Bruce says sorry to HarperSteve Bruce has apologised to Steve Harper for the attack he had to suffer from a mackem fan after Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland yesterday.
Apparently the delinquent thug got onto the pitch after the game and had a pop at Steve Harper.
It’s baffling as to quite why the thug was so upset because Sunderland had just lucked their way to a draw they barely deserved.
Anyway, Steve Bruce had this to say:
“We can only apologise – thankfully Steve is not bad.
“Well done to the Sunderland fans who gave the supporter up to the police. When I saw the age of him it looked like he was still in school.
“I just really can’t understand society today. What goes through his mind when we have just scored with a minute to go?
“Why the hell he has got to come on to the pitch and confront Steve Harper baffles me.
“When you see the age of this young kid, it is quite remarkable how has got that in his mind, to run on to the pitch.” (more…)
Toon take on the daydream believersGood morning Toonsters. It’s a biggie today as Newcastle look to try and do the double over the Wearsiders.
With both Sunderland and Newcastle having been unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition and with just 5 points and 3 places separating the teams in the Premier League, both teams start this game on a fairly even keel.
Given that they’re slightly above us in the league and have the home advantage, Sunderland are probably favourites for this one, but we do have the 5-1 thrashing we gave them at our place as a psychological ‘upper’.
But I reckon all bets are off anyway. Derby matches are unique and unpredictable and things like ‘current form’ don’t always count for much in them. (more…)
Who nicked me trumpet?Newcastle’s midfield star has been indulging in a spot of gratuitious trumpet blowing and who can blame him after his excellent performances for the team this season?
In an interview with Sky Sports, Joey Barton said:
“I think I am a better player now than when I signed.
“I don’t think it is for me to say but at the end of the day I don’t think there is anyone playing better than me in this country. That’s an honest answer, not a big-header answer.
“There are probably six or seven midfielders get in a squad for an England game and I don’t think there are two English players playing better than me at the minute.”
He then goes on to bemoan his lack of opportunities at the international level:
“But it’s not all about football.
“Fabio Capello came in and said he wanted to pick form players, but I don’t think he has done that. Some of the players than have been picked have not been form players. If the selection policy is form players then there are not 21 better, or in-form players than me in the country.” (more…)
Tight-lipped or slack-jawed?Some people have suggested that Newcastle fans are never happy at the club’s communication policies, complaining that we didn’t hear enough from the club under Chris Hughton but now complaining that we hear too much from the club under Alan Pardew.
But I think that’s an oversimplification.
Recently we had some snow down here in the South West of England where I live and – coming from the North East myself – I find it astonishing that the merest icing sugar-like coating of snow can bring the South West to a complete halt.
People spend hours looking up at the sky wondering what this white stuff is and, when told it is something called snow, they dash inside to look it up on the Internet.
No traffic moves of course – mainly because people have confused the phrase “can’t get the car out because of the snow” with “can’t be bothered to get out of bed” – which ultimately led to me getting no post for a week just before Christmas.
When Health & Safety had finally decided that there was no longer any danger of him tripping over a snowflake, the postman eventually resumed his rounds and I managed to have a chat with him.
He explained that they had loads of post to catch up on and that we’d be getting two deliveries a day for a while in order to allow them to do that. This was information I wanted. (more…)
Destination Turkey?If foreign media is to be believed it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Karim Ziani will become Alan Pardew’s second signing for Newcastle United.
The Daily Mail today tells us that Ziani is looking likely to sign for Newcastle, despite his alleged feud with Hatem Ben Arfa following a training ground bust-up a few years ago.
Foreign media tells a different story however.
Apparently, Ziani flew to Turkey yesterday and has all but signed for Kayserispor who are currently 4th in Turkey’s ‘Super Lig’.
It is reported that Kayserispor coach Shota Arveladze managed to win Ziani over despite interest in the player from Galatasaray.
The deal will apparently take the form of a loan until the end of the season with an option to purchase for 2.5m Euros thereafter. (more…)
