On the "Brucie out" chants:

"Look, it's always difficult. I would be sick if I said I quite enjoyed it. It's difficult.

"The frustration is, like any other Premier League club or any other Football League club, if you don't get results then ultimately the manager, head coach, whatever I am, bears the brunt.

"That's what it is, so I have to accept that results haven't been good enough.

"What the disappointment was we played very well at a difficult place last week - as difficult as it was going to get. We played very well and didn't get anything out of the game, which was the frustration.

"It’s not all about me. I’m here to only do what I think is best for the club – and that is manage it as best I can and keep us moving along.

"It’s for other people to answer that (questions about his future). I will continue to do my best. I’m never going to walk away from the challenge of it, that’s for sure. You’re asking the wrong person.”

Asked whether he would consider his position if the abuse he received became detrimental to the team:

"Well then you start looking at yourself, of course but knowing the way I am, it’s not in my nature to walk away from something when we’re in a fight. ‘Oh it’s too difficult so I’m going to walk away’, that doesn’t really register with me.”

He also said:

"Do you not think I want better players? Do you not think I want a better squad to choose from? Do you not think I want the ability to compete at the top end of the transfer market?

"It’s not possible, so I have to accept it and get on with my job as best I can, at this moment. There’s the frustration for everybody concerned, and I’m the same.

"In these difficult moments, I hope my experience of being in it a long time can steer us along that path. It’s not great, I understand that, but that’s where we are.

"The challenge at the minute is just ticking along and make sure that the club stays where it is and we maintain our Premier League status.

"I know for a lot of people that we should be better than that, but that’s where we are at the moment and we have been for a while. That is everybody’s frustration.

"I want Newcastle to be in the top of the league so that frustration is there but I don’t think about, ‘Oh the noise is too bad, walk away Steve’.

It’s not in my nature to walk away from something when we’re in a fight.

Asked about Alan Shearer's comments on Match of the Day, labelling Newcastle a ‘hollow and an empty club’:

"Look, Alan is entitled to his opinion, that’s what he gets paid for, that’s what his job is now.

"What I will say is there is a lot of people and a nucleus of players who have been here a long time, and the club means something to them. There’s a lot of good people who work at the club who have also been here a long long time.

"They want the club to do well and unfortunately at the moment we are not doing well enough.

"All Newcastle fans want to see their team competing at the top of the table, like they did 20 years ago. Unfortunately at this particular moment, we’re not there.

"So there is the frustration for everybody concerned. My job is to keep us — and I knew this was going to be difficult — on an even keel, try and get on with the job and move the club forward as best I can, which is very, very difficult, of course.”

photo: nufc.co.uk

MANCHESTER UNITED  -  NEWCASTLE UNITED  4 : 1

Zvezda dana bio je povratnik u redove Manchester Uniteda Cristiano Ronaldo koji je sa dva gola na najbolji mogući način obeležio svoj povratak na Old Trafford.

Svrake su odolevale pozicionom odbranom sve do 47. minuta prvog poluvremena, ali tada je Cristiano Ronaldo iz odbitka sa dva metra poslao loptu u gostujuću mrežu, za 1:0. Pre prvog gola kojeg su primile, Svrake su imale dve prilike. Prvo preko Willocka koji je šutirao loše sa pet metara iako je mogao da proigra dva saigrača na gostujućem petercu i drugu preko Longstaffa koji se u odsudnom momentu okliznuo u protivničkom šesnaestercu.

U nastavku igre Newcastle United stiže do 1:1 preko Javiera Manquilla koji udarcem sa sedam metara matira Davida De Geu u 56. minutu. Posle izjednačujućeg gola, crno-beli su imali dve poluprilike. Prvo preko Joelintona kojem je De Gea odbranio udarac i drugu kada se Almiron stuštio ka protivničkom golu ali njegov pas nije bio blizu Saint-Maximinu.

Međutim, samo šest minuta kasnije svojim drugim golom na meču Cristiano Ronaldo dovodi Crvene Đavole u vođstvo od 2:1. Preciznim udarcem sa desetak metara levom nogom Ronaldo gura loptu kroz noge Woodmanu.

Bruno Fernades deset minuta pre kraja utakmice udarcem sa distance pogađa desne rašlje Woodmanovog gola da bi Jesse Lingard u sudijskoj nadoknadi udarcem sa desetak metara postavio konačan rezultat 4:1.


Konačan rezultat: 4 : 1


NUFC: Woodman, Manquillo (Murphy 77), Ritchie, Clark (Lewis 84), Lascelles, Hayden, S.Longstaff, Willock (Hendrick 85), Almiron, Joelinton, Saint-Maximin.
Subs n/u: Schar, Krafth, Fernandez, Darlow, Gayle, White.

MUFC: de Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Shaw, Maguire, Varane, Pogba, Matic, Greenwood (van de Beek 85), Bruno Fernandes (Martial 85), Sancho (Lingard 66), Ronaldo.
Subs n/u: Lindelof, Bailly, Mata, Fred, Dalot,

Sudija: Anthony Taylor

Gledalaca: 72.732

P.S.
Posle četiri kola imamo svega jedan bod i nalazimo se na 19. mestu na tabeli Premier League. Užasni smo. Sledećeg petka nam u goste dolazi Leeds United. Ako i taj meč izgubimo, situacija će postati alarmantna, ako već nije.

 photo: dailymail 

NEWCASTLE UNITED  -  SOUTHAMPTON  2 : 2

I treći put u ovaj sezoni iz isto toliko utakmica u Premier League, sudije uz pomoć VAR-a dosuđuju jedanesterac protiv Newcastle Uniteda.

Prvo poluvreme ne baš preterano sadržajno gde su gosti iz Southamptona imali najbolju priliku preko Djenepoa koji je sa tri metra prebacio Woodmanov gol.

U nastavku igre Newcastle United stiže do 1:0 preko Calluma Wilsona koji glavom sa pet metara dovodi Svrake u vođtvo u 55. minutu utakmice. Asistenciju upisuje Murphy.

Međutim, na 1:1 izjednačio je Mohamed Elyounoussi petnaestak minuta pre kraja utakmice. Ritchie je kasnio da ga pokrije.

Možda i nezasluženo Svrake stižu do 2:1 preko Alana Saint-Maximina u 90. minutu utakmice. Saint-Maximin gol daje udarcem sa desetak metara desnom nogom.

Svi su mislili da će Svrake doći do prva tri boda u prvenstvu ali ne i Adam Armstrong koji se iznenada našao u prilici. Lascelles je startovao na njegovu nogu posle njegovog udarca ali glavni sudija Paul Tirney meča je gledao VAR i dosudio jedanesterac za goste. Siguran sa bele tačke bio je James Ward-Prowse postigavši konačan rezultat 2:2 u 96. minutu utakmice.

 
Konačan rezultat: 2 : 2  

 
NUFC: Woodman, Murphy, Ritchie, Schar, Lascelles, Fernandez, S.Longstaff, Willock (Fraser 84), Wilson (Joelinton 69), Almiron, Saint-Maximin.
Subs n/u: Clark, Lewis, Hendrick, Krafth, Manquillo, Gillespie, Gayle.

SFC: McCarthy, Livramento, Walker-Peters, Stephens, Salisu, Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Romeu (Diallo 88), Djenepo (Redmond 58), Adams (Broja 71), Armstrong.
Subs n/u: Perraud, Tella, Walcott, Bednarek, Valery, Forster.

Gledalaca: 44,017

Sudija: Paul Tirney

P.S.
Posle tri meča imamo samo jedan bod. Prelazni rok smo loše odradili. Očekujemo grčevitu borbu za opstanak. Sledi pauza zbog reprezentacija i onda putujemo u Manchester gde igramo sa Unitedom, koji je vratio Ronalda u svoje redove.

 photo: dailymail 

Vezista Newcastle Uniteda Matty Longstaff će naredne sezone igrati u Aberdeenu na jednogodišnjoj pozajmici.

 photo:aberdinfc 

photo: nufc.co.uk