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
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Not a bad month Warren, Man Utd is too strong for you at the moment and Everton is always a difficult opponent to play with in FM10. But you did well in the rest of the games and with some good results, you will have a good chance of reaching Europe. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lye, I wasn't suprised that I lost to Man U or Everton but I was please with the effort the players put in during them games.
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