Play it again Sam
Newcastle United's performance against Arsenal was certainly one to remember but with Birmingham heading to Toon many fans will be wondering just why they can't do exactly the same again.
There is certainly plenty of factors and reasons why Birmingham are capable of coming to Tyneside and winning, the main one being that this is Newcastle United we are talking about and anything is possible once the ref blows that whistle!
But if the Toon players can show the same amount of work-rate and passion as they did against the Gunners - which almost resulted in victory - there won't be too many complaints and the chances are they can grab their first win since October 22.
Birmingham come into this game after victory at Spurs last weekend but in a game that wrongly saw Robbie Keane red carded and included a last minute winner, United shouldn't read too much into that.
And even though Alex McLeish will have his team pumped with high spirits, Newcastle fans can look forward to a more offensive formation again with a 4-3-3 formation in the pipeline that causes teams problems - as proved at Blackburn in patches and against Arsenal.
Joey Barton's comments may well have come as a shock to many but whether he was right or wrong it has so far been somewhat of a rallying call - even if it was a controversial one.
This Blog suggested it might have been a cry for help a few days ago and it seems that it was Barton's way of saying: "Get of our backs and get behind us."
That's what Newcastle fans have done since then and while Barton will probably never utter such slack jaw comments again about the loyalty of the fans during his time in Toon it seems that the Liverpool game - at 3-0 with that famous shot of the irate fan - was the lowest point of the season.
What doesn't destroy you makes you stronger in life and wth Big Sam still in the hotseat and his players seemingly having responded with a performance, as well as the fantastic Toon Army, hopes are high that City will leave Toon with nothing more than a good hiding.
Let's hope so!
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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 see one of the lesser sites on the Toon is saying "we must win 3 of next 4 games". That's ridicilous talk. What we must do is fight like crazy in every game, don't give the opposition an inch to play, scrap for every ball and attack as much as we possibly can. Much like the Arsenal game, and if possinle better still. Then results would happen regardless. Setting targets just adds uneceessary pressure. Also, by working incredibly hard evety game (a-la-Bolton, if you like) the team and squad will get to know each other on the pitch far better, and everythihg will start to gel. We already saw signs of that in the last two games.
My wife and me will be in Cape May, New Jersey at the weekend so I'm taping the game off Fox Soccer Channel and I'm just hoping for a great match when I play it back on Sunday evening (no peeking at any scores!)
Micepie - There's no way you'll be able to wait until watching the tape on sunday evening to find out the score. I've tried to do the same stacks of times and never succeeded yet.
Ryder's reply: Yes Mal we've all watched THAT episode of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads!
micepie i'm sorry but i disagree with you, why is it crazy talk?, surely we must have the mindset that we must win at least 3 of these games, especially as there teams around us, and not picking the points up, will drag us down into a relegation fight, i have to agree with this other site, it's a must we aim to win three of them, it's good for the team's confidence and also to carry on fom wednesday, if we fall back to the liverpool performance then all is doom and gloom again, and Big Sam for the chopping block
I couldnt agree more Micepie, if the same effort is applied all season we will do ok, we must inject some flare with speed in Jan in poss. Brum will be a different kettle of fish to the Arse as theyl no doubt come to prevent a loss and try and nick it. Howay the lads !
Ryder's reply: Hopefully Damien Duff can bring some of that as well but we do need at least three or four new faces to bolster the squad
Very good team performance no doubt. The question still is will Newcastle fans accept a Bolton like team in whihc hard work will earn you most of the time a tie and once a while a win or are they going to demand what the top 5 teams have flair, finess, defense, attack, workrate and tactical coaching whihc includes utilizing your players to thier strength and adjusting your plan accordingly based on game flow.
I am certainly expecting to cheer a win tomorrow. However, I'd guess we are going to finish around 9th-13th place so not in Europe again next season. The main problem this season is that we don't create enough chances.
I think we all know how Birmingham are going to approach this game. McLeish is going to set out to frustrate and get the Toon fans on the team's back. A game where the first goal is going to be important.
Hiya & Greetings from Australia!! I felt so proud to be part of the (long distance) Toon Army on Wednesday night.The boys played with a passion & a determination that had been missing for weeks.Hard at the ball,never say die,good old fashioned soccer that rattled Arsenal & their pretty boy players.I'm sure we all hope they can turn on something similar against Birmingham City,but as Lee points out this is Newcastle United we're talking about & we never know who's going to turn up! However,the same sort of committment again will surely bring about a much needed win. Howay the lads!!