The Heat Lifts As Allardyce Gets It Right (At Last)!

 

Sam Allardyce had been told the result against unbeaten Arsenal "didn't matter", but the performance obviously DID matter.

Not since October 1930 had Newcastle lost two back-to-back league games at St James' Park by THREE goals.

United bounced back to beat Leeds United 4-1 way back 77 years ago, so Big Sam would have rewritten the record books if the Gunners had chalked up a big score.

Thankfully it didn't happen, and those that stayed away probably wish they hadn't.

Steven Taylor proved the Geordie hero as Newcastle rediscovered their form just in time to slacken the noose around boss Sam Allardyce's neck.

The 21-year-old struck on the hour to send the fans into raptures.

After a run of five games which had yielded just one point, the prospect of an Arsenal rout on Tyneside was predicted by the bookies, and I cannot ever remember the odds so high for a Newcastle win at St James' Park.

However, Allardyce's men produced a performance of real character despite Emmanuel Adebayor's unbelievable fourth-minute opener to deny the Gunners a six-point lead at the top of the table.

A single point alone may not turn Newcastle's season or Allardyce's fortunes around, but the bulk of a crowd of 50,305 went home confident that better times lie ahead for the first time in weeks.

It wasn't a win ... but it was a start! And when Allardyce said last week "50,000 Geordies think they can pick a better team than me" ... I'd agree with the 50,000. I believe they COULD!

But Big Sam took notice of the Toon Army when they made their feelings felt in recent weeks that they expect a Newcastle team to ATTACK at St James' Park, rather than set out for a draw ... like they did against Liverpool.

Allardyce didn't get everything right, and the gap at right-back was there from kick-off to the final whistle, but at least his striker options were positive.

I'm sure Habib Beye will be the main topic of conversation at St Andrews today as Birmingham plot their visit to St James' Park on Saturday.

He may have made a name for himself in Europe, but the Premiership is proving that yard too much for him at present. And that will not have gone un-noticed.

Unfortunately it was the left-back position that caused the first problem of the evening, with Charles N'Zogbia gifting Arsenal the lead.
 
Adebayor, who had earlier earned the jeers of the home fans for complaining about Taylor's innocuous challenge, silenced them with a breathtaking finish.

Whether or not he should have been allowed to get in between central defenders Taylor and David Rozehnal will no doubt have been discussed in the dressing room at half-time, as the Togo striker controlled Emmanuel Eboue's cross on his chest before thumping an unstoppable volley past Shay Given.

It was just what Allardyce and his players did not need, but to their credit, they fought back.

Man-for-man I don't think any team in Europe can compete with Arsenal's flashy midfield, but at least (if you can't match them for style) give them a kicking, and Joey Barton and Nicky Butt did just that.

While Arsene Wenger's men were at times almost irresistible on the counter, Newcastle tried to hit back, and where they had not managed a single shot on target against Liverpool, threatened on several occasions.

The half-time whistle for once brought warm applause, but Newcastle returned knowing the hard work had barely started.

They started brightly once again as Charles N'Zogbia warmed Almunia's hands with a rising left-foot strike from distance which might have caused him real problems had it been set off a yard to his right.

However, Newcastle got their reward on the hour when Smith flicked on Habib Beye's cross and Martins dummied it for Taylor to fire home off the foot of the post.

Arsenal were clearly rattled as the Magpies sensed the tide had turned, and when Allardyce replaced Geremi with striker Mark Viduka, the fans were overjoyed the boss was actually going for a WIN!

It didn't happen ... but boy did it come close.

Let's hope Big Sam has learnt a big big lesson.