Merde
Two goals from Didier Drogba confined Newcastle's European dream to the dustbin for another season. In truth, the better team won, and Drogba is undoubtedly a class player. However, it's all a bit frustrating as without key injuries I think we'd have given them more of a game. It was perhaps ironic that the first time this season Laurent Robert didn't just belt a freekick, but instead laid off to Bernard, that we should concede a goal on the break - if he'd belted it into the stands it wouldn't have happened!

Still, the better team undoubtedly won, and of our side very few did anything to enhance their reputations. Perhaps we should have had a penalty in the first half when Ameobi was hacked down, but had we gone through it would have been unfair on Marseille. Not that I'd have objected, obviously.

Perhaps tellingly Viana once again appeared to be happy to spray the ball every which way but forward (memories of David Batty without the tackling) and when he came on Bowyer managed to get into a fight, but failed to do a great deal going forward. Simply put, we need to invest in better players and cut the dead wood. With LuaLua, Griffen and possibly Bowyer off this summer the time has surely come to invest in a quality full back, centre back, and replacements for Shearer and Speed. Whether that will happen, only time will tell, but if it doesn't next season is unlikely to be better than this...
- posted by Paul @ 9:14 am