Scottish Mag

NEWCASTLE United supporters have been divided over the club’s controversial decision to ditch iconic anthem Local Hero this season as the teams run out on to the pitch at St James’s Park. Now The Journal is giving you the chance to have your say in an online vote. The 1983 song by Newcastle-born Mark Knopfler has been replaced by If The Kids Are United, by the London-based punk band Sham 69. But now The Journal is inviting all Newcastle United fans to have their say over what the run-out anthem should be...and officials at Newcastle United have promised to listen. Club bosses say they want to improve the atmosphere at St James’s Park, and opted for the new song because the upbeat anthem finishes with a chant of “United, United”. But after the mixed response to the move, they say they are looking for supporters to tell them what they want to hear when the team emerges on to the pitch. A United spokesman said: “We were looking to improve the atmosphere and thought maybe it was time for a change in the music. “We hear a lot of different opinions from fans, people are quite divided – some like Local Hero, others would like to hear The Blaydon Races while some say they don’t want any music at all so the crowd can build the atmosphere. “We are keen to hear from fans so we can get the best formula and ensure the atmosphere at St James’s is as good as it always is.” So now its your chance to ensure the fans’ choice is the one which rings out at St James’s. The Journal is encouraging all Magpie supporters to write, text or go online with their preference from Local Hero, The Blaydon Races, If The Kids Are United or if you think it should be down to the crowd to fill the ground with noise. Frank Gilmour, of the Newcastle United Independent Supporters Association, said: “I can’t understand why they changed it. Local Hero has become as much a Geordie anthem as The Blaydon Races. “It was written by a Geordie and has a strong connection with the club. “It got my spine-tingling every time they played it and I knew the players were about to come out.” A number of readers have already contacted The Journal to express their opinion on the change. Season ticket holder Stuart Campbell, who travels to the games from Glasgow, wrote: “Local Hero is one of the anthems of our Geordie nation. “It is synonymous with home, with being a Geordie, with pride, passion and identity. It evokes images of God’s country that are rooted deep within our souls.” Now we want to hear your opinion. To register your vote, click here.

Aye, what do you all think this place is? A forum for discussing Newcastle topics?

Not as funny as trying to find Isegrim a taxi though..

He was born in England was he not? Yes. So fucking what? He should not have anything to do with England games just because he was born here. He should not have anything to do with England games, full stop.

The majority of the times we do. However on BBC Scotland we have to put up with "Wee Pat Nevin" jumping ship from channel 5 to sit in the studio and that is torture...

I think it's just 8 groups with 2 from each making the 16 in the finals. 2 from 7 groups and the 2 hosting nations surely?

On the subject of fucking it up, its quite scary how many of the "bigger nations" could fail to qualify. Portugal, England, Spain, Holland and Italy or France still have some work to do. Would be an unusual competition if a few of the above failed to qualify..

You know the score Alex, we need to get something from the Italy game and I do not see that happening and if we don't I will not see it as having "fucked up". Regardless of what happens this is the best we have ever done in a qualifying campaign and for all the stick McLeish got, with some on here saying he would do a shite job, his record certainly is looking pretty decent. Its something like a 87.5% win record just now... Nah, they've done well regardless. You know what I mean though. Also, just meant as a joke re: your tempting fate. I know you were, but I don't see it as tempting fate. Its six months since Stevie posted that and I felt it was only polite to reply..

You know the score Alex, we need to get something from the Italy game and I do not see that happening and if we don't I will not see it as having "fucked up". Regardless of what happens this is the best we have ever done in a qualifying campaign and for all the stick McLeish got, with some on here saying he would do a shite job, his record certainly is looking pretty decent. Its something like a 87.5% win record just now...

Scotland 19th pmsl. Would they be in the top 20 in Europe realistically? Kenny Miller main striker etc... How many goals has Rooney scored at international level in the last year or so again?? Whilst we all know Kenny Miller is no world beater, reputations count for fuck all. You have to score the goals to win matches and he has... Why mention England? All I was saying was Scotland being 19th shows what an absolute joke the FIFA rankings still are. I mentioned Rooney as an example in reference to the point about Miller. The point I was making wasn't a dig at England and I was actually highlighting the fact he is a quality player. Surely this Garry O'Conoor is better than Miller though, and Kris Boyd. Your midfield isn't bad, but I'm telling you if your not good enough for Celtic, I'm fuckin sure you're not good enough for the toon, and if we sign Kenny Miller, I won't go back till he, Shepherd and Roeder are gone. Different type of player. Kenny Miller as I said is no world beater and his first touch is woeful however his performances for Scotland more often than not have been fantastic. What he adds to the team is the same kind of urgency and workrate that Bellamy added to our team. He never stops running meaning their is a greater urgency in the team and defending starts from the front rather than inviting teams onto you and his constant chasing of what appears to be lost causes sometimes mean we are creating chances. No one will deny his goals ratio particularly at Celtic isn't that great but even alot of his performances in a Green and White shirt that haven't produced goals from him have been praised for both his workrate and his assisting other players. I too, would not like to see him in a Newcastle shirt however for Scotland his performances merit him having the shirt and the fact remains no one else has offered the same threat up top that he has in a Scotland jersey. As for the whole slagging off our position, whilst these things might not accurately show the best teams in the World they are they not based more so on recent form? I would say our forms been pretty good as of late.. See how you feel after McPish has been in 6 month. I'm still smiling....

New series starts tonight.

Are any of you worried about Wednesdays match against Russia? I don't really see you having a problem.

England coach Steve McClaren says the artificial pitch in Russia's Luzhniki stadium is no excuse for failure in Wednesday's vital Euro 2008 qualifier. The England team are training on an exact replica in Altrincham on Monday and McClaren said: "It is a flat pitch and there is absolutely no excuse." But players who have used the surface say it places different physical demands on the body to normal grass. "I'm not a big fan of the pitch at all," said Altrincham's Gareth Whalley. "If you've got any niggles, the pitch will certainly pick them out. "It does feel like it has more give but once you've trained on it, it is quite testing on the legs and joints. "It's probably not too advisable to train on it for a long time." England go into the crucial game are five points ahead of Russia but having played one game more than their Group E opponents. A win in Russia will be enough for England to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals, while a draw would mean they need only a point from their final home clash with Croatia. McClaren maintains the pitch is not an issue and that research of 100 matches played on the surface in Moscow revealed there was no difference between it and a grass pitch. However, Whalley's team-mate Colin Little believes the surface will give Russia a "slight advantage". Whalley, formerly of Bradford City and Crewe added: "When you get to the latter stages of your career, let's say you start to feel the aches and pains a bit more. "I've had a couple of ankle operations, so when I do train on there it really does pick out the soreness in the ankle and the next day it can get quite painful. "Personally, it seems to make me a bit stiffer. If you played a full match on it you would probably feel a bit stiffer the next day than on a normal pitch." Scotland and Birmingham forward Garry O'Connor played at the Luzhniki stadium when at Lokomotiv Moscow and echoed Whalley's sentiments. The surface is also widely used in America where former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel is not a fan. "I found it hard to adjust to the turf," he said recently. "Every morning I wake up after games and it takes me two or three days to recover." However, Little, a former Crewe player like Whalley, is not as pessimistic. "We did our pre-season on it, which you couldn't have done years ago," he said. "No-one picked up any injuries and we probably got more injuries the year before when we did our pre-season on the grass. "There's loads of give in them. It's like a bit of suspension. Years ago they were slate based and felt like you were running on concrete. "I coach at Crewe where we have got one and technical director Dario Gradi prefers to play on them rather than the grass." FieldTurf, which installed the pitches in Altrincham and Moscow, was unavailable for comment. The synthetic pitch in Moscow, which is three years old, is approved by Uefa and is used in Russia to cope with the severe winter weather conditions the country experiences. The Russian Football Federation (RFF) had the option of upgrading the pitch but decided against it after the 3-0 defeat by England at Wembley in September. However, the RFF denied that the pitch offered the Russians a noticeable advantage.

Have just read Anelka is now out of Wednesdays match. C'mon the Lithuania...

SAM Allardyce has admitted Newcastle United’s defence continues to be a cause for concern – despite the fact the Magpies have only lost two games in the Premier League this season. Allardyce is careful not to criticise a back line which has, individually, performed reasonably well so far this season, but he is alarmed by the number of goals that are still being conceded, particularly away from home. United have conceded five times in their last two games and have failed to keep a single clean sheet on their travels, with only the opening day victory at Bolton Wanderers yielding any points away from St James’s Park. The Magpies also lost 2-0 at Arsenal in the Carling Cup and, although Newcastle’s manager is confident his side have plenty of goals in them, he does not want to simply rely on a “we’ll score more than you” philosophy as he tries to turn Newcastle into European football contenders in his first season in charge. He said: “We’ve been too easy to score against away from home. We haven’t kept a clean sheet on our travels all season and that’s my biggest concern at the moment. “At Bolton, it didn’t matter. We conceded one and scored three, but it is worrying that we can’t keep clean sheets away from home. The Manchester City game was the perfect example. We scored first, but we couldn’t even hold on to a draw. You have to be able to do that if you’re going to be successful. “We were too open and City capitalised. We need to be more cautious when we have the lead away from home and not do anything silly. We need to learn from that because it’s no good thinking we can go away from home every week and score lots of goals.” Allardyce has struggled to find a settled back four combination because of injuries and the need to acclimatise foreign players, but with Habib Beye and Jose Enrique showing signs they are adapting to English football, and with Claudio Caçapa and Adboulaye Faye competing with Steven Taylor and David Rozehnal at centre-back, Newcastle have plenty of competition for places. However, Allardyce is also keen to ensure the whole team is aware of their defensive responsibilities, particularly when away from home comforts at St James’s Park. He said “It’s the old saying, we’re all attackers when we’ve got the ball and we’re all defenders when we haven’t, but the team has been too easy to score against away from home. We’re not going to be successful unless we get that right. “I’m relatively pleased with how things have gone so far this season, but the number of goals we have conceded is definitely a cause for concern. That has been a problem for Newcastle teams in the past and we need to put it right this season. At home, we’ve been creating and scoring a lot of goals, which is pleasing to see, but we’re still conceding too many for my liking. I’m confident this side has goals in it, but we need to be tighter with it. That is what the best sides manage to do.” Allardyce is expecting the return of Joey Barton in the centre of midfield to help United’s cause as the former Manchester City player has the energy to make an impression at both ends of the pitch. He added: “When we add Joey Barton to the equation we have the potential to score lots of goals because he will add a considerable goalscoring threat in midfield, but he also offers a competitiveness when we haven’t got the ball and makes it hard for the opposition to get forward.” Meanwhile, Newcastle will have to renegotiate Michael Owen’s contract if they are going to prevent the England striker leaving the club for a cut-price fee at the end of the season. The clause in Owen’s contract – agreed by former chairman Freddie Shepherd – enables the forward to leave for another club as long as they match a stipulated fee. That figure was £9m in the summer, but will fall to just £6m in July next year. By that stage, Owen will only have one year left on his present deal at St James’s Park, which would mean he could start to talk to clubs about a Bosman-style free transfer from January 2009. As a result, the Magpies hierarchy are likely to either want to accept the £6m for Owen, rather than risk seeing him leave for nothing a year later – or offer him another lucrative contract to remain on Tyneside. Owen helped England claim a fifth successive 3-0 Euro 2008 qualifying win as they saw off Estonia at Wembley on Saturday.

My boss bought me one last week after me saying I still couldn't find them anywhere. Have come in this morning and there is another one sat on my desk.

THE Sunday Sun has uncovered the bizarre background of Newcastle’s soon-to-be new boy Wesley Ngo Baheng. Teenage striker Baheng is set to join United in January after they apparently agreed a compensation deal with his current club Le Havre. But we can reveal the strange story behind Sam Allardyce’s interest in the 18-year-old – and the youngster’s complex personal circumstances. Having already been linked with Chelsea, we understand that Baheng had a brief trial at Bolton in January, while Allardyce was still in charge of the Trotters. But the youngster’s spell at the Reebok Stadium – and its aftermath – caused a mini-uproar at Le Havre. For the French Second Division club claimed Baheng – then 17 – travelled to England without their permission . . . having told them he was going to visit his estranged father. And after Baheng failed to win a contract with Bolton, Le Havre alleged he was then abandoned to wander the streets of Paris by the agent who had arranged the trial. Police in the suburb of Blanc-Mesnil who found Baheng alerted Le Havre to his presence in Paris, and a club official travelled to bring him back from the French capital. And Le Havre had particular reason to take care of Baheng, with a club director having been appointed as his guardian following the imprisonment the player’s mother. Le Havre president Jean-Pierre Louvel accused the agent of putting Baheng’s “physical and moral integrity in danger” and added: “We have a responsibility to the young people we train, and we had given this player’s mother our word we would look after him. “This youngster returned to us shocked. He felt betrayed.” Louvel also vowed to take Baheng’s case to the French footballing authorities in order “to get the support of other French clubs to strike a blow against the swindlers”. Baheng, whose family hail from Cameroon, has not appeared for the Le Havre first team.

NEWCASTLE are in a two-horse race for Real Madrid left-back Krzysztof Krol, according to the Polish youngster himself. United and Serie A side Atalanta have both offered Krol an escape from the shadows at Madrid. And the 20-year-old seems keen to opt for the Magpies – because of the prospect of first-team football in “the best league in the world”. Newcastle scouts spotted Krol playing for Poland at the Under-20 World Cup in Canada this summer. And Krol insists that United have now made him an offer which he is considering alongside the chance to move to Italy. “I have some offers, and the latest have come from Newcastle and Atalanta,” said Krol, who was spotted by Madrid while on a training break in Spain with Polish club Groclin last summer. He has since been promoted from the youth team to Madrid’s reserves, who play in Spain’s Segunda Division B. But Krol wants senior football, and admitted: “At Real, it’s not easy to break through. The coach has Gabriel Heinze and the Brazilian, Marcelo – both play in my position.” He added: “The Premiership is the best league in the world. Moreover, I’d be a first-team player at Newcastle.” Meanwhile, Newcastle are handing a trial to Denmark Under-16 goalkeeper Esben Hojmark. The Aarhus youngster will spend a week on Tyneside.

Good article in the Mirror today on why the change

Exactly, I am praying for a miracle to happen in the France/Lithuania game...

Another great result today and once more what an atmosphere though I did nearly miss that start of the match but just arrived as the teams were lining up. I honestly think we won't get anything from the Italy game and the bloody Georgia game will be hard enough. Unfortunatly I think we will be sweating on the Ukraine v France game to have any chance of qualification which is a shame after what can only be described as our best ever qualifying campaign.

I say give the three points to the Faroes if France don't get there

the wifes just bought one of them too, do you have the hole in your trainers? she ordered one of the shoe pouch things from the US of A came today in a box the size of a shoebox!!! have they not heard of jiffy bags?!?!?! Nah I don't have the Nike+ trainers, I will just be using one of the things for clipping onto your trainers too.