Newcastle Away Post Match Thread

[superfox1980]

First half - should have been 2-0 up.

Second half - Terrible, no drive, gave them far too much space. The worst half of football from city for a while I thought.

Bring on Blackpool !

[blueoveru]

But I sorry lads you see we were playing a side bereft of 1st teamers, caretaker manager, with an owner who cant tell his arse from his elbow, we were bound to lose ...then add on all the so called pundits + sky.

What they all forgot to tell us was that 70% of the black and whites had recent premiership experience

We looked decent in the first half....but what the hell happened to us in the second I dont know, ran out of ideas,?? both on the pitch and off it.

[mancunianfox]

Most of the second half Newcastle had everyone behind the ball and there was no space. What could we have done? No space through the middle because of the crowded midfield and their full backs didn't give us a look in out wide.

We weren't particularly poor, they just defended their lead very well and most sides will struggle if Newcastle decide they want to do that in future.

[Daggers]

I'm stunned - I've just found this map online:

I was amazed to discover that Newcastle is neither bigger than, or at the centre of, the world.

[Munzie]

As for N'Guessen he did struggle and release the ball to early but at the end of the day he was against Jose Enrique - a £6.3 million pound left back. He isn't going to come up against someone of his quality very often.

Yep, you're right. Enrique had N'Guessan sussed from our first attack down the right. So why did he/we persist in trying most of our attacking play down the right channel? It, didn't work right up until we took Dany off. To me, either we failed from a tactical view point to adjust our playing style or N'Guessan isn't bright enough to try something else.

In fact, our wing play in general was poor last night. Upon Dyer's introduction, he yet again, kept coming inside and taking up almost a free role. If we have wingers, let's use them. Bombing up the touchline will not guarantee service to our strikers everytime from pinpoint accurate crosses, but does draw out their defence and create space for our midfield and forwards to work.

All in all, I'm not to disappointed with the result. I see it as a point lost rather than three, something which we can make up over time. What I am concerned with is that we learn from this and adapt our tactics accordingly.

[Flynny]

Enrique was made to look good by N'Guessan more than visa versa. At times he was free and clear and all he had to do was run and he still conspired to look like a bag of wank.

[irDeano]

Surprised we didn't score in the first half, Howard looked v good yesterday came close to scoring a few times in the first half. Second half was just terrible but I thought Weale did great in goal, so far he looks like the best keeper we've had in years, he's pulled off a load of vital saves so far this season. I do believe without him we would've been conceding a lot more than we have done, especially last night.

[Monk]

I think, to put this in context, we are still a newly promoted team - let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We put in a decent enough performance last night but our inexperience at playing good footballing sides really showed.

In the secong half we simply ran out of ideas and we completely lost our shape. Newcastle did very well to close us down, but you could see each time we got the ball over the half way line we slowed up, passed it into the midde where there was no space and lost the ball. We needed our wide men to perform, and although Dyer showed some sparks I would have prefered to see Gradel come on for impact.

Unlucky not to convert the first half chances, but that's football. Fryatt needs to learn how to use his left foot.

Ultimately we have to take this on the chin and put it down as a good experience for our squad, we're unlikely to have a more challenging game on the road this season and 5 games in we are still performing to a level which we could feasibly reach the playoffs.

[lazthemag]

Enrique was made to look good by N'Guessan more than visa versa.

To be fair, Enrique has changed his game for us since the middle of last season and has shown what a quality defender he is. In a side that looked like a bunch of toss last season in the Premiership JE was one who really started to shine. I must confess to not knowing enough about N'Guessan to know whether he had a really bad shift or not. If some of your fans think he has prospects then best thing is to give him a chance as many of our supporters wouldn't have cared less if Enrique had left us at the end of the 07/08 season but would be disappointed to see him go now.

Lazthemag

[Fox92]

Very, very dissapointed to be honest.

The first half we came out and created a few chances, only a few though with a few players being selfish as well.

Obviousley Matt Fryatt should of passed. Never the less, he did ever so well, showed the full back a bit of pace which we don't usually see, turned Danny Simpson who was solid all game although he was playing out of position and at the last minute I think I counted Oakley, Howard and Gallagher who could of scored an open goal if Fryatt passed the ball.

Stevie Howard should of passed twice out wide to N'Guessan instead of shooting but then again, Howard was brilliant again and nodding on the ball and holding it up but no-one was there. However, Newcastle figured out what we were doing and mid way into the match just stuck Alan Smith to block off Howard which worked, and we didn't do it to Kevin Nolan who chested it down to set up the goal.

Another game that Dany N'Guessan only shows up for 30 minutes. The first 30 minutes he was giving Enrique a run for his money but as soon as Enrique got into the game that was it for N'Guessan which happened at Sheffield United as well and as soon as the full back gets the upper hand, N'Guessan seems to dissapear completely and come inside quite frequently.

Again and another game in which Robbie Nielson, Jack Hobbs, Wayne Brown and Bruno Berner were solid I thought apart from the goal where Hobbs should of made a tackle and just stuck his left leg out.

Not sure about whether Weale should have saved it, not caught it but put it out for a corner or something, but then again if you look at the replay I think his view may have been blocked and it was just a hit and hope from Guthrie just like Kieth Tracey's at Bramall Lane.

Paul Gallagher was were he needed to be and that was out wide, although I think I would have played him on the right. His free kick was superb.

I think that this match highlights that we need a finisher and I know a lot will get on at that statement but it's true and the idea of Kevin Phillips doesn't seem so stupid now - The three away matches we have played; Ipswich, Sheffield United and now Newcastle we should have taken three points and with a finisher I think we most likely would have.

There was no complaints of big Howard who did his job, its the finishing and taking chances part that is required. We didn't really get in the faces of the Newcastle defence and husstle them about which, I have to say, Paul Dickov does.

[marbelladave]

We were far from awful, narrowly beaten 1-0, away to (currently) the best side in the Championship.

Everyone has their own views on what went wrong but rather than try and blame individual players I think there were two big issues with the way that we played.

Firstly a lot of posts comment on our poor final ball, but Howard and Fryatt are not the most mobile of strikers so they offer little in the way of options to our midfield. If our forwards do not make the runs or get away from their markers then there is no ball on for our midfield or wide men. Howard's ability to get on the end of the long balls is impressive but he creates very little with his flicks and layoffs. We look much better with the ball on the ground.

Secondly we are undermanned in central midfield, simple as! Most teams sus this quite quickly but it took Newcastle a while to work it out. Then with Wellens and Oakley outnumbered second half, it was virtually impossible to hold possession or get forward. With N'Guessan and later Dyer working inside to help out, we lost our threat on the flanks.

Simple enough to fix though it requires a formation other than our beloved 4-4-2 and breaking up the Howard/Fryatt partnership. Not likely anytime soon!

[acooling08]

Diabolical second half which was reminiscent of the relegation season under Holloway.

Gave Newcastle far too much space, we just backed off and off

No speed going forward

No creativity or quality

No balls into the box - felt sorry for Howard

I despise how we pass the ball square and backwards on halfway with 10 minutes left being 1-0 down!

[suffolk fox]

We were far from awful, narrowly beaten 1-0, away to (currently) the best side in the Championship.

Everyone has their own views on what went wrong but rather than try and blame individual players I think there were two big issues with the way that we played.

Firstly a lot of posts comment on our poor final ball, but Howard and Fryatt are not the most mobile of strikers so they offer little in the way of options to our midfield. If our forwards do not make the runs or get away from their markers then there is no ball on for our midfield or wide men. Howard's ability to get on the end of the long balls is impressive but he creates very little with his flicks and layoffs. We look much better with the ball on the ground.

Secondly we are undermanned in central midfield, simple as! Most teams sus this quite quickly but it took Newcastle a while to work it out. Then with Wellens and Oakley outnumbered second half, it was virtually impossible to hold possession or get forward. With N'Guessan and later Dyer working inside to help out, we lost our threat on the flanks.

Simple enough to fix though it requires a formation other than our beloved 4-4-2 and breaking up the Howard/Fryatt partnership. Not likely anytime soon!

Dave, I agree with a lot of what you say BUT, Isn't it up to the midfield and other strikers we have to read Howard's flick ons and layoffs? To be in a position to know where the ball is likely to go?? That's what makes decent striker pairings invaluable i.e. Sutton and Shearer when at Blackburn.

[marbelladave]

Dave, I agree with a lot of what you say BUT, Isn't it up to the midfield and other strikers we have to read Howard's flick ons and layoffs? To be in a position to know where the ball is likely to go?? That's what makes decent striker pairings invaluable i.e. Sutton and Shearer when at Blackburn.

As most of Howard's flicks come from balls played early and from deep, our central midfield are simply not close enough to support. This means that it is all down to Fryatt who is not really quick or powerful enough for this role, especially since Howard's flicks are often not that well directed. Last year against poorer opposition and with loads of possession it worked well enough (law of averages) but this season I think something different is needed.

[James.]

Howard's ability to get on the end of the long balls is impressive but he creates very little with his flicks and layoffs. We look much better with the ball on the ground.

Absolutely agree with this.

[Bert]

Disappointed really, not just in the result but a few things.

Why wasn't Nicky Adams starting? He's been our best winger this season. Why can't our players understand that Howard's going to win most things in the air? They train with him for five days a week, and have seen that in most games that he always does this. I wouldn't mind seeing Howard and Waghorn against Blackpool.

Lloyd Dyer was particularly awful, we had no width when he came on, even when Gallagher was out, too. Dyer and N'Guessan are too similar in that they always drift in-field, and we haven't got the luxury of two fast full-backs.

The defence was pretty sound as usual, although Neilson looked a bit suspect last night.

Give credit to Newcastle, they were pretty good in the second half, made to look even better by our poor display, but there was nothing to convince me that they're going to walk this league.

Oh yeah, another shit referee.

[lcfcadam]

Can't believe people are still saying the defence looked 'solid' - I've never seen anything so far from that in my life!

It seemed like the only reason they didn't score more was because they were taking pity on us in the second-half; any one of their players just had to start running at players like Brown, Neilson etc and they'd immediately back off, presenting any attacker with a free run and shot at goal.

Even during the Barnsley game the defence still looked shockingly leaky and if their finishing had been better they would have scored against us too. And yet for some strange reason people continue to ring up Radio Leicester after the game saying how 'great the defence looked' and so on.

I just can't understand it!

[C-man]

Diabolical second half which was reminiscent of the relegation season under Holloway.

Gave Newcastle far too much space, we just backed off and off

No speed going forward

No creativity or quality

No balls into the box - felt sorry for Howard

I despise how we pass the ball square and backwards on halfway with 10 minutes left being 1-0 down!

What a load of absolute shit. That was 100x better than what we were under Holloway and although the 2nd half was poor, it was as much to do with Newcastle upping their (Premiership quality) game and us struggling to deal with it as it was us coming out a shadow of the 1st half performance.

I don't care what people say, I'd much rather us play a calm and considered game before moving the ball forward than just punting aimless long balls into the box, which I thought we were actually guilty of in the last 5 minutes.

Your comment about feeling sorry for Howard is ridiculous. He prefers the ball at his feet, not winning pointless headers for our strikers not to gamble.

Absolutely agree with this.

Me too. It's not to say Howard isn't worth his place in the team. He's one of our best players - and he's more use on the deck than in the air.

Obviously at the game you don't have the benefit of replays and there's all sorts going on so it's hard to remember exactly how many long balls we played in the first half. I don't think it was too many though, unless it came from Weale. We played neat, one-touch football in the centre but lacked composure and understanding to create openings on a regular basis against a good quality side like Newcastle.

[suffolk fox]

This from a Newcastle fan on their website

A disjointed patchwork team that looked it first half and Leicester looked like a team who could play together. The Goal changed the game and we looked comfortable . Ranger grew in confidence the longer he played and Simpson was great next to Enrique. I'm still worried by seeing so many stand in's at various positions but delighted with the win though i think Leicester would have won that if they'd scored first.

[flanimal]

I'm not really convinced about N'Guessan as a winger, the guy has quality, but his crossing is weak, and often he just seems to run himself into a corner. But, his link up play is good, and when he runs at defenders he causes problems. I think he'd be more useful running through the middle behind the strikers (will never happen though).

I'm really not happy playing that Leicester played Gallagher on the wing. Ridiculous. Reminded me of how Holloway would play people out of position in crazy ways. Just because they paid good money for Gallagher does not mean he must be played no matter what. Play him as a striker or put him on the bench.

GET ADAMS IN! Offers a bit of fire, and delivers a good cross, and always plays with hunger.

[Tommeh]

Great picture of our support from last night.

Anyone else wondering what the fook about 100 yank kids on a school trip with villa merchendise in were doing in our end?

[Frenzied]

A little disappointed we didn't get anything from that. We were the better side in the first half and I'm annoyed we didn't take our chances. Fryatt's a very good player but he's missed a number of relatively simple chances already this season and last night it cost us. People complain about his supposed lack of pace; he's not electric but not slow either. His biggest problem is the number of chances he misses. Hopefully he can iron that out or it will cost us.

Second half we ran out of ideas against a very good Newcastle defence. We're missing that little bit of extra quality to unlock teams that stick 10 men behind the ball.

[Criggers]

Paul Gallagher was were he needed to be and that was out wide, although I think I would have played him on the right. His free kick was superb.

He was completely ineffective last night. This guy needs to play further up the pitch. If Howard could hold up the ball better rather than just flick the ball on

I would dare even suggest a 4-5-1 formation with the talented players we have now.

There was no complaints of big Howard who did his job, its the finishing and taking chances part that is required. We didn't really get in the faces of the Newcastle defence and husstle them about which, I have to say, Paul Dickov does.

Not much point in having Dickov to do the second bit when he has no chance of doing the first, if thats what you were suggesting?

[Darkzzz_]

Diabolical second half which was reminiscent of the relegation season under Holloway.

Gave Newcastle far too much space, we just backed off and off

No speed going forward

No creativity or quality

No balls into the box - felt sorry for Howard

I despise how we pass the ball square and backwards on halfway with 10 minutes left being 1-0 down!

What a load of absolute shit. That was 100x better than what we were under Holloway and although the 2nd half was poor, it was as much to do with Newcastle upping their (Premiership quality) game and us struggling to deal with it as it was us coming out a shadow of the 1st half performance.

I don't care what people say, I'd much rather us play a calm and considered game before moving the ball forward than just punting aimless long balls into the box, which I thought we were actually guilty of in the last 5 minutes.

Your comment about feeling sorry for Howard is ridiculous. He prefers the ball at his feet, not winning pointless headers for our strikers not to gamble.

Agree 100% with you there C-man.

To say we were reminiscent of the Holloway days is bollocks but it is your opinion, I just don't agree with it at all.

[Samilktray]

First half we were decent, lack of a clinical finisher was the problem though.

2nd half showed we're a long way off challenging for promotion in my opinion, we just dont look like we have alot of goals in us.

Richie Wellens is class though, our Abou Diaby.