Bouncing back

Perched atop the league and poised for a return to the top flight at the first time of asking, consistency on the pitch, sensible spending in the transfer window, a calm and assured figure sipping from what is supposedly a poisoned chalice with no ill effects - it's fair to say we're currently not answering to last season's description of "crisis club".

But when West Ham's David Sullivan - who, with fellow new owner David Gold, appears to be going through a Jabba-esque experience of discovering the true horror of the club's finances - was grasping for a club to compare the Hammers to, it was us he picked: "It'll be Armageddon if we go down. It'll be worse than what's gone on at Newcastle." Surely, given Sullivan's revelations about the club's excesses and overreaching, Portsmouth would have been a much better and more contemporary comparison? Perhaps it just goes to show that we haven't got rid of the stigma just yet.

Of course, two of the most prominent examples of excess at Upton Park are the salaries being paid to Scott Parker and Kieron Dyer, both formerly of this parish. While Parker often does enough to suggest he merits a decent wage (as he did on Tyneside), the Little Waster has cost his current employers as much as he did us and given even less in return. Good thing we didn't have him as well as Geremi to shift off the wage bill in January, eh?

Quote of the day

"As a little boy I would watch Newcastle, and I remember going to a shop to buy a Newcastle kit. When I got there I didn’t have enough money. I wanted a shirt, but I only had enough to buy the shorts and socks. Now for the first time I have a shirt, so I am very excited."

One Size confesses that he's finally come by a Newcastle shirt by a rather more protracted route than most fans.

Baggies nobble Nouble

While Bigger Lad was being told he faces assault charges, our promotion rivals West Brom were busy announcing that West Ham's Frank Nouble will be joining them on a month's loan from tomorrow.

Nouble, signed from Chelsea in the summer, is a powerful and pacy striker who has until recently been getting games for the Hammers, his opportunities now having been restricted by the arrivals of Benni McCarthy, Ilan and Mido at Upton Park. What's rather galling about the deal is that a fortnight ago I speculated about our prospects of taking one of the Hammers' young forwards on loan - and now it's our closest rivals who've beaten us to the punch.

Meanwhile, Bigger Lad isn't the only Geordie to find himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons today. Gazza's arrest in north Yorkshire last night on suspicion of being drunk in charge of a vehicle should be a sobering and salutary reminder to our young striker of how the careers of even the most talented footballers can go off the rails.

Bigger Lad charged

Back in December, Bigger Lad contrived to get himself arrested on suspicion of assault after an incident on the Quayside.

Well, it seems that as well as moving our game against Cardiff to Friday night, the local constabulary have found time to charge the scourge of the Bluebirds' defence, who is now due to appear before magistrates later this month.

Whether the case is ultimately proven remains to be seen, but the effect on his mental state in the meantime will inevitably be cause for concern for Chris Hughton.

Still, in the eyes of the law Bigger Lad is innocent until proven guilty - sadly not a state of affairs which translates itself on to the football pitch, with news that referees are more likely to penalise taller players. The heightist bastards.

A Month Of Saturdays: January 2010

So, the January sales, then.

What usually happens: we move too slowly, flounder around as all the best deals are snapped up early by the determined and well organised, and then end up with panicky, overpriced, extravagant purchases which we don't need and (it turns out) don't fit anyway.

What, refreshingly, happened this year: we assessed our wardrobe, drew up a shopping list, and then spent a sensible amount of money on some astute if unshowy buys.

Shortly before the transfer window opened, Paul identified the deficiencies in our squad, and I'm delighted to report that - contrary to our expectations (which were well founded on the experience of previous seasons) - these deficiencies have all been addressed. Some have suggested that our purchases smack of a familiar short-termist attitude - I agree, but for once see this as a virtue. There's a pleasing pragmatism in our cherry-picking some of the best Championship talent because, while the new recruits might well not cut it in the Premier League, our priority is to get back there first. Horses for courses and all that. We've not lavished silly sums on players unproven at or unsuited to this level.

Less haste, more speed was the key. We didn't rush into anything, but were patient and moved decisively when the time came. The first signing didn't come until the 20th, Danny Simpson returning to the club on a permanent basis, but that marked the beginning of a very busy and fruitful few days. Next in was central defender Mike Williamson, who was no doubt relieved to escape the circus at Fratton Park. Having joined Pompey from Watford in the summer, Big Willi was never allowed to kick a ball for the first team as it would trigger payments. Two further defensive reinforcements arrived in the form of loanees Fitz Hall aka One Size from QPR and Dutch left back Patrick van Aanholt from Chelsea.

Describing our signings as "unshowy" is perhaps least fair on Wayne Routledge, who was bought to bring the same pace, skill and wizardry to the right wing that Spiderman has been providing on the left and whose arrival gave Paul a platform to flex his tabloid headline writing muscles. Last but not least, we took advantage of Leon Best's ambition and his club Coventry's willingness to sell to add another striker to the squad on deadline day.

Of course, there were quite a few who got away: Leeds' Jermaine Beckford slapped in a transfer request and then sheepishly withdrew it; Matt Kilgallon, also a free agent in the summer, turned down a £2m move claiming to be "fully committed" to Sheffield Utd only to jump ship at the first whiff of interest from the Mackems; Arsenal dealt us a double blow, choosing to loan Jack Wilshere to Bolton and also welcoming back Sol Campbell; Wigan won a fiercely contested battle for Palace's Victor Moses; the luckless Homer broke his foot while fellow former loanee Zurab Khizanishvili toddled off to Reading; Kris Boyd stayed with Rangers, as did James Perch with Forest, the latter's manager Billy Davies sniffily dismissing our bid as "derisory".

But still we had good cause to be genuinely satisfied with the deals that did go through and could with a fair degree of confidence declare ourselves to have been among the division's January winners - not least because we managed to get rid of one particular £58,000-a-week albatross around our neck. Geremi's move to Turkish side Ankaragucu was announced prematurely early in the month but finally confirmed on deadline day.

The infusion of fresh blood looked particularly timely given a sudden defensive injury crisis towards the end of the month and a number of performances which suggested some players were flagging. We comfortably controlled affairs at strugglers Plymouth in the FA Cup, Tamas Kadar looking particularly assured, but couldn't make the breakthrough and began the new decade just as we'd ended the last one - with a goalless draw.

The game against Reading having fallen victim to the elements, our next match once again pitched us against the Pilgrims in the replay. As grim as it was for our only reward for an 800-mile post-festive round trip to Home Park to be the sight of Nicky Butt striking the crossbar, spare a thought for the Plymouth fans who had to make the reverse journey on a week day only to witness Peter Lovenkrands hit a perfect hat-trick without reply...

Then came our summit meeting with West Brom at St James', a thrill-a-minute clash in which the Baggies' liquid football threatened to wash away our desperate defences. That we somewhat fortuitously managed to claim a point was thanks to a headed equaliser from Lovenkrands. The Dane's father passed away two days after his FA Cup hat-trick but he delayed his compassionate leave to make himself available for selection - and so the scriptwriters had the ending they wanted.

The draw came at a heavy price, though - the loss of Steven Taylor to a potentially season-ending injury - and less than a week later the Baggies put us to the sword on their own patch in the Fourth Round of the Cup, aided and abetted by some curious, generous and downright infuriating refereeing decisions.

With Forest and West Brom hot on our tails at the top of the league, a return to winning ways was imperative and the next visitors to St James' Crystal Palace - in administration, shorn of Moses and able to name only three substitutes - had the look of perfect fall guys. It didn't quite pan out that way, with the Eagles arguably enjoying the better of things and old boy Darren Ambrose hitting the post, but we were lucky to run out 2-0 winners courtesy of an own goal and a 94th minute finish from Nile Ranger.

We couldn't follow it up with another victory at the Walkers Stadium, ten-man Leicester holding us to a goalless draw which was noteable for little other than the extraordinary reception afforded by the away end to Foxes substitute Nobby Solano, the Peruvian having been reunited with Nigel Pearson after a spell training on Tyneside.

Off the pitch, despite our prudent transfer window activity and Jabba keeping a low profile, the NUST's Yes We Can campaign continued to attract support both verbal and financial. Newcastle City Council's leader and opposition leader both publicly endorsed the campaign's objectives while the Times claimed that more than £50m has now been pledged. That sum dwarfed the amount reportedly due to us under the terms of the freshly-renewed sponsorship deal with Northern Rock, the publicly owned bank's largesse towards us nevertheless arousing the displeasure of pundits and shareholders alike.

Of course, it wouldn't be Newcastle if the only source of controversy surrounding the club in January had nothing to do with the owner or players. And, sure enough, ASBO - never one to pull his punches, quite literally - took time out from his busy schedule of lounging about on the treatment table to inform listeners to Tony Adams' guest slot on Radio 4 (yes, really, you read that right) that, in his humble opinion, "most footballers are knobs". Takes one to know one, and all that. Actually, on reflection, our dealings in the transfer window weren't quite as satisfactory as they might have been...

TFI Friday

Newcastle Utd 5 - 1 Cardiff City

7.45pm

Friday night football?! What a bloody stupid idea.

7.51pm

Hang on a minute - I could get used to this, actually...

9.30pm

Mike Craik
Chief Constable
Northumbria Police
North Road
Ponteland
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE20 OBL

Dear Mike

I am writing to ask if you would be so kind as to advise that all Newcastle games should henceforth be moved to Friday evenings.

Yours sincerely

Ben

*****

After a succession of narrow unconvincing wins and frustrating draws when we appeared to be playing within ourselves, half-hearted, content with not losing, I suppose it's been coming: a first-class, five star romp.

But what was a surprise was the identity of the opposition to feel the full force of our forward power: a Cardiff side lying fourth in the league, beaten only once in their previous 12 games and whose last away match was a 6-0 humiliation of near neighbours Bristol City. Tonight the humiliation was very much theirs.

The Bluebirds pack considerable punch upfront themselves, so it was gratifying that a 75% new rearguard restricted them to just one goal - and that an 89th minute consolation. Patrick van Aanholt made his first appearance at St James' Park with debutant One Size partnering Big Willi in the centre, Fabricio Coloccini having joined regular partner Steven Taylor in the treatment room. Fellow new acquisitions Wayne Routledge and Leon Best also featured in the starting line-up together with the fit-again Danny Simpson and Spiderman. The absence of both of our defensive midfield enforcers, Alan Smith and Nicky Butt, presented Danny Guthrie with a rare opportunity to start in the centre, while our bench had a pleasingly potent look to it, with Peter Lovenkrands sat alongside Big Lad and Nile Ranger.

It seems bizarre to think about it now, but the visitors nearly caught us cold inside the first 30 seconds. Instead, though, the boot turned out to be very much on the other foot as Bigger Lad scored from close range with three minutes on the clock (his first goal at the Leazes, apparently), One Size involved in the build-up. Three minutes more and we doubled our advantage, Bigger Lad firing against David Marshall's post for Cardiff's Hungarian defender Gabor Gyepes to helpfully deflect the ball into his own net.

Ross McCormack promptly served notice of the Bluebirds' threat, spanking the ball off Steve Harper's crossbar, but it wasn't long before we made it three. Van Aanholt and Spiderman had been dovetailing to good effect down the left, the Dutchman doing a decent job of filling in for the absent Jose Enrique, but the precision cross for Bigger Lad's second of the evening came from the boot of Simpson on the other flank.

The points effectively secure with 75 minutes left to play, we relaxed and Cardiff gradually eased their way into the game, bringing back memories of November's win over their fierce rivals Swansea. They struck the frame of the goal again, though whether Adam Matthews' effort that deceived Harper and glanced off the angle was intentional or just a wayward cross wasn't clear. Agent Chopra, named as captain for the night by Dave Jones, was once again fulfilling his role perfectly, admirably making a show of being fired up but failing to inspire his team-mates (top scorer Peter Whittingham looking particularly far off the pace).

Chopra it was, though, who forced Harper into his first real save of note early in the second half, athletically tipping a shot that had deflected off One Size over the bar. But that was as close as they came to gaining a foothold in the match, substitute Lovenkrands putting the match further beyond their reach nine minutes after entering the fray as a replacement for Best, who had enjoyed a busy but not particularly effective debut. The assist for the goal came from Routledge, who had tormented his full-back (first Kevin McNaughton, then Mark Kennedy) throughout and who looks to have given us a much better balance in midfield, as we'd hoped, in addition to a bit of trickery and guile.

With ten minutes remaining Bigger Lad would have wrapped up his first senior hat-trick had it not been for Gyepes this time getting his angles right on the line. Cardiff weren't spared for long, though, Lovenkrands again the player to find the back of the net, on this occasion with a left-footed curler. The only person in Newcastle colours not celebrating the goal quite as enthusiastically as the rest of us was probably Best, who must be fearing that the Dane will now be preferred by Hughton for a starting berth against Derby on Tuesday.

Cardiff's consolation came a minute from the end of normal time, young substitute Aaron Wildig finishing neatly after good work from Agent Chopra. Before the match our old boy had promised not to celebrate if he scored - with hindsight, might he be wondering if saying that was tempting fate?

The win sent us six and seven points clear of West Brom and Forest respectively having played the same number of games (though both our rivals are in action tomorrow) - and, almost equally importantly, our goal difference is now best in the division, four better than the Baggies'. It may well come down to such narrow margins - but there were no narrow margins tonight.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Quote of the day

"They showed me the numbers that were available when I signed and the nine was there, but I took the 20. The No 9 shirt has to be earned here. It isn't like the No 9 shirt at other clubs. You have to earn it. You can't just walk in and take it. There is so much history there that I didn't want it. I'd like it in the future, but I want to prove that I'm worthy first. I'd like to be given it rather than take it."

Humble sentiments from our new striker Leon Best - or so you'd think. Chris Hughton's comments suggest that the shirt was never even offered to him: "It’s something I’ve done deliberately. We have a lot of strikers here and I’m quite sure that every single one of them would have wanted to wear the No 9 shirt. As soon as I came to this club I knew what it meant and it’s both my decision and a combination of a few things."

Anyone suspecting that Hughton intends to spur on our strikers with the tantalising prospect of being rewarded with the vacant shirt at the end of the season will have taken note of his post-match interview: "Potentially, he [Bigger Lad] is number nine material"...

Turkish delight - soon to turn to Turkish disappointment

Turns out we weren't the only ones delighted by the departure of Geremi for Ankaragucu. When the rumours of the deal first surfaced, one-time England striker Darius Vassell wrote excitedly on his blog about the Cameroon midfielder's potential arrival in Turkey. Presumably now that he's seen his new team-mate in what allegedly passes for "action", Vassell is no longer labouring under the misapprehension that he's lining up alongside a "superstar"...

Incidentally, if you're labouring under your own misapprehension that a footballer's life is nothing but glitz, glamour, excess and shagging your team-mate's wife, Vassell's blog sets that straight - detailing as it does everything from run-ins with Turkish cashpoints to the long-awaited arrival of a new washing machine and dryer. He's been getting increasingly desperate at the "mounting of clothes" that's been building up - certainly puts the crises at Pompey and Palace into perspective.

Meanwhile, the Mackems were let off by the Premier League, who accepted their explanation that the reason paperwork pertaining to Benjani's loan move from Man City missed Monday's 5pm deadline was because, in the words of Ol' Cauliflower Face, "we’ve had big difficulties with emails and what have you". C'mon Brucey, own up - no one knew how to operate your internet computer, did they? Should have just relied on the trusty carrier pigeon.

One Mackem who won't be getting the opportunity to see Benjani in action in person is John Davison, this week handed a three year ban for shouting racial abuse at someone who just happened to be the mother of his side's leading scorer, Darren Bent. He sent flowers and a letter of apology, but apparently nothing says you're sorry quite like getting a tattoo of your victim's son on your arm...

Also involved in unsavoury news this week is Billy Davies. While the Baggies were busy beating Blackpool to vault his Forest side into the second automatic promotion place, Davies was whining about being kneed in the back of the leg by his opposite number Nigel Clough following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Derby. Clough has brushed off the incident: "It was just a melee and arms and legs were flying. If anybody was accidentally caught, that is what happens". Davies, though, has declared "The matter is now in the hands of my lawyers" and is presumably going to claim that Clough was calling him nasty names too. What does he expect - Clough to be told to sit on the naughty step?

Buys and bye byes

In addition to Paul's assessment of our January dealings, I've been giving my own verdict over on The Two Unfortunates, while also reflecting on the Championship's transfer window winners and losers. I think we qualify for the former category - though Moses, Beckford and Wilshere would have been nice...

Strength in numbers

I can't even begin to recall the last time we looked back at the end of a January transfer window with anything other than frustration and disappointment - possibly when Bobby signed Jonathan Woodgate and the future looked bright?

Anyway, for the first time in years, when surveying our January business it's reasonable to suggest that squad-wise I think we've moved forward.

Firstly, we've managed to ditch an overpaid piece of deadwood in Geremi.

Secondly, we've held on to everyone else.

Thirdly, we've actually been able to add players who look to fit into our current squad. No egos, just a clutch of hardworking players - solid rather than spectacular maybe, but there's a lot to be said for signing hardworking pros.

The signing of Danny Simpson, which at one stage looked to have hit the skids, is a solid acquisition of a player who has already played his part in getting us to the top of the table.

The addition of Mike Williamson also looks a good move - with little depth to our defensive resources, a further centre-half is no bad thing and Williamson already reminds me of a smaller-conked version of Andy O'Brien.

With Fitz Hall and Patrick van Aanholt swelling the defensive ranks (for half a season and one month respectively) our squad looks better equipped to survive our current injury problems and keep going to the end of the season, and the fact that Zurab K didn't return is hardly a cause for lost sleep.

Further forward, the signing of Wayne Routledge gives us a further option in midfield, and whilst he's already done his best to pick up a "journeyman" label, he could prove to be a very astute signing both now and in the future.

Up front, Homer's injury ruled out the prospect of a return, which, given the seeming lack of alternatives and our frustrated pursuits of both Jermaine Beckford and Victor Moses, was a blow. However, our last-ditch acquisition Leon Best may prove an adequate replacement. His impact will have to be measured on the pitch (as they all will) and the jury is still out on what he will bring to the team. However, given our relatively thin squad, his presence should help us get through to May without the need for too many emergency loan signings.

What our side probably would benefit from is the return to midfield of a fully fit ASBO who, for all his many faults, would probably have more drive than the rapidly declining Nicky Butt and the relatively pedestrian Kevin Nolan we've seen in recent weeks.

With the option of further loans possible until March we could yet add more to the squad as the need arises, but what is certain is that we can't use lack of numbers as an excuse if our season implodes from here. The players look capable of taking us up - it's now up to them to prove they've got the mental and physical toughness to deliver.

One in, one out

Today saw confirmation of a deal which was reported as being done almost a month ago - less premature ejaculation, more tantric release - as Geremi has finally gone to Turkey, and thereby freed us from his whopping £58k per week salary which he's been merrily pocketing ever since Fat Sam thought he'd add something to the team.

Passing him in the revolving door at St James' Park is Coventry striker Leon Best, who joins us on a three and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee. With Victor Moses having gone to Wigan, Jermaine Beckford staying at Leeds and Homer injuring himself, Best's arrival finally allows Chris Hughton to bolster our pool of striking talent. His goals-to-games ratio doesn't exactly look amazing, but hopefully he can add some variety to our, at times, one-dimensional attacking play.

If he can get himself on the end of a few Wayne Routledge crosses to help us get promoted, you won't hear me complaining, that's for sure.

Almost outfoxed

Leicester City 0 - 0 Newcastle Utd

A dogged rather than classy display secured a point against a determined Leicester team on Saturday, thereby increasing our lead at the top of the table by one point.

With Nottingham Forest losing away to local rivals Derby County in the early kick-off, our teatime visit to the East Midlands could have seen us open up a six point lead at the top of the division. However, everything about our performance - from team selection and substitutions to attitude on the pitch - seemed geared to ensuring that we didn't concede a goal, rather than grabbing the opportunity which Derby's win had presented.

Chris Hughton opted to leave Spiderman on the bench (still rumoured to be carrying a slight knock from the win against Palace) and started with a five-man midfield featuring both Alan Smith and Nicky Butt, with Kevin Nolan instructed to get forward and support Bigger Lad. Wayne Routledge was handed a first start on the right wing, whilst new loanee Patrick van Aanholt was pitched straight in to the fray at left-back.

With a significantly reshuffled team, it wasn't surprising that the home side started the brighter and once they'd stopped Bigger Lad from winning the long balls we looked pretty impotent going forward. Even after Premier League referee Andre Mariner had sent off Richie Wellens for two clear bookings, we still struggled to really get to grips with the game and it was Matty Fryatt of Leicester who had the first decent opportunity. His slaloming run began when he picked up the ball inside his own half, and ended with a shot cannoning off the covering van Aanholt. Our young Dutchman then had the presence of mind to set off on the counter attack, charging down the wing as the ball made its way through the centre of the park before finding himself in an advance position, and Foxes 'keeper Chris Weale did well to palm his fine shot round the post.

With Alan Smith coming close to scoring from the resulting corner it looked as though we'd begun to exert ourselves just before half-time. However, it was Nigel Pearson's team which emerged the stronger after the break, despite our numerical advantage, and we again struggled to break down their spirited midfield. Had Mariner sent off the Foxes' left-back Bruno Berner who, already booked, clattered into Routledge, the story might have been different. However we missed the opportunity to continue to test Berner and instead allowed him to settle back into the game.

Bizarrely, Hughton took until the 62nd minute to make any changes, finally concluding that we didn't need two defensive midfielders against a ten-man team. However, his decision to replace Butt with Nile Ranger and then wait a further 13 minutes before replacing Nolan with Pancrate wasn't enough to tip the game decisively in our favour. Presumably Spiderman's injury was such that he wasn't to be risked (in which case, why was he on the bench?) as I'm sure his introduction would have enabled us to create more chances. Similarly, the decision to leave Peter Lovenkrands in his tracksuit rather than launch him at a tiring Foxes defence seemed overtly defensive.

It was only as the home team's legs grew heavy that we really began to threaten, and even then chances remained at a premium - with Ranger sending a header over the bar and straying offside to waste our two best chances.

For the home team, the introduction of new boy Nobby Solano was warmly greeted by all sides of the ground, and the Peruvian was able to show his control and eye for a pass whilst thankfully not being given an opportunity to demonstrate his dead-ball expertise.

The final whistle saw us rack up another game unbeaten, but the nagging sense that it was two points dropped is one which we can only hope won't still be gnawing away at us in May.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Only the loanees

Today saw confirmation of two new loan arrivals at the club to bolster our injury-hit defence.

The first sees QPR centre half Fitz Hall ("One Size" to his friends) arrive for the remainder of the season, whilst the second sees Chelsea youngster Patrick Van Aanholt arrive on a month's loan. With Van Aanholt a left back who has already gathered some Championship experience on loan to Coventry, his recruitment is a clear effort on the part of the club to fill the significant gap which Jose Enrique's recent injury has caused.

Of course, anyone looking at our squad for the past couple of years would have realised that we've not had any cover at left back, so it's something of a relief to see that Hughton has at least managed to plug the gap quickly rather than try and force a square peg into a round hole.

One Size has plenty of experience at this level, and also did well in the Premiership for Iain Dowie's Crystal Palace, and should provide some additional competition at centre half and added depth to our squad.

With loans remaining possible until March, the prospect of further players coming in over the next few weeks remains, but obviously permanent deals (such as any move for Crystal Palace's prize asset Victor Moses) need to be concluded before close of play on Monday.

No mercy

Newcastle Utd 2 - 0 Crystal Palace

How marvellous for there to be a club up to their eyeballs in crisis on Tyneside and for that club not to be Newcastle.

It's fair to say that tonight's visitors to St James' Park had not had the best of weeks thus far. They slid into administration yesterday and were automatically docked the standard ten points as a result; clubs now alerted to the extent of their plight are circling ever more vulture-like, hoping to strip the carcass bare; star player Victor Moses, far from potentially leading them to the Promised Land of the Premier League, is set to be flogged off on the cheap (with Championship rivals Forest and the Baggies currently vying for his services, despite rumoured interest from much bigger clubs home and abroad) and was deemed unavailable for selection by the administrators; and a lengthy injury list left them able to name just three of the permitted seven substitutes.

And all this suffered by a team we beat barely breaking a sweat back in August. Surely even we couldn't look this gift horse in the gob?

But, incredibly, we nearly did - it took an own goal and an injury-time second to secure a scarcely deserved win about as convincing as one of Rafa Benitez's recent post-match interviews.

Of course, we had personnel problems of our own to contend with, though Chris Hughton was able to hand a debut to Mike Williamson, the central defender's switch from Pompey finally agreed. The vacant right-back berth went to Tamas Kadar, while Peter Lovenkrands returned up front after his leave of absence, partnering Bigger Lad. Williamson's fellow newbie Wayne Routledge had to be content with a place on the bench.

As if circumstances hadn't already helped our cause (namely, returning to winning ways in the league for the first time in four games) enough, Palace's Johannes Ertl went off injured just four minutes in, forcing Colin Wanker to use one of those precious subs. Lovenkrands came close to opening the scoring six minutes later, though the visitors were proving surprisingly resilient and positive and indeed could have snatched the lead themselves through Calvin Andrew and Danny Butterfield. But, just when they thought their week couldn't get much worse, it did - Shaun Derry putting the ball past his own 'keeper Julian Speroni with Bigger Lad making a nuisance of himself from a corner.

Our own difficulties deepened shortly afterwards, though, with Jose Enrique having to depart injured. Curiously Hughton chose to overlook Ben Tozer, a natural defender, preferring instead to switch Kadar to the left and introduce Fabrice Pancrate in an unfamiliar right-back role.

Little more of note occurred in the first period but we started the second with considerable vigour, no doubt reminded by Hughton of Palace's predicament, with Bigger Lad and Lovenkrands both causing problems. But the likes of Neil Danns, Nick Carle and Darren Ambrose - that most dangerous of beasts, the old boy - continued to do likewise at the other end, meaning Steve Harper could never relax.

Recognising the need for a second goal, Hughton freshened things up, throwing on Routledge for Lovenkrands - but before our new winger could have any real impact Palace came alarmingly close to equalising, that man Ambrose striking the post. Unfathomably, the Eagles were putting us under pressure, so when the goal we craved arrived deep into stoppage time the relief was palpable. Sub Nile Ranger, on for Spiderman, had missed one good opportunity with a header before making amends by notching his first senior goal at St James' with a smart finish. The assist came courtesy of Routledge - hopefully the first of many.

So, a rather fortuitous win but the win we needed nonetheless - and, after a pair of poor displays, a pleasing return to defensive parsimony. And, as well as his charges played given the circumstances, if Mr Wanker genuinely believes "I haven't seen a better team than us in this division all season", then he must be not just an annoying buffoon but a blind annoying buffoon.

Forest's stylish mauling of QPR last night actually counts for very little - they're still three points adrift of us having played a game more, the only change being that our goal differences are now closer. (And there was more good news today in that Villa have recalled one-time England left-back Nicky Shorey from his loan at the City Ground.)

Leicester next, with Messrs Pearson and Solano lying in wait - it goes without saying that we'll have to play much better to be assured of victory on Saturday.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Forest (on) fire

Knowing that a 6-0 win over QPR tonight would send them above us to the top of the league, Nottingham Forest came perilously close to achieving the improbable. The hapless West Londoners - already onto their third manager of the season and now, of course, stripped of the services of Wayne Routledge - were spanked 5-0 at the City Ground. Forest had six efforts on target - that's the kind of clinical finishing that we've noticed is a rarity in this division. And who should have got the fifth goal but recent Toon target James Perch, back in the starting line-up for the home side.

The Tricky Trees weren't the only team among our promotion rivals to enjoy a handsome win, two goals from Agent Chopra helping Cardiff to a 6-0 humiliation of Bristol City. At least the Baggies were held at Ipswich, only avoiding defeat thanks to an injury-time goal.

So we go into tomorrow night's game still top, that psychological fillip denied to Forest, and with the added bonus that the team we're playing are in turmoil, having entered administration and now, thanks to the automatic ten point deduction, facing a relegation battle rather than a tentative push for the play-offs. Nothing against Crystal Palace, but as for Neil Warnock and Simon Jordan - couldn't happen to two nicer fellas.

Hallelujah! It's Wayne in, men.*

According to reports, we've just signed Wayne Routledge for an undisclosed fee (rumoured to be around £1.75m). Whilst slightly out of the blue, the player will bring some much needed pace to our midfield, and as an out and out right winger should give us greater balance.

From my recollections of him as a player, his final ball wasn't always the best, but as Spiderman has suggested of late, that's something which the club are capable of working on, so hope is not lost on that front.

What this transfer suggests is, firstly, that Fabrice Pancrate's inability to produce the goods lately suggests that his first-team appearances between now and the end of the season are likely to be severely limited and the odds of his contract being extended in the summer look decidedly remote.

Secondly, given that this is a permanent transfer for a pacy attacker, I suspect that any lingering pursuit of Jermaine Beckford is now dead in the water. With what little cash we have left presumably being ploughed into defensive strengthening (with Mike Williamson reportedly on Tyenside at present), it seems likely that Peter Lovenkrands will feature prominently as the fleeter footed partner to Big Lad and Bigger Lad (with back up from Nile Ranger) for the remainder of the season.

No mention of whether Routledge will go straight into the squad to face his first team Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, but having been involved with QPR all season he should hopefully be fit and raring to go.

*With apologies to all of the ladies who read this - unfortunately if I'd called the post "Hallelujah! It's Wayne in, people" the joke wouldn't work.

Royals grab Rab

On the day it was revealed that our chances of resigning Homer have been scuppered by a broken foot (doh! indeed), it transpires that any possibility of solving our current defensive crisis by bringing Blackburn's Zurab Khizanishvili back to St James' Park for a second loan spell has also vanished. The Georgian captain has instead pitched up at Reading, and so could conceivably be in the side set to face us on 23rd February - assuming, that is, that the Royals' FA Cup Fifth Round match against our Fourth Round conquerors the Baggies doesn't require a replay.

Meanwhile, it's interesting to see that Darren Ferguson has managed to persuade Pops to lend him Danny Welbeck until the end of the season. Given the square-jawed lunks Fergie Jr currently has at his disposal at Preston, the youngster is likely to be an automatic first choice - and, to be truthful, I think we should be a little bit envious of the deal. Welbeck looks to be a genuine prospect at Premier League level, let alone in the second tier, and we could certainly have done worse than to try and get him ourselves.

Who else to fix our sights on? The rumours about James Beattie leaving Stoke continue to abound, but I doubt we could afford any permanent deal and in any case he might be a bit too similar to what we've already got in Big Lad, Bigger Lad and Nile Ranger. Perhaps we could switch our attentions from one Villa player to another, from Homer to Nathan Delfouneso? Perhaps, if Benni McCarthy leaves Blackburn for West Ham, we might be able to pick up one of the Hammers' clutch of young forwards? Perhaps now that Arsenal are out of the FA Cup as well as the League Cup, Arsene Wenger might be more inclined to loan out his reserves? All possibilities worth exploring - though, as Paul said, it's suddenly our defensive deficiencies that are giving the greatest cause for concern.

Tayl of woe

According to reports, Steven Taylor's non-appearance on Saturday wasn't simply a case of Chris Hughton rotating his squad, but instead was the result of a fairly serious knee injury sustained against the Baggies last Monday night.

With Danny Simpson carrying a knock picked up in the same match, and Ryan Taylor suspended, it gives Hughton a big selection headache to solve for Wednesday's match against Crystal Palace. With Tamas Kadar likely to continue alongside Coloccini our lack of experienced defensive cover once again highlights the importance of strengthening the squad (and the defence in particular) in the handful of days left before the transfer window closes.

In other news, another player to have suffered an injury is Homer, now back at Villa and training with the reserves. Our former loanee is reported to have broken a bone in his foot - presumably wrecking any prospect of him returning here (or going anywhere else for that matter) before his contract expires in the summer.

With the transfer window having only seven days left to go, it is to be hoped that Hughton can get some more players into the club before it is too late.

Bounced out of Cup

West Bromwich Albion 4 - 2 Newcastle Utd

It may be that going out of the Cup proves to be a blessing in disguise. However, the manner of our defeat to fellow promotion chasers West Brom still rankles with the officials proving decisive in a relatively tight encounter.

Whilst Newcastle were forced to make changes as a result of injuries sustained during last Monday's league encounter, the Baggies kept the same starting XI and it was Jonas Olsson who again opened the scoring in similar fashion to his league goal. This time it was Bigger Lad who was left on his heels as the big defender powered his header goalwards. The ball was cleared on the line by Jose Enrique, but the referee's assistant decided the ball had crossed the line, and despite some vigorous finger waving from Tim Krul, the goal stood.

With ITV only having one camera, it's proved a tricky decision to review, and having managed to pause the clip at the vital second, it looks to me as though Enrique is stood behind the line when he kicks the ball (of course, I can't be certain of the ball's position) - so it may be that the officials got that one right.

West Brom's second came despite some aggressive forward play by Roman Bednar (or persistent pulling and fouling) of Tamas Kadar which proved unsuccessful in knocking our young defender out of the way; however it did prompt the Hungarian to foul his man in the box and concede a penalty. Again, this is a decision which could certainly have gone another way on a different day - but ignoring the earlier fouls on Kadar, he does impede Bednar. For the home team, midfielder Graham Dorrans duly slammed home the penalty.

Two down at half time and Chris Hughton decided he'd seen enough of the ineffectual Pancrate, and he threw on Big Lad to support Bigger Lad up front. That decision looked to be paying dividends when Gutierrez burst down the left and whipped a decent ball back in for Bigger Lad to fire home.

Then came the pivotal moment of the match as Big Lad was clearly flattened by two defenders and left prone on the turf inside the area. With Scott Carson and Roberto Di Matteo both encouraging the home side to put the ball out (presumably relieved that the referee had ignored the clear penalty) their team kept the ball in play and drew a foul from Ryan Taylor inside our box which saw the home team awarded a second penalty, and saw Taylor dismissed after a ridiculously long wait. Dorrans again fired home from the spot.

With minutes to go, an interception by Jose Enrique fell kindly for Jerome Thomas to put the tie beyond doubt, and a late consolation goal by Bigger Lad was never going to get us back into the match.

Hopefully the sense of injustice arising from the denial of the clear penalty and generally one-sided officiating on display will galvanise the team to get our promotion chase back on track against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, and West Brom will now embark on a long, exhausting Cup run which diverts their attention from the league.

What remains clear is that the squad still needs strengthening, and with time running out Chris Hughton needs to convince Jabba to put his hand in his pockets quickly if our season isn't to start unravelling.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

ITV highlights are here