Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Newcastle’s worrying, barren run under Kevin Keegan stretched to its third game on Wednesday morning when they were beaten for the second time in four days by Arsenal. Once again, the Magpies came to play football and once again they were ruthlessly punished for their audacity. Most managers apologetically play five men in the midfield when they come to The Emirates and the excuse is always the same. “You can’t come here and try and play them,” they say, “you’ll get murdered.”
Newcastle didn’t quite get murdered here, as they didn’t on Saturday, but at the very least they went home with a bloodied nose and some cracked ribs. Should they be applauded for their endeavour or mocked for their naivety? I like to think the former, but how long will it be before the long-suffering Geordies begin the latter? For all their passing, they’ve actually only created a handful of shots on target in three games.
As I wrote in a very similar article on Saturday, and as Keegan implored afterwards, there are certainly signs of hope here. Newcastle played the ball around on the ground with lots of short intricate passing, but sometimes they were a bit too clever for their own good. Too many balls went astray, too many cross-field deliveries bounced straight over Charles N’Zogbia’s head. Newcastle, as Sam Allardyce knew, aren’t yet good enough to play this kind of football.
Now, if this world were sane everyone would see these three goalless games for what they are, the first tentative steps of a new, ambitious epoch . Unfortunately, this world, and Newcastle’s part of it in particular, is quite spectacularly bonkers. Allardyce was sacked for attempting to rebuild the club behind the shelter of functional, mid-table football. What will happen to Keegan if Newcastle lose to Middlesbrough on Sunday? How long does he have to indoctrinate his squad with this new, cavalier ethos?
Arsenal, of course, are already there, albeit with a little more discipline than Keegan is known for installing. They were typically emphatic in their victory and it restores them to their place at the head of the table. Remarkable, especially when you force yourself to remember that everyone wrote them off at the start of the campaign.
Emmanuel Adebayor took first blood with a stooping header in the six yard box, but for all of his pace and power, he remains a frustrating footballer. He wandered offside on several occasions, notably in the 25th minute when he was stranded some five yards behind Newcastle’s backline, but remained ignorant of it until 60,000 fans shouted at him. With nine goals in his last seven games, just imagine how good he could be if he could improve his positioning.
The understated Matthieu Flamini was the real star of the show. He worked tirelessly in the middle against the bruising duo of Nicky Butt and David Rozenhal, and his second goal was so good that I committed the much-frowned upon sin of applauding from the pressbox. The Frenchman could teach Adebayor a thing or two about timing a run as well, for it was his darting run into the box that gave him the room to assist the Togolese frontman to his first goal.
Three games in and there are still no goals for Keegan. Who would have predicted that? His team have been held by abhorrent Bolton and comfortably bested twice by the league leaders. Shots-on-target are as rare as hen’s teeth, Jonathan Woodgate would rather join Tottenham and Dennis Wise has been appointed as an Executive Director. To quote the great man himself, “It’s not like it said in the brochure.”
Newcastle didn’t quite get murdered here, as they didn’t on Saturday, but at the very least they went home with a bloodied nose and some cracked ribs. Should they be applauded for their endeavour or mocked for their naivety? I like to think the former, but how long will it be before the long-suffering Geordies begin the latter? For all their passing, they’ve actually only created a handful of shots on target in three games.
As I wrote in a very similar article on Saturday, and as Keegan implored afterwards, there are certainly signs of hope here. Newcastle played the ball around on the ground with lots of short intricate passing, but sometimes they were a bit too clever for their own good. Too many balls went astray, too many cross-field deliveries bounced straight over Charles N’Zogbia’s head. Newcastle, as Sam Allardyce knew, aren’t yet good enough to play this kind of football.
Now, if this world were sane everyone would see these three goalless games for what they are, the first tentative steps of a new, ambitious epoch . Unfortunately, this world, and Newcastle’s part of it in particular, is quite spectacularly bonkers. Allardyce was sacked for attempting to rebuild the club behind the shelter of functional, mid-table football. What will happen to Keegan if Newcastle lose to Middlesbrough on Sunday? How long does he have to indoctrinate his squad with this new, cavalier ethos?
Arsenal, of course, are already there, albeit with a little more discipline than Keegan is known for installing. They were typically emphatic in their victory and it restores them to their place at the head of the table. Remarkable, especially when you force yourself to remember that everyone wrote them off at the start of the campaign.
Emmanuel Adebayor took first blood with a stooping header in the six yard box, but for all of his pace and power, he remains a frustrating footballer. He wandered offside on several occasions, notably in the 25th minute when he was stranded some five yards behind Newcastle’s backline, but remained ignorant of it until 60,000 fans shouted at him. With nine goals in his last seven games, just imagine how good he could be if he could improve his positioning.
The understated Matthieu Flamini was the real star of the show. He worked tirelessly in the middle against the bruising duo of Nicky Butt and David Rozenhal, and his second goal was so good that I committed the much-frowned upon sin of applauding from the pressbox. The Frenchman could teach Adebayor a thing or two about timing a run as well, for it was his darting run into the box that gave him the room to assist the Togolese frontman to his first goal.
Three games in and there are still no goals for Keegan. Who would have predicted that? His team have been held by abhorrent Bolton and comfortably bested twice by the league leaders. Shots-on-target are as rare as hen’s teeth, Jonathan Woodgate would rather join Tottenham and Dennis Wise has been appointed as an Executive Director. To quote the great man himself, “It’s not like it said in the brochure.”
