First class show is food for thought
What a difference a win makes eh?
This time last week United were branded a pub side and the alarm bells were ringing loud and clear.
Newcastle were hammered by the Press and the fans but perhaps now is the time to give credit where it is due.
Let's be honest Glenn Roeder guided his side to an amazing victory at West Ham yesterday, didn't he?
The critics were lining up seven days ago after the Fulham farce and some fans were even calling for the manager's head.
Everybody is entitled to an opinion but is that justified after three games in the Premiership?
Roeder admitted both the Aston Villa and Fulham results were far from good enough but since then has worked hard to put things right.
One win in Estonia against Levadia Tallinn in the UEFA Cup and an amazing 2-0 win at West Ham and the doubters are silenced - only for now though.
Patience is no longer on the agenda for some United fans and it shows.
Should Newcastle slip up at Liverpool the critics will come out of the woodwork again even though Roeder's side went into the game ahead of the Merseysiders in the table.
Toon fans want success yesterday but as Roeder continues to motivate a small squad - without Michael Owen for the whole season - he is still carving out the results.
Just two defeats in 15 games tells its own story under Roeder.
But one dodgy result and some fans seem to lose the plot.
Everybody can see the Fulham and Aston Villa performances were substandard and that there are still gaping holes in the squad.
Yet so far Roeder has done wonders getting the most out of what he has.
A seventh place finish last season was nothing short of a miracle and if you had told any Toon fan who went to Man City, the night Graeme Souness was sacked after a dismal 3-0 defeat, they would have said: "You are off your head."
True the pre-season signings failed to get pulses raising too much but with Antoine Sibierski, Damien Duff, Oba Martins all of the mark now and Guiseppe Rossi still to get a decent run in the team, offensively things don't look as bad as people make out.
Olly Bernard's arrival has also prompted a good performance out of Celestine Babayaro at West Ham so it appears Roeder is making small steps rather than giant strides.
And what about Peter Ramage's display at centre-back against World Cup star Carlos Tevez in the East End?
Not for the first time Newcastle fans have been let down already this term with Fulham and Villa in mind.
Yet with the side still in Europe, the Carling Cup and the FA Cup - and Pompey top of the Premiership - you'd have to say now isn't the time to moping around - especially on the back of the win at Upton Park.
It's Liverpool next, can United and Roeder keep it up?
You have to say on the evidence shown at West Ham, they are in with a sniff, at least.
Mick Martin will be the latest subject of the Idols pre-match talk-ins ahead of the Everton game.
Action starts at 1pm with ex-Toon striker Joe Allon hosting the event.
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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LET ME BE THE FIRST TO PUT MY HANDS UP TO SAY .."ROEDER YOU PROVED ME WRONG"....SORRY BOSS....WHAT A PERFORMANCE.....MEGA HAPPY...2 WINS IN A WEEK....I THINK WITH US GEORDIES...WE LACK PATIENCE...AND IF WE CALM DOWN AND WAIT....AND LET US SEE WHAT HAPPENS THEN I THINK WE SHOULD MAKE COMMENT AT THE END OF THE SEASON..AND NOT THE START...MARCH ON TOON ARMY...GOODLUCK ON WEDNESDAY BOYS.
Yesterday was magnificent and Roeder deserves a lot of credit. However, without wanting to sound too negative, we must not get carried away. Villa and Fulham were two dismal results and performances, and beating the Estonians was hardly worth shouting about. But then it might be that getting performances like the Villa and Fulham ones out of our system so early in the season is a good thing.
Yesterday's performance was great and the result was too, so we must now build on that and at least put on a good show against teams like Liverpool and Man Utd. It's a lot to ask to get anything out of either game, but if we put in decent performances then Roeder shouldn't expect any criticism.
Congratulations also to Martins and Duff for getting off the mark yesterday - three new signings have got off the mark in the past five days and confidence throughout the camp must be sky high. In particular, it will be a huge relief for Oba and Antoine to be off the mark as they have already had their doubters. Without wanting to tempt fate, I think we might just have a chance of nicking a point at Anfield. Then again, what are the odds on Dirk Kuyt opening his Liverpool account against us and scoring the winner?! Or even Bellamy... it doesn't bear thinking about! Hopefully Titus will be back to put some crunching challenges in on the Welsh gremlin!
And by the way, I must agree with Lee re: the previous article. Whatever mistakes Glenn Roeder makes, and whatever criticism he deserves, we absolutely MUST give him a fair chance. Give him until the end of the season and then get the knives out. It's fine to criticise when it's deserved, but talk of sacking him now is simply ridiculous and would not do anyone any favours.
A good result and a fine sound second half showing of good football, but it has taken Roeder some time to see the error of his ways, at last he has played Ramage in his correct position along side Moore he hardly put a foot wrong and the back 4 looked a lot steadier than with Amble Bramble in the side, he also played Milner and Duff as wide men and this again paid off, surely the penny has now dropped with GR that playing the correct players in their correct positions pays off and instills believe.
Yesterday's win was terrific. And its also good to see Duff and Martins get their first goals. But lets not get carried away. The win at West Ham was a very professional one, two good goals, a solid defence, hammers restricted to minimum chances, good posession and when chances came, taken. But the problem with us fans is that when we lose a few, its Roeder OUT, and when we win, we're all over confident and thinking of going on a run. A run is indeed what we need now BUT Liverpool is a test I'm not too positive about. A draw would be great, a win and then we can really start talking. But I still think we're not good enough to take on the likes of Liverpool and Man Utd and actually beat them in their own ground. a little pushing it.
All the best to the lads anyway.
Well done Glen and well done the lads. It was more than I hoped for going to West Ham and getting all three points. The real test comes against Liverpool at Anfield. I just hope we go there with a positive frame of mind and that the players believe that they can get something out of the game. Our defence looked much more composed and I think Titus should now be left out we performed better without him. Taylor and Ramage are our future and should now be the way forward.
Rob-
I completely agree with you that seeing Ramage in the centre looked good and worked, but you have to bear in mind that when Ramage has been played out of position it is mainly down to the fact that he was acting as a covering player for either the left or right back roles... He was playing mainly as a necessity due to our lack of depth in the squad as opposed to Roeder just wantonly playing him out of position. And again with Duff.. he isnt just a wide player and can play great effective football all over the midfield, left or right.. looking at last Thursday he is also a highly competent defender as well!! Anyway it was a great result lads and hopefully we can take some momentum from this win to grind out a result at Liverpool!
GREAT VICTORY ON SUNDAY I JUST WE CAN KEEP IT UP AGAINST LIVERPOOL THEY`VE HAD A POOR START OF THE SEASON JUST WE ARE NOT THE VICTIMS OF A HAMNMERING,SURE WE WONT BE THOUGH,THE ABUSE GLENN ROEDER GOT ON SUNDAY WERE SHOCKING WITH GROWN MEN CALLING HIM TUMOUR BOY AND WISHING HE DIED THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING I KNOW OUR FANS WOULDNT SAY THAT ABOUT ANY OF OUR PAST MANAGERS OR PLAYERS,ONE LAST THING WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT BOUMSONG SCORED FOR JUVENTUS LAST NIGHT IN A 3-0 WIN