ChronicleLive - Blog on the Tyne - Newcastle United Blog

One more for the road with Joey Barton in Hartlepool

2010-03-15T18:29:35Z

Joey Barton can't do right for doing wrong sometimes but the word on street is that the Scouse midfielder will opt not to talk to the media circus which will descend on Hartlepool when he makes his latest comeback from injury.

Newcastle's season is at a delicate stage and the last thing that anybody needs is something or somebody upsetting the apple cart.

And while the temptation for journalists is to get some good copy from Barton, whether it would do any good as far as NUFC is concerned is a totally different matter.

Like him or hate him, you can't ignore Joey Barton.

]]> I'd say since Newcastle signed Barton from Man City three years ago, I've gone through all of the emotions when it comes to the lad from Huyton (aka Two Dogs Fighting).

When Barton first arrived on the scene at Newcastle he was desperate to get his career back on track after the training ground scrap with Ousmane Dabo, but then he went and broke his foot.

He made a comeback in the reserves at Kingston Park and told me that night he was only interested in challenging for trophies at Newcastle United.

Yeah, it might sound funny now, but at the time he meant it.

Perhaps the next thing I'm about to say is one of those "you had to be there moments" but here we go anyway.

After agreeing to talk to myself and one of the club's official media men, Barton had a bit of masking tape stuck to his foot.

In his struggle to get it off, somebody from the club tried to help him but clearly being somebody who wants to stand on his own two feet, he refused the help.

Anybody looking down from the stands must have wondered what on earth was going on as Barton fumed "I can't get it bloody off" but eventually he did so and my instinct at the time was, that Barton was just a working class lad blessed with a talent that could only benefit Newcastle United, at that time I simply thought "He's one of us".

The Wigan debacle followed that when he rowed with Big Sam and then some chav in McDonalds and then he ended up doing porridge because of it.

To cut a long story short, and some time after we'd endured Keegan-gate, Joe Kinnear coming and going and a terrible struggle in the Premier League, Barton then managed to get himself into even hotter water.

Falling out with Alan Shearer isn't advised.

And getting sent off at Anfield was hardly the best way to get on the right side of Big Al.

Club suspension followed for Joey but after Shearer wasn't offered the job by Mike Ashley, surely Barton couldn't mess up again?

Yes, on the eve of the West Brom game, he managed to fall out with Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood in a bib chucking rage.

More injury agony followed with another foot problem and so back to the next chapter of the life and crimes of Joey Barton.

Tomorrow at Hartlepool he'll make a competitive comeback in the full glare of the national media and a pack of wolves after him to get a few words on just where next.

Doing his talking on the pitch might be the best way forward for the Scouser who knows the Last Chance Saloon better than anybody I've ever come across in football.

NUFC take another stride towards Championship trophy at Middlesbrough's expense

2010-03-13T20:34:10Z

Well that's the Tyne-Tees ding dong over for what could be at least another season and Newcastle United were probably much, much happier with the point than Middlesbrough by the end.

At times United were poor at the Riverside but they showed they have the ability to dig in and scrape a result when it matters most and more importanly they didn't cave in.

Even a neutral could have sensed that the game meant much more to Boro and in the end it must have felt like a defeat for Gordon Strachan's side.

]]> Strachan's side threw everything at Newcastle but ultimately didn't have enough to pull off a scalp that would have had Teesside celebrating tonight.

And it was the Toon Army who were celebrating at the end of the 2-2 draw with chants of "We're Newcastle and we're going to win the league."

Throughout it all the travelling 3,600 fans backed their side in the way that we've grown to expect.

And when Boro unvailed their "Trophy Virgins" flag (forgetting the six FA Cups, four league titles and the 1969 Fairs Cup) it was the last act of a desperate bunch of fans.

A set of fans who are staring trips to Doncaster and Barnsley in the face once again - unless their side can do what they haven't done all season and put together some consistency and start finishing teams off.

As for Newcastle, well they really can only self-destruct now and this was another useful point.

They are now a whopping 25 points ahead of the team that were relegated with them in Boro and nine points ahead of Nottingham Forest, who lost again 3-2 at Preston.

With 11 games left and with a game in hand on Forest and West Brom, this looked very much like another step back towards the Premier League and picking up the Championship trophy which Boro would so dearly love to be doing themselves.

What were your thoughts on Newcastle's draw with Boro?

Middlesbrough 2 Newcastle 2

2010-03-13T14:00:00Z

NEWCASTLE United held Middlesbrough to a draw at the Riverside in a match which the Teessiders dominated.

Despite opening the scoring with a strike by Peter Lovenkrands, Newcastle had the poorer game.

Barry Robson equalised before the break and after a bright start to the second half Boro seemed set to win after Scott McDonald put them in front.

However, Andy Carroll drew the Toon level with just minutes left in the game to leave Newcastle on course for promotion.

I journeyed across the border to Teesside for the Toon's match against Middlesbrough.

To replay my coverage, just click the link below.

Middlesbrough v Newcastle United

Note:

1. FA rules say I can only talk about the game at certain times.

2. We get thousands of people on here each week, and cannot publish every comment.

3. We can't publish links to illegal streaming sites so don't even ask.

4. Enjoy the game.

Newcastle United players are more than fired up for Boro

2010-03-11T14:16:21Z

When it comes to Newcastle United taking on Middlesbrough then in my opinion this fixture means much more to the Teessiders than it does to most Geordies.

But as far as Newcastle's promotion chances are concerned, victory at the Riverside, against a Boro team who look like they can't wait to get this season just out of the way, and then three more against Scunthorpe United will go a long way to helping the Magpies fly back to the promised land.

The usual "Is it a derby or not" debate has raised its ugly head again this week and rattled a few cages.

]]> But what has been clear from the Newcastle players has been that they are treating it just like a derby because that's exactly what the Boro are doing.

In fact speaking to some of the players at the training ground today they simply couldn't wait for the game to start and that can only bode well for Saturday.

Last season this fixture looked to have sent the two teams heading different directions after Alan Shearer took charge of a 3-1 win over Boro at St James' Park.

That night, I honestly thought we were going to be OK but it was the 1-0 loss against Fulham that really proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

With both teams now desperate to get back to the Premier League - and Newcastle seemingly on the brink of exactly that - does this game carry even more significance than last season's relegation battle?

*What are your thoughts on Newcastle's clash with Boro.

Remember the night when Gordon Strachan was the toast of Tyneside?

2010-03-10T22:10:16Z

When Newcastle United head to the Riverside on Saturday it's safe to say that every Geordie who makes the journey down the A19 will be wishing Gordon Strachan the very worst in the Tees-Tyne tussle (I don't think many of us reckon it's a derby).

But to some of us, it doesn't seem like that long ago, that we were all singing his name in the Bigg Market.

Let me take you back to May 1997...

]]> Newcastle had finished the season on a high under Kenny Dalglish, albeit with Kevin Keegan's team and after thrashing Nottingham Forest in a 5-0 win, United earned a place in the Champions League as the first ever qualifiers in England not to have won the league to get there.

Surely it doesn't get any better than that?

Well, yes, it did actually.

For as the goals flew in against Forest and results went our way elsewhere with Arsenal and Liverpool also vying for a top two spot, Sunderland and Boro were struggling to stay afloat.

And at Elland Road, Boro failed to beat Leeds and at Selhurst Park, Sunderland slipped up to a loss against Wimbledon.

Those results coupled with Coventry (playing 15 minutes behind everybody else at Spurs due to crowd congestion) winning at White Hart Lane sent Boro and Sunderland crashing down.

In charge of the Sky Blues that day was the wee man Gordon Strachan and as Toon fans celebrated in style the chant of "There's only one Gordon Strachan" boomed around the Bigg Market.

Quite whether Mr Strachan can play a significant part in Newcastle finishing the season covered in glory this time around remains to be seen.

Mind games from Wisey's pal?

2010-03-09T11:45:18Z

When Kevin Keegan ranted how he would "love it" if we beat Manchester United to the title, you just got the feeling that Fergie's comments at Old Trafford about teams "trying harder" against his side than against Newcastle had well and truly got under the Messiah's skin.

Now as Newcastle go into their most crucial stretch of matches in the second tier and with West Brom starting to falter it would appear Di Matteo is indeed attempting to give it the Fergie treatment.

Here's is Di Matteo's craic today: "I have been saying for a while now that it is probably going to go down to the last few games."

]]>

"But I think this month will probably be decisive in terms of Newcastle pulling away or not.

"If you look at their squad they have a gear more than anyone else.

"Swansea are still hanging in there and Leicester and Cardiff aren't far off.

"It's difficult to say because there are still a lot of points to be played for and this crazy league teaches us that crazy things happen."

Thankfully it looks like Newcastle have enough mental strength this season to pull away.

And if they can recover from the mess that was the pre-season of 2009, they can easily brush off this.

What are your thoughts on the crucial run-in for Newcastle United and can they be caught?

Pure Geordie Magic 2

2010-03-06T19:20:14Z

The last time Newcastle United played in this division Barnsley suffered a hiding on Tyneside and there were plenty of similarities in the 6-1 thumping at St James' Park.

Yes, Barnsley had just 10 men and lost their first choice keeper on a day when they were equal to the Magpies for most of the first half.

But once Newcastle had the bit between their teeth, there was no doubt that this was going to end up being a real, real rout.

For those of us old enough to remember the old Gallowgate scoreboard had a simple message in the 92/93 season when we hammered the Tykes 6-0 and it read back then: Pure Geordie Magic.

]]> Sadly we've never had a scoreboard since the old Gallowgate was bulldozed in 1994 but even if we did today it could have malfunctioned.

The reality of this one was pretty simple and it could have been double figures.

And as the players left the field news of QPR's win over West Brom meant that United are nine points clear of the automatic promotion places with 12 games to play and a whopping 22 points ahead of the play-off positions with seventh placed Blackpool knowing that even if they won every single one of their last 11 games, they can only pick up 33 points.

Next up for Newcastle a trip to Middlesbrough against a side feeling sorry for themselves and their season fading away.

In the mood Newcastle United are in right now it's a game they'll be relishing.

*Do you have any special memories of the old Gallowgate scoreboard and its Spectrum 48k graphics?

*Follow me on Twitter at lee_ryder

Blog on the Tyne at the Barnsley match

2010-03-06T12:00:00Z

THE Toon take on the Tykes this weekend, and I'll be at the game to bring you live coverage from another pivotal moment in United's season.

Barnsley will provide a tough test for the Magpies, especially as they need to pick up more points if they are to have any chance of reaching the play-offs.

But with the black and whites riding high at the top of the Championship, we'll all be hoping we can send them back to South Yorkshire empty-handed.

I'll be at St James' Park to bring you all the colour and action from the game, and I also want you to take part as well.

To get involved, just come back here from 2.45pm or click below to set a reminder.

Newcastle United v Barnsley

Note:

1. FA rules say I can only talk about the game at certain times.

2. We get thousands of people on here each week, and cannot publish every comment.

3. We can't publish links to illegal streaming sites so don't even ask.

4. Enjoy the game.

When Rob Lee did what Pele couldn't and long before Beckham

2010-03-05T09:12:35Z

We don't normally make a day of it in these parts but did you know that tomorrow is officially the 17th anniversary of "the one that got away" for Rob Lee against Brentford.

Chewing the fat with Lee this week certainly made a few memories start flooding back to a golden era where Newcastle United seemed capable of taking on the world.

There's enough memories of Lee alone to write a book but interestingly this week while talking to colleagues about some of the great goals bagged by the Londoner that Toon fans seemed to love, there was a recurring theme.

And it wasn't talking about his hat-trick in Antwerp, or his blinder against Nottingham Forest or his header at Wembley against Chelsea - it was indeed that 'goal' against Brentford.

]]> Against Brentford with Newcastle all over the Bees, a clearance from Graham Benstead (at a time when goalies were still getting used to the new backpass rule) was punted to just inside the Toon half.

Instinctively Barry Venison appealed for offside and was successful with the ball heading to the Brentford frontline as Newcastle stepped out.

However, in that same split second Lee had magnificently chested the ball down and hooked it high over Benstead's head and into the Leazes End goal.

The referee quickly chalked the goal off to leave Lee devastated that his wonder goal hadn't stood.

If it had, it then he would have eclipsed Pele's attempted effort from long range against Czechoslovakia in the 1962 World Cup.

And it would have come three years before David Beckham's famous goal at Selhurst Park against Wimbledon.

Sadly, I couldn't find any footage of the goal in the vault and I don't own a VHS recorder any more so quite how I'm going to ever see it again, I don't know.

But hopefully Lee can take some solace from the fact we're at least remembering it

I remember 92/93 - memories of then and now in the world of NUFC

2010-03-04T08:51:40Z

As Newcastle United continue to mount an impressive tilt at football's second tier title undoubtedly memories of the last time the Mags (for those of us who remember) will start to flood back.

Let's get one thing straight, getting back to the Premier League is the be all and end all of the 2009/10 season for Newcastle, regardless of how they do it.

But while memories start to filter through our minds of the 92/93 season, certainly, the Newcastle United of then and now are very different.

Could you say that the football has been as entertaining as it was 17 years ago - or in the circumstances did it ever really matter?

]]> The well documented off the field saga makes it different.

In a recent interview with Colin Calderwood said he felt that stars like Nolan, Carroll and Enrique could enjoy similar cult hero status as Clark, Cole, Kelly and Beresford and Co.

But it's hard to say whether, if we are promoted, the team will enjoy a civic reception like the one in 1993.

Back then 200,000 fans took over the city with many of them climbing trees, churches and anything else that would offer them a vantage point to see Newcastle's open top bus parade.

This culminated with Kevin Keegan taking a place in front of those masses when he said something along the lines of: "I once came back with Liverpool with the European Cup and I thought I'd never see anything like it again, but just like you have all season you have proved that you are the best fans in the land."

It's hard to see similar scenes, regardless of the outcome of the season and even though this side could eclipse the points tally of 92/93 season, emerge with an unbeaten home record and seal promotion before the 44 game mark.

That said, the 93 team had just fought off relegation in the old Second Division and were punching above their weight for long periods, while several members of this team had been purchased to challenge for Europe by a long list of former managers.

Certainly Jonas, Coloccini, Smith, Barton, Enrique, Guthrie and Butt all arrived on Tyneside with ambitions of playing on the continent from their respective sides.

And current squad members Harper, Steven Taylor, Ameobi, Krul and Carroll have represented this club in Europe before relegation.

Which underlines the fact that this side should arguably never been in this division to start with.

No matter, if you do believe in the theory that relegation can be good for a club in the way that it can cleanse both massive wage bills and clear away prima donas and those who don't have the clubs best interests at heart, then that theory has perhaps unfolded this season.

Every man in the dressing room this year appears to genuinely care for the club and as importantly the supporters.

They've so far been driven and determined in their goal of promotion but also on a hiding to nothing.

Mental strength has been needed in abundance.

But whatever you think about the overall situation at Newcastle, promotion will equal forward progress just like it did last time.

Where Newcastle go after that, however, is another matter that nobody can really predict without the aid of a crystal ball.

Follow me on Twitter for more updates at lee_ryder and blogonthetyne

Vicarage Road ding dong is a good sign for Newcastle United

2010-03-01T09:13:54Z

Anybody trying to make a meal of Mike Williamson and Alan Smith's heated exchange at Watford must lead a placid and sheltered life.

When Will Hoskins netted a late goal for the Hornets Smith wasn't backwards in going forwards in telling Williamson what he thought and that had the recent signing made a more convincing clearance to start with then the goal would not have been scored.

The fact that it did not only cost Newcastle a clean sheet but with two minutes left of stoppage time made it a nervous end to a game the Magpies had never looked like doing anything other than taking three points.

]]> They 2-1 is the worst lead to have in football and that's right, hence the panic in the Toon back four when Hoskins struck late on.

There have been plenty of fights between team-mates in the past in football and anybody who plays the game themselves must have been caught in some confrontation at some stage with so many twists and turns during 90 minutes of play.

When news filtered through that Williamson and Smith had to be pulled apart, many instantly thought of the Kieron Dyer v Lee Bowyer incident.

This was nothing like that - Dyer and Bowyer was about egos and this was about wanting to do well for the black and whites.

Then, in 2005, a Newcastle team that were letting the fans down already disgraced themselves even more.

This time two players who were desperate to get a vital win for the club became frustrated and two of United's best professionals made no secret of their anger at conceding so late.

Smith and Williamson quickly made up after the game and there was nothing in it.

No grudges and no ill feeling.

It's been well documented that Smith is a character that likes to get things off his chest.

And I have been involved in similar exchange with the Toon skipper myself when he was unhappy with a report in our sister paper and got me mixed up with somebody else.

My only thoughts after that were that it's a shame there aren't more like him.

If Smith does have a problem, it's that he is too honest compared to others, who will let things fester and cause issues further down the line.

And the only thing that both players had to say on the way out of Watford was: "Bring on Barnsley."

For more NUFC updates you can follow me on Twitter lee_ryder and blogonthetyne

Would you bet against Newcastle United now?

2010-02-27T23:47:10Z

Well, would you bet against Newcastle United now?

Despite a long barren run on the road, the Magpies ended it in real style today with a great all round team performance at Watford.

The scoreline may look slender but really the game should have been done and dusted long before the injury time strike from Will Hoskins.

]]> Andy Carroll is on fire at the moment and after setting up the first for Fabricio Coloccini and then heading home a second, his 11th of the season, it was enough to seal the win.

And so as the Newcastle players went different directions after the game with some due on international duty next week.

All that was left to do was take a look at the league table.

With Newcastle EIGHT clear of Nottingham Forest with a game in hand and still to play the tricky Trees at home, automatic promotions should be assured in the final 13 games.

I do say should.....

For updates daily on Newcastle and the madness of following the Toon follow me on Twitter lee_ryder

Newcastle United young guns could emulate Beckham, Best, Giggs and Gazza

2010-02-26T12:29:29Z

WHAT have Paul Gascoigne, Bob Moncur, David Beckham, George Best, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Theo Walcott all got in common?

Answer: They are all FA Youth Cup winners.

Last night at St James' Park the latest generation of Toon young bloods made a significant step to joining them after seeing off Crystal Palace in goal packed game.

]]> Well with local lads Paul Dummett, Conor Newton, a flame haired Pele of United's youth side, Jak Alnwick, kid brother of Ben at Spurs, Geordie skipper Jeff Henderson, Amble hotshot Phil Airey, the talented son of Terry Mac, in midfielder Greg, and younger sibling of Shola Ameobi, Samuel, who promises to outgrow his brother in physical capacity, there is plenty to pick the bones out of.

And that's without mentioning Irish defender Stephen Folan, gritty Yorkshire full-back James Tavernier, super Swede Samuel Adjei and Aussie-born playmaker Brad Inman.
Not all of them will make it, that much is certain.

But the dream is still very much of alive of joining a famous list of FA Youth Cup winners.

Still minding the gap at Watford - random memories of taking on the Hornets

2010-02-24T13:35:13Z

Remember the last time we won a league game at Watford?

As a young lad delivering papers around the concrete jungle that is Shiremoor, the morning Newcastle United travelled to Watford a native proclaimed: "They've had it if they don't win today mind."

He had a point.

An ageing Newcastle side were struggling to make the cut in the old Second Division.

Turn the clock back to the 1990/91 season.

St James' Park was far from the world class venue it is today, Sunderland were in the above division with Mackem misery to come in abundance on final day relegation at the old Maine Road, Mick Quinn was a God on Tyneside with a bandage on his right hand (caused at the time by supposedly making a corned beef sandwich) the old Appleby Park was still standing in all its glory in North Shields and Whitley Bay FC romped to the HFS Loans League Division One title with John Carver and Paul Ferris as star players, those were the days!

You could even watch Saint and Greavise before you set off for the match and Paul Gascoigne was probably the best player on the planet!

]]> And this was number 1 in the charts

Newcastle were underachieving in the early 1990s, there was no money and Jim Smith was manager was close to the sack.

However, the Magpies still managed a 2-1 victory in 1991.

Quinn was on the scoresheet and John 'Ando' Anderson looked more Brazilian than Fumaca ever did when he curled home a free-kick to help net the points - get in, play-off dream back on?

Well not likely, but that was Newcastle United then, they soon faded and finished a whopping 10 points behind even a play-off place when even seventh squeezed into the end of season showdown.

Smith left soon after the win at Watford, and the play-off dream quickly crumbled even with football genius Ossie Ardiles in charge complete with a diamond that didn't last forever with teenage kids thrown into the team and struggling to live up to the massive and perhaps unrealistic expectations on the terraces.

We've been back to Vicarage Road since of course, the last time being a real farce.

Without dredging it all up too much, Glenn Roeder had been sacked with a game to go, Obafemi Martins stormed off before the game, Charlie N'Zogbia stormed out because of it (and sent a text at the team meeting) and to cap it all off Michael Owen was stretchered off after colliding with his own player in Matty Pattison.

Great.

Now taking on Watford we go there in better sprits - if not better shape.

The 2007 version of this fixture resulted in Newcastle going into the game in mid-table which had been enough to get Roeder the sack, just weeks after winning the first leg of a European semi-final 4-2 against Alkmaar and having a foot in the quarter-finals having WON the Intertoto Cup!

OK, it was hardly the glory days but would you take it now?

Would you take mid-table next season?

And as we make the long journey to Hertfordshire for the latest clash with the Hornets, life on Tyneside is never dull.

Walking in a Hughton Wonderland

2010-02-21T15:13:06Z

They say you should give credit where it's due and that was certainly the case for Chris Hughton against Preston North End.

Quite some time ago, I asked Chris Hughton if he was a bit upset that he hadn't enjoyed more recognition from Newcastle fans in the form of a terrace anthem.

Hughton quickly dismissed the idea and moved on to a different subject, his view being that he'd rather see all energies projected on to the 11 players on the pitch.

]]> That changed for a while against Preston North End with Newcastle 2-0 up and coasting.

During the live blog yesterday I was asked what the long term answer was at Newcastle United as far as a manager is concerned, I still stick to my guns that Alan Shearer is the answer to that - as did 75% of readers during a 'game time' poll.

But if Hughton gets United promoted, he will have to, by footballing rights, be allowed to continue in the Premier League.

We'll never know if Shearer would have done a job as good Hughton - or better or worse this season.

But at 2-0 yesterday though against PNE it was then that fans decided to demand for a wave from Hughton.

It was a far cry from almost 12 months ago at Bolton's Reebok Stadium when fans chanted "You don't know what you're doing" at Hughton.

The first round of chanting died out without Hughton acknowledging their request.

That was probably down to the fact he was fully focused on the game.

Then, moments later the left hand went up before an eruption of "There's only one Chris Hughton", a song that you thought you'd never hear from Newcastle fans.

It has been chanted before at St James' Park when Tottenham Hotspur were the visitors to Tyneside and the Spurs faithful's rendition of "There's only one Chrissy Hughton" was boomed round Level 7.

That night Hughton stuck up his hand.

At that time I thought it was probably the wrong thing to do with Kevin Keegan's exit in 2008 fresh in the minds of Toon fans and feelings on Tyneside rather raw.

However, many United fans yesterday in the excellent Leazes End singing section were quick to show their appreciation.

Hughton deserved it.

Yet a place in Geordie folklore is only likely to be assured if he finishes of the job he started in August.

And if the fans are singing the name of ex-Spurs man Colin Calderwood (who has also done an excellent job and deserves credit too) in the same way Terry Mac used to enjoy the banter with the fans, then I really will be flabbergasted!