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…)
World Cup dreams alive?And I’m not just talking about spending some hard-earned cash to go and cheer on The Three Lions. Shola’s talking about actually playing in the World Cup 2010. I know, I know, this is a kid who could barely get in the Newcastle first eleven until this season and has repeatedly underacheived year on year.
However, after coming into good form at the start of this season, he’s been giving some thought to representing Nigeria, his country of birth and where he lived until he was six when he moved to Newcastle. Having played for England at Under-21 level, originally that’s where his international dream lay, but in giving himself a more realistic chance of making the finals, he’s turned his attention to his home nation for whom he is still elligible to play.
Although I was blissfully ignorant to the fact, or at least had forgotten it happened, the Nigerian FA chiefs have tried to call him up to represent Nigeria before but it is only now that Ameobi has expressed an interest in doing so. Ameobi said:
“It was a great honour for me to represent England at Under-21 level and my mum and dad were so proud of me.
“But they would love to see me play for Nigeria. I see myself as Nigerian, I was born and bred there.
“It’s not about changing allegiances. I’ve got Nigerian roots and I’m proud of my country, the country where I was born and spent the first five or six years of my life.(more…)
Hopefully nothing is at 70% offIs it really time to hold our breath? Could the end really be nigh?
Sky Sports News is reporting that Wolfsburg have agreed a £9m fee with us for Obafemi Martins. Though it’s yet unconfirmed by Newcastle, Oba was left out of the squad for the friendly against Leeds, which has given credence to the claims.
Speculation is also mounting about an imminent agreement with Spurs to ship Bassong off to White Hart Lane. Habib Beye threw a paddy after being taken off in the game against Leeds and given his recent comments, he could also be on the way out. Guiterrez, Coloccini and Xisco are all being monitored by clubs in Italy and Spain and Krul is apparently being monitored by Arsenal.
So if the Martins sale becomes fact then it stands to reason the other speculation could materialise into reality. Of course, more pertinently or at least as pertinently, is the implication that if Martins is allowed to leave then the ’embargo’ placed on transfers has been lifted. Which means either new owners are now calling the shots and making their first business decisions. Or Mike Ashley is getting his fire-sale underway and it’s anyone’s guess what that could mean for us. (more…)
