Toon's Build Up To Big Day

Last updated : 11 August 2007 By Footy Mad - Editor

NEWCASTLE UTD 1 SAMPDORIA 0
5th August 2007

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given (Harper 38); Carr, Rozehnal, Taylor, N'Zogbia; Solano (Ameobi 46), Geremi, Butt, Milner (Ramage 69), Viduka (Martins 46), Smith.

Subs (not used): Luque, Edgar, Huntington, Forster, Pattison, Troisi, Carroll.

SAMPDORIA: Mirante; Lucchini, Campagnaro, Bastrini; Maggio, Delvecchio, Sammarco, Franceschini, Ziegler, Montella (Caracciolo 75), Foti (Bellucci 58).

The final match for Big Sam to run the rule over his players before the real action starts next week, and (injuries apart) I think he will be happy at how the pre-season build up has gone.

Alan Smith and Mark Viduka started the match as United's strike force, the pair renewing their partnership that saw 74 goals in 90 matches for Leeds United some seven years ago.

They have seen a lot in those seven years, both players have been to the top of the game and won medals, while Leeds have been a sorry sight without them. But that's football for you.

Can they take Newcastle to the heights of Manchester United or Celtic? Only time will tell. Smith is here for the long haul, while Viduka is a stop-gap, but two still two of the best players in the Premiership.

Geremi was again given the captain's armband, just as he was at Hull City in midweek, and with Joey Barton set to sit out the start of the campaign it looks odds-on the ex-Chelsea midfielder will skipper the team at Bolton next week.

It was lively encounter, with Devecchio and Nicky Butt squaring up to each other in the first half as tackles flew. And some could argue a little TOO lively. But it was the perfect workout at the Italians refused to lie down and take a beating just so the home crowd could have a happy day in the sun.

Viduka looked very sharp, certainly showing no signs of burn-out after his trip to the Far East on international duty with the Socceroos. His link-up play was superb, showing strength to worry the defenders and quick feet and speed of thought that will (hopefully) have Premiership defenders struggling to get to grips with him.

Viduka departed at half time, replaced by Shola Ameobi, with the score at 0-0.

The one concern was Steve Harper replacing Shay Given on 38 minutes, and not many of us in the crowd could work out why. Given sprinted down the tunnel so he was obviously not too worse for wear.

Smith should have scored in the 51st minute but his tap-in goal was ruled offside, when video footage later showed he was on-side. The England international thought he had marked his first appearance for United with a goal early in the second half, but having tapped in the rebound after Ameobi had seen a header saved, the flag went up.

Thankfully, the striker did not have to wait long for another chance to come his way. And when James Milner's delightfully-floated corner found his run from deep, the forward gave Sampdoria goalkeeper Antonio Mirante no chance.

Oba Martins played in the second half in a wide midfield position - so he would appear to still have a significant role to play should Allardyce go with Smith and Viduka up front. Then again, Smith played midfield for Man Utd, so they could easily switch.

Allardyce also has a revived Albert Luque to fall back on, while Michael Owen will expect to be a regular when he finally becomes a Newcastle (rather than England) player.

Another perplexing problem for Allardyce is what to do with Kieron Dyer. He still has belief in him, or so he says, although the Magpies boss openly said he was "more gutted than Alan Curbishley" when the deal went wrong on Saturday.

The midfielder was not even among the substitutes against Sampdoria following the shock collapse of the transfer, and we all know how he was greeted by the Toon Army when he appeared as a sub against Juventus.

Smith's goal and encouraging displays from Geremi in midfield and David Rozehnal at the heart of the defence, means that Allardyce's new arrivals seem to be settling in well.

And, with Spain Under-21 international left-back Jose Enrique and Brazilian centre-back Claudio Caçapa watching from the stands, Allardyce's squad is starting to take shape. But throwing everyone in at the Reebok on Saturday could be a lot of pressure on everyone. Sadly they didn't sign three weeks ago.

HULL CITY 1 NEWCASTLE UTD 0
1st August 2007

NEWCASTLE UTD: Harper, Huntington, Ramage (Francis, 66), Edgar, Lough, Pattison, Geremi (Godsmark, 54), N'Zogbia (Bertram, 70), Carroll (Danquah, 77), Martins (LuaLua, 54), Troisi (Doninger, 66).

Subs (not used): Forster, Krul, Ferguson, Patterson, Marwood, Morris.

You normally learn something from every game, but this was a total waste of 90 minutes, and I came away wondering why the hell I bothered. Dean Marney's first-half strike settled the match, if you can even call it a "match".

Marney struck five minutes before the interval with a shot from 22 yards that clipped someone on the way, and Hull came very close to a second late in the match when they rattled Steve Harper's crossbar.

I'm sure Hull manager Phil Brown will be delighted with the result, and probably the performance too, because Newcastle rarely got out of the blocks.

There weren't too many big names out there, and the biggest - Oba Martins - put in enough graft to impress, but what was he supposed to do with the Bolton-type long ball the Toon fans worry about? What's the point of having a healthy doze of talent in midfield when it gets bypassed.

It was a less than convincing display from Newcastle just 10 days before the Premier League season but how many of these players will be at the Rebok on August 11th?

For the record - Martins had Newcastle's first attempt of note, his weak left-foot shot from 20 yards hitting the target as he tumbled off balance. And Boaz Myhill palmed away an Andy Carroll header from a corner before Geremi found Martins with a ball over the top but the Nigerian striker could not control and Myhill collected.

Looking at individuals - Harper looked solid if not spectacular; Ramage and Huntington are well short of being Premiership class (as if we didn't know that already); if N'Zogbia DOES end up at Fulham I'd happy to take the cash; and Carroll looks far from happy with the 'long ball'.

Hull earned a deserved win and good luck to them. As for Newcastle, let's pretend we didn't even make the trip and look to the future.

NEWCASTLE UTD 2 JUVENTUS 0
29th July 2007

NEWCASTLE UTD: Shay Given, Stephen Carr, David Rozehnal, Oba Martins, Charles N'Zogbia, Nobby Solano, James Milner, Albert Luque, Geremi, Peter Ramage, Paul Huntington

Subs: Kieron Dyer, Steve Harper, David Edgar, Matty Pattison, James Troisi, Andy Carroll, Tim Krul, Charlie Barnett, Alex Francis, Darren Lough

JUVENTUS: Gianluigi Buffon, Sergio Almiron, Jonathan Zebina, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Pavel Nedved, Jorge Andrade, David Trezeguet, Zdenek Grygera, Cristan Molinardo, Tiago Mendes, Marco Marchionni

Subs: Emanuele Belardi, Alessandro Birindelli, Giorgio Chiellini, Hasan Salihamidzic, Alessandro Del Piero, Jean Alain Boumsong, Domenico Criscito, Raffaele Palladino, Antonio Nocerino, Manuele Blasi, Nicola Legrottaglie

Toon fans who expected to "pay on the gate" were in for a shock if they arrived straight after the pub. Newcastle weren't expecting much of a rush and only had four turnstiles open for cash, but some fans missed most of the 1st half!

Italian giants Juventus began their mini tour of England with this glamorous fixture on Tyneside, and gave as much as they got on the pitch, but failed to find the back of the net.

United won it thanks to two first-half goals, as the started with almost the same line-up that beat Celtic 4-1 on Thursday. Ex-Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt didn't shake off his injury and was replaced by French youngster Charles N'Zogbia.

So, once again it was not the strike force Big Sam is expected to start the season at Bolton on August 11th - Michael Owen and Mark Viduka. Obviously Owen, who has taken some stick in the morning's newspapers from ex-Toon chairman Freddy Shepherd, is still injured - while Viduka is again rested after his international appearances for Australia. Instead Albert Luque was given another start and another chance to impress his new boss as he partnered Oba Martins.

United scored on 9 minutes with a penalty from Luque, his third goal in two games, although there was a big debate on who was going to take it. The penalty was given for a foul on winger James Milner.

Andy Carroll, who replace the injured Luque, scored his first senior goal when the ball fell kindly for him in a goalmouth scramble.

But it was Juventus who had the first chance, Italy forward Vincenzo Iaquinta making light work of Paul Huntington's challenge before rolling the ball straight at Shay Given in the Newcastle goal.

The Turin side set the pace early on and it was against the run of play when Mark Clattenburg awarded the hosts a ninth-minute penalty as Jonathan Zebina impeded James Milner in the area.

That gave Luque the opportunity to convert from the spot and he did so calmly to grab his third goal in two games, following a brace against Celtic.

Milner continued to threaten on the left flank, twice breaking dangerously on the counter-attack, while Iaquinta looked to have the beating of Huntington when the visitors had possession.

Marco Marchionni also impressed but his finishing could not match some fine approach play.

Soon after, an underhit clearance by Huntington gave Juventus possession and when captain Pavel Nedved hooked a shot hard and low at the Newcastle goal it took a diving save from Given to preserve his side's advantage.

Newcastle doubled their lead when an astute pass from Charles N'Zogbia put Martins clear on goal.

His powerful shot was parried by Gianluigi Buffon and when the loose ball found its way to Carroll, on the pitch for two minutes as Luque came off with a minor knock, he composed himself before firing across the World Cup-winning goalkeeper and into the net.

Allardyce made changes at the interval, with Kieron Dyer - who has been linked with a move to West Ham or Tottenham - among the new arrivals.

Although he received a mixed greeting from the fans he started brightly and was central to a move that saw N'Zogbia narrowly miss with a drilled shot from 30 yards.

The Magpies continued to pressure their opponents and Nolberto Solano 's 53rd-minute free-kick missed everyone in the box before forcing a good save from Buffon.

Juve briefly came to life on the hour mark when a nice piece of control allowed Marchionni time to line up a shot from just outside the area.

He hit a curling, right-footed effort but Given was equal to it and pushed it forcefully to safety.

Two minutes later, Dyer picked up the ball and dashed 60 yards, exchanging passes with Matthew Pattison before showing neat footwork to glide into the box.

The England midfielder stopped before releasing his shot but Buffon's outstretched hand denied him.

In an increasingly youthful team - Solano and Steven Carr making way for Darren Lough and Charlie Barnett, who joined Pattison, James Troisi and David Edgar on the pitch - Dyer was becoming influential and had a penalty appeal turned down as he again attacked at speed.

N'Zogbia, another one of the few remaining first-team regulars, also shouldered responsibility and tested Buffon with a well judged free-kick 15 minutes from time.

The Italians also opted to blood some less celebrated players in the second half but it was skipper Nedved who spurned their best chance, scooping the ball over the crossbar after being allowed to enter the area unattended.

Dyer nearly capped things off for Newcastle with a cheeky back-heel into the net, but his effort was disallowed for offside.

NEWCASTLE UTD 4 CELTIC 1
26th July 2007

NEWCASTLE: Given, Carr, Huntington, Ramage, Rozenhal, Solano, Geremi, Butt, Milner, Luque, Martins. Subs: Harper, N'Zogbia, Taylor, Edgar, Pattison, Troisi, Carroll, Krul.

CELTIC: Boruc, Caddis, Kennedy, McManus, Naylor, S Brown, Hartley, Donati, McGeady, Zurawski, Vennegoor of Hesselink. Subs: Miller, Balde, Riordan, Gravesen, Pressley, Jarosik, M Brown, McDonald, Killen, Irvine.

Sam Allardyce, who has been trying to shift Albert Luque to pastures new during the summer, promised him a chance to prove himself all over again after a couple of deals fell through.

He and Obafemi Martins combined to put United 3-0 up at the break as Celtic fell apart and their defence couldn't handle the pace of the two strikers.

Celtic tried to stem the tide in the second half, and were helped by Allardyce making mass substitutions that killed off a great game, and the visitors scored on 72 minutes through Scott Brown with a consolation strike. But James Milner made it 4-1 at the death.

The majority of Celtic fans arrived at lunch time and filled the bars around Gallowgate and Central Station, making the city a colourful sight.

They were part of a superb crowd of 30,225 for a friendly match, and watched a superb first-half - if you were a Geordie of course.

Geremi and Nicky Butt looked good in midfield, and Solano did superb work down the right. All in all, a very enjoyable evening as Celtic were outclassed.

Newcastle were without Michael Owen, Joey Barton and Shola Ameobi, all injured, and Mark Viduka is just back from international dut. The omission of Kieron Dyer had many believing we have seen the last of the England international.

Allardyce admitted yesterday that the 28-year-old midfielder is set to leave, and the Toon manager ... and the majority of the fans ... won't be losing much sleep over it.

We have a new era with a new owner, a new chairman and a new manager in place, and the future indeed looks bright. All we need now is a decent defence, and on this showing it highlighted how a good side would have ripped us apart. As it happens, this was arguably the poorest Celtic side I have seen for years.

They are a big fish in a "two club league", and this performance showed how they would not last five minutes in the Premiership.

Luque has had a dismal two years since his £9.5million move from Deprtivo La Coruna, but perhaps he can learn from Nicky Butt, who also had the fans on his back at this period of the season last year. The ex-Man Utd had returned from Birmingham after failing to win over the Blues fans and we expected "more of the same" from him. But he put in two brilliant performances in pre-season friendlies and it saved his career. He has not looked back.

Martins set the Toon on their way with a 11th-minute lead thanks to a right-foot shot that squeezed past the goalkeeper. Then the Spanish international fire home from Milner's cross on 29 minutes, then did the same three minutes before the break with Nolberto Solano this time supplying the cross.

Shay Given was only called into action when he had to tip Aiden McGeady's deft 33rd-minute shot over the bar, and United back-line was never in full control. But Celtic made it easy for them.

Luque made way for Andy Carroll at the break as Allardyce made four changes, and but for a miskick in front of goal the newcomer might have announced his arrival with a fourth within five minutes.

Defender John Kennedy's careless 55th-minute back-pass let Carroll in with substitute goalkeeper Mark Brown rescuing his team-mate.

Vennegoor of Hesselink fired well wide under pressure from half-time arrival Steven Taylor on 59 minutes, but Milner left Lee Naylor for dead to drill a shot just past the far post two minutes later.

Midfielder Scott Brown set off on a mazy 67th-minute run and crossed to the near post as the visitors looked to save face, but David Rozehnal was on hand to clear.

However, Brown got his name on the scoresheet when he headed McGeady's 72nd-minute cross past Given.

Celtic finished strongly as Allardyce continued to make changes - reserve keeper Steve Harper played the last 11 minutes as a striker - and Given denied Brown a second after he was played in by substitute Kenny Miller.

But Milner wrapped up the win with an excellent last-minute strike with Harper playing a key role in the build-up. Sadly Taylor limped off as Newcastle finished the match with only ten men.

CARLISLE UTD 1 NEWCASTLE UTD 1
21st July 2007

CARLISLE: Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy (Kirkup, 65), Aranalde (Arnison, 61), Gall (McDermott, 61), Bridge-Wilkinson (Carlton, 61), Thirlwell (Lumsdon, 61), Smith (Joyce, 76), Hackney (Dalton, 81), Graham.

Article continues below

Subs (not used): Howarth

NEWCASTLE UTD: Harper (Krul), Carr (Bertram), Rozehnal (Huntington),
Ramage (Francis), N'Zogbia, Dyer (Troisi), Barton (Lough), Solano, Butt
(Geremi), Carroll, Martins (LuaLua).
Subs (not used): Milner, Forster.

Joey Barton started the match as Newcastle United skipper but an injury ruined what could have been a great day for the ex-Manchester City midfielder.

Shay Given and Shola Ameobi were rested, Michael Owen was out with a thigh injury, and Mark Viduka was suffering misery in the Far East where Australia were being knocked out of the Asia Cup on penalties.

But otherwise it was a very strong Newcastle side that had to thank Nobby Solano for a last gasp goal to save the blushes.

All eyes were on Oba Martins to create the chances, and as early as the 6th minute he struck a left-foot strike that 'keeper Kieran Westwood tipped round the post.

Westwood again foiled the Mags on 22 minutes when Nicky Butt clipped in a
right-wing cross and Barton headed powerfully at goal, but the goalkeeper was equal to it.

Two minutes later Martins hit the side netting and Andy Carroll went wide of the post just before half-time. 0-0 at half-time and Steve Harper was hardly troubled.

Yet Carlisle grabbed a shock lead just 11 minutes after the restart when Michael Bridge-Wilkinson crossed from the left with Danny Livesey heading firmly past Harper with the Toon keeper rooted to the spot.

As you usually find in pre-season friendlies, the second half was constantly interrupted by a series of substitutions by both sides which killed off an otherwise decent match.

On 64 minutes Geremi fired in a free kick goalwards from 30 yards which just went wide.

Another halt in the match came with an attempted pitch invasion by two supporters which caused another minor delay, and more frustration for the fans wanting to see a game of football rather than two idiots trying to make a name for themselves.

Newcastle looked to be heading for an embarrassing defeat but Nobby Solano chested down a superb cross on the corner of the box before firing over the top of keeper to save face.

HARTLEPOOL UTD 1 NEWCASTLE UTD 3
17th July 2007

HARTLEPOOL UNITED: Lee-Barrett (Budtz 46), McCunnie, Clark, Antwi, Robson (Monkhouse 63), Gibb (Brown 46), Liddle (Turnbull 84), Sweeney (Bullock 68), Humphreys (Elliott 46), Porter (Moore 46), Mackay (Barker 46).

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Given (Harper 46); Carr (Lough 74), Ramage (Francis 89), Rozehnal (Solano 46), Huntington; Dyer (Pattison 64), Butt (Troisi 46), Barton (LuaLua 75), N'Zogbia (Bertram 75); Carroll (Ameobi 46), Martins (Owen 46).

Both managers described the event as a "run out", and thankfully that was the mood of the game. Unlike the day Kevin Keegan took his stars to Hartlepool back in 1993 and it turned into a kicking match.

The headlines are sure to reflect on Michael Owen's first goal for Newcastle in 19 months and a winning start for new boss Sam Allardyce.

It is only a friendly and no-one ever takes much from it, but I wonder how Allardyce felt when the League One side took the lead through James "I Feel Good" Brown.

Newcastle started with Oba Martins and Andy Carroll up front and the two new boys Joey Barton and David Rozehnal making their unofficial debuts.

Barton marked his debut with a positive performance while David Rozehnal helped steady the Newcastle ship.

Hartlepool showed no fear, their players were out to enjoy the evening and perhaps catch the eye. And Antony Sweeney tested Shay Given in the fourth minute to show they weren't going to spend the 90 minutes asking for autographs.

Martins seemed certain to find the back of the net when Charles N'Zogbia found the perfect pass that cut through the Pool defence, but the goalkeeper made a superb save.

Both Carroll and Barton also saw efforts blocked.

Within seconds of the restart Owen found himself one-on-one with the keeper but came off second best.

Within five minutes Hartlepool shocked the Premiership side when Matty Robson's miss-hit shot found Brown and the winger drilling a powerful shot past Steve Harper.

Seven minutes later Kieron Dyer put Ameobi through to step around the helpless Budtz and roll the ball into the net.

In the 58th minute James Troisi found Owen who placed the ball past Budtz to make it 2-1.

Hartlepool thought they were back in it when Ben Clark appeared to have headed an 61st-minute equaliser, but his effort was chalked off for a foul.

Ameobi undid all of Budtz's great work when his shot caught the Scandinavian off guard and the 'keeper allowed the ball to squirm from his grasp to give Newcastle the match.