Willie walks

First it was JFK, now Willie Donachie's left - and under a dark cloud. It's been reported that a physical altercation with a player (rumoured to be defender Remie Streete) in the wake of the U21s' 2-0 defeat to the Mackems on Monday has led the Scot to tender his resignation. The Silver Fox has hinted there will be big changes at the club in the summer - but at this rate there are going to be plenty taking place well before then, at least in terms of non-playing staff.

The boyo done good

Setting transfer window issues aside, congratulations to Paul Dummett, whose elevation to the Newcastle first-team squad has resulted in a similar elevation to the senior Welsh squad for the forthcoming international fixtures. Whether he makes his bow alongside the world's most expensive player remains to be seen.

Fellow left-sided player Shane Ferguson has been enduring a tougher time at Birmingham. Despite creating the opening goal for Matt Green with a delicious cross in the 3-2 defeat at Leicester, the Northern Irishman was dropped to the bench for Saturday's visit of Ipswich. Blues appear to have continued last season's form, much to Lee Clark's dismay, and the picture is even less rosy off the pitch, as detailed in a recent post on The Two Unfortunates.

Meanwhile, Mehdi Abeid scored a somewhat fortuitous goal for his loan club Panathanaikos at the weekend. Scoring is something that Adam Campbell wasn't given the opportunity to do on loan in Cumbria - he's already back on Tyneside, a clearly disgruntled Silver Fox commenting "That didn’t work out at Carlisle, and he won’t be going back there". He may only be back temporarily, though, with a move to hook up with Conor Newton at St Mirren a possibility.

Steve Davis may have talked up Brad Inman's future, but his recent past at Crewe has been far from encouraging. He played for 21 minutes off the bench as the Railwaymen lost to League One leaders Leyton Orient, and was then handed a start for the trip to Swindon last weekend - only for the home side to romp to a 5-0 victory. The identity of the Robins' first scorer? Inman's former club colleague the Lone Ranger.

On the subject of familiar faces, the Reserves were beaten 5-4 by West Ham yesterday, despite taking a three-goal lead through a Jonathyn Quinn hat-trick. You ain't seen nothing like the mighty Quinn? Well, the Hammers had - one Elliot Lee, who grabbed a hat-trick of his own, two goals coming from the spot. The onlooker with conflicted loyalties? That would be his dad, Rob Lee.

Look to the future

(Image courtesy of martha_chapa95)

Historically speaking, it's not like us to think or plan beyond the next game let alone the next season - but, if Lee Ryder's anonymous club insider is to be believed, then all that may be about to change.

It's no secret that Jabba has adopted an ageist philosophy both in terms of the players who are brought into the club and those who are allowed to leave. While that's seen the likes of Kevin Nolan shoved out of the door when he still had something to offer, it's also an understandable and admirable reaction to having had expensive has-beens clogging up the wage bill (Fat Sol, I'm looking at you). Anyone who has the misfortune to remember the days of Kenny Dalglish's Dad's Army will find value in the current strategy.

It's also clearly part of the overall vision that the club should become more self-sufficient. It's all fine and well importing talented young players like Davide Santon when first-team weaknesses demand it, but ideally we should be avoiding that expense by bringing players up through the ranks. (Not that player development is free, of course, or that we shouldn't still go scouting around for talent, albeit at a younger age, rather than just being content with what's on our doorstep.)

So the idea that Jabba might be preparing a thorough overhaul of the various layers beneath the first team, rooting out mediocrity and investing substantial cash, rings true.

Focusing on scouting and recruitment for the academy and reserves as well as for the first team would be a brave step, in that it's not something that would bring instant dividends, but modelling ourselves on a club like Arsenal seems eminently sensible. Not all of the Gunners' youth- and reserve-team products make it into the Premier League matchday squads, but many do, and the system just keeps on churning them out. Man Utd have also been lauded in the past for their incredible ability to replace from within, though the fact that Paul Scholes has been brought out of retirement and wheeled into action gives an indication that their well has currently run rather dry - no doubt a significant concern for Taggart.

We've not really had any kind of conveyor belt ourselves for years, but having one in place can only be good for the health of the club. Just look at Tim Krul: a player identified as a prospect at an early age, picked up cheaply and gently matured before breaking through and becoming a permanent fixture on the teamsheet (not to mention - importantly for Jabba and the accountants - a major asset with significant resale value). It would have cost millions to get in an equivalent player.

Of course, if we find ourselves in relegation trouble in the next couple of seasons, then the temptation will be to divert funds away from the long-term project into achieving short-term results and ensuring Premier League survival. Desperate times may result in desperate measures, but I'd like to think the vision - one which would help make the club a stronger and more sustainable enterprise in the long term - wouldn't be compromised.

Quote of the day

"Winning football is about 11 players running for 90 minutes, or 94 minutes, with a winning mentality. I cannot have players who just wait for the ball. We need a team, we need work and commitment. That is football. We need this mentality because with our mentality anything is possible. We cannot afford to have players standing there waiting for the ball."

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni O'Trapattoni explains why Leon O'Best hasn't been rewarded for his early-season form with an international recall.

Clearly the Italian hasn't been watching our games very closely this season - O'Best may be a player of limited abilities, but his selfless running and determination in the games against Villa and Blackburn in particular were exemplary. And that's not to mention his Premier League goalscoring record for us.

In other news, last night's 3-0 win for the Reserves at Bolton was notable for three things: a brace for Sylvain Marveaux, a debut at this level for U18 hotshot JJ Hooper and another decent performance from Dan Gosling, whom new Doncaster manager Dean Saunders is rumoured to be eyeing up as a potential loan signing.

Staking a claim

While the shot-shy first team toiled to a fortuitous 0-0 draw on Monday night, the Reserves thumped their Norwich counterparts 6-0 yesterday. It was quite literally men against boys, our line-up featuring several experienced fringe first-teamers including Steve Harper, Danny Guthrie and Dan Gosling while the visitors fielded no fewer than four first-year scholars.

Most prominent among those hoping to elbow their way into Alan Pardew's plans was Gosling. Not even named on the bench at Loftus Road, the midfielder bagged a brace and was only denied his hat-trick by the woodwork. Gabriel Obertan and Spidermag, ineffectual against QPR, should feel their places are under threat. The other goals came from Greg McDermott, Michael Richardson (back from his unsuccessful loan spell at League 1 strugglers Leyton Orient), Ryan Donaldson and substitute Yves Moyo.

Meanwhile, Davide Santon enjoyed a comfortable debut at left-back as the Reserves emulated the first team in achieving a shut-out. Surely he'll replace Ryan Taylor sooner rather than later?