Wallace

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2010/04/22/steven-taylor-back-in-training-is-toon-bonus-72703-26294600/ Steven Taylor back in training is Toon bonus Apr 22 2010 by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle Taylor would love to be part of Saturday’s clash with Ipswich Town but is facing a race against time to be fit. Whether Taylor is handed a cameo role between now and the end of the season remains to be seen with two games to go. However, Toon boss Chris Hughton says Taylor will certainly involved in the post-game celebrations and the presentation of the Championship trophy. Hughton is also sweating on Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez, who have hamstring and thigh injuries respectively. Fitz Hall misses the clash with the Tractor Boys and is also a doubt for his return trip to QPR next Sunday, while Nile Ranger’s season is over because of ankle problems. Hughton told the Chronicle: “Steven was back in training and that was good to see. “It is about making sure he is right. “I think it would have been frustrating for him watching the Plymouth game, but nobody here is under-estimating the big part he has played in what we have achieved this season. “He’s played a lot of games and he was in really good form. “He’s given us a lot this season.” Taylor was injured against West Brom after a clash with Roman Bednar which left him on crutches with a knee problem. Hughton said: “He will absolutely be part of the celebrations. “We’ll see – he’s training today, but he’s been out for a long time, and I have to be mindful of that. “He’s played a lot of games. He was in really good form, and people here aren’t underestimating what he’s given this team. “If he’d have missed a similar amount of time at the beginning of the season, his profile would have been a little bit higher now.”

From Mark Douglas (The Journal) Twitter "No new #nufc kit today, according to club officials at Chris Hughton's press conference... Some time next week. "

According to the Ipswich Town website, the Robson family are going to be on the pitch before the match to thank both clubs and fans for their continued support of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/wigan/article7104264.ece

He did an interview recently where he was discussing his options and he said that ex players had advised him to play for as long as he could as he would regret it once he had retired. He accepted that it was unlikely to be in the Premier League but thought he could still do a job in the Championship.

There is a short interview with Steven Taylor after the Sheffield Utd game with Michael Bridges. He seems fine in that. Search on You Tube for "Michael Bridges at Newcastle United's promotion party".

I think Nolan has been a huge influence on the team. Even though he goes missing in some games (although he has played well recently, I still think he has a positive effect on the pitch. If a player does something well, he will give them a pat on the back and is encouraging if something doesn't quite come off. I think a lot of the mental strength and never give up attitude comes from him - he keeps them going until the final whistle. Looking at other clubs forums after we have played them, he is often the one player they have been wound up by accusing him of refereeing the game and intimidating their players. We have bullied many teams out of games this season and I think Nolan has been a major part of that.

Not having a go like but this is one of those things I could never understand at the time, people thinking we were certs to get beaten by West Brom. We were missing two players (Lovenkrands and Bassong) from the side that beat them the previous year in the Premiership. They were also missing two of their best players from the previous year. I couldn't get to grips with the idea that people thought they'd be much better then us all of a sudden when we'd beaten them twice the year before. i think ppl thought the mess off the field would provide the players again with more excuse's for bad performances It was not the quality of players but the off field issues that made me worried. All we heard throughout the summer was the on / off sale of the club, that Ashley and Llambias had washed their hands of it and that there was no-one left to make any decisions within the club. Everything was put into limbo because of the anticipated sale of the club - agents said they could not get hold of anyone to discuss selling players. I remember some of the players saying there was no leadership from the top and that they would have to organise themselves. They wouldn't appoint a manager because prospective new owners might not want him. Eventually the club had to start selling some players - maybe they would have sold more if they had more time. (I am not convinced by the view that it was a deliberate decision to keep the bulk of the squad together - I just think they ran out of time and potential buyers had opted for alternatives). With all that going on, it seemed that the downward spiral of the previous season could continue as I just couldn't see how the players could be motivated to play for a club where no-one seemed to care. On the back of the Orient defeat and the players losing theirs heads at Huddersfield, it seemed like it was affecting them on the pitch so in that game against West Brom it was a relief to see the players fighting for every ball and not letting their heads drop when they went a goal behind. That performance made me optimistic that maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all but I still didn't think for one minute that we would do as well as we have.

What does the £15m include - is that for transfer fees only or does it include wages? Is that the budget for the outlay this year seeing as most transfer fees are staggered over the duration of the contract or is Ashley paying the fee up front again? I can't imagine anyone rushed out of said meeting to inform the press, that the budget was £15m and Hughton wanted 10 players. It is all just speculation and it will only be when the transfer window is closed that we will have a clearer idea. I think there is a lot of misinformation coming out of the club to dampen down supporters expectations and those of players and selling clubs. What's the point in saying how much you have to spend as it just inflates the fee. If you plead poverty, then maybe you can drive a harder bargain. Ultimately, it is all about buying the right players for the right areas. Other teams have managed to get good players at decent prices (even we managed it with Bassong) so if the money is spent wisely it, it might be enough to ensure we stay up as we have a decent base to start from compared to most other promoted clubs. Surely the last thing Ashley can afford is for us to be relegated again - he must have learnt that lesson at least.

Weird, I just happened to be searching old posts for something else and found this. I saw him yesterday and was very confused by what I'd seen at the time. Pointed him out to Dave who, despite being from Yorkshire, was no f***ing help on the subject. He is either from or lives in Whitley Bay.

It is in Ashley's interest to keep us in the Premier League and surely he will have learnt his lesson and realised that there has to be investment in the team. I don't think the likes of Birmingham, Wolves and Stoke spent too much when first promoted and I think we have a stronger base to start from than those teams as well as the infrastructure is already in place. We also have some credibility as a PL team compared to say the likes of Burnley and Hull so we should find it easier to attract players than most newly promoted teams There are decent players out there for reasonable prices so let's hope that Hughton can spot a player and identify the priority positions to be filled. To be fair, he didn't do too bad in January as virtually all of those signings have made a contribution - the exception of course being Best but being kind maybe his signing pushed Carroll and Lovenkrands into their goal scoring form with the increased competition for places. It is all down to spending whatever money is available wisely and being promoted so early means they have plenty of time to plan for next season.

Hes kind of talking sense. Were playing catch up and the rest of the clubs in the division are going to be improving their squads as well. Well if we have to spend that much then West Brom and Forest have no chance either.

Favourite player is Steven Taylor but really like Jose and Jonas as well. The best player though is Jose.

Kevin Doyle at Wolves might be an option if they get relegated.

How many in the last - say - 7 or 8 games ? I'd say it wouldn't be a great deal less than 7. Radio just said that Dorrans has scored 8 penalties this season.

WBA get another contoversial penalty.

http://www.football-league.co.uk/flawards/news/20100314/championship-player-of-the-year_2246530_1992292 Kevin Nolan wins Championship Player of the Year!

Struggled up front today but I thought he did well in defence clearing a lot of the balls coming into the box.

My point was not about the accuracy of what was said it was more about the PR aspect (or lack of it) .i.e. the way things are communicated. Telling the fans, who turn up in their thousands to support the team, that they are foolish, offensive and don't understand is not a great idea imo - whether its true or not. And maybe it would be a good move to thank the 28,000 season ticket holders rather than referring to their input as luck. He might actually get a few of the haters onside. Anyway that is just my take on it.... Exactly. It would be nice if the club could communicate more with the supporters but every time that charmless odious man decides to open his mouth, it ends up being a PR disaster.

I'm not miles away from your thinking but the proof of what he has done so far is that he's taking nothing out of the club and he's said that he'll never take anything out. So far the clubs accounts have backed that up and he's put more than ever in this season, he can't do any more than he's done. He can stop his MD from making (although its just his mouthpiece) patronising & offensive comments about his 'customers', he can appoint a proper football MD to run that side of the club instead of a mate, he can talk for himself the on tv the odd time. As for backing the manager in the future, we all hope he does, and wait to see what happens on that front, but people are rightly skeptical, and he dosent deserve total trust back. He's payed the bills, and covered the costs of his shambolic mistakes, and not put us into administration. Quite frankly I'd expect that, and while I do appreciate things could be worse, and thankfully the owner does have deep pockets, West Ham for example are obviously a worse siatuion, I dont agree with Llambias comments that we should be grateful Ashley has not been even more of a t*** and refused to pay the bills - that dosent mean he 'cant do anymore', imo. No-one expected there to be 40,000+ fans at most games this season - wasn't it said early on that they had budgeted for 25,000. It would be nice if on occasion, Llambias remembered that and instead of berating fans for being "unreasonable" (are they so upset by a couple of songs?), actually thanked them for their continued support. I do not sing the Ashley out stuff myself but see no harm in it because by not singing it, they seem to take the viewpoint that everyone else is fully supportive of them which is plainly not true. I am sick of being reminded every 5 minutes of how much money Ashley has put into the club and being told to be grateful whilst the investment made by the fans is ignored. He owns the Club and because of his own mistakes, he is doing what he has to do to protect his own investment and they should be grateful that enough people are still turning up to games.

That seems to rely on Allardyce keeping the team in the Premiership. The team that was playing in the couple of months before he was sacked was woeful. It was demoralised, they had no idea what to do with the ball when we had it, they seemed incapable of creating chances and their heads dropped if they conceded, there was no backup plan for how to play if they were behind. It took Keegan 8 games to turn it around and get them winning again. I have absolutely no doubts that had we kept Allardyce we'd have been relegated that season. Completely agree. The football was awful, i couldn't see where our next points were coming from. One word to sum up Allardyce at Newcastle has to be 'Derby'. I hated Fat Sam, and his football. KK's spell was brief but it reminded me of the good times, and we were starting to head in the right direction, and now Llambias is saying we're heading in the right direction again. Maybe so, but it will take another 2-3 years at least get us back to where we were with KK's side at the end of 2007/2008 and the start of 2008/2009 Allardyce always maintained that because of the change of regime, they were not able to move for his first choice targets and he ended up getting 3rd and 4th choice players. If Shepherd had stayed and backed Allardyce, it might have been different. However, with the team he ended up with, I too am convinced we would have been relegated. But in the end it is all hypothetical - we will never know what would have happened if Ashley had not bought the club.

Several local journalists on their twitter pages reported the same thing.

One thing going for him - he sure knows how to make you feel depressed about the future. Only heard the end bit where he was saying we would have ended up like Portsmouth (just think that is going to be dragged out as a convenient excuse for everything in the future). Then something about the top 6 teams challenging for Europe and everyone else fighting relegation and being irritated by some foolish supporters. To sum up - isn't Mike wonderful and you should all be grateful to him. Heard his son interviewed earlier on Talksport and they brought up his father's lack of popularity on Tyneside. He said he was used to not being liked as he used to go to the Middle East to collect debts and they all hated him there as well!

I've been more commited to clapped out bangers with 6 months left on the MOT. Sadly, we'll only know the truth of that statement (Llambias' statement, not your statement) in the summer, if he doesn't put the club on the market again and does provide some additional cash for building the squad then it'll be proved true otherwise it'll just be Llambias talking crap again. If he does attempt to sell the club again, I doubt it'll be anywhere near as public as the last couple of attempts and I doubt he'll use Seymour Pierce again. He'll probably try to find a buyer on his own or wait for someone to approach him directly. Llambias does more damage to Ashley's reputation at the club than he does to help it. If Ashley is serious about the club one of the first things he should be looking at is putting in place a real MD who understands football rather than relying on one of his mates. Agree with that. Just as things start to seem to be settling down, he opens his mouth and gets everyone agitated again.

It is incredibly sad to keep pleading to be loved.