Matchday Thread: Newcastle United vs Aston Villa

[Sanchino]

Disappointed, especially as we were leading and could have gotten a second if we kept pushing but too many tired legs all over the pitch and it was bound to happen. Credit to Villa they deserved a point so it's a fair draw. Grealish was there MOTM and I see why teams in the top 6 would want him he's technically brilliant with his vision, passing, movement, touch and dribbling. Bruce should have made changes in defense, should've given Lejune/Schar a chance and maybe Yedlin for Manquillo. In midfield Shelvey after an hour was literally like playing without 11 men he simply didn't get anywhere near nobody and there was a big gap in the center of midfield when Hayden left, just goes to show how criminally underrated he is and we look a better team with him in the team than without (Hayden). Miggy was anonymous most of the match and should've been subbed of earlier he ran out of gas / energy after the hour mark. Great subs in Carroll and Gayle, potentially a good partnership there (big man - little man duo), especially Carroll he should be our main striker if it wasn't for his injuries and finally ASM had another cracking game every time he is on the ball he brings panic, hesitation and unpredictably to defenses not only can he dribble and run past you with his ease but also you don't know if he's gonna shoot or cross. Very talented and should be a key component in this post-Ashley era if the Saudis take over, we simply can't lose him he's our best player. Our MOTM.

This point doesn't feel great because of the underwhelming performance and you could see it was a chance to slam the back door for definite on relegation but it's another point to safety and one more win should be enough (mathematically?). I hope everybody's fine for Sunday but I'll make a few changes in the middle and freshen things up put the older Longstaff in with Hayden as Shelvey will get overrun and will not be mobile enough to deal with City's slick and technical midfield so put him on the bench. ASM and Miggy have to start, maybe give Carroll a start to and drop Joelinton to the bench? Give Lascelles/Fernandez a break and get Schar/Lejune in. If Ritchie isn't fit enough give Gayle/Lazaro a start.

My team for Sunday

Duba
Manquillo Lascelles Lejune Rose
S.Longstaff Hayden
Ritchie* Miggy ASM
Carroll

*If unfit then stick Lazaro in he will provide width and give protection to Manquillo OR go 4-4-2 with Carroll/Gayle uptop and ASM/Miggy on the wings we may be open and go gung-ho but we might aswell give it a go, it's the FA Cup this is a great chance to get into the semis it will be tough against City but it's not mission impossible.

[Mr Oddshot]

Disappointed, especially as we were leading and could have gotten a second if we kept pushing but too many tired legs all over the pitch and it was bound to happen. Credit to Villa they deserved a point so it's a fair draw. Grealish was there MOTM and I see why teams in the top 6 would want him he's technically brilliant with his vision, passing, movement, touch and dribbling. Bruce should have made changes in defense, should've given Lejune/Schar a chance and maybe Yedlin for Manquillo. In midfield Shelvey after an hour was literally like playing without 11 men he simply didn't get anywhere near nobody and there was a big gap in the center of midfield when Hayden left, just goes to show how criminally underrated he is and we look a better team with him in the team than without (Hayden). Miggy was anonymous most of the match and should've been subbed of earlier he ran out of gas / energy after the hour mark. Great subs in Carroll and Gayle, potentially a good partnership there (big man - little man duo), especially Carroll he should be our main striker if it wasn't for his injuries and finally ASM had another cracking game every time he is on the ball he brings panic, hesitation and unpredictably to defenses not only can he dribble and run past you with his ease but also you don't know if he's gonna shoot or cross. Very talented and should be a key component in this post-Ashley era if the Saudis take over, we simply can't lose him he's our best player. Our MOTM.

This point doesn't feel great because of the underwhelming performance and you could see it was a chance to slam the back door for definite on relegation but it's another point to safety and one more win should be enough (mathematically?). I hope everybody's fine for Sunday but I'll make a few changes in the middle and freshen things up put the older Longstaff in with Hayden as Shelvey will get overrun and will not be mobile enough to deal with City's slick and technical midfield so put him on the bench. ASM and Miggy have to start, maybe give Carroll a start to and drop Joelinton to the bench? Give Lascelles/Fernandez a break and get Schar/Lejune in. If Ritchie isn't fit enough give Gayle/Lazaro a start.

My team for Sunday

Duba
Manquillo Lascelles Lejune Rose
S.Longstaff Hayden
Ritchie* Miggy ASM
Carroll

*If unfit then stick Lazaro in he will provide width and give protection to Manquillo.

Agreed on how underrated Hayden is. He brings a lot of solidity to that midfield, Shelvey has his moments but I agree overall he is becoming more of a hindrance than a help. I just feel like he doesn't fit the system Bruce is trying to play. Very much a square peg in a round hole.

[bodacious benny]

Fair result and I’ve have 100% taken 4 points from the first two games.

[Sir Bobby]

Fair result and I’ve have 100% taken 4 points from the first two games.

Me too. I thought 4 points from our remaining games would be enough to keep us up so I'm very glad that we a) got them in our first 2 games and b) stopped a relegation side from beating us. If we'd fluffed these two games I'd be getting nervous about now. Poor goal difference, teams gaining points on us, losing to relegation rivals. Even though today was a letdown, it's much more comfortable being where we are now. I feel like we're now in a position to go all out and enjoy the cup game with no worries about injuries etc.

[lassassinblanc]

Just caught up with the game. Nice finish by Gayle, would blame Shelvey more then Dubravka for the goal.

[bodacious benny]

Yeah I wasn’t really sure why the commentators were saying it was poor keeping tbh.

[Hjl]

That was f***ing tragic.

Booooooo

[Colly]

Shelvey is a liability . I was watching him just after kick off and he just ambles about . He Has the slowest foot work I’ve ever seen In a premier league footballer and above all
else he’s a Lazy cronut. Majority of his passes are kicked blindly over his head as he’s always facing the wrong direction. Sooner we get rid of him the better.

As someone who's been pretty much against the takeover from the start I'd probably change my stance if it guaranteed Shelvey going...

[Colback's Orange Tufts]

What happened to Bentaleb?

[bodacious benny]

What happened to Bentaleb?

Got to remember he’d barely kicked a ball for a year when we got him, then he only had a few games before lockdown so it’ll probably take him longer than others to get match sharpness back.

[originallad]

Yeah I wasn’t really sure why the commentators were saying it was poor keeping tbh.

Me either. I think Shelvey has been pretty poor in general. His kicking in the Sheff Utd game especially was awful.

[originallad]

What happened to Bentaleb?

Got to remember he’d barely kicked a ball for a year when we got him, then he only had a few games before lockdown so it’ll probably take him longer than others to get match sharpness back.

He brings the drinks out like a boss though.

[Don Sholeone]

Seen a few people saying this now but I've felt the same for a while, one of the exciting things about a takeover is being able to keep hold of ASM.
I'm getting to the point where I'm questioning how we managed to pull off his signing, he seems to just get better the more he plays in the PL, if he can improve his end product then he's not far from being the level of a Mane/Salah. I think with the right coach and a team built to suit him then his potential is huge. He's still 5 years away from his peak too so I don't think there is a ceiling in sight for him atm.

[ALF]

That assist from Carroll was incredible.

[Remember Colo]

Just caught up with the game. Nice finish by Gayle, would blame Shelvey more then Dubravka for the goal.

Ooh, I want to play this game! I blame Fernandez for what was a horrendous wayward header (under no pressure) that lead to the corner in the first place. And whichever coach instructed Shelvey to stand near-post. I'm 20% kidding about the first and 95% kidding about the second.

[Remember Colo]

Disappointed, especially as we were leading and could have gotten a second if we kept pushing but too many tired legs all over the pitch and it was bound to happen. Credit to Villa they deserved a point so it's a fair draw. Grealish was there MOTM and I see why teams in the top 6 would want him he's technically brilliant with his vision, passing, movement, touch and dribbling. Bruce should have made changes in defense, should've given Lejune/Schar a chance and maybe Yedlin for Manquillo. In midfield Shelvey after an hour was literally like playing without 11 men he simply didn't get anywhere near nobody and there was a big gap in the center of midfield when Hayden left, just goes to show how criminally underrated he is and we look a better team with him in the team than without (Hayden). Miggy was anonymous most of the match and should've been subbed of earlier he ran out of gas / energy after the hour mark. Great subs in Carroll and Gayle, potentially a good partnership there (big man - little man duo), especially Carroll he should be our main striker if it wasn't for his injuries and finally ASM had another cracking game every time he is on the ball he brings panic, hesitation and unpredictably to defenses not only can he dribble and run past you with his ease but also you don't know if he's gonna shoot or cross. Very talented and should be a key component in this post-Ashley era if the Saudis take over, we simply can't lose him he's our best player. Our MOTM.

This point doesn't feel great because of the underwhelming performance and you could see it was a chance to slam the back door for definite on relegation but it's another point to safety and one more win should be enough (mathematically?). I hope everybody's fine for Sunday but I'll make a few changes in the middle and freshen things up put the older Longstaff in with Hayden as Shelvey will get overrun and will not be mobile enough to deal with City's slick and technical midfield so put him on the bench. ASM and Miggy have to start, maybe give Carroll a start to and drop Joelinton to the bench? Give Lascelles/Fernandez a break and get Schar/Lejune in. If Ritchie isn't fit enough give Gayle/Lazaro a start.

My team for Sunday

Duba
Manquillo Lascelles Lejune Rose
S.Longstaff Hayden
Ritchie* Miggy ASM
Carroll

*If unfit then stick Lazaro in he will provide width and give protection to Manquillo.

Agreed on how underrated Hayden is. He brings a lot of solidity to that midfield, Shelvey has his moments but I agree overall he is becoming more of a hindrance than a help. I just feel like he doesn't fit the system Bruce is trying to play. Very much a square peg in a round hole.

I think Hayden's tackling, and especially his decision making of when to tackle (he used to foul far too much, and in the worst positions) has improved a lot this season - and he's been critical to defending in the midfield. I still think his passing needs to improve a though - he still botches too many simple passes (which are the only kind he even attempts), including some yesterday.