Familiar dramas engulfing Newcastle

SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP:West Brom1 Newcastle 1

WHATEVER ANYONE says about Newcastle United, no one could ever accuse the club of being boring. The new season was only 90 minutes old and already Joey Barton was reported to have been involved in a training ground bust-up, Steven Taylor has described his employers as “a joke” and Steve Harper has received a kick to the head from his own centre-forward. The last of these was unintentional, but accidents seem to keep happening to Newcastle.

St James’ Park has resembled a car crash for the past 12 months and, according to Kevin Nolan, the football world has enjoyed surveying the wreckage, with the midfielder claiming that those tuning in on Saturday night were doing so in the hope that West Bromwich Albion would inflict more damage.

“The first game was always going to be tough,” said Nolan, who set up Damien Duff’s deserved second-half equaliser. “All eyes were on us, not just in Newcastle but across the country, hoping for another slip up. But I thought the lads handled that really well.

“Ever since I’ve come to this club I’ve realised a lot of people are out to get us,” continued the former Bolton player. “If there is anything strange or bad that happens it seems to go everywhere.

“It’s been tough. Some of the things said and written have been hard to take. You read things about the lads that you know aren’t true, but we have stuck together and tried to focus on what we can do on the pitch.”

Off the field things remain as uncertain as ever, not that Newcastle’s players will be taking any notice of the fresh speculation. “To be honest, we don’t even listen to it anymore,” Nolan said. “You get sick of hearing this time it’s going to happen.”

The supporters chanted Alan Shearer’s name and the club’s owner, Mike Ashley, also got a mention from the travelling contingent, although “you fat cockney b*****d, get out of our club” was not quite so complimentary. Barton, somewhat surprisingly, was welcomed on to the pitch despite the fact that his latest altercation, which prompted Chris Hughton, the caretaker manager, to drop him, raises further questions about his future.

A few others would appear to have a big part to play this season. Alan Smith, who made only four Premier League starts in 2008-09, was excellent in midfield, while Duff, whose own goal at Villa Park condemned Newcastle to the Championship, impressed on the flank. It was Tim Krul, though, who really caught the eye, with the Dutchman producing four excellent second-half saves, after replacing Harper at the interval, to deny Roberto Di Matteo a winning start.

Albion’s lead had arrived six minutes before the break when Shelton Martis prodded over the line after Shola Ameobi’s boot crashed into Harper’s face. Newcastle might have imploded but there was a marked improvement in the second half and Duff’s finish earned a merited point.

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Attendance: 23,502