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Boss Sven-Goran Eriksson brings in two on trial at Leicester

Leicester boss Sven Goran Eriksson looks likely to offer contracts to on trial winger Fabrice Pancrate and goalkeeper Michael Rensing.

Pancrate came to Leicester via free transfer from Newcastle and Rensing left Bayern Munich in the summer.

Eriksson spoke with Daily Mirror about the duo.

"They have been very good in training," the former Manchester City boss said.

"Pancrate is a very quick winger, while Rensing is a very big goalkeeper."

nPower League One News: Newcastle United's Kazenga LuaLua doing well on loan at Brighton

The 19-year-old Congolese-English winger has been on loan at League One side Brighton & Hove Albion since September. He has four goals and three assists.

In the nine games Kazenga LuaLua has competed in, Brighton has six wins and three draws.

Will a call-up into England's youth squads be upcoming or will LuaLua play for his African birth nation?

Everton Transfer Rumours - Liverpool Transfer Rumours - Newcastle Transfer Rumours: Steven Taylor to join one of Merseyside clubs?

Media reports out of the U.K. have both Everton and Liverpool ready to sign Newcastle defender Steven Taylor this January.

24-year-old Taylor, a former U-21 English international, was captain when he played on the junior national team side.

Arsenal Transfer Rumours -- Newcastle United interested in Jack Wilshere

Go here for the news -- Jack Wilshere on loan to Newcastle United?

Odd News: Newcastle United says off with the escalator

According to News of the World, the club, in an effort to save cash, is switching off the escalator inside the new Milburn Stand during the weekdays. And did you hear about the poor Christmas party?

Click on the link below to read about the Toon loons and their cost-cutting Xmas party.

Via News of the World

Could a Welsh club make the EPL in 2010-11? Swansea City and Cardiff City are at the gates of the Premiership.

Cardiff (5th) and Swansea (6th), both Welsh clubs playing in the English League Championship, sit within the Premiership Playoff zone of the table at essentially the half way point of the campaign.

Could one of these clubs be in the EPL facing off against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool?

Stay tuned.

Oh, in case you missed it, Newcastle United will be back in the EPL for 2010-11.

A Tale Of Two Magpies

One of the amazing things about football is its ability to drag your emotions from one extreme to another in a second and despite any number of let downs by their side, the hopes and dreams of a supporter will always remain strong and they will keep coming back for more.

Those hopes and dreams have been dashed and resurrected this week at two clubs whose fortunes have been poles apart over the past few decades, but could yet find themselves on a level playing field in the coming years.

Newcastle United suffered the agony of relegation from the Premier League last season and faced with mounting debts and the financial black-hole that relegation brings, beleaguered owner Mike Ashley has put the club and the entire playing staff up for sale.

A rather curious message posted on the clubs website offered the club for £100 million on a first-come-first served basis. I can’t imagine to many investors do their shopping on the internet so rather inevitably this message has attracted a number of jokers offering anything from £10 to a packet of sweets for the club, all of which makes the situation even harder to bear for the clubs fans.

With the future of manger Alan Shearer also in doubt, it is a mystery who will be lining up on the pitch, in the dugout and in the boardroom come the start of next season. The Magpies of the North-East could have further hurt to come – just ask Leeds United fans.

Contrast that with the Magpies of the Midlands and fans of the World’s oldest football League club, Notts County.

The Nottingham based club has spent much of the past 20 years languishing in the lower divisions, often in the shadow of their city rivals Nottingham Forest. But their rich past, which saw them founder members of the football League in 1888, has made them the latest club to attract investment from the Middle East.

A group of businessman behind the Munto Finance group have agreed to take over the 147-year-old club and have pledged to supply enough funds to get the club back into the Championship, the tier below the Premier League, within five years as well as investing in the clubs youth programme and infrastructure.

This deal may spark a trend whereby investors, put off by the millions required to run a Premier League side, will buy lower division clubs knowing they can still achieve success but with a much smaller outlay.

If it works then flush with cash the Nottingham Magpies could soon see themselves passing Newcastle on the way up. Of course all takeovers carry a sense of risk, the fears that they may saddle the club with debt or quickly lose interest in the project are all very real.

But as one County fan pointed out, after a 19th place finish in League Two last season things can’t get much worse.

Wigan Athletic: Transfer Rumours -- Joining Hunt For Michael Owen?

Reports have Wigan as a potential landing spot for the (Championship) down-and-(Premiership) out, off-injured, Michael Owen.

Owen's stats from the 2008-09 Newcastle Premiership campaign -- 28 total games, 8 goals.

If this turns out to be correct, is it a smart move by Wigan?

Tottenham Hotspur: What's Next For Gio?

Over at Football London, I penned a quick look at the summer speculation of one Gio dos Santos -- Read On -- Tottenham Hotspur: What's Next For Gio?

Shearer’s survival mission

Today is the day for Geordies to rejoice. The messiah mk II - Alan Shearer - is their white knight, striding into the club in their moment of need to rescue them from footballing oblivion.

But tomorrow is where the hard work starts. Shearer has just eight games to save the club, with a very imposing fixture list. They need wins, and quickly.

But where are the points going to come from? Here is my look at how Newcastle can stay up:

Must win games

Portsmouth (H) - 27 April
Middlesbrough (H) - 9 May
Fulham (H) - 16 May

Home form is critical to Premier League survival - even more so when you’re playing your relegation rivals. Newcastle simply cannot afford to lose to Pompey and Boro and with Fulham’s poor away form, they will hope to grab a win there too. Those nine points would take them a long way towards salvation.

Must not lose

Stoke (A) - 11 April
Tottenham (A) - 19 April

Two more tough trips to relegation contenders - a win would be seen as a bonus. But being the away side, avoiding defeat would be the priority. If they can come away from these fixtures with two points, Newcastle will be pleased with their efforts.

‘Bonus’ games

Chelsea (H) - 4 April
Liverpool (A) - 2 May
Aston Villa (A) - 24 May

Three tough games against sides at the top of the table. Any points gained from these will be seen as a bonus for Shearer but don't waste your football bet by backing the Magpies. The best chance probably comes this Saturday against Chelsea- with the euphoria of Shearer's appointment still rippling through Tyneside.

The crowd will be up for it, the players will be up for it, and we know the boss will be up for it. I reckon we could see a surprise at St James’ Park on Saturday.

The verdict?

It will be tough, very tough. But I think Shearer’s appointment is inspired as the club were almost certainly going down before his arrival. I think they will get enough points at home to stay up – just.

Messiah Sparks Revival On Tyneside?

Reports suggest Alan Shearer is to sensationally return to Newcastle as their manager for the final eight games of the season. Ever since his retirement, Shearer's household name has been strongly linked with the vacant Newcastle position and it is an incredible turn-around if, as expected, he is officially announced tomorrow.

The daunting mission to survive relegation beckons for Shearer as the Geordies pin their hopes on the messiah striking as ably in the managerial hotseat as in the famous black-and-white shirt. Shearer is the all-time leading goalscorer for Newcastle, where he scored 206 goals in 404 appearances.

Joe Kinnear was appointed as an interim manager after Kevin Keegan departed earlier in the season, but when Kinnear required heart surgery the pressure on the club has only mounted and escalated into a decline back into the bottom three. Can Shearer dispel the concerns and lift Newcastle to survival, or are expectations unrealistically too high in a job which so many managers before have failed? No easier opposition to salvage pride and Premiership status against than Chelsea this upcoming Saturday.

The Newcastle reaction can be found here.

Battle to avoid the drop

By Soccer City FC guest blogger Tom Mallows.

While much of the attention in the English Premier League is focused on the race for the title, the relegation battle is proving just as exciting with up to ten teams still realistically involved. With just ten games left here is a run down of the teams involved and their chances of staying up:

Bolton
Had a disappointing result at Stoke on Wednesday but I think it’s their home form that will be crucial to their survival hopes. Their run-in isn’t too bad either and with players like Johan Elmander and Matty Taylor I think they will have enough creativity to stay up. Hull The have been on a horror run of late but grabbed a vital three points away at Fulham on Wednesday which has put them five points clear of the drop zone. They made a fantastic start to the season and I think that will crucial as just three wins from their last ten games should be enough.

Tottenham
It still amazes me that such a talented squad, which held Manchester United for 120 minutes in the Carling Cup final last week, has under perform so badly in the league this season. Harry Redknapp has done a decent enough job to try and turn things around and although the team still looks unbalanced they should get enough points, especially at home, to secure safety.

Sunderland
A lot of money has been spent at the Stadium of Light in the two years they have been back in the Premier League. Roy Keane couldn’t get the best out of those players but new boss Ricky Sbragia has picked up a few decent results. In Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse they have a strike force good enough to get the goals they need to stay up.

Stoke
They have shown tremendous spirit this season to get where they are. They perhaps don’t have as much quality in the side as most teams around them but they make up for that in determination, organisation and playing to their strengths. After a tough trip to Everton their next four games are all against teams around them, it will be those fixtures that will make or break their season.

Newcastle
Another team with big name, big money players who have underperformed massively this season. It has been one crisis after another at St James’ Park this year and a quick check down the fixture list suggests another one could be on the horizon. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa are all to play the North-East side and unless performances improve, they could be in real trouble.

Portsmouth
It is amazing to think that just over a year ago Portsmouth were on their way to Wembley and a top 10 Premier League finish. But things have changed so dramatically at the south coast club the best they can hope for this year is a safety. Tony Adams’ reign proved to be a disaster and while temporary coach Paul Hart has got some results, they don’t look like a side who can string a few wins together. If sides around them start picking up results, they could be in trouble.

Blackburn
Paul Ince found success at MK Dons playing expansive passing football, but when he tried to implement that at Ewood Park he found he just didn’t’ have the players to do it successfully. Sam Allardyce has reverted to a more solid, direct approach but despite a decent set of results they still find themselves in the relegation zone. Home form will be crucial for Rovers, with West Brom, Wigan and Portsmouth yet to come to Ewood. I think this one could go down to the final game of the season.

Middlesbrough
Gareth Southgate’s side went an alarming three months without a league win, that’s relegation form in any division. They got a great result against Liverpool last weekend but followed that up with a thumping at Spurs. They will have to string several wins together, something they haven’t done all season, in order to stay up.

West Brom
Once again The Baggies have won lots of friends for their style of play but not many points. They have managed to stay in touch with those above them for most of the campaign but in recent weeks as those teams have picked up results the Baggies soft centre has been repeatedly exposed and they now find themselves cut adrift. The Championship beckons for West Brom I fear.

March 1st - EPL Results

Manchester City falls to West Ham 1-0
Rovers over Hull 2-1
Bolton topples Newcastle United 1-0
Stoke and Villa all tied 2-2

City's FA Youth Cup Dream Continues

Manchester City's youth squad continues down the FA Youth Cup road tonight as the club faces Newcastle United. A place in the final eight is a stake this evening at Eastlands.

The Blues are now unbeaten in 19 games this season including 17 league victories. They sit six points clear of the second-place club in the table.

The winner of tonight's match will have a home quarterfinal against either Everton or Norwich City.

Man City - Newcastle: Live Look In

GOAL: 17th minute score from SWP for City!

GOAL: 77th minute as Craig Bellamy scores in his debut.

GOAL: 81st and Newcastle gets one back.

End of match with City taking an important three points from the contest.

Ireland Not Yet With Ireland

Interesingly, Stephen Ireland continues to remain out of the Republic of Ireland's squad. Today's announcement of the 25-man side who will face Georgia at Croke Park, Dublin, on Wednesday, February 11 in World Cup qualifying action is sans Ireland. Read On...

Newcastle Utd - Things Just Got Worse

It would be fair to say that Newcastle's season has not been what fans thought and expected back in August. Keegan was here, we had made some good signings and all seemed well, after 5 seasons of complete misery the fans finally were looking on a season with optimism. Optimism that, however, quickly faded.

Keegan left,the club was for sale and in came an old, swearing seemingly medoicre guy that any younger fans had really heard of. He was given a tough time, but actually has done rather well, getting Newcastle out of the bottom 3, something that shocked us all. However a 5-1 reverse at home to Liverpool made sweet sour as the club's most loyal turned.

Shay Given, one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, behind only, in my opinion, Czech in terms of sheer quality, after over 10 years of superb, loyal un-faltering service to the club has asked to leave. But can I blame him? No.

Whilst Newcastle fans across the globe have accussed him of being disloyal they need to stop and reconsider. Someone who most regard as a top keeper, has spent 10 years at a side who have won nothing, and he must be thinking that while he has the oppurtunity to win something, to go and do it. Man City may be as useless as my gran currently when it comes to football, especially after the 0-3 reverse to relegation bound Nottingham Forest, but they are a club going places and with Mark Hughes and a bottom-less purse, he can offer whatever he wants for Given, and it's easy to see why he is tempted.

Newcastle also need to think, the 10 million pounds being thrown around the rumour mill is a lot of money which could do some good to a side struggling in depth with constant injury problems and god knows what else. A new defender and a new midfielder are in order, but Newcastle fans shouldn't get their hopes up high, this window is rarely one Newcastle grab with both hands, last season we saw mainly future prospects join, but this season who knows?

And who would want to join Newcastle? There is no guarantee the manager will be here in 6 months time, the club may well have different owners - although the likelyhood fades every day it seems with the current climate - and it is hardily a club of harmony.

Your comments are most welcome.

Newcastle FC - Where did it all go wrong?

Firstly I would like to say thanks to Sean for letting me join the crew here and hopefully I'll be posting as much as I can!

I'm a life long supporter of Newcastle and a while back it seemed like it was all going good, in the Champions League, with Sir Bobby at the helm and a chairman happy to help his manager with money.

Then out of the blue, after 4 games into the new season, Sir Bobby is sacked for having a poor start. Madness, pure madness, and from there on Newcastle seemed doomed. Souness came in, spending a club record £16 million on Michael Owen but was never popular. The key to success at Newcastle is bonding with the fans, and Souness never did, his style of football, rough and tumble did not appeal to a very expectant Newcastle fan base and he left on February 2nd, 2006.

Then came Glenn Roeder, although not the most popular manager or hardily one of the more charasmatic, he quietly went about his business, with backing from the board, finishing 7th in 05-06 and seemingly on the right path to getting The Toon back to where they used to roam. However his good start faltered rapidly, and he left the club by mutual consent on 6th May 07 as Newcastle finished 13th. Sam Allardyce was named as the successor.

Shorlty after Allardyce joined, chairman Freddy Sheppard left the club, on June 7th selling his last shares to new owner Mike Ashely, who appointed Chris Mort as chairman. Allardyce started well, bringing in some good signings and at the start of the season Newcastle fans were optimistic of something actually happening. However Allardyce, after a good start proved to be a false dawn as the club slipped down the table. After just 8 months he left on Jan 6th 08, and Newcastle fans found themselves in a all to familar postion and things looked bleak. When Ashley arrived, he promised cash, a good future and it had all gone down the pan.

Then something amazing happened. On January 16th the "Messiah", the one and only Kevin Keegan returned to Newcastle, 11 years and 8 days since he left the club and had to be one of the most popular choices since Sir Bobby. Newcastle were in a precarious position, not yet safe from relegation to the Championship. In more staff changes, Dennis Wise came in as Director of Football, along with Tony Jimenez and Jeff Vetere. The idea to create a "crack" team to work together to bring in the best players for the job. Keegan started poorly, struggling to get a win in the first few weeks, but things clicked and the club finished 11th in the table, pretty good all things considered.

In the summer Newcastle struggled to bring in players but the arrivals of Jonas Gutierrez and Colloccini were both seen as very good signings sure to bring a touch of Argentine flair to the side, especially in the case of Jonas. Newcastle started ok, but it turned out the behind the scene, not all was well. Keegan felt that he was not being given full control, and that Wise was too much involved; that as manager Keegan should have the last say. 3 days of talking ended with Keegan leaving on September 4th. Fans were gutted. This lead to extreme protests, especially on September 13th at home to Hull, in the 2-1 reverse. Nor Ashley or Wise appeared, and shortly after Ashley announced his intent to sell the club. However, in the current financial climate a sale is not going to happen shortly, but every Newcastle fan has there fingers tightly crossed.

In came Joe Kinnear, a controversial choice after his first media conference, but fans began to back him, and although not getting stunning results, he is beginning to get decent results and recently announced that his contract has been extended until the end of the season, and it seems that all Newcastle fans can hope for this season is to stay in this league, relegation to the Championship would be a complete disaster.

But with Newcastle, who knows?

Jack F is the owner of FMStyle, a forum for the worlds best football management game, Football Manager 2009 by SI.

Carling Cup: Third Round Draw This Week

A few interesting third-round draws with Carling Cup holders Spurs away against a listless Newcastle United squad. Also, Manchester City fresh off of their 6-0 thumping of Portsmouth travel to Brighton and Hove Albion. Portsmouth attempt to rebound at home against Chelsea. Manchester United host Middlesbrough and several reports state that Ronaldo is set to receive more playing time as he comes back from ankle surgery.

Which draw are you looking forward to? Let Soccer City FC know.