Newcastle 3 - 0 United

Lindegaard

Valencia Rio Jones Evra

Nani Carrick Park(Chicharito) Giggs

Rooney(Anderson) Berbatov(Welbeck)

Word-Class Goal by BA

So the start to 2012 turned out to be identical to the ending of 2011. 1-0 at half time, 2-0 just after the break and then a killer goal just before the final whistle. Last week we had the character to come back from 2 down but today we were totally outmuscled. Newcastle have got themselves two great players in Ba and Tiote. They might turn out to be one season wonders but their play today impressed me. On the other hand, we looked weak, tired and even disinterested at times. Maybe the "scary" flight our players endured yesterday had taken its toll. Anyhow, nothing can hide the fact that our players failed to turn up today. Our most influential players were as silent as the grave.   

Lindegaard didn't stand a chance in any of the goals. The first two were sublime strikes while the third one was a mishit by the usually irrepressible Jones. You know there's something wrong when Jones has a bad day. I'm not sure whether our players should be criticized for failing to put Newcastle under any real pressure or whether Newcastle's players should be praised for their perfect performance. Our central midfielders were simply brushed aside. We only had two decent shots, one was cleared off the line and the other hit the post. That pretty much summed up our night. 

An inform Berba could do little vs their strong defence

I'm pretty calm after this match and I was quite relaxed throughout it. Reason? I expected a tough game today. I would have put a tenner, a month ago, on us beating Blackburn comfortably and then dropping points today. The three points we lost on Saturday should have been won because we could - SHOULD - have played better against a team as mediocre as Blackburn. Meanwhile we all know that Newcastle are a tough nut to crack at St James Park, sorry, I mean The Sports something Arena. I believe in Fergie and rarely question his judgment but maybe we really do need to make some sort of acquisition during this transfer window. I know, I know, I was full of praise last week after the demolition of Wigan and Fulham, but losing vs Blackburn and losing today without putting in a fight has worried me. Man Utd never succumb without a real fight. 

City next. Winning vs City after back to back defeats would be sweet, losing our 3rd game in a row is almost unheard of. I cannot remember when such a thing happened but judging by the last two matches, a 3rd loss in a row is now highly possible. We'll never die.