By Wasim
April 30 2009

Fabricio Coloccini was judged Man Of The Match for his performance against Portsmouth on Monday, by Tyne-Talk's resident player rater Wasim4nufc. Read on to see how the rest of the team faired .......................

Player ratings

Steve Harper (6.5) - He did not have much work to do, but still did well enough when called upon.

Habib Beye (7.5) - He was excellent for us, making some solid tackles and trying to attack when he could. We have really missed a right back like him during the entire season.

Fabricio Coloccini (7.5) - He was outstanding for me. Looked solid in defence while also showing some passion to win 50-50's which was good to see after he was dropped for a few games. Seems to have done him some good.

Sebastien Bassong (7) - A typical Bassong performance. Strong and Composed at the back. I feel Coloccini and Bassong are also our best centre back pairing and the clean sheet was good to see.

Jose Enrique (6) - He really looked up for the battle, until he pulled up with injury unfortunately. A big loss he might prove to be.

Alan Smith (6.5) - He didn't do too badly, while he almost scored with a cracking shot (seems to always be the case with Smith). As usual though he slides around too much.

Nickt Butt (6.5) - He started the game badly, but after returning to the field following treatment he seemed to play better. Worked hard in midfield, but for me he is one of the reasons we in this mess. Might be a harsh comment but thats just what I was thinking when watching the match.

Damien Duff (6) - He didn't really look as threatening as we needed him to be. Did track back well though.

Mark Viduka (7) - He started the game slowly, but got more into the game as it went on. Showed some classy touches, which has been lacking up front.

Michael Owen (6) - Should have done better with the great chance he had. He wasn't in the game enough for my liking.

Obafemi Martins (6) - Not sure if it was just me, but Martins didn't look as threating as he normally is. Whether he played with a niggle or not, I'm not sure, but that miss, seemed to sum up his game.

Substitutes

Danny Guthrie (6.5) - He did a decent job when coming on for Enrique.

Andy Carroll (N/A) - Not enough time to make a difference.

Jonas Gutierrez (N/A) - Too little time to rate him.

Positives
* A point taken from this match may still prove to be vital if we win our other home games remaining.
* Clean Sheet.

Negatives
* Its Liverpool next, so we missed the chance to get more points.
* We just can't score goals!

Man of the Match: Fabricio Coloccini

Newcastle v Portsmouth - Player Ratings

Discussion started by TyneTalk (IP Logged), 30/04/2009 17:46

TyneTalk
30/04/2009 17:46

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tunyc
01/05/2009 16:51

Didn't mention the penalty Colo nearly gave up...good thing the ref didn't have a good view of that one.

Viduka a 7? He had two of our best chances and whiffed. Carroll (and Gutierrez) to start the next match-please! Whereas Guthrie, who produced all of our dangerous crosses gets a 6.5?

If I'm honest, I can't make sense of these ratings. Portsmouth were playing for a draw, and got it. I don't know that I'd rate more than a couple above 5.

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wasim4nufc
02/05/2009 09:06

Thanks for your views Tunyc. I gave Viduka a high rating because I felt he was holding up the ball quite well, and seemed to cause them some problems. I suppose I got quite use to Ameobi's below par performances that when Viduka played above that it made me give him a a higher rating than perhaps he deserved. For me Viduka should start ahead of Carroll, as he has more experience and can link up better with Martins and Owen in my view. Looking back, you right about Guthrie. He did produce some fine crosses.



Wasim's Sport Blog

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Mighty__Mag
02/05/2009 11:10

Agree with Tunyc,

Most of the ratings are pretty high again, we were hardly in the game second half so you must take that into account (usual 1 half displays)

Dont think there were any particular good displays, we were at home against a side playing for a draw, and it was one of the most winnable games, tactically shearer played the wrong formation, looking for goals with three under performing forwards, one who has no confidence whatsoever another who is just back from a long lay off and cant play to the pace of the prem anymore & one carrying an injury! plus they all get in each others way trying to score, No communication!

I would have said Harper man of the match, for going through a painful 90 minutes!

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nathan robinson
02/05/2009 11:14

Think it should just be all 5 and 6s, except Butt who should be a 7.

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tunyc
02/05/2009 19:06

I can't see starting Viduka. Carrol is as good may not distribute the ball as well, but he wins more these days and definitely looks more likely to score. If Viduka can't finish the chances he had on Monday, I really can't see any reason to prefer him.

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