"I always said I wanted to repay the fans and that’s one step towards that with three points."

"One day I’d love to inherit the job. I love the club and my relationship with everybody here is fantastic. But I’m nowhere near ready to manage the club yet. If a new manager comes in and I work beside him for two or three years, then who knows?

On Lee Clark:

”Lee's had a bad time but he's worked hard to get back to full fitness."

"He's a great personality in the dressing room and I just felt today that with him being a Newcastle fan and a 100 per cent Geordie, he would give me a good performance."

Clarkie said:

"I just hope it doesn’t cost them a Champions League place. I want them to win four out of four now because they deserve it.”

"Chris Coleman has put his own stamp on the place. Chris has always had so much heart, as a player and in the way he came back from his accident, and that sort of heart is what we needed out there against Newcastle.”
 

Match Stats

Lee Clark scored his first goal against us since leaving United in 1997 and became the fourth ex-Mag to register against us this season, joining Huckerby, Hamann and Watson. Last season it was the turn of Saha (twice), Ferguson, Gillespie and Cole along with that German, again.

Andy Griffin became the 5th player to be sent off for Newcastle this season, following in the reluctant footsteps of Caldwell, Dabizas, Bellamy and Robert. We managed to keep a clean sheet of dismissals in the previous campaign.

Griffin's only other Newcastle red card came in a pre-season friendly away to Helmond Sport (Netherlands) back in July 1999.

Away v Cottagers

2002/03: Lost 1-2 Shearer
2001/02: Lost 1-3 Speed
1983/84: Drew 2-2 Beardsley, Keegan     
1982/83: Drew 2-2 McDermott, Varadi    
1981/82: Lost 0-2 no scorer (League Cup) 
1979/80: Lost 0-1 no scorer   
1978/79: Won 3-1 Connolly, Withe, Shoulder 
1967/68: Lost 0-2 No scorer 
1966/67: Lost 1-5 Pop Robson 
1965/66: Lost 0-2 no scorer

A first goal against Fulham for Alan Shearer, and his 25th of the season from 47 games. He managed 27 from 46 last season.

Our three match unbeaten run in the Capital came to an end (draw at West Ham, wins at Spurs and Charlton.)

Is it the fact that we lost on a Nationwide ground that made me so effed off after this one, almost to the extent of the misery of Molineux and far, far more annoyed than after our last two defeats?

Maybe it's because this game was there on a plate for us and we conspired to screw it up in a manner that was totally our own fault, unlike the common consensus of our last two losses:

Everton: terrible decision that went against us led to the winning goal. 
Man U:  devastating passage of play from a superior side blew us off the field.
Fulham: denied a clear penalty and lost a player. 

Our manager would have us believe that those were the turning points at Loftus Road, but aside from the stupidity that saw Griffin booked again and us down to ten men, to point at the non-award of the spot kick conveniently ignores the fact we subsequently went a goal up.

However, it's arguable that by the time Shearer hit the back of the net for the first time against the Cottagers, we were already down to ten men. 

His strike partner Bellamy once again misplaced the plot on the back of a perceived injustice perpetrated on him by the referee. The Bernard / Gravesen incident at Goodison saw him disappear from the game thereafter and his failure to win a penalty here saw him once again disappear up his own backside.

However our occasionally brilliant Welshman wasn't the only one to emerge from this match with no credit whatsoever: 

Given - escapes criticism for one good block and two unstoppable shots going past him.
Griffin - perhaps a tad unfortunate to have seen yellow in the first half, but deservedly went for what was an avoidable lunge. Not the way to stake a claim for a first team berth, especially in a position of perceived weakness for the side.
Bernard - got even less assistance from Viana in front of him than his countryman Robert would normally provide - if that were possible. As a consequence found himself faced with two opponents to stifle on occasions.
Woodgate - involved throughout and although his distribution wasn't great, he at least was determined enough to get to the ball and whack it away - an example one or two of his new pals would do well to follow.
O'Brien - no great gaffes and effort evident. A measure of our raggedness in the dying moments was his appearance up front, while Bellamy languished anonymously in the centre circle. 
Hughes -  nominally in midfield, his fourth position of the season - and at times he seemed to be playing all of them. Confidence obviously low and being shoehorned into our midfield won't have helped. Possibly his best marking job was on Griffin. 
Dyer - involved in the turning point of the match, when within seconds of being reduced to ten men his much-vaunted pace propelled him into a one on one with Taylor in the Fulham goal with a chance to make it 2-0. However, his less vaunted shooting ability let him down - and we thought the scorer of the winning goal was meant to be the "jigsaw" (going to pieces in the box.) Not enough effort over the ninety minutes, not 
enough running to try and compensate for our midfield shortfall. 
Bellamy - persecution complex grows ever larger. One negative decision against him by the referee now seems enough to blow him off course. All focus seems lost and he becomes sidetracked into petty windups of opposition players, interspersed with gobbing off at the ref. This from a man up before the FA beaks next week and the civil courts in a few months time. No use to the team at all when he's in this frame of mind.
Shearer - scored. Not a lot else to say. Little help from Bellamy, no service from the rest, debatable whether he was ever in a dangerous position after the goal though. Head down, as it has been more than once in his toon career. 
Solano - not clever. Little sign that he was prepared to force himself into the danger area down the flank to deliver what were once trademark crosses. Also did little to make the fans warm to him by seeming to duck out of a couple of 50/50 challenges. Not the response that the club were looking for after a midweek reserve outing.
Viana - All show and no go, again. Took the corner from which we scored but was incapable of getting the ball over from open play or other set pieces apart from that. And if he can't do that, what exactly is he there for? His hard-tackling? I don't think so. Adored by the fans yet producing little on the field. Well documented aversion to being played on the wing but a fitful display speaks volumes for his lack of team spirit
and dare we say it, immaturity. Not the response that the club were looking for after a midweek reserve outing. Doesn't want a pat on his (dodgy) shoulder, needs a boot up his Portguese backside. Form and application like this will only see him play for Juventus on 
Championship Manager.

Subs: 
Caldwell - not worth a new contract comparable to his colleagues seemingly, but ok to come on when we're in the clarts. Didn't let us down.
Ameobi - too late to change owt, stuck in a vaguely left side role that did him no favours.

Manager:
Robson - sorry Bobby but this was a bad day at the office. A midfield injury crisis and a defender gets drafted in to plug the hole. Meanwhile an international midfield stopper looks on from the bench.

Clarence Acuna must wonder what is going on. In the corner with a "D" cap ever since the Wolves cup debacle, he was given a run in the stiffs in front of Bobby in midweek, but then ignored when this side was picked. Sticking him on the bench and leaving him there to watch Hughes amble around seems a cruel and unusual punishment in these eyes. We may as well have named two spare keepers - they would both have had as much chance of coming on as the Chilean....

Subs also prompted head scratching - Solano was doing nothing going forward and plays right side defence for Peru, O'Brien had been found out at full back on our last away trip. Both Bellamy and Viana were doing nothing of value to the team and presenting no barrier to Fulham - either Clarence gets on to shore things up or Lua and Shola make an appearance to try and claim the win. Bellamy back in midfield and a few minutes of Ameobi on the far side just didn't calculate.

In a game of opinions, all of the following were voiced within our earshot in the streets and pubs of Shepherds Bush on Saturday teatime:

(perhaps we should set up one of those £2 a minute voting phone lines and get you lot to vote - doesn't matter whether you saw the match or not of course):

a) a wonder goal 
b) some rotten refereeing 
c) a lack of luck
d) Dyer's miss 
e) the return of the London jinx 
f) the old player scoring syndrome 
g) the madness of Andy Griffin
h) bad team selection
i) bad luck with injuries
j) bad substitutions
k) new manager, change of luck

However our winning answer would be none of those - simply that too many of the players on the field had a bad attitude and weren't prepared to graft for their win bonus. 

Put aside team selection, subs, injuries and the vagaries of referees. 

All of those things should have been mere incidentals. We gave a dispiritingly weak uninterested and inept display - that had nothing to do with Chris Coleman, the Fulham side or Dermot bloody Gallagher.

I always that it was the southern teams who were meant to be the strutting fancy dans but obviously the balance of power has changed. We seek to measure ourselves against Manchester United and Arsenal, but they don't seem to have our soft centre when adversity strikes - call it burning ambition, an irresistible will to win, call it what you like - 
we don't have it. When things aren't going according to plan we get blown off course and stay there, bemoaning the fact that everything is against us rather than trying to put things right there and then.

We got out of jail in the end when news came through that Chelsea had slipped up and lost. However, we now urgently seek three points against their conquerors, the consistently inconsistent Aston Villa. 

This isn't the backdrop we wanted to our mackem excursion. Time for the men, and the boys, to stand up and remind doubters and fans alike of the qualities that propelled us into the third place we're desperately trying to hold on to.

Howay man United, sort this out. We know you're better than this.

Biffa