A scrappy first half in which both teams seemed content to pass to the opposition for 45 minutes was interrupted when Livermore pressured and poked away at the dithering Cabaye, which sent Adebayor chasing then tumbling. Which left VDV to despatch the penalty. 0-1.Modric easily skinned, the limping Walker unable to cut out the cross, defenders marking all the wrong people, Ba unchallenged. 1-1.
Modric marauding, Parker passing, Adebayor assisting, Defoe despatching. A well worked slick goal capped off by a sweet spin and strike from Defoe. 1-2.
And then with the clock ticking down, and few quick passes that left our defence wondering where the ball was, just long enough for Friedel to be beaten by the resulting shot. 2-2.
Player Ratings
Friedel 7 - Made a few good saves in the frantic second half, the tip over the bar and the free kick save standing out, but he was beaten twice.
Walker 6 - Was looking full of pace and potentially dangerous, until he picked up a knock and was forced to hobble around for the rest of the match.Kaboul 7 - Good performance and was always there to head the ball away. Kaboul is our best defender now. He's better than Dawson and Bassong and doesn't need "when fit" after his name, e.g. Our best defender is Ledley King, when fit.
King 5.5 - It was inevitable wasn't it. He was looking as good as ever, but as it is written, the King will return, play week after week, until injury doth come, and goals doth follow. And lo, it came to pass.
BAE 6.8 - A mixed bag. Some utter tosh passes, but a much greater amount of defensive brilliance and good passing.
The marks for the midfield may seem a bit harsh in places, and it's not really their fault. The midfield was a mess. Three central midfielders and Bale. All to accommodate VDV in his little hole. Bale was ineffective on the right, Livermore was anonymous there at one point, Modric even had a go as well, leaving a creativity black hole in the middle of the pitch. At times there was in fact nobody on the right.
Livermore 6.5 - Looked part of the team at times, but was anonymous at others. Good pressuring to win the ball for our first goal though.Modric 7 - Scrapping for the first half, but in full flow for the second. Was involved in our second goal, but was easily rounded in the build up to the Newcastle first.
Parker 6.5 - Cut out his fair share of Newcastle attacks, but without the constant of Modric along side him to play off of, he wasn't up to the standard we've seen so far.
Bale 5 - Ineffective on the right. On the left, he was fast, especially in the second half. We saw plenty of lung busting Bale runs, that inevitably saw him pick the wrong pass, run into trouble, cross too early, cross too deep, or just generally break the attack down.
VDV 5.5 - Scored a penalty, but did not alot else. "Run out of steam" and was subbed.
Adebayor 6.5 - Good positioning, passing and hold up play. Won us the penalty that VDV despatched, but frustratingly doesn't bother jumping for simple headers well within his jumping range.
Subs
Bassong 5 - Liability. In the middle of nowhere during the first Newcastle goal. Constantly putting himself and Friedel under pressure by letting long passes and goal kicks bounce. If you have the other teams attacker hanging off your shoulder, just head it away! Don't let it bounce and give him the chance to turn you!
Defoe 7.5 - Our top scorer this season. We should have started with him. VDV should be the one on the bench with Defoe in this kind of form.
Pav 4 - Couldn't be arsed in the few minutes he was on. But did have enough time to lose the ball a few times.
In conclusion, Redknapp decided to play VDV where VDV wanted to play, at the expense of our top scorer and resulted in a messed up midfield. In my opinion, while Defoe is in form, either VDV plays on the right, or he sits on the bench. Because we play 4-4-2, we win four in a row, we go back to the old ways, we look a mess. I suppose a point at Newcastle is good considering our record there and their good form. But they were constantly giving the ball away in the first half and we should have dominated them. It's also immensely frustrating that we twice surrendered the lead. Still, can't win them all! COYS
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