Mike Egerton/Empics Sport
A Newcastle United fan’s philosophy consists of tenacity, passion and ‘kiss the badge’ endeavour, mixed with the heart-warming belief that replicating these traits on the pitch will eventually bring their club some silverware. Throughout the Magpies’ Premier League era there are very few players who ‘put a shift in’ and were not widely regarded as cult heroes or idolised by fans.
Good old-fashioned effort can indeed sometimes be enough; football supporters love nothing more than a central midfielder dashing 20 yards to recover the ball (he’s possibly just lost) with a last-ditch, player-first, ball-second slide tackle. St James’ Park demands that each player who pulls on the black and white striped jersey gives 100% and demonstrably earns every single zero on their pay-check.
Some former (and possibly current) players haven’t played by the rules. Mark Viduka, Geremi and Stephen Carr failed to honour the St...
A Newcastle United fan’s philosophy consists of tenacity, passion and ‘kiss the badge’ endeavour, mixed with the heart-warming belief that replicating these traits on the pitch will eventually bring their club some silverware. Throughout the Magpies’ Premier League era there are very few players who ‘put a shift in’ and were not widely regarded as cult heroes or idolised by fans.
Good old-fashioned effort can indeed sometimes be enough; football supporters love nothing more than a central midfielder dashing 20 yards to recover the ball (he’s possibly just lost) with a last-ditch, player-first, ball-second slide tackle. St James’ Park demands that each player who pulls on the black and white striped jersey gives 100% and demonstrably earns every single zero on their pay-check.
Some former (and possibly current) players haven’t played by the rules. Mark Viduka, Geremi and Stephen Carr failed to honour the St...
- 8/27/2015
- by Matt Smith
- Obsessed with Film
David Davies/Pa Archive/Press Association Images
Let’s be perfectly frank here, Ben Arfa is not wanted at Newcastle United, and no amount of shouting his name at away games, or accusing Alan Pardew of idiocy over his treatement is going to change that. Rightly or wrongly, the player is deemed a toxic influence at the club, with poor on-field impact not matching up to his undoubted, unquantifiable talent, and rumours that he is something of a diva around the training ground.
Make no mistake, the Frenchman has not simply been relegated to play with the kids because he is carrying a little too much timber, and the manager’s assertions that his professionalism leaves a lot to be desired is a hint of what he’s really like behind closed doors. But the real question for Newcastle fans is how far a player of such monumental talent – and...
Let’s be perfectly frank here, Ben Arfa is not wanted at Newcastle United, and no amount of shouting his name at away games, or accusing Alan Pardew of idiocy over his treatement is going to change that. Rightly or wrongly, the player is deemed a toxic influence at the club, with poor on-field impact not matching up to his undoubted, unquantifiable talent, and rumours that he is something of a diva around the training ground.
Make no mistake, the Frenchman has not simply been relegated to play with the kids because he is carrying a little too much timber, and the manager’s assertions that his professionalism leaves a lot to be desired is a hint of what he’s really like behind closed doors. But the real question for Newcastle fans is how far a player of such monumental talent – and...
- 8/6/2014
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Even the best football movies struggle to capture the sport's drama on film. The worst (and there are many) are truly abysmal
Why has cinema found football to be such a tricky customer? Football scenes in film and television are traditionally very awkward affairs, with the "defenders" tip-toeing nervously around the "attackers" as they advance, the goal finally coming via the sort of impractical flying volley you just never see on a real pitch. It's clearly very difficult to let someone score a script-dictated goal while pretending to try to stop them but, at the same time, trying not to look like you're pretending to try to stop them. Perhaps they teach it at Rada, who knows?
Furthermore, filmmakers have the challenge of adding a fictional big-screen gloss to what is already an overwhelmingly camera-friendly and consistently dramatic spectacle in its own right. Real-life football already has its own "script...
Why has cinema found football to be such a tricky customer? Football scenes in film and television are traditionally very awkward affairs, with the "defenders" tip-toeing nervously around the "attackers" as they advance, the goal finally coming via the sort of impractical flying volley you just never see on a real pitch. It's clearly very difficult to let someone score a script-dictated goal while pretending to try to stop them but, at the same time, trying not to look like you're pretending to try to stop them. Perhaps they teach it at Rada, who knows?
Furthermore, filmmakers have the challenge of adding a fictional big-screen gloss to what is already an overwhelmingly camera-friendly and consistently dramatic spectacle in its own right. Real-life football already has its own "script...
- 2/27/2014
- by Adam Hurrey
- The Guardian - Film News
When Newcastle United line up on Sunday afternoon to face Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, they do so with the weight of history imbalanced firmly in the other direction, with last year’s Premier League runners-up enjoying the best of the matches between the two for the majority of the Premier league era. In their latest meeting, at Old Trafford a few short weeks ago, Manchester United were once more victorious, snatching a 2-1 victory, despite a spirited Newcastle display to set up a League Cup fourth round match with Chelsea, but the Toon Army needn’t be disheartened by the lessons of the past completely.
Since the inception of the Premier League era, this has been one of the most entertaining, eye-catching of fixtures on the list, thanks to a huge number of goals and a healthy rivalry that stayed as the hangover of the Entertainers Era on...
Since the inception of the Premier League era, this has been one of the most entertaining, eye-catching of fixtures on the list, thanks to a huge number of goals and a healthy rivalry that stayed as the hangover of the Entertainers Era on...
- 10/7/2012
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Sunday afternoon saw a pretty insipid draw between Newcastle United and Aston Villa in the Tyneside sunshine at St. James’ Park – a game Sky will have been thankful they didn’t pick up for coverage and one that occasionally threatened to spill out into a brawl, egged on by a frustrated and edgy crowd thanks to the over-zealous physical approach of the claret and blues.
It certainly wasn’t what some Newcastle fans might have expected with Villa propping up the table, and the Magpies squad surprisingly (and thankfully) untouched by the frenzied activities of the last stages of the transfer window, but the Toon Army should be happy with a point after a lack-lustre performance that was punctuated by fleeting good moments and one exceptional one.
Villa had taken the lead midway through the first half, after Newcastle failed to take some good early chances, with Ciaran Clark taking...
It certainly wasn’t what some Newcastle fans might have expected with Villa propping up the table, and the Magpies squad surprisingly (and thankfully) untouched by the frenzied activities of the last stages of the transfer window, but the Toon Army should be happy with a point after a lack-lustre performance that was punctuated by fleeting good moments and one exceptional one.
Villa had taken the lead midway through the first half, after Newcastle failed to take some good early chances, with Ciaran Clark taking...
- 9/4/2012
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Alan Pardew will lead his Newcastle United team into their fourth pre-season friendly tonight, as part of their second training camp – this time in the Algarve, Portugal – against Greek Super League champions Olympiakos, when the teams face off at 8.45pm, live on Espn.
The match is hosted at the 30,000 capacity Estadio Algarve as part of the Xii Trofeo Guadiana tournament, which began last night when Olympiakos faced Portuguese side Sc Braga (including former Newcastle midfielder Hugo Viana). The sides drew 1-1 after 90 minutes, and then played a short penalty shoot-out which ended 4-4, bizarrely with only five kicks allowed each.
The last time Newcastle faced the Greek champions was back in 2005 in the UEFA Cup, which saw home and away victores for the Magpies, thanks to goals from Alan Shearer, Laurent Robert and Patrick Kluivert in Greece to win 1-3 and another brace from Shearer, plus one each from former...
The match is hosted at the 30,000 capacity Estadio Algarve as part of the Xii Trofeo Guadiana tournament, which began last night when Olympiakos faced Portuguese side Sc Braga (including former Newcastle midfielder Hugo Viana). The sides drew 1-1 after 90 minutes, and then played a short penalty shoot-out which ended 4-4, bizarrely with only five kicks allowed each.
The last time Newcastle faced the Greek champions was back in 2005 in the UEFA Cup, which saw home and away victores for the Magpies, thanks to goals from Alan Shearer, Laurent Robert and Patrick Kluivert in Greece to win 1-3 and another brace from Shearer, plus one each from former...
- 7/27/2012
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.