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October started slowly, with no game until the fourteenth, but in the next fourteen days five fixtures piled in on top of each other. Results got progressively worse, only for all to be saved at the end. Much like another story Frodo had been in.
The game with Portsmouth should have been a win, but a late Benjani goal ensured that wasn't to be the case. Three away games followed, and Newcastle failed to score in any of them.
Livorno in the UEFA Cup were equally inept in front of goal, but Spurs (Premiership) and Blackburn (League Cup) were able to notch one each, winning the games.
Last of all was the visit of Chelsea to St James' Park as a nightmarish month threatened to end on a low. Maciej Zurawski and Shay Given, though, had other ideas, and combined for a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 win and a big cup of cheer.
Beautiful, my precious.
11-28-2006, 09:15 PM
The Lord of the Rings CMS Challenge: a trip down memory lane Post #12
After the emotional high of the win over Chelsea, adrenaline fired the side to a solid start in November. Espanyol and Wigan were beaten 1-0 at St James' Park, with the visit to Old Trafford inbetweentimes re****ing in a 1-1 draw courtesy of a sensational Martins leveller.
Picking the ball up on the right wing half an hour into the game, with the home side ahead, the young Nigerian beat three men, advancing to the angle of the box before firing high into the near top corner of van der Sar's goal, stunning the prawn sandwich brigade.
2-1 defeats at Everton and Villa sandwiched 0-0 draws at home to Charlton and away to Dinamo in Croatia, a game that saw Danny Cadamarteri make his first start for the club. The result left Newcastle third in the group going into the final game at home to Lille.
It had been a gruelling seven-game month, with five games in fifteen days due to be completed at home to Sheffield United on December 2nd. With as small a squad as Baggins opted to work with, and given the propensity to injury, it wasn't ideal, and Kieron Dyer's aborted comeback was yet another problem to deal with. Impetus was required from somewhere, but without money to spend in January it would not be an easy task.
12-01-2006, 10:23 PM
The Lord of the Rings CMS Challenge: a trip down memory lane Post #15
The muddled calender continued into the year's final month, with six fixtures pencilled in. Three home games to open got progressively worse as a comfortable 2-1 win over Sheffield United was followed by a disappointing 0-0 derby draw with Middlesbrough and a 1-0 loss to Lille, ending the club's UEFA Cup participation.
It wasn't about to get any easier either, as Baggins took his side to London for a game with Arsenal. Two early goals for the league leaders set the side back, but Martins scored and the 2-1 result allowed respect to be salvaged, if not any points.
Two more home games closed out an expensive month for Newcastle supporters, and three halves of goalless football were interrupted only by the second half against Fulham, Zurawski, Galca and Martins netting in a 3-0 win. That marked the halfway point in the Premiership season, and the visit of Manchester City the start of the second round of fixtures. The goalless draw was an inauspicious start to the run-in.
Giuseppe Rossi's loan ended as the year did, and with the transfer window opening it looked as though a couple of additions would be required to strengthen the side for the climax to an already-positive season.
12-02-2006, 05:06 PM
The Lord of the Rings CMS Challenge: a trip down memory lane Post #18
Newcastle 2-1 Sheffield United Martins, Milner Newcastle 0-0 Middlesbrough Newcastle 0-1 Lille
Arsenal 2-1 NewcastleMartins Newcastle 3-0 Fulham Martins, Zurawski, Galca Newcastle 0-0 Manchester City
No transfer activity
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">UEFA Cup Group F P W D L F A PtsEspanyol 4 2 1 1 4 3 7Livorno 4 1 3 0 3 2 6Dinamo 4 1 2 1 2 2 5</pre><pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Newcastle 4 1 2 1 1 1 5</pre>
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Lille 4 1 0 3 2 4 3</pre>
Fingers crossed that didn't crash and burn
12-02-2006, 05:06 PM
The Lord of the Rings CMS Challenge: a trip down memory lane Post #19
A goalscoring flurry at the head of the new year saw Liverpool, Crewe and Bolton defeated, and though the month ended with defeat at West Ham there was more to cheer as Watford were beaten and Reading repelled, before Wrexham failed to halt FA Cup progress.
The first addition of the transfer window was Bolton's Gary Speed, a knowledgable veteran who has a strong association with the club. The £90,000 signing was followed by the £300,000 capture of CSKA Moscow's Eugeny Aldonin and the free transfer acquisition of Lillestrom's Malta international striker Michael Mifsud.
There was hope that Chelsea's Wayne Bridge would join on loan, but the lack of funds to front the deal saw it fall through, despite the player agreeing the move. Efforts to move on ALbert Luque, Stephen Carr and Ian Harte fell flat, and there was drama as a Roma bid was accepted for Shay Given, only for the Italian side to plead poverty when the time came to consummate the deal. The Irish keeper, therefore, became a rather unhappy camper and with only Pavel Srnicek in reserve, it would not be an ideal scenario for Baggins to manage.
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