First of all I have hard time to find any word to start this, and more of that my patience is also being hardly tested following tonight’s result in the first game of 2008.

Newcastle United starts with the 4-4-2 attacking formation in which have been demanded by the die hard Geordies. Big Sam trying to give a game to pleased 50,956 crowds, but clearly only some part of them are having a good time and it’s from the away ends.

Everything that needs to be said about this team has already been said, and can be summarised in one phrase - they are nowhere near good enough.

Frankly, Citeh beat us without breaking into a sweat, and to be honest they aren’t that good. We went through the motions, had a few half chances that as usual were wasted: we were ineffectual in midfield, once again allowing the opposition too much space and time, and once again failed to keep a clean sheet.

N’Zogbia had a canny game, as did Beye, who barely gave Martin Petrov a kick. Duff was as busy as Viduka and Martins were hopeless. Michael Owen at least looked like a professional footballer when he came on - ie. capable of moving into space, and controlling and passing the ball 10 yards to a colleague - but his body language said more than a thousand words.

Another loss at home with barely a whimper. The club’s demise continues, with performances every bit as bad as anything we have seen over the last 20 years, and not even a faint glimmer of improvement with which to hang your hat on.

Despite this, the club’s new owner appears to believe everything is hunky-dory. I happen to believe it’s time he started to take his ownership of NUFC seriously, and started to take the decisions needed to reverse its decline, preferably before it’s too late.

UNITED:
Given, Beye, Taylor, Cacapa, N’Zogbia, Butt, Faye (Emre 73), Duff (Enrique 64), Milner, Viduka, Martins (Owen 46)
Subs: Harper, Rozehnal

CITY:
Hart, Richards, Ball, Onuoha, Ireland (Fernandes 76), Elano (Etuhu 71), Vassell (Bianchi 88), Petrov, Corluka, Hamann, Dunne.
Subs: Isaksson, Garrido.

Ref: Martin Atkinson
Att.: 50,956

After leaving Stamford Bridge suffering severe concussion in a clash of heads with team-mate Abdoulaye Faye, Smith was given more time to rest by Allardyce and started today’s fixture with Mark Viduka and Oba Martins up front.

Nicky Butt will skippering the Magpies as Smith deputy and Big Sam is likely to line-up in a 4-4-2 formation, just what most of the Toon Army wanted to see.

Abdoulaye Faye will set his position in midfield once again after showing great at Stamfored Bridge. He will partnered Nivky Butt in our central while Damien Duff and Milner both operating on the left and Right wing.

Match report to follow after the match, I’m off to see the match. Howay the Lads!!!

TEAMS LINE UP

NEWCASTLE UNITED FC:
Shay Given, Habib Beye, Charles N’Zogbia, Steven Taylor, Claudio Cacapa, Abdoulaye Faye, Nicky Butt (c), James Milner, Damien Duff, Mark Viduka, Oba Martins
Subs: Steve Harper, Jose Enrique, David Rozehnal, Emre, Michael Owen

Manchester City FC:
Joe Hart, Nedum Onuoha, Micah Richards, Richard Dunne (c), Michael Ball, Stephen Ireland, Dietmar Hamman, Vedran Corluka, Elano, Martin Petrov, Darius Vassell
Subs: Andreas Isaksson, Javier Garrido, Gelson, Rolando Bianchi, Kelvin Etuhu

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: tbc

Manchester City visit to St. James’ Park will start United’s second-half campaign this season. The two ‘misplace’ manager will sit on the dugout today watching the players work on their tactics. Allardyce and Sven-Göran Eriksson could have been managing the opposite teams this afternoon.

The Swedish manager has stated his interest to manage Newcastle when he finish his contract with the England team, but former Newcastle chairman Freddie Shepherd rejected the Swede’s call. On the other side, the City boards were also interested in Sam Allardyce when he left Bolton.

On that day, the most of Toon Army were also backing the appointment of Sam Allardyce as the new manager of Newcastle and shut the door of any chance for Eriksson to come in. I feel sad to hear that some of the impatience Toon Army are now put the blame on Sam Allardyce, the one we give a favour the most at first place.

If we can turn back the time, change the history and appointed Eriksson as our manager, will he be as successful as he is now with Manchester City? I don’t think so, we may have seen Big Sam more successful at City than what Sven’s done with us.

We still have around five months until May to see the final end of both managerial career on their first year in charge. Although Sven’s side has the bigger chance to finish above Sam’s, everything still can happens in the next five months and there’s no guarantee in whatsoever, anyone is more success than the other.

Alan Smith said in his official match programme special column that Newcastle still have the chance wide open to finish in top-half of the Premier League table in May. Newcastle United UEFA Cup place bid is still within the team’s capabilities to reach in the final four-and-a-half months of the season.

This afternoon, Allardyce will set his team with one aim to prevent City from becoming the first Premier League team to do the double over Newcastle this season. More of that, if we can have a win in our first game of the season last summer, there’s still a chance we can do the same today in our first game of the second period.

Newcastle next fixture will followed by an FA Cup third round tie at Stoke City on weekend and followed by a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.