United settle for the draw
NEWCASTLE UNITED and Stoke City must try again in the FA Cup third round after a stalemate at the Britannia Stadium tonight.
Both sides had their chances in an open game but United and City will be in tomorrowâÂÂs fourth round draw with a Tyneside replay to follow in 10 days time.
United were forced to make changes to their line up with Habib Beye (hamstring), James Milner (illness) and Emre (ankle) all absent and African duo Geremi and Oba Martins both on international duty with Cameroon and Nigeria respectively.
But Big Sam was able to name fit again captain Alan Smith in his starting XI while there were also starts for Michael Owen, David Rozehnal and Jose Enrique.
There were no clear cut chances in the opening 20 minutes but Mark Viduka did produce a clever turn and shot inside the box from Charles NâÂÂZobgiaâÂÂs pass which South Shields-born keeper Steve Simonsen was equal to.
Four minutes later and Simonsen was called into action again when Owen was presented with a great chance on the edge of the box.
But the Stoke stopper was on hand to gobble up the danger as the England striker squandered a superb chance.
Both teams went in level at the break but there was plenty of goalmouth action to follow.
In the second half United threatened the Stoke goal just three minutes in when Butt won a loose ball on the edge of the box before sending a long range effort just inches over the top.
United then came close on the 56 minute mark when an NâÂÂZogbia free-kick was whipped in from the right.
Steven Taylor challenged Simonsen in the air with the Toon defenderâÂÂs downward header kissing the post in a frantic moment for Stoke before they cleared the danger.
Yet there was serious danger for Big Sam with a quarter of the game left when freshly introduced sub Jon Parkin was played in by Ricardo Fuller right in front of goal before Taylor and Faye combined to clear frantically in a heart stopping moment for the Toon Army.
With 16 minutes left Newcastle handed a debut to Kazenga LuaLua with Damien Duff making way for the 17-year-old Academy product who took his place on the right wing.
STOKE: Simonsen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Cort, Dickinson, Lawrence, Eustace (Pulis 90), Pugh, Cresswell, Sidibe (Parkin 66), Fuller.
Subs: Hoult, Zakuani, Pericard.
UNITED: Given, Rozehnal, Faye, Taylor, Enrique, Smith, Butt, NâÂÂZogbia, Duff (LuaLua 76), Viduka (Carroll 87), Owen.
Subs: Harper, Cacapa, Edgar
Crowd: 22,861
Ref: Steve Bennett (Orpington)
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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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great game north sheilds should hav won
oops sorry but thats what the game was made of what an embarrasment for football newcastle players wanna be ashamed of themself this is the worse team ive seen 4 years not b watchin that tripe again
Embarrassing. Thank God for Taylor and Faye. If Owen's finishing hadn't been "powderpuff", we might have stolen it undeservedly.
Untied lucky to leave with a draw would be my title for this game. I believe SAM has done a great job of lowering our expectation to the point playing for a draw with a champoinship team is positive. I saw the game I have to say Stoke made a team with Owen, Viduka, NZogbia and Duff look quite ordinary. We definetly did not dominate the game both teams had chances but given the fact that we on paper have much better midfield and attack I would say we underperformed again.
Again most of the chances came from whipped crosses no linkup between midfield and attack, no pace no good movement off the ball. NZoba who looked great agianst ManCity looked a bit out of it, easily defended on several occassions. If this is what we have to offer in Oldtraford, Manu will have us for lunch, eventhough we seem to raise our game against better teams.
My final point a lot of fans expected an inspirational convincing game from the team I would say descent effort but below what I expected.
ron dont lie if they televise the replay you know at some point you would sneak a peek...
not the best but not a defeat
those who made the trip to the potteries yet again you done us proud again if united didnt
rozenhal-right back.why?
duff- right wing?
smith-have made my views known in prev posts
owen-at least look interested for 110k a week
viduka-as above but few quid less
And to put things into perspective...
UNITED SETTLE FOR A DRAW
..........................
Fine against the mancs or chelsea we were playing stoke
Sam again tactically blind again asking for 3-5 years going off earlier reports
how about admit you not good enough and walk away with a fantastic cheque for 8 months of nothing
Stoke fan singing "sam has turned you boring" "premier league you having a laugh"
enough is enough the club,players and fans need a boost
please feel free to disagree with man u and arsenal away bolton and stoke home
before my personal favorite v boro villa away and the return of the mancs to look forward too
we need change now because if things go as they are at the moment it could be too late teams under us are picking up points and at present too many players not showing enough fight which to my humble opinion shows they dont have the heart to fight for sams job
certainly the effort and performances shown say a change would be most welcome
From the TV, Taylor looks like a very fast man compared to his size. Newcastle cannot let a physical talent like that get away. Ron is correct, when the team is playing the worst it has since the last two years or since I've been following NU. Good luck to All!!!!
What can i say?
that game is a complete failure. At least we get to see us not crashing out after a semi-lucky game for both teams.
I thought the youngsters played well at their senior debut, and we could have won have they came out earlier. Viduka and Owen need to be supported by the mid field which is a disgrace save for a few like butt, though he wasted most of the chances...
I think the toon wants to see the youngsters again...after all, they played better than some senior players like One eyed Smith who really, really need to see a doctor.
If only Milner played on the right wing, we could have won as Duff struggles sometimes while he was trying to cross from the right side when he is obviously left footed.
Overall, its quite a lucky game for both sides even though we got a large slice of the luck. Hopefully we get through at least to the quarter finals...
"squad selection",
"inaccuracy of passes",
"ineffective smith",
"awful performance" etc.
We have all these comments game by game... How long for?
Sometimes (Blackburn, Chelsea) guys able to demonstrate willigness only but nothing else. Where Allardyse's input? This team able to demonstrate the same level of performance without any managers at all (at least everybody will play they native effective positions. Big Sam created mess in NU and continue doing this game by game. Do not let him stay 3-5 years as he wants. Seems to me he is sitting in the comfort zone and does not care about NUFC. This job is too big for him.
Lucky to snatch a draw !! Team selection sucks, Butt was off his feet after 80mns yet he stays on the field. Why, cos Smith is useless. No creativity at all; Vids and MoanOwen were a joke (and earning nearly 200,000 grand a week between them). Lua Lua and Xmas Carol looked exciting for last ten mins and we nearly snatched it at the death. Was not a miss by Andy at the end but a good last minute block by the Stoke defender. Hope SA sees the sense in the transfer window, we need a big centre foward - why not look at Jan Kohler whose available on a free !!!
why is everyone whinging on about team selection whinging on about duff on the left and rozenthal at right back ? where was his choice ? yeah sure duff on the right was a surprise but with no milner or geremi who was he supposed to put there do you really think that given the decision duff would be there ? rozenthal at right back again who does he put there carr is out injured and beye with a hamstring so who does he have left ? thats right no one we dont have a squad with depth we have a squad that needs building and with the injurys and players disapearing to play in africa it just makes this situation worse but dont have a go at sam because he doesnt have the players to fill the positions or his tactics were wrong i thought his tactics were spot on he played with a 4-4-2 system which most fans have been crying out for and to be honest he has done that the last couple of games now and it seems to be working . Of course last nights game was boring and yeah we should have won and got away with it by the skin of our teeth but we dont have a right to beat these teams and it just seems it is never good enough for some people sure we got caught at the back down the left but thats because we have a centre back playing at right back and yeah duff was poor but lets face it he wasnt in his proper position either and yeah no creativity in midfield but when you look at it they closed down every forward run some players tried to make with two or three players the only real shots we had were wild and no where by butt . I want newcastle united to win just as much as all of you but give sam a break with players out injured and on holiday it makes his job twice as hard so how about we get behind him and show him some support instead orf trying to bring him and the players down continuisly . sam has said three to five years for a reason and thats because he knows that a team doesnt just come together just like that, it would be nice if there was a quick fix but do we want a team where we have just papered over the cracks or do we want to build a team full of talent and eventually depth in numbers ? Does anybody aggree with me or are you all just hellbent on seeing big sam sacked ? ????????
Well, anyone remember Birmingham at St Jamesâ Park last January?
This result keeps us in the cup, thatâÂÂs the only positive to take from it, if we were going well in the league and had been playing some decent stuff all season, I wouldnâÂÂt bat an eyelid at this performance or result, but the fact is, Stoke had the better of the game, the squad was all over the place and the effect of the African cup and a couple of injuries was evident, or it certainly will be when Beye and Faye, leave us.
It may keep Allardyce in a job (Not that he was in danger of losing it anyway to quote Chris Mort) but the performance was (Again) one of the worst weâÂÂve seen, we actually should be out of the cup this morning, Thank you Shay Given and Steven Taylor!!
People (Mainly Allardyce himself) have drawn comparisons with Sir Bobby RobsonâÂÂs first two (Full) seasons in the hot-seat, where we finished 11th and 11th, before things kicked in, the implication being- âÂÂI need timeâ and âÂÂI have a five year planâ well the football under Sir Bobby was still good, crisp and attacking in those years, so lets just throw that out there as a retort.
What will become of this club with Allardyce in charge?
Who knows, but one things for sure- whilst many fans (Including me) Disregard actually winning a trophy, because lets face it, we know that the club has an allergic reaction, whenever a silver pot looks possible (96- League, Charity Shield, 98, 99, 00, 04- FA Cup, 04, 05- UEFA Cup- yes weâÂÂve come mighty close in recent years)
Gav- I'm not hellbent on sacking Allardyce, but he's taking supporter (Including your good self) for fools.
You forgive him for the injuries last night and for the subsequent poor game and performance- Yes granted, but that doesn't excuse the last six months does it, we've played like that all season long thus far.
Who can honestly say (Confidently) that we will make the 40 point mark this season??
Go on, think about it, look at the table and fixtures, there's an element of doubt isn't there?
All I can foresee is, under Allardyce- we will get closer to relegation, than winning something.
Paul.
Hi guys,
belated happy new year to you all out there in blogland.
I agree with a lot of the comments concerning players out of position etc.,but I also agree with what was said concerning the size of the squad that we have available
Needs must when the devil drives.
We were comfortable enough in the first half,although it was certainly nothing to write home about,attack wise.
Owen & Viduka looked fed up for most of the game,mainly I suspect because of the link up play absent from midfield,(just shows how much we missed James Milner).
In the end we could have sneaked it or lost it,but as they say, we live to play another day;such is the life of a Toon fan.
Could have been worse,could have been born a mackem!
Guys,
Despite all of your moaning, Stoke played very well and no credit has been given for that.
Ryder's reply: Hey Dave, I said Stoke could easily have won.
And just for good measure the Stoke fans whipped up a great atmosphere, it was louder than Porstmouth fans at one stage.
we play so boring if we were playing on my front lawn I would draw the curtains.....with allardyce as manager!
well said Gav, I am no fan of BS but he played players in those positions cos he had to. Milner was sick and beye was injured and is heading to Africa anyway. Just seen the draw for the next round and Arsenal away doesn't look good for a cup run does it. Where is the luck these days?
Michael Owen
Oh.. little boy blue
he's lost his shoe
and doesn't give a damn
about me and you
(or N.U.)
Miserable game, got outplayed by an average championship side and should of lost easily 2nd half.
If ppl are happy with that then I will see these fans in the championship in a few years because that is what is going to happen with allardyce in charge.
2 wins in 13 games
1 goal in our last 4 games
they say expectations are too high HAHA
the turnout for the replay will be low
apathy has set in with many fans, they are just fed up with it all
if he isn't sacked by next season expect crowds of 30k, cos 90% of ppl i know say they are not going to renew next season
Spot on Gav, I could not have put it better myself. It appears to me that the BBC and the southern press have a hidden agenda to undermine Sam. After the first game on match of the day on Saturday night Gabby (or should it be Gobby)was rabitting on about how Sam might get sacked if Newcastle lose tomorrow. Why did she have to do that, bearing in mind it was match of the day on Saturday?
An England game must be imminent because time after time our Michael made sure he was not going to get injured, and Viduka? what a joke! He will never get injured if it means running around challenging anyone. What a pity Sam had not played Lua Lua and Andy Carroll from the opening minute, because then United might have got a result. Having finally signed Tozer, instead of loaning him out for experience why not put him in the first team? At least the kids will run for ever, not rest on their laurels and fat pay cheques every week. Come on Sam, start looking at the kids that we already have, instead of asking for more money, only to waste on players who cannot do a job with the clubs they are already with. A good job we won matches early in the season otherwise we would be down the bottom of the league with Blunderland and company.
you right gav last night wasnt good enough for some people 0-0 against stoke so ok we had players out players out of position but the XI players out there there were ten full internationals
yes stoke closed us down quickly so it shows that some people listen to their managers instructions
People are not whinging about last night they complaining on what has been happening last ten games noone can disagree we are watching at present some of if not the worst displays ever
outplayed by derby portsmouth wigan lucky against fulham and birmingham and the mackems
Said earlier in week martins would have been better off playing last night instead of v mancs
the bbc or press dont need to undermine SA he is writing their scripts for them
Paul we dont want to remember birmingham and again agree with a lot you said because with him in charge we are going oneway quickly
since we were branded vicious sam has been given full support during matches home and away and have we seen anything to justify that in ways of improvement.well we kept a clean sheet last night i suppose
When he was appointed by freddie we all feared the way he would have us playing and those worries have been justified
No it wouldnt be an ideal situation if sam got the elbow but it may be the only solution to stop us being dragged into a relegation scrap
ps.Anyone know where emre was last night
At least the BBC didn't show Ronnie Radford's goal again, there now, that's a positive from Sunday. Gav, every point you made sounds like a worthy nail in Big Sham's coffin, which will become obvious if he doesn't get much dosh in January. Mort is only doing and saying what any M.D. would in a crisis situation, and it is that because season tickets will plummet if we end up just surviving this summer. For the sake of scant continuity until the season's end, he's got to keep the ship as steady as he possibly can, like scores of previous votes of confidence by other M.D.'s. Ashley, on the other hand appears to be keeping a low profile having tasted the bitter frustration of grassroot fans. The sign my friend, will be the money he's given this month. If I'm wrong, I'll apologise to you in a wedding dress, if you can trace me of course.
thanks for the replys , im not trying to stick up for sam too much as i know at the end of the day it is what happens throughout the whole season and performances that really count but we all understand it just seems people want to see us lose ..... i was just trying the words of the players trying to issue a rallying call to all not to get to beat down yet . I myself didnt think sam was the man for the job in fact i still dont think he is the man for the job but i dont see how we can justify going through yet another manager , although if things dont change it will become inevitable that thats what will happen it just seems wrong because i think it is partly that reason wny we have never gone any further and only slipped down the ranking.we as fans expect a lot and get little in return for supporting newcastle united at the minute and i dont know what the solution is i just feel wrong with sacking another manager , and thats as much as i dont aggree with the way BS is running the show . It has to change for the better at some point we have some good foundations in the club now with the new owner and chairmanhopefully we can all see it turn around for the better without us fans suffering too much .... COME ON THE TOON !!!!!