Interviewer: Apart from a football, did you have a favourite toy when you were a child?

Shearer: [Triumphantly] Yes, a goalpost.

Much later…

Interviewer: Alan, can you tell us a joke?

Shearer: Yeah, your questions.

Read more here

Some clinical finishing against Watford and Barnsley allowed us to grab full points. Most impressively was the scoreline against Barnsley which saw 6 goals in the net with Gutierrez scoring and then donning his famous Spider-man mask. However, the team performed like superheroes in particular a spectacular effort by Danny Gutherie. Both high scorers; Lovenkrands and Nolan also appeared on the scoresheet. It goes to show that confidence is in the Newcastle camp which means that Boro will be in for a tough ride at the Riverside.

Despite the fact that there are still several games left in the season, praise is coming in at how the team has composed themselves in the Championship. Legend, Alan Shearer said the team were “magnificent” yesterday. He also singled out Hughton for particular praise.  Today,  Jack Charlton backed Hughton to take Newcastle back to the Premiership

He told the Chronicle in an  interview:

“It seems like everybody in Newcastle is surprised.

“Chris was a background boy and more of a trainer and looking after things on the training pitch.

“He was more instituted than anything.

“But he’s proved himself to be a good manager, a good number one and he deserves some credit.

“Chris for me was a great lad, he was my left-back and played for me on several occasions for the Irish national team.

“He was terrific.”

Using Barack  Obama inspired slogan ‘Yes We Can‘, the NUST has asked fans to delve deeply in their pockets and pensions to fund a move to take over the club. Bearing in mind that the asking price is £80m (or there abouts), it’s a big ask and we’ll need more than the support of Jimmy Nail or Sting to reach that figure. Here’s where I think Ant n’ Dec can lend us a few bob! I have a new programme idea which they can front just by seeing Ashley’s attics for the past couple of years – It’s called ‘I’m a Clueless Idiot…Get me Outta Here!’

Personally, I need to know a little more about the NUST since they were formed last year. I’ve attempted to open dialogue with the Trust before with an unenthusiastic response from them. Mainly I want to know about how they want to co-ordinate the online effort bringing all bloggers together around the Yes We Can campiagn. They have already got connections with the fanzines like  The Mag but I think they’ve been a bit quiet in getting blogs on board. I’m talking about clickable banners/icons to place on sites, articles for us to publish etc. Without some substantial online visibility, can this campaign stay the course until the summer of next year? I hope so.

For one moment, let’s say the NUST and us fans own NUFC. Who’s going to sit at the top? Where’s the main source of revenue going to come from? The fan base will have to keep the club’s engine ticking along. Do we have a rich enough fanbase in a climate of economic downturn! That’s a scary thought to me. Sometimes running a club from a fan’s point of view may not always deliver. Let’s face some facts – would we be in the same position in the Championship if Shearer was manager? Hypothetical question I know.

Well, after all that waiting and agonising, the Clueless Fat One is possibly now looking at staying around to try and get the club back in the Premiership. Names have been banded around like O’Leary, Curbs and even Strachan for permanent manager. I’m not sure if any of those names would even want to work with Ashley. Let’s face it as it is plain as day that the man wants out at some point and that calls in to question his overall commitment to everyone. One person who will definitely think twice under Ashley is Alan Shearer, who has been put through the pain endurance test like us fans over the summer. In fact, chances will probably be zero of a Shearer return.

Perhaps Moat can still put his money where his mouth is, however, the delay clearly says that something is amiss to me. Time is running out if we want to buy some fresh blood in to the team. We need to offload Coloccini, Gutierrez and Barton in the meantime but it still leaves us with a wafer thin squad for the gruelling Championship schedule. Anyway, the press have been building up to a possible announcement this week (yep, heard that before!) But this time, with the transfer window deadline looming, I don’t think Ashley has the comfort of sitting on his ass all day.

The first half was played with some determination by Newcastle. Our newly appointed Captain , Alan Smith, didn’t disappoint holding midfield with some aggressive tackling and quality. However elsewhere that quality was sadly lacking . I can pin point Gutierrez, Coloccini and Ameobi myself. Coloccini was especially guilty of being pretty clueless in man marking and tracking department. His first half blunder allowed a Baggies corner set piece to put us one down before half time. He laughably stood by and watched whilst his man, Martis, simply ran around him! As for Gutierrez, he made some blindingly fast runs along the wing but his passing was woeful.  It puzzles me why Ameobi remained on the field whilst Andy Carroll was subbed late in the second half. I think my sister could take the ball off Ameobi! Also, it seemed that every-time he had the ball, the next second he’d be flat on his arse. What’s that all about Ameobi?

Damien Duff proved the man who had the knack of producing a quality finish worthy of the team. It was sorely needed to be honest. His goal was created from a deft touch pass from Nolan for Duffers to power it low into the corner.

Finally a shout out to Tim Krul. I knew he was capable of making some fantastic reflex action saves but count ‘em here. Krul produced four immaculate saves to keep us in the match! Newcastle United has the gift of having superb keepers (no matter how terrible the defence) and Krul was exceptional today.

Overall, a game played with frantic pace at times and finely balanced. A draw was a fair result at the end of the day. Hopefully, we’ll be able to tidy up some of the defensive errors for our next fixture against Reading. Another  note was Alan Shearer provided the BBC punditry and he’s still keen to take on Newcastle United managerial role IF someone asks him to. What we saw on the pitch shows up some of the team’s frailties which needs fixing desperately – let’s hope this week coming delivers some positive news as regards to the sale/ permanent manager as we need to be in the transfer market now!

West Bromwich Albion 1 – Newcastle United 1 – Early days yet!

Harper has already voiced his concern saying:

“We want it to be resolved so we know where we are and where we’re going because at this moment the football club is dying a slow, painful death. For five or six years now it’s been a gradual slow implosion. The situation is very, very frustrating for all of us. To be fair to Chris Hughton, Colin Calderwood and the lads, we have made the best of what is a dreadful situation. But at the moment the club isn’t rebuilding – it’s in a state of limbo and that is no good for anyone.”

Nicky Butt said:

“The season is going to be a tough one. It’s a very difficult league we’re in now. Things won’t be as easy as maybe some people think they will be in the Championship.

“It’s going to be a massive challenge for us but hopefully it’s one that we’re going to be able to match.

“I think it’s well documented that the club needs a bit more strength-in-depth. But it’s frustrating because time is running out to bring in players.

“It’s ideal to get players in early doors so that you can bond with them, but it’s frustrating when you are still waiting and almost falling behind other teams.”

Others have voiced their opinions as well such as Taylor and Nolan. Some players have clearly had enough with Beye being the latest to say he wants out of the mad house. As for the fans, well, it says something when season ticket sales has been the worst for 20 years.

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The slow pace of the club sale has effectively meant that Chris Hughton will take up the position of caretaker manager again. Pre-season preperations begin today with most of the squad recalled. I’m livid at the prospect that Chris Hughton might well end up as our manager at the start of the season whilst Ashley once again fumbles with the club.  Although we know Shepherd is very keen, speculation also suggests another group is in advanced talks as well. Our hope would be things get a move on so we can install a manager asap and get players moved in and out.

Yet more rumours abound on the transfer market stating that David Edgar could move to newly promoted Burnley.

I’m not going to speculate about this. However, if Shearer has been called in to travel a couple of hundred miles just to be told that nothing is happening then I’d be surprised.

As we know the books have been opened to prospective buyers last week and rumours are that two consortias look more promising from four. We await the verdict – it could be yet another frustrating non-event but I’ll offer my opinion on the news if there is news that is!

FRIDAY UPDATE: Once again this is just rumour mill churning. Sooner or later I feel us fans will spontaneously combust one day in sheer frustration at the incompetence of Ashley & co.

Oh, one more thing, Michael Jackson R.I.P

It’s a real shame that Owen could not become a Toon legend at the club. Hindered by some horrendous injuries, he made something like 80 appearances and 30 goals over his four years.  Back when Souness and Shepherd brought the misfiring striker off Real Madrid, it all seemed a bit of a fairy tale like when Big Al arrived to SJP. Where Shearer went on to become a goal machine, Owen could only say he was one.

The season just gone only proved to fans that Owen could not find his feet in the club. His captaincy was uninspiring leading to time on the bench and substitutions. Some attempts to revive his stalling career by Keegan almost beared fruit but the chaos at the club put an end to that. Shearer’s attempts to inspire Owen didn’t really work either.

It’s probably lucky for us that he did defer his contract dealing until the end of the month. But Owen had all the hallmarks of becoming a hero but to all intents and purposes, he’s turned out to be a bit of a flop. That’s the reality. The release of the promotional brochure just shows how much he’s fallen if he has to resort to glossy spreads to show his talent. I wish him the best of luck with his plans as he leaves Newcastle a much worse place before he joined.

News from what we hear suggests that the books have been upon for potential buyers and Mike Ashley has reportedly been in optismistic mood. The various consortias are unfortunately not allowed to disclose anything about their intentions so all info coming out still remains highly speculative. This all leaves the fans and Manager-in-waiting, Alan Shearer in the same frustrating situation.

In the meantime, the transfers still go ahead with Bassong increasingly looking likely to move on. The funny (if I can call it that) thing is that when the pre-season friendlies kick off next month, we’ll probably still get to lumber out the team that lost to Aston Villa potentially.

Hopefully, it will be a short time longer before someone can definitely tell us what’s going on in regards to the sale.