Tickets:
Cardiff City (h) Public sale now
Watford (h) FAC ST/member holder sale now
Manchester City (h) Public sale now
Spurs (a) ST holder sale now (20 points)
Wolves (a) ST holders (0 points)

Deja ****ing vu:
You never learn

The Times newspaper report that Dennis Wise has once again reared his ugly head, reportedly back in cahoots with Mike Ashley - although it's open to question whether he ever actually wasn't.

Wise is believed to be working as an advisor to the Sports Direct owner and helped broker a deal that saw Rio Ferdinand's clothing range appear on the shelves - and Ferdinand appear on TV to spout complete nonsense about the situation at NUFC.

Details of the former England international's time in the employ of Newcastle a decade or so ago were published in Kevin Keegan's book last year, while more recently Wise was mentioned in court action between Ashley and ex-associate Tony Jimenez. 

Claims that Wise had met Lee Charnley recently have been denied by NUFC, but it's also reported that he's been in the company of Justin Barnes - another Ashley acolyte who is influential in club matters.

It's surely only be a matter of time before we get the full gang back together - and JFK returns....

Premier League:
Cardiff City (h)

Newcastle return to Premier League action at SJP on Saturday, when Neil Warnock's Bluebirds roll up for an old-fashioned, non-televised 3pm kick-off. 

United go in search of a tenth successive home league victory over the Welsh side, whose last league success on Tyneside was in November 1963.

In terms of top-flight meetings between the two clubs at Gallowgate, United have won nine and drawn one since Cardiff's 1-0 victory in April 1926.

Tickets remain on public sale.

The NUFC Fans Food bank collection stall opens on Strawberry Place from 1pm. Food or cash donations are equally welcome!

NUFC: Paul Dummett and Jonjo Shelvey remain out but Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark, Fabian Schar, Isaac Hayden, Kenedy and Mo Diame should all be available for selection following various problems.

Ki Sunyeung and Yoshinori Muto remain away on international duty at the Asian Cup.

Coral matchday betting online here

There's a Coral smart boost for this game, with the 2/1 on NUFC winning to nil now 9/4 online here

Their "Your Call" option allows you to create bespoke odds and we've cobbled these examples together:

Perez anytime scorer, BTTS, NUFC win 8/1
NUFC clean sheet, 0-0 HT, goal after HT 11/2
NUFC score over 2.5 goals, win & win both halves 17/2
Draw at HT, NUFC to win 1-0 8/1
Draw at HT, BTTS NUFC to win 10/1

Coral's new punter offer is bet £10 receive £30 in free bets. Terms and conditions apply online here

CCFC: Sean Morrison misses out and there are doubts over Danny Ward, Kenneth Zohore, Victor Camarasa and Kadeem Harris. 

City are attempting to sign two strikers in this window; paying a club record £18m for Emiliano Sala from Nantes and loaning Oumar Niasse from Everton.

Niasse's loan move was duly confirmed on Friday, as news broke that Sala was in Cardiff for his medical.

However, Nantes are attempting to delay the deal to allow him to play for them in the French League on Sunday.

Since winning their first PL away game of the season at Leicester City last month, City have failed to score in three games.

Aside from that three point return, Cardiff recorded 0-0 draws at Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace. Their other seven trips all ended in defeat. 

Their tally of six away goals in 10 games is the lowest in the top flight, with two of those coming during one game - a 2-3 loss at Watford.





The Ware Rooms on Carliol Square will have these offers on Saturday:

Pizza and a pint £7
Two Dine for a Tenner
20% discount for NUFC season ticket holders before and after the Cardiff game.

The Ware Rooms are at 17 Carliol Square NE1 6UQ - 5 minutes walk from both Monument and Manors Metro.

Stats: 

Bluebirds in Toon -all time:

2016/17 won 2-1 Atsu, Gouffran
2013/14 won 3-0 Sh.Ameobi, Remy, S.Taylor
2013/14 lost 1-2 Cisse (FAC)
2009/10 won 5-1 Carroll 2, og, Lovenkrands 2
1983/84 won 3-1 Waddle, Keegan 2
1981/82 won 2-1 Varadi, Trewick
1980/81 won 2-1 Clarke, Shoulder
1979/80 won 1-0 Shoulder
1978/79 won 3-0 Connolly, Withe, Robinson
1964/65 won 2-0 Hilley, Anderson
1963/64 lost 0-4
1962/63 won 2-1 Fell 2
1960/61 won 5-0 Luke 2, White 2, Mitchell
1956/57 won 1-0 Keeble
1955/56 won 4-0 Milburn 2, Keeble, Crowe
1954/55 won 3-0 Hannah 2, McMichael
1953/54 won 4-0 Broadis 2, Hannah, Milburn
1952/53 won 3-0 Foulkes 2, Mitchell
1947/48 won 4-1 Milburn 2, Shackleton, Stobbart
1938/39 won 4-1 Clifton, Gordon, Mooney, Park (FAC)
1928/29 drew 1-1 Gallacher
1927/28 won 2-0 McKay, Wilkinson
1926/27 won 5-0 McDonald 3, Gallacher 2
1925/26 lost 0-1
1924/25 lost 1-2 Cowan
1923/24 drew 1-1 McDonald
1922/23 won 3-1 Harris, McDonald, Seymour
1921/22 drew 0-0

Referee: Stuart Attwell - a first Toon posting of the season for the whistler from Warwickshire, who took charge of us four times in the 2017/18 campaign.

Both home games ended in victories for United - versus Stoke City and Crystal Palace - Attwell was also in the middle for the loss at Arsenal and success at Leicester. 

Travel:

Metro: No scheduled disruptions this weekend.

Trains: 

There's yet another RMT strike this Saturday, which will reduce the amount of Northern Rail services that operate across the region, especially post-match. 

Road:

Road closures start one hour before kick-off on:

Leazes Terrace and area around the East Stand
Strawberry Place between the junction with Barrack Road and the Strawberry Pub/ Strawberry Lane at junction with Strawberry Place.

Closures will remain in place until approximately 30 minutes after the end of the match.

Road closures start about one hour after the start of the match on:

Strawberry Place at junction with Leazes Park Road
Leazes Park Road from Percy Street and Strawberry Place junctions
Terrace Place

Closures will remain in place until approximately 30 minutes after the end of the match.

Parking: 

Northumbria University offer weekend car parking to the public for £4 all day (or £1 per hour). 500 spaces are available at Lipman and City Campus East: book online here or turn up to pay & display.

Dedicated match buses run from Metro Centre (X50) and Gosforth Great Park (Q3) More details here

UK TV: None

Overseas TV: to follow

UK Radio: tbc (if any)

Local Radio: Live on BBC Radio Newcastle

Latest PL fixtures:

Sat 19.01.2019:
Wolves v Leicester City (12.30pm) Sky
Bournemouth v West Ham (3pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (3pm)
Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion (3pm)
Newcastle v Cardiff City (3pm)
Southampton v Everton (3pm)
Watford v Burnley (3pm)
Arsenal v Chelsea (5.30pm) BT

Sun 20.01.2019:
Huddersfield Town v Manchester City (1.30pm) Sky
Fulham v Spurs (4pm) Sky

CentrAle 2019  opening hours:  Mon-Fri 11:00-20:00 Sat 09:00-19:00 Sun 11:00-17:00 New local beers in stock from Northern Alchemy (Moroccan Spiced mild) and Firebrick (Cushy Butterfield stout), plus new arrivals from Wilde Child, Cloudwater, Brew York and Bone Machine.

Internationals:
Muto on target

The finals of the Asian Cup are underway in the Middle East and United's two representatives have progressed from their groups with 100% records.

Japan made 10 changes to their side for Thursday's meeting with Uzbekistan in Al Ain, Yoshinori Muto selected to start and completing 85 minutes. 

Yellow-carded in the 33rd minute, our man supplied a 43rd minute header to equalise for Japan, who then went on to win it just before the hour. 

See Muto's goal online here

Yoshinori Muto (Japan):
Mon 21.01.2019 Saudi Arabia (Sharjah)
Thu 17.01.2019 Uzbekistan won 2-1 (played 85mins)
Sun 13.01.2019 Oman won 1-0 (played 33mins)
Wed 09.01.2019 Turkmenistan won 3-2 (unused)

Ki Sungyueng (South Korea):
Tue 22.01.2019 Bahrain (Rashid)
Wed 16.01.2019 China won 2-0 (unused)
Fri 11.01.2019 Kyrgyzstan won 1-0 (unused)
Mon 07.01.2019 Philippines won 1-0 (played 58mins)

The event runs through until February 1st.

Update:
"a regrettable remark"

From Bloomberg, Thursday:

Billionaire Mike Ashley, no stranger to details of his bar-room antics being discussed in court, faces an unusual new claim in a British lawsuit: He may have feared “being locked up in Dubai” over comments he made in a bar more than a decade ago.

Ashley - who has a “completely different” account of the events - feared the consequences of remarks in 2008 that were insulting to the Dubai royal family, the Islamic faith and the former soccer player and manager Kevin Keegan, a former associate told a London judge. Details of the allegation against Ashley, which he denies, emerged in a judgment published Wednesday.

Tony Jimenez, the former co-owner of Charlton Athletic Football Club, made the allegation in response to a London lawsuit filed by Ashley. Ashley “flatly denies that he ever made any comment about the Dubai royal family, the Islamic faith or Kevin Keegan whether as wrongly alleged by Mr Jimenez based on hearsay evidence, or at all,” his spokesperson said by email.

The Sports Direct International Plc owner “was shaking and saying he and his business empire faced ruin” after the incident, a court judgment in the early stages of a lawsuit between the two men said, citing Jimenez.

Jimenez says Ashley “came to see him at 4am. on 17 September 2008 in a panic worried about being locked up in Dubai and facing adverse press reporting in the U.K.,” after making comments at the Bahri Bar in Dubai where undercover journalists were present, judge Matthew Marsh said in a judgment Wednesday.

Ashley disputes those claims, saying he was “relatively unconcerned about the incident in the bar and its consequences” and more concerned about the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. at the time “and the risk that HBOS, in which he had substantial holdings, might fail,” the judgment says.

Marsh’s judgment on Wednesday was on a pre-trial issue about jurisdiction, and not on the case itself.

Ashley “now says that he may have made a regrettable remark in the Bahri Bar, directed towards those with whom he had been in negotiation earlier that day,” Marsh said in the judgment. Jimenez, who Ashley described in previous court filings as a former friend, says the comments were “more widely directed.”

A lawyer for Ashley declined to immediately comment.

A judge found in a previous, separate case that Jimenez had lied, but “the fact that Mr. Jimenez has told lies on previous occasions, and his evidence has been found to be unreliable, does not mean he is lying in this case,” Marsh said in the ruling.

Internationals:
Three minute hero

Newcastle reserve striker Elias Sorensen has continued his club scoring form at international level, marking his Danish U21 debut with the only goal of the game.   

The 19 year-old missed out on a possible first team selection in the FA Cup following his first international call-up at U21 level for a training camp in Mexico.

Coming off the bench at half time on Wednesday, Elias (the youngest player in the squad) took just three minutes to find the net in a 1-0 friendly win over the hosts in Mexico City.  

The two teams will meet again on Saturday.

The training camp is part of the selection process to decide which players will represent Denmark at the European U21 Championship Finals this June.  

U18s:
Bairns eye 
derby double

Following a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Little Benton last week, Newcastle U18s are at home again this coming Saturday when they meet the mackems.

Kick-off is at 11am and Dave Watson's young Magpies go into the game seeking only their third league win of the season in what will be their twelfth game.

One of those two successes came on wearside last August, when Kain Reed's goal divided the sides.

The red and whites remain bottom of the table - one point and two places below United - and come into this game on the back of five successive league losses.    

FAC:
Cup of joy (?!)

Blackburn Rovers  2  Newcastle  4
(after extra-time, 2-2 FT)

Goals and highlights online here (BBC)

Match report

FAC fixtures:

Fourth Round:

Fri 25.01.2019:
Arsenal v Manchester United (7.55pm) BBC

Sat 26.01.2019:
Accrington Stanley v Derby County (12.30pm) BT
Swansea City v Gillingham (3pm)
Shrewsbury Town v Wolves (3pm)
Brighton & Hove Albion v West Bromwich Albion (3pm)
Bristol City v Bolton Wanderers (3pm)
Doncaster Rovers v Oldham Athletic (3pm)
Newcastle v Watford (3pm)
smoggies v Newport County (3pm)
Manchester City v Burnley (3pm)
Portsmouth v QPR (3pm)
Millwall v Everton  (5.30pm) BBC
AFC Wimbledon V West Ham (7.45pm) BT

Sun 27.01.2019:
Crystal Palace v Spurs (4pm) BT
Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday (6pm) BBC

Mon 28.01.2019:
Barnet v Brentford (7.45pm) BT

FAC:
Hornets at home

Newcastle will attempt to end a sequence of five FA Cup Fourth Round defeats when fellow Premier League side Watford visit SJP on Saturday January 26th.

Unless there's a repeat of the farce that saw our Third Round tie against Blackburn Rovers moved to 5.30pm for overseas TV, kick off against the Hornets will be 3pm.

Tickets are now on sale to season ticket holders with additional seats available to them and members from Friday. Public sale commences this Sunday.  

Prices are the same as for the Third Round: £10 adults and £5 concessions, with only lower bowl areas initially on sale. The visitors have an initial 6,000 allocation. 

Those prices rise to £20 adults and £10 concessions around 24 hours before kick-off. 

U23s:
Understudies take
centre stage

Newcastle U23s  4  West Brom U23s  2

Match report

Premier League:
Home is a question mark

Chelsea  2  Newcastle  1

Match report

Old boys:
Get the cones out 

Following the loss of former Magpie Steve Watson to York City, Gateshead have revamped their backroom staff and fellow old boy Mike Williamson now has a player/coach role.

Over the border meanwhile, Celtic have confirmed the arrival of Damien Duff, who will take charge of their reserve side.

PS: There was a familiar face in the away dugout at the stadium of plight last Saturday, Mick Harford taking caretaker charge of the Hatters in the wake of manager Nathan Jones joining Stoke City.

Wearside-born Harford has been associated with Luton as a player, manager, coach and scout at various times since first moving to Kenilworth Road in 1984.  

Loan lads:
Borrowers

Dwight Gayle (West Bromwich Albion)
Returning from a hamstring issue, Dwight was in the starting lineup and beat Norwich City 'keeper Tim Krul early on for his fourteenth Championship goal.

However the Canaries replied in the closing stages to share the points at the Hawthorns - Gayle going off in the 85th minute, two minutes after the equaliser.

Jack Colback (Nottingham Forest)
Midfielder Jack played the full game as managerless Forest lost 0-2 at Reading in the Championship on Saturday. The visitors ended the game with just nine men and Colback also received his usual caution.

Dan Barlaser, Liam Gibson (Accrington Stanley) 
It finished goalless at the Wham Stadium as Stanley hosted Bristol Rovers in League One on Saturday. 

Both players started the game, Liam's competitive debut in senior football ending in the 86th minute when he was substituted.

Henri Saivet (Bursaspor)
The Turkish SuperLig is now on a mid-season break, resuming hostilities on January 19th.