Newcastle (A) - Sat 18th Feb 2023 (5:30pm)

[Trumo]

Saturday evening in the North East against the Premier League's most recent sportwashing project. It’s pretty obvious what their new owners were hoping to do, and the Premier League and the FA allowed it. Of course they did. We as a country are governed by the sort of people who would sell their arse (and anyone else’s) if it made them a quick buck. They have improved a lot from last year it's true, but they've also better from a couple of teams being a lot worse than last year. Us included. It’s our last fixture before the Champions League rolls into town for the knockout stages, and the later kick-off is less of an issue seeing as we play the home leg against Real Madrid first, so preparation and especially recovery will be less of an issue than they might otherwise have been had we had to travel to Spain first. Still, we go into the game with a chance to show that the Everton game was the start of us finally getting our shit together, and at least try to ask questions of the sides above us in the table at present. So what is required at St James’ Park?

 

Audacity. Urgency. Fire. Work-rate. Intelligence. Electricity. Determination. Effervescence. Relentlessness. Speed. Energy. Heart. Energy x2. Nerve. Productivity. Energy x3. Tactical nous.

 

I don’t ask for much.

 

Last season’s correspondence fixture was a hard-fought affair, with a Saturday lunchtime kick-off prior to a Champions League away game in Spain. Jürgen picked the likes of Naby to start, and it was he who gave us the lead early on with some nifty footwork in the box to round the goalkeeper and fire past the Newcastle bodies on the goalline. We'd won the ball back at the start of that move thanks to a thundering challenge from Big Game James on Schar that won the ball, and of which the commentators and pundits were quacking about as a foul despite the footage clearly showing that the ball had been played first. We had other chances to extend our lead as we nullified Newcastle for the most part. 1-0 it finished, then. Not vintage stuff but 3 points in the bag as we hunted a league title and prepared for a Champions League semi-final second leg at Villarreal.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l83fziKTxUw

 

We’ve had some incredible results at Newcastle during the Premier League era, dishing out a hiding on more than a few occasions, but as these match thread pieces veer towards an older era, I’m going back to a game in mid-November 1975. Sir Bob Paisley was beginning to find his feet after a tricky first season in charge following the resignation of a club legend. The players would spark this season and match the stars of the 1972/73 campaign, pipping QPR to the league title and winning a second UEFA Cup by defeating Club Brugge. The game against the Geordies was somewhat routine, with the Reds coming from 1-0 down to win it 2-1 late on. Geoff Nulty opened the scoring for the hosts. Brian Hall grabbed the equaliser shortly before half time, and North East native Ray Kennedy grabbed the winner 2 minutes from the end. It was exactly the sort of game where you aren’t quite at your best but you keep going and grinding your opponents down. That’s what ultimately wins league titles. I couldn’t find any footage so here’s a match report from The Guardian.

 

 

Al Pacino was on a roll in the mid-70s, and the film topping the box office in November 1975 is one of his best. Directed by Sidney Lumet and co-starring John Cazale, Dog Day Afternoon is an absolute triumph of casting, acting and storytelling. It’s basically about a bank heist gone wrong, and the situation only gets worse as the would-be bank robbers are effectively cornered in the bank and reduced to taking people hostage and making increasingly desperate demands. It’s also a perfect example of how a media frenzy can feed events and contribute to them spiralling out of control. Lumet visited this theme again the following year when he directed Network. Dog Day Afternoon also includes a memorable moment when Cazale ad-libs a reply to try and make the notoriously intense Pacino break character and start laughing. He almost gets there!

 

 

Newcastle away is not an easy game to call, as Eddie Howe has brought about an upturn in fortunes and seen the Geordies challenging for a top 4 place whereas upon his arrival they were one of the favourites for the drop. As a boyhood blooshite fan, maybe they ought to have gone for him instead after sacking Rafa! Anyway, I’d expect Jürgen to ensure that his players are fully focused on the immediate job at hand, so motivation, preparation and application should not be an issue. 'Should' being the operative word. Let's show that we are over the malaise and put on a performance. Go out there, put a shift in and grab the 3 points.

[Aventus]

Will taste extra sweet if we can give them their first home defeat this season. 

[Kevin D]

D-Day.

[Anubis]

Howe’s Geordhadi’s are stalling. They are still difficult to score against but they aren’t tearing up trees attacking wise.

We need someone to match Joelinton’s physicality in midfield. Expect plenty of barging into people from him, but if he’s touched he’ll be on the floor crying.

 

I doubt we’ll see a repeat of the timewasting at Anfield, but after the way they lost that game I expect them to be fired up for this so we have to expect that and match them from the start.

 

Win, and they’ll start shitting themselves about their top four place.

[Pete]

Do more of the good things that mean winning & less of the bad that mean not winning.  

Also. Geordie cunts.  Make Ant & Dec cry.  

[House of Dirk]

16 minutes ago, Pete said:

Do more of the good things that mean winning & less of the bad that mean not winning.  

Also. Geordie cunts.  Make Ant & Dec cry.  

 

And Moaty

[Creator Supreme]

12-0 to Geordie Arabia, bollocks to optimism.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

It's odd that this lot have cultivated a recent enmity with our *ahem* friends and neighbours, because they've got so much in common with them: they love a good boo, they've got delusions of grandeur despite the trophyless decades and they have a football-related aversion to all things red. (Mrs O'T was recently talking to a Geordie colleague who said he's buying a new car and he's viewed a few perfectly good ones but turned them down because of the Mackem-red stitching on the black leather seats.)

 

We need points. This shower need slapping back down.

 

Just get these beat, Reds.

[Bjornebye]

 

This was number 2 hahaha

 

 

 

[Anubis]

Quick look on their forums reveals a fair few are not confident. Let us bring that to fruition.

[gkmacca]

Let's grab a couple of goals and then everyone keeps collapsing from cramp.

[Mook]

This is a huge game now, win & we are six points behind them with a game in hand.

 

We've had a few false dawns this season so let's fuck them off & take some of that fighting spirit from Monday into this one and knock these topless cunts into next week.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

17 hours ago, Aventus said:

Will taste extra sweet if we can give them their first home defeat this season. 

Another 97th minute winner would do for me.

[diamondjoe]

I predict 0-4.

[ZonkoVille77]

We're fuckin shite. 

[LFC 6 Times]

A win here could really kickstart our season. Would bring Virgil in for Matip and be tempted to give Bobby a start.

[elvis]

1 hour ago, LFC 6 Times said:

A win here could really kickstart our season. Would bring Virgil in for Matip and be tempted to give Bobby a start.

Mo through the middle please.

[3 Stacks]

The balance will be difficult in terms of who should start, given Madrid is just a few days later, and both games are really important. Bajcetic would play all the games in a perfect world, but can he do that at this point in his development?

 

 

[Bobby Hundreds]

My real hope is nobody says something upsetting and is then murdered chopped into tiny pieces while someone parades around in their clothes pretending everything is fine. If youre rich and powerful enough murder isn't a crime you can be guilty of. 

[El Rojo]

5 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

The balance will be difficult in terms of who should start, given Madrid is just a few days later, and both games are really important. Bajcetic would play all the games in a perfect world, but can he do that at this point in his development?

 

It’s a fair point on Bajcetic. We really need to win both games though and we don’t play after Tuesday until the Saturday night. 
 

 

[Razoray]

Madrid rested half their team during the week and will probably rest the other half for their game on Saturday night at 8pm. However, they are travelling for Tuesdays game. Play the best available 11 for Saturday evening. Use the subs a bit earlier than usual and hope we get 2 good results going into the Palace game.

Palace have drawn 3 and lost 4 of their last 7 and haven't won in 2023. Big opportunity in the next week 

[VladimirIlyich]

37 minutes ago, Razoray said:

Madrid rested half their team during the week and will probably rest the other half for their game on Saturday night at 8pm. However, they are travelling for Tuesdays game. Play the best available 11 for Saturday evening. Use the subs a bit earlier than usual and hope we get 2 good results going into the Palace game.

Palace have drawn 3 and lost 4 of their last 7 and haven't won in 2023. Big opportunity in the next week 

I wouldn't look further than one game at a time myself. We also have to come to terms with the fact that no matter how we look at it we are a completely different squad this season and much weaker than our rivals,barring a very good,say 13/14 players. Klopp knows this too,hence the hint dropping about a 'completely different' midfield next season. While I'd love us to win the CL again I wouldn't be surprised if the League became the priority so as to finish in the CL places. Going for both seems way beyond our current personnel,especially with our ongoing fitness woes.

[No2]

The players you would be concerned about a Saturday Tuesday turnaround are the lads warming their bums for 4 weeks. Henderson and Fab should be fine for both, their professional pride has to have taken a walloping in recent weeks, if they aren't chomping at the bit to resurrect their season then they're finished as Liverpool players. 

 

Same team as last week with Virgil back in for Matip.

 

Newcastle will be the same as Arsenal, once they drop they aren't rising again. Let's take these cunts down a peg or 2.

[Manny]

Worth noting that it's Newcastle's last game before the League Cup final against the mancs next weekend - admittedly it's 8 days between games, but the fanbase is going absolutely mad for that, their first final in >20 years and a chance to win their first silverware in 50 years. Hopefully they'll not be 100% focused on tomorrow.

[Razoray]

16 minutes ago, No2 said:

The players you would be concerned about a Saturday Tuesday turnaround are the lads warming their bums for 4 weeks. Henderson and Fab should be fine for both, their professional pride has to have taken a walloping in recent weeks, if they aren't chomping at the bit to resurrect their season then they're finished as Liverpool players. 

 

Same team as last week with Virgil back in for Matip.

 

Newcastle will be the same as Arsenal, once they drop they aren't rising again. Let's take these cunts down a peg or 2.

I was also thinking that Gomez should partner Virgil but Newcastle are a very big side. I'd go with Matip for the Newcastle game and Gomez for Madrid. His pace might protect Trent against Vinicius