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 first game of 2011 against Wigan Athletic could go a long way in seeing the Toon stay in the Premier League. While not quite a relegation six-pointer, it’s a game you would hope Newcastle could get something from. Although that task has been made that little bit more difficult due to Andy Carroll’s absence with a thigh-injury – there is also news that the NUFC number nine could miss out on more games.

Everton’s defeat to Stoke City today meant that Newcastle moved up one place to 12th in the Premier League.

With Carroll missing from the lineup, it’s a chance for Shola Ameobi to prove himself to new boss Alan Pardew. With murmurings of Newcastle wanting to add to their attacking options, one can only wonder how long Ameobi has left at the club. Who would you rather have – Shola Ameobi or Robbie Keane? Thankfully, Kevin Nolan is available again after serving a one match suspension, and we can only hope that Nolan picks up where he left off – the Toon could surely do with a couple of goals from Nolan tomorrow.

Wigan will be without the suspended Charles N’Zogbia after the winger was given a straight red card for a so called headbutt (replays show N’Zogbia merely pushing his head in the opponents direction). Considering that N’Zogbia scored both of Wigan’s goals against us at St. James’s earlier in the season, our defenders should be thankful.

As has been pointed out by pundits across the country, NUFC have as many points at this point in the season as they did when they were relegated. The major difference this time around is the spirit and togetherness within the camp – there are no mercenaries now, it seems every player wants to play and fight for the cause.

No doubt about it, the next two games against Wigan and West Ham are crucial, and they may look easy on paper. However, we all know that everyone is beating everyone in the Premier League this season, and that’s why I’d settle for 4 points against those two sides.

I’ve been waiting a bit to write this post because it hasn’t really sunk in yet that we’re actually champions. It may sound daft, but after all the issues that happened during the summer, I feel more a sense of relief than anything else really.

I remember the relegation and the last game of the season against Villa like it was yesterday. I remember Phil Brown prancing around at Hull being glad to have finished above us and avoid relegation. I remember the turmoil last summer and wondering who was going to be chairman, owner, and manager of our fine football club.

We can now put those memories to bed. Say this and say it proudly: Newcastle United are champions of the Championship and are headed up to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Feels good doesn’t it? It makes me proud to be a Geordie and proud of our fantastic football club. Proud of the hard work which has gone on behind the scenes by both the players and backroom staff. Proud that while the media tested and ridiculed the club on the back pages last year, Chris Hughton and his staff got on with it. Proud of our fans who traveled the length and breadth of the country to follow their club while they could have complained about watching Championship football.

Sir Bobby would have been proud.

Next season may be a struggle, and we should expect one, but we’re made of sterner stuff than this time 12 months ago. Anything less than what we’ve given this season won’t be good enough to survive. But I honestly feel that we can now push on from here. Why? Because everyone at the club is united. They all want the same thing – for Newcastle United to be a Premier League football club.

Howay the Toon

On a day which will live long in the memory of Toon fans, we were promoted back to the Premier League without having to kick a ball yesterday, and I must say, it feels great. I remember how I felt when we were relegated and it wasn’t a nice feeling. I also remember how fans of other clubs and media pundits were all too quick with their criticism, and how Newcastle were ‘going to do a Leeds’ and that we were headed for ruin.

I’m proud today to call myself a Geordie and Newcastle United fan. I’m proud that Newcastle United is my football club, and I’m proud of the players and playing staff who have worked tirelessly this season. Let’s not forget what kind of team spirit we had at the end of last season. What a difference a year makes. The players and staff seem to all be pulling in the same direction. The Chairman? We’ll have to wait and see about that one, the jury is still well and truly out. Hopefully he’ll put his hand in his pocket and give Chris Hughton a decent transfer fund.

You could see what it meant to Chris Hughton at the end of game interview, the guy was very emotional. We could do far worse than have him as manager.

I’m expecting a season of struggle next year. Not because I’m pessimistic, but because we haven’t played decent football this year and we’ve still won. Some of the mistakes made at a Championship level will get punished in the Premier League and as fans, we have to acknowledge that. It has been nice to get that winning feeling around the place though, and with a new influx of decent players we should be alright.

Wait, was there a game yesterday? Oh aye, Newcastle beat Sheffield United 2-1.

Rumour has it that the Toon are in for Swindon’s young striker Charlie Austin. The 20 year old joined Swindon from non-league Poole Town. He’s recently came to the limelight because of his 16 goals in 22 starts.

Austin has been watched by Newcastle several times this season, most recently last weekend against Hartlepool.

He certainly fits Mike Ashley’s transfer policy – a young up and comer, who the club could sell on for a profit. But is this the kind of signing we need to be making? If we’re to stay up in the Premier League (should we get promoted) we need to sign proven Premier League players. While Austin would certainly be a good buy for the future, the task of leading our front line next against Premier League defenders needs to be done by a proven player, otherwise it could well be a season of survival.

In what was tipped as a potential banana skin for Newcastle, we could have been forgiven if we went into this game with a small amount of trepidation. After all, West Brom visited Ashton Gate and came away with nowt, so that meant anything we picked up, would be a bonus. A win would have ensured a play-off place.

Bristol City were managerless after sacking their manager Gay Johnson during midweek but it didn’t seem to dampen their spirits any. City went one up in the 10th minute thanks to a Lewis Nyatanga goal. The Toon came back into it though and there were several chances which we squandered, most notably by Leon Best who wasted several good opportunities. Things went from bad to worse though for NUFC as Nicky Maynard scored an absolute belter right before half-time. Newcastle could have clawed one back right on the stroke of half-time as Danny Guthrie failed to make the most of his chance in front of goal.

In a pretty even second-half Newcastle United waited until the 71st minute to get their first thanks to a poor throw by Bristol’s Keeper Dean Gerken. Gerken’s dodgy throw went straight to Gutierrez and the Argentinian put Newcastle back in the game and completely changed the momentum of the match. Just three minutes later, Andy Carroll managed to get the Toon level after he nodded home a Wayne Routledge cross which sent the Toon fans crazy.

The game was definitely Newcastle’s to lose and they pushed forward to try and seal the game. However, it wasn’t to be as several blocks by City defenders and a couple of decent stops by keeper Gerken made sure a share of the points was the end result.

All in all, a decent result and the manner of the fightback was superb. We only have to hope the injury to Fitz Hall won’t be too serious and we’ll be back on our merry way to the Premier League.

Newcastle United were once again, found wanting in front of goal as they face Plymouth in the third round of the F.A Cup. Boss Chris Hughton decided to use the full squad with players such as Krul, Kadar, and Nile Ranger getting first team run-outs.

The Toon Army, who descended on the South Coast in their thousands, could be forgiven for wondering why Newcastle weren’t taking the F.A Cup seriously. The likes of Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool have such large squads that they can afford to rotate players. Clearly, this is a signal of intent by NUFC that the league is their priority, but the question has to be asked, would you rather take a lesser squad with the chance of a replay, or take your first team squad and win the game at the first time of asking?

The pitch at Home Park was hardly one that allowed free-flowing football, but Fabrice Pancrate, who could have had a hat-trick, could hardly blame the surface of the field for being so wasteful. Hopefully the Frenchman’s stunning finish at St. James’s Park a few weeks ago wasn’t a fluke.

With Newcastle building momentum, Nicky Butt had a delicate chip tipped onto the bar by the Plymouth Keeper. Lovenkrands and Gutierrez were brought on to replace Pancrate and Alan Smith, but the goal Newcastle were threatening to score never came.

So, we have to play one more game that we could have done without, but we’re in the hat for the fourth round of the F.A Cup.

After our inability to put away our chances yesterday, Chris Hughton (after speaking with the Chronicle), has admitted that Jermaine Beckford is one of a few players that Newcastle United are interested in signing. Beckford has always been fancied by Newcastle – Kinnear wanted him, Shearer wanted him, now it looks like it’s Hughton’s turn. The judgment on whether he’ll take us to the next level are out though – is he Premier League material?

Also mentioned is Michael Chopra. Chris Hughton looks like he fancies the combination of one biggun’ and one luttlun’ up front for Newcastle and we have Ameobi and Carroll as the biggun, and Lovenkrands and Ranger as the littlun’. Bringing in Chopra could mean that Lovenkrands plays out wide. However, unlike Beckford, the Chopra stories have so far been unsubstantiated.

A centre-half and a striker have been the playing areas Hughton has gone on record as saying he’d like to strengthen. But with Coloccini and Taylor doing a pretty good job, who would make way? It was thought that Sheffield United would like to cash in on defender Mathew Kilgallon before his contract ends at the end of the season. Their manager Kevin Blackwell confirmed that their star defender could be set to stay with the Blades until his contract ends. If the Toon want Kilgallon in January, they’re going to have to put up some cash for him, and he may not come cheap.

The January transfer window opens on Friday lads and lasses, and there’s only a matter of time to see whether Mike Ashley will put his money where his mouth is and back the Newcastle United manager in the transfer market.

Goals from Lovenkrands and Fabrice Pancrate were enough to send Newcastle United four points clear of second placed West Brom. Even though Kevin Nolan received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, the Toon now extend their unbeaten to eleven games (in all competitions).

When Newcastle were relegated, many pundits and fans of opposing clubs warned us that the Coca Cola Championship would be a difficult league to get out of. Well, I’m sorry to say that this league is becoming a bit of a cakewalk. It’s definitely not the huge physical scrap we’d thought it be, and we can undo many of the teams we play because of the quality we have. Make no mistake, we deserved to be relegated but quite clearly the players that we have are a step above other Championship players.

On-loan signing Marlon Harewood retained his spot in the starting lineup and managed to play his part in the Toon’s opening goal. Harewood chased down a backpass played by Craig Cathcart to his goalkeeper and played the ball across to Peter Lovenkrands who just had to slot it into an empty net.

Kevin Nolan’s harsh sending off reduced Newcastle to 10 men and Watford managed to put some pressure on the Toon’s backline. However, Watford didn’t make their pressure count as they lacked the extra quality to open Newcastle up. On came Nicky Butt to aid in defence and Fabrice Pancrate made an appearance in the 83rd minute. The Frenchman’s impact was almost instantaneous after holding the ball up in the box, managed to turn two Watford defenders and fire in an unstoppable shot past Scott Loach. Fabrice Pancrate’s goal was Newcastle’s second and finally made sure that Newcastle  held onto the victory.

Even though it’s great to be sitting here talking about the goals we’ve scored, we have to give credit where credit’s due. That’s another clean sheet for us with a total of 11 all season, and the Newcastle United defence can all be proud of the work they’ve put in over the past few months (I never thought I’d be saying that!). The record speaks for itself, the Toon have the best defensive record in the league.

Another three points, another home victory and we’re certainly in good form right now. It’s going to be difficult to see us not winning the Championship. We’re 10 points clear of third place and looking good to go straight back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

This blog is very proud to promote the Newcastle United Supporters Trust. Mike Ashley lost my support and respect a long time ago. For the future of NUFC, it belongs to the people who care about it the most ~ the fans. That’s why the lads and lasses involved with the NUST get my full backing and support.

Howay the Toon.