Ryan Taylor’s 40th-minute freekick sailed into Newcastle’s top corner, after Nolberto Solano saw a penalty kick superbly saved by the Wigan shotstopper, as Newcastle slumped to their third successive 1-0 defeat at the JJB in a thought-provoking encounter.

Who played well? Who really, really didn’t? What did you think of Roeder’s team selection? What about his substitutions? Who should start against Boro next week? Have your say!

Alan Wiley of Burntwood in Staffordshire is the man who will take charge of our Premiership meeting with Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium this afternoon.

His two United games this season have seen us lose 2-1 at St James’ to Bolton in October, with our goal coming from a penalty awarded by Wiley’s assistant Glenn Turner, and our 3-1 home victory over Tottenham 3 days before Christmas. His 2 Wigan games this season have resulted in a 2-2 draw at Everton, and a 2-0 victory at West Ham.

Newcastle are entertained on Sunday afternoon by Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium at 1pm. Sitting 9th in the table, Newcastle cannot climb the table any further with a win over the Latics but it could cement their place in the top half and pull them ever closer to the hotly contested UEFA Cup spots.

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Another fine defensive display from centre-back Titus Bramble helped Newcastle maintain their winning run, following an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Belgian counterparts, Zulte Waregem. The stocky centre-half has undoubtedly impressed over the past two matches, and one hopes that he can continue his good form into the Premiership matches to come. On the whole though, it was a drab and lifeless performance from the Magpies, Martins’ 68th minute goal a rare spark of quality.

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Obafemi Martins clipped in a finely taken second-half goal to seal another European win and safely seal Newcastle’s passage into the Last 16 with a 4-1 aggregate, where they will meet AZ Alkmaar, who earlier triumphed over Fenerbache on away goals.

Having taken a 3-1 advantage in the away leg against Zulte-Waregem, Newcastle United will be expected to consolidate the scoreline at St. James’ Park tonight with another favourable result. However, having suffered a 1-5 defeat at the hands of Birmingham City this season, the Magpies will know not to take anything for granted.
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PRESS RELEASE

The Football Supporters’ Federation

For Immediate Release – 16 February 2007

FOOTBALL FANS LAUNCH PETITION AGAINST “RIPOFF TICKET PRICES

Football fans throughout England & Wales have launched an online petition against ripoff ticket prices in the game. Commenting on the petition launch FSF Chair Malcolm Clarke, a Stoke City supporter, said, “Supporters in this country are sick to the back teeth of being ripped off.

My own club has just had a game at St Andrews against Birmingham City moved from Saturday at 3.00pm to Sunday at 11.30am with eight days’ notice. Despite this surreal kickoff time for a professional football match we were still expected to pay £30 a ticket in the Stoke end for the privilege. It’s absolutely shameless. I’ve made an official complaint about this to both clubs and the League.

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Newcastle’s assault on the Premiership’s European slots is progressing rather smoothly, in a material sense at least, after a decidedly weak start to the season. Furthermore, with February drawing to a close and a frenzied fixture list ahead, Newcastle are yet to really break a sweat in their quest to capture the UEFA Cup. Performances have invariably varied from week to week, but a truer reflection of the team’s genuine prowess is slowly emerging; something that has ameliorated somewhat, with injured stars and squad players returning to the fray. Even with so much to play for, and so very much left to be settled, one can’t help but look to the summer with curiosity.

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A muscular performance from Newcastle centre-back Titus Bramble inspired the Magpies into a comfortable 3-1 victory over Zulte Waregem in Gent last night. The Toon were never in any real danger throughout the match, the Zulte goal coming from a rare foray into Steve Harper’s penalty box, and the three United goals did not really do justice to Newcastle’s dominating performance.

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An interesting first-leg encounter saw Antoine Sibierski restore Newcastle’s two-goal 7 minutes after D’Haena’s 69th minute had halved the deficit that a Dindeleux own-goal and a Obafemi Martins penalty had created. Have your say!

Intertoto Cup holders Newcastle United will hope to continue their good European form and progress into the last-sixteen of the UEFA Cup, by first attempting to gain an advantage in the opening away-leg at first-time opponents Zulte-Waregem.
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Having impressively overcome the daunting task of the second round group stages, Newcastle go on to face new foes in their quest for European glory. An unbeaten record so far in Europe, including seven victories and twelve goals, the Toon Army have every right to be feeling confident going into their Last 32 tie with Belgian minnows, Zulte Waregem.

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52,305 frozen but brave spectators saw the returning Craig Bellamy gifted an early 6th minute goal, before Obafemi Martins levelled up on 26 minutes. It was Nolberto Solano who gave Newcastle the eventual win however, with a coolly taken penalty after Steven Taylor had been tripped in the box in the 70th minute.

Have your say!

As things stand, Newcastle vs Liverpool will go ahead as planned with a 3pm kick off. Despite the snow stopping, there has been a significant rainfall overnight in the North East and the St James’ Park pitch appears to be slightly waterlogged.

As reported earlier, referee Mark Halsey is regularly inspecting the surface and has recently said that if the game was to be played in the next few minutes, it would definitely go ahead. All we can do is to continue to monitor conditions over the next couple of hours to see if things worsen.

A statement on nufc.co.uk reads:

“After heavy overnight rain on Tyneside, the official has looked at the pitch and is currently happy with its condition. He will remain at Gallowgate and will continue to monitor both the playing surface and the weather conditions.

A further announcement will be made if necessary, but both clubs stress to supporters at this stage that the match will go ahead as normal.”

We will keep you updated on any further announcements…

Mark Halsey, originally of Welwyn Garden City, now based in Bolton, takes charge of United for the third time this season as we face Liverpool at St James’ later today.

His 2 United games so far this campaign saw us win 1, at home to Portsmouth, and lose 1, the reverse fixture at Anfield, where he denied us several decent penalty shouts, much to the chagrin of boss Glenn Roeder.

His only other Liverpool game this season saw them win 1-0 at Spurs. He has taken charge of 2 other Liverpool wins over us, 3-0 in May 2001 (with a hat-trick from M.Owen) and 2-0 on Boxing Day 2005, when he dismissed Lee Bowyer, both coming at Anfield.