Disappointed ... yet confidentNewcastle United manager Alan Pardew has been talking about Liverpool’s alleged interest in Coloccini and the defeat we suffered at the hands of Blackburn on Wednesday.
Alan Pardew has responded to recent press speculation about Liverpool’s interest in Coloccini by saying:
“Liverpool like looking at our players, don’t they? But I don’t want to add any more to that. He’s been outstanding for us as a captain and a player and we’re in negotiations with him on a new contract.”
Somehow that’s been taken to mean that negotiations are going well by some elements of the press and blogosphere, although that’s not something I’d extrapolate from the above quote. Not that it matters much what Pardew thinks anyway – it will be Ashley’s decision based on the results of the contract negotiations between club and player and on any offer we receive from Liverpool, if indeed we receive one at all.
Can't turn back time on the League CupNewcastle United have a big test of their ability to bounce back from defeat with a tricky game away at Stoke on Monday. I do actually manage to squeeze in some references to the game in an article even more rambling than usual.
The mid-week League Cup defeat was disappointing but without a time machine* we can’t change that now, so it’s time to get jiggy about our upcoming game against Stoke.
This in fact is the attitude of Davide Santon, who had his first start for us on Wednesday. Santon said:
“We hoped to get into Europe through the League Cup but now we must look to the league for that.
“We need to aim for a top-four spot. We have a fantastic squad. But we have a lot of very, very big games against very good teams coming up and we need to put all of our efforts into doing that now.
“We lost Wednesday’s game, but we’re in a good place in the league. That is where we are concentrating now. We need to keep going and carry on winning.(more…)
Roberto Martinez: Difficult start to the seasonVenue: St James’ Park, Newcastle Date: Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 Kick-off: 3:00pm Referee: Neil Swarbrick.
Roberto Martinez brings his Wigan squad up to Tyneside this Saturday, as Newcastle United will look to continue their undefeated record in all competitions so far this season.
There is no live UK broadcast of the match, but due to the wonders of the internet, you may likely be able to find a link here
Wigan’s form so far this season has been dreadful. They started the season with a 1-1 draw at home to last seasons Championship winners, Norwich City, followed by another share of the spoils against the newly promoted Swansea City. Franco Di Santo helped Wigan record their first victory of the season in their third Premier League match against QPR at the DW Stadium, but after that victory, they went on to suffer four straight defeats. Their most recent encounter was versus another struggling side – Bolton Wanderers, but they suffered yet another defeat, losing 3-1 in front of their own supporter(s). Away from the DW Stadium, Wigan have played four, drew one and lost three. In that process they have scored one, and conceded eight.
Ben Arfa: Ready for a starting place?Hatem Ben Arfa has had a somewhat unfortunate time on Tyneside thus far, but with his injuries now hopefully behind him, will we see him make his first Premier League start this weekend against Wigan Athletic?
You may remember the 3rd of October 2010, when a psychopathic Nigel De Jong decided to attempt a ‘tackle’ on our French-Tunisian play-maker, resulting in Ben Arfa sustaining two breaks in his right leg (tibia and fibula). The road to recovery was long, and despite Alan Pardew’s hope of Ben Arfa returning before the seasons end. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see him in action again that season.
Pre-season began prior to the 2011 – 2012 season, and Ben Arfa played in our first friendly, a 2-0 victory at Doncaster. Ben Arfa lined up as one of a midfield five, playing just behind loan striker Leon Best in a 4-3-2-1 formation. As United began their tour of the U.S.A, many of us must have thought it would be the perfect opportunity for Hatem to settle back down into the first eleven. Unfortunately again, he was victim of another injury, this time damaging his ankle in a match versus Sporting Kansas. (more…)
Same master plan for world domination.In the wake of Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon, Managing Director, Derek Llambias, has released another club statement.
The statement once sgsin highlights the clubs finances, summer transfers, youth development, managing / coaching staff, training facilities and supporters. Basically, I’m still struggling to dissect the differences between this statement, and the recent Q&A with the Evening Chronicle a few months back.
Either way, it’s good to have some communication from boardroom to fans, and below I have included the whole statement for your viewing pleasure. I hasten to add also that the statement, unsurprisingly, has a little bit of information about our new under-soil heating.
Enjoy…
Introduction
Now that the summer transfer window has closed and the new Premier League season is underway, the board of Newcastle United Football Club wish to present this review of our progress and set out our aims for the 2011/12 campaign and beyond. (more…)
