By Wasim
May 12 2009

Mark Viduka was judged Man Of The Match for his performance against Middlsbrough at St James' Park last night, by Tyne-Talk's resident player rater Wasim4nufc. Read on to see how the rest of the team faired .......................

Player ratings

Steve Harper (7.5) - He couldn't really be blamed for their goal, and was good at collecting corners when it was within his reach. He did well for me.

Habib Beye (7.5) - What an engine this guy has. Kept overlapping on the right, and was excellent in defence. Was unlucky to be involved in their goal but certainly showed what a key player he is for us.

Sebastien Bassong (8) - For me he was excellent. He handled the aerial balls efficiently and was solid most of the time, bar the odd occasion when Emnes got away.

Steven Taylor (8) - The scorer of the crucial equaliser, while he also made some key blocks. Overall he was solid and was up the battle as always.

Damien Duff (7.5) - He filled in excellently at left back, and deserves a pat on the back. He seemed to be a seasoned left back and for me that was impressive. Didn't quite perform as well in the 2nd half, but good game overall.

Danny Guthrie (7.5) - His delivery from set pieces were good generally while he also got stuck in and showed great passion for the shirt.

Kevin Nolan (7) - He got better as the game went on, although he seems to be lacking that goal scoring threat from midfield which made him a key man when at Bolton. Did set up the 3rd goal so perhaps he doesn't have to worry about that for now.

Nicky Butt (8) - Simply outstanding! I cannot fault him for anything tonight. His passing was good, tackles were won by him and he seemed to motivate the team with his commitment.

Jonas Gutierrez (5.5) - He flattered to deceive. He showed one or two encouraging moments but was well below par tonight. Was substituted and rightfully so.

Michael Owen (6) - He wasn't in the game as much but didn't have a bad game as such. Was taken off at the right time though.

Mark Viduka (8) - For me he was the difference between the two sides. His class and touch up front caused them endless problems and it was no surprise that he had a hand in one of the goals. Was also unlucky to hit the post with a great shot. Our best moves of the night generally involved him though so that says enough.

Substitutes

Peter Lovenkrands (7) - Killed the game off with a well taken goal and was lively when he came on.

Obafemi Martins (7.5) - Scored within a minute of coming on and inspired us when we needed inspiration. Great substitution by Shearer.

Andy Carroll (6) - Should have done better with his two late chances.

Positives
* We out of the bottom three, enough said!

Negatives
* Lets ignore them and enjoy the moment!

Man of the Match: Mark Viduka

Newcastle v Middlesbrough - Player Ratings

Discussion started by TyneTalk (IP Logged), 12/05/2009 08:01

TyneTalk
12/05/2009 08:01

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detox1978
12/05/2009 10:49

Good review wasim, pretty similar scores;


Steve Harper (7.5) - solid performance, confident on crosses.

Habib Beye (7) - Worked the flank well. unlucky on the OG.

Sebastien Bassong (9) - Dominated in the air and kept a lively forward quite.

Steven Taylor (7.5) - always looked dangerous on set pieces. Threw himself into challenges, which really helped settle the early nerves.

Damien Duff (6.5) - did a decent job, albeit rarely tested. Wouldn't want to see him play there against Villa.

Danny Guthrie (7) - Not a winger, but filled in well. He took his set pieces well.

Kevin Nolan (7) - Lack of movement from Owen limited his options on the ball to simple passes, which he did well.

Nicky Butt (6.5) - made some key tackles and was always buzzing around when needed. Passing is still woeful, several long balls that went out for goal kicks.

Jonas Gutierrez (6) - The only player to stretched boro with darting runs, sadly he's taken on Duff's title of 'produces nothing'. Substitution welcomed, which speaks volumes for his performance.

Michael Owen (4) - did a Shola, never saw him win a header or chase anything all game. When we attacked he made all the wrong runs. Often I look at midfield for not creating anything for him, but today Viduka won everything in the air and made himself loads of space, only for Owen to be absent.

Mark Viduka (9) - looked different class.


Substitutes

Peter Lovenkrands (7) - pace injection at the right time.

Obafemi Martins (8) - changed the tide of the game from largely Boro dominance. They had to defend more and this was visably to handle Martins.

Andy Carroll (7) - did his best with Butt's lumps.


Manager

Shearer: I was please with the line up. Substitutions were perfectly timed. He should get special praise for sorting out set pieces - especially corners. If he drops Owen for the next game i'll be really impressed with him.


Positives
* Owen wont be missed
* Viduka showed why he gets paid so much for so few games and will be a great asset going into the Fulham game.
* We're out of the bottom three..!!

Quote:

wasim
Negatives
* Lets ignore them and enjoy the moment!

MOM: Viduka

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DaraghL
12/05/2009 18:53

id like to see some higher ratings tbh we won 3-1 maybe a 9 for viduka guthrie i thought did very well and taylor shows we are a different team with him in a future captain no doubt

i gotta say fair play to viduka he could have said i dont want to be a part of this but really showed the class he has ppl complain about his pace but he never was quick thats not his game he faired really well even showboated a little

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senyabtoon
12/05/2009 21:10

i think i bit lower if anything as it was not a great footballing perfomance but a great battling one i mean think about it did you see any great passes that cut the back 4 or any great finishes ? i did'nt only thing that was of any real top quailty was guthries dead ball delivery

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waffles
12/05/2009 23:15

Nolan played a great ball into Lovenkrands for the third goal, and battled hard to get the ball to Martins for the second. Other than the Duke and Guthrie, I thought he was the top performer for the day. Also, he deserves a lot of credit for Taylor's goal. If you watch the replay, Nolan picked off Taylor's marker perfectly.

This game wasn't pretty, and the center of the pitch looked wide open for Boro. Too many uncontested through balls past Butt forced Taylor and Bassong into action. Of our goals, only Taylor's showed any kind of finesse. The other two goals were out of effort. Nolan, Viduka, and Martins fought hard to win balls at the top of the box, and luckily that paid off.

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lostmekeys
13/05/2009 19:54

so waffles, maybe if nolan wasnt on the edge of the boro box they wouldnt have walked through our centre mid time and again,eh? i didnt think nolan had a particularly good game, consider what would have happened if boro had taken one of the chances they made at one all, created purely because one of our centre mids was too high up the pitch?

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waffles
13/05/2009 20:59

I think Nolan was told to play forward for this match, though I might be mistaken. Honestly, Nolan should always be pushed forward.

I agree, that the center midfield defensively was poor primarily because Nolan was way up the pitch and Nicky Butt is too old and slow to cover that much ground, but if that's where he was supposed to be, then he did his job. The fact that he fought in the box and was a key contributor not only to the Lovenkrands goal, but also to the Martins and Taylor goals suggests that he was playing in position.

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lostmekeys
13/05/2009 22:37

so if that was the plan, how is it again nicky butts fault? should he be asked to cover the entire centre alone? we would be sunk without the guy, yet he gets it in the neck week after week. no team in the league sets up that way, anyway, so i would suggest that mr nolan was meant to be primarily playing alongside butt, with license to attack when the ball was already advanced, such as the two situations you mentioned.

yet to be convinced by nolan, though he has come in at a tough time, and to a changing team each week. we'll see a better nolan next season i'm sure

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detox1978
13/05/2009 23:34

Nicky Butt gets it in the neck because his passing is woeful, regularly playing passes out of his range.


+Since he never attacks he should do more defensive duties.

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Artistic
14/05/2009 00:16

Agree, can't fault butt when he hasnt got the ball and is close enough to the action to win it - he generally does well there. But between me and my mates as soon as he gets the ball and looks up there is a groan and the odd surprised ' get in' if teh ball doesnt run out for a goal kick/ corner. Monday night however it was more surprises than , I knew that would go out. He is not consistent enough passer of teh ball to hit 50-60 yard passes. but we have nobody in the centre that can, the only one that could hit them passes and it showed at liverpool, has proved himself an absolute idiot and the club are looking at ways to terminate his contract. (shame, decent player)

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Jaryd
14/05/2009 11:52

Would've gave Carrol n/a. Couldn't really do much with the time he had. Fairly accurate ratings.

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