Carroll's Last Stand?
I'm delighted to be relaxing in Blue Devil HQ this morning, and I've got a crucial match to enjoy: The Reds visiting the Magpies. It's a must-win for Pool and King Kenny has chosen the occasion to give Jonathan Carroll one last shot up front. Carroll must still harbor some desire to keep his job (and perhaps to squeeze onto the England squad plane to Poland/Ukraine this summer). On the other side, Newcastle have been firing on all cylinders at home. Should be a fascinating encounter. Join me in a moment to see.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 8:18 AM
419 Comments:
Here's the team news out of SJP:
Newcastle, playing 4-3-3: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Perch, Gutierrez, Guthrie, Tiote, Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Cisse, Ba.
Subs: Elliot, Ferguson, Santon, Gosling, R.Taylor, Vuckic, Ameobi
Liverpool, playing three former Newcastle men: Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Enrique, Gerrard, Spearing, Shelvey, Bellamy, Carroll, Suarez
Subs: Doni, Aurelio, Maxi, Henderson, Coates, Kuyt, Downing
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)
Morning BD
I am up to watch the match... looking for Toon win!
I actually still have FSC+ but now in HD too... They better not charge me.. I ordered nowt!
Teams coming out the tunnel
No telly coverage of this one, so I'm on this link:
http://www.firstrowsports.eu/watch/116655/1/watch-newcastle-united-vs-liverpool-fc.html
Very attacking line up for the Pool
Morning, mate - good for you with the Fox Soccer Plus. I haven't got it.
I do have it on my Plus... sorry for rubbing it in
I will probably be ahead of you. I won't comment much
You'd have to think that KK has to go for it. A draw doesn't do Pool any good at all. They're in 8th now, behind Everton!
Good morning UWS and BD. I am on the same link. It should be a great match. An attacking line up put out by Kenny.
I would search your channels to see if you do
Do you have TW?
The Magpies to get us underway at a gorgeous SJP day.
What's "TW?"
And We're off from the Sports Direct Stadium where Carroll and Bellamy should get a hostile reception.
Oh - Time Warner. Yeah, I do.
Holy crap! I've got it! Cheers, mate!
Morning, MUR! Great to have you on board this morning.
Good morning UWS. How was the draft? Do you have some good picks?
Thanks BD. Great to have you on too.
Early pressure here by Pool.
Shelvey has a shot deflected for a corner.
The corner from Stevie G is headed away.Newcastle countered with Ba and a cross intended for Cisse went straight to Reina as the offside flag went up.
Oh - Suarez was nearly in there but the weight on the ball from Carroll was just too heavy.
Fantastic BD... I knew you had it somewhere!
Draft was okay.. I usually suck at it... I don't know enough and don't follow it enough to do really well.
Did you hear that SAF wants to sign Balo as a replacement for Drac???
Interestingly, Jose Enrique is getting the loudest boos from the crowd, followed Suarez (of course) and then quieter booing for Bellamy and no booing at all for Carroll.
Ben Arfa went down in the box off a challenge by another former Magpie in Enrique, but Martin Atkinson was having none of it.
I have been watching some old youtube videos from the 80s... United beating Arsenal and Liverpool in the 83 and 85 FA Cup semis (also a 4-2 hammering of the Hammers in the Quarters)
THE FIELDS WERE ATROCIOUS! All mud... what a contrast from SJP pitch today
So three Liverpool players return to SJP.
I never got involved in those Fantasy Baseball things - it was a non-starter for me. I did roped into some March Madness brackets. I just filled them in with names that I liked, such as "Gonzaga." I knew nowt.
Surely you can't be serious about Balo!!!
Andy Carroll heads over and rightly so as it seemed a fair challenge by Perch on Suarez.
Carroll goes round Krul and goes down. Is it a pen? No - it's a yellow card. Absolutely correct from the ref. No contact at all. What a shocker!
Many Fergie to sort out Balo?
I thought that was a penalty.
After watching the replay:
DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOR BY ANDY CARROLL as he would have had a penalty and Krul would have been sent off. The Toon fans are delighted.
Carroll's down again under the challenge from Cabaye and the home fans are not liking him at all.
I agree.the right decision from Atkinson and a deserved booking for Carroll who will really catch the ire of the TOON fans if he not already done so.
There's a real craic to this match - both sides going at each other. Fantastic!
As for the baseball, I just got involved with a couple of buddies from school and it some have joined. It is not cut throat. We only get together for draft day and then hopefully a dinner at the end of the season. Draft Day is a lot of fun... a lot of piss-taking... of course.. I get abused a lot!
My friend, Dick, who moved to Charlotte has kept with the league. At draft day, he's sitting at the end of the table on the computer via Skyp
What do you think about my Balo comment, BD?UWS said that he doesn't think SAF would sign him.
It sounds like a great day and lots of fun, UWS. There was a really dramatic match at Eastlands during the draft.
There is a fantastic atmosphere at SJP or the Sport Direct!
ooh, off the bar!
A cross is deflected and Krul had to tip it on to the bar
Was that a handball on the line by the ex Red Devil?
Bellamy had a cross deflect off of Jonas and off the bar. Krul missed the corner and Danny Simpson, the ex United trainee cleared off the line from Carroll.Andy Carroll headed wide from the next corner.
Well, I'd love it. I worry that Roberto will shop him at the end of the season to some Italian side. That would be a real loss of entertainment for the Prem.
Naughty by Jon Jo Shelvey and he is deservedly booked.
My friend, Walt, has automatic updates for Citeh matches on his iPhone.. he has it so he can send me abuse directly after something happens. His phone kept making noises!! I couldn't believe those two late goals.. I was waiting for a third!
UNITED BETTER WIN TOMORROW!
We have played better away from Old Trafford this year!
GOAL! Cisse...again! 1-0!
YES!!!
GOAL... TOON.. CISSE!!!!
Well Roberto is stuck with Balo.The reason:
APRIL FOOLS!
Well done , UWS, for spotting that SAF would never sign him.
Great header from a great cross
GOAL !!! 1-0 TOON AS CISSE SCORES WITH A GREAT HEADER FROM A GREAT CROSS BY BEN ARFA.
Nice one MUR
Great ball over from Cabaye there and Skrtel wasn't tight enough to Cisse. He rose and sent a header in off the far post. Great goal.
My apologies - it was Ben Arfa's cross. Great ball.
Manchester City are planning a £100m bid for Luxembourg striker Fpril Aool from Estonian outfit Lirpra Loof,
Inexperience by Liverpool as Shelvey gave Ben Arfa all the time in the world and John Flanagan failed to mark Cisse
Nice one , UWS! I wish it was true.
Toon fans cheer as Bellamy cannot get on to the long ball.
Glad you have Plus BD..I still think you should search for it MUR!
BD, they have a lot of Championship stuff on Plus
West Ham Reading is on at 5 pm today
Did you know that the Mersey side clubs are wedged in between the Northeast clubs in the league standings? That would be a Northeast / Mersey sandwich as it starts with Newcastle in 6th and ends with the Black Cats in 9th.
WHAT A SANDWICH!
I agree. Fox Soccer Plus was miles up on my system. I don't get any other channels around it.
I did search and plus is on the menu, but there is not any reception. I will need to see if it is part of my package.
Oh - Carroll is in again, but nods over.
Carroll's header over the bar
I still can't believe what he did... that showed no respect for your hometown team... score against them.. fine... cheat against them... NO
A loose ball makes it to Andy Carroll when he misses a sitter as his header came off the top of the bar with just Krul to beat. Great tackle by Bellamy.
I agree with you about Carroll.
Idiotic behavior from Cisse who is booked for not being ten yards from the ball during a set piece.That drives managers bonkers!
Nice sandwich there!
Who do you think is going to go down?
I thought it was three of five but now Villa are now in that group. They are only five points from the drop.
They play
Liverpool A
Stoke H
United A
Sunderland H
WBA A
Spurs H
Norwich A
COULD THEY GO DOWN?
From Imran on Twitter: "Another assist for Ben Arfa. Manchester United must sign him."
About 50,000 Newcastle fans at today's game will disagree.
Carroll goes down in the box again under the challenge of Simpson. He's got to be stronger than that.
Carroll goes down easily again.... I wonder what he will have to say for himself about the dive? There is nothing he can say.. Dalglish can't condone it either
I believe Villa is safe as long as they get two wins. or a win and two draws. I have a feeling that they will do just enough to survive, but that is a poor season by Villa's standards and McLeish should be replaced at the end of the season.
I had high hopes of Carroll being a real danger for England... not any more!
I agree. He should catch it from Kenny at halftime as Kenny was never that type of player.
Oh - a deflected shot from Ba really had Reina in trouble.
Ba goes close for the Toon
Matt really likes Ba... he wants his shirt for his birthday next Monday
Ba has a shot deflect just wide off of Skrtel for a corner.Williamson heads high and wide form the corner.
Newcastle need another 14 goals to overtake Chelsea in fifth
Thanks UWS. I was thinking about that when I looked at the league table yesterday.
Who would start for you up front in an England team against France for the first Euro 2012 match?
That sounds realistic. Six from Ba And another seven from Cisse!
I would put Sturridge and Crouch up front.
I always love doing the math and making it official when teams can't win the league(especially Liverpool)
Even if they won today they could only get 66 points...22 years and counting!! I really want them to go longer than United's 26
I saw that Leeds play at Reading in an early kickoff on Friday.
I think Villa are in more trouble than I'd expected but I think they'll survive. They're in rotten form but they only need seven points for survival. They should be able to get that from their matches against Stoke, Sunderland and Spurs.
United have 73 points
Chelsea can only get 74... still have a chance?
Newcastle can only get 74
Spurs can get 79 points
Yeah - that'll be our first morning in London. Not sure I'll be able to follow it.
off to the loo
I second that UWS.When Giggs made his league debut it had been 24 years without a title for United. If he retires in two years he will end his career stating the same about Liverpool. What an interesting coincidence.
Cheers UWS! Have a safe trip.
LOL, MUR!
I am off on Friday, but may miss most of that match as I will be driving Melanie and some other girls to a concert rehearsal in Brownsville. I will be around for the remainder of the matches that day.
Oh - Cisse was nearly in there for a second headed goal!
CHEERS, BD! wishing you and Gooner a safe and successful trip to England.
Cisse headed just wide after poor defending from Shelvey.
I hope it's truly a "Good Friday" and that Warnock's Evil Leeds are slain and that Warnock gets the sack.
Bellamy was offside with just Krul to beat.
WHR will be cheering for Leeds as they trail Reading by four points and desperately need the help.
Cheers, mate!
Liverpool old boy , Guthrie, thought he had a corner, but the offside flag went up.
I will be an Arsenal fan next Sunday.We will need to join Goooner that day in supporting the Gunners.
Naughty by young Flanagan on Tiote. He should not have been booked as it was on the vile Tiote.
Two minutes of stoppage time.
Tiote didn't look comfortable on the ball.
Halftime and a deserved 1-0 lead for Newcastle.
Celtic lead St. Johnstone 2-0 with fifteen minutes remaining. They can clinch the title with a draw at Killie next Saturday.
You lucky bugger going to England!
You'll get to listen to the match on Five Live on the way back from the airport
I agree. I would love to go.
Apparently the half-time show on Fox Soccer Plus consists of goals, goals, goals with an Ibiza House music soundtrack.
We're back on at SJP. Liverpool to get us started in this second half. They desperately need a win here. So, why oh why, has KK not made changes at half time?
I am back all cleaned and dressed!
Second half underway
The second half is underway from SJP.
I went to dish network's web site and it says that FSC+ is available a la carte. I guess I would have to pay extra as that is not part of my package.
So if Pool finish 8th but win the Cup double, how does that effect the Europa League. Who would qualify? Chelski, Newcastle and Pool? Or would the #7 side also go in?
OH! A great header from Williamson came off the post.
Liverpool is already in the Europa League due to their Carling Cup win despite where they finish in the table.
Jonas is down as he was clipped on the ankle by Shelvey. Those can be painful.
MUR answered my question about the striking partnership for England v. France, UWS: Sturridge and Crouchie. What about you? Who do you fancy?
The fifth placed team will play in the Europa League and the third spot will go to either the FA Cup Winner, runner up, or sixth placed team. It depends upon the cup results.
It actually comes down to that Mersey semi since Chelsea and Spurs will qualify for Europe due to their league position.If Everton make the final then they will automatically qualify for Europe. If Liverpool make the final then Newcastle would qualify as the sixth placed team as Liverpool have already qualified for Europe.Those are the different scenarios!
Oh - Bellamy was nearly in on the end of that Gerrard ball.
Great through ball from Flanagan to Bellamy, but Krul did well to come out and gather.
Who should play for England?
I think Crouch is a handful.. Sturridge seems like another Defoe in my book.
Not sure
Shelvey shoots straight at Krul form long range.
Useless pass from Suarez.
So, if Everton beat Pool in the FA Cup semi, the three would be (according to the current table)
Chelski (5th place)
Everton (FA Cup finalist)
Liverpool (Carling Cup winner?)
Is that right? Newcastle would miss out on Europe despite beating both Merseysiders on points?
TWO NIL!!
CISSE WITH ANOTHER!
Andy who?
Cisse! Again! 2-0 Magpies!
GOAL !!! 2-0
A CHEEKY FINISH FOR CISSE AS HE SCORES HIS AND NEWCASTLE'S SECOND!
Cisse was offside on the firs pass but was it touched a second time?
Calm stuff from the Senegalese when the ball broke to him, one touch inside Reina and then clinically into the side netting.
Was Cisse offside? A great through ball from Ba.
If Spurs make the Final, would that open up a place in the league if they finish inside the CL spots
That would make sense, UWS, so Martin Atkinson was correct to allow the goal.
On the replay, I don't see how Cisse wasn't ruled offside there. Inactive? Then how did he score?
Oh - great block from Perch from Suarez.
Great block from Bob's Copper Boot winner Shot
WOW!! What a tackle by Perch on Suarez to prevent a goal.
Newcastle are doing their goal difference some good here but they've still got 13 goals to get in order to pip Chelski for 5th. A tall order, even against a rubbish Liverpool side.
Congratulations , BD! You scored 100% on your Europa League quiz. Your explanation was 100% correct.
I guess Toon fans will be routing for Liverpool in the FA Cup semifinal in a fortnight.
What Europa League quiz?
Liverpool old boy , Guthrie, is down injured.
Dan Gosling, the former Toffee,is on for Danny Guthrie, the former red.
I'm not sure that Suarez will even get the "Copper Boot." Many "Tin?"
I've just checked the Golden Boot leaders. It is:
RVP - 26
Roon - 21
Aguero - 17
Ba - 16
Yak - 14
Dempsey - 13
Dzeko - 13
Balo - 13
Holt - 12
Ade - 11
Suarez (on 7) doesn't even break the Top Ten!!
Thanks, MUR - the Europa League is a bewildering mess, in my mind. I think it should be teams 5,6, and 7 in one tournament and the FA Cup winners in a cup winner's tournament. But I want all of them to go back to a straight knock-out format. I'm a dinosaur!
BD asked which teams can qualify for the Europa League and his answer to my explanation at 9:49 basically explains it.
I think Spurs are going to win the Cup Semi Final because of the FA's ridiculous decision to have the match on Sunday at 6 pm
Chelsea would be playing a CL semi final TWO days later! Surely, they would rest players for Barca!
Why do Liverpool get to dictate their semi final date. I know that April 15 is an important date but it was 23 years ago and they should win in their honor
I am done with my rant
No problem, BD.I agree, BD, but UEFA prefers this format due to telly rights and politics.It is more complicated now that the cup[ winners are part of the Europa League. I have yet to see a cup winner win the Europa League or even make the final , so it is really a waste.
I guess he is right. If Everton win the semi they are almost assured of a place in Europe... except if Chelsea get overtaken my Newcastle in the league
With the CL on their minds.. it could happen
Well stated, UWS.They should play both semis on Saturday as they did in previous years and that should please everyone.They could play at different times if they are concerned about telly rights.
Sure, I understand the current format in terms of guaranteed telly revenue for UEFA and the clubs that tend to end up in the Europa League (second tier English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian clubs such as Benfica, Atletico, Udinese and Liverpool).
I had not thought about that scenario, UWS.Otherwise that would guarantee Everton a place in Europe.
Problem is... they're both at Wembley!
How about playing them both on the same day
One in Cardiff and one at Wembley... better still ... keep away from Wembley til the final!!
Cisse comes off after scoring a brace
Two-goal man Cisse gets an early shower here. Ameobi to replace him. What a hero!
Shola Ameobi is on for two goal hero , Cisse, who gets a deserved standing ovation.
That is true, UWS. Both solutions to the Wemberley problem would work.The FA loves to create problems!
I agree - go back to the days of having the matches at some of the bigger club venues. You could easily have one at Anfield and one at OT or the Emirates. I know they started leaning away from that because of Hillsborough. But there's an easy solution to that - stay away from bloody Sheffield! Not a big footballing town.
Stuart Downing is on for Jon Jo Shelvey and is booed due to his Middlesbrough connection.
The FA just have to come up with ways to pay off the damn stadium!!!
They can play at Villa Park. I agree. Sheffield is a cutlery town, not a footballing town.
I agree, UWS.There must be alternative solutions.
Thank you, MUR.
Did you see that? A Cheeky back heel from Tiote. That is a collector's item!
Couldn't agree more
Some people say that having at Wembley allows more fans to see it... I say.. MAKE THE FINAL and then more can see it!
As i said early, I was watching some Cup semi finals... great atmosphere. They were played at Villa Park and Goodison
Ben Arfa should have done better there... he is a bit of ball hog too
Bloody hell - Carroll is coming off to be replaced by Kuyt. Now he's being jeered off by the home fans and he's straight down the tunnel without a shake of the hand from KK. Oh dear.
Carroll is off.. big cheers as his number goes up.... Straight down the tunnel and shirt off!
Kenny doesn't seem to pleased!
Bellamy off to for Henderson.. doesn't Kenny want them to score
Kuyyt is on for Carroll and Toon fans are delighted to see the back of him. Henderson, the ex Black Cat, is on for Bellamy. Now we are down to one former Toon player as Carroll goes straight down the tunnel.
GROW UP!
What's happened? There was some kind of clash there between Reina and Perch. Could be trouble for Jose!
I would not be surprised to see Carroll fail to make the semi squad.Now a Toon player is down . Was there a case of violent conduct?
Yellow for Perch and RED for Reina!!!!
Yellow for Perch and red for Reina. Why was he sent off?
Yeah - it was a headbutt for sure even though Perch made the most of it. He had to go.
Pepe with a red!!
Headbutt time.. not much contact and it was acting!!
I hate it
What a shame that Pool hadn't used up all the subs!!
Stupid by Reina and a deserved red. Kenny will be furious with Reina , who will miss the semi as it is a three game suspension.
THEY DID?
They just used their last sub and now who is going to go in goal!!
What a shame!!
Is Pepe out of the semis?
KK has come on to sort out who will go in goal now. It seems to be Enrique who's put the Reina shirt on. What a shambles! Surely that's curtains for Kenny.
Still, Reina had to go. He let the team down, IMHO and will miss the semi. Was it worth it, Pepe!
Does annoy me that Perch went down so easily. He should be fined or banned for that too... get hit in the face but just move back... don't go down like you were shot
Love to see Chelsea get caught by Newcastle
Jose Enrique is in goal for Liverpool and it may be curtains for Kenny due to the indiscipline in the last few minutes.First Carroll going down the tunnel and Reina with that act of stupidity. Kenny needs to fine both players, who need to apologize to the team too.
Pepe Reina has played 183 consecutive league games for Liverpool but he will miss their next three games through suspension. That includes their FA Cup semi-final against Everton.
He definitely can't support them
I agree.Poor by Perch, but Pepe should not have taken the bait.The announcer said that Alexander Doni, the ex Roma keeper will play in goal during Reina's suspension. If Pool make the final I would keep Doni in goal the rest of the season to teach him a lesson.
I thought Suarez was going to react there but he was just trying to take a quick one
Useless free kick
Liverpool have a free kick just outside the box and the free kick from Suarez fails to beat the first man.
Liverpool could have been relegation material on this form
Ben Arfa comes off to a standing ovation. He's been brilliant again today.
A cameo for Santon as he comes on for Ben Arfa as we enter stoppage time.
Decent punch out there by Enrique!
I think the FA Cup semi will determine Kenny's fate.I am sure Pick Parry will put him on notice if he has not already done so.
Doni will play in goal the next three matches.
Sixth place mat not be good enough to qualify for Europe.
Perch could have gotten his second yellow there
Still a bit of dive by Tin Boot
That's it
I am off for walkies... I'll be back for the next match
Another big win for Newcastle. They're out of sight of Liverpool in 6th now.
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