blackandwhiteboy

There is no chance of Sunderland getting relegated this season as, despite how bad they have looked in recent months, there are definitely worse teams in the Premier League than them so they should survive by the skin of their teeth. I would not be that bothered if there was no derby in Premier League as long as we were there in it.

I think the way that Portsmouth have gone about things in recent years should act as a warning to other clubs - how Pompey can offer £80k a week wages when they get less than 20k fans to a game is ridiculous. There are some interesting comments in this article from Phil Brown and Mick McCarthy where they say their negotiations with players were blown out of the water by massive wage offers from Pompey - and these are most likely for some distinctly average footballers.

Dont know what companies people here usually use to put their bets on with, but i was looking for a new site as was sick of old one and found a promotion where you can win tickets to Manchester United v AC Milan second leg. its with Betfair - just sign up and put a £10 bet on. I put mine on Porto and Arsenal to draw 1-1 tonight.

I wonder if he will take the fish tank with him when City sell him in the summer and he is forced to move house. Sure the neighbours love the sight of that car bombing around the area.

Just read this interview with John Beresford on the Newcastle MAD website and there are some interesting comments from the former Toon defender. He does not think we will win the title + there is a lack of experience in the squad but is confident we will get promoted. I do have to agree with Bez that West Brom do look like the best side and are our closest challengers for the title. But i would be happy to get promoted in second spot and am confident we will be back in the Premier League next season.

It has definitely come to a point where the Champions League is of far greater importance than any domestic leagues and so that is where every club wants to be. The new suggestions would make it interesting come the end of the season but i fear we would lose the intense five-way battle scenario for fourth spot in the Premier League that we have now. This is the first season where the traditional big four are being put under pressure by a group of other clubs and i think it has made the Premier League more entertaining this season. I cannot see this being introduced though as it would extend the season and then what is going to happen in World Cup and Euro Championship years, the season would only just be over as the players were boarding the plane. I always thought it would be good for the FA Cup winners to be given a Champions League spot rather than the team who finishes in fourth place.

Its no shock that certain players at Newcastle are sitting on massive wages which were not reduced upon relegation. So when Collocini, an Argentinean international who played for Milan + Deportivo, comes to the club he is offered big money whereas a player coming from Liverpool reserves like Guthrie is going to have to accept small wages to get a shot of first team football in the Premier League. Guthrie does not sound like he is unhappy or complaining about the wages.

I think this loan will be a great move for him as he can get regular games under his belt which should help build confidence and develop him as a player. Lua Lua does look a good prospect - it certainly seems that Malcolm Macdonald is a big fan of him judging by his comments about the player in this report. Good Luck Kazenga !!

Russia, Slovakia, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra I think Ireland should fancy their chances really in this group, the chances are them, Russia and Slovakia should be battling for the top two positions and if Ireland can play anywhere near as well as they did in the World Cup qualifying then they should be in with a good shout of qualifying. I can imagine many of the Irish players are still smarting from the France incident + lots of them will see the Euros as their last chance to play in a tournament so the determination should be there. As for England, they have had a good draw and this Euro 2010 betting preview reckons this group draw has seen them go to 2nd favourites to win the tournament, though how the group impacts the odds for this is beyond me + i think it would be stupid to start looking that far ahead. Lets get the World Cup out of the way first.

I dont think the number of games should really be a problem. Professional footballers should be able to play 2 or 3 games a week and we have a large enough squad to cope with anything that crops us. If it was just us that faces this fixture list I would be worried but seen as all our rivals have the same predicament then I am not worrying too much.

Just read this article that said that Fabio Capello has been impressed with Andy Carroll in recent weeks and could consider giving him an England call-up in the near future. But i have to wonder if unsavoury incidents like this could tarnish his name and lessen his chances of being called up.

I think there would be a great number of clubs interested in Stephen Ireland if Man City were to let him go as he is a terrific player. He drives City forward through the midfield and I think it would be to the detriment of City if they got rid of him as they want someone of his kind, and homegrown with it, within their squad if Manchester City wants to win the Premier League at some point in the near future. As for us getting him, there is little or no chance of it happening.

I dont think we are the only club who has been operating like this, magpies by name - magpies by nature.

I have just read comments from Michael Chopra in this article where he claims Cardiff are playing the better football this season and they will beat Newcastle, but i think that these will blow up in his face as we should be too strong for the club.

It seems crazy that a club can have four owners in the space of six months - in fact i am shocked the Premier League would allow this to happen. Lets hope the latest owner knows what he has on his hands and actually can afford to pay the players now. There seems to be some opinions that foreign owners are essential for success in the Premier League[/url], and i hope a time does not come when there are no English owners up there. It is certainly seeming that way at the moment - foreign and rich equals success - but what has been going on at Pompey must show there are some possible drawbacks to this plan, especially if all the investment is not well planned out.

I dont see the problem of starting with both of them, but i reckon from now on it is probably going to be Best and Carrol/Ranger up front. In that instance i would prefer to see Ranger giving a starting spot, he is a raw talent but hopefully he can be honed and develop into a great forward given a good run in the first team.

I think we missed out on the possibility of signing a great player if we indeed had been interested at one point. He was never going to get regular football at Manchester United and this article seems to think there were a number of clubs sniffing around him. Its interesting that he chose to drop to the Championship and go to Burnley to get regular first team football. He has developed a great deal and has looked impressive in the PRemier League this season, reckon if and when Burnley go down there will be a fair few clubs in the top league interested in snapping him up.

It was awesome hearing the Burnley fans coming out with that chant. I have to agree with this World Cup football blog which reckons Terry will still go to the World Cup, and probably as captain, and Bridge will be left at home to watch it on TV. I feel sorry for Bridge cos he has obviously been screwed over but the fact is he has not played well this season and does not deserve to be on the plane whereas Terry has been pretty outstanding. I dont think a person's private life should make any difference for whether they play for their country and also the captaincy is made far too much of an issue of in England, and i dont think it is the great deal that it has been in days gone by.

Best has looked a decent striker so far this season but dont think he is an outstanding striker that we could really need. Looks strong and pacey but not sure if he offers much more than the forwards we currently have.

After what seems like months of speculation, it has been confirmed that Geremi has left Newcastle to join Turkish side Ankaragucu. I remember he was unveiled there a while ago, but at last it seems the waste of space has gone and will clear up some space on our wage bill. He never really shone at Newcastle despite coming with a big reputation, so i dont think many fans will be sad to see him gone.

You have to laugh at what is occuring at the Stadium of S***e at the moment, they were all so confident that Bruce would succeed and they would climb the table but they are looking a laughing stock at the moment. A terrible run of form has seen the plummet down the table and this Premier League football blog expects it to get even worse for them against Stoke City tonight. While we lament some poor draws recently at least we are not having a miserable run like them.

I think he would be a great short-term addition to help bolster our defence. Can think of much worse defenders, does this mean the Williamson deal has hit problems?

I had heard reports that only Forest and West Brom have had bids accepted for him, but this Arsenal blog seems convinced that Moses will be an Arsenal player anytime soon - will be interesting to see what happens with regards the forward.

It looks like Boro might be kicking themselves at losing out on Routledge after it seems clubs are now circulating around Adam Johnson, with Manchester City reported to have made a bid for the winger. Strachan is having a bit of a nightmare on Teeside and it looks like things may not be getting much better for him anytime soon. boo-hoo.

It is a bit shambolic to read that we put in a derisory offer - the club were obviously never that tempted by him and it makes us look a little bit daft. He has seemed a decent player from what i have seen of him but looks unlikely we were ever really in with a shout of signing him.