The start of a new working week is upon us with all winter
festivities long gone and the realms of summertime far from reach.
However the Toon Army are an exception to the rule this year.
The Sports Direct Arena @ St. James’ Park was witness to the
Magpies' collection of three points and in opposition to the traits of the
black and white bird - the win was certainly not stolen.
Yesterday’s encounter between NUFC and QPR provided the perfect
platform for Alan Pardew to select at team that would expectedly win and win
they did, 1-0.
A home tie against a newly-promoted outfit was a no brainer
for the bookies, fans or neutrals in backing Newcastle for the victory, ultimately
mounting all the pressure onto the Tyneside outfit.
With top-scorer Demba Ba and engine room Cheik Tiote both
unavailable, as they flew out in search of lifting the African Nations Cup for Senegal and Ivory
Coast respectively, any sceptical Newcastle supporter would have been wary of
an unpredictable QPR side.
This was a team in the perfect position to exercise
the ‘new-manager-syndrome’ and come up trumps for Mark Hughes, likewise to the Mackem
Muffins since Martin O’Neill's arrival.
Leon Best stole the headlines yesterday after his nifty
footwork sent Rangers’ defender Luke Young for a custard pie before he slotted
home into the bottom bin in collected fashion.
The Gaffer now has a team selection headache in ranking his
forwards come the return of big DB. It was quite clear that before yesterday
Shola Ameobi was the favoured option over the former Coventry City man but yet
another sluggish performance from Ameobi and with the club quite openly seeking a
new centre forward, it could be one of his last turn outs.
On the upside though, Danny Guthrie showed once again that
he has technique, range of passing and a dynamic style of play that keeps the
ball moving in the right areas.
With players like Tiote and Yohan Cabaye fighting for the
same position, it is always going to be a losing battle for him to keep his
place in the central midfield berth. His efforts are appreciated but his
general reward is being stuck out on the flank in the return of the formers,
only for one bad game to see him dropped again.
Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, to date the Scouser hasn’t sounded
out his displeasure at being overseen, something that is quite an anomaly in
football today.
That’s it, my first thoughts splashed straight down onto the
page after yesterday’s game.
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