Number 1 - Comments

Defences and goalkeepers were the stars of the show as Newcastle and Arsenal had a goalless draw.

Neither team's attack did much to show why they should have won, with Samir Nasri's disallowed goal the closest either team got to victory.

Home debutant Asmir Begovic and away custodian Manuel Almunia rarely if ever troubled, and the result does little to bolster either side's Champions League credentials, with Newcastle's attack damaged by a first half injury to Mario Mandzukic and Arsenal's attack profligate no matter how many variations Arsene Wenger tried.

The Gunners may have fancied their chances with Newcastle's regular goalkeeper Tim Krul, who has kept 11 clean sheets so far this season, ruled out of the contest with a sprained ankle he sustained in training in midweek.

Despite his last game seeing him concede three goals to Fulham in the FA Cup, Begovic was preferred to Steve Harper as the replacement for the Dutchman.

It took seven minutes for Arsenal to have the ball in the net, after Nasri received Robin van Persie's superb through-pass and slotted beyond Begovic. But before the ball had landed home, the assistant referee had already flagged offside against the French winger and despite protestations led by Gael Clichy, the goal did not stand.

A mid-tempo game struggled for chances, with the two teams registering more bookings, fouls and knocks than chances, let alone goals.

Newcastle's attack suffered a set-back following an injury to Mandzukic, with what home manager Sven-Goran Eriksson later confirmed to be a groin strain.

Fresh from his own recent injury, Adel Taarabt was introduced as the replacement, and came close to getting the game's opening goal when he picked up Andy Carroll's through-ball and forced the diving save out of Almunia.

But that really was it for a dreary first half yielded very little for either goalkeeper to be overly concerned with, and saw more bookings to concern the referee than anything.

The second half looked likely to continue in the same manner, but Arsenal came mighty close just after half-time. Theo Walcott took advantage of Jose Enrique's hesitation when he was first to Cesc Fabregas' corner and his venomous drive cannoned off the post before bouncing clear.

Also coming close was Danny Guthrie, who fired narrowly over as Newcastle tried to make some of their pressure count.

Wayward shooting seemed to be the order of the day when chances turned up, with van Persie lashing an effort into the Gallowgate End when well placed.

Newcastle then appealed for a penalty after Bacary Sagna appeared to take out Carroll, but the referee opted not to give a Newcastle throw-in rather than a 12-yard spot kick.

Almunia was then called upon and was more than up to the task, with the goalkeeper making a flying stop to deny Guthrie.

It was then Arsenal's turn to appeal in vain for a spot-kick, with Mike Dean deciding Jose Enrique had stopped van Persie's run legally. Either side of that, there were two chances presented to Arsenal sub Jakub Blaszczykowski, who saw his first strike superbly beaten away by Begovic and his other one hopelessly off target.

When Sebastien Bassong's wild intervention from Denilson's cross landed wide rather than in the goal, the crowd was beginning to sense that there would be no goals in this encounter. But the chance of the game fell to the Magpies on 86 minutes, with a brilliant pass from Jonas Gutierrez releasing Carroll. The Newcastle number 9 hit a powerful effort that looked for all the world a goal until Almunia pulled off a magnificent stop.

That proved to be it for action of any variety, and in truth, both sides bought fairly impotent attacks to the party, with neither side providing justification for why they should be three pointers richer. Certainly, on this evidence, both of these two teams look like they're short of incisive firepower to sustain a European challenge.

Newcastle: Begovic - Ryan Taylor, Jones, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Barton, Guthrie, Duff (Thygesen 77) - Mandzukic (Taarabt 34), Carroll
Subs not used: Harper, Edgar, Simpson, Smith, Ameobi
Booked: Jose Enrique, Bassong, Barton, Duff

Arsenal: Almunia - Sagna, Senderos, Vermaelen, Clichy - Diaby, Fabregas, Denilson - Walcott (Blaszczykowski 62), van Persie (Eduardo 79), Nasri (Arshavin 62)
Subs not used: Fabianski, Eboue, Gibbs, Rosicky
Booked: Song, Fabregas, Denilson

Referee: Mike Dean
Attendance: 53,303

Morten Gamst Pedersen scored an 83rd minute winner as Blackburn came from behind to beat Newcastle at Ewood Park.

Newcastle had taken the lead just after half time through Mario Mandzukic and had looked as though they may hold on to register their fourth Premier League victory in a row.

But former Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce was able to get the victory against his former employers, courtesy of strikes for Steven Reid and then Gamst Pedersen.

It was a very satisfying result for the Blackburn faithful, who saw their heroes win a game for the first time since beating Aston Villa on January 12th.

Newcastle arrived in Lancashire on the back of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's latest call for his team to improve discipline, after the team saw two players sent off during an FA Cup defeat by Fulham at the weekend.

His team showed little offensive threat early on. Neither did Blackburn, with Rovers talking 13 minutes to fashion the game's first real opportunity. It eventually fell to Reid, who saw a firm header beat Tim Krul but not the crossbar. Brett Emerton led penalty appeals, arguing Jose Enrique had illegally prevented him from reaching the rebound to Reid's header, but the referee was not interested.

Alan Judge saw an effort ripple the side-netting and Reid had a swerving strike tipped onto the bar by Krul as Blackburn applied most of the early pressure.

Gael Givet hit a strike high and wide as Blackburn continued to look likelier to find the net, but Newcastle's first effort was even closer, with Mandzukic seeing a venomous drive beaten out by Paul Robinson.

Robinson was then on hand to make an even better save to deny Adel Taarabt as the Magpies began to accumulate pressure and possession.

The visitors went close again in the first half stoppage time, with Robinson making a flying stop to deny Joey Barton.

Newcastle continued the second half as the team enjoying the best of the play, and they went close again when Taarabt hit one wide. But their next attack was the one that yielded the game's opening goal.

A crisp pass forward by Ryan Taylor was collected by Mikkel Thygesen, who opted to play a direct 45 yard ball. The Dane's pass was received by Mandzukic, who evaded the Rovers' backline and buried it home. A further semblance of the Croatian's return to form, with this seeing him strike for the third Premier League game in a row.

Blackburn were very close to an instant reply, but Krul was equal to Mariano Pernia's effort and was able to stand and watch Reid's strike fly beyond his post.

The home side thought a penalty should have been given after a challenge in the box by Ryan Taylor on Benni McCarthy, but the referee ignored it and let play continue, which ended in Gamst Pedersen being denied by Krul.

With time running out, it looked as though it would take either a slip or a special to get Blackburn level, and they duly got both in one go. Crossed wires saw Barton and Taarabt go for the same ball, which allowed Zurab Khizanishvili to pick up the ball and lay it off for Reid. The Irishman nipped in ahead of Ryan Taylor and smacked a firm strike from the edge of the penalty box into the top corner. A superb strike for the Irish midfielder, which landed home to end the visitor's advantage.

From Blackburn's next attack, they took the lead. Jose Enrique had the ball taken off him by El-Hadji Diouf, and ran free of the full-back before flying in a cross. Gamst Pedersen beat Ryan Taylor to the ball and sent a firm header beyond the flailing Krul.

Newcastle threw on Shola Ameobi and sent player after player forward, but the only chance they could muster was a Joey Barton effort deflected wide of the mark, and they were sent to defeat.

It was a first Premier League defeat for the Magpies since a home defeat by Everton on Boxing Day, and a first on the road in almost two months, but it was still a defeat and Newcastle will have to re-group ahead of games against Arsenal and Manchester United.

The victory was vital for Rovers, as it allows the Lancashire side to put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone with a number of relegation six-pointers looming on the horizon.

Blackburn: Robinson - Jacobsen (Diouf 58), Khizanishvili, Givet (Andrews 41), Pernia - Emerton, Judge, Reid, Gamst Pedersen - Ketelaer (Colina 45) - McCarthy
Subs not used: Brown, Pulhac, Kalinic, Hoilett

Scorer: Reid (76), Gamst Pedersen (83)

Newcastle: Krul - Ryan Taylor, Jones, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Thygesen, Barton, Guthrie (Ameobi 85), Jonas (Duff 77) - Taarabt (Kvist 77) - Mandzukic
Subs not used: Krul, Guthrie, Wilshere, Duff
Booked: Barton

Scorer: Mandzukic (52)

Referee: Peter Oakley
Attendance: 24,888

The general consensus is that he fell out of love with owning the club in 2008/09, but having been unable to sell it during the season we spent in the second tier, we're now basically stuck with one another and it seems as though neither party is particularly happy. I don't know for sure because Ashley rarely communicates in person, so he hasn't personally said about whether or not he still wants to be in charge - some fans think he's preparing to sell up and others think he's in it for a longer haul. So who knows.

Meanwhile, Aarons scored one and set up two in the England U20s the other night. Could be a key player this season.

Newcastle manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has said he is unhappy at the amount of red cards his team collects.

The Magpies had two players sent off during their FA Cup Fourth Round defeat by Fulham at St. James' Park, with Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor.picking up their 3rd red cards of the season each.

The two were Newcastle's sixth and seventh red cards of the season, with the team having picked up nine Premier League red cards lat season, and eight in the 2008/09 season.

With another FA fine for their poor discipline likely, Eriksson has admitted the club cannot continue their discipline problems.

He said, "There is clearly an issue of discipline at this club right now, and I don't know why that is.

"I like the fact we have a combative nature to us as it shows we are always up for winning these games, but maybe it is time to rein it in. As Saturday's game demonstrated, the sending offs are seriously detrimental to our chances of winning games, and it is a major problem.

"It is likely we will have to go for exclusions from the first team for times as frankly, this is just crazy."

Eriksson was speaking ahead of Newcastle's next match, which takes place tomorrow night away at Blackburn Rovers. The Magpies manager confirmed he is likely to start Billy Jones at centre-back alongside Sebastien Bassong, with either Danny Simpson or Ryan Taylor starting at right back.

With the January transfer window closing on Monday, Newcastle's manager was asked if he wants to sign a new player.

He said, "We are looking for new players. We always are. But we only want to sign the right player for the right place and if we give other teams the sensation we're panicking, we're going to struggle the right targets.

"We will most likely be changing parts of our squad in the summer. There's probably going to be changes and we have targets in mind we'll try for in the summer, but right now, while one or two players are of interest, this playing squad is good enough for the moment unless the right player is available."

Valeri Bojinov scored two goals as Fulham dumped ten man Newcastle out of the FA Cup at St James' Park.

The two strikes in the last quarter hour added to an earlier Diomansy Kamara goal as the West London-based strugglers ran riot at the Champions League-chasing Magpies. Newcastle's familiar discipline problems were also prevalent, as Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor were both sent off.

Despite the fact he rested most of his first choice team, home manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was clearly unhappy at the way his team collapsed in this encounter, and he failed to show for his post-match press conference, instead sending his assistant Alan Shearer.

The Cottagers were almost in front on Tyneside inside the opening three minutes, but Bojinov's strike didn't trouble Asmir Begovic.

Newcastle's first chance was similarly inaccurate. Mario Mandzukic had scored in the Magpies' previous two Premier League games, but he was unable to make it three games in a row with his first chance as his long-ranger flew into the Leazes End.

Fulham were beginning to have the better of a fairly poor encounter, and they were the first side to call a goalkeeper into action, as Begovic was on hand to make a superb stop to deny Bojinov the game's opening goal.

A series of half-chances and missed corners were the nearest the two teams came to creating chances, although Newcastle did come close when Mandzukic was played through and forced a stop out of Steve Simonsen.

Begovic was then also required to make a stop, with the Bosnian making the save to deny Kamara after the striker had been played through.

Newcastle's game plans were then disrupted when they were reduced to ten men four minutes before half-time. Coloccini had already been booked for one foul on Bojinov, and a second foul on the Bulgarian was enough for referee Mike Dean to dismiss the Argentinean, who now has five red cards in the last year and a half.

Fulham took until after half-time to begin to probe the gap left by the missing man. A flying strike from Danny Murphy yielded a stop from Begovic, and moments later, the Londoners did have an advantage.

Zoltan Gera won the ball off Shola Ameobi and played it to Paul Konchesky, who threaded through a lovely through ball for Bojinov. The Bulgarian then cued up his strike partner Kamara, whose half-volley crashed home to give Fulham the advantage on Tyneside.

It was almost two within 60 seconds of the restart, with the ball landing for Clint Dempsey only for the American's vicious strike to land closer to the corner flag than the top corner of the net.

Newcastle's best half-chance saw William Kvist fire wide from Mandzukic's lay-off, and the home team fell further behind moments later.

Bojinov won the free-kick for a foul by Steven Taylor, and his powerful drive landed home. An impressive flight of the ball for the striker who struggled at Manchester City, and is now beginning to look at home in the Premier League.

Things then got even worse for Newcastle. First, another Steven Taylor foul - this time on Bobby Zamora - yielded a second sending off and before Newcastle could re-group, they were three down. A fine pass forward from Dempsey picking out Bojinov, who strode forward and then lashed a powerful drive into the top corner.

Two superb strikes in ten minutes for the Bulgarian, which had rubber-stamped Fulham's progression into the fifth round beyond any reasonable doubt.

It was a horrible afternoon for the home fans, who booed their team off at the final whistle, and it could have been worse, but neither Dempsey nor Konchesky could make the humiliation even worse with late opportunities.

By contrast, Fulham were in dreamland, and having been taken to a replay by Peterborough United in the previous round, the visitors were delighted with their substantially smoother progression this time around.

Newcastle: Begovic - Simpson, Coloccini, Edgar, Jose Enrique - Thygesen (Bassong 83), Smith, Kvist, Duff (Steven Taylor 42) - Mandzukic, Ameobi (Jonas 74)
Subs not used: Krul, Barton, Taarabt, Carroll
Booked: Coloccini, Smith, Steven Taylor
Sent Off: Coloccini (41), Steven Taylor (73)

Fulham: Simonsen - Pantsil, Bramble, Hangeland, Hughes - Gera, Dempsey, Etuhu (Murphy 41), Konchesky - Kamara (Zamora 70), Bojinov
Subs not used: Vaughan, Davidson
Booked: Bramble, Kamara

Scorer: Kamara (53), Bojinov (64, 74)

Referee: Mike Dean
Attendance: 39,796

Mario Mandzukic grabbed a late winner as Newcastle beat Wolves at Molineux.

It had looked like the two teams would share the spoils after Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's strike cancelled out Andy Carroll's first half effort. But with minutes remaining on the clock

The result continues Newcastle's recent upturn in results, and keeps them in contention for the Champions League places, while Wolves missed the chance to move into a top half spot.

The home side entered this contest having without a league defeat since being beaten by West Ham in early December, and had made the early ground running. Steven Mouyokolo was picked out twice by Michael Kightly free-kicks that had been given away in generous positions by Newcastle, but on both occasions, the centre-back headed way over the top.

Wolves' best chance fell after 12 minutes, when Tal Ben-Haim rose to meet David Jones' flag-kick and saw his effort cleared off the line by Newcastle full back Jose Enrique.

Wolves were still having the majority of the play and half-chances, with Ebanks-Blake getting away after receiving a through ball only to be unable to find the target.

Newcastle's first real chance came shortly after the half-hour mark. But it was also the first time in the encounter one of the goalkeepers was required, with Wayne Hennessey making a flying stop to deny Carroll.

The Welsh international keeper then made another save to giant Newcastle number 9, and was also able to deny Damien Duff, although the Irishman was offside.

David Jones and Stefan Maierhofer wasted chances late on in the first half to give the home side a first half advantage, but Mick McCarthy was obviously not happy with his team's first half performance as he opted to make a triple substitution at half-time.

The visitors made a half-time chance of their own, with Mandzukic replacing the anonymous Adel Taarabt, and the Croatian had the first real chance of the second half. The striker was the beneficiary of Carroll's superb through ball and his lashed effort was denied by Hennessey.

Newcastle began to accumulate chances in the early stages of the second half. Only a sliding intervention from Ben-Haim denied Carroll a clear shooting chance, while Duff blasted one wide.

It was the visitors who took the lead just after the hour. Billy Jones laid the ball forward for Joey Barton, who was able to tee it up for Danny Guthrie. The midfielder played a lovely through ball for Carroll, who evaded Ben-Haim and fired a strike into the bottom corner. The giant Geordie number 9 ending a goal drought stretching back to the Tyne-Wear Derby on December 19th, and it handed his team the advantage.

While stung by that, Wolves almost had instant parity, with Ebanks-Blake hitting a long ranger that flew past Tim Krul but touched the top of the crossbar on its way into the stands.

Krul was then called upon moments later as he tipped Stephen Hunt's cross-shot into touch. The Magpies then came close to killing the game off, but a defensive intervention from Ronald Zubar denied Mandzukic, before a second chance for the Croatian landed in the crowd.

With 18 minutes to play, Wolves were back on level terms. A firm 25 yard ball forward from Greg Halford picked out Maierhofer, who advanced and then made a pass. He found Ebanks-Blake, and his strike partner was able to place a firm ball beyond Krul and into the back of the net. A simple goal in some ways, but effective and the home crowd suddenly sensed they were back in a chance of picking up another 3 points.

After Halford's harmless free-kick sailed wide, they came very close to it. No Newcastle defender picked up Nenad Milijas and the Serbian international had a go. His dipping strike was only kept out by a superb tip onto the crossbar from Krul.

The Dutchman between the posts for Newcastle then made another stop to deny Ebanks-Blake, followed by a decent catch to deny Maierhofer, as the Wolves fans howled in hopes for victory.

But when the game's third goal rolled around, it came for the visitors. A Newcastle counterattack began with a firm pass down the flank from Jose Enrique that played in Jonas Gutierrez, whose pinpoint ball released Mandzukic. The Croatian's collection saw him race free of the Wolves backline before he picked his spot and found it. A second goal in as many appearances from the bench for Newcastle's striker, who is finally beginning to rediscover some of the form that saw him score 20 Premier League goals last season.

Wolves' best chance for anything out of the encounter fell to Maierhofer, but his header harmlessly floated over. It was a tough defeat to take for home crowd after their heroes had lots of chances to take something against their opponents, but they were vanquished and McCarthy will presumably be hoping for better when they take on Bristol City in eight days time.

By contrast, the visitors were very happy with their third Premier League victory in a row. Its a result that keeps them in the mix for the Champions League places, and manager Sven-Goran Eriksson will presumably be hoping their run can continue.

Wolves: Hennessey - Stearman (Halford 45), Ben-Haim, Mouyokolo (Zubar 45), Elokobi - Kightly, David Jones (Milijas 45), Randall, Hunt - Maierhofer, Ebanks-Blake
Subs not used: Dudek, Edwards, Jarvis, Keogh

Scorer: Ebanks-Blake (72)

Newcastle: Krul - Billy Jones, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Barton, Guthrie, Duff (Thygesen 79) - Taarabt (Mandzukic 45) - Carroll (Coloccini 88)
Subs not used: Begovic, Kadar, Kvist, Ameobi
Booked: Barton

Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 28,308

First half strikes from Jonas Gutierrez and Adel Taarabt helped Newcastle see off Chelsea and reignite their Champions League aspirations.

A second half goal from substitute Mario Mandzukic helped the Magpies climb above the West Londoners in the Premier League title race and pull themselves into the race for a top four position. This turnaround has certainly helped right the wrongs for the Magpies, who had fallen away after a positive contest.

Chelsea did get a late goal back after full back Billy Jones unintentionally put the ball past Tim Krul, on a day where the West Londoners had dominated by were woefully inept with their shooting virtually all afternoon.

The result returns Chelsea to their recent poor form, with the elation of beating Manchester United in their last encounter soured by the fact they have now failed to win the four previous Premier League encounters.

Those fans who made the long trip north from West London to the North East had hoped to see this victory inspire them, but they were on the back foot very early on.

After concentrated early pressure, Newcastle took five minutes to open the scoring. Damien Duff was able to advance down the flank with ease before cueing the ball inside to Andy Carroll, who held off John Terry before sliding a pass to Jonas. The winger cut inside before delicately placing the strike beyond Petr Cech. A second goal in as many matches for the former Mallorca striker, which gave a capacity crowd some early delight.

Chelsea's best early opportunity fell to Frank Lampard, but the midfielder's hit was lashed horribly off target. The same failure to make pressure work came when Elano's corner was cleared with Demba Ba and Didier Drogba lurking, and it failed to get any better for Carlo Ancelotti's side.

A poor clearance from Jose Bosingwa was picked up by Jose Enrique, who advanced and play a crisp ball on the floor to Duff. The former Chelsea winger's fizzing cross picked out Adel Taarabt, who collected the ball, composed himself and dispatched it into the bottom corner.

Newcastle fans were certainly enjoying what they were seeing. By contrast, Chelsea were flat and it took them until after the goal back for the Blues to have their first real concrete attempts at a way back into the contest. It came when Drogba saw an effort deflected off target, and Germoel's strike from Elano's following corner forced a firm stop out of Tim Krul.

A fairly woeful attempt from Michael Essien saw Chelsea get even more wayward in their attempt to get back into the contest, and a miserable first half continued when Elano limped off injured.

The only thing that would've made the first half worse for the travelling supporters would have been a third Newcastle goal, and they almost got it when Steven Taylor met Danny Guthrie's cross only to head it over.

The visitors begun the second half with more chances accumulated, but were fairly woeful at making the most of them, with Ba and Essien both inept at getting them on target, nevermind beyond Krul.

The young Newcastle keeper was tested when he made a decent stop to deny Branislav Ivanovic, before Essien duly sent another strike into the crowd.

After a half largely spent enjoying the bulk of play, Chelsea almost halved Newcastle's advantage when Drogba rose to meet a cross only to head it over the bar. But they were almost sent tumbling out of the contest for good when Cech made a superb stop to deny the newly arrived sub Mandzukic.

But with 11 minutes remaining of the contest, Newcastle killed the game off for good. It came when Barton received a pass in the middle of the park and played it forward for Taarabt. The lovingly weighted through ball picked out Mandzukic, who raced beyond the Chelsea back four before slotting the ball into the bottom corner to seal the game and the impressive-looking victory in Newcastle's favour.

Chelsea were still having pressure and duly registered their place on the scoresheet with seven minutes to play. Substitute Daniel Sturridge picked up Essien's superb pass and opted to strike on the half-volley. His strike was landing wide of the mark, but a touch from recent Newcastle buy Jones landed in the bottom corner.

It was an unfortunate end to Newcastle's clean sheet, but it was way too late for Chelsea to get back in and the hosts almost restored their three goal advantage when Mandzukic let fly, but couldn't get it on target.

Nevertheless, it was a delightful afternoon for the home faithful, who saw their heroes secure a comprehensive victory against their European place rivals and in comprehensive style.

Newcastle: Krul - Jones, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Barton, Guthrie (Thygesen 83), Duff (Ameobi 83) - Taarabt - Carroll (Mandzukic 63)
Subs not used: Begovic, Coloccini, Kadar, Kvist
Booked: Steven Taylor, Barton, Guthrie, Taarabt

Scorer: Jonas (5), Taarabt (21), Mandzukic (79)

Chelsea: Cech - Bosingwa, Geromel (Deco 68), Terry, Cole (Sturridge 80) - Cork - Lampard, Essien - Elano (Ivanovic 45) - Ba, Drogba
Subs not used: Delac, Zhirkov, Stoch, Donovan
Booked: Cork, Essien

Scorer: Jones (og 83)

Referee: Lee Probert
Attendance: 56,387

Club confirm de Jong out for months. Yay.

I was always going to return. I just put it on hiatus while I finished uni then couldn't find the disc. But now I'm done with uni for good and have a shiny new copy after deciding it may have been accidentally thrown out.

I hope to get this to real life and compare it with NUFC's season by season. So as its now January 2011 in game, that's 3 1/2 seasons to go.

Jonas Gutierrez scored the only goal as Newcastle beat West Ham at Upton Park to secure their first win in 2011.

The Magpies secured their first victory since winning the Tyne Wear Derby on December 19th by virtue of the Argentine winger's strike on the half-hour mark, with West Ham doing very little to trouble Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul despite the Hammers registering more shots on goal.

It was disappointment for Hammers' manager Gary Johnson, whose team had been unbeaten in six encounters and done well to take a share of the points off Manchester United at Old Trafford in the midweek fixtures.

The pre-match expectation had been higher at Upton Park, with the Hammers fans expectant of victory against a Toon Army side that had not had the best of recent form.

But Newcastle did start the encounter as the stronger of the two teams, with Andy Carroll rising to meet Jonas' cross only to head the ball into the stand, before Damien Duff saw an effort cleared off the line by Mark Noble and Sebastien Bassong headed wide of the mark.

Home goalkeeper Rob Green was then called into action to deny Jonas after the Argentine had raced onto Mario Mandzukic's intricate through pass.

It took 17 minutes for the Hammers to force an opportunity and it was not one the home fans would have waited for, with Dean Ashton blasting a free-kick into the stand.

The game then settled into a comparative lull, but the balance of play tilted in the Magpies' favour with the opening goal on the half-hour mark. A sprightly cut inside from Damien Duff found Joey Barton, who laid it off for Danny Guthrie. The former Liverpool midfielder's through-ball spliced through the defence and cued up Jonas, who fired the ball beyond Green. A fine finish for the Argentine international, who hadn't scored since dispatching a strike for the Magpies against Sunderland in their pre-Christmas derby success.

It could have been worse for the Hammers moments after had Guthrie not skied his effort. But the game's tempo was hit by injuries to players on both sides, with both team's physios getting call outs, although neither Duff, Mark Noble nor Scott Parker was sufficiently injured for their removal from the field.

West Ham came close to breaking down a firm Newcastle blockade in first half stoppage time, but Noble's header was a smidgeon too high.

The best opportunity that the Hammers had presented to them in the whole encounter came shortly into the second half, which came through Paul Scharner. The former Wigan defender rose highest to meet Noble's outswinging corner when his firm header was tipped onto the post by Tim Krul and cleared by the Newcastle defence.

Matt Upson wasted a header from a following corner as the Hammers fans begun to anticipate a turning up of the heat, but the best the hosts could manage was a deflected Noble free-kick that landed wide of the mark.

A flying stop from Krul to deny James Tomkins woke up a steadily deflating crowd and came close to restoring parity, but soon enough, Newcastle's defence begun to take the sting out of the encounter with some very competent defensive work.

It was almost worse for the West Ham faithful late on when they were almost caught by the counter. A counter-attack saw Guthrie play a superb through-ball to the substitute Adel Taarabt, and only a great stop from Green denied the Moroccan from killing the game off.

Some dicey moments in added time aside, Newcastle held on to ensure they would be leaving East London three points richer, and a superb display from the Magpies - particularly in defence - helped them hold on to their first half single goal advantage.

West Ham fans were not quite amused, as their recent unbeaten streak ended and the team remain locked in mid-table, although even the most pessimistic Hammers fan will concede will admit its an improvement from being stuck in the relegation battle earlier in the campaign.

West Ham: Green - Faubert (Tomkins 62), Scharner, Upson, Radoi, Ball (Spector 45) - Noble, Parker, Collison - Ashton, Diamanti (Cole 62)
Subs not used: Murray, Franks, Dyer, Stanislas
Booked: Collison

Newcastle: Krul - Jones, Steven Taylor, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Jonas, Guthrie, Barton, Duff (Kvist 88) - Mandzukic, Carroll (Taarabt 69)
Subs not used: Begovic, Coloccini, Kadar, Thygesen, Ameobi

Scorer: Jonas (30)

Referee: Stuart Attwell
Attendance: 33,494

Yup, we're back after our false dawns. After Christmas, essays, a university dissertation, returning to the PS3 games after a few years, driving lessons and four tests, losing my FM10 game disc, forgetting all about it until this week and ordering a new FM10 disc, we're back in business.

When I last played this, I was 12 Premier League games ahead, and was 2nd before the defeat by Bolton that constituted my last update in this game series. However we've not done so well in them, winning only four Premier League games as we tumbled down the Premier League table. We've also won an FA Cup tie, with our 3rd Round tie being a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.

The results I played before the forced hiatus were:
Liverpool (A) 0-0 draw
Birmingham (H) 3-0 win
Sheffield United (A) 1-0 defeat
Bristol City (H) 4-2 win
Fulham (A) 3-0 defeat
Burnley (H) 1-0 win
Spurs (A) 2-0 defeat
Man City (H) 2-1 defeat
Sunderland (A) 2-0 win
Everton (H) 2-0 defeat
Aston Villa (H) 0-0 draw
Nottingham Forest (H) 2-0 win (FA Cup)
Hull City (H) 2-2 draw

EDIT: I have also made two new signings, bringing in Billy Jones from Preston for £2million and youth trainee Liam Henderson on a freebie.

The strikeforce maybe the same numerically as it was in May but 3 of those are brand new to the BPL (of which, Riviere seems to be struggling to adapt and Ferreyra has seemingly vanished), while the other is a man who has been out of form since Demba Ba threw a hissy fit. Also, same 3 CBs but Coloccini and Taylor are not as good as the players they were in 2011-12, and Williamson is not as catastrophically bad as in 2012-13, but is still inconsistent. Certainly, it was not a stable defensive unit last year, but the lack of evolution is a bit of a concern - not least we're two injuries away from throwing the kids in at the deep end.

I'm not sure what Pardew's reputation would've been had Ashley pulled the plug on him in January 2013. Better than when he arrived and better than if he was sacked today at least, given his manager of the year award was still fresh in the mind. But its an odd one - his spell with us is the second longest he's ever managed anyone (and if he's still in charge in mid-November it will have surpassed his longest previous stint) and all of them have ended in some form of acrimony, albeit in different ways to the current one. Its certainly not comparable to the legal action Reading took out on him after he tried to resign to force his move to West Ham, for example.

Though it is certain Pardew and Ben Arfa fell out (although by the sounds of it, the rest of the players fell out with HBA as well after that), and it is quite irritating and perhaps a wee bit predictable that our old number 10 could've been used as a replacement for our new number 10 given he appears to be injured. Again.

Well, first you'd actually have to ask him that, and the last time he was interviewed by any media for anything was... not sure if he ever has been.

This window is a puzzle as we spent £35M (figure I've seen quoted - could be more, could be less, but its tricky when almost everything is undisclosed) but the bulk of it came from selling Cabaye and Debuchy, so our next spend for the calendar year is less than £5-10M. Not exactly confidence boosting considering the £80-oddmillion we got for a top half finish last year would be enough to have paid for at least one more player. Plus we still have the same incompetent fucktards that made the end of last season nauseating.

So... who knows. He likes the free ad space for SportsDirect at least.

If Pardew had been fired in January 2013 after the Reading game - and I was among many who called for that - then he would've been remembered as having the same spell he had at West Ham, where he followed up one exceptional season with one total disaster.

Meanwhile the Mirror is reporting Siem de Jong maybe out for 4 months with a groin tear. Joy.

So many of the storylines are hilariously ludicrious but it was strangely compelling.

Yes, I think Ba cut in from a left flank position to score his goal v Spurs. The attempts at Cisse out wide came later in the first half of .the campaign. Most likely after Ba bitched and moaned about being a sub early in the year.

Its always complex to know with these sort of things whether they're accurate or not. I'm not sure its 100% true but I don't think its completely false. Its probably somewhere in between, but the only way we'd ever know what's going on for sure is if we were actually on the inside. Though I think it implies he wanted away because he fell out with Pardew in January 2013 but chose not to go, and is now thinking "Why is this idiot still here?"

That's the best explanation I can think of, and even then that might be pushing it, although I do recall rumours of them falling out before we beat QPR in December 2012.

EDIT: Maybe its just me but I never wanted Robson fired, plus I don't recall the away end shouting "Robson Out" when I was at his last game back in August 2004 and Souness was from the get go a lousy idea. I do recall the media being stupidly harsh to him from the random conjunctivitis but that's about it.

Sheffield Wednesday have said the planned takeover has collapsed. Which is puzzling given on the BBC site it said it had gone through two months ago.

I thought they tried both through the middle at first with HBA and Jonas as conventional wide midfielders, then gave up with that as it wasn't working very well. What I thought happened was that Cisse was put to LW at first, then to RW after Ben Arfa got injured, though that might be wrong. I always felt Marveaux was underused in 2012-13, so him as a wideman wouldn't have been the worst idea in the world. Last year he was shit when he played.
EDIT: When I went to QPR at the end of the 12-13 season, I remember we had Ben Arfa as a central striker with Gouffran wide right and Cisse wide left. The mechanics of that are still baffling.

Elsewhere, Yanga-Mbiwa has said he made a mistake in joining Newcastle, which means he probably won't be coming back, while Ben Arfa did one of those open letter things.

Meanwhile... https://twitter.com/UtdForNewcastle

Assuming what they've just posted is true (and given the amount of control on club communications to the outside world, who knows), any wild guesses who they might be?

Tiote was banned for Stoke but the return of HBA should've been "Hmmmm... maybe there's a place for him after all". Then again, clearly Pardew didn't think so. But he approached him wrong - it could have been an idea to simply put him in the Cabaye role after YC left for Paris last January, but instead, he changed system to a conventional 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 depending on strikers, which didn't support either him, Marveuax or any attacking instinct Gouffran may have had.

Cisse wide right did not work and had no reason to work. He really just should've been dropped when it was clear that he didn't gel in a 4-4-2 alongside Ba. But in saying this, in 2011-12, when we went on the winning run that almost got us into the Champions League places, we had a front 3 with Cisse flanked by HBA and Ba, and it seemed to work very well. Why Pardew altered from that is a strange one - it made some sense when we began running out of players about a third of the way through 2012-13, but his terrible tactical decision making in the first half of that campaign was as much a a problem as all the injuries.

Sissoko wide left has happened a few times but not as frequently as other misdemeanours. Yanga-Mbiwa in either full back role comes to mind.

I get the first 3 but what the fuck did Dummett do for a place on that flag?

Yes he's not as good as Santon but he's probably the better back-up of our 23 other left-backs, and Haidara has gone backwards of late (admittedly he's not the only one under Pardew but still).

I can't even read what's on the fucking flag I mean, I know my eyesight is woeful but c'mon.

I don't like backing opponents to Newcastle, but I daresay this may encourage some people to be cheering on Southampton and Hull in the next two games.

I know that and after posting that I recalled that, but I thought the move to take TC to Villa had died on deadline day so I was surprised it was resurrected.

Premier League has just now ratified a loan move for Tom Cleverley to Aston Villa.

Da fuck?

It defies belief we could sign 9 players and still have a weaker squad, but the lack of a proper Remy replacement, the idiotic decision to only have 3 fit centre-backs (the same trio who were in our Championship team in 2009-10), getting rid of creative players because they feel inhibited by our idiot manager's 'tactical genius' and still have the manager and coach that have presided over some of our worst ever form its a problem.

Talk of us being in the relegation zone after the final whistle on the final day is premature as I do feel there are at least 4 teams worse than us, but it's no consolation as we should be trying to be better than simply "16th or higher" (as 2012-13 disintegrated into), and the next month already looks like a nightmare waiting to unfold.

Unless Sammy has his brother's nack of scoring against the mackems, we can't even call on that card.

The run was 7 wins in November/December. Before then we'd won 3 I think, so we had a foundation to push on from, plus Debuchy, Cabaye, and Remy, plus Sissoko and Gouffran when they actually gave a shit. Anything less than 6 points in the October international break means we're in desperate shit, and this year has been hideous form as it is.

Next four games are all four we lost last year, and games we rarely win. If we lose all 4 we'll be bottom for the October break and then what?

Be hilarious if Falcao fails his medical. Maybe that complication is why its taken so long to get the deal done.

Whoever runs the Leeds Twitter feed is going to find himself very unpopular with the fans. I mean fucking hell.

Loan move, so at least e won't be scoring at St. James'.

Probably the only conclusion of yet another deadline day where we seemed more devoted to unnecessary sales. What a waste of time.

That would've been funny.