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Premier
League:
Dates
Mon 16.06.08
PL Fixtures published @ 10am.
Mon 07.07.08 Players report back for training.
Sat 16.08.08 PL season begins.
As an aside, it's agreed that next season will see clubs allowed to name seven
substitutes on the bench rather than the current five, although only three can
come on.
Premier
League:
Money Prize
money for finishing 12th in PL = £6.48m
Facility fees received for 20 live PL TV games = £9.2m
Broadcast fee for 1 live FA Cup game = £150K
(figures don't including other monies received) Ex-Mags:
Rammy a Ranger Having
played his final game in a Newcastle shirt on Sunday, free agent Peter
Ramage was in London on Monday to undergo a medical at Queens Park
Rangers.
And despite the Championship side currently being without a manager, the 24
year-old defender has now agreed a three year deal at Loftus Road.
Premier
League:
Damp squib
Everton 3 Newcastle
1 The season ended with
disappointment in the Goodison rain as the hosts secured their place in
Europe. The result was academic given
that Wigan's defeat meant that our 12th place was never in doubt but with the
recent adverse publicity it ended a bad seven days that started with the Chelsea
loss. Ayegbeni Yakubu gave the Toffees the lead
in the 28th minute heading in a free-kick but just after the break Michael Owen equalised from the spot after Charles N'Zogbia was upended
by Joseph Yobo. It was Owen's 13th of
the season and second from the spot and gave Aston Villa, who were leading at
West Ham ten minutes later brief belief of snatching fifth place. But
the storm clouds gathered and back came
Everton to seal victory with goals from Joleon Lescott and Yakubu again as we
were exposed by a team destined for Europe.
Lescott took advantage of an inadvertent
flick-on by Steven Taylor to tuck the ball away from close range and Yakubu's
second was from the penalty after Taylor had fouled Osman.
Kevin Keegan gave Peter Ramage one final runout in a Newcastle shirt, with the
now out-of-contract defender appearing as a sub in the final seconds of the
game, before throwing his shirt into the away section at the end.
There was also a first senior start for striker Andy Carroll, with Kazenga
LuaLua getting on the field for the second time in the Premier League.
A number of players were missing from the squad due to a variety of reasons:
Barton (bail conditions), Edgar (injury) Emre (international duty) Given
(injury), Geremi (family bereavement), Martins (injury), Milner (fitness) and
Viduka (injury)
Mike Ashley chose not to watch this game from the away end in his black and
white shirt, being spotted instead clad in a suit sitting in the directors box
with Chris Mort.
The defeat meant we ended the season by
equalling last season's record low points tally of just 43 points.
Only 14
of those came on our travels which is an outright record.
The 65 goals we have conceded this season beats
our previous worst, 57, in the 2004/05 campaign and our goal difference of -20
doubles our -10 three years ago.
We bade farewell to Reading and Birmingham City on Sunday, who joined basement
side Derby County in being relegated to the Championship.
Full match report to follow. After the game KK
said: "Today is all about Everton.
They are an inspiration to everyone. They do not have a massive squad, but
they invested well last summer and they have taken fifth spot, which is a
terrific situation to be in.
"They are together as a team, they play for each other. And they have a lot of
very, very good players.
"They are the ones to look at. Maybe I wasn't quite right when I said that the
top four is always the same, but nearly. But it must be said that if they
(Everton) can do what they have done, why can't we?
"They are where we want to be. And in David Moyes they have an excellent
manager.
"I was talking to (Everton owner) Bill Kenwright as we walked back down the
tunnel after the game and he was obviously very proud.
"But I told him that we are after his club's position next season."
Team: Harper, Beye, Faye (Cacapa 46),
Taylor (Ramage 90), Jose Enrique (LuaLua 79), Smith, Butt, N'Zogbia, Owen,
Carroll, Duff.
Subs n/u: Forster, Tozer.
Booked: Duff, Smith.
Goal: Owen 47 pen.
Everton: Howard, Neville, Yobo (Baines 85), Jagielka, Lescott, Pienaar,
Fernandes, Carsley (Rodwell 90), Osman, Yakubu, Anichebe (Gravesen 85).
Subs n/u: Wessels, Gosling.
Goals: Yakubu 28, Lescott 70, Yakubu 82 pen.
Crowd: 39,592
Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).
Toon at Goodison - Premiership Years
2007/08: Lost 1-3 Owen (pen)
2006/07: Lost 0-3
2005/06: Lost 0-1
2004/05: Lost 0-2
2003/04: Drew 2-2 Shearer 2 pens
2002/03: Lost 1-2 Robert
2001/02: Won 3-1 Bellamy, Solano, Acuna
2000/01: Drew 1-1 Unsworth og
1999/00: Won 2-0 Hughes, Dyer
1998/99: Lost 0-1
1997/98: Drew 0-0
1997/98: Won 1-0 Rush (FAC)
1996/97: Lost 0-2
1995/96: Won 3-1 Ferdinand, Lee, Kitson
1994/95: Lost 0-1 (FAC)
1994/95: Lost 0-2
1993/94: Won 2-0 Cole, Beardsley
Since that First Division title-winning night at Grimsby in 1993,
we've failed to end our away campaign with a victory in fifteen attempts:
2007/08 lost 1-3 at Everton
2006/07 drew 1-1 at Watford
2005/06 drew 0-0 at Birmingham
2004/05 lost 0-2 at Everton
2003/04 drew 1-1 at Liverpool
2002/03 drew 2-2 at West Brom
2001/02 lost 1-3 at Southampton
2000/01 lost 0-3 at Liverpool
1999/00 drew 0-0 at Derby
1998/99 lost 0-2 at Leicester
1997/98 lost 0-1 at Blackburn
1996/97 drew 0-0 at Man U
1995/96 drew 1-1 at Forest
1994/95 lost 0-1 at Blackburn
1993/94 lost 0-2 Sheffield United
Our last away season-closing success in the top flight came at Portsmouth in
May 1988, where we won 2-1.
PS - Any notion of us pinching the Fair Play
UEFA spot from Manchester City - after we moved ahead of them in the
disciplinary table - can be discounted. The Fair Play table is compiled
according various other factors, not just the yellow and red cards count.

get online any
time,
any place, anywhere
Selection:
Kadar callup The
progress this season of Magpies reserve defender Tamas Kadar has been
recognised with his maiden senior international callup.
18 year-old Kadar is in the Hungary squad for upcoming friendly games against
Greece and Croatia in Budapest.
Selection:
Owen included Newcastle
striker Michael Owen gets the chance to add to his international
appearance and goal tally after being included in the England squad for a pair
of friendlies.
Fabio Capello's side face the USA at Wembley on May 28th, before making
the trip to Port of Spain where they meet Trinidad and Tobago for a
game on June 1st.
Promotion
playoffs:
Eurovoetbal results
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Warm work for Wor
lads
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Our Academy side ended their season by finishing ninth in the Eurovoetbal Tournament
last weekend, staged in the Heerenveen/Groningen area of the Netherlands.
After failing to score in the Friday and Saturday games we beat Celtic 2-0
on Sunday and then overcame Porto 1-0 in the 9th/10th playoff game.
The tournament was won by Bayern Munich - the Germans overcoming Turkish side
Fenerbahce 3-1 in the final.
Fri
09.05.08 U18s 0 FC Twente (Netherlands) 3
@ Abe Lenstra Stadium, Heerenveen.
A bad start for the lads in a 9.30pm kickoff after they'd spent the day
travelling. Twente scored three second half goals without reply in front of
around 8,000 fans.
Sat 10.05.08 U18s 0 Porto (Portugal) 0
@ Sportpark Esserberg.
Moving on to the ground that is home to local side "Be Quick 1887",
an improved display against opponents who were reluctant to attack.
Sat 10.05.08 U18s 0 Schalke04 (Germany) 1
@ Sportpark Esserberg.
The Germans had scored six times in their previous two games and broke the
deadlock in the second period when their striker beat the United offside trap
to shoot home.
Sun 11.05.08 U18s 2 Celtic (Scotland) 0
@ Sportpark Esserberg.
An early start (9am) with a happy ending, as Ryan Donaldson's free kick was
deflected in ten minutes from time. Dan Williams added a second three minutes
later.
Sun 11.05.08 U18s 1 Porto (Portugal) 0
@ Sportpark Esserberg.
A second go at Porto, who came into the game boosted by having beaten Real
Madrid in their previous outing.
Our best performance though saw us defend efficiently and grab the only goal
of the game thanks to a second half strike from Patrick Nzuzi.
United travelled with the following squad:
Max Johnson, Conor Newton, Matt Grieve, Jeff Henderson, Shane Ferguson,
Patrick McLaughlin, Kieran Wrightson, Brad Inman, Ryan Donaldson, Greg
McDermott, John Ball, Sami Ameobi, Paul Dummett, Dan Williams, Dan Taylor,
Patrick Nzuzi, James Tavernier.
(Massive thanks to NUFC.com correspondent Ross J.)
Promotion
playoffs:
Premier race
underway
The battle to join West Brom and Stoke in the
Premier League is in progress, with Bristol City and Hull City emerging
with victories from their
first leg away ties.
Bristol City won 2-1 at Crystal Palace while Hull beat Watford 2-0.
The Bristol-Palace game concludes at Ashton Gate tonight (Tuesday), with the second leg
of the Hull-Watford game taking place at
the KC Stadium 24 hours later.
The eventual winners meet at Wembley on Saturday May 24th at 3pm.
Watford are looking to regain their top-flight status at the first attempt,
while Palace dropped down in 2005 and are involved in their second playoff
campaign in three years.
Hull are famously bidding to reach the top level for the first time ever -
after a century of trying - and Bristol City are also yet to taste Premier
League action; their last visit to what was Division One ending back in
1980.
Premier
League:
Tommo back in Toon
Thursday's Chronicle reports that former
Newcastle midfielder Alan Thompson is set to return to the club in a
youth coaching role.
The 34 year-old Tynesider left SJP back in 1993 after what was reported at
the time as a verbal spat with then-boss Kevin Keegan.
He went to earn one full England cap and appear for Bolton, Aston Villa and
Celtic, before linking up with Dennis Wise at Leeds United last year.
This season has seen him appearing for the Elland Road side and also going
out on loan to Hartlepool United.
Thompson was spotting at a recent home game sitting alongside Chairman Chris
Mort in the SJP Directors Box.
SJP
injury:
Big Baheng blow
United have confirmed that the injury reserve
striker Wesley Ngo Baheng suffered in the Northumberland Senior Cup
Final last month will sideline him until 2009.
Anterior cruciate ligament damage in his right knee has been diagnosed, which
is expected to require surgery and a period of rehabilitation that could be up
a year.
The 19 year-old French youngster formally joined Newcastle at the start of
2008, having followed Sam Allardyce from Bolton the previous summer where he'd
been on trial at the Reebok.
The injury is similar to that sustained by Michael Owen when playing for
England during the 2006 World Cup.
Promotion
playoffs:
Contracts etc.
Newcastle players entering the final year of their current contracts who would
theoretically be able to speak to other clubs from January 2009 are:
Shola Ameobi, Nicky Butt, Claudio Cacapa, David Edgar, Steve Harper, Michael Owen, Steven
Taylor and Mark Viduka (who has the option of another year).
Of these, most attention is being paid to the fate of messrs Owen, Harper
and Taylor - with claims that the latter's agent has met with club officials
in recent days.
Owen's future remains the subject of much speculation, with Kevin Keegan
urging the club to act quickly to wrap up what he's calling the biggest
signing of the summer.
As for Harper, the expected return to fitness of Given (under contract until
2011) and Tim Krul (signed up for the same period) next season leaves his
future unclear.
The improving Fraser Forster has now signed a pro deal until 2010, while
rumours persist that United's transfer fixers have targeted other players in
this position.
As we told you a week ago, Ameobi's future remains in his own hands now that
his loan spell with Stoke has expired.
Any deal to sell him permanently to the Potters is no more than a proposal and
all three parties involved are able to veto a transfer at this stage.
(We're unsure what Kazenga LuaLua's contract length is).
Charity
event:
Newcastle Quayslide
The
thrill seekers among you may be interested in the chance to zipslide across
the Tyne this month for a good cause.
Organised by the Newcastle & Gateshead MS Society, The MSS
Tyneslide takes place at the Tyne Bridge over the weekend of Sat 17th
& Sun 18th of May.
Registration is £10 and participants need to raise at least £150 in sponsorship
(£75 payable on the day of the slide).
If you're interested then click
here
for details or speak to Helen (0191 285 533) or Julie (0191 240 3109).
Visit the North East and see the
spectacular Northumberland coastline:
Looking for a place to get away from it all?
Let the folk at
cottages4you help:

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