WBA v Newcastle Sunday 4pm

[Happy Face 29]

A win for Newcastle would see them reach 50 points in the top flight for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign, which was also the last time they qualified for European competition – albeit through the Intertoto Cup. While Alan Pardew's side may have harboured loftier ambitions earlier this season, a Champions League place now looks beyond them. But the battle for fifth, and a spot in the Europa League play-offs, remains very much alive. With Chelsea, their main rivals, facing a tricky game with Tottenham, Newcastle will look to take advantage at The Hawthorns. Rich Flower

 

Venue The Hawthorns, Sunday 4pm

 

Tickets £29 (0871 271 9780)

 

Last season West Bromwich 3 Newcastle 1

 

Referee Chris Foy

 

This season's matches 15 Y45, R4, 3.27 cards per game

 

Odds West Bromwich 11-8 Newcastle 9-4 Draw 12-5

 

West Bromwich Albion

 

Subs from Fulop, Tchoyi, Morrison, Andrews, Dorrans, Shorey, Dawson, Thorne, Tamas, Cox, Fortuné

 

Doubtful Fulop (illness), Odemwingie (calf)

 

Injured Gera (knee, 28 Apr), Reid (ankle, Aug)

 

Suspended None

 

Form guide DLWWWL

 

Disciplinary record Y40 R1

 

Leading scorer Odemwingie 9

 

Newcastle

 

Subs from Elliot, Harper, Guthrie, Abeid, Perch, Gosling, Shola Ameobi, Obertan, Vuckic, Ferguson, Donaldson

 

Doubtful Simpson (groin), Tioté (thigh)

 

Injured Best (knee, 1 Apr), R Taylor (calf, 1 Apr), Marveaux (groin, 6 Apr), Sammy Ameobi (knee, May), Lovenkrands (thigh, Aug), S Taylor (achilles, Aug)

 

Suspended None

 

Form guide WLDDLW

 

Disciplinary record Y52 R2

 

Leading scorer Ba 16

 

Match pointers

 

• There have been 35 goals scored in the last eight league meetings between these sides and neither has managed to keep a clean sheet in that run

 

• Newcastle are one point away from becoming only the eighth club (after Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Everton) to reach a total of 1,000 Premier League points

 

• If selected, Paul Scharner will be making his 200th Premier League appearance

 

• Steve Harper has been named as a substitute more times (315) than anyone else in Premier League history

 

• Jonas Olsson has made the most defensive clearances (72) this season

[Happy Face 29]

With safety all but assured, a top-half finish is the target for the Baggies, who are aiming for a third successive triumph at The Hawthorns.

 

They are also unbeaten in their last six games against the Magpies.

 

Stat of the game: Newcastle have conceded seven goals in their last two away games.

 

Brendan McLoughlin’s prediction: West Bromwich Albion 2 Newcastle United 2.

[Howmanheyman 26902]

Always seems to be a hard game against WBA these last few years and wins are scarce, usually draws with the odd defeat, we're not firing on all cylinders, still got the odd injury etc so we might just get a surprise win. The logic of NUFC. Plus I'm at work for it.

[Gene_Clark 12]

As we've not drawn an away game since November, I presume we're due one; 1-1 possibly

[Howmanheyman 26902]

Liverpool have Wigan at home and I just can't see them slipping up here especially if Wigan play like they did last week, that had to be some of the worst finishing I've seen since Kevin Dillon/Alan Smith last pulled on our shirt.

 

We should be looking at Chelsea as well but I just can't see us catching them over 9 games especially when we have to go down there. They've Tottenham so it's a tough game for them but I fancy a draw is the worst result that the Russian's side will get.

 

So basically, we could do with a win.

[Christmas Tree 3997]

Not confident given the the type of performances we are putting in.

 

We either need to "click" or try something different with a certain young Irish lad.

 

Fingers crossed for this one.

[Kitman 2188]

We need a big dollop of luck imo

[toonotl 2431]

I don't really think we need that much luck if we play well. But to be fair a good away performance seems to be a rarity of late for us so fingers crossed.

[Brock Manson 0]

I don't think WBA are owt special at all - we should be beating them.

 

Obviously we've been searching for our best form as of late but we've just got an important 3 points which will hopefully spur on a push for a run of good results.

 

2-1 us, but it'll be nervy as.

[Brock Manson 0]

Apparently we haven't beaten them in 6 games!

[McFaul 35]

West Brom fans are basically brummies, which means they're generally cunts. Of the five brummie teams they're the least arrogant though quick glance of their forum and you think oh dear however.

 

 

Disagree mate, they dont DESERVE anything anymore than any other clubs fans. Also the fact that apart from Newcastlke United, theres nothing else to do up there with closest rivals located miles away, nothing like thye competition between clubs for fans that there is in the midlands.

 

Now I've heard this before - "there's nothing else to do up there". Without a doubt there's more to do in Newcastle and North of the Tyne than anything in the West fucking Midlands. The West Midlands is about 3m people, and I guarantee in the whole of Western Europe, no connurbation of more than 3m people is an outright shithole like the West Midlands in the UK. I hope there's brummies reading this, you live in a fucking shithole you boring cunts. Awful depressing place reflected by the personalities of the people who live there.

 

They're so fucking stupid as well, the closest rivals located miles away. The area between Newcastle and Sunderland (9 mile is it), is half and fucking half, and Sunderland are a far, far, far better supported club than any in the Midlands. Combine WBA and Wolves and that's about Sunderland, combine Villa and Birmingham and they're still not us. So fucking stupid.

 

 

Newcaslte always turn up in big numbers, but they really have a lot of fickle fans when things dont go so well, Sunderland are like that too.

 

When things don't go well we're fickle hahahaha, Less than two years ago we averaged more per game in the second tier of English football than any West Midlands club has in the top flight in 124 years of league football. Fucking wanks.

 

 

Totally disagree about Sunderland fans. Think they have some of the best fans in England. Having browsed the NUFC forums the last few times we've played them, I can safely say they're the most fickle and disrespectful set of fans I've seen. The amount of bile they speak about their own players is staggering, it's not just the usual slagging off like you might see here when a player's not performing well, it's real foul-mouthed hatred. none of it particularly rational either. I think Demba Ba is the only member of their first team that I haven't seen it directed towards. They turned on Pardew extremely quickly to when they didn't win a few games around th time they played us, despite them being about 5th in the table. Not the nicest group

.

 

Oh dear

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Apparently we haven't beaten them in 6 games!

 

Yeah, HF said that in his second post in this thread

 

 

Here's a surprise from Lawro:

 

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said after last week's win over Norwich that the Europa League is the target for his side now and that is clever. I don't think they are in the mix for a Champions League spot but what Pardew has done takes the heat off his players a little bit.

 

I don't think they will have much joy at The Hawthorns, though. West Brom's home record has not been great this season but they look a better team of late.

 

I know the Baggies lost at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago but the ball certainly rolled for them against Wigan last week and I just fancy them to sneak the points in this one.

 

Prediction: 2-1

 

Thankful for that, we'll probably win with ease now.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Monroe Transfer

[Tom 13867]

Stevie - What a set of pricks!

[Monroe Transfer 0]

I wonder what forum inspired that last quote. Bet it was TyneTalk or NUFCforum.

[Craig 6307]

I'm predicting a repeat of last season's outcome so if we come away with a draw I'll be a satisfied.

 

They're a much better outfit that a lot of people give them credit for - Mowbray sowed the seeds of that (remember when they went down but every commented that they at least played good football but were missing the end product?). Di Matteo continued that and constructed a solid foundation which Hodgson has built on.

[Tom 13867]

Yeh I've come not to expect anything against them.

[Christmas Tree 3997]

Chronny saying Simpson doubtful which could lead to Santon at Rb and Fergie at LB

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Ferguson is a liability.

[PaddockLad 14613]

Ferguson is a liability.

 

Evidence for that?....

[Gemmill 34549]

That lot saying there's nowt to do up here. Cos Cadburyland is quite the day out. Have you heard of the coast, dickheads?

[Tom 13867]

Ferguson is decent enough but he needs to put some muscle on or he'll get shoved off the ball by a mouse farting.

[Gemmill 34549]

Just to spell that out btw, these people pretend that a chocolate factory is a theme park.

[PaddockLad 14613]

So we're having a dig at a young lad who may be getting his big premier league chance tomorrow and not criticisng the club itself for not having a left footed left back at the club. Strange way of seeing the game iyam. Of course if we had a lflb at the club, he could be injured too but this is a squad game. Shane Ferguson is a squad player and did ok in an awful performance at Stoke last season.Plainly Stoke are a big physical side but he wasnt overawed and he didnt look out of place. He's not going to be the next Ryan Giggs or Stuart Pearce but he's part of the squad and should get the same support as anyone else.

[Tom 13867]

Just to spell that out btw, these people pretend that a chocolate factory is a theme park.

 

Culturally there's not many places that can come close to Newcastle and that would shit on West Bromwich alone - if we are talking about region than there's no contest whatsoever.

 

I took my mate to the Baltic then the Sage the other day and he loved it, even just the buildings are magnificent. Obviously the rest was good too!

[PaddockLad 14613]

i've criticised us about the left back thing till i'm blue in the face, nevermind the fact i had to argue with people on here to prove santon was supposed to be on the right when the club came out with "davide the left back"

 

And all i've said about ferguson is there is no way in fucking hell the lads a defender, as i said i seen him the other week up at my work and a strong wind would knock him over, as above, just because the club decide to lob whatever label is handy on our players doesn't mean it's true.

Santon is not a left sided player, neither is jonas for that matter, or R.Taylor but they'll get called that when it suits to make up for our insane lack of depth

 

yeah but you're implying that he's physically not up to what in all likelyhood will be a one off appearance in the first team. I don't know how your judgement of him at your work can compare to my having seen him put a decent shift in at Stoke last season in similar circumstances. Unless you're secretly a squad member at NUFC yourself and you've seen Demba and Colo have been kicking the shit out of him in training. I happen to agree with you btw, he's not outstandingly gifted so will struggle with his size long term at the top level. But theres no point in condenming him and not suggesting we could have a better squad with more experianced back up.If we're all on Mike's happy bus and are all supposed to be singing from the same hymnsheet then I'd suggest he's the sort of backup we can expect of where we are in Ashley's "project"...young and relatively untried.