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As season 2010/2011 kicked off, this was how the Newcastle First Team looked like. The obvious loss, was defender Lucas Neil, who was replaced by Josimar Spencer Silva Lima. The little known defender was coldly welcomed by the St James faithful, however impressed during the season. We will look at Josimar in today’s player focus.
Newcastle’s season started very well (pre-season friendlies), especially due to that fact that half the squad were away at the World Cup. The, unfortunately also manager Stephan Johnson was away for the entire pre-season. This meant that the team was at the reign of Kevin Bond. The first competitive match started well, winning 1-0 away to AA Gent. The team then had substantial losses in the Premier League, leaving the side 10th on the table. The team however has had success in the Champions Cup, but the next match against Barcelona will be a test.
Australia Report
The current Australian squad remained unchanged from the World Cup squad, however the biggest change in this squad was the clubs, and player value. Most notably Lucas Neil now playing for Juventus, David Williams for Koln, and Scott Macdonald for AEK Athens.
The Australian side backed up their World Cup triumph with former rivals New Zealand in Sydney. The team ranked 45th fielded a defensive squad, but the press demanded goals. It seems complacency took hold, as Luke Wilkshire put in an own goal on the 4th minute. New Zealand took hold in the match until a Stephan Johnson tactic change swayed the pace of the match. Instantly Scott Macdonald scored on the 25th. The score stayed as is at half time, and indeed almost the rest of the second half, until a Tim Cahill wonder goal on the 72nd minute showed the team’s class. However New Zealand player Liam Egan scored on the 74th, against the run of play. Tim Cahill then scored emphatically 2 minutes later, before sweeper Ljubo Milicevic scored to make the scoreline look respectable, in a horrible performance by the World Champions.
The Australian side will now play Vietnam in an Asian Cup match, with Stephan Johnson set to experiment with a locally based squad.
Player Focus
After excelling at the Excelsior youth academy (no pun intended), Josimar Spencer Silva Lima was seen by Newcastle manager Stephan Johnson in pre-season warm up matches in Sydney. After being advised of Newcastle’s inability to re-sign Lucas Neil, Johnson instantly offered a contract to Silva Lima. He plays internationally for Cape Verde, not a world dominating side, but locally, he is a hero. He puts in strong performances for his country, including a 1-1 draw against 129th ranked nation Kenya (Cape Verde is ranked 144th).
He wasn’t welcomed into Newcastle too well, with supporters questioning Stephan Johnson. However, he put in some solid defensive performances, however made his mark, when he was pushed up into the midfield, he scored his first goal against Ipswich.
He has stated that one of his favourite players is Tim Cahill, and has been known to say he is honoured to be at the same club as him. He played two matches for the Dutch U/19s side, however fell out of favour, and earned his first international cap against Tunisia at age 17.
He is currently on a $38,000 wage, and is worth $10 million. He is poached by Burnley and Walsall, however Stephan Johnson rejected both, stating he is not for loan or sale.
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