We are proud to announce the the final rant of the season from our good friend Harry.

This month we discuss the season that never got off the ground and the expectations that have already been set for next season.

To view the latest rant and the archived rants for the entire season, Click here.

Last week we asked the following question to our ToonArmyUSA Yahoo! members:

Do you believe a takeover by sporting goods mogul, Mike Ashley, would be good for the Newcastle?

And this is how you answered:

Yes - 100%
No - 0%

Not much to say about these results! Overwhelming support for Mike Ashley as he continues to pursue a take over bid of Newcastle United. The board will meet with Ashley and his representatives this week to hopefully take another step in the right direction.

What happens next?

From the BBC website:

- Ashley needs a 50% share to take control of the club, including who sits on the board
- That means Shepherd could lose control of the club even if he does not sell his 29% stake
- Ashley needs Shepherd's shares in order to reach the 75% required to delist the club from the Stock Exchange

Last week we asked the following question to our ToonArmyUSA Yahoo! members:

Where will Newcastle finish in the League in Big Sam's first season in charge at SJP?

And this is how you answered:

Top 4 (Champions League) - 4%
5th - 8th (Uefa Cup) - 74%
9th - 12th (Mid Table) - 22%
13th - 17th (Fighting off relegation) - 0%
18th - 20th (Relegated!) - 0%

Almost three quarters of the group think that Big Sam will get us back on track and into Europe next season finishing between 5th and 8th. This would be keeping in line with recent seasons where he finished 5th, 8th and 7th with Bolton.

Last week we asked the following question to our ToonArmyUSA Yahoo! members:

How long will Big Sam last in the hot seat at SJP?

And this is how you answered:

3 Months - 0%
6 Months - 0%
12 Months - 3%
18 Months - 10%
2 Years - 27%
3 - 5 Years - 50%
5 Years + - 10%

So half of our group think Big Sam is here for the long-run and will be in charge of the team for 3 to 5 years. That would be more than Roeder and Souness combined!

Meanwhile just over a quarter of you thought he would be here 2 years and 10% think he'll be a longest serving manager in some time by spending over 5 years in the hot-seat.

Plenty of rumors flying around Barrack Road this time of year with who is the next to leave and which new faces we will see at the club in August.

The next player destined to be on his way out of Newcastle is Antoine Sibierski who has rejected a one-year extension at the club, as he looks to secure a two year contract elsewhere. Meanwhile Stephen Carr is being linked with a move to Birmingham City.

Former defender Titus Bramble looks set to join Portsmouth this week having undergone a medical. Redknapp obviously doesn't learn from his mistakes, as none of his previous signings from Newcastle (Lauren Robert, Andy O'Brien, Andy Griffin & Lomano Lua Lua) have been successful at the South-Coast club.

Another former defender Sylvain Distin has quit Manchester City and is now looking for a new club. He has been linked with a return to Newcastle in the past and Big Sam might see him as a perfect partner to....Ben Haim who could be the first player to leave Bolton and link-up with his former boss. Newcastle do face strong competition from Chelsea though for Haim's signature.

John Farrell, one of our ToonArmyUSA members was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Canadian defender David Edgar during a friendly match between Canada and Argentina (under-20's) earlier this month and this is what he had to say:

As a supporter of the Toon for about 8 years now, I've had my fair share of disappointment. I think this past season as a whole has been a definite low. With the loss of Owen and Ameobi for the vast majority of the year, the subsequent inability to score goals, the defensive lapses, and the loss of yet another manager, things have seemed bleak for many a Newcastle supporter, although the appointment of Big Sam looks very promising. I'm happy to report that the future is beginning to look up in other areas as well. This past weekend I was able to take in a friendly between Canada and Argentina's U20 teams in Toronto. It's there where I witnessed one of our young, and hopefully future stars. David Edgar was arguably the most important and best player on the pitch, at least in my biased eyes. He played centre back and seemed to anchor the whole team, giving instruction to his fellow defenders and the midfielders. He was definitely a strong presence on the pitch.

Now although I went to the game with the full expectation that Argentina would run us poor Canucks ragged, the Canadians played an excellent game. And the final score of 2-1 for Argentina doesn't really tell the tale of the game. If it hadn't been for an 88th minute header, the likelihood of a draw was very real. And who should happen to score for Canada, none other than David Edgar. He converted a penalty in the 18th minute after Simeon Jackson was fouled in the box. After half time he came back on the pitch, with his one hand bandaged up. So far I've been unable to find out what the injury was and the seriousness. It couldn't have been too bad as he was equally effective in the second half.

All in all it was a very good game. Other players that seemed to stand out were forward Andrea Lombardo, who also came on as a substitute for Toronto FC less than 24 hours later, and Jaime Peters, whose exceptional speed and great ball control posed a constant threat. Football, and especially local football, is finally getting some respect in a city where every World Cup people don the jerseys of their ancestors and the only Toronto team that seems to get any press hasn't won a thing in 40 years. Sound familiar Toon fans? The atmosphere in the almost full BMO Field was great. Given Toronto's multicultural diversity there was a large contingent of Argentinean fans cloaked in flags, jerseys, and hats, singing and dancing the whole game. Of course not to be outdone were the fans that came out to support the home team, decked out in red, with the exception of this Toon fan wearing the requisite Black and White.

Regardless of how Canada does this summer, the tournament is generating a lot of buzz and it promises to be quite an event. Anyone that can make it to Canada to take in a game definitely should. I know I'm booking my tickets to see David Edgar play in the opener. And now that I've gotten my wife on board as a football fan (although she's decided to support Chelsea), the plan is to get to that hallowed ground of St. James' Park sometime in the near future and really soak up the atmosphere.

Click here for a full match report.

We've spent the last few days reviewing all of the Newcastle players from what was a disappointing season. If you missed any of the details, please check out ToonArmyUSA.com. Here is a break down of the score:

Shay Given 9
James Milner 8
Steve Harper 7
Nobby Solano 7
Nicky Butt 7
David Edgar 6
Craig Moore 6
Steven Taylor 6
Kieron Dyer 6
Emre 6
Antonie Sibierski 6
Obafemi Martins 6
Paul Huntington 5
Scott Parker 5
Andy Carroll 5
Pavel Srnice 4
Oguchi Onyewu 4
Titus Bramble 4
Peter Ramage 3
Celestine Babayaro 3
Matty Pattinson 3
Damien Duff 3
Michael Owen 3
Shola Ameobi 3
Stephen Carr 2
Charles N'Zogbia 2
Albert Luque 1

So we voted Shay Given as our player of the year, while James Milner was our best outfield player. The wooden spoon goes to our Spanish Superstar Albert Luque who was lucky to get his 1 point!

We finish our review with a look at our forwards this season:

Obafemi Martins

Not a bad first season in the Premiership for our Nigerian forward. Despite the pressure of owning the number 9 shirt and having to play the majority of the season upfront by himself, Martins managed to hit double figures, although missed out on the 20-goal haul which seemed likely at one point.

He scored some crackers this season (Spurs away the pick of the lot), although more often that not missed the majority of easy chances which was exceedingly frustrating to watch.

That said, he’s still young and hopefully can build a partnership with Owen or Ameobi next season. That’s if he’s still here of course – he decided to sit out the last game away to Watford, seemingly thinking he’s done enough running around this season and it’s someone else’s turn. Sheppard has put it down to a “misunderstanding” but we’ll soon find out.

Season mark: 6
Keep him? We’d probably be relegated without his goals this season and as our forward line is shallow to start with, getting rid of him makes no sense.

Michael Owen

He took part in our final three games so not much to report on Owen although he did look useful when he played.

Only those living under a rock will know that there’s plenty of speculation linking him with a move away during the summer. Losing a player of his ability would be a huge blow for the club but if his heart isn’t here then he needs to go.

Season mark: 3
Keep him? He’s a 20+ goals a season type of player. We should try our best to keep him.

Shola Ameobi

Shola was a transformed player under Glenn Roeder. He seemed to have a lot more confidence and was a major part of our run-in towards the end of last season. This season he got off to an equally good start although a long-term hip injury almost finished his season before it even got going.

The good news is he seems to have recovered from the surgery and took part in the last few games of the season with Owen. Sadly his match fitness wasn’t particularly great and he looked off the pace.

It’ll be interesting to see where Shola fits into Allardyce’s plans for the future but as he’s our only striker over 5ft – he’s probably worth keeping for that alone!

Season mark: 3
Keep him? Now he’s 100% fit, the next season or two will be crucial for Shola to establish himself as a Premiership forward

Antoine Sibierski

I think it’s fair to say the signing of Sibierski didn’t get the pulse racing but to be fair to him, what he lacks in ability he makes up for in attitude.

Not only did he chip in with a fair few goals but he also threw himself around the pitch, almost to the point of exhaustion and for a time had formed a decent little & large partnership with Oba Martins.

It’s still unclear if he’ll be around next season, although he avoided the first cut of unwanted players. If he does stay, it’s hard to see him as more of a back-up for the first team and with the years running out, he may fancy the guarantee of first-team football.

Season mark: 6
Keep him? Might be a useful player to throw on with 20 minutes to go if things aren't going our way.

Andy Carroll

Looks like a decent player for the future. He reminds us of Chopra but with a bit more to his physical game. He gave John Terry a good ride for his money at home to Chelsea and he also looked the part against Portsmouth (away).

He’ll benefit substantially playing with the likes of Martins and Owen and hopefully we get to see more of him next season.

Season mark: 5
Keep him? Doubt he’ll be the next Shearer but he certainly looks the part. Hope to see more of him next year

Albert Luque

He didn’t bother this year, so we aren’t going to bother writing about him.

Season mark: 1 (well he did score against Palermo…)
Keep him? Already loaned out to PSV

We continue our review with a look at midfielders:

Emre

Another player who was on the injury list for the majority of the season, our Turkish midfielder played well when he was fit. The highlight of his season was a man of the match performance against Reading (home) which resulted in him scoring a cracking goal to seal all three points.

Although this has been one of his better seasons and his talent is undeniable, we still have a sense that we aren’t seeing Emre at his best.

He has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich for some time and this will only continue should Owen Hargreaves leave to Manchester United but we’d like to see him stay and perfect his through balls for Martins and Owen.

Season mark: 6
Keep him? Next season could be make or break for Emre but we’d hope that he stays injury free and shows us what he can really do.

Kieron Dyer

Somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde season for Dyer. His long term injury worries which almost finished his career appear to be over and a big pat on the back must go to Roeder for that. When back to full fitness, Dyer missed only two games this season and at times has shown us some of the old-Dyer with his menacing runs and neat finishes.

Sadly though, for a player believed to be on 80,000 pounds a week ($160,000) he makes an impact in about 1 game in 3 and for the majority of the time doesn’t look bothered. We think it’s fair to say that Dyer was one of those players who Roeder described as “being here too long” and a move down to the capital could well be on the cards for the England midfielder.

However, Allardyce has the ability to get the best out of players so Dyer may have the opportunity to strut his stuff for a couple of years to come.

Season mark: 6
Keep him? We think Allardyce could get more out of Dyer than other managers but it may be down to his mental attitude now more than his physical condition.

Damien Duff

The Irish winger hasn’t had anywhere near the type of impact we were hoping for in his first season, looking like a shadow of the player who terrorized defenders at Blackburn and Chelsea.

Hopefully next season, when he has someone to aim at who is taller than 6ft, he’ll be able to show us what he can do – but he’s the type of hard working player we need on the pitch.

An operation on his foot is likely to delay the start of his season but fingers crossed it’ll be in a black and white shirt.

Season mark: 3
Keep him? Proven player in the Premiership but just needs to start showing it. We’d like to see the Damien Duff of old out there next season.

Charles N’Zogbia

Looked like a different player from the fast winger we signed from Le Havre a couple of seasons ago. We don’t remember him taking the ball past one defender this season and he simply didn’t look bothered.

He showed his true colors on the final day of the season by refusing to sit on the bench against Watford. To be quite frank though, he doesn’t deserve to be in the first team with the way he’s played this season so he can hardly complain.

Whether it’s the combination of signing Damien Duff and/or rumored interest from Arsenal – we frankly don’t care. His attitude needs to be drastically improved or he can move on and we won’t lose any sleep.

Season mark: 2
Keep him? After this season it’s not a huge loss if he leaves.

James Milner

To think we almost lost this player to Middlesbrough in exchange for Mark Viduka sends shivers down the spine. He has been one of the most consistent players we’ve had this season and has even chipped in with the occasional cracking goal (Man Utd. & Birmingham at home).

No matter how bad things have got (and they’ve got bad!), Milner has kept on working hard and deserves to be the player of the season.

Let’s hope under Allardyce he gets even better and like with Duff, has someone to aim for in the box next season who is over 6ft!

Season mark: 8
Keep him? Absolutely and give him Dyer’s wages too.

Scott Parker

Disappointing season for our new captain. Despite a good start, he went missing far too often in games and was often surplus to requirements playing with either the defensive Nicky Butt or the more attacking Emre.

His post-match interviews are also somewhat of a let down, he doesn’t seem to be the type of bloke who you would make a captain, as he comes off somewhat quiet and reserved. You also rarely see him barking orders to his teammates during a game.

That said he made the most tackles out of any player in the league (according to Opta) and his inclusion in the last few England squads shows that he has the talent to be a big part of our success.

We’d like to see Allardyce put this fella to good effect next season – maybe as the Newcastle equivalent of Kevin Nolan.

Season mark: 5
Keep him? We either need to mold him as an attacking or defensive midfielder and once that’s sorted out, he could become a real asset.

Nicky Butt

Fantastic season for a player who looked destined to leave and indeed would have done had Birmingham City stayed up last season.

Roeder welcomed Butt back into the squad and Nicky repaid his faith with some hard-working performances in the center of midfield, showing at times the form which got him so many accolades during his time at Old Trafford.

Almost a year after his Birmingham loan spell ended, and now Butt is the one that is complaining that others aren’t pulling their weight! Football is a funny old game.

Season mark: 7
Keep him? His experience could be vital during the next couple of seasons

Matty Pattison

Despite the fact Newcastle doesn’t have a huge squad, we do seem to have a decent amount of midfielders and that’s not great news for Pattison.

In a year which has seen the likes of Edgar, Huntington and Krul break through to the first team, Pattison has very rarely featured despite being fit for most of the season.

When he has played – it’s usually been on the left-hand side of midfield and a lack of pace and skill has been evident. There is no doubt he is a hard-working player but like Alan O’Brien, he doesn’t appear to be Premiership quality.

It’s surprising that he hasn’t been loaned out to a Championship team, as experience at that level would be not only good for him, but would allow the club to make a decision on whether or not he can make it in the big league.

Season mark: 3
Keep him? Loan him next year and see how he does.

Finally, tomorrow we will go over our (very few!) forwards…

A day after Sam Allardyce joined as manager, five Newcaste players were told they would be released from the club.

Titus Bramble, a butt of many jokes for five years now has finally been released so he can go and make basic mistakes for another team. At one point we were so disillusioned with him, we started our own "Bramble out petition" which 89 people signed in less than a week!

Joining Titus on the way out is reserve goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek who made a couple of appearances this season, Oguchi Onyewu whose loan move will not be made permanent, Olivier Bernard who never played for the first-team this season and finally Craig Moore who had already returned to native Australia.

So not a bad start when it comes to clearing out the mess. This leaves only Solano, Sibierski and O'Brien with contract renewals that have still not been acted on by the club (although it's expected the first two will stay).

Hopefully momentum picks up and it's not long before Carr, and Babayaro join that list.

Deep breath everyone! Here are the reviews for our defenders this season:

Stephen Carr

“Train-wreck with legs” was how Carr was described by one supporter this season and they weren’t far off. He was an average player 10 years back and now time has taken its toll on the former Spurs right-back. The industrious runs he made some years ago have vanished and he’s left with punting the ball, getting caught out of position and more often than not, being unable to catch a winger with any type of speed.

The fact that he was permanently replaced at right-back by Nobby Solano says it all. Can I hear Roy Keane on the phone?

Rating: 2
Keep him? Not Premiership standard anymore

Nobby Solano

Voted by some as our best defender - although that’s not exactly a great achievement. Solano came into the right-back position during an injury crisis and did a very diligent job despite his height and lack of pace. He often showed the calmness that deserted the other three around him and was mentioned by Gary Neville as “one of the best right-backs he has played against.”

Hopefully next season – expected to be his last in English football, Solano will be restored back into midfield where his crossing and passing can be put to its best use.

Rating: 7
Keep him? One last season for our Peruvian trumpet player

Celestine Babayaro

Was awful when he played – which wasn’t every often. A mystery injury kept him out for about half the games this season – apparently he had heart problems – i.e. didn’t have one.

He hit rock bottom while playing Reading at home when he was jeered by his own fans following an abysmal performance. It shows the lack of talent at the club and unwillingness to dip into the transfer market that a player who clearly doesn’t want to be here was still being utilized.

Big Sam won’t tolerate his attitude next season. Babayaro could be the first one out.

Rating: 3
Keep him? He is a great example of the cancer that runs through the club. Should be the first one out the door

Titus Bramble

Ahh Titus. How we won’t miss you. World beater one day (Chelsea at home) clown the next (Reading away). A player who has the physical attributes to go on and become an accomplished defender but sadly doesn’t have the mental attributed to match.

All too often Titus wouldn’t cover the basics and we would be punished. Sadly, after five years of this – and with nothing during that time changing, it’s time for Titus to go elsewhere and make the same mistakes for someone else.

Rating: 4
Keep him? If we are going to make improvements – he has to go

Steven Taylor

There is no doubt that Taylor has the potential to become a great player although at the moment he’s having too many “Bramble” moments to be fully reliable. Like Titus he does a lot of things well but still has the occasional rush of blood to the head which causes him to do silly things including conceding sloppy goals (Portsmouth away) and giving away a lot of free kicks (which Henry for Arsenal thanked him for).

Fingers crossed he only gets better as time goes on and he benefits playing alongside someone with experience rather than the clowns he’s had so far.

Rating: 6
Keep him? He should be the only survivor of the defensive make-over

Craig Moore

Despite his lack of fitness, when Moore did play he rarely let us down at the back. Not the quickest of players but he read the game well and complimented the young Taylor at the heart of the defense. Sadly after the Arsenal (away) game he was never really 100% fit and rarely played the full 90 minutes.

He has left the club to return to his native Australia.

Rating: 6
Keep him? Already gone home

Peter Ramage

The Birmingham FA Cup fiasco was possibly a career defining moment for Ramage. He was simply shocking and wouldn’t have looked out of place in a local pub game. Days later against West Ham he was again at fault for conceding goals and Roeder did the only thing he could do - take him out the team.

His return against Blackburn for the final home game of the season was perhaps a morale boosting exercise for the young defender but it back-fired horribly as he was for fault for Blackburn’s second goal.

His versatility is a big bonus at the back but like a lot of his colleagues, he’s had a season to forget. Rumors that he’ll be loaned out to Wolves next season could be a good move as next season will surely be make or break for Ramage.

Rating: 3
Keep him? Next season is make or break but he looks like a Championship player

"Oguchi" Onyewu

Looks like a footballer but sadly doesn’t play like one. Tall, fast and athletic, “Gooch” has all the attributes to make it in the MLS and that’s probably where he’ll end up. He seems unable to read the game (Man City at home) and is just as much of a liability than the others there. Only good thing about our American friend was that it was only a loan deal.

Rating: 4
Keep him? We can hear the Revolution calling…

David Edgar

The Canadian defender who not only ended up playing out of position against Manchester United on New Years Day but also ended up scoring the equalizer in that game was impressive when given his opportunity. It’s surprising Roeder didn’t give him more of a chance when it was clear his elders didn’t know what they were doing.

Edgar just signed a new contract and is currently on international duty with Canada

Rating: 6
Keep him? Could be a really good player in a couple of years

Paul Huntington

Huntington could probably have done with a couple more years in the reserves before being thrust into the first-team but overall he did okay with only a nightmare against Alkmaar coming to mind – although let’s be honest, most the team had a nightmare that day.

A loan spell to a lower league team could be beneficial but he seems a canny enough player.

Rating: 5
Keep him? Another player who will benefit training and playing with some experienced defenders.

Tomorrow we cover midfielders...

In what was one of the worst kept secrets in English football, Sam Allardyce has become the new Newcastle United manager, signing a three year contract with the club.

Big Sam started his managerial career in the lower leagues enjoying success with both Blackpool and Notts County before he embarked on a eight year career with Bolton Wanderers. Despite virtually no cash, Allardyce got Bolton into the Premiership and they became a force to be reckoned with, twice qualifying for Europe. This year they did the double over Newcastle.

Sam certainly has his work cut out for him at Newcastle but we believe he is the right man for the job. His man-management skills are second to none and he'll work on our constant bad luck with injuries (Bolton had only 70 hours of injuries compared to Newcastle's 400 last season).

Sam's first task is to arrange his backroom staff. Rumors are he'll go back to Bolton to reclaim some of the 21 people he had working behind the scenes for him and this could include former players Gary Speed and Neil McDonald.

For more information on Sam, visit his Wikipedia page.

What a horrible 10 months eh? Major injuries, loss of form, cup upsets and European demise – just another season for Newcastle United.

To put this season firmly behind us and concentrate on the brighter times ahead, we’ve reviewed every player this season, given him marks out of 10 and decided whether or not he’s worth keeping around.

Let’s start with the men between the sticks.

2006/07 Season Review – Goalkeepers

Shay Given

Poor kid. Another season standing behind four clowns trying to single handedly keep out the opposition. He must be getting sick of it now. No one deserves a bit of success more than Given, a hard-working player who has all the attributes missing by most of his colleagues.

He hasn’t quite lived up to his “Lazarus” billing this season. A couple of groin strains and a perforated stomach has kept him out for long periods of time but hopefully a summer off will allow him to get back to full health.

Rating: 9
Keep him? We’ll be in safe hands next season. He’s the best goalkeeper around

Steve Harper

Steve has seen quite a bit of action this season due to Given’s multiple injuries (see above) and overall has been relatively steady for us. His highlight was undoubtedly becoming the first Newcastle goalkeeper to win a competitive penalty shoot-out when we beat Watford in the Carling Cup.

He’s also had a few dodgy moments, with the slip at Liverpool coming to mind and a few errors along the way. He’s no Shay Given but a respectable deputy.

Rating: 7
Keep him? Happy to be deputy

Pavel Srnicek

Not many people would have believed this guy coming back to the club. “Pav” is a legend on Tyneside after a first stint at the club while King Kevin was here.

Brought in as back-up for Harper while Given was injured, Pav made a couple of appearances and was at fault for a mix-up with Ramage against Bolton on Boxing Day. Following that game he was back on the bench and never seen again.

The club has announced he won’t have his contract renewed and this is unlikely to change under new management. While he’ll be missed, his heart-in-mouth taking on the defenders with possession of the ball will not…

Rating: 4
Keep him? Time for Pav to hang up the gloves

Tim Krul

Only one performance this season by the young Dutchman and what a performance it was. Tim kept a clean sheet away at Palermo – denying the high-flying Italians on a number of occasions to record a memorable victory in the UEFA Cup.

Although he was never going to dislodge Given or Harper as number one, an injury almost straight after the Palermo game virtually finished his season off – he has just returned and played the final game for the reserves.

Tim is expected to go out on loan next season as part of his development.

Rating: 10 (from one game)
Keep him? One for the future

We'll be looking at defenders tomorrow...

Final score from Vicarage Road:

Watford 1 (King 52 pen) – Newcastle United 1 (Dyer 29)

“Pointless” was how the BBC described this game – and they weren’t too far off. With the exception of being a send-off for newly relegated Watford, this game had absolutely no meaning. Our hosts had one last chance to perform on the big-stage before the necessary restructuring that comes with relegation. Our lot literally didn’t know if they’re coming or going (hopefully the latter for most of them) and it showed.

Having taken the lead through a neat goal by Kieron Dyer and bossed possession for most of the first half, it was therefore fitting to completely give up in the second half, concede an early (albeit harsh) penalty and then rarely threaten the Watford goal for the rest of the game.

Perhaps more fitting were our players running into each other, such has been the lack of organization this season. The result was Owen leaving the field on a stretcher – an all too common sight nowadays, but thankfully he’s suffering nothing more than concussion.

So once again a lack of quality and willingness to go the extra mile to grab the winner were all too obvious. The industriousness of the likes of Pattinson and Butt were nice but completely inefficient.

At least they showed up though. Reports in the press today indicate that Martins faked an injury to have an early summer holiday and N’Zogbia refused to play when told he would be on the bench. While Martins could be excused for having fatigue (he has played virtually every game this season), it’s another nail in the coffin for N’Zogbia who has taken a dramatic step backwards with a frankly awful season and doesn’t look like half the player he did when he first joined us.

So Sam has his work cut out. The first thing he might want to do is rip up the contracts of virtually everyone – save Given and Taylor and then start from scratch. His appointment – expected to be announced at 1pm tomorrow, couldn’t come quick enough and we hope that when the new season kicks-off, the time wasters and money leaches that have engrained themselves into the St. James Park corridors are just a dark and distant memory.

Reports this week that Michael Owen could leave the club for as little as 9 million pounds (approximately $18 million) appear to be true following Freddy Sheppard's "loyalty" outburst yesterday. Sheppard saying Owen owes it to the club to stay following virtually two seasons out injured.

There is no doubt it would be a major blow to see Michael leave, especially as the clause that triggered his 9 million price-tag was because we didn't qualify for Europe - and one of the reasons why has to be Owen's unavailability.

Regardless of how this situation plays out, our two cents on the matter is if the player doesn't want to be at the club then it's in our best interests to let him go. We already have plenty of others who are in the squad for nothing else than their pay-check and the quicker this changes, the quicker we move up the league.

Earlier this week we asked the ToonArmyUSA Yahoo! message board the following question:

Who would you like to see replace Roeder?

And this is how you answered:

- Sam Allardyce 13%
- Steve Bruce 0%
- Sven-Göran Eriksson 19%
- Alan Shearer 9%
- Kevin Keegan 5%
- Roy Keane 3%
- Steve Coppell 3%
- Louis Can Vaal 15%
- Chris Coleman 1%
- Gordon Strachan 3%
- Gary Speed 1%
- Paul Jewell 1%
- other 19%

So the ToonArmyUSA pick for next manager is the former England boss Sven-Göran Eriksson. Although he had a tough time of things in the England job, he has achieved great things at club-level with Lazio, IFK-Gothernberg and Benfica - to name just a few and it would be interesting to know what he could achieve with an English team. Although his agent said he would be interested in talking to Newcastle it looks unlikely that anything will materialize.

Finally 19% of you said wouldn't pick any of our choices and 15% would pick the man who masterminded our UEFA Cup exit - Louis Van Gaal.

In the past when a vacancy came up at Newcastle United, the media circus in England puts the rumor mill into fill swing, linking virtually every manager domestically and abroad to the job. Not this time however. Even before Roeder had resigned from his position as Newcastle manager, his replacement had already been found – “Big” Sam Allardyce.

English tabloids are speculating when Big Sam will be appointed rather than who will be appointed – with Allardyce expected to take over after the Watford game on Sunday. Rumors of former England manager Sven and Gerarld Houllier have been mentioned in passing but no real attention has been paid to either.

Allardyce has his critics for sure, including the majority of our ToonArmyUSA Yahoo! message board. The main issue being his love of ‘long-ball’ tactics which involves by-passing the midfield and hitting long-balls into the strikers who use their physical attributes to muscle their way past defenders. Effective, if not particularly attractive. It’s certainly not what Newcastle fans are used to, having had years of short passing and (ahem) quality football on show.

The findings of a Panorama documentary last year also didn’t do much for Big Sam’s reputation as both he and his son were found guilty of taking illegal “bungs” for signing certain players. The FA however took no action against Big Sam and he intends to sue the BBC.

In his eight years as manager of Bolton he had some notable achievements with a minimal budget. Well known for his unique training techniques and being able to get the best out of players, Big Sam has been able to pick-up players at the end of their careers (Campo, Okacha, Speed, Djorkaeff to name but a few) and turn them into a team chasing for Europe virtually every season.

Sam is also known for being able to build a pretty good defensive team – something Newcastle have lacked for many seasons. Although many of his defenders are virtual unknowns when they joined Bolton, the likes on Ben Haaim and Ricardo Gartner have quickly proved they are top-draw players and making Bramble and Gooch look like schoolboys.

It is questionable how he would spend a big budget as he has never had any experience of doing so before, however what Allardyce would bring to the club is an attitude to hard work and a winning mentality – something that is so clearly lacking from our over-paid mob it’s incredible (Babayaro anyone?). Newcastle fans love players who work hard and never say die for their club and we don’t have many of those players on our books at the moment.

While the style of football might come into question, if we are pushing for Europe every season, could this be overlooked? Having finished (possibly) 13th this season and played some quite frankly, shocking football at times, how can we complain about a new style that could well win us games?

Either way with Sam almost a certainty to join, he will clean out some of the cobwebs at Newcastle and hopefully by August we will have plenty of new, hard-working faces to get us back where we belong.

So Glenn Roeder was forced out of his self proclaimed ‘dream job’ yesterday by Freddie Shepherd just weeks before season ticket renewals fall onto doormats of Newcastle supporters. Let’s see how many they manage to sell next season?

The Club is now faced with replacing another manager (this will be our sixth manager in the ten years since Keegan left in 1997) as troubled times on Barrack Road seem continue and escalate.

This was what most supporters wanted and expected – but we can’t help feel a little disappointed for Roeder, who was after all was a good servant to the Club as a player in the 1980’s and kept Newcastle up last season after Souness left a rudderless ship.

Roeder remarkably got us into Europe too and steered us through the worst injury crisis in the Clubs history. However, it’s points that count and Roeder was strong-armed out of the door by FFS after we faltered badly in the run in this season. Newcastle are now left in limbo and again looking for a manager for a position that nobody in professional football wants. A truly poisoned chalice.

Roeder clearly was not the man to take us forward but the feeling is that Fat Freddy Sheppard (FFS) has again thrown up a smoke-screen to protect the inept individuals that make up the boardroom, by sacking a manager of the Chairman’s own choosing.

Add to this that we still have under achievers like Carr, Babarayo, Bramble, Dyer and Duff on the books making tens of thousands of pounds per week and again we are seen as the laughing stock of the English game.

Big Sam, Sven, Coleman – names are being thrown around like confetti. Will the new manager deliver?, only time will tell – but the SJP circus continues with Shepherd as the ringmaster.

After 24 hours of speculation, the club has announced that Glenn Roeder has resigned as Manager of Newcastle United . He will not take charge of our final game of the season. Relieved? Same here.

This move from the club comes following protests by fans after the Blackburn game yesterday. The protests can be viewed here.

The bookmakers in England have already stopped taking bets for Roeder's replacement with Sam Allardyce the favourite.

Roeder was summoned to a board meeting yesterday morning and despite pleading with Sheppard to give him more time to turn things around, it was clear he had lost the respect of his players and following defeat on Saturday, also the fans and board members. Roeder will receive one million pounds pay-off - possibly the best money spent all season.

Final score from St. James Park:

Newcastle United 0 – 2 Blackburn Rovers (McCarthy 14, Roberts 73)

Pathetic.

Best way to describe the game yesterday and infact our season. If anyone hadn’t been following our season and wondered why a team full of internationals are languishing at the wrong end of the table then the 90 minutes against Blackburn summed it up perfectly.

We simply didn’t play cohesive football. There were no mazy runs by Dyer, Parker and Butt didn’t do any biting challenges in midfield, Owen and Martins were on different wave lengths, Carr looked a day from retirement and Gooch and Bramble were usually out muscled and out played by the Blackburn forward line.

Blackburn took the lead when McCarthy was left unmarked by Bramble to slot home and the visitors should have had two or three more, Bentley having a goal ruled out for offside – which wasn’t and Harper making a good save from Pedersen. At the other end, there was nothing to cheer about…

Despite expecting the home side to up the tempo in the second half we got more of the same with only a goal line clearance from Michael Owen to note. Only minutes after Ramage replaced Bramble, Blackburn had their second when Roberts too easily got away from Ramage to score the second – game over.

Fortunately audio feed of our game yesterday was switched to that of the Fulham – Liverpool game but from the fact that most of the fans had left the ground, the team lap of ‘honor’ wasn’t quite what anyone had planned at the start of the season.

Roeder can’t have injuries to blame now – our performance wasn’t good enough and hasn’t been good enough all season. We simply can’t wait till next season to fire him. We need to get a new manager in now and let him have the summer to tailor the team to his own needs. Otherwise, Roeder will be make the changes he wants and it will take another season or two for the new guy to change things around – and we’re sorry Glen but it’s just a matter of time for you to go, make it easier on the club you love and make sure it’s sooner rather than later.

Last week we asked the ToonArmyUSA group on Yahoo! the following question?

Question: Should Sam Allardyce be the next Newcastle United manager?

And here is how you answered:

- Yes - 12%
- No way! - 43%
- Not sure - 45%

The majority of people either didn’t want Big Sam to take over at the helm or weren’t sure if he was the right man for the job.

Despite his success at Bolton, he has been criticized on numerous occasions for the tactics he deploys, often “bullying” the opposition and playing rather unattractive football.

To be fair to Allardyce though, he hasn’t exactly had the budget to bring in quality players at Bolton and has done a fantastic job with an aging squad. Some of you have mentioned on the Yahoo! board that regardless of how the team plays, you’d trade it all for a bit of success.

Only time will tell if Big Sam does take over, with rumors flying that he will take the job after the final game of the season.

Okay let's admit it girls and boys our season is over. Yeah it was over weeks ago but don't tell me you didn't feel a hint of excitement that Owen and Ameobi might play again this season and the game against Reading would give us a little insight into what's to come next season.

Well sadly folks it did. Despite having the likes or Solano, Taylor, Dyer, Milner, Martins, Ameobi, Owen and Emre on the pitch we couldn't find a way past Reading and as soon as they scored, our heads went down and like so many other times this season, the game was over. Unless something changes in our management structure we are in for a repeat - starting August.

Whoever was co-commentating for Fox Soccer Channel yesterday (possibly Warren Barton?) was spot on during his insights into our lot. Bramble was incredibly shaky again at the back - almost gifting Reading on a number of occasions, Carr looked out of place - not at left back but just being on the pitch, our defense, midfield and attack all operated as separate entities with no interplay between any of them and Milner obviously hasn't had anyone to cross to all season as his crosses were so deep that one ended up stateside.

One thing that was alarming from last nights game though was the sight of Nigel Pearson (assistant manager) slouched down in his chair with about 15 minutes to go with Roeder looking on in bemusement. The camera then moved over to our chairman who looked less than pleased, as did the traveling supporters who could be heard (as usual) throughout the game.

Can Roeder really turn it around next season? Has there been ANY indication of late that next season will be different. Our injury situation cleared up a couple of months ago yet we've only won one in eight and haven't scored at home since we beat Liverpool 2-1.

The fear is Sheppard (our chairman) will give Roeder the summer to mold the team how he wants it, only to sack him in September when the pressure becomes too much and results haven't improved. The new manager then takes over, only to spend a whole season with players he doesn't want.

It's time for Sheppard to take a stance otherwise we could be in for yet ANOTHER season of disappointment. It's debatable whether Sam Allardyce (who quit Bolton this week) is the ideal candidate, but given what he has achieved over the last eight years he should be in the back of Sheppard’s mind.