After retrieving  all our backed up data here at Among The Thugs and de-coding all the schematics that we acru on a daily basis, I was able to decipher the results of our “Thugs Fans Support…?” post. With an amazing response and surprising number of viewers, this post has been one of our biggest and most popular todate.

With over 11,500 voters here are the results:

-Arsenal comes in dead last with 2%

-Other 4% {wow….other beats Arsenal….maybe Louie could post about that!!!}

-Liverpool 6% {…..lemon juice to an open cut…..ouch}

-Man U 10% {suprising}

-Aston Villa 14% {with a side show like Andy I’m sure the villa numbers will continue to rise}

-Chelsea 28% {proves that there really are a lot of stupid people in this world}

-Newcastle United 36% { Not really suprising at all! We are the peoples club}

 With just over 4,100 votes supporting the magpies it is safe to say that the people have spoken…… and the best around is………..NEWCASTLE UNITED!!

For all of you out there who could give two craps about the Championship League and the latest news on Newcastle United, I just wanted to give a little update:

Newcastle is still at the top of the table with a record of 17-8-3 and 59 points. We are still undefeated at home. Based on previous promoted clubs scores, Newcastle will need to win around 10 out of the next 18 matches for promotion back to the EPL.

WBA is currently in second place with 56 points. They have been on Newcaslte United’s heals all season long. WBA looks to be making a very strong case for promotion along side the Magpies.

Now up until this point I personally have had no problem with bouncing back and forth between 1st and 2nd with WBA. The distance from 2nd to the playoff positions have had a wonderful fluffy cushion. But now a club has emerged and I’m starting to get that same old nervous feeling every weekend. This club has now put the pressure on NUFC and WBA to play at top form for every time they step out onto the pitch. Say hello to Nottingham Forest. They have blasted their way as far as 2nd place and are only down 1 point to WBA and sit very comfortably in 3rd place {10 points between 3rd and 4th place}.

The last thing I want to see is our promotion desided on a playoff. Thanks to Nottingham the rest of the season is going to be very interesting. I’m sure we will see many positions shift from week to week. Lets get ready! The road to May should be fun!!!

What you missed while jellyfish were blockading Hanauma Bay…

• Gridiron-Soccer Convergence Story: Before Saints kicker Thomas Morstead attempted his onside kick in last night’s Super Bowl, kicking consultant John Carney told him to “bend it like Beckham.”
• We’ve got a trifecta of footballing legal issues to talk about: Paul Gascoigne was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll was charged with assault after a night club incident, and Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller celebrated his side’s 3-0 win over Blackburn by getting arrested at a separate night club.
• Arsene Wenger has blamed his team’s relative youth for their loss to Chelsea; at some point, someone might consider also blaming the person who assembled a relatively young side to play against Chelsea.
• Liverpool Manchester United West Ham Tottenham Arsenal are looking to raise their average age with the signing of Marouane Chamakh.
• From the “loaned out players doing better than their clubs of origin” file: Robinho scored the winner for Santos in a 2-1 win over Sao Paolo (while Manchester City lost 2-1 to Hull City); also, Robbie Keane scored from the spot in a 4-2 Celtic win over Dunfermline (as Tottenham drew 0-0 with Aston Villa).
• American international Jozy Altidore scored his first goal for Hull in the above-mentioned win over Man City.
• Manchester United scored twice and Portsmouth scored three times in a 5-0 Manchester United win on Saturday.
• Kevin Davies feels that something personal between himself and referee Mark Clattenburg caused the official to disallow a goal in Bolton’s scoreless draw with Fulham; in other Bolton news, defender Gary Cahill will miss the rest of the season with a blood clot.
• Gerard Pique and Rafael Marquez were both sent off in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Getafe.
• China missed a late penalty in a goalless draw with Japan; the Chinese people presumably would’ve been pissed about this had the Chinese government allowed the match to be televised.
• Apparently Liverpool and Everton REALLY don’t like each other, even if their fans get along well.
• Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch is retiring for a spot on Bob Bradley’s World Cup coaching staff.

What is it about Labour politicians and football? Is it the need to demonstrate their ‘man of the people’ credentials, and that they are in touch with, and true to, their roots (whatever these may), or is it that they are just like any other politician, and think they know best about everything?

Whether it was Harold Wilson and the 1996 World Cup, or Tony Blair telling us that he used to watch Newcastle United as a boy (even if his hero Jackie Milburn had hung up his boots quite a few years before), over the years no Labour politician has been able to resist playing the football card.

The latest to do so is Mike O’Brien, the health minister.

O’Brien chose Twitter as the medium, and what he offered in his 140 characters was “The sacking of Terry is crass. Capello has bowed to tabloid pressure. Infidelity is bad but I saw no signs of fatigue in his football”. Having looked at his tweets, the one about Terry is possibly the most interesting unless you are one of O’Brien’s constituents (although glass houses and stones comes to mind, as I don’t think many of mine would pass Tammy Erickson’s test “Are you fun to follow on Twitter?”: see her HBR article). But why tweet about it all?

And why the strange linkage between infidelity and fatigue? Is there something he knows as health minister he isn’t telling us!

I had to skip the usual trip to the Poet’s Corner last night and go home early because the general state of fatigue I’ve been in suddenly morphed into a fever. I went home at 5, went straight to bed, and it was only Columbo’s frantic pawing that woke me up several hours later. I had not only missed a leaving party for Kate Isaak, who is now off to work for the European Space Agency, but also slept all the way through Newcastle United’s splendid 5-1 hammering of Cardiff City in last night’s Coca Cola Championship match at St James’ Park.

Despite home advantage, and the fact that Newcastle won the corresponding away fixture here in Cardiff, I thought this tie would be pretty difficult for Newcastle so I was overjoyed to see the result when I finally roused myself from feverish slumbers. It seems that Newcastle’s recent signings in the January transfer window actually came good, especially Wayne Routledge who gives the side a much-needed injection of pace down the wing. Cardiff City, on the other hand, didn’t buy any players at all because they need all the cash they’ve got to pay off an outstanding tax bill and thwart various winding-up orders that have been served on them. The turbulence behind the scenes seems to have worked its way onto the pitch: the blues are definitely the most erratic team in the division, winning 6-0 only a week or so ago and then getting thrashed 5-1 yesterday.

And just to make  my allegiances clear, I do have a soft spot for Cardiff City and do want to see them do well – except when they’re playing Newcastle. Once a Geordie, always a Geordie…

Results of a different kind were the topic of discussion around the School of Physics & Astronomy yesterday, as it was the official day for tutors to hand the results of the 1st semester exams to their tutees. It’s always great to see students leaving their tutor’s office with a big smile on their face, which happened rather a lot yesterday.  Some, of course, got more disappointing news, but to them I’d just say that it’s only half way through the year so there’s plenty of time to recover. Stick at it, and don’t let setbacks get you down.  I hope to see even more happy faces in June than I did yesterday….

Football teams like Cardiff City aren’t the only things to be enduring financial uncertainty these days, either. Even the Premiership clubs of the university sector are feeling the pinch. Many institutions around the country are planning departmental closures and redundancies, but you know it’s serious when it hits the big colleges in London. Last week University College (UCL) and Imperial both announced plans for large-scale layoffs, and this week they were joined by King’s College which plans to sack 205 academics, including 30 in the School of Physical Sciences and Engineering.

The background to all this is that the cuts announced by Lord Mandelson in December have now been officially passed on to English universities by HEFCE, but one suspects also that in some cases this is being used as a cover for other management decisions. Imperial, for example, is going ahead with the purchase of new property in Wood Lane for a cool £28 million at the same time as cutting academic positions costing a fraction of that.

Amid all the gloom, however, it is nice to be able to report some good news. Cardiff University was almost declared bankrupt in the 1980s when it failed to get to grips with the cuts imposed by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative  government which were similar in scale to those being implemented by New Labour. It was brought back from the brink, however, and since then has managed its finances with almost excessive caution. Other universities have scored spectacular successes in the League tables by spending money freely on fancy research initiatives and overseas campuses, but in the new reality of austerity Britain these may turn out to have been risky ventures.

By contrast, “Safe and Steady” has long been the motto in Cardiff. We might not have done brilliantly in the RAE but the insitution has an extremely sound financial base that should put it in as good position as any to withstand these difficult times. Moreover, we’ve just heard that the University management has agreed that the School of Physics & Astronomy can go ahead and make  four new academic appointments, and that these will be accompanied by substantial startup packages with which the new appointees can begin to equip their own laboratories. This involves a considerable investment in the School from the University’s central coffers and I think it’s fantastic news. I doubt if many UK universities are going to be investing so heavily in physics at this time, so this is an extremely welcome development. It’s always nice to buck the trend.

The adverts will be going out pretty soon, so the transfer window is about to open.  I look forward to meeting our new signings in due course, and I’m confident that they’ll help us climb up the League.

If only I could say the same for Cardiff City…

I wrote this a few days after Sir Bobby passed away and thought it should be on my blog. RIP Sir Bobby.

Sir Bobby Robson – The Black and White Knight

Sir Bobby Robson really was a saviour to Newcastle United and helped me find my passion for Newcastle United. In September 1999, Sir Bobby was to return home where he belonged and to his dream job. The one he had always wanted, managing his home town club. The day he was unveiled as manager almost 10 years ago now, fans flocked to St James’ Park and yes I was one of them.

I am in the top left with the black and white shirt on, and arms in the air. As I can remember nearly falling off the white hand rail as I was trying to see. I was 12 years old and had been supporting Newcastle for years by then. But it wasn’t until Sir Bobby that I really became a fan, I managed to get tickets during his era and I really was hooked. Back then if we went a goal down, it did not matter everyone knew we could still win the game. I lost count of how many games we went down 1 nil and I left the stadium happy with a 2-1 win. (This changed after Bobby left).

Being there the day Bobby was unveiled was the first big event I went to in relation to Newcastle United and has therefore always been something that I have remembered and talked about to this day. His passing has been extremely difficult, as I have not been able to go to St James Park and pay my respects. I was also not able to attend the charity game in his honour. I thought it would be a little easier to put this down in words, but it really isn’t. In a brief sentence he really changed my life, which is a bold statement to make but he really made me fall even more in love with football than I was before.

He came at the right time for Newcastle, we were bottom of the league and in his first home game in charge we beat Sheffield Wednesday 8 nil at St James Park! What a way to turn everything around in the 1999/2000 season we finished in 11^th place which was a dream after the awful start we had before Bobby came and saved us from the unthinkable. 2001/02 season we finished 4^th and headed for the dream . . . champions league. The best competition in Europe, and what an adventure we had. Playing against Barcelona, Inter Milan and I will never forget that Feeynood game “Bellammmmy, has there ever been a more dramatic night in the champions league!” Newcastle never have been a team to make it boring, real entertainment and nail biting action. Seeing Sir Bobby dance on the touch line when a goal went in was just priceless.

 A rainy day in Barca, when the game got put back 24 hours. The next day at the game chants of “we’re getting sacked in the morning” rang out from the Geordie faithful who stayed the extra day to see the game.

The interviews he used to do were just fantastic, with some incredible quotes. One of my very favorites is when he is talking about having wild dreams, and the reporter mentions the moon, Bobby responds with to the moon? . . . ..  . .

After having to watch clips of the Charity match (was so disappointed I could not be there) I downloaded Nessun Dorma by Tenors Unlimited and all I can think about when I listen to it is the image of Sir Bobby sitting in the wheelchair with his hat on, waving to the crowd and moving slowly to the music. I think that image will be there every time I listen to this version of the song. He looked so sad, but so happy at the same time.

I what turned out to be his very last public appearance, he still had a smile on his face, and eventually saw England beat Germany. Seeing him sitting in the chair really did break my heart, its so difficult to see someone like Bobby being such a shadow of him former self. I still remember him jumping/dancing on the touch line in a champions league game.

I really loved how he celebrated the goals we scored, it just showed how much he cared and how much it all meant to him. Not like anyone would ever have doubted Bobby. Also his enthusiasm for encouraging the players, he rarely just sat down and watched. He stood in his technical area which I found just fantastic. He really was one of a kind, no one will ever come close to him. He was always so full of life and just loved football.

And thanks to Sir Bobby I love football more than anything.

All of the pre-game talk was surrounding Geordie Michael Chopra’s return to St James Park (a place he has never scored) after scoring a lot of goals for Cardiff in the Championship this season. But it was another Geordie who has taken all of the headline away from him Andy Carroll.

Carroll started the scoring so early that I missed his first goal. I also missed the second goal as did not get into my seat until 11 minutes into the game. After a run from the car park to the stadium, which was actually quite a far distance! Typical that the one time in 5 years that I have been late into the ground we score two goals in the first five minutes. I am usually in my seat in the Gallowgate end 20/30 minutes before kick off watching the Toon warm up and working out who is on the bench and who is starting before it is announced.

But never mind at least we did not stop playing and I saw three more goals from us and one consolation for Cardiff for deciding to stand on the pitch and let us play around them. They were even so kind to kick the ball out a lot and even pass it straight back to us.

This brings me onto a point I have thought about quite a lot this season already . . . a lot of the championship sides struggle to play at St James Park. They seem to have no confidence and lose all bottle. Yes it must be an intimidating place to come and play with over 40,000 people inside. The fans of each team really have been fantastic and making the most of us being in the Championship by bringing 3,000 fans to the games. And why not St James Park is a fantastic stadium I still love going inside every other week. I have seen some great goals and matches, also some awful matches and witnessed the downfall of a once big club.

Anyway back to the Cardiff game. We out played them in all areas of the pitch, their heads were down straight away. They never even looked capable of coming back into the game with anything. Chopra looked like he was trying too hard to score rather than help out his team. In all honesty though I really don’t get the booing towards him he hasnt ever done anything wrong towards us. We did not think he was good enough and let him go. I don’t care if he played for Sunderland. It was closer to where he grew up so why wouldn’t he have wanted to be in the North East? I would have always rather had Chopra in the squad over Ameobi who has always been awful and always will be.

Cardiff’s goalkeeper looked awful especially for the fifth goal he might as well have moved out of Lovenkrands way and let him slide the ball in because he done nothing to stop him. But I’m not taking anything away from Lovenkrands both of his finishes were top quality.

I actually feel sorry for Lovenkrands he has scored quite a few goals this season but always finds himself on the bench. Surely he is in with a shout of a starting place? Must be a bit disheartening for Leon Best to walk straight into the team ahead of him. But he totally proved a point by replacing Best and scoring two goals. Well done Peter! I for one would like to see him starting!

Another plus is Jonas and Wayne Routledge on the wings they really have given us another dimension. This was one of the best performances I have seen Jonas give in a black and white shirt they could not handle him at all. Routledge is really impressing me as well with his pace and quick feet.

I see this as a brilliant result and performance especially after the awful display against Leicester last Saturday. Hopefully this will be a big moral boost as I think out next three games are away from home. So let’s go for it and pick up as many points as possible on the road before we have another game at St James Park.

MICHAEL CHOPRA is relishing his return to Newcastle on Friday night – but knows he’s in for a rough time.

The Cardiff City striker is looking to continue his goal-scoring form when his side travel to St James Park to play the Championship leaders.

But Chopra, who has scored 14 goals in the league this season, said he was expecting to get some stick from the home fans.

But the 26-year-old is prepared to run riot against the Magpies and strengthen Cardiff’s position in the play-off places.

“I can’t wait. This is one of the matches I’ve been looking forward to since the fixtures came out,” Chopra told Cardiff City’s official website.

“Thankfully for me, I’m starting to score goals at the right time.

“I have a lot of belief in my ability and when I went 13 or 14 games without a goal, it was affecting me a little bit but I knew I just had to keep going and keep creating chances.

“If you look at me in the last few games, I could have got a hat-trick on Saturday, but it wasn’t to be, although we still managed to get the win.

“I’m enjoying my football and back on a scoring run again. On Saturday, I scored the hardest chance of the three I got, and maybe it was a little lapse in concentration.

“The reception I got at Newcastle last season was bad. It was a local derby and I was playing for Sunderland. I knew when I went to Sunderland that I’d get a reception like that at Newcastle. Hopefully, Friday won’t be as bad, but I’ll still get stick.

“I watch Newcastle a lot. When the manager gives me time off and I go home, I’ll watch them play.

“Obviously I take an interest in the club because it’s where I was brought up, and another thing is that it’s a football game and I enjoy watching games. My mates are all Newcastle fans.

“But if I’m one on one with the keeper on Friday, I’ll be sticking it in the back of the net.”

Well the transfer window is now closed until the summer and we have brought in 5 new signings to help aid our push for promotion back into the premier league. I have to admit that the only player I really know anything about is Wayne Routledge. I wasn’t too impressed when we announced signing him because I always thought he had wasted the potential he had when he was younger. But he looked very sharp and dangerous against Leicester on Saturday so I am going to give him another chance and hopefully he can win me over.

Patrick Van Aaholt who looked very comfortable on Saturday. Has been signed on a 1 month loan deal from Chelsea.

Mike Williamson signed from Portsmouth on a 3 and a half year deal.

Fitz Hall signed from Crystal Palace on a 3 month loan deal. In all honesty I don’t see the point in this loan as we seem to have quite a few defenders now. I will hold all judgement until he plays.

Leon Best signed from Coventry City today. He is a striker who I had never heard about so decided to check out his stats. A striker that does not score many goals? O well another one of those. Ok , Ok I will let him play a few games before I start saying he’s rubbish. This transfer just has panic buy written all over it.

Well thats all until the summer where transfers are concerned . . . guess I am missing the big name signings for ridiculous amounts of money we used to make back in the day . . . I hate the Championship!

Well its that time of year again. The most hectic time of the year. When buying and selling is at it’s highest point and large amounts of money change hands.

No i’m not talking about Christmas Eve, i’m talking about transfer deadline day. One of my most favourite days of the year and unlike Christmas it comes around twice a year.

Theres something special about transfer deadline day. The earlier than normal starts and the amount of garbage that comes out of peoples mouths or is typed onto various websites. People spouting absolute nonsense about what they’ve just seen. My own personal favourite was in the last transfer window. David James was said to have been spotted at Tottenhams training ground when the live video from Portsmouths traning ground show James walking in. Absolute nonsense!

But thats the great thing about the transfer window. Anyone can come out with some outlandish news of a sighting and it will be taken seriously.

Anyway, onto the more serious matters of the day. Who will my beloved Newcastle United sign?

Well we’ve already picked up a few cheeky bargains in the window so far. Wayne Routledge from QPR is a pretty astute signing. He had Enrique all over when he played for the R’s against us last year and he’ll add alot of pace and creativity to an already pedestrian midfield. Routledge and Gutierrez on the wings, oh how that excites me.

Danny Simpson was also signed permanently. Already know what he’s about, strong, reliable and a good reader of the game. Glad we’ve signed him as in my opinion we’ve never had a settled right back since Warren Barton strutted his stuff on the St James’ Park turf.

Patrick Van Aanholt. Another defender in which is something we need right now with Taylor and Enrique out injured. Young and already has experience of this league after playing 21 games with Coventry. Obviously talented as he is with Chelsea and he was pretty good on Saturday against Leicester.

Mike Williamson from Portsmouth is a very good buy. Very experienced in this leage and from what i’ve seen already looks to be a very good defender. Strong in the air and composed on the ground. Also he’ll go in for the meaty challenges Sideshow Bob is too afraid to go for.

Last but not least…Fitz Hall. Yet another experienced defender but the best thing about this bloke is his nickname. One size…..Fitz Hall…Do the math!

Anyway its nice to see Mr Ashley spending a bit of money and Hughton has done a good job of securing some good, quality English talent. Hopefully these players will add to our promotion push.

One outgoing player that every Toon fan will be happy to see the back of. Geremi. The man christened Nelson Mandela by Sam Allardyce, for his diplomatic aura in the dressing room. Have a word, he was on 50,000 a week but couldn’t hardly move.

Well i’ve just looked on the BBC sport website and its now saying that we’ve signed Leon Best from Coventry. Another decent signing which means we’ve covered every position in the team and have added some extra firepower up front.

In other news, the feeling in my stomach isn’t the best at the moment. The quite woeful pepperoni pizza i had on Saturday night seems have to have become rogue and attacked my innards with devastating consequences. I’m quite saddened by this because the pizza came from the greatest pizza place in the world. Figaros is an institution in Chester Le Street. Some lip smackingly good pizza’s are the order of the night on a Saturday to the point where its almost become a routine. But after this nightmare i’m starting to consider my regular attendances at Figaros, maybe its time for a falafel shop. That lightbulb on top of my head just sparked!

Pepto Bismol is the only thing i’m drinking today. The stomach turning pink ooze that tastes more foul than my stepdads oyster sauce laiden gravy. Some dry toast may be needed.

Leicester City 0:0 Newcastle United

Despite playing for over an hour with ten men, City held league leaders Newcastle to a 0-0 draw at Filbert Way on Saturday evening…

Nigel Pearson made three changes to his side with Berner, King and Fryatt replacing Powell, N’Guessan and Kermorgant; while new signing Salano had a place on the bench. Almost immediately this looked like an improvement on recent performances, which have produced three consecutive defeats. 
City were the better side for most of the first half and their best chance came when great work from Waghorn and Oakley teed up Fryatt with a chance from 12 yards but Harper tipped his drive over the bar.
City then suffered a big blow on the half hour when Wellens was harshly yellow carded for a minimum of contact on Routledge. Unfortunately Wellens had already been booked earlier in the game and he was soon walking down the tunnel with the home fans roaring their disapproval at the ref.
City, however, did not seem to be too affected by their reduction in numbers and Fryatt almost netted the goal of the season when a mazy run down the right saw him beat five Newcastle players before his shot was blocked by Van Aanholt.
Newcastle broke swiftly and Van Aanholt was involved at the other end of the field sending a swerving shot from 18 yards towards the top right hand corner before Weale tipped it away at full stretch. 
From the resulting corner a Smith header was then hooked off the line by Berner. 
Oakley then broke clear and fired a 25 yard shot straight at Harper, in what was turning into an excellent contest.
The ref sank further in the estimate of the home crowd when he failed to award a free-kick when Taylor almost cut Waghorn in half with a wild challenge, but then booked Berner seconds later when he barely touched Butt.
Half time saw referee Marriner escorted off by stewards and booed to the rafters.
Ten man City continued to press forward in the second half. A Gallagher free-kick deflected off the wall and went narrowly past the left hand upright.
Berner was then lucky not to see red when he went in late on Routledge, for a far worse foul than the one that got him booked.
The Magpies should have gone ahead when Nolan found space between Brown and Weale but sent his header over from six yards.  Substitute Ranger then had the ball in the net but the celebrations of the large travelling support were cut short by the linesman’s flag.
City were still creating chances and King fired one effort over the bar after great work by Berner; and then Gallagher latched on to a poor clearance from Harper but sent a weak shot straight at the keeper.
At the other end Brown did well to block a Taylor shot.
Soalno was introduced with five minutes remaining and got a good reception from both sets of fans and one through ball of his almost put Dyer through.
As 0-0 draws go this was good entertainment for a big crowd of just under 30,000, and it indicated that City might be back on track after a below par month.

Leicester: Weale, Brown, Berner, Hobbs, Morrison, King, Oakley, Wellens, Gallagher (Dyer 66), Fryatt (Solano 84), Waghorn (Howard 71). Subs Not Used: Logan, N’Guessan, Neilson, McGivern.
Newcastle: Harper, Williamson, Taylor, Van Aanholt, Coloccini, Routledge, Butt, Guthrie, Nolan (Pancrate 75), Carroll, Smith (Ranger 62). Subs Not Used: Hall, Krul, Gutierrez, Lovenkrands, Kadar.

Referee: A Marriner (W Midlands). Attendance: 29,067. 

With having a 5.20pm kick off yesterday and Nottingham Forest already having played and got beat we had the chance to move even further ahead in the push for promotion as we sit top of the championship. With Leicester having Richie Wellens sent off after 30 minutes for two yellow cards it looked like we would have a brilliant chance to take all 3 points as our opponents went down to 10 men.

However as we already know playing against 10 men is often not as easy as it sounds (no idea why but watch any game when a team goes down to 10 men and they always put up a good fight). That being said though playing against 10 men for an hour we really did not capitalise on this. Leicester had the more clear cut and better chances to score however they seem to lack a natural finisher with most of the efforts going straight to Steve Harper. Then again Harper done his best to help them have a chance by throwing the ball straight to the feet of Gallagher who should have scored.

Disappointing to say the least but after so long this game really did have nil-nil written all over it. Neither team ever really looked like scoring. We lack an out and out goalscorer up front. I was impressed with Wayne Routledge who’s singing I was a little dubious about as I thought he was overrated and didnt fill his potential. However I hope he keeps on proving me wrong, as he was our most dangerous player. Leicester couldn’t handle his pace and quick feet. In recent times I have missed a player in a black and white shirt having a bit of pace and wanting to attack down the flanks. So far so good in his signing for me, lets hope he keeps it up.

Patrick Van Aanholt who we signed on Friday on a month long loan from Chelsea was put straight in at left back for the injured Jose Enrique. He looked very comfortable and confident on the ball and had our best chance of scoring. So it looks like he will have a busy month of games with Enrique set to be on the sidelines for 6 weeks.

Mike Williamson also was a plus as looked very solid at the back in a make-shift defence. I missed the game on Wednesday as was working so did not get to see his debut. He rarely put a foot wrong. Hard to believe he has not played for 5 months. Lets hope he can keep up his solid first two appearances.

Fryatt: Best chance of the game.

LEICESTER CITY 0 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0

Thankfully Sky decided to televise both Newcastle vs Leicester games in the Coca-Cola Championship this season.

I am a Newcastle fan, but what’s more relevant is that a certain best mate, Ollie, is a Leicester fan. As is his dad and sister, who were all sat on one side of the room as a stadium-like atmosphere started to develop in the lounge.

When the two sides met before a 12 yard Danny Guthrie strike settled the game otherwise close tie. Prior to the game it was Jonjo 1, Ollie 0.

Second place Nottingham Forest’s run of 19 games unbeaten came to an end at Derby earlier in the day giving Newcastle the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table to 6 points with a game in hand. They travel the 190 miles to the Walkers stadium to face a Leicester team chasing a playoff spot this term under ex-Newcastle assistant Nigel Pearson.

Newcastle handed first team starts to new boys Routledge, Williamson and Van Aanholt, leaving Gutierrez on the bench while Leicester gave Fryatt a first start in 3 games.

A lively first 10 led to Nolan hitting the side netting for Newcastle, and at the other end Leicester’s lively front two Waghorn and Fryatt causing problems for the opposition defence. And Leicester continued to take the initiative and started to dominate the half, despite losing Wellens after two deserved yellow cards on Smith and Routledge on 34 minutes (too the obvious dismay of the best friend’s dad). Fryatt should have put the hosts in front 10 minutes before the break with a pacey run, beating 3 Newcastle defenders only to see his poor finish blocked; prompting desperation cries from the Leicester sofa.

The best chance of the half for Newcastle fell to the new boy Van Aanholt, striking from 25 yards forcing a good save from Foxes keeper Weale. Poor passing in the midfield meant Newcastle failed to maintain any rhythm in a disappointing half that clearly missed the creative influence of Gutierrez.

Leicester again started the half brighter than the visitors even with 10 men, but chances for both teams were few and far between in a relatively even half. Leicester’s defence stayed stubborn all game and limited strikers Carroll and the introduced Ranger to half chances.

A rare chance on 76 minutes saw a teasing Van Aanholt cross neatly finished by Ranger, only for him to look up and see the linesman flag rightfully raised. The withdrawal of Waghorn and Fryatt limited Leicester’s attacking threat for the final 10 minutes as both defences remained on top. Newcastle pressured in the final moments but to no avail, with the tie ending 0-0; a point that takes Newcastle 4 points clear at the top.

Leicester City proved to have ably made the transition from League One champions to Championship playoff contenders, keeping a Newcastle attack at bay and producing the more threatening football (for which I have to concede it’s now me 1, Ollie 1). 1 win in 6 however will be a cause for concern for manager Pearson, though the side still sit 8^th in the Championship with a game in hand over those above them.

Newcastle will be looking to bounce back to form when they host Cardiff City in 6 days time, having only taken three points from 1 of the last 5 league games. Hughton will be grateful for the points cushion for now.

MICHAEL CHOPRA’S return to St James Park with Cardiff City next Friday is sure to be spicy following his altercation with a Newcastle fan on Wednesday night!

Chops was at his old stomping ground to see the Magpies beat Crystal Palace 2-0 when he went to take a photo with a fan.

But the fan then asked him about how it felt to play for rivals Sunderland and spat in his face.

Chopra handed out some of his own punishment to the fan, adding: “I did what I had to do to defend myself. He asked me for a photo and I agreed to that but then he started videoing me and asking me why I had played for Sunderland and what it was like to play for them.

“He spat in my face and called me names and then I had to get him off me,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“I don’t know if anyone from the club got hold of him after that but I did not involve the stewards or the police.

“The fan was completely out of order. All I did was get him off me.”

Palace put in a brave effort despite everything that has been happened at the club, but it wasn’t enough at St James’ Park as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat.

Luck was not on Palace’s side from the off – Palace only named three subs but had to call on one of them – Matt Lawrence – after Johnny Ertl was forced off with injury.

Then the Eagle’s luck worsened as Shaun Derry hooked the ball into his own net.

But Palace had chances, Calvin Andrew failing to round Steve Harper early on and Darren Ambrose also went close. On another night, Palace could have netted a few.

And Nial Ranger’s late goal wrapped up the point for the home side and left Eagles fans with a long trip home, and the team three points above the relegation zone.

It’s going to be a long few months…

Sometimes whilst watching my team, Newcastle United, I can’t stop myself from pointing the finger at the officials when something goes wrong.

More often than not it is me that has made the mistake but during the Magpies recent FA Cup fourth round tie against West Bromwich Albion I had every right.

It was by far the worst display from a group of officials I have seen with nearly every decision going against us. Towards the end of the game I was just one of around 4,000 of the travelling Toon Army staring on in disbelief.

Indeed at full-time the normally calm and collected Chris Hughton stomped out to the referee to ‘enquire’ about his poor performance.  A few minutes later the officials left the pitch to a chorus of boos from the away fans.

I’m not expecting, and I’m sure neither is the nation, perfect performances week in week out from the men in the middle, after all they are human like the rest of us. The one thing I’m sure we are all asking for is consistency.

A lack of consistency is the one thing that irks everyone in the game and is the one thing that referees can use to make their mark on a match and still be respected.

Unfortunately consistency was the one thing absent from the West Brom game. The penalty shouts are perfect example of this.

The first one awarded was dubious to say the least with 6ft something and 14stone Roman Bednar going down under a non-existent challenge from 19 year old Tamas Kadar. Even though I was far from pleased with the decision I accepted that the call had been made and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

However in the second half we had one very similar penalty appeal turned down when Ryan Taylor was hauled to the floor. Moments later Shola Ameobi was injured after being sandwiched between two defenders in the box, still no penalty.

The most aggravating thing about the second penalty shout was the fact that Brom swiftly countered and won their second penalty of the game with Ryan Taylor being shown a harsh straight red.

If the referee and his assistants had shown any consistency with their earlier decisions we should have had two penalties. It’s not the first time things like this have happened.

For example there are some players that seem to elude yellow and red cards whilst others seem to get given them like they are presents. Darren Fletcher for one seems to give away an awful amount of free kicks yet he doesn’t seem to pickup many cards, surely he should just for repeated fouling?

On one occasion a few years back Steven Gerrard grabbed Alan Shearer by the throat in a ruck after a Lee Bowyer tackle on Xabi Alonso. By the letter of the law Gerrard should have received a straight red but he didn’t even get a yellow. Imagine if a Lee Bowyer or a Joey Barton grabbed someone by the throat, what would the ref’s reaction be then?

As I have said before consistency is the key. Fairness is a product of consistency and if things are fair referees will get an easier ride in future.

CW

28 year old Blackburn defender and Georgia captain Zurab Khizanishvili signed for the Royals today on loan from Blackburn Rovers.

He was previously on loan at Newcastle, who apparently nicked him on loan from under the noses of Sheffield United according to Jimmy Muir at BladesMad (link below).

Meanwhile the rumours persist that Alex Pearce could be on his way to Bramall Lane to join up with Glen Little and James Harper. In a further article on BladesMad Muir suggests that Kevin Blackwell will be desperate to sign a defender having lost Matt Kilgallon to Sunderland and Marcel Seip to injury (leaving the Blades with only captain Chris Morgan and Jonathan Fortune who is lacking in match fitness).

Of course, we take on the Blades tomorrow night at Bramall Lane. Glen Little probably won’t feature, but James Harper apparently will line up against us.

Pearce did impress me at first, but unfortunately I tend to agree with the criticism that he is flat-footed and too slow. Does the arrival of Khizanishvili spell his exit? I’m not so sure. I think Khizanishvili will likely fight it out with Mills and Ingimarsson for a place in the heart of our defence and Pearce will remain as back-up.

Of course, the Georgian can also play right back or as a defensive midfielder, so this will give Brian McDermott a few more options: quality cover for the centre backs, cover for Griffin, the possibility of a decent 4-5-1 for tough away games, or perhaps the option of just pairing him up with Sigurdsson, Karacan, Howard or Matejovsky in the middle.

A good signing for a team in our predicament in my opinion. Especially when Pearce has dropped quite low in the estimations of most Royals’ fans. Khizanishvili takes the number 44 shirt (apparently he asked for number 13 – sorry pal, that one’s ours!).

http://www.sheffieldunited-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/zurab_set_to_face_blades_487175/index.shtml
http://www.sheffieldunited-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/blades_to_make_loan_move_487231/index.shtml

After training with the City squad yesterday, veteran Peruvian winger Nolberto Solano today signed a deal that will keep him at Leicester until the end of the season.

 ’Nobby’ is one of Peru’s most famous sons… he has appeared on a postage stamp, and his wedding was televised live to the nation.
The 35 year old winger first came to England in 1998, when he signed for Newcastle. He then moved to Aston Villa, returned to Newcastle for a spell, and also played for West Ham before returning to Peru in 2009.
Nigel Pearson was assistant manager at St James Park when Solano played for the Magpies, who may be the first opposition for the Peruvian at Filbert Way.

Newcastle United and Puma have announced a partnership that will last 2 years, starting in the 2010/11 season. Puma will supply the team kits & training equipment.

It was refreshing to see West Brom wearing Haiti appeal sponsorship on their shirts in the game against Newcastle at St James’ Park on Monday night.

The club have been without a sponsor since T-Mobile ended their agreement at the end of the 2008 season, and a replacement has still not been found. This year two savvy gambling companies – Blue Square and Victor Chandler – agreed one-match deals to put their logos on the shirts for two specific televised games.

I’m sure the Baggies could easily have secured another such deal for the game last night, perhaps commanding an even higher fee than they did in the previous two matches due to the size of the game, against the league leaders and in a prime-time TV slot with no other competing fixtures.

That’s why, in a world when football has become so horribly commercial, it was heartening to see such profits being shunned in place of a genuinely good thing to do.

Granted, it could be the case that there was no monetary offer to consider. Furthermore, it could be argued that this is just some publicity stunt aimed at raising the profile and reputation of the club.

Maybe it is, but I doubt it. They don’t need to do this. A big corporation does, but not a Championship football club with a largely impeccable reputation across the board. And even if it was done with the reputation-enhancing value in mind, who cares? Free publicity on national television for a more than worthy cause? No brainer, and hats off to West Brom.

In a further effort to raise funds the match-worn shirts are being auctioned. No idea where, but I’d personally rather make the equivalent donation and leave the sweaty shirt of Roman Bednar to them!

To make a donation to the fund go to the Disasters Emergency Committee website here.

Fan's gather, not to watch football, but to be hypnotised by the hoardings

Undeniably, capitalist mindsets are having an increasing effect on the sports industry and nowhere more noticeably in football. The game is constantly shrouded in take-over talk or transfer gossip, so much so that someday it’s not uncommon for headlines to be about nothing other than off-the-field antics. It is this area of the beautiful game that has interested me lately as I learned about a recent change of name for one of Britain’s most well known stadiums, St. James’ Park.A couple of weeks ago it was revealed that the home of The Magpies has been re-named to the laughable “sportsdirect.com@St. James’ Park”, as means of attracting bigger investors. I’m not entirely sure what elements humour me the most; the long-winded nature of the name or the fact that it actually includes the ”@” symbol. Either way, it seems that the marketing directors have added to the already damaged reputation of the club, who frequently featured on the back pages last season due to the team’s poor performance and regular balls-ups going on ‘behind the scenes’.

Now, although not a recent trend, name changing is definitely an issue on the minds of some traditionalists, who antagonise the concept. A recent poll by The Guardian which asked readers “Should football clubs sell the rights to stadium names?” a whopping 85.6% said “No”. A Guardian poll probably won’t change the mind of the guys at the top, but for sake of discussion, it seems that the majority aren’t welcoming of name tampering. But what are the reasons why clubs toy with the idea? It’s pretty simple really. It’s not because the members of the board are trying to inject modernity into the clubs (not directly anyway), they do that by approving outrageous kit designs (check out Bolton’s kit that features a pocket on the shirt, ridiculous). Instead, the reason is revenue fuelled – clubs are trying to gain extra pennies to keep afloat and grow in power by trying to scrape their hands on as much cash as possible. As a result, local and global businesses are sprawled across merchandise and fashioned by supporters day-in-day-out.

It seems the amusing actions taking place in Tyneside has led to the revealing that other clubs may be following suite. Chelsea are tipped to be welcoming change and Aston Villa are rumoured to be replacing the name “Villa Park”, but not if the feisty Irishman Martin O’Neill has anything to do with it as he categorically denied the rumour. However, it’s not just in football where fans are witnessing the influence owners and sponsors are having. One of cricket’s most famous grounds commonly known as “The Oval” is officially named “The British Insurance Oval” and across the pond, NHL team Philadelphia Flyers have had their arena name changed four times (the most noticeable change was when the arena became known as “The First Union Centre”, or “The F.U. Centre” for short…). There are hundreds of cases where names have changed, some having a greater impact than others.

When I talk of tradition, I am talking about the change of a long-standing name that other generations can recognise and associate with. Up until last week, Newcastle’s hallowed turf had been solely named “St. James’ Park” since 1892 but that is now only a chapter in the clubs history. As someone who has been watching football from a young age, I feel that the naming of grounds is somewhat overlooked. Raised as a follower of League 2 club Aldershot Town, I’ve become familiar with the name of their home ground. But last season, the club became one of many who are looking for a cheeky cash injection by providing the naming rights of the ground to the highest bidder. What was once “The Recreation Ground” (original, I know) is now “The EBB Stadium at The Recreation Ground”. To begin with, I wasn’t welcoming of the change but can now take some relief in that it doesn’t read like an e-mail address. For me, it will always be “The Rec”.

This got me thinking about the effect name changes have on spectators. Take Arsenal’s “The Emirates Stadium” for example. Since day 1, the Gunners’ fortress has been named after the current club sponsor having received a whopping £100million pounds for a 15 year naming-rights deal. What I question is what people will call the stadium once the deal is finished? Will it remain “The Emirates” or will people revert to the site on which the ground was built, “Ashburton Grove”? The same thoughts can be applied to Burton Albion’s “Pirelli Stadium”.

My position in this under-thought conundrum sways more toward the idea that money is leaving a stain on the tradition of the sport. Personally, I feel that a club’s home provides the likes of spectators and players a point in which they can associate with, a reference point for all the emotion that has oozed from blades of grass. Sadly though, it seems that money-addicted businessmen care more for their company’s name being emblazed anywhere they can flaunt it. Of course these deals do more than I’m giving credit for. The money will go toward future signings or improved facilities (so they say anyway), which can only aid the reputation of the club. It seems that the strands of tradition are being picked at slowly, making clubs more impersonal. Perhaps I’m reading far to into this, that tradition isn’t being tarnished, rather it is evolving with the times. Whatever your opinion, I believe clubs should hold onto one of the last remaining factors that football generations can all identify with; understanding what is meant by “Craven Cottage” rather than “The wealthy man from Harrods Presents the Fulham Arena”.

Originslly written for Gair Rhydd, Issue 909

West Brom feature Haiti appeal on their shirts

Only a quick one as I am mulling over how best to compose a proper entry – surely against the point of blogs where everything should be spontaneous and bitesized.  So for now…here is a short one.

Tonight, West Brom play Newcastle in a match up between arguably the two strongest teams in the Coca Cola Championship.  West Brom; the generous club that they are have donated the sponsorship space on their match shirts to the Disasters Emergency Committe for Haiti appeal. This is without doubt a generous gesture from the club and the DEC appeal will benefit from an increased footfall thanks to the awareness in this desperate time.

Without attempting to sully the attempt of West Brom to raise awareness and funds for the appeal, we should perhaps delve a little deeper:

• West Brom currently ’negotiate their shirt sponsorship’ match-by-match.  So…they don’t have a long-term sponsorship deal as they over-valued themselves last year and this year. For the record they were the first and only team to go a full season without a shirt sponsor. 
• They are not actually donating any money out of their own pocket. They are auctioning off shirts and have ‘donated sponsorship space on their shirt.
• The match is being covered live on Sky TV which will generate extra coverage.  This helps their cause although it does mean they would have been able to command a greater one off figure for the shirt sponsor.
• It is very fashionable and without doubt good press to engage in such practice.  Some clubs have taken to doing this so not to spoil their shirts.  This is often done for two reasons: they do not require the revenue generated and so can forfeit the revenue by portraying the club to the world as noble. See Barcelona and Aston Villa.  The other type is the club who cannot attract a lucrative deal so forfeit the sponsorship to engage their fanbase, hoping to attract passers-by.

I can safely say which camp I think West Brom fall into.  They will not lose out from the deal in monetary terms and by doing so will generate lots of favourable coverage for the club.  They will also generate revenue for the DEC Haiti appeal which can only be good. Well done to them for the opportunistic idea and I hope it benefits the fundraising in the way that it will help them.