Improvement not enough for United
Newcastle United put in an improved performance today at Blackburn but it wasn't enough to avoid defeat at Ewood Park.
United did snatch the lead through Oba Martins but Rovers hit back with a brace from David Bentley before Tugay sealed it late on.
The Toon Army turned up in their droves at Ewood Park and as always gave the team their full backing despite the words of their midfielder Joey Barton this morning.
United manager Allardyce made changes to the side that had lost so badly against Liverpool last week and started the game with a 4-3-3 formation.
Abdoulaye Faye started the game in the centre of defence after making a return from a hamstring injury with the Senegal international taking a place alongside David Rozenhal at the back.
Jose Enrique was dropped as left-back with Charles Nâ≢Zogbia returning to a defensive role with Habib Beye returning to right-back.
In midfield skipper Geremi, Barton â≠who had branded Toon fans â∠Âviciousââ¬? before the game â≠and Nicky Butt were all selected as part of a three man unit.
And in attack Alan Smith started the game as the main striker with his former Leeds colleague James Milner on the left and Oba Martins on the right, Mark Viduka was also axed.
The first chance of the game fell to Newcastle when James Milner slipped in Smith in the left channel before the England man was fouled by Andre Ooijer to win a free-kick on the edge of the box.
Milner though cracked the set piece into the wall and on the rebound Beye fired a shot inches over the bar.
Rovers response was rapid, however, and when Turkey star Tugay rolled it to Roque Santa Cruz the South American flashed his effort the wrong side of Shay Givenâ≢s post.
United suffered another injury blow when Faye went down in a heap on 23 minutes seemingly with a recurrence of the hamstring problem that had dogged his campaign of late.
His replacement was Stephen Carr with the Republic of Ireland international going on at right-back and Beye switching to the centre.
Newcastle actually produced their first shot on target for 120 minutes with a quarter of an hour to play in the first half but it wasnâ≢t pretty.
It was Martins broke free down the left and after picking out Geremi his mis-kick fell for Barton whose half volley was well held by Yank goalie Brad Friedel.
Yet while it was all intense stuff on the field the Toon Army were in great voice and while Blackburn sub Robbie Savage warmed up in the first period he was greeted by chants of â∠ÂThereâ≢s only one Lily Savageââ¬? but the Welshman took it all good spirit.
There were even more Toon injury worries with nine minutes left of the first half when Beye and Nâ≢Zogbia actually managed to collide with each other but after treatment both were fit to continue.
However, both teams went in level after the first period.
But Newcastle could not have started the second half in better fashion.
Milner was fouled by Brett Emerton on the left hand side to win another free-kick for United.
The resultant set piece was whipped in right footed by Geremi before Martins leapt high in the six yard box to flick it past Friedel and open the scores with just two minutes on the clock after the restart.
But it took Blackburn just seven minutes to equalise when Nâ≢Zogbia fouled Santa Cruz to hand Rovers a free-kick before David Bentley swept home right footed round the wall to level it up.
Newcastle though should have grabbed the lead straight after though when Milner rolled it to Barton in the danger area only for the Scouser to be denied by Friedel twice in a frantic moment in which Newcastle wasted a great chance.
Unitedâ≢s next chance came on 64 minutes when they won a free-kick 30 yards out and Geremi curled one marginally over the top of the bar.
And it would be a chance that United would regret as Rovers belted home their second of the afternoon through Bentley with 22 minutes left.
Sub Jason Roberts won the ball down the left and found Pedersen but his poor touch wasnâ≢t cleared by Beye nor Carr to allow Santa Cruz to slip it to Bentley who lashed it past Given off a post to make it 2-1.
With 19 minutes left Carr stormed down the tunnel after Big Sam withdrew the Eire player to introduce Mark Viduka.
The move saw Geremi drop to right-back as United went for the throats of Blackburn with Viduka, Martins and Smith all in attack.
But it was Rovers who went straight on the offensive and in a frantic moment for United Emerton struck a post before Beye and Butt eventually cleared.
United also had chances late on but when Martins crossed for Barton the midfielder headed wide of the target with five minutes to go.
And Rovers wrapped it up in stoppage time when Tugay slotted home after a three on two situation as Blackburn stunned Newcastle on the counter attack.
BLACKBURN: Friedel, Ooijer, Warnock, Samba, Tugay, Emerton, Santa Cruz, McCarthy (Roberts 61), Bentley, Mokoena (Reid 66) Dunn (Pedersen 58).
Subs: Brown, Savage.
UNITED: Given, Beye, Rozehnal, Faye (Carr 23, (Viduka 69)), Nâ≢Zogbia, Butt, Geremi, Barton, Martins, Smith, Milner.
Subs: Harper, Enrique, Emre.
Crowd: 24,477
Ref: Martin Atkinson
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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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I thought that we at last began to show some passion today but still disppointed to see Geremi play and Milner going down the left. Smith Huffed and Puffed but did not look like getting on the score sheet. Yes by the TV it was a penalty when their defender handled the ball half way down his arm to shield it from the advancing Milner. Again we had a patched up defence with Faye going off after 20 mins with a damaged knee are we ever going to get a bit of luck, he will probably be out until he goes to the African nations cup, again a player injured for us but OK for the Internationals.
Hopefully we will see the same passion against Arsenal we may just knock them off their stride again and for the second year running have Wenger crying that we would not let his side play football, sorry I thought that was the idea nullify your opponents strengths. Opposing teams find it difficult to nullify our strengths because we cannot find them either or am I too synical?
The team showed much more commitment. If only either Barton and Martins had taken their chances at 1-1, it could have been a win. Young Charles N'Zogbia will learn to be more cautious in giving unnecessary free kicks away, with Bentley's equalizer being a result of a careless tackle. The team had a terriffic period in the second half, and if that effort is continued, the fans should get behind the team.
i thought i would voice my support for big sam...
enough said
Generally, a much improved performance - which is worrying, considering the result. Some dreadful defending and, although it galls me to say this, Carr should've been left on at the expense of Geremi whose deadball stuff was achingly bad. Barton got the crowd behind him and did provide one peach of a pass, but I have to say that I'm getting nostalgic for Scott Parker who (when fit) showed an awful lot more commitment without necessarily using the elbow. Apparently, he and Nobby were excellent for West Ham yesterday. And just think: were he here, Nobby'd probably be second choice to Geremi!
the performance was better, but again we are letting in too many goals, to much space left for the opposition, its a worry that all the so called work on the back four is coming to nothing, in my view there is too much chopping and changing every week, Sam must fancy smith alot, as this week he played a sa striker, my choice would be to of had viduka there, with smith on the bench.
What will wednesday bring, well maybe with Arsenal losing some key players, it may bring hope, lets hope so
I think the performance was the main thing, but why oh why must Allardyce persist in playing Nâ≢Zogbia at left back?
Youâ≢ve said in your match report that he was culpable for the goal and this should wake Allardyce up the fact that playing a player who simply canâ≢t defend will get him nowhere.
Oh and thatâ≢s about the fifth time this season two Newcastle players have collided with each other, anyone else notice this. Communication anyone?
I can swing either way with pessimism and optimism, but I canâ≢t be positive when the obvious is in front of me, if Nâ≢Zogbia plays at left back, then we are starting a man off before we even get going.
The formation was again all over the shop (Martins on the wing?? Why??) (Milner on the left?? Why??) it seems to be a trait of football managers (Especially those who have been through UEFA Pro Licences) to feel the need to be too clever for their own good.
Iâ≢m sure that if Nâ≢Zogbia and Milner were played on their CORRECT wings with a combination of anyone in the middle, we would get more joy, up front Martins and Viduka. Incidently why did Allardyce not decide to throw Emre on near the end?
Yesterdayâ≢s performance (From players and fans) was predictable the side would have gusto and a willingness to show willingness if nothing else and a few early tackles showed they have been stung by the vitriol of the previous seven days.
I point out, we wouldnâ≢t have seen this performance, if the fans hadnâ≢t reacted in the way they did against Liverpool, Allardyce seemed to be sitting in the comfort zone, where he could just chuck out a side and get any old performance out of them, cue mass criticism and itâ≢s a whole different ball game, the results were evident against Blackburn, I repeat, we wouldnâ≢t have seen this performance if everyone had trundled out of St Jamesâ≢ Park like mice last weekend.
A Victory for the ââ¬ÃÂViciousâ≢ fans eh? Well not quite, itâ≢s going to take a lot of the same to redeem the squad for Derby away, Reading away, Sunderland away, Portsmouth home, Liverpool home, were entertainment was left strictly at the multiplexes for those 90 minutes.
So what to do with Allardyce, judging him against Arsenal would be a trifle harsh, unless the cricket score that failed to materialise against Liverpool actually occurs against Arseneâ≢s embryoâ≢s, the true time to judge him would be after the next 5 games, Arsenal H, Birmingham H, Fulham A, Derby H, Wigan A, 15 points possible, a minimum of 7 would be acceptable for me given the quality of opposition and grounds played at.
Anything less would be something for Allardyce to discuss with the Department for Work and Pensions.
Paul
A week on from Big Sam's nadir, we remain on 18 points. Being mid-table proves there are quite a few teams worse than us, doesn't it? Pity them is all I can say. Yes, yesterday's performance against Blackburn had far more spine than last week's bilge, seen by the nation. But we remain where we are. The headlines this morning tell us that if we stay on 18 points after the Arsenal game, BS will be on his way. The media are making all us Mags out as impatient and ignorant, throwing out our collective rattles from prams because we have only collected 1 point from the last 15. But this simply isn't the case.
Early in the season, we managed to fortuously collect points from lesser teams, whilst not playing well. Many see that as a good thing and stuff that champions do. But successful teams also play well! Our season has been a collection of mediocre performances, game after game, week after week. We have returned to the Jack Charlton way of 'playing' the game (all we need now to feather the cap is Rambo Reilly and Buffalo Billy Whitehurst). But can pumping up long balls (or long passes as BS prefers to call them) to a couple of midgets up front be seen as great tactical acumen? More like numpty nous.
We have seen it so many times before - that's what the media can't see, Souness from day 1 being an immediate parallel. We all know how and where that farce ended.
I'm afraid BS will always be labelled as Freddie's legacy. Is now the time to make a clean and final break from our former erstwhile supremo? Chopping and changing manager's is generally a recipe for failure but sometimes you have to cut your losses. Managing Newcastle and managing England have so so many similarities - but NOW is the time to get a certain fella before he's offered the England job. You know who I mean? Well, let's just say he'd have AS on the front of his training top. We'd need to give him time - at least three or four years - and it wouldn't be a totally comfy ride. But he IS one of us and knows what the club means to us all.
Come on Messrs Ashley and Mort, you DO know what you're doing AND know what needs to be done
I wonder how many Mags really wanted BS to be given the job in the summer
Well another game,another formation change,players out of position and another defeat.A better performance but a defeat still = 0 points in the league.How on earth are partnerships supposed to form on the pitch when the team keeps changing every bloody week? Allerdyce is worse than Ranieri and Benitez for tinkering.I'm also left speechless at some of the managers comments in the local press today(sunday)Apparantly he's finding it difficult to grasp the pressure that is building on Tyneside.Well,Sam,keep a settled formation and team,try to attack teams instead of trying to nullify their threats and concentrate on our teams strengths.Then you might win some games and relieve some pressure(not rocket science)He is also worried that playing at home will become a problem because of the crowd.How dare he try and insinuate that it's our fault the team are playing so badly.If we get on their backs it's for a damn good reason.No fan will ever boo if their team loses while giving it their best shot and having a real go.If performances are rubbish then we have the right to voice our disapproval and if people like Sam Allerdyce and Joey Barton can't handle that,then they should ship out pronto.I'm also staggered to read that Sam says his Newcastle side can't do a Bolton on Arsenal.Why not?I mean on paper Newcastles squad is better than Boltons and is it our fault that Allerdyce hasn't brought any of his Boltons sides qualities to the side he's assembling up here?Surely when Freddy Shepherd appointed him he expected him to bring some of the battling,physical,hard to beat mentality and organisation of his Bolton sides,while at the same time adding flair and creativity from players of better quality which could be attracted with the increased revenue at his disposal?Or did he just say "i want you to coach your team completely different to what made you successfull at Bolton?!" It's like appointing Wenger and telling him to adopt a long ball policy at your club!Allerdyce has also asked for big money in January so he can sign some new players.Well,i don't know if your aware Sam,but top drawer players rarely become available in January,so good luck;and then he gave his squad a massive boost of confidence by saying "no disrespect to the players we brought in,but we couldn't really get what we wanted on the first round in the summer transfer window" He says he was forced to buy second or third choice players!!Blimey, i bet those players are really looking forward to giving their all for the manager now. No,i'm afraid that time has well and truly ran out for Big Sam.He clearly doesn't understand the fans'expectations on and off the pitch.The problem for Newcastle is that they have unfortunately lost the financial advantage they had over the chasing pack for European qualification,with so many clubs now having Billionaire owners,so the best thing to do is do what they did when they appointed Bobby Robson.They appointed a manager who could take a good,but not brilliant squad into the top four,by getting them to play above themselves.For me,the manager is critical because in my opinion any of the managers of the 'top 4'(and i'll add Mourinho as well)would have Newcastles squad higher up in the league.Thats down to a good manager,because good managers get results with what they work with,and for me,Mike Ashley has unfortunately missed out on one manager who i think might just do a Sir Bobby and take his good squad into that top 4.Watch out for Spurs over the next couple of years because Ramos looks more than capable and he plays great attacking football too.Allerdyce has to go because i don't see progress,a plan or improvement in any real shape or form and i also don't see Man City,Aston Villa or Spurs having the same problems as us,and they all have new managers and will all finish above us this year.Nuff said.
Hi Lee, this is for your next blog on ' vicious ' Barton's attack on us impatient fans. Well, I for one don't know of any toon fan stubbing his cigar, or Woodbine out on his mate's face. O.K. so he was misguidedly defending his gaffer against the people who have every right to boo rubbish, when they're the ones paying the wages of those responsible for producing it. But for this impudent brat who's done nowt so far to earn the right to sensationally slag us off in the press is tantamount to Lee Clark wearing that SMB tee-shirt and should be treated as such by all the powers that be. Even saying that he'd so far not seen ' this great support he'd heard about ' is laughable if not contemptable. I said it last week and loudly reiterate it this week, Sack Allardice now! before he drags the club further down. He will probably lose against Arsenal on the last two displays, having apparently lost the dressing room, and more importantly the fans. Sadly it has gone wrong for him and us who have watched his inept tactics from Bolton on day one, which was a lucky win, up to the Liverpool debacle. The crowd that day were not so vicious as sick to death of negativity and no apparent plan. N'Zogbia at left back and Milner outside left for crying out loud man! If he just came out and explained what the hell his ideas were, but no, because he doesn't know them either. He had a cushy little number at Bolton where no doubt it went alright for him, but he should've stayed and seen out his career instead of seeking delusions of grandeur at a massive club. And I make no apologies for continually calling us that, because with the perfect board, in place now, and a good manager with good players, we could, and will be in the top four every season, as we proved possible with Keegan and Robson. The only element needed to complete that recipe for success is a massive fan-base which means the guaranteed money to perpetuate the operation. This is what Mike Ashley and Chris Mort sussed-out when they walked incognito around our city, inhaling the intoxicating passion for everything Toon from old men to young and mothers with babies in buggies decked out in N.U.F.C clobber. This is, as I've said before, what Newcastle United is all about. Every generation since the glorious fifties, inculcates this into their kids, and it mushroomed in the Keegan era right up till now. It will keep going, even if relegation occurred, a promotion fever would ensue, that's what Mr. Ashley spent all those millions knowing. That's why another lost, dead season under this manager will not ultimately change anything to Geordieland if he's sacked along with some of his deadwood players. Hopefully, the toon supporters don't become the new terrorist threat in the eyes of the London press thanks to brat Barton, and scare Mike Ashley away. Oh, and yesterday's performance and effort did nowt to enhance Sam's or Barton's tattered reputations, rather, they both could've done better.
Positive's there was effort negative is this the new standard we will accept workrate yet lose again.
I do not think Sam will be sacked following the Arsenal match, I think the reality of his future will be decided after the next three games.
If results have not improved after Birmingham, Wigan then Fulham or what ever order we play them, then it will be a brave man to say give him time after those.
If we win those then I think he will be there till the end of the season where his future will be reviewed.
I think he is a decent enough guy and a character i would love to succeed at Newcastle, though hand on heart I have my doubts he will.
And just for the pundits who say your expectations are to high, nagh mate we just bleed black and white and would "Luv it, Luv it to win" who said that phrase kinda stuck in my head and makes the heart beat fast.
go on do it KEEGAN and SHEARER wonderland.
A lot better effort but not good enough.I thought that Steven Carr showed a glimpse of his former self.No dominence in the midfield and certainly not much penetration up front.I may be a bit out of touch with todays style of football( 1950's vintage) but why is it necessary to give the opposition a free shot at goal from free kicks involving"the wall"? Would it be too hard to place a defender on either side of the net to at least give the goalie some protection instead of having to cover the whole of the goal area?
Hi Lee . I think Mr. Barton has cooked his goose well and truly with his comments about us fans. How dare he. I pay a huge amount for my season ticket and travel a 360 mile round trip from my home in Wirral to watch the lads- I do that Lee because I love Newcastle United and once a Magpie -always a Magpie. I cant ever remember a player or a manager at St. James coming up with an excuse like that one for the inept performances we have been subjected to this season. I stood on the terraces as a little lad and was fortunate enough to watch the likes of Milburn,Mitchell,Allchurch, Eastham,White, etc.-right through to the likes of the Mighty Wyn, Supermac,and the great Alan Shearer. Does Mr. Barton know the damage he has done -its bad enough the press and media telling us what rubbish a team we have never mind allowing them to now blame it on us. Nearly all the Liverpool and Everton fans in my area are now having a double laugh at our expense even the merseyside comedians have now got us on their agenda for gags. Thanks a lot Mr. Barton and mr. Allardyce.-We scream and shout because our frustration at the terrible team tactics,awful formations-especially playing players out of position and general performance of the team so far this year has been dreadful- If you want to hear the Gallowgate roar messrs Barton and Allardyce then for gods sake give us something to roar about-if you keep serving up what we have had so far you wont be able to critisize us because we will fall asleep in our seats. Just when I thought with Big Sams appointment we might have put some of the laughing stock material that has been launched upon us the last few years behind us -they launch this one at us-thanks a lot I dont quite know now how I can assimilate this one with being proud to be a Geordie Thanks a million. .
thats how you make me feel
Though I am with you I am lost for words
and nothing is for real Speechless
Your love is magical, thats how I feel