Memphis

Two things: 1. The release clause is in Oba's contract without Oba having requested it or even knowing about it? How did that happen exactly? 2. If Oba wants to sign a new deal without the clause, and for the same money, as he says - get it sorted. What is the delay? Oh, and it's a great read. Really thrilled that Oba seems to be settling so well.

mackems, smogs, spurs, west ham, chelsea

The only theory about the whole Dyer situation that makes sense if you take the comments Mort and Allardyce have made at face value, and if you put stock in the retraction of the inflammatory comments by Egg man, is that West Ham tapped up Dyer before trying to do a deal with us. Then, once the deal was all but done, the leadership at St. James' found out about the unscrupulous dealings and felt West Ham were taking advantage of a player they themselves had unsettled. Thus, we asked for more money. Just a theory, mind, but one that is consistent with all the information we know. The fact that West Ham seems willing to continue the deal would indicate to me that they likely don't see Newcastle as entirely responsible for this situation.

The developments reported by Paul Gilder in today's Journal are quite interesting, though. The fact that the Egg man would so easily and willingly ask for a retraction of his comments upon the mere suggestion of an official inquiry suggests that he's more responsible for this shambolic Dyer mess than many had originally thought. It certainly adds more credence to Mort's and Allardyce's position on the matter.

He's listed as injured because he is. From this Sporting Life article on Baines: I would not expect Tevez to play this weekend.

Jaaskelainen - GK Yobo, Geremi, Distin - D N'Zogbia, Fabregas, Alonso, Arteta - M Berbatov, van Persie, Rooney - F Hahnemann, Ingimarsson, Huddlestone, Onuoha - subs I'm reasonably confident in that team.

Great work, arkanoider!

Cheers for this - I always enjoy Mike's work

I know he's got dodgy knees and is 34, but surely Solskjaer should be on Man Utd's list. That said, we've certainly got a great deal of Premiership-proven quality up front...with decent service, we should have no trouble finishing.

Setanta's the way to go. They are definitely showing the Bolton match live. Might want to check out their broadband coverage as well...

If that money gives us the stability to qualify for Europe and therefore attract a better brand of player as a replacement, it will have been well worth it. Agreed but €4m is still a fair old wedge to spend on a stopgap. It's not as though there will be a resale value at the end of the contract. If that money gives us the stability to qualify for Europe and therefore attract a better brand of player as a replacement, it will have been well worth it.

Don't quite understand all the animosity toward Smith either.

Better than Pattison...

Baptista? Gudjohnsen? Nope, it's Smith.

Thank you Tom.

If you read the article, there is a mention of an actual offer from Fulham for Seol, and more importantly, there are quotes from the player. That part is therefore believable. As for Zoggy? No quotes, no mention of a concrete offer...instead, mere speculation of a potential price tag. There is a big difference. Let's use just a bit of logic here when thinking about these things. We have an incredibly thin squad as it is. Does it make the slightest bit of sense to sell Zoggy at this point? Not at all. Does it then make sense to sell him for a cut-price 3 million? Certainly not. If it happened, it would be indefensible. But it won't happen.

Move along... Nothing to see here...

They've no quotes regarding N'Zogbia, and we've absolutely no reason to sell him. More crap reporting. Although I'm sure Anal will have the EXCLUSIVE tomorrow: "Indeed it is true that stories about Charles N'Zogbia being sold are not wide of the mark." And the BBC are just as "accurate" as most news outlets as it relates to transfer talk.

I hope this is just paper talk, but there seems to be little question that some kind of rift exists between MA and Sam. Hard to imagine the man who wants to take the club to the next level forcing the manager to sell one of the club's brightest young assets to raise cash. Worrying news.

Just watched the Oba interview...looks happy, sounds happy, still talks a bit in riddles, but his intent seemed quite clear. Some select quotes: On transfer speculation: "I kept my mouth shut so I'm not going anywhere. I am still a Newcastle player. I am very, very happy here. I am not going anywhere." On competition for places: "I believe it's not a competition. I believe we have...about...many games to play, and we'll play them together. That's it." On Sam Allardyce: "Yea, yea. A good man. Big Sam. And um...I think we work better together."

Harper in midfield >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pattison anywhere on pitch

4-1

STEVIE HARPER helping to start the move!!!!! Good work by N'Zogbia to set that up and a tidy finish from Milner.

Geremi named MOTM

Was wondering that myself... Maybe Big Sam had this in mind all along as a message to Mort.