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**St James’ Park, 8pm, Monday 2/11/26**
**Live on SKY Gardening or something**
Just four days after our tame Carabao Cup surrender on Merseyside, the Scouse Mackems will wend their rather pious way north to resume hostilities this Monday evening.
It’s a game that few will be looking forward to. And, at a KO time most of us despise. Yeah, we are properly up for this one.
I have a feeling that SKY now view us as prime candidates for the ‘Graveyard Shift’ slot of live Premiership football. They have to give everyone a certain amount of airtime, and the exciting Newcastle United 2.0 project appears a match made in Hades for the numbness of MNF.
I hate it. It’s the worst time of the week to be going to the match. The atmosphere always suffers. No one can be arsed with it, and I include our players in this synopsis too.
Just Google or ChatGPT ‘Monday Night Football/NUFC’ and it makes for hideous reading. I think I’m correct in saying, the last time we won a match on the first day of the working week, Ted Robledo got the winner. A glance at this season, and you’ll already see two 1-4 howkings at Elland Road and the Coventry Building Society Dome (or something). Our visitors have recently duffed us up 3-1 twice (pre season & Carabao), and it has to be said, this one’s not screaming ‘home banker.’
I think most will be nodding along, but there will be the odd dissenter to my melodrama. Would they have a point?
If I attempt to take a ‘glass half full’ approach, there have actually been a few moments of real quality this season. When it clicks, it’s usually in short bursts. For circa 25 minutes at Selhurst Park, we looked a very decent side. The goals were well worked, with quick concise passing and excellent finishes. Spurs away was similar, and Liverpool at home (IMO) was a super display. So, therefore there are some chinks of light.
The problem is, these moments are more the exception than the rule. Let’s have it right; we’ve been left with a bunch of players we (on the whole) don’t really want, and the signings (to replace real quality) have largely been preposterous. Overpriced square pegs for achingly large round holes.
Herr Jaissle is beginning to feel a bit of heat, in both stadiums and online. I continually scratch my head at certain things - the team formation being one, but I’d also like to make the point that given his paucity of choice, I’m unsure who’d be able to do a (much) better job?
So, Monday. The Toffees will arrive a point behind us, in fourteenth spot. They come into the fixture following two 0-2 defeats (Chelsea h / Arsenal a) and overall really aren’t all that.
Where they do impress me, is their overall doggedness. This is underlined by the likes of Tarkowski and Pickford at the back. They are organised and rarely ship many goals at once - but like us aren’t exactly prolific at the other end.
Midfield schemer, James Garner, has recently broken onto the England scene, and I get the impression that big Thierno Barry up top is worth persevering with. His six goals across both league and cup so far this season are the stuff of NUFC forward dreams - and he seemingly doesn’t mind a goal against us. Their manager, David Moyes is definitely from the ‘old school.’ I hear there are a growing number of Evertonians who’d like to see the back of him, but in a similar scenario to here on Barrack Road, given the playing personnel available, who’d do better? We are both firmly outside of the cartel’s territory. Complete ‘also rans.’
From a Magpie perspective, this match should go firmly into the ‘must not lose’ category. A glance at upcoming fixtures will move that to ‘must win’ territory IMO.
Easier said than done, though. Most games of football rest on the first goal. This is further amplified at St James’ Park. When we conceded against Aston Villa, I immediately wrote us off. When we go behind, I can rarely see an easy way back.
I think our visitors will come with a ‘must not lose/possibly nick a 1-0’ mindset, and it’ll be down to us to break them down. Gulp. This has been further complicated by Osula getting fettled again. He is what he is, but remains our only real striking talent. Fucking criminal, when you think about it.
If I’m honest, I’d take a point now. It’s not out of the question, but it’ll probably have to be 0-0 for that to occur. As ever, I pray I’m wrong, but am 50/50 between this as a scoreline or 0-1. Let’s hope we show a bit of the fight we saved for the Mackem keeper at 1-3 the other night. That would be a start, lads.
**Nick Clark**
X : @Clark5Nick
Bluesky : @njc1892.bsky.social