Yesterday's game

I had a feeling we was going pull off a win but to do it the way we did was just brilliant. Them 90+ minute winners don't happen often especially against the teams in the top 4. I celebrated like it was a cup final beer everywhere and the Mrs went mental lol. Id had a few like. Just really shocked well not shocked as it's becoming the norm on here now but I just can't get how some people react in such a negative manner at such a big result for ourselves. Looking at the match thread we were YET AGAIN 'LUCKY', we bored them into submission. Someone was even saying how Lamps will be annoyed because of how hes 'shown Bruce to be the dinosaur he is. Who makes that sort of comment after there team win like that seriously??? Well for all Lamps showed Bruce to be a supposed Dinosaur it was Bruce's tactics that worked and Bruce's tactics that got us the 3 points. On MOTD last night Shearer analysed how well we stuck to our shape and defensive game plan, which I also thought we did. It wasn't pretty it never really is but it's worked AGAIN and for the manager to not get any credit for it is petty. ⚫⚪

I had a feeling we would win also . I knew Chelsea would attack relentlessly and we would pack our box with 9 bodies and goalie .
It's terrible to watch and relies on a lucky break to get anything more than 1 point ... And yesterday we got lucky again , stalwart defending and poor Chelsea creativity with such possession. If that 94th minute goal (from our only corner of the game )hadn't crept in , it would have been 2 points from a possible 15.. Relegation form.
But our luck/method is holding out as teams can't break down 10 men defence, but knicking the points from an isolated attack and 1 or 2 shots in 95mins is unsustainable . Looks like it has worked this season with probably another 8 points giving us safety .. But long term it's a recipe for relegation.

With the amount of times we are on the telly, and from a neutrals perspective, we must be the worst team to watch. Our football is dire and it's only a tiny minority of our own fan base who are happy with it.
Agree our luck will run out at some stage.

Chelsea rarely win up here,

well im firmly in the camp of realism knowing full well
the owner will not invest any money that the club hasnt generated. He has taken a fortune out of this club and used benefits of owning Newcastle to line his own filthy pockets and make his tatty shop more money.

However, since practically all of his other businesses are now losing money, he sees the need to keep the cash cow grinding in the pennies.

I wont get carried away with the season, because as far as im concerned, given the restraints the owner had on Rafa and has on any manager, we are still a yoyo club who's first priority for the foreseeable future is survival before anything else.

Im not kissing Bruce's arse but he is doing a decent job.

The football wont be pretty for a long time and it wasnt under Rafa in all honesty, they both set the team up to play to their strengths.
Sit deep and compact, soak up all of the pressure and HOPE to catch the other team on the break.

Last year we had Rondon Atsu and Perez as counter attacking outlets, this year we have Almiron, the Saint and Joelinton.

Making one or two additions each season to improve the team is how Ashley wants to run the club.

Bloody bad job if we are complaining in January when 3 more wins will see us safe for another season

The game was a mixture of all things good, bad and ugly.
However, we gained the spoils by playing and fighting as a team.

And I'll just add that Bruce changed us up with players who were less than match fit but fit nonetheless.
I think it also shows the fitness we have when we're chasing for large proportions of the game.

I happened to think a few players were playing under par. Basically looking a lot more subdued than they are normally.
However, they still fought and still tried to play as a unit.

I enjoyed the game and then I didn't and then I half enjoyed it and then I didn't and then I cringed and then I just didn't enjoy it and then I half enjoyed it and then I enjoyed it.......and so on and so on.

I know, I do go on.

Anyway, I'm buoyed at how the players that came in gave effort and commitment, especially all helping out at the back and a willingness for some to get forward and have a pop.

Isaac Hayden was given man of the match.
For the way he fought and switched positions, plus the goal, you could argue he deserved it.

I thought our defence was well drilled, in the main. A few hiccups, obviously, but then again all teams have them.
I thought Almiron grafted his heart out again without doing too much offensive damage, but he was basically everywhere.
The lad must run on heavy duty wagon batteries.

I thought Joelinton caused a nuisance against Chelsea and I was gutted that header didn't go in because that was a proper focused effort.
Better service will reap rewards for this lad if lady luck allows a run.

I thought Shelvey was only running on half a tank. He still put effort in but he definitely wasn't his normal self.
The saint was definitely a few notches off his normal self but that's to be expected with him only just coming back....but what a cross in for Hayden's goals. I never expected that coming and nearly lost all my insides going absolutely mental, screaming like a nutter.

Ritchie fought the fight when he came on and added to the energy we needed to see this game out.
Sean Longstaff coming on, nearly cost us a goal but the energy was needed and he did ok after that.
Little Matty Longstaff coming on as well was a massive breath of fresh air. It seemed to kick us on a bit and bring players back to life on the front foot.

One thing we have got.... and that's energy for the fight.... and resilience.
Slowly and potentially we can inch forward with what we have, with a little tweak here and there.

It can be argued by anyone that we didn't deserve anything or Chelsea should've, could've done this and that but the reality of the game is very simple. We scored one and they scored none and nobody deserves to take any points from a game under those conditions of scoring none. :P

It definitely isn't pretty to watch at times but one thing we do seem to have is, we defend and battle like mad and if we do go a goal down we do look to get back into the game, generally.
And the fact that we didn't just set up to see the game out at 0-0, pleased me.
We showed a willingness to go for the smash and grab and got our rewards, because they who dare, win. ;D

Well done to Steve Bruce and his staff and also well done on making my saturday strain free at the final whistle.

Wahoooooooo. :D

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Originally Posted by TheBigSausage

I had a feeling we would win also . I knew Chelsea would attack relentlessly and we would pack our box with 9 bodies and goalie .
It's terrible to watch and relies on a lucky break to get anything more than 1 point ... And yesterday we got lucky again , stalwart defending and poor Chelsea creativity with such possession. If that 94th minute goal (from our only corner of the game )hadn't crept in , it would have been 2 points from a possible 15.. Relegation form.
But our luck/method is holding out as teams can't break down 10 men defence, but knicking the points from an isolated attack and 1 or 2 shots in 95mins is unsustainable . Looks like it has worked this season with probably another 8 points giving us safety .. But long term it's a recipe for relegation.

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How is it luck? You say its luck then say we had stalwart defending and Chelsea lacked creativity. Do you not for one second think that lack of creativity is due to the stalwart defending you talk about? Because that's how I see it. We don't throw 9 men in the box, yes we play really defensively and yes it's pretty boring to watch but we stick to a solid structure and do it well. This inturn makes attacking teams like Chelsea often loose hope when every attack is thwarted before it can escalate into anything of note. If you want to talk about luck what about Joelintons header half an inch lower that's in off the bar and a massive goal for him and us. That was really unlucky for us but that's obviously irrelevant.

While these results are great to enjoy I feel a few of you on here are burying your heads in the sand and disagreeing just for the sake of it.We have rode our luck this season.We are not good to watch.
Yesterday our front 3 cost more than twice the Chelsea front 3 and we had 2 shots on target and 1 corner all game.Those like myself are not negative,we are just not as childish and argumentative like some on here and have watched enough football to know luck runs out eventually.Hope it doesnt but it will.When that happens we wont see the point scoring children posting on here.As has been the case when we have lost this season.
Enjoy days like yesterday,we all will and all should but be honest with yourselves,if we had dominated the game like Chelsea yesterday and lost,you would all be feeling pìssed off this morning and wondering how we lost.

I'm a bit mixed on this one, tbh.

It's harder for me to comment as i'm not going to the games so i can only go by what I hear from the commentary and then whatever paltry highlights the BBC give us; plus, of course, the opinions of my mates who still go. Splitters :D. Certainly the impression I've been getting is that teams have come away from our place shaking their heads and wondering how they haven't got all 3 points. I think in terms of chances that have been missed against us, it looks like we have, indeed, been lucky. But, I also take Jacko's point on board about luck not going our way, like Joelinton's header.

The more we edge towards safety, the more you've got to accept that it's not just down to luck but to the way Bruce has us organised. For the points we have at this stage of the season against the background of the poor squad and shocking injuries then Bruce absolutely deserves credit for where he's got us.

BUT-and i'm going to go back to my use of the word 'accept' here-I think a large part of the problem people have with Bruce isn't purely down to his appointment by our twat of an owner and his 'buying into' what Ashley is doing or his previous record or associations; it's to do with how we're getting these points. Our football is, by and large, appalling to watch-even Bruce himself admits it's not good to watch, ffs...but it's effective. It begs the wider question, is this how we want to survive? Is it entertaining and, given that it's not, do we have a right to expect more or should we just be grateful that we're keeping our heads above water.

I know you can't disassociate Bruce from the Ashley stuff but I think a large part of why people are still complaining after a win is because as it stands, this is our future..grinding out wins and draws with little or no flair or creativity and very little in the way of excitement (yes, last-minute goals are exciting but is it any good if the previous 93 minutes are dire to watch?). This style of football gives us no hope of pushing on-we're just 'existing' in the league and going to the games has become a chore because it's not enjoyable to watch so I can understand people's frustrations, even after a win.

Sorry for rambling.

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Originally Posted by Zippity

I'm a bit mixed on this one, tbh.
BUT-and i'm going to go back to my use of the word 'accept' here-I think a large part of the problem people have with Bruce isn't purely down to his appointment by our twat of an owner and his 'buying into' what Ashley is doing or his previous record or associations; it's to do with how we're getting these points. Our football is, by and large, appalling to watch-even Bruce himself admits it's not good to watch, ffs...but it's effective.

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I whinge a lot when we play, when I can see we're doing very little to have a go. But it isn't all the time. It seems like it is to some fans because they seem to have went into negative mode and even hate mode.
It's become the classic norm.
It's like a friend who told good jokes and was fun who then wronged someone who then blanked that person, followed by others who now listen to the jokes and do not laugh. Not because they're not funny but because they simply don't want to believe or accept it is.

That might appear to be a way off analogy but people are getting themselves into a rut by mass peer pressure to keep it up a negative mindset, instead of actually trying to pick the positives out of games and seeing positives within the game.

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Originally Posted by Zippity

It begs the wider question, is this how we want to survive? Is it entertaining and, given that it's not, do we have a right to expect more or should we just be grateful that we're keeping our heads above water.

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The simply answer is, no, of course it's not how we want to survive, but there's a much much wider angle to all this but many still want to focus on the negatives and simply pan a future of demise, out.

Look at most clubs in the premier league.
Many actually end up relegated and most that stay in generally just play.... see who can get closest to the elites. Ir basically most clubs simply fighting amongst themselves for bragging rights to take a place higher than bottom 3.

Can we expect better? Yep....but that applies to all the rest, so what do we do?
Either rap up being a fan and supporter and go about life doing something else to fill in, or do what we've always done and enjoy, endure and endeavour to stand by what we all love about Newcastle United...regardless.

We've had some good times under Ashley and we've had some dire times, plus the bits in between.
The problem is.... like I said, when hatred takes hold and peer pressure gets a grip, many people choose to see nothing but depression and negativity, throughout.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zippity

I know you can't disassociate Bruce from the Ashley stuff but I think a large part of why people are still complaining after a win is because as it stands, this is our future..grinding out wins and draws with little or no flair or creativity and very little in the way of excitement (yes, last-minute goals are exciting but is it any good if the previous 93 minutes are dire to watch?).

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But that's not a truth.
The previous 93 minutes weren't all bad.
We had our chances and forages. The problem was it was overshadowed by allowing Chelsea too much time in our half, which makes the focus on just that, for some.
I moaned and what not but I got excited as well, like I do. And at the end I went absolutely off it. The smile on my face at the end was as wide as the widest wide on, ever.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zippity

This style of football gives us no hope of pushing on-we're just 'existing' in the league and going to the games has become a chore because it's not enjoyable to watch so I can understand people's frustrations, even after a win.

Sorry for rambling.

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There's always hope but it depends on what that hope is, inside a person.
We might get to the final of a cup or we might sneak into Europe.
We did before.
We might not...but then again it's all about having hope, not simply losing it because the future is set....because it isn't set.
My hope, as it always stands is, for us to win every game we play.
I know in my mind it won't always be that way but I always have hope.

The wider hope is the things we can potentially win.
As it stands for some fans, there is no potential....but I disagree.

I genuinely think we have hope for further progress and I'll keep it.
And guess what?
I enjoy being a Newcastle United fan and supporter. I love it, through thick and through thin, even if I will have a moan when we play dire.