By Wasim
December 20 2009

Danny Guthrie was judged Man Of The Match for his performance against Middlesbrough this afternoon by Tyne-Talk's resident player rater Wasim4nufc. Read on to see how the rest of the team faired in their last game before the Christmas flurry.................

Player ratings vs Boro

Steve Harper (6) - Didn't really have much work to do, although he was fortunate to deflect one shot onto the post.

Danny Simpson (6.5) - Decent afternoon for him. Made some good runs forward and I'll be hoping we can sign him on permanently.

Steven Taylor (6.5) - Defended well and made some good blocks but on another day he would have been penalised for his hand ball.

Fabricio Coloccini (7) - A calming influence at the back. Made some good sliding tackles and he also worked himself out of tight situations very nicely.

Jose Enrique (7) - Another solid game from the Spaniard. Linked up excellently with Jonas, and was a driving force on attack. He has become mister consistent.

Danny Guthrie (7.5) - After a less than convincing 1st half, he provided a fantastic cross for the 2nd goal. The cross was worthy of a goal on any day. He was then involved in a lot of our best work thereafter and started dictating things in midfield. It was also his free kick which we opened the scoring from.

Alan Smith (6) - A decent afternoon for him until he had to leave the field injured. It looked like an ankle injury so let's hope it's not too serious.

Kevin Nolan (6) - Shifted to central midfield today and it was not one of his better performances. Still had a good game but it's clear he is most dangerous when played just behind the front man.

Jonas Gutierrez (6.5) - High work rate and commitment are words which would best describe his performance today. Helped Enrique out in defence a few times and was always prepared to run with the ball, even if that meant him taking on two or three defenders and losing the ball.

Shola Ameobi (7) - He worked hard all day and finished off Guthrie's cross nicely for the 2nd goal. He may have given a lot of free kicks away but he still looked dangerous when close to goal.

Marlon Harewood (6.5) - Was at the right place at the right time to open the scoring. Like Ameobi he worked hard all day. Seemed disappointed to go off but it was the right call at the time.

Substitutes

Nicky Butt (7) - Surprisingly, we started to play better when he came on. He looked lively and we created more chances in the period he was on in comparison to before that.

Nile Ranger (6) - Didn't quite make an impact and shoot have done better with a Guthrie cross late on.

Man Of The Match: Danny Guthrie

Newcastle v Middlesbrough - Player Ratings

Discussion started by TyneTalk (IP Logged), 20/12/2009 20:35

TyneTalk
20/12/2009 20:35

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TOONTILLIDIE
21/12/2009 20:07

Harper - 6
Simpson 6.5
Taylor - 7
Colo - 8
Enrique - 7
Guthrie - 7
Smith - 6.5
Nolan - 6
Jonas - 7
Harewood - 6.5
Ameobi 6.5

Butt - 6
Ranger - 6

For me Colo was man of the match

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wasim4nufc
21/12/2009 21:57

I agree Colo was outstanding, but I think Guthrie produced some excellent crosses, and was involved with both goals, so that made me give it to him. Either man deserved it though.



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i!
21/12/2009 22:43

Coloccini was man of the match by a mile, had Lita in hispocket all afternoon. Lita had a terrible day, and Boro were @#$%& poor all round.


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tunyc
22/12/2009 18:20

Don't know what's so hard to understand: Nolan is not a 4-4-2 CM. It's a waste of his talent to play him there.

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Biffins Bridge
23/12/2009 00:58

Totally agree with you pal and said it a few times on the board. He has been great but when pushed further up. Thats why I would rather send Harewood back and save his wages by playing Nolan further up. Then try to buy/loan an attacking centre midfielder.

Somebody mentioned Bentley who would obviously be class and has played in the centre before but I doubt he would drop down and I think Spurs would only loan him with some sort of agreement that we have to sign him if we went up. If that was the case I just dont think we could/would afford the fee or wages.

nice to dream though.

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lostmekeys
23/12/2009 20:05

it suits us to have nolan in a 451 away from home, as our numbers in midfield stifle the home team. this is our default, clean sheet, dont lose, set up for the season. as we have found life more comfortable, we have tried out the 442 in home games, looking to get a few more goals and win games earlier. this hasnt quite clicked yet, so we end up playing more than one formation during every home game, either still looking for a breakthrough later in the match, or in an attempt to hold a slim lead. nolan is vital to this, as he can move around the pitch to suit whichever players are sent on. you would need to sub both harewood and a central midfielder to change from 442 to 451 if nolan wasnt playing, hence he plays.
hughton is by nature a cautious, conservative, coach, so having players which give him options like this is always inviting to him. i wouldnt expect much change in this approach, however long he is with us

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TOONTILLIDIE
24/12/2009 11:20

Once we get back in the premiership then Hughton will go for a 4-5-1 away from home in every game and look for the point, and home it will be 4-4-2 unless we play the big guns and then once again it will be one forward.

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lostmekeys
24/12/2009 17:55

Quote:

TOONTILLIDIE
Once we get back in the premiership then Hughton will go for a 4-5-1 away from home in every game and look for the point, and home it will be 4-4-2 unless we play the big guns and then once again it will be one forward.

thats waht he's already doing mate

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tunyc
24/12/2009 18:14

What do you guys think of giving 4-1-2-1-2 a try down here? I think Nolan could really excel in that setup and Smith seems a pretty dominant DCM down here (though I'll yield to you guys on that opinion as you've actually seen more of his performances). Just a suggestion for getting the most out of the attacking options in this squad. Or would this simply be a bridge too far, tactically, for Hughton & Co.?

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lostmekeys
24/12/2009 18:25

i'd like to see guthrie and jonas ahead of smith then, with nolan behind lovenkrands and shola/harewood/carroll.

it is a litle narrow though, as ever we'd need a real big effort from guys like jonas and loven.

we're getting a lot from smith, yes, but because we dont play with any bona fide wide men he gets lots of help in there. imagine the phases of play smith is doing well in: the oppo are all sat deep around their own box, we have lots of the ball but no-one who can take it into the box. this means for long periods we are matched up man for man in the oppo half, as we play short passes in front of them waiting for a gap. when we fail, and lose the ball, our central mids are spread the width of the field, and our centre halves are backing up on the half way line. in this situation, we have the numbers to get the ball back quickly more often than not, as few teams leave more than one guy up against us for long. its actually the teams who do leave an extra man ready to break that have done well against us

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tunyc
24/12/2009 18:58

Fair enough, lmk. What we are doing now works well enough. I have no problem with Hughton sticking to it.

Part of my reasoning for going 4-1-2-1-2 is that we seem to be narrow, regardless, just because we have no real wingers. Maybe we should play to that? I'm thinking CH will need to have a couple more tactical tricks up his sleeve if we're going to compete (survive?)-should we get to the PL.

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wasim4nufc
24/12/2009 19:39

I think Nolan has proven how dangerous he can be, plus according to the other thread regarding who we feel is most important to the squad, Nolan leads that so we should try and play a system which suits him best so that we can maximize his worth to the team. That system is the 4-5-1 formation and we should utilize that as much as possible. I understand at home we need to play two strikers but Nolan as a second striker works quite well and perhaps a good winger or two playing in midfield could see him scoring goals in the premier league as well.



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lostmekeys
24/12/2009 19:48

bolton got the most out of nolan - to the point where he got an england call. he played with davies and diouff/stelios in a dynamic front three, which quickly became a five in midfield when they lost the ball.

4-3-3:
CM CM CM
davies nolan stelios/diouff

became 4-5-1:

CM nolan CM stelios CM
davies

it was perfect for nolan as he was never part of a central two in midfield with traditional defensive duties, and the width was provided by one of the 'front three', either stelios or diouff. (note, only one 'striker' in this 4-3-3)

this got bolton into the top half of the table, at its peak. maybe not something to aim for in itself, but imitating this style could see us comfortable next season

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wasim4nufc
24/12/2009 21:42

I agree with you Lmk, imitating that style could see us do well next season. With Carroll doing the Davies job, we perhaps need to find the two players to do the Stelios and Diouf role. Good points though lmk!



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Andrew The Mag
26/12/2009 00:05

Quote:

wasim4nufc
I agree with you Lmk, imitating that style could see us do well next season. With Carroll doing the Davies job, we perhaps need to find the two players to do the Stelios and Diouf role. Good points though lmk!

Would Gutierez and Lovenkrnads not suit these roles well ?

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wasim4nufc
26/12/2009 11:30

They certainly could, but what worries me about Jonas is that he doesn't score enough. Lovenkrands has pace and the ability to finish so perhaps he is an option. I think it would be worth a try at least.



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lostmekeys
26/12/2009 13:06

jonas would be one for the middle three i reckon, rather than the front three

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