Wallace

Journalist on Talksport talking about Wickham said that Pardew had a great record working with strikers and cited Cisse as an example. Obviously not aware that he continuously played him out of position to accommodate Ba, resulting in him losing his confidence and form from which he has never really recovered.

Unless the club tell him to leave, I am not sure why he would choose to go to another English club now with only one year left on his contract especially if he still wants to return home ASAP.

They seem pretty reasonable to do business with compared to some of the others we've dealt with. Maybe we haven't messed them about like we have done with other clubs and made acceptable offers.

West Ham were 2-0 up now drawing 2-2.

The thing I don't get is that the last pre-season friendly is almost upon us and the most problematic area from last season has not really been addressed. The paperwork for our one defensive signing may not be processed in time for him to play so he could be going straight in ahead Southampton. We are told that he does not speak English so communication could be a real problem. Who does he partner him with? The only CDs who have had any real game time are Williamson who everyone expected to have left by now and still expect to leave before the window closes and Lascelles who does not look ready to be a starter in the Premier League. The other CDs are either not fit enough so are being protected because of dodgy pitches or injuries. Why have we waited so late to address this area of the team? Our opening fixtures are not kind and it is imperative that we get something out of the Southampton game. Once York got a bit of confidence coming forward, our defence was all over the place. I would not expect any player who started in defence last night to play against Southampton but regardless of how good (?) the attack or midfield might be, a team like Southampton (who will have already played competitive games in the Europa League) will just walk through our defence. Now it looks like we are going to be using games against the likes of Southampton, Swansea, Man Utd and Arsenal to try and gel a defence. That should be fun.

He did OK at Swansea but maybe that was because he was playing with better players around him.

Pulis does like his centre halves. I wonder if he will play him at fullback.

I'm convinced we will get more signings. The defence has been a mess in every game and one signing is not going to solve that problem.

We feared playing every team under Pardew.

http://www.benefoot.net/chancel-mbemba-another-future-star-leaving-anderlecht-for-newcastle/

Enjoyed it too. I like to get an insight into their personalities.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9912919/which-is-the-most-watched-premier-league-team-in-your-area? Seems like outside of the top 4, the most watched local teams are us, Swansea, Leicester and West Brom. The latter two are a bit of a surprise. Apparently we are popular in Lerwick and Leicester in the Outer Hebrides! And Man Utd are the most watched team in Sunderland.

http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/steve-mcclaren-why-i-had-to-name-that-newcastle-defence-in-portland-1-7371071 After the friendly, McClaren said Fabricio Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Mike Williamson and Jamaal Lascelles couldn’t play on the artificial surface at Providence Park. “We had six of seven who couldn’t play on this surface, and quite a few played who we only wanted to have a small amount of time (on the pitch) because of troubles they get,” said McClaren. I get why Colo and Taylor couldn't play on such a surface with their injury records but surprised about Williamson and especially Lascelles.

I keep hearing talk of Palace challenging for the top 8 so they do seem very confident. Seemingly Cabaye guarantees them a high placing but everyone overlooks the fact he was playing in an NUFC team that narrowly escaped relegation a few seasons ago. Pardew must be in his element as he is being heavily indulged by their chairman and fans. He is going to be unbearable next season - he is always more loathsome when his ego is out of control.

The interview is free, i don't have it and i could watch it. I couldn't via the main site, said 'you don't have an active subscription'. me too I have it on at the minute and I don't have a subscription. I can't get into it now. I think they may cocked up and just realised they made it free by mistake. Good interview although Roger Tames was not listening to his answers and kept asking questions, when he had already giving him the answers.

The interview is free, i don't have it and i could watch it. I couldn't via the main site, said 'you don't have an active subscription'. me too I have it on at the minute and I don't have a subscription.

They've been pushing it hard the past few weeks. It was disgustingly bad when I had it a few years back. I wonder how long this free content will carry on for? Anthony Marshell on twitter (our club editor) was asking what fans wanted to see done more often, or if there was anything they could change after they started increasing YouTube content. Loads of replies said NUFCtv should either be free or included in the cost of a season ticket. He said he would look into possibilities. I assume this free stuff is a trial run, unless they have decided that everyone can see big news like signings etc. Well if they want to cut out other media, they need to make their content as accessible as possible because there can't be many that will pay the subscription.

If he is still hankering to go back to Argentina then it would be strange of him to tie himself to another contract unless it is for one year. Although money talks.

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/story/2528701/aston-villa-signing-idrissa-gueye-wants-future-big-club-move New Aston Villa signing Idrissa Gueye has told L'Equipe he aims to use the Premier League side as a stepping stone to a big club. After shining in Ligue 1, Senegal international Gueye now hopes to do the same in the Premier League to earn a move to one of Europe's biggest clubs. "I wanted a change of scenery," he said. "The most important thing was to come to England to improve and aim for a big club later.

McClaren did say that everyone would be given a chance and on the face of it it that would appear not to be the case with Cabella but then he did say that he had spoken to all the players individually and asked them for their feedback so maybe Cabella himself has intimated that he wouldn't mind moving on (especially having lost his place in the French squad). I can't believe that they would not be prepared to give him another season because the club thought his signing was a bit of a coup so to write him off so soon would be a bit strange especially as they are bound to make a loss on him. Then again maybe it is just because he has been injured.

We don't need to replace Vlaar to change much - last season he was either injured or s****. We've brought in Richards and Gueye - who looked to me like a Delph replacement when he signed. We've still got a lot of signings to make, but our form under Sherwood was totally different to that under Lambert, and far more representative of the squad. Going back to Vlaar, though, it makes me laugh when I hear the media or fans of other clubs go on about how we'll miss him. Ask Villa fans, you'll get a different story. I always think you should take note of what a club's fans say about a player, a manager or their team because they will have watched them closer than any other club's fans or media pundits. The soundbites cleverly dropped into the media by a manager often form the media and therefore other fan's opinions.

http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/sir-bobby-s-charity-benefits-from-fundraising-in-memory-of-two-newcastle-fans-who-died-in-flight-mh17-tragedy-1-7362893 “At every Newcastle game last year, home and away, there’s been applause on 17 minutes to remember John and Liam. “We can’t believe that’s gone on for an entire season, and really appreciate the thought. “It’s not something we imagine will continue into this season, certainly not all around the ground, and I’m sure John of all people would be most happy if fans were concentrating on football and supporting his team.” I hope this is respected as I personally don't think this should continue this season.

Top 8 is way beyond us without some serious investment and even then I am not sure it would be enough. All the other teams are also aiming for the top 10 and most of those were in a better place than us at the end of last season and have already improved their squads. McClaren would have to be some sort of genius for get us into the top 8 and I don't rate him that highly. I just think with some backing, he will do an OK job.

Have also heard journalists admit to giving more favourable press to those clubs who treat them well and where they get fed well!!

The Guardian say they are giving Scott Dann a long-term contract on £65k a week. And their salary offer to Austin will be greater than any of the other clubs will offer. :kasper: