Number 1 - Comments

Ryan Taylor has completed a move from Newcastle to Sheffield United for three and a half million pounds.

The full back has moved from Tyneside to Yorkshire on a four year contract, bringing to an end his three and a half year spell in the North East.

Taylor moved to Newcastle in January 2009 from Wigan Athletic, as part of a £7million transfer that took Charles N'Zogbia the other way.

In a press conference, Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell confirmed his happiness at concluding the transfer to sign the full-back, who turns 27 after a few weeks of the campaign.

He said, "We heard Ryan was likely to be leaving Newcastle and we wanted to move quickly to capture a Premier League quality player. He will be a good signing for us in our quest to build on last season's good season, and we are very happy to incorporate him into our first team plans ahead of the new campaign."

Taylor is Sheffield United's 4th signing of the pre-season, following the recruitment of Jacek Krzynowek, Ben Watson and Roger Johnson. Blackwell was coy on press speculation that his club were also close to signing Liam Ridgewell, following reports in the West Midlands press than his team had a bid accepted for the Birmingham full-back.

Championship side Huddersfield have signed Newcastle winger Peter Lovenkrands and MK Dons striker Sam Baldock.

The Dane, who has also played for Rangers and Schalke, moves for four hundred and seventy five thousand pounds on a one year deal. He will be receiving a part of his salary, believed to be around £6,000 a year, from Newcastle for the contract.

Lovenkrands joined Newcastle in January 2009 and made 37 appearances for the club, scoring nine times. However, his best form came in his first half-season with the club, and he struggled to make the team during his other two seasons with the club.

He is not the only striker to move to West Yorkshire today, with the club also signing Milton Keynes Dons striker Sam Baldock for one hundred and ten thousand pounds.

Baldock, 22, broke through into the Dons starting line-up in the 2008-09 season and made 116 league appearances for the League One club, scoring 39 times in all.

Huddersfield manager Chris Hutchings said, "We are very please to have confirmed Peter and Sam as Huddersfield players. We were looking to improve our forward options, and these two are the players that we believe would provide such a role at this football club.

"I am hopeful they will go on to achieve great things playing for our club, and I hope our fans will show them unwavering support in their attempts to get as many results for Huddersfield Town as possible."

Turkish side Fenerbache have confirmed the signing of defender Fabricio Coloccini from Newcastle United.

The centre-back, who was Newcastle's highest earner, moves for three million pounds after three years playing for the Premier League club. He made 68 league appearances after joining for £10.5million from Deportivo La Coruna in 2008.

But he was inconsistent for a lot of his career in the North East, and was largely taken out of the first team selection by Sven-Goran Eriksson after picking up five red cards in a year and a half.

In a statement on the Turkish club's website, Coloccini said, "I am happy to move to Fenerbache. It will be a challenge moving to a new league, but one I relish and I hope to have a good rapport with the club's fans.

"It is an honour to join Fenerbache. They have a good reputation in Europe and it will be great to get started in playing for them.

"I enjoyed playing for the Newcastle fans, but it was just not going well for me and I didn't play enough. I wasn't happy to be frozen out but I am happy we concluded a move quickly when it became apparent I no longer featured in the first team plans there, and I wish the club well for the future."

With Coloccini earning a reported £80,000 a week during his time at Newcastle, club manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was keen to shift him on.

The club had also been in talks with Sheffield United over the sale of Kevin Nolan, but reportedly pulled out after Nolan requested Newcastle pay his wages in full for him to move to Yorkshire.

I had three bids rejected for him before in the previous summer but I still wish to sign him up.

We'll see if its possible. Couldn't hurt to bid at least.

Premier League champions Liverpool will travel to Aston Villa in their season opening fixture.

The Merseysiders will travel back to the scene of a dramatic late-season encounter, where Aston Villa beat them and looked to have denied them their chance at glory, before their wins over Manchester City and Sunderland proved enough to win their first title in 21 years.

Champions League winners and Premier League runners-up City will begin their season with a home clash against Burnley, as they hope to successfully defend their European title and win their first title since 1968.

Newly promoted Leeds United and FA Cup winners Arsenal will face off at Elland Road in the first Premier League fixture to take place in the West Yorkshire city since May 2004.

Arsenal's North London rivals and Carling Cup winners Spurs will begin with a home match. They will host Fulham at White Hart Lane in a London derby.

A Wear-Tyne Derby will also help open the season, with FA Cup runners-up Sunderland hosting their local rivals Newcastle at the Stadium of Light.

Middlesbrough will begin their season with a home match against Manchester United, while fellow newboys Stoke City open their season with a trip to Everton.

Elsewhere, Chelsea will host Sheffield United, West Ham United open with a trip to Bolton Wanderers, and Wolves and Blackburn will face off at Molineux.

The second round of fixtures take place in midweek, and feature a Roses derby between Manchester United and Leeds. Some clashes will almost certainly be rearranged, due to team's European commitments overlapping with the fixtures. This will almost certainly mean a re-arranging of Arsenal and Chelsea's fixture.

The first fixture between one of last season's top four will see Manchester City and Spurs face one another at the Etihad Stadium in the third round of fixtures on the weekend of August 20th/21st.

The first clash between last season's top two comes on December 3rd, and will see Manchester City travel to Anfield. It comes on the back of a tricky looking run for Mark Hughes' side, who face Arsenal and Manchester United in the two fixtures immediately before.

Boxing Day will feature Liverpool making their first return to Sunderland after they won the title there in May, while there is also a White Rose derby between Sheffield United and Leeds.

Liverpool will finish their season away at Wolves, while Manchester City host Stoke in their final game, and Arsenal will end the campaign with a trip to Middlesbrough.

Opening Fixtures (13/14 August):
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Bolton Wanderers vs West Ham United
Chelsea vs Sheffield United
Everton vs Stoke City
Leeds vs Arsenal
Manchester City vs Burnley
Middlesbrough vs Manchester United
Sunderland vs Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers

Second Fixtures (17/18 August):
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Blackburn Rovers vs Aston Villa
Burnley vs Everton
Fulham vs Manchester City
Liverpool vs Middlesbrough
Manchester United vs Leeds United
Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Stoke City vs Bolton Wanderers
West Ham United vs Sunderland

Boxing Day:
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Bolton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers
Everton vs Newcastle United
Fulham vs Burnley
Manchester City vs West Ham United
Middlesbrough vs Chelsea
Sheffield United vs Leeds United
Sunderland vs Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United

Final Day (May 6th 2012):
Aston Villa vs Manchester United
Bolton Wanderers vs Newcastle United
Everton vs West Ham United
Fulham vs Sheffield United
Leeds United vs Chelsea
Manchester City vs Stoke City
Middlesbrough vs Arsenal
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool

Newcastle United manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has said the club will attempt to offload some of their high earning players this summer.

The club have a total wage bill for the 2010-11 season of over £70million, with many players earning north of £40,000 a week. This had reportedly pushed the club deep into financial issues near the end of the campaign, although the club's league prize money and a loan from chairman Michael Murray have ultimately relieved pressure on the club's finances.

Speaking in his final press conference before his summer holidays, Eriksson confirmed the club will seek to offload some high-earning players in the summer, but insisted he doesn't have to sell before he can buy.

He said, "I have had initial talks with the chairman over the finances, and we have had initial talks over what transfer budget we can expect to have. I have an idea on what I want to spend and the budget I have been assigned should be enough to get my targets.

"There are rumours I cannot buy players before I sell them, and this is incorrect, because we do have a good budget and space on our wage bill for targets.

"But there are a number of players at this club on enormous wages that do little to justify their financial packages. They know who they are, but they do earn major financial resources that their form does not justify, and some of these were players whose rewards were questionable 12 months ago too. So we will seek to offload them."

Newcastle have been linked with Ajax striker Luis Suarez, AZ full back Sebastien Pocognoli, Cardiff attacker Ross McCormack, Manchester United winger Gabriel Obertan and more, but so far, are yet to confirm any further incomings alongside the signing of AZ Alkmaar winger/striker Moussa Dembele. The Belgian striker will join on July 1st after agreeing a free transfer.

I was always gonna re-start this. Had I known I'd lost my FM10 disc sooner I would've begun earlier, but heyho.

Aye Europe was the goal and sadly we just couldn't get the run we needed. Maybe next year.

With the Premier League now over for another year, The Daily Telegraph looks back on how each team did in another frantic season. This review concerns Newcastle United, who finished 9th in the Premier League.

The Season In A Sentence:
Always on the fringe of the European battle and one winning run from full involvement, but faded away as the season reached the business end.

Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson
Sven spent big in the summer but largely got it wrong. His cheapest buy in the form of free transfer Adel Taarabt was his best one, while the more expensive William Kvist proved a flop. Nevertheless his tactics did come close to the European chase, and he has potential for more next time.

Best Player: Jose Enrique
The left-back was Newcastle's most consistent performer. The Spaniard was a superbly competent force that was usually a steel hand in defence, and provided a superb combination with either Jonas Gutierrez or Damien Duff. With his contract due to expire in a year, Newcastle have to make sure they can retain his services.

Worst Player: Fabricio Coloccini
After two underwhelming campaigns, the Argentine had a big season to prove that he could still be a competent Premier League performer. But three sendings off and several underwhelming performances have proved he just doesn't look cut out for the role, and with his £80,000 a week wages proving an albatross, its almost certain he will leave in the summer.

Moment Of The Season:
Playing party poopers for Manchester City's title challenge proved immensely satisfying, while they were effortlessly brilliant in putting four past Bolton. But their single best contest came in the home clash with Chelsea, as a superb performance saw Newcastle demolish the West Londoners and perhaps helped send Carlo Ancelotti closer to the exit door.

Big Issue:
The discipline issue that has dominated Newcastle for the last two seasons remains a major problem. While they received less red cards, their amassing of bookings was second to none, with Joey Barton and Steven Taylor managing 32 yellow cards on their own in all competitions. Much is required to control this. There was also an underwhelming season for attack, and Eriksson will be hopeful the already confirmed signing of Moussa Demblele can help with this.

Season Rating: 6/10
It looked as though Newcastle had it in them for the winning run that would take them into the top six. But in the end that run from deep came from Aston Villa instead, leaving the Magpies to flounder in the middle of the table, and they will be even more annoyed to see their North East neighbours reaching the FA Cup Final and getting into Europe, although their thrashing by Arsenal will be some relief. Must do better next year.

Best Eleven:
Krul - Simpson, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Guthrie, Smith, Duff - Barton - Carroll

Dinijar Bilyaletdinov's wonder goal helped Everton rescue a point late on against Newcastle, but the Toffees miss out on Europe.

The Toffees looked like being frustrated by Newcastle's five man defence, and it looked as though they may wind up empty handed after Sebastien Bassong gave Newcastle a lead their woeful attacking play did not merit.

But Bilyaletdinov ensured Everton would not finish their season with a defeat, as his goal from off the bench secured a share of the points for the Merseysiders.

Despite this, however, they miss out on 6th place and the Europa League on goal difference, as Aston Villa's 5-0 victory over Manchester United at Villa Park ensures that Martin O'Neill's side will pip Everton to the final European spot.

It was tough to take for the Toffees, who, like Newcastle and Manchester United, were caught out by Villa's late surge in their hopes for Europe.

Newcastle had provided an unorthodox tactical surprise following injuries and their derby defeat last weekend, with five defenders and three strikers picked from the start at Goodison Park.

The system had Billy Jones and Jose Enrique picked in their full-back roles, while Mario Mandzukic started in a deeper role behind Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi.

In a sedate game, it was almost the visitors who grabbed the lead, but Mandzukic's firm effort was expertly stopped by Tim Howard.

Everton then began to take up a degree of control, with Yakubu forcing a superb save out of Tim Krul and Tim Cahill later heading one into the crowd.

Mikel Arteta hit a drive over the top of the goal, but their attack begun to find the going tough against the Newcastle defence and the half ended goalless.

With news filtering through of Aston Villa's 3-0 half time lead over Manchester United, the Toffees faithful began the second half chanting for their heroes to attack the Newcastle goal. The two teams entered the final 45 minutes of the campaign level on points and goal difference, with Villa leading the Europa League charge on goals scored.

Krul did well to deny Yakubu a goal in the first minute of the second half, and then made another stop to deny Marouane Fellaini.

The Magpies almost sprung a surprise, but Carroll couldn't keep his header on target.

Everton then thought they'd broken the deadlock with the spectacular. Cahill picked up Fellaini's knockdown and hit a superb strike from range, that Krul was somehow able to tip onto the post and watch bounce clear.

The Toffees then hit the post again when James Vaughan was set clear by Cahill only to smack the other upright to Cahill's earlier efforts.

When Sylvain Distin headed over, Everton fans begun to get a sense of foreboding that they may be hit by a sucker punch. These fears duly proved accurate.

Newcastle won a corner with 14 minutes to go, and Joey Barton's superbly precise delivery picked out Bassong, who headed home. The centre half's fourth goal of the season elated the away end crowd, who took delight in pointing out that like them, Everton's European hopes looked like they'd been ended.

Everton were only behind for four minutes. Bassong gave away a free-kick after he pulled Fellaini's shirt, and Bilyaletdinov sent a superb swerving free-kick into the bottom corner.

The Russian substitute had a minimal celebration, as he and his team-mates tried to restart the game quickly and get the one goal that would send them into Europe.

But they almost fell behind to the next attack. Luckily for them, Alan Smith was inaccurate with his shooting.

Newcastle's hopes of holding onto a point received a blow when Jones limped off injured in the last minute of normal time, with an unorthodox re-shuffle seeing William Kvist moved into a right wing-back role.

But they almost got the goal that would've ended their season with a win, with good defending from Joseph Yobo denying Peter Lovenkrands' fizzing cross being converted.

In the end, it was all over and despite being involved in the entertaining European tussle for the second half of the campaign, Everton and Newcastle both miss out. Newcastle's aspirations of a top six finish had ended after a series of unnecessarily dropped points, but the Toffees heartbreak is even stronger, with the Merseyides denied a fifth successive top six finish on the final day by their inferior goal difference.

Everton: Howard - Heitinga (Neville 45), Yobo, Distin, Garrido - Arteta, Rodwell, Fellaini, Baines (Bilyaletdinov 75) - Cahill - Yakubu (Vaughan 56)
Subs not used: Bartlett, Castro, Gosling, Slory

Scorer: Bilyaletdinov (80)

Newcastle: Krul - Edgar, Steven Taylor, Bassong - Jones (Guthrie 89), Smith, Barton, Jose Enrique - Mandzukic (Kvist 72) - Carroll, Ameobi (Lovenkrands 72)
Subs not used: Begovic, Kadar, Thygesen, Taarabt
Booked: Jose Enrique, Mandzukic

Scorer: Bassong (76)

Referee: Kevin Friend
Attendance: 40,158

FA Cup finalists Sunderland concluded their away league programme with derby victory at rivals Newcastle.

Fraizer Campbell put the Black Cats in the lead early on, before Kieran Richardson made sure of the points with a second strike later on.

The one blemish for Sunderland supporters saw Darren Bent limp off with a quarter of an hour to go after they had used all three subs, with manager Steve Bruce later confirming he suffered a pulled hamstring and will miss the Wembley showpiece.

The Newcastle supporters who didn't leave early booed their heroes from the field, with the team ending a season that has ran out of steam with a home defeat in the fixture that matters the most to them. Home manager Sven-Goran Eriksson looked seething at the end, and admitted in his post-match press conference that his team's performance embarrassed his club's city.

Newcastle had won at Manchester City in their previous outing and despite missing Danny Simpson and Jonas Gutierrez to injury, they had the game's first chance. It fell to Mikkel Thygesen, whose firm effort was expertly stopped by Craig Gordon.

Gordon was then required again moments later, with the goalkeeper making an even better stop to keep out Mario Mandzukic's fizzing drive.

Sunderland were beginning to get some momentum but were struggling to get anywhere beyond the Newcastle defence. It took them 28 minutes to register a clear chance at goal, but that chance was all they needed.

Richardson collected the ball just inside the Newcastle half and duly ran down the touchline. The former Manchester United player's sweeping run took him to a crossing position, and his ball was flicked on by Bent to Campbell, who couldn't miss.

A superb breakaway counter goal by the visitors, whose fans up on the top tier of St. James' Park took immense satisfaction in reminding their neighbours of their upcoming Wembley trip and subsequent European exploits for next year.

Newcastle were almost level instantaneously. A superbly weighted ball by Alan Smith picked out Thygesen, but again, the Dane was denied by Gordon.

The Scottish Sunderland goalkeeper was then again alert, this time to deny his own player from scoring an own goal after Deividas Semberas almost turned Ryan Taylor's cross into his own net.

Semberas was more accurate than Mandzukic, with the Croatian only able to fire his effort into the stands.

Sunderland then had a chance to make it two, only for Richardson to see his thumping effort beaten away by Tim Krul.

Joey Barton then saw an effort ripple the side netting as Newcastle tried to find a late first half equaliser, but Sunderland were fairly comfortable in dealing with home pressure.

Jose Enrique put one wide as Newcastle tried for a leveller after half-time, but their half time substitute Shola Ameobi was closer to finding the wrong net after his wayward clearance from a corner had to be kept out by Krul.

Sunderland's next attack yielded a second goal. An excellent ball by Lorik Cana picked out Bent, who broke free and saw his effort saved by Krul, but the onrushing Richardson tucked home the rebound.

Newcastle defenders and fans angrily appealed offside against Richardson, with black and white shirted players surrounding the assistant linesman, but the goal stood and the visiting fans were in dreamland.

The visitor's mood was slightly dampened when Bent picked up an injury, and had to leave the field after Sunderland had used all three subs. It was a shame for the visitors, with the England international having been a good performer on the day.

Despite that, the visitors nearly made it three, with a half-volley from Guirane N'Daw landing just wide.

Similarly inaccurate with his shooting was Mandzukic at the other end, with Croatian's effort landing heroically wide of the mark.

Mandzukic and Smith then sent efforts over the goal as Newcastle began to see the likelihood of points slipping away - a mood reflected by their supporters, who begun to leave the stadium in droves.

In the end, it was a superb day for the men from Wearside, as they secured their first win on Tyneside since 2000 and only their third win over their Tyneside neighbours in the current millennium.

It was a miserable day for Newcastle, whose season has fizzled out following the death of their European dream.

Newcastle: Krul - Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor, Edgar, Jose Enrique (Carroll 69) - Thygesen, Smith, Barton (Guthrie 81), Duff - Taarabt (Ameobi 45) - Mandzukic
Subs not used: Begovic, Coloccini, Jones, Kvist
Booked: Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor

Sunderland: Gordon - Semebras, Dallku (Nosworthy 45), da Silva (Turner 36), N'Daw - Henderson, Cana, Cattermole, Richardson - Bent, Campbell (Tainio 64)
Subs not used: Fulop, McCartney, Armero, Obika
Booked: Cattermole

Scorer: Campbell (20), Richardson (63)

Referee: Peter Oakley
Attendance: 56,387

Bizarrely James Rodriguez joined Bristol City for the season that is almost over on loan from AC Milan. He would be worth a look though.

Falcao is worth a look, although I want to sign Luis Suarez and maybe Lewandowski, so they'll probably take priority.

Bale is a first choice at left-back for Spurs, who won the title in my first season and made the Champions League in this one. So he might be too rich for my blood.

Anyway, last 2 games, review, and then the very busy summer, which I've almost finished up. So something to look froward to.

Mario Mandzukic scored the winner as Newcastle dealt Manchester City's title aspirations a major blow.

It looked as though the title-chasing Citizens had recovered from the first half setback of Mikkel Thygesen's goal when Emmanuel Adebayor capped off some early pressure with a goal.

But a late penalty converted by Mandzukic and some dogged Newcastle defending earned the visitors a shock three points at the Etihad Stadium, and opened the door for their title rivals Liverpool.and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the title.

The result was not what Manchester City manager Mark Hughes was hoping for, as his team were looking for a win that would have taken his team closer to a first top tier title since 1968.

It was certainly unexpected for their title ambition to hit the rocks against a Newcastle team that had blown their chances of European football with defeat at Burnley in their last fixture.

Newcastle were on the back foot from the moment Danny Simpson left the field injured in the first two minutes, with Micah Richards heading an attempt high and wide, and Tim Krul making superb stops to deny Adebayor and Robinho.

But despite that early pressure, Manchester City were finding Newcastle a harder nut than they anticipated to crack, and took until the 30th minute to create a chance, which Adebayor duly sent into the crowd.

Their profligacy was soon shown up moments later. Joey Barton was able to pick out Mandzukic, who raced around and past Miguel Torres before passing into Adel Taarabt. The Moroccan cued the ball up for Jonas Gutierrez, whose square ball evaded everyone apart from Thygesen, who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

The Danish winger's goal stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd, which had been anticipating an easy three points that would get them closer to the Premier League crown.

The Citizens had attempted to try and find an early way back in, but Robinho's needlessly high volley was the best they could manage.

Newcastle were finding themselves surprisingly untroubled by Manchester City's expensively assembled attackers, with a tame Robinho effort in the opening exchanges of the second half the best the hosts could manage either side of the interval.

But the hosts were able to find the equaliser 12 minutes into the half. Micah Richards intercepted a poor ball forward and played the ball into Pablo Zabaleta. He was able to control the ball and send Adebayor on his way with a direct ball. It landed perfectly for the Togolese international, who lost his marker and walloped the ball home for a superb way back into the game for his team.

Manchester City were then beginning to try and find a way through. But they weren't having the best of luck in finding it, with Adebayor heading straight at Krul and Robinho walloping an effort wide.

Then came a moment that surprised the home fans when they had a penalty awarded against them. Jonas' swerving cross picked out Mandzukic, who was impeded by Joleon Lescott. Referee Mike Jones spotted the shirt pull and awarded a spot kick, which Mandzukic effortlessly sent past Juan Pablo Carrizo.

Newcastle fans behind the goal were excessively pleased, and took pleasure in mocking taunts. It could even have been three, with Thygesen's free-kick swerving narrowly off target.

Wayward chances from Adebayor and Stefan Jovetic were the best Manchester city could manage, and their title aspirations took a severe blow with this defeat. With Liverpool playing their game in hand against Aston Villa tomorrow night, the Citizens could find themselves needed to win at Anfield in next weekend's massive clash.

Man City: Carrizo - Miguel Torres (de Jong 58), Richards, Lescott, Bridge - Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Zabaleta, Jovetic - Adebayor, Robinho
Subs not used: Given, de Weerdt, Santana, Julio Baptista, Bellamy, Lane
Booked: Miguel Torres

Scorer: Adebayor (57)

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson (Edgar 4), Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Thygesen (Duff 90), Smith, Barton, Jonas - Taarabt (Guthrie 72) - Mandzukic
Subs not used: Begovic, Coloccini, Carroll, Ameobi
Booked: Steven Taylor, Smith

Scorer: Thygesen (38), Mandzukic (pen 72)

Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 47,405

Late goals from Steven Fletcher and Clarke Carlisle helped Burnley see off Newcastle and take a stride towards safety.

The struggling Clarets and the Europe-chasing Magpies spent a whole afternoon looking similarly unlikely to break the deadlock, but with time running out, Fletcher gave Burnley an advantage.

Carlisle's second came with virtually the last kick, and it helped Burnley take a giant stride towards Premier League safety, while giving Newcastle's European aspirations a heavy - and possibly fatal - blow.

Burnley were certainly in need of the points, having failed to win since beating their Lancashire rivals Blackburn at Turf Moor on March 13th. But it was Newcastle with the game's first chance, although Andy Carroll will want to forget the fairly poor effort he attempted.

Tim Krul was the first of the two goalkeepers to be employed, but it was not a testing intervention for the Dutch goalkeeper, who made an easy catch to deny Andre Bikey.

Bikey got much closer with his next effort. The defender beat Alan Smith to a ball and his firm header beat Krul, but was cleared off the line by Jonas Gutierrez.

Krul then had to make the save to deny Stephen Jordan as Burnley looked the likelier scorers in a sedate first half of football.

But with less than ten minutes of the half remaining, Newcastle came very close when Jonas broke free and forced a fine save out of Diego Penny. Mario Mandzukic was first to the resulting corner, but the Croatian could only head the ball into the stands.

Jay Rodriguez also came close for Burnley, but his effort was fairly wild and off target.

Penny was then alert to deny Carroll when he broke free, and the goalkeeper was then alert to deny Sebastien Bassong.

Just after half-time, Krul was alert to deny Fletcher when he got free, while Newcastle then came close themselves when sub Tyrone Mears made a superb defensive interception to deny Carroll and Penny then stopped Andrew Driver from scoring an own goal on the resulting corner.

A simple stop from Krul then denied Fletcher as the two teams then began to become locked in an even struggle.

With Steven Taylor heading wide and Danny Guthrie seeing a speculative long ranger denied by Penny, it looked as though neither side was going to find the breakthrough.

But with nine minutes to go, Burnley made a controversial breakthrough. Kevin McDonald intercepted a poor defensive clearance from Bassong, and teed up Rodriguez. Instead of shooting, the Burnley striker passed to Fletcher, who slotted the ball home.

Newcastle protested, arguing that Fletcher was beyond the last defender when Rodriguez played him the ball, but the referee allowed the goal anyway, and the home faithful were celebrating.

The visitors threw on Shola Ameobi and the veteran striker saw a header denied by Penny, but Burnley were beginning to sedate the visitors.

The Clarets then wrapped up the three points in stoppage time. Chris Eagles' free-kick was deflected out for a corner, and from the resulting corner, Carlisle reached Driver's delivery to power a header into the top corner.

It was the end of the contest, with Burnley fans elated as they put further daylight between themselves and the dropzone and all-but confirmed Premier League safety for another season.

By contrast, a dejected Newcastle slumped off at the end of the contest, with their European aspirations all-but over after this defeat.

Burnley: Penny - Tony (Mears 45), Caldwell, Bikey, Jordan (Carlisle 82) - Eagles, McDonald, McCann (Hallfredsson 82), Eagles - Fletcher, Rodriguez
Subs not used: Jensen, Muntenau, Blake, MacDonald
Booked: Bikey

Scorer: Fletcher (81), Carlisle (90+4)

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique (Ameobi 82) - Jonas, Smith, Guthrie (Thygesen 78), Duff - Mandzukic, Carroll (Taarabt 68)
Subs not used: Begovic, Edgar, Jones, Barton
Booked: Simpson, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jonas, Duff

Referee: Lee Probert
Attendance: 20,539

Andy Carroll scored his first goal in two months as Newcastle eased past Fulham at St. James' Park.

The giant Newcastle number 9 broke his goal drought to open the scoring, before Mario Mandzukic made the home side's life more comfortable.

Struggling Fulham's hopes were raised after Danny Guthrie saw a penalty saved by Mark Schwarzer, but Newcastle put the game beyond the Cottagers when Sebastien Bassong scored a second penalty.

Fulham hopes of victory on Tyneside were raised by memories of their 3-0 victory at St. James' Park in the FA Cup in January, and they arrived knowing a win would ease their imminent relegation fears.

They made the early running, with Steven Taylor making a decisive block to deny Andy Johnson and Dickson Etuhu firing a strike off target.

Clint Dempsey curled one high and wide as a sedate game was largely being shaded by the men from West London, and a very nice stop from Tim Krul denied Brede Hangeland from opening the scoring.

Newcastle wasted their first real chance when it came on the half hour mark, with Mandzukic firing wide, and moments after Hangeland had headed one over, the Croatian duly fired another effort into the crowd.

With nine minutes before the break, and slightly against the run of play, it was Newcastle who took the advantage. A crisp pass from Danny Guthrie set away Jonas Gutierrez, who ran down the flank before finding Mandzukic. The home striker opted to play in Carroll, who found the net.

The relief could be seen on the face of the Newcastle number 9, who was finally toasting a goal after two months of appearances without goals.

The goal gave the hosts confidence, and only a flying stop from Schwarzer denied Mandzukic from doubling his team's tally. But it was only a temporary reprieve.

Clint Dempsey's wayward pass to the flank picked out Damien Duff, who tucked the ball inside for Smith. The former Manchester United midfielder laid it off for Guthrie, who played a wonderful ball over the top. It released Mandzukic, who ran through one-on-one and slotted home. Another goal for the Croat, who is proving to be more than worth his £4million transfer fee.

Newcastle then received a golden chance to make their first half even better. John Pantsil was penalised for a trip on Carroll when the striker beat the Ghanian full-back to a cross, and the referee opted to give a penalty. Fulham vociferously protested - for which Pantsil was cautioned - but the referee opted to keep the spot-kick award.

Guthrie stepped up but like he did against Bristol City, he could only find the goalkeeper's hands with his spot kick.

It was almost three goals in the early stages of the second half, but Mandzukic's effort rippled the side netting rather than the actual net.

Fulham then attempted to curate opportunities, but Valeri Bojinov's effort was simple for Krul and Dempsey hit a different effort waywardly off target.

Seeking to make amends for another penalty miss, Guthrie was next to try, but his swerving effort landed fractionally off target rather than in the net.

Carroll also came close, but his effort skimmed the top of the bar on the way into the stands.

Hangeland, Bojinov and Titus Bramble put efforts over as Fulham tried in vain to find a way back into the contest, and their luck was proven out when Tim Krul made a brilliant stop to deny Jonathan Greening.

Newcastle were then awarded a second penalty with 17 minutes to go. Jonas reached Mandzukic's pass before Greening and the referee adjudged Greening's intervention to be illegal, thus resulting in a penalty. Bassong stepped up from 12 yards and converted the ball into the goal to give Newcastle their three goal cushion.

After missing a number of chances, Fulham thought they had registered a consolation when Greening was picked out by Bojinov and slotted home. But the officials chalked the strike off for offside, much to the anguish of the away supports and players.

In the end, it was a depressing afternoon for the Fulham supporters, who trudged back down the A1 to London on the back of a miserable afternoon. Newcastle fans by contrast had a good evening as their heroes registered another three points to their name.

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Smith (Barton 60), Guthrie, Duff (Lovenkrands 74) - Mandzukic, Carroll (Ameobi 89)
Subs not used: Begovic, Jones, Edgar, Thygesen
Booked: Steven Taylor, Smith

Scorer: Carroll (36), Mandzukic (43), Bassong (pen 73)

Fulham: Schwarzer - Pantsil, Hangeland, Bramble, Hughes - Gera (Kelly 80), Dempsey, Etuhu, Kamara (Greening 52) - Bojinov, Johnson
Subs not used: Simonsen, Stoor, Smalling, Davidson
Booked: Etuhu, Pantsil

Referee: Phil Dowd
Attendance: 45,786

Peter Crouch ended his goal drought as Spurs maintained their title dream with victory at Newcastle.

The reigning champions were rarely troubled in the clash at St. James' Park, with Robbie Keane's strike on the half-hour setting the team on their way and Crouch rubber-stamping the victory nine minutes later.

Newcastle had the odd chance but failed to really trouble Spurs as their European aspirations took a significant knock.

Spurs were dominant in the early stages but had problem penetrating the backline, with Tom Huddlestone firing one over and Wilson Palacios having a cross bundled out of touch.

The visitors were close moment later, with Luka Modric seeing an effort blocked by Alan Smith and Keane wasted the rebound.

Spurs thought they should have been given a penalty kick after a tackle by Mario Mandzukic on Keane, but the referee ignored the appeals and Palacios walloped his effort into the crowd.

After having the best of the game, Spurs took the lead on the half-hour. Huddlestone picked up the ball and advanced through the middle of the park before cueing up Lennon. The winger picked up Keane, who evaded David Edgar and ran into the box before slotting home.

It was a crisp drive home from the Irish forward, and the fans high up on the Leazes End were voicing their elated approval.

Newcastle's first chance came shortly after when Steven Taylor's half-volleyed ball across goal fell for Mandzukic, whose strike went wide. He was soon made to pay for that miss as Spurs struck a second strike.

The ball was played out wide to Lennon, who shimmied around Jose Enrique and began to blast his way down the touchline. The England international then cued up a cross for Crouch, who nipped in ahead of Danny Guthrie and almost walked the ball beyond Tim Krul.

It was the end of a long goal drought for the giant English striker, who hadn't scored since striking at Burnley two months ago.

Newcastle finally begun to create opportunities with two goals in the back of the net. Andy Carroll headed over in a goalmouth scramble that also saw Steven Taylor's chance blocked, while Mandzukic then saw an effort nicely clawed away by Gomes.

After half time, Spurs came close to extending their advantage, with Gareth Bale seeing a free-kick deflected wide and Crouch breaking free of a feeble offside trap only to be expertly denied by Krul.

Crouch was must less accurate with his next attempt, which went over, while similarly poor accuracy meant Jonas Gutierrez was nowhere near troubling the goalkeeper.

Newcastle were beginning to create chances, but Duff and Carroll were both inaccurate with attempts.

Only a superb Steven Taylor intervention denied Jermain Defoe a chance at glory, as Spurs tried to kill the game off as a contest.

The home fans were beginning to exit the stadium, with those that remained witnessing Guthrie and Jonas hit wayward efforts on target.

Much more accurate was Smith, but his late effort was fired straight at Gomes.

In the end, it was a comfortable win for the reigning Premier League champions, who were rarely troubled until they were out of sight, and dealt easily with a fairly underwhelming threat from the home side in the fixture.

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Steven Taylor, Edgar, Jose Enrique (Ameobi 83) - Thygesen (Duff 45), Smith, Guthrie, Jonas - Mandzukic (Lovenkrands 69), Carroll
Subs not used: Begovic, Jones, Bassong, Barton
Booked: Steven Taylor, Kadar, Barton

Spurs: Gomes - Corluka, Woodgate (Dawson 90), King, Bale (Assou-Ekotto 60) - Lennon (Defoe 45), Palacios, Huddlestone, Modric - Keane, Crouch
Subs not used: Alexander, Hibbert, Boyce, Kranjcar
Booked: King, Lennon, Crouch

Scorer: Keane (30), Crouch (39)

Referee: Lee Mason
Attendance: 53,290

Newcastle winger Damien Duff has signed a two year contract extension at St. James' Park.

The midfielders contract had been due to expire at the end of the season, but after a number of improeved recent performances, the North East club have opted to hand the 32-year-old a two year extension, which will take him through to the end of the 2012/13 season.

Duff has reportedly accepted a 50% wage cut in exchange for the extension.

Newcastle manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said, "We are very pleased with this announcement. Damien is a talented player who has been a key part of my plans, and we are highly pleased that he has opted to sign the new deal and remain part of the plans here at St. James' Park"

Duff joined Newcastle from Chelsea in 2006. He has scored 10 times in 120 appearances for the club. His most crucial goal came on the final day of the 2008/09 season, where he scored a last minute equaliser for Newcastle at Villa Park to keep them in the Premier League.

Two goals in five minutes from substitute Damien Duff saw Newcastle claim three points at struggling Bristol City.

It had looked as though Newcastle had missed their chance to get three points in the South West after Danny Guthrie had a first half penalty saved by Adriano Basso. But his half-time replacement Duff was the saviour for the Geordies, with the two goals that keeps alive his team's European aspirations.

Its not a result that helps the Robins, who did very well to get a draw at Old Trafford in their last encounter but rarely looked like taking something off the Geordies.

The Robins may have sensed a pre-match opportunity to take a share of the points, with Newcastle missing top scorer Adel Taarabt and defender Sebastien Bassong due to African Cup of Nations qualifying games.

It was the hosts who had the game's first opportunity, but Ross Wallace's was closer to finding the net at Bristol Rovers' ground than at Ashton Gate. Similarly inaccurate was Mario Mandzukic, who was superbly set up by Alan Smith but put his effort wildly off target.

Newcastle were then awarded a penalty on 18 minutes. Referee Mike Jones made what replays later showed to be the correct call after Louis Carey made a poorly timed tackle on Andy Carroll, which the Bristol City captain notably failed to appeal.

However, the Robins were kept level by the heroics of their keeper, as Basso pulled off the save to deny Guthrie.

It could have been even worse for Newcastle moments later, but Cole Skuse's free-kick was wildly over the top of the goal.

David Clarkson was closer when he superbly connected with James Rodriguez's delivery, but was similarly off target. Much more accurate was Wallace, who beat David Edgar to Danny Haynes' cross and forced the save out of recalled Magpies stopper Tim Krul.

Basso was then called upon to make the save, with his stop denying Steven Taylor's header from a corner, while Carroll could only send Guthrie's cross wide of the mark.

The Magpies then came close again in the closing moments of the half, with a superb defensive tackle from Liam Fontaine denying Mikkel Thygesen a shooting chance, and Steven Taylor's header from the resulting corner drift inches off target.

Bristol City had the stronger of a quiet start to the second half, but their shooting accuracy remained wildly off, with Skuse sending another long ranger into the crowd.

Newcastle's first real second half opportunity fell to Duff, who skilfully evaded Carey and then contrived to arrow one wildly off target.

Slightly more accurate was Mandzukic, but his rising drive could only touch the top of the bar on its way over.

After a second half dominated by wildly inaccurate shooting, the first accurate shot of the half came on 72 minutes, with Basso making a nice stop to deny Alan Smith.

The second shot on target turned out to be the opening goal, which went the way of the visitors. A poor defensive clearance after Basso's initial stop was picked up by Edgar, who was able to lay it off for Thygesen. He cued it up for Carroll, who beat his man and fed Duff, and the Irishman converted.

Five minutes later and the Irishman was on the scoresheet again. It was a hard one to take for Basso, who made a superb initial stop to deny Carroll, only to watch Duff get to the loose ball and convert the strike.

With Duff's contract set to expire at the end of the season, it was certainly a good way for him to advance his case for a contract extension.

Bristol City almost made things interesting late on when Carey rose highest to a cross and forced a diving stop out of Krul.

In the end, it was the Newcastle fans who were singing in the rain as they posted their 8th away win of a decent season on their travels.

By contrast, Bristol City fans slumped off into the Somerset air on the back of another defeat, and their clash away at a Sheffield United team who got promoted with them in May last year takes on added significance for their Premier League future.

Bristol City: Basso - Carey, McCombe, Fontaine (Orr 83), Spurr - Morrison, Rodriguez (Matri 83), Skuse, Wallace - Clarkson, Haynes (Maynard 78)
Subs not used: Henderson, Nyatanga, Walker, Williams
Booked: Carey

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Steven Taylor, Edgar, Jose Enrique - Thygesen (Kvist 79), Smith, Guthrie (Duff 45), Jonas - Mandzukic (Lovenkrands 79), Carroll
Subs not used: Begovic, Jones, Kadar, Ameobi

Scorer: Duff (72, 77)

Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 19,121

Ryan France scored twice as Sheffield United picked up a point at St. James' Park.

It looked like being a long afternoon for the Blades after Mikkel Thygesen scored inside the opening four minutes. But an error by Asmir Begovic allowed first-half substitute France to score an equaliser, and he then scored again to give them a half-time lead.

Jonas Gutierrez's goal after half-time saved Newcastle from home defeat, but neither team were able to get victory. Its a result that damages Newcastle's Champions League aspirations, but is one that keeps alive the newly promoted Blades' hopes for a top half position.

Newcastle thought they would be able to get their way to a comfortable win when they took the lead after four minutes. Alan Smith picked up a pass in the middle of the turf and was able to cue the ball forward for Mario Mandzukic. The Croatian hitman laid a great ball to Thygesen, who snuck in behind the defence to slot the ball into the bottom corner.

The recalled Dane hadn't scored in 2011, and the cool finish was certainly justification for his preference to Damien Duff in the Newcastle starting 11.

Sheffield United were very close to bouncing back immediately. A crisp cross from one-time Newcastle transfer target Adam Johnson picked out Ched Evans, whose bullet header was expertly held by Begovic.

Ryan Taylor came close for the hosts with a very nice free-kick that just touched the top of the bar on its way into the crowd.

Stephen Quinn was less accurate with his attempt, which flew way off target. But the Irishman's afternoon did not last much longer, with his afternoon curtailed by broken ribs after a sharp fall in a challenge from Alan Smith.

Newcastle came close to a second only for Andy Carroll to head the ball straight at Mark Bunn, and he was made to pay as within moments, the Blades drew level.

In truth there seemed little danger when Chris Morgan lobbed in a free-kick from 30 yards, but under pressure from Matt Derbyshire, Begovic and David Edgar got in each other's way, and a poor clearance from Edgar found France, who couldn't miss.

A first Premier League goal since January 8th for the utility player, who was only on the field following Quinn's injury, and moments later, it got even better.

Gary Naysmith's corner picked out the Blades substitute, who broke free of Edgar's marking and buried his header beyond Begovic. Two goals in five minutes for France meant that his team had come from a goal behind to take the lead on Tyneside.

The lead however was ended after less than three minutes of the second half. Robert Koren dallied on the edge of the box and had the ball taken off him by Carroll, who cued up Mandzukic. A superb pass from the Croatian cued up Jonas, who fired the ball into the bottom corner to draw his team level.

Having got themselves level, the home team almost produced a quickfire comeback of their own, only for Bunn to make a superb stop to deny Carroll.

Newcastle really should have taken the lead on 65 minutes, and only Jonas will know how he conspired to fire wide when superbly placed.

The hosts threw on top scorer Adel Taarabt to try and turn the tide, but were frustrated by superb defensive displays from the visitors' defending options. They did come close, only for Carroll to head Danny Simpson's cross over.

Much closer was Mandzukic, who took aim from a long way out and saw his strike just touch the bar on its way into the crowd.

Sheffield United were beginning to stifle the host's attack and were sensing the chance for the hard-earned point, but they were almost undone when Taarabt went down under a challenge. The referee blew his whistle, but decided to book the Moroccan for diving rather than award a penalty, much to the home crowd's disgust.

There was no further action in the contest. Newcastle fans were frustrated at what seemed to be the fatal erosion of their Champions League dreams, but they will now look to see if they can secure a top six finish.

By contrast, it was a good result for the Blades, who are getting further away from the relegation battle and are now dreaming of a top half finish to end a satisfactory first campaign back in the Premier League.

Newcastle: Begovic - Ryan Taylor (Simpson 45), Edgar, Bassong, Jose Enrique (Ameobi 90) - Thygesen, Alan Smith, Guthrie (Taarabt 66), Jonas - Carroll, Mandzukic
Subs not used: Krul, Jones, Steven Taylor, Duff
Booked: Bassong, Guthrie, Taarabt

Scorer: Thygesen (4), Jonas (48)

Sheffield United: Bunn - Baird, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith - Williamson, Koren (Harper 79), Quinn (France 30), Johnson - Evans, Derbyshire (Abdi 85)
Subs not used: Krysiak, Adam Smith, Craddock, Geary
Booked: Morgan

Scorer: France (41, 45+1)

Referee: Peter Oakley
Attendance: 52,853

As I said above - any investor looking to buy us would be looking at a price north of £300million and there are very few people on this earth wealthy and/or insane enough to stump up that kind of big money. But I'm not talking in terms of trying to compete with the European places as it would be a pricey endeavour. What I just wanted is a squad that feels like it can compete, and it feels like right now, we're lacking 2/3 players for that to happen.

Meanwhile, the club has confirmed a new scoreboard is being put on the cantilever structure by the away end. Which has led to the inevitable "Are you just going to paint the words Newcastle 0 on the side of it" comments on the club's FB page.

Any recommendations?

I wanted to sign Tiote and Cabaye like in real life but I didn't boot up a large enough database, and I could never afford Ben Arfa or Remy.

I am of the position of spend within reason. What annoys me is one more striker and defender is not baseless excessive spending. We received £100million from selling Cabaye and finishing in the Premier League top 10, and still had a net spend of less than £10million for the calendar year.

Odd thing is we could be a billionaire vanity project given Ashley is reputedly of enormous wealth, and to a degree, we were at first. Just happened to have a man who thought a £30million warchest was perfect for Czech, Senegalese and Brazilian defenders that were barely capable of the art. But it feels like we lack imagination with the funding that we do have. Its been established we could've spent to build on 5th in 2012, waited until we were in a relegation battle to do so, and have been stumbling since.

But yes - Ashley is going to take a blockbuster bid to sell up. The £120million of club debts to him and the £100-odd million asking price would be the bare minimum of his asking price, and there are very few people wealthy and/or insane enough to spend that kinda cash.

Newcastle United have confirmed Belgian striker Moussa Dembele will join on a free transfer in the summer.

The 23 year old striker, who can also play as a left midfielder, will join from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, and will move upon expiry of his contract at the 2009 Dutch league champions.

Dembele has scored 36 times in the Eredivisie since joining AZ, who he joined from Willem II for £3.5million in 2006. He has also been capped 26 times by the Belgian national team, and has scored six goals.

Newcastle manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was pleased to confirm his new signing.

He said, "We are very pleased to confirm Moussa's move to Newcastle. He is a talented youngster that has delivered good performances, and we have been looking for players like that to come and join Newcastle.

"I have confidence he will be a success for Newcastle."

Eriksson would not confirm or deny rumours Newcastle are planning a renewed campaign to sign Ajax striker Luis Suarez, but admitted he would like to sign the player.

Ajax rejected a £12million bid by the North East club in the summer, but Suarez has rejected a contract extension on his existing deal, which currently has 18 months to run.

Eriksson said, "We are obviously known to admire Luis and we did bid for him last year. He certainly has the capability to improve any team, and it would be a fantastic signing for Newcastle. Whether or not we will be able to pull it off next summer is for the future to decide, but at the moment, we are considering all options and if we think we can cope without signing him, or there are other areas in bigger need of strengthening than our attack, then so be it."

Mario Mandzukic scored the only goal as Newcastle pushed Birmingham deeper into the relegation mire.

The Croatian striker marked his first start after an injury lay-off with the only goal of an absorbing contest at St. Andrews. Its a result that keeps alive Newcastle's European aspirations, and is a result that leaves Alex McLeish's side staring a return to the Championship in the face.

The Blues haven't won a game since beaten fellow strugglers Hull City on January 15th, and home supporters are becoming increasingly fearful of a return to the second tier after two years in the Barclays Premier League.

Newcastle arrived in Birmingham still with an outside aspiration of a Champions League place, and had the game's first chance when Andy Carroll rose to meet Jonas Gutierrez's flying cross, and saw his header cannon off the crossbar.

Birmingham should have taken the lead after 8 minutes. Roger Johnson met Franck Quedrue's cross with a storming header that Asmir Begovic superbly kept out, and only Christian Benitez will know how me missed the rebound.

The home team then thought they should have been given a penalty when Sebastien Bassong challenged James McFadden, but the referee instead let play go on, which resulted in Jay O'Shea blasting a shot into the stand.

Liam Ridgewell headed over from McFadden's cross as Birmingham looked likelier to find the game's opening goal, but their goalkeeper kept them on level terms, with a superb diving stop from Colin Doyle made to deny Mandzukic.

Doyle was then called upon to parry a Carroll effort, and then made an even better save when it seemed harder for the Newcastle number 9 to miss.

Newcastle were beginning to turn up the heat and Jonas almost nabbed a fine solo effort only for his resulting effort after his dribble to be woefully inaccurate.

It was next the turn of Birmingham's Julien de Guzman to miss a sitter, with his perfect placement resulting in him heading the ball straight at Begovic.

Roger Johnson was also close to finding his name on the scoresheet, with his header just touching the bar on its way into the stands.

The hosts did lose former Magpie Lee Bowyer to injury just after half-time, while de Guzman was again presented a good chance and again found Begovic rather than the back of the net.

It was then the turn of Newcastle to try their luck, with only superb acrobatics from Doyle preventing Carroll's powerful header from finding the back of the net.

Having been bumped forward into right midfield, Ryan Taylor then came close, with the Newcastle player's piledriver just kissing the crossbar on its way over.

Carroll and Ryan Taylor were both desperately unlucky with efforts that narrowly missed the target, while Birmingham's Sebastien Larsson was also unable to find the target with an effort of his own.

The game's opening goal came with 21 minutes to play and went to the visitors. A poor offensive pass by Birmingham was intercepted by Jose Enrique, who played the ball up to Mikkel Thygesen. The Dane's lofted through pass was perfect for Mandzukic, who ran free of the home defence and scored, even despite the goalkeeper getting a touch.

Birmingham fans felt Mandzukic had strayed offside in the build-up and that the goal shouldn't have stood, but the referee allowed it. This was much to the frustration of Queudrue, who protested vehemently and received a warning for his conduct.

The hosts were surprisingly comfortable and were it not for a number of timely interventions, they may have extended their advantage. But they almost handed Birmingham a draw in stoppage time. Benitez's teasing low cross missed everyone apart from Edgar, whose miscue was tipped onto the post by Begovic in a real heart in mouth moment for the away fans and coaching staff.

Having survived that self-inflicted mishap, Newcastle duly rode out injury time to claim three points. A compelling contest eventually saw them take the clinical edge, and they will hope this can start a run to secure a first season in Europe since 2006/07.

By contrast, Birmingham's defence was undone despite some decent work, and it is beginning to look as if the Blues are getting further and further from safety.

Birmingham: Doyle - Ruiz (O'Connor 60), Roger Johnson, Ridgewell, Queudrue - O'Shea (Damien Johnson 45), De Guzman, Larsson, McFadden - Bowyer (Carr 48) - Benitez
Subs not used: Maik Taylor, Pearce, Dann, Murphy

Newcastle: Begovic - Ryan Taylor, Edgar, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Thygesen, Smith, Guthrie (Simpson 45), Jonas - Mandzukic, Carroll (Jones 45)
Subs not used: Harper, Steven Taylor, Taarabt, Duff, Ameobi

Scorer: Mandzukic (69)

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 20,313

Fernando Torres scored the equaliser as Liverpool came from two goals down to draw with Newcastle.

Newcastle did take a two goal lead against the title-chasing Reds, with Sebastien Bassong and Andy Carroll strikes giving the home side a two goal advantage and seeming to give their Champions League aspirations life.

But an own goal by Asmir Begovic gave Liverpool hope and Torres was able to provide Liverpool parity, but neither side could then find a winner and the points were shared.

In truth, a point does little to help either side's relative aspirations, and both sides will be hoping for better in their respective next games after an entertaining encounter in the North East.

The game had been earmarked by many as one of the more entertaining encounters, and with title rivals Manchester City and Spurs both winning, Liverpool were really in requirement of three points.

The visitors were presented the game's first real chances, but Torres sent both his headed efforts high into the stand rather than the back of the net.

Carroll was closer to finding the back of the net when presented with an opportunity to head the ball, but his effort skimmed the top of the bar on its way into the stands.

A volley from Carroll a few minutes later was way off target, but Pepe Reina was called upon moments later to make a flying stop to deny Jonas Gutierrez.

Newcastle were beginning to develop control over the clash, with Danny Simpson seeing a strike just go wide and Reina make another good save - this time to deny Carroll after Begovic's long goal kick had reached the giant Newcastle striker.

It was the Magpies who got the opening goal, and from a set-piece. After Jamie Carragher could only head Ryan Taylor's corner behind, the full back's corner picked out Bassong, who got in ahead of Steven Gerrard to place the ball into the top corner.

A good goal from the Cameroon international, who scored against Manchester United a few weeks earlier, and it finally meant Newcastle pressure was reflected by the scoresheet.

Liverpool had been frustrated by the home defensive quadrant, and were almost two down moments later, with a parried save from Reina denying Shola Ameobi.

But having ridden out that, Liverpool thought they should have had a penalty for a challenge by Jose Enrique on Ryan Babel, which the referee ignored - partly as Babel was able to get a shot away, which landed wide.

Liverpool's first real shot on target came just before half-time, but the flying stop from Asmir Begovic was able to deny Gerrard's piledriver.

Rafael Benitez introduced Dirk Kuyt at half-time and changed to a 4-4-2, but the chance backfired as Newcastle got a second goal.

A poor clearance by Lucas was intercepted by Jonas, who ran down the flank and sent in a teasing cross. The rising Carroll met it unmarked and duly buried the ball into the bottom corner.

A first home goal of 2011 for the Newcastle number 9, who was clearly delighted in scoring in front of his home fans and increasing his burgeoning reputation.

Having been relatively untroubled, it looked as though Newcastle were heading towards three points, but they let Liverpool back into it thanks to a calamity of errors.

It seemed as though the danger had been dealt with when Bassong was first to Javier Mascherano's cross, but Bassong and Begovic kept getting in one another's way and before long the ball was in the back of the net.

Replays showed the final touch came off the Bosnian goalkeeper, but both parties dealt with the ball ineptly and under minimal pressure from Liverpool attackers. It certainly will have annoyed Sven-Goran Eriksson his team gave their opponents such a cheap way back into the contest.

Shortly after came a habitual part of Newcastle games this season, as Joey Barton was handed his 15th yellow card of the campaign, which will give him a 3 game ban starting from next weekend's trip to Birmingham City.

Liverpool almost scored two in three minutes after Torres was played through and raced past David Edgar, but Begovic pulled off the superb stop.

Newcastle almost regained their two goal cushion when Adel Taarabt received Carroll's knockdown, but the Moroccan's first touch saw him wildly fire the ball into the Gallowgate End.

The miss proved crucial. A crisp pass forward from Kuyt released Torres, who outstripped Bassong for pace and raced through towards the goal. His crisp powerful strike left Begovic helpless and ensured the Spanish international finally had a goal to show for his efforts.

Four minutes later, Liverpool almost managed a complete turnaround. Gerrard was able to nip in ahead of Edgar to meet Torres' knock back and hit a powerful effort that left Begovic grasping at air, but he hit the crossbar rather than the net.

Martin Skrtel was then presented with a chance but could only hit the ball into the stands, and a long range pildedriver from Gerrard could only ruffle the side netting.

Newcastle's best chance of restoring their advantage was ended by a superb Skrtel intervention to deny Carroll a free run on goal, and in the end the referee blew the whistle to signify a sharing of the points.

The two teams were certainly showing the best sides of their attack, although Newcastle will be irritated at how a poor defensive mistake allowed their opponents to get back into the game when they had seemingly sewn the contest up.

Its a point that does little to help their respective aspirations, but does ensure they remain in the hunt for their goals as the season enters its final straight.

Newcastle: Begovic - Simpson (Mandzukic 84), Edgar, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Ryan Taylor, Barton, Guthrie (Thygesen 77), Jonas - Ameobi (Taarabt 61), Carroll (Lovenkrands 35)
Subs not used: Harper, Steven Taylor, Jones, Lovenkrands
Booked: Simpson, Barton, Jonas

Scorer: Bassong (26), Carroll (48)

Liverpool: Reina - Carragher, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Insua - Mascherano, Lucas - Benayoun (Kuyt 45), Gerrard, Babel (Riera 66) - Torres
Subs not used: Cavaliera, Dossena, Aquliani, Luis Jimenez, N'Gog
Booked: Mascherano

Scorer: Begovic (og 54), Torres (70)

Referee: Lee Mason
Attendance: 55,949

Peter Lovenkrands and Damien Duff grabbed their first goals of the season as Newcastle thrashed Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

The visitors had taken the lead through Shola Ameobi's first goal of 2011, but had a very goal-heavy second half, with strikes for Duff, Jonas Gutierrez and Lovenkrands helping the visitors rack up their biggest win of the season.

It was a bad result for Bolton, who remain in relegation trouble and have been involved in a series of tricky fixtures including clashes against Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs, and have games against the two Merseyside teams to come.

Bolton had won their previous four encounters with the Geordies but despite some limited early pressure, they fell behind inside the opening quarter of an hour.

Duff's initial delivery was only half-cleared to former Bolton loanee Danny Guthrie, who flicked the ball on to Jonas. The Argentine advanced and laid the ball off for Ameobi, who hit a powerful volley into the top corner.

The goal was Ameobi's first since scoring against Birmingham City on October 30th, as his team looked to have a happier afternoon on the west side of the Pennines following recent defeats at nearby Manchester United and Blackburn.

Newcastle were then very close to a quickfire second as Danny Simpson weaved a great ball for Jonas, only for Jussi Jaaskelainen to pull off an outstanding stop.

A superb defensive intervention from Danny Shittu denied Andy Carroll from taking Newcastle's only other chance of normal time in a largely sedate first half, while Ricardo Gardner could only blast Bolton's best chance into the crowd.

Newcastle were presented a chance in first half stoppage time and were very close to taking it, with Carroll's goal bound header superbly tipped out for a corner by Jaaskelainen.

Bolton did have a chance just after half-time when Sean Davis advanced and had a crack but he could only blast his shot into the crowd, and things got worse for his team moments later.

It could have been worse even earlier had former Newcastle defender Andy O'Brien not deflected Carroll's effort wide and the team made the most of a surprisingly lackluster corner. But the Magpies did score on 53 when Carroll was able to hold the ball up and pass to Jose Enrique. The Spanish full back's direct pass teed up Duff, who ran with the ball and smashed it home.

A first goal of the season for the man whose goal on the final day in May 2009 kept his team in the Premier League, and something to help his bargaining position with his contract set to expire are the end of the current season.

Bolton were close to halving the deficit after kick-off when Johan Elmander received a chance only to blast it hopelessly off target, and his team duly fell a further goal behind.

A neat passing move saw Carroll lay the ball off for Joey Barton, who played a crisp pass to Jonas. A one-two with Guthrie set the Argentine winger free, and he duly buried his chance. The man in form of late for Newcastle was delighted with another goal to his tally, and it surely ensured Newcastle would be returning to the North East with an additional three points.

But Newcastle still looking hungry for more, with Jaaskelainen making a flying stop to deny Jonas and Sebastien Bassong heading over at the resulting corner.

Fabrice Muamba headed an effort over the top as Bolton fans began to depart early, and those who remained saw Jaaskelainen called upon again as he denied Duff.

Chris Basham and Mustapha Riga had opportunities to claw a goal back but wasted them, and Newcastle duly extended the margin of victory in the final two minutes of normal time.

They had come close when Mario Mandzukic headed over when well placed, but they had their goal through his fellow sub Lovenkrands. A one-two between Newcastle's two central midfielders released Guthrie, who was able to advance and hit a pin-point ball that flew beyond Gretar Steinsson to Lovenkrands, who slotted home for his first Premier League goal since May 2009.

Bolton's first real chances of the whole game came in second half stoppage time, with Asmir Begovic making superb stops to deny Elmander and Riga, but in truth, Bolton did little to even justify a place on the scoresheet, nevermind any quantity of the points.

By contrast, it was a superb victory for Newcastle, and it keeps up their European aspirations despite the games in hand many of the teams around them have.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen - Steinsson, Shittu, Radzkov (O'Brien 45), Ricketts (Riga 54) - Abdessadki (Robinson 45), McCann, Muamba, Basham, Davis, Gardner - Elmander
Subs not used: Al-Habsi, Hunt, Matt Taylor, Knight
Booked: Davis

Newcastle: Begovic - Simpson, Edgar, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Barton, Guthrie, Duff (Ryan Taylor 89) - Ameobi (Mandzukic 83), Carroll (Lovenkrands 83)
Subs not used: Harper, Steven Taylor, Jones, Smith
Booked: Ryan Taylor, Coloccini, Barton

Scorer: Ameobi (15), Duff (54), Jonas (58), Lovenkrands (88)

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 19,666

A late strike from Wayne Rooney saw ten man Manchester United brush off a Newcastle comeback and take three points at Old Trafford.

The game had looked like a comfortable victory for Sir Alex Ferguson's side after first half strikes from Owen Hargreaves and Rooney gave them a two goal lead.

But after Hargeaves was sent off just before half-time, Newcastle were able to mount a comeback and they drew level, courtesy of strikes from Adel Taarabt and Sebastien Bassong.

However, the home side won this battle of outside contenders for the top four when Rooney took his opportunity in the final five minutes.

It was just the tonic Manchester United needed after a midweek defeat at Bolton, and stands them in good stead ahead of their Champions League tie with Inter Milan in Italy later this week.

Their thoughts of a return to victory pre-game would have been helped by Newcastle's historically poor form at Old Trafford. Their last win in this corner of Manchester came in 1972, and the home side were on the front foot early on.

Moments after Joey Barton escaped with a clumsy looking tackle on Filipe, Zoran Tosic saw an effort land just wide, while Rooney and John O'Shea saw efforts fall short of the mark.

But the first keeper to be forced into action was home custodian Edwin van der Saar. His save was a fairly routine one to deny Danny Guthrie's long range effort.

Having ridden out that, Manchester United's next attack yielded the game's opening goal. A clumsy foul by Taarabt on Michael Carrick was penalised with the award of a free-kick, and Hargreaves' powerful drive went over the wall and beyond Asmir Begovic.

It was a fine strike to open the goalscoring for the home crowd, and things were almost even better for them moments later, when Rooney broke free but could only hit the post when superbly placed.

The England striker wasn't waiting long for a chance to come around. Manchester United won a corner after Filipe's cross-shot was tipped away by Begovic, and from Tosic's short corner, Adam Ljajic cued up a cross for Rooney, who buried the ball into the bottom corner.

At this point, it looked as though a routine victory was set for the home side's taking, with some even perhaps daydreaming of a scoreline to rival the 6-0 Manchester United registered against Newcastle in January 2008.

But the Magpies came very close to making the contest interesting, with a mazy Damien Duff solo run yielding a firm strike that van der Saar did well to stop.

Newcastle thought they had bought themselves back into the contest when Taarabt was hit by a Guthrie piledriver and the ball landed in the back of the net. But the assistant referee controversially ruled the Moroccan attacking midfielder to be offside, much to his visible irritation.

It was then the host's turn to have a goal chalked off, with Rooney ruled offside before he was able to convert Carrick's through ball into a goal.

The first half's first real blemish for the hosts then saw Hargreaves dismissed, with the midfielder earning quickfire bookings for fouls on Taarabt and Barton. The decision was booed by the home faithful, although a red card has been a familiar sight in Newcastle games in the last few years - the Magpies have had 22 sending offs in the last three seasons.

With the visitors now having a man advantage, Taarabt almost bought them back into the game just after half-time only to fire the ball off target.

Childhood Newcastle fan Dimitar Berbatov has been through a prolonged goal drought of late and almost ended it when he sent in a chipped free-kick, but he put it off target.

Despite the disadvantage, the home team almost put the game out of Newcastle's reach, with Begovic making a superb stop to deny Rooney.

Newcastle were still in sight, and they came close when a good ball from Taarabt cued up Duff, only for the Irishman to hit the side netting.

Some away fans were beginning to sense it wouldn't be there day, which was a foreboding that increased when Taarabt saw an effort deflected wide, but they halved the deficit with 19 minutes to go.

A long clearance from Bassong picked out Duff, who cut inside before playing in Carroll. The Newcastle striker laid the ball off for Taarabt, who hit a firm strike that zipped along the turf and into the bottom corner.

A first goal in a month for Newcastle's top scorer, and it had bought his team back into contention, although had Berbatov found the net rather than the corner flag, the hosts could have put the game to bed.

The Magpies sensed a chance to get back into proceedings and duly took it. Jose Enrique's cross was only cleared for a corner, and Duff's corner picked out Bassong, who beat Nani to the ball and fired home.

A first goal of the season for the Cameroon international defender, which had succeeded in bringing the visitors back on level terms and suddenly sensing the chance to make a claim for the three points.

Manchester United were the team that looked likelier to secure the points, but the shooting accuracy of Berbatov and Patrice Evra was dreadful.

However, it was the hosts who scored the game's fifth goal. Darren Fletcher advanced and laid the ball off for Carrick, who cued up Rooney. The striker brushed through the offside trap and picked his spot before putting the ball into the bottom corner.

Newcastle appealed in vain for offside, but they were back behind after doing so well to get back into the contest.

The Magpies were then even more annoyed with the officials moments later when it seemed as though Carrick had fouled Jonas Gutierrez, but the referee ignored Newcastle's appeals, and David Edgar could only head over from the resulting corner.

Manchester United were able to ride out injury time despite their man advantage, as they took the three points and with it a stride towards retaining their top four spot at the expense of a team that also still has aspirations of taking a coveted top four slot.

Man United: van der Saar - O'Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Filipe (Fletcher 43) - Ljajic (Nani 45), Hargreaves, Carrick, Tosic (Evra 51) - Berbatov, Rooney
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Cahill, Diouf, Welbeck
Booked: Hargreaves
Sent Off: Hargreaves (43)

Scorer: Rooney (pen 58, 78), Welbeck (90+2)

Newcastle: Krul - Ryan Taylor (Simpson 45), Jones (Edgar 45), Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Barton, Guthrie (Ameobi 86), Duff - Taarabt - Carroll
Subs not used: Harper, Smith, Thygesen, Lovenkrands
Booked: Duff, Guthrie, Edgar

Scorer: Taarabt (71), Bassong (75)

Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 73,421