NUFC

We wish to pass our sincere condolences to the family of Barry McQueen, who will be remembered for his fantastic humour and outstanding knowledge of Newcastle Utd which he put across so brilliantly in The Mag.

Reports in today’s papers are that NUFC have inquired about Swansea keeper Michel Vorm, fair enough he is a excellent keeper, but surely Tim Krul is just as good.

This suggests to me that we will be selling Krul this transfer window, which will no doubt make the squad see that nobody is safe regardless of how well they play.  Also what does this send out to our targets, why would a player come to NUFC if we are selling our best players when we get a decent price for them, because to me Krul is far better than De Gea who cost Ferguson an absolute fortune.

It remains to be seen whether we do sell Krul, but knowing NUFC I think we can safely say he is off out the door.

He was an unpopular choice to succeed Chris Hughton but has he put aside the cockney mafia jibes to come good?

I’ve always liked Alan Pardew from his time at West Ham, to me he has a quality that Keegan had in man management which is essential for getting the best out of players, he also has a good tactical mind which has shown this season already.

Regardless of the teams we have played, as there are no easy games in the Premier League, to be 4th is a fantastic achievement and Alan Pardew needs to be congratulated on this.

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As NUFC hit the dizzy heights of 4th it is realistic to believe we won’t be at the end of the season, but at the start we wouldn’t have believed at this stage we would have hit that height.

So far we have played alright, not had any of the top teams as yet but once we do I can see us testing out our credentials which will give us a better idea of where we could be come the end of the season.

Newcastle have got rid of some over paid players, yes I was the first to complain about Nolan & Barton, but we have replaced them with a player in Cabaye who has been fantastic so far for the club.  If NUFC continue to unearth players of this calibre then we have a bright future, and hopefully the run will continue.

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So far so good for NUFC, the start to the season has been more than satisfactory following the 7 points we have picked up from a possible 9, more than expected with a tough first 2 games.

I am upset at the loss of Joey Barton because he was a warrior on the pitch, and although Cabeye has shown some good form I do hope NUFC bring in a more battling midfielder to add some urgency to our attacks.

Obertan has also impressed me with his pace, I hope he plays a Gillespie role for the team and bomb down the wing, shame we don’t have a better striker in the air because I believe thats what we have been lacking since Shearer left.

I hope our form continues after the international break, hopefully pick up a good few points that will stop any panic setting in during the season because I would hate another relegation battle.

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NUFC kick off the 2011/12 Premiership campaign against Arsenal this coming Saturday, expectation’s are not as high as previous years but I believe we have a solid squad for the season.

The loss of Nolan along with the expected sale of Enrique is not ideal, but we signed some quality players who can take the club forward injecting some much needed creativity & pace.

I expect Obertan to play a key part in the season, he does have blistering pace which has lacked in recent seasons and a reason I believe we haven’t done as well as we should. We desperately need a creative midfielder, someone who will be able to unlock a defence with a pass, if we are able to conjure one up I think NUFC will excel this season.

All in all I’m a bit disappointed by our signings because they haven’t been high profile, but then on the other hand Owen, Luque, Marcelino, the list goes one!

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Rumours around Mevlut Erding signing for NUFC have intensified, especially since NUFC have failed to show any striking quality so far in the pre season friendly games.

Mevlut Erding seems like a decent striker, even if his goals per game ratio isn’t that good in France, it works out 1 goal every 3 games or a goal every 266mins which isn’t good enough really for a Premiership team.

NUFC fans love to see a quick paced Craig Bellamy type striker, and this is exactly what Mevlut Erding is, playing alongside Demba Ba I think they will terrorise defences across the land, especially teams as Chelsea who suffer against tricky players.

First NUFC friendly of the season and the first incident that makes you wonder how stupid some Newcastle fans are, even though it was a small minority.

It annoys me when I see fans invade the pitch, it is generally the lads who got bullied at school who then snort a line of coke and all of a sudden they are Kung Fu Panda. Who was childish enough to chant if Sammy scores we’ll invade the pitch, how old was that person, do they have any friends (not the Facebook kind either).

It was a shameful act by a bunch of lads who would run from a real one to one fight, the type who doormen know as the 10 yard hero!

NUFC need to act, ban the little scumbags for 20yrs, show their face alongside Pee Wee Herman because that is what they are, high pitched little muppets.

If NUFC get into trouble with the FA then I hope every decent person shuns those idiots, they need to realise what they are doing is damaging the face of NUFC.

NUFC midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa is ready for his pre season comeback, following his double leg break a few games into the previous season.

NUFC boss Alan Pardew will relish the opportunity to coach one of the most exciting French exports for a number of years, and I believe Ben Arfa will flourish under Pardew.

It might take him a few games to get into the swing of things, but once he does I believe NUFC will fly up the league.

NUFC kick off their 2011/12 Premiership campaign at St James Park against Arsenal, followed 1 week later the first Tyne & Wear derby at the Stadium of Light.

The Magpies have an easier opening to the season than previous years, I expect us to get around 17points out of the first 10 games, with the next 5 games after that being our tough November/December.

Newcastle United have a good squad at present that can easily produce some fine performances, under Pardew lets hope the NUFC fixture list provides us with a fantastic foundation for the season.

Can’t believe NUFC have not offered Joey Barton a new contract, I could understand if he turned one down, but not to offer our best player a contract well thats disgraceful.

Joey Barton has dragged Newcastle through some games this season, against Sunderland he was immense, and I doubt we will be able to have another player that can give so much for so little.

I’d love Joey to finish his career at Newcastle, and I hope something can be arranged so that he signs for a further 3 years to give us a chance at Europe next season.

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The picture of Nile Ranger holding a firearm is enough to drive you mad, a player with so much talent that never delivers is actually showing people he has not a single bit of respect for what he is.

Nile Ranger is a role model, he is someone who made it and got a football contract with a massive club, but like Ameobi he hasn’t lived up to the hype.

For so long now I’ve willed Ranger to score, willed him to put in a star performance and become a feared striker, but each time I’m let down and each time I’m left wondering if the scout was right in the head.

So much has been made about the firearms incident, but I’m sure the Police won’t get involved, if they watch clips on Youtube they’ll see how bad of a shot he is. I hope Pardew gives him his marching orders, relegates him to the scrapheap of the Z listers that now work on forecourts & building sites, what a fool.

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Alan Pardew is to press NUFC leftback Jose Enrique over his future, with many reports suggesting he is to sign for either Liverpool or AC Milan.

I think he has been one of our best signings, at first I didn’t rate him at all but he came good, one of the reasons why NUFC should always give players time to settle not only in the team, but also into the country.

I believe Enrique will be worth twice his value next season, as he has been very stable in defence, but also in attack he has been very driven, forging an understanding the Jonas.

Can Newcastle replace him with a quality player, the answer isn’t really that clear, is Shane Ferguson going to be given a chance, or will the go for a Stephen Warnock or Paul Konchesky. My position is give Ferguson a chance, he has been decent so far and with help I’m sure he will be a star in the future.

Where would I go if I was Enrique and wanted to leave, I’d plump for AC Milan, because if you want to get into the Spain national team then you need to be playing with one of the worlds best teams.

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Both Mike Williamson and Ben Arfa are now out for the rest of the season.

Mike Williamson broke his arm in training, which rules him out, Steven Taylor is set to fill his position in the remainder of the games.

Ben Arfa has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation, and has returned to France for recovery.

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Well I never, how good were Newcastle in the first half, didn’t expect to see that type of performance I must admit.

As you can tell from my previous post, I didn’t hold out much hope for any kind of positive result, yet alone a performance like that. I knew Alan Pardew had that type of effect, building players up in the same way King Kev did during his first stint in charge, but to do that and get some mediocre players to put in a shift was top drawer.

My heart was in my mouth when the little mexican went through on goal, but Tim Krul smothered the ball as if he was a 40yr old pro.

After that it was all NUFC, our passing, dedication, spirit, heart, it was all there on show and the pride of the players are immense. The way Tiote battled across the full of the pitch was something to see, I’ve never seen a midfielder like him in all the games I’ve watched throughout the years.

All in all it was brilliant, we rode our luck and had to rely on Giggs not wearing his shooting boots, but fantastic and without doubt it ranks up there alongside the Arsenal draw for me.

The penalty decision against Lovenkrands was wrong, he deserved a penalty and we should have been given one, maybe it was the fact we were playing Man Utd, any other team and maybe we would have won 1-0.

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Newcastle take on Man Utd tonight, in a rare game being played on a Tuesday.

I fear for the team tonight, I think their defeat in the FA Cup will spur them on, with Rooney back it will be an even worse prospect.

I like our setup when its at full strength, and our game against Arsenal shows on our day we can take anyone, remember we were a whisker away from all 3 points when Nolan put it past the post.

I have a feeling it will either be a whitewash or a respectable loss, I can’t see us getting anything out of the game at all because they are hurt after the derby loss.

NUFC are on a hiding to nothing, plus side I think it may make Mr Ashley dip in his pocket.

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Rumours are circulating that NUFC have already sold Jose Enrique to Liverpool, following comments made by former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson, who is also a close friend of current manager Kenny Dalglish.

If this is true then our summer spending will have to be perfect in order to appease the fans, and should Barton leave too then our team will be left in a terrible state.

Jose Enrique has been in fantastic form which was a follow on from a season in the Championship where he was amazing, so I can see why a team would want to purchase him, but why do Newcastle want to sell him?

Figures are suggesting he is worth around £15m, but I believe he is worth far more than that because he is one of the best left backs in the league, only Ashley Cole & Patrice Evra are better. So why would Newcastle take £15m for him, is it player power, or is it the fact we need the money to strengthen the team in other areas.

We have went from a buying club, to a selling club, I don’t like that one bit because we should be building the team around players like Enrique, Barton, Carroll, we are well and truly ducked if he goes.

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I put on a bet that Newcastle would win this game, I really believed we would as Villa have been terrible in recent games, how wrong was I.

I listened to the game and I’m shocked, at how shallow our squad is, we don’t have anything in there to cover for injured strikers. I think Ranger is about 2 years from Premiership football, based on that performance, Lovenkrands is past whatever was classed as his best, and Kuqi isn’t being given a chance to play.

If you couple that with the lack of midfield spark, we have serious issues at NUFC, in particular a player who has the eye for a defence shattering pass, or that cheeky chip to put in a player with more speed than a dealer. The way we played was terrible, Villa were always blocking out the forward line, even when we go through the ball was hitting everything but the net.

Villa scored quite easily, it was a good taken goal and inch perfect, leaving Harper with no chance to be honest. Our showing after that was a showing up, we had nothing, it was like watching a team of players who have one eye on contract negotiations at the end of the season.

Enrique played well, we need to sign him up and get him on a 5yr deal because he is one of the best left backs around currently.

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I can’t believe the reaction from NUFC over comments made by Joey Barton to the French football magazine SoFoot.

I have been his biggest fan this season, and even when most NUFC fans were crying about us buying and then not sacking him, I was there saying he will come good, but even I believe he has made a massive mistake yet again.

NUFC took the comments and didn’t react, he has came out demanding the club prove their ambition, in a word he is calling the club liars and he needs proof before committing to a club that stood by him while he was in jail!

I believe he is in the top 3 English midfielders, alongside Jack Wilkshire & Steve Gerrard, but he isn’t the best because of his attitude.

I love Joey Barton, hope he signs a new contract, but he needs to keep his mouth shut, otherwise he’ll be signing for Villa and struggling for status as a Premier League player.

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NUFC will take on MLS side Columbus Crew on the 26th July, the game at the Crew Stadium will take place at 7.30.

The last time NUFC played them was during Bobby Robsons spell in 2000, a game in which Carl Cort scored twice.

Newcastle supporters are expected to travel in large amounts due to the holiday season, I hope they are right because its a potential money spinner for the club to get some much needed money in, hopefully we can break into the American market.

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NUFC have opened talks with captain Kevin Nolan with a 4 year deal to stay at the club being discussed. The influential midfielder has been in fantastic form for the club since arriving, and should he sign it will be another massive boost for the club.

Kevin Nolans career at NUFC has seen him be mentioned for England duty, along with Joey Barton, who has been the talk of NUFC news since his arrival under Big Sam.

NUFC fixtures for the rest of this season could see both player’s shine, and should Nolan commit to the club then I can see him storming home for the rest of the season.

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Reading the 6 point strategy I can’t help but disagree with the 40 point mark this season, I believe it will be 42 points at least as there are still 8 games left to go in the season.

Wolves have been on a decent run, as have West Ham, so to me unless we pull in more than the 6 points we could be in trouble, I do see us getting 10 from our run in however.

I don’t believe Newcastle will get relegated this season, I have a feeling that Blackpool will go down along with Villa which would be nice to see.

NUFC need to pull their finger out, get 10 points to be assured, and then start playing with no fear to attract big names in the summer.

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NUFC boss Alan Pardew has stated he is confident that left back Jose Enrique will commit to the club in the summer, it has been expected that Enrique will leave NUFC with Liverpool & AC Milan as possible destinations.

Since arriving at NUFC, Jose Enrique has progressively got better, this season his form has been outstanding with some top notch performances which when show on Sky Sports have sent rival fans into a frenzy hoping he signs for their team in the summer, one Man Utd fan saying “he is the new Irwin”, well I think you’ll find he is better than him!

One thing is for sure, if we intend to be a top club, NUFC need to keep players like Enrique, Barton, Nolan, because if not we will never be able to replace the heart they have.

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NUFC winger Wayne Routledge has agreed to sign for QPR following a fee being agreed between the 2 clubs.

At NUFC he didn’t fully live up to his potential, definately put in some good performances but wasn’t Premiership quality.

NUFC Rumours stated Neil Warnwock had been told the player was signed, whether this affects anything is to be seen, but I do hope Alan Pardew replaces him with a winger of the Gillespie mould.

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NUFC are to be offered Peter Crouch in the summer, this is in stark contrast to SAFC who are to sell their recent purchase Gyan to balance the books.

Crouch has a fantastic record at international level, as I said in an earlier post this is due to the service he gets from the wingers, something they lack.

If we do get Crouch in the summer I think we will do well, with Barton putting some fantastic balls into the box I know Crouchy will be able to finish them off, or knock them down for Best to hammer away.

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NUFC manager Alan Pardew has hailed Nile Rangers progression during his spell in charge, with his professionalism always questioned during Hughtons tenure.

I really like Nile Ranger, I think he has the qualities to make it big for NUFC, especially now Carroll has disappeared to merseyside. His pace really scares opposing players, but his finishing is far from perfect, something Andy Cole was guilty of at his time in Bristol.

I genuily hope Nile can work on his accuracy, composure, and crossing, because once he does then he is a far better prospect than Andy Carroll was.

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Jonas Gutierrez has told NUFC fans that he is going nowhere following interest from Lazio in the January transfer window.

The popular Argentine winger has been in good form lately, especially against Birmingham where he got 2 goal assists for the first time in his career, setting up both Lovenkrands & Best for NUFC.

The future looks bright with Jonas in the team, St James Park always rises to their feet when he has the ball in the opposing box for NUFC.

NUFC Blog

Alan Pardew yesterday confirmed that Jose Enrique is waiting until Newcastle are safe before signing a new deal at the club, I am getting that nervous feeling I get when players do this, hope he doesn’t want to leave.

Enrique has been fantastic at NUFC, not only this season but last season too, he has really justified the price tag we paid for him.

I don’t think its going to be too long before he is playing at left back for Spain, his attacking style has really showed his quality for NUFC.

Fantastic result for Newcastle last night as they beat Birmingham by 2 goals, moving them onto 35 points, just 10 points from safety with 33 left to play for.

Lovenkrands opened the scoring within 2 minutes with a clinical finish, following a cross by Gutierrez who ran the game for Newcastle. It was quite a busy game after that as Birmingham had the greater share of possession but failed to take advantage of that with some very poor attacking play.

Jose Enrique was in fantastic form, showing why so many clubs want to buy him in the summer, his surging runs foward destroyed the blues on the counter attack.

At the start of the 2nd half Newcastle scored again, in the 50th minute Gutierrez delivered a ball to the back post and Best rose above Johnson to head home, his 5th of the season.

A worry for Pardew is both Lovenkrands & Best picked up knocks late in the game, its lucky we don’t play our next game until the 26th which allows them to get back to fitness.

The game didn’t provide much after that, Birmingham ran out of ideas even though they had a few chances that were more luck than anything else, Newcastle hung on for the 3 points which put us on our 5th away win of the season, two more than Man Utd.

Alan Pardew has said managing Newcastle is far more than just a job, and its taken him this long to realise that!

We are the most passionate fans in the country, proved during our time int he Championship when we hit records for attendances, and proved before that by packing St James out every week without fail.

Alex Ferguson once said Geordies are crazy, because on all the paperstands it said “Breaking News – Andy Cole out”, he is right we are crazy when it comes to football, also known as passionate by the way.

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Something that bothers me about the Ashley regime is how they shake their head at any chance of good PR, at a cost of £10,000 they could have made some fans start to feel good about NUFC again, but no they decide to issue a statement that has angered many fans.

I am far too young to remember Arentoft, but I have read about him and he seems a really nice bloke, and thats what makes this decision so strange, why can’t NUFC help him out for such a small sum.

I seriously do hope they change their mind and bid on his items, after all, without his contribution for the club we may never have gotten to the stage we are now.

Striker Shefki Kuqi must be feeling like the luckiest footballer in the world, of course after Andy Carroll who is loving his dream move to Liverpool even though he was forced out the club.

A player who was released by Swansea City has now got the opportunity to play in the Premier League, maybe even against his former employers at Blackburn.

Shefki has never been prolific, well saying that he did score quite a few for a team aptly know as FC Jokerit (I kid you not!), but after that he seemed to struggle a bit, especially at Swansea.

I won’t dismiss this signing as he is far better than the former Arsenal & Boro player who I can’t even be bothered to check the correct spelling of his name, at least Shefki can score once in a while.

NUFC have announced they are offering a deal to season ticket holders that will see ticket prices frozen for 10yrs. The deal only requires 12 month commitment each year, so fans are able to opt out at the end of each season.

It was also announced that those who showed their loyalty while Newcastle were in the Championship will recieve a 10% discount.

A further 1,500 seats are being made available in the upper tier section, this will be turned into a family enclosure.

Following on from Jose Enrique saying he wants to sign a new deal at the club, it was refreshing to hear Joey Barton commit his future to the club today too.

Joey Barton showing passion

We have a really strong squad of players who want to be here, who showed their loyalty when we were relegated and fought some very tough games, its probably one of our strongest squads for a long time.

After 26mins I was crying into my bowl of cereal, I thought Newcastle were in for a complete hiding.

The first half was terrible, Arsenal were too good and played some outstanding football to which the Newcastle players had no answer.

In the 2nd half we started pressing the Gunners and took the game to them, we got our reward when Best was brought down in the box following a through ball by Barton. I love Barton because he has no fear, so when I saw him step up I was confident and he didn’t let me down as he sent the keeper the wrong way.

The penalty brought a funny incident as the keeper refused to play the ball, which led to Nolan pulling a wrestling maneuver on him, and the keeper got a yellow card!

Then came a dodgy decision, Best put the ball in the back of the net but was judged to be offside, replays showed he was onside. Not long after that Newcastle were awarded another penalty, Barton stepped up and put it down the middle, were we going to pull off a dramatic result?

We were smashing the gunners all over the place, they were shell shocked and couldn’t handle the passion, this was the Newcastle we love. Efforts were rewarded when Best smashed the ball hom from close range, the comeback was nearly complete, fans were dreaming but could we do it?

When you listen to the radio you sometimes get a bit confused, so when I heard Tioteeeeeeeeee I thought he had hit the Byker Wall, but oh no he had put the ball past the keeper from 20 yards out, the crowd almost jumped out the stadium.

I was on tenderhooks, could we pull off a win, when odds were stacked massively against us, then Nolan was put through and I had already start running around the room when I heard “oh how close”, the final whistle followed and I was disappointed we didn’t win.

What a fantastic result, when odds were against us we pulled out a classic performance, what a team talk that must have been by Pardew.

I picked up the paper and saw this player being mooted as our answer to striking problems, Mr Aliadiere, the former Arsenal & Middlesborough man.

What is my problem you may be asking, well the boy can’t score for toffee, and in 128 games he has scored 14 goals, his ratio at Boro was 1 goal every 7 games which is a fantastic return for a pub team.

We have £35,000,000 in the bank from the sale of Judas Carroll, why don’t we get in a player on loan with the option to buy at the end of the season, rather than look at the free agents who are free because nobody rates them.

Robbie Keane, Oba Martins, or even David Healy would have been a good option, but no we didn’t have time to buy anyone.

Last night NUFC capped off a terrible few days with a terrible performance against Fulham.

The game was poor to say the least, we lacked any sort of spark once the ball passed the half way line, no attacking quality at all. I would like to think with Shola on the pitch we would have done a bit more, him being able to hold the ball up well, but from first whistle it was heads down.

I didn’t want to mention the little Irish pixie before the game, jinxes and all that tosh, but I had a feeling he would come back to haunt us and he did that, actually he should have scored a hat trick.

Colo and Williamson were on fine form, they were on the end of everything the little scouser Murphy was throwing in the box, without those 2 we would have been hammered.

Nile Ranger doesn’t have what it takes to be a Premiership centre forward, neither does Leon Best, so we are in dire straights people.