Coverage for the week of the 14th  - 20th November

We are top of the league; I said we are top of the league! The PhysioRoom.com league table that is: (LINK) Back on top where we’ve been for most of the season (nb. this page changes daily, so we may not be top when you have a spadge). It’s all that grass you know, bloody dangerous stuff that is. Slippy too, apparently. I took a short cut across the grass in Leazes Park the other week and nearly went me length twice. Should be banned really. The several pints in the Trent House beforehand had nowt to do with it of course.

Anyway onto the week’s news and reviews. Monday saw further drooling over “Newcastle United’s Michael Owen”. Mind that still sounds good like. From within the camp both Shearer (Article) and Parker (Article) (Article) led the praise. Chris Waddle just can’t help mentioning Tottenham in his comments (Article) whilst John Gibson gave a reminder to the national papers about just why they should be thanking NUFC for bringing Owen home. (Article) Not that we’ll ever get any credit for making the move no-one dared to believe we could pull off.

Shay given was found lamenting The Republic of Ireland not qualifying for the World Cup and hoping adding some Geordie silverware would make up for it (Article) and Lee Bowyer was told he would now have to wait until the New Year to see if he will go to trial over the brawl on the pitch with Dyer. (Article) Personally I’m waiting for that to be blamed for Dyer’s continued absence. Well, everything else has been tried. Except Lee Bowyer of course. Ahem.

Tuesday brought a further blow on the injury front. Steven Taylor sent home last week from the England U-21 training camp with a dislocated shoulder was going to be out for longer than initially hoped. (Article) (Article). 10 weeks they reckon. With West Ham not happy that Nigel Reo-Coker was sent back to them injured in the same session I wonder what the hell they were doing to each other? Taylor for his part reckons he’ll be back quicker. (Article) (Article) Back properly fit and not quick and on a wing and a prayer would do me. He reckons it’s OK because Moore is fit now. Is he? Will someone please tell the management then who seem to think he won’t be back until Christmas? In the week that the back four was getting talked up by the manager (Article) and Shay Given (Article) (Article) to lose Taylor who has looked better and better with every game is a massive blow. So more pressure on the out of sorts Boumsong, as indicated in an unusual moment of clarity from Supermac. (Article)

Staying on the injury front, the Chelsea game was going to come just a little too early for Albert Luque. (Article) Again back fit and not just quick and nearly fit will do, especially with the form of N’Zogbia at present. Also to be sidelined were Shearer and Carr. (Article) Given our problems to read of Chelsea’s “crisis” this week was laughable. (Article) At least Emre returned from international duty unscathed (Article) and the extra day at home was a sensible decision. (Article)

Meanwhile the Chelsea build up saw a lot of talk about our ex-Chelsea pair, Scott Parker and Celestine Babayaro. The “Parker for England” cries came yet again not only from within the tf bunker (Article) but from within the club too (Article) and from former player and now BBC pundit Gavin Peacock (Article) Babayaro meantime had plenty to say about Chelsea and Mourinho (Article) (Article) and our chances at Stamford Bridge. (Article) Also caught talking up our chances were Shola Ameobi (almost predictably this year) (Article), Lee Clark (Article) and Nobby Solano. (Article)

The manager meanwhile was confident that we can show more than we have of late (Article) but was wary of any backlash from the current champions. (Article)

And so Chelsea came and went along with the 3 points and 3 goals conceded in an afternoon where we were our own worst enemies, the self-destruct button thumbed again on at least 2 occasions. Of course we added Owen to our injury list before the game and minus our 2 best strikers we made a hard job even worse. From the media there was general condemnation of ref Mark Halsey’s non-decision when we should have had a penalty (or two) early on. (Article) (Article) (Article) (Article) Even Joe Lovejoy at the Sunday Times (Article) thought so. Lovejoy, Chelsea, hmmm I wonder…. The BBC however thought Halsey had a great game, with a report at odds with everyone else’s (Article) and 8 out of 10 for the ref (Article). What curious agenda has been set there I can’t even begin to speculate.

Transfer talk this week saw us linked with 2 “starlets” (Article) (Article), a striker whose agent is obviously keen to get his price hiked up a bit (Article) and another random Turk. (Article) Lee Bowyer meanwhile is said to still want a move to London whilst the manager is keen for him to stay. (Article) (Article) The balance between what he can produce on the pitch in terms of ability and effort against the seemingly endless bad publicity he brings off it will ultimately be the deciding factor. Personally I wouldn’t be sad to see the back of him, but can understand why some would want to keep him.

And so, I’ll finish with a few random things I have seen this week. Shock horror, Newcastle United players make the News of the World for something positive. (Article) Secondly what brought on The Journal’s obsession with Everton and the gutless Pistone this week? (Article) (Article) Follow their example? I don’t think so thanks.

Another example not to follow was that of the German referee who was jailed for 2 years for his part in the match fixing scandal that rocked German football last season. (Article) Staying with legal matters Bolton’s El Hadji Diouf (the most odious man in football) was fined a paltry £500 plus the same in costs after “spitting” at a Beastchild at the Smogside Stadium. (Article) Amidst rumours that he received legal aid in this case it just makes you wonder what the legal system in this country is coming to. How about fines that are effectively means tested like they have in Finland, for example, where one of Nokia’s directors was fined over £100,000 for speeding. (Article) Something like that may just have taken the wind out of a certain KCD 1’s sails a couple of years ago perhaps.

Finally if you’re going to go to the trouble of running on the pitch to berate one of your own, knowing full well what the likely consequences would be, don’t you think you could come up with something a little harder hitting than “You’re no good”. (Article) (Article)

NM