As the transfer window looms Newcastle continue to be linked to various players. Here are the ToonArmyUSA thoughts on 4 of those players in the news;

Wayne Bridge: A classy and skilful left back that has had some very good initial performances for Chelsea this season. What we like about him most is his eye for a decent cross and his dead-ball execution. Obviously he is a regular choice in successive England squads and is looking for a regular game in the Prem. If Chelsea get Ashley Cole (as has been widely reported) it seems that we are in a good position to offer him first team football. Is he better than Celestine Baba?....erm, yes.

Thomas Gravesen: He is definitely heading out of Madrid and is unwanted by their management. By all accounts Gravesen has his choice of several clubs - one of which is Celtic (why anyone would want to play in the Mickey Mouse League north of the border is beyond us) with other suitors in England, Newcastle apparently is one of them. We started the season with a midfield full of depth and talent, yet we appear to have come up short in our first two Prem games. He would definitely add some steal to our midfield and can also score goals. Despite our supposed midfield depth Roeder could be tempted to invest in Gravesen . Would we like to see him in Black and White? - yes!

Jonathan Woodgate: Stylish centre-half with vision and a great positional sense. Will he give us 35 games a season - probably not. He might not even give us 20. So why take the risk with his large wage bill (a supposed to a massive £70k per week) for the sake of such a small number of competitive games in return - in one of the most physical League's in the world. We think we could use this cash elsewhere to better effect. Should we re-sign him? No.

Robert Huth: Tough tackling German centre-half. He's not as slick as some other players that have been linked to us, be we like him. Why? Basically because he is a no nonsense traditional sort of player that would get stuck in and add some steel to a back four that has looked more like jelly than steal. In Huth, famous of course for crunching Shearers crown jewels into the SJP pitch, we see a young Steve Carney (if you are old enough to remember him) and would definitely like to see him signed for the right price.

Final Score from Villa Park:
Aston Villa 2 (Moore 3, Angel 38) – Newcastle 0

Newcastle United lost their first competitive game since March 2006, when goals from Luke Moore and Juan Pablo Angel gave Aston Villa a deserved 2-0 win.

Despite a poor away record over the last couple of seasons we haven’t done badly at Villa Park and went into the game as favorites. With no Shola Ameobi, it was down to new signing Obafemi Martins to lead the attack but before the game had really got going Villa took the lead when Gareth Barry’s free kick found its way to Luke Moore on the edge of the penalty box and his low shot beat Given, who perhaps should have done better.

Although a goal behind, Newcastle had the better of the first half, with Milner and Duff going close and just when an equalizer seemed on the cards, Juan Pablo Angel rounded Given to make it 2-0. A host of substitutions and the loss of Martins through injury didn’t help our cause as we made it won one, lost one for the season.

TV Coverage - Villa (A)

August 25th 2006

Confirmation that Setanta Sports will be showing our next league game against Aston Villa live at 9am EST/6am PST this Sunday (August 27th). There will be no coverage in Canada.

Remember to update your predictions if you wish, you'll have to kick-off time.

Off to Estonia!

August 25th 2006

Newcastle United will face Levadia Tallinn of Estonia next month in the First Round of the UEFA Cup.

The draw, made this morning, paired Newcastle against their 50th different opponents in European football. The first leg, will we played at at A Le Coq Arena, the national stadium of Estonia on Thursday 14th of September, with the return leg at St. James Park, two weeks later on Thursday September 28th.

Making a mountain out of a molehill

August 24th 2006

Final score from St. James Park:

Newcastle United 0 – FK Ventspils 0

Newcastle United were unable to break through the Latvian league leaders tonight despite dominating possession and peppering shots on the Ventspils goal. Some good goal-keeping, poor finishing and the lack of clear-cut chances fully illustrated the point that Newcastle need Martins to start performing immediately.

Chances came and went for all of the midfielders, including James Milner, who hit the bar with about 10 minutes to go. Emre, Duff and Milner all got the best out of the Ventspils goalkeeper while Parker and N’Zogbia should have done better when given the opportunity to get a shot on goal.

The fact that we haven’t mentioned Luque isn’t intentional, the Spanish forward didn’t do himself justice on a night when he could have really shone against poor opposition. Luque however simply didn’t look up to the job and is now cup-tied for European competition should the club decide to sell him.

Defensively, you or I could have played in goal, as Steve Harper wasn’t required to make a stop of any real significance.

The draw for the first round of the UEFA Cup is Friday.

From black and blue to black and white

August 24th 2006

Update - The club confirmed Friday that Martins would take the number 9 shirt.

Newcastle United have completed the $19.1 million signing of Inter Milan forward Obafemi Martins. Martins made 134 appearances for Inter over 4 seasons, scoring 49 goals in total.

Known for his pace, Martins will join up with his new colleagues today and should be in the squad for the Aston Villa game on Sunday.

Although his goal per game isn’t spectacular, it must be noted that 44 of his appearances for Inter were coming off the bench plus it’s well known that pace is a huge advantage in the premiership.

However, he isn’t Shearers replacement (if there is such a player). He doesn’t have the physical presence upfront that a Dean Ashton type player would have and it’s hard to know that when things aren’t going our way if he’ll step up to the plate and drive the attack. Plus, his participation in the African Nations cup (aside from other games for Nigeria) will mean he’ll miss a good amount of domestic and cup games for the toon.

Lets just hope this wasn’t a panic buy, because we all know what happens to those (see Bye, Bye, Boumsong article below).

FK Ventspils - Preview

August 23rd 2006

Tomorrow, Newcastle United face FK Ventspils in the second leg, second round qualifying game for the UEFA Cup. Leading 1-0 from the first leg after a Titus Bramble header, Newcastle look set to put the tie beyond their visitors at St. James Park.

However, Newcastle have plenty of injury doubts going into this game, with Roeder already announcing that Steve Harper will deputize in goal ahead of Shay Given.

There are also doubts over Carr, Moore, Emre, Babayaro and Shola Ameobi following the game against Wigan on Saturday. This is likely to mean that fringe team players such as Ramage, Taylor, Milner and Pattinson will be given a run out.

If Ameobi doesn’t make it then Albert Luque may start – although this would cup-tie the Spanish striker for all European competitions should we still be looking to sell him this season (although why we would want to sell a striker at this point is questionable).

Bye, bye Boumsong

August 22nd 2006

Jean-Alain Boumsong has completed a $6.1 million dollar move to Juventus. Boumsong has been in Italy the last couple of days putting the finishing touches to the transfer. If you told people we would be selling him after only 18 months to Juventus, many would think that he's shone at Newcastle and we'd be making a nice profit on him. Football is a funny old game...

Souness purchased Boumsong from Rangers on January 1st 2005 and he made his debut 8 days later at Yeading. Despite some reassuring performances in his few months, some major mistakes including those against Manchester United and Liverpool last season at St. James Park cost him dearly. A lack of confidence was clear and despite coming on as a sub in the last game of the season against Chelsea, and a world cup runners-up medal, the writing was on the wall as he was left out of the squad for the Intertoto and Wigan games. Juventus meanwhile, went from being the champions of Italy to being demoted due to match-fixing. They start life in the Italian second division in the upcoming weeks.

Transfer Update

August 22nd 2006

You had to be living under a rock over the weekend to not hear the rumors that we are on course for signing the Inter Milan and Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins. Well the rumors that he was on Tyneside on Sunday agreeing terms appear to be a little premature but the two clubs have agreed a fee believed to be around $18.8 million. He is supposed to be on his way to Tyneside with his agent today, however, SkySports are now claiming that Portsmouth have but in an 11th hour bid, including better personal terms. - We will keep you updated as soon as we hear anything. Martins has made 134 appearances for Inter Milan, scoring 50 goals. He is 21, despite reports to the contrary.

Meanwhile Jean-Alain Boumsong is in Turin for a second night in a bid to seal a move to Serie B side Juventus. Apparently the stumbling block is the players’ wages, not the fact that Juventus found out he can't play football. Boumsong was signed by Souness for $16 but that value more than halfed after a farcical 30 seconds against Liverpool.

One game, six injuries

August 20th 2006

Despite the official season being only 90 minutes old, Newcastle's injury list quadrupled, with an additional 6 players receiving treatment after the game.

Nicky Butt went off suffering a migraine after 10 minutes when he collided with Emre, while Craig Moore didn't make it out for the second half after complaining of pain in his knee. Ameobi went off with 15 minutes to go, once again thanks to his long-term hip injury. Finally, both Emre and Babayaro finished the game almost as non-participants with a dead leg and thigh injury respectively. View the Injury Update section on the left-hand pane of the website for more details including return dates.

Rain Men

August 20th 2006

Final Score from St. James Park:

Newcastle 2 (Parker 38, Ameobi 64) - Wigan 1 (McCulloch 59)

b>Update - Man of the match as voted by ToonArmyUSA members: Shola Ameobi 46% of the votes.

Newcastle United won their first fixture of the season for only the second time in Premiership history as they defeated Wigan in monsoon-like conditions at St. James Park.

Starting off with a 4-5-1 formation, Newcastle made little headway in the opening exchanges despite having the lions share of possession. However, the original game plan went out of the window on the 11th minute when Nicky Butt was replaced by Charles N’Zogbia after an accidental collision with Emre.

With little going on in attack, Parker fancied his chances from 25-30 yards only to see new England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland make a brilliant finger-tip save. However, 10 minutes later he was picking the ball out of the net when Ameobi brought the ball down in the box and crossed it in to the diving Scott Parker who scored our first goal of the season.

Wigan dominated proceedings towards the end of the first half and also started the second brightly so it was no surprise when they equalized on the hour. Lee McCulloch bent the ball around Given after Taylor (who had came on as a half time sub for Moore) and Carr made a hash of a bouncing ball in the area.

However, just when it looked like Wigan would grab a winner, Duff set N’Zogbia away through the middle and his long-range shot was parried by Chris Kirkland allowing Ameobi to hit the ball on the half-volley and into the roof of the net.

POLL Results: From our 4 current central defenders who would you pair at the back for Newcastle?

August 18th 2006

Question: From our 4 current central defenders who would you pair at the back for Newcastle?.

And you voted:

- Moore / Taylor, 68.97%
- Moore / Bramble, 17.24%
- Taylor / Bramble, 10.34%
- Moore / Boumsong, 0.00%
- Taylor / Boumsong, 0.00%
- Bramble / Boumsong, 0.00%
- ...none of them, 3.45%

Unfortunately it doesn't appear that Glenn has listened to the masses, we will start our season with Moore & Bramble at the back.

And so it begins...

August 18th 2006

Here we are on the eve of another Premiership season, with mixed feelings going into our opening game.

Everyone is fully aware of the frustrations we've experienced in the transfer market but the squad of players we have now are not only stronger than seasons under Souness but there appears to be a good harmony between management and players, with no nasty "behind the scenes" activities going on.

With the exception of Damien Duff, we start this season like we finished the last one - with Roeder relying on getting the best out of what he currently has. This may ring true for no one more than Nicky Butt, who is tipped to start in midfield in a 4-5-1 formation. The forgotten midfielder appeared to have no future on Tyneside after the famous FA Cup incident and a season long loan at Birmingham but their relegation meant he came back and after some decent showings in pre-season, it appears he will start his first league game since April 2005.

The Irish trio of Given, Carr and Duff have all shaken off knocks and will start, while long-term injuries Dyer and Owen are missing. New England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland is expected to start, while want-away defender Pascal Chimbonda is also set to play. Gary Teale is out with a foot injury.

Kick off is at 10am EST, and the game is live on Fox Soccer Channel (US) and Sportsnet (Canada). Who do you think will win? Visit our prediction corner game today and predict the outcome of tomorrow’s game.

Prediction Corner - relaunched

August 17th 2006

Following its brief stint during the Intertoto Cup, we are pleased to announce that Prediction Corner is back, ready for the new season.

For those of you not familiar with Prediction corner, it's an interactive game that allows you to predict the scores and scorers of Newcastle United games for this upcoming season. The better you do, the more points you will get and throughout the season we will give out prizes to the league leaders.

Due to this new version of the game, everyone will have to sign-up the first time they play, regardless of whether you played during the Intertoto cup or not (Intertoto cup points will be added on at the end).

Our first prize, is the hard-to-get, currently selling on Ebay for stupid money, Alan Shearer testimonial programme which will be awarded to the top player at the end of September.

To start playing, visit the Prediction Corner page.

All Quiet on the Tyne

August 15th 2006

Update - Dirk Kuyt is on Merseyside today to conclude his move to Liverpool.

Not too much to report from St. James Park this week, despite a promise of new faces from the management.

According to the Chronicle the next transfer activity is expected to be the departure of Jean-Alain Boumsong on loan to one of a number of french teams.

Meanwhile the chances of seeing any new faces before the season starts is more unlikely by the day. Reports are that Newcastle have slowed their interest in Inter Milan forward Obafemi Martins due to an question mark over his age, while the talk on Merseyside today is that Dirk Kuyt will reject a 90,000 pound-a-week contract from Newcastle to sign for Liverpool.

Graversen is attracting interest from Ajax although his preferred destination is England, while Wayne Bridge doesn't look like he'll be wearing a black and white shirt anytime soon as the Ashley Cole deal from Arsenal to Chelsea looks dead in the water.

POLL Results: Does Albert Luque have a future at Newcastle?

August 14th 2006

Question: "Does Albert Luque have a future at Newcastle United?"

And you voted:
- 1. Yes - 32%
- 2. Maybe - 16 %
- 3. No - 51%

Sunderland's a massive club - Part 2

August 14th 2006

To celebrate our neighbours Sunderland sitting in 21st place in the Championship and already 9 points off the pace after 3 games, we are revisiting last season when the great unwashed made their way to St. James Park.

Big thanks to Don Sylvester of CA, who sent us these pictures which he took over there while on a birthday trip with his son.

Sunderland will find out today whether or not they can resign Rat-boy, otherwise known as Kevin Phillips. Meanwhile Niall Quinn's attempt to sign Irish midfielder Andy Reid has failed as Spurs refuse to let him go. Apparantly they need to keep their left-sided midfielders after missing out on a certain Damien Duff....

Sunderland's a massive club

August 12th 2006

With over a hundred new members since we relaunched our website in June, we thought it was time to cover a subject which we haven't really touched so far - and with good reason, this subject is Sunderland AFC.

For those of you not too familiar with Sunderland, it's an awful, dark, cold place which despite being called a "city", doesn't have its own theatre. Full of crime and unemployment, Sunderland simply isn't a place you would put on your "places to visit" list when visiting from the US.

However, with the city located just 30 minutes south of Newcastle, the mackems are regarded as local rivals for our beloved lads in black and white.

Sunderland has flirted with the Premiership (or the EPL) on a number of occasions although recently it's an experience they would want to forget. In the 2002-2003 season they finished with the lowest ever points total in the Premiership (19) and amazingly, last season they managed to beat their own record by scoring 15 points. If they had added their complete points totals together for the last two seasons they were in the Premiership, 15+19=34, they would have still been relegated!.

The rivalry between the two football clubs is fierce, think the Boston Red Sox against the Yankees multiplied by 10. Although last season was something different. Sunderland were simply so bad it was embarrassing, and despite Newcastle not having a great season themselves, you could always turn to Sunderland to cheer you up, as they lost game after game. This included a 3-2 defeat at Saint James Park and the now famous 4-1 defeat at home.

Some will argue that having Sunderland in the same league is a good thing, the atmosphere of derby games cannot be beaten, but it’s always nice to see them struggle, regardless of which league they are in. And struggle they will do. Today they lost their 3rd straight game in a row to the mighty Plymouth Argyle.

Some of you may wonder why we chose a monkey as the picture for this story – it has to do with the old Sunderland manager Peter Reid, who resembled a monkey.

Lucky in Latvia

August 10th 2006

Full time from Riga, Lativia:

FK Ventspils 0 - Newcastle United 1 (Bramble 70)

In a game that Newcastle were heavily tipped to win comfortably - they eventually managed to grind out a 1-0 win thanks to a firm second half header from Titus Bramble.

In an even first half - which Newcastle probably just shaded for possession - both sides lacked any kind of killer instinct in terms of clear cut chances on goal.

In the 2nd half things got more lively with Ventspils having their moments, in fact Butriks had a free header in the box on 54 minutes and should have scored.

The game turned 70 minutes in, when a good corner from Emre was met by Titus Bramble, which proved to be the important away goal.

Emre made way for Charles N'Zogbia on 76 minutes and interestingly Emre made his way straight down the tunnel without acknowledging Roeder on the bench. Trouble with the Turk?

As the game wore down we saw further substitutions, with Nobby Solano replaced by young James Milner on 84 minutes and then Babarayo came off for Peter Rampage on 87 minutes. Nicky Butt was booked in the last minute.

So not exactly a stellar performance from Newcastle - but certainly a very valuable away goal, with the 2nd leg at St James Park on Thursday August 24th.

Team:Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Titus Bramble, Craig Moore, Celestine Babayaro, Nobby Solano, Scott Parker, Nicky Butt, Emre, Damien Duff, Shola Ameobi
Subs: Steve Harper, Albert Luque, Charles N'Zogbia, James Milner, Peter Ramage, Steven Taylor, Alan O'Brien

No room at the Inn-ter

August 10th 2006

Newcastle United target Obafemi Martins looks almost certain to leave Inter Milan in the near future, especially now the Italian club followed up their signing of Hernan Crespso from Chelsea with the capture of Zlatan Ibrahimovic for $30.4 million from Juventus.

According to a number of sources, Freddy Sheppard hopes to hold talks with the player soon than later, especially with the Premier League just over a week away.

Meanwhile the on/off transfer of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea appears to be off again as Chelsea refuse to match Arsenal's valuation of $47.5 million. Until that deal is completed it looks unlikely that Wayne Bridge will leave Chelsea, although Geremi, Carvalho, Gallas and Ferreira have all played in that position over the last couple of seasons, although arguably it's not their natural position.

Heard the one about the Nigerian, the Dutchman and the Englishman?

August 9th 2006

Picking through the various news snippets this morning and Newcastle continue to be linked to a variety of players.

On the forward front; The Telegraph, The Express, icNewcastle and SkySports all report that Nigerian Obafemi Martins is being strongly linked to Newcastle in an £8M pound move from Inter Milan. This seems to be legitimate as Hernan Crespo has arrived at Inter this week and competition for places will be tight. Martins agent is quoted as saying that Martins is interested in joining Newcastle - but other clubs are being mentioned.

Additional we are also still being linked with a move to sign Feyenoord striker Dirk Kuyt for a reported £10M pounds, reports the BBC website. Roeder was quoted as saying that he had "not ruled Kuyt out" after a trip to Holland. In other news the imminent arrival of Ashley Cole at Chelsea appears to open the way for Newcastle to bid for unsettled left back Wayne Bridge, reports The Telegraph and icNewcastle.

Up, up and a Faye

August 8th 2006

Amdy Faye has passed a medical and joined Charlton Athletic today for 2 million pounds ($3.8 million dollars). The move was largely expected as Faye was deemed surplus to requirements following the return of Nicky Butt and the addition of Damien Duff to an already packed midfield.

Faye was signed by Souness 18 months ago, a deal which even then raised eye-brows as the player had hardly set the world on fire at Portsmouth.

This deal is likely to pave the way for Thomas Graversen to sign from Real Madrid (a deal will be done in the next week according to his agent). Meanwhile Jean Alain Boumsong is expected to join Marseille for a one year loan deal with the only stumbling block being that Newcastle want a cash offer for the player at the end of the loan spell.

FSC to show Wigan opener

August 7th 2006

Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) have announced they will be showing our first game of the season LIVE versus Wigan, on August 19th, 10am EST, 7am PST.

Update-Coverage in Canada is live on Sportsnet in ALL REGIONS.

ToonArmyUSA will announce in advance games to be shown in North America. We also will not have any score spoilers for games that are tape-delayed to later in the day or even the next day.

Setanta announce North American TV rights

August 6th 2006

Fresh from their bidding war with Sky TV, Setanta have announced they will be showing more than 90 live English Premiership games this season, including 62 Saturday kick-offs, 28 Sunday kick-offs and a selection of mid-week games.

Combine this with the coverage offered by Fox Soccer Channel, and North American viewers can look forward to a good amount of football games this season.

Neither channel has announced it's full schedule as yet, but as soon we get them they will be posted on ToonArmyUSA.

Remember to check out our where to watch section to find bars in your area showing the games.

Click here to view the full Setanta press release.

Butt saves blushes

August 5th 2006

Final score from St. James Park:

Newcastle United 3 (Ameobi 22, Butt 79, 80) - Villareal 3 (Josico 13, Pires 34, Rodriguez 62) .

Newcastle conceded three goals for the second match in a row but unlike the PSV game managed to salvage a draw against spanish side Villareal. After falling behind to an early goal from Josico, Newcastle had a good spell of possession which led to Amoebi's equalizer from a Solano free-kick.

The game looked over though as ex-Arsenal player Pires and Rodriguez gave Villareal a two goal-cushion but unlikely hero Nicky Butt who was booed when he came on as a substiute scored twice in two minutes, both coming from Milner's corners after good work by the speedy Alan O'Brien.

Newcastle United: Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Craig Moore, Titus Bramble, Celestine Babayaro, Nobby Solano, Emre, Scott Parker, Damien Duff, Albert Luque, Shola Ameobi
Subs: Jean Alain Boumsong, Steve Harper, Charles N'Zogbia, James Milner, Nicky Butt, Peter Ramage, Paul Huntington, Matty Pattison, Alan O'Brien, Steven Taylor

Don't let the door hit you on the way out

August 5th 2006

Amdy Faye looks set to complete a move to Charlton Athletic next week for approximately 2 million pounds ($3.8 million dollars). According to reports, the player has already agreed personal terms. He is not in the squad for today's game against Villareal.

This is likely to open the door for Thomas Graversen to sign from Real Madrid, a player who operates in the same holding midfield role as Faye. While this means Parker will push to a more attacking position, Nicky Butt's role at the club isn't so clear.

POLL Results: Who would you sign next for Newcastle United?

August 5th 2006

Question: "Who would YOU sign next for Newcastle?"

And you voted:
- 1. D. Ashton, 32.35%
- 2. M. Klose, 29.41%
- 3. W. Bridge, 11.76%

Shearer in the big apple

August 3rd 2006

After his long distinguished career as one of Newcastle United's best center forwards, it appears that Alan Shearer is taking some time off.

We caught him posing for pictures in Times Square.

(Of course this isn't the real Alan Shearer, it's part of a promotional campaign by Metro Radio following his testimonial game. Everyone who attended the match was given a Shearer "mask" and encouraged to go to far-away places and send their photos in. Big thanks to Matty from MA for his contribution.

More players in the departure lounge?

August 2nd 2006

Following the release of Robbie Elliott last week who has turned up on trial at the mackems, Newcastle United look set to further reduce their squad before bringing any new faces in.

Amdy Faye looks set to complete a medical to Charlton in the next few days while the tug of war over Jean-Alain Boumsong continues with Monaco, Marseille and recently relegated Juventus all showing interest. Rumors of a loan move for the latter though is hardly good business for Newcastle, as history would indicate that tends to diminish the players value (Hugo Viana for example).

The rumor mill for inbound players continues with Thomas Graversen now being linked to our already packed midfield, while good friends James Beattie and Wayne Bridge continue to be mentioned in the UK tabloids.

NewsNow

August 1st 2006

ToonArmyUSA is pleased to announce they have been accepted as part of the NewsNow network. NewsNow monitors breaking news from thousands of the Internet's most important publications, including international and national newswires, magazines, and press releases. They currently have over 750,000 users worldwide and can be found at http://www.newsnow.co.uk.

This is one of many steps in making ToonArmyUSA a portal of information for Newcastle United fans living in North America. In the near future we will be relaunching Prediction Corner (where you can predict Newcastle scores and scorers for prizes, an interactive map so we all know where each other lives and following your feedback, a ToonArmyUSA bookclub. So stay tuned!

InterToto Photos

August 1st 2006

Big thanks to Gavin Richmond for sending in photos of the Lillestrøm game last month.

Gavin, 34, is originally from Fenham, in the west end of Newcastle. He came to the US in 1998 to coach football with MLS in Chicago. He then lived in Morristown, NJ for a year in 2000, again coaching football. He currently resides in Traverse City, MI.

Remember, if you make a trip back to the hallowed land we call Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, remember to send us your pictures and we'll publish them on the website.

Wondering where July's news went? Click here