It seems to me there are a few of us more than concerned at the possibility of Big Sam Allardyce managing our beloved Toon and while there are a few valid points in and amongst these concerns, most are superficial and need not concern us.

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They say money can’t buy you love, but if just half the reports these past few weeks are to be believed regarding Toon takeover talks then it would appear that the Belgravia Group looking to acquire Newcastle United, hope to do just that as they look to capture the hearts and minds of the Magpie faithful - on and off the stands.

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One of my favourite ever Newcastle players was Scott Sellars who gets in my Toon all-time XI ahead of the Ginola’s and Robert’s not just because he was a very good player in his short spell here at United but also because he was tremendous value for money. Which can’t be said for many Toon players past and present!

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“United Crisis - Where Do We Go From Here”? screamed the front page headlines of yesterday’s evening Chronicle. The newspaper that claims “to inform, engage, challenge and entertain”. Well they certainly entertain what with their constant contradictions, mistruths, lies and downright propaganda… and Alan Oliver of course, the man with more faces than Mount Rushmore.

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Each week here at N.O we’ll be taking a good hard long look at our games and analysing certain issues that emerge from those games to generate talking points. Think of Andy Gray’s last word or whatever it is called. First up we’ll start with our excellent 1-0 win over Palermo in the UEFA Cup which threw up a plethora of talking points for this writer, such as…

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That was, as 18 year-old debutant Tim Krul himself would say - an unbelievable performance man. Talk about being thrown in at the deep-end! How good was Krul on his full debut for Newcastle United!? Old timers remember Micky Quinn’s debut, Supermac’s and others, well we’ll all remember Krul’s debut, that’s for sure.

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Albert Luque - the Spanish superstar signed at a huge cost of £9.5m and brought to Tyneside to create and score goals. It hasn’t quite happened for him, however, has it?

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Toon player ratings and analysis following United’s 0-0 draw against Charlton Athletic at St. James’ Park yesterday tea-time with manager, ref and opposition ratings too.

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The managers

Each of the 5 managers Freddy Shepherd has appointed thus far all have one thing in common; they were the exact opposite in style to their respective predecessors. Yes, the key to appointing a manager Toon styleee is to pinpoint the outgoing manager’s biggest flaw whether it be character wise or football management wise and pinpoint a manager who is quite good in those areas, or at least better than the outgoing man. If that fails check his birth certificate for the Geordie by birth stamp of approval.

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Player ratings and analysis following United’s 3-0 win over Portsmouth in the League Cup at St. James’ Park the other night with manager, ref and opposition ratings too.

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I’m not very good at writing these match reports so instead of a nice and flowing report I’ve jotted down a loose collection of my thoughts based on the following headings: Pre-match feelings, first-half diagnosis, second-half diagnosis, full-time diagnosis, star man for United, worst player for United, opposition comment, ex-Mags comment, Toon pros, Toon cons, fans comment and post-match feelings.

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When it was rumoured that we were in for Damien Duff the first thoughts that came into my mind were “why” and “here we go again with the trophy signings” - quickly followed by “please don’t let this be true.”

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You don’t need me to tell you how badly United and Glenn Roeder have mismanaged this transfer window because it is obvious to all but the blind, the rabid and Freddy Shepherd himself it would seem. The Chairman being of the opinion that he and his manager have done rather well this summer, preferring instead to fan the flames by blaming the constraints of the window and the reluctance of other clubs to sell rather than hold his own hands up and accept that for the second season running now both he and his cohorts have made a balls of what other clubs have managed with ease.

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A rather different type of Toon player ratings than previous efforts, with an overall look at the game and opposition with detailed match analysis.

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Now that Alan Shearer has retired, Newcastle are in the market for a new striker or two. But just who do we buy? Who can come in and not only play alongside Michael Owen, but also replace the great man in the number 9 shirt? Here we take a comprehensive look at the array of forwards we have either been linked with over the past 12 months or strikers who could do a job for the club.

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