{"id":4272,"date":"2021-11-26T14:14:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T14:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4272"},"modified":"2021-11-27T18:37:18","modified_gmt":"2021-11-27T18:37:18","slug":"i-will-love-it-if-we-beat-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4272","title":{"rendered":"I Will Love It If We Beat Them!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"cWee-nCtQzJmlRXjyA_uZg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1620640\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'cWee-nCtQzJmlRXjyA_uZg',sig:'aQtkpLeY5W10eFwlSIN8LS0jTKwPkczdzPX8P24I83c=',w:'594px',h:'394px',items:'1620640',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>I suppose this preview is the last of its kind; by the time another one comes around the new ownership of Newcastle United will have had their first chance to flex their financial muscle and begin what other clubs have shown to be an inexorable rise up the table once money becomes no object.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have no desire to dwell on the newest owners in the league, or the lack of regulation that the Fan-Led Review chaired by Tracey Crouch has miraculously uncovered, the best part of two decades since David Dein famously opined that &#8220;Roman Abramovich has parked his Russian tank in our front garden and is firing \u00a350 notes at us.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of my reticence is that other, better analysis is available elsewhere. The issues in football have been dissected by people with more time, knowledge and understanding than a daft bloke who takes his name from an eight-foot green dinosaur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, the stronger part of my desire to avoid the wider debate and focus on the football is that, frankly, the wider debate brings me almost to despair, and I have always tried to <em>enjoy<\/em> football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know, I know, football is not for enjoyment anymore; it is a lightning rod hoisted into the thunderstorm of furious resentment that allows people to ground some of their anger at\u2026 well, anything at all really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, before I get sucked down a path along which money gazumps morality, World Cups are played in the desert, and the only faintly reassuring familiarity in the entire football setup is that Spurs are still shit\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would instead like to remember that football is something we do for fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, as I consider that seemingly ever less important point &#8211; d\u2019you know what?&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the Premier League was formed (kicking off the fiscal insanity we now suffocate in) Newcastle have been one of the most entertaining sides I have watched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They used to play Liverpool in seven-goal thrillers every bloody season. I like that very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kevin Keegan gave us all great value, especially when he lost his shit in that famous interview. Top stuff; pity Slur Alex came out on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If, on the playground, some other little git had already claimed \u201cI\u2019m Ian Wright!\u201d, then I was not averse to claiming \u201cI\u2019m Asprilla!\u201d He wasn\u2019t one of our own, but Alan Smith was not half as glamorous as the mercurial Colombian. I never scored enough headers to claim to be Smudger anyway. And, to be fair, I occasionally picked him over God himself. Heretical, I know, but he had something of the Di Canio, Juninho, or Zola about him. There was always a chance that he might do something magaical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even in one of our darkest days as a club, now over a decade ago (that I apologise for bringing up, because I hate being reminded of it too) it had to be sodding Newcastle who came back from four nil down to derail our title challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not wishing to be outdone by Asprilla, or anyone else, God scored what was officially voted the Greatest Ever Premier League Goal against this lot, putting Dabizas on his arse with an improvised move no-one has replicated before or since and stroking the ball past a keeper whose failure to make a save was a Given.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Bergkamp&#039;s wonder goal against Newcastle United.\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IicmCu47pMo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, it would be fair to say that recent incarnations of Newcastle have not been such a good watch (neither have we, unfortunately). Not that I consider this to be any excuse for some of the treatment these supposedly exemplary fans meted out to Steve Bruce. I have never had strong feelings about him as a manager but in the last eighteen months I have found new respect for his dignity and strength in dealing with the social media abuse aimed at him by fans of his own club (another new football phenomenon that is too dispiriting to muse on right now.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I cannot imagine what that must have been like for a bloke who has always been a Newcastle fan. If I worked for over three decades to gain the expertise to manage Arsenal, I came in everyday and worked my balls off, and the response I got was everyone spending the whole time telling me I was shit and abusing my family, I might not have handled that situation with the class of Mr. Bruce, who seemed to be in possession of the entire club\u2019s supply of that commodity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wonder if it has departed with him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, I should point out, if it is not too late to avoid coming across all holier-than-thou, that neither can I imagine what Mike Ashley\u2019s tenure did to the dispositions of the Magpies\u2019 supporters. He was a truly terrible owner. So bad, I\u2019d rather have had Kroenke than him, which is saying something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway, with those preliminary thoughts out of the way, on to the match tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have not said much about our own team because I have not got much to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Ramsdale<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Tomi White Gabriel Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Lokonga Partey<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka Odegaard ESR<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Auba<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it is time for Odegaard to come back in to the starting 11. He is the long-term plan, not Laca, and this could prove a good game to get going again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tavares has earned a breather. KT3 should be welcomed back into the side whilst his young understudy has a chance to reflect on an excellent few performances that hopefully will have him feeling much more at home in Red and White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from that, it picks itself really. I suppose AMN might start in midfield, but I doubt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do not think there is much to add about last week. What mattered from the moment the final whistle blew was the response. The Gaffer has spoken this week about how pleased he was to see players speaking up in dressing room instead of remaining quiet (it appears that Ramsdale has been key in introducing that culture).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I doubt there were major dressings down or recriminations \u2013 the issue last week was not a lack of effort \u2013 but it is great to have a squad that clears the air, has rigorously high standards, gets upset when they are not met, and makes it very clear to all involved that we have to work harder and get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Excellent. I am fully on board. Go and tear the Barcodes a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As ever, a new manager is appointed just in time to face us as his first game in charge (even Covid-19 has conspired to ensure his dugout debut will be against us). They will probably play with energy, as a managerial shake-up, coupled with a huge upswing in the fortunes of the club, are likely to bring a freshness that has, in fairness, been missing of late. Hopefully Joe Willock plays but fails to score. Saint-Maximin is their wild card, their modern-day Asprilla. An exciting player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even \u00a340m Joelinton (who makes Pepe look like a bargain) scored last week, so who knows what could happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from that, I will wait to see who they field, but I don\u2019t think there will be anything revolutionary from Eddie Howe, or that we need worry about, especially as the personnel in their rather underwhelming squad are, err, rather underwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The holics\u2019 pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Newcastle stay compact and make us play through them, which is exactly what I would expect, then we may be in for a frustrating game. We have not showed ourselves much good at passing through an organised and stubborn defensive setup for a while. That is precisely what I think Eddie Howe will bring to the table, so it will be up to us to deal with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is little value to be had at the bookies, so I will plump for a classic 1-0 to The Arsenal, available at about 8s. 3-0 would be lovely if we start fast and get the bit between our teeth, but at 10s there is only incremental value in backing us to score an extra two goals that form does not yet suggest we will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, for those who want something a bit more interesting to get your teeth into, how about a long shot on Ben White to score his first for us? 40\/1 might be worth a cheeky squid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right, what we need is a win. Just get three points, go into the top four, even if temporarily, and get back in the saddle. It won\u2019t be long before Newcastle are whipping boys no more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a good one, holics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images I suppose this preview is the last of its kind; by the time another one comes around the new ownership of Newcastle United will have had their first chance to flex their financial muscle and begin what other clubs have shown to be an inexorable rise up the table once money [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4272"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4285,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4272\/revisions\/4285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}