Wallace

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/297977/STEVEN-TAYLOR-ON-ALAN-SHEARER-EXCLUSIVE-If-hed-been-in-charge-sooner-we-wouldnt-be-in-this-mess.html STEVEN TAYLOR EXCLUSIVE 'If he'd been in charge sooner, we wouldn't be in this mess' By MARTIN HARDY, 09/05/2009 STEVEN TAYLOR is the last Geordie at the coalface fighting to save his football club and he has one regret - that Alan Shearer did not take over the crisis outfit earlier. Then Newcastle might not be facing a game Taylor describes as 'the biggest in the history of this football club' tomorrow. Then there might not be such anguish, such internal battles to be won in a club's hour of need. Shearer has affected much change in five-and-a-half weeks - coming down hard on Joey Barton, installing discipline that has been absent for years. Those inside the club talk of a new code, of new standards and of training sessions designed to improve individuals for the first time in memory. Taylor, 23, admitted: "I just wish he had come in earlier. He is a very strict guy and everyone knows not to cross him. He has strict routines and that is how it should be at this club. He does not want any slackers. You have to be on time for everything. If you are late for anything you get a hefty fine. That's how it is. "There are no favourites at the club. The gaffer and Iain Dowie treat everybody exactly same. "That's how it should be but it hasn't been at this club since I've been here. I'm now very confident and the lads are very confident that we can take maximum points from the last three games and stay in the top flight. "Everyone is more upbeat now. Everyone is working harder. The heart-rate monitors show we are not slacking off and if you do, you come in for afternoon sessions. You have to work hard for him." It has been a seismic change, from a club where lateness festered and training was lax. For the first time in Taylor's career - and the strapping defender has been a first-team regular for five seasons - he has received individual coaching. Taylor added: "We have never had a coach who has taken individuals specifically and worked with their different weaknesses. Iain Dowie has done a hell of a lot of stuff like that. The coaching of Iain has been fantastic. He has worked very closely with Alan Shearer. "The respect they have got from the players is massive. They know when to have a laugh and a joke. But they know when to tell the players to knuckle down to the serious work. "In the training sessions that he puts on you have to work hard. If you are not prepared to work hard in the training session then you might as well go home." The change came from day one, when Mike Ashley pulled Shearer out of his hat. The effect was immediate. Taylor said: "The lads had the heart-rate monitors on for that first training session and the heart rates were way over what they should have been. "Nobody stopped moving. Everyone was busy bees all of the time." Newcastle fans can only hope the heart paddles that were blasted on to the chest of an ailing football club last month have hit the right spot. This really is their hour of need, when all logic, after one win in their last 19 games, points to impending disaster. But Shearer has galvanised everything at St James' Park, bar results. The heat of a North East derby that will spell disaster for the side that does not win will be the real acid test. "Of course, it is a night for men," added Taylor. "We need 11 leaders out on the pitch. We have to give all we can for the club, we have to play out of our skin. "We need players coming off the pitch with their black and white shirts absolutely drenched in sweat for the cause. It has choked me seeing Newcastle in the bottom three. There is no worse feeling." Taylor has been reminded of the implication of relegation at every turn. It will push Newcastle to the brink, financially, with a heavy payroll and a vastly-diminished income if they tumble into the Championship. But more will be the damage to a city. Taylor explained: "When I go shopping, the people on the tills tell you what it means to them and how important the club is. "Everyone knows what it means. When I'm out it's all anyone talks about. It reminds you of how important the club is. It is massively important we win the match. It's the biggest game of our careers." I find the bit in bold astonishing.

I noticed this as well. Thought it was just me seeing things. Surely they're not restricted view or anything like that. Its UEFA regulations, fans have to be a certain distance from the pitch or something. So at SJP are a ok as there is an area between pitch and the stand but stam bridge is right on the pitch so they have to have empty seats. It was the back 5/6 rows though of the upper tier of the Mathew Harding stand I think its called. The attendance was only 37857 and that is thousands under capacity. No reason for top tier seats to not be used. Looked like Barca had bigger than normal away allocation too. Surely they'd have sold out? The away fans that Barca took is the full allocation, it's just in England hardly any teams take it. They normally just take the corner like us. On the radio, they were wondering about the empty seats at the back of the Matthew Harding Stand as the game was supposed to be sold out. They decided that the tickets had probably been reserved for the "UEFA Family" (corporates) but they hadn't turned up.

From Martin Samuel's column http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1177729/MARTIN-SAMUEL-What-Hiddink-learn-principles-playground-Pokemon.html?ITO=1490 Shearer restores pride with Joey ban Decent: Shearer spared his club more shame over Barton Alan Shearer found Joey Barton out. The player had the opportunity to be a genuine force for good in helping Newcastle United claw out of this hole, and he recklessly rejected it with his tackle on Xabi Alonso. Shearer recognised the lack of care instantly, and nailed Barton, which is why there was such an angry reaction to his criticism. Still, does anyone remain in doubt that he is the man to manage Newcastle United? There is very little pride on Tyneside these days but Shearer reclaimed a sliver of it with the announcement that Barton had been told to stay away from the club indefinitely. This has no great impact, as Barton’s red card ensured he would not play any further part in the season, but it may just have been a first tentative step on the path to Newcastle’s recovery. Shearer desperately needs a win, but ditching Barton showed he at least cares more for the reputation of his club than many predecessors. And Newcastle again stand for something other than boardroom chaos. Shearer gave the player a chance, which was the decent approach, and, when Barton abused it, as he has just about every chance offered, Shearer acted to prevent further embarrassment. Newcastle have endured too many humiliations this season without being required to foster the remnants of Barton’s career. Another club will take him, for a pittance, in the forlorn hope that he will change, but at least Newcastle do not have to suffer this indignity any more. It may be that Barton remains a Premier League fixture and Newcastle do not but, long-term, Shearer will win.

Another one from George. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article6229737.ece From The TimesMay 6, 2009 Newcastle take legal advice on Joey Barton George Caulkin Newcastle United are seeking legal advice over Joey Barton's dressing-room dispute with Alan Shearer at Anfield on Sunday as they examine every option regarding the midfield player's future. Several witnesses have alleged that Barton's verbal outburst strayed beyond the point of acceptability after his dismissal against Liverpool and the club are now determined to move him on as quickly as possible. Whether there is a case for Barton, who, as The Times revealed yesterday, has been suspended from the club, to have his contract cancelled, is open to question. However, Newcastle, who said that they have suspended the player “until further notice”, are delving into the possibility. While Barton is understood to have expressed remorse for the language he allegedly aimed at his manager, Shearer will not contemplate picking him again should both men remain at the club. Barton's deal has three years to run, while Shearer's expires at the end of the season, but the club's willingness to support their manager is an illustration of his standing at St James' Park. Should sacking Barton prove too difficult or otherwise self-defeating - they would be writing off the £5.8 million they paid Manchester City for him in 2007 - they are prepared to withstand a significant financial loss to sell him this summer. Newcastle have received unofficial expressions of interest from other clubs. Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth have been linked with the 26-year-old over the past 12 months, while Sam Allardyce was manager when Barton arrived and Blackburn Rovers, Allardyce's present club, can be expected to monitor developments. Shearer's stance is the latest example of the rigorous disciplinary system he has implemented - players are now fined for poor time-keeping, eating meals together are mandatory, as is extra treatment for those carrying injuries. Iain Dowie, the assistant manager, has also been conducting intensive individual training sessions. The measures - many of which were in place under Sir Bobby Robson - have met with broad approval, particularly among the most influential members of the first-team squad. Those less enamoured with developments are those who have lacked the courtesy to report for training on time and are unlikely to receive much sympathy from supporters. Whichever division Newcastle are in next season, a purge is required. Backing for Shearer came yesterday from Habib Beye, the Senegal defender and a respected figure in the side. “He's here to keep the club in the Premiership,” he said. “But if we stay in the Premiership and we have the opportunity to build something good, hopefully he will stay. He has passion. “You know when you have Alan Shearer as the manager, it is easier to attract some other players, because they will believe you have a good manager. He will bring experience. “I'm happy with what [shearer and his coaching staff have] done up to now, and really believe they will keep the club in the Premiership. I really believe Newcastle will become what it was before, because they've been a big club, and you can't believe this club going into the Championship.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/michael-walker-shearer-has-more-than-one-bad-apple-to-deal-with-1679655.html Michael Walker: Shearer has more than one bad apple to deal with Wednesday, 6 May 2009 "You are not going to take the piss out of this football club and you are not going to take the piss out of this city." With these words Alan Shearer addressed a small gathering of malingering Newcastle United players one morning last week at the club's Benton training ground. When he accepted the job at St James' Park 36 days ago, Shearer did not merely inherit a team that had won one of its previous 12 games, he took on a culture of a club that was undisciplined, unstructured and unfocused. The malaise extends beyond Joey Barton. There was a lot of drama around Barton as always yesterday, but that Shearer has been confronted with a regime where players decided when they would report for training, and where they would walk off the training ground when they thought they had done enough, is the real story at Newcastle. Shearer is challenging that. It is a draining business when concentration should be elsewhere. But so frayed had the day-to-day culture become that Shearer is having to expend energy and time ensuring that the basics of time-keeping, fitness and mutual respect are in place. So Shearer emerges as a disciplinarian, but is it zealous to request players arrive for work on time? Is that request not a reflection of lapsed standards of the sort that would not be tolerated at amateur level, never mind at Arsenal or Manchester United? Shearer has taken on the challenge of turning round a club in eight games. In truth it may take three seasons. There has been no upward spike in Newcastle's results in five games so far. And Shearer will know that he has not got every selection, substitution and tactical switch right – there has been one goal scored in five matches. But privately and publicly the vast majority of the squad state the benefit of Shearer's arrival and the injection of professionalism he has implemented. Defender Habib Beye was the latest to say so yesterday, and to plead with Shearer to stay beyond this month. In dropping Michael Owen at Liverpool on Sunday, a decision that must have been troubling due to their friendship, Shearer has also demonstrated managerial strength. But it has not just been about orders. He has tried inclusivity, and to a degree that has worked, morale has improved. In the case of Barton, moreover, there was appeasement before aggression. Barton should have tried things in that order too perhaps. But Newcastle need Alan Shearer more than ever.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/05/joey-barton-an-apology.html May 05, 2009 Joey Barton: an apology George Caulkin In the past, this newspaper, along with many others, may have inadvertently given the impression that Joey Barton should be granted a second chance. Subsequently, we may have acquiesced in the process of allowing him a third, fourth and fifth chance. Unfortunately, memory fails us and we can no longer remember which number of chances Mr Barton has now reached. But we apologise, unreservedly. Furthermore, The Times has previously used quotes in which - to borrow from the Bumper Book of Football Cliches - Mr Barton has “opened his heart” or “bared his soul” regarding his latest indiscretion and we have printed them, albeit in good faith. If we’re being brutally honest, we’ll do it again, because that’s how this business works but, again, we apologise. The truth is that, to a certain degree, we fell for it. Speaking of chances, we’re enamoured with the Sporting Chance clinic, the facility dedicated to helping sportsmen and women deal with addiction, which was founded by Tony Adams, the former England captain, and is run with dignity by Peter Kay (not that one). We have publicised their work with Barton and the work he has put back into it, because we think it has merit. Should we apologise for that? We apologise for listening to a long list of managers at Newcastle United (five at the last count, although it may have changed by the time you read this), babble enthusiastically about Barton’s changed “character”. We held our noses and wrote the story, half convincing ourselves that all these football men must know something we don’t. That there must be more to it than self-interest. We believe in humanity and we believe in redemption and we believe that there are different shades of right and wrong - in spite of Newcastle’s colours, not every issue is black and white - but we have always believed that the most self-destructive club in the country should never have signed it’s most self-destructive footballer. Never mind Barton, how many chances do Newcastle want? We do not apologise for feeling nauseous at the way Newcastle has been utterly mismanaged. Even now, we marvel when we consider the arrogance of successive regimes - a club that has provoked such a widespread collection of corrosive headlines believing it is the appropriate home for Barton. And even last summer, when Barton was imprisoned and Newcastle perched warily on the moral high ground, they botched their attempts to tie him to a contract on reduced terms and then dismiss him. Nor do we apologise for standing squarely alongside Alan Shearer in his attempts to impose some order on a club bereft of leadership. We support his decision to suspend Barton until further notice. We do so because after a lifetime of watching Newcastle and a decade of watching Shearer, we know what he has done for the club. We know that his instincts are sound, that his motivation cannot be questioned. We know that behind the scenes he is laying down a structure and discipline and the most amazing thing about it is not what is being done, but that it needs to be at all. We will accept his mistakes, because they will be honest ones. We will forgive him his inexperience as a manager, because he is one of us. We do not apologise for thinking it is reasonable for professional footballers to report for training on time. To eat together. To spend extra hours on the training pitch or on the treatment table when injured, if it can help their cause against relegation. We do not care one jot if some Newcastle players - the same underachievers and vanity signings who have participated in the club’s demise - do not like it. If fact, we like it if they don’t like it. We believe that Shearer must be given the tools to do the job full-time and long-term, although we do not believe that Mike Ashley can be relied upon to take the correct decision. Cards on the table time. We love Newcastle, just as we love Sunderland and Middlesbrough. And, no, that isn’t a cop out - we’re ferociously proud of the north east, a region often treated with disdain by the rest of the country, that has battled through economic deprivation to reinvent itself and now finds itself battling through deprivation again. We love the people, the geography, the passion. We love the rhythms of Tyneside, the bustle of the city and the fact that its football club infiltrates every aspect of its life. We feel the history pressing in on us; we toast the achievements and reputations of men like Jackie Milburn, Kevin Keegan, Sir Bobby Robson and Shearer and shake our heads. We wonder how long supporters will continue to fill the stands, at St James‘ Park and also at the Stadium of Light and the Riverside Stadium, in the face of so much engrained disillusion. We love football, but we hate it, too. We apologise if this column appears to wallow in misery; it doesn’t, but what else is there? We apologise for looking ahead to next Monday night’s fixture between Newcastle and Middlesbrough and feeling sick at the prospect. We apologise if the mixture of sarcasm and anger on this page, confuses or jars. We apologise if it feels as though there is no theme. Week upon week, there is only one: this has been an apology of a season.

The players he bought in (excluding Beye and Enrique) - Barton, Smith, Geremi. Cacapa, Viduka - all either injury prone, expensive, slow or disruptive.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article2411342.ece?OTC-RSS&ATTR=Football Grumpy Toon stars turn on Shearer SOUR NOTE ... Shearer's list of rules have left of his squad unhappy By SHAUN CUSTIS Published: Today ALAN SHEARER’S ruck with Joey Barton is not his only conflict. The Newcastle boss has also angered some members of his squad with a new set of rules. If broken, they carry fines running into tens of thousands of pounds. Shearer has just imposed an official list of regulations and penalties concerning lateness, despite the relegation-haunted Toon’s dismal season being almost at an end. And he has warned his players that anyone who does not follow the rulebook will be hammered in the pocket — a move which has not won wholehearted support. Late last week, as the team prepared for the crucial match at Liverpool, each player was handed an A4 sheet of paper laying down the law in black and white. Shearer listed 12 different offences for lateness which would result in club fines of 10 per cent for a first offence, 20 for a second and a massive 40 for a third. And he added that the fines would rise higher if there were further indiscretions after that. Shearer also insisted the 12 commandments were ‘not exhaustive’ and that other forms of lateness would be punished too, even if not on the list. The manager laid down his marker on his first day in charge, when he told his squad they must not go into the city centre after games, that they had to eat together after training and must attend home matches wearing club suits even if not selected. There were rules on being on time but those have been widened considerably. Some players believe Shearer has gone over the top and that, at a time when Newcastle should be focusing on tactics on the pitch, the hard-line approach off the field is causing unnecessary ill-feeling. Advertisement SunSport was told that while Shearer and coach Iain Dowie’s disciplinary regime was welcomed at first, some in the squad now feel it has become excessive. A source said: “Nobody would disagree that a club needs to be properly organised, with discipline and an order everyone understands. “But to start writing down a list of offences that will get you fined at this stage of the season seems strange. “It seems counter-productive to do it with so few games left. How many times could a player possibly be late for airport check-in now? It is just getting some people’s backs up. “The players want to get Newcastle out of relegation trouble and want a good team spirit but don’t think this is particularly helpful. “It is true some have been late on occasions but there are a couple of serial offenders. Some are never late and it looks like they are all being tarred with the same brush.” Shearer felt one of Newcastle’s biggest problems when he took over was that the squad did not take enough responsibility and were not treating their job seriously. He believed the regime under Joe Kinnear, and Kevin Keegan before him, was too relaxed. Yet as victories have failed to materialise, and Newcastle have plunged closer to relegation, Shearer’s methods have not produced the special pride in the club and willingness to die for the cause he expected. Team spirit does not appear to have improved and he has grown frustrated that there are hardly any players with the same feeling for Newcastle he has. Shearer had also hoped old mates like Michael Owen could pull Newcastle out of trouble once they got some encouragement from him. But Shearer dumped Owen on the bench for the 3-0 defeat at Anfield and has accepted the former England striker is no longer the player he performed alongside for club and country.

Nice of the NUSC to lay a wreath at the Hillsborough Memorial today. It was acknowledged by the PA inside the stadium.

Didn't realise at the time that Alonso had stayed down until I saw the stretcher. Haven't seen a replay as yet but feel very let down by a player who I thought gave us some hope for the next few games.

He's funny, I just wish he would shut the f*** up about the Chelsea match. He just called them a machete machine. It's not Rocky Hudson is it? Yes.

Blue Star beating Curzon Ashton 4-1. Looking good for promotion to the Unibond Premier.

It will be interesting how they replace the players that leave as Championship players don't come cheap these days and we are going to need a lot of new players.

Unfortunately, this is true.

Most of the players last night have only recently come back from injury and not many have had a full 90 minutes so it was inevitable after all the effort in the first half, that they would run out of steam.

Serious? I'm confused though. If you know your stuff. Surely to have gotten this far he'd have had some sort of interview or something, references, its not like hiring a paper boy. Knowing what it says in the books doesn't make you a good doctor. I've been hearing for a while now that the doctor is not highly regarded.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/newcastle/5178207/Alan-Shearer-to-give-Newcastle-starlet-Nile-Ranger-his-chance-in-relegation-dogfight.html Alan Shearer to give Newcastle starlet Nile Ranger his chance in relegation dogfight Alan Shearer insists he is only in charge of Newcastle until the end of the season but last week he gave a 3½-year contract to the club's most exciting young player, 18-year-old striker Nile Ranger. It hardly looks like the action of a man thinking exclusively of the short term. By Duncan White Last Updated: 5:04PM BST 18 Apr 2009 Shearer has twice been to watch Ranger in the reserves and, having promoted him to the first-team squad, believes he has "a big role" to play in the efforts to avoid relegation. The "Macheda effect" – throwing in a raw, uninhibited talent – has not gone unnoticed on Tyneside. Starting with Sunday's trip to Tottenham, Shearer has six games left to keep Newcastle in the Premier League and Ranger could well prove his secret weapon. The England Under-19 striker has scored 22 goals in the academy and reserve teams this season and at 6ft 2in with pace to burn, he offers a promising future for a club that has had few causes for optimism this season. For Ranger, though, the praise of Shearer and the new contract represents a break with a troubled past. Newcastle have proved Ranger's redemption. At the age of 15 he was sentenced to 11 weeks in a Young Offenders Institute for his part in a street robbery. "Coming up here has completely changed my life," he said. "I grew up in north London, in Wood Green and I got into trouble. It all starts with just messing around with friends and jokes that go too far. I started running with a gang in the area. We were convicted of street robbery in Muswell Hill. There was a weapon but we didn't use it. "They were cracking down on street crime so I got sent down. I wasn't with a professional club at the time and I didn't really realise what I was risking. "There were seven of us charged and four of us were convicted. Jail was pretty rough but it taught me a lot. The most important thing I learned is that I never want to go back." When he was released, Ranger joined Southampton's prestigious academy – Theo Walcott's alma mater – and despite his promising development on the pitch, he kept getting into trouble. "My behaviour let me down at Southampton," Ranger explained. "I'd already had two written warnings about my behaviour – stupid things like going out or messing around in the lodge. Then I was caught at the end of the season with a load of first-team kit that I'd taken. I only wanted to give it to my friends. But I gave them no choice and they kicked me out." This crisis proved decisive. Rather than sink back into the London streets, Ranger decided to save his future. With the steadfast support of his mother Karen and a change of agents, things began to look up. Swindon took him on trial and offered him terms but he had come to the attention of Dennis Wise in the meantime and he signed for Newcastle last July. "I was absolutely buzzing," Ranger said. "The change of atmosphere did me loads of good. I went into digs up here and I was away from the old faces, the old problems." Under the careful tutelage of Richard Money, Newcastle's academy director, Ranger was a revelation. The goals started flying in and he was being feted as an English Emmanuel Adebayor. He was rewarded for his great performances with the Jackie Milburn award, which goes to the club's most impressive youth player. Kevin Keegan and Joe Kinnear both had him in their first-team squad but it is the arrival of Shearer that has really excited Ranger. The player wasn't even born when Shearer came to national attention for scoring a hat-trick on his debut as a 17-year-old but he remembers watching him on Match of the Day. "He's come down to watch the reserve games and has given me encouragement. He's told me if I keep working hard I will get my chance. It's incredible to get advice from someone like him." Whether Ranger gets to work with Shearer in the long term is another matter but one thing Ranger is adamant about is that, whoever is in charge, he is determined to show his gratitude to Newcastle. "I have changed," he said. "I realise now what an amazing opportunity this club has given me. I don't even want to think what might have happened to me if I hadn't come to Newcastle. I'm just so grateful for that."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article6115259.ece Shearer counts on Viduka to make an impact George Caulkin Alan Shearer has been in situ at Newcastle United for little more than a fortnight and now the size of the position he has inherited at his home-town club is becoming clear. In an example of the extent to which standards had slipped at St James’ Park this season, Shearer has admitted that before his appointment as manager, Mark Viduka had effectively been “sidelined”. Viduka, 33, has not been a universally popular figure during his two years on Tyneside, with injuries restricting the Australia striker to 20 league starts. Having walked off the field away to Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day — later claiming to be suffering from a groin problem — he was taunted with chants of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt,” by supporters, but the club do not appear to have handled him adroitly. Viduka’s contract expires this summer — although an option is in place to extend it by another season — and he has recently been troubled by an Achilles tendon complaint. However, he has been included in the squad — also thanks to the absence through injury of Obafemi Martins — for the match away to Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow after discussions with Shearer. It would have been an unlikely development under the previous regime. “The big thing with Mark is getting him fit and keeping him fit,” said Shearer, who is fully aware of the crucial role Viduka played in Newcastle avoiding relegation last season. We have to try and manage that and treat him differently to the rest of the players in training. It’s fair to say that Mark probably wouldn’t have played again this season if things hadn’t changed. So just having him available to play some part is great. “He was injured and not in a good condition and probably on his way to Australia this summer, because talks hadn’t happened between himself and the football club. But he’s shown a great appetite to get us out of trouble, which is what I’m looking for. He was sidelined before I came. If we can get something out of him between now and the end of the season it could be key.”

True Faith have a report of the latest Supporters Panel meeting http://www.true-faith.co.uk/tf/features.nsf/0/D43971DEFC40E4558025759B00487021?OpenDocument

what is that ? http://www.thetalkofthetyne.com/fanzine/ UK - TOTT Fanzine- Issue 000 £1.00 The TOTT Fanzine...ISSUE ONE - OUT NOW (wahay) Our alternative punchline - "Un-proffesional and Proud" You'll see... Born on the 15th April 2009 the new TOTT Fanzine, it's written by the fans and is intended to be informal, unofficial, truthful and a bit of fun, god knows we need it at the moment. Issue 001 is the first ever, only 500 will be printed and at an introductory price of £1 you may as well have a read. We have an Alan Shearer special section and much more in this issue, we give you a chance to win a signed print of Sir Bobby Robson accepting manager of the month in 2000 - go on, for a quid it's worth it. Anyway, thanks for taking a look, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed making it.

It was on TV last night.

I guess with Duff, Shola and co. it will be the same situation as with every manager that they think they can be the one to get them going again especially if they think they see a response in training. I am sure that if he does not see that translated to the pitch that they would be dropped in time. 8 games though to make a major difference though is not much time at all - it's all about instilling confidence for the time being.

I don't think we know the whole story about Given leaving. I don't think it is simply a case of him wanting to jump ship as soon as Man City came sniffing. I have certainly heard rumours that the club were touting him around at the end of last year. No idea if it is true but I can't judge him until we know the real story. Just wish he had seen out the season - that's if he had the option to.

Graham Taylor on 5 Live saying that Cech can no longer be considered the best goalkeeper in the country.

Last season after injury, he took a while for him to make any kind of impact (unlike earlier this season, where he was coming back after suspension so seemed to hit the ground running).