NUFC - Trials and Tribulations

NUFC - Trails and Tribulations has moved

2010-03-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

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

Newcastle United - Rest of the season

2010-03-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Thanks for reading, next post will be here in a day or two

warren

Newcastle United - March 2011

2010-03-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Thanks for reading, next blog here soon

warren

Newcastle United - Feburary 2011

2010-03-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

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.

Thanks for reading, next blog will be here soon

warren

Newcastle United - Janurary 2011

2010-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Thanks for reading, next blog will be here tomorrow

warren

Newcastle United - December 2010

2010-03-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

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.

Thanks for reading, next post will be here soon

Warren

Newcastle United - November 2010

2010-03-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Thanks for reading, a new post will be here soon

Warren

Newcastle United - October 2010

2010-03-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome back to my Newcastle blog. I was now in October of my first Premier League season and I was set to face Blackburn in the first game of the month. That would be followed to a midweek game away to Everton followed by a home game against Fulham, a league cup game agaist Liverpool and finally to finish the month off I was set to play Wigan at home.

v Blackburn (a) Barclays Premiership

The first game of the month saw us take a trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn who were currently 16th in the league and without a win in three. This seemed like a good opportunity to climb up the table. We failed to really get out of the starting blocks agianst Blackburn in the first half with only a few long range efforts that were going close to the goal. A goal finally came in the 52nd minute when Okaka was on the end of a Jnoas cross and he managed just to get his head before Paul Robinson on the near post and we were 1-0 up. Not much really happenend in this game the only real clear cut chance was the goal so not much to talk about but it was three points and thats all that matters. Next up was Everton on my birthday and hopefully a nice Football Manager birthday present with three points.

v Everton (a) Barclays Premiership

After a win against Blackburn in the previous game I was looking for back-to-back wins against Everton at Goodison Park. Everton started off the better and they were putting real preesure on the Newcastle defence but to the defenders credit they were keeping the clear cut chances down and Everton never really threatened and were reduced to long shots. I changed the team philosophy to couter attacking to try and hit them on the break and it nearly worked but Macheda hit the bar just outside the box. Everton did take the lead thought through Tim Cahill and it deservidly won Everton the game. After a Arteta corner was headed out by Coloccini, Cahill smacked a right footed vollley and the ball nearly took the net off when it hit the back of the net. No keeper in the world could have even got close to that it was a brilliant goal. Thats how the game finished and even though we had lost and I was disappointed with the result I knew that the goal deserved to win the game. Next up was Fulham at home.

v Fulham (h) Barclays Premiership

After the dissapointing result to Everton a few days earlier I had to get back to winning ways and I now had to face Fulham in a mid-table clash. We started off brightly and were ahead in the 16th minute when a chipped though ball from Wayne Routledge played in Macheda we turned his marker and placed his shot out of the reach of Mark Swartzer in the Fulham goal. Despite taking the lead we were determined to double our lead and if it was not for Swartzer we would have gone in 3 or 4 up at half time. We did thought manage to score one goal before half time. When Jonas was played in by Alan Smith there was only one thing on his mind and that was to score. It was 2-0 at half time and I felt like we were comfortable to make a few changes. I brought on Lovenkrands, Vuckic and Pancrate and I took off Macheda, Routledge and Okaka. The substitutes did play well but I had failed in adding to the goal tally but I was particually impressed by Haris Vuckic who is a youth team player in the Newcastle sqaud and one that had an exciting future with the club.

v Liverpool (a) League Cup 4th round

I was ready and rearing to go for this game and I was determined that Liverpool weren't going to knock we out for the third time in a row in domestic cups. I was pleased with the start that we made and we nearly took the lead but for a brilliant double save from Reina denied the first goal going to the home side. The visitor unsuprisingly took the lead in the 22nd minute and again it was Steven Gerrard that was behind it all. They doubled their advantage when Fernando Torres scored a typical poachers goal and Liverpool made the game become beyond reach when Torres scored his scored of the game from just outside the box. The good news was that I managed to pull one goal back and get a consalation goal but I was out of the League Cup and once again Liverpool were the team to knock me out. Next up was Wigan in the league

v Wigan (h) Barclays Premiership

The final game of the month was agian at home and the visitors were strugglers Wigan who were just above the drop zone in 17th. From the first 10 minutes you could tell why they were down their with a few defensive errors it let my forwards in for the chance to score but they couldn't covert the chances to goals. It took we till the second half until I got the first goal and it was Federico Macheda who scored again with a bullet header from a Fabrice Pancrate cross who was making his first start of the season. After that goal Wigan started to get back into the game and nearly levelled the game when fromer Magpie Charles N'Zogbia hit the post from a long range effort. The game was settled in the 77th minute when Pancrate was tripped just inside the box and we ha d a great opportunity to make it safe. Jonas stepped up and cooly chipped the ball into the top right hand corner of the goal. It was another three points at home and it looked as if the home games are whats going to help me push up that table towards the European places.

October Results

I was really pleased with this month and I was proud of my players. A bit dissapointed that I got knocked out by Liverpool again but the league is the main aim this season.

October League Table

With three league wins out of four I had moved myself into the top half of the table but I knew I would to keep going if I was going to continue this good run of form and push for the European places.

Thanks for reading new post will be here soon

Warren

Newcastle United - September 2010

2010-03-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome back to my Newcastle United blog. After a decent start to the season in the Premiership it was time for us to push on in the league and get as many wins as possible. First up in September was a game against the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

v Wolves (a) Barclays Premiership

The first game of Semtember was here and we had a trip to Molineux to face a Wolves side who were currnetly 11th in the league. We took the lead in the 24th minute when a quick one two between Jonas and Macheda led to the ball falling into the path of Jonas and he slid the ball under the keepers body and we were ahead. Wolves managed to equalise just before half time when the giant centre forward Steven Malerhofer enevitably won a header and it nestled into Consigli's goal. Wolves then took the lead in the 70th minute when Milijas slotted the ball past Consigli after some good build up play from Wolves. I was getting more and more annoyed that a equaliser wasn't coming until when Macheda was just about to pull the trigger he was brought down by Richard Stearman and we had a brilliant chance of grapping a point in the dying minutes of the game. Ryan Taylor stepped up and smashed the ball into the back of the net to the delight of the away support. Next up was what would be the hardest game of the season so far at home to the defending champions Manchester United.

v Manchester Utd (h) Barclays Premiership

On a hot Saturday lunchtime kick-off my Newcastle team was about to play their toughest game of the season and I game that I felt really nervous about. My nerves got worse when after 12 minutes Danny Simpson was sent off for an elbow on Antonio Valencia we had to survive against one of the best teams in the league with 10 men for nearly 80 minutes. I reshuffled the team and put Ryan Taylor on at right back and took off Andy Carroll. Manchester were pressing for a goal but a inspired performance from my defence especially Andrea Consigli and at the half-time whistle the game remained goalless. At half time I went into a counter attacking mode and left Okaka upfront by himself. When the second half started it was Manchester Utd who looked like the team who had 10 men and we were keeping the ball really well. We just needed a bit of service to Okaka and we could grap 3 points here. Much to my suprise we had managed to keep Manchester Utd at bay and the final whistle blew and we got a brilliant point. I was delighted with the work rate of my team and was proud of each and everyone of them. My MOM went to Consigli for keeping us in the game so well in the first half with some outstanding saves. Next up was Blackpool in the League Cup.

v Blackpool (a) League Cup 3rd round

I had a widweek League Cup game against to contend with and I decided to field a weakened side for this game and I never really looked like slipping up. We took the lead in the 14 minute when a long cross filed ball from Davi was controlled by Caroll and he slid the ball into the back of the net. Blackpool did equilise in the 66 minute when Rob Edwards chipped the ball brilliantly over Tim Krul but (this was Blackpool first major chance). We won the game in the 86th minute when a low Lovenkrands cross was missed by all of the onrushing players apart from Wayne Routledge who sidefooted the ball into an empty net. For the third time running I faced Liverpool in a domestic cup trophy. Was I finally going to knock Liverpool out or would they make it three in a row. Next up was Arsenal at home.

v Arsenal (h) Barclays Premiership

The final game of the month was a tricky game against the team who finished 3rd last season. Much to my delight we took the lead when a counter attack made its way to Macheda and he skipped ppast o Arsenal defenders before rounding the keeper and slotting the ball into the back of the net. The Newcastle fans were estatic but I knew that their was still about 80 minutes left of the game and it would take a brilliant performance to beat Arsenal. It was not until after half time when Arsenal levelled the scoring when after some typical one touch football by Arsenal was finished off by Samir Nasri I knew that we were going to have to play out of our skins to keep a point. They finally got their winner in four minutes later when Robin Van Persie showed my defence why you never give him any time or space and he punished us. I was pretty pleased despite the result as it challanged Arsenal and it certanly give them a it of a fright.

September Results

Not the best month I could of had but I was playing well and if I could just match the performances with some wins then I shuld be fine.

September League Table

I was slightly dissapointed with my position so far but I knew that my team was going to get better and we would be soon climbing up that league. I had four league games next month and I was looking for 7 points from then 4 game as I was playing teams in and around were I am targeted to finish.

Thanks for reading a new post will be here soon

Warren

Newcastle United - August 2010

2010-03-17T03:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all, hope you are all fit and well. This was now my first month in the Premiership and the first month that I was going to steer the Magpies to my target of a mid-table position. The first game of the season couldn;t have been any better with a game against hated rivals Sunderland.

v Sunderland (a) Barclays Premiership

A better game couldn't have been chosen with the Tyne-Tees deby in the first game of the season. It was certainly a derby day atmosphere at the Stadium of Light and hopefully I could get a winning start for the black and whites. It was a typical derby day game with challanges flying in left, right and centre and amist all that chaos the visiting team took the lead. Wayne Routledge took up the ball on the halfway line, after skipping past two Sunderland defenders he played a lovely one-two with Macheda and he was through on goal one-on-one. He took that chance and the Toon had scored their first goal of the season. This had certainly suprised Sunderland and they got their way back into the game when the always reliable Darren Bent scored the equaliser. After a flick on by Kenwyne Jones fell to the feet of Bent he had only one thing on his mind and that was to blast the ball into the back of the net. Necastle continuted to push for the second goal but were kept being caught out on the quick break aways the only person that was stopping Sunderland taking the lead was the signing of my new keeper Consigli and I was delighted with him by the end of the game as we managed to hang on to the point in what was probablly a fair result in the end for both teams.

v West Ham (a) Barclays Premiership

We were on the road again for the second time in a week. Today we were at Upton Park for the game against West Ham who finished 12th last season. The game started off quietly and didn't really get going until the second half. West Ham took the lead in the 50th minute with a bit of a freak goal, my keeper just decided to stay on the line when Carlton Cole was rushing in and instead of my keeper narrowing the angle Cole had a lot of the goal to aim and score his first for the season. We got a goal back in the 73 minute with a superb free-kick from substitute Ryan Taylor which curled right into the top corner and the scores were level. This game finished 1-1 and we had got another point for the season. Next up was Doncaster in the League Cup.

v Doncaster (h) League Cup 2nd Round

I felt this was going to be quite an easy gam but still fielded a strong side just in case. I gave Stefano Okaka his first start for Newcastle and hopefully he will prove to me why I signed him. We took the lead when Dan Gosling got his first goal in the black and white. After a cross had been cleared by the head of Dean Shields the ball fell to Gosling and he unleashed a shot that rolled into the bottom corner. We progressed into the 3rd round when Okaka showed my when I chose him in the starting 11. Doncaster had been pushing for the equailser but when Okaka picked up the ball on the halfway line I knew we got our second goal with only one defender to beat he placed the ball into the bottom corner from just outside the box. Next up was my first home league game of the season against Bristol City.

v Bristol City (h) Barclays Premiership

After gaining my first win of the season against Doncaster in the League Cup we were all set to add to that when we faced Bristol City who were one of the team that were promoted with Newcastle at the end of last season. The Newcasle fans saw their first Premiership goal at home in the 11 minute when defender Nicolas Birdisso got on the end of a Danny Guthrie corner to head the Toon into a 1-0 lead. The game became end-to-end and both keepers were haing a blinder lukily for me the Bristol City keeper was the busiest. We got our second with basically the last kick of the game when a goal from another Danny Guthrie corner was headed in this time by Steven Taylor and our first league win came in our first home game of the season.

August Results

A decent start to my first Premier League season with an unbeaten month. Hopefully I can achieve what I want this season and get a mid-table finish. With results like this I think that will be a possibility.

Thanks for reading

Warren

Newcastle United - Premiership Preperation

2010-03-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hi all, hope you are well and good. After winning the Championship trophy back in May I now had the task of keeping Newcastle in the Premiership and beyond. In today's blog I will go through the ins and outs of my team and I will talk about my preferred starting XI and then talk about my pre-season matches.

Transfers Out

Not a mass exodus that I thought I needed but quite some noticable selling. Kevin Nolan didn't really shine in the Championship and I preffered to play Guthrie. Barton hardly played and I felt he wanted to find a club where he was playing week in week out. Other players felt I could keep but I wanted to see if they could prove it at another club first before trying it out. Xisco stayed in England so that I could see how he played the English game.

Transfers In

I felt I did could have done better in this transfer window and I wanted to sign more players on permanent deal but they didn't want to come. So I was stuck with loans on some players

Andrea Consigli

One of the more important positions I needed to change. Even thought Steve Harper is a good keeper and one which I will use as a back-up I wanted get a better keeper in anyway and Consigli fit the bill

Nicolas Burdisso

Burdisso will be used a cover as I dont think that Willamson or Kadar are particarly able in the Premership and I needed some experience.

Dan Gosling

If I was going to play the formation that I wanted to change to then I would need a defensive midfielder so sit in the hole just infront of the defence. Gosling was one of my main targets in the first place.

Guido Davi (loan)

After selling both Nolan and Barton I needed a central midfielder to push Guthrie and Smith for a starting position and I felt Davi was the most relistic person of that job.

Federico Macheda (loan)

Needed a goalscoring striker but couldn't get anyone on a permanent basis so decided to get Federico Machedo on loan. Will be on a rotation basis with this striker until I decide who is better.

Stefano Okaka (loan)

Again couldn't get this player on a permanent basis but I will put in an offer for the end of the season if he impresses me. Now onto my pre-season.

I was generally quite pleased with my pre-season results with a 100% record with the games at home but the defeat to Charlton was probabally the worse of the lot.

I will now talk about my preffered starting 11.

Playing with the 4-5-1 system meant that I could get Jonas and Wayne Routledge into the game and effectively use them as wide forwards. Gosling will be the start of my attacks and the player who will win the ball back for my team.

The next post will should be ready by tomorrow and I will tell you about the first month of my Newcastle Premiership season.

Thanks for reading

Warren

Newcastle United - Rest of the season

2010-03-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome back to my Football Manager blog with my beloved team Newcastle United. I have decided to show you the rest of the season as I think more people will be interested in viewing the Premiership than the Championship. One noticable change was that I brought in Pablo Henrique a striker on loan till the end of the season. Hopefully he would give me a boost that would sent us back to the Premiership.

Janurary Results

A brilliant unbeaten month which saw two draws which were both 0-0. I was dissapionted with the first Brenford game as we should have easily won but it didn't matter as I thrashed them in the replay. Ameobi kept banging in the goals and there was also a brilliant hat-trick in the 4th round of the FA Cup when we played Fulham. The 5th round was a trip to the team who beat Newcastle in the League Cup and I was set to play Liverpool

Feburary Results

A very busy month of Feburary kept up the unbeaten run but I was sadly out of the FA Cup but I was pround of my team that they managed to take it to a replay. I got revenge on both Swansea and Preston for beating me earlier in the season. I was now 10 points clear at the top and getting ever closer to the Championship trophy.

March Results

I lost my unbeaten run when against Middlesbrough and then lost for a second time in a month when playing Bristol City. The biggest result was against Nottm Forest as they were the team in second and the team that was trying to get to the top surely I had secured Premier League statue by next month

April and May Results

We had done it and we secured promotion back to the Premiership and we had done it in style by winning the Championship itself. A tremendous effort from my team throughtout the season and I am proud of everyone of them.

Final Championship Table

I had gone up with more than 100 point (105 to be precise) and I was looking forward to the challanges that lead ahead for the next season when Newcastle are back with the big boys but before all of that I need to make a lot of wholesale changes. That will all come in my next post in a few days time

Thanks for reading

Warren

Newcaste United - November 2009

2010-03-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and I hope you are all fit and well. My Newcastle team had now moved into November and I was looking to increase that lead at the top of the Championship by as much as possible. The month began with an away trip to Sheffield United.

v Sheff Utd (a) Coca-Cola Championship

It was a cold Monday night and we arrived at Brammell Lane hoping for 3 points and I was looking for a good peformance. We seemed to start well like we did against Doncaster in the previous month and were ahead after only 3 minutes when a long ball up the field Peter Lovenkrands flicked the ball on for Shola Ameobi and a missed header from Chris Morgan let him in one-on-one with the keeper and we were ahead. It was soon 2-0 in the 6th minute when an unstoppable shot from Jonas flew into the top corner and I was delighted. We soon seemed to put the foot of the gas after that and regretably that let Sheffield Utd back in the game. They had a number of chances but strikers Ched Evans and Darius Henderson couldn't place in the ball in the back of the net. The second half begun we the game came beyond a Sheffield Utd comeback when Peter Lovenkrands made it 3. After being played through by Ameobi, Lovenkrands found himself with a glorious chance and he cooly placed the ball under the keepers body. I was ectatic about this performance as we had comfortabally beaten of the top divisions top sides. Next game was at home against Peterbrough.

v Peterbrough (h) Coca-Cola Championship

For the second game running we managed to score in the first five minutes of the game. This time it was Peter Lovenkrand's name that was writen on the scoresheet. A whipped free-kick from Wayne Routledge seeemed to evade everyone until the ball fell to Lovenkrands and he had one of the simplest goals to score in his whole career. We grabbed a second 9 minutes later when another goal from a set piece went in the back of the net. A Wayne Routledge cross was met by the head of Mike Williamson to get his second goal of the season. Newcastle were crusing at this stage and it was no suprise that we socred again on 35 minutes again Shola was on the scoresheet this was now his 7th goal in the last 8 starts. We again seemed comfortable for the rest of the half and never looked anywhere near conceding a goal and by the end it game finished 3-0. The next game for my Magpie's was away to Preston.

v Preston (a) Coca-Cola Championship

With 5 wins in succesion I was hoping to make it 6 at Deepdale when I played Preston. It was more of an even contest than the two previous games this month and we were made to fight for the ball. If I was going to win this match it would have to be a dogged performance and we would have to play aggressively. The first goal fell to Preston (the first goal I had conceded in three games). What made it worse was that the scorer was former Sunderland employee Ross Wallace. The goal was well deserved as the build up play was excellant and we never got near to winning the ball back. In the second half not much really happened apart from Muamba being sent off for a second yellow. Preston were playing at home they decided to put as many players behind the ball as possible. This may have been because they were playing top of the league but if was because they had not won in five and I guess that wanted to make sure of victory. They got there victory when the referee blew the whistle, it was my first loss since the start of the season against West Brom and it ended the 15 game unbeaten run. Hopefully I would get back on track when playing Swansea at home.

v Swansea (h) Coca-Cola Championship

I was hoping for a way back to the winning run that took me to the top of the table and whata better way of doing this that playing at home. Swansea started the game brightly and were more offensive than any other team had been this season. There tactic payed off when they scored the first goal of the game in the 25th minute when a reverse pass from Van der Gun played in Nathen Dyer and he played the ball under Steve Harper's body. It was soon 2-0 and I was not happy with the way the team was playing especially as this was infront of the Geordie faithful. The second came after a defensive error from Coloccini and that left Van der Gun with the simpiest of chances to doubl their advantage. We improved slightly in the second half as we started to play the ball around the pitch, kept possesion and had a few chances to score but as football goes sometimes Swansea made the game safe and it was three. This time a free-kick scored by Mark Gower the game was over and I had lost my econd game in a row and also lost my unbeaten home record. I need to improve if I was going to win the league.

November Results

What seemed to be the start of another unbeaten month turned sour and I lost the last two game of the November. I was hoping for better next month

December Fixtures

A busier month than before with six league game to play. The most notable being the Tyne-Tees derby against Middlesbrough. I was hoping for 14 points this month anything more I will be really pleased with.

Thanks for reading

Next post in a few days as I have decided to do the rest of the season so that I finish the season quicker and I will be in the Prem sooner.

Warren

Newcastle United - October 2009

2010-03-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome back to my football manager story of my beloved Newcastle United team. After two very good months at the start of the season. I moved into the third with a five point gap and I was hoping to extend that lead at the top of the table. First game of the month was against Bristol City at home.

v Bristol City (h) Coca-Cola Champoinship

This game has to be one of the wierdest ever. I say this because it must of been the most exciting 0-0 draw there has ever been. Both teams created a lot of chances but neither converted it was really a mixture of poor finishing and brilliant goalkeeping. Surpisingly Steve Harper was the busiest of the two keepers and he rightly was given MOM at the end of the game. The only real major talkn point was a first ever career red-card for Wayne Routledge for an elbow on Bristol City player Evander Sno. The disapline of my team was starting to worry me as thiswas already my third red card of the season.

v Nottm Forest (a) Coca-Cola Championship

Now for what is the biggest game so far this season away to Nottm Forest and a chance to put a real gap in the Championship table. As expected the game started off in a frantic fashion and there were many tackles flying in from both side and it had all the characteristics of being a really exciting match. 10 minutes in and the game got its first goal. After Shola Ameobi's shot was initially saved by Lee Camp the ball came into the path of Andy Carroll and he placed the ball into the empty net. Both teams created many chances but neither could capitialise and the score at half time was 1-0. We then doubled our lead in fantastic fasion, when Jose Enrique's long pass down the line fell to Jonas, the Argentinian dodged one tackle before expertly curling the ball into the back of the net. The second goal really killed off any threat that came from Nottm Forest and we coompleted the scoring when a Routledge corner was met by the head of Steven Taylor and he grabbed his first of the season. This was an excellant result and I was pround of all my players we were now 7 points ahead of Forest. Next game saw us travel to Scunthorpe and Glanford Park.

v Scunthorpe (a) Coca-Cola Championship

We arrived at Glanford Park full of confidence and we expected three points here but knew they could be tricky to get. We away support were given something to shout about in the 27th minute when Fabrice Pancrate opened the scoring. Newcastle kept the pressure going and we were soon rewarded. I had decided at the start of the game to give on-loan striker Joan Simun Edmunsson a place in the starting line-up. He showed we that that was a good decision and he scored on his debut after a throughball from Alan Smith he chipped the ball around the keeper for 2-0. A missed interception by Danny Simpson let in Gary Hooper and the Irons were back in with a shout at 2-1. It was then 3-1 in the 89th minute when after Scunthorpe were pressing for the equaliser a quick release of the ball from Steve Harper we were attacking the Scunthorpe 3 on 3. The ball was played into the path of Ryan Taylor and he finshed the game of to make it another win for the black and whites. The final goal came with thelast kick of the ball another header goal by Shola Ameobi and it was now 4-1. The final league game of the month was agianst Doncaster at home.

v Doncaster (h) Coca-Cola Championship

The game got off to flying start in the 2nd minute when a deep cross from winger Jonas Gutierrez fall right onto the head of Shola Ameobi and it was already 1-0. I had high hopes that this game could be a thrasing as Doncaster couldn't keep the ball at all and were all over the shop. We managed to score a second just before half-time whenater a long throw was flicked on by Andy Carroll the second ball fell to Alan Smith for an easy tap-in from 6 yards. After the second half Doncaster improved and it was a case of damage limitation for Doncaster and the rest of the game. This made me exeremly frustrated as it became very hard to break them down but we did still manage to get one more goal we Kevin Nolan's low driven shot hit the back of the net. The game finished 3-0 and we were looking more and more like a Premiership side as every win went by.

October Results

November Fixtures

Again quite a quiet month I am hoping of for 10 points this month.

League Table

This month took us to a four point lead over Nottm Forest and we didnt look like giving that lead up soon

Newcastle United - September 2009

2010-03-08T02:58:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and welcome to another post of my Newcastle United story. After being quiet satisfied with my first month in charge it was time to crack on and get a winning streak going.

v Cardiff (a) Coca-Cola Championship

The first game of the month game away to Cardiif and a trip to the new Cardiff City Stadium I was a bit nervous before the game as I hadn't won away from home this season and needed to start today if I was going to get any chance of promotion.

The first half never seemed to get going and it never threated to get a goal. There was chances for both teams to open the scoring but neither team made any very threatening chances. It stayed at 0-0 until half time. The second half was when the game came to life. Unfortunately Cardiff took the lead in the 47th minute through Kelvin Etuhu (on loan from Man City) his curled shot beat Steve Harper from 10 yards out. Cardiff then took a 2-0 lead when a Ross McCormack free-kick flew into the top corner. That seemed to finally wake up our team and we pulled the score back to 2-1 through Andy Carroll. A long ball up the pitch by Danny Guthrie was flicked on by Andy Carroll and the ball looped over the keeper (it was somewhat of a wierd goal but I would easily take it). That goal changed the momentum of the game and in the 70th minute Newcastle equalised and Shola Ameobi was the player to thank. Shola piced up the ball from Kevin Nolan at the edge of the box and he skiped past two Cardiff challanges to place the ball carmly passed Marshell in the Cardiff goal. Much to my suprise we completed an amazing comeback in the 92nd minute once again Shola had his name on the scoresheet. Shola had made a brilliant run into the box and was found by substitute Joey Barton and for the second time placed the ball underneath the Cardiff keeper.

It was a brilliant comeback on a game when we where easily the second best team but this shows that my team have the strength and character to get out of this league.

v Blackpool (a) Coca-Cola Championship

A second game four days took us on the road again to Blackpool and to Boomfield Road. Much the Cardiff game a few days previous the first half was really spent in the centre circle with both teams fighting for possesion. Blackpool took first blood just befoe half time when Charlie Adam caught the Newcastle defense ball watching and he arrived in the box unmarked for an easy far post header. This galvansied the home support and they scored at a perfect time. I wanted to reshuffle the pack and come back with three points and on the 50th minute at was 1-1. Jonas scored probabally the goal of the season after picking up the ball on the half-way line he rode the challanges of three Blackpool players and rounded the keeper to score a fantastic goal. Shola Ameobi continued his goal scoring streak when he unleased a shot from just inside the Blackpool area and that made the game 2-1 to the visitors. Fr he second game running Andy Caroll name was on the scoresheet and this time a brilliantheader was the way in which he scored. After a decent start to the season Newastle are starting to get into gear and I will try and keep this run going for as long as possible.

v Plymouth (h) Coca-Cola Championship

My third game in a week kept us at home and a game against relegation threatened Plymouth. The game started at a frantic pace and that set the tone for the game. In the 25th minute Newcastle took the lead though Shola Ameobi after rounding the keeper and slotting the ball in the back of the net. It was then 2-0 ten minutes later and yet again the scorer was Ameobi. After a long ball up the pitch by Alan Smith, Shola was the first to react and was left 1 on 1 with the keeper to get his 5th goal of the season. Plymouth then pulled one goal back just before half time and Jamie Mackie was the scorer. The second half started like the first had finished and Plymouth were putting Newcastle under sustained pressure. But we then restored our two goal advantage when Jonas kept up his record of scoring in every home game this season. The game was complete in the 77th minute when Ryan Taylor's free-kick flew in to the top corner.

I was delighted with this performance and the team had really started to gel. Next game is the League Cup match against Liverpool.

v Liverpool (a) League Cup 3rd round

It was now time to focus on the cup games and a chance to play Premier League opposition against Liverpool. They were currently flying in the league and it will be a very competitive game. Unsprisingly it was the Premier League side who enventually took the lead in the 25th minute. After a short corner was taken the ball fell to Dirk Kuyt who smacked the ball into the top corner. Liverpool then took a 2-0 lead when a Steven Gerrard cross was volleyed in by Ryan Babel (it was a supreb goal abit like Marco Van Basten's). After a Liverpool corner was headed out by Coloccini the ball fell to Wayne Routledge and a lung bursting run took him to the Liverpool byline and he played a low cross into the path of Peter Lovenkrands and the socre was 2-1 (was this a lifeline). Liverpool then killed the game in the dying moments when Steven Gerrard produced his usualy low driven shot from the edge of the box to make it 3-1 and we were out of the cup.

Next game was a trip to Portman Road and to face a Ispwich side who are managed by former Sunderland boss Roy Keane.

v Ipswich (a) Coca-Cola Championship

After the dissapointing but upsurpiring exit in the League Cup it was type to get back to business in the league. Newcastle started brightly and we were ahead in the 8th minute. After some good build up play on the edge of the box and the ball fell to the feet of Fabrice Pancrate and he relished the chance to get his first goal for the black and whites in what also was his first start. Ispwich got the perfect reply just one minute later. From the kick-off the ball was played up to David Healy and he layed the ball off to Salomon Olembe and he unleashed a shot that was too hot for Harper to handle. Newcastle regained the lead in the 38th minute when a poor Wayne Routledge cross was headed away by an Ispwich head, the ball fell into the path of Alan Smith on the edge of the box he took one touch before drilling in a low shot just out of the reach of Richard Wright in the Ipswich goal. This was also Alan Smith first goal for Newcastle and also his first goal for almost 4 and a half years so you can imagine how pleased he was when that ball went in.

After a very enventful first half the game never really got going and neither side threatened to goal another goal so unsuprisingly the goal finished 2-1. We had an 100% record for this month in the league going into the last game. If I won surely it would take Newcastle to the top of the league and also get me my first manager of the month award.

v QPR (h) Coca-Cola Championship

The final game of the season saw us play QPR at home and I was looking for another three points in the bag. The first half seemed pretty boring with both sides giving the ball away rather cheaply and it was not the best game to watch. Some of my players seemed tired and not up to full pace then again looking at the fixtures we had just played 6 game in just over 2 weeks. The first half stayed at 0-0 and I began to worry that this was going to be the final outcome. So I made some changes, I brought on Peter Lovenkrands for Andy Carroll, hopefully Peter could inject some pace into the game and also brought on Danny Guthire as Nolan's fitness levels had dropped to under 70%. The game stayed goalless until the 84th minutes when after a succession of corners we were putting QPR under sustained pressure. A corner taken by substitute Danny Guthrie was hit to the front post and there was Shola Ameobi to head in what ended up being the winner.

That brought the end of the month and it also brought my own personal trophy in Manager of the Month for Semptember with an 100% record in the month.

That month then took us to the top of the Championship table with a 4 point lead of Nottm Forest and we have them to play in October.

I have a quiet month to contend with in October the stand out game being that away match against 2nd placed Nottm Forest. I will be looking for at least 9 points from this month.

Thank again for reading will see you soon.

Newcastle United - August 2009

2010-03-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and welcome to the second installment of my football manager career with Newcastle United. We had finished all the pre-season friendlies and the players were ready and raring to go. My season expectations were to get back to the Premier League where this team belong (sorry but being a Newcastle fan myself I may be a bit bias towards my beloved team)

v West Brom (a) Coca-Cola Championship

The season started with a very tricky trip away from home against fellow promotion condenders West Brom I was expecting this to be a very tricky game. The game started with both team being very anxious in the first 5 minutes and misplacing a lot of the passes I couldn't say I was completely suprised with this as both teams didn't want to lose the first game of the season. The first meaningful attack of the game fell to Newcastle and to Peter Lovenkrands, after good work down the right by Simpson who played a little thoughball into Routledge he deep cross was met by Lovenkrands but a decent save from Carson denied the first goal of the game. As guessed both teams where reduced to long shot from outside the area and in was no suprised when the game finished 0-0 at half time.

At half time I told the players that they were playing well and they just needed to start creating more chances and that would hopefully lead us to three points.

The second half began in a frantic fashion with both sode picking up numerous yellow cards I was worried that this was going to turn nasty and players were going for early showers. Much to my annoyence that happend in the 64 minute when two clumsy challenges had meant two yellow cards for Fabricio Coloccini and that meant he was off. This called for a resuffle and Mike Williamson came on for the tiring Peter Lovenkrands and he moved into the central defenders position.

We continuted to dominated the game but step by step West Brom wrre getting back into it, they used the numerical advantage well and in the 83 minute they took the lead. After some good build up play Luke Moore got the ball on the edge of the box, he then easily turned Williamson to fire the ball into the bottom right hand corner past the lunge of Steve Harper. The final whistle blew and we had lost the first game of the season I was left wondering if Coloccini had stayed on would the final result have been the same. I needed a quick bounce back in my next game against Reading.

v Reading (h) Coca-Cola Championship

After a dissapointing result against West Brom I needed a quick result against Reading at home the pressure was on. We had a very positive start to this game and I was hoping this would last and after 20 minutes we got our first goal of the season. Jose Enriqe took the ball just inside Reading's half and played the ball forward to Jonas who passed first time to Ameobi from 20 yards out Shola had thought about the shot but had seen that Jonas had continued his run, he played a delightful thoughtball into Jonas' path and he slotted the ball past Adam Federici. We continuted playing good football but as football goes we were not the next team to score. After a poor Lovenkrands corner Reading quickly pushed up the pitch and were on the counter. Sigurdsson continued has run and shot from just inside the box the initial shot was saved by Harper but Noel Huint reacted the quickest and with Harper laying on the floor he smashed the ball into the top corner and it was 1-1. After the goal there was never any real clear cut chances to talk about and at half time the score remained the same.

The second half began and immediately we were on the attack. Reading had cleared the bll from a Jonas cross but the ball fell to Alan Smith and he superbly volleyed the ball back at goal and it cannoned of the bar. I was getting more and more frustrated as the game went on as we were creating a ton of chances but the finsihing was poor. My frustation were all realeased in the third minute of stoppage time when a Ryan Taylor corner was headered in at the front post by Mike Williamson for his first goal for Newcastle at St James Park on his home debut. That goal was the last kick of the game and even though it looked as if we were lucky to get a win I knew if we had better strikers he could have won 3 or 4-1.
v Sheff Wed (h) Coca-Cola Championship

We had another home game to play on the Wednesday night ironically against Sheffield Wednesday. I was looking for another three points. On the 14 minute Wednesday took a shock lead, a defensive error from Steven Taylor let in LukeVarney and he chipped the ball over the despairing Harper. This stunned the Newcastle fans and they needed a quick comeback. Lukily that came just 5 minutes later when a late challenge on Coloccini from Tom Soares saw the refferee point to the spot. It was Leon Best who picked up the ball and he despatched the penalty straight down the middle. It look till the second half for Newcastle to take the lead. A wonderful reverse pass from Kevin Nolan set up Peter Lovenkrands with a one on one and it was unlikely that he was going to miss from there it was therefore 2-1. After that second goal we looked very comfortable and never really gave the ball away. We made the scoreline look even better in the 55 minute when a Lovenkrands corner was met by the head of Coloccini who scored in his first game back from suspension. The ref blew his whistle and there it was another 3 points from home next up was a tricky game away to Crystal Palace.

v Crystal Palace (a) Coca-Cola Championship

After two successive home wins we were back on the road to Selhurst Park. Due to the fact that this was our third game this week I decided to change the team and rested Taylor, Routledge, Smith and Best and brought in Williamson, Pancrate, Guthrie and Carroll.

The first twenty minutes were quiet boring and nothing really happend. The game livened up when a pass from Stern John played in Albrighton and Enrique pulled him down in the penalty area and it was the second penalty in two games. I was suprised but relieved that Enrique was not sent off as he was clearly the last man. I was punished for that error and it was 1-0 to the home team. The scoreline at half time stayed at 1-0 and I was angry at my team as we hadn't created anything. This seemed to wake my players up a bit but not enough to get any clear cut chances so I decided some changes were needed. One of the subtitutes was Wayne Routledge and he showed he that I made a masterstroke decision and he duly scored in the 70th minute albeit a bit fortuatous. A outswinging cross from Enrique seemed to be caught by Speroni but he dropped the ball right into the feet of Routledge and he punished the mistake. The game finished 1-1 and I as mildly pleased with this as I hadn't played particularly well but managed to grab a point.

v Barnsley (h) League Cup Round 2

I was trying to concentrate more on getting the team backinto the Premier League so decided to play a weakended team but one that I thought could progress as I didn't want to disappoint the fans and the board.

The game started off pretty well with both side playing the ball on the floor and keeping possesion. It was Barnsley who took the lead thought through Iain Hume in the 8th minute they doubled there lead in the 19th minutes with a goal from Hallfreosson. Newcastle got a goal back with a typical Andy Carroll header but the fans got annoyed when Barnsley retained their 2 goal advantage with a second goal of the game from Hallfreosson. I needed a quick goal in the second half and that came from Shola Ameobi who uncharacteristically scored a belter from 25 yards. We got the equaliser in the 60th minute when Ryan Taylor hit a low, hard shot and it squermed under the Barnsley keeper for 3-3. The game went into extra time and the winning goal came in the 113th minute from Jonas Gutierrez after he curled the ball beautifully around the keeper. The game finished 4-3 it was a dramatic game and I was pleased we won we would meet Liverpool in the third round (the team that I managed to beat in pre-season)

v Leicester (h) Coca-Cola Championship

The final game of the month was another home game against recently promoted to the Championship side Leicester City managed by fromer Newcastle caretaker boss Nigel Pearson. The game started off brightly but I seemed to be restricted to long shot and a lot a them were going nowhere near the goal. The game got a much needed first goal in the 32nd minute when excellent work down the right from Wayne Routledge doug out a croos that evaded everyone apart from the onrushing Jonas who headed the ball into an empty net. I needed to keep tight for the next 5-10 minutes but that didn't happen and from a inswinging corner defender Steve Foster scored an unmarked header from 5 yards out. The game had threated to get a little heated and I was deciding weather or not to change the aggression of the players. I decided not to do this and unfortunatly I was punished for the second time this month Coloccini was sent off for a second bookable offence. I resuffled the team and didn't expect to go ahead but thats exactly what happened a throughballfrom Barton set Jonas in a great position and he scored to make it 2-1. That was not the end of the drama though as I had another player sent-off this time it was Alan Smith again for a second yellow. I ended the game with 9 men but somehow managed to get three points and keep my 100% home record.

Afte the dissapoinment of the first game of the season I belive we bounced back well but it is way to early to talk about promotion etc.

Some very good results there and also good to see that I have a number of diferent scorers in the squad and I am not depending on one player

Thanks for reading will post next blog soon

New Updates New Story

2010-03-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to the first and hopefully many posts about my Newcastle United Football Manager Story. In my first blog I will be telling you my preffered starting XI and by the end talking about my pre-season friendlies.

Newcastle United Preffered Starting XI

Steve Harper - Goalkeeper

Even though he is 34 years old I still believe that he is the best out of my four keepers at the club. A loyal servant to Newcastle United and hopefully will be one of my key players to get me back to the Premership. Tim Krul will be my back-up keeper

Danny Simpson - Right Back

A solid right back bought from Manchester United and is one I will be looking at closely for the future will be challenged closly by Ryan Taylor for the right back position and will use theis position in rotation.

Jose Enrique - Left Back

Argubally the best player in my squad. Enrique is strong and quick and will be used to overlap and helpout the left midfielder and hopefully get a few goals.

Fabricio Coloccini - Centre Back

Coloccini will be an important player in my push for promotion and should perform a good partnership with Steven Taylor and will stop the opponents getting shots on goal.

Steven Taylor - Centre Back (Vice Captain)

With Taylor being my vice captain I will expect good leardership and will be one of the most influential players in my squad. Taylor has good defensive qualities and will start every game possible.

Wayne Routledge - Right Midfielder

With his electric pace I will look for Routledge as one of the main threats going forward and chip in with a few goals and assists. Maybe used in a rotation with Fabrice Panrate befroe I decide who is better.

Jonas - Left Midfield

My main threat going forward and is one of the first names on the team sheet. Hoping for a very good season from Gutierrez

Kevin Nolan - Centre Midfield

Looking for somthing similar from Nolan that he shows in the real world and bagging a ton of goals from midfield. Will be used as a attacking playmaker for Newcastle.

Alan Smith - Cente Midfield (Captian)

Most important player of me. Will be used as a defensive midfield who will in the ball and start setting up the attacks.

Andy Carroll - Striker

Will hopefully get a lot of goals for me and will be used in the tam as the target man as he has a capabilities to play in this position.

Leon Best - Forward

Will be used as the poacher in the team but will be on rotation with both Shola Ameobi and Peter Lovenkrands over the course of the season.

Pre-Season Friendlies

I was really impressed with the pre-season results. The most notable one being the 2-1 win against Premier League opposition Liverpool. Andy Carroll seemed to be banging in the goals and will hopefully continue that throughout the season.