Wigan Preview

Steve Bruce takes Sunderland back to his former club Wigan Athletic and I am sure he will want to get one over his previous team and in particular their chairman Dave Whelan.

Wigan were humiliated 9-1 by Tottenham Hotspur last week and soon afterwards Wigan supremo Whelan pointed the blame at Bruce, stating he had made some dodgy signings when he was boss.

Excuse me but Mr Whelan is talking complete rubbish and is just looking for a way to protect his own manager Roberto Martinez. Bruce acknowledged this and said that there were no hard feelings, but I believe that it was a terrible statement, it shows no gratitude or respect. Steve Bruce kept Wigan in the Premier League, before he took over they were heading straight for the fizzy pop league, but he managed to finish in a respectable position. Plus some of his signings were incredible for a club like Wigan; he brought in quality players like Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia, Hugo Rodallega, Charles N'Zogbia, Maynor Figueroa and even transformed former Toon defender Titus Bramble in to a solid defender. So how is he to blame?

The Black Cats should be full of confidence for the trip to the DW Stadium, after recently beating Arsenal 1-0 at the SoL. But beware as Wigan will be looking to bounce back from that Spurs thrashing, repaying (in more sense than one) the fans who witnessed it. Also think back a few weeks ago, the mackems had secured all three points against Liverpool and many thought they would travel to Birmingham, (another or Bruce's old clubs) and turn them over. Well it didn't finish like that with Sunderland putting in a lack lustre performance; let's hope it is not the same against the Latics.

It looks like top scorer Darren Bent could actually make the trip to Wigan and play an important part with his injury not as serious as first thought. Kenwyne Jones is still suspended, however Michael Turner is available, so Bruce must decide whether to bring Turner back in or stick with the same defence that kept a clean sheet against Arsenal. Lee Cattermole and Craig Gordon are both long-term absentees.

Wigan only have a doubt over left back Figueroa, but Martinez may make changes to freshen his team up.

Haway the Lads, do this one for Bruce.

Swansea Preview

It is time to welcome the Welsh up North and across the Tyne. As Newcastle United return home to host Swansea City.

Many fans might think that with being at home and sitting top of the league, this will be an easy game. Well that sort of attitude can quickly undo all of the hard work that has gone on so far, which is why manager Chris Hughton is giving no such impression.

CH has constantly praised his team this season and quite rightly as they have battled away in each match, when behind the scenes the club has been through turmoil. He has kept their focus and drive to try to gain promotion at the first attempt.

I think that Newcastle will take another step in that direction tomorrow, but it won't be all plain sailing. Swansea sit fourth in the league, not far behind the black and white leaders, and this is for good reason. The Swans are unbeaten in 11 games and currently the in-form team of the Championship. So far in this campaign they have kept 10 clean sheets, with half of those games finishing 0-0.

These sort of stats are why I predict a frustrating afternoon at St. James' Park, both teams will probably cancel each other out and both goalkeepers may get a little bored. Unless Newcastle strike early on and force the opposition to chase the game, that is when players like Jonas Gutierrez and perhaps Fabrice Pancrate can really exploit the space available and seal a comfortable victory.

Andy Carroll and Danny Simpson are both minor doubts after coming off on Monday night’s game against Preston, with illness and a thigh problem respectively. Zurab Khizanishvili is available after serving a three game ban whilst Pancrate may be given his chance to impress.

City captain Garry Monk could be missing with a leg injury, along with Mark Gower and Stephen Dobbie. Loan signing David Cotterill will be hoping to make an immediate impact in order to turn his move into a permanent one come January.
Back to the traditional time of 3pm kick off. Enjoy

It's Results that Matter

Newcastle grinded out another three points against a testing Preston team, with a performance which I would best describe as functional.

Kevin Nolan popped up with another goal late in the game to regain Newcastle's place at the top of the Championship. Kev is indeed proving to be a valuable member of the United squad, scoring vital goals in tight games which are part of the reasons why Newcastle are leading the way for promotion.

Nolan and his central midfield partner Alan Smith epitomised the black and white work ethic, providing a strong shield to the united defence. They hardly allowed Preston's midfield to gain space and try to create anything, which is why they resorted to firing long balls up to the physical forwards Chris Brown, Neil Mellor and later Jon "the beast" Parkin.

United were similar in style, with Andy Carroll again a good target in which they could build upon, however they took their chance that made all the difference. Each player is doing his job and doing what is necessary in a professional manner.

This approach may not be too appealing to the Toon faithful who crave to see the same flair as years gone by, but at least they are winning games and still on course to go straight back in to the Premier League.

Newcastle are lacking pace and creativity, someone who can put their foot on the ball, dictate games and carve the opposition open, a complete and talented midfielder. New signing Fabrice Pancrate may play some part in filling that role and he may get the opportunity rather soon as Peter Lovenkrands has failed to show the same form as last season and Danny Guthrie looked nervous against North End, as if he wasn’t up to the challenge of competing for a place.

It may not have been an overly exciting and entertaining game, with limited chances and very little attacking quality, but Newcastle United carry on winning and are top of the table with two points to spare.

You won't get past this Defence

Darren Bent kept up his impressive record of having scored against the supposed top four this season. Bent's goals against Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and most recently Arsenal are part of the reason why he was recalled back into the England squad and has already hit nine goals this season.

He may have been the match winner versus the Gunners, but it is the whole team which should be congratulated for putting in a tremendous performance. Every player involved will still probably be aching now after that game, having worked so hard against an Arsenal team who have some amazing players that move around with such pace and zip.

The central midfield trio of captain Lorik Cana, Kieran Richardson and Jordan Henderson battled so strongly in the middle of the park, which is where manager Steve Bruce said afterwards is where the game was won. He was spot on, they challenged for everything and gave their opposition no time on the ball, in particular the Spanish maestro Cesc Fabregas was very quiet by his standards.

Don't think though that Arsenal just had an off day, they had the majority of possession and showed their quality with their touch and passing. But they lacked a killer ball and struggled to get past a formidable Sunderland defence.

Paulo Da Silva was incredible, he was so composed and read the game magnificently, always blocking the attempted through ball or shrugging the forwards out of the way. Whilst his partner John Mensah was strong, quick and athletic, proving why Lyon paid a reported £9million for him only few seasons ago and I am extremely interested to see how he fares over the next few months when fully fit after a run in the team.

The Black Cats were effective in the counter attack, Andy Reid was intelligent with his distribution and the pace of Richardson and Bent kept the Arsenal back line on their toes. From this approach two fantastic chances were created for Steed Malbranque, twice the ex-Spurs and Fulham player failed to hit the target.

The Gunners did have their moments but only Tomas Rosicky really tested keeper Marton Fulop and so they were made to pay when Bent reacted quickest to the rebound off Frazier Campbell from a left wing corner.

Sunderland are the first team this season that Arsenal have failed to score against, it was fully deserved and when you consider the teams Arsenal have played so far, it is a tremendous achievement.

Preston Preview

At the moment, matters are fairly quiet at Newcastle United, but I think that may be due to the international break, rather than Mike Ashley and Co making any more bizarre decisions on the future of the club.

United travel to Preston North End for a Monday night clash live on Sky looking to regain their lead at the top of the Championship (West Brom are 1st after beating Bristol City 4-1).

Deepdale is a difficult place to go, as Preston led by manager Alan Irvine have been there or there abouts in challenging near the top of the table for the past few seasons, and I expect them to be doing so again this year.

The Lancashire club have a strong ex-Sunderland contingent within their ranks including Stephen Elliot, Ross Wallace, Neill Collins, Darren Carter and Chris Brown, all of which who will be looking to impress against their old rivals.

Preston have recently signed midfielder Michael Tonge from Stoke City and he is expected to go straight into the squad alongside Richard Chaplow who has recovered from a minor injury. However Barry Nicholson is expected to miss out.

Newcastle look set to welcome back Argentine winger Jonas Gutierrez who came off two weeks ago against Peterborough with an injury. But this fixture comes too soon for Joey Barton and Shola Ameobi whilst Zurab Khizanishvili serves the last of his three-game suspension.

It is still unknown whether new signing Fabrice Pancrate has gained clearance in time to line up against North End, but Andy Carroll who featured for England u21's through the week will return to the club where he spent time on loan and made his league debut.

Griggsy's score prediction.....2-1 to Newcastle.

Arsenal Preview

After the recent break in fixtures due to the international games, it is back to business on Saturday when Sunderland welcome Arsenal to the Stadium Of Light.

I have recently noticed how many players and staff at the SoL grew up as Arsenal fans or are very fond of the club. First off Niall Quinn our beloved chairman has a soft spot for the Londoners after he spent a number of years there learning his trade(Quinn actually scored on his first team debut against Liverpool, who had a central defensive pairing of Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen, lets hope the two of them are praising disco pants again after witnessing us gain three points from the couch of motd!).

Next up is manager Steve Bruce who has constantly stated his admiration for Arsenal's style of play and in particular Arsene Wenger. Brucie owes his French counterpart, after Wenger granted him three loan signings of Fabrice Muamba, Nicklas Bendtner and Sebastian Larsson when he was in charge of Birmingham City and they played a huge part in gaining promotion to the Premier League(behind ourselves of course).

Striker Darren Bent who returns from his run out for England last week, was a boyhood Arsenal fan along with defender Nyron 'Nuggsy' Nosworthy, but I am sure that will not stop them in trying to gain all three points for the people who pay their wages.

The Black Cats welcome back captain Lorik Cana, who missed the last game through suspension, he was the first PL player to be booked five times....shock. However defender Michael Turner misses out because he is another player who's style encouraged the referee to brandish yellow cards (although one was given as a Hull player). Lee Cattermole is still missing through injury and Craig Gordon is not available since breaking his arm in a collision with Spurs striker Jermain Defoe.

Good news though, is that Bolo Zenden and John Mensah are ready to return after missing the past few weeks through injury and left back George McCartney should shake off a minor knock.

So it is up to Bruce, who he decides to play as Sunderland look to get their first victory since the beach ball blast over Liverpool around a month ago.

Arsenal sit comfortably in second place, level with Manchester United and five points behind leaders Chelsea, but with a game in hand. The Gunners have been in impressive form again this season, free flowing and scoring plenty of goals. They have only lost twice in the league. Yet their is hope for the red and white faithful as the mackems held them to a draw last time they visited, whilst Arsenal also have a Champions League game on Tuesday with an ever extending injury list.

Kieran Gibbs and Robin Van Persie were injured recently playing for their countries. Defenders Gael Clichy and Johan Djourou are already missing as well as Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere, whereas Andrey Arshavin is a doubt.

Denilson, Lukasz Fabianski, Carlos Vela and Armand Traore should all make the squad to travel up north together with striker Eduardo who has just signed a long term contract to remain at the Emirates stadium.

Courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman

Spiderman finally opened his account in a black and white shirt, but failed to live up to his superhero status and soon departed on another adventure.

I'm talking about Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez who scored his first goal for the club against Peterborough. However instead of pleasing the crowd and revealing his famous celebration of wearing a Spiderman mask, he had to leave the pitch after picking up a knock. The injury ruled Gutierrez out of Argentina's friendly with Spain, but he was given permission by boss Chris Hugton to jet off and support his international colleagues, one of which was United defender Fabricio Coloccini.

Back to his club, Gutierrez set the ball rolling against the Posh with a silky and smooth run from the half way line, beating several defenders before curling in with a right foot shot.

Local lad Andy Carroll doubled the lead with a powerful header from a left wing corner. Before right back Danny Simpson, on loan from Manchester United, grabbed his first for the North East club when he cut inside and drove a left footed shot into the top corner.

Peterborough gained a consolation when Dean Keates knocked the ball past Steve Harper from close range, but Newcastle were never really in trouble and won their third game in a row to stay top of the Championship.

Newcastle boss Chris Hughton:
"We have got a totally-focused group of players who, from minute one, saw an opportunity for us to stay on top of the division, and very much took that opportunity.

"We have got used to getting on with the job. There are things we can't affect, but I am very lucky that I have got a group of players who are focused on one thing, and that's on staying where we are at the right end of the table with the ultimate aim of getting promotion.

"We are focused enough and it certainly hasn't taken anything away from the victory."

(quotes taken from bbc sport)