Unshaven havenAccording to the club site, Alan Smith will not shave until the Toon lose a game.
The bestubbled player said:
“It started off as a bit of a joke but then a few of the lads told me to keep it going until we get beaten so I hope it’s still there at Christmas.”
“Mind you, I’ve had a bit of a reprieve. I’m going to trim it because it is starting to get a bit itchy now. I need to sort it out.”
Let’s hope he doesn’t have to shave on Sunday evening!
Smith continues by saying that the players who remain at the club really want to be there:
“The players who said they wanted to stay did it because they want to prove they are good enough to get back in the Premier League.
“Only time will tell if we can. Squad togetherness is important. I think that’s the biggest impact on people who come and watch us play.
“When I speak to people, that is what they have said, so that means a lot to us because we are honest lads who want to stay, do well and get this club back in the Premier League.” (more…)
'Alf', apparentlyAccording to The Mirror, we’re going to sign Marlon Harewood on loan from Villa next week.
It was rumoured that Harewood was a target for us on transfer-window-close-day but the signing failed to materialise.
Apparently he was also a target for Hull (who isn’t?) but they failed to bag the striker too, and now it seems Hughton is keen to snap him up as an ’emergency’ loan.
Harewood started his career with Forest, scoring 55 goals in 196 appearances and then he moved to West Ham in 2003 for a fee of £500,000 where he scored 47 goals in 142 games.
In July 2007 he was transferred to Villa for a reputed £4m fee but he failed to secure regular starts and O’Neill used him mainly as a ‘super sub’. (more…)
Loan target VaughanWe’re somewhat bereft of strikers at the moment with Ameobi definitely out due to a foot injury and question marks over the fitness of both Carroll and Xisco.
The Mirror is reporting that Hughton has asked Everton if he can have James Vaughan on loan to plug the gaps. Vaughan is Everton’s youngest ever goalscorer but has been fairly injury-hit himself. He’s fit now but has found himself warming the bench a lot and is apparently keen to see some first team football somewhere.
The Mirror says that Moyes will think about it and give Hughton an answer over the weekend but it also says that Hughton has other targets too.
Oooh you devil!Nicely timed to contradict my previous article, comes news of our first signing. Take a bow Manchester United’s Danny Simpson, who we have taken on loan until January. The 22 year old has joined us in time to make the sqaud for our game against Reading and could and takes shirt No 12.
Simpson follows the recent path of Guiseppe Rossi who had a relatively unsuccessful spell on loan up here, mainly due to lack of opportunities. Having had a number of loans spells, notably at the new home of our old pal Big Sam at Blackburn Rovers, unfortunately he also sullied his reputation by turning out for the unwashed in 2007.
Having played over 50 first team games so far, he seems like a reasonable talent although as ever with Fergie’s fringe players, if he was good enough he’d have probably made it by now. Perhaps he’ll find his level in The Championship and do a job for us. (more…)
