Wallace

Have we ever used "Lola" for Shola? Perfect fit for the chorus.

Bates says in the Telegraph that we offered £1.8m before his "FA Cup heroics" and Beckford wanted to come to us but they decided to reject it.

Tozer had a nightmare against Peterborough but Tavernier was the best of the kids and improved once Nolan and Smith came on and gave him some support.

roker races and trafford races actually. Is it not Matt Busby's Aces for Man United? Bolton sing it too.

Did Donaldson end up playing right back yesterday? He did at the Ipswich game back in September.

Who would we replace Smith with - with only one week left in the transfer window. I think he does a decent job in front of the defence and I realise that he has a lot of shortcomings but I think he is very important (along with Nolan) in the dressing room and getting rid at this stage could have a major impact on the rest of the season. Blackburn fans despise Keith Andrews and are desperate for him to leave. I would rather have Smith.

Complete and utter tripe. Setting a maximum wage per player is uneccesarry anyway, the club just needs to cap the overall wage bill and actually manage it correctly. I agree because if we ever manage to develop players there will come a point where they reach the salary cap and we would have no option but to sell them. Far better to have a fixed budget and then decide how that should be allocated per player. I think David Moyes is given a budget which includes salaries and he decides how it is spent. I agree wages should be restricted and I think there may be a general movement towards that because of the current difficulties clubs find themselves in but a salary of £30,000 max in today's game seems incredibly low if you want to achieve anything other than being a selling club and perennial strugglers.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article6999464.ece January 23, 2010 Steven Taylor blow for Newcastle’s promotion charge George Caulkin Taylor is understood to have suffered knee ligament damage during the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Monday after a challenge by Roman Bednar, the Czech centre forward. The extent of the problem emerged after scans and treatment, with Newcastle’s medical staff expressing concern that Taylor’s campaign could be over. The club are now under further pressure to sign defenders during the transfer window, with only Danny Simpson having been recruited, from Manchester United. Having been turned down by Matthew Kilgallon, the centre half who left Sheffield United for Sunderland this week, Chris Hughton, the Newcastle manager, has turned his attentions to James Perch, the versatile Nottingham Forest player, and Mike Williamson, the Portsmouth defender. Forest, however, have described Newcastle’s offer for Perch as “derisory”, and while Portsmouth accepted a £900,000 bid for Williamson, that deal has been thrown into doubt after it became apparent that selling him was not viable. Williamson joined Portsmouth from Watford last summer, but has not played for them since his £3 million transfer and the financially troubled Barclays Premier League club would be obliged to pay the outstanding balance on the transfer if he moved to Newcastle on a permanent basis. The clubs were attempting to agree a loan arrangement last night. Newcastle have a promising young defender in Tamas Kadar, but the loss of Taylor, 23, who has formed a formidable partnership with Fabricio Coloccini and has long been hailed as a future full England international, will be felt keenly. Newcastle have kept 14 clean sheets in the Coca-Cola Championship this season.

We've got 7 games in February alone and Steven Taylor is supposedly carrying a knock. If that is the case, then there will be little time for recovery between games so they definitely need cover for CB.

John Anderson seems to think that Steven Taylor has picked up a knock so will be not be risked on Saturday.

Caulkin says he has not played for Portsmouth because a further instalment of the fee would be due.

jesus christ Was that the 1-0 with a last minute Barton penalty? Yes. That was the game that was judged by fans and media to be one of the the worst games ever.

Both Krul and Forster need to play regularly to continue their development. Unlike other young players, they don't get the chance to come on for the last 15 minutes to gain experience unless there is an injury. Look how rusty Harper was when he was called upon when Shay was injured and when he left. It took a number of games for him to get his sharpness back. Maybe Forster should be the number 2 next year whilst Krul gets a full year on loan. I just hope the club don't mess it up and we end up losing both.

Signing completed - undisclosed fee - NUFC text.

Just had a Blackburn fan on the radio and it all sounds so familiar. - Terrible football (wouldn't mind if they were winning). Just launch it upfield all the time hoping for the best. - Disastrous away record - If they concede first, they know they have lost the game - Everyone else's fault except his - Played better football under Neil McDonald I wonder if Blackburn fans will get the same criticism as we did for their views.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article6991781.ece Window watch: Newcastle and Solano reunited George Caulkin, Gary Jacob, Peter Lansley Nolberto Solano hopes to secure a sentimental return to Newcastle United after spending the past few days training with his former club, who suffered disappointment in the transfer market yesterday when Jermaine Beckford committed his immediate future to Leeds United. “I have decided I want to finish what I have been striving to do for the last two seasons — and that is to help promote Leeds United out of a division to which the club doesn’t belong,” Beckford said. Solano, 35, the former Peru midfield player who remains a popular figure on Tyneside after two spells at St James’ Park, had been expected to join Colchester United, but has decided against signing for the Coca-Cola League One club. While his link-up with Chris Hughton’s team is intended to be a temporary measure, Newcastle’s coaching staff have been impressed with his fitness and quality.

But Talksport said this afternoon that Liverpool had contacted them to say it was not true.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/680757/NEWCASTLES-CHRIS-OF-LIFE.html NEWCASTLE'S CHRIS OF LIFE Hughton has transformed 'circus club' By Garry Doyle, 16/01/2010 IT WASN'T so long ago when everyone was predicting Newcastle United would do a Leeds. And by that we don't mean assembling a team with enough spirit and ability to go to Old Trafford and pour egg on Sir Alex Ferguson's face. No, the Leeds reference had more to do with the descent of a club who graced the Champions League semis in 2001 - and are now operating in the third tier of English football. Could Newcastle go the same way? Damien Duff certainly thought so. In July, prior to his move to Fulham, Duff told friends at Carlton House, Newcastle's pre-season base: "This place is a circus. Chris is the only one holding things together." Chris is Chris Hughton, one of three Irishmen managing in the Championship, and a man who has performed a minor miracle in this, his first full-time managerial job. If this seems excessive praise for someone in charge of the biggest club, with the biggest budget in the Championship, then bear in mind the circumstances when Hughton took over. To start with, it looked like he would only be at St James' Park for another month or so while Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley, completed its sale to prospective buyer, Barry Moat. Had Moat's takeover gone through, then Hughton would have been on his way - with Shearer, the Great Messiah, who collected just five points from eight games last season, ready to step back in. Instead, as speculation surrounded not just his, but absolutely every player on Newcastle's books, Hughton - minus a contract, nor much hope of getting one - tried to keep the ship afloat in turbulent seas. Of course, it hardly helped that key members of the crew - Michael Owen, Sebastien Bassong, Habib Beye, Damien Duff, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins - had jumped overboard. And those who remained didn't appear to have the stomach for the journey, losing 6-1 to Leyton Orient in pre-season, at which point, mutiny was in the air. There and then, Hughton matured from trusty sidekick - he had spent 14 years in various assistant coaching roles at White Hart Lane - into a bona fide, No1. Along with key senior players, Alan Smith, Steve Harper and Nicky Butt, Hughton called a team meeting and spelt out in no uncertain terms what the future held. "It won't just be this club that'll suffer but you will too," he told the squad. "Keep playing like this and tell me who'll want to buy you? Who'll touch a player who isn't doing a job? Your past reputation will count for nothing." It was the sort of tough-love the players needed. After all, in the Championship, "they are everyone else's Cup final" according to Blackpool boss, Ian Holloway. They had to be ready for a scrap. Six months later, they've proved they are and if they manage to defeat promotion rivals, West Brom, at St James' Park tomorrow night, they will be nine points clear of the play-off zone. Key to their success - and where Hughton deserves credit - is the way Premier League flops Fabrizio Coloccini, Claudio Capaca, Jonas Gutierrez, Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor have turned their careers around. Middlesbrough boss, Gordon Strachan, after seeing his side played off the park last month, said: "Newcastle have a team full of men. They have experience, character, mental strength and quality." And if the players were finding their level in the Championship, then so too was their manager. Born in London 51 years ago, Hughton never shied away from his Irish roots, winning 53 caps for his country before he became assistant manager to Brian Kerr in 2003. It was as an assistant - and perpetual caretaker - that he was commonly known, having stepped into that breach seven times, at Newcastle and Spurs, prior to last summer. Along the way, he has had to swallow his pride. Late last season, after the Messiah's second coming, Shearer's disciple Iain Dowie usurped Hughton's position, an unsubtle demotion. Hughton didn't say a word and got on with his job, whatever that had become. This professionalism, dignity, calmness and ability to see the bigger picture - Dowie, by the way, is now sending in match reports on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday programme - defines Hughton as a person. And it stood him well during the summer, as the Moat takeover saga stretched on for three months, with Shearer hanging around in the background like a bad smell. Undeterred, Hughton got on with things, picking up a couple of loan signings in the August transfer window to supplement his threadbare squad before mobilising his troops into action. There have been plenty of problems since. A permanent contract didn't arrive until October and in the dressing room, he had to face down the ageing Butt, who wants to play in absolutely every game but simply no longer has the legs to do so. Off the park, trouble flared among the younger members of the squad as Andy Carroll faced an assault charge before Nile Ranger and Danny Simpson got involved in a punch-up. But Hughton has managed to deal with the issues quietly while keeping the show on the road, placating the demanding supporters who despise the Ashley regime, while at the same time standing up to both the owner as well as managing director, Derek Llambias. "Chris has always been a lovely man," says one person who has worked closely with him for years. "He's unusual because he is a manager who is genuinely nice and not the sort of spoofer or hard b***tard that some in the trade can be. "But there is steel running through him. He has never let Ashley walk all over him. If he had have done so, then Newcastle would have failed." Still, bigger challenges lie ahead. In the summer, takeover chat will resume and Hughton's position will once again come under scrutiny. Should he survive, then he has to build a team capable of surviving relegation. Defeats will see the fans turn and the press will inevitably follow. Despite inheriting a shambles of a club and rebuilding it brick by brick, he knows the hard work has yet to begin.

Radio Newcastle saying he was sacked before the game.

If the bottom 8 or so teams all took that attitude then what is the point in them being in the Premier League. Resting one or two is OK but to change 10 after a good win at Spurs when Man Utd are currently more vulnerable than usual is riduculous. They are fortunate to have only been beaten 3-0 but goal difference could come into it and a stronger team might have lost by less.

Boro's away form is decent - won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2. Must be just too demoralising for them to play at the Riverside.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Jonas-Gutierrez-Newcastle-laughing-all-the-way-to-the-Premier-League-article244501.html Jonas Gutierrez: Newcastle laughing all the way to the Premier League Published 23:00 04/12/09 By Simon Bird Jonas Gutierrez is recalling the pranks that are making the Newcastle dressing room a harsh place to survive.... but a happy place to play football again. For example, expensive suits have mysteriously taken a dip in the bath. His own shoes were packed with tap so they didn’t fit, much to the amusement of his team mates. Daft antics that are the preserve of naughty schoolboys and dressing room jokers up and down the land. “At last everyone is smiling,” said Gutierrez, one of the first three names on Argentina’s team sheet according to manager Diego Maradona. The 26-year-old winger is glad he stuck it out through the dark days of his debut season on Tyneside which included four managers, hope, despair, and ultimately relegation. It would have been easy to quit. Some did. “We are top of the table and this is a happy place to be. All the lads who stayed are glad. The first thing that goes through your mind when you get relegated is you want to get the club back. You do not want to be a quitter. “You do not want to walk out on a bad situation. Most important was to come back and get the club out of it. The players here could have chosen to leave, but they wanted to put it right. Believe me. “You can see we have lots of jokes and pranks. Steven Taylor and Ryan Taylor are the worst. They do their worst in the dressing room! It is funny, funny. Clothes in water? You think: “Oh no.” Then you have to wonder about driving home in your underpants! It is good, and funny, good for the mood. “If they do something to me, I get revenge. Last time they filled my shoes with tape. I couldn’t get my feet in and they were watching me struggle. I didn’t know what was wrong with my shoes and then you think, ok Taylor. It is ok, but I will get revenge. They had better watch. “When you come from another country it can be difficult. You have lots of different nationalities. For a few months it can be hard but you have to enter into the spirit and the dynamic of the squad. “But it helps when you can all laugh together. I think all the players think we have a good spirit, watching and fighting for the same thing.” It is a far cry from last season when instability and fear stalked the club and the city. The loyalty and love of the Geordie fans was tested to the full. Gutierrez, who will play against Watford today, added: “We trying to rebuild the fans’ faith in the club even though 44,000 still turn up to home games which is amazing. We were together last season but it gets difficult when you are not getting results and not having a good time on the pitch. When you are losing, you lose a bit of confidence. “There was far too much change. For a few months the owner wanted to sell, so it was difficult for the owner, the fans and the players. It was unsettling. Four managers! That is not normal. For the players it made it hard. That was a lot to cope with. “Now we are together again and pulling in the right direction and you can see that.” Gutierrez’ own future was resolved when Maradona told him to stay at Newcastle even in the Championship, with a promise he would stay in his World Cup squad. The rest of the squad held meeting in the summer to resolve their own futures. “It was a good meeting. All the players talked about their feeling and their own situation. It was good to do it at that time, before the start of the season. We talked together, everyone. We all said what we wanted from the club and for our own situations. It was the right thing to do.” Gutierrez is now settled in the suburb of Jesmond and his mother and father are regular visitors from Buenos Aires. Team mates say he is not shy to play his traditional Argentine music in the pre match warm up. “They let me a couple of songs, but not too many. Then they turn it off!“ He is close mates with fellow Argy international, defender Fabricio Coloccini. The performances of both men have been major positives lately. He added: “I think people believe in us this season. The fans are excited with the position in the table and the chance to get back the the Premier League. “We have to fight for the rest of the season. We can get people smiling again. People are enjoying it again. Five wins in a row. Not bad, we need more. You come to the stadium now and you see the team win. Last season we never won, only seven times in all the season, and that is nothing. Now the people are happier.”.

These 6 weeks are just to raise awareness and take on board feedback. If they are to succeed, it will take a while for it to all come together.

I reckon he would like to see the season out and see if we get promoted. He's been used to playing at Bolton in front of small crowds so I think he is probably enjoying playing football in a football mad city for a change. If we get promoted, I am sure that would make us a more attractive option that the likes of Bolton and Blackburn. And if we don't, then he will be off at the end of the season with most of the others anyway.

I was reading some of the profiles of the youth players on nufc.co.uk earlier and a few of them say Barton is their favourite NUFC player!