Inside Newcastle United: Crazy Cisse

photo by Darin Barry	via PhotoRee

Our famous 11 year old columnist, Connor, returns to these pages after a brief absence, with his thoughts and observations on Newcastle's 2-nil humiliation of Liverpool from last Sunday:

Newcastle came into the game off a two game winning streak. Papiss Cisse was at his best, scoring twice, once before the break and once after, bringing the Magpies to a two-nil victory over the Reds.



Both of Cisse's goals required top-notch athleticism. The goal in the 19th minute was a beautiful cross by Hatem Ben Arfa, but even a better header by the Senegalese forward to put them up before the break. Cisse did not stop putting pressure on the Red’s defense; not even five minutes into the second half he barely missed the right post.

After an hour played, Cisse found the net again. Hatem Ben Arfa assisted on the score again with a picture perfect pass to Cisse, who put away the close range shot. The goal made Alan Pardew do some thinking and finally he put in some more defenders to secure the lead.

Cards Galore: Newcastle 1- Sunderland 1

photo by hlkljgk	via PhotoRee

Our 11 year old Columnist Connor returns, putting all our other writers to shame:

Inside Newcastle United

Established…………………….. 1892
Manager………………………... Alan Pardew
Nickname…..…………………... The Magpies
Stadium…….…………………... Sports Direct Arena
English Premier League Titles.. 0
Position…………………………. 6th

                                               
Wow! What a game! I don't know how many of you watched the Newcastle v. Sunderland match that aired on Fox Soccer this past weekend, but I did -- and what a game I saw. Right away, the game started off violently, as only 37 seconds into the match, Sunderland player Lee Cattermole got himself a yellow for a sharp tackle on Newcastle's Cheick Tiote. That would be one of 11 cards that were to be handed out at the Sports Direct Arena, on a crisp Sunday afternoon match chock full o' fouls.

In fact, five of the eleven Newcastle starters were handed a yellow. Those included Tiote, Demba Ba and the list goes on and on. Newcastle has had a card problem this year, and their agression really did show on Sunday. Actually, a yellow in the 24th minute by Mike Williamson happened in the box. And, as we all know when it happens in the box, the other team is awarded a Penalty Kick: even the fantastic Tim Krul could not stop Nicklas Bendtner and his powerful right foot!  

Inside Newcastle United

Sometimes in life you get lucky....  While on vacation in the Bahamas recently, I ran into an 11 year old footballing genius on a deserted island.  Herewith, the first column from a boy who will be a legend someday -- Columnist Connor on Newcastle United:

Inside Newcastle United

Established…………………….. 1892

Manager……………………….. Alan Pardew

Nickname…..…………………..  The Magpies

Stadium…….…………………..   Sports Direct Arena

English Premier League Titles… 0

Position………………………… 6^th

Coming into Saturday’s game against Wolves, the Magpies were sixth in the EPL. The last time the Magpies met Wolves, it went our way with a 2-1 victory back on October 1^st.

50, 671 people attended that game, and, well, they saw a pretty spectacular contest. First half goals from Demba Ba (17^th minute) and Jonas Gutierrez (38^th minute) started the game off with triumph. Though, in the 88^th minute the stellar Magpie defense got a little lazy and let Steven Fletcher score a goal.

Newcastle, who had a fourth round exit at this year’s Carling Cup (which Liverpool just won), is in a position to make a late run. If they make that late run they would be gunning for the Europa League bid the EPL has to offer. Saturday’s game against Wolverhampton, though, did not help the cause, as it ended in a  2-2 draw. 

It started in the 6^th minute when Papiss Cisse (who had his Newcastle debut on February 5^th against Aston Villa) sent home a rocket. And only 12 minutes later Jonas Gutierrez scored, putting the Wolves upset chance down.

As the teams went to the break Magpie fans began to celebrate victory, but Matt Jarvis and Kevin Doyle from Wolves had other plans. They both sent in goals in the opening minutes of the second half. With the equalizer given, Newcastle Manager Alan Pardew made some substitutions. Striker Shola Ameobi came on in the 80^th minute for Chiek Tiote, after Danny Guthrie came in for Ryan Taylor.