You mean you're not THE Raul?Yes I know, the headline is as subtle as a brick but it may as well be the Raul, because the latest rumour is that we’re after Espanyol hotshot Raul Tamudo, capped by his country, all-time top goalscorer for his club and generally the sort of fella that a) we’ve been told we’ll not be going after and b) would extremely unlikely to get, if we were.
It might explain things better if I mention that the story comes from the Daily Mail. And to add interest to the speculation, he has been close to ripping up his contract with Espanyol, but has now turned to the board to plead that he be loaned out for the remainder of the season. That being with a view to a permanent move in the summer. Contract issues and a season long loan? Seems like an unnerving combination of the hassles we had with Gutierrez and Gonzalez.
If that wasn’t enough spice, our old foes (by this I mean the baffling ill-feeling that seemed to exist between the two clubs over the last few years), Tottenham Hotspur, are apparently after him as well. The insinuation being though that Redknapp’s desire to sign a centre-forward may be determined by his ability to offload Pavlyuchenko. Apparently Wigan were also after him back in the summer but are no longer thought to be in the reckoning. (more…)
Made for each other?There aren’t many more popular former Newcastle players of recent time, in the minds of my generation, than John Beresford. Johnny ‘(oooohh Johnny, Johnny)’ Beresford was a major part of the squad that Keegan assembled to put us back on the map in the ’90s. He’s been speaking to Lee Ryder in The Chronicle and suggests he has some helpful advice for Gutierrez and Enrique, and he believes they what it takes to be a successful combination on the left.
Of course Bez had several ‘wingmen’, some more accomplished than others, notably Scott Sellars and David Ginola. And of course, he and Ginola had a bit of a ding-dong over ‘covering duties’ back in the day and Beresford was dragged off and reprimanded by Keegan. It was all water-under-the-bridge soon enough though and explained away as a misunderstanding, well that and the unspoken rumour that Davy G was a lazy git? Never!
Despite Ginola’s reluctance to track back on occasion, they got on well enough and Bez reckons that’s crucial to an effective partnership. (more…)
The elusive maskNewcastle United midfielder Jonas Guttierrez claims the international break will do us good ahead of an important period in our promotion push.
Jonas said:
“We have 15 days to recover, to rest and to prepare for the rest of the season. From here to January is a very important period for us.”
To be honest I never understand this ‘important period’ stuff. If we lose too many games at any point in the season we’ll fail to get promoted, so as far as I can see every 3 points is as important as every other 3 points.
Only 9 points separate us in top place from Watford in 12th so all the top places are very much up for grabs. West Brom still look like our biggest threat but I reckon Cardiff, QPR and Leicester will all be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. I reckon Strachan will pull ‘Boro together too. (more…)
Pro-Ashley?Newcastle United’s Jonas Gutierrez did not celebrate his goal on Saturday with his trademark ‘Spiderman’ mask. This has already been covered, but it also appears he wasn’t too keen on the anti-Ashley demonstrations.
According to report in the Telegraph, Jonas did indeed leave the mask behind because he was unhappy about press speculation related to him wanting to leave the club, but he went on to say:
“We know the crowd were shouting out something to the owner but we try not to think about that because it can be difficult for us.
“The only thing we can think about is to win and get the three points. We know if we do that the crowd will be happy.
“We try to win for the crowd. When they are shouting to the owner we don’t think about it. I have met him and I think the owner is doing really good things for Newcastle. They want to stay. The team is good.
“It is good for Newcastle.
“We are going about things in the right way. We try to win all the games and the owner is now doing the right things. We know Chris Hughton is the manager now and that is very important.” (more…)
Video highlights of Newcastle United’s 3-1 triumph over Peterborough at St James’s Park yesterday, including free bedsheet protesters at the start! (more…)
