NSG

He seems a better all round player now the ball is being mostly played on the floor, his link up play with midfield has been excellent. I wonder if Owen was offered a new contract? tbh, I always thought his link up play was good on the deck, even last season. Don't really understand the stick he gets considering what he gives the team. If he was called Andy Carroll and came from Gateshead we'd probably have built a statue by now. Honestly, bored to death of that shite. That argument ONLY stands for Steven Taylor - who is a good player. Does anyone, anywhere, really think that Peter Ramage is anything more than Unibond League standard? Yes, I do.

8mill euros is only about 5mill quid isn't it?

He seems a better all round player now the ball is being mostly played on the floor, his link up play with midfield has been excellent. Only seen the Celtic game, but the way he and Geremi were constantly on the same wavelength, was very encouraging indeed. And when you consider that Geremi has the eye for a quality ball akin to that of a Nobby Solano, and when you consider Martins' pace - we could well have something rather special on our hands. Potentially. This is excellent news. I'm a firm believer of the fact that within another 12 months, he'll certainly be worth a pay rise anyhow. So to do it now to get rid of those idiotic clauses, is good thinking. The player is obviously commited aswell. Don't you mean: Any developments since page1-ish?

Let's be 'avin you. To be honest, if right now we'd got Distin and Ben Haim, 90% of this forum would be declaring it the best close season in history. Time to panic? Have a word.

It was a joke, but I thought loads of people would take it the wrong way so I deleted it

simply because he's a geordie? No, because every time he's played he'd given absolutely everything and you could see how much that goal meant to him.

Spurs sign Kevin Boateng

Thing is, at the Shearers bar talk ins, they'll block any difficult questions, and it'll be things like "So Sam, who's hardest working in training" blah blah blah.

Remember what happened the last time a Toon delegation flew to Spain? They came back with fuck all. Not listening till I see him in B&W on .co.uk

The thought of Hyypia bores me shitles

www.skysports.com Newcastle United's summer signing David Rozehnal is struggling with a groin injury, but should be fit for the start of the new season. The Czech Republic international, who has played in all four of The Magpies' pre-season fixtures, is currently undergoing treatment on the strain. The former PSG stopper is happy with his displays for Sam Allardyce's troops and believes he has coped with the physical demands of English football. "My only problem is that I have a got a small groin strain, but I'm working with the doctors to get it better," he told Sport. "I think I've done well in the friendlies. In all of them I was playing from the first minute and I would say I have stood my ground. "In the first game I felt the toughness. It won't all be about toughness, it'll be about strength, aggression over the first five metres and an intense tempo. "I know the player I am and I know my weak and strong points. I feel that I can cope. I have improved my fitness a lot." Rozehnal believes he is settling well at St James' due to the vast spectrum of ages and nationalities of players at the North East outfit. "We are mixed in terms of age and nationality. I always have someone to talk to," he continued. "We don't have any prima donnas which would spoil the team spirit, which is good."

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=43353.0

I'd be fuming if he went.

Except at Carlisle.

Probably. Zakora is ten times the player Dyer is.

He wants to leave to be with his family. Let him go.

SAM Allardyce has slammed newspaper stories suggesting he would have to sacrifice Obafemi Martins to raise transfer funds. There were reports on Tuesday morning that the Magpies boss would have to sell the Nigerian striker, who scored 17 times last season in his maiden campaign at St. James' Park. However, Big Sam told nufc.co.uk: "This story is complete and utter fabrication. There's nothing in it whatsoever." Indeed, Martins told Newcastle World in an exclusive interview last week: "I am very, very happy here so I am not going anywhere." Sam and chairman Chris Mort, meanwhile, are continuing to work hard behind the scenes in an attempt to add new faces to the Newcastle squad.

The Chronicle are going with this story. Now we know its bollocks.

SMITH 8

From the Journal NEWCASTLE United have rejected a £5m offer from West Ham for Kieron Dyer, but he seems unhappier than ever at St James’s Park after his car and home came under attack from disgruntled fans. Dyer was booed by sections of Newcastle’s crowd during the 2-0 victory over Juventus despite the fact his performance was praised by manager Sam Allardyce – who is believed to have had a £6m offer for Manchester United’s Alan Smith accepted last night. But worse was to follow for the England international when he left the ground, as fans screamed abuse and then surrounded his car, banging on the windows, as he tried to drive away from the stadium. The Journal also understands that Dyer’s home near Ponteland has had eggs thrown at its windows since it emerged the 28-year-old is keen to leave the North-East so he can move closer to his young family in Ipswich. The news of the campaign against Dyer has not been greeted well inside St James’s Park and there is concern that the actions of a few mindless yobs will hinder the club’s attempts to attract players in the future. Chairman Chris Mort said: “It’s well known there has been interest in Kieron from several clubs and that he might want to move on for family reasons. However, he remains an important part of the squad and is working hard for the team as he showed with his performance on Sunday. “We have got to make all our current players and potential new signings see Newcastle as a great place to live and it would be disastrous for the club for this sort of behaviour to be repeated.” Dyer was arguably Newcastle’s best player when he came on as a second-half substitute against Juventus and he has privately revealed a determination not to allow his critics to break his spirit. In fact, the abuse directed at him on Sunday appeared to motivate him, rather than dishearten, as he guided a young side through the final 45 minutes of the friendly. However, the abuse would appear to make the possibility that the midfielder can be persuaded to stay at the club even more remote, despite the fact United and West Ham have seemingly reached deadlock in their negotiations. The Hammers made a final bid last week, which is believed to include a further payment once Dyer has played 50 games for the east London club as well as another add-on if the Hammers qualify for Europe. That offer, though, was turned down by the Magpies and Allardyce revealed on Sunday that nobody had made a bid that is “anywhere near the sort of money” he is looking for. Whether the bid for Smith suggests that has now changed remains to be seen. Although primarily a striker, the former Leeds player has been used as a midfielder at Old Trafford. If Dyer’s move to West Ham does collapse it would leave Allardyce in a tricky situation as he will have an unhappy player in his squad who sections of the club’s supporters cannot wait to see leave. There is the chance Dyer could go out on loan, but Newcastle are unlikely to be happy with that option because his market value will fall as he only has two years left on his contract. Allardyce will invest whatever money he receives for Dyer immediately in a replacement and it could be that Smith has been lined up for that purpose, although they face competition from Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Allardyce held a meeting with Chris Mort yesterday to discuss what the club are going to do next in the transfer market as there have not been any new arrivals since Geremi signed on a free transfer last month. Newcastle desperately need to sign three more defenders before the close of the transfer window at the end of August, as well as a replacement for Dyer, and that will not be cheap. However, Allardyce has actually spent less than £3m since he became United manager as he also raised £7m from the sale of Scott Parker to West Ham. He is interested in Paris Saint Germain’s Senegal international left-back Boukary Drame, but faces competition from Sochaux. There will be support for the manager from fans who want to see money invested in new players after the initial excitement which greeted the removal of Freddie Shepherd begins to fade. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cracking effort fellas, people are really going to sign for us when the see this shite [/sarcasm]

Are we scraping round for coins to sign defenders though? We just put a £7m bid in for a defender the other day, remember. According to the Chronicle

He's miles ahead of Harper Tidied. Just my opinion of course. Seen him much, have you? Who, Harper? Krul.

He's miles ahead of Harper Tidied. Just my opinion of course. Seen him much, have you?

Apart from one serious injury his record isnt bad. He hasnt played up front for Man Utd often enough to assess whether his goal record is disgusting or not. Similarly at Leeds he was used on the wing/right of three. Never going to be prolific but it should be assumed his role here will be in midfield given our options up front. Not a bad player but as has been mentioned elsewhere, the pace is going from the team. Its easy for the mongs on the board to drag their knuckles whilst that happens though. Not so easy to recruit anyone with real pace though - something top teams now have and we dont. He played upfront about 70% of his Leeds career and scored about 20 goals in 4 seasons or something as shite as that. He's a terrible midfielder and we have better on the books. His pace is all but gone after his last injury, he brings nothing to the table apart from a nasty streak a mile wide. We don't need him upfront (and even if we did sell Martins or Owen i'd want better than this) and we don't need him in midfield, SAF stuck with him there longer than he should of, the rest of the team carried him, it was a godsend for Manu he broke his leg. You're going WAY over the top in your criticism of him tbh. He's nowhere near the absolute shithouse you're making him out to be. He's a decent Premiership player and would be a good addition to the squad. You make him out to be a less talented version of Sibierski with a bad attitude. I've said nothing that not true. He's not a midfielder, he was poor and holding Manu back when playing in centre park for them. Upfront he's nothing more than worker, someone to assist as he very rarely gets amongst the goals. So where are we supposed to be buying him for? Its not going to be up front unless one of our strikers is leaving and if we replace Owen a natural goalscorer, or Martins natural pace and strength, with Smith who has none of that, then we really are down grading big style. If he's to replace Dyer, i'd rather keep Dyer, and i hate the prick. He's not REPLACING anyone. He's an ADDITION to the squad. Why can't people get their head around the concept of building a squad of players to allow us some rotation/cover? There are games and situations where a player like Smith could be well employed both up front or in midfield. It's called having options. Still, wouldn't mind some defenders.

Get on with it then...