Click here to go to the discussion thread by Beatski

To come up with these figures we ask forum members to rate each player’s performance in the concerned game out of 10, which we then average out to get a rating representative of the fans’ views, we also collect a few user comments to summarise how the player did and show a few different viewpoints from the board. The top scoring player is man of the match; the lowest is mug of the match. This time 23 members cast their votes and shared their opinions.

Newcastle visited the Boleyn Ground on the back of four straight losses and clearly were intent to set the record straight as they came out of the blocks firing and put in almost as good a first half a performance as you’re likely to see this side put on. The scoring was opened 16 minutes in by Cabaye after he beat a man and finished from the edge of the box, following a swift charge up-field led by Gouffran, to score the first Newcastle goal in nearly 5 hours of Premier League play. A few good chances followed without conversion until after the half hour mark when Rémy converted a Sissoko cross following some nice build-up play.

Unfortunately the half ended on a sour note as a comedy of errors resulted in a Williamson own goal from a Krul rebound after Carlton Cole was gifted the ball. The home side, as you’d expect, were buoyed by this and came back into the game in the second half, with poor finishing from both sides keeping it 1-2 until Cabaye sealed victory and topped off a magnificent performance with a well-taken free-kick.

As you might have guessed, Cabaye, in what looks likely to be his last game for the club, was the ToonForum man of the match having excelled in his free role at the 10 position, scoring two goals and pulling the strings throughout to earn an average rating of 8.61. The mug of the match for the third time in his last four games, and seventh for the whole season, was Shola Ameobi with a rating of 4.84. He was brought on with half an hour to go for the much lauded Anita and failed to make any real impact on the game, as the change gave West Ham a foothold in the midfield while we switched to a more direct style.

Changes such as the above combined with West Ham gaining momentum in the second half negatively impacted Pardew’s rating (4.70) as the fans were split into two camps; those who accepted that we were set-up well and got a good win away from home, rating his performance around 6, and those who thought the win was in spite of Pardew, rating him around 3-4. Continue reading →

Click here to go to the discussion thread by Beatski

To come up with these figures we ask forum members to rate each player’s performance in the concerned game out of 10, which we then average out to get a rating representative of the fans’ views, we also collect a few user comments to summarise how the player did and show a few different viewpoints from the board. The top scoring player is man of the match; the lowest is mug of the match. This time 21 members cast their votes and shared their opinions.

Newcastle came into this match on the back of three successive defeats, and with goals either end of the ninety minutes falling Man City’s way, our losing streak was extended. However, the scoreline hardly does the performance justice as Newcastle went toe-to-toe with possibly the strongest side in the division and held their own, indeed the game could have been very different if it was not for some outrageous incompetence from the match day officials ruling out a perfectly legitimate Tioté wonder strike.

The atrocious decision from the referee changed the complexion of the match, infuriating both our squad and manager, resulting in the referee losing control of the game. It did, however, spur our players on, and we were on top for the majority of the remainder, with Tioté running the show in midfield and collecting a man of the match award for his rating of 8.21. Unfortunately our good play in midfield could not be converted to goals further up the pitch, our forwards hoarding all the lower scores; Remy being the worst of our starting line up, only to be replaced by worse, Cissé collecting our mug of the match award once again with a rating of 4.85. Continue reading →