Atoksyah's Weblog

SHANE Ferguson berterima kasih kepada Alan Pardew kerna yakin dengan kebolehannya – sekaligus mengharapkan diberi peluang lain untuk beraksi dalam kesebelasan utama Newcastle United.

Pemain remaja itu beraksi menentang Chelsea pada Ahad lepas sebelum dikeluarkan kerna mengalami kecederaan.

Walau bagaimanapun, Ferguson cergas untuk menghadapi West Bromwich Albion esok.

Pemain berusia 19-tahun itu ditugaskan di sayap kiri di Stamford Bridge, ketika Pardew kehilangan beberapa pemain senior.

Ferguson – yang telah bermain kebanyakannya sebagai pertahanan-kiri pada musim ini – beraksi baik apabila dinaikkan sebagai pemain tengah, dan dia berharap untuk berada dalam kesebelasan utama pada perlawanan terakhir Newcastle untuk musim ini, di mana United mengintai kedudukan 10 pasukan teratas Premier League.

Atok mula mengenali Ferguson semasa dia ditugaskan di pertahanan sayap kiri oleh Hughton ketika perlawanan menentang Chelsea, di mana NU menang 4-3. Tugas yang baik oleh Hughton. Ketika itu terserlah kebolehan Ferguson bertahan di samping memulakan serangan dengan hantaran tepat dari kiri padang.

Dengan Jonas Gutierrez tidak dapat beraksi, kelihatan orang Irish itu akan berada dalam kesebelasan utama.

Kebangkitan akhir musim Ferguson dipandang positif oleh Pardew, dan pemain kelahiran Derry itu telah menyedari cabaran yang menantinya pada musim depan.

Related articles

• Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion: match preview (telegraph.co.uk)
• Squad sheets: Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion (guardian.co.uk)
• Chelsea 2-2 Newcastle United | Premier League match report (guardian.co.uk)
• Chelsea 2 Newcastle United 2: match report (telegraph.co.uk)

Newcastle United fans made their feelings about Mike Ashley known by staging protests against the club’s owner before the team’s match against Liverpool at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Supporters gathered in Newcastle city centre and outside before the match to vent their frustration at Ashley, which came to a head when popular manager Chris Hughton was replaced by Alan Pardew earlier in the week.

Northumbria Police officers and club stewards kept a watchful eye over proceedings, but the demonstrations passed without any major incidents.

Supporters brought signs demanding that Ashley sell the club and sever his ties on Tyneside, and wore t-shirts in support of Hughton.

There were chants of “There’s only one Chris Hughton” and “We hate Ashley” as dissatisfied fans took to the streets, while inside the ground there were choruses of “get out of our club”aimed at the controversial owner, who was in attendance.

Pardew said in the build-up to the match when asked about the planned prtoest: “If there is a protest for Chris in terms of a nice protest and fans want to show him their support, then I don’t have a problem with that. That is their right.

“But I hope that anything like that is over with quickly and they start supporting their team. It is not about me, after all, it is about the club. And we are going to need a lot of help to get past Liverpool, who have just hit a bit of form.”

Newcastle went on to win the match 3-1, and moved above Liverpool and up to eighth in the Premier League table.

Newcastle United defender Ryan Taylor has been ruled out for up to three months after suffering an ankle injury in training.

Taylor is understood to have suffered the problem in a challenge with Sol Campbell and, having undergone surgery on the problem on Tuesday, Newcastle say he will miss ten to 12 weeks.

Taylor said : “These things happen on the training ground, but it’s not great for me. I face a long hard winter now.”

The paper reports that Taylor – who has not started a league match this season – was hopeful of securing a loan move prior to the injury.

FIRST the good news for those of a black and white persuasion.

Newcastle United possessed the fighting spirit required to avoid a third successive home defeat, which would have increased concerns around St James’ Park.

Now the bad. Any more home performances like this, on the back of three defeats in four Premier League matches, including two at home to Stoke City and Blackpool, and the Magpies will have a genuine fight against relegation on their hands.

There have been promising aspects and plenty of reasons to be encouraged from the opening two months of the season, but weaknesses and cracks are emerging that need addressing by manager Chris Hughton.

The first half display against Wigan was the most worrying yet, highlighting how improvements are needed if a more damaging slide down the topflight table is to be avoided.

Once Ali Al-Habsi, the Latics goalkeeper, had got down well to hold a shot that was stabbed in his direction from Andy Carroll after 15 minutes Newcastle lost their way.

Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands, handed a start at the expense of his frustrated and dropped captain Kevin Nolan, were starved of any real service. Only Jonas Gutierrez of the four midfielders was capable of creating anything, while defensively Newcastle looked a shambles.

It did improve markedly after the restart, but by that time Newcastle’s disjointed and sluggish start had basically gifted Wigan a two-goal advantage at the break.

On the two occasions Franco di Santo had sent deliveries in to the Newcastle penalty area, Wigan had no right to score.

That, though, is exactly what they did. Twice in a little more than 100 first half seconds.

It was Charles N’Zogbia, back at St James’ Park for the first time since his departure in January last year, who capitalised on the sloppiness on both occasions.

First his diminutive frame was somehow allowed to head di Santo’s delivery into Tim Krul’s far corner by a static James Perch and Mike Williamson, who both stood by him.

Then the Frenchman added a second after Joey Barton lost out to James McCarthy in the middle and Perch was caught out of position high up the pitch.

Di Santo again picked out N’- Zogbia, who took a touch before unleashing a rasping drive into Krul’s top right corner, despite Williamson’s last-ditch rush to block.

N’Zogbia, who left under a storm after demanding a move following Joe Kinnear’s mispronunciation of his name, had silenced the Newcastle supporters who had given him a rough time.

He had also offered a further reminder of his value to Wigan, with the £9m-rated winger interesting Bayern Munich, Sunderland and Tottenham.

“He understands why he would get a bad reception, but he’s got experience and in a way he sees it as a football compliment,”

said Wigan manager Martinez.

“We knew how the fans would react and he relished the challenge. This was a game that he clearly enjoyed.”

Had it not been for Gutierrez, Newcastle would never have been able to force their way back into the match.

Following the confirmation that Hatem Ben Arfa will be missing for six months, Dan Gosling is weeks away from recovery and Wayne Routledge struggling for form, a lot of the attacking play will rest on the Argentine’s shoulders.

And, while he clearly has his shortcomings in the final third, his unpredictability means he is more often than not Newcastle’s most creative player.

That was certainly the case against Wigan. He had threatened to make an impact and then, following Shola Ameobi’s introduction from the bench, Gutierrez’s time arrived.

Eighteen minutes from the end he picked out Ameobi, who had worked ahead of his marker and headed down beyond Al- Habsi. Even then, though, there was still a lack of impetus until the closing stages.

Carroll had wasted a couple of decent opportunities, before Gutierrez floated over a sweet corner with 3mins 20secs of the four minutes of injury-time played. Carroll did well to turn goalwards and Fabricio Coloccini was on hand to power the equaliser past Al-Habsi.

While the rest of his teammates went crazy on the pitch, Gutierrez charged towards the dug-out and celebrated passionately in front of the coaching staff.

“I think the celebration was just delight,” said Hughton, who named him on the bench in the home defeat to Stoke City.

“My impression was that he is just ecstatic that we were able to get back into the game.

“If you look at the emotions of him and Colocinni when we scored that is what it meant to the team. Points in this division are valuable and to come back and get the point at that stage of the game showed what it meant to everybody.

“Jonas has certainly showed he is the sort of player who can break down resolute defences.

I think his form has got better.

I rested him at Everton and I would say since then he has been very good.

“One thing with Jonas is that you will always get a committed player, a player who absolutely loves playing.”

Having witnessed his team somehow come back from two goals down to avoid a fourth defeat in five Premier League matches, Hughton accepts he needs to find improvements.

He said: “There are concerns.

That we conceded two very poor goals, we allowed them too much possession and they showed some quality. They regained possession very well and passed it very well.

“We know that we will have to pick up a good percentage of points against this group of teams who we can expect to be around us.”

Either side of a Carling Cup date with Arsenal, Newcastle travel to West Ham next Saturday before taking on rivals Sunderland at St James’ Park on October 31. Those two matches could be pivotal in the Magpies’ season.

Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton says Shane Ferguson will see more Carling Cup action this week against Arsenal.

Hughton thinks that he deserves his chance after coming on leaps and bounds in recent years.

“We’ve been delighted with his progress this season,” Hughton said.

“He’s a small lad but he’s a tigerish player. He’s never been a problem, he trains very well and he’s got a lot going for him.”

Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton said it would have been a “travesty” if his team had not left Stamford Bridge with a League Cup victory.

The visitors missed two great opportunities to extend their 3-1 lead to allow Chelsea back into the game before the home side levelled with a disputed penalty after Alex was tugged in the penalty area.

An injury-time goal from Shola Ameobi sent Newcastle through, and Hughton believed it was no more than his side deserved.

“The equaliser was as soft a penalty as you see,” Hughton told reporters after the game. “At that stage, we hang on to the game and win 3-2. Had we not gone through, it would have been a travesty.

“We showed great character and good finishing to get back into the game. But both of us could have done without extra time, especially them as they were down to 10 men [due to injuries].”

Hughton said he had no qualms about making 10 changes to the team that beat Everton on Saturday, with Fabricio Coloccini the only survivor from that win.

“This was a game we felt we could win irrespective of the side we put out. It speaks volumes for the changing room and the players I’ve got in that changing room. Hopefully it will give us a momentum going into the rest of the season.

“In particular, Haris [Vuckic] and Alan [Smith] in the middle of the park and young [Shane] Ferguson who floats between left-back and left-winger; he more than anyone will be pleased with that.”

Dimitar Berbatov repaid the faith of Sir Alex Ferguson by sending Manchester United on their way to a comfortable season-opening Premier League win over Newcastle, but it was Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs who stole the show.

Berbatov was handed a starting berth alongside Wayne Rooney and responded by drilling home an excellent 33rd-minute effort at Old Trafford.

The Bulgarian should have had another goal after half-time but, after Darren Fletcher had doubled the Red Devils’ advantage shortly before the break, it was evergreen substitute Giggs who extended his remarkable record of scoring in every Premier League season when he latched on to Scholes’ inspired pass and sent a first-time volley bouncing past Steve Harper.

It was part of another masterclass from man-of-the-match Scholes, who with every game must make Fabio Capello cringe at his failure to lure the 35-year-old out of international retirement for World Cup duty in the summer.

The only real disappointment for United was another blank day for Wayne Rooney, who has now gone 13 matches for club and country since he last scored, against Bayern Munich in March.

Questions will continue to be asked of Rooney until he starts to show the form that established himself as one of the world’s leading players last season. His performances in South Africa were almost too bad to be believed, the nadir coming in England’s terrible draw against Algeria in Cape Town.

Yet at times, it almost feels as though Rooney is trying too hard. His work-rate remains impressive but too often shots are snatched. He succeeded only in battering a free-kick into the Newcastle wall with one obvious opportunity, then skied Berbatov’s nod-back high over the bar when far better was expected.

Even his part in United’s second goal was accidental as he failed to control Patrice Evra’s low cross and succeeded only in prodding the ball towards Fletcher, whose smart turn and finish brought an admiring nod of approval from the unselfish England man.

Since his club record £30.5 million arrival from Tottenham, Berbatov has often found himself as the man being sacrificed by Sir Alex Ferguson in the biggest United games.

With Javier Hernandez threatening to take Old Trafford by storm and Michael Owen’s lack of match practice costing him a place on the bench, Berbatov knew he must start to impress on a more consistent basis.

He certainly showed Rooney the way to goal when Antonio Valencia showed admirable determination in getting back to win possession for his team which John O’Shea quickly moved forward to Scholes.

The old master wasted no time in pushing the ball towards the Bulgarian, who was marginally onside and profited further when Jose Enrique nudged the ball further forward as he attempted to tackle. Berbatov steadied himself before drilling a shot from an acute angle into the far left corner.

It was the first harsh lesson of top-flight life for Newcastle, who surprised many, including Ferguson, by bouncing back from the Championship quite so soon.

Young striker Andy Carroll was one of the major factors in their promotion. But after getting away from Nemanja Vidic with a superb run across the United box, he should have buried Joey Barton’s corner instead of nodding a golden chance to put Newcastle ahead tamely wide.

Later, with the points effectively secure, United set about boosting their goal difference. Rooney may be struggling to locate the net but there was plenty to be admired about his delicate touch to find Berbatov after Scholes had played the initial bullet pass.

It was a better chance than the one Berbatov had converted earlier. Again he beat Harper, but this time also put the ball wide of his left-hand post. For Rooney, it was his last meaningful involvement before he was replaced by Hernandez.

At least he is another hour closer to the 600 minutes of playing time Capello thinks he needs to achieve top form, although the process would surely be accelerated if he could find the net.

Anything would do, including the bizarre one off his face that Hernandez managed in the Community Shield. That goal ensured the Mexican was not searching for his first competitive goal as he chased about.

But it was the tracer-bullet accuracy of Giggs that proved to be the difference late on after he had been picked out by his old friend Scholes.

Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton says Andy Carroll must step up his game to compete in the Premiership.

Hughton just wants to see more of the same from the Geordie striker who netted 19 goals last season.

The Toon boss told the Evening Chronicle: “The only way he will progress is by doing the things he did last season.

“These are the important things for him. He has to develop as a player and takes the ups and downs.

“He’s going into a more difficult league and will face better defenders than he was up against last season.”

Newcastle have completed the deadline-day signing of striker Leon Best from Coventry for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract and will go straight into the squad to face Cardiff at St James’ Park on Friday.

The Republic of Ireland international has been handed the number 20 shirt.

Best’s contract at Coventry was due to expire in the summer and, even though a fee would have been due as he is under 24, the Sky Blues have cashed in now.

“The situation with Leon’s contract has been well documented,” said chairman Ray Ranson.

“When it was apparent that we couldn’t agree terms for him to remain at Coventry, we knew we would have to listen to offers and act in the best interests of the club.”

He joins the Coca-Cola Championship leaders having spent two-and-a-half years with Coventry following his 2007 switch from Southampton.