Newcastle United have successfully shut out Arsenal, QPR, and Sunderland, and have a better defensive record than Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United- Who are the players responsible, and can they keep it up?
Years ago, whether it be under the reign of Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Ruud Gullit, or Sir Bobby Robson, Newcastle had no problem scoring goals, their problem was a leaky defence.
Even more recently under Graeme Souness, the Magpies may have had Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, and Craig Bellamy all scoring goals, but their defence was under-invested in, and the pairing of Jean-Alain Boumsong and Titus Bramble became a national joke.
How times have changed, six years on since Michael Owen arrived on Tyneside from Real Madrid, the club have undergone a transformation.
It was not by choice, rather enforced by their shock relegation, after a disastrous season stemming from the sacking of Kevin Keegan in his second spell, to the chaotic reign of Joe Kinnear followed by Alan Shearer.
Chris Hughton steadied the ship and won promotion, but it is Alan Pardew in charge now, and while Newcastle’s striking problems are well-documented, their defence is collecting the plaudits.
The club is now the total opposite of the successful swashbuckling side which once boasted Faustino Asprilla, Shearer, and Les Ferdinand.
The signs were good when they held Man United to a goalless draw at the end of last season and they have continued that form, the only goal conceded being a last minute consolation by Clint Dempsey in a 2-1 win over Fulham. The form has led the Magpies to a lofty fourth place in the table.
So are the Premier League’s most unlikely of meanest defences able to keep it up? Who are they?
Tim Krul
The young Dutchman has been at Newcastle since 2006, and has witnessed his fair share of drama from the touchline. Now he has been given his chance, he has seized the opportunity. His patience has seen him take spells on loan at Falkirk in Scotland and at Carlisle United just three seasons ago. He actually made his debut when Newcastle were still playing European football, keeping a clean sheet against Palermo. He made 25 appearances last season, winning his place from Steve Harper, and has continued at number one. Now he has broken into the Dutch national team, the worry is, will Newcastle’s despised owner Mike Ashley decide to cash in on him?
Danny Simpson
A Man United youth teamer, he was unlucky to break through as competition for the right-back slot was at its highest. Unable to displace Gary Neville, John O’Shea, and Wes Brown, despite promising performances when he did get a chance, he was shipped out on loan. The emergence of promising Rafael deemed him surplus to requirements and he continued at Newcastle. He has not looked back since, comfortable in defence and growing in confidence in attack, against QPR on Monday it was his crosses into the box which helped provide one of Newcastle’s biggest attacking threats. Don’t rule out an England call in the future if his form continues, Euro 2012 may be too soon, but he will look to get involved in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Steven Taylor
Another youngster with England ambitions, the former under-21 skipper has got his career on track when it decided to inexplicably derail. He was one of the Toon’s most promising stars prior to their relegation, and was close to securing a move to Everton following the disappointment. The move failed to go through, with Taylor’s reluctance to leave his hometown club playing a key part. It was during the club’s travails in the Championship that Taylor became embroiled in a training ground bust-up with striker Andy Carroll which left Taylor out of action for two months. After his recovery he failed to win his place back and looked set to move on, but there were no takers. After Carroll left last season, under Pardew, he began to re-emerge, scoring twice, and this season the tenacious centre-half has begun showing that England’s strength in depth in the centre-back department is better than ever.
Ryan Taylor
The second Taylor in the Newcastle defence, no relation to Steven, has the most to prove. Signed from Wigan, he suffered a terrible run of injuries which barely saw him feature last season. The set-piece specialist won back his place in the hearts of the Toon faithful by scoring a direct free-kick in the second game of the season away to local rivals Sunderland in a 1-0 win. His place at left-back in the future is far from assured, with the club buying Davide Santon from Inter Milan on deadline day. Santon was once hailed as a future Italy regular, but Inter lost patience with him after an injury cursed couple of years. One thing is certain, which is if Newcastle carry on keeping clean sheets with Taylor playing a part, it will be very difficult for Santon to win his place in the side.
Fabricio Coloccini
The Argentine was one of two signed by Kevin Keegan in his second reign as Newcastle boss along with Jonas Gutierrez. He enjoyed a torrid start, with the club being relegated, far from ideal. To his credit, the Sideshow-Bob-haired defender stuck around, and played in the Championship, despite the upcoming World Cup in 2010 remaining in the forefront of his mind. Since the club’s promotion, he has been superb, with the one red card against Bolton blotting his copybook. With experience from AC Milan in Italy and Deportivo in Spain, Pardew has a gem of a defender in his prime, and he is the glue holding the defence together. However, if Newcastle continue to fail to show ambition and spend their £35 million they received for Andy Carroll, Coloccini may well follow former team-mate Jose Enrique out the exit door, having repaid his debt after his original contribution to their 2009 relegation.
Do you think Newcastle can keep up their record of clean-sheets? And, how long for?
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