Martins - One of our former stars.It’s been a turbulent 12 months for Newcastle United, but after a season in the second tier we can now once again, ahem, look forward to the regular visits of Manchester United, Chelsea and all the rest.
It took some luck, some balls of steel, a bit of skill and many more factors to click into place all at once for us to secure promotion, but in the end it was very much a case of mission accomplished as Newcastle pretty much blew the rest of the Championship away.
Newcastle are back in the big time, back where it can be argued that a club with infrastructure and fanbase we have belongs, and we also have the chance to get back at those players who left us, the ones who got asked to shape up or ship out after that 6-1 pre-season defeat to Leyton Orient last season. That is not to say that I blame them for leaving, not one bit in fact, and I believe that those players leaving was the catalyst behind this new found team spirit that we keep hearing about. Having said that, it’s still always nice to get one over on your old colleagues, even Jose Enrique admitted recently he would be itching to do just that. So with that in mind, just what have they been up to whilst Newcastle have been away? Do we have anything to worry about from our former players? (more…)
Beye - In less bench warming times...It looks like our former right-back, Habib Beye, will be moving on from Aston Villa this summer.
The Senegalese defender joined Aston Villa in the aftermath of relegation with the player saying that he had to move to save his career. He has made six appearances since his departure from Tyneside, with most of them being from the bench, and has had to play second fiddle to a central defender playing at right-back all season. Now his time looks to be up at Villa Park, the 32-year old will undoubtedly be looking for another club where he can ‘save his career’. It’s widely percieved that we need a right-back, perhaps a starting right-back, but definately at least a back-up for Danny Simpson. So what would your thoughts be with regards to bringing Habib Beye back to Newcastle? (more…)
Does the glamour of Hull await for Beye?Hot on the heels of Sebastien Bassong’s Tottenham move comes news that highly regarded Newcastle United right-back, Habib Beye is on the verge of a move to the Hull City Tigers.
City chairman, Paul Duffen, has confirmed that an offer has been accepted by United, after a previous £2 million bid failed to hit the mark with Toon owner, Mike Ashley. The sum is thought to be much closer to the £4 million mooted by the hierarchy at Saint James’s Park. It has also been reported that Beye has also been a target of Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill.
However, although it sounds like a bid has been accepted, it is by no means certain that beye and Hull will reach agreement on personal terms, especially over salary. Beye is currently receiving around £30,000 per week on Tyneside. (more…)
Praying for justice?It appears our esteemed right-back Habib Beye has been under the microscope of various interested parties in the recent days for very different reasons.
Just today, it’s reported that he is being courted by Portsmouth and Hull City for a summer move. However, in the meantime, he’s also potentially in the bad books with the FA, who it would seem took a different view to Chris Hughton and Lee Clark about the behaviour of the players involved in the ‘brawl’ on Tuesday night at The Galpharm Stadium.
Of course, Habib was at the centre of the controversy and allegedly his actions sparked the whole thing off. As I’ve mentioned previously, due to my need for sustenance, I was halfway to buying my pie when it all kicked off and didn’t really see what initially caused it.
However, alerted by the excited crowd reaction and turning to watch, what I did see was that the players looked pretty upset and though Beye might struggle with the local vernacular, should he seek local interpretation, his body language suggested he would have been saying “I’m ganna rip off yor heid and s***e doon your neck pal”.
This is the official line –
The Football Association is to investigate the trouble which flared during and after Tuesday night’s friendly clash between Huddersfield and Newcastle.
Visitor's BeyeUndoubtedly, the most exciting thing to happen at our game last night wasn’t the actual football. It was the handbags at half time and at the end of the game.
The first tussle involved Habib Beye who was incensed enough to remonstrate with Huddersfield skipper Peter Clarke following an earlier disagreement. Whether that was something said at a free kick or a challenge either one of them didn’t like, is unclear.
Certainly I didn’t see the flashpoint because I was halfway up the stairs to get my pie (which incidentally were out of stock!). But both players looked fairly agitated and keen to get at each other. Which resulted in a 20-man melee (I love that word) that involved police and stewards and continued down the tunnel. Beye didn’t reappear for the second half but as I suggested in my earlier report of the game, I got the impression that was the original plan regardless.
The second incident involved Coloccini and former Gateshead forward Lee Novak with the striker reportedly suffering a cut to his chin. It came as a surprise to me just how close these two actually got and that there was physical damage as it was dispersed relatively quickly and there didn’t seem to be much in it. The exact cause of that incident is also unclear. What is clear though is that this was a relatively bad-tempered affair considering the nature of the game. (more…)
