Posted September 3rd, 2010 by toonsy | 73 Comments
Zzzzzzz Zzzzzzz Zzzzzzz.
You’ll probably have noticed that there isn’t a lot going on at the moment regarding Newcastle.
Things seem to be ticking along nicely, which is a concern that I will get to later, there is no football to come for over a week, all of our transfer deals have been done and the window is now shut, and there wasn’t even a surprise omission from the squad of 25 for the first half of the season.
I mean compare it to just one year ago when the club was still on the market and new buyers were apparently being sought, we didn’t actually have a full-time manager, the transfer window had just slammed shut with only one addition is the shape of Peter Lovenkrands, and most of us were still reeling from the fall-out from relegation. So in comparison it is pretty boring at the moment. Continue reading…
Posted September 2nd, 2010 by toonsy | 198 Comments
Sol in days of old.
You know that bandwagon that Joey Barton started the other week, the one where he said he was looking to play for England? Well it seems he isn’t the only one with fresh international ambitions.
Sol Campbell has now thrown his hat back into the England ring and has his sights firmly set on an international recall.
I can’t blame the lad for having international ambition. Why not? If he can prove himself worthy of a call up for England by playing suitably well for Newcastle then why shouldn’t he be rewarded with the opportunity of adding to his 73 caps? Unfortunately, I just don’t think it will happen, regardless of how well Sol may end up playing for us. It won’t happen for one reason – his age.
Campbell will be turning 36 in just over two weeks time, and that will rule him out for England in my view. In my opinion, if he proves he is good enough then he should get his chance again, but following England’s disastrous showing at the World Cup there appears to be a move for the national side to move forward and look to the future with the next generation of England players. Continue reading…
Posted September 2nd, 2010 by toonsy | 81 Comments
The squad of 25...
Newcastle officially named their squad of ‘no more than 25 players’ yesterday, and to be honest there are no real surprises contained within it.
Firstly, let me apologise for the relative lateness of this. Most of you know that I try to be on the on the ball as much as I can with things like this but I had a rather important hospital appointment to attend yesterday, then a series of meetings at work which meant I wasn’t around as much as I would be usually.
Anyhoo, where was I? Ahh yes, the squad of ‘no more than 25′. The only real point of interest over the announcement was regarding defender Steven Taylor. He is out until October through injury and has yet to sign a new contract at Newcastle, which is why he is on the transfer list. People were looking to see whether or not he would be named in the squad or not. You’ll no doubt already know by now that he has so I will spare you the dramatic build up. Continue reading…
Posted September 1st, 2010 by toonsy | 328 Comments
Things are looking up right now.
Does anyone else have the feeling I am experiencing at the moment? Pack the jokes away, I mean the feeling of, dare I say it, happiness?
At this precise moment in time I don’t think things could be going much better for a Newcastle fan. It’s all relative of course, and we could be in the Champions League, 1st in the Premier League and so on, but we’re not.
However, we have made a rather solid start to life back in the Premier League. It’s only three games in and I understand that it may be a bit too early to judge things, but surely most fans are happy with the start we have made this season? A solid performance at Old Trafford, a 6-0 hammering of Aston Villa, and a point away at a ground that is notoriously tough to visit all combine to add to the feel good feeling. I mean, if you were offered four points after playing two of last seasons top six and away at a relegation rival in the first three games of the season, you would have taken that before the season started wouldn’t you? I would. Continue reading…
Well that is it for the summer transfer window, and all in all I have been pleasantly surprised with the business that Newcastle have conducted.
Newcastle have swelled their ranks with five senior players over the summer, and one of those in particular has been rather eye catching.
Hatem Ben Arfa is the signing which most fans want to see in action. The 23-year old Frenchman should be just what the doctor ordered and will add some gallic flair and creativity to the ranks. The lad has undoubted talent, although there will no doubt be question marks, as there is with most overseas players, whether or not he will be able to produce those moments of magic we know he is capable of in the Premier League. Continue reading…
Transfer deadline day is here, at long last. By 6pm (BST) tonight we will know exactly what players Newcastle have to take us forward until the next transfer window in January.
I though we would try something different here at NUFCBlog.org, and give you the option of keeping up to speed with all the deals, potential deals and rumours by running a live ‘blog. Now I have personally never done this before, but I’m willing to give it a try. Let’s see how it works out!
Now that we officially have Hatem Ben Arfa at Newcastle I will allow myself to get a bit carried away, just a bit mind. Here are two videos of our new lad in action, and the boy certainly looks to have some skills.
Sol Campbell could be in line to make his Newcastle debut against Blackpool in just under two weeks time.
The Sunderland Echo suggests that Campbell is in line to make an appearance in the reserve derby match that is due to take place at the Stadium of Light tomorrow evening.
If Campbell continues to prove his fitness then the Blackpool game could give Chris Hughton a selection headache, in a nice way, as he will have a lot more options available to him. For what it is worth, I don’t think that Campbell will feature against Blackpool and he will have to earn his place in the team ahead of Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson who have both looked rather solid on our return to the top flight. Continue reading…
Yesterday I praised Chris Hughton, then the club, but now it is the turn for Joey Barton to have his portion of praise.
Is Joey finally growing up? Perhaps it is too early to answer that definitively, but I have to say that if he carries on the way he is doing then it would certainly appear that he is.
You will probably be aware of what motivated me to write this piece, but just to clarify I am talking about the rough tackling he was on the end of at Wolves. Mick McCarthy’s simple tactic would have had the desired effect not so long back and Barton would have no doubt lashed out and seen red at some point for it. He didn’t lash out though, and that is why some huge credit has to go to Barton. Continue reading…
The transfer window is nearly at an end, and I think it is safe to say that it has probably gone better than most Newcastle fans had expected.
It could get better still should Newcastle pull off a rumoured deal for Robbie Keane, although at the moment that is all that particular deal is – a rumour.
The capture of Hatem Ben Arfa yesterday is a signing that most have wanted to come off. The guy looks like he has some skills and will be a player that can get the crowd up and excite them. Then there is Cheick Tiote, who has earned rave reports in Holland, who is also now a Newcastle player. Add those to the signings of Sol Campbell, Dan Gosling and James Perch and you can see that this window is taking shape rather nicely. Another signing on top of those would be excellent. Continue reading…
Saturday 7th August - Rangers (away). Kick-off 1.00pm [ESPN]. Monday 16th August - Manchester United (away). Kick-off 8.00pm [SKY]. Saturday 22nd August - Aston Villa (home). Kick-off 1.30pm [ESPN]. Sunday 26th September - Stoke City (home). Kick-off 4.10pm [Sky].Sunday 3rd October - Manchester City (home). Kick-off 1.30pm [ESPN].Saturday 23rd October - West Ham (home). Kick-off 5.30pm [SKY].Sunday 31st October - Mackem Tramps (home). Kick-off 4.00pm [SKY].Sunday 7th November - Arsenal (home). Kick-off 1.30pm [SKY].Sunday 28th November - Chelsea (home). Kick-off 1.30pm [SKY].
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