After making just eight appearances for Newcastle this season, Shola Ameobi will end the season as Stoke City player after signed a loan deal with the Potters for the rest of the season.

Before the confirmation of his loan signing, Ameobi has been named in the Newcastle squad for tonight’s reserve team match against Manchester United at Northwich Victoria. He finds the target in last week’s 2-2 reserve draw at Bolton Wanderers.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan said that the 26-year-old striker still has the chance to go back into his plans in the future. having just eight appearances for the Toon this season, Ameobi falling behind Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka for the striker place at St James’s Park, with Toon youngster Andy Carroll is looking way ahead of him.

Ex-United manager Glenn Roeder also stated his admiration to sign Ameobi, while other first division team Plymouth and Ipswich are also said to have shown an interest. Stoke has moved fast before them to bring Ameobi to Britannia stadium and could make his debut at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Well, it was only Stoke so we musn’t get carried away - especially given our ‘unreasonable expectations’ - but, despite playing with 10 men for an hour.

We saw more football from the black ‘n whites tonight than we’ve seen in all the games combined so far this season, and perhaps half of last season too - full committment all round, and some really encouraging passages of play.

The massive area of improvement tonight was our ball retention, and imho this was what made the difference. In the last 15 mins of the 1st half, after Emre had been sent off, we barely gave the ball to Stoke at all. For once we had a midfield that could pass the ball, and support each other, as well as creating a few chances.

As I said earlier, it’s important not to get carried away, as we were only playing Stoke. However, this is the same team that I thought gave us a bit of a chasing at their place, and tonight we made them look distinctly 2nd rate.

N’Zogbia was absolutely outstanding, and deservedly got the MOTM award, indeed I thought he ran the game for long periods. This was the best individual performance I’ve seen from a Toon player for a long time.

There were some other noteable performances. Both FBs had decent games - I even thought Carr was good tonight, and he did a lot of defensive organising.

Taylor and Cacapa had a few problems against the big Stoke front two, but stuck to the task very well. In fact, Given really hadn’t a lot to do - apart from picking the ball out of the net!

Duff and Milner supported Zog really well, and all three basically ran themselves into the ground.

Up front, Micky Owen looked sharper than he has for a long time, and his early goal seemed to visibly lift him. He did a lot of work tonight helping out his midfield, and showed some really neat touches and controlled passing.

Strangely enough, I could feel a different atmosphere just walking up the ground tonight, and while it wasn’t exactly back to the old Keegan days, he has already started sprinkling the old stardust around what was becoming an increasingly dark and spiteful place.

Newcastle United FC: Owen (8), Cacapa (31), Milner (68), Duff (76)
Shay Given (c), Stephen Carr, Jose Enrique, Claudio Cacapa, Steven Taylor, Emre, Charles N’Zogbia, James Milner, Damien Duff, Michael Owen, Mark Viduka
Subs: Steve Harper, David Rozehnal, David Edgar, Kazenga LuaLua, Andy Carroll

Stoke City FC: Lawrence (89)
Steve Simonsen, John Eustace, Leon Cort, Liam Lawrence, Jon Parkin, Richard Cresswell, Ricardo Fuller, Danny Pugh, Ryan Shawcross, Gabriel Zakuani, Rory Delap
Subs: Vincent Pericard, Salif Diao, Russell Holt, Anthony Pulis, Carl Dickinson

Referee: Uriah Rennie
Attendance: 35, 108

I’m expecting some fun tonight, OK Stoke will be big and direct – brilliant, there is no way we’ll cope with this very brainy tactic so we’ll have to counter it. We have no players apart from my team. This team can only play one way – attack.

I honestly can not see any other way for us but to go 100% at them. Go at them with every damn thing we’ve got. Width, pace, passing, dribbling, hold up play, clinical finishing – we have all of this in our locker.

Put it another way, excluding Baye and Faye, it could be argued that this is our best eleven! In fact excluding these two I think this is our best eleven – oh how BFFSA would mock. Maybe someone could put an argument for Martins and I’d have sympathy with this.

Butt out, Smith out – this has got to be good, both are in terrible form or is it that they are just crap? Playing a big fellow with Owen this is good. Two central midfielders given the instruction to be free and to look forward - excellent!

There is no point in babying a hopeless defence, lets just for once use better players as the team talk and tell them, enjoy it, it’s a lovely mild winter evening and being a professional footballer is the perfect life. Forget about yesterday, tomorrow will take care of itself.

I think if we click into a gear we will murder these feckers. Howay the lads!!!!

Newcastle United Team Lineup:

Harper (Given: Dropped)

Carr(it breaks my heart but so be it) Taylor(we’re gonna need this lad tonight), (Capaca, Rozy – I’m not arsed either way, who’s mincing do you prefer, Boy George or Julian Clary?), Enrique ( hmmm, I’m 90% sure he’s not up to it but let’s hope he has a good game)

Milner(right), Emre(playing his natural game), N’Zogbia(central), Duff(left)

Viduka(bit fat and slow), Owen(his heads gone because he’s at a joke club for me)