Match Preview: Newcastle United v Brighton
It’s been a difficult start to the Premier League season for Newcastle United. They currently occupy the third and final relegation spot and although early in the season, there are genuine fears on Tyneside that this could be another campaign which ends in Premier League relegation.
One reason for such pessimism has been the Toon Army’s home form. Although three of their four home games have been against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal, Rafa Benitez’s side have lost all four of their games at St James’ Park so far this season.
That makes this a must-win fixture for the hosts. We all know how many teams tend to end bad home runs against the Albion, but a first victory on the road in nearly a year would be a real statement for Brighton to make and plunge Newcastle further into the mire, all the while keeping us out of it. It may only be October, but this already has all the makings of a massive game in both sides seasons.
Who are Newcastle United?
Newcastle have all the tools to be one of the most successful clubs in the country. They are a one-club city which lives and breathes football, have a 52,000 seater stadium slap bang in the middle of town which is packed to the rafters every week and a rich history having spent 85 seasons in the top division of English football. All of which makes it remarkable that they haven’t lifted a major trophy since the FA Cup in 1955, two years after the Queen was crowned and 14 years before man first stepped on the moon/NASA filmed Neil Armstrong walking around a television studio on a load of dirt (delete as appropriate). Their last league title was in 1927 but they came close in the late 1990’s with Kevin Keegan’s brilliant “you score three, we’ll score four” side and they again featured in the top four under Sir Bobby Robson in the early part of the last decade.
What are they like now?
Sports Direct Dot Com UK’s Number One owner Mike Ashley bought Newcastle in June 2007 and has been a spectacularly shocking owner. His charge sheet includes appointing Joe Kinnear as manager, giving a 120 year contract to Alan Pardew, trying to rename the stadium after his company and overseeing two relegations to the Championship. A third isn’t out of the question given the relative weakness of Newcastle’s squad and Ashley’s phobia of spending money. In Rafa Benitez, they have one of the top five managers in the division but should he walk – and few would blame him given the circus in the boardroom – then the Toon Army could be in real trouble. That makes the Albion’s visit to St James’ a golden opportunity to improve on our ghastly away form over the last year.
Which players should we be worried about?
Newcastle’s paucity of forwards makes our striking options look like Liverpool’s. It is in midfield where Benitez’s side are most likely to hurt the Albion with Jonjo Shelvey a particularly tricky customer when he isn’t behaving like a complete twat. Matt Ritchie always seems to play well against us while the hosts captain is talented defender Jamaal Lascelles. He’s highly regarded on Tyneside and many Newcastle fans spent the past fortnight chewing on sour grapes over Lewis Dunk receiving an England call up over Lascelles.
What’s the Albion’s record against Newcastle United like?
In the FA Cup it is spectacular, with just one defeat in six meetings. In the league, Brighton’s record against Newcastle isn’t so good with just four wins from 16 games. Recent trips to the North East haven’t been particularly fruitful either as we’ve failed to score on three of our last four visits including a 0-0 draw 10 months ago. Hopefully there will be something to cheer for supporters making the 690 round trip on this occasion, although we’re already off to a better start with a proper Saturday 3pm slot as opposed to last year’s game taking place on New Year’s Eve Eve and the previous season being a 5.30pm kick off.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Newcastle United away?
It came before any members of the WeAreBrighton.com team were alive, but we suspect the 3-1 at St James’ Park in May 1979 which secured the Albion’s promotion to the top flight must’ve been pretty good.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Newcastle United away?
Paul Barber and the Albion very sportingly gave every Seagulls supporter who went to Newcastle away last season a free voucher for a drink. Unfortunately, we were so bollocksed from a combination of the journey up, the absolutely fantastic number of pubs in the city and having to climb equivalent of seven Mount Everests to reach the away end that we exchanged our voucher for a Fanta. It doesn’t get any lower than turning down a free beer.
Whose played for both sides?
Striker Paul Kitson and goalkeeper Steve Harper have both played for both clubs since the turn of the century. The most notable link though comes in the dugout with Chris Hughton having managed both sides. Hughton was at the helm of the Toon Army team which won the Championship title in 2010 before being crudely sacked by Ashley just a few months into their Premier League return. Newcastle’s loss was eventually our gain with Hughton since establishing himself as one of the most successful ever Brighton bosses.
Other than football, what is Newcastle famous for?
Being a bloody good night out. Geordie Women tend to wear very little despite temperatures bordering on Arctic levels. It has given the world some shocking television programmes such as Geordie Shore and some brilliant ones such as Byker Grove while the Tyne Bridge is one of the most famous in the world.
Where’s the betting value for Newcastle United v Brighton?
In the same place it is for every away game Brighton play. Hughton will prioritise not losing the game over winning it, and that makes the draw at 9/4 the value bet. Only one goal was scored in the two games last season and with neither side having much to offer in terms of strikers other than Glenn Murray of course, under 1.5 goals at 9/5 looks overpriced.
Prediction
A repeat of last seasons 0-0 draw, unfortunately. Still, it should be a bloody good day on the piss.
