By Wasim
February 5 2011

Cheik Tiote was awarded Man Of The Match by Tyne-Talk's player rater Wasim4nufc after he scored the equaliser in Newcastle's 4-4 draw against Arsenal at St James' Park earlier on today. Joey Barton also scored highly, whilst striker Leon Best wasn't far behind. Read on to see how the rest of the team faired...

Player Ratings

Steve Harper (5) - Hardly had many saves to make but conceded four and can't be happy with that.

Danny Simpson (6) - I thought he struggled in the first half but was our best defender in the second half. Made at least two important last ditch tackles in the second half and was good going forward throughout the match.

Mike Williamson (4.5) - Really struggled to deal with Van Persie and had a poor first half but he was always dangerous on set pieces and earned us the second penalty.

Fabricio Coloccini (4) - It was a poor showing from usually our best centre back. He simply could not handle Walcott's pace but got better as the game went on though.

Jose Enrique (5.5) - Could not handle Walcott in the first half but he started to have a bigger influence on the game in the second half and picked up an assist for our second goal. Went forward a lot in the second half.

Joey Barton (7.5) - After a horrible first half he scored two superb penalties and controlled things for us in the second half with his ability to deliver quality set pieces and to get our attacks going.

Cheik Tiote (8) - I thought he was our stand out player today. Won several challenges, passed the ball well and scored an absolute stunner to level things at 4-4. Took a while to get going but by the end of the game he wrote his name into Newcastle United folklore.

Kevin Nolan (5) - Unable to add to his goals tally today but he led from the front and along with Barton, he managed to lift the team with his in your face style.

Jonas Gutierrez (6) - Put in a good shift and linked up very nicely with Enrique in the second half. I think he sometimes gets unfair criticism as he does do some good things for us down the left.

Peter Lovenkrands (4) - A really disappointing performance from the Dane. Think he'll be dropped for the next game as he was unable to do anything of note.

Leon Best (7) - Does look poor at times but few could argue against his work rate. Scored the crucial second goal and won the all important first penalty which means that he can be effective at this level if given the chance.

Substitutes

Nile Ranger (6.5)- Did very well when coming on and certainly made an impact.

Danny Guthrie (N/A) - Came on in injury time.

Man of the Match - Cheik Tiote

Player Ratings v Arsenal (H)

Discussion started by TyneTalk (IP Logged), 05/02/2011 23:14

TyneTalk
05/02/2011 23:14

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MissC
05/02/2011 23:17

I really wish Ranger would score because I think once he does he will be on a roll.

Nice ratings gotta have been a difficult week to rate. Some fair comments.

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Andrew The Mag
05/02/2011 23:18

decent enough ratings though i thought simpson was more than .5 better than enrique today. Enrique struggled defensivly and give the ball away a few too many times, he really needs to practice his passing. Jonas deserved higher than a 6 imo too some of his crossing today was world class and his pace caused arsenal problems too. Ranger had a massive influence when he came on also.

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MissC
05/02/2011 23:21

Difficult isn't it? Wasim explained the ratings a few weeks back when asked why some seemed so low. Opting to be consistent with ratings and therefore to get really high they had to be outstanding.

I guess giving them 7's would imply a good 90minutes which just wasn't the case

I can see why the lower scores are justified today, lack of consistancy and a poor start.

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Kev85
06/02/2011 00:25

Agree with Tiote being MOM although it was close between him and Barton, I'am atill in shock at how well we played in second half and how Arsenal fell apart.

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i!
06/02/2011 10:50

I'd give it to Barton, made the tackle that changed the game, and was giving his all when we were getting battered in the first half. The two penalties weren't the best but they went in.

Joey gets it for me, Tiote a close second, while Ranger made a big impact coming off the bench.


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wasim4nufc
06/02/2011 13:05

It was difficult choosing between Tiote and Barton but I think Tiote had a better first half so that's what made me give it to him. I was thinking of giving Simpson a higher rating, for he was better than Enrique today, as Andrew said but Enrique did provide an assist so that is why they are only a rating of .5 apart. Credit to the entire team though for coming back and showing true character.



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DaraghL
06/02/2011 17:29

tiote tackling in the second half was one of the best displays ive ever seen he was winning everything and distributing it too great effect, But the weak footed volley at 4-3 has put him up the with albert for goals that will play in my head every week.

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Biffins Bridge
06/02/2011 17:36

You're right Dara, I couldnt make the match but the goal is one of best I have seen for Newcastle. To hit that on the volley with his weak foot. Amazing.

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mentalman
07/02/2011 17:02

think Nolan should of got a lower rating, did very little, gave ball away on edge of box when trying to play it out of defence instead of just clearing it (can't remember if they scored from this or not)! He could/should of been sent off for what he did to arsenal's keeper!

After recent posts people may say i'm Anti Nolan but i'm not i just think his hearts not at the club anymore!


As for Ranger, his work rate is top class and his energy is a problem for every team he as played against, all he needs to do is score that first goal and he'll start banging them in!

Its often said about strikers losing confidence if they go on a run of not scoring and i'm sure its a lot worse for a young guy trying to prove himself, Barton's penalties weren't the best and on another day/different keeper would have been easily saved unless Ranger's penalty taking is shocking then it may have been a good idea to give him a shot and break his duck albeit through a penalty!

Another point, i thought Nolan took penalties if shola wasn't playing!

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annie
07/02/2011 18:56

I agree with Carys and Mentalman about Ranger banging them in once he gets his first. I thought he did really well and maybe he'll get a start next time considering Lovehandles poor performance.

In my opinion Best deserved 7.5 he should have 2 goals on the scoresheet. Ref's assistant wrongly ruled one offside.

This was probably one of the worst games for you to rate wasim as the two halves couldn't have been more diiferent. Well done with your ratings.

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tunyc
07/02/2011 19:39

Simpson definitely better than Enrique-this was the worst performance I've seen from our LB. He got more into the game once Walcott was taken off, which was a mystifyingly bad sub. This is also when Jonas became more effective.

Maybe you should give ratings for each half? For example, Best looked like he was trying to be offside in the first half and I wouldn't have rated him above 4. But in the second half he was immense and probably deserved something like 8-8.5.

It doesn't surprise me that Lovenkrands failed to offer anything when he played in midfield most of the game.

Mental-I agree about Nolan, though he did almost turn up with the winner at the end and I certainly appreciated him stepping to Diaby. Somewhere between 4-5 is fair.

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