Middlesbrough, on a clear day.Not much of a guide is needed for the 40 mile trip straight down the A19 to Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium. Viewed by us as the poor relation of the Tyne/Wear derby, it doesn’t mean that the Tyne/Tees derby should be taken any more lightly this time around as we go in search of 3 points to add to our tally.
As I said, straight down the A19 will do for you, and if your making your own way there you should be aware that you’ll be lucky to get any parking near the ground. There is some wasteland near to the Riverside that gets opened up for parking, other than that just park in the city centre and walk out to the ground.
Obviously, keep your colours covered if your walking to the ground on your own or if there are just a couple of you, or you could walk down to the train station and join in the police escort those travelling by train will receive and enjoy the sing song on the way. Same applies should you choose to go into the city centre for a drink. (more…)
Player's wages locked somewhere safe?A rather disturbing allegation has emerged from today’s Daily Mirror which claims that owner Mike Ashley is dangling the carrot of a pay-cut in front of the players should they win promotion to the Premier League. Usually it works the other way round, where players get either a bonus or pay rise for helping the club reach the Premier League and the riches it contains but it seems that this won’t be the case at Newcastle United.
Now you’ll forgive my scepticism as the Mirror has hardly been the last bastion of truth, but this rumour does seem to fit in with Ashley’s vision of how to run a football club, and we all know he is great at doing that!
If your ‘sarcasm meter’ blew up because of that last sentence then I apologise, but it shoudn’t detract from how potentially damaging this story could be whether it be truth or pure fabrication. Aimed at stars such as Kevin Nolan, Alan Smith, Jonas Gutierrez and Fabricio Coloccini the deal that is being offered is apparently an extension to their current deal but with no extra cash, so they will still be getting the same money from the contract just over a longer period of time. (more…)
Jamie O'Hara in black and white?And so it begins. In anticipation of what many people percieve as automatic promotion the press have decided to set the wheel of their transfer rumour moving decidedly early this year. Already we are being linked with a few names that apparently we would be chasing should our promotion be ensured.
Top of our summer shopping list appears to be Tottenham’s higly rated midfielder, Jamie O’Hara. The lad is currently on loan at crisis club Portsmouth, and has been one of their shining lights in what has turned out to be a disastrous season on and off the pitch for the south coast club.
We were linked with a loan deal for O’Hara a couple weeks back, with the word being that should Portsmouth’s adiministrator decide to cull the wage bill and send O’Hara back to Tottenham then we would be first in line with another loan deal for the left-footed midfielder.
Manager, Chris Hughton, knows all about O’Hara. Our level-headed leader was one of the key figures in Jamie O’Hara’s youth development at White Hart Lane and apparently the two of them get on quite well. It is thought it would take around £3 million to prize O’Hara away from Spurs, maybe more as their manager Harry Redknapp holds him in high regard and has recently given him a 4 year contract. (more…)
Top of the pop league!Chris Hughton has time and again refused to put any sort of points target in place as to what he thinks would be enough to gain Newcastle United promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. So it got me thinking, perhaps I could outline some details and we could have a little guess and try to work it out for oursleves. There are no prizes, my pockets are too long for such frivalities, although people who manage to get it right will always have the satisfaction of knowing they did.
As it stands there are 12 games left. We sit top of the table with 72 points, 8 points clear and with a game in hand on second placed Nottingham Forest and 9 points clear of third placed West Brom. That means we can get a maximum of 108 points if we manage to win the remaining games. Of course that is unlikely to happen although it would be nice, but with 4 out of our next 7 games coming away from fortress St James’ then the potential is there for a slip up. (more…)
(L to R): Hall, Routledge, Williamson, Best, SimpsonJanuary came and went for Newcastle United fans but not with the usual disappointment following zero investment. No, the 2010 January transfer window proved to be an opportunity when even Mike Ashley realised some financial speculation was the right thing to do, not least because it might see a return on his money. But this isn’t a debate about the owner or his intentions. This is a first glance review of the lads we brought in during the January transfer window and what I think of them so far.
It was clear to a lot of us that we needed recruitment in various areas and while some of the gaps were filled, we also got the surprise package of Wayne Routledge. Not all of the players met with universal glee and obviously the jury is out for all of them still. Each were signed for an ‘undisclosed fee’ which seems to be the order of the day in many modern transfers. So it’s difficult to conclude whether they’re value for money or not, but here goes anyway: (more…)
