A rather unconvincing performance was made pleasing on the eyes by goals at the start and end of the match courtesy of James Milner, Kieron Dyer and Antoine Sibierski. A 49,201-strong crowd witnessed an almost perfunctory display, but were happy enough to casually procure three big old juicy points from an Aston Villa side with some worryingly disillusioned fans [ - okay, so just those on VillaTalk]. Sweet.

Where did the team do well? Does Milner deserve an international call-up? What did you make of the opposition? With the transfer window pretty much shut, has Roeder failed us in any position(s)? So very much to discuss, have your say!

Howard Webb, from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, is 35 years old, and takes charge of his 3rd Newcastle match of the 2006/07 season as Aston Villa travel to St James’ Park tonight in the Premiership. (more…)

The news that Luque had agreed terms to move to PSV during the transfer window were true however the player ended up staying at the club due to Newcastle’s failure to bring in French striker Frederic Piquionne.

All terms were agreed with Luque to join PSV on a 5 month loan deal costing the club $25k a week in wages but St.Etienne weren’t prepared to loan Newcastle Piquionne and were looking for a £5m fee at the end of the loan deal, which Newcastle refused to be drawn in to.

Quoted on the official website, Glenn Roeder said:

“There’s nothing we could do about that because he was St.Etienne’s player, I thought it would have suited them and it certainly would have suited us, but it wasn’t to be.

“I spent the whole of Wednesday ringing around to see what was available to bring in on loan in the striker department, but to be quite honest what was offered to me, in my opinion, fell way short of being good enough to wear Newcastle United shirt.

“I’m not going to bring in bodies for the sake of it if they are going to bring nothing to the squad.”

“Not being able to bring in another striker means that Albert Luque now has to stay at Newcastle,” said Roeder.

“He had a move to PSV teed-up on the assumption that we could get someone, but when that didn’t materialise he has had to stay.

“I’ve had a chat with him before the game and he understands the situation and he will work hard over the next three and a half months to do everything he can to get into the team.

“He is an experienced player and we need him in the squad at the moment. He is here until the end of the season and I’m sure he will feature in Europe, where we have used him before.”

He added: “It’s a rubbish time for a window - I don’t believe in it, but I do believe it’s a restriction of trade.

“Today I’ve spent six or seven hours on the phone and all we’ve got left on the circuit are players who are not good enough to wear the Newcastle United shirt.

“If we haven’t signed anybody, it’s not for the want of trying.”

The away trip to Villa this season can only be described as awful, with a terrible defensive display which gave us exactly what we deserved, a 2-0 defeat.

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Newcastle United completed their first signing of the January window with the loan deal of America’s Oguchi (Gooch) Onyewu from Standard Liege. The player has signed a loan deal which will take him to the end of the season but with his contract at Standard Liege running out in June he looks certain to stay on should he make the grade.

Onyewu will wear the number 15 last worn by Giuseppe Rossi our last loan signing from Man Utd.

A goal on the stroke of half-time from the highly impressive James Milner and a second half spot-kick from Nobby Solano ensured Newcastle snatched a draw from a game where they could just have easily lost or won. It’s a topsy-turvy game in a topsy-turvy world, really. To avoid sensationalizing the Birmingham result any more than it has been already, over the duration of our last 7 games, Newcastle have let 18 goals in.

Bring. back. Bramble.

Which new full-backs would you like to see in a black and white shirt? Does anyone still have confidence that Ramage will make it? Given our resources and current status, do we need to sacrifice goals at the back to keep scoring up front? Can this all be attributed to having eleven out of a oragami-paper-thin squad out injured? WHAT DO -YOU- THINK?

Our best friend, 47 year old Uriah Rennie from Sheffield in South Yorkshire, takes charge of his 1st Newcastle match of the season as we take on West Ham United in the Premiership.

The 2 Newcastle games Rennie did last season saw us draw 0-0 against Charlton and beat Wigan 3-1, both at St James’, awarding us a penalty in the latter, while his only West Ham game of this campaign saw them go down 1-0 at home to Reading.

*In reference to the incident earlier this season where the Preston North End PA man, in response to Rennie turning down a couple of 1st half penalty shouts, said those exact words over the tannoy at the start of the second half.

A disgusting and despicable performance saw Championship leaders Birmingham City rattle five goals past Newcastle. Abhorrent displays from the Pattisons and Ramages left the Givens and Martins on the pitch visibly frustrated, live on national TV, as the FA Cup died for another year. Fans can expect taunting, pity and jibes for at least a year - but nothing will erase this indelible swath upon our pride.

Which of our players could your great great grandmother play better than? How should Roeder cope with these injuries? Of the many, which is the weakest point in our team? Who do you think is being unduly scapegoated in the team? What did you think of St James’ Park? How do we proceed from here?

Newcastle entertain Birmingham City at St James Park this evening in an FA Cup replay, live on BBC1.

MATCH BUILD UP:

Newcastle (from): Given, Harper, Solano, Edgar, Taylor, Ramage, Huntington, Butt, Milner, Pattison, Troisi, Gate, Martins, Dyer, Sibierski, Luque, Carroll, LuaLua.

Birmingham (from): To follow…

Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder:

“We should have won that first match at St. Andrews and I want our players to make sure we do not miss out on a second opportunity tonight.

“But Birmingham are favourites to bounce back into the Premiership at the end of this season and they will make it tough for us tonight just like they did in the first game.

“We will be playing our 38th game tonight and this season has been like a whirlwind. In fact If someone asked me the date I wouldn’t have a clue.

“But it has been like this for us since we reported back for training on June 28 and we would still rather have things this way than not being involved the way we were in the Carling Cup and the way we still are in the FA Cup and Europe.”

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce:

“I’ll be playing as strong a side as I possibly can.”

“We didn’t want last weekend’s game (Leeds) called off but it’s given everybody a break and we’re fresh and raring to go.

“We’ve still got one or two like Bendtner and Kelly who won’t make it plus obviously Dunn and Forssell, but otherwise I have a fully fit squad to choose from.

“We’ll go and try and enjoy it and take on Newcastle.

“I hope it’s as good a cup-tie as the last one which I thought was the best tie of the round.

“It’s live on the BBC which will give it an extra edge.

“Let’s go and have a crack at it and hopefully we can put on a show and make it a really good cup-tie.”

PREDICTIONS:

Shay Given

Nolberto Solano
Steven Taylor
Peter Ramage
Paul Huntington

James Milner
Nicky Butt
Matty Pattison

Obafemi Martins
Antoine Sibierski
Kieron Dyer

With Martins on form, I really can see a few goals from him tonight. The team is playing with passion and the luck is really going their way at the minute. I can see Newcastle safely into Round four tonight. Newcastle 4-0 Birmingham.

Peter Walton, 47 from Northamptonshire, will be the unfamiliar face in the middle at St James’ Park tonight as we take on Birmingham City in the FA Cup Third Round Replay. Walton replaces St Helens-based referee Chris Foy, who picked up an injury which has forced him out of both this game and last Saturday’s Premiership game between Blackburn and Arsenal.

Walton has only done 1 Newcastle game in the history of time, and that was our 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic at The Valley in October 2004, when he cautioned one player from each side. This season in the Premiership he became famous for awarding a penalty to Sheffield United, and having to reverse the decision on the advice of his assistant referee Andy Halliday, who correctly told him the ball had come off the knee of the defender.

With four-and-a-half months of the season gone, and roughly the same amount of time left to play, now is as good a time as any to look back at what has been yet another eventful half-season for Newcastle United. Throughout the clubs ups and downs, there have been individuals who have disappointed, while others have done well in the face of adversity. (more…)

Newcastle goals from defence, midfield and attack saw them record a superb away victory at White Hart Lane in what has instantly been heralded as a five-goal Premiership classic. Jermaine Defoe’s opener was cancelled out not two minutes later when the unlikely Paul Huntington recorded his first ever senior goal for the club. After falling behind again to a 54th minute Berbatov strike, the space of two minutes saw Obafemi Martins first unleash a ludicrous rocket into Spurs’ goal and then Nicky Butt cap a splendid team goal. Let the good times roll…

Have Your Say!
What do you make of our form in 2007? How do you reconcile performances like these with that of our performance at Everton? With Parker and Emre missing, who impressed you in the middle? Can Newcastle push for Europe, or is it too late? Who deserves to keep their place in the team once the injured eleven return?

Steve Bennett, from Orpington in Kent, is 45 years old, and takes charge of his 3rd Newcastle match of the 2006/07 season as we travel to White Hart Lane today to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premiership. We have a bit of an unhappy history with Mr Bennett, who has made several controversial (but not necessarily incorrect) decisions against us in the past.

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22 days after brushing them aside 3-1 at St James Park, Newcastle travel to Spurs on Sunday looking to do the double over the North London side in less than a month. White Hart Lane is not a happy hunting ground for the Toon as they have only managed to pick up 2 victories there in the Premiership in their last 9 visits. With thing going well at home for Tottenham, can the Magpies upset the odds?

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