Wallace

Matuidi was supposed to be Nolan's replacement.

Macheda played for Man Utd reserves earlier that week at SJP and scored an excellent hat-trick and then that wonder goal against Villa that weekend. Purple patch I guess.

Wasn't Muntari the one causing all the problems in the Sunderland dressing room or was it Mensah? One of the Ghanaians anyway.

Well we crocked him last season in the League Cup game. His return from injury was against us at the end of the season - whether that was from the early season injury or something later on in the season, I don't know.

They speak to agents a lot and they have their own agenda so they are reporting what they have been told. Whether that is the truth or agents are using them to get their client's name in the press is another matter. But things can change as these sagas drag on. Early on in the Summer, newspapers were reporting that Nasri would only leave Arsenal for Man Utd and was desperate to join them - once City were interested, he soon changed his mind.

The frustrating thing is that these clubs seem prepared to sell for a reasonable fee but we only seem interested in a player at a bargain price. I heard a journalist over the weekend saying that Daniel Levy's policy is to double the price of every player Spurs want to sell and to offer half the price when they are buying. Sounds like we have adopted that approach as well.

Yeah, there's an air of confidence about him that wasn't there last season. That spreads to the rest of the defence. I think having been given the chance to prove himself has calmed him down because last season, I think he was trying too hard to impress (a new manager and goalkeeping coach) in Harper's absence knowing that he would likely be dropped as soon as Harper was fit again.

Hate to be cynical but it aint going to happen. Can't see us replacing Simpson for the reasons Dave gave earlier I know people dont rate Simpson but i think other areas need attention more right now, i still think he can grow into the role the older he gets, hoping like. There is also Tavernier to consider who seems to be improving rapidly now and with Ryan Taylor who can play in that position, I would rather we concentrate on other areas where we desperately need bodies.

It could be a problem getting deals "over the line" with players leaving to join up with their national teams.

Hmmm.... Throwing large amounts of money at players who are nearing the end of their careers. That might keep them up this season, but long-term that's usually trouble. I don't think Fernandes is an Abramovich who's going to be able to keep spending. I don't think Fernandes himself is rich enough to support continued spending but isn' t the co-owner (Mittel?) richer than Abramovich. He wasn't willing to invest with the other 2 owners but maybe that will be different now.

Bedlington Terriers 15 (FIFTEEEN) Stokesley 0

Most teams are looking for a decent striker.

Yeah people dont seem to bothered about this Apparently was out 2nd half of the season for 3 months with injury. Even so....buying a player with potential when you need goals now hasnt been working out to well for certain other teams has it really. That scout report earlier in the thread also says hes pretty poor in the air & not as good as chamakh was. Dont know anything about him myself, hope he does well if we get him. Seems a bit of a gamble ? I think we are at the point where any striker is going to be a gamble.

Nolan and Barton were doing them last season as part of their contract renegotiation propaganda. well that went well I think some of the players still do a few talk-ins but apart from the dinners, they often seem to be for local sports/social clubs so most people would never hear about them. Nolan, Harper and Taylor have done a few low profile ones but I think it tends to be more the local lads - I don't recall ever hearing about the foreign lads doing them with the exception of Krul who has done a couple of the more high profile ones and it something I can imagine that he would be very comfortable doing. There is a dinner with Shola in a couple of months at the Marriott I think. I am not sure about the club's policy on them as I remember a few years ago going to one with all the goalkeepers for a local charity and the organiser (a woman) had encountered a lot of opposition and hostility from Shepherd - I am not sure of the reasons why but she said she would never hold such an event again because of the treatment she received from NUFC.

Meant to be just over 30,000 at Villa and about 10,000 at Wigan - the latter they say is because their fans have gone off to watch the rugby team in the final.

We've supposedly got 4 players observing Ramadan: Ba, Marvaux, Tiote and Abeid.

There has been a hint in the media that there was something going on with him in recent days. No idea what.

They may have been strong characters that stood up to the hierarchy but I would be amazed if the same story doesn't happen next year when Colo and Jonas are into the final year of their contracts and they turn down new offers. And others move on for better wages and to more ambitious clubs. Their leaving will probably be less acrimonious because they are not likely to rock the boat. We have to expect that as soon as we have a decent player on our hands, that they will move on fairly quickly once they get a better offer that this club are not prepared to match. At the moment, we should have enough about us (providing we find someone who can score goals) to survive the the recent exodus but I don't think that will continue to be the case if the same scenario is repeated every year. The problem is we are not a top 4 club, and only the top 4 can pay big wages within a long term structure. The rest can pay it for a while, like Villa tried to, but if you don't break into the top 4 you are then in over your head and the cost cutting will be hard. It's a tough pill to swallow but we are coming back from a long way down and at this stage there's not a lot we can do to stop our players being cherry picked except get the best prices we can and try and replace them well. I agree but we should not then be turning on the players and accusing them of greed because they consider themselves to have moved on to better things - whether that is because of ambition, salary or a better-run club. Also, most of our players always seem to want to leave on good terms with the fans for which they are also slated by many but then you gets the likes of Nasri laying into the Arsenal fans once he has moved to a new club.

They may have been strong characters that stood up to the hierarchy but I would be amazed if the same story doesn't happen next year when Colo and Jonas are into the final year of their contracts and they turn down new offers. And others move on for better wages and to more ambitious clubs. Their leaving will probably be less acrimonious because they are not likely to rock the boat. We have to expect that as soon as we have a decent player on our hands, that they will move on fairly quickly once they get a better offer that this club are not prepared to match. At the moment, we should have enough about us (providing we find someone who can score goals) to survive the the recent exodus but I don't think that will continue to be the case if the same scenario is repeated every year.

Well they were queuing up earlier to welcome him to London.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/newcastle-defenders-joy-as-baby-daughter-wins-fight-2344582.html Newcastle defender's joy as baby daughter wins fight Danny Simpson's little girl was born six weeks early – weighing just 3lb – but is getting stronger by the day By Jason Mellor Saturday, 27 August 2011 In a hospital ward in the shadow of St James' Park, a battle is being fought, and a battle is being won. It is an intensely personal story of triumph over adversity, one to eclipse anything that could ever be achieved on the Gallowgate, even here, where many concur with Bill Shankly's thoughts on football, life and death. The existence of the average Premier League player would seem to revolve around a comfortably familiar routine of playing, training and using their plentiful disposable income to boost the profits of Nando's. Up until recently, Danny Simpson fitted that description to a tee, but not any longer. Portuguese-style flame-grilled chicken somewhat loses its charm when there is a daily bedside vigil to be maintained. The Newcastle defender's life turned upside down at the end of July, when his daughter was born six weeks prematurely. Skye-Lorena weighed just three and a half pounds. She remains at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, a goal-kick from the city's footballing cathedral, where she is being cared for after her unscheduled entry into the world. She is now up to five pounds and making good progress, and the worst, thankfully, is over. Such has been her progress, Simpson and his partner, Steph, hope to have their little fighter back home early next month. Skye's nursery at home has been ready for weeks; Simpson saw to that in what has been an emotionally draining chapter in the 24-year-old's life. While it seems trite to talk about keeping things in perspective, that's exactly what it has done. Simpson remains as focused as ever on the pitch, even though the last four weeks have helped him see football for the glorious distraction that it really is. "It was a very difficult time for us when she arrived so early," he admitted. "Hopefully, we're through the worst of it, and the staff at the RVI have been brilliant. Thankfully, Skye's putting on weight and is up to five pounds three ounces and getting stronger all the time. She's doing really well and, hopefully, she'll be home in a week or so." His daughter's unexpected arrival meant Simpson – on his way back from the club's pre-season tour of the United States – missed the birth. Still, his predicament, some 30,000 feet over the Atlantic, at least helped the couple to settle on a name. "I was literally up in the sky when she was born," the former Manchester United defender revealed. "It was the longest eight-and-a-half-hour flight of my life. That's why she's called Skye-Lorena. We came up with the name the night I saw her." It's fortunate he had not already landed – Heathrow Simpson might take some getting used to. "It was the proudest day of my life when she was born," he added. "It's amazing how your mentality changes once you become a parent. It's just completely different to anything you've been used to. Changing a nappy for the first time was a real experience, but it was nice watching Match of the Day with my little girl in my arms. I've put together all the furniture in Skye's nursery, it's ready for her to come home." Newcastle host Fulham tomorrow aiming to extend their unbeaten start. "During the games, of course I want to win badly, but straight after I turn into a family man. I'll ring the hospital to make sure everything is OK. "I now have a family to look after and I've had to become very strong for them. Usually, your life revolves around training, playing games and seeing your mates." And, let us not forget, that Nando's season ticket.

Both players want to come here and have probably been unsettled by our interest. We seem to be playing them off against each other rather than concentrating on the one we want and making discrete enquiries on the other as a back up plan. The way we have been conducting my transfer business lately is baffling.

But how many NUFC first team players are on Twitter? Jonas and Simpson? Anyone else? It is mostly the kids. Jonas rarely tweets and mostly in Spanish and Simpson's tweets are nonsense most of the time.

I now expect for the club to start feeding information about Joey to the press in order to get the fans back onside.

The f***ing brass neck on that c***. No comment like that for any other player we've sold this summer. Exactly. Always thought the club were quite graceless when a player leave because often other clubs will make statements to thank a player and wish them well whilst we normally get silence. Guess the reference to "on-field" is pertinent.