Team for Newcastle U21s (home)

[ZacNaloen]

I still can't work out why Tanner isn't being picked for England at his age group. Quality player.

[winchester_royal]

^His performance for 10 minutes at Bristol Rovers the other week was worth the trip on its own

Doubt we'll see him in the first team for a while though because he still has plenty of physical development to go through.

[winchester_royal]

For those at the game - do we think either Ugwu or Samuel will be able to make an impact this season if called upon?

[ZacNaloen]

Too easy to get carried away with one off performances at this level.

[madreadingfan]

For those at the game - do we think either Ugwu or Samuel will be able to make an impact this season if called upon?

Definitely say Ugwu after today's performance and Samuel held the ball well and defnitely has the potential but was just a bit greedy today and didn't take his chances. Ugwu looks like a type of striker we need, big, powerful, speedy, good finisher and holds up the ball well. Not sure how well he will do up front on his own though and if he is a consistent performer.

[winchester_royal]

I thought Gozie was impressive when he came on against Rovers, put Pog to shame that day tbh. He's always looked a little gangly and awkward to me before, but with young players they're always capable of rapid development over a short period and hopefully that's what might have happened here.

[ZacNaloen]

Oh and this Gael bigirama chap, is he supposed to have a big future or something? Didn't see much that impressed tonight.

[SCIAG]

Too easy to get carried away with one off performances at this level.

WHS.

Ugwu looked good in his spell at Yeovil but I think he got injured and couldn't get back in the side. I'd maybe like to see him have another spell in League One. Tbh, one of his main skills seemed to be his dribbling, and that will be particularly hard to replicate at senior level.

[Sport Economist]

Some good assessments above - the fluidity of the 3 front men was impressive and perhaps hints at how the first team is being set up. Tshibola also looked unhurried in midfield while the only weakness seemed to be with both centre backs - I thought Sweeney looked a bit dumpy and struggled to cope with Newcastle's forward line which was squat and busy - unsurprisingly given Peter Beardsley is their coach.

Gareth Ainsworth was there watching and he'll no doubt be keeen to get his hands on a loan or two.

[SLAMMED]

Had a wee dabble on 4-2 to @ 40/1 ..garn you yooof

What was your return?

[P!ssed Off]

Also Spotted: Gary Waddock (MK Dons Coach), presumably looking at one of our players.

Henly - 6 Could have done better for the 2nd goal, very little to do save wise but made one good save late on, kicking was poor though.
Cummings - 6.5 Didn't stand out as by far the most experienced player on the pitch. Was pretty solid in defence and attack.
Sweeney - 6 Not v. good at short passing football, got his head on a few attacking chances. Gave away the pen with a sloppy handball IIRC.
Cooper - 6.5 Not v. good at short passing football, strangely a few good long/medium range passes. V. solid defensively in the air, as well as an attacking threat
Griffin - 6 Weak in defence, ok in attack
Tshibola - 8.5 Played the Guthrie role. Most confident man on the pitch always after the ball from defence and attack, making space for himself. V. good passer.
D'Ath - 7 Fairly anonymous first 60 mins. Pushed further forward when Tshibola came off, showed some promise in attacking moves, a few good shots.
Taylor - 7.5 Was disappointed with him first half. Second half he was heavily involved in our good play, some good crosses and a few great through balls.
Obita - 8 Looked very confident and experienced throughout. Some good crossing and passing, an especially good first half corner. Cannot shoot to save his life.
Samuel - 8 Controlled the ball very comfortably, with his chest, head or feet. Good dribbler and got his goal in the end. A great assist with his head for Ugwu's 2nd
Ugwu - 9 Outstanding first goal, controlled finish for his 2nd. Unlucky not to get a hattrick but a very unselfish player, set up Samuel nicely for our 4th.

Sub:
Tanner - 6.5 Looked decent. A few good passes, runs.


Can't believe someone said our No. 4 (Tshibola) was greedy etc.
I guess it's the same people who criticise Guthrie for being wasteful, because Tshibola was probably our key player and got a big applause when subbed off.

Overall it was a very good game. Our attacking play was excellent and we could have possibly had 6 or 7 goals on another day. Newcastle were pretty poor in attack and didn't threaten too much other than the 2 goals which weren't particularly good team moves. Our defence was very shaky in the 1st half, but I guess it is probably their first competitive game under 1st team tactics. Cooper has all the attributes to be a quality CB, just needs to work on his passing.

It's a shame that our League Cup game is against Peterborough, if we'd got a League 2 team in the draw I would have been very tempted to pair Ugwu and Samuel up front, they work very well together.

I would imagine Obita will get a lot of game time this season. Taylor, Samuel and Ugwu should also get a few chances in the league.
Tshibola and Cooper are both younger, I could see them breaking through next season though.
Probably time for Cummings and D'Ath to move on in fairness.

[P!ssed Off]

Oh and this Gael bigirama chap, is he supposed to have a big future or something? Didn't see much that impressed tonight.

Indeed.
I'd also heard good things about Adam Campbell, their midget of a forward, but I can't see him getting anywhere without growing at least a foot.
Defender Remi Streete is also supposed to be quite good, but I wasn't that impressed.

[ZacNaloen]

I thought griffin was the one who got caught with the ball to hand for the pen.

[P!ssed Off]

It's little surprise Uche Ikpeazu left.
This season he would probably have been 3rd choice striker for the reserves, let alone the 1st team.

[P!ssed Off]

I thought griffin was the one who got caught with the ball to hand for the pen.

You're probably right actually. All I remember is that it was one of our shortish white defenders in a fairly central position.

[ZacNaloen]

I wouldn't be so quick to criticise the defensr/keeper for distrbution. Newcastles whole game plan was to put them under pressure constantly and try to force errors. And it worked for their two goals, which both came as the result of errors that were pounced on after sloppy play.

[P!ssed Off]

I thought griffin was the one who got caught with the ball to hand for the pen.

It was Cooper according to the official match report.
http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... 82024.aspx

[AkpansBFF]

Also Spotted: Gary Waddock (MK Dons Coach), presumably looking at one of our players.

Henly - 6 Could have done better for the 2nd goal, very little to do save wise but made one good save late on, kicking was poor though.
Cummings - 6.5 Didn't stand out as by far the most experienced player on the pitch. Was pretty solid in defence and attack.
Sweeney - 6 Not v. good at short passing football, got his head on a few attacking chances. Gave away the pen with a sloppy handball IIRC.
Cooper - 6.5 Not v. good at short passing football, strangely a few good long/medium range passes. V. solid defensively in the air, as well as an attacking threat
Griffin - 6 Weak in defence, ok in attack
Tshibola - 8.5 Played the Guthrie role. Most confident man on the pitch always after the ball from defence and attack, making space for himself. V. good passer.
D'Ath - 7 Fairly anonymous first 60 mins. Pushed further forward when Tshibola came off, showed some promise in attacking moves, a few good shots.
Taylor - 7.5 Was disappointed with him first half. Second half he was heavily involved in our good play, some good crosses and a few great through balls.
Obita - 8 Looked very confident and experienced throughout. Some good crossing and passing, an especially good first half corner. Cannot shoot to save his life.
Samuel - 8 Controlled the ball very comfortably, with his chest, head or feet. Good dribbler and got his goal in the end. A great assist with his head for Ugwu's 2nd
Ugwu - 9 Outstanding first goal, controlled finish for his 2nd. Unlucky not to get a hattrick but a very unselfish player, set up Samuel nicely for our 4th.

Sub:
Tanner - 6.5 Looked decent. A few good passes, runs.


Can't believe someone said our No. 4 (Tshibola) was greedy etc.
I guess it's the same people who criticise Guthrie for being wasteful, because Tshibola was probably our key player and got a big applause when subbed off.

Overall it was a very good game. Our attacking play was excellent and we could have possibly had 6 or 7 goals on another day. Newcastle were pretty poor in attack and didn't threaten too much other than the 2 goals which weren't particularly good team moves. Our defence was very shaky in the 1st half, but I guess it is probably their first competitive game under 1st team tactics. Cooper has all the attributes to be a quality CB, just needs to work on his passing.

It's a shame that our League Cup game is against Peterborough, if we'd got a League 2 team in the draw I would have been very tempted to pair Ugwu and Samuel up front, they work very well together.

I would imagine Obita will get a lot of game time this season. Taylor, Samuel and Ugwu should also get a few chances in the league.
Tshibola and Cooper are both younger, I could see them breaking through next season though.
Probably time for Cummings and D'Ath to move on in fairness.

I liked that Our number 4 always wanted the ball, but personally I feel when he got the ball he kept it for a little too long, his passing was okay but was sloppy at times as he almost got us caught out a lot. He even tried skilling a newcastle player up on the edge of our box early on and lost the ball.

And I thought adam campbell looked quite good, yeah his finishing wasnt top notch but his linknup play was good and he done the basics right. To be honest he saw a lot of the ball for a small player considering the size of our cbs...

[AkpansBFF]

Coppell was also there with Hammond. If I remember correctly I remember hearing something about Coppell wanting our youngsters on loan, might have just been paper talk or might have been real, cant remember but I assume he was there to look at potential loan signings... I'd like him to take,
Cooper - See what he is like in the football league,
Tanner - Give him some experience and maybe game time,

Depending on if they are going to get a shot with the first team,

Samuel and Ugwu - Give them experience in a good league and hopefully see them both play giving them game time and hopefully make their partnership even stronger as well as us seeing if they can find the net.
Obita - Game time and a little experience as well as match fitness so hes fit to come in if we pick up injuries during the season, as im expecting kebe to be Injured and maybe drenthe as adkins keeps saying hes not fully fit.
Taylor - In hope he shines so he gets a chance

[Cypry]

Also Spotted: Gary Waddock (MK Dons Coach), presumably looking at one of our players.

Henly - 6 Could have done better for the 2nd goal, very little to do save wise but made one good save late on, kicking was poor though.
Cummings - 6.5 Didn't stand out as by far the most experienced player on the pitch. Was pretty solid in defence and attack.
Sweeney - 6 Not v. good at short passing football, got his head on a few attacking chances. Gave away the pen with a sloppy handball IIRC.
Cooper - 6.5 Not v. good at short passing football, strangely a few good long/medium range passes. V. solid defensively in the air, as well as an attacking threat
Griffin - 6 Weak in defence, ok in attack
Tshibola - 8.5 Played the Guthrie role. Most confident man on the pitch always after the ball from defence and attack, making space for himself. V. good passer.
D'Ath - 7 Fairly anonymous first 60 mins. Pushed further forward when Tshibola came off, showed some promise in attacking moves, a few good shots.
Taylor - 7.5 Was disappointed with him first half. Second half he was heavily involved in our good play, some good crosses and a few great through balls.
Obita - 8 Looked very confident and experienced throughout. Some good crossing and passing, an especially good first half corner. Cannot shoot to save his life.
Samuel - 8 Controlled the ball very comfortably, with his chest, head or feet. Good dribbler and got his goal in the end. A great assist with his head for Ugwu's 2nd
Ugwu - 9 Outstanding first goal, controlled finish for his 2nd. Unlucky not to get a hattrick but a very unselfish player, set up Samuel nicely for our 4th.

Sub:
Tanner - 6.5 Looked decent. A few good passes, runs.


Can't believe someone said our No. 4 (Tshibola) was greedy etc.
I guess it's the same people who criticise Guthrie for being wasteful, because Tshibola was probably our key player and got a big applause when subbed off.

Overall it was a very good game. Our attacking play was excellent and we could have possibly had 6 or 7 goals on another day. Newcastle were pretty poor in attack and didn't threaten too much other than the 2 goals which weren't particularly good team moves. Our defence was very shaky in the 1st half, but I guess it is probably their first competitive game under 1st team tactics. Cooper has all the attributes to be a quality CB, just needs to work on his passing.

It's a shame that our League Cup game is against Peterborough, if we'd got a League 2 team in the draw I would have been very tempted to pair Ugwu and Samuel up front, they work very well together.

I would imagine Obita will get a lot of game time this season. Taylor, Samuel and Ugwu should also get a few chances in the league.
Tshibola and Cooper are both younger, I could see them breaking through next season though.
Probably time for Cummings and D'Ath to move on in fairness.

A good write up, more or less agree with everything (although I didn't think Obita had a great game - seems to struggle a bit in a fluid midfield and kept ending up shooting with his weak foot). Henley needs to work on his distribution, his kicking was pretty woeful at times...

Particularly agree about Tshibola, thought his contribution was key - can see him making the first team next year if he gets a decent loan this season...

Ugwu is coming on in leaps and bounds, and seems to be a complete package, strong physically and very quick. Would love Adkins to give him a chance this year, but I guess it'll depend whether we believe he'll benefit more from a loan spell or not.

On that note, I wouldn't be surprised to see fewer loans this year....now we've got CAT1 and are playing strong teams regularly, it might be seen that we're better keeping the youngsters here, and getting them used to the style that Adkins wants for the first team, rather than loaning them out to play in teams which might not have the same philosophy. It was very noticeable last night that, whilst we were playing two strikers, the full backs were encouraged to get forward, and the CB pairing was splitting when we had possession exactly the same as the first team. I've not seen that in the other U21 games I've been to, and it was obviously fairly new to the players as most of Newcastles best chances came from passing errors in our back five...