Newcastle United - Toontalk

[dreamer75]

Wednesday 29 December

NEWCASTLE v Arsenal 20:00

let's pray guys!!
will we get thrashed???

[dreamer75]

fooked up....i'm not following the season liaoz

giving up on the toons?

juz follow on lah bro....we need a revolution :s11:

[dbchoong]

Wednesday 29 December

NEWCASTLE v Arsenal 20:00

let's pray guys!!
will we get thrashed???

Looks like it... :s27:

A good result would be a draw. If can lose without being thrashed would be a decent result. If beat Arsenal, it would be a miracle.

:sad:

[dreamer75]

Looks like it... :s27:

A good result would be a draw. If can lose without being thrashed would be a decent result. If beat Arsenal, it would be a miracle.

:sad:

hahaha...totally agree with u...

[yenyenpark]

cant even beat Blackburn, then dun even think of finishing any place in top 10 come end of the season.
hmm.. i lower my hope on Toon from being top 5 to as long as staying in EPL without ending like Leeds

[United_Treble]

hope new can draw or beat ars :)

[yenyenpark]

Blackburn 2-2 Newcastle: FT Report

PA

Newcastle manager Graeme Souness found scant relief from his current difficulties despite the familiar surroundings at Ewood Park as the Magpies left Blackburn grateful for a 2-2 draw.

Kieron Dyer slots home Newcastle's opener. (BrynLennon/GettyImages)


Todd settles score

Souness found himself in the uncomfortable position of being booed by the home fans and a raucous element of the travelling support.

Having left Blackburn to fry bigger fish, it will have rankled with the Scot that his return merely highlighted the shortcomings of his collection of generally gifted under-performers, who were in the end fortunate to depart with a point and have now managed just one win in eight league games.

Kieron Dyer put the visitors in front before Paul Dickov struck to put Blackburn level. A trademark free-kick by Laurent Robert gave Newcastle the lead again, only for Andy Todd to hit back.

There was more here for Souness' successor Mark Hughes to be positive about, certainly in terms of attacking play, although he too will be worried by defensive frailty.

The statistics in the first half saw Newcastle have just two shots and score two goals. In the same period, Blackburn had 11 efforts, five on target and one goal.

The first of Newcastle's chances, and goals, came with their first meaningful attack. Robert was the creator, biding his time with the pass to allow Dyer to spring the offside trap and finish expertly across Brad Friedel. It was his first league goal of this campaign.

Brett Emerton looked the one Rovers player with the ability to work an opening and it was the Australian who curled in a cross for Garry Flitcroft to flick a header just over the angle.

That was enough to spark some life into Blackburn and they then began to show more confidence in possession.

Jon Stead, who had looked somewhat rusty, did well as the pivot of a one-two with Barry Ferguson only to see his captain come up with a weak shot from 20 yards.

In the 25th minute Blackburn deservedly found an equaliser, although it was the sort of goal which would have had Souness fuming on the sidelines.

As the Magpies lined up for a free-kick they failed to track Dickov who darted across the area, eight yards from goal. Ferguson knocked a simple ball in and his fellow Scot slid the ball simply into the opposite corner.

Re-energised by the goal, Blackburn began to heap on the pressure. Aaron Hughes made a terrific block after a powerful run and shot by Emerton, then Stead stabbed wide after Reid had driven another free-kick into the wall.

But just when things were looking bright for the home side, Robert - who only last week was making mutinous remarks about the Souness regime - put Newcastle back in front with the sort of free-kick which makes him difficult to leave out of the side.

Flitcroft had fouled Dyer 30 yards out on the right of the box and Robert ran up and struck a ferocious free-kick low to the left of Friedel, who saw the ball late and will have been unhappy with his positioning.

Stead poked a shot the wrong side of the post as the break approached, leaving Blackburn to wonder how they could be behind.

Both managers made a change at the break. Shola Ameobi came on for the injured Patrick Kluivert, while Blackburn boss Mark Hughes sent David Thompson on for Steven Reid.

From the restart Blackburn nearly equalised again. Dickov shielded the ball superbly before sending Emerton through and he tried to place his shot across Shay Given, but the Newcastle keeper managed to make the stop.

Given was soon in action again to turn aside Ferguson's drive after a neat cut-back by Thompson, but he was beaten in the 54th minute.

Again Newcastle failed to be watchful at a free-kick and this time Ferguson advanced before unleashing a shot which Given parried, only to watch forlornly as Todd scooped home the loose ball into the empty net.

Souness attempted to alleviate the pressure by bringing on Titus Bramble, although on recent form that looked more like further encouragement for Rovers.

Blackburn were almost caught by the same trick they had played for their first goal. This time Jermaine Jenas played a free-kick into Bellamy, who spun and shot, only to see the strike blocked.

Dominic Matteo cleared off the toes of Bellamy to snuff out a Newcastle break, before the Wales striker pulled his shot hopelessly wide when given a good sight of goal.

Stead could have grabbed the winner with nine minutes let when he stooped to meet Emerton's free-kick, but his header drifted wide.

The game was then held up by lengthy treatment for referee Matt Messias, who was eventually replaced by Uriah Renee.

Late on, Thompson forced Given into a late diving save, but Newcastle managed to hang on.

Todd settles score

Andy Todd came back to haunt Graeme Souness with the equaliser for Blackburn to prevent Newcastle's manager enjoying a triumphant return to his old club.

Souness and Todd fell out after a bust-up when the Blackburn fans' player of the season was left on the bench against Leeds in April.

Todd never played under Souness again but has been given a new lease of life since Mark Hughes' arrival at Ewood Park, culminating in his first goal for 19 months to secure a 2-2 draw.

Hughes said: 'It was a great finish and he could even have scored a winner with a header late on. He did well for us but I don't think there was any issue over what happened before with Graeme - he is just enjoying playing again.'

Kieron Dyer had put the visitors in front before Paul Dickov levelled. A trademark free-kick by Laurent Robert gave Newcastle the lead again only for Todd to hit back.

It was Blackburn's 10th draw of the season, and Hughes was angry that a lengthy spell of inaction while referee Matt Messias was replaced by fourth official Uriah Rennie did not lead to sufficient injury-time being played.

Hughes said: 'I think we were short of several minutes injury-time. The referee had already come over and said he may have a problem so you would have thought the fourth official would have been ready to take over.

'As it turned out he wasn't ready and I think they must got the timings wrong when they changed over and not communicated about how much time was left. They got it wrong but whether they will admit it is another thing.'

Hughes insisted Rovers should have taken all three points. He added: 'We started slowly and were caught cold for their first goal but the lads showed great resolve to come back twice, great determination and now we have only one defeat in nine.

'Newcastle had two shots in the first half and scored two goals, and I think our last three performances have all deserved more than draws.'

Souness was booed by the Blackburn fans on his return but insisted he had been expecting the reception - although he must have been unhappy at a small section of Newcastle fans adding to the chorus.

'I can understand the fans here,' said Souness. 'I have been in football a long time and that's the way of the game, I have no complaints.'

As well as scoring himself, Robert's superb pass set up Dyer for only his second goal in two seasons. The Frenchman, who only last week criticised the Souness regime at Newcastle, also made a couple of vital defensive interventions.

Souness added: 'Laurent Robert can do those sort of things when we are bossing the game. My beef is that when we are not bossing the game he doesn't, but you cannot diminish the impact he had today.

'He's 29 years old and you never stop learning!'

The Newcastle manager was also furious with his players for switching off at a Blackburn free-kick, allowing Barry Ferguson to find Dickov unmarked and fire home from eight yards.

He said: 'If you turn your back on play or go looking for a breather at free-kicks you will get punished. Some of us turned their back on play and that is not acceptable.'

[punishher]

hello i am so noob!
hahaha..but i support newcastle..wtf everytime so damn f*ckin disappointed.
they duno how many centuries nv win liao..haiz..
if they manage to draw with ars i smile until my teeth drop liao..
wakao..if only they were as good as 96/97 hahahaha...
that time i still small boy.lol...
hope for the best la..as long as in top 10 can liao.

[United_Treble]

Wednesday 29 December

NEWCASTLE v Arsenal 20:00

let's pray guys!!
will we get thrashed???
NEW 1-1 ARS

[dreamer75]

NEW 1-1 ARS

hope so lor...ui know u will want us to draw/win so Man U can gain ground mah..hahaa..

[yenyenpark]

hello i am so noob!
hahaha..but i support newcastle..wtf everytime so damn f*ckin disappointed.
they duno how many centuries nv win liao..haiz..
if they manage to draw with ars i smile until my teeth drop liao..
wakao..if only they were as good as 96/97 hahahaha...
that time i still small boy.lol...
hope for the best la..as long as in top 10 can liao.
small boy? small boy still can watch no bad mah.. :s12:

[United_Treble]

hope so lor...ui know u will want us to draw/win so Man U can gain ground mah..hahaa..
tell u e truth, i wan mu to close up e gap, but belive me the main thing now is new r dying for points and their hm record against ars mostly draw, let hope tomo will be e turning rd for magpies, and hope shearer came back

[dreamer75]

tell u e truth, i wan mu to close up e gap, but belive me the main thing now is new r dying for points and their hm record against ars mostly draw, let hope tomo will be e turning rd for magpies, and hope shearer came back

shearer's out fyi...

see i know ur motive...hahahaa..

[United_Treble]

shearer's out fyi...

see i know ur motive...hahahaa..
harmless to both mu and new, in fact a draw will boost both u and my team up

[Coolsmurf]

honestly, i dun see us winning again until we meet WBA who has 1 of the worse managers around (even than us) and most likely to go down as the 20th-place team

[ZhiQiang]

dun watch also cannot win... watch also cannot win...

WTF man...

I am KP sianz liaoz...

Stupid souney, stupid shephard.

[Fresnel]

I HATE SOUNESS. HE IS AZZ HOLE. BIG MF ONE...I can give up supporting NEw Bcoz of that AZZ HOLE

[Theychosenone]

I HATE SOUNESS. HE IS AZZ HOLE. BIG MF ONE...I can give up supporting NEw Bcoz of that AZZ HOLE

Dude, don't give up so easily on the team man. Long-term Liverpool fans also had to suffer a while under Souness, and they came through and finally got a proper manager in Benitez. Why can't we do the same? Remember, things can only get better. ;)

[dreamer75]

Dude, don't give up so easily on the team man. Long-term Liverpool fans also had to suffer a while under Souness, and they came through and finally got a proper manager in Benitez. Why can't we do the same? Remember, things can only get better. ;)

not until they change the chairman and manager.

[yenyenpark]

not until they change the chairman and manager.issit? then sacked Sherperd.. sack Souness.. sack sack sack!!!

[aqf]

think newcastle is heading towards a relegation battle

[Coolsmurf]

week in week out, same old story

[yenyenpark]

week in week out, same old story
sigh.. even Blackburn we can't win.. what club can we beat?? with Bellamy, Kluivert, Jenas and etc international players, we played like SH%t.. even Everton played better without many star players.. :s8:

[yenyenpark]

may b a star manager will do the trick.. sigh.. sigh.. sad sad..

[dreamer75]

sigh.. even Blackburn we can't win.. what club can we beat?? with Bellamy, Kluivert, Jenas and etc international players, we played like SH%t.. even Everton played better without many star players.. :s8:

i tell u...if we cant even beat WBA, Norwich and Crystal Palace....we are hopeless...

[dreamer75]

may b a star manager will do the trick.. sigh.. sigh.. sad sad..

scolari :D

[aqf]

Sian! The team dun work hard enough, every season also injury problem and luck doesn't seem to be with newcastle

[Coolsmurf]

scolari is signed with portugal. best bet is hitzfield who is free agent now. but will he come.??? NO, why bother!!!! shepard only signs englishman who are middle-rate.

[Fresnel]

Every week NewC only give me more and more heartaches. My health is going to suffer if i continue you know....must think for my future as well.....now Wed..Arsenal...what gives? FLood gates? Tell u all ah, if after Wed and then the following weekend match if both lost and Souney not sack, i'll sack myself ! I think NewC didn't perform this bad since the Dalglish and GUllit era.
my confidence in the team hit downhill eversince Souness came over...HE HAS SO FAR PROVEN ME RIGHT.

[yenyenpark]

Every week NewC only give me more and more heartaches. My health is going to suffer if i continue you know....must think for my future as well.....now Wed..Arsenal...what gives? FLood gates? Tell u all ah, if after Wed and then the following weekend match if both lost and Souney not sack, i'll sack myself ! I think NewC didn't perform this bad since the Dalglish and GUllit era.
my confidence in the team hit downhill eversince Souness came over...HE HAS SO FAR PROVEN ME RIGHT.
may b we shud give them time after the Jan transfer.. for now.. we have to accept very result.. even the worst.. even if Arsenal 10-0 Newcastle.. :s8:

i'm accepting it now.. i will wait. yah.. i will WAIT.. souness and sherperd listened.. we will wait.. but if nothing happen and we remains.. we wanna BURN your houses!!! :s27:

[yenyenpark]

Every week NewC only give me more and more heartaches. My health is going to suffer if i continue you know....must think for my future as well.....now Wed..Arsenal...what gives? FLood gates? Tell u all ah, if after Wed and then the following weekend match if both lost and Souney not sack, i'll sack myself ! I think NewC didn't perform this bad since the Dalglish and GUllit era.
my confidence in the team hit downhill eversince Souness came over...HE HAS SO FAR PROVEN ME RIGHT.
take care bro.. for your health, we have to farewell to u.. hope to see u around next season.. :D

[yenyenpark]

Souness eyes Distin return Dec 27 2004




By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle






Newcastle United are toying with the idea of trying to bring their former central defender Sylvain Distin back to St James' Park.

And if they do and can persuade Manchester City to sell, United could be operating with two French central defenders not long into the New Year.

For United have a £7.5m bid lying on the table at Rangers for their centre half Jean-Alain Boumsong.

But Souness denied that United are trying to do a deal with Southampton for their striker James Beattie either for straight cash or involving any player-exchange.

Souness has watched Manchester City twice this season - at home to Norwich on November 1 and their recent trip to Middlesbrough - to have a look at Distin and Richard Dunne.

He has mentioned Dunne to me, but it now looks as though he could ask Kevin Keegan for a price on Distin - and with City so much in debt, a deal could be on the cards.

For Keegan knows that if he can claw some cash in it will lessen the chances of him having to sell his prize asset Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Distin, of course, spent virtually the whole of season 2001-2 on loan at St James' Park from Paris St Germain.

But in the summer of 2002, after United had agreed to pay £3.8m for the 27-year-old centre half, the player could not agree personal terms.

In the end he moved to City for £4m and has come on to such an extent he is now Keegan's captain.

One of the flaws in Distin's game - a lack of concentration similar to that of Titus Bramble - has now been rectified.

Distin is big pals with his French compatriots Laurent Robert and Olivier Bernard and it is ironic that there should be talk of him returning to St James' Park when they could both be leaving.

Meanwhile, the rest of the football world has been told what the Chronicle revealed on Thursday - that United were not interested in Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes.

The word from Spain over the weekend was that Real Madrid wrongly brought United into the equation in a bid to get Liverpool to increase their offer for Morientes.

[yenyenpark]

Kluivert and Ameobi add to Magpies' injury woe Dec 27 2004




By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle


Newcastle United have yet more injuries as they wait for the visit of champions Arsenal to St James' Park on Wednesday night.

For strikers Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi are struggling after yesterday's 2-2 draw at Blackburn.

Alan Shearer, Stephen Carr, Ronny Johnsen and Nicky Butt are all still injured and have no chance of facing the Gunners.

Darren Ambrose missed yesterday's game because of hamstring problems and Wednesday may come too early for him.

The only good news for boss Graeme Souness is that he has midfielder Lee Bowyer free again after a one-match ban.

The United boss said: "Patrick was feeling his hamstring towards the end of the first half yesterday and Shola fell awkwardly on his shoulder and is also a concern for the Arsenal game."

Souness left Olivier Bernard and Titus Bramble on the bench at his former club as he tried to get United back on the winning trail.

He added: "At this time we are not winning games in the Premiership. An individual may feel hard done by in the case of being left out, but I think as a manager you are entitled to search for a formation that will win games."

One of the few plusses for Souness at Ewood Park was the fact that Kieron Dyer finally found the target with his first Premiership goal since his header against Everton at St James' Park on April 3.

Despite Dyer's lack of success in front of the posts - his opener was only his 23rd goal for United in 187 appearances - he could hardly have put it away with more style or confidence.

This led to Souness saying: "I need my midfield players to score goals and to share them around. He's an attacking midfield player and I spoke to him about that, about getting more goals. In our system he has licence to get forward. It was a superb pass and a great finish."

There was a something of an uncomfortable reunion with Souness at Blackburn as Andy Todd came back to haunt his old manager with an equaliser.

Souness and Todd fell out after a bust-up when the Blackburn fans' player of the season was left on the bench against Leeds in April.

Todd never played under Souness again but has been given a new lease of life since Mark Hughes' arrival at Ewood Park, culminating in his first goal for 19 months.

Hughes said: "It was a great finish and he could even have scored a winner with a header late on. He did well for us but I don't think there was any issue over what happened before with Graeme - he is just enjoying playing again."

siao liao.. our season is almost done.. :(

[yenyenpark]

Dozy United draw to Rovers Dec 27 2004




By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle


Laurent Robert showed he meant business when the gloves came off at Blackburn yesterday.

And had they stayed off Newcastle United may have got the victory they so desperately needed to get them back on track.

But it was all humbug in the end as United failed to win yet again.

Robert has shown in the past that he is not afraid to don a pair of gloves when the temperature dips to around freezing point.

But after his very public fall-out with his manager this week Robert was determined that there would be no cover up when Graeme Souness restored him to his normal left-wing beat.

And with his gloves left in the dressing room in the first half, Robert made the first goal for Kieron Dyer and for good measure cracked in the second from a trademark free-kick, and was all smiles as he danced down the tunnel at the interval with United leading 2-1.

But Robert emerged for the second half wearing gloves and it was as if they sapped his energy as he hit an anonymous spell - along with the rest of his colleagues - and Blackburn fought their way back into the game.

It was only when Robert threw his gloves over the touchline that United came back into it as the game drew to a close.

But if there was going to be a winner late on it was going to be Blackburn's and if they had snatched it United would only have had themselves to blame.

They have now conceded 37 goals this season in 19 Premiership matches - the halfway point - and of those 37 none have annoyed me more than Blackburn's first equaliser, although the second was bad enough.

For if Robert wasn't wearing his gloves then his colleagues must have had their nightcaps on. That's the only explanation I can come to for the way they stood and watched Paul Dickov run on to Barry Ferguson's free-kick. They were all asleep.

No wonder Shay Given is beginning to look more than shell-shocked these days.

Yet his opposite number, Brad Friedel, wasn't exactly wide awake when he saw Robert's free-kick sneak inside his left-hand post as United got their noses back in front.

We've all seen more powerful free-kicks from the French dead-ball wizard but the United fans did not care. For what they had witnessed in the first half were two goals from United's so-called bad boys. Perhaps there is a Santa Claus after all.

And one fan was so excited he actually broke his leg and was carted off to the local hospital in agony but singing his head off.

However, it was a case of broken hearts for the United supporters who once again gave their team magnificent support at Ewood Park despite sporting headgear emblazoned with the word humbug.

For, let's face it, Blackburn are the sort of team Newcastle should be beating if they are to have any chance of playing European football next season.

The Champions League is already out of their sights but with half a season to go they could still make it back into the UEFA Cup.

But not with the sort of performance they turned in at Ewood Park yesterday. After all, they were twice ahead against a battling Rovers side but could still not finish them off.

So, the question must be asked, where is the next United win coming from?

[punishher]

haha small boy is back..erm i was 6 or 7 watchin ginola..shearer..les ferdinand thrash man utd 5-0(from then on i nv looked back..)
now is those type of period of mediocracy..damn sian..like gullit time..i feel the chariman is useless totally...souness just doesn't fit the team..he isn't very bad but..haiz.
i'll be glad if we don't face relegation(a little exaggerated but nevertheless possible)..
but i hope u all geordies don't lose hope la..
even faced by all my s2pid friends who aren't loyal..i won't back out on the team i support.

[yenyenpark]

Newcastle offer Bramble, Ameobi for Southampton's Beattie
tribalfootball.com - December 27, 2004

Newcastle United are offering Shola Ameobi and Titus Bramble in exchange for Southampton striker James Beattie.

The Mail on Sunday says Magpies boss Graeme Souness has struck a deal that will see £6 million-rated Beattie arrive on Tyneside in January.

A cash component will also be involved in the agreement, with Saints boss Harry Redknapp anxious to stiffen his defence with Bramble and also replace Beattie with the arrival of Ameobi.
this is good.. although i will miss Amoebi..

[yenyenpark]

haha small boy is back..erm i was 6 or 7 watchin ginola..shearer..les ferdinand thrash man utd 5-0(from then on i nv looked back..)
now is those type of period of mediocracy..damn sian..like gullit time..i feel the chariman is useless totally...souness just doesn't fit the team..he isn't very bad but..haiz.
i'll be glad if we don't face relegation(a little exaggerated but nevertheless possible)..
but i hope u all geordies don't lose hope la..
even faced by all my s2pid friends who aren't loyal..i won't back out on the team i support.
welcome back.. we wont back out and turn to other club.. but may b some breaks r good too... i remember tat i didn't really follow up Newcastle at Daglish and Gullit era too.. :o paiseh.. paiseh..

[yenyenpark]

Newcastle boss Souness facing player revolt
tribalfootball.com - December 27, 2004

Newcastle United boss Graeme Souness is battling to maintain control of the dressing room.

The Sunday Mirror says only than four months into his so far bitterly disappointing reign, tough-guy Souness faces a desperate fight for the respect of some of his rebellious stars.

A club insider said: "Newcastle under Graeme Souness isn't a happy ship. Most players are too scared to open their mouths but there is a lot of dissatisfaction in the dressing room."

The source added: "There is a feeling that the club has started to go backwards and there have been murmurings about the coaching staff he has brought in, the training and his tactics.

"Quite a few senior players were baffled when he began playing Craig Bellamy on the right to accommodate Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert.

"It didn't seem like a clever idea to play three strikers when we were leaking goals."

[Coolsmurf]

i stress the pt once again, we do not need a striker, somemore beattie has been too injury prone this season, buy him to sit on the sidelines, are you out of your freaking mind!!! is it so hard to understand we need central defenders!!!!!!

can sell ameobi or bramble for all i care, ameobi has suck big-time this season and nuff said about bramble//

buy distin back ?? well he's a big money grubber traitor!!! he wanted to go to some french club who offered him more money, but he retracted from the offer and signed for man city after being offered even more big bucks...money sucker!

[yenyenpark]

Newcastle boss Souness: Failure in market will cost job
tribalfootball.com - December 27, 2004

Newcastle United boss Graeme Souness has admitted if he fails in the winter market it could cost him his job.

"If I spent £50-60million and we weren't any better off, it is obvious to everybody where I would be going ... back to gardening. And I'm a very good gardener as well," he said.

"The chairman is a man who has been in the football business for long enough to know how it works.

"He is a mad Newcastle United supporter but he is also a very shrewd businessman. Any steps he takes, short term or long term, are for the benefit of the club.

"If he's got rid of managers in the past after a year, he's done it for the football club, not for Freddy Shepherd. It puts him out on a limb. I would love this to be my last job in football but you don't take a job thinking about your exit.

"You take a job because you think you're the right man for it. My aim is to be here for a long time."

[yenyenpark]

i stress the pt once again, we do not need a striker, somemore beattie has been too injury prone this season, buy him to sit on the sidelines, are you out of your freaking mind!!! is it so hard to understand we need central defenders!!!!!!

can sell ameobi or bramble for all i care, ameobi has suck big-time this season and nuff said about bramble//

buy distin back ?? well he's a big money grubber traitor!!! he wanted to go to some french club who offered him more money, but he retracted from the offer and signed for man city after being offered even more big bucks...money sucker!
i am Beattie fan, think he shud b good for us if we need no pay anything.. and wat i hope best is to ship out BRAMBLE.. if i were the manager, i will release him FREE OF CHARGE.. any club wants him, just take it.. else put him in reserve team to play.. :s13:

[hello8985]

it's over for newcastle.....

draw with BB doubt they can win Arsenal

[yenyenpark]

it's over for newcastle.....

draw with BB doubt they can win Arsenal
we will jump at our feet with a draw.. :s8:

[Shadow04]

i stress the pt once again, we do not need a striker, somemore beattie has been too injury prone this season, buy him to sit on the sidelines, are you out of your freaking mind!!! is it so hard to understand we need central defenders!!!!!!

can sell ameobi or bramble for all i care, ameobi has suck big-time this season and nuff said about bramble//

buy distin back ?? well he's a big money grubber traitor!!! he wanted to go to some french club who offered him more money, but he retracted from the offer and signed for man city after being offered even more big bucks...money sucker!
yea.. ameobi and bramble can go and i don't give a damn..

money grabber or not, Dustin seems to be the "right" man for us now.. we need to padlock our defence without sacrificing our firepower up front(something not seen ever since Woody left us/sidelined). better yet, get Boumsong as well(i find him impressive imo), and our defence should not leak goals like no tml liaoz..

[Shadow04]

we will jump at our feet with a draw.. :s8:
sry for being so pessimistic(its a tough time to be a Magpie fan now)... but i think even a draw isnt even remotely possible if we continue to play like this...

if Given is injured as well, our season is truely over..

[aqf]

Distin??I rather get woodgate back

[aqf]

Kluivert and Ameobi add to Magpies' injury woe
Newcastle United have yet more injuries as they wait for the visit of champions Arsenal to St James' Park on Wednesday night.

For strikers Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi are struggling after yesterday's 2-2 draw at Blackburn.

Alan Shearer, Stephen Carr, Ronny Johnsen and Nicky Butt are all still injured and have no chance of facing the Gunners.

Darren Ambrose missed yesterday's game because of hamstring problems and Wednesday may come too early for him.

The only good news for boss Graeme Souness is that he has midfielder Lee Bowyer free again after a one-match ban.

The United boss said: "Patrick was feeling his hamstring towards the end of the first half yesterday and Shola fell awkwardly on his shoulder and is also a concern for the Arsenal game."

Souness left Olivier Bernard and Titus Bramble on the bench at his former club as he tried to get United back on the winning trail.

He added: "At this time we are not winning games in the Premiership. An individual may feel hard done by in the case of being left out, but I think as a manager you are entitled to search for a formation that will win games."

One of the few plusses for Souness at Ewood Park was the fact that Kieron Dyer finally found the target with his first Premiership goal since his header against Everton at St James' Park on April 3.

Despite Dyer's lack of success in front of the posts - his opener was only his 23rd goal for United in 187 appearances - he could hardly have put it away with more style or confidence.

This led to Souness saying: "I need my midfield players to score goals and to share them around. He's an attacking midfield player and I spoke to him about that, about getting more goals. In our system he has licence to get forward. It was a superb pass and a great finish."

There was a something of an uncomfortable reunion with Souness at Blackburn as Andy Todd came back to haunt his old manager with an equaliser.

Souness and Todd fell out after a bust-up when the Blackburn fans' player of the season was left on the bench against Leeds in April.

Todd never played under Souness again but has been given a new lease of life since Mark Hughes' arrival at Ewood Park, culminating in his first goal for 19 months.

Hughes said: "It was a great finish and he could even have scored a winner with a header late on. He did well for us but I don't think there was any issue over what happened before with Graeme - he is just enjoying playing again."

[Theychosenone]

I don't think Newcastle will buy back Distin. Ever hear the loud boos whenever he touches the ball for Man City when they are at St James Park? :s13:

As for Ameobi, he is now 23. And I haven't seen much improvement in his play when he was a promising young player a few years ago. He does have very good dribbling skills for a big man (a cheap version of Kanu?) but he hasn't been scoring much when given chance to play. I would not disagree on him being sold.

As for Bramble, enough has been said. He and O'Brien are only 1st Division league class.

[hello8985]

we will jump at our feet with a draw.. :s8:


newcastle can be bottom league club liao

[Shadow04]

Distin??I rather get woodgate back
as if madrid will let he come back, esp. when they themselves are in a defensive woes.....

yes i like Woody as a player very much, but let's be realistic la.. madrid wont let him come back lest we offer them 2 times the money they've paid? :s22:

[Theychosenone]

Seriously, Woodgate will never come back. And I am sort of glad they sold him for so much money, he hasn't even started playing since the start of the season!

[Coolsmurf]

why would u want to get woodgate back!!! he's too injury prone to play!

as much as i hate to say this, this was a shrewd piece of biz by shepard!

[Fresnel]

Souness is turning the whole club upside down like the earlier post say...he is the Bane of NewC...and if he doens't go soon, we will (NUFC) go....1st div.....wadeva he touches turn to poo...
I think u all noe this by now..... I REALLY REALLYY REALLLLYYYYYYYY HATE SoUNESS!!!!

[punishher]

we need 4 defenders.actually i don't think kluivert fits the team lo..i saw him play against chelsea...9 players running like mad..he walking..wtf..
newcastle needs team players..i don't think we need strikers..maybe 1 midfielder....so damn sian....i will support them..but only can hope for the best..duno how they are gonna salvage the situation..

[revenant]

http://revenant.qsurf.org/dyer%20blackburn.wmv

http://revenant.qsurf.org/robert_blackburn.wmv

[martinweng]

I don't think Newcastle will buy back Distin. Ever hear the loud boos whenever he touches the ball for Man City when they are at St James Park? :s13:

As for Ameobi, he is now 23. And I haven't seen much improvement in his play when he was a promising young player a few years ago. He does have very good dribbling skills for a big man (a cheap version of Kanu?) but he hasn't been scoring much when given chance to play. I would not disagree on him being sold.

As for Bramble, enough has been said. He and O'Brien are only 1st Division league class.


Sometimes, talk so much, yet nothing u can do about it..saddens u isnt it?

ur team juz cudnt get u players u can be proud of...

we can no longer haolian Newcastle bought shearer for 15m pound. That was History..

now u go outside haolian Kluivert..FOC..ppl laugh their a55 off..

end of story.

[Theychosenone]

Sometimes, talk so much, yet nothing u can do about it..saddens u isnt it?

ur team juz cudnt get u players u can be proud of...

we can no longer haolian Newcastle bought shearer for 15m pound. That was History..

now u go outside haolian Kluivert..FOC..ppl laugh their a55 off..

end of story.

A while ago, most would think Darren Peacock and Phillip Albert (aka aspiring attacking midfielder who played in defence) were joker defenders, but now they seem world-class compared to Bramble and O'Brien. :s8:

[dreamer75]

scolari is signed with portugal. best bet is hitzfield who is free agent now. but will he come.??? NO, why bother!!!! shepard only signs englishman who are middle-rate.

opps...

hitzfield is best option now..

[dreamer75]

Newcastle offer Bramble, Ameobi for Southampton's Beattie
tribalfootball.com - December 27, 2004

Newcastle United are offering Shola Ameobi and Titus Bramble in exchange for Southampton striker James Beattie.

The Mail on Sunday says Magpies boss Graeme Souness has struck a deal that will see £6 million-rated Beattie arrive on Tyneside in January.

A cash component will also be involved in the agreement, with Saints boss Harry Redknapp anxious to stiffen his defence with Bramble and also replace Beattie with the arrival of Ameobi.
this is good.. although i will miss Amoebi..

cannot belif tribalfootball....anyway..WE DUN NEED ANOTHER STRIKER!

[dreamer75]

ameobi and bramble can go...no pt keeping them..

glad we sell Woody cos he's too injury-prone..

btw, we have the WORST DEFENCE at the moment...conceded 37 goals liao..

WBA is 2nd with 36 goals...

enuff said....DEFENDERS ARE THE TOP PIRORITY!!!

[dreamer75]

read from ST Sports section that we are paying like 65k pounds per week for Dyer's wages...wth...and he's playing like **** now..he's the top earner inour team..

i say we sell him off and offload some wage bils...

[yellowsubmarine]

Your team's two big problems - defenders and the manager.
Get rid of them, bring in new ones and you guys will be alright this season.

The 2 goals you conceded against was very poor. First goal, your defence was frozen for 3 seconds. Second goal, your defence was frozen yet again for 2 seconds. Given must be seeing ghost when 3 Rovers players ran towards him for the rebound to score. Thank God, we capitalise on it.

But then again, Rovers defence aint better either. Hope both our teams can get in good defenders. Disappointed we dint get 3 points against Souey.

[dreamer75]

Your team's two big problems - defenders and the manager.
Get rid of them, bring in new ones and you guys will be alright this season.

The 2 goals you conceded against was very poor. First goal, your defence was frozen for 3 seconds. Second goal, your defence was frozen yet again for 2 seconds. Given must be seeing ghost when 3 Rovers players ran towards him for the rebound to score. Thank God, we capitalise on it.

But then again, Rovers defence aint better either. Hope both our teams can get in good defenders. Disappointed we dint get 3 points against Souey.

even Blackburn know our problems....fat shep...u deaf is it?

[yellowsubmarine]

Fearing the worst for Newcastle tomorrow.

[punishher]

defenders!
im goin to ask somebody to assasinate sheperd..den ask somebody kidnap souneess..
den got revamp...i cant blv newcastle is doing so badly compared to the last 2 yrs..arghhhh

[SongLongZi]

ameobi and bramble can go...no pt keeping them..

glad we sell Woody cos he's too injury-prone..

btw, we have the WORST DEFENCE at the moment...conceded 37 goals liao..

WBA is 2nd with 36 goals...

enuff said....DEFENDERS ARE THE TOP PIRORITY!!!



i think sacking souness are the TOP PIRORITY though...



liverpool pool fans here....

[United_Treble]

du worry jan a striker will cum to new

[dreamer75]

i think sacking souness are the TOP PIRORITY though...



liverpool pool fans here....

yah we know....sacking Shep n Souness are our TOP TOP TOP PIRORITY...

[Theychosenone]

I think the most possible signing we could get now is Boumsong, but Newcastle will probably have to pay an over-priced sum near to 10 million pounds for him.

[yenyenpark]

read from ST Sports section that we are paying like 65k pounds per week for Dyer's wages...wth...and he's playing like **** now..he's the top earner inour team..

i say we sell him off and offload some wage bils...
he is top 10 earners (think top 6 if not wrong).. and we r the lowest club in top earners.. :s8:

[yenyenpark]

I think the most possible signing we could get now is Boumsong, but Newcastle will probably have to pay an over-priced sum near to 10 million pounds for him.
may b can get some discount.. less than 1 million.. i found out tat we might need at most two defenders... O'Brien not really bad when he partnered Woodgate but dunno why now.. :s8: so my suggestion is


Boumseng: buy
Bramble: sell
O Brien:keep




lol... look like ST share reco.. :s13:

[dreamer75]

may b can get some discount.. less than 1 million.. i found out tat we might need at most two defenders... O'Brien not really bad when he partnered Woodgate but dunno why now.. :s8: so my suggestion is


Boumseng: buy
Bramble: sell
O Brien:keep




lol... look like ST share reco.. :s13:

fat shep better sign him or else.....

[yenyenpark]

Fans View: The Truth About The "Inherited" Team
By Y I Man - December 27 2004

Forum user "Y I Man" writes the 'truth about the "inherited team': Day after day, week after week, we read both in the tabloids and their supposedly more educated broadsheet relatives how Souness is working with an "inherited, lopsided team". It's time to stop hypothesising and look at the facts.

This team finished 5th last season, and may well have finished 4th had key players not been injured for the closing games.

Since then, what has changed?

We have replaced Speed with England International Butt - hardly downsizing.

We let Woodgate go for £13m. This same Woodgate managed 18 league appearances last season - less than half...so why is almost the same defence that managed for 20 games last season now shipping soft goals like a sieve?

Apologies, it's not the same defence...we have bought Stephen Carr, reputedly one of the best right backs in the league and an experienced Ireland international, to strengthen the position natural centre back Aaron Hughes has been stuck in for an eternity. Again.....is that not strengthening the team?

On top of that, we have signed Kluivert, admittedly yet to reach the heights of his past glories, but surely still a cut above at least third choice striker Ameobi?

People will also point to the loss of Solano in last season's New Year transfer window. Well here are more facts - prior to this Solano managed a princely 8 starts, with 4 appearances as sub.

The common and uncommon press, together with the hysteria-motivated fan, will have us believe that Souness inherited a shambles of a team. The facts speak otherwise.

Blame injuries, blame a confidence crisis, blame Souness himself.....but don't believe for a minute that a team that finished 5th, and has been strengthened in the interim, is a "lopsided shambles" simply inherited by Souness who can only make his mark once "his own" new players are signed.

[ZhiQiang]

1) Souney (But i think is pretty impossible unless tomolo arsenal thrash us 9-0)

2) Fatty Shephard (Quite impossible again unless another "roman" comes along)

3) Bramble (Fat and useless)

4) O'Brien (Div 1 class defender)

5) Dyer (Earn so much, got attitude problems somemore)

We need 2 new central defender from other top leagues in europe, not the "talented, bright future" div 1 players. I think Boumsong is out too... Rangers? Are they in the top leagues in europe???

[yenyenpark]

1) Souney (But i think is pretty impossible unless tomolo arsenal thrash us 9-0)

2) Fatty Shephard (Quite impossible again unless another "roman" comes along)

3) Bramble (Fat and useless)

4) O'Brien (Div 1 class defender)

5) Dyer (Earn so much, got attitude problems somemore)

We need 2 new central defender from other top leagues in europe, not the "talented, bright future" div 1 players. I think Boumsong is out too... Rangers? Are they in the top leagues in europe???
sorry to say.. but i dun think any of top flight defenders will ever want to come St James Park..

[yenyenpark]

Souey back on the Beatt
By VIKKI ORVICE


NEWCASTLE have upped their bid to sign James Beattie — and are now offering £5million plus Darren Ambrose.

SunSport revealed last week how Toon boss Graeme Souness is desperate to land Southampton striker Beattie in next month’s transfer window.

He sees the former England striker as the perfect replacement for Alan Shearer, who is retiring in May.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004600603,00.html

[dreamer75]

Souey back on the Beatt
By VIKKI ORVICE


NEWCASTLE have upped their bid to sign James Beattie — and are now offering £5million plus Darren Ambrose.

SunSport revealed last week how Toon boss Graeme Souness is desperate to land Southampton striker Beattie in next month’s transfer window.

He sees the former England striker as the perfect replacement for Alan Shearer, who is retiring in May.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004600603,00.html


CRAZY lah!!

[dreamer75]

Story by Footymad
28 December 2004

This week FootyMad's match preview focuses on the game between Newcastle United and Arsenal at 20:00 on Wednesday 29th December 2004 in the Premiership.



History of the Newcastle United v Arsenal fixture

Arsenal face a trip to Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Wednesday evening, needing to turn around their fortunes at the ground. The Gunners will be hoping to improve upon a record which has seen them lose 39 and win only 17 of the 73 games.

The most recent encounter between these two sides was less than a year ago, in April 2004, when they played out a goalless draw in a Premiership match.

For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here


Recent encounters between the teams:
2003/2004 Sun 11 Apr Newcastle Utd. 0 - 0 Arsenal PREM
2003/2004 Fri 26 Sep Arsenal 3 - 2 Newcastle Utd. PREM
2002/2003 Sun 09 Feb Newcastle Utd. 1 - 1 Arsenal PREM
2002/2003 Sat 09 Nov Arsenal 1 - 0 Newcastle Utd. PREM
2001/2002 Sat 23 Mar Arsenal 3 - 0 Newcastle Utd. FAC
2001/2002 Sat 09 Mar Newcastle Utd. 1 - 1 Arsenal FAC
2001/2002 Sat 02 Mar Newcastle Utd. 0 - 2 Arsenal PREM

Recent respective form guides

Newcastle United need to improve on their recent home record of just 3 draws from the previous six. While Magpies have scored 5, a worringly large 12 have been leaked at the other end.

Arsenal's away form is none too clever either, with two wins, two draws, and two defeats. A generous 9 goals have been both scored and conceded in this period.

Newcastle Utd. find themselves struggling down in 14th position in the league having picked up 22 points from their 19 matches. Arsenal sit in a healthy 2nd in the league, and have picked up 41 points from their 19 games.

For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here


Current form guides: P W D L F A P
Newcastle Utd. 6 0 4 2 6 12 4
Arsenal 6 4 1 1 13 4 13

FootyMad's prediction ...

Its been an indifferent run of form for the Gunners of late away from home, but your FootyMad panel sees things improving, starting here at St. James' Park with Arsenal coasting to victory. Away win


Sequence statistics:
Newcastle Utd. Drawn last 3 games at home.
Failed to win in previous 6 home matches.
Not won in the 6 most recent games.

Arsenal 4 games since last away draw.
6 games since last defeat.

http://www.arsenal-mad.co.uk/news/loadnews.asp?cid=PREV&id=195583

[dreamer75]

Graeme Souness has hinted that he is not interested in bringing Southampton striker James Beattie to Newcastle United.

Beattie has been sporadically linked with a switch to St James' Park with the rumours having started during Sir Bobby Robson's reign on Tyneside.

But it appears Newcastle will not be one of the bidders for Beattie, with Magpies boss Souness surprised at the link to the 26-year-old.

Souness said "I have no idea where that came from,

"There will be speculation, in Tyneside there is a story and a rumour every day,

"We are hoping to do things when the window opens and hopefully it is more than just one player,

"We are after good players and clubs will not want to sell their good players easily.

"We have been linked with several other people but we are not going to broadcast what we are attempting to do.

"We are attempting to improve our squad and have offers on the table for several players but we will see what pans out in January."

http://www.worldfootballers.com/news.php?id=871

[dreamer75]

Graeme Souness believes it was imperative that his Newcastle team left Blackburn with at least a point yesterday.

After being under the cosh for long periods during the 2-2 draw at Ewood park, Souness says it was vital for confidence that his team avoided defeat.

Souness said: "The last thing we wanted was to come here and lose,"

"We came here against a team who were positive and aggressive and we matched them for most of the day.

"We got ourselves in front and then conceded what we feel was a very poor goal from our part. We just knocked off at a vital time.

"We then got ourselves back in front but at the start of the second half we were penned in and they got the equaliser.

"I think we then regrouped and got through the rest of the game without too many problems.

"It was important for Newcastle. We are in a difficult period and we need to stick together and pull in the same direction.

"I feel it was important we came here and got something for confidence."

http://www.worldfootballers.com/news.php?id=839

[yenyenpark]

Graeme Souness believes it was imperative that his Newcastle team left Blackburn with at least a point yesterday.

After being under the cosh for long periods during the 2-2 draw at Ewood park, Souness says it was vital for confidence that his team avoided defeat.

Souness said: "The last thing we wanted was to come here and lose,"

"We came here against a team who were positive and aggressive and we matched them for most of the day.

"We got ourselves in front and then conceded what we feel was a very poor goal from our part. We just knocked off at a vital time.

"We then got ourselves back in front but at the start of the second half we were penned in and they got the equaliser.

"I think we then regrouped and got through the rest of the game without too many problems.

"It was important for Newcastle. We are in a difficult period and we need to stick together and pull in the same direction.

"I feel it was important we came here and got something for confidence."

http://www.worldfootballers.com/news.php?id=839think he really can prove nothing.. tat had to happy with a point.. go home SOuness.. go home.. :s27:

[Fresnel]

yaayy yah...GO HOME SOUNESS...U ARE NOT WANTED..tok cok....giving excuse for lousy performance...ahppy my balls man....disgraceful

[Shadow04]

Souey back on the Beatt
By VIKKI ORVICE


NEWCASTLE have upped their bid to sign James Beattie — and are now offering £5million plus Darren Ambrose.

SunSport revealed last week how Toon boss Graeme Souness is desperate to land Southampton striker Beattie in next month’s transfer window.

He sees the former England striker as the perfect replacement for Alan Shearer, who is retiring in May.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004600603,00.html
WTF.............

[Shadow04]

may b can get some discount.. less than 1 million.. i found out tat we might need at most two defenders... O'Brien not really bad when he partnered Woodgate but dunno why now.. :s8: so my suggestion is


Boumseng: buy
Bramble: sell
O Brien:keep




lol... look like ST share reco.. :s13:
O brien played well with Woody because Woody made him look good......

Boumsong could just be the only decent defender willing to come to SJP.... if he doenst want to come, i highly doubt we can "attract" anymore better defenders liaoz....

[martinweng]

Souey back on the Beatt
By VIKKI ORVICE


NEWCASTLE have upped their bid to sign James Beattie — and are now offering £5million plus Darren Ambrose.

SunSport revealed last week how Toon boss Graeme Souness is desperate to land Southampton striker Beattie in next month’s transfer window.

He sees the former England striker as the perfect replacement for Alan Shearer, who is retiring in May.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004600603,00.html

chui kong lam par song..

dats all Toon do..

end of the day?

Newcastle signed Top division 1 player(whom will become yet another Newcastle flop) blah blah from blah blah.

[Coolsmurf]

maybe not even 1 player will be signed!!!

[Theychosenone]

Tomorrow morning is DD-day (decapulating defence day).

May Arsenal have mercy on Mr Bramble and Mr O'Brien/Mr Elliott/Mr Hughes/heck what's the diff..

[yenyenpark]

chui kong lam par song..

dats all Toon do..

end of the day?

Newcastle signed Top division 1 player(whom will become yet another Newcastle flop) blah blah from blah blah.
this is very vulgar.. :eek: :eek:

[yenyenpark]

Tomorrow morning is DD-day (decapulating defence day).

May Arsenal have mercy on Mr Bramble and Mr O'Brien/Mr Elliott/Mr Hughes/heck what's the diff..
if u r Arsenal players or fans, will u think so?? this is the chance for them whack whack and whack.. hopefully to produce some goal fest to express their defending champ's capabilities.. :o

[Coolsmurf]

somemore the big 3 all won this morning, arsenal have no reason not to go on a rampage to keep up

[dreamer75]

let's pray hard....but we will still lose...

juz by how many goals....

i sense a thrashing session in the making...

[hwaa]

com'on magpies!!

don't give up!!

sack the bloody souness!!

[dreamer75]

By Chris Maume

29 December 2004

Newcastle United are poised to sign the Chelsea left-back Celestine Babayaro in the transfer window. Although the the Nigerian international's contract expires at the end of the season, Newcastle are thought to be willing to pay a fee, possibly up to £3m, to take Babayaro to St James' Park.

The defender, 26, has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and is now third choice in his specialist position behind William Gallas and Wayne Bridge. Last week he turned down loan deals with Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich in order to fight for his place.

"If I have to leave in the summer I'll be very sad," he said before Christmas, "and I would be crazy to go in the middle of the season in which we could win several trophies."

It appears, however, that the longest-serving player at Chelsea may find himself on the way out of Stamford Bridge after seven and a half years.

As Newcastle prepared to take on Arsenal tonight, the Gunners manager, Arsène Wenger, said he had every sympathy with his Newcastle counterpart, Graeme Souness. A big problem for a new manager arriving after the start of the season is that he must wait until January to bring in new players.

"That's why I was always against the transfer window because it gives an impossibility to the guy who comes in to make changes straight away because he has to wait," Wenger said. "There is no real impact on the policy inside the club. Then you have to make rush buys in one month. The transfer window is near the end of the season because we play something like 24 games before the end of the year and 14 after the end of January. If you are bottom of the league in November, you have to wait until January to do something about it.

"Then you risk going down and spending money. On top of that, prices get inflated because when it gets close to the window the prices go up. Many clubs buy new players in the last five or six days because they know they have to do something," added Wenger, who said he was surprised that Newcastle were struggling just above the relegation places but puts their problems down to injuries to key players. Before the season began, the Arsenal manager would have pencilled in Newcastle as one of the clubs vying for a place in next season's Champions' League.

"At the beginning of the season you would expect them to be fighting for the top four," the Frenchman said. "I don't know how they got to be where they are. It looks to me from the outside that they have many injuries which have continued throughout the season."

Wenger will benefit from the return of the left-back Ashley Cole from suspension tonight and has no fresh injury worries. Cole missed the win over Fulham on Boxing Day but is added to Wenger's squad, which could also include Edu, who has recovered fitness.

Jose Antonio Reyes is making good progress from his knee injury and should be back for the game against Charlton Athletic on New Year's Day.

Patrick Kluivert is out for Newcastle, however, after aggravating a hamstring injury at Blackburn on Boxing Day and Souness is facing problems up front with Shola Ameobi struggling to shake off a shoulder problem and Alan Shearer still injured with a thigh strain. Lee Bowyer is available after a one-match ban and Kieron Dyer is expected to recover from a knock to his knee picked up at Ewood Park.

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/newcastle/story.jsp?story=596638

[yenyenpark]

sigh... hope the windows open and we bought some good defenders.. Bramble cheap cheap lelong also i dun care..

[Theychosenone]

Babayaro? Not a bad signing if Newcastle can snag him. Can play as a left midfielder too if Sour-ness decides to dump Robert. :s8:

[dreamer75]

Babayaro? Not a bad signing if Newcastle can snag him. Can play as a left midfielder too if Sour-ness decides to dump Robert. :s8:

he's a left back...maybe can switch to center back?

[dreamer75]

11:59 December, 28, 2004
Christian Schwegler is on trial at St. James Park as he looks to earn a dream move to English football

Schwegler, a Swiss under-21 international currently plays for Lucerne in his homeland and can play at either right-back or in midfield.

Newcastle boss Graeme Souness is preparing for a busy period of activity in the transfer market as he looks to strengthen his squad.

[daveaha]

I'm back..


Oh no.. another unproven youngsters....

[Coolsmurf]

11:59 December, 28, 2004
Christian Schwegler is on trial at St. James Park as he looks to earn a dream move to English football

Schwegler, a Swiss under-21 international currently plays for Lucerne in his homeland and can play at either right-back or in midfield.

Newcastle boss Graeme Souness is preparing for a busy period of activity in the transfer market as he looks to strengthen his squad.

the last i heard, he has gone home....cmi

[dreamer75]

the last i heard, he has gone home....cmi

dun want him to come anyway, i want Babayaro!

[yenyenpark]

anymore news guys?? i want to hear who is coming.. dun care true or not also can.. :D

[Theychosenone]

Don't think Babayaro can play centre-back as he is rather lightweight, and does not seem to have good heading ability. But he is quick and is a very good wing-back (as seen from his performances in the last 2 World Cups). :) Stagnated at Chelsea since he was seldom used. He is probably a solution if Bernard decides to leave..

[ZhiQiang]

i want to listen to good transfer news regarding good players... Not div 1/2/3 "highly rated" players...

[Coolsmurf]

babayaro is ideal to replace bernard. but then do we need him now???

we need CENTRAL DEFENDERS, every tom dick and harry in other positions are linked now but only bousomong is a central defender...this is getting dumb

[ZhiQiang]

i juz read teamtalk... it says babayaro is injured now...

[dreamer75]

its Jenas vs Viera tonight...

[dreamer75]

i juz read teamtalk... it says babayaro is injured now...

huh....sure???

pls dun buy any injury-prone player..

[ZhiQiang]

yeah dreamer, go to teamtalk and u will see...

[Coolsmurf]

babayaro is another injury-prone player...i think we haven enuff of that...

[dreamer75]

Rangers are unlikely to have the cash to move for £2.5million-rated Belgian striker Thomas Buffel after Graeme Souness insisted he will not be making a third bid for Jean-Alain Boumsong.

The Newcastle manager confirmed he has made two offers for the France international defender - an £8million bid is still on the table.

The hard-up Ibrox club have slapped a £10million price-tag on Boumsong, but Souness has warned he will walk away from the deal and is already in talks with an alternative target.

He told the Daily Record: "We have made two offers but Rangers have rejected them. We are now pursuing another target.

"It would be wrong to say our interest in Boumsong is dead, but what I will say quite definitely is that there will be no third offer for the player."

http://www.soccerweekend.com/division/news_story.asp?NewsID=10267&DivisionID=43

[dreamer75]

no more bids for him...we might possibly missed out on him if Rangers do not accept our bid...

[dreamer75]

They just can’t quite do it can they? There was the league title that they threw away under Kevin Keegan and the FA Cup finals under Gullit and Dalglish, and the constant underachieving in European competitions. Now, as 2004 comes to an end, Newcastle United find themselves in 13th place in the Premiership, and with a Christmas period that might not be too rewarding. Blackburn are beginning to grind out points and might give the Magpies and hard time at Ewood Park, and Arsenal visit St James’ Park after that in a game that most people will expect an away win from.

Newcastle could find themselves in an unenviable position by the beginning of next year. Now, let’s not be melodramatic and pretend that there’s even a slight chance that Newcastle could go down; with the players they have, that simply will not happen. However, unless Graeme Souness can mastermind some sort of rescue plan in the very near future, then the Toon Army will have to settle for a season of mediocrity; something that will not go down well, unless the UEFA or FA Cup bears some fruit.

Ever since the nearly-championship winning side in the Keegan era, Newcastle have constantly flattered to deceive. Despite maintaining their Premiership status, and finishing high up the league on a regular basis, the statistic that sticks as far as Newcastle are concerned is that they haven’t won a major trophy in the last 35 years.

The season they threw the title away, Newcastle were, to be honest, not quite ready to be the best team in the country; they had only recently joined the Premiership, winning it seemed a ridiculous idea. The two FA Cup finals were unlucky affairs, in that both times the Magpies came up against the best teams around at the time, Arsenal and Manchester United. Having narrowly missed out on the UEFA Cup final last year, and with Kluivert, Carr and Milner arriving in the summer, 2004/05 had the potential to be the year that Newcastle regained entry to the Champions League, and finally won some sort of trophy. Instead, a team that boasts Shearer, Kluivert, Bellamy and Ameobi keep failing to kill teams off, and consistent defensive errors are costing United dearly. Without playing badly, Souness’ team has slipped down the league, and now the fairly unpopular Newcastle manager faces a January battle to bring some new faces in, particularly at the back.

Despite having some of the country’s best young talents in Dyer, Jenas, Milner and Ambrose, the Magpies face a tough time ahead, firstly rebuilding their confidence by putting some points on the board, and secondly by finding a replacement for Alan Shearer for next season.

While there is still Europe, the fans will lay off Souness. When it’s Middlesbrough playing in the Champions League next season, people are going to start asking where the trophies are again. Newcastle must deliver soon, or they will be forgotten.

Alex Kay
22/12/2004

http://www.squarefootball.net/content/article/article.asp?aid=1445

[aqf]

Y get babayaro?save the money.Bernard is a better player

[Shadow04]

Y get babayaro?save the money.Bernard is a better player
cause no one else want to come SJP liao... sad........ :(

if that Boumsong deal kena rejected i dunno we still can attract which defender liao... wonders who that alternative target Souness is talking about.... :s8:

[United_Treble]

possible scoreline

new 1-1 ars 60%

[Coolsmurf]

1-0 down at halftime thanks to a wonder deflected last kick of the first half goal by vieira which looped over shay given who did not expect it..

no luck i would say...

[kraze]

0-1 lost to arsenal.. personally think we did quite well today though we didnt win, or even to say slaughtered.. kudos to the defense.. we would have drawn if not for tat lucky deflected goal by viera

[hello8985]

Castle form really CMI....

wondering i lose how muchy supporting castle??????

[Coolsmurf]

`1 pt out of a possible 6 from the christmas period does not bode well....we are lying precariously low to the bottom 3...

[hello8985]

`1 pt out of a possible 6 from the christmas period does not bode well....we are lying precariously low to the bottom 3...


yar..............................

[Coolsmurf]

plus the babayaro deal is somewhat fishy....trying to tell bernard that if u dun sign now, thats ur replacement....

[aqf]

lost again.hai!

[nonoxynol]

6 lost out of 10 games... !@#!@$%

Souness has alot of work to do next year...

[Coolsmurf]

Where the Woody money is going

Having sold Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid last August for a quoted £13.4m, we are on the verge of spending that money in completing three deals to bring defenders to the club in early 2005 - in the following order:

http://nufc.com/2004-05images/babayaro-nigeria.jpg

Celestine Babayaro
26 year-old Nigerian international left -sided full back from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £1m.

http://nufc.com/2004-05images/boumsong-2.jpg

Jean-Alain Boumsong
25 year-old French central defender from Rangers for around £7.5m

http://nufc.com/2004-05images/distin-mancity.jpg

Sylvain Distin
27 year-old French central defender from Manchester City for around £5m

Expect the injuries currently sidelining Babayaro and Boumsong to heal quickly in the Tyneside air.....

Meanwhile the way is being cleared for Distin to return to Tyneside for a second spell, with the bad feeling that clouded his departure in 2002 now being dismissed as an unfortunate by-product of the previous management team's decision to sign Titus Bramble.

[Coolsmurf]

newcastle lost again (never have i recalled us being so poor at home ever) at SJP. no doubt it was the defending champions visiting, but it was both teams 2nd game in as many days, and obvious neither team was very fresh going into this game.

i dunno what souness plan was for the game, but with ameobi and bellamy the only fit strikers, he sought to play a defending game with ameobi upfront and bellamy on the right wing, robert on the left. dyer slightly advanced while bowyer and jenas patrolling the middle. young steven taylor was right-back with bernard at left-back, hughes and bramble in the middle with given in goal.

attack-wise, sorely lacking imagination, we were just playing a counter-attacking game, when we had possession, boom the ball goes up in the air and possession just lost like that. ameobi really cant hold up the ball well and bellamy did not have a look-in whatsoever. We had only half-chances and alumina wasnt really tested and didnt have a single threatening shot to make.

midfield wise, robert was trying very hard and most of our limited attacks came through the left flank. bowyer was biting throughout, although some of his tackles were very reckless. dyer was also lively but with no endproduct. jenas was seen the whole night back-pedalling trying to keep up with vieira and how do we miss his attacking sense.

steven taylor did ok but was caught out by pires footballing brain probably due to inexperience. bernard did well on the left against ljungberg who was hardly in the game. bramble as usual was his bumbling self, doing some blunders here and there which arsenal didnt captalise on. a. hughes did ok as well. given apart from 1 or 2 less commanding moments did ok, but i feel the goal conceded was due to him waiting for the whistle to go and not enuff concentration...maybe the bounce deceived him as well...

all in all, i understand its a barebones team now with so many injuries, but playing for a point at home is not in the Newcastle spirit way of playing...

[Theychosenone]

Sour-ness will never get it. A team that has no reliable defenders CANNOT play a defensive game. :s8:

[dreamer75]

lost again, sighz..

[dreamer75]

Graeme Souness, the Newcastle United manager, is ready to make Chelsea full-back Celestine Babayaro his first signing as the transfer window opens on Saturday.


Babayaro was believed to have been in the North-East yesterday to undergo a medical and the Nigeria international is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge having made only four Premiership appearances under Jose Mourinho. Newcastle would have to pay a minimal fee for Babayaro, who is out of contract in June.

However it would cost around £5 million to bring Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin back to St James' Park. The club are understood to be interested in former loan signing Distin, who turned down a permanent move to Newcastle in 2002 to join City in a £4 million switch from Paris St Germain.

Ideally, Kevin Keegan would not want to sell the French defender but the City manager needs to raise money to strengthen his squad. As City still owe Paris St Germain £5 million for Nicolas Anelka, any bid for the striker would have to accommodate that debt which probably prices the France international out of the market.

So Distin might have to be sacrificed to generate much-needed cash but Newcastle's valuation - thought to be £3 million - is believed to be £2 million below City's.

Rangers' Jean-Alain Boumsong has already been the subject of a bid of about £8million, although his hamstring injury and the Scottish club's higher valuation have prompted Newcastle to look elsewhere.

[dreamer75]

BORN on the same day in Edinburgh in 1953, Graeme Souness and Tony Blair share more than a birthday. As their careers have unfolded, it is arguable who has developed the reputation as the most able spin doctor.
Souness' revolution of Rangers – and Scottish football – in the 1980s has its parallels in Blair's modernisation of the old Labour party, but it is their shared appetite for behind-the-scenes manipulation which makes them kindred spirits.
Souness's political arena is the football transfer market. There, the Newcastle manager has become a master of bluff and double bluff, with the Jean-Alain Boumsong transfer saga the latest example.
So far, the Tyneside club have had two offers rejected for the French internationalist, whom Rangers signed on a Bosman earlier this year. Two days ago, Souness stated that "it would be wrong to say our interest in Boumsong is dead" while asserting that "there will be no third bid for the player." Sure, Graeme. The Newcastle manager may be "pursuing other targets", but Boumsong is still firmly in his sights.
Rangers fans anxious for the club to retain the former Auxerre defender's services should look away now. History proves that Souness, particularly when Rangers are the selling club, almost always gets his man.
Rewind 16 months to August 2003 and Rangers are preparing for their crucial Champions League qualifier against FC Copenhagen. Souness, then Blackburn Rovers manager, goes public with their failed approach to sign Rangers' club captain, Barry Ferguson.
"I have made an inquiry for Barry in the past seven days but have been told by David [Murray] that he's not interested," confirmed Souness. "Unless he has a change of mind, it is dead. Ferguson is someone I have been aware of for a few years and he's a very good player. But Rangers say he's not available. I have a good relationship with the chairman of that club and I respect what he says."
With the ball now rolling, Manchester City and Everton join the pursuit. Blackburn make an increased offer and, 15 days after Souness revealed his first inquiry, Ferguson signs on at Ewood Park.
Alex McLeish described the transfer as a "deal between friends", alluding to the close personal relationship between Souness and Rangers chairman David Murray. It has certainly been a profitable relationship for both sides.
In the summer of 2001, Souness brought Turkish midfielder Tugay to Lancashire from Ibrox for £1.3m. Two years later, Lorenzo Amoruso was tempted south for £1.4m and, more recently, a deal to take Craig Moore to Blackburn fell through only at the last minute.
Souness' autobiography is appropriately titled No Half Measures, encapsulating his own philosophy in the transfer market. He has always bought big and bold. When he joined Rangers as player-manager from Sampdoria in 1986, he quickly began to assemble an astonishing array of talent at Ibrox.
He capitalised on the ban on English clubs in Europe to entice English stars to Scotland. Terry Butcher, who had just captained England at the World Cup finals in Mexico, was pinched from under the noses of Manchester United, while his international teammate, Chris Woods, was also enticed north of the border.
The audacious moves continued apace with Ray Wilkins, Trevor Steven and Trevor Francis arriving, along with Mark Hateley from Monaco. Oleg Kuznetsov became Scottish football's first major European signing in 1990 and Mark Walters its first major black player.
But the most significant transfer in Scottish football history was yet to take place. In 1989, Maurice Johnston became the first Catholic to sign for Rangers. Given that the striker had enjoyed a previous spell with Celtic and even appeared in the club's strip that same summer without having signed on the dotted line, it proved to be the most controversial deal ever done in Scotland.
"I didn't set out to be a revolutionary," Souness later reflected. "With Mo, for example, I saw it as the manager of Rangers signing a good player. I knew he would be the first Catholic but that wasn't the main reason for doing it, and Mo deserves credit for being prepared to go through with it. I don't think the club could have moved forward unless that signing had happened."
With Newcastle shipping goals right, left and centre, it is Boumsong whom Souness believes will move Newcastle forward.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/30590.html

[yenyenpark]

lost again, sighz..
basket.. i tok we win.. i went singaporepool to take a look.. away win by 1 goal.. i tok we r away and we pulled an upset.. and it's a very good morning to me.. BUT.. i am wrong.. sad sad sad.. :s8:

[fantasy21]

newcastle played well especially Dyer, this morning. but castle simply have no idea upfront.missed an awful lot of chances..

[yenyenpark]

Graeme Souness, the Newcastle United manager, is ready to make Chelsea full-back Celestine Babayaro his first signing as the transfer window opens on Saturday.


Babayaro was believed to have been in the North-East yesterday to undergo a medical and the Nigeria international is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge having made only four Premiership appearances under Jose Mourinho. Newcastle would have to pay a minimal fee for Babayaro, who is out of contract in June.just wonder if Babayaro central defender or wat??? and how much is his pay??

However it would cost around £5 million to bring Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin back to St James' Park. The club are understood to be interested in former loan signing Distin, who turned down a permanent move to Newcastle in 2002 to join City in a £4 million switch from Paris St Germain.who made him turn us down?? SBR?? anyway, i hope he can come and forget the past and serves us well... may b some talks to him before really sign him

Ideally, Kevin Keegan would not want to sell the French defender but the City manager needs to raise money to strengthen his squad. As City still owe Paris St Germain £5 million for Nicolas Anelka, any bid for the striker would have to accommodate that debt which probably prices the France international out of the market.

So Distin might have to be sacrificed to generate much-needed cash but Newcastle's valuation - thought to be £3 million - is believed to be £2 million below City's.

Rangers' Jean-Alain Boumsong has already been the subject of a bid of about £8million, although his hamstring injury and the Scottish club's higher valuation have prompted Newcastle to look elsewhere.how long is his injury?? if he is proved good and light injury, why not.. make the transfer fee as installement then.. may b some talk with player before signing is good when much money involved.. by the way i think we have enuff money to buy a decent defender..

we got the money.. so spend it.. while we keep blaming blood sucker in market.. but it's only us (or Sherperd who is stingy in recent buyings)

Sherperd shud know better than us wat will happen to his golden duck who lays golden eggs for him if we relegated..

[yenyenpark]

Where the Woody money is going

Having sold Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid last August for a quoted £13.4m, we are on the verge of spending that money in completing three deals to bring defenders to the club in early 2005 - in the following order:

http://nufc.com/2004-05images/babayaro-nigeria.jpg

Celestine Babayaro
26 year-old Nigerian international left -sided full back from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £1m.

http://nufc.com/2004-05images/boumsong-2.jpg

Jean-Alain Boumsong
25 year-old French central defender from Rangers for around £7.5m

http://nufc.com/2004-05images/distin-mancity.jpg

Sylvain Distin
27 year-old French central defender from Manchester City for around £5m

Expect the injuries currently sidelining Babayaro and Boumsong to heal quickly in the Tyneside air.....

Meanwhile the way is being cleared for Distin to return to Tyneside for a second spell, with the bad feeling that clouded his departure in 2002 now being dismissed as an unfortunate by-product of the previous management team's decision to sign Titus Bramble.


may b get another one more full back right side then we will have all four French back for our team??? how many players out of UK will we have then??

[yenyenpark]

Toon swoop to land Baba Dec 29 2004




By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle


Graeme Souness will complete his first signing as Newcastle United manager in the next 48 hours when he steals Chelsea left-back Celestine Babayaro from under the noses of Middlesbrough and Liverpool.

And two top Italian clubs will be disappointed that United have beaten them to the punch for the 26-year-old, 26-times capped Nigerian defender.

There was no comment from United today, with everyone concentrating on tonight's match with Arsenal at St James' Park, but I would be surprised if Souness and his chairman Freddy Shepherd do not get their man.

I literally bumped into Babayaro and his agent getting out of Shepherd's car at St James' Park on my way to Souness's Arsenal press conference yesterday.

The Chelsea defender was later seen with the club doctor in the ground at lunch-time and last spotted at 2pm at Newcastle Airport for a flight back to London.

I understand that Babayaro and his agent also held talks with Shepherd at a deserted St James' Park on Monday and this indicates to me that he will soon become a United player as, whatever may be said about the Newcastle chairman, he always gets his man in situations like this.

Indeed, with Stephen Carr now ready to return, United could well have a different looking back four by the time a banned Souness watches Monday night's match against West Brom from a seat in The Hawthorns stands.

And obviously the likelihood of Babayaro signing means that Olivier Bernard, who has not agreed a new contract, is more likely to leave St James' Park, probably in the next couple of weeks.

Souness said at yesterday's press conference: "The chairman is working his socks off to get us new players in the transfer window - but they must be the right players."

United obviously feel that Babayaro is of them and they will be happy to pay Chelsea some sort of fee for the defender who won a gold medal with Nigeria in the 1996 Olympic Games.

He joined Chelsea from Anderlecht for £2.25m and has scored eight goals for them, including the Blues' goal in the 1-1 draw with United at Stamford Bridge in Kenny Dalglish's last game in charge at the start of the 1997-98 season.

The arrival of England international Wayne Bridge meant that Babayaro is now longer an automatic selection for Chelsea and he has only played five times this season.

Meanwhile, the word from Scotland is that Rangers are sending down a delegation to watch United's tonight.

The men from Ibrox are coming to see just what United have got as they are keen to do a player-exchange for defender Jean-Alain Boumsong.

Boumsong missed Rangers' 4-1 win over Motherwell on Monday but manager Alex McLeish insisted this had nothing to do with his potential transfer to St James' Park but was due to the fact that he had a hamstring injury.

Newcastle are believed to have made a £3m bid for Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin today but Kevin Keegan is holding out for double that amount.

[yenyenpark]

we can say bye bye to Bernard.. bye bye Bernard.. welcome Babayaro..

Bernard.. Bernard.. sigh.. all the best to u.. so who's next??

[ZhiQiang]

lost again...

haiz...

but glad that we lost to only one goal...

hi baba, bye bernard. Thanx for the service for the last few years.

[Coolsmurf]

very sad, bernard was a decent leftback really....

why is bramble still there...

[yenyenpark]

lost again...

haiz...

but glad that we lost to only one goal...

hi baba, bye bernard. Thanx for the service for the last few years.
dunno why.. i played Newcastle in Champ Football 2005, all my players also injured by the time it before it hits 15 games.. i lost about 4-5 of my first team players.. sigh..

our squad is almost dead.. only the lousy defenders r fit.. while Butt and Carr still injured.. sigh.. sigh.. hope SHearer can save us.. with full points vs West Brom.. go go Shearer.. go go.. :s12: :s12:

[Virus]

The earlier Souness goes, the better for your team. He is plain ****ty as a manager. Look at his manager record. Hopefully Newcastle will start playing great football and grind out results again.


I never forgive Souness on what he did to Liverpool during the early 90s.

[yenyenpark]

sigh sigh sigh.. i dun hope much but just get us some good defenders..

[Fresnel]

The earlier Souness goes, the better for your team. He is plain ****ty as a manager. Look at his manager record. Hopefully Newcastle will start playing great football and grind out results again.


I never forgive Souness on what he did to Liverpool during the early 90s.

Don't worry, i'll never FORGIVE SOUNESS for joining us in the FIRST place...lousy lameA** sh_I_T....get the **** out.....
I'm not too sure about Distin coming back...he's one lost french defender....tall but not much of use.

[yenyenpark]

Chelsea are selling Celestine Babayaro to Newcastle and could take Toon defender Olivier Bernard to Stamford Bridge.

[dreamer75]

Chelsea are selling Celestine Babayaro to Newcastle and could take Toon defender Olivier Bernard to Stamford Bridge.

then we r making a loss here...Bernard > Babayaro leh

[yenyenpark]

then we r making a loss here...Bernard > Babayaro leh
ya.. i agree.. but wat to do if Bernard dun wanna sign the deal.. the ding dong here and there will bring nothing but demoralise the players and fans nia..

i hope this revolutions will b a success..

so SOuness, dun bluff us with all kind of rumours.. prove yourself.. :s27:

[yenyenpark]

http://www.football365.com/news/scottish_news/story_138588.shtml

no third bid for Boumsong..

[waynez]

Babayaro Completes Move From Chelsea

NEWCASTLE United confirmed today that following negotitaions with Celestine Babayaro, agreement has been reached that he will join Newcastle United on January 1 2005.
The player will be transferred from Chelsea for an undisclosed sum.
Newcastle United record their thanks to everybody involved at Chelsea for their co-operation and goodwill.
Under FAPL rules, the player will be eligibile for selection from Tuesday January 4. He also qualifies to appear in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup for Newcastle United this season, the latter being because although nominated as a substitute, he has not taken to the field for Chelsea in European competition this season. 

[yenyenpark]

The earlier Souness goes, the better for your team. He is plain ****ty as a manager. Look at his manager record. Hopefully Newcastle will start playing great football and grind out results again.


I never forgive Souness on what he did to Liverpool during the early 90s.
wat did he do to Liverpool??

[yenyenpark]

Babayaro Completes Move From Chelsea

NEWCASTLE United confirmed today that following negotitaions with Celestine Babayaro, agreement has been reached that he will join Newcastle United on January 1 2005.
The player will be transferred from Chelsea for an undisclosed sum.
Newcastle United record their thanks to everybody involved at Chelsea for their co-operation and goodwill.
Under FAPL rules, the player will be eligibile for selection from Tuesday January 4. He also qualifies to appear in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup for Newcastle United this season, the latter being because although nominated as a substitute, he has not taken to the field for Chelsea in European competition this season. hmm.. not too bad also.. :s12:

[dreamer75]

Babayaro Completes Move From Chelsea

NEWCASTLE United confirmed today that following negotitaions with Celestine Babayaro, agreement has been reached that he will join Newcastle United on January 1 2005.
The player will be transferred from Chelsea for an undisclosed sum.
Newcastle United record their thanks to everybody involved at Chelsea for their co-operation and goodwill.
Under FAPL rules, the player will be eligibile for selection from Tuesday January 4. He also qualifies to appear in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup for Newcastle United this season, the latter being because although nominated as a substitute, he has not taken to the field for Chelsea in European competition this season. 

wah...so fast ah...

i want Boumseng.

[dreamer75]

Babayaro’s arrival leaves a question mark over the future of Frenchman Olivier Bernard, who is yet to agree a new deal with the Magpies and will be out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

Whether or not the newcomer’s presence represents an admission that the club has given up on Bernard remains to be seen, but there are sure to be further arrivals, and more defenders among them, next month.

Rangers boss Alex McLeish was among the crowd for last night’s 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal amid suggestions that he was surveying possibilities for a player-plus-cash deal in exchange for Jean-Alain Boumsong with Newcastle also having expressed an interest in Manchester City’s Sylvain Distin.

But whatever else happens over the coming weeks, Souness has at least started the ball rolling with a man who represented the last Ruud Gullit signing still on the books at Chelsea.

Babayaro won the FA Cup, League Cup, Charity Shield and European Super Cup during his seven-and-a-half years in London, but has increasingly found himself in the wilderness since Roman Abramovich’s millions allowed first Claudio Ranieri and then Jose Mourinho to invest heavily in new talent.

[Theychosenone]

wat did he do to Liverpool??

The small matter of turning a trophy-winning entertaining team into a mediocre, defensive and workmanlike team.

[Coolsmurf]

souness started to accelerate the decline of liverpool in the early 90s after taking over a already ageing squad from kenny daglish

[keltan]

Depor confirm Toon Rifle shot
by Francisco Acedo - Last Updated 30 Dec 2004
SUNDAY LEAGUE
Make it your New Year's resolution to sign up!

Deportivo La Coruna president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro has confirmed Newcastle's interest in Walter Pandiani.

Lendoiro exclusively confirmed to skysports.com that Newcastle had contacted them over the striker, nicknamed 'The Rifle', but admits that much hinged on the decision of the club's coach Javier Irureta.

"We have had a call from Newcastle but there is also interest from other clubs," said Lendoiro.

"The situation is complicated and the decision depends on the coach.

"If Irureta decides that he needs Pandiani, then a sale will not be possible.

"Depor need much help in attack for the second half of the season and The Rifle is an excellent player.

"Personally I think it is a very difficult deal to do."

It has been suggested that Newcastle have tabled an offer worth around £3.5 million (€5 million) but Depor value the striker at around £2 million more.

Pandiani is currently on holiday in Uruguay, and it remains to be seen if Irureta will be parted with a player that is tied to the club until 2007.

[dreamer75]

Depor confirm Toon Rifle shot
by Francisco Acedo - Last Updated 30 Dec 2004
SUNDAY LEAGUE
Make it your New Year's resolution to sign up!

Deportivo La Coruna president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro has confirmed Newcastle's interest in Walter Pandiani.

Lendoiro exclusively confirmed to skysports.com that Newcastle had contacted them over the striker, nicknamed 'The Rifle', but admits that much hinged on the decision of the club's coach Javier Irureta.

"We have had a call from Newcastle but there is also interest from other clubs," said Lendoiro.

"The situation is complicated and the decision depends on the coach.

"If Irureta decides that he needs Pandiani, then a sale will not be possible.

"Depor need much help in attack for the second half of the season and The Rifle is an excellent player.

"Personally I think it is a very difficult deal to do."

It has been suggested that Newcastle have tabled an offer worth around £3.5 million (€5 million) but Depor value the striker at around £2 million more.

Pandiani is currently on holiday in Uruguay, and it remains to be seen if Irureta will be parted with a player that is tied to the club until 2007.


not another striker..

[dreamer75]

Rangers are poised to challenge Middlesbrough by launching a January bid for unsettled Newcastle full-back Olivier Bernard, regardless of United's interest in French international Jean-Alain Boumsong.

[aqf]

Hope Newcastle will start 2005 on a winning note

[Shadow04]

wah...so fast ah...

i want Boumseng.
i also hope Boumsong can reach SJP....

[yenyenpark]

Baba agrees Toon switch Dec 30 2004




By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle


Newcastle United have completed the signing of Nigerian international left-back Celestine Babayaro from Chelsea for an undisclosed sum.





The 26-times capped left-back will be available for selection from Tuesday and could actually make his debut in a black-and-white shirt in the FA Cup third-round tie with Yeading at Loftus Road a week on Sunday.

But, just as important, Babayaro will become immediately available for United in their UEFA Cup campaign because, even though he has been on the bench for Chelsea in Europe this season, he has not been called into action.

As revealed in the Chronicle last night, Graeme Souness completed his first long-term signing as United manager today and I expect Babayaro to be followed by Rangers central defender Jean-Alain Boumsong in the next week.

But, unlike Babayaro, the French international is cup-tied and will not be allowed to play for United in the UEFA Cup this season.

United released the following official statement today: "We can confirm that, following negotiations with Celestine Babayaro, agreement has been reached that he will join us on January 1.

"And we would like to record our thanks to everybody involved at Chelsea for their co-operation."

Babayaro is likely to link up with the United party in the Midlands on Monday night at West Brom and return to Tyneside to prepare for the FA Cup tie five days later.

Meanwhile, the Chronicle reported yesterday that Rangers were sending a delegation down to last night's match to see what United had to offer in the way of part-exchange for Boumsong.

That delegation included manager Alex McLeish and his Tyneside-based scout and former United scout Paul Montgomery, the person responsible for Olivier Bernard coming to St James' Park from Lyon when he worked for Sir Bobby Robson.

Boumsong's agent, Willie Mackay, who is based in Monaco, was also at last night's match.

There have been all sorts of names bandied around about which United players could be involved in a part-exchange including Bernard, Aaron Hughes, Laurent Robert and Titus Bramble.

But it's hard to see how Rangers can expect to attract any United player to Ibrox where the pay scale is much smaller than at St James' Park.

Boumsong is injured at the moment, but a scan of his hamstring yesterday proved it was nothing serious and he will probably play his last game for Rangers in the Scottish Cup tie against Celtic on Sunday-week.

http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/newcastleunited/news/tm_objectid=15025285%26method=full%26siteid=50081%26headline=baba%2dagrees%2dtoon%2dswitch-name_page.html

[yenyenpark]

i also hope Boumsong can reach SJP....
hope our pay scale will attract him to play here..

anyway, here is Babayaro..

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icnewcastle/dec2004/5/4/000E5F77-E492-11D3-8D9F80BFB6FA0000.jpg

[yenyenpark]

Magpies will not struggle: Wenger Dec 30 2004




By Miles Starforth, The Evening Chronicle


Arsene wenger insisted Newcastle United will not struggle in the Premiership if they can reproduce last night's performance against his championship-chasing Arsenal team every week.

All that separated the two teams was Patrick Vieira's deflected effort in first-half injury time.

And Gunners boss Wenger believes the Magpies are capable of pushing up the table from what he saw of their battling qualities, with his team's celebration at the final whistle having illustrating just how hard they had been pushed by United.

"Newcastle were really up for it, it was a difficult game," said Wenger. "The first half was played at a high pace, and it was physical.

"I feel that the pitch was terrible to play the game we like to play. It was difficult to continue to play our game in the second half, but the desire was there and the character was there. There were some heavy legs in the second half, but the players didn't give up.

"The team showed that they had the character, desire and hunger. We're in the race again. When our game isn't as fluid, we have to show another part of our game which is character."

Wenger added: "In my opinion Newcastle are a very good side. If they play with that spirit every game, I can't imagine they'll lose many games. They fought like mad, and went for every ball in the 90 minutes.

"They have quality in midfield with Jenas, Dyer, Bowyer and Robert. They have great quality. We wanted to score more goals but we couldn't.

"We gave a lot, and in the dressing room after the game we really felt we had battled hard."

Vieira believes Arsenal have a chance of reeling in Premiership leaders Chelsea, having closed the gap on Jose Mourinho's team to five points with last night's victory.

Vieira said: "It was the perfect time to score and in the second half we defended really well."

think everyone want to stay in St James Park with his high pay (hint Dyer), so they worked hard in order not to be transferred out..

[Coolsmurf]

they did not work hard to stay in SJP, they work hard to attract potential buyers who might rekindle their interest in them...haha...

[Shadow04]

they did not work hard to stay in SJP, they work hard to attract potential buyers who might rekindle their interest in them...haha...
i hope not...

anyway, yesterday's performance is really good from the magpies... just lack a tiny bit of luck... :)

[waynez]

£8m Boum is in the bag



By CARL LIDDLE

NEWCASTLE boss Graeme Souness will finally seal the £8million signing of Jean-Alain Boumsong today.

Toon chiefs shook hands on the deal with Rangers chairman David Murray last night after the clubs thrashed out a fee for the French defender.

Boumsong, 25, will travel to Tyneside today for a medical before signing a 5½-year contract worth £50,000 a week.

And Souey will be doubly delighted to nail his No 1 transfer-window target without having to give up any players to Rangers as part of the deal.

Alex McLeish was at St James’ for Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, watching Titus Bramble and Aaron Hughes.

But the Rangers boss decided against a player-plus-cash deal — settling for a huge profit on the centre-back signed on a free from Auxerre only last summer.

Murray confirmed last night: “There is an agreement in broad principle. But, as ever, these things reach a delicate stage.

“The contract will only be sealed if Rangers are satisfied with every facet of the deal.”

Boumsong had a five-year contract at Rangers — but played in just 28 games for them.

The Frenchman cannot be registered until after Newcastle’s Premiership clash at West Brom on Monday. But he could make his debut in the FA Cup clash with Yeading on Sunday week.

He will become Souness’ second signing after Chelsea’s Nigerian full-back Celestine Babayaro agreed a £1.2m move to Tyneside.

Souey is also close to sealing the £2m transfer of Fulham’s Portuguese winger
Luis Boa Morte.

But the Newcastle boss is desperate to bolster a defence which has shipped more Premiership goals than everybody bar rock-bottom West Brom this term.

Patrick Vieira’s winner for Arsenal on Wednesday was the 38th goal scored against the Toon in 20 games.

And they face Birmingham tomorrow aiming to end a run of seven games without a win.

[dbchoong]

Not too bad... Babayaro and Buomsong for less than £10m... so, I guess no more bumbling Bramble and will it mean the end for Bernard?

Will Beattie come too? We still need another striker once Shearer goes. Bellamy, Kluivert and Ameobi not enough as some of them gets injured once in a while - end up like now.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year to all of you !!

:)

[waynez]

Not too bad... Babayaro and Buomsong for less than £10m... so, I guess no more bumbling Bramble and will it mean the end for Bernard?

Will Beattie come too? We still need another striker once Shearer goes. Bellamy, Kluivert and Ameobi not enough as some of them gets injured once in a while - end up like now.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year to all of you !!

:)

sent off kluivert... get fernando torres from A.Madrid :s7:

[Theychosenone]

Not too bad... Babayaro and Buomsong for less than £10m... so, I guess no more bumbling Bramble and will it mean the end for Bernard?

Will Beattie come too? We still need another striker once Shearer goes. Bellamy, Kluivert and Ameobi not enough as some of them gets injured once in a while - end up like now.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year to all of you !!

:)

Finally, some good news. Sour-ness has no excuse now that the players he wants are coming in..

Signing Luis Boamorte would be great, he's quick, is an exciting dribbler, and very hardworking (with a touch of over-aggressiveness when hounding the opposition for the ball). :D

[dreamer75]

finally some decent signings...

[Coolsmurf]

so 2 players in, question is how many will be out ?

[Fresnel]

with such players, i am looking fwd to next yr!

[dreamer75]

Duncan Mackay
Friday December 31, 2004
The Guardian

Paul Gascoigne may have turned down the chance to take part in the television programme "I am a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!" but his future could still be in Australia.

The former England midfielder has applied to manage Newcastle Jets in the inaugural A-League, which starts next August, together with David Platt, David Pleat and Ian Porterfield, although Terry Venables remains first choice.

Newcastle's owner, the multi-millionaire Con Constantine, is still trying to persuade the former England and Australia manager to take job.

"We have received an application from Paul Gascoigne, along with several other big names," Constantine said. "But until I hear 100% whether Terry is coming or not, nothing will happen."

If Venables cannot be made to change his mind and return to Australia the favourite may be Porterfield, currently with Busan Icons in South Korea. Perth Glory have John Hollins and Terry Fenwick on their shortlist.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1381274,00.html

[dreamer75]

By Raymond Enisuoh
Date: 30/12/2004

An article taken from the TalkOfTheTyne.com message board. The Sun reporter visits St James' Park for Newcastle v Arsenal looking for more than just football.

Raymond Enisuoh (The Sun)

Last night, in my quest to expose racism at every level of English football I visited St James's Park to see what action was being taken to prevent racism in the Premier League.

My recent article in the Sun in which I exposed Millwall supporters as sieg heiling, goose stepping Nazis has thrust me in to the media spotlight. My journalistic credentials are now sky high and offers of work are flooding in.

I caught the train up to the North East and the first thing I noticed was that no one sat next to me the whole way up there. A white woman was also sitting alone opposite me and when the train pulled in to York another white family joined her and ignored me. It became apparent that no one would join me on my trip. I wondered if this was because I was black.

As I approached Newcastle I saw a large statue in the distance dominating the skyline. It was floodlit and visible for miles. But this had no place in modern multi cultural Britain. How did an angel represent the Afro Caribbean minority in Newcastle? I buttoned down my coat and prepared to face the wrath of the Geordie public.

As I left the station, still alone and very, very cold, I asked a local for directions to the ground. Instead of replying in English he responded in a Neanderthal grunt, clearly trying to unnerve me. This wasn't the English I was used to in Hackney but a strange dialect which emphasised the difference between them and us. He raised his hand and pointed up a hill. Was this a Nazi salute? I wasn't sure but you can't be too careful these days. This was getting sinister.

As I approached the ground I noticed thousands of black and white shirts and began to relax. And then it started. Quietly at first but as I approached the Strawberry pub (Why, it isn't called the Blackberry, I shudder to think) the sickening chant grew deeper and deeper. "Tsunami" roared the Geordie public. I was shocked that they could brazenly mock the Asian disaster which is so fresh in our memory but at first I put it down to a mindless minority. Perhaps some Millwall supporters had come along to spread their venom.

Inside the ground, the chants of "Tsunami" grew louder and louder. I felt isolated as I sat on my own amongst 50000 white people. Then I saw it, a racist banner rising high above the Gallowgate End. This was a shocking display of brazen racism. I whipped out my camera but it didn't work. I can't describe the banner or recall the words on it but trust me, it was racist.

The Geordie crowd went mad when the Ref refused to give them a penalty after a blatant handball by Ashley Cole. A friendly face amongst the hostile crowd looked at me, understanding my uneasiness at the situation. "Bloody racist ref" he shouted trying to make a joke of it. But we both knew why the Ref didn't give it. Have you seen Ashley Cole recently? And isn't he going out with that sort from Girls Aloud, the one who battered a poor black lady in a nightclub toilet. What is the world coming to when Ashley can go out with a girl like that rather than a big Jamaican lady?

I left Newcastle saddened by my experience in the North East. It was just as bad up there as it was at Millwall but I vowed to not let this sorry experience prevent me from enjoying football. My next game will be The Toon Army versus The Seagulls. Hopefully, they'll be no racist chanting there.

http://newcastleunited.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=893&p=2&stid=8369121

[yenyenpark]

Not too bad... Babayaro and Buomsong for less than £10m... so, I guess no more bumbling Bramble and will it mean the end for Bernard?

Will Beattie come too? We still need another striker once Shearer goes. Bellamy, Kluivert and Ameobi not enough as some of them gets injured once in a while - end up like now.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year to all of you !!

:)
same thinking like u.. i wonder why ppl dun like Kluivert.. he had changed much compared to the "him" in Barcelona.. and i think he reserve a chance from us to prove himself.. he shoots.. and shoots.. although many times lost the target, but at least one day he will be on target..

with some great signings, i hope we can win the match against Birmingham, those who dun do well enuff.. time to ship them out.. TIME FOR NEW YEAR CLEANING AS WELL..

by the way, anyone can confirm if the Vierra's goal was due to Bramble's leg!!!

[dreamer75]

same thinking like u.. i wonder why ppl dun like Kluivert.. he had changed much compared to the "him" in Barcelona.. and i think he reserve a chance from us to prove himself.. he shoots.. and shoots.. although many times lost the target, but at least one day he will be on target..

with some great signings, i hope we can win the match against Birmingham, those who dun do well enuff.. time to ship them out.. TIME FOR NEW YEAR CLEANING AS WELL..

by the way, anyone can confirm if the Vierra's goal was due to Bramble's leg!!!

i'm neutral as long as he keep scoring goals for us :D

not sure, but we certainly have a case against Arsenal player's handball...no penalty for us??!!!

[dreamer75]

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all bros here!!!! :D

[yenyenpark]

Duncan Mackay
Friday December 31, 2004
The Guardian

Paul Gascoigne may have turned down the chance to take part in the television programme "I am a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!" but his future could still be in Australia.

The former England midfielder has applied to manage Newcastle Jets in the inaugural A-League, which starts next August, together with David Platt, David Pleat and Ian Porterfield, although Terry Venables remains first choice.

Newcastle's owner, the multi-millionaire Con Constantine, is still trying to persuade the former England and Australia manager to take job.

"We have received an application from Paul Gascoigne, along with several other big names," Constantine said. "But until I hear 100% whether Terry is coming or not, nothing will happen."

If Venables cannot be made to change his mind and return to Australia the favourite may be Porterfield, currently with Busan Icons in South Korea. Perth Glory have John Hollins and Terry Fenwick on their shortlist.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1381274,00.htmli think this newcastle is not our newcastle united FC..

[dreamer75]

i think this newcastle is not our newcastle united FC..

oops....heheee...its Austarlia's Newcastle..sorry...:=p

[yenyenpark]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=320500&cc=4716no Beattie bid from us..

[ZhiQiang]

wah... bounsong and baba done... less than 10 million... not bad...

wah lau, i still dreaming that lucio come to st james... haiz...

[yenyenpark]

wah... bounsong and baba done... less than 10 million... not bad...

wah lau, i still dreaming that lucio come to st james... haiz...hope he wont b a flop like Bramble.. how much did SBR pay for Bramble?? 7 millions?? :s8:

[ZhiQiang]

hope he wont b a flop like Bramble.. how much did SBR pay for Bramble?? 7 millions?? :s8:
i think 5 million only...

u refering to who? lucio???

[yenyenpark]

i think 5 million only...

u refering to who? lucio???
i hope Boumseng wont b a flop.. :s8:

[yenyenpark]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player?id=8893&cc=4716

[ZhiQiang]

i hope Boumseng wont b a flop.. :s8:
ooo...

he came from rangers leh... rangers is from the scottish league... enuff said... ;)

[Coolsmurf]

same thinking like u.. i wonder why ppl dun like Kluivert.. he had changed much compared to the "him" in Barcelona.. and i think he reserve a chance from us to prove himself.. he shoots.. and shoots.. although many times lost the target, but at least one day he will be on target..

with some great signings, i hope we can win the match against Birmingham, those who dun do well enuff.. time to ship them out.. TIME FOR NEW YEAR CLEANING AS WELL..

by the way, anyone can confirm if the Vierra's goal was due to Bramble's leg!!!


give bramble a break! :eek: it was off jenas leg!!!

bramble is innnocent :s13:

[Coolsmurf]

ooo...

he came from rangers leh... rangers is from the scottish league... enuff said... ;)

he was from french club auxerre originally, together with philipe mexes formed a formidable partnership.

broke up at the start of this season, mexes was off to AS Roma while he went to Glasgow Rangers....see the diff...both were free transfers

what i am afraid is we might have pay a bit in excess in terms of transfer fee...but wat to do...we are the desperate ones...

[yenyenpark]

give bramble a break! :eek: it was off jenas leg!!!

bramble is innnocent :s13:
okie.. but heard they said Bramble can block the shot one, issit true?? :s8:

[Coolsmurf]

okie.. but heard they said Bramble can block the shot one, issit true?? :s8:

so what if he can, he cant and was thinking about halftime le!!!! :eek:

[aqf]

hope newcastle can get one more central defender.dun wanna see bramble and o brien anymore

[Fresnel]

same ere'!
I think their days are numbered at NUFC liaoz :P

[dbchoong]

I'll be happy if Bernard stayed.

If Shearer and Kluivert gets fit very soon, then a new striker can wait till end of season. But if their injuries are longer term, then another striker might be useful. On loan also can.

:)

[Theychosenone]

Good to see Newcastle FINALLY going in the right direction. Add another central defender and all will be well again. I hope. :)

[martinweng]

he was from french club auxerre originally, together with philipe mexes formed a formidable partnership.

broke up at the start of this season, mexes was off to AS Roma while he went to Glasgow Rangers....see the diff...both were free transfers

what i am afraid is we might have pay a bit in excess in terms of transfer fee...but wat to do...we are the desperate ones...


luckily i support rangers over celtic..

actually 8m doesnt pain me, as long as shepherd funds the transfer, and he gets 8m poorer, im happy..

P.S> dont doubt my hatred and buay-song-ism against Fat Fred, bcoz it has always been there..

[martinweng]

sent off kluivert... get fernando torres from A.Madrid :s7:


laugh..he's rated 30m.

we're newcastle..we're the team dat cannot afford to buy players above 10m after alan shearer..

[martinweng]

I would love to see Mexes coming over from Troubled Roma.

but den again, dawson from nott forest isnt too bad though..

but i will rather souey tries out Boum-Bram partnership for awhile..mabbe Bramble finally found his defensive partner.

the Babayaro deal is quite interesting..on 1 hand, he hasnt played for chelsea for quite some time..

but on the other hand, he's young and he's a nigerian which means....he can RUN.

[waynez]

laugh..he's rated 30m.

we're newcastle..we're the team dat cannot afford to buy players above 10m after alan shearer..


rating is rating... :s13:

[United_Treble]

New 1-1 Bir

[aqf]

New 1-1 Bir
Boro 5-0 Man U

[ZhiQiang]

would be great if mexes come...

[Shadow04]

would be great if mexes come...
indeed... his partnership with Boumsong is really solid when they are at Axurre(sp)..

[Fresnel]

Play Bernard on right, baba on left, Bram-Boum center...and what do we have?
the Men in Black!
:)
No racial intentions intended :P

[martinweng]

rating is rating... :s13:


i dun believe torres is within our reach..

i would love to have tevez on our side..

[Theychosenone]

i dun believe torres is within our reach..

i would love to have tevez on our side..

Honestly, if Torres does come, I will no longer curse and swear at Fat Fred. But then again, pigs will have to fly first. :)

Mexes coming is much more realistic since Roma isn't doing great nowadays. Strange when they have Dellas and him in defence..

[Korn123]

Can anyone access the metro radio (www.metroradio.co.uk) website to listen to the live commentary now? All i get is silence on WinMediaPlayer10.

[Theychosenone]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast/gamecast?matchId=153834&date=20050101&lang=en&league=ENG.1&cc=4716

[o0SpaceY0o]

Can anyone access the metro radio (www.metroradio.co.uk) website to listen to the live commentary now? All i get is silence on WinMediaPlayer10.


it has been silent more than often nowadays :(

[o0SpaceY0o]

Well well well...we have taken the LEAD once AGAIN...Ameobi....6min strike...but how long can we last? :s11:

[yenyenpark]

dun ask this type of question.. lah.. i got good sense we will win this one.. :D

[yenyenpark]

2-0 up... hahahah... Bowyer!!!

[Shadow04]

Well well well...we have taken the LEAD once AGAIN...Ameobi....6min strike...but how long can we last? :s11:
..... we seem to have a tendecy fo conceding goals after taking an early lead this season...

hopefully this is one match that can change things..

[Shadow04]

nm.. 2 - 0 liaoz... :D

[yenyenpark]

it has been silent more than often nowadays :(
i was just about to ask u the same question. :s8: i tok my audio system spoilt.. but then i played mp3 ok.. :)

[yenyenpark]

Boumsong in Toon to finalise transfer


French defender Jean-Alain Boumsong was in Newcastle today after agreeing an £8million switch from Rangers.

Boumsong: Friday medical (NigelFrench/Empics)

The 25-year-old will become Magpies' boss Graeme Souness' second transfer window signing when he follows Celestine Babayaro into St James' Park as the Scot moves quickly to strengthen his under-fire defence.


'I can confirm that we have an agreement with Glasgow Rangers and an agreement with the player, and the agreement we have with him is a five-and-a-half-year deal,' Souness said today.

'Jean-Alain Boumsong has an agreement with us, we have an agreement with Glasgow Rangers and I can confirm as we speak that he is having his medical.'

Boumsong's agent Willie McKay confirmed that Rangers accepted an offer for the defender earlier this morning.

The Ibrox club had rejected two previous bids from Newcastle for the player they snapped up for nothing from Auxerre in the summer.

The France international is undergoing a medical with the Barclays Premiership side at the moment.

When asked if the deal had been agreed, Monaco-based McKay replied: 'That's right. It was agreed this morning.

'Everything has been sorted out and he is having his medical now.'

Souness has targeted Boumsong since his early days on Tyneside and confirmed his interest in France last month the night before his side trounced Sochaux 4-0 in the UEFA Cup.

Newcastle tabled an early bid for the former Auxerre player, who only joined Rangers on a free transfer this summer when he signed a five-year deal, and although the Glasgow club initially held out, it eventually became apparent that the move would go through sooner rather than later.

Rangers fans reacted angrily to news of the bid, but the deal at least represents a quick profit on their cash-strapped club's investment.

Manager Alex McLeish was at St James' for Wednesday night's 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, although he is understood to have rejected any cash-plus-player arrangement to seal the switch.

Souness will be delighted to have tied up two of his transfer window targets so quickly after seeing his side's goals against tally rise to a depressing 38 in this season's Barclays Premiership campaign in midweek.

He has repeatedly spoken of Titus Bramble's potential, but he, Andy O'Brien and Aaron Hughes know that competition for places has now increased significantly with a large proportion of the proceeds of Jonathan Woodgate's sale to Real Madrid having been invested in a bid to plug the gap he left.

Neither Boumsong nor Babayaro will be eligible to play for their new club until the FA Cup third round clash with Yeading, while the Frenchman cannot take part in the club's European campaign after already representing Rangers in the same competition.

[yenyenpark]

Boumsong was 'desperate' to leave Gers


Rangers manager Alex McLeish insists the club had to sell Jean-Alain Boumsong to Newcastle United because the defender was desperate to leave.
The Ibrox club had rejected two offers from the Barclays Premiership side but have finally accepted an £8million bid.


The France international has passed a medical and the move is expected to be completed later today.

McLeish claims Rangers tried to 'scare' Newcastle away but, ultimately, there was no option other than to sell the defender, who signed from Auxerre for nothing in the summer.

McLeish said: 'He wanted to go. We tried to scare Newcastle away and the price went up and up, but it was clear in the end that Jean-Alain wanted to go.

'When that is the case, it is very difficult in the extreme.

'It is very disappointing because he is a great player and can be even better - he is a big loss to this squad.

'Hopefully, we can use some of the money received to enhance the squad.''

Part of that money looks set to be spent on Feyenoord midfielder Thomas Buffel.

The official Feyenoord website has reported both clubs have agreed terms and McLeish insists he is a player who can boost his squad.

He said: 'I can tell you that the clubs and Thomas Buffel's agent are speaking but that is as far as it has gone at the moment.

'I have seen Buffel a few times and he is an energetic, lively and quick player and quite simply he can bring something to Rangers.''

The official website of the Dutch club reported: 'The club have agreed to sell Buffel to Rangers. If he agrees personal terms, he will join the club on January 1.

[o0SpaceY0o]

I will kill myself if we lose this 1...2 goal lead now....WE WILL WIN..www :s13:

[yenyenpark]

Souness delays Shearer return decision Dec 31 2004




By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle


Graeme Souness will make a late decision as to whether to recall a fit-again Alan Shearer for tomorrow's game with Birmingham City at St James' Park.

The Newcastle United boss has both Shearer and right-back Stephen Carr available again after their long absences because of injury.

But Souness told me today: "Alan Shearer and Stephen Carr should be fit but Shola Ameobi and Steven Taylor have done well, especially against Arsenal on Wednesday night, and to tell the truth at this moment in time I haven't decided what to do."

Souness will not let any sentiment affect his decision even when I informed him that Shearer (pictured) has scored against every club currently in the Premiership apart from Birmingham.

The United boss admitted he felt frustrated but not angry when he woke up yesterday after the unlucky defeat by Arsenal at St James' Park the night before.

He said: "We know we had no luck and a vital decision went against us, but things like this always even themselves out."

When I volunteered that he had won a lot of friends on Wednesday night he replied immediately: "I'm not here to win friends.

"I'm here to do something that no other Newcastle manager has done for 35 years and that's win something.

"We have a determined group of players here and they want the same as everyone else. And as a disappointed as the fans were on Wednesday night, the players were doubly disappointed after the way they rolled their sleeves up and got on with their jobs."

Despite their gritty performance, United are now without a victory in their last six Premiership matches and they haven't won a league match at St James' Park since October 24.

And certainly Birmingham will present a different sort of challenge to Arsenal.

Indeed, Souness added: "We competed with one of the best clubs in the country on Wednesday night and we were more than a match for them.

"Now we have got to do it again against Birmingham City by showing the same determination and concentration."

Brum midfielder David Dunn, who scored the only goal in the corresponding game last season, will be missing with a hamstring injury.

Dunn, of course, played under Souness at Blackburn and, like Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Andy Todd, did not always see eye to eye with him.

Meanwhile, Geordie boy Steve Bruce arrives at St James' Park tomorrow with Birmingham for the first time since he turned down the chance to replace Sir Bobby Robson early in September.

Adding to the occasion for Bruce is the fact that he is celebrating his 44th birthday today.

[yenyenpark]

I will kill myself if we lose this 1...2 goal lead now....WE WILL WIN..www :s13:
i got short term memory.. i forgot wat happened last year liao.. IT"S NEW YEAR 2005!! :D :s12: :s12: Let's kick start the game.. kick start the winning games..

[yenyenpark]

second half kick off!!!

[yenyenpark]

hur?? how come me alone here?? Toon fans.. calling Toon fans to come in for our first win in so.. many games..

[Korn123]

I'm here man.... watching sucky arse v charlton... heart still (anxiously) wif the toon.... HOWAY THE LADS!!!

[Theychosenone]

They let "star-striker" Heskey scored.. :s13:

So now it's "panic-stations for last few minutes" time.

[yenyenpark]

I'm here man.... watching sucky arse v charlton... heart still (anxiously) wif the toon.... HOWAY THE LADS!!!
where r the others?? =:p

[yenyenpark]

They let "star-striker" Heskey scored.. :s13:

So now it's "panic-stations for last few minutes" time.
the defence still can't make it..

[yenyenpark]

who's injured?? Bellamy?? or i got mistaken??

[yenyenpark]

5 more mins.. exc injury time..

[Theychosenone]

who's injured?? Bellamy?? or i got mistaken??

Seems like it. He was replaced by N'Zogbia..

[yenyenpark]

Toon pounce for Boumsong
Saturday January 01 2005
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French defender Jean-Alain Boumsong has passed a medical at Newcastle after agreeing an £8million switch from Rangers.

The 25-year-old will become Magpies' boss Graeme Souness' second transfer-window signing when he follows Celestine Babayaro into St James' Park as the Scot moves quickly to strengthen his under-fire defence.

"I can confirm that we have an agreement with Glasgow Rangers and an agreement with the player, and the agreement we have with him is a five-and-a-half-year deal," Souness said.

"Jean-Alain Boumsong has an agreement with us, we have an agreement with Glasgow Rangers."

Boumsong's agent Willie McKay confirmed that Rangers accepted an offer for the defender.

The Ibrox club had rejected two previous bids from Newcastle for the player they snapped up for nothing from Auxerre in the summer.

[yenyenpark]

Seems like it. He was replaced by N'Zogbia..
oh no.. :eek:

by the way, Dyer just hit the woodwork.. :s27:

[ZhiQiang]

win pls!!! win!!!

[yenyenpark]

win pls!!! win!!!
whistle blows??

[yenyenpark]

Whistle blowed!!!! we win!!!

[yenyenpark]

who bought us win ah??? sure make money this time... odd at around 1.90

[yenyenpark]

Happy New Year to everyone and good nite.. sweet dream!!! :D

[ZhiQiang]

yay!!! we won FINALLY!!!

[yenyenpark]

Boumsong is Woody Mk II
By CARL LIDDLE


GRAEME SOUNESS believes Newcastle have at last found a replacement for Jonathan Woodgate with the £8million arrival of Jean-Alain Boumsong.

Boumsong, 25, has signed a 5½-year St James’ Park deal after his move from Rangers.

And after a successful medical yesterday, he will make his debut in next Sunday’s FA Cup third round clash with non-league Yeading at Loftus Road.

Newcastle fans are desperate for a central defender as dominating as Woodgate.

They feel the England star’s £13m sale to Real Madrid last summer was a big mistake, even though he has been injured almost ever since.

Now United boss Souness is convinced Boumsong is the man to answer the Toon Army’s prayers — a player of similar calibre to John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and Woody himself.

Souness said: “Woodgate is a fabulous footballer. We hope Boumsong is in that bracket. He expects to be right up with the best here.

“It will be good for him to play in the Premiership. He will be tested in this league and he wants to be.

“Our football is more intense than on the continent and in Scotland. But don’t forget he has played against Celtic many times.

“I know John Hartson didn’t enjoy playing against him and John is possibly the closest there is in style to Alan Shearer.

“He has a great desire to be the best, he communicates around the

pitch and you can never have enough of that. I feel our fans will love having him with us.

“He knows Newcastle are a very big club and the Premiership is a great league to be involved in.

“France feel that he is going to be their first-choice centre-back and we want him to do it for us for years to come.”

The frustration for Souness is that neither Boumsong nor £1.2m capture from Chelsea Celestine Babayaro can officially be registered with the FA until next Tuesday.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd even offered to pay holidaying FA staff to go back to work early to complete the formalities so the players would be available for Monday’s trip to West Brom.

The FA, not surprisingly, said ‘No deal’!

Souness is not expecting Boumsong and Babayaro to solve United’s defensive frailties instantly.

He added: “How much pressure do you want to put on them? All I am asking is for us to improve in the second half of the season and stop conceding daft goals.

“We defended well the other night against Arsenal and I don’t want people to think those other players here have no role left. It is not true.”


FA so.. ppl played still drop.. they go vacations..

[dbchoong]

Yay! Finally a win... next 2 EPL games against bottom of table WBA and Soton. Hopefully with Babayaro and Buomsong available, the defense won't be shaky anymore....

:D

[United_Treble]

Yay! Finally a win... next 2 EPL games against bottom of table WBA and Soton. Hopefully with Babayaro and Buomsong available, the defense won't be shaky anymore....

:D
hope saints and wba can get their 1st 2005 win respectively

[Shadow04]

woots.. first 3 points(for god knows how long) in the new year.. :D

hopefully when Boumsong arrives, we no longer have a shaky defence.. :)

[yenyenpark]

woots.. first 3 points(for god knows how long) in the new year.. :D

hopefully when Boumsong arrives, we no longer have a shaky defence.. :)a new beginning, also a good beginning.. :s12:

[yenyenpark]

Yay! Finally a win... next 2 EPL games against bottom of table WBA and Soton. Hopefully with Babayaro and Buomsong available, the defense won't be shaky anymore....

:D
heard they can start playing on Tuesday game.. with Shearer and Carr fit again.. Hooray!! :s12: :s12:

[yenyenpark]

Newcastle 2-1 Birmingham

Newcastle held on to start the new year with a hard-fought victory over in-form Birmingham at St James' Park
Shola Ameobi put the Magpies in front with a bullet header from short range.

Then, after being denied twice by Blues keeper Maik Taylor, midfielder Lee Bowyer increased the lead when he slotted the ball home from 14 yards.

Emile Heskey set up a tight finish when he placed a right-foot shot past Shay Given, but Newcastle, who hit the woodwork through Kieron Dyer, held on.

Birmingham had won their previous four Premiership games but were outplayed by a Newcastle team that created numerous chances despite the absence of Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert.

Shearer had been expected to make his comeback from a thigh injury but missed out after injuring his calf in training on Friday.

With Ameobi and Bellamy leading the line, the home side started with purpose and opened the scoring on six minutes.

Bellamy's dazzling series of step-overs bamboozled Olivier Tebily and his accurate cross was converted by Ameobi from short range.

The Newcastle striker came within inches of doubling his tally after 11 minutes.

Laurent Robert drilled the ball across the face of goal from the left, with both Ameobi and Matthew Upson challenging for the ball.

The players slid towards the goalline with the ball wedged between them, the referee eventually awarding Birmingham a free-kick when Ameobi tried to hack the ball over the line.

Newcastle continued to create all the meaningful chances and Taylor had to be at his best to thwart Bowyer.

A superb one-handed save at full stretch low to his right after 13 minutes was followed shortly afterwards with a diving stop to his left.

Newcastle's dominance prompted Blues boss Steve Bruce to make a tactical substitution after 21 minutes, withdrawing Tebily for Julian Gray.

Birmingham tightened up considerably but on the stroke of half-time Bowyer converted the third good chance to come his way.

An untimely slip by Mario Melchiot allowed Robert to square the ball for Bowyer, who made no mistake.

Ameobi opened the second-half in lively fashion, shooting narrowly over from long range after another slip, this time from Kenny Cunningham.

Given was the first goalkeeper called into action after the break, tipping Clinton Morrison's header over the bar after the striker had connected well with Stan Lazaridis' cross.

But Birmingham's second-half persistence was eventually rewarded with a goal.

In-form striker Heskey raced on to Morrison's lay-off before lashing the ball past Given for his sixth goal of the season with 26 minutes remaining.

Newcastle's afternoon further deteriorated when Bellamy limped off holding his knee.

But despite Darren Anderton going close from long range, Newcastle held on and might have extended their lead when Dyer's strike rebounded off the woodwork.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newcastle: Given, Taylor, Bramble, Hughes, Bernard, Bowyer, Dyer, Jenas, Robert (Milner 63), Bellamy (N'Zogbia 75), Ameobi.
Subs Not Used: Andrew O'Brien, Harper, Ambrose.

Booked: Bernard.

Goals: Ameobi 6, Bowyer 44.

Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Upson, Cunningham (Yorke 84), Tebily (Gray 25), Johnson, Carter (Anderton 63), Savage, Lazaridis, Heskey, Morrison.
Subs Not Used: Clapham, Vaesen.

Booked: Savage, Heskey.

Goals: Heskey 64.

Att: 52,222

Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).

[yenyenpark]

on no?? will shearer be avail?? and will Bellamy okay??

[yenyenpark]

Souness relieved to win at last
SOUNESS'S VIEW

Newcastle 2-1 Birmingham
Newcastle boss Graeme Souness said his team deserved to beat Birmingham after their 2-1 victory ended a seven game winless streak in the Premiership.
"We started brightly and created some good chances," said Souness. "But in the second-half we become nervous.

"But I am really pleased we got a result. I am pleased for the players because they would have been wondering where the next win was coming from.

"We deserved to win and it would have been very hard had we not."

And the Toon boss said he was hopeful the victory would lead to a significant improvement in form.

He added: "We have a group capable of going on a long run and picking up a lot of points - that's the aim.

Craig Bellamy limped off and Alan Shearer did not make his expected return after picking up a calf injury.

"I cannot complain about the effort but we have picked up one or two knocks," said Souness.

"And I do not think Alan Shearer will be ready for the game against West Brom on Tuesday."

[yenyenpark]

Injury crisis for Souness
Saturday January 01 2005

Newcastle boss Graeme Souness is facing a major injury crisis after seeing his side end their seven-game winless run with a victory over Birmingham.

First-half goals from Shola Ameobi and Lee Bowyer were enough to see off Steve Bruce's men, who pulled one back through Emile Heskey to spark a late but fruitless fightback, but striker Craig Bellamy limped off with a knee injury to join Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert in the treatment room.

With Ameobi having played through the pain barrier in the last two games with a shoulder problem, the loss of Bellamy, who has already undergone five knee operations during his career, for any significant period would come as a major blow, and his latest misfortune took the edge off a good afternoon for Souness.

``That's a worry,'' admitted Souness. ``Craig has come off with a knee injury and we will have to see what that is tomorrow.

``He did not get a bang on it, it has just come on as the game has gone on. I do not think he got a bang on it anyway.''

With Shearer having damaged a calf muscle in training yesterday as he prepared to return to action after a thigh problem and Kluivert out for several weeks with a hamstring strain, the Magpies could head for West Brom on Monday with their options up front severely limited.

However, they will at least do so having ended their barren run with a performance which should have brought them the points even more comfortably.

``It is a good three points for us,'' said Souness, whose side had not won at St James' Park since November 4.

``The way we started, the game should really have been over at half-time.

``We could have gone in with more than just the two. At 2-0, they were still very much in the game, and I think the second half, although not enjoyable, was understandable.

``We have been playing in games recently where we think we should have had more from them, whether it was a win or a draw, and with one mistake, we have been punished.

``We became a wee bit nervy in the second half, but although we were nervy, they were not causing us too many problems. We lost our way a bit in the second half, but when they scored their goal, it was us that looked like getting the next goal.

``We must have had three excellent chances after they made it 2-1. It would have been cruel on us if we had not won today.''

Souness was particularly impressed with the energetic Kieron Dyer, who continued his rehabilitation with a tireless display of running from central midfield.

``He is a top player,'' he said. ``When he is at it, he is a top player.

``He knows that he burnt some bridges and that he has to build some bridges, and if he gives that kind of performance - and he was excellent against Arsenal on Wednesday - if he continues to show the crowd that he will give them 1005 every time he goes out and crosses that white line, they will soon love him again.''

City boss Steve Bruce was desperately disappointed with his side's first-half showing, if happy with their response after the break.

``We were awful in the first half,'' he said. ``We have to admit that Newcastle ripped us to pieces, to be fair.

``The one thing you want then is what we are all about, really, to show a little bit of resilience and character because that is as big a doing we have had in the first 45 minutes as we have had for a long, long time.

``But all credit to them, in the second half, they came out and rolled their sleeves up and had a right good go. We might have even got back into it.

``We scored the goal and then obviously with the run of results that Newcastle have had, they became a little bit anxious, a little bit edgy and we possibly could have got something.''

[martinweng]

I want beattie! go get him!

[feitz]

halfway through the season. we stand at 25points. chelsea stands at 52points. haiz...

[aqf]

halfway through the season. we stand at 25points. chelsea stands at 52points. haiz...
wat a big gap :eek:

[yenyenpark]

I want beattie! go get him!
dun think we will get him.. although i like him.. he costs 6.5 millions.. not very much, but will us??

[yenyenpark]

halfway through the season. we stand at 25points. chelsea stands at 52points. haiz...
never mind dude.. Chelsea first, but us.. ?? and how much they spend.. and how much we spend.. :s8:

[feitz]

never mind dude.. Chelsea first, but us.. ?? and how much they spend.. and how much we spend.. :s8:
i think if chelsea and newcastle swap manager, we might not see so much of a gap.

[Theychosenone]

Striker injury crisis.. sounds like Newcastle have to play Dyer up front with Michael Chopra (is he still on loan?). Not a very good prospect.