Larsson: A good move for Newcastle United?Birmingham City manager, Alex McLeish, has confirmed that Newcastle have been given permission to enter into talks with Sebastian Larsson, saying:
“We gave his advisor permission to speak to Newcastle,”
On the possible reason for this he added:
“We came to a kind of impasse [over a new contract]. I know Seb would like to stay so we’ll just have to see.”
It has been reported that the midfielder is currently receiving around £10,000 per week at Birmingham.
The 25 year old Swedish international is a versatile right winger who has also covered both full back positions in the past. If successful, it has also been reported that Birmingham City would be looking at a fee of around £1 million for the player. However, it has also been reported that the player is also looking at other options for a move, with reported interest from Steve Bruce at Sunderland, and possibly others. In his Birmingham career, he has scored a total of 22 goals in 154 appearances. (more…)
Can Carroll be the key to survival?The month of December will mark the half way point in the Premier League season, and will hopefully give us an indication of whether or not we look set for survival or struggle for the rest of the season.
Of course nothing will be guaranteed, but it should give us a decent idea of where we stand with regards to ensuring Premier League football for next season.
With the way the season has gone so far it would be foolish to count any chickens until safety is mathematically assured. Teams are taking points from each other, from top to bottom, in what is turning out to be a very tight Premier League season. A couple of wins can push a team into a European spot, but also a couple of results that go against you could see a team being sucked into the relegation zone.
Luckily for us it has been the former so far this season, but there is always a chance that we could hit a sticky patch of form. Some will say that we are in one now having only taken two points from a possible 12 on offer, but all that really matters is getting enough points on the board to survive this season. I couldn’t give a toss where the points invariably come from, as long as we have enough come May. (more…)
Carroll: A revelation?I think most of us will agree that Andy Carroll has been excellent so far this season.
Not only has his goalscoring been a massive help to Newcastle this term, but his all round work rate has also helped the cause on a number of occasions.
The improvement that Carroll has shown since last Christmas has been remarkable. Bear in mind that when we headed to Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day last season, Carroll had only scored four goals in total and had looked a bit ropey at times. He ended up with 19 goals for the season, and he hasn’t stopped scoring since, including nine Premier League goals so far this term.
His performances have also warranted international recognition, and he made his full England debut against France a couple of weeks back. England were outplayed and outclassed, but the effort Carroll put in wasn’t lost on the fans and he wandered off the pitch at Wembley on 72 minutes to a standing ovation. (more…)
The Premier League has landed.Well the new season is upon us, and despite the prophecies of doom and predictions of safety there are still 38 games to go, as obvious as it sounds.
I had my little moan earlier, something I have tried to refrain from, but that caused me to think about a few things. This season is very important for Newcastle United.
Another relegation could have dire consequences as I don’t believe it will be as straight forward trying to gain promotion again should the worst happen. A lot of those players that stopped to help last time around will be off and our squad will be a lot weaker compared to last season. One thing will remain constant though – Our support.
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself when I wrote that article earlier. Down in the dumps, uninspired, but then I realised that whatever happens, I am still Newcastle United, and moaning about things isn’t the Geordie way, not the way I remember it anyway. (more…)
Kevin Nolan: Future captain?The captains armband is up for grabs at the minute after being left vacant by the now departed Nicky Butt, but who, in your opinion, is the most deserving and most likely candidate for the role next season?
Newcastle are kind of lucky in that regard as we have a lot of players who have played at the highest level for a long time, they know what it’s about and they know what is required. With pre-season just around the corner, it gives all the likely candidates a chance to push their credentials forward for the job.
Obviously Nicky Butt didn’t play too much of a part last season, but it still didn’t stop him being the captain. Part of the theory behind that is because we have a lot of ‘on the pitch’ leaders, which fortunately meant Nicky Butt didn’t need to be on the pitch to perform his ‘duties’. Kevin Nolan, Alan Smith, Steve Harper and Fabricio Coloccini all had turns in wearing the armband last season, and considering all of those look likely to kick off the new season with us then you would have to assume that one of them has to be in the running to be named the captain on a full-time basis. So let’s take a look at the options. (more…)
