Attack, Attack, Attack February 28th This game is tape delayed on Fox Soccer Channel (US) If there was ever a time we needed three points then Saturday would be up there with the best of them. After some massively disheartening losses in which we’ve been completely outplayed and shown the mental attitude of a team on death row, it’s time for someone to step up to the plate and lead this rabble to Premiership safety. For over a decade we could look to our number 9 to get everyone in order and behind the cause but now we have no on-field leader but just pretenders with attitude (Smith). Keegan undoubtedly has to start from scratch when naming his team. Since his arrival no one has done him any favors and there have been no exclusions from our criticism and that of every other Newcastle fan. It’s clear our defense is going to concede goals, amazingly 16 in the last 5 games and with Given now injured and our usually reliable Taylor having a nightmare last weekend, things aren’t going to improve. With that said, Keegan must pool his fire-power together and go for the jugular against Blackburn and if that means playing three upfront (with the return of either Martins or Viduka likely), for the loss of a midfielder then it’s a risk that needs to be taken. There are far too many under-performing midfielders at the moment – the loss of one won’t be an issue. Additionally, the creativity of N’Zogbia is wasted at left-back as he has the speed and the ability to take people on –and these are the characteristics of the creative midfielder we’ve so longed for since Dyer left. Plus, where the hell is Enrique? Blackburn, like pretty much every other team in the Premiership, have the ability to pull us apart and unless we attack – they’ll attack us. They’ve had decent success too at SJP in recent years – winning three out of the four last visits and we fear that trend wont end on Saturday. Another defeat – especially with Liverpool next – would be unbearable. Keegan is known for trying to outscore his opposition – let’s start seeing it. ToonArmyUSA Prediction – Newcastle 2 – 3 Blackburn – Get Your Predictions In! Possible line-up: Harper, Beye, Faye, Taylor, N’Zogbia, Milner, Duff, Barton, Butt, Owen, Viduka Hardest job in football? February 27th The club announced last Friday that Chris Hughton would join Kevin Keegan’s set-up as first team coach – with his job to improve our defending. And if he was in any doubt about the size of his task, he would have found out as virtually each one of the FIVE Man United goals were down to bad defending. Hughton has previously been the Assistant Manager to Martin Jol at Spurs, before Jol was fired in October 2007. He had also served no fewer than nine other different managers at the club, having initially joined in June 1993. The Ronny Horror Show February 25th Final score from St. James Park: Newcastle United 1 (Faye 79) – 5 Manchester United (Rooney 25, 80 Ronaldo 45, 56, Saha 90) It’s getting to the point now where we are dreading Saturday mornings and the hour and a half of humiliation that is bestowed upon us. This time it was Manchester United who pulled apart our “team” and put us firmly into the relegation fight. No doubt we have the talent but what we lack is the mentality as our lot looked doomed as soon as Ronaldo found the completely unmarked Rooney to make it 1-0. Prior to that we looked sharp and had held our own in the game but as soon as they took the lead there was an air of inevitability about things and just before half-time the game was effectively over when Ronaldo slipped through our back-line to double their advantage. The third goal was as comical as they get. With seemingly no danger as Faye took the ball off Ronaldo (who was grounded at the time), he promptly presented possession back to Man United who quickly found Ronaldo and he had no problem going past Taylor (what sort of challenge was that??) and round substitute Harper for 3-0. Man Utd. took their foot off the gas which allowed us to pull one back as Faye scored from close range but just when it looked like we were going to give it a go for the last 10 minutes and make it difficult for our visitors, they hit another gear and we hit another wall – Rooney and Saha adding to our misery. With our defense as porous as it is, we need to score goals but with the exception of Owen it’s hard to see where they’ll come from. Smith ran around like a headless chicken AGAIN on Saturday having absolutely no impact on the game. At least with Carroll and Ameobi they offer height and the ability to hold up the ball for the smaller Owen. Kudos to Duff who worked very hard on the left flank, while Barton also put in a decent shift. For Taylor it was a game to forget, being at fault for at least their second and third goals. At the moment, our current form is enough to see us relegated, we aren’t just losing games – we are being absolutely outclassed. Our only savior may be that there are three teams worse than us (Derby, Wigan and Fulham), but relying on others to lose is not how we want to keep our Premiership status. There are some players missing that can pull us out of this mess – notably Viduka who wasn’t in the squad today. Like him or not, the lad can score goals and that’s something we aren’t doing a lot of recently. Keegan has one hell of a job to gear his troops up for the next game – an absolutely crucial one against Blackburn. Even a draw would be something… The Devil you know February 22nd This game is live on Fox Soccer Channel When you haven't won a game in a league this year the last thing you need is the visit of Manchester United but alas it's that time again as we welcome (ahem) the Red Devils to Tyneside. Keegan's honeymoon period appears to have lasted one game – and even then you could argue he wasn't in charge for the game against Stoke. Thrown into this madness in the middle of the transfer window, he's stuck with Big Sam's team and sadly we are being stuck with Big Sam's results and performances. Last time out if you can (and want to) cast your mind back to the Aston Villa match, we did okay for a while and then ultimately imploded as soon as they scored.  At home it's been a slightly different approach with us not giving up too much defensively but also struggling to get forward. Tomorrow, Man United will take any chance they get to put it in the back of our net and we must play with more than just one upfront as Owen won't get much of a sniff otherwise. The African Nations lads are all back although Martins is still missing with an ankle injury, while Emre and Carr (woohoo) will also miss out. Given and Viduka are doubtful – which means either Ameobi or Carroll will be given the opportunity to make their mark alongside Owen, unless Keegan (like Big Sam) insists on playing the garbage that is Alan Smith. A glimmer of hope can be found in Man Utd's recent league form that has seen them lose a little pace with Arsenal while they did play in the south of France on Wednesday, so although it's not the other end of the world, hopefully their travel – and our two weeks off will have some impact. Although we aren't overly optimistic.. ToonArmyUSA Prediction – Newcastle United 0 – 2 Man United - Get  Your Predictions In! Possible line-up: Harper, Beye, Taylor, Faye, N'Zogiba, Duff, Milner, Butt, Barton, Owen, Ameobi US OK - if FIFA say so February 21st Although little media attention has been paid to it stateside, "Game 39" has made plenty of people hot under the collar back in the UK as the Premier League look to play one game abroad each season, including the US. There are plenty of cons to the idea, not only logistically but also from a cultural and historical point of view and while some countries are completely against the idea (including most of Asia), the US have said they will welcome the idea – if sanctioned by FIFA – and FIFA have already went on the record for saying it's a bad idea. Sunil Gulati, the president of the US Soccer Federation, said the USSF, which would have to sanction any games, "will be guided by Fifa. But if it's not in line with Fifa's rules then we won't sanction it". For more information on Game 39, visit the Wikipedia page Another Mass. Winner February 20th Following on from the Red Sox and (almost) the Revolution and Patriots, we are pleased to announce that Matty Faria from Mass. was the winner of January's Prediction Corner. Matty who is somewhat of a legend in these parts, will be receiving an Alan Shearer testimonial scarf - and with more snow forecasted this weekend, it couldn't come too soon! One For The Road February 10th The Premier League announced this week they were thinking of extending the season by one game (from 38 to 39) and this additional game would be played outside of the UK so overseas fans can see their heroes in real life. The idea has no doubt come around after the NFL decided to play a game (Dolphins vs. Jets) in London this season and it was a huge success as Wembley sold out within hours (although the game itself was instantly forgettable). That said, since the announcement many clubs and fans have voiced their anger at the decision. It would be unlikely these games would be played in mainland Europe which in most cases has a competitive league of its own (Spain, Germany, Italy, France, etc.) so destinations like the US, Asia and Africa would be on the cards and this means a travel nightmare for home-based fans. Plus when exactly would the game be played? Players and clubs already complain enough that there are too many games in a season and throw in internationals and other commitments and the prospect of flying to Los Angeles to play on a Saturday and then back to Newcastle for the Wednesday following would undoubtedly take its toll. Carefully planned, this could be a great idea and obviously the chance of watching Newcastle play in the US is a dream for all of us and many a friendship was made when the club last game over here in 2000. As for the fans in the UK – let us have one game a season eh? Freefall February 10th Final score from Villa Park: Aston Villa 4 (Bouma 48, Carew 51, 72, 90) – Newcastle United 1 (Owen 4) If any of us didn’t think this season was going to be a relegation battle then think again – we are free falling down the league and there doesn’t look like an end in sight. We are being pulled apart by average teams and this weekend it was Aston Villa. Incredibly we were winning this game at half time when Michael Owen scored his second goal in as many games but just like we’ve done so, so, so many times in the past we self destructed in amazing fashion and ended up conceding four goals in the second half. Words can’t sum up how inept our defending was yesterday but again that’s nothing new. We are getting worse as the season continues and with rumors of unhappy players (N’Zogbia) and that our tactics prior to the match are little more than a pep-talk then we have every reason to think we could be playing Championship football next season. Especially as teams around us are starting to pick up victories – something we haven’t had in the league so far this year. Oh, and next up? Man Utd… A Game of Bad Calls... February 4th Final score from St. James Park: Newcastle United 1 (Owen 60) - Middlesbrough 1 (Huth 87) King Kev missed out on his first victory as Newcastle boss as Boro' equalized with three minutes to go, and to be fair they deserved the point. We got off to a solid start and should have been 1-0 up after just 8 minutes when Boro' keeper Mark Schwarzer dropped an Emre corner kick but Owen, who was on hand to turn the ball in, was adjudged to have fouled the Australian. Sadly that was as good as it got for our lot in the first half as we again created few chances and as the half grew older, Boro' gained more confidence and they finished the stronger side, although never really tested Shay too much. We continued to be sluggish in the second half and Given was called upon a few times to make some vital saves but just when it looked like Boro' were going to open the scoring, Michael Owen got his head onto an Emre free-kick and we were 1-0 up. Leading, we started playing with some real confidence and both Owen and Barton had chances to make 2-0 and Duff even though he did but his effort was ruled out for offside - a close call for sure. But as the game wore on, Boro started launching some dangerous attacks and with only a few minutes remaining, German defender Robert Huth got his head onto a long-ball into the box and it was 1-1. This was a tad unlucky on our part as at least two Boro' players were offside when the ball was played into Huth. It could have been worse though- Boro' had the ball in the back of the net again but it was ruled out for offside. So, we continue to wait for the season to kick-start itself and with Villa and Man Utd. up next, we might need to wait a little longer. Our Gang February 2nd This game is Live on Setanta – Kick Off is a nice and early 8:30am ET. It’s going be a long SuperBowl Sunday…. So this is it folks, the list of players you see at the bottom left of your screen are what we have until the summer and like it or not, we’re going to have to get behind them and make do with what we have. Despite the loss of a decent defender (in our eyes anyway) in Rozenthal, we still have enough quality to finish mid-table this season and edge our way out of the looming relegation battle that is suddenly showing up on our radars. In defense we will soon be welcoming back Faye and Beye from their failed African Nations campaigns – and both have looked solid so far this season. Add to that Taylor, Cacapa and Enrique and we should be OK. Our midfield is full of talent although virtually each of them has failed to life up to their potential. It’s now more than ever we need to finally see what creativity the likes of Emre, Barton and Milner have because it seems (with the exception of Charlie), that all of our midfielders are defensively minded – and that isn’t helping out front two. Up front, well a goal would be nice wouldn’t it? We do miss Viduka who knows where the goal is at least, that’s more than what can be said for Michael Owen who really looks like a shadow of his former self. We wait anxiously for Martins to get back from Ghana and for Shola to get back up to speed. This game on Sunday is huge for us. Yep we got beat twice 3-0 by Arsenal – that’ll happen to most teams this season and although it was a knock to the confidence and certainly poured water on the Keegan bandwagon, the game on Sunday finally gives us the opportunity to see what affect King Kev has had on his team – and like it or not, it is his team now. Emre and Viduka are back in the frame for this one, having returned from suspension and injury respectively. Faye and Beye are back from international duty although this game could come too fast for them, after all Ghana isn’t exactly down the road. New Boro’ signing Alves may make his debut against us on Sunday but after some legal issues with his contract, this game may also come too soon. ToonArmyUSA Prediction – Newcastle 2 – 1 Middlesbrough – Get your predictions in! Possible line up: Given, Carr, Taylor, Cacapa, Enrique, Butt, N’Zogiba, Duff, Emre, Viduka, Owen

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