Newcastle 3 v Man U 0 Player Ratings
A fantastic display and result for the Magpies tonight against a dismal Man U side that looks dreadfully short of creativity and guile. Back to back defeats against two opponents not in the “top 6”, combined with a shockingly early exit from the Champs League, has put Sir Alex in a position he hasn’t seen in years, desperate for Jan reinforcements. While I do not believe Sneijder is the answer, Man U will surely need to bring a creative midfield star if they want to keep up w/ Man City (or hope Balotelli blows up Silva’s house with him in it). Newcastle, on the other hand, are in dreamland after deservedly beating Man U for the first time in 10 years and finally having a few players in the squad capable of playing for a Champs League contender. The spine of the team is terrific and if they are to keep their stars in this transfer window, get lucky with injuries, and sign a quality CB and/or attacking player, the top 6 is not implausible.
Newcastle
Krul 6.5- Surprisingly had little to do today and did his job as well as he could. Got lucky that Berbatov’s deflected header hit the bar and Simpson was there for his goal line clearance.
Santon 7.5- For such a young player, he is so composed and intelligent when on the ball and when in defense. He looks like pure class and will only improve if he is able to remain off the injury table.
Coloccini 8- Since Lucas tore his ACL, Collo has officially taken over the mantle as most underrated player in the league. While he lacks the speed to keep up w/ quick strikers, his positioning, intelligence, and skill on the ball are simply world class. Ashley must resign his captain before he leaves for greener pastures.
Williamson 6.5- Won his headers, positioned himself well, and had another solid performance. For a backup CB, he is mighty impressive.
Simpson 7.5- Had one of his best performances of the season against his former team. He kept Park in check throughout and capped off his performance w/ a fantastic goal line clearance to preserve the shutout.
Gutierrez 5- After starting the season so brilliantly, he has looked completely average in the last month. He couldn’t beat Valencia 1 on 1 to save his life today but as usual, he worked his socks off and helped out his defense when need be.
Tiote 8.5- A beast among men. He took Rooney out of the game while protecting his backline brilliantly and looked back to his powerful best. A bid of at least 20 million from one of the top teams will be the only way he doesn’t become a Newcastle legend. Along w/ Ba, he will be sorely missed the next couple weeks.
Cabaye 8- A brilliant all around display capped off by one of the free kicks of the season. For less than 5 mil, he surely is one of the buys of the season and could be starting in midfield for France when Euro cup rolls around this summer. Twice the player of Barton w/ less than half the headache.
R. Taylor 6- The utility man was back to his normal position in midfield and had a decent game. He does not possess the speed to cause much havoc on the right wing but did his job well today.
Amoebi 4.5- With Best playing so poorly lately, and Arfa not having the physical presence needed against Man U, I was actually happy Pardew decided to give Amoebi the surprise start today. While it did not matter because Newcastle won and Amoebi was able to set up the first goal w/ a brilliant flick on header, his touch was awful, positioning even worse, and still looks to have the intelligence of a preschooler on the pitch.
Ba 8.5- Easily the buy of the season so far. To sell Carroll for 35 mil and get Ba on the free has to be one of the sports coups of the century. His touch was world class throughout the match and his goal was taken absolutely brilliantly. His ability to make runs behind the defense, while also being able to play in the zone between the oppositions defense and midfield, has made him one of the most complete strikers in the world. Newcastle fans all over the world will be praying his glass knees hold up until the end of the season.
Subs
Perch 5.5- Did what he needed to do to preserve the shutout.
Best/Obertan- NA
Man U
Lindegard 5.5- Could do nothing with the first goal, needed a stronger tip for the second goal that would have been a sensational save if he had made it, and was left helpless by Jones for the third goal.
Evra 5- The former best LB back in the world had another average game today. He has not looked like the same player since he boycotted the French squad in the WC and will need to get back to his old form quickly if Man U is going to win the title.
Ferdinand 5- He is past his prime and couldn’t really cope w/ the sensational Ba all game. Not a bad game by any stretch of the means but needed to position himself better for Ba’s strike in the 1st half. He was extremely lucky to have not given Newcastle a penalty when he took out Ba in the box.
Jones 5- He will take a lot of shit for his performance today because of the horrible own goal at the end. However, the own goal was inconsequential as it came when the game was already over and he played pretty decent until then. His yellow card tackle on Ba which led to Cabaye’s free kick rocket was actually an intelligent foul because Ba looked surely to have broken free. Only if Man U wasn’t in such an injury crisis, Sir Alex could have given Jones a game off that he surely deserves.
Valencia 6.5- The fact that Man U’s best attacking threat was from the makeshift RB pretty much described their performance or lack of performance. He dealt w/ Guiterrez easily and was unlucky to be on the losing end today.
Park 5- Was on the periphery all game and don’t remember him doing anything of note. A very average performance from the Korean star.
Giggs 5- At this stage in his career, he is better used as an impact sub and it showed today. He was chasing shadows all game and lacked his typical penetrating touch.
Carrick 5.5- His positioning and touch were above average but he simply could not cope with Newcastle’s dominant midfield. He is the definition of a confidence player and has been playing brilliantly in the last month covering up most of United’s injuries, but he didn’t do enough today.
Nani 5- Besides the move that setup Man U’s best chance in the 2nd half, he didn’t look like his usual self today. He wasn’t taking on and beating his man 1 on 1 and Santon looked to have him locked up for most of the match.
Rooney 4.5- Maybe he did party too much over the xmas break (British tabloids are having a frenzy over this right now), maybe he lost his form like the beginning of last year, or maybe (and most-likely) he just had one of those poor games superstars have once in a while. Whatever it was, this was his worst game in over a year and he looked completely out of sorts today.
Berbatov 4.5- He played today? Are you sure about that? Besides his weak, lucky deflected header that hit the post, he did absolutely nothing worth noting all game.
Subs
Anderson 5- Didn’t do much when he came on.
Walbeck 5.5- Nice touch which lead to Rooney’s shot that Simpson cleared off the line. Will surely be starting next match.
Chicharito 4.5- Was offside more than he was onside today. Looks badly out of form.
Ref 5- Missed the biggest call of the night as Ferdinand clearly took out Ba’s leg in the penalty box in the 1st half. However, he was lucky it did not matter as Newcastle won the game handily anyway.
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