Wallace

It is irrevelant whether he signs a contract or not. If he signs and the club want to sell, they will command a higher fee for him and if he wants to leave, he will just put in a transfer request. If Jose doesn't sign then it probably will give him more options because unless the club can create a bidding war, with one year left on his contract he will be more affordable to a wider variety of clubs. (And we should make a good profit on what we paid for him). I just hope that if he does leave, that it will be to a Champions League club and not Liverpool. I have a feeling that if Reina does decide to leave Liverpool as has been rumoured, that Given will move there and having our players move there when a couple of months ago, they were in a worst situation than us would be incredibly frustating.

Sturridge is on big money at Chelsea. He wanted something like £60k a week when he was at City and they refused so he moved to Chelsea.

Chris Kamara called him "Don Tiote" yesterday.

You have to give Allardyce credit - he has no equal when it comes to self-promotion. Any oppportunity and he is there claiming credit for some player or other. It was Carroll a few weeks back and now it is Jose. And Tiote has proved that not all foreign players need a season to adjust to the Premier League.

Thought Nolan had a decent game yesterday although he has seemed a bit "angry" on the pitch in the last couple of games. Always interesting to hear opposition fans go on about Nolan "refereeing" the matches.

I would be amazed if we were in with even the slightest chance once Ipswich decide to cash in. The big clubs are all very interested and the lad himself is supposed to support Liverpool.

And Hughton has said himself, that they did not give him a reason for his sacking.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/feb/09/newcastle-arsenal-comeback-fans?commentpage=2#start-of-comments Paul Wilson Wednesday 9 February 2011 Vilified Toon Army deserved rare joy in Arsenal comeback Newcastle's extraordinary fightback from 4-0 down was a moment to savour for long-suffering Newcastle fans Members of the Toon Army have had a terrible press over the years. Certainly in the Premier League era, Newcastle United supporters have been variously portrayed as gullible, overemotional, unrealistic, absurdly optimistic, sentimentally attached to self-appointed messiah figures who inevitably come up short and, most famously of all, prone to bursting into tears when defeat has once again been snatched from the jaws of victory. In his book 50 People Who Fouled Up Football, Michael Henderson devotes a chapter to the "Geordie Blubber", evoking the image of a grown man weeping like a baby that television cameras were quick to capture for posterity and fix in the national psyche. Henderson accuses Geordies of emotional incontinence and refers to them as our "tear-stained friends in the north", though he does acknowledge that the club has been badly run in recent years and anyone with a real passion for football would have been driven to distraction, at the very least, by the catalogue of blunders and public relations disasters. Most people feel the same way about Geordie fans. Their enthusiasm and loyalty cannot be faulted, yet they seem destined to end up with the raw deal, the ignominious defeat, the mucky end of the stick. Newcastle made it to two successive FA Cup finals at the end of the 90s and sank without trace each time. Though the team managed by Kevin Keegan in the mid-90s would have graced Wembley and given anyone a game, the sides taken to the final by Kenny Dalglish and Ruud Gullit were pale shadows compared to what had gone before and offered Arsenal and Manchester United even less resistance than Joe Harvey's players put up against Liverpool in 1974. Had Newcastle won the 1999 final they would have denied Manchester United the treble, something that might have brought even greater satisfaction than a first major trophy for 44 years (the FA Cup still felt like a major trophy 12 years ago – Manchester United had yet to withdraw from the competition and Champions League clubs had not begun to insult the competition with teams of reserves) but predictably they sank without trace. Many neutrals find it difficult to recall who were Manchester United's Wembley opponents in that treble-winning year – the match that is fixed more permanently in the memory is the epic semi-final against Arsenal, complete with replay and stunning Ryan Giggs goal. That's Newcastle's luck all over. Get to Wembley to face Manchester United in a final and everyone remembers the semi instead. No one would begrudge Tyneside the success its insatiable appetite for football deserves, but whereas passionate supporters in other hotbeds of the game such as Liverpool and Manchester, perhaps even London, have had plenty to cheer about in recent decades, it is over half a century since Newcastle won anything other than the Fairs Cup, so no one under the age of about 70 can have any idea what a satisfied, contented, deliriously happy Geordie fan looks like. That's partly why the cameras linger so lovingly on the disappointment and pain. That's what Geordies do best, having little option to do anything else. Dozens of other clubs have won as little in the past 50 years, but Newcastle are the club who think big, who occasionally crack the Champions League or mount a credible title challenge, only to end up heartbroken. In his chapter on "Geordie Blubber", Henderson makes the contentious statement that the club's fans, the Toon Army, are part of the Newcastle problem. Their expectations are so great, he argues, they are impossible to fulfil. I'm not so sure about that. You could say the same thing about Liverpool fans, for instance, but it has not been a barrier to silverware in most seasons. There may be a grain of truth in the general assumption that Newcastle fans want José Mourinho as their manager and would dearly love to win the title and give Barcelona another pasting in Europe, preferably in the next year or so, but in the meantime the majority of them would settle for much more achievable goals. A settled team, for example, an old-fashioned, home-grown centre-forward who sticks around for a season or two before the owners decide to cash in, a manager given time and support to build the side back into top-half-of-the-table material. Though there have been times, notably under Keegan and Bobby Robson, when these conditions were at least partly fulfilled and Newcastle were a force to be reckoned with, the club has too often been a laughing stock in recent years, a soap opera bordering on farce, and supporters must have been wondering when they were going to get a break. They got one on Saturday against Arsenal, and although a point saved against overwhelming odds might not amount to very much in the wider scheme of things, it made an extremely pleasant change to see images going around the world of Geordie supporters doing what they do best. Not crying, or moaning or hanging their heads, but helping turn around a seemingly lost cause by the volume and fervour of their support. Yes, I am aware that a few left the ground at half-time, unable to stomach any more. There have been people admitting as much in newspapers, and driving home from the north-east listening to the excellent Beat Surrender on Radio Newcastle (as I always do) there were requests from fans wanting to be cheered up because they had left the ground early and missed the most sensational action of the season. The early leavers could only have been a minority though. There were no discernible gaps on the terraces for the second half and no lack of vocal support once the home side began to claw their way back into the game. Nor should leaving early necessarily be construed as a protest or an attempt to register disgust. Sometimes it can be that way but often, when confronted by opponents so superior and quicker in thought and deed, it can hurt to watch one's own team being taken apart so brutally. As Joey Barton said with his usual frankness, at the end of the first half Newcastle were worried the score might reach double figures, and though the players deserve enormous credit for turning the situation around one could sympathise with supporters who reckoned they had seen enough. The game brought back memories of Liverpool's improbable comeback in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. Then, too, fans tried to leave at half-time, not so much depressed by their own team's performance as unwilling to confront the fact that Milan had taken just a few minutes to crush their dreams, only to find the stadium exits locked. You will probably never get a Liverpool fan to admit this, but some were unwilling witnesses to the second half fightback and the whole miracle of Istanbul. Perhaps any team in Newcastle's position at half-time on Saturday could have expected similar support once it was clear the second half would tell a different story, but what impressed at St James' Park was the din created once the first goal went in. There were still three more to score, not counting the one that was wrongly disallowed, yet from the moment the fightback began the home crowd kept up a perfect storm of noise. Arsène Wenger admitted his players had panicked, and the extraordinary atmosphere must have been one of the reasons why. Arsenal could not break out of their own half, the decibel level kept rising, and at some point in the second half everyone in the stadium knew that Newcastle would get back on terms. Including all the players. Even so, Cheik Tioté's screamer of an equaliser produced one of the most joyous moments of this or any other Premier League season. It is difficult to jump for joy in a modern, all-seat stadium, but the Newcastle crowd managed it easily. There were people leaping into each other's arms, holding on to neighbours and chair backs for support and bouncing off the ground. It was quite something, a privilege to be present. So take enormous credit, Newcastle fans, after all that you have suffered you truly deserve it. And when you finally win something big, shiny and silver, I'd love to be there to see it.

Don't understand the compulsory membership fee. Why do you need to be a member if you are a season ticket holder? It just looks like a price rise under another name or an admin fee for buying a ST. Although a ST holder, I bought the membership purely so I could buy tickets for relatives especially away tickets. What extras will we get for being a "member" rather than just a season ticket holder?

Rory Smith (Telegraph) on Twitter I remember watching #nufc with a Geordie mate who counted how many times Tiote gave the ball away. He doesn't. Best signing this season? 4 hours ago reply Two observations about this weekend's football. 1. Cheikh Tiote. He'll cost a lot of money this summer. And would be perfect for #arsenal. 4 hours ago reply

Coloccini even popped up on the right wing yesterday, I had to rub my eyes. We also had a corner which he started to run into the box before Barton played the ball to where he'd started from, that could have been a brilliant move if he'd waited. He seems to have more licence to get forward under Pardew, which is a good thing IMO as his technique is up there with the best in our squad. The corner thing, if its the one I'm thinking of, was similar to the one against Wigan. Didn't work as well this time though as you say. I think I have heard Pardew say that his technical ability is so good that if he gets the ball in the box, there is a good chance he will score so I do think it is something they are actively trying to do.

Barton's interview with Mick Lowes on Radio Newcastle was a good one. He seemed a bit in shock and said he would normally expect Tiote's shot to land in the Tyne. Not sure if it is online.

Not saying it won't be true but Luke Edwards is a big mackem t***. Dunno if he's mackem really, but he hates Newcastle. He's from London and supports Leyton Orient.

They are starting to create a problem for themselves talking like that. Saying that we have to sell players because that is the position we are in for the forseeable future will just invite bids. The club sells a couple of the players but what about the other players who are aware that there are bids in for them - I can imagine them starting rto agitate for a move. You cannot build for the future if you keep tearing the team apart instead of evolving and adding a player gradually to improve the team.

He is starting to dig a hole for himself. Only been here 6 weeks as well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1353870/Newcastle-Sunderland-Andy-Carroll-Darren-Bent-departures.html Says in this article that we will be a selling club for the next 2 years.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1353870/Newcastle-Sunderland-Andy-Carroll-Darren-Bent-departures.html Some interesting bits in there. - Pardew hopes to announce Barton's new contract next week - Enrique has asked for talks on his to be delayed under they are safe from relegation - Has called Ben Arfa back from France in preparation for his comeback in 6 weeks

No doubt Winter will view him in a different light now he is playing for Liverpool. He was very disapproving when Carroll made his England debut because he didn't think he was a good role model with his off the pitch troubles especially compared to Jordan "Mr Perfect" Henderson who he gushed over. I hate the hypocrisy of journalists who change their minds about a player once he moves to one of the favoured clubs.

The players had trust in Hughton who protected them. Pardew starts off saying all the right things and being supportive of the players and saying he won't sell Carroll at any price. At the first test he fails. The players will know better than we what has happened but he could have destroyed their trust already. Got a few boos last night as he walked back to the dugout in front of the away end. He has got a tough job ahead of him and I am not convinced that he is up to the job.

True. However, we had accepted we would struggle for a few games but we knew Carroll would be back and there would still be enough games to pick up points. Just cannot see where the goals will come from and I worry about the damage to the morale of the other players.

Bloody hope not Yes he did. Heard it on the radio and seen it in print. I feel sorry for the players really. Just as they start to think the club is making progress, they as well as the fans get knocked back down to earth. Yet again they will have to resort to their mental strength and unity to push on. I wonder if this has damaged their relationship with Pardew. After insisting since he arrived that Carroll would not be sold and then saying he was involved in the decison to sell, how can the players trust what he says now. Hughton protected them - I think Pardew will end up alienating them.

And if it is being paid in instalments and we are paying up front, Pardew might get the £35m over the next 5 years.

Vuckic and Kadar seems to get injured rather often. Also Steven Taylor and Ameobi. Some of the other kids seem to pick up more than their fair share has well. Is that a co-incidence or could we not be doing something right as they are developing as youngsters?

What about the wages we would have paid Carroll? Reading that interview and another one on the Mirror site, it sounds as if the journos gave Pardew a hard time.

Yeah pretty much, which is why I said 'unproven'. Didn't do himself any favours with his stint in charge mind. I don't think it is fair to judge his management ability on those 8 games especially with the state the club was in at the time. However, I am disappointed that he does not appear to have taken his pro-licence nor does he seem prepared to drop down a division or two to learn his trade despite him often saying that he wants to go into management. He retired 5 years ago so you have to wonder how serious he is about it. Infact, I would rather see him have a similar role here to Quinn but of course that will never happen whilst Ashley is here.