Martin Lol

So, given that you haven't seen the Newcastle youth teams basically what you're saying is that you've no idea as to whether we'll be in a better position than Sunderland to promote kids into the first team squad? No, but the Sunderland Academy kids were sufficiently collectively better to come top by a significant margin. The main point is that if Newcastle are going to speedily return to the Premier League, it will be more likely with talented players experienced at the Championship level rather than youngsters, no matter how promising, who are still learning thier trade (in my humble opinion).

I can well imagine the Shearer/Dowie partnership proving successful in the long term. Shearer is singleminded, knows what he wants and how he wants the team to play. Dowie knows the Championship, knows which players might fit into Shearer's plan for the future and, perhaps most importantly, Dowie knows what it takes to get a team out of the Championship. I still doubt whether promotion will come next season though. Newcastle seem to be starting from such a low base I find it hard to believe Shearer and Dowie will be able to get in all the players they need, get them to gel as a team and do enough to get promoted. Time will tell.

I've seen the video of the play off semi final, Sunderland had 3 or 4 who impressed a lot and most seemed as though they would make a decent living from football at one level or another. I haven't seen the Newcastle youngsters play so I can't offer a view. I would agree though that the Academy process isn't all about winning leagues, it's about getting the players to progress to the next level.

what can you tell us about the other two? i'm sure there's plenty of foreign players who could come in and do a job in the championship, so hopefully the likes of vetere have been looking for them. Raitala had a trial with Newcastle on January, but Newcastle (and other teams) wanted to wait until summer to get him cheaper (his contract was expiring in December, but he has signed new contract now). He can play on any position in defence, but he prefers playing as left-back. Turning 21 years in September, he has been in HJK's first team since 2007 and is very promising talent. He is very quick and solid defensively, but not the greatest going up. He will be playing in U21 European Championship next month and will be monitored by many teams (latest to show interest is PSV Eindhoven, also many clubs from Germany have been after him). He wants to make a smart move (somewhere where he can play week in, week out, so Newcastle has a chance). Matumona is not the youngest player anymore (born 1981), and hasn't really shined the way he should've been. He had a succesful trial with Birmingham last summer, but for some reason it never happened. He still can produce something magical and I believe that in right circumstances he has a chance to be a star. Very skillful player with good vision, plays as right-winger for Congo (don't know about Brussels). Small and quick. I really liked him with Congo and I would be ready to give him a chance. Shelvey will be a star, he is easily one of the best midfielders in Championship, too bad he has played for such a poor side (Charlton). He could make it in Premiership easily, but hopefully we could have a chance to sign him. Will definately leave Charlton in summer, but question is who gets him? Arsenal if the rumours are correct.

Is the bulk of the Academy squad really good enough to go straight into the Championship? Newcastle finished 22 points behind Sunderland in the Academy League who qualified for the Academy League play offs. Spurs beat Sunderland at the SOL in the play off semi final, then lost to Arsenal at WHL in the final. As it's reckoned on their forums that only a couple of Arsenal youngsters may go on loan to Championship sides next season, I'd be surprised if more than 1 or 2 Newcastle youngsters got near the first team next season. There does seem to be a big gulf between the Newcastle and the Sunderland academy teams, let alone the Arsenal one.

Don't worry 75% of them won't be here. I only hope Beye stays and becomes Captain Don't worry 75% of them won't be here. I only hope Beye stays and becomes Captain But will the 25% you keep be the players you wanted to keep? Players like Bassong and Beye are probably already being hawked around by their agents, they may well have a clause in their contract that they go if a bid of £Xm comes in. That's why I'm pessimistic about a speedy return.

The second half performance summed up all that's been wrong with Newcastle this season. Needing one goal, just one goal, to stay up and the majority of the players didn't give a sh*t whether Newcastle scored or not. The club obviously needs a major overhaul from top to bottom but I still don't think that it's best that the overhaul starts in the Championship. It would have made more sense for Ashley to have started the overhaul during the January transfer window instead of opting to make a short term profit by selling some of the better players and keeping the deadwood. I know how I felt when Spurs were relegated, we bounced straight back but it was a lot easier then. I'm not optimistic about Newcastle's chances of making an instant return.

I hope it goes well for you today.

Ginola by a country mile ............................ but I might be a little biased

Cisse to Spurs is sounding more and more likely. Today started off badly and it's steadily got worse.

I've heard that song countless times when I've stayed with my cousin. It says to me more about what is good about living life in Newcastle than any conversation with my cousin ever could. RIP fella.

I cannot imagine if he's playing in the premier league next season while we are in the championship next season. There's never been any doubt that Carr has/had ability although it's always had to be prised out of him rather than coming natuarally. Maybe his failure during his time at SJP reflects as much on the managers of the time as the player himself.

http://msn.football365.com/story/0,17033,8...html?ocid=today 10 - Amr Zaki Oh he's been toilet since November, is only on loan (yeah, we're breaking our own rules - what's it to you?) and has a rather relaxed attitude to timekeeping, but boy he was good before that. Eight goals in his first 11 league games had everyone - including the scouts of the European big boys - rubbing their eyes and wondering where the hell Steve Bruce had found this one. How we all laughed when Bruce pointed to the FIFA rankings (based on international goals-to-games ratio) that said Zaki was the best striker in the world, then how we stopped laughing when he started banging them in. Anonymous for months now, but deserves a mention for that electric early-season form. 9 - Peter Crouch Weird season down on the south coast. After starting the campaign with arguably the best strikeforce outside the top four, hopes were high of a European charge, but since the departure of Redknapp, Diarra and Defoe it's been a relegation fight. And how much worse would it have been without Crouch? Perhaps £10million for 12 goals is a little disappointing, but using crude, flawed and inexact logic, Crouch's goals have gained 11 points for Pompey, without which they would now be stone bottom. 8 - Andriy Arshavin Last summer, as Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter managed the impressive achievement of standing out as one of the more despicable members of his profession by hawking his man across the continent, all the talk was of a man who went missing when it mattered. 'Would he be able to stand the physical rigours of Blighty?' we mused. Well, based on the evidence since January, it's an emphatic 'Yes'. It's worth noting that Arsenal haven't lost a game that Arshavin has started, and without his clinical intervention would have been embarrassed at Anfield last month. Would be higher on this list if his contribution had actually led to any tangible success this campaign, but he may prove to be one of the most astute buys Wenger has ever made. 7 - Robinho Rubbish away from home, apparently shoddy attitude, in the papers for, shall we say, the wrong reasons, but the Premier League would have been a duller place this season without him. For all the stretches of anonymity, there have been some dazzling moments of skill - skill that few others in the division, let alone in the Manchester City side, are capable of. His was also an important signing for ADUG's hopes of world domination. While it's true that Robinho was simply desperate to leave Real Madrid last summer and would have gone anywhere for the right coin, it proves that City have the muscle to buy players of world renown. Kaka may have turned his nose up, but if they are serious about challenging the top four cartel, then more signings like Mr De Souza are required. 6 - Marouane Fellaini 'Who the f**k is he?' was this correspondent's reaction upon hearing that Everton had splashed £15million on a 20-year-old Belgian who looked like Screech from Saved By The Bell. Wrong we were proved, with Fellaini contributing an impressive nine goals from midfield, and perhaps most importantly taking some of the burden from Tim Cahill. In a season when Everton have been so short of strikers - often having to operate without one - Fellaini's contributions have been invaluable. 5 - Sebastien Bassong If there is a small, tiny, pinprick of shining light at Newcastle this season, it is this young Frenchman. Signed ostensibly as 'one for the future' last summer, Bassong was quickly pressed into action, initially at left-back, but has since established himself as United's most consistent performer in the middle of defence. While that may sound like a back-handed compliment, it really isn't, and if Newcastle do go down then Bassong will be one of the only men who can leave with some degree of pride. 4 - Luka Modric Apparently rejected by Arsene Wenger on the basis that he was too lightweight, Modric's early-season form looked to have confirmed those fears. First Juande Ramos, then Harry Redknapp didn't seem to know what to do with him - centre midfielder? Support striker? Free role? Then, 'Huzzah' said 'Arry. 'Why not play him in a nominal left-sided position joining attacks from the flank?' As it turns out, not a bad idea at all, and Modric has been the creative fulcrum of Tottenham's post-October success. 3 - James Beattie A match made in heaven, this. It took Tony Pulis two stabs at it, but after the failure of Dave Kitson, he cracked the perfectly simple plan of procuring a battering ram up front to convert the chances that Stoke's somewhat robust style of play created. Whether both Beattie and Stoke will be found out next season remains to be seen, but for this campaign this was an absolutely spiffing bit of business, what what. 2 - Mark Schwarzer Ask a Middlesbrough fan what exactly has gone wrong this season and you could be there for a while, but surely a massive factor in their demise has been their failure to replace one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. While much of Fulham's success this season has been based on the rock solid, intimidating and Easter Island statue-esque presence of Brede Hangeland, their exemplary defensive record can be largely attributed to the air of calm assuredness that Schwarzer exudes. Fulham have conceded the fewest goals of anyone outside the top three (Arsenal's spanking on Sunday pushed their 'GA' column above the Cottagers'), and with Schwarzer an ever-present and keeping clean sheets in over half of those games, it doesn't take a genius to work out where they have gone right. 1 - Wilson Palacios Given the appalling events of the weekend, this may look like a sympathy vote, but it really isn't. In fact, that Palacios has been living with the knowledge that his brother was in captivity for 18 months makes his performances all the more remarkable. Palacios has been the sort of player that Spurs have needed ever since Edgar Davids left - someone with some toughness to allow the rest of the midfield to play. And boy has it worked. You could argue that Palacios is perhaps the sole reason for Tottenham's latter-season form, given that his industry allows the likes of Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric ahead of him to create and attack in the safe knowledge that they have some protection behind them. Spurs have spent ridiculous amounts on duff players over the last few years, but £14million for Palacios could turn out to be a bargain.

40, forgot Swindon and Barnsley. Another quiz is name the stadium........... http://www.skysports.com/fun_games/stadium/0,20926,,00.html The stadia change each time you play, I keep getting 8 or 9.

The Guardian reckon Ribery could be on his way to Man Utd for £63m. Not a problem for them. Just add it on to their current debt. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/05/manchester-united-franck-ribery-bayern-munich-cristiano-ronaldo

Surely there has an expectation at those levels of getting some poor results? If U18 players are being pushed to progress by playing for the reserves and 16 year olds are playing in the U18 team, you cant necessarily expect victories more often than not. At that age, development of the players is far more important than the results of the team. You hope that the two go hand in hand but that is not often the case.

Samuel Eto'o may be on his way to Man City. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/5232631/Manchester-City-line-up-record-40m-Samuel-Etoo-bid.html Even though Eto'o has said he wants to stay, there is only a year left on his contract and Barca may well think this is to much money to say no to, especialy if they do sign David Villa.

46m and they're still pretty f***ing s*** The league table since signing Palacios et al seems to suggest otherwise..................... http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/8383/picture2pxx.png

I think Ashley is the main reason (and Wise the secondary one) for Newcastle's predicament, not Kinnear, though I'd agree it was a lousy appointment. Spurs were in a worse situation than Newcastle, the difference was that Levy did something about it. Ramos went, Redknapp was brought in and he was given a fortune to buy new players, one of which (Palacios) changed the season and the mentality. Ashley lost Keegan, brought in Kinnear, didn't spend and wound up making a profit on transfer dealings. I still find it bewildering that Wise couldn't tell Ashley he had to spend serious money. Wise was the DoF after all.

On the other hand, you could get relegated and still be a selling club. If Ashley opted to make a profit in the January window instead of strengthening the squad, what would be the likelihood of him splashing £15m if you're in the Championship?

Hard to argue with that. It was the worst performance I think I've ever seen from a Newcastle team at WHL and the worst team performance there this season by a long way. It was more like a training game until Martins came on and the atmosphere was flat because of it. Gutless performance is the only way I can describe it. The only encouragement I can offer is that it should be obvious to a blind man that Martins, fitness permitting, should play in the remaining matches and if he can, then I can see Newcastle possibly having enough to avoid the drop. I don't think relegation is inevitable. Newcastle may have only won 4 home games this season but there is still no reason why they can't wind up the season with at least 6, maybe 7 bearing in mind the opposition. Fulham are the only team that should pose any kind of a threat.

Hamstring by all accounts so expecting Huddlestone alongside Palacios.

Changed from 10 to 7. Perfect choice of manager for the club and perfect choice of assistant for the manager. I thought Newcastle were near certainties to go down, now fairly convinced you're safe. Almost made it 6 tbh. Probably will be after the weekend.

Danny Rose joins Watford on loan till the end of the season with an option for all next season as well. The Redknapp/Lampard family connection remains strong.

Speaking of Spurs, did they eventually sign Appiah or what? Was offered a contract till the end of the season with a 2 year extension if it went ok. Appiah wanted 2 and half yr contract up front, so he's trying his luck with a German club I believe. Big doubts that his current fitness level was half what is needed for the Premier League.