Jimbo

Michael Owen has taken the first steps in preparation for a life after playing, the England striker beginning his coaching qualifications at Newcastle United. While Owen has yet to decide whether to pursue a career in management once he hangs up his boots, at almost 29 the days when he could be regarded as the boy wonder of the Barclays Premier League are no more. Scoring goals for club and country remain Owen's priority, but beyond that there are options to consider. Those supporters dismayed by Newcastle's failure to follow through on contract negotiations with their record signing - with his present deal expiring at the end of the season, he is entitled to talk to other clubs in January - will be heartened by the thought of him utilising his spare time to pass on his experience. Owen, along with the likes of Shay Given and Steve Harper, has been putting on sessions for Newcastle's 16 and 17-year-old players, staying behind after his own training ends to engage with the younger element. Considering that the forward has amassed 89 caps, scoring 40 goals in the process, has played in World Cups and represented Liverpool and Real Madrid, that process is valuable. It has long been assumed that Owen, who owns Manor House Stables in Cheshire, would translate his interest in horse racing into a full-time occupation in later life. Yet football is his first passion and as a reflection of that he is on the lower rungs of a learning ladder that is now unavoidable for coaches and managers. Related Links * Contract talks add to Newcastle uncertainty * Ashley stuck with Newcastle for now The FA and the League Managers Association are encouraging players to follow Owen's example as early as possible, as the route to qualification is a time-consuming one. Professionals usually begin that journey at coaching level 2, studying for their Uefa B and A badges before ultimately earning their Uefa Pro-Licence, a necessity for those who wish to work in elite European leagues. As Owen will doubtless discover, management is not a straightforward proposition. Joe Kinnear, the interim manager at St James' Park, has been charged by the FA with improper conduct after making disparaging comments about a referee. Kinnear referred to Martin Atkinson as “Mickey Mouse” after Newcastle's defeat away to Fulham on November 9. He has until December 12 to respond to the charge. Kinnear has reassured Shola Ameobi that he will not be cast aside after Owen's return to the side and Mark Viduka's recovery from a long-term injury. Ameobi came close to leaving the club last summer but has returned to the team under Kinnear - scoring three times - until being omitted for the goalless draw away to Chelsea last weekend, in which Owen and Obafemi Martins started. “It was a difficult decision for me to make because both Shola and Obafemi had been scoring goals for us,” Kinnear said. “But when I took Shola to one side on Saturday morning in a little one-to-one chat and told him he was on the bench, he could not have taken it better. Obviously he was disappointed, but he told me he understood my decision and that he was part of the squad and that it was the team which mattered most.” Steven Taylor, the defender, who has been suffering from a groin injury, is likely to be on the substitutes' bench away to Middlesbrough tomorrow.

There will be more reason to protest by the end of January methinks.

Credit to the lad: http://www.stephenireland.com/

Joe Kinnear may be formulating plans for the January transfer window, but the sense of drift that continues to infect Newcastle United was highlighted yesterday when Steve Harper admitted that he is yet to be offered a new contract. Along with Michael Owen and Nicky Butt, the experienced goalkeeper’s present deal expires next summer, but there have been no negotiations regarding an extension. Harper’s comments were a statement of fact, not a complaint, but as a reflection of events at St James’ Park, they were illustrative. At 33, Harper is in his prime for his position — as he demonstrated under Kevin Keegan in the latter half of last season — but, as things stand, he, Owen, his captain, and Butt will be entitled to leave on free transfers at the end of the season. With the prospective sale of the club likely to be delayed until February — one of two American investment groups interested in buying Newcastle is engaged in due diligence — and Mike Ashley, the owner, reluctant to sanction expenditure before his departure, it seems unlikely that talks will begin. The perils of losing such established players should be obvious. “My contract is up in the summer and I haven’t been offered a new one,” Harper said. “There are a few of us in the same boat and we’ll just keep working and see what happens. With everything that’s been going on, I don’t know what the situation is. Related Links “But I’ve been fully committed here for the best part of 16 years and I’ll remain so until somebody tells me otherwise. When Kevin was here he did mention he would like to give me a new deal, but he’s not here any more and it’s died a death. It’s a hypothetical question. If the option was there, I would consider it, but at this moment in time, it’s not.” Kinnear, the interim manager, has been told that, should he remain in situ in January, he will be required to balance the books if he wishes to add to Newcastle’s flimsy squad and with the team just one place above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone, the chances are that he will. Kinnear has made contact with Roma about signing John Arne Riise, the former Liverpool left back who was a target of Keegan, on a loan basis. “We have been in touch with Roma to see what kind of package they are looking at for Riise,” Kinnear said. “We’re waiting to hear back from them.” Kinnear has denied reports that Charles N’Zogbia is one of the players he would readily jettison and the French midfield player, whose attitude has been questioned, has clarified his position after he was quoted last weekend as having expressed an interest in joining Paris Saint-Germain. “In an ideal world I would want to stay with Newcastle United,” N’Zogbia said. “This is the first time I have spoken about my future and those quotes attributed to me over the weekend came from my agent back in France. Obviously I am not happy that I have hardly featured in Joe Kinnear’s starting line-up recently, but that is up to me to put right.”

So is Woolworths.

I have a permanent erection anyway.....

Just watched the final ever episode of The Shield. Gutted

The payment is over several seasons, not just a lump sum.

I thought they had already denied any links to the purchase of NUFC.

Sold Owen to Chelsea for £10m who dislocated his hip on the day of the transfer and is now out for 5 months.

How did you get it ??

http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?showtopic=21650 Burnout Paradise Rainbow 6: Vegas 2 Half-Life 2: Orange Box FIFA09

I got it via rapidshare have you got it yet ? naa just going to look now Check your pm's

How much did you win Brock ?

Its on this one too ffs http://thinkitsallover.blogspot.com/2007/0...led-leaked.html

Seriously WTF

Gusset sniffer I'd imagine.

Not guilty

I got it via rapidshare have you got it yet ?

1600 Kick off FULL TEAMS Sunderland v West Ham Sunderland: Fulop, Bardsley, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, Collins, Malbranque, Whitehead, Reid, Richardson, Jones, Cisse. Subs: Colgan, Tainio, Edwards, Diouf, Meyler, Colback, Henderson. West Ham: Green, Neill, Collins, Upson, Ilunga, Faubert, Parker, Bowyer, Behrami, Bellamy, Cole. Subs: Lastuvka, Boa Morte, Mullins, Davenport, Collison, Di Michele, Sears.

from 365:

1330 GMT KICK-OFF Tottenham 1-0 Blackburn Pavlyuchenko