tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80526952012-01-27T20:09:24.990ZBeing the true and painfulle historie of the trialls and tribulations of two long-sufferynge Newcastle Utd fans<br><br><br> "<em>Well written and very balanced</em>" - When Saturday Comes<br><br><br> Email: blackandwhiteandreadalloverATyahoo.co.uk<br><br> Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/blackwhiterao">@blackwhiterao</a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.comBlogger19881100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-73718487327454606632012-01-27T10:25:00.000Z2012-01-27T10:25:00.071Z

Yesterday's papers brought two new transfer links. First, the Daily Heil suggested we've rekindled our interest in Dutch winger Eljero Elia. The former Hamburg man chose another team in black and white, Juventus, over us in the summer but is kicking his heels on the sidelines in Turin. Quite apart from the fact that I wasn't aware we'd kindled interest in the first place, I'm not sure that wide

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-77956861091413710462012-01-27T08:22:00.000Z2012-01-27T08:22:00.750Z

"The first time I saw my brother do it when we were younger, I wanted to learn it as well. It was in Africa. Me and my friend were practising in gymnastics how to do a front-flip and back-flip. I wasn't the only one - four other people broke their backs as well. It was painful and scary at the time but I thought I might as well try."Kazenga LuaLua on the trials and tribulations of trying to copy

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-90348932599745014442012-01-26T19:36:00.000Z2012-01-26T19:36:23.256Z

Excellent news from the African Cup of Nations, where Senegal have been knocked out at the group stage. They posted two disappointing 2-1 defeats, the most recent an almighty upset as co-hosts Equatorial Guinea - ranked 151st in the world prior to the tournament - pulled off a shock result. All of which, of course, means that we'll both be reunited with Demba Ba and get to see his international

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-50122018435886053752012-01-24T20:48:00.000Z2012-01-24T20:48:00.685Z

"Council notes the decision of Newcastle United Football Club to change the name of St James’ Park to the Sports Direct Arena.Council agrees with the overwhelming majority of supporters who believe this is the wrong decision.Council confirms that it has no plans to change any existing wayfinding signs which bear the name of St James’ Park and calls on the club to reconsider their decision.Council

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-31309408627595892442012-01-24T17:32:00.000Z2012-01-24T17:32:00.780Z

Oh Colin, don't say you weren't warned.Colin Wanker, recently sacked by QPR, has complained that the club's owners were "slowly poisoned" against him by comments from players on Twitter. And, by implication, one player in particular: ASBO, the man he brought to the club and promptly installed as captain.ASBO, of course, isn't one to take such comments lying down, and has responded with a volley

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-80808855206022280112012-01-24T15:02:00.001Z2012-01-24T15:02:00.911Z

We've been surprising a lot of people this season (Saturday's result aside...), and the Guardian's Rob Smyth has been recalling the last time we did so, a decade ago in 2001-2 - the last Premier League season to see a genuine outsider mount a sustained title challenge. It was a time when our only Gallic imports were Laurent Robert and Olivier Bernard, when we roared on the No-Necked Text Pest,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-19992152701076643332012-01-24T08:17:00.001Z2012-01-24T08:17:00.221Z

A second reporter's assignment for guest contributor Adam. His debut was the disappointing pre-Christmas home defeat to West Brom. How would the team fare under his scrutiny this time around?Fulham 5 - 2 Newcastle UtdNo apologies for cribbing the title of this post from the Bard as this was a second-half tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, albeit one performed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-2098735681943527212012-01-20T08:47:00.000Z2012-01-20T08:47:00.401Z

(Image courtesy of Gene Selkov)You've got to hand it to HBA. Not only does he seem well aware of the noble tradition of Newcastle players landing themselves neck-deep in hot water with the law, but he's found a remarkably novel way of doing so. Not for him one of the various driving offences committed by Toon players past and present, or waving around a replica gun like the Lone Ranger, or a good

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-34492048318929832302012-01-19T23:04:00.002Z2012-01-19T23:12:15.858Z

No surprise to learn that Celtic are eager to convert Fraser Forster's loan move into a permanent deal this month - and I'd expect Jabba and the Silver Fox to agree (on the condition that the fee's acceptable). While it would be a shame to see the promising young 'keeper leave, he's made himself at home in Glasgow and some of his quotes have suggested he already sees himself as a Celtic player,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-75008602694405521962012-01-18T14:46:00.000Z2012-01-18T14:46:00.733Z

Could Papiss Demba Cisse soon be followed to Tyneside by yet another import from France? Rumours of our interest in Lyon's Aly Cissokho are longstanding, but according to the player negotiations between the two clubs are now underway.While Cissokho seems eager to leave his current club, he stopped short of identifying St James' Park as his preferred destination, instead keeping his options open.

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-90281170327882815322012-01-18T13:57:00.001Z2012-01-18T13:57:00.766Z

While bigotry on the pitch has been the subject of much comment of late, it seems it's equally alive and well online. Following on from the racist abuse directed at Little Big Lad on Twitter, it's now emerged that the club as a whole has been a target. Well done, whoever you are, on proving yourself both big and clever.On a tangential note, my first contribution to the revamped and relaunched Two

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-52584960187351239612012-01-18T13:50:00.001Z2012-01-18T13:50:00.280Z

Congratulations to old boy Mark McGhee on his appointment as manager of Bristol Rovers. And good luck - given their current predicament, he'll need it...

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-70122538480800796182012-01-18T08:36:00.000Z2012-01-18T08:36:00.501Z

I think it's fair to say that, until yesterday, the transfer window had been something of a non-event. The only significant deal to have gone through was Gary Cahill's move from Bolton to Chelsea, one that's been mooted for months. So credit to us for springing a bit of a surprise.True, we'd been linked with Freiburg's Papiss Demba Cisse before, but he appeared to be out of our price range and

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-91030132944089842032012-01-17T15:04:00.001Z2012-01-17T16:46:03.657Z

According to reports, Freiburg striker Papiss Demba Cisse is on Tyneside for a medical ahead of a rumoured £10 million transfer. Allegedly also a target of 5under1and, Cisse was a player we were reportedly linked with in the summer as the transfer window started to close and our search for a striker grew ever more frantic. Interestingly, in addition to having a pretty tidy scoring record in the

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-53350770745601493152012-01-16T12:34:00.002Z2012-01-16T13:39:09.356Z

Newcastle Utd 1 - 0 QPR A brilliant finish from Leon O'Best was enough to overcome a limited QPR side at St James' Park yesterday. With Colin Wanker having been handed his P45 and ASBO suspended, new manager Mark Hughes obviously took little time in instilling his footballing philosophy into his new charges. Admittedly his take on footballing philosophy is much less "total football" and far

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-75761168851807719842012-01-14T11:48:00.006Z2012-01-14T11:48:00.190Z

Since seizing control in the summer of 2007, Jabba has stabilised the club finances and overseen our return to the Premier League as a refreshed and rejuvenated side. But he's also treated two club legends in King Kev and Wor Al appallingly, rewarded Chris Hughton for getting us promoted with the sack, sold Rocky without having any back-up plan and kept all the cash, renamed the stadium and,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-7610094105382644472012-01-14T09:58:00.000Z2012-01-14T09:58:00.073Z

News emerged yesterday that the Silver Fox has been trying to add a third ex-Man Utd player to our wage bill alongside Danny Simpson and Gabriel Obertan. (Oh, OK, do we have to include Alan Smith? Fourth, then...) The Red Devils have rebuffed our advances for Ravel Morrison but Taggart's comments suggest he'd be happy to see the back of the teenage midfielder/forward: "We have offered him terms,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-41995997874960282092012-01-13T09:57:00.001Z2012-01-13T09:57:00.339Z

What with the transfer window being open, it was never going to be long before we had our first case of verbal diarrhoea. "I have always supported PSG and it's a club that is enticing but it will be difficult to do that in January", Demba Ba has been quoted as saying. The player's denial - or at least the claim that the comments were taken out of context - followed swiftly afterwards.Ba's

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-69866756783534265282012-01-12T13:03:00.001Z2012-01-12T13:03:01.441Z

"I think we are a lucky brand as can be, told we did the sponsorship deal two hours before the match, got the name on the shirts and they beat Manchester United three-love.""Three-love"? Someone should tell Richard Branson his company's sponsoring a football club, not a tennis player.Branson, on a visit to Tyneside, claimed he was unlikely to take up the option for the stadium naming rights as

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-10514427517204040782012-01-11T22:50:00.000Z2012-01-11T22:50:59.095Z

A great post about the expression of tribal loyalties in football (particularly online) over on The Two Unfortunates, though prompted by the sad demise of excellent Doncaster blog Viva Rovers. Insightful, thoughtful, clear-headed, well-written - Glen's site was the sort of thing we at Black & White & Read All Over and other bloggers aspire to. As Glen explains in the site's final post, it was

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-45637051355656817122012-01-11T22:05:00.006Z2012-01-11T22:29:00.809Z

Tough luck for Little Big Lad, ruled out for "a number of months" having sustained an injury in last night's behind-closed-doors reserve game against Wigan. Better he picked it up in competitive action than when on the club paintballing jolly (see 2:47), I suppose, but not great all the same, given that Obertan Kenobi's continued inconsistency might have seen him given more first-team pitch

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-9151832938489786662012-01-10T23:28:00.003Z2012-01-10T23:32:15.385Z

Not sure it's exactly gripping viewing, given the inane questioning of the BBC's faceless football drone Dan Walker (though at least it's not Garth Crooks), but here's Saylor on this week's Football Focus Forum. Our crocked central defender talks about getting fit for the Olympics, THAT waistcoat and the fact that Demba Ba's initially sub-par Toon performances were due to something called "

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-23149804299588380622012-01-10T08:14:00.000Z2012-01-10T08:14:00.709Z

We entered the final month of 2011 bloodied but unbowed after our successive skirmishes with the big bully boys from both sides of Manchester, the point-saving performance at Old Trafford in particular giving us heart ahead of the visit of a third bunch of title hopefuls. But the subsequent defeat to Chelsea set the generally grim tone for December.Not that the 3-0 scoreline was an accurate

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-38849978418606225182012-01-09T16:51:00.001Z2012-01-10T00:11:38.288Z

Droopy has been quoted in the press (and let's be honest, he'd give a quote to the bloody Yellow Pages if they asked for one) about Demba Ba. According to the man who is soon to be in court defending serious allegations regarding his personal finances, one of our players (not his, ours) has a release clause in his contract that means he could leave for less than £7 million.Thoughts which arise

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-43750817062176118622012-01-08T22:25:00.015Z2012-01-09T00:37:43.063Z

Newcastle Utd 2 - 1 Blackburn RoversFor the most part yesterday afternoon's match was a classic case of after the lord mayor's show. But in the end a sensational goal by HBA and another from Spidermag - the latter in the fifth minute of stoppage time - were enough to ensure we avoided the ignominy of a second cup exit of the season at the hands of the Premier League's crisis club.With Demba Ba

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-19530590675294596522012-01-07T13:31:00.000Z2012-01-07T13:31:49.802Z

As expected, we'll be without both Demba Ba and Mr T for this afternoon's visit of Blackburn, the pair having jetted off to the Africa Cup of Nations. Both were absolutely immense in the thumping win over Man Utd, so it's inevitable that there are concerns about how we'll cope in their absence.Ba, the newly crowned Premier League Player of the Month for December, racked up five goals in six games

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-47925929539918876062012-01-07T13:10:00.001Z2012-01-07T13:33:10.237Z

Our priority in the January sales might be a defender, but might I venture that the advertised availability of Blackburn's Junior Hoilett for a cut-price fee and a staggering five-goal FA Cup haul for Huddersfield's Jordan Rhodes will not have gone unnoticed at St James' Park?I've already written about Rhodes, while Hoilett is an exciting young talent who's already starting to make good on his

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-89871873013716578852012-01-07T13:00:00.002Z2012-01-07T13:03:29.088Z

Good old ASBO. Not content with having spats with everyone from players, managers and club owners to Piers Morgan and the cast of The Only Way Is Essex, he's now had a falling-out with a computerised version of himself...

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-58648438969047843202012-01-06T13:32:00.002Z2012-01-09T00:35:13.815Z

As January is now upon us, it's time to cast a quick eye over the squad and what we might look for during the remaining 25 days of the transfer window.Over the summer, we spent a lot of time fretting that our number 9 shirt remained vacant, and that remains the case. However, despite clearly acknowledging that we're still a striker light of the perfect balance, the recent collapse of our move for

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-31989340271824362082012-01-06T10:26:00.001Z2012-01-06T10:26:02.148Z

I know we should really be looking forward to tomorrow's visit of Blackburn in the FA Cup, but let's just dwell one last time on that magnificent victory and underline quite what an achievement it was by examining the pre-match stats...3: The number of wins we'd recorded against Man Utd in the Premier League in 35 meetings10: The number of years since our last win over Fergie's mob16: The number

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-55627623146628037832012-01-06T09:39:00.000Z2012-01-06T09:39:00.236Z

"We don't share quite the same philosophy. For him, it's more crosses, a bit of a more direct style, whereas I'm more the kind of player who likes to play short passes. I like to pass and move, a little bit like Swansea when we played against them. I was very impressed with the way Swansea played football. That is the kind of football I like. That's the philosophy I learned at the French academy

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-62147824297491741982012-01-06T08:56:00.000Z2012-01-06T08:56:00.951Z

While we were enjoying a famous evening on Tyneside, spare a thought for old boy Mark Stimson, who's bailed out as Kettering manager. The financial circumstances in which he's been forced to work give a good indication of what might have prompted him to leave, but with the Poppies having failed to win since October and been thumped 5-0 in their last two fixtures, he may well have opted to jump

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-23323662354544128002012-01-05T10:50:00.001Z2012-01-05T13:22:18.599Z

Newcastle Utd 3 - 0 Man UtdThree goals, three glorious goals, ensured we got 2012 off to the best possible start as we defeated Man Utd for the first time in a decade at St James' Park.The Silver Fox made two changes to the team who lost to Liverpool, with Big Lad coming in for Haris Vuckic to partner Demba Ba and Raylor pushed forward into midfield to replace Obertan Kenobi, Davide Santon taking

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-76536019699849212702012-01-05T10:34:00.000Z2012-01-05T10:34:18.957Z

Confirmation from the club ahead of last night's game that Northern Rock have been replaced as shirt sponsor by Virgin Money, with immediate effect. Having taken over the bank, Richard Branson's financial firm has now taken on the sponsorship of the club's shirts, not just for the remainder of the year but for a further two seasons, in a deal which could apparantly be worth up to £20 million for

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-60431557128175842952012-01-04T18:50:00.000Z2012-01-04T18:50:00.105Z

A quick nod to Football League blog The Two Unfortunates, which has kicked off 2012 by leaving Blogger, getting itself a facelift and making another appearance in the Guardian Football site's recommended reading list - something that's becoming a bit of a habit. The relaunch is being marked with a week of big-hitting posts, the first of which reflects on the Elite Player Performance Plan and

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-35618270938754481512012-01-04T12:56:00.000Z2012-01-04T12:56:00.879Z

Following the collapse of the deal for Modibo Maiga, the Silver Fox may have declared that we wouldn't be pursuing a striker in January, but that hasn't stopped the media speculation. In recent days we've been linked with fanciful loan moves for Rocky - clearly lining up against his understrength former employers on Friday with a point to prove wasn't enough to rehabilitate his flagging career at

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-82223401577084441752012-01-04T08:58:00.000Z2012-01-04T08:58:00.250Z

Congratulations to Fraser Forster, who on Monday marked his temporary side Celtic's tenth successive SPL victory with a clean sheet against bottom club Dunfermline. With Forster proving a powerful repellent between the sticks, the Hoops have reeled in rivals Rangers to lead the division by two points. Might we choose to cash in on him this transfer window? I suppose it all depends on whether

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-2831486167612842312011-12-31T09:16:00.002Z2011-12-31T09:16:00.170Z

Liverpool 3 - 1 Newcastle UtdSo, as feared, our horrendous run of results at Anfield continued and the curse of the old boy did indeed strike - but it was the No-Necked Text Pest whose brace did the damage, Rocky contriving to leave the scoresheet untroubled. Steven Gerrard came on to grab the Scousers' third, and is probably off out celebrating in time-honoured fashion as I write.While the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-9001418067379340962011-12-30T11:59:00.003Z2011-12-30T12:04:57.414Z

"You never want to lose great players and we never wanted to lose Andy. I'd take him back if I had the chance. If the fee offered by Liverpool had not been so high, he'd still be here."Wishful thinking from the Silver Fox - I'm not sure what Liverpool would accept for their £35m misfiring* striker, but somehow I doubt they'd be prepared to cut their losses so severely as to make the fee palatable

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-77012178911337481582011-12-28T10:53:00.007Z2012-01-07T15:58:10.050Z

Bolton 0 - 2 Newcastle UtdGiven our propensity for Boxing Day calamities (and a winless sequence stretching all the way back to 1988), a trip to Bolton - where we'd lost seven out of eight and suffered a 5-1 shellacking last season - was not really the post-Christmas fixture we'd asked Santa for. Thankfully, as it turned out the more telling pre-match stat was that the Trotters had been beaten in

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-31614863344456372892011-12-25T09:44:00.002Z2011-12-25T09:51:28.140Z

Merry Christmas to all our readers! Here's hoping we've all been sufficiently good this year for Santa to bring us three points at Bolton tomorrow...

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-21454488715550560252011-12-22T18:16:00.003Z2012-01-24T00:10:20.692Z

A couple of months back, out of the blue, we received an email to the B&W&RAO account from a chap called Adam, an old schoolfriend of mine with whom I'd long lost touch. Turns out that, visiting Run Geordie Run's site, he'd noticed my name immediately above his in the list of sponsors, done a quick Google search and stumbled across this 'ere blog. So it's thanks to the site that we're Newcastle

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-79818264318155541892011-12-22T10:16:00.000Z2011-12-22T10:16:02.028Z

It's back to the drawing board as far as our January transfer plans go, it seems, following the news that Modibo Maigo failed a rigorous club medical in London last week. The deal for the Sochaux striker was being viewed as pretty much done, so its breakdown is a bit of a blow.The player has understandably been rather nettled by events, insisting on his fitness after trying to persuade our

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-41307894622275284382011-12-21T09:42:00.000Z2011-12-21T09:42:00.597Z

Last month I mentioned our alleged interest in Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes. Well, here's the fruit of my recent research into the Terriers' goal machine. Suffice to say that if we were to make a move in January, we'd face stiff competition...

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-77242452264242044242011-12-20T13:44:00.003Z2011-12-21T01:42:39.843Z

Newcastle Utd 0 - 0 Swansea CityDespite a stirring pre-match tribute to Gary Speed, we were unable to rouse our attacking instincts to the point where we could breach Swansea's miserly defence on Saturday.The Silver Fox was able to welcome back his first-choice midfield pairing of Mr T and Dreamboat and also the return of Sideshow Bob as captain and Leon O'Best up front in what was a

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-37034681148240776982011-12-17T11:19:00.000Z2011-12-17T11:19:00.896Z

In response to the most recent installment of A Month Of Saturdays, regular US reader Bob enquired as to how the UK media were approaching the issue of what to call our stadium. The truth is that I wasn't sure, but it seems as though the BBC - who we'd have hoped would have been the last to bow to Jabba's whim - have started calling it by his chosen name. Enough to prompt fanzine True Faith into

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-15487450100076011772011-12-16T22:51:00.002Z2011-12-17T00:35:02.205Z

"I have never met a more determined pro in my career."Staggeringly, Colin Wanker was referring to none other than the Little Waster, who it's now feared will miss the whole campaign through injury first sustained within seven minutes of making his QPR debut. To be fair to Wanker, though, he might have been referring to Dyer's determination not to leave the treatment room. (Incidentally, I wonder

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-41735896220071696712011-12-16T21:25:00.002Z2011-12-20T02:17:23.874Z

Not Toon-related in any way, shape or form, and to be honest it's less like shooting fish in a barrel than like shooting a blue whale in a pond, but Marina Hyde's ridiculing of the attempts of Richard Keys and Andy Gray ("Keysy and Grayey") to sell themselves as professional after-dinner entertainers is brilliant.

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-54317269705586913722011-12-15T17:00:00.001Z2011-12-15T17:00:03.311Z

The wonders of modern medicine, the specialist know-how of fitness specialists and physiotherapists, the expertise of sports psychologists. All fine and well but, according to the Mirror, not enough for Mr T, who has allegedly tried to speed up recovery from his knee injury by heading home to the Ivory Coast to pay a visit to "his favourite witch doctor" and get the curse lifted.Two things struck

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-6787686741315676852011-12-15T15:06:00.000Z2011-12-15T15:06:02.121Z

"I want to stay at this club for a long, long time and, hopefully, because I am still only 23, I can do that. I am loving life, and going to places like Old Trafford is special."Music to our ears from Tim Krul. It seems he hasn't realised that he could be going to Old Trafford every other week if he was to move to Man Utd - long may his ignorance continue.Also talking enthusiastically about the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-3853750320773367782011-12-15T13:08:00.002Z2011-12-20T02:15:40.024Z

After the aerial mauling we got at Norwich last weekend, Mike Williamson's return to fitness really couldn't have come at a much more opportune moment. The lanky centre-half, sidelined with injury for the whole campaign thus far, featured in a behind-closed-doors game against Bolton on Tuesday, and so now looks likely to be involved for Saturday's visit of Swansea.Better still, we may also be

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-58197523226368426182011-12-15T10:23:00.000Z2011-12-15T10:23:00.623Z

Kick It Out: a vital campaign having real successes in the fight against exclusion and discrimination in the national game, or a load of well-meant hot air achieving nothing? In conjunction with the Football Supporters' Federation, they're asking for fans' perceptions of the campaign, its merits and flaws. Click here to share your views.

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-23068906553163819862011-12-14T13:10:00.003Z2011-12-15T01:53:59.402Z

Never let it be said that we don't hold grudges. It was with great amusement that we read today of the Mackem Tango Man's sacking by Preston. Having proven incapable of keeping the Lilywhites in the Championship, he's been given the boot for their steady downward slide from the summit of League One. The club's move may have been prompted by the arrival of that most unlovable of chaps Peter

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-90674283262937392172011-12-12T21:36:00.001Z2011-12-15T01:42:57.025Z

Norwich City 4 - 2 Newcastle UtdA Newcastle side shorn of centre-halves was made to suffer as Delia's Canaries ruled the sky on Saturday. Goals from Grant Holt (x2), Wes Hoolahan and Steve Morison left us with too great an obstacle to overcome, despite Demba Ba's best efforts. That Dan Gosling endured something of a horror show in midfield, culminating in his sending off, only compounded our

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-52396736384589601872011-12-09T18:04:00.000Z2011-12-09T18:04:01.311Z

I know that during his time in the goldfish bowl Jermaine Jenas became good friends with the Little Waster, but there is such a thing as taking paying homage to your role model a step too far. I suppose we should just view it as divine justice, given that Villa fobbed Stephen Ireland off on our treatment room last season...Elsewhere, unwise blabberings to Dutch journalists suggest that perhaps

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-31983970644429071802011-12-09T09:56:00.002Z2011-12-09T09:56:00.482Z

Over the years we've become accustomed to our beloved black and whites inspiring outbreaks of bewilderment and head-scratching a-plenty - but not like this. THIS was delicious, something to savour: hosts of journalists, wrong-footed by our entirely unexpected success, striving to put their pinkies on exactly where and exactly how it all went right.But, as has been evident so often before, the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-1466546204361592282011-12-07T13:37:00.003Z2011-12-07T13:43:11.640Z

The weekend's FA Cup Third Round draw saw us pitted against familiar foes, Blackburn Rovers, whom we've already met (and lost to) in the League Cup this season. Unlike that tie, however, this time we've been given home advantage, for the first time in the FA Cup Third Round since 2006. Whether Steve Kean will still be in charge of Venky's (chicken) basket-case club remains to be seen, with the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-5075448133958038912011-12-06T08:51:00.001Z2011-12-06T13:27:08.829Z

Newcastle Utd 0 - 3 ChelseaEven after a few days of reflection, it's still very hard to decide quite what to make of Saturday's meeting with Chelsea. A thrilling encounter in which we could have had the upper hand early on but which we ended up losing by some margin. A valiant defeat against a previously out-of-sorts bunch of superstars who had to turn in perhaps their best performance of the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-42193956900950946332011-12-01T13:14:00.000Z2011-12-01T13:14:25.985Z

If there's one thing guaranteed to bring the Silver Fox out in a cold sweat, it seems, it's the prospect of the looming transfer window, now just a month away. While it's eagerly awaited by some managers, presenting an opportunity to plug gaps, ship out the unwanted and generally freshen up a stale squad, our gaffer's perspective is somewhat different. This season's unexpected success has brought

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-49764316741345882472011-12-01T10:37:00.000Z2011-12-01T10:37:00.171Z

"If others see fit to make a change then so be it but I'm ready for the challenge ahead." Famous last words from Ol' Cauliflower Face, now that "others" - well, Mackem owner Ellis Short - have indeed seen fit to "make a change" and given him the boot. Now the only challenge he faces is deciding what daytime TV to watch.The final straw was Saturday's dismal Dark Place defeat by his former club

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-58627418498197044382011-12-01T10:13:00.001Z2011-12-01T10:13:00.140Z

Not content with broadcasting his opinions via Twitter, ASBO has seized the offer of a soap box provided by QPR podcast Open All R's to reignite old feuds: "The manager was different class but I wouldn't want to go back and work for those two cretins. Ashley is the Ayatollah. Nothing happens without his say".His dislike of Jabba and Lambiarse and subsequent departure wasn't just a personality

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-3232066247459189912011-12-01T08:03:00.001Z2011-12-01T08:03:00.668Z

Contrasting fortunes for our two loan 'keepers at the weekend. While Fraser Forster sat twiddling his thumbs as his outfield team-mates blasted five past his opposite number in the St Mirren goal, Ole Soderberg did likewise, though only because he didn't even feature in the squad for League One strugglers Chesterfield, who remain rooted to the foot of the table after the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-44257085612804664332011-11-28T13:55:00.002Z2011-11-29T02:16:03.573Z

Man Utd 1 - 1 Newcastle UtdA terrific defensive effort, coupled with a little bit of help from the officials, meant that we came away from our second trip to Manchester with a well-earned point and another fine example of our collective will and refusal to give up.With Sideshow Bob fit to play despite worrying reports of a back spasm on Friday, the only change from our trip to Man City saw

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-51195681825256596272011-11-27T21:11:00.002Z2011-11-27T21:29:16.204Z

No on-field spats with team-mates or public arguments with managers. No headlines for the wrong reasons. No extracurricular drunkenness and idiocy bringing shame upon an all too frequently shamed club.Just a quietly dignified, level-headed man demanding and deserving of respect. A consummate professional who refused to be swayed by a slightly sticky start to his Tyneside career and soon won the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-56696114701904235932011-11-25T16:27:00.000Z2011-11-25T16:27:34.297Z

A quick post to link to a chat I had with a Manchester Utd fan ahead of this Saturday's match, which is available over on Red Devils blog We All Follow United.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-44115629592801623332011-11-24T15:04:00.000Z2011-11-24T15:04:00.047Z

Whatever happened to that likely lad - you know, the Hungarian defender who saw a bit of service in the Championship but has hardly been spotted since? Well, it turns out that Tamas Kadar is wondering the same thing himself, keen to stress that he's still hopeful of one day becoming a fixture in the first team.Aside from perhaps the QPR game and that awful five minutes at the Etihad, Raylor's

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-87095966093527506812011-11-24T13:44:00.001Z2011-11-24T13:44:00.876Z

Congratulations to Lee Clark, whose Huddersfield side set a new Football League record of 43 games unbeaten on Saturday by beating our nicknamesakes Notts County. It's an astounding achievement, albeit one which still hasn't been quite enough to secure them top spot in League One (too many draws).Clark has been well backed in the transfer market, admittedly, but he's clearly making good use of

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-44680579995712622062011-11-22T19:31:00.000Z2011-11-22T19:31:00.086Z

To the surprise of very few, Kazenga LuaLua has followed in the footsteps of his older brother by turning a loan into a permanent deal and leaving St James' Park for the south coast. While Lomano Tresor, now at Blackpool, departed for Portsmouth, Kaz has signed up with Brighton, with whom he's had three separate loan spells, for an undisclosed fee.He undoubtedly has some ability, as well as the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-76048840366473284472011-11-22T18:09:00.001Z2011-11-22T18:09:00.292Z

Beware, good folk of South Yorkshire! The Lone Ranger now walks among you (quite literally, since being handed a driving ban for recent motoring misdemeanours), having joined Barnsley on loan, so lock up your daughters and your gun cabinets.While the Silver Fox was no doubt breathing a sigh of relief to have the miscreant off his hands for a while at least, Tykes manager Keith Hill declared: "

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-18003944138601500732011-11-22T08:12:00.000Z2011-11-22T08:12:00.616Z

Man City 3 - 1 Newcastle UtdAs the media had unanimously predicted, and as we too had all probably feared, Saturday's trip to the Etihad Stadium saw our unbeaten league run come to an end. But, far from being a limp surrender, it was a courageous effort that in truth merited more than just what was the very definition of a consolation goal (if not quite a share of the points).The Silver Fox could

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-71541327139610235852011-11-21T13:08:00.000Z2011-11-21T13:09:11.890Z

"I don’t think that would be right for Newcastle. St James’ Park is part of the heritage of Newcastle and it’s important to local people, so for me it should be called St James’ Park."Jayne-Anne Ghadia, chief exec of Northern Rock's new owners Virgin Money, undermines Jabba and Llambiarse's justifications for the stadium name change.

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-2600032941455681322011-11-18T18:41:00.001Z2011-11-18T18:41:00.520Z

It's fitting, really, that our renaissance should have been inspired and driven by a clutch of players of French provenance (if not nationality). Following on from TBW's identification of our Gallic contingent as a key factor in our expectation-confounding season thus far comes an article from the BBC's Jimmy Smallwood focusing exclusively on our imports from across the Channel.Admittedly

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-63469530885088900852011-11-18T16:17:00.000Z2011-11-18T16:17:00.548Z

You may have noticed that Paul's been doing the lion's share of the posting and updating recently - that's because I'm currently on belated honeymoon in South East Asia.Thoughts of football have never been far from mind, though - the popularity of the English game attested by the number of knock-off Arsenal and Chelsea shirts we've seen, the number of scooters racing past bearing Man Utd stickers

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-65722654204789501862011-11-18T15:06:00.000Z2011-11-18T15:06:00.236Z

So, Nigel de Jong wants to meet up with HBA, the player he crippled last season, does he? Probably a wise move that the encounter's been scheduled to take place post-match, in case there's any further flare-up between the two during the game. The Silver Fox said of the Frenchman that "he was absolutely clear to me that he has no problem about going back there, no problem about facing their

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-88588044991418371172011-11-18T12:59:00.003Z2011-11-18T12:59:00.221Z

One recent positive is the news that Little Big Lad has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract which removes the fear that he'd leave for nothing more than a small compensation payment next summer.Undoubtedly a player of real potential, it will be interesting to see how he develops, and with Obertan Kenobi and Sylvain Marveaux both struggling with injury he could be in the starting XI on

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-28329610167838393582011-11-18T09:19:00.001Z2011-11-18T10:32:25.117Z

One story I missed last week, was the announcement by Northern Rock that it was terminating its sponsorship of the club early. At the time that may have looked like a reaction to the name change, but in the cold light of day, it appears that it was linked to the sale to Virgin Money. Expect a flood of predictable jokes about Newcastle shirts with the word "Virgin" on them breaching advertising

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-53226334928791941382011-11-16T13:55:00.000Z2011-11-16T13:55:20.841Z

A hearty welcome to the B&W&RAO sidebar for the new website of Newcastle fanzine The Mag, which will doubtless prove itself a worthwhile addition to every Newcastle fan's daily trawl of the internet.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-31000760925661038492011-11-15T16:41:00.004Z2011-11-15T16:52:31.036Z

A quick round-up of old boy news that might be of interest.David Ginola has once again taken a Gallic strop with long-time foe Gerard Houllier, initiating legal proceedings against his former national manager for comments made in a new book. Our former winger feels he's been made a scapegoat by Houllier for France's defeat to Bulgaria in 1993, which resulted in Les Bleus joining England on the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-9290794182170784182011-11-15T09:40:00.001Z2011-11-15T16:16:03.085Z

Ever wondered what it's like to have never been to St James' Park, but still care passionately about our club?Well, thanks to this interview with the guys behind I Wish I Was A Geordie (who you can follow as @nufc_us on Twitter) you can gain a bit of an insight here (albeit one written before the issue of the name reared its ugly head).(Thanks to @Mike_Ramalho for the link.)

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-53358323801415572792011-11-14T13:32:00.001Z2011-11-15T09:43:14.962Z

Not a reference to latest purchase by the King of Bling, but rather news of another old boy, who, despite being without a club has eyes on appearing at the next world cup. Step forward Carl Cort, who just picked up his second cap for Guyana, playing alongside his brother in a 2-1 win over Trinidad at the weekend. Of perhaps greater significance at the weekend was the Dreamboat's training ground

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-31766002151224660082011-11-14T10:28:00.001Z2011-11-15T16:36:08.064Z

Two articles in the Mirror this weekend, with reported quotes from Llambiarse giving the paper plenty of column inches.Firstly, he can be found boasting about the Rocky sale, gleeful recounting how we got the full £35 million up front, and due to late payment of the fee also picked up a further £12k interest, as well as reporting on the player's current value as "fuck all". (To be fair, even

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-16933092691046749192011-11-10T11:20:00.002Z2011-11-15T16:22:03.406Z

OK, quick quiz question: who plays their football at the King Power Stadium? (Answer at the bottom of the page.)Stadium naming is an emotive issue - rebranding something which is synonymous with a club is a difficult task, one which clubs typically tread very carefully around, for fear that they will upset a vast swathe of their fans. Can you imagine the furore if players walked past a sign as

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-8731536093682078872011-11-09T09:36:00.002Z2011-11-10T06:28:14.256Z

With the international break now upon us, it gives a quick opportunity to round up the suffusion of articles that emerged last week with journalists desperate to put their finger on the secret of our success.First up is TBW in the Guardian who points to a recruitment policy with a strong Gallic focus, our current style of play which has seen us put greater emphasis on ball retention, the hard

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-27121129040236734602011-11-08T11:35:00.001Z2011-11-10T06:17:20.183Z

Newcastle Utd 2 - 1 EvertonA battling performance on Saturday against Everton ensured our unbeaten run continued into the international break.The only change from our win over Stoke saw Sylvain Marveaux come in for the injured Obertan Kenobi, with Danny Guthrie once again tasked with partnering Dreamboat in the middle of the park.It was their interplay which helped us take an early lead after

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-18574794425548266812011-11-05T08:37:00.006Z2011-11-05T08:37:00.279Z

"I'm still adapting to the Premier League; it's the best league in the world and, at the moment, its pace is taking a lot of good things out of my game. I'll be better when I adapt fully." The mouthwatering words of the Dreamboat as he charms his way through an interview with TBW (with translation provided by Olivier Bernard, no less). Other revelations include his closeness firstly to the

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-18542959848014840832011-11-04T09:14:00.000Z2011-11-04T09:14:00.081Z

Who'd have thunk it, eh? Halloween, a quarter of the way through the Premier League season, and, rather than being stalked and harrowed by the spectre of relegation, we were talking (quietly and with cautious excitement) about the possibility of European football. Indeed, it's telling that the dreaded R word was only mentioned round these parts following rumours (misguided, it turned out) that

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-89406545545253651012011-11-03T13:04:00.003Z2011-11-03T13:16:06.335Z

Look who's back. Lomano Tresor Lua Lua announced his return to English football in some style last night, scoring twice and having a hand in another as his new club Blackpool spanked Leeds for five at Elland Road. "Gymnastic fantastic", to quote Sir Bobby Robson...From strikers past to strikers (potentially) future, the Mirror claim that Blackburn will be asking for £18m for Junior Hoilett in the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-60444357919414116242011-11-02T09:22:00.001Z2011-11-03T13:17:56.311Z

A disappointment to hear that Little Big Lad has been subjected to racist abuse on Twitter (it's not been made public whether it came from a supposed Toon "supporter" or a fan of another team), but credit to the club for taking swift and decisive action in reporting the incident to the police. Danny Simpson also recently complained of being abused via the social networking site, his abuser

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-39967479269296670152011-11-02T08:36:00.000Z2011-11-02T08:36:00.074Z

It's been quite a week for ex-Toon striker Michael Chopra, currently with Ipswich, who's come clean about the considerable extent of his gambling addiction. Chops admitted his penchant for a flutter had already landed him in debt before he left Tyneside for his first spell at Cardiff, where he was soon a well-known regular at the bookies down at Cardiff Bay, and it doesn't sound as though the

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-84270945283624545462011-11-01T08:38:00.003Z2011-11-01T13:54:41.670Z

Stoke City 1 - 3 Newcastle UtdA perfect hat-trick (header, left foot, right foot) was enough to overcome the forces of anti-football at the Britannia Stadium last night.While Demba Ba should rightly take a lot of the plaudits from last night, credit for the win should go to the Silver Fox who came up with a perfect strategy to nullify the home side and the eleven players he then sent out who ran

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04247955697414914365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-4890722677185829962011-11-01T08:31:00.000Z2011-11-01T08:31:00.445Z

Well looky here - if it isn't another new chapter in the inglorious and increasingly lengthy tale of the Lone Ranger's off-field misdemeanours. You have to doff your cap to his knack for sabotaging his Toon future - having worked hard enough to force his way back into the squad for last week's League Cup trip to Ewood Park, he's now shot himself in the foot again (if you'll pardon the expression,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-58159935530038149242011-11-01T08:24:00.002Z2011-11-01T08:24:00.696Z

"Every time it's mentioned it baffles me. I've seen what Trapttoni's been saying in the papers about work rate but he only needs to ring up Newcastle and ask for my stats, it's as simple as that.The Prozone will tell you that I'm doing nearly 10km a day. I don't what it is. Obviously, if he's saying I need to work harder then I need to work harder. He's a man to learn off, he's got the experience

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-48317233668472592152011-10-28T08:50:00.000+01:002011-10-28T08:50:00.178+01:00

Blackburn 4 - 3 Newcastle Utd (aet)Well, we all knew the unbeaten run had to be ended by someone - but did it really have to be Blackburn, the Premier League's basement club (and not without good reason)? An extraordinary match culminated in our first defeat of the season, which saw us exit the League Cup just as things start to get interesting (though, in truth, the presence of Man Utd, Arsenal,

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-70097473826469140122011-10-27T08:44:00.000+01:002011-10-27T08:44:00.648+01:00

What's so hard about signing up to a deadline-free, target-free set of pledges to work towards eliminating discrimination in football on the grounds of sexuality? Nothing. So why, over seven months since it was launched, have Newcastle not endorsed the Government Charter for Action to stamp out homophobia and transphobia? That said, we're not alone - Wycombe have made the news this week for

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-6856171858687335482011-10-26T13:43:00.002+01:002011-10-27T02:07:13.907+01:00

With Steve Harper on loan at Brighton - "better than doing nothing", he's said - what of our other loan 'keepers?It's been a bumpy ride of late for Fraser Forster, with Celtic enjoying Europa League football but languishing ten points behind arch rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premier League. The Bhoys lost to Hearts before Forster conceded three first-half to lowly Kilmarnock - though his

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-86535678247080072482011-10-25T10:44:00.000+01:002011-10-25T10:44:00.141+01:00

Three minutes of substitute action on Saturday was apparently all it took for Big Lad to twang his hamstring. Alan Pardew broke the news that our saviour against Spurs is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks.Could this be the first sign that things are about to get much tougher for us? Ordinarily we wouldn't worry too much about Big Lad's enforced absence - he's consistently

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-11943362506138163552011-10-25T08:14:00.003+01:002011-10-27T02:07:30.812+01:00

Farewell, albeit temporarily, to Steve Harper, our erstwhile first-choice 'keeper having yesterday joined Kazenga LuaLua on loan at Championship outfit Brighton.After years playing underemployed understudy to Shay Given followed by a couple of much-deserved seasons in the limelight, Harper has this campaign once again found himself out of favour, displaced by Tim Krul. Harsh, it's true, but even

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-55291116295338032932011-10-23T10:42:00.000+01:002011-10-23T10:42:00.476+01:00

Newcastle Utd 1 - 0 WiganStick that in your pipe and smoke it, Dave! An otherwise undistinguished display was illuminated by a splendid late Yohan Cabaye goal which proved enough to secure us a rather fortuitous victory and send Whelan's Wigan to their sixth successive Premier League defeat. Dave would for once not be deluded in claiming that his side deserved a point - but that classy finish

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-80672713392754324342011-10-22T21:16:00.000+01:002011-10-22T21:16:00.098+01:00

Poor old red tops. With all still going swimmingly at St James' Park (no "bombs" as yet), what is there left to write about?How's about Sideshow Bob's luscious locks? The Argentine defender, quite exceptional this season (particularly against Spurs), has declared: "I will never cut off my hair". Apparently he's been shorn before, by his more senior defensive colleagues at AC Milan Paolo Maldini

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052695.post-65600381368457530602011-10-22T18:35:00.001+01:002011-10-22T21:08:05.866+01:00

Something you may have missed this week: the Football League voted in favour of the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan. The EPPP has essentially been formulated to enable Premier League clubs to get the best young players into their academies and working with the best coaches from a young age. All fine for the future of Premier League outfits like ourselves, as well as of the national

Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03008553685046831301noreply@blogger.com2