On The Air: So Much For Optimism

For those of you who weren't down with the sunny tone of our preseason podcasts, this latest radio-like offering will be right up your Toon alley. The IWIWAG Trio dissect Newcastle United's sham-a-ganza at Manchester City, sparing (almost) no one their due verbal roasting, from Mathieu "Who Just Ran Past Me?" Debuchy, to Mapou "Tracking Is For Sissies" Yanga-Mbiwa, to Steven "Roundhouse Red" Taylor, to Papiss "Where's Waldo?" Cissé. We also eye Cabaye, make use-a Moussa and drum it for Dummett. Plus: What's hotter, a firepit on the Equator or Alan Pardew's chair? Click below to listen, or visit our iTunes page for a computer- and (we hope) mobile-friendly download.

 

I Wish I Was A Geordie 2014-3

 

Comments

[UK PhD]

As usual, excellent work.

I thought you guys were spot on in terms of the defeatist attitude that seemed to plague NUFC from the opening kick. From watching the first five minutes, before the Silva goal, it was obvious that Man City was out to destroy, and NUFC just caved. The ironic part, and the sad one from a fan's perspective, is that Steven Taylor--the one guy on the pitch who you can guarantee will fight in a bad situation--is sent off for being overly aggressive when you are pleading for anyone else to show some fight.

I do think, however, that you are being too harsh in terms of Cisse's performance. I don't think that anyone expected Cisse to be hugely influential in this game. And, in fact, anyone short of Didier Drogba--or David Villa in the first leg of the SuperCopa on Wednesday--would have struggled to play hold-up against City on Monday. The thing that makes it hurt more than anything else is that Demba Ba was the forward NUFC needed. He might not have made a difference in the final score line, but he would have held the ball up and drew some fouls. Cisse is not that forward and probably never will be.

The score should have been at least 6-0 (Taylor handball and Negredo offside call--possibly the penalty on Toure?? 7-0) but there are 37 games left to go. Let's not overreact to one game, away to City, when they are in absolute imperial form.

All that said, excellent work overall. Your blog is one of the only things that keeps me sane during the EPL season.