Norwich v Newcastle United – Match Report
Saturday 12 January 3pm
Norwich 0
Newcastle United 0
Watch Match Highlights Here
To win the accolade of worst match of the season takes some doing this year but I think today comfortably wins that argument.
I’m sure Alan Pardew will be saying it is a hard place to come to, important to stop the rot, a point’s a point you cannot grumble…you get the message.
However, there was quite literally nothing happened in this match. Norwich at least had the excuse that their best two strikers couldn’t start, we’ve only got one striker and though he started the lack of support was embarrassing.
Yes I’d rather draw 0-0 (one of our suggested pre-match bets with BetVictor at 14/1!) than get beat 7-3 or 4-3 or 1-0 or whatever but…this is desperately worrying for the rest of the season.
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Everybody tried their best, I think, but as both teams had isolated lone strikers it was little surprise there was so little goalmouth action. There will be no competition as to who is last game on Match Of The Day tonight, that’s for sure.
Positives? Krul dealt comfortably with crosses and made a few regulation saves, while Debuchy got through a quiet debut and Santon looked by far the most confident on the ball.
Coloccini had a stable ninety minutes and was helped by a Norwich team which offered as little as us going forward.
Looking for highlights from the match; Obertan had a snapshot beaten away in the first half and a few balls from midfield were on the right lines but poor in the execution as Cisse ploughed that very lone furrow.
Matches like this are where Marveaux should be trying to lay down a marker but he was no better than Obertan, which says it all.
Cabaye looked rusty (I don’t mean ginger, thankfully!) when he came on, while Perch looked like a defender/utility player in midfield and Anita had a more defensive role today which leads us to exactly who was supposed to be supporting Cisse today?
If Newcastle don’t add at least one, which should be at least two, attacking options to our squad this month then we could well be doomed. Nothing today suggested United have the goals to stay up, never mind prosper in this division.
I could see a plan to stop a poor opposition today but not one that would end up with Newcastle scoring a goal.
Anybody who thinks that at this moment in time, we are better off without Demba Ba, is officially Looney Toons.
Norwich: Bunn, Martin, Bassong, Turner, Garrido, Snodgrass (Bennett 77), Johnson, Tettey, Hoolahan, Pilkington, Jackson (Holt 68)
Newcastle United: Krul, Debuchy, Coloccini, Williamson, Santon, Perch, Anita (Bigirimana 84), Obertan (Cabaye 57), Marveaux, Jonas, Cisse
Unused Subs: Harper, Tavernier, Amalfitano, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger
Ref: Anthony Taylor
Crowd: 26,752
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