Toon in tune

Monday, 23/08/2010

by Shoot's Newcastle blogger, Chris Hasker.

Hands up then, who saw that coming?

Even the most optimistic Newcastle supporter wouldn’t have predicted a 6-0 win over Aston Villa. Last season the Toon were never that dominant and ruthless, this year is supposed to be a struggle, just like previous Premier League campaigns.

Not only was it the Magpies' biggest home win for 11 years but also a victory over the side that condemned them to relegation 15 months ago.

After John Carew attempted to emulate a Jonny Wilkinson penalty and the much maligned Joey Barton struck home a 20-yard thunderbolt, what followed was nothing short of unbelievable.

Andy Carroll underlined just why he has been given the coveted number nine shirt. His hat-trick was classic forward play, bullying the defence and creating havoc for the likes of Kevin Nolan and Barton to pounce on.

The man with the most controversial moustache in football opened the scoring with a swerving strike before picking up his obligatory booking, while Nolan, playing off Carroll, picked up where he had left off last season with two goals.

Villa might have various problems off the pitch but they secured a good result last weekend and this was no fluke.

Carroll put in arguably his best performance in black and white. After some unjust criticism following the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, he answered his critics and then some.

Calls for him to be brought into the England setup are inevitable and while he may not be destined to follow in the footsteps of Alan Shearer, the signs so far are promising.

Home form is going to be crucial this season and the time spent rebuilding in the Championship looks as though it maybe exactly what players like Carroll needed in order to thrive at a higher level. As for Chris Hughton there can be little doubt that he is the right man for the job.  

There’s more good news as the arrival of Ivory Coast star Cheick Tiote was given the green light shortly before kick-off. The 24-year-old midfielder has passed a medical but for a relatively large £3.5m he will have to prove his worth.

Accrington await in the Carling Cup on Wednesday. You’d think that would be straight forward enough, surely?

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