Newcastle 0-0 LCFC - Post-Match Thread

[oxtonfox]

A good point if we”d have won just one of our last 4 games. Makes the Maddison penalty miss versus Everton look like the defining point of the season. 

[ClaphamFox]

Although I’d prefer to be in Everton’s position, I wonder if it might suit our team psychologically to be chasing rather than at the front of the pack? If survival was ours to lose rather than gain at Everton’s expense, I could see some of our lot folding under the pressure.

Edited 23 May 2023 by ClaphamFox

[fox_favourite]

I feel conflicted on last night result. 0-0 against a free scoring Newcastle and for us not to keep a clean sheet in 20+ games a 0-0 is some going. Show we could do it. But it's not what we needed. If that was 4 games ago, then that's something to be proud of. Bournemouth, Southampton home and away and not bearing Leeds and Everton are the main reasons. Bad decision after bad decision in the early part of the season. 

 

But in this situation we need 3pts. Last day, needing a win and not on our hands is not a good position to be in. But after all the dross over the past few weeks yet still have any hope means something is still possible, however remote it might be. 

[Dahnsouff]

27 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

no it doesn't. if we win by 1, the bare minimum for us, Leeds have to muller spurs 10-0 to then stay up on goals scored. there is no realistic world where we finish above Everton and below Leeds 

You are right of course, the weekend should be all about us and Everton, but allow me a small moment of unreasonable bed wetting  

[Sir Shep]

Had we have tried to play to win I think we'd have been smashed so for a change I think Smith got this right and a draw was a good result. The clean sheet will do us some good as well. 

[Dames]

4 minutes ago, Sir Shep said:

Had we have tried to play to win I think we'd have been smashed so for a change I think Smith got this right and a draw was a good result. The clean sheet will do us some good as well. 

Are you aware of the situation we are in? We are now relying on other teams to secure the future of the club because the manager and players were too scared to attack.

 

Smith didn’t get it right he got lucky. What was his game plan? 8 men behind the ball putting no pressure on it to lump it route one to a half fit Nacho and a 36 year old Vardy with no support? We had 17% possession in the first half. Its worse than Sunday league stuff.

 

I understand we needed to keep it tight and dont dispute that but there was clearly no other plan going forwards which in a must win game to secure the clubs future is unforgivable. 
 

If Newcastle didnt settle for the draw on 85 minutes we wouldnt have even had an attempt on goal. We were beyond bad and if it wasnt for the post and a couple of last min saves/blocks we’d have been hammered.

[UniFox21]

Where has that fight and desire to not concede been all year? 

[Unabomber]

That was one of the weirdest games I have ever watched. Seems that the plan was get to 80 mins at 0-0 and then try and nick one. Tbf had Castagne’s shot gone in then it would’ve been the perfect plan. Whilst it was grim viewing I can understand the logic, if we had attacked them we almost certainly would’ve been conceded a fair few. We were in full on shut up shot mode yet still conceded 23 shots.

[Dames]

Just now, Unabomber said:

That was one of the weirdest games I have ever watched. Seems that the plan was get to 80 mins at 0-0 and then try and nick one. Tbf had Castagne’s shot gone in then it would’ve been the perfect plan. Whilst it was grim viewing I can understand the logic, if we had attacked them we almost certainly would’ve been conceded a fair few. We were in full on shut up shot mode yet still conceded 23 shots.

Pretty much tells you that when you concede 23 shots playing like that it wasnt a defensive masterclass. We didn’t negate them. We got lucky due to some bad finishing and good blocks/saves. 
 

I don’t buy into the logic of attacking them and conceding either. We let them have 83% of the ball in the first half and they were all over us. We got lucky in that respect. When we played Man City away and beat them 5-2 with largely the same group of players there was a clear plan, last night there wasnt. It was just stick bodies behind the ball and hope for the best. 

[WigstonWanderer]

Battered for at least 70 out of 90, but with some dogged defending and a huge slice of luck we nearly nicked it at the end. A better result than anyone really expected, so credit is due, but some of the worst hit and hope football I’ve seen since the dying days of Craig Shakespeare’s reign.

 

Just got to keep fingers crossed I suppose, but can’t see us beating West Ham or Bournemouth getting a point from Everton. Still, a thin glimmer of hope.

[lanefox]

Same people moaning about the performance are the same knuckle draggers that want us to player counter attacking football

[Sir Shep]

25 minutes ago, Dames said:

Are you aware of the situation we are in? We are now relying on other teams to secure the future of the club because the manager and players were too scared to attack.

 

Smith didn’t get it right he got lucky. What was his game plan? 8 men behind the ball putting no pressure on it to lump it route one to a half fit Nacho and a 36 year old Vardy with no support? We had 17% possession in the first half. Its worse than Sunday league stuff.

 

I understand we needed to keep it tight and dont dispute that but there was clearly no other plan going forwards which in a must win game to secure the clubs future is unforgivable. 
 

If Newcastle didnt settle for the draw on 85 minutes we wouldnt have even had an attempt on goal. We were beyond bad and if it wasnt for the post and a couple of last min saves/blocks we’d have been hammered.

Fully aware, you have your opinion and I have mine. 

[StanSP]

16 minutes ago, Dames said:

don’t buy into the logic of attacking them and conceding either. We let them have 83% of the ball in the first half and they were all over

Yet we still didn't concede. Yes we rode our luck, but it wasn't just because Newcastle couldn't finish. We had bodies in the right place to cut down their clear cut opportunities. The fact they only had 4 shots on target to me says we were defensively solid. Lucky in some part, yes. Defensively organised, yes. 

 

There may not have been an attacking plan of sorts but that's what the plan was. Soak up all the pressure and get a goal as late as possible. It nearly worked. 

 

Nearly isn't good enough for us now, but I'd have rather yesterday happened as opposed to attack from the off and be 3-0 down by half time and game over. You make it sound like a given that if we did attack then we definitely would have won. 

[weller54]

[Dames]

2 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Yet we still didn't concede. Yes we rode our luck, but it wasn't just because Newcastle couldn't finish. We had bodies in the right place to cut down their clear cut opportunities. The fact they only had 4 shots on target to me says we were defensively solid. Lucky in some part, yes. Defensively organised, yes. 

 

There may not have been an attacking plan of sorts but that's what the plan was. Soak up all the pressure and get a goal as late as possible. It nearly worked. 

 

Nearly isn't good enough for us now, but I'd have rather yesterday happened as opposed to attack from the off and be 3-0 down by half time and game over. You make it sound like a given that if we did attack then we definitely would have won. 

I dont make it sound like a given. My gripe is that there was no attempt to win the game until the 92nd minute. A lot of people on here are praising that attempt btw so who knows maybe if we had more we’d have stood a better chance? We won’t know however now because it was left too late. 

[ronnup]

That was the nail kn the coffin sadly. Everton won't lose. 

[stu]

Just now, ronnup said:

That was the nail kn the coffin sadly. Everton won't lose. 

Don’t need to lose, draw is enough if we win.

[Tom12345]

We were only playing for the draw.

 

If Forest did the same they would not have beaten Arsenal, a team higher than Newcastle, 1-0.

 

How low we have come down to this season when we don’t even have the guts to try to win at the end. We were content to let Everton and Bournemouth decide our fate when you would expect anyone who has a winning mentality to try for the win. At least try to press and force an error. 

Edited 23 May 2023 by Tom12345

[The Year Of The Fox]

Thought last night was a very good performance and almost paid off to perfection. 

 

If we go down it isn’t because of that result.

 

Once again the players proven they do care or haven’t stopped trying 

 

God knows what’ll happen Sunday, but we’ve given ourselves the best possible chance, given absolutely nobody gave us a chance to come away from Newcastle with anything last night 

[Nalis]

3 minutes ago, Tom12345 said:

We were only playing for the draw.

 

If Forest did the same they would not have beaten Arsenal, a team higher than Newcastle, 1-0.

 

How low we have come down to this season when we don’t even have the guts to try to win at the end. At least try to press and force an error. 

I've seen this comparison a lot. Whether you agree with the teams approach or not, a home match against an Arsenal side out of form is different to Newcastle away when they were very much up for it to qualify for the champions league.

[Guest]

It was pretty grim stuff. I'm not sure I've ever seen a team approach a game with less ambition to win or even score. Perhaps this time next week we'll be looking back and seeing this for the Dean Smith masterclass it truly is but for now it does sort of seem like we were really quite happy for our fate to be taken out of our hands, maybe because it means we might have someone else to blame now if it goes wrong on the final day.

 

I accept that if we'd gone there trying to hammer Newcastle they'd almost certainly have opened us up but a) they did basically do that anyway, with the only real difference between yesterday and Liverpool being that three of their shots hit the woodwork rather than going in and b) I would like to imagine there could have been some sort of middle ground between suicidal all-out attack and total refusal to actively participate in the game. Even at the very end when we somehow ended up having them pretty rattled, we looked reluctant to take advantage, as though we weren't entirely sure that scoring a goal would be of any benefit to us. If we don't win and/or Everton do then those last couple of minutes where Iversen was wasting time and our forwards were happily allowing Botman and Schar to play keep ball are going to feel even more odd in retrospect.

[Tomlcfc133]

Thought everyone to a man was brilliant last night. Showed passion, fight and great discipline 

[oxtonfox]

It says something when the woodwork is your best defender. 

[Collymore]

I think if you're going to play like that you need to have at least one nasty massive b*****d upfront. Have him in your squad, for occasions like this. 

[Benguin]

If only Everton were away to a team like Liverpool or United needing a win for champions league. If that were the case I’d back us to beat West Ham and stay up.

 

Bournemouth have nothing to play for and Everton are at home, I can’t see anything but an Everton win. So we go down regardless. 
 

I get that had we lost last night, Everton could have just settled for a point to stay up and there is now some pressure on them but I think we should have gambled last night personally. 
 

ah well I was expecting us to go down and at least there’s a tiny chance we won’t in the final day.