Goals:
Ebanks-Blake, 43
Carroll, 62
MotM: Joey Barton
Yellow to Perch, Nolan, Carroll, and Ameobi
Referee: Stewart Atwell
Attendance: 27,745
Rosters courtesy of premierleague.com
When the Premier League fixtures were announced and the Toon Army got a look at what it might look like to be a top flight team again, a three-tiered test at the outset of the season became quite evident. The Magpies were to start away against one of the Big Four, then at home against a mid-tier team that did very well for itself last season, finishing Top 6, and then away against a fringe relegation candidate. Supposedly this three-game stretch was going to let all of us know where we stand in the Premiership, as if you can ever tell anything from three games.
A loss, a draw, and a win through those 3 games would have sat just fine with me if you would have asked me at the outset, and it turns out that's what we got. It just so happens that the lopsided win came against an Aston Villa squad that seems to be struggling to find its identity, and the draw came against the Wolves, a team that it seems may have been written off unfairly by many.
So what do these results through 3 matches mean? Are we an upper-tier squad challenging for a spot in Europe? Certainly not. Are we a top half team, as the table seems to currently suggest (pending the rest of the weekend's results)? Don't forget, there is plenty of football left to be played. Are we fighting to stay out of the bottom 3? I'm inclined to think not, but a draw against the Wolves falls somewhat short of a confidence boost. The answer surely lies somewhere in between the last two options, which I think most Magpie supporters should be satisfied with given where we just came from.
A loss, a draw, and a win through those 3 games would have sat just fine with me if you would have asked me at the outset, and it turns out that's what we got. It just so happens that the lopsided win came against an Aston Villa squad that seems to be struggling to find its identity, and the draw came against the Wolves, a team that it seems may have been written off unfairly by many.
So what do these results through 3 matches mean? Are we an upper-tier squad challenging for a spot in Europe? Certainly not. Are we a top half team, as the table seems to currently suggest (pending the rest of the weekend's results)? Don't forget, there is plenty of football left to be played. Are we fighting to stay out of the bottom 3? I'm inclined to think not, but a draw against the Wolves falls somewhat short of a confidence boost. The answer surely lies somewhere in between the last two options, which I think most Magpie supporters should be satisfied with given where we just came from.
Talking Points
* Are you disappointed in the result or happy to get out of there with a point?
* Happy with the Starting XI? What about the substitution (Ameobi for Carroll at 80'?)
* Carroll's card for dissent - fair or foul?
* Worried about Carroll's misses yet?
* Who had especially good form? Who had especially bad form?
* Are you disappointed in the result or happy to get out of there with a point?
* Happy with the Starting XI? What about the substitution (Ameobi for Carroll at 80'?)
* Carroll's card for dissent - fair or foul?
* Worried about Carroll's misses yet?
* Who had especially good form? Who had especially bad form?
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