Allardyce breathes again after Beye late show
For many, that devastating result was the first nail in the coffin of the club’s previous manager, Glenn Roeder. The former Newcastle centre-half never quite recovered from that most humbling of blows and did not survive the season. Six of that triumphant City side returned to the north east on Saturday and yet, despite another performance rich in passion and potential, there was to be no repeat of that famous scoreline.
Where the Blues sent Roeder crashing into a downward spiral of depression and self-doubt, their inability to defend a last-minute corner may have breathed new life into the regime of current Newcastle manager, Sam Allardyce. But it could have been very different.
Had United only managed a draw at home to a Birmingham team in transition, all the talk in the pubs and clubs of Tyneside would have been of a woeful record of just three points gained from a possible 21. Thanks largely to a late, late winner from the Senegalese full back, Habib Beye, a relieved Allardyce was able to speak in positive terms about taking four points from two games. It is a start, at the very least.
“I don’t think we were four goals better than Newcastle earlier this year,” said the Birmingham forward Cameron Jerome, one of the survivors of that sensational 5-1 triumph.
“But I don’t think they were a goal better than us this time. Newcastle caused us a lot of problems and would have been disappointed to go in at half-time at 1-1. But we weathered the storm and in the second half it looked like a draw. Then they got their last minute goal and that’s so disappointing.”
Particularly so for the outstanding Jerome. Asked to plough a lone furrow up front by Birmingham’s new manager, the former Scotland coach Alex McLeish, the Huddersfield-born forward was the epitome of endeavour and concentration. Alert from the off, Jerome required just nine minutes to nudge City in front, brutally exposing the poor judgement of Newcastle’s Czech Republic defender David Rozenhal before rounding United’s goalkeeper Shay Given for a simple finish.
“I knew it was wet and I knew the ball was bouncing through,” he explained. “I was anticipating the ball coming near me and I don’t think the defender knew where I was so I just capitalised on that. But you ask any striker and they want to play with two up. I’m no different. The type of player I am, I prefer to have someone near me. On your own, every little chance which is created, you have to take.”
Jerome is hoping for a sparring partner when Birmingham host Reading at the weekend but McLeish will be loathe to tinker with a successful formula. This vibrant performance followed hot on the heels of a fine 3-2 victory at Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle were exceptionally fortunate to take all three points.
Just ask Rozenhal. The former Paris St Germain centre half is not in the Newcastle team on merit, but simply because there is no-one else available. Error-prone and physically unsuited to life in the Premier League, his is already a struggle of style over substance familiar to fans fed a diet of inept defending over the years. Neat footwork counts for nothing when you are so easily brushed aside in the heat of battle.
“It would have been much more difficult for me had we lost,” admitted a repentant Rozenhal. “The way I see it, it was a mistake by me. That’s football — everyone makes mistakes. Even now I will think about it. But if it had finished 1-1 or 1-0 I would have been thinking about it more. When the goal went in I tried to follow the game because if I’d kept thinking about the mistake I would have been lost.”
At times during a fractious first half, the entire Newcastle team looked lost and they had to rely upon the award of a first-half penalty, after the Birmingham full back Mathew Sadler had tripped Obafemi Martins with his trailing leg, to get back on level terms. The Nigerian recovered to convert from the spot eight minutes before the break but Beye’s winner, headed home after he raced to meet the substitute Emre’s near post corner, was harsh on City.
Allardyce did not necessarily agree, pointing to 14 chances Newcastle created before the break but after a period of intense pressure the former Bolton Wanderers manager did admit: “Six months down the line, hopefully people will look back and say this was a big week. It’s a big result, a big win. The only thing we had to make sure we did against Birmingham was win. We did it.”
Given 6, Beye 7, Taylor 5, Rozenhal 4, N’Zogbia 8, Geremi 5 (Emre, 70, 6), Butt 3 (Viduka, 30, 7), Barton 5, Milner 7, Martins 6 (Enrique, 90, 5), Smith 4.
Harper, Edgar.
Taylor 8, Kelly 7, Schmitz 7, Ridgewell 7, Sadler 6, Nafti 8, De Ridder 5 (Forssell, 76, 5), Muamba 8, Larsson 7, McSheffrey 5 (Kapo, 62, 6), Jerome 8.
Doyle, O’Connor, Parnaby.
Rob Styles (Hampshire) 5. A mixed bag from Styles as he correctly awarded Newcastle one penalty, denied them another and chose not to dismiss Joey Barton for a terrible tackle on Cameron Jerome.
**** Against the backdrop of driving rain and a bitterly cold wind this match was at times disjointed but often addictive. Three goals barely did justice to a fixture full of incident.
SAM ALLARDYCE has gone from endangered species to bullet-proof in the space of a week.
Monday Admits he is feeling the pressure following a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn. “It is very difficult for us all,” he says.
Tuesday Shay Given and Steven Harper deny leading a players’ revolt. “The story is total and utter nonsense,” they say in a statement.
Wednesday Steven Taylor earns Allardyce a precious point with a well-deserved equaliser against table-topping Arsenal.
Thursday Chairman Chris Mort gives Allardyce a vote of confidence. “The team needs time to get things right and we are going to give them that time,” he declares.
Friday Newspaper reports link Manchester City with a January bid for striker Michael Owen.
Saturday A narrow win over Birmingham lifts the pressure on Allardyce. “It was a really, really big three points,” he beams.
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