KopiHomeWE ARE THE UNDERDOGS
09.02.03 Previous Page Next Page
Not many people give the credit that Newcastle truly deserves for being one of the top teams in England.
At the beginning of this season, people were talking about Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea being the leading contenders for the League Championship. When Everton rose to an admirable 3rd place, many critics installed the team with England's future prospect Wayne Rooney as the surprise package of the season with a real shot at the League Championship. Not many would give a closer look to Newcastle as we fought to keep pace in the English Premier League and Champions League.
6 months into the season, Newcastle is through to the 2nd phase of Champs League and sharing the 3rd place of EPL with Chelsea. Come the crucial match against Arsenal today, Newcastle will relish the chance to show all the doubters that we are no doormat.
WE are enjoying the underdogs tag. We are a determine lot and it is not coincidental that St. James Park has become a much feared place for visiting teams. With more than 50,000 passionate Newcastle Supporters crying for the visitors' blood, Arsenal will not have any memorable experience at St. James Park after today's match.
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Arsenal is not unbeatable. Everton, along with Blackburn showed us the way to beat Arsenal in October 2003. We have a good chance of beating Arsenal at home if Nikos Dabizas is left out of the starting lineup. As a defender, Dabizas is a ticking time bomb. His performance is absolutely 2nd Div quality and God knows why is he still being deployed as a key centre back for Newcastle. Instead, Robson should seriously consider letting Dabizas do his damage in midfield where his clearly lack of pace would not be so much exploited by quick forwards like Michael Owen and Thierry Henry. Owen particularly enjoyed scoring against Dabizas in recent years. |
 Dabizas set to start |
To beat Arsenal, Craig Bellamy will have to cut their defence with his dangerous runs into the box and find opportunities to lay off passes to Alan Shearer and other on-rushing midfielders. Nolberto Solano and Laurent Robert will need to stay cool and work to send in vital crosses for Shearer and Jermaine Jenas to attack Arsenal's goal.
If Newcastle could show its true strengths, I believe Arsenal would be beaten. As we look forward to the exciting duel between the 2 of most attacking teams in EPL, I will put my hand up (like Shearer) and predict a Newcastle win today.
Soaring Magpies
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