run back on. That seemed less of a reality when Bolton took the lead halfway through the first half with Johan Elmander getting the goal. A mistake by Burdisso let in Elmander and he cooly chipped the ball over the keeper to give Bolton the lead. I needing a immediate response and I got one straight from the kick off. A long range effort from Davi hit the post but it was the ever reliable Macheda who was on hand to pick up the pieces and slot the ball home. I think that after that goal both teams felt that a draw was a good result as neither made any real threatening chances. I will take this final result but I am still without a win this month and my next game is agianst Chelsea. (things just dont get any better do they)
v Chelsea (h) Barclays Premiership
Wiith no win in five I needed a return to form but I was unlikely to get it in this game as I was facing a Chelsea side who were top of the table and had not lost a signle game so far this season. So you could imagine the joy on my face when Andy Carroll's trademark headers gave my Newcastle team the lead. After this goal I turned the teams philosophy to counter attack to try and restrict the Chelsea chances and to possibly grab a goal on the break. This seemed to work until Didier Drogba scored the equailser 10 minutes later with a near spitting image of the header that Carroll scored. Normal service resumed after the second half when unsuprisingly Chelsea took the lead when Frank Lampard's drilled shot nestled into the bottom corner of the Newcastle goal. I decided that I had nothing to lose after this goal and put my team on the offensive. With just ten minutes left to play we scored again and the scorer for the second time today was Andy Carroll. His goal was a brilliantly curled effort from the edge of the box the score was 2-2. The final whistle blew and I was delighted with the performance as we managed to grap an unlikely goal to draw with Chelsea. Special praise has to go to Carroll, he is down he pecking order in the starting line-up behind Okaka and Macheda but he has proved to be a valuable assett and has scored in most of the games he has started in. Hopefully my players can take confidence in this result and win the Tyne-Tees derby at St. James against Sunderland in the next league game.
v Sunderland (h) Barclays Premiership
This was the last game of the month and probabally the most important game for a Newcastle fan in a season. The home game against their most hated rivals Sunderland. I was hoping for a carnival atmostphere from the fans to spur on my players and this seemed to work as we took the lead in the 3rd minute of the match. A through ball from Danny Guthrie saw Okaka pick up the ball on the edge of the box and a bullet strike fired Newcastle into a lead infront of the Leazes End. It was certainy turning into a derby day game with a lot of rash tackles and bookings but things got even better of the team in black and white when Alan Smith's pass fell to Gosling and he had time to pick his spot and place the ball into the back of the net to take Newcastle into a 2-0 half time lead. I felt hat I needed to keep it tight for 5-10 inutes in the second half but Sunderland got one goal back through Kenwyne Jones. He outmuscled Coloccini in a 50-50 and took full advantage of the chance presented to him and Suderland found themselves back in the game. Lukily for me they couldn't create any more chances and the game finished 2-1.
December Results
After a poor start to the month I really turned it round after the Bolton game and got a brilliant point against Chelsea and derby win against Sunderland.
League Table
This month saw us slip down the league ito 10th and I was hoping for better in Janurary to move back up the table.
Thanks for reading, next post will be here soon
Warren
Sunday 21 March 2010
Newcastle United - November 2010
Hi and welcome back to my latest installment of my Newcastle United story. In my last post I had managed to climb into the top half I wanted to keep this going but had a tough 5 games ahead of me. It would start with a trip to St Andrews to face Birmingham then a home game agianst Aston Villa before facing fellow promotion team Nottm Forest at St. James followed by an away game to the Britannia and Stoke City and finally finishing with a home game against moneybags Manchester City.
v Birmingham (a) Barclays Premiership
The first game of the month saw Newcastle travel to St.Andrews to face Birmingham City 11th in the league. The game started well for the travelling team and we were ahead early on in the game. A goal from Macheda put the Magpies ahead after 8 minutes when a missed header by Ridgewell from a long ball up the pitch left Macheda one-on-one with the keeper and the visitors were 1-0 up. Birmingham were trying to find their way back into the game and the equaliser came in the 30th minute. A outswinging corner from Fahey was headed in from 7 yards the most annoying thing was it was a free header and I was annoyed with the marking for the goal. After the second half started the game became really scrappy and the ball never really found its way towards either teams goals. It was no suprise that the game finished 1-1 and there was no goals in the second half. I was slightly dissapointed as at the start of the month this was one of the game were I felt I could get three points. Next up was against Aston Villa at home.
v Aston Villa (h) Barclays Premiership
This was a big game as Aston Villa was a team that could challenge me for a European position. It was a classic game as both teams were very open and there was a lot of big chances. Both teams also that some controversial decsions with but teams having a goal disallowed for offside that looked that they were the wrong decsions. This game seemed to be ending to a 0-0 draw until substitute Andy Carroll climbed above the head of James Collins and Richard Dunne to fire Newcastle into delerium and we had snatched a goal right at the death. I was really pleased for the players and knew if we keep this form up then we will have a good chance of the Europa League. Next up was Nottm Forest
v Nottm Forest (h) Barclays Premiership
A second home game in a row saw us face a Nottm Forest side who had come up from the Championship with Newcastle in second place and were now finding it hard in the Premiership in 18th postion I fully expected three points. It took us till the second half till we took the lead and again it was the foot of Okaka who scored for Newcastle. He got his goal from a rebounded shot from Jonas which was saved by Lee Camp and he had most of the goal to place the ball into the back of the net. We got our second goal and finished off the game in the 87th minute. Jonas got his name on the scoresheet after some good build up play on the edge of the box a chipped throughball from Guthrie fell to the feet on Jonas. He took one touch and sidefooted the ball into the bottom corner and the points were ours. Next up was Stoke at the Britannia.
v Stoke City (a) Barclays Premiership
Unfortunelty this was probabally the worse game I have ever watched in the 4 years I have been playing Football Manager. The only real talking point in this game was the sending off of Danny Guthrie which will strech our sqaud as I dont have many good central midfielders. The first booking was for a late challenge on former Sunderland player Dean Whitehead and the second was for a similar tackle on Etherington. The game finished 0-0 and I was looking for a more exciting game in the next match against Manchester City.
v Manchester City (h) Barclays Premiership
After the farsical perfrmance agianst Stoke I was looking for a reaction from my Newcastle player ahead of the ame against Manchester City. Unfortunetly this never came and Man City deserved the three points that they got. The first goal came nearly straight from the kick off when Adebayor got the first goal of the game inside the first 10 minutes when his curled shot went over the desparing lunge of Andrea Consigli. The second came from the leagues current top scorer Carlos Tevez. It was a good performance by Man City but we made them look bettr than they actually were. Hopefully I can get Newcastle out of a bit of a few bad performances.
November Results
A good start to the month that slightly tailed off towards the end by I wasn't really expecting a win at the Britannia and I didn't think we could really beat Man City but the performances were improving and my team look like that they are starting to gel.
November League Table
A good month saw us climb into the European spots hopefully I could keep thisgoing and grap an unlikely European place for next season.
v Birmingham (a) Barclays Premiership
The first game of the month saw Newcastle travel to St.Andrews to face Birmingham City 11th in the league. The game started well for the travelling team and we were ahead early on in the game. A goal from Macheda put the Magpies ahead after 8 minutes when a missed header by Ridgewell from a long ball up the pitch left Macheda one-on-one with the keeper and the visitors were 1-0 up. Birmingham were trying to find their way back into the game and the equaliser came in the 30th minute. A outswinging corner from Fahey was headed in from 7 yards the most annoying thing was it was a free header and I was annoyed with the marking for the goal. After the second half started the game became really scrappy and the ball never really found its way towards either teams goals. It was no suprise that the game finished 1-1 and there was no goals in the second half. I was slightly dissapointed as at the start of the month this was one of the game were I felt I could get three points. Next up was against Aston Villa at home.
v Aston Villa (h) Barclays Premiership
This was a big game as Aston Villa was a team that could challenge me for a European position. It was a classic game as both teams were very open and there was a lot of big chances. Both teams also that some controversial decsions with but teams having a goal disallowed for offside that looked that they were the wrong decsions. This game seemed to be ending to a 0-0 draw until substitute Andy Carroll climbed above the head of James Collins and Richard Dunne to fire Newcastle into delerium and we had snatched a goal right at the death. I was really pleased for the players and knew if we keep this form up then we will have a good chance of the Europa League. Next up was Nottm Forest
v Nottm Forest (h) Barclays Premiership
A second home game in a row saw us face a Nottm Forest side who had come up from the Championship with Newcastle in second place and were now finding it hard in the Premiership in 18th postion I fully expected three points. It took us till the second half till we took the lead and again it was the foot of Okaka who scored for Newcastle. He got his goal from a rebounded shot from Jonas which was saved by Lee Camp and he had most of the goal to place the ball into the back of the net. We got our second goal and finished off the game in the 87th minute. Jonas got his name on the scoresheet after some good build up play on the edge of the box a chipped throughball from Guthrie fell to the feet on Jonas. He took one touch and sidefooted the ball into the bottom corner and the points were ours. Next up was Stoke at the Britannia.
v Stoke City (a) Barclays Premiership
Unfortunelty this was probabally the worse game I have ever watched in the 4 years I have been playing Football Manager. The only real talking point in this game was the sending off of Danny Guthrie which will strech our sqaud as I dont have many good central midfielders. The first booking was for a late challenge on former Sunderland player Dean Whitehead and the second was for a similar tackle on Etherington. The game finished 0-0 and I was looking for a more exciting game in the next match against Manchester City.
v Manchester City (h) Barclays Premiership
After the farsical perfrmance agianst Stoke I was looking for a reaction from my Newcastle player ahead of the ame against Manchester City. Unfortunetly this never came and Man City deserved the three points that they got. The first goal came nearly straight from the kick off when Adebayor got the first goal of the game inside the first 10 minutes when his curled shot went over the desparing lunge of Andrea Consigli. The second came from the leagues current top scorer Carlos Tevez. It was a good performance by Man City but we made them look bettr than they actually were. Hopefully I can get Newcastle out of a bit of a few bad performances.
November Results
A good start to the month that slightly tailed off towards the end by I wasn't really expecting a win at the Britannia and I didn't think we could really beat Man City but the performances were improving and my team look like that they are starting to gel.
November League Table
A good month saw us climb into the European spots hopefully I could keep thisgoing and grap an unlikely European place for next season.
Thanks for reading, a new post will be here soon
Warren
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