Yeah, true. Although I only actually payed £500,000 up front, the rest was over 48 months, so I'm not too upset.
NOVEMBER
Monday 2nd November 2009
@ Sheffield United
0-1
A comedown after the win over Wolves. However, this was always going to be a tough game. What is more concerning was the poor performance that the team put in.
Saturday 7th November 2009
v Peterborough United
2-0
Andy Carroll (2)
A comfortable win for us, Andy Carroll rediscovers his scoring boots and hits a brace to give us the win.
Monday 23rd November 2009
@ Preston North End
2-1
Steven Taylor, Vaclav Kadlec
Taylor opens the scoring with a stunning drive from outside of the penalty area. Quite unexpected from the captain there! PNE equalised against the run of play, but Kadlec made sure justice was done, the home fans leaving unhappy.
Saturday 28th November 2009
v Swansea
5-1
Andy Carroll, Peter Lovenkrands (2), Vaclav Kadlec (2)
A stunning victory over Swansea. Lovenkrands, in for Fleck, proving to be inspirational, setting up two goals as well as scoring twice.
MANAGER'S PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Vaclav Kadlec
4 apps, 3 goals
Kadlec has continued his fine goalscoring form, netting another three goals. It must be said that this was a close call between Kadlec and Carroll, with both really putting in some excellent performances over the last month.
DECEMBER
Quarter-Final
Tuesday 1st December 2009
v Sunderland
2-1
Andy Carroll, Hedwiges Maduro
A grudge match against our hated rivals Sunderland, this was a match which would test the team's confidence. Andy Carroll opened the scoring for us, the local lad living every Geordie's dream of putting one past the Black Cats keeper. Darren Bent, however, scored to put the tie on a knife edge. Hedwiges Maduro popped up with a rare, but invaluable goal to take Newcastle into the semi-finals of the league cup!
Saturday 5th December 2009
v Watford
2-0
Andy Carroll, Danny Guthrie
Another straightforward win for the lads. It seems that we are now in the habit of winning games. It hasn't been spectacular, but 3 points is the goal, and 3 points is what we've got.
Tuesday 8th December 2009
@ Coventry
2-0
Andy Carroll, Shola Ameobi
Consistency is the name of the game, and the entire side is showing it. Carroll got us going, and Shola Ameobi came off the bench to bag the second and the points.
Saturday 12th December 2009
@ Barnsley
2-0
Andy Carroll, John Fleck
Carroll's remarkable run continues as he gave us the lead at Oakwell. Barnsley were spirited, but Fleck was ultimately able to put the tie to bed with a calm placed finish.
Saturday 19th December 2009
v Middlesbrough
4-0
Andy Carroll (2), Vaclav Kadlec, Danny Simpson
A great result against our rivals from down the road. Carroll has been on the tear in terms of his goalscoring form, and bags a brace, scoring in his fourth game in a row.
Saturday 26th December 2009
@ Sheffield Wednesday
2-1
John Fleck, Shola Ameobi
A close affair at Hillsborough. Ameobi performing heroics off the bench. The tight Christmas/New Year schedule is taking a toll on the squad though, and there is a real danger fatigue could prevent us taking the maximum haul over December.
Monday 28th December 2009
v Derby County
3-0
Tomas Necid, Dean Moxey (OG), Leon Best
Success! Maximum points over the busy Christmas period. A somewhat rag-tag Newcastle turn out to face Derby County, with loanee Tomas Necid netting only his second goal for the side. Moxey then turned it further in the Toon's favour with an unfortunate mistake, turning the ball past Bywater. Best, replacing Kadlec who is suffering from the tough schedule, scored the third to put the tie beyond all doubt.
MANAGER'S PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Andy Carroll
4 apps, 5 goals
Andy has been in phenomenal form over December. I'm really hoping fatigue doesn't get the better of him, and I've got to hope that with January just around the corner, bigger clubs don't come a-sniffing.
JANUARY
Transfer update - we've had quite an influx of funds over the last few months, largely from transfers made before I took over, such as Bassong's move to Spurs, Given's move to Manchester City and Kieron Dyer's move to West Ham.
Instead of looking outside of the club, however, I decided to strengthen the squad by making some of the loan signings permanent. We can now officially welcome Hedwiges Maduro, Andreas Rossi and John Fleck as members of the Newcastle United squad.
Andreas Rossi - signed from Siena
In addition, we can welcome Jimmy Briand to the team. Briand was a promising talent in France, though his career has been derailed by injuries. We were able to secure his signature for a cut price 600k. We also brought in Darron Gibson from Manchester United, to add some depth to the midfield.
Jimmy Briand with the French U21 team
Darron Gibson - will add depth to the midfield
We've had to fight off interest from AC Milan for James Rodriguez as well. "Ham" has he is now known as around the changing room, due to the unusual pronunciation of 'James' or 'Hames', has been in top form for us, and has kept Bernardo on the bench. Milan came in with an offer, and I had thought that Ham would jump at the chance to join such a high profile club.
Ham Rodriguez - The Colombian Cristiano Ronaldo
In fact, after meeting with him, he told me that he was committed to the Newcastle cause, and that he felt that under my management, he would develop into a better player than he could while benchwarming at AC Milan. A fantastic endorsement for me, I must say. I was so pleased with Ham's loyalty, that I spoke with MD Derek Llambias, and persuaded him to offer Ham an improved, long-term contract, which would keep him at the club until 2014.
In other news, I was disappointed to discover that Andy Carroll has declared for Scotland over England, at least for the time being. Andy now has 2 Scottish-U21 caps to his name. The new FIFA rules still allow Andy to play for England at senior level though, but if I were Craig Levein, I would be calling Andy into the full Scotland squad asap to make sure of that eligibility!
3rd Round
Saturday 2nd January 2010
@ Tranmere Rovers
4-1
Shola Ameobi, John Fleck, Mike Williamson, Haris Vuckic
A chance for some younger players to get some experience in the FA Cup, which is not a priority for us this season. 16-year old Vuckic rounding off a sound beating for Tranmere.
4th Round
Saturday 23rd January 2010
v Everton
2-0
Shola Ameobi (2)
A surprise win over Premiership Everton to take us through to the 5th round. Unexpected, but welcome - we will take a bit more cash from making it this far.
Semi-Final First Leg
Wednesday 6th January 2010
@ Aston Villa
2-0
Andy Carroll, Leon Best
Well, we've made it this far, we might as well give it a go. Aston Villa played distinctly below par, and we managed to take a convincing two goal lead to defend at St James' Park.
Semi-Final Second Leg
Wednesday 20th January 2010
v Aston Villa
2-3
James Rodriguez, Leon Best
Aston Villa really turned the heat on us here. 2-0 down after half an hour, James Rodriguez rescued our chances with a long range piledriver. Leon Best came on to score, helping us to secure our spot in the final! Ashley Young's late free kick worried me, but we held on, although the heart attack wasn't too far away I can tell you!
Saturday 9th January 2010
@ Reading
0-0
A good result against a strong team. We defended well, but perhaps missed chances we should have put away. That said, coming off a big Carling Cup victory, this game was always going to difficult, particularly with the players still tired from their Villa Park exploits.
Saturday 16 January 2010
v West Bromwich Albion
2-0
Steven Taylor, Vaclav Kadlec
Another excellent result against West Brom, and back to winning ways in the league in front of our home fans.
Wednesday 27th January 2010
v Crystal Palace
2-0
Leon Best, Graeme Dorrans
The fixture congestion is mounting up for sure. Tough games at home to Villa, then against Everton have drained the team. Fortunately, Best appears to be in solid form, despite not starting too many games, and Dorrans chipped in with a rare goal to give us a win over a Palace team that had given us trouble earlier in the year.
Saturday 30th January 2010
@ Leicester City
5-1
Shola Ameobi (3), Rasmus Lindgren, John Fleck
The travelling Toon Army were well rewarded for their journey at the Walkers Stadium. A stunning hattrick from Shola Ameobi saw us take all three points, on the back of a very pleasing performance.
MANAGER'S PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Shola Ameobi
4 apps, 6 goals
Shola has been, quite frankly, in unbelievable goalscoring form in the last month. The hat-trick against Leicester was the icing on the cake for big man, and he is actively keeping Andy Carroll out of the team, no mean feat, considering Carroll's earlier form.