Not far to reach for the stars!There’s no arguing that Fraser Forster is a ‘huge’ talent, as he towers a good several inches over the tallest of his Newcastle defenders. But is he good enough to attract the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham scouts?There have been several rumours this weekend after a dearth of speculation over player departures, (well it is that time of year), and one relates to the big fella from Hexham.
He’s had a number of impressive displays in the junior and reserve sides and was pushing Tim Krul as back-up to Steve Harper. However, after Krul’s return from loan to Falkirk, it was Forster’s turn to go out on loan to gain some match experience.
And he’s been out at Stockport County, Bristol Rovers and Norwich City, where he remains on loan until the end of the season.
A commanding and able goalkeeper, though still relatively inexperienced, Forster is highly regarded in these parts by the experts.
But with first team opportunities at a premium, could Forster’s head be turned by the bright lights of the big city? (more…)
Proud to be a Geordie?According to reports in the Sunday papers, Newcastle’s expected move to bring Danny Simpson in permanently from Man Utd could be scuppered by Geordie (sic) boss Steve Bruce, who wants him down the road at our less fortunate neighbours Sunderland.
The full-back’s loan deal runs out on the 18th January, and from all the reports we’ve heard and interviews he’s given, it would seem he’s very keen to make the move permanent. According to the rumours, there were representatives from Man Utd at the smogs game last week, in order to thrash out the details of a January transfer that would be likely to see us pay somewhere in the region of £1m-2m now rather than hang on until his contract expires in the summer.
But having had a stint down the A19 for Roy Keane a few years back, the speculation is that Steve Bruce would be tempted to bring him back up to Wearside again.
As with the Madrid rumour about Colo, this could be just that, a rumour. However, Danny Simpson has been part of an impressive defensive unit this season and has provided a reliable option at right-back and in covering at centre-half. The likelihood is that Simpson will be keen to continue his role in black and white but with the desire to get something more permanent, we’ll have to act quickly if our plans to sign him aren’t undercut by other suitors. (more…)
The Sunday Sun and several blogs since have been full of the rumour that Real Madrid are after Fabricio Coloccini. Well technically the paper was full of the rumour and the blogs just reckon Neil Farrington is full of it. Farrington writes that Madrid are weighing up a bid for Coloccini, following a cartilage problem suffered by their Portuguese international centre-half, Pepe, who’s injury may keep him out for the rest of the season.
Allegedly there are others on the shortlist, including Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Velez Sarsfield youngster Nicolas Otamendi, who is also Argentinian. But according to Farrington, Ivanovic looks set to sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge and Otamendi lacks height and experience. Which would apparently put our fella top of the wanted pile.
So the Galacticos want our vastly-improved stopper? Fact or fanciful fiction? Stranger things have happened so you’ll not find me jumping the gun, even if the Sunday Sun has occasionally been as wide of the mark in recent times as Rob McDonald was in a black and white shirt. Though if you mentioned it this time last year, despite our Premiership status, I guess to a man we’d have laughed our danglies off, as he struggled to adapt to the English league. (more…)
No repeat of 1988.Controversy, casual defending and a lack of commitment put paid to a full three points at Hillsborough, and so our Boxing Day jinx continues, as it’s now 21 years since we last recorded a win on our travels. A sluggish-looking Newcastle might as well have been back on the bus as Sheff Wed took the lead in the 14th minutes as O’Connor played the ball into the box unchallenged, and Luke Varney similarly without black and white company headed the ball past Harper to make it 1-0.
A very determined Sheff Wed start had put us continued pressure, culminating in them taking the lead but that seemed to wake us up and it was only five minutes later that we equalised. A hopeful ball bounced awkwardly on the edge of the Wednesday box and fell invitingly to Guthrie who produced another magnificent assist to go with the one against Boro. Nolan arriving in the box was really his only option, and it was a great ball but Nolan still had work to and finished his header brilliantly, planting the ball back across defender and goalkeeper.
And it seemed like business as usual when Ameobi was afforded the benefit of a late Christmas present from the linesman, who refused to acknowledge he was at least two yards offside. Shola didn’t need any encouragement though, and with a lovely turn and sidestep past two defenders he screwed the ball into the bottom corner to give us the lead. (more…)
Owld acquaintance?Following on from the previous games threads, I thought it would be a good idea to put up another article for the Sheff Wed game, that you can just use for the match banter. Yours truly won’t be in attendance but I’ve got the option of Sky Sports, with leftover Christmas dinner and a few cheeky beers but not all Toon fans are lucky enough to be there or have access to Sky.
So if anyone can find radio, video links etc to the game for people who don’t have it, I’m sure that would be appreciated. As ever, this can be the place to come together during the match and p*ss and moan, as we usually do. Squad news is on the preview article but hopefully we’ll get line-ups on here before the start.
As already mentioned in the preview, Boxing Day is notoriously bad if you’re a Toon fan, and we last won away from home on Boxing Day in 1988, ironically down at Hillsborough. (more…)
The Sunday Sun and several blogs since have been full of the rumour that Real Madrid are after Fabricio Coloccini. Well technically the paper was full of the rumour and the blogs just reckon Neil Farrington is full of it. Farrington writes that Madrid are weighing up a bid for Coloccini, following a cartilage problem suffered by their Portuguese international centre-half, Pepe, who’s injury may keep him out for the rest of the season.
