HongKongMag

Sad for Palace fans, it really would be gut wrenching. Seems to have come out of the blue to an extent too. correct me if I'm wrong I'm noy a palace watcher! A cheeky bid for Moses might be worth it, although I agree he'll probably end up at a PL club if one bids for him. That said the administrators will take the highest bid, so it may be worth it. What about Ambrose, any takers?

Awesome signing as far as I'm concerned. Will offer a decent balance to the side and we'll no longer have to focus our attacks up the left flank. That ploy was starting to get a tad obvious to the opposition! Still, any deal that leaves the smoggies gasping for breath has to be worth it's weight in gold!!!

Pretty much what you said I assume. As far as the accounting lot are concerned you can spread your outlay over a 3.5 year period even if we pay the whole sum up front... bloody accounts are the devil when it comes to paperwork.

It really is. Over the years many refs have been accused of being "homers" but this season we seem to have created the opposite as a succession of poor Championship referees have set out to prove they will not be swayed by a big crowd and end up letting that intention take over, giving nothing to us and letting the opposition kick lumps out of our players. (Particularly Jonas) I agree, then there is the unavoidable fact that the standards are just lower in this division. How we can have a player ruled offside when he is several yards onside is pathetic.

Not really, the bounce made it difficult for the keeper. Not true - he was slow getting down & across goal ; I've seen redwoods go down faster from a chainsaw.... Wasn't the best of keeping, but he was moving in the right direction..

A class act, and a very good striker IMO.

He's no Shearer, but hes the best we're going to get at the moment and he wants to play for the club, so if he can do the job he's put on the field for; then fine by me. If he can keep up a decent strike rate (which at the moment is better than a goal every other game) them fair play to the man. But we will need a classy striker if and when we go up.

Great start, Geremi wasn't really contributing that much on the pitch. I've heard he was doing good work behind the scenes with this player committee, but I think the 50/60K a week is better spent on some new blood rather than a committee member! Hopefully the Beckford deal is well in the way, in which case a defender ala Kilgallon or Campbell (hope not) would be the next logical step. Simpson ideally to be kept too!

I have nothing against Beye, but I don't want anyone who jumped ship last season to come back. That's not how I roll. Damn straight. Anyone who wanted to bail when we went down should not be pitching up in black and white again imo.

If only i could see that in the papers.. legend.

We'll probably wait until the 31st of January then sell a few players and declare we've missed a few loan signings.. cést la vi

New article from Caulkin over a the times: http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/12/newcastle-have-found-their-soul-in-the-championship.html Totally missed it whenit came out, but it's a good read!

Yup, tell me about it. But oddly enough Shola is still the striker who's scored the most goals this season and probably the only one we have who probably should make it to 20+ goals at this level. Anyone know when he's back?

We're dffinitely missing Shola, never thought I'd say that, but we REALLY need him back and fit as soon as possible as he's the only striker we have who seems to have the confidence to take someone on and score. Not to mention he actually has a fair degree of nous around him having played in the PL and unless memory decieves me the CL under robson as well.

Ryan Taylor! Get in

5+.. I think we have a few optimists in the house..

Guthrie can certainly hit them, as can Martins. Barton maybe, but to be honest none of them are in the same league as Robert or Shearer. Anyone else remember Spurs 0 - Robert 2?

I agree. Butt's good and definitely has the attitude to compete.. but time is taking it's toll, he's giving it away to much lately and not keeping up. Good fallback though!

Thats putting it lightly..

What... The... F*ck is going on in this world.. If these Nigerians do buy the club.. lets hope sods off!

I think he'll be a good find, he just needs to be bedded into the team slowly, but maybe not just yet as we've already got one new CB!

Just about managed to watch the game altho a certain amount of hanging off a balcony fighting with a satellite dish was involved! Given 7 - Really was a spectator for much of the match, could not fault him for the 1st goal as it was an excellent strike by Morrison, the 2nd perhaps he should have come out to claim. Did make a great diving save to his left late on though. Beye 6 - Not his finest game in a black and white shirt, but still streets ahead of our previous incumbents in that position. Was good getting forward in support but was let down by some lapses in concentration late on. Early doors though so people shouldn't be to worried, class is permanent. Coloccini 8 - A class above any defender we've had in a long time. Inspired confidence when on the ball and made everything look easy. One defining moment was him racing back late on in extra time, still had the legs to keep up with the Coventry subs. Bassong 7 - Still a bit early to have an opinion, but on the back of this game he should be a genuine find. Did not look flustered with the ball at his feet and was happy to take the ball in his own box and pass it out. Could be a genuine gem by the end of the season if KK bloods him slowly. Enrique 8 - Looked very good going forwards, a typical KK defender in that respect. Defended well for the most part, although the occasional lapse in concentration could be more damaging against better teams, although this should improve with match time. Geremi 6 - The victim of a few bad offside decisions. Nothing special but nothing bad, did his job and is still one of our best crossers of the ball. Butt 6 - Experience made up for the lack of legs late on. He's still a valuable player to have around having pretty much won everything he could possibly win, but his passing and movement are starting to wane. Guthrie 7 - A complete bundle of energy, and very direct. Always after the ball but made a few bad decisions when picking his pass, but this will come as he settles into the team. A promising start though. N'zogbia 8 - Immense going forward and badly wasted at LB. Showed alot of the talent that we saw a few years ago -- that Blackburn game in particular. Has to start on the left wing against Arsenal as his pace and control are genuinely a threat to opposition defenders. Jonas 7 - Not up to the heights of his previous 2 games, but still a handful for any opponent. Left defenders trailing in his wake on several occasions and was always tracking back to good effect. More of the same please!! Milner 9 - Easily the best toon player on show last night in my opinion. I know he's a player who's always going to inspire debate, but his willingness to run and do things for the team finally looked like it was being allied with the skill we all know he has. Not the fastest of players but he always took on his man, and that one move where he put the ball to the outside of the defender and cut past him on the inside was breathtaking. Simply can not sell this kid. Subs Owen 8 - Looked sharp for someone who's' played 40 minutes of football this season. Looked a menace in the box and his ability to get into the right place at the right time is a skill that costs ALOT to replace. Give this man his new contract! All in all, a very entertaining game, we really SHOULD have been out of sight before half time and if we'd actually had a recognized striker on the pitch during that spell when we we're peppering the goal with shots and crosses we would have been. Owen must have been wishing he was in the mixer at that point as it would have been raining goals (probably ) Bring on Arsenal, can not recall being quite so up-beat about our chances since Robert nearly went on a one man crusade against them.. then got sent off.

We'll have Alan "gay-icon" Smith, Ivica "best dressed Serb" Dragsomething and José "male model" Enrique... Sam must've read the "We need sexy players"-thread Brilliant, with any luck Roeder and Souness will read the 'Old managers on new signings' thread.

Yeah, particularly like the Rozenthal one... scout him out and then sign him once he's moved to another club!

Shocking idea isn't it, wanting to buy something and then build it up... don't billionaires routinely loose money? (/sarcasm) I'm more than happy with what Morts been saying. The fact that he rarely speaks out makes a refreshing change from the bumbling bafoons that used to run the club, in contrast Mort comes accross as something a smooth operator. In all honesty if the club is really laden with 80 million quid with a debt then I'm not surprised that Mort and Ashley would be paying attention to it, wouldn't you? I't refreshing to hear that our new chairman is NOT a Ridsdale kind of character, something I think we should all be thankful for. Regarding signings; Alan Smith is a decent replacement for Dyer, albeit a completely different kind of player with different attacking options; if anything it adds a bit of bite to the attack/attacking midfield. It just means we have more options. Defenders though remain a priority, and I'd like to see a CB and a LB. Honestly I do not care who they are and where they come from as long as they do the job better than our previous clowns, free transfers would be fine as long as they have the calibre.