Location – SJP   Kick Off – 3:00pm   Date – Saturday 3rd March 2007   Tickets - Sell Out
Coverage – BBC Radio Newcastle 95.4FM   Referee – Steve Bennett

Well according to the media this is our “Derby” for the season … most Mags couldn’t care less if the Smoggies melted into a sea of mediocrity and fell of the face of the earth. You have to let the hacks that grace our local press to have their day so if they see this as a derby then who are we to argue?

Don’t get me started on the Wigan debacle - we showed just how bad we can play against an average team of nobodies. Other than the penalty I can’t remember how on earth we would have beaten them even if we were still playing now. Oh well lets hope we have put that behind us and we walk into Saturdays game the same way we prepared for Liverpool and Tottenham. Mr Southgate makes the shortish journey up the A19 and he brings with him a fit Mr Woodgate… Ahem. I am hoping we can give Woody a massive spoonful of “I told you so” and hopeful head into Sunday with the maximum three points under our belt. The Beasts have found it difficult to finish teams off this season if you look at their cup exploits they have been taken to extra time and penalties against two of the last three teams. Let just hope their mid-week cup commitments have left them lacking in the heart and energy to win a “local Derby”… Ahem.

So with our further ado this game is there for the winning and with SJP providing the noise lets hope the manager that is smiling come 5:00pm is the one in the home dugout.

This Season

Away – (L) 0 – 1 (Yakubu)

Last Season.

Home – (D) 2 – 2 (Solano & Clark) (Yakubu & Hasselbaink)

Away – (W) 2 – 1 (Boateng OG & Ameobi) (Boateng)

Likely Squads:

Smoggies - Schwarzer, Davies, Taylor, Xavier, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Boateng, Arca, Morrison, Cattermole, Yakubu, Viduka, Downing, Jones, Hines, Parnaby, Euell, Arca, Christie, Lee

Man to Watch – Yakubu – “My Nigerian striker is better than yours” - Southgate

Fitness News – Xavier (back) Rochemback (thigh) Schwarzer (back) Boateng, Parnaby, Arca

NUFC – Given, Harper, Solano, Edgar, Taylor, Bramble, Onyewu, Huntington, Butt, Parker, Milner, Duff, Pattison, Troisi, Martins, Dyer, Sibierski, Luque, Carroll, LuaLua

Man to Watch – Martins - “My Nigerian striker is better than yours” - Roeder

Fitness News – Moore (hamstring) Babayoyo (hamstring) Emre (calf) Carr (thigh) Ramage (hamstring) Owen (knee) Ameobi (hip)

Late Fitness Tests – Emre & Dyer

”Reasons to be Cheerful” – Club not letting FA off with a meagre £1m & 50k per week, El-Hadji Diouf shows that he isn’t a spitting half witted tosser afterall & Owen is just a month away… allegedly.

Keep On, Keepin’ On…

ES