Top 6 hopes look far fetched at present. Let's see how Warnock operates in the market this summer.
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Warlock knew what was coming. Why else would he have started with Awful?
And City were exposed as comparatively lightweight if they want to dominate this league next season.
Shame - a rocking atmosphere. At least the crowd was up for it
Top 6 hopes look far fetched at present. Let's see how Warnock operates in the market this summer.
kris are you drunk again?
You think the top 6 is likely?
all your butthurt tonight is immense
Personally I thought we matched them for most of the game and the only difference was better finishing ( ours was awful) and 2 big refereeing decisions- Morrison goal and free kick and 12 yards distance for their first.
If we'd scored first we would have won.
Hoillett , Harris and No one were poor as was Halford. The rest were decent and if we'd started with Ralls and Pilks instead of Halford and Harris we would have got a result.
Atmosphere was good - why dig at the Canton, the Ninian ( where I sit) were as usual like a mortuary.
Canton were pretty good and Newcastle fans excellent. Again might have been different if we'd scored first
We had 4 chances should have scored from and the disallowed goal was soft. Newcastle scored from 2 half chances the game probably would have taken a different pattern if they were trailing but they were just a more athletic team.
It would suprise me if Newcastle stayed up they need a lot of improvement.
I would have thought Benitez knows that he needs to bring in quite a bit more quality in the summer if Newcastle aren't to be the relegation strugglers that they tended to be for a few years before they eventually went down - they've lost games to sides that they should have been swatting aside this season (e.g. Blackburn twice), and I think their overall record this season flatters them.
As for last night's game, I think Lawnmower got it right - although I'd say it was a little harsh of him to say Harris was poor when he spent so little time on the pitch.
The first half our defensive play ensured that they didn't look better than us despite the difference in league position and millions spent on the squads, we even had the ball in the back of the net twice before they got into our box.
The second half saw maybe three crunching tackles and better chances for City - we had maybe as much as four average to good chances to score - but their midfield was dominant and the differences between the two sides quickly became clear.
Both sides need a lot of work done over the summer to match what the fans are hoping can happen next year.
I don't understand the complaints about the free kick which led to Newcastle's first goal. It was an absolutely blatant foul, no doubt about it. Disallowing Morrison's 'goal' did appear a little harsh, but Manga also looked to have fouled his man and the ref blew up early.
In my view, criticism of the referee is very one-eyed and Warnock once again came across as a right tool after the game due to his whinging. Newcastle were denied two clear penalties and Richards could easily have been sent off instead of booked for what was a very reckless challenge, so things more than evened themselves out over the ninety minutes. The visitors were quite comfortably the better side, although their defence looked lightweight and City missed a couple of straightforward chances. Had they scored one of them it would have made things a lot more interesting, but Newcastle always looked like they could step things up a gear if they needed to.
Criticism of any ref will depend on how you perceive his decision and the one for Morrisons goal was unfair in the context of the ones given against us for Wolves, Villa and Barnsley and also the one NOT given to us at St James Park.
As I said about the foul for the first goal- I'd like to see it again. It looked soft and the Newcastle players did seem to be going over easily- probably also with the 2 'clear penalties' which you claim. I remember a couple of awful dives which could have been bookings and if they are the 2 which I think you are talking about then both were in front of the Newcastle fans who didn't seem too bothered, the City fans near wanted him booked.
In some games we've had things our way - like Leeds away, where the ref seemed to be making a point about not being intimidated, but against Newcastle we seem to get the worst of the big decisions ( although at St James' the Newcastle fans were very unhappy that the ref there let a lot of physical stuff go)
The first was during the first half when Halford tugged at Perez's shirt while he was in possession on the left-hand side of the penalty area attempting to get a cross in. It was a very clear foul and the ref had a pretty good view of it but chose to ignore it, possibly because Perez didn't make a meal of it at the time (although he complained directly afterwards). All of the Sky pundits agreed it should have been a penalty and Halford was very fortunate.
The second was while Newcastle were 2-0 up. A City player (can't remember who) pushed Atsu over in the box as he was running past. Another clear penalty. This time the ref ignored it probably because he thought Atsu had made a meal of it, but it was a foul all the same and should have been a penalty.