Stottie

Aye ........still think if a London club comes in for him he'll be off. Thanks to Pardew not playing him, he'll be seen as too unproven in the PL for the only clubs that would be a step up. With Townsend also, Pardew has shown that hastily joining a PL also-ran may not be a step forwards. Gayle would be better off sticking around and trying to bang in 25 for the season to show he can do it consistently when given the chance he should have had at Palace.

I don't mind Sissoko because I think of him as partly righting the historical wrongs of our dealings with Tottenham Hotspurs. With Yedlin and Townsend also, it looks like that ship has been completely turned around.

It'd be nice to see both but they both play up top. It would be a waste to pull Gayle back off the last defender's shoulder, and crazy to get Mitro to do any kind of extensive pressing. He picks up bookings too easily. I'll laugh as much as anyone when he pulls the defender's hair, but you're not going to get away with that for long.

Mitro's on fire!

mitro!!!

Aye, it wasn't pointed out and I never realized, but Pellegrini is only eight years older than him.

It looks like PNE play four at the back at home with Wright and Clarke at CH. Wright started on Tuesday, and Clarke came on at HT, so Mitro scored against their first teamers in the cup game. Let's hope he can do it again.

I thought the cup tie would be way trickier than it was, based on their recent form and the home goals we've shipped, so I don't know what to think now about this game. A quick look at Whoscored suggests that both Norwich and Huddesfield outplayed and outshot Preston, but didn't take their chances. Brighton too, in their 2-2 draw. We've got five clean sheets away from home and have conceded only one each in the other two games. So I guess we'll see a more cautious approach than on Tuesday, regardless of the performances of the lads who came in for the cup tie.

Hilarious stat from NUFC.com that we have never scored ourselves in the eight quarter finals we have played in this competition. The goal that put us on the way to the 1976 final was a Notts County own goal. Another monkey for Rafa to get off our back!

They won 2-1 in the third and fourth rounds, but have lost five straight league games. League form is P7 W0 D1 L6.

Between WBA (h) and Boro (a) for them, two six-pointers if they are to stay up. The Boro game isn't until the Monday though.

Good draw!

Next round is week beginning Nov 28, so between Blackburn (h) and Forest (a) for us. The teams in Europe will play in it the preceding midweek. Man City play Chelsea in the Prem on Dec 3, so a good chance that one or both will field a rotated team next round if they get through tonight. It's nice and congested at the top of the Prem, which raises the question of priorities for the teams up there. Easy draw at home, if possible!

We've been more solid away from home so far this season, so this could be a bit tricky, esp. if they beat Bournemouth away last round. I hope it's a high priority for Rafa and he picks the team accordingly.

7 out of our 10 wins have been by two goals or more. That's more than Brighton (3 out of 8), Norwich (3 out of 8), and Huddersfield (0 out of 9) put together.

The three teams they have beaten this season are all in the bottom five. They are yet to play anyone in the top four.

Unless Mourinho's mission is to get early success, you have to question the logic of signing Zlatan. If his job is to build a team that will compete again, the easiest way would be to build on the (limited) successes of the Van Gaal era. That would be Rashford and Martial. Zlatan puts them out of position or out of the team, and is only a short-term option, just as RVP was.

Villa won their first game last year, so even they had 4 points after 9 games. In their record-breaking 11 point season, Derby had 5 after 9 games, thanks to beating us, of course.

Only four points above the bottom three. Their three wins have all been against clubs who were in the bottom four the last time I looked.

Yes! Ayoze!!

Ayoze get in!

I doubt anyone has forgotten, but league record under McLaren in 15/16 Newcastle United P28 W6 D6 L16 F28 A53 Pts 24 When Rafa took over, our recent form was P6 W1 D0 L5.

In case no-one has noticed, Dwight Gayle, the striker Pards wouldn't play, has now scored as many goals (11) in 16/17 as the entire Crystal Palace team.

Possibly Giggs, but I never realized he is 183 to 185cm. Must be the hunched shoulders.

That's also nearly as many as they've scored all season. Things still looking rosy all across the board. Scoring loads, conceding few, and outpassing and outshooting opponents both home and away. A little dependent on Gayle for goals perhaps, but we've got the best manager in the league if we need a workaround there. Buying in January is also an option if something serious were to happen.