Reborn Nolan grabs a first career treble

Ipswich Town 0 Newcastle United 4

ROY KEANE was as surprised as everyone else inside Portman Road when Kevin Nolan scored the first three-goal haul of his Newcastle United career. “Don’t know if he has scored many hat-tricks, but I bet he thought it was Christmas,” said the Irishman, referring to Ipswich’s awful defending.

The truth, though, is that Nolan was equally astonished by his achievements in front of goal in Suffolk.

If scoring his first after half an hour was celebrated, his second two minutes later took him by surprise. To add a third just five minutes after half-time completely stunned him.

“It’s the first time I have had the matchball in my professional career,” said Nolan, born in Liverpool and a regular for the city’s schoolboys team. “The last time I scored a hat-trick was in a school final when I was 15. I didn’t get the matchball then but I’ve still got the shirt.

“I’ve scored a few braces in my time but when the third one went in it was like ‘it’s happened!’. I’ve got the ball for my daughter Jasmine. I am absolutely delighted.”

During ten years at Bolton he scored 40 times. When he arrived in January in a £4m deal, Newcastle supporters expected goals, but they dried up.

He went through the final five months of last season failing to add to the one goal he scored for the Trotters, while Saturday’s haul doubled this term’s tally to six.

“The last couple of seasons I have been struggling with injuries but since I have got to Newcastle, they have looked after me and that’s been a big plus,” said Nolan. “The last six months have been the first time I have trained every day for a long time.

“It has been really good. I have really enjoyed training every day and that is why I am starting to produce on the pitch. Long may it continue.”

Nolan’s renaissance is typical of the transformation across the Newcastle squad since relegation was confirmed at Villa Park in May.

When the 27-year-old arrived he labelled it a dream move and never envisaged he would end up in the Championship.

But, like so many of his team-mates, Nolan has looked a different prospect from the one who suffered the ignominy of dropping out of the Premier League.

Not only does he look slimmer, he is also starting to resemble the player who once attracted interest from top four clubs.

“Since I arrived, I have enjoyed every minute. Don’t get me wrong, the last day of the season was the worst time of my life. But the next day, I went for a pint with my dad and it was like ‘I can’t wait to get back,’” said Nolan.

“We have worked together as one. It is only a start. We are only nine games in. There is a long, long, way to go but it is the start we wanted. All the teams which have gone down have done well. We had a blip but we bounced back.”

After losing their unbeaten start to the season at Blackpool almost a fortnight ago, Newcastle have responded by defeating both Plymouth and Ipswich in the league.

Victory at Portman Road always looked likely once the pre-match tributes to Sir Bobby Robson had been made and Nile Ranger had forced Richard Wright into a low save inside four minutes.

Once Nolan directed Ryan Taylor’s free-kick into Wright’s top left corner with a powerful header there was no stopping the Magpies.

Ipswich were awful. Their defending was atrocious; worse, if that was possible, than they were at Middlesbrough two weeks ago.

Nolan made the most of that by turning defender Pim Balkestein inside out with a casual drag back before rolling his finish underneath the Ipswich goalkeeper.

Wright, a former England keeper, then moved off his line to allow Taylor to curl in a 30-yard free-kick over him into the net to leave Ipswich three down in four quick-fire minutes.

Inbetween angry chants directed towards Mike Ashley, there were favourable songs sung about Hughton, which were further justified when Nolan added his third five minutes after the break.

A bursting run from Zurab Khizanishvili led to Taylor centering deep into the Ipswich box. Ranger rose to nod goalwards and Nolan arrived to crash his side’s fourth beyond a hapless Wright.

Keane, who knows Hughton from their Ireland days, is convinced Newcastle are heading for the top flight again.

“I can’t comment on other clubs, but when you talk about the long term I bet Big Sam (Allardyce) thought he had the long term there to work towards and he didn’t get it,” said Keane.

“Chris will probably end up being there the longest of them all. He should just enjoy it. He has focused on the job, they have started well, and they have a great chance.”

Newcastle’s victory put them two points clear of West Brom and four clear of thirdplaced Preston, while Ipswich remain rooted to second from bottom.

And the former Sunderland boss, who delivered promotion to Wearside in his first season in charge, said: “We can’t compare where we are to where Sunderland were when I took over. It’s like chalk and cheese. What I did get was a bit of luck up there, maybe I was very, very lucky and I’m being found out.”

If Keane has been found out, Hughton certainly hasn’t.

Newcastle United – Want-away striker leaves already thin squad

By James Hedley

It was a quiet weekend for Newcastle United with no match and few players away on international duty. The enforced two week international break allows everyone connected with the club to take stock and focus on their start to the new season. The opening three weeks have been quite hectic with five league games and a League Cup tie all squeezed into a tight schedule. If you were to offer caretaker manager Chris Hughton an unbeaten start to the campaign and first place in the Championship before the season begun he would have snapped your hand off. That dream has become a reality with Newcastle making an excellent start, despite all the turmoil off the pitch. The new season has seen the players return with a drive and vigour that was sorely lacking for much of last term. The foundations for a promotion push are solid but Newcastle must increase their squad numbers to give themselves a chance.

A story that appeared in several of the Sunday newspapers featured Newcastle’s Spanish striker Xisco and his attempts to engineer a move back to his homeland. He got his wish with a season-long loan to Spanish side Racing Santander, but not before refusing to train with the Magpies. Xisco feigned a groin injury to prevent him from playing against Leicester last Monday, but was able to train with his new teammates just days later. He told the Sunday Mirror: “After a difficult first year in Newcastle, this year seemed it was going to be more of the same and a good time to leave. I even stopped playing in the last few days to force my exit. If they hadn’t accepted the loan at Santander, I would have regarded my situation at Newcastle as hopeless.” Most fans will probably say that he stopped playing the day that he arrived on Tyneside. While it must have been an infuriating time for the player there is no excuse for refusing to play, especially with Newcastle having only one fit striker to face Leicester City.

Stand-in manager Hughton has paid tribute to his remaining players for the way they have started the new campaign. He also praised a defence that has so far conceded just one league goal and that was in the season opener against West Brom: “Any plaudits must go to the players. They defend as a team and to go four league matches now without conceding is fantastic. If you do that then the chances are you’re going to win games and that is what’s happened.” For many years now Newcastle’s defence has been the side’s Achilles heel but so far it has been the foundation for success. Steven Taylor and Jose Enrique have both made outstanding starts to the new season and deserve a special mention. The way in which Hughton has deflected all praise for him on to the players sums up the dignified manner in which he has conducted himself in a difficult situation. A lot of managers would like to take all the credit for their team’s results but not Hughton. He also chose to reward the players’ efforts with a four-day break last week.

In-form striker Shola Ameobi has been given the chance to revive his international career with Nigeria, the country where he was born. A change in FIFA rules would allow Ameobi to represent the Super Eagles despite already representing the England Under-21s. Nigeria has a good chance of reaching the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and will use the new ruling to strengthen their national side. With Ameobi’s England chances almost certainly finished it could prove to be very tempting for the striker. Newcastle youngsters Nile Ranger and Ryan Donaldson could both feature for the England Under-19s on Tuesday night and Newcastle will be hoping the former can come through the game unscathed as he is their only fit striker. With the loan window set to reopen on Wednesday, the Magpies will look to boost their squad ahead of their crunch game with Cardiff City.

Newcastle United – Ex-Magpie returns just as window shuts

By James Hedley

Championship table-toppers Newcastle United had a quiet time on transfer deadline day with one player, Peter Lovenkrands, brought into the club and no players leaving. In recent years transfer deadline day has been quite manic on Tyneside – few people will forget the signing of Michael Owen from Real Madrid in 2005. Despite being frustrated with several last ditch transfer bids most fans will be relieved that no players have departed from an already wafer thin squad. The closure of the window will allow players to settle down – for a few months at least – and focus on the goal of achieving an instant return to the Premier League. Although some cynics could suggest that the closing of the transfer window will see a decrease in performances as players are unable to put themselves in the shop window for the time being.

Reports in the local press have suggested that Newcastle attempted to sign defenders Craig Cathcart and Matthew Kilgallon and Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood on Tuesday. With the loan market due to re-open again next week for non-Premier League teams, the chances are that Newcastle will be adding to their squad. Caretaker manager Chris Hughton, a leading contender for the manager of the month award, has been given the green light to bring players in. He said: “In five days’ time we hope to bring in loan signings. These will be initial one month loan deals that could be extended to three. We made moves on Tuesday and they didn’t work, but most importantly for me we didn’t lose anybody else.” Newcastle will likely attempt to take Manchester United pair Cathcart and Darron Gibson on loan. A move could also be made for Aston Villa forward Marlon Harewood, who is well down the pecking order at Villa Park. Strengthening the defence is a must with Hungarian youngster Tamas Kadar providing the only real back-up for injuries.

Fans will have few problems recognising their only permanent signing of the summer as Peter Lovenkrands re-signed for Newcastle. The former Rangers and Schalke player joined the club last January but was released at the end of the season. Lovenkrands made a good impression in his first spell, scoring against West Brom, Manchester United and Middlesbrough. There was plenty of interest in his signature this summer with some Premier League clubs even eyeing him up. Lovenkrands gives Newcastle options out wide or as a striker and should be a strong player at Championship level.

Danny Guthrie, Newcastle’s match winner from their previous game against Leicester City, believes that morale is at an all time high in the dressing room. Like many players this season Guthrie is enjoying playing for Newcastle and getting wins under his belt. The former Liverpool player said:“It seems a funny thing to say given everything that has happened, but this is probably the happiest I’ve been at Newcastle United. I know things have not been ideal, but the dressing room has a completely different atmosphere to last year. We’ve all pulled together and it’s a good place to be.” For a player who has progressed through the Manchester United and Liverpool academies Guthrie is yet to fulfil his full potential. This has been mainly down to injuries and a succession of short-term managers. His goal against Leicester underlined his talent and a good run in the team will only increase his confidence.

Good news on a takeover for Newcastle remains in the distance with little sign of any deals being made soon. It looks almost a certainty that Mike Ashley will be staying put despite deadlines being extended seemingly every week. Barry Moat and an American consortium are yet to come up with the money to buy Newcastle and Ashley seems reluctant to budge from his £100 million asking price.

Newcastle do not return to action until a week on Sunday due to international fixtures, although few players will be featuring for their countries. The only senior players to be called up are Fabricio Coloccini and Geremi, who are away with Argentina and Cameroon respectively. The break should allow tired players to rest and the likes of Shola Ameobi and Nicky Butt to recuperate from their injuries.

FRM-41214 : Unable to run report

Recently I found FRM-41214 error while try to run report from Form. All of them work well on Report Builder.

So, I assume there are sumtin wrong with my LOC on forms.

I found source of the problem, which r I send date parameter as string with conversion/cast. [to_char(:date_from,'dd-mm-rrrr')]

So, u may send date as string but never ever try to cast it to string/char.

Well, thats sure means we cant send wrong parameter type.

I’d Lov To Fire Us Back Up

By Craig Hope

Peter Lovenkrands

PETER Lovenkrands arrived at Newcastle United’s training headquarters ahead of sealing a three-year deal on Tuesday with one lucid intention – to help fire the Magpies back into the Premier League.

The Dane, who re-joins the Geordies having left at the end of last season, admits that the pain of relegation still lingers, although few fans would question his efforts – three goals in just eight starts – in striving to keep the club in the top flight.

And Lovenkrands, who was speaking to nufcTV in an exclusive interview, says that winning promotion is his number one goal.

“I’m delighted to be back and I’m very pleased to be here,” said the amiable former Rangers and Schalke frontman.

“It was the best move for me and my family. I loved my time here, I love the club and I love the fans.

“But I can’t forget that we were relegated. It was devastating and it was horrible to be part of it.

“But that’s why I’m back here – to help us get back up and I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.

“The boys have done a fantastic job so far and it’s a great situation to come in to with us top of the league.

“Let’s hope we can keep that going and get the club back where it belongs.”

EPL Clubs Send Scouts To Watch Newcastle United’s Steven Taylor

The former England Under-21 captain is attracting more Premier League attention.

Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor could be on the verge of a Premier League return after a number of scouts where sent to St. James’ Park on Wednesday.

The Magpies saw off Sheffield Wednesday thanks to Shola Ameobi’s fourth goal of the season and Taylor was instrumental at the back.

The Former England Under-21 captain has been a long term target for Arsenal but it appears Everton are leading the chase to sign the defender.

Reports in The Newcastle Evening Chronicle suggest Taylor is seen a possible replacement for Manchester City target Joleon Lescott, who was dropped by manager David Moyes for poor conduct during the transfer saga.

Moyes sent his trusted scout Jimmy Lumsden to St James’ Park just moments after axing Lescott from the squad to face Sigma Olomouc in the Europa League play-offs.

The £8 million-rated defender has suggested he would stay at his boyhood club if Alan Shearer was appointed manager, however he has suffered growing frustrations at the club’s situation and their drawn-out takeover.

Arsenal and Liverpool also sent scouts to the game whilst Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa were also previously linked with a move for the center-back.

David Kifford, Goal.com

Ameobi wants new faces

Newcastle striker concerned by squad size

Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi has called on the club to bring in reinforcements to aid their bid for an immediate return to the Premier League.

Ameobi has spearheaded the Magpies’ solid start to life in the Championship, with his winner against Sheffield Wednesday coming hot on the heels of his weekend hat-trick against Reading.

The rangy forward believes that Chris Hughton needs more options at his disposal after the summer exits of several key players and a shortage of new arrivals.

Hughton remains at the helm with owner Mike Ashley still looking to sell the club, although there has been precious little progress on the takeover this summer.

And Ameobi does not believe the Magpies have the depth available to cope with the 46-game Championship season, not to mention additional cup competitions.

Dig deep

Speaking after the win over the Owls, he told The Chronicle: “We haven’t got many players. I thought that showed. There are a lot of heavy legs.

“There’s a lot of games, and we haven’t got many players to rotate.

“The games are coming thick and fast, and we had to dig deep now.

“We haven’t been used to playing back-to-back games like that, but we ground it out and produced the win.”

Ameobi is more than happy with his personal return of four goals from three games so far and is eager to continue in his current scoring groove.

He added: “For strikers, goals breed confidence. That’s nothing new.

“I’m obviously delighted to have contributed. I’ve got a lot of confidence and, hopefully, I can ride it and help us win as many games as possible.”

Newcastle 1-0 Sheff Wed

Shola Ameobi was once again the Newcastle United matchwinner as the Magpies made it seven points out nine in their Championship quest.

That’s four goals in five days at St James’ Park for the gangly striker as Sheffield Wednesday slipped to their first defeat following two opening draws.

But this was no plain sailing for Newcastle as they had Fabricio Coloccini, Alan Smith and Steven Taylor all cautioned against the hard-working Hillsborough outfit in front of a crowd of 44,904.

The big difference was in defence where Newcastle were rock solid as they kept successive clean sheets.

Wednesday only had one real chance of any merit, a late chance for substitute Francis Jeffers that was blocked by Steve Harper.

Joey Barton failed to recover from the knock he picked up during Saturday’s win over Reading which meant Ryan Taylor switched to his midfield slot on the right and there was a debut at right-back for Manchester United loan player Danny Simpson.

Wednesday were unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 at Peterborough.

Newcastle attacked from the off and Kevin Nolan finished off as fine move by driving just over.

Wednesday got back into the game and the determination of Harper and Steven Taylor was necessary to crowd out Sean McAllister, who only managed to fire high and wide under pressure.

Skipper Smith was booked after 14 minutes following a rash challenge and from the Wednesday free-kick, it was Newcastle who ultimately went ahead.

Wednesday keeper Lee Grant hit the free-kick straight at Harper who in turn launched it straight downfield where it was headed on by Andy Carroll and Ameobi superbly swept the ball beyond Grant.

Ameobi then came close to a second goal a couple of minutes later, rising well to head a Ryan Taylor corner that Grant held just under the bar.

Despite their neat and tidy approach work, Wednesday did little to trouble Harper in the half first as far too often they were let down by a poor final delivery.

Ryan Taylor, yet to open his United account, came close to doing so after 52 minutes when his 25 yard free-kick was acrobatically turned behind by Grant and from the flag-kick a Nolan thunderbolt flew just over the bar.

Carroll limped off after 58 minutes to be replaced by Xisco with United having clearly lost their first-half momentum.

Wednesday looked as if they had a goal in them and came close after 64 minutes when hard-working former Sunderland player Michael Gray’s free-kick was turned behind by Harper.

Wednesday had a wonderful opportunity to draw level four minutes from time as Newcastle desperately lost their way.

A ball over the top was superbly controlled by substitute Jeffers, who worked himself into a shooting only to be denied by a brave Harper block.

Match Gallery: Shola’s Royal Flush

By Craig Hope

SHOLA Ameobi left St.James’ Park on Saturday night as the proud owner of his first-ever matchball.

The Geordie striker shot to the top of the Championship scoring charts as his treble saw off the challenge Reading in a 3-0 triumph for Chris Hughton’s men.

nufc.co.uk photographer Ian Horrocks was at Gallowgate to capture all the very best action and below our fast-fingered snapper brings you his latest picture gallery …

United stars join in minute’s applause for Sir Bobby Robson …

Shola heads United into 37th-minute lead from Jose Enrique’s centre …

Before being mobbed by his team-mates …

Skipper Smudge gave another committed engine-room display …

Big Andy goes in search of his first goal of the season …

Jose caught the eye with his left-wing adventures …

A clean sheet for Steve …

Nolan was instrumental in laying on United’s second …

Which was finished, again, by the head of Shola …

Joey will be hoping a foot knock proves to be not too serious …

Shola steps up to fire home for his treble …

And celebrates with the his smoking gun routine …

England Call For Geordie Ace

By Craig Hope

GEORDIE striker Andy Carroll has won his first call-up to the England Under-21 squad ahead of next Tuesday’s friendly against Holland.

The 20-year-old, who has previosuly turned out for England Under-19s, has netted twice for the Magpies during pre-season and looks set to win a starting berth during this weekend’s curtain-raiser at West Brom.

Stuart Pearce’s Three Lions take on the Dutch in Groningen.