Consortium of one

On the bright side maybe we can sell Nolan to Liverpool over the summer so he can resume being Andy's babysitter

Seriously, being offered 35M for Andy Carroll would make any of us blink if we owned the club.

If people want to blame someone, it should start with Carroll's agent. This is roughly how the whole thing probably played out and the agent was probably pushing each step to conclusion. I mean, he probably got a cracking fee from Liverpool. He also engineered the the 6th (?!!!!!) largest transfer fee to date (for a high potential but largely unproven player). Not only does the agent get some cash in his pocket and a big ego boost if he facilitated this whole scenario I suspect he'll add some heavy hitters to his client list. See, this could be bad for three out of the four parties. NUFC get what could have been a local legend pulled out from under them. Liverpool spunk big money on what could be a spectacular flop for the money and the player goes to a club still in trouble with the burden of a huge transfer fee over his head. The only one who definitely comes out good is the agent. Maybe it works out for all four parties. Still, the only sure bet for a happy ending is the agent.

With all the clubs I follow, I root for the uniform. At least that is what I keep telling myself...

I'd like to say this kind of spending is unsustainable but if we came through the last economic crisis and haven't lost a few clubs in the process maybe it is sustainable?

I hope Liverpool go down

Can't sell him. There' is not enough time to secure a replacement. The club can look at it as an option in the summer if silly money is going to be offered. If I ran the club it would have to be an outrageously high bid for me to sell him, though.

I'm begiining to come around to this way of thinking. He went to Man City which has a glut of players with little rhyme or reason. Then he gets pushed off to Villa who have been a mess since MON left. Maybe, just maybe, Newcastle is a place with a tight knit squad that he can settle into. Kind of odd to refer to Newcastle as a place of relative stability but there you go...

K, I take it back. Here in the states I don't get to see every game :-[

The majority of Nolan's goals have come from CM when we've played 4-4-2. Are you sure? I seem to remember him scoring typically with a single striker. I do remember him scoring in the 442 recently but that was off a rebound, just outside of the penalty box. With a single striker (typically carroll) he plays more forward, in front of goal.

When Nolan plays in the hole he always pops up in the right place to hit the net. When Nolan plays as a CM he seems to disappear. Ireland may work out playing alongside Tiote but how long will it take for him to get his form?

According to the Sky website, it looks like a transfer rather than a loan.

what did he do exactly? He was gritty, hustled and had a steely glint in his eye...

Larsson in, Routledge out? I'd be OK with that especially if we get more than 1.5M for Routledge.

Agreed. Add in the fact that Pardew may get a more robust transfer kitty than Hughton may have gotten. I must say I do feel a bit guilty having somewhat put Chris out of my mind, though. I hope he gets a job soon.

Liverpool has interest in Routledge? This was linked from BBC's Gossip column: http://www.caughtoffside.com/2011/01/05/liverpool-plan-8m-january-bid-for-newcastle-united-winger/#more-42881 8M is absurd but it would make sense to move Routledge out if Bentley comes in.

West Ham were awful but the club did what they had to do: step on their throats. West Ham are going down. For long stretches of the game they looked lifeless except for Parker. Ben Haim is punk. He's a crap player playing for a crap team and he tried to take it out on the kid. The kid looked scared at times but made some nice passes and looked like he deserved a run out. Hope he plays against Stevenage. Good on Leon Best. His goals were well taken. He showed good composure and he had the night of a lifetime. Barton was awesome once again. The cross early in the game that Best misfired on was off Barton's left foot. I was really impressed with that. I hope Tiote is OK and his hamstring doesn't drag him down for an extended period of time. As they say on FM: "A 5 star Newcastle triumph!"

7M for Keane? Really?

Sol Campbell -Makes a fine statue

I hope Keane signs for Brum quickly. i don't want him here and don't want to keep see rumors of him coming here all month.

I can't wait for him to sell.

yeah, if HBA plays off Carroll, you take Nolan out of his best spot on the pitch. It's a tough call and as some have pointed out, you have to see who else will be coming in before you decide.

I watched AC in an England U21 match last fall and I don't think there was a better player on the pitch. He was the focal point of the attack and played the TM perfectly. He just may have begun to round the corner in that game. It can happen to any body. You struggle with something and then it just clicks and you're like, "Hey, I can do this", and from that point on you get confidence and get better, get more confidence and get better. That's how I look at that game that Andy played that day: it was like the switch was flipped on for him.

MICHAEL OWEN

Simpson has looked good going forward but still plays tentative on defense. Looks like he and Barton are beginning to work well together.