On this week's I Wish I Was A Geordie podcast, the boys from the blog take on Tony Pulis' delusions, Yohan Cabaye's re-emergence, Papiss Cissé's hair-raising encounter on Tyneside, the potential (or lack thereof) for a American transfer to Newcastle United, and why wine tasting may never be the same for Barca fans. Click below to listen, or visit our iTunes page to hear all our podcasts and subscribe.
I Wish I Was A Geordie Podcast 2
Hi guys it is great to see the Toon is so well supported stateside. Hopefully you can get over here for a few games next year I would happily by you a pint and show you the Toon anyway lads great podcast and hopefully our amazing run of form will continue HWTL!!!
Posted by: Lualua17 | 04/21/2012 at 09:13 PM
In talking about Barca vs Chelsea while I recognize the fear of finishing 4th but Chelsea somehow winning the CL is a possibility there was no mention about the fact Barca had 79% possession and 24 shots on goal to Chelsea’s 4 and the return legs appears to be set up for a beat down. Also if they do make the final they’re either playing Real or Bayern (at home basically) and England never does well against Germany and after Chelsea gets through the 6 games prior to this they could be spent.
Posted by: Mathew | 04/23/2012 at 02:46 PM
Mathew - It's unlikely Chelsea will somehow forge a path beyond the three top teams in European football to win the CL, but it's possible. If they score 1 goal at the Nou camp then Barca will need 3 and with Chelsea 'parking the bus' that could prove difficult. There's no reason we can't aim for 3rd now with Arsenal looking workmanlike once again in these closing stages.
Excellent podcast boys - our season is now on a knife-edge with only 4 games to go- impossible to predict with any certainty how things will end up, but a win against Wigan could put us 6 points clear of the chasing pack and potentially only needing 1 win from those final 3 tough fixtures.. very do-able on current form - 7 points would realistically seal a top 4 finish for us, and as we know CL would be the best incentive for our top players to stay on this summer.
HWTL!
Posted by: geordiepat | 04/24/2012 at 07:24 AM
From the podcast discussion about Cabaye and his best position:
I agree that Cabaye is not at all a prototypical number 10, but our current formation, and most 4-3-3's, don't really include a number 10. With our current setup, and with only one true holding midfielder, in Tiote, I think it makes sense for Cabaye to be our most forward-positioned of the midfield three. Jonas can certainly make runs forward, and Cabaye is capable of covering in those situations, but Cabaye is much more dangerous. Earlier in the season, he played a deeper role and seemed to disappear a bit. I can't remember too many games where he looked bad, per se, but he didn't stand out, either. Playing him a bit more forward, like against Stoke, allows him to pick out passes like the one that set up Cisse's goal. I'm not sure we have another central midfielder who can consistently make passes like that.
All that being said, one of our biggest strengths right now, with both our forward three and our midfield three, is our versatility and ability to interchange on the fly, so it's really not important how Cabaye is classified. As long as he's not pigeonholed as being strictly an "attacking" or "holding" midfielder and he's allowed to play within the flow of the game, he'll be a difference-maker like he was today.
Posted by: Charlie Prince | 04/24/2012 at 09:20 AM
UGH - Chelsea just booked a ticket to the CL Final and regardless if we finish 4th we'll have to wait until May 15th for a verdict. At least they'll be rag and bones of a team with so many yellow cards...
Posted by: Mathew | 04/24/2012 at 03:50 PM
Charlie - Thanks for the thoughts. I think where to position Cabaye is one of the real interesting subplots to NUFC's summer transfer plans, especially if they pursue someone like Sigurdsson.
You're totally right on that it's not as important in a fluid formation like the 4-3-3. I tend to think he's better suited playing a bit deeper, but he looked fantastic pushing forward vs. Stoke. The final four games could be very revealing on this issue.
Thanks for reading and listening!
Posted by: Tom | 04/24/2012 at 08:06 PM
Tom-
I'm enjoying the podcast, so keep them coming.
And I agree, fitting someone like Sigurdsson into the team will take some tinkering. Not that our teams are all that similar overall, but I actually see our midfield three of being able to play in a way similar to Barcelona. Tiote is a strong enough holding midfielder that he can hold his own in front of the back four. Also, our fullbacks don't bomb forward as much as someone like Dani Alves, so we're less likely to be scrambling for cover. Against certain teams, we may want to have Jonas or Perch in the side for added grit, but a midfield three of Tiote, Cabaye and someone like Sigurdsson would give most Premier League teams some major headaches.
Posted by: Charlie Prince | 04/26/2012 at 08:49 AM