Wallace

Whilst we were above Liverpool, they talked about the top 7 but as soon as we dropped below them, it became the top 6.

could well be true but i'd guess he'll drag the talks out to see if others come in for him. we're his safety net. A Dutch correspondent on the radio this week also said we were in talks but I wouldn't be surprised if we were being used to flush out other interest as you say.

Tiote always needs a few games after he has been out for a while to get back to his best. He was poor early in the season after the pre-season problems and it was the same last year when he missed games.

I actually think Tiote is being honest and personally has no intention of leaving but it probably won't be his choice. Would love to see what would happen if a club came in with a ridiculous offer and the club wanted to sell but Tiote refused to go.

http://twitter.com/#!/agentH058 That agent Peter Harrison letting rip about Allardyce and Brown and others with Bolton connections who he claims are bent.

I wonder if their appeal fails whether he will be banned for more games.

it is by far the most detestable punditry line up in the history of punditry What have they done to their hair!

I think we have some players who are genuinely happy to be here and would want to spend the majority of their career with us but they must be aware they are only here until they can be sold for a decent profit. I find that quite sad. Cabaye for example has spent his whole career up to now at one club and it will have been a big decision for him to make such a move. I just don't see him as someone wanting to move on at the first opportunity that comes along. Looking at the team that started on Saturday, there were only 3 players in it that were with us when we got relegated (Krul, Colo and Jonas) and one of those was not in the first team at the time. That is a huge turnover of players. Very few teams (especially the successful ones) have that sort of turnover of players. In 2 years time, will it be a completely different team again? I cannot see us progressing much if that is the case. We are now at the stage where we need some continuity with our players and maybe replace the odd one. Selling our 3-4 best players every year will not improve the team although the bank balance may look good.

Whereas I am not sure why some of the reported clubs would need Tiote other than to strengthen their squads, I can see why teams above us might want Colo. Man Utd have had injury problems with their defenders all season and their defence has often been poor, Chelsea have got defensive problems, Liverpool are supposed to be looking at central defenders and although Arsenal seem to be OK now their defenders are fit again, their best defender has a poor injury record and they struggle when he is out. Colo's fitness record and organisational skills would surely appeal to all of those clubs and they could certainly afford his wages. However, I don't think he would necessarily be first choice for any of these clubs.

I can appreciate that Pardew is in an awkward situation but why does it always sound like he is inviting offers for our players when he says it would have to be really "big offer" to tempt them to sell.

I believe he likes it here and will stay if the offer is right (the same as Enrique btw). I am therefore 99% certain that what we are offering constitutes a pay cut, otherwise it would be signed already. As such, though I assume your post is meant as a joke, unless there is a satisfactory conclusion to these negotiations it will end up being what people say I'm afraid. 'If he likes it so much, he'll take a pay cut' etc. Seen it a few times already. Sorry but I have to disagree with the first line. Enrique was never going to stay here. I've seen rats flee a sinking ship with more decorum than the way he left. Agree to disagree, I've never changed my stance on Enrique. Apart from the Twitter comments right at the end he said f*** all either; he and his agent kept quiet despite months of speculation and a running commentary from our manager. Funnily enough pretty much the exact opposite of Barton who was roundly criticised for making it all public. Strange, that. Anyway let's not go back into that. I think the players are not allowed to discuss their contracts in public (obviously Barton had own agenda where he was concerned) which seems unfair seeing as Pardew and the club are able to say what they want.

It's the same old question - what do the club (or rather Ashley) want to achieve? It has been said that they are now looking to finish in the top 7 - if that is the case then it won't happen if they keep selling their best players. At present, I do think we are probably the 7th best team in the league but sell Tiote and Colo and then we will drop very quickly. If Ashley is purely looking to get his money back, then the players will go as soon as he gets an acceptable offer. If the main aim of the club is to develop players for profit, then they should not be moving them on until we have replacements ready to step up, otherwise each time we sell we are taking a gamble and Ashley's luck will run out at some point.

I am sure the "moneymen" (as mentioned in that article) will order Pardew to start playing Ben Arfa soon otherwise how will they realise their 300% profit on him!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/sport/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/12/18/alan-pardew-is-confident-of-deal-for-coloccini-79310-29971586/ Who knows what Colo has been offered. It said in the Sunday Sun yesterday that he had been offered a pay rise. I am sure when he first arrived it was reported he was on £40k a week but over the last 4 years that figure has gradually increased and the highest I have seen quoted is £85k. If he is on the lower figure then it would be plausible tha the has been offered an increase but obviously not if the higher figure is true. "As revealed in the Sunday Sun last month, United have offered the Argentina defender a five-year contract to end his career at St James’ Park. But he is yet to ink the deal, which would see a salary bump for Newcastle’s captain."

There was a bit in one of the local papers recently (thought it was by Mark Douglas but oculd be wrong) where he said he felt a little more assured about Tiote staying having spoken to people close to him. It was along the lines that he was quite a shy person who would feel out of place in London and that he was very happy in Newcastle. I recall it saying there was absolutely no desire from Tiote to move but that it might not be his decision in the end (in the journalist's view). I am sure I read that he has only played about 35 games for us so yet again he is another player who has yet to play a full season. It seems a shame that if you get a good player, that there is such a rush to move them on. However, if we "have" to sell one player next month - out of the three touted (Krul, Colo and Tiote) - then I guess Tiote would be the one. We would still suffer as a team but I reckon we would suffer more if we lost Colo and Krul because we just don't have adequate replacements for those two.

OptaJoe Opta Sports 40% - Since Cheik Tiote's debut, Newcastle's win % is nearly twice as good with him in the starting line up, than in his absence (21%). Cog. 17 Dec

Radio Newcastle also said that Man Utd had 2 reps at the game, one of whom was Alex Ferguson's brother who scouts for them.

lee_ryder Lee Ryder Temuri Ketsbaia, Nikos Dabizas and Laurent Robert have all jetted in to pay tribute Gary Speed today #nufc 8 hours ago

John Carver said in the programme that the pallbearers at his funeral were Shearer, Harper, Given, Bellamy and Nolan.

Chelsea supporters and the Southern media seem to be raving about that Spanish lad from Barcelona - Romeu? - and saying he is the next Makelele. If that is the case, then surely Chelsea don't need Tiote and they should address other areas of the team first.

Not sure that the players who were around when we were relegated would welcome Bassong back. Don't think he did himself any favours at the time.

He was fantastic for us and was getting better with each game - he is just not the same player. I wonder if that injury was worst that we thought and he has not conpletely recovered from it. Part of me is glad that he has not settled at Liverpool but I would like to see him get back to his old self. I found it irritating at the time that the common consensus in the press was that by moving to a "proper" club like Liverpool that he would magically become a reformed character who would blossom under Dalglish and that Newcastle could not be trusted to develop or look after such a player. Ultimately though the whole thing makes me quite sad. As soon as a young player comes onto the scene, there is a rush to move him on to a bigger club instead of just letting the player continue to develop and then let him move at a more appropriate time. The player is also culpable because they see the big pay rise rather than how their career will develop in the short term. If Carroll had stayed here for a couple more seasons, he would have been a better player and probably would have found it easier to adjust to a new club but there are too many people involved whose priority is to make money out of a player over their actual career development.

Let's hope he is still manager first and foremost. He will be I reckon. That win yesterday has probably given him another month or so. Is there any truth to the rumours that the Venkys didn't realise there was relegation in the premier league. They were talking about it on five live yesterday. First time I've heard this. I actually wouldn't be surprised if these rumours turned out to be true.... I'd not heard it before until they were talking about it on the radio, they were saying that's the rumour doing the rounds in Blackburn. Heard that last season when it looked like they would go down.

It would be madness to sell Krul at this stage because he has so many years ahead of him and I think he is genuinely happy here. In a couple of years, he himself might feel he needs to move on to the next stage but at present he still has loads to learn as he regularly admits. I think we would have lost a good few more games without him this season because the other keepers (incl. Forster) are just nowhere near as good and Krul has had to make a lot of outstanding saves in most games. As ever it all depends on what Ashley wants from the club - to regularly compete within the top 8 or just to stay in the league for the TV money? Good teams need a good keeper and it is not as if we have another one waiting to step up if he went. Everybody is talking about him though at the moment - all the media and other club's fans - and saying he is the best keeper in the PL at the present.

I think with the minute silence, I will be in floods of tears whereas the applause does not affect me quite in the same way.