By Mark Deeks
October 6 2003

Hi there, everyone! Time to chew the fat over what has been a hugely eventful month. In a way it’s difficult to know exactly where to start. Obviously certain things still can’t really be talked about, so you’ll understand if I skirt around that subject at the moment.

Hi there, everyone! Time to chew the fat over what has been a hugely eventful month. In a way it’s difficult to know exactly where to start. Obviously certain things still can’t really be talked about, so you’ll understand if I skirt around that subject at the moment. In fact, I held back this column for a couple of days hoping that things might get blown open by a tabloid or two so I could give you an informed opinion, but as it is, it is all still very much a case of hearsay, rumour and counter rumour, so obviously things aren’t going to get any better if I weigh in with my size 12s!

Results wise in the last month we have had the 2-2 draw at Everton, the home 0-0 with Bolton, the 5-0 victory over Breda, the 3-2 reverse at Arsenal and the 1-0 win over Southampton. So despite all the depression around SJP, there has only actually been one defeat. At Arsenal. To a stupidly conceded late penalty. Less than 48 hours after playing a European game.

When you put it like that it doesn’t sound all that bad does it?!? What I am trying to do here is to gain some perspective on what is going on at my beloved Toon. Let’s look at this sensibly. 2-2 at Goodison. On the face of it not a horrendous result. Only made annoying by the fact that we led twice (including the fact that Robert finally decided he was going to prove he didn’t mind tackling, and managed to staggeringly make me wish he’d never bothered!), but threw it away by JJ conceding a seemingly needless penalty at the death. But overall, a point better than we got there last season. (And also one less GBH-style assault on our left back than last season as well. Don’t think I’ve forgotten Neale Barry…..)

Drawing 0-0 against Bolton would obviously seem like a worse result. What perhaps was the worst thing of all was that there were so few decent chances being created yet again. The atmosphere could hardly be described as electric and the frustrations were really starting to show. It really did seem that the rest of the Premiership had sussed our attacking line out. We seemed to be relying on fewer and fewer chances to win a game. The defence looked fairly decent, but then they were hardly under regular assault.

Perhaps the most memorable thing about the Bolton game was the performance of one Ivan “Dying Swan” Campo. This guy really has to be seen in person to be believed. I have rarely seen such an individual display of contempt for the beautiful game as Campo gave us this season. I wasn’t a particular fan of the guy before the game. I can’t stand him now. It was starting to seem like a NUFC player only had to be in the same acre as him for him to hit the deck. Fast. Like he’d been shot. In fact I was starting to wonder if those Weapons of Mass Destruction everyone’s been talking about had turned up inside our very own beloved “fortress” SJP and had all been pointed at the great floppy one!! And he obviously knew what he was doing and simply didn’t care.

To make matters worse, the ref just let him get on with it. There was one point in the second half when after yet another innocuous challenge Campo was sat on the deck, moaning, for what seemed like an eternity. The ref (eventually) asked him if he wouldn’t mind ever so slightly moving to the side of the pitch to continue receiving treatment. Campo merely moaned some more, waved his arms dramatically towards the ref and proceeded to not move a muscle. Did the ref get annoyed and forcefully instruct him to leave? Did he fneckers like! He just let him sit there until he was ready. The bloke was a law unto himself cos the ref certainly didn’t seem interested in enforcing the laws of the game! Shocking. He wants lining up, he really does.

So the Breda game arrived and it really did seem like make or break time. The Breda bunch (!) certainly were a passionate lot. In fact, I’d go as far to say that they were some of the best away supporters we’ve had the pleasure of hosting in a long time. They sang and sang, with their full allocation being there over an hour before kick off to try and raise the roof. Admittedly once the game started their enthusiasm waned a little, but then so would yours if you’d just travelled all that way to be faced with a team who had suddenly rediscovered their ability for wonderful flowing attacking football. But after the game, the rapport between the two sets of fans was fantastic! We stood applauding each other for ages, in and outside the stadium, and there were rival fans hugging and shaking hands everywhere you looked. One guy asked for my shirt! It was last season’s home kit which I admit is my fave one of recent years, and it also has my beloved “Bellamy 10” on the back. He had no chance!! But I shook his hand and gave him my Newcastle United Black and white Union Jack flag for which he seemed very greatful!

Make no mistake about it, Breda the team are not great. And for the first 20 minutes or so, we did look a touch edgy. But then it started to flood back. We really did play some lovely football that night. I was of course particularly pleased to see Little Craig hitting the net twice. And can I just give special mention for the move that led to the second. Fabulous. A thunderous tackle from Bramble, the ball broke to Dyer, who then set off on a great run, suddenly remembered how to play a killer, defence-splitting pass, to Robert who had bombed down the left wing, and just when we thought he was going to lash one of those irregular thunderbolts, he rolled it across the 6 yard box for Bellamy to gleefully tap home! It really was excellent stuff.

Dyer was given a new starting role on the right somewhat surprisingly, but it worked. In fact, in 90 minutes here he created more than in the previous season for my money. Perhaps a new lease of life for our recently often tired-looking midfielder?

I must just also say that Robert’s performance on the night was the best he has given for some time. And four assists in one game is obviously not to be sniffed at! Great also to see Bramble and (Ooh aah) Ambros(ia) get their respective first goals for the club. And to be honest, Bramble’s goal capped a majestic display at the back. When he’s good he really is good. But when he’s bad……..

Arsenal away only 2 days later, on a Friday night courtesy of the Sky cameras. Had the Breda win finally awoken our season, or would our recent exertions prove too much for us? As the rain lashed down we looked nervy early on as wave after wave of Arsenal attacks bore down upon us. However, when their breakthrough came, it wasn’t from a touch of class but from an absolute howler by Bramble. As Lauren swung over a fairly non-descript cross into our box, Bramble was unchallenged as he went to lace it away. Unfortunately, all Bramble made brief contact with was the lace of the ball as he allowed the cross to brush past him to the disbelieving Henry at the far post who doesn’t miss those. It is unlikely Big Titus will miskick like that again in his career. And if he does I can only hope he’s not wearing a Toon shirt when he does! Not good.

I really want Titus to do well. He’s a big lad. Seems to have decent natural ability, and obviously tries really hard. But there’s just this feeling that no matter what he does he remains a 75% fantastic player and a 25% liability. He went on to have a decent remainder of the game, but then he always does. We’ll see how he progresses with interest of course.

Then there was the performance of JJ. A player who regular readers will know up until recently I was a huge fan of, but about whom I am becoming increasingly worried. In my personal opinion the time has come to give the kid a break. He obviously has huge talent, but for me his attitude has taken over, and now things are starting to go wrong he doesn’t know how to handle it. After all, not much has gone wrong for him up until now has it? I think he started to believe his hype at the end of last season, started swaggering a bit too much for my liking, then tried THAT penalty, confidence took a knock, and now is struggling to keep his head up.

At Arsenal he gave a fairly decent performance over all, but then was personally responsible for two goals, as he lost his marker Edu for their second, and inexplicably waived his arm in the air for a taxi in the box to give away the penalty for their late winner. Now I can let him off the penalty he gave away at Everton. He’s young and he’ll learn not to fall for stuff like that. But this was just idiotic. No need. And incredibly frustrating. Make no mistake, Arsenal did not play great football here. Every one of their three goals was down to an individual error from one of our guys. We on the other hand came back from a goal down twice and still left with nothing. JJ is looking mentally tired to me. Time to give Boss Man Hugo a run in his preferred position I think, maybe in a midfield (L-R) of Robert / Ambrose, Bowyer, Viana, Dyer?

Special mention, however, goes to another good performance from Dyer on the right, providing the killer pass for both Toon goals, and Olly Bernard’s screamer of a finish to make it 2-2! That goal deserved a better result on the end of it. There really did seem little chance of him finishing from there when Dyer played him in, but as he slid towards the ball he managed to generate incredible power and it flew into the roof of the net. Superb.

So entering October still looking for a Premiership win and the league table looking a little perilous. Southampton, flying high so far, arrived with that little irritant Kevin Phillips in tow, and were surprisingly subdued. Alright it was hardly vintage Toon, but we never looked in trouble at the back, and overall probably deserved the three points. It took a great finish from Super Al to win the game, slamming into the corner after taking the chance early, leaving Niemi clutching at thin air. It was his 250th league goal, and another one for the great man’s scrap book. With Robert suspended, the somewhat surprising team selection had Bowyer in his third position of the season out on the left (what Messrs Viana and Ambros(ia) made of that I’d love to know!). However, to be fair I thought that Bowyer was very good. It was a performance full of energy and commitment and he thoroughly deserved to be on the winning side. He was even denied his first goal after the ref spotted he had controlled with his hand before slamming the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards with Niemi stranded! Mind you that was one of the few decisions the ref got right all afternoon but the less said about him the better!….. In the end it was all about the three points and that’s what we got.

It was good to hear the crowd roaring Sir Bob’s name at kick off. It really was stirring stuff, and hopefully helped confirm that his decision to stay on after all the recent rumours about his supposed resignation was the right one (even there more than likely was never any decision to be made!).

So we’re off and running. Surely through to the 2nd round of the Uefa Cup, a home time against a lower division side in the Carling Cup coming up, the first three points of the season secured, and if we win our game in hand we’ll be in mid-table. Perhaps we can finally achieve something this season. Who knows? But it won’t be for want of me screaming me’self hoarse at SJP once a fortnight! Keep the faith

Mark

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PLEASE E-Mail Mark Deeks with your views! (deekazoid@yahoo.co.uk!)