Thursday July 24th, 2014                                                 last update 23:50 BST

Ticket news:
Sheff Wed / Huddersfield (a) ST holders now
Schalke 04 Tournament ST holders now
Real Sociedad (h) Public sale now (online)
Manchester City (h) ST holder / member sale now
 
2014/15:
Schalke Tournament:
live UK coverage  

UK broadcaster Quest TV have acquired the rights to the forthcoming Schalke Tournament in Germany featuring Newcastle United and will broadcast all four games:

Sat 02.08.2014 Malaga v Newcastle
Sat 02.08.2014 Schalke 04 v West Ham
Sun 03.08.2014 Malaga v West Ham
Sun 03.08.2014 Schalke 04 v Newcastle

Coverage gets underway at 2.15pm BST on Saturday and 2.30pm BST on Sunday and can be viewed on channel 167 on Sky, 172 on Virgin and 37 on Freeview.

Update:
Kids win Milk 
Cup warm-up  

Newcastle U18s  4  Gold Coast   0

Cloudless skies greeted a touring side from the Gold Coast Football Academy on Thursday, as they broke their long journey from Australia to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland with a friendly against their Magpies counterparts.

Both sides will feature at the annual tournament next week and completed their preparations with match consisting of two 30 minute halves at Little Benton.

Clad in their training kit, United grabbed the lead through Luke Charman on 27 minutes and then pressed home their advantage in the second period with strikes from Sean Longstaff, Jamie Holmes and Liam Gibson. 

The Queensland-based visitors have been fully occupied since arriving in England, losing 1-2 to the Liverpool Elite Academy on Sunday before beating a junior side from Evostik club Ashton United 4-1 just 24 hours later.

Newcastle will play Milk Cup group stage games against Japanese side Ichifuna (Limavady, Monday), local boys County Londonderry (Coleraine, Tuesday) and Spaniards Espanyol (Portstewart, Wednesday).

Dates:
Chatty Mags  

*That's the new name of the former Companions Club and this event has been organised to mark that change.

Fri 08.08.2014 Steve Howey and Eric Gates @ North Durham Academy Theatre. Tickets £10 (including pie and peas) from the venue, High Street, Stanley, DH9 0TW or via 01207 291152. 

Thu 28.08.2014 John Beresford with Joe Allon @ The Staith House, North Shields Fish Quay, NE30 1JA. Tickets £15 (including pie and peas) from the venue. 

Update:
MH17 tweet: police act  

From the Sunderland Echo, Thursday:

A Sunderland man has been charged in connection with an offensive tweet relating the two Newcastle United supporters who died in the MH17 crash in Ukraine.

Mitchell Tace Chapman, 18, of Pegswood Road, will appear at Sunderland Magistrates Court next Friday, charged with making a malicious communication.

This follows remarks posted on twitter relating to victims John Alder and Liam Sweeney, who were on board the Malaysian Airlines passenger flight, which crashed last a week ago, killing all 298 people on board.

Sell-on:
£2m payout anticipated  

Speculation over the future of Fraser Forster continues, with the ex-Newcastle goalkeeper keeping a clean sheet in a Champions League Qualifier for Celtic on Tuesday.

The 26 year-old England international custodian was the subject of a bid from Southampton in recent days that was described the Parkhead club as "derisory", but an improved offer from the Saints is anticipated. 

The Scottish champions are seeking between £7.5m and £9m for Fraser and seem happy to cash in on him, signing ready-made replacement Craig Gordon on a free transfer.

Departing from Tyneside in 2012 without making a senior competitive appearance for United, it's reported that a 25% sell-on clause was inserted in the deal when Celtic paid £2.2m for his services.

2014/15:
Four goal salute 

Newcastle  4  Sydney  0

United's second pre-season game saw them face Australian A League side opposition at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand - where the temperature at kick-off was just 8 degrees.

Alan Pardew's side went ahead on 18 minutes when the Sydney goalkeeper Ivan Necevski made an absolute hash of a clearance on the edge of his area. 

Emmanuel Riviere played the loose ball into the path of Siem De Jong and he registered a second pre-season goal, finding the back of the empty net from 18 yards.



Sydney fell further behind just eight minutes later, when a spell of Newcastle pressure ended up with Yoan Gouffran laying the ball across the six yard box from the right hand side of the box for Emmanuel Riviere to force home.

That goal came shortly before a minute's applause from the Newcastle supporters in the stadium, acknowledging 28 year-old Liam Sweeney on 28 minutes.

The Magpies side made it 3-0 on 33 minutes, when a speculative left footed effort from distance by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa took a hefty deflection off the Sydney captain Saša Ognenovski and beyond the goalkeeper.

Wearing the 23 shirt formerly owned by Shola Ameobi*, Haris Vukci arrived in place of De Jong for the second half, with Riviere (wearing 29*) then making way for Spaniard Ayoze Perez soon after.

A second minute of applause was then observed in memory of 63 year-old John Alder on 63 minutes - just about the time Rob Elliot was called into action for the first time to palm away a bouncing effort from 18 yards by former Fulham reserve striker Corey Gameiro. 

Further replacements then saw Sammy Ameobi, Mehdi Abeid, Adam Armstrong, Paul Dummett, Lubo Satka and Adam Campbell enter the fray.

And Campbell's first contribution was to play in Adam Armstrong, who sold his covering defender a dummy before beating Necevski at his near post on 82 minutes. 

Two local lads combining for the goal was possibly the most fitting tribute of all in this game.

PS: A note of appreciation for Kane Wintersgill (pictured below with Alan Pardew), whose efforts to gather together Newcastle fans going to the game took on a whole new significance following the loss of flight MH17. 

Thanks are due to him for the contribution that he - and various others out in Dunedin - made to ensure that the tributes were honourably paid.  

 
Team: Elliot, Yanga-Mbiwa, Coloccini (Campbell 81), S.Taylor (Satka 76), Haidara (Dummett 76), Gouffran (Armstrong 76), Anita, Colback (Abeid 68), Aarons (Ameobi 68), De Jong (Vuckic 46), Riviere (Perez 54).
Subs n/u: Alnwick, Woodman.

*Note that the squad number allocation is subject to change until the official list is submitted to the Premier League and published.

Sydney: Necevski, Ryall, Petkovic, Gameiro (Burgess 81), Ibini, Ognenovski, Antonis, Carle (Dimitrijevic 55), Abbas, Brosque (Triantis 62), Gersbach.
Subs n/u: Janjetovic, Jurman,  Timetheou, Muata-Marlow.

Booked: Ognenovski, Triantis.

Referee: Campbell-Kirk Waugh.

Match footage now online.

Alan Pardew commented after the game:

"We started with a very strong side, particularly in memory of Liam and John, which I thought was only right.

"It was important to pay our respects as Liam and John were not just ordinary fans, they were a little bit special in their support.

"They were coming all the way to New Zealand to watch us and we had to make sure that their memory was in this stadium.

"Nice to see all the new boys contribute in a really positive way, it is obvious we’ve more offensive options now with the arrival of Siem, Riviere and Ayoze.

"All three were terrific and Jack’s energy in midfield was great, that really got us playing on the front foot.

"It was a good night on the pitch and we can be proud of how we conducted ourselves off it too."

View from the away section - from Paris Pete

Crowd: tbc - pre-match estimates were of a 10,000 turnout in a stadium with a fixed roof holding 30,000.

Good to hear the black and white exiles were enjoying themselves and knew the words to "dodgy 'keeper"...



Toon followers congregated in the Terrace Bar before Tuesday's game, where TV3 reporter Dave Goosselink took the above photo.   



The Newcastle side appeared in training tops with the message "in memory of John & Liam". 



Before kickoff, Alan Pardew and Fabricio Coloccini went into the Newcastle fan section of the stadium to lay wreaths on seats set aside for the two fallen fans.  



An immaculately-observed minute's silence followed as messages and images were displayed on big screens at the venue. Both sides also wore black armbands.

New season Magpie Mover tickets are now available for NUFC season ticket holders to buy, Priced at £20 (£21 by post) they allow free travel on buses, Metro, trains & ferries in Tyne and wear for three hours before and after competitive home first team games. Order online here

 

Departure:
Marveaux loaned out 

 
2014/15:
Tinkering - result 

BCD Friendly:
Doonhamers draw 

Newcastle XI  4  Queen of the South  4

A behind-closed-doors friendly with second tier Scottish side Queen of the South was staged at United's Darsley Park training ground on Tuesday.

The Doonhamers held a two goal advantage at the break thanks to a Gavin Reilly brace, but a Newcastle side including Hatem Ben Arfa, Gael Bigirimana and Gabriel Obertan then hit back with three goals of their own.

Substitute Kevin Dzierzawski made it 3-3 and Iain Russell looked to have won it for the visitors, only for the Magpies to find a late goal and tie the scores again.  

The order that Newcastle scored their goals in isn't yet known, but young forward Callum Roberts grabbed a brace, while Ben Arfa and Bigirimana also netted.

Next up for Peter Beardsley's U21 side is a tournament in the town of Oberndorf in Southern Germany that gets underway this coming Friday. 

Proud sponsors of NUFC.com

Memorial:
John and Liam RIP  

Update: Former Magpie Steve Harper played for current club Hull City in a pre-season kickabout at Harrogate on Monday, wearing a black armband for John and Liam.

Newcastle fan and John Alder's MP Ian Mearns spoke in the House of Commons on Monday, referring both to the "extraordinary" supporter John and the current efforts of Sunderland and Newcastle supporters in raising funds for charitable causes.

Urging the Prime Minister to help repatriate the bodies of both local men, David Cameron's response was as follows:

"It's right to pay tribute to all those who lost their lives, to John Alder and Liam Sweeney. It's heartbreaking, the families that have been ripped apart by this, the lives that have been snuffed out due to this appalling tragedy."




Family, friends and fans gathered outside SJP on Monday lunchtime to pay their respects to Liam and John. 

Ex-Chairman Sir John Hall was present to hear tributes read out, before a minute's applause. Family members then spent time in the stadium, viewing flowers and messages placed on seats their loved ones occupied.   

An online collection started by Sunderland fans had passed the £31,000 mark by Thursday, with red and whites, black and whites and followers of other teams (including Ukrainians Donetsk contributing online here 

And the safcmuseum twitter account has put signed Newcastle and Sunderland shirts and memorabilia up for auction, with proceeds going to the same cause.

As one wrote, "this transcends football rivalry".

The collection served the original purpose of funding floral tributes to John and Liam from Sunderland fans, organiser Gary Ferguson placing those outside SJP on Tuesday:

 

All other monies will be donated to charities selected by the families of the two lads: the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle and the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

A separate fundraising page by Toon fans entitled "flag and funeral cost" was then opened up online here. That has raised over £7,000 to date.  

Donations to both funds have also come via collections from as far afield as Oxfordshire, with Toon fans who support non-league side Thame United organising a whip round before Saturday's home friendly match.

A bucket collection for the flag and funeral fund for John and Liam will be taken at Spennymoor Town FC ahead of their game against Hamilton Academical on Thursday.

Books of condolence have been opened at St Andrew’s Church on Newgate Street and St Mary’s Cathedral on Clayton Street - both in Newcastle City Centre.

NB: we've heard from NUFC.com readers who donated to the fund established by Sunderland fans and wanted to us make that fact known, thus contradicting press reports that this is an entire SAFC enterprise. 

That's not being petty or detracting from the laudable actions of Sunderland fans - rather, it's an attempt to show that the collection is a fine example of football supporters uniting in a common cause. 

And for those outside the region relying on the media - who could logically conclude from the coverage that John and Liam's fellow Newcastle fans haven't reacted - it's worth stating that it's obviously not the case.

PS: it's worth mentioning that many of comments posted online come from Newcastle fans recognising and rightly praising the efforts of their Wearside counterparts. 

John	Liam

Victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash on Thursday included two Newcastle United supporters travelling to support their team in New Zealand.  

We're desperately sad to report that they were John Alder and Liam Sweeney. Both were well known to away followers, particularly John, whose usual matchday attire led to the affectionate nickname of "The Undertaker".  

Both were in attendance at Oldham last week, doing what they loved. Our thoughts are with their friends, families and the many fans who knew them by sight.

Watching Newcastle will never be the same again.

Updates: Berwick Rangers, Whitley Bay, Dunston UTS, Blyth Spartans and Darlington (versus Sunderland) all staged a minute's silence before games on Saturday. 

Gateshead FC staged a well-observed minute's silence before Friday's friendly against Newcastle U21s and the Newcastle United Women's side did so on Sunday. 

And it's not just football, with the Newcastle Diamonds Speedway team holding a silent tribute ahead of their meeting with Berwick at Brough Park on Sunday. 

Present and ex-NUFC players including Tim Krul, Adam Campbell, Adam Armstrong, Paul Dummett, Ryan Taylor, Steve Harper, Michael Bridges, Yohan Cabaye and Joey Barton posted their tributes on social media.

Youth team player Kyle Cameron meanwhile dedicated United's 6-2 win in a Swedish tournament on Friday to John and Liam. The team also wore black armbands.

NUFC issued a statement on Friday morning expressing their own condolences and confirming the following:

Players and staff will wear black armbands during both games in New Zealand as a mark of respect.

A tribute of unspecified form will be organised at the Manchester City home game on Sunday August 17th.

NUFC club statement regarding John and Liam

PS: Thanks to Paul English for John's photo, taken at the Eintracht Frankfurt away game back in 2006. The photo of Liam has been provided by his family.
 

Unlikely lad:
Conference chance 
for SJP old boy  

Ahead of their return to the Conference following a 12 year absence, Dover Athletic have signed former Newcastle reserve midfielder Nicky Deverdics.

Since leaving United in 2006, the 26 year-old has played in Scotland (Gretna), England (Gateshead, Barnet, Blyth Spartans, Alfreton Town), Iceland (BÍ/Bolungarvík) and most recently, TB Tvøroyri (Faroes).

Another sad loss:
Jon Lockwood RIP

We're sorry to report the death of another Newcastle supporter, Jon Lockwood, at the age of just 31.  

Known to message board posters as Gejon and Cajun, Hitchin-born Jon lived in nearby Stevenage and regularly visited SJP with his pals to cheer on the lads. 

Family and friends of Jon have had a private collection to pay for a wreath, with other funds donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Anyone who wishes to follow suit in memory of Jon can do so online here

Update:
Do you play for Hull?  

Something that lifted our mood slightly was seeing this photo taken after United arrived at Dunedin Airport on Sunday - we've posted it on that basis for you to see. 

Despite looking like another behavioural breach that could see further FA punishment, Alan Pardew was actually taking part in a traditional Maori hongi greeting (rubbing noses and foreheads) with a local resident. Phew. 

Couldn't someone have mentioned this in his defence though after the David Meyler incident?

Former player passes:
Ray King RIP
  

The death of ex-Newcastle United goalkeeper Ray King has been confirmed, weeks before his 90th birthday. 

Amble-born Ray was with the club between 1942 and 1946, appearing in wartime fixtures and also guesting for Chester City and Wolves while serving in the Army.

Leaving Newcastle before league football resumed, a number of injury problems saw King forced to leave the professional game after a brief stay at Leyton Orient.

However he made a successful return with Port Vale in 1949, enjoying an eight year stint with the Valiants before moving on to Boston United.

King was also capped at England B level, appearing in a 2-0 victory against Switzerland in Basel during 1954 alongside future United boss Bill McGarry.

He later managed both Poole Town and Sittingbourne, coached at Luton Town and settled in Dorset for many years before returning to his native Northumberland. 

Following the death of his wife in 2009, Ray relocated to Thailand and lived in Bangkok with his son Gary.  

Update:
Book compo result 

Local author and NUFC fan Paul Brown has researched the early history of Newcastle United for a new book examining the roots of the club through a thirty year period culminating in their FA Cup success of 1910.  

"All With Smiling Faces - How Newcastle became United" is published in and an exclusive run of personalised hardback copies can be reserved now.

Individually numbered and personalised, this special edition costs £15, which includes free delivery in the UK before publication.

More information about "All With Smiling Faces..." and a link to order copies can be found online here or by clicking on the rather fine cover artwork above.

Thanks to Goal-Post books we had two of those limited edition copies to give away and asked what injuries the main character in Geordie folk song "The Blaydon Races" sustained (the title of Paul's book is from the lyrics).

All but the terminally bewildered answered correctly that it was "two black eyes and a broken nose" (metatarsal was the most creative entry received) and books will be heading off to this pair later in the year:

Miss Dianne Renner, Tweedmouth
Simon Carmichael, Hampshire

2014/15:
Wellington Phoenix (a) 

Following their visit to Dunedin, the Magpies will travel on a further 380 miles over to the North Island of New Zealand for their second tour game - also on grass.

The opposition this time on their home ground of the Westpac Stadium are Wellington Phoenix - the only non-Australian side playing in the ten team A League.

Holding 34,500 fans, 27,000 tickets had been sold just over a week before Newcastle's game - which is a doubleheader along with West Ham v Sydney.

Big Sham and the Hammers kick off at 2pm local time, before Newcastle and Wellington meet at 4.30pm.

Squad:  Aarons, Abeid, Alnwick, Sammy Ameobi, Anita, Armstrong, Campbell, Colback, Coloccini, De Jong, Elliot, Dummett, Gouffran, Haidara, Perez, Riviere, Satka, Tiote, R.Taylor, S.Taylor, Vuckic, Williamson, Woodman, Yanga-Mbiwa.

Wellington: tbc

UK TV: Live on BT Sport 1 @ 5.30am BST.

NUFC fans meet pre/post match @ The Four Kings bar.  NZ Mags Facebook page

2014/15:
Transfers

In (6): Ayoze Perez, Jack Colback, Siem De Jong, Remy Cabella, Emmanuel Riviere, Daryl Janmaat.

06.06.2014 Striker Ayoze Perez (20) CD Tenerife.
09.06.2014 Midfielder Jack Colback (24) unattached.
01.07.2014 Midfielder Siem De Jong (25) Ajax. 
13.07.2014 Midfielder Remy Cabella (24) Montpellier.
16.07.2014 Striker Emmanuel Riviere (24) Monaco.
17.07.2014 full back Daryl Janmaat (24) Feyenoord.

Out (7): Shola Ameobi, Dan Gosling, Luuk De Jong, Loic Remy, James Tavernier, Romain Amalfitano, Mathieu Debuchy.