The Toon: MBFranchise's Newcastle United MM

[MBFranchise]

Quote: Originally Posted by thrashman

Looking good. In place for a Champions League spot. Holding off Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham won't be easy though.

Hope to hold onto a European position, but it will be difficult. Just upped the difficulty and injury sliders so we will see how this season plays out.

[MBFranchise]

Magpes Survive in Cups



Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle

(N) Berg 10'
(N) Santon 31'
(W) Milijas 75'

MOTM: (N) LM Zoran Tosic and LB Davide Santon 7.80 Rating



Semi-Finals First Leg

Tottenham 0-1 Newcastle

(N) Cabaye 38'

MOTM: (N) ST Andre Schurrle 6.80 Rating



QPR 0-0 Newcastle

MOTM: (N) LM Zoran Tosic 6.80 Rating

Obligatory Shearer

[MBFranchise]

Newcastle Makes Move for Badstuber

Alan Shearer announced today the signing of CB Holger Badstuber from Bayern Munich. For a fee of $10 million, the Toon picks up a solid young 22-year old central defender that adds depth and will cover for the injured Fabricio Coloccini. The German international is a national teammate of Andre Schurrle, and could this be a sign that Shearer thinks more Germans should be on the way?

Newcastle also made two smaller signings to add depth to the squad. First, with the desire for GK Tim Krul to leave, Shearer realized we need keeper depth. So he picked up GK Gregorz Sandomierski for $3.5 million. He is already the strongest player on the team. Finally, the team got a developmental CB in Vujadin Savic. For the relatively cheap price of $4 million, Newcastle can develop this guy to be able to play in cups and hopefully Europe in the future.

Shearer also said the club sold CDM Alan Smith to NAC Breda for $600,000.

[MBFranchise]

A Win and a Surprise for Newcastle



Fulham 1-2 Newcastle

(F) Jones 11'
(N) Berg 50'
(N) Tosic 87'

MOTM: (N) ST Andre Schurrle 7.30 Rating



Newcastle 0-2 Birmingham

(B) Zigic 31'
(B) King 83'

MOTM: (B) GK B. Myhill 8.40 Rating

The Toon Army got the surprise of the season as the Magpies were knocked out of the FA Cup by Birmingham 2-0. Things went from bad to worse when CAM Miralem Pjanic handed in a transfer request. The young playmaker is expected to net upwards of $40 million, and teams such as Liverpool and Chelsea are already interested. If Pjanic is indeed sold, I have no idea who we could get to replace him, especially with the transfer window closing soon.

Obligatory Shearer

[MBFranchise]

Newcastle Qualifies for Carling Cup Final



Semi-Final Second Leg

Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham

Aggregate Newcastle 2-0 Tottenham

(N) Ba 31'

MOTM: (N) CAM Miralem Pjanic 7.20 Rating



Blackburn 1-1 Newcastle

CAM Miralem Pjanic hyperextended knee out 3 weeks (karma?)

(N) Schurrle 36'
(B) Blackman 73'

MOTM: (N) ST Andre Schurrle 7.50 Rating

Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa

CDM Zdravko Kuzmanovic out 2 weeks with a concussion

(N) Tiote 24'
(N) Schurrle 65'
(N) Schurrle 69'

MOTM: (N) ST Andre Schurrle 9.70 Rating

Obligatory Shearer

[MBFranchise]

Newcastle Splits Against Spurs and Wolves



Tottenham 2-1 Newcastle

(N) Schurrle 31'
(T) Adebayor 33'
(T) Van der Vaart 81'

MOTM: (T) CB S. Bassong 6.80 Rating

Newcastle 1-0 Wolverhampton

(N) Ba 67'

MOTM: (N) ST Demba Ba 7.20 Rating

Obligatory Shearer

[MBFranchise]

Carling Cup Preview

Newcastle United is in position to earn some silverware under new manager Alan Shearer. The improvement in this team this season has been nothing short of miraculous. All that stands in the way now is a strong and determined Chelsea team, a team that has already dispatched the Magpies once this season.

Starting Lineups

Newcastle

Krul
R. Taylor S. Taylor Badstuber Santon
Tiote
Cabaye Tosic
Pjanic
Berg Schurrle

Key Player: ST Andre Schurrle. Schurrle is one of the top young talents in Europe, having developed into a dribbler/speedster/clinical finisher/complete forward. He is also in stellar form, scoring 4 goals in his last three games.

Chelsea

Cech
Ivanovic Terry Alex Cole
Essien
Mata Kalou
Lampard
Torres Drogba

Key Player: ST Fernando Torres. The Chelsea strikeforce has been on fire this season. Torres leads the Premiership with 17 goals, while Drogba has 12 and Sturridge 8. Torres has been in exceptional form, including a brace when these teams met earlier in the season.

Prediction: I really want to go with Newcastle in this one, but logic tells me to go with the Blues. 2-0 Chelsea.

[rhysyboy]

Good luck!