| News - June 2006 |
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Ice Cool
June 24th 2006
Final score from Windsor Park, Belfast - Dungannon Swifts 0 - IBK Keflavik 0. IBK Keflavik win 4-1 on aggregate. Keflavik will now play Lillestrom of Norway, the first to be played in Iceland on July 1st. The winner will play Newcastle United at St. James Park on July 15th. Owen - Injury Explained
June 22nd 2006
From Physioroom.com - Owen’s ACL injury completes a nightmare 2006 for the striker. He had only recently returned to action after recovering from a foot fracture that had ruled him out of Premiership action for Newcastle United since last Christmas. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament lies deep within the knee joint, connecting the thigh bone with the shin bone. Its function is to prevent excessive forward movement of the shin in relation to the thigh and also to prevent excessive rotation at the knee joint. It is usually damaged by a twisting force on a planted boot. Because of the amount of force that is required to damage the ACL it is not uncommon for other structures within the knee such as the meniscus (cartilage) or medial ligament to also be damaged. ACL injuries lead to a feeling that the knee is unstable or giving way. This instability is no good for a top level football player, so reconstructive surgery will be essential for Michael Owen. The aim of reconstructive surgery of knee ligaments is to restore stability and normal joint motion. ACL injuries used to be career threatening, but medical advances mean that most ligament reconstruction surgery gives good results in the short term with most football players returning to action in around six months, although up to 25% of reconstructed knees may suffer longer term instability that can cause damage to other structures in the knee and lead to longer term degeneration. Read the remaining article here. Season 2006/2007 Fixtures
June 22nd 2006
Newcastle United will kick off next season with their first home game since 2002, as Wigan visit St. James Park on the 19th of August. The lads will be hoping for an identical result from last season, when two goals from Alan Shearer and one from Titus Bramble overcame an early Jimmy Bullard effort (funny to think that despite that game being played only two months ago, two of the three scorers have already moved on to pastures new). Thanks to the joint efforts of Mick McCarthy and Kevin Ball, there is no north-east derby to mark on the calendars this season but we should make a note of some of the big games - we play Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and (possibly) Liverpool ALL away before playing them at home later in the season. Those returning home for the christmas period got lucky as we face Spurs at home on December 23rd, followed by Man Utd on January 1st. We finish off our season with Blackburn at home. As always these dates are more than likely to change according to the great gods of Sky and now Setanta TV.
Packback for Woody?
June 21st 2006
Michael Owen will be out for 5 months after scans revealed cruciate ligament damage on the knee that buckled after a couple of minutes in Tuesdays World Cup Group B game against Sweden. Obviously a huge blow to England, who only took 3 recognized strikers with them (Walcott does not count!) and also Newcastle United, who only have one recognized striker in the squad now - Shola Ameobi. One does wonder if this is payback from Real Madrid for selling them Woodgate...
Takeover imminent?
June 19th 2006
According to reports today, an american investment group - Polygon Investment Partners are you looking to purchase Sir John Hall's 28.8% share in the club. It's not the first time that this has happened though and articles later in the day indicated Hall was far from willing to let his hold on the club go. Click here for full story. It's not clear how a takeover would affect the club. Polygon Investment wont bring the kind of money that Roman Abramovich has to Chelsea but it may allow the club to increase their spending budget a little and i'm sure none of us would complain about more pre-season trips this side of the Atlantic. Intertoto Update
June 17th 2006
Final score from Iceland - IBK Keflavik 4 - Dungannon Swifts 1. The second leg, to be played in Northern Ireland is next Saturday. The winners will play Lillestrom of Norway. New Geordie Diet?
June 17th 2006
With the Atkins diet out of the way, U.S. researchers have found a new way of putting people off fatty goods by tricking them into believing the foods made them sick as a child. What does this have to do with Newcastle United you ask? Well, the National Geographic website has found a few geordies as guinea pigs ( check out the article and pictures here). In our cases though, i'm not sure if it's fatty foods or 20 pints of lager. Thanks to Keith for this story.
Geordie Leaves
June 14th 2006
Michael Chopra has signed a three year deal at Cardiff City, netting Newcastle 500k in the deal as he is under 24. Chopra was offered a one year deal by United after some decent performances towards the end of last season but ultimately with new striker reinforcements on their way both he and the team knew his time on the field was limited. Full story here. Toon Round-up
June 13th 2006
Not much news coming out of Newcastle on the transfer front, although rumors of a deal for Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque continue to surface in a number of print and online medias. Meanwhile Robbie Elliott is on the verge of signing a new one year deal. Newcastle United have announced that Norwich will provide pre-season entertainment in addition to "attractive European opposition" (according to Nufc.com). This appears to rule out the remote chance of the lads coming state-side for a kick around, made even more unlikely when crowd pleasers such as Michael Owen are likely to be rested post-world cup. Finally, after next Saturday we will be a step closer to knowing our next competitive opposition, as IBK Keflavik of Iceland and Dungannon Swifts of Northern Ireland play their first leg in Round One of the Intertoto cup. Good Morning America
June 12th 2006
Two members of ToonArmyNYC (the New York Supporters Group) found themselves thrust into the media spotlight on Saturday morning when the camera for ABC turned up at Nevada Smiths prior to the England vs. Paraguay match. Newcastle fans Dean and Duncan put on a great show and managed to get a couple of mentions of the toon in there. The video of these new stars can be seen here. Testimonial Pics (2)
June 11th 2006
To finish off our week of celebrating Mr Alan Shearer, we are lucky enough to get some more testimonial pictures from Matty of Rhode Island. Although it was more than a month ago now, that night still produces a lump in the throat. Look out for new pictures as the season progresses. Bowyer back to capital
June 8th 2006
Lee Bowyer today returned to West Ham United for his second spell at the club. Despite putting in some decent performances in the latter stages of last season, his desire to return to his "childhood club" was the major factor in the deal - a deal which is likely to pocket Newcastle no transfer fee, although will reduce the wage bill. Although it's difficult to see a hard-worker like Bowyer leave, we must remember the famous Dyer incident plus his sub-standard performances throughout his three years at the club. With Faye also on his way, it's largely expected that Milner will stay, which many would agree is good news for Newcastle. Meanwhile Michael Chopra is expected to join Cardiff tomorrow, while Newcastle are being closely linked with Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque. Burns on Shearer
June 7th 2006
We continue our week paying tribute to Alan Shearer by including a piece written on him by one of our ToonArmyUSA members - Jake Burns. It's a cracking read and certainly evokes a lot of great memories. If you have any Shearer or Newcastle related stories you would like to share with us, please e-mail Harry. Chops away?
June 7th 2006
Newcastle have been involved in a bit of early summer transfer news with the expected departures of Michael Chopra and Amdy Faye in the next couple of weeks. Both Crystal Palace and Barnsley are interested in signing Chopra, the former of which may have Graeme Souness as manager in the near future. Meanwhile Faye is largely expected to re-join 'arry Redknapp back at Portsmouth. Not too much news of incoming transfers although this week Newcastle ruled out moves for Man City want-away Joey Barton and Chelsea defender Robert Huth (who is close to signing for the smog monsters). Testimonial Pics (1)
June 6th 2006
To continue our tribute to Alan Shearer this week, we have a number of photos taken from his testimonial in early May. Thanks to Chris Johnson for his contribution. .When Harry met Shearer
June 4th 2006
With less than a week before the big kick off, we pay our own tributes to one of the best English center forwards in our generation - Alan Shearer. With 63 caps and 30 goals to his name, Alan Shearer led England in battle in the 96 & 2000 European Championships in addition to the 98 World Cup. This week will we have a number of Shearer related items on the site, starting off with Harry's rant. Chelsea (H)
June 3rd 2006
About a month ago, on a overcast day in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United claimed an Intertoto cup spot by beating Chelsea 1-0 at St James Park. Matthew, one of our ToonArmyUSA members was there and took these pictures. Remember to keep sending your photos in and we'll try and get as many as possible up on the website. Internogo?
June 3rd 2006
It emerged on Thursday night that Newcastle may not need to qualify for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup in early July. It has been discovered that Arsenal are currently centre to a FIFA probe investigation over claims they made secret payments totaling £1 million to Belgian club Beveren ( the full story can be read by clicking here) If found guilty by FIFA, BBC Newsnight claim that Arsenal may be kicked out of the Champions League for next season. This place would most likely go to Tottenham Hotspur who are the next team in the league after Arsenal. This would leave one UEFA Cup spot which would most likely go to the next available spot, 7th, which Newcastle currently sit in. This would mean that Newcastle would automatically qualify for the UEFA Cup and there would be no need to use the back door. Thanks to Matty from MA for spotting this on the BBC website. BONDed Together
June 1st 2006
Newcastle United have announced that Kevin Bond will take over as assistant manager with Lee Clark taking over as first team coach. Bond has been at Harry Redknapp's side for quite sometime, looking over some successful (and failed) fights against relegation. Bond also played for the Seattle Sounders towards the end of his career. Although his success under Redknapp isn't outstanding, he is highly regarded in England and it is a relief to see someone come in with a little experience (Dean Saunders anyone?). Howay the lads!
June 1st 2006
It's a new month and the ToonArmyUSA season starts here. While many minds will be focused on the tournament in Germany this month, Newcastle United will shortly know their first official opponents of the season as the Intertoto cup begins and a trip to Iceland, Northern Ireland or Norway beckons. Before we know that though, there is plenty to catch up with including the various transfers (both incoming and outgoing) at our beloved club, pre-season friendlies (where and when?) while we'll also be doing some much needed catching up, including covering the Chelsea game and our number 9's testimonial. Please feel free to navigate through our website, if you've visited us in the past you'll notice a lot of new content, including prediction corner in which you can predict upcoming Newcastle United scores for prizes. If you wish to add content to the website or have any ideas, we would love to have them. Please email the webmaster. |