We're back, better, and with a point to prove!Danny Guthrie appeared in defiant mood whilst talking to the press today, insisting that Newcastle United will be going back into the big time with a point to prove after last seasons disappointing relegation.
Guthrie has been improving steadily this season and that has become more evident since he moved into his favoured central midfield position. At only 22 years old, a season in the Championship could be just what the doctor ordered in an effort to improve his all round game. The Shrewsbury born midfielder has had to deal with competition for places from more senior players such as Kevin Nolan and Alan Smith but has sparkled at times when given the nod to play, creating 11 goals and scoring 4 for himself in his 33 league appearances this term. (more…)
Tamás Kádár: Future may lay elsewhere.It appears our young Hungarian central defender is becoming fed-up with waiting for his chance to show what he can do on Tyneside, and believes his future could lay away from St James’ Park if he is to develop his undoubted potential. At just 20 years old Kadar is one of a handful of bright talents to come to Newcastle in the hope of getting the training and first team games needed to develop his game but feels that games are needed to help him improve, something that he currently isn’t getting many of.
The defender has played well and not looked out of place in the handful of first team appearances this season, a season that it was thought would be ideal for taking the promising young players we have at our disposal and giving them proper competitive playing time. Of course, Chris Hughton will know more than us about the player as he has the luxury of watching the players train and may see something we can’t, but from the outset I would say that Kadar is probably the player that is closest to making the step-up towards a regular first-team place. (more…)
Too Posh for promotion push?The first of many big games for Newcastle kicks off today, with the very real prospect of promotion making it’s first outing of the season. Today’s visit to London Road to face struggling side, Peterborough United, could result in guaranteed automatic promotion, should we come away with the three points and Nottingham Forest fail to take anything from their game at Bristol City.
On the flip side, depending on results, this game could also seal Peterborough’s fate and they could be facing the reality of life in League One next year. So despite a poor run of form, you can be sure that they’ll be fighting tooth and nail for this one.
You can check out Toonsy’s excellent match preview for all the usual pre-match speculation, gossip and such. It doesn’t look there’s any TV coverage, but if anyone finds any video links , I’m sure that would be much appreciated. Or alternatively, there are always lads and lasses looking for radio links as well. I’ll be making do with Lowes and Ando on Radio Newcastle. As ever, this can be the place to come together during the match and p*ss and moan, as we usually do… (more…)
Labour giving the NUST a helping hand?We haven’t been hearing much about the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) recently, maybe because at this moment in time they don’t have an angle to attack the current ownership of Newcastle United from.
With things going well on the pitch and remaining quiet off it, any negative comments could possibly backfire on them as they would then be viewed as the ones who are unsettling things. Despite that though, it appears that their desire to have at least a fan representation at board room level could move a step closer under new proposals by the Labour party. The proposed Labour manifesto would force clubs into handing 25% of the shares over to the fans based on the German model, although the current German model requires 51% of any club to be fan owned. This comes amidst a financial deck of cards that faces the very real risk of falling over as clubs run up unsustainable debts under the cover of a lack of regulation within the Premier League. (more…)
Enrique: We are a different animal nowMan of the moment Jose Enrique has won many plaudits this season, not just from our own fans, but from fans of other teams who are casting admiring glances at the Spanish left back. And for us Toon fans it was seeing Enrique open his scoring account on Monday night at a rain soaked St James’ Park that put the icing on the cake of the victory over Nottingham Forest. In fact further than that, the subsequent celebration’s put the cherry on top of the icing on the cake as it’s been so long since it has been so apparent that a player clearly loves being here that it was a joy to watch.
That 2-0 win on Monday night now means that it is virtually impossible to miss out on promotion back to the Premier League, a promotion that could be confirmed as early as Saturday should results go our way, and from a purely selfish point of view I hope it is confirmed as I, along with 4,400 other mags inside the gorund plus probably a lot more without match tickets outside the ground, will be there at London Road to see it. In the build up to Saturday, Jose Enrique has been talking all things Newcastle United, including what he thinks of our fortunes in the Premier League next season. After a shaky initial introduction to life on Tyneside, Jose now looks settled and is one player that we all know for sure will be fine in the Premier League. (more…)
