Newcastle United 0 - 2 Man City - Silva 38', Aguero 90+2' *Highlights Video*

Our first game of the season brought us our first three points and a first away win, it was a perfect result from a performance that can only be regarded as doing 'just enough'.

I felt like we were going to face a good test yesterday and I believe that was the case, Newcastle have some good players and I think they shown that they have the potential to be a very good team, a little bit more quality in defence and attack from the home side could have seen the game finish with a different result.

When the game started it only took me a couple of minutes to feel comfortable with the way we were playing, we weren't playing amazing but we were in control for the first fifteen minutes, trying to attack at every opportunity.
Halfway through the first half I felt like we let Newcastle back into the game, we were sloppy in possession and lacked any real determination and work ethic, luckily Newcastle failed to capitalise and didn't cause us any problems.
Towards the end of the first half our class shone through and we scored, Yaya Toure who may as well not have been on the pitch up until the goal decided he was ready to show his class, a fantastic ball forward to Dzeko was back heeled by the Bosnian into the path of David Silva who then slotted the ball into the net.

At half time I think as a City fan you could probably say that we deserved a narrow lead, we by no means hammered Newcastle but we were the better team and Newcastle gave Joe Hart an easy time, of course I think Newcastle fans probably thought they had done enough to deserve going in level and if I was in their shoes I might of agreed, after all we only created a couple clear cut chances ourselves and didn't truly impose ourselves.

The second half was a little bit more entertaining than the first and that was mainly down to Newcastle, they created a couple of chances that I would of expected City to finish off, although I have to give credit to our players for their defending, there was a couple of last ditch challenges but in the end Hart was left untroubled.

Overall looking back at the game we were more clinical, more organised, more disciplined and we did deserve to win the game, we could of performed a lot better and put the game to bed earlier but I am sure that will come once we have a few games under our belt.

I have to admit I was expecting us to stick a couple more past Newcastle yesterday, if we had just stepped it up a gear I think we could have exposed a vulnerable defence a lot more than we did.
I have to point the finger at the midfield, we had four players in the middle of the pitch but there was only two pulling their weight, Nasri started the game well but faded away and was very ineffective, then there is Yaya Toure who did absolutely nothing until he decided he was ready to show his quality with a great pass to Dzeko in the build up to our first goal, as some of you may know I have always been a critic of Toure because he frustrates me, he could contribute so much more than he does but if he doesn't want to then he wont.

On the upside there were some really good performances on show, Fernando had a solid debut, Clichy worked tirelessly and Silva was up and down involved in both defence and attack, there are three players though that particularly caught my eye.

Stevan Jovetic looked bright again, he was strong, worked hard and is clearly a class act, for me he was trying to hard to score at times and just needed to let his natural ability shine through, once he settles into the team he is going to bag plenty of goals.

Aleksandar Kolarov, this guy has improved no end compared to when we signed him. Last season he grew on me because he seemed to be getting better with every game and yesterday proved that he is continuing in that trend, he looks so confident in his ability and bosses the left hand side of the pitch, if he keeps maturing as a player I don't think we will see a better left back than him all season.

Edin Dzeko, he was fantastic yesterday, he attacked well, he held the ball up well, he defended well and his work rate was second to none, his man of the match award was thoroughly deserved. Now I have always maintained that Edin looks a far better player when he works hard and that is definitely the case but his main problem is being consistent, hopefully he will keep turning out these selfless performances for the team because if he does he is a certain game winner.

All in all it was a decent performance against a good team away from home, it is clear that we can play much much better but it is only the first game and the main thing was that we came away with all three points.

Newcastle Utd vs Man City - Preview

           Newcastle United vs Manchester City

            Sunday 17th August, St James Park

                              Kick-off 16:00

                    Referee: Martin Atkinson

My blog is back, football season is back and most importantly our beloved league champions are back.

Hopefully everyone had time to enjoy a break from the stresses of league football over the summer and are now ready to do it all again as we go on the march for more trophies.

We have had a very predictable summer in terms of signings, we knew Zuculini was coming before the season ended and it was obvious Mangala and Fernando would be targeted after a failed attempt in the January window. We have also added Sagna and Caballero to the team and whilst I do not expect any of them to displace either Zabaleta or Hart, I do think they will prove to be strong signings when it comes to using all of your squad.

I am of course looking forward to the beginning of the season as always, however I am looking forward to this one without being able to decide whether its going to be a tough season or a comfortable one for our team.
I am reading a lot of articles that suggest it is going to be a very close run league this year and I think it could be, but then I also think that we are capable of blowing everyone away, I just can't commit to an opinion because I am just not sure yet.
I am quite sure though that we have the strongest squad in the league, I honestly don't think that man for man there is a squad better than ours, I also think  that we have the most balanced squad in the league and if Pellegrini can add some tactical awareness to that, I think we will be hard to beat in any competition.

Now to tomorrows match, despite improving on the previous season Newcastle are a team that I think slightly under achieved last season, with the addition of players like de Jong and Cabella I am expecting them to do much better again this time around.
Newcastle have some very talented players in their ranks and much like I said about Pellegrini getting his tactics right, if Pardew does the same with his players then I think they will be a dangerous team.

Unfortunately for Newcastle I think that if you were to pick a weak area in their team it would be the defence, they have pulled off a superb piece of business by getting rid of the very over rated Debuchy and brought in a very talented player in Janmaat but I think an experienced centre half at the very least was needed.
To be blunt, your Haidara's, Mbiwa's and Santon's of this world are not good enough to deal with the attacking threat of a team like ours and that's the main reason why I think we will comfortably win the game tomorrow.

As for us, well it is just back to business isn't it? We have made a few signings but I expect the team to remain very much the same as it was last season, of course this may depend on what formation Pellegrini plays.
The only definite change that I can see to the team will be Mangala and that might not be as straight forward as it seems considering the way Demichelis played for the second half of last season.
Along with Mangala the other player we signed with the strongest chance of becoming a first team regular is Fernando, but unless we stick one up top I don't see who he pushes out of the team, Fernandinho, Nasri, Silva and Toure are surely first choice, aren't they?
The only other thing I can think of if we are to play with a four man midfield is that Fernandinho will revert back to being an attacking midfielder when playing in the same team as Fernando, which could mean a lot of rotation in the midfield.

I suppose ifs, buts and opinions don't really matter at this stage, we will just have to wait and see what the manager decides to go with, one thing that can be considered a fact though, whoever plays we are going to be watching a great football team once again this season, a team that in my head and my heart I believe should win the league again, starting with three points at St James Park.

Man City Team News
New signing Eliaquim Mangala will not feature due to a lack of training and fitness, Alvaro Negredo is the only other player to definitely miss out with a broken foot. Sergio Aguero is rumoured to have picked up a groin injury and may not feature.

Newcastle United Team News
New signing Siem de Jong and Cheick Tiote both miss out with calf injuries, Papiss Cisse, Davide Santon and Ryan Taylor will also miss the game with all three suffering with knee injuries.

Possible Man City Line Up
Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Silva, Fernandinho, Toure, Nasri, Jovetic, Dzeko.

Possible Newcastle Utd Line up
Krul, Janmaat, Coloccini, Williamson, Haidara, Sissoko, Cabella, Gouffran, Anita, Ferreyra , Riviere.

My Prediction
Newcastle United 1 - 4 Man City.

Worth A Bet
David Silva scores the first goal in a 1 - 4 Man City win @ 120/1

Newcastle United vs Man City - Weds 30th Oct 19:45 pm

The games are coming thick and fast, our next game takes us to Newcastle to face the magpies in a league cup tie.

The league cup is generally viewed as a nothing competition these days, managers will give players that have been sitting on the bench for a while a run out and throw in the odd youngster here and there. I am half way when it comes to this because although I like to see a youngster or a fringe player coming in to an extent, I still think it should be taken seriously because any trophy is an achievement when all said and done.
Luckily for us rotation means replacing class players with more class players, so we do have the luxury of being able to rest key men, it is still important that whoever does come into the team is eager to impress because there is a quarter final of a cup beckoning.

There were easier ties that we could have been handed than a trip to St James park, however I am not overly concerned about the threat of Newcastle and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way, I just think our squad is strong enough to compete and perhaps win the game.

Tomorrows game could well see a hangover from the league, we were beaten in a game that we deserved something out of and Newcastle lost to their rivals. I am sure there will be a lot of frustration within both camps that will need to be relieved, which is what I am most worried about. Newcastle do have some really good players that can hurt teams and in front of their own fans they will want to make amends for the defeat to Sunderland, I just hope that we also want to prove a point and perform well because I really want us to win this competition.

Man City Team News:
Vincent Kompany is our only notable injury concern, he is said to be training again after suffering with a thigh injury but it is doubtful he will play a part against Newcastle.

Newcastle United Team News:
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa is available after missing the game against Sunderland because of suspension,  Coloccini (groin) and Steven Taylor (hamstring) are doubts, Gutierrez may still be missing for the home side due to personal reasons and Ryan Taylor will miss the game after undergoing a knee operation.

Possible Man City Line Up: Pantilimon, Richards, Demichelis, Lescott, Kolarov, Milner, Navas, Fernandinho, Lopes, Dzeko, Jovetic.

Possible Newcastle United Line Up: Krul, Debuchy, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa, Santon, Gouffran, Cabaye, Tiote, Ben Arfa, Cisse, Remy.

My Prediction: Newcastle 1 - 3 Man City.

Worth A Bet: Stevan Jovetic scores the first goal in a 1 - 3 Man City win @ 45/1.