sunday papers newcastle home

Mail:Kalou kicks off Sam storm: Newcastle left fuming after Chelsea grab shock winnerChelsea 2 Newcastle 1
By PATRICK COLLINS
Sam Allardyce stood and roared his protest. His face was puce, his fists were clenched and his eyes were bulging in disbelief. And for once, his anger was easily understood.
Three minutes of the match remained and Newcastle had toiled towards a result which had seemed far beyond them.
They were then denied the point they deserved by a disgracefully inept decision. Chelsea were celebrating their unreasonable fortune, and a team and a manager which need all the luck they can find were entering the new year with a sense of deep grievance.
The facts of the dispute are easily told. Michael Essien drove a shot which struck his colleague Claudio Pizarro, then skewed away into the path of Salomon Kalou.
Replays showed that the Chelsea player had started from an offside position and had simply moved further forward in pursuit of the chance. But he swept in the ball, assistant referee Mike Cairns remained static and the match was decided, the storm ignited.
"It's one of those decisions I wouldn't mind getting into trouble over," said Allardyce. "It's cost us a crucial result today. That point would have made us feel very much better. But it was the worst decision we've had this season, certainly.
"Why has he done it? Fear. Blind fear. He's got to make a crucial decision at Chelsea's home ground. Has his arm frozen? I don't know."
What he does know is that the verdict could help decide his employment chances. "We're living in a more volatile atmosphere these days, with seven managers losing their jobs already," he said. He did not need to stress the point.
Instead, he returned to the decision which shaped the match: "It was clear, blatant, no argument whatever. I'm bitterly disappointed." By contrast, Avram Grant was in the best of humour. When the injustice of the winning goal was put to him, he replied: "We created so many chances that we deserved to win anyway." Perhaps so, but that is not the way that football matches are customarily decided. Still, at least the Chelsea manager accepted that the outcome greatly enhances his team's title chances.
Chelsea spent much of the opening half-hour getting to know each other, like strangers at a party or, this being Chelsea, reps at a sales conference.They were missing John Terry and Frank Lampard but, far more significantly, they were missing Didier Drogba.
And yet they were rarely in any kind of trouble, aside from the moment in the 14th minute when John Mikel Obi lost possession at halfway and Nicky Butt played Obafemi Martins through. He had neither the pace nor the strength to exploit the chance.
By contrast, Chelsea were generating a growing volume of opportunities, with Kalou having a shot uncomfortably parried by Shay Given, then Alex rising above the ruck to bury a header in Given's midriff. The pressure grew, especially down Newcastle's left flank, and the Chelsea goal was inevitable. It came in the 29th minute when a long throw from Chelsea's right was poorly dealt with by the Newcastle defence. Shaun Wright-Phillips saw a chance but scuffed it into the ground,then the clear-headed Essien entered the chaos and discovered order with an emphatic scoring jab.
As Chelsea lifted the pace, Allardyce stood and yelled at his players with increasing despair. "Press the ball! Press the ball!" he screamed, as they scuttled haplessly through their paces. Only the diligence of Butt prevented a second goal as Wright- Phillips once more dismantled the Newcastle defence, while the same player headed wastefully wide when allowed a free header at the far post.
Newcastle had spent another depressing 45 minutes, uncertain in defence and largely outplayed in midfield. There was no conviction, no authority.They looked like a team that feared the worst, and it almost materialised within a minute of the second half when Butt, seeking to cut out yet another Wright-Phillips cross, battered it over his own bar from 20 yards.
By now, the crowd were in mocking mode. "You're even worse than Sunderland," they sang. But then the music died. Charles N'Zogbia seized upon Mikel's midfield error,attacked down the left and forced a low cross. Martins confused a clump of defenders, while Butt plunged in at the ball, urging it over the line at the second attempt. The silence was dramatic.
Incredibly, the balance then swung. Damien Duff started to impose himself upon proceedings for the first time. N'Zogbia was pushed forward as David Rozehnal was brought on at left-back and immediately looked a different player. Given made more fine saves from Kalou and Michael Ballack, and with home discontent increasing, Grant was loudly informed, "You don't know what you're doing" when he swapped the innocuous Joe Cole for Pizarro, then removed the exhausted Ballack.
The game was alive, and the plot bubbled deliciously with Michael Owen's late entry. The visiting fans were not unanimous in their welcome but his arrival was the prelude to a bitter finale. The consequences will be revealed in the months ahead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kalou twists the knife and the anguish deepens for Allardyce
Stuart Barnes at Stamford BridgeSunday December 30, 2007The Observer
Considering his team had just fallen victim to what at best was a highly controversial decision and at worst a rank injustice, Sam Allardyce was a model of decorum. The Newcastle manager was raging inside, but knew he had to make his feelings about Salomon Kalou's late winner in a measured manner which would not be drawn to the attention of the Football Association and land him in the dock. 'It was one of those decisions that I wouldn't mind getting into trouble over,' declared Allardyce. 'But it would cost me money and I am not prepared to do that.'
Kalou looked a good two yards offside when he slid the ball past Shay Given after John Obi Mikel's shot cannoned off substitute Claudio Pizarro into his path. It was not even a close call. Referee Mike Riley consulted his assistant Mike Cairns and was told the goal should stand. Newcastle players fumed. Chelsea's celebrated, if not sheepishly, certainly in the knowledge that lady luck had been on their side.After the Boxing Day goalfest against Aston Villa, Avram Grant's side had lived on the edge again. Another draw would have been damaging to their chances of making up ground in the title race. Instead, this result, coupled with Manchester United's defeat at West Ham, means they retain a strong interest in proceedings at the top going into the New Year.
'It was a clear-cut case of offside that has cost us a crucial result,' said Allardyce. 'The ball came off a Chelsea player. There was no question of interference. He was offside by two or three yards. The referee went over to his assistant and he had the power to change the decision, which he didn't do. Did his arm freeze? Was it blind fear that got to him about a crucial decision he had to make at a crucial time on Chelsea's home ground. It was a horrible one which he can't hide from. We have had a poor Christmas and a point would have given us a boost. But we can do nothing about it. It's a huge disappointment and hurts me and my players deeply.'
Allardyce, who urged the introduction of video technology 'for the benefit of everyone', added: 'The consolation was our overall performance. I thought we were tremendous. If we can maintain that level then results will come.'
Grant maintained that he needed to see a replay of the incident before reaching a verdict. A diplomatic stance, perhaps, but there was no doubt about him being on the right track when he added: 'We should have won the game long before - we had eight or nine chances.'
Chelsea were without 10 players through injuries, suspensions or players being given a break. But under the temporary captaincy of Michael Ballack they could easily have wrapped up their 73rd successive home League match without defeat by half time.
Newcastle had not scraped a single goal in their last six League visits to Stamford Bridge, while conceding 16 in the process. Morale was under scrutiny after dodgy displays against Derby and Wigan. So, too, was the position of Allardyce. The way makeshift Chelsea went at them suggested another barren afternoon. Ballack, from a Shaun Wright-Phillips cross, blazed over from the edge of the penalty area with time and space to have done so much better.
Juliano Belletti offered Chelsea an attacking option down the right flank and from one cross Kalou got in a shot which Shay Given saved low down at the expense of a corner. The goalkeeper again showed his mettle, clawing away Mikel's shot which deflected off Nicky Butt, then held Joe Cole's corner under the crossbar.
Soon after, Cole's free-kick was met by Alex, whose unchallenged header went straight at Given. Chelsea put that miss behind them to go ahead when Belletti's long throw was defended poorly. A Wright-Phillips shot struck Kalou, evaded the attention of Steven Taylor and came loose to Michael Essien who forced in his third goal of the season.
Obafemi Martins drove high, wide and particularly handsome when pursuing a long ball out of defence, but most of the chances were being created at the other end. Wright-Phillips galloped away down the line and Butt did well to get there first before Kalou could take advantage. Next, Wright-Phillips headed Cole's far-post cross wide when he should have doubled the lead. A second almost came moments after the restart when Butt, attempting to clear a Wright-Phillips cross, sliced the ball just over his own crossbar. A few inches lower and Given would have had little chance of stopping it.
When Taylor took the full force of Belletti's shot, Newcastle held on again. But against the run of play they drew level, thanks largely to the persistence of the enterprising Charles N'Zogbia, who got away from Mikel and played the ball across. Butt, Martins and Wayne Bridge dived in and the ball went in via Butt and the Chelsea left-back.
Chelsea were culpable again in front of goal when Wright-Phillips picked out the unmarked Ballack, who should have done much better than sidefoot his effort too near Given, who saved comfortably. But Newcastle had fresh impetus from the goal. The introduction of Owen, for Martins, provided a further lift and if anything they looked the more likely to go on and win it.
Grant, who brushed off dissatisfaction from sections of the crowd at his choice of substitutions, added: 'You saw the spirit of a team missing many established players.'
Man of the match
Nicky ButtCharles N'Zogbia was an influential figure at the back and when going forward for Newcastle. But their hardworking midfielder Nicky Butt just about shaded it with a forceful performance which did much to put his side back in the picture at a time when they were hanging on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 2 Newcastle Utd 1: Allardyce up in arms as lucky Chelsea accept late present Kalou scores controversial winner to keep Newcastle cheer in short supply
By Ronald Atkin at Stamford Bridge
Newcastle may be the club with a player in custody, but it was Chelsea who got out of jail in this game, breaking what appeared an inevitable deadlock. As if Newcastle did not have enough problems already, they were robbed of the draw they deserved and which would have given a lift to an otherwise bleak holiday period.
With three minutes left Newcastle were under the cosh, but surviving with perhaps unexpected confidence. Then Jon Mikel Obi had a flail at goal and the ball deflected off the substitute Claudio Pizarro to the feet of Salomon Kalou, at least two yards offside. He put the chance away comfortably, but the award of a goal by the referee Mike Riley sparked fury from Newcastle's players and bench.
Riley consulted the linesman, Mike Cairns, who mystifyingly had spotted no offence. The "goal" stood and manager Sam Allardyce had to be restrained by the fourth official as he verbally laid into Cairns. Afterwards the Newcastle manager said, "It was one of those decisions I wouldn't mind getting myself into trouble with, but I don't want to part with my money.
"But it hurts everybody at Newcastle that a result has been taken away from us by an assistant referee who got his decision horribly wrong."
Allardyce put the error down to what he termed "blind fear", in terms of making a crucial decision on Chelsea's home ground. "I think his arm froze. It it the worst decision [against us] this year. There will be no excuses from him when he sees it again. He can't hide," he said.
The Chelsea manager Avram Grant did his best, with an unaccustomed small smile, to avoid condemning the score which sealed victory for his team, opting to comment that he had not yet seen a replay of the incident. But he claimed Chelsea had wasted enough chances to have won comfortably.
Not quite true. Newcastle played with spirit, even flashes of style. Nicky Butt laboured mightily in midfield, Damien Duff livened up the attack, Obafemi Martins ran menacingly up front and, as ever, Shay Given proved an inspired barrier in goal. Chelsea, with a list of injuries and suspensions, may have been short of a star or two, but were still able to field an intimidating side. Sadly, they rarely played to that potential.
Michael Ballack, captain for the day, showed the occasional touch of brilliance, albeit at his own pace, Shaun Wright-Phillips was a top-speed threat on the right and Joe Cole had Newcastle in trouble at times. But not often enough to satisfy a querulous home crowd, who booed when Cole was replaced by Pizarro just past the hour and launched into an anti-Grant chorus of "You don't know what you're doing" when he sent on Scott Sinclair for Ballack. "I have no complaints against the supporters," Grant insisted. "They know we don't have easy times with 10 injuries."
It appeared easy times were on the horizon when Michael Essien scored short of the half-hour. Juliano Belletti's long throw provoked consternation in the Newcastle penalty area, Wright-Phillips unleashed a shot which rattled off assorted bodies and fell invitingly for Essien to turn past Given.
But the eagerness of Martins, who saw one shot painfully blocked by Tal Ben Haim and another narrowly clear the bar, ensured Chelsea were never comfortable with the lead. It was an advantage they might have doubled early in the second half when Butt, lashing out at a Wright-Phillips centre, sent the ball inches over his own bar, but after 55 minutes Newcastle pulled level.
Charles N'Zogbia got away from Mikel with ease on the left and laid the ball into the goalmouth. Martins made only marginal contact, but enough to see the ball bounce over the line off Wayne Bridge. Michael Owen, out for six weeks, then replaced Martins, but the score which decided it did not go their way.
As for Joey Barton, in prison in Liverpool facing an allegation of assault, Allardyce said, "It is something we have to put behind us because we have so many games coming up. We will deal with it later. I am disappointed---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Sunday TimesDecember 30, 2007
Chelsea earn fortunate winChelsea 2 Newcastle 1Joe Lovejoy at Stamford Bridge
It was supposed to be Sam Allardyce whose job was on the line, but instead the home crowd told Avram Grant: “You don’t know what you’re doing”, and chanted Jose Mourinho’s name on an afternoon when Chelsea were dominant, but lacked firepower, and scored their late winner from an offside position. Grant, with two defeats in his 22 games in charge, made light of the fans’ derision, but Allardyce could not afford to be so sanguine about the inexplicable decision by the referee’s assistant, Mike Cairns, to allow Salomon Kalou’s deciding goal to stand.
Newcastle, after a spirited fightback, thought they were set for a morale-boosting result after Nicky Butt’s second half equaliser, but were denied a point in cruel circumstances, when Kalou tucked away the decisive goal from six yards - and yards offside. “It wasn’t even close,” one of Grant’s aides admitted. Allardyce said: “It was clear-cut, blatantly offside, there was only a blue shirt between our goal-keeper and our goal. It was a decision I wouldn’t mind getting myself in trouble talking about, but as a manager you can’t really say what you think. It hurts deeply, though. A result has been taken away from us through no fault of ours.”
Michael Essien had given Chelsea the lead after 29 minutes, but thereafter a flood of possession came to nought for the want of the finishing usually supplied by Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko, all of whom were absent injured, and Newcastle hit back with great spirit in the second half. From the black and white perspective, this was the performance needed to atone for that Boxing Day surrender at Wigan. More of the same at home to Manchester City on Wednesday could provide the lift-off that Allardyce needs.
Newcastle’s most notable absentee, given his circumstances, was Joey Barton, remanded in custody on charges of assault and affray. His footballing future, the manager said, would be decided at boardroom level. The initiative was with Chelsea from the outset and the first save – a good one – was made by Shay Given. It came after Shaun Wright-Phillips had burst past Charles N’Zogbia – a regular occurrence – before supplying Juliano Belletti, who cut the ball back for Kalou, whose shot was impressively repelled. Chelsea might have had the goal their superiority warranted but Alex’s free header from Belletti’s free kick went straight to Given. Newcastle’s reprieve lasted only a matter of seconds. Then Belletti’s throw-in from the right was inadequately defended, allowing Michael Ballack to head the ball on to Wright-Phillips. The England winger’s shot, scuffed into the ground, hit Kalou and was deflected to Essien, who stabbed home from the six-yard line after Steven Taylor had made a maladroit hash of clearing the danger.
Allardyce and his team were in familiar territory, behind yet again. How would they respond? With encouraging resilience and determination, although Wright-Phillips should have doubled the margin just before the interval, when he headed weakly wide at the far post from Joe Cole’s cross.
The second goal Chelsea needed might have arrived in the first minute of the second half, when Wright-Phillips’ pace again embarrassed N’Zogbia, an achilles heel of a left-back, and Butt’s intended clearance tested Given overhead.
With Chelsea on top, the home crowd had just started taunting the “Toon Army” with choruses of “You’re worse than Sunderland” when Newcastle stunned them into silence by equalising.
Not for the first time, Mikel gave the ball away carelessly in midfield and N’Zogbia drove to the byline on the left before delivering a well directed cross. Martins met it in the middle, improvising a backheel to Butt, who bundled the ball over the line.
Grant’s decision to replace Cole with Claudio Pizarro midway through the second half was greeted with abuse from the crowd, who bellowed in unision that their manager didn’t know what he was doing. It was a strange reaction, even allowing for Cole’s popularity, for he had never been anywhere near his best, and there was more of the same after 75 minutes, when Ballack, tiring after eight months out, gave way to Scott Sinclair. The home fans’ displeasure would have known no bounds had Damien Duff given Newcastle the lead against his old club, as he would have done after 68 minutes but for Belletti’s last-ditch intervention.
The winning goal bordered on the ludicrous. Mikel’s initial shot hit Pizarro and rebounded to Kalou, who was not so much feet as yards offside when he scored.
Allardyce was mortified. He said: “We’re living in a more volatile atmosphere in the Premiership, with seven managers losing their jobs already, and I want to know why that decision was made. I asked the linesman and got no answer. Why did he do it? Blind fear. He’s got to make a crucial decision at a critical time on Chelsea’s home ground, and maybe his arm was frozen.”
Match stats
Chelsea: Hilario 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Ben Haim 6, Bridge 6, Essien 6, Mikel 5, Ballack 5 (Sinclair 75min), J Cole 5 (Pizarro 65min), Kalou 6, Wright-Phillips 7 (Sidwell 90min) Star man: Nicky Butt (Newcastle)
Newcastle: Given 7, Beye 7, Cacapa 6, Taylor 7, N’Zogbia 5, Faye 7, Butt 9, Milner 5, Smith 5 (Rozehnal 69min), Martins 6 (Owen 73min), Duff 5 (Viduka 89min)
Scorers: Chelsea: Essien 29, Kalou 87. Newcastle: Butt 56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Allardyce curse his luck after Kalou steals winBy Patrick Barclay at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Newcastle United (0) 1
The 4-4 draw with Aston Villa here on Boxing Day was always going to be a hard act to follow and this match, for half of its course, did not even try. Then Newcastle played as if determined to cast Sam Allardyce's regime in a kinder light than has been shed of late and, although they lost, it was only to a goal of the utmost fraudulence: Salomon Kalou, who scored it, was yards offside. Even Chelsea TV, whose commentary often contains a refreshing element of candour, admitted: ''We got away with murder."
Thus the losers came out with more credit, or at least sympathy, than the winners, whose manager, Avram Grant, was informed, 'You don't know what you're doing' when he replaced Joe Cole with Claudio Pizarro midway through the second half. Whatever Roman Abramovich may think, Grant has yet to convince the majority of Chelsea's support that he can build a beautiful and successful team on the platform left by Jose Mourinho. It was just as well the announcer could lift the immediate post-match mood with the result from West Ham, which left Chelsea four points behind Manchester United despite the ravages of injury and suspension.
How Newcastle must envy this crowd their petty grumbles. That Allardyce is forever ranting about the unfairness of decisions should not detract from the validity of his case here. Newcastle were just minutes from a precious point when John Obi Mikel's shot hit Pizarro and fell to Kalou, who had the decency to look restrained after putting the ball past Shay Given from close range.
Afterwards Allardyce said: "A result's been taken away from us by a linesman [Mike Cairns] who's got a decision horribly wrong." That was about the size of it and the Newcastle manager felt entitled to heap praise on his men. ''Now my job is to make sure this doesn't knock the players' confidence."
In which case he had better not show them a recording of the first half; another look at the second would fortify them for, with Nicky Butt excellent, they attacked on a broad front and cancelled out Michael Essien's opening goal.
A more modest measure of defiance had marked Newcastle's start during which Butt, catching Mikel in possession, delivered a fine through-pass on which Obafemi Martins failed to capitalise. The match soon acquired a more predictable pattern and Shay Given, after parrying an effort from Kalou, distinguished himself by clawing away a deflected shot from Mikel.
The judicious dismissal by the FA of an appeal against Ashley Cole's red card had left Chelsea lacking 10 members of their squad - with four due to depart shortly for the African Cup of Nations, expect vigorous activity by Grant when the transfer window opens on Tuesday - but they comfortably controlled matters, Mikel and Essien helping Michael Ballack, captain for the day, to pull the strings in midfield.
Then Juliano Belletti's throw was cleared only to Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose shot from 25 yards veered off Kalou and landed in the goalmouth. Essien, reacting more sharply than Steven Taylor or Claudio Cacapa, whipped it into the net. Wright-Phillips might have increased Chelsea's lead seconds from the interval, when he nodded into the side netting following Cole's cross
A different, infinitely more assertive Newcastle emerged and, with Charles N'Zogbia pushing forward to increase Belletti's workload, made progress. Butt was first evident at the wrong end of the field - sliding to intercept Wright-Phillips's ball infield, he succeeded only in forcing Given brilliantly to avert a contender for own-goal of the season - but the former Manchester United midfielder was next primarily responsible for the equaliser.
Sending N'Zogbia down the left, Butt kept running and, after N'Zogbia had got past Mikel and crossed low, was on to Martins' miscued shot, bundling the ball in off Wayne Bridge. Grant responded by replacing Cole with Pizarro, which prompted those unkind chants from the Matthew Harding Stand. If he had taken off Kalou, there would have been few complaints. Yet Kalou it was who, however luckily, won the match. Allardyce, meanwhile, had sent on Michael Owen for Martins, but such fortune was not to favour the Newcastle cause.
For Grant, when he was asked about the crucial goal, charity began at home. ''I didn't see the incident again," he said, ''but we made so many chances today we deserved to win anyway." He deflected a question about the chants too, saying: ''I think the supporters are behind us. They knew it was not easy for us today with so many key players missing. Those who did play showed a lot of character." And Cole, he added, ''had some problems with injury." So maybe Grant did know what he was doing. Two defeats in 22 matches is hardly the statistic of an impostor.
Man of the matchJohn Obi Mikel 8/10
Completed 93 per cent of passesWon 100 per cent of tackles
Telegraph verdict Moment of the match: The cruel confounding of Newcastle apart, what stands out is the memory of Nicky Butt almost scoring an own-goal from long range with an attempted clearance. Match rating: 6/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------