| Barclays Premiership - Match 4 | |
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Season 2006-2007 |
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WEST HAM |
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NEWCASTLE UNITED |
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| Date: | Monday 18th September 2006 | ||
| Venue: | Boleyn Ground | ||
| Kick Off: | 12am (AEST) | ||
| Australian Live TV: | None | ||
| Internet Live TV Coverage: | TBC | ||
| Weather Forecast: |
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24c | |
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| Squad: | |
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Given, Harper |
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| Team News: | |
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Michael Owen (knee), as we know, is out till next year
with the injury he picked up at the World Cup. |
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| Newcastle boss Glenn
Roeder's pre-match comments: "There are certain people who are trying to put wedges between us. They've got no chance whatsoever. We are a small squad this year, but we have talked about it and we are very, very tight as a group of people. That includes the staff as well, and no matter what is thrown at us, we will stick together and fight our corner." |
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My thoughts: |
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Playing away in Europe on a Thursday night
and then having an away game, down in London, three days later, isn't
ideal. However, some crumb of comfit is that West Ham were also playing
a UEFA Cup game on Thursday night, albeit at home. Glenn Roeder will have to do a head count to see who is fit and ready to start this game. Worryingly he said after the game against FC Levadia Tallinn, that five or six players looked tired in the last 20 minutes. Now with the games coming thick and fast over the coming weeks and given the fact that our squad is so small, we'll need to rest key players at various points, so as not to burn players out. At this point I'd quite like to talk about Obafemi Martins, two and three quarter games into his Newcastle career and no goals. Hardly crisis time, I hear you all cry, and I agree. However, I never said anything at the time but I was very sceptical and a bit worried with the lad being given the number 9 shirt. I personally think with him being a young foreign lad, who is naturally going to take time to settle into the Premiership and the region, that it could have been better for him to have taken a different number. As Newcastle United fans we're been very lucky that we've had a number 9 scoring plenty of goals since about 1989, in order, Micky Quinn, David Kelly, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer. So to quote the front cover of the latest edition of The Mag "Not much pressure there then..." I hope you all don't think I'm being a bit harsh with that, cos I really want the lad to do well but I'm just being very pessimistic. I hope at the end of the season we are all talking about which one of his goals was the best and how he looked world class at times, and then we can all laugh at me being a total tit. (You's probably will for something else anyway) We go into the West Ham game on Sunday as underdogs(how bad is that man!) and the bookies agree. ISA Bet have West Ham $2.12 to win and us $3.25 to win. This is a worrying turn of events, how can we have slipped behind West Ham for gods sake? They bought 2 Argentinean Internationals on transfer deadline day and we bought a French U21 International from about 12 years ago, that's why!! Hey, at least the new Temuri Ketsbaia has scored already I guess, and if he continues to do so then it'll keep us all quiet. "Ketsbaia, my lord, Ketsbaia..." I never really liked him first time around, so pardon me if I don't get too excited everyone. I'm not really expecting much from this game to be honest, I'd probably take a point now, and with Liverpool away on Wednesday night(BST) then we are in for a long week in the league. Positives, now come on there must be a positive somewhere? Ah yes Titus Bramble might be injured, sorry did I say that out loud. This is Newcastle United so we could just as easily go and win this game 2 or 3-1, cos let's face it, we are the masters of the roller coaster ride. I wouldn't put more than $20 on that happening though. My overriding memory of West Ham away games, is Dave driving all the way back from a midweek game, on three cans of Red Bull and half a box of Pro Plus tablets!! Dave had the next day off work but I didn't, so I tried to sleep as much as possible on the back seat. We got back to Newcastle about 4 or 5 in the morning and Dave was still buzzing, we'd lost 2-1 after being 0-1 up as well, bloody typical. |
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HOWAY THE LADS!!! |
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Did you know? West Ham have won the FA Cup three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980, and also captured the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1965, but have never won the League Championship. Our record at West Ham: League: West Ham 28 wins, Newcastle 13, Draws 13 Since Prem: West Ham 5 wins, Newcastle 4, Draws 2 |