Newcastle United, The Alan Shearer Era Einstellungen

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Final

Team News:

Newcastle United's only absentees are Sebastian Bassong who is injured and Scott Sinclair who isn't allowed to face his club. Ron Vlaar has recovered from his injury problems and will start. The competition's joint top scorer with Falcao, Shaun Hampton finds a place on the bench as captain Ronaldo starts.

Chelsea have Ashley Cole out with a long term injury but otherwise have a full squad to choose from. Chelsea are expected to start with 5 in midfield.

Line-Ups
Newcastle United:
1. Yohann Pele
2. Miguel Chissano
4. Steven Taylor
5. Ron Vlaar
3. Jose Enrique
14. Danny Guthrie
7. Jonas Gutierrez
8. Jonjo Shelvey
11. Damien Duff
10. Falcao
9. Ronaldo

Chelsea:
1. Petr Cech
16. Jose Bosingwa
33. Alex
26. John Terry
25. Ryan Bertrand
13. Michael Ballack
5. Michael Essien
7. Deco
8. Frank Lampard
15. Florent Malouda
11. Salomon Kalou

Newcastle United 2 - 0 Chelsea (after extra-time)
Goals: Hampton, Duff

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle United battled through against all odds to lift the Carling Cup for the first time in the club's history. A little over 10 months ago Newcastle United fans were walking out of St James park knowing that life in the second tier of English football awaited, who would've known that fast forward a year later and Newcastle would've bagged 2 trophys already and in the hunt for 3rd and with Europa League spot beckoning.

It was to be a tight affair here at Wembley. Newcastle started the brighter of the two teams as Falcao missed a chance to put his team ahead after he directed Damien Duff's cross wide. But Chelsea slowly worked their way back into the game and Salomon Kalou missed a number of chances. But in 39th minute things turned for the worst for Newcastle as captain Ronaldo indicated to the bench that he couldn't continue and he was taken off and replaced by youngster Shaun Hampton. The first half was over and the score remained 0 - 0.

The teams resumed at blistering pace. First Shaun Hampton found Jonjo Shelvey in space whose shot was parried by Cech, then Kalou forced a save from Yohann Pele from 11 yards out. The conditions worsened as the blistering rain was falling down. In 69th minute Miguel Chissano pulled up and was unable to carry on as he was replaced by Ponce. Then Falcao found himself with the ball in front of goal, but he hesitated and instead of shooting passed to Hampton whose shot from a tight angle came off the top of the bar. Deco shot inches wide of Pele's left hand corner before the referee blew his whistle.

The two teams looked evidently tired in the extra-time. The first real chance fell to Shaun Hampton whose tame shot was diverted for a corner by Ryan Bertrand. From subsequent Damien Duff corner Alex tried to clear but didn't get enough distance on the ball and it sat up perfectly for Shaun Hampton who went for spectacular volley and hammered it into the top of the net past helpless Petr Cech. The stadium errupted as the Toon army finally found their voices.

Chelsea were pushing hard for an equaliser but Alan Shearer was trying to calm his troops. Newcastle were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box 3 minutes from time. Damien Duff stepped up and curled the ball past the 7-man wall and into the net to make the score 2 - 0 against his former club. Petr Cech got a hand to the ball but couldn't keep it out.

In the added time Falcao could've made it 3 - 0 after he failed to connect with Hampton's low cross but that would have been flattering for Newcastle. In the end it wasn't pretty, but it's the result that counts.

Man of the match:

Shaun Hampton scored the killer goal and in spectacular fashion. The youngster's introduction after his captain was taken off the field was inspirational and he was at the heart of everything for Newcastle.

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Semi-Final
Manchester United 1 - 1 Newcastle United
Goals: Rooney; Falcao

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle earned a draw thanks to an early strike from Falcao and have therefore progressed into the Carling Cup final after an 4 - 1 aggregate win over Man Utd. Chelsea beat Arsenal 2 - 0 thanks to Kalou and Alex's goals in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium. The two teams will now meet on the 21st of March at Wembley.

Man of the match:

Yohann Pele was solid throughout the match and pulled off a number of saves to earn his side a draw.

Ron Vlaar has suffered an injury in training after it was revealed that he fractured a toe on his left foot. With Bassong out already, this leaves only David Edgar and Steven Taylor as the established centre halfs. The Dutchman Vlaar is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks.

Matchday 37
Newcastle United 3 - 1 Burnley
Goals: Gutierrez x 2, Hampton; Mahon

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle cruised to a home win over Burnley thanks to a double from Jonas Gutierrez and a goal from Shaun Hampton. It was a comfortable win for Magpies and they never looked like they were ever troubled throughout the match.

Man of the match:

Danny Guthrie deputised well for the suspended Joey Barton as he controlled the core of midfield.

Matchday 38
Ipswich Town 2 - 4 Newcastle United
Goals: Walters, Stead; Smith, Duff x 2, Ronaldo

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle staged a brave fightback as they came back from 2 goals down against Ipswich, before Joey Barton was sent off late on for a second yellow card.

Man of the match:

Damien Duff's double helped his team's cause and puts him on 9 for the season.

The toon are in for Italian
Juventus ace interested in a move to Tyneside

Sky Sports News understands that Newcastle are in negotiations to sign Juventus midfielder Cristiano Zanetti. The former Inter star has fallen out of favour at the Old Lady and has only made 3 appearances this season. He has now been told he can leave the club in the summer as his contract is set to expire.

Newcastle are reportedly in negotiations to sign the midfielder as they look to add some experienced players to their very young team.

Sky Sports News earlier reported that Alan Shearer has flown to Italy but the reasons were unknown. However, now our sources report that he has met with the player and his agent and the deal could be struck within next 48 hours.

Our sources also claim that Zanetti will put pen to paper on a 2 year deal worth £1.5 million a year. This could spark rumours about the futures of Joey Barton and Danny Guthrie.

Matchday 39
Leyton Orient 0 - 1 Newcastle United
Goals: Villanueva

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle rested several players ahead of the Carling Cup final as Carlos Villanueva popped up with the only goal of the game. Ron Vlaar made the bench after he was passed fit.

Man of the match:

Scott Sinclair scored his 9th goal since joining from Chelsea on loan at the start of the season. He has also managed 15 assists.

Semi-Final
Liverpool 1 - 4 Newcastle United
Goals: Gerrard; Falcao x 2, Vlaar, Shelvey

Sky Sports verdict:

Are they simply unstoppable? After winning the Carling Cup after 120 minutes of football, they looked the fresher, the quicker and more importantly the better of the two teams. Newcastle United returned to Wembley to crush Liverpool in the semi-final of the FA Cup and set up a Tyne-Tees derby after Middlesbrough shocked Manchester City in the other semi-final. Falcao made amends for his misses against Chelsea and netted a double.

Man of the match:

Yohann Pele pulled off several world class saves to help his team reach the FA Cup final.

Matchday 40
Newcastle United 3 - 1 Swansea City
Goals: Vukcic, Sinclair, Ronaldo (Pen); Bauza

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle have extended their unbeaten run in the league to 40 games now.

Man of the match:

Scott Sinclair scored his 9th goal of the season since joining Newcastle from Chelsea on loan at the start of the season. The young winger has also managed to grab 15 assists this season. It remains to be seen whether Newcastle can agree compensation for the English under-21 international or if he will return to Chelsea.

Shearer happy with glory
Newcastle boss surprised by progress

Alan Shearer's team has just lifted Carling Cup and have a crack at the FA Cup live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD on 30th of May. Shearer seems perplexed by his triumphs:

"At the moment I am really happy. I can't explain why are we able to compete with top top teams now and weren't able to do so a year ago. I am certainly surprised we've done as well as we have done so far, but we still have important games to come."

"People said we'd struggle to get promoted when Oba (Martins) left, they said we'd struggle for goals. But our youngsters have done really well and players that decided to stay, I am sure have no regrets."

"It was also good that we had likes of Ronaldo, Pele and Vlaar come in as they filled very big voids left by departures."

Experience

Shearer also went on to reveal that Cristiano Zanetti will be Newcastle player next season.

"We've just got some formalities to sort out but the personal terms have already been agreed and he has signed a 2 year deal."

"Cristiano Zanetti has played for the 2 superclubs in Italy, and his experience will come in handy next season."

"I think he'll do well here, he has good quality on the ball and still has a point to prove I think."

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle United have gone on from strength to strength. After securing automatic promotion and subsequently the Championship Shearer's men went on a hunt for Premiership giants' scalps. Man Utd fell on the sword in the FA Cup semi-final, before Chelsea were slain in the Carling Cup final and then Liverpool's head was handed on a plate. Newcastle now can afford to plan for the next season, knowing that they have earned Premiership status and a place in Europa League.

[nicharit]

Absolutely amazing work with the Carling Cup win there! Also yet again great work on the diary

[noname]

You've gone entire season undefeated - that's pretty impressive mate

[nomaddjs]

Matchday 41
Newcastle United 2 - 0 Derby County
Goals: Gutierrez, Ronaldo

Sky Sports verdict:

A straightforward win for Alan Shearer's men with a goal in each half.

Man of the match:

Jonas Gutierrez produced a fantastic display in front of the Real Madrid scout as he scored and assisted Ronaldo.

Matchday 42
Watford 1 - 3 Newcastle United
Goals: T. Smith; Ponce x 2, A. Smith

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle United battled from a goal down to produce an inspired come back and secure yet another win.

Man of the match:

Sergio Amaury Ponce stunned the Watford crowd after he scored a late brace in second half to hand all 3 points to Newcastle United

Matchday 43
Newcastle United 3 - 1 Birmingham City
Goals: Shelvey, Falcao x 2; Agustien

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle were 3 goals up by 60 minutes and secured a relatively easy win, despite a late assault on their goal by Birmingham.

Man of the match:

Falcao scored twice in this very important match to secure the win for the magpies.

Matchday 44
Bristol City 0 - 5 Newcastle United
Goals: Ronaldo, Wood (o.g.), Falcao, Gutierrez, Duff

Sky Sports verdict:

Alan Shearer was pleased that his team kept a clean sheet, but more importantly that they haven't lost their touch in front of goal.

Man of the match:

Jonas Gutierrez played a magnificent match, at times it looked like he was dancing past players.

Sky Sports verdict:

A relatively easy month for the Alan Shearer's side - 4 games and 4 wins. The team is preparing ahead of the much anticipated FA Cup final against North-East rivals Middlesbrough. The club has been linked to a number of high-profile names ahead of the new season. Meanwhile a take-over of the club seems imminent as Mike Ashley is in negotiations with an Abu Dhabi consortium over the sale of the club.

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Matchday 45
Newcastle United 4 - 0 Barnsley
Goals: Shelvey x 2, Falcao x 2

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle United finished their last home game of the season with a bang as they brused aside Barnsley in front of capacity crowd.

Man of the match:

Young Jonjo Shelvey scored twice to make it 11 goals for the season from midfield.

Scott Sinclair to leave Chelsea
Hotshot Sinclair expected to join the Magpies

Chelsea have agreed to sell Scott Sinclair to Newcastle United for a fee believed to be £9 million. The youngster joined the magpies at the start of the season on a season-long loan. Scott started out on the bench with another ex-Chelsea winger Damien Duff being the first choice.

Scott's appearances off the bench have impressed Shearer enough to give him a few starts and Scott impressed a lot as he often was amongst the goals and more importantly he has made a number of goal-scoring assists.

Having made his debut for Chelsea in 2007 against Arsenal, Scott has failed to live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge. He had a number of loan spells most notably at Plymouth prior to his move to Newcastle. Scott appears to have done enough to earn a move to St James Park.

Alan Shearer has full of praise for the winger: "Scott is a tremendous talent, he's done really well for us and never let me down. He has a lot to learn but I am sure he'll only get better with time and games."

"I have to thank Chelsea for their amicable negotiations and Scott himself."

The winger will now discuss personal terms with Newcastle before officially putting pen to paper on the deal. Chelsea will have the first option to sign the player if Newcastle decide to sell.

Departures

Meanwhile, as expected a number of players will leave St James Park as the North-East club prepares for life in the Premier League.

The early departures include Kevin Nolan to Hull for £3.3 million, Kazenga Lua-Lua to Bristol City for £2.56 million, Chris Byrne to Brighton for £566,000 and Tim Krul to Willem II Tillburg for £1.34 million.

Other players are expected to leave as Newcastle should expect to battle to keep hold of some of their first team regulars.

Matchday 46
Fulham 1 - 3 Newcastle United
Goals: Dempsey; Sinclair, Ponce, Ronaldo

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle United have finished off their season unbeaten dropping only 10 points in the process of 46 games.

Man of the match:

Sergio Amaury Ponce stepped in for Jonas Gutierrez and crowned off his fine performance with a goal.

Sinclair completes move
Young talent signs on

Scott Sinclair today has put pen to paper on a 4 year deal at Newcastle United. The player has made 30 appearances for the Magpies in the league this season and scored 10 goals.

"I am delighted to join this great club." - Sinclair said.

"Alan Shearer has given me a chance and I hope I can repay him for his trust in me. I've enjoyed this season but I can't wait to play regularly in the Premier League."

"I'd love to play against Chelsea, obviously I have a soft spot for them but I will give it all to prove that they were wrong to let me go."

"It is exciting project here and obviously none of us expected it would turn out the way it did this season."

"I will now try and prove myself to the both that I am worth a starting place for the FA Cup final."

Spurs interest

"Chelsea informed me that Spurs have shown interest in signing me, but I couldn't turn my back on the fans and the manager that have been fantastic to me."

"The Spurs move was never on the cards."

"I am a Newcastle United player and I intend to achieve great things here."

Sky Sports verdict:

So Newcastle United have managed 46 games without defeat in what many consider the most competitive league in the world where the margins between a win and a loss are tiny. It seems laughable given that Newcastle finished 45 points above runners-up Charlton Athletic. Despite a dip in form, captain Ronaldo finished a goal shy of 40 as top scorer. With club linked to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been told he is free to leave Real Madrid, it promises to be an exciting summer for the toon army.

Der Beitrag wurde von nomaddjs bearbeitet: 29.07.2009 - 0:28

[nomaddjs]

Final

Team News:

Newcastle United don't have any injury problems ahead of the final and Alan Shearer has the full squad to choose from.

Middlesbrough's only absentee is Justin Hoyte who is missing out through injury otherwise Gareth Southgate has everyone available to pick from.

Line-Ups
Newcastle United:
1. Yohann Pele
2. Miguel Chissano
4. Steven Taylor
5. Ron Vlaar
3. Jose Enrique
14. Danny Guthrie
7. Jonas Gutierrez
8. Jonjo Shelvey
17. Scott Sinclair
10. Falcao
9. Ronaldo

Middlesbrough:
1. Ross Turnbull
19. Anthony McMahon
3. Emanuel Pogatetz
2. Robert Huth
25. Mathieu Debuchy
6. Didier Digard
18. Tuncay Sanli
13. Adam Johnson
8. Gary O'Neil
9. Afonso Alves
14. Marvin Emnes

Newcastle United 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
Goals: Falcao, Ronaldo; Tuncay

Sky Sports verdict:

Newcastle United came back from a goal down to lift the FA Cup and complete the domestic cup double despite the controversy.

Middlesbrough started off the better of the teams as they dominated the early posession. Newcastle looked more nervous and less composed as their passes were going astray. The first chance fell to Afonso Alves after he was put through by Adam Johnson on the left but the Brazilian failed to convert his chance as he shot straight into Pele's hands. Newcastle slowly started to come into their own as they created their first chance of the match towards the end of first half. Scott Sinclair crossed from the left his ball found Ronaldo but the striker headed inches wide under pressure from Pogatetz as Alan Shearer was claiming for penalty. And just when it looked like the teams were going in deadlocked at half-time, Middlesbrough broke away and Tuncay finished off a counter-attacking move by slotting the ball past Yohann Pele.

The teams resumed and Newcastle were determined to get back into the match. But as they attacked more they were leaving huge gaps behind for Boro to exploit. First Sinclair tested Turnbull from distance as his shot was parried for a corner then Shelvey forced a save from the Englishman. At the other end Tuncay had the chance to finish off the game but Pele tipped his 20 yard drive on to the post.

In 73rd minute happened a moment of huge controversy. Boro conceded a corner and Gutierrez proceded to take as Falcao beat his marker to head past helpless Turnbull. The keeper protested that Jonjo Shelvey blocked him off, but the referee pointed to the centre circle. Replays, however, showed that there was a lot of pushing between Turnbull and Shelvey.

However, things got from bad to worse for Ross Turnbull. Newcastle were awarded a free-kick with 3 minutes from time. A seemingly harmless cross from Jonjo Shelvey was spilled by Turnbull and captain Ronaldo punished the keeper by slamming the ball into an empty net. The game finished 2 - 1 as Newcastle beat the second Premier League opposition in the cup final.

Man of the match:

Newcastle United captain looked ecstatic when he lifted the FA Cup above his head at Wembley. It was his late winner that swung the game Newcastle's way as he found himself in the right place at the right time. A worthy winner.

Der Beitrag wurde von nomaddjs bearbeitet: 28.07.2009 - 23:42

[noname]

Fantastic achievements mate

Looking forward to see who you'll get for your Premier League campaign.