Newcastle United ended their tour of the United States with a game against MLS Team Columbus Crew. I had the pleasure of traveling to Columbus this week and was pleased to say that the Toon Army was well represented – there were black and white shirts everywhere!

Columbus started off really well and were knocking it around well for the first few minutes of the game. Shola’s goal seemed to really knock them back though. They did very little to test Steve Harper’s goal in the first half – no wonder Harps was warming up at half-time! The sending off of Crew’s keeper was justified – clear handball outside the box. Once they were down to ten men, there was no coming back. Kudos to the Crew fans who put up with me waving to him and shouting ‘Bye-bye bye-bye…’ at the top of my voice.

Coloccini’s goal was a tidy finish resulting from a corner, while Vuckic’s goal was a joy to behold – absolute top quality. Enrique did flash one just wide before the final whistle, but that would have been very harsh on Columbus, but great for the traveling Toon Army!

A much improved performance from Newcastle then and there were many positives to take from the game. Gosling looked decent, Tavernier and Dummett acquitted themselves well, and Harris Vuckic could well step up to the first team if he keeps producing. Despite starting with both Ameobi and Demba Ba up top however, there was very little in the way of productivity from Newcastle’s front two with Ameobi’s goal coming from a mix-up in the Columbus defence. The lack of depth we have in the striker department is worrying.

Hopefully the lads will have restored some confidence and will go into the Leeds game this weekend with their heads held high. For exiled Geordies in the US, hopefully this will be a regular event every pre-season.

Player Ratings:

• Steve Harper: Didn’t have a whole lot to do really. Did his job when called upon
• Coloccini: Didn’t win a ball in the air all night, but looked solid when the ball was on the ground. I’m worried that Premier League quality players will find him out very easily.
• Steven Taylor: Decent enough. Made some good defensive clearances, but again, wasn’t tested too much.
• Jose Enrique: Concentration levels for the first few minutes weren’t great, and neither was his first touch. Progressed as the game went on. Threw his shirt into the crowd at the end. Quality gesture.
• Tavernier: Looked unspectacular but very decent. Slotted in well.
• Jonas: Had a quiet first half. Came to life more as the game wore on.
• Tiote: Customary yellow card, even in a friendly. Columbus players were bouncing off him. Very tidy performance.
• Gosling: Showed some very nice touches. I personally feel that he didn’t have as good a game as is being made out, and looked off the pace half the time.
• Marveaux: looks very pacy, has decent footskills, and can certainly deliver a decent ball.
• Ameobi: Looked very lively and took his goal well.
• Demba Ba:I wasn’t impressed too much. Worked hard, but no end result. Still looks to be finding his feet a little (or his shooting boots, one or the other).
• Dummett: Was very impressed with this young man. Looked very assured and composed at centre-half. Was even ordering Alan Smith around when he came on!
• Alan Smith: Ran around, brushed his hair with his hands. That was about it.
• Leon Best: Looked lively when he came on – got himself in some good positions.
• Harris Vuckic: Absolute quality goal. Goal of the season contender already. Looked very composed on the ball.
• Mehdi Abeid: Could become a quality player. He was up for it, knocking it around well and working hard. Great effort by the youngster

Notes from the Game:

I was sat behind the Columbus dugout and both teams had to walk past to go down the tunnel. I managed to get Alan Pardew’s attention by shouting his name and applauding, and once he acknowledged me I shouted “Sign a striker Alan!”, to which he scowled and continued walking to the Newcastle dugout. I managed to get his autograph at the end, but didn’t bring up the striker issue – I figured he’d heard it enough.

Shola came out afterwards and signed autographs for the waiting fans, so did Pardew. The Columbus Crew stadium staff were less than courteous though. Leon Best came out to do an interview and the staff made everyone clear out. A bairn couldn’t get Besty’s autograph after his Mum told them that they had driven a long way – they just shrugged their shoulders. It would have taken about five minutes for Leon to sign his name for the waiting fans. That left a very sour taste.

I would love to know how the Toon fans were all in that corner of the stadium – was that pre-organised? If so, by who? Me and the Irish bloke next to me who had driven down from Toronto were all that was doing any kind of NUFC noise in our section.

The playing surface was immaculate. One of the best I’ve seen – credit to the Columbus Crew ground staff.

The Columbus Crew fans were a credit to their team. They never stopped singing the entire game.

Pictures:

Newcastle United’s game against Kansas City got off to a decent start last night, and was by all accounts a good 45 minutes of football. The second-half though was a bit of a snooze-fest with the Toon only having a Danny Simpson shot at goal for anything worth remembering.

The main talking point though was the injury to Hatem Ben Arfa. Kansas City’s Espinoza went in with a reckless challenge on Ben Arfa which saw the Frenchman go down clutching his ankle. The NUFC players looked very concerned knowing what Ben Arfa had gone through last season. Fortunately, Ben Arfa is only sidelined for three weeks, which means he’ll be out of the game against Arsenal on the 13th of August, but should be fit to face the mackems. Not a best case scenario, but it could have been far worse.

Dear Mr Ashley, time to get yer cheque-book oot!

One year ago today we were all devastated by the news that Sir Bobby Robson had lost his latest and final battle against cancer. We all have our favourite memories of Sir Bobby, and there wasn’t a person in the world who had a bad word to say about him.

The game today between Newcastle and PSV marked the anniversary of Sir Bobby’s passing, but only in a way fitting to mark his memory, with a game of football.

PSV, who’s season officially starts next week were clearly sharper and fitter than the Newcastle players – that extra 2 or 3 weeks training was certainly noticeable. The first-half was all PSV and they deservedly went ahead in the first 10 minutes with a beautiful free-kick from Ola Toivonen after James Perch fouled the striker just outside the area.

Newcastle offered little in the first-half and on the 40th minute, the Toon went two down thanks to a fine finish from Dzsudzsak – PSV showing they were technically superior to their English counterparts.

It seemed that PSV would go on to win this game at a canter, but whatever words were exchanged at half-time in the Newcastle United dressing room seemed to make the difference. The Toon players came out in the second-half looking like a different side, offering much more attacking options, particularly when Leon Best and Andy Carroll were brought on mid-way through the second-half.

The forgotten about Ryan Taylor managed to get on the scoresheet for Newcastle as new signing James Perched had a shot parried away after driving into the box, and Taylor followed up with a powerful shot giving the PSV goalkeeper no chance.  Even though PSV had their chances, and even managed to hit the crossbar, NUFC were able to claw back an equaliser. Ryan Taylor again with a part to play in the goal as his cross was met by Leon Best with a decent header on 71 minutes.

Credit where credit’s due, Newcastle United did well to claw themselves back into the game, but so easily could have been on the wrong end of a hammering. You have to wonder just how we’re going to do when we come up against the technically superior sides in the Premier League such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea etc. Granted, we did have several first-team players out, and it was only a friendly, but if Chris Hughton doesn’t know where we need to strengthen now, he never will.

The Police had it right, only for Newcastle United, nobody seems to be listening. If our humiliating 6-1 defeat against Leyton Orient this afternoon wasn’t signal enough for Mike Ashley that he needs to get out of Toon and quick, then I shudder to think what will.

Ashley, who is holding out for 100 million pound bids, surely must be sweating now. Potential buyers of the club are going to point to this defeat as justification for not paying out the full amount for the Toon. If the club can’t beat Leyton Orient in a friendly with their first choice eleven, how on earth are they going to compete in the Championship?

It was at the beginning of last month that we heard from Seymour Pierce’s Keith Harris that the club would be sold before the end of June. We’ve also heard from Derek Llambias who said that NUFC had received more than two bids of 100 million. So what on earth has happened since then? We shudder to even think – it’s unbearable and unacceptable.

The only thing we can cling to now is hope. Hope that a deal is just around the corner and hope that Alan Shearer is still around when the new owners come calling, because if nothing else, he can get this club back on its feet again and headed in the right direction.

Newcastle United got off to a positive start today as they defeated Shamrock Rovers 3-0. Goals from Steven Taylor, Shola Ameobi and Nile Ranger sealed the victory.

You can see Chris Hughton’s response in the video below. Is it just me, or does he seem very coy when asked about next week and the game against Darlington?