Season 2007-2008

MANCHESTER CITY

 v

NEWCASTLE UNITED

- Damien Duff (ankle) is expected to be out until November after having surgery on his injured ankle.
- Peter Ramage (knee) is out for the foreseeable future after getting inured at Middlesbrough.
- Stephen Carr (hamstring) is out for another three weeks after getting inured at Middlesbrough.
- Joey Barton (broken metatarsal) is in the final stages of his recovery and has targeted the Everton game for his debut.
- Celestine Babayaro (groin) seems to have had a setback and is back on the injury list.
- Michael Owen (groin) is out for 3 to 4 weeks with a 3cm tear in his abductor muscle.
- Cacapa (groin) is very doutbful after missing the midweek Carling Cup tie with Arsenal.
- Shola Amoebi (groin) looks like he'll be ruled after coming off injured against Arsenal in midweek.
- Mark Viduka (foot) will have a late fitness to see if he'll be able to play.

My thoughts:

This weekend see’s two big and prestigious events happening in Melbourne and Sydney. The build up has been incredible with nobody talking about anything else and this last week has seen feverish activity behind the scenes to make sure they both happen without a hitch.

I’m talking about the AFL and NRL Grand Finals right? Don’t be daft man! This weekend is the date of the first official Aussie Mags meets.

We have at least 17 confirmed members meeting this weekend in two bars in Melbourne and Sydney. Given that we now have 100 members on the forum that means nearly 20% of Aussie Mags members are getting together. If you take into consideration the 10 or 15 members who live outside Australia, then the figure it more likely be about 25% or 30%. This is a fantastic effort and something I hope you all can feel proud about. Hopefully this is just the start and we end up having regular meets in all the major cities in the seasons to come.

In nine Premier League games we have only won once away at Man City and that was back on 30th September 2000, when an Alan Shearer goal sealed a 1-0 win. Using that rational you’d have to say we are due a win. However, Man City has made great progress under Sven and the ex-Thai Prime Minister and they seem to be a totally different team from last season.

Joey Barton will be gutted his broken metatarsal will keep him out of this one. The ex-Man City man would have loved to put one over his former employees but its great to read Barton is targeting our next match at home to Everton as a possible comeback date.

Sam Allardyce has a very tough decision on his hands after he witnessed a fine display from Shay Given in midweek. Will he keep faith with Steve Harper in the Premiership or will he recall the Republic of Ireland international?

Mark Viduka’s foot injury kept him out of the Carling Cup in midweek but whether Allardyce decided not to risk the big Australian or in fact he really is struggling will come to light when the team sheet is handed out. Cos after picking up an injury during another average display in midweek Shola Ameobi looks odds on to be dropped, so having a fit Viduka to play alongside Obafemi Martins is a must for this game.

Despite the two set backs at Derby and Arsenal, it’s worth remembering that Newcastle goes into this top five clash having made their best start to a Premier League season in six years.

The words ‘top 5’ and ‘best start to a Premier League season’ is something even the most optimistic of Toon fans wouldn’t have dreamt of saying back in May. We’ve made some good progress as a club, both on and off the field, since Sam Allardyce and Mike Ashley have arrived. There is still a long way to go and a few questions up in the air but we have certainly kept the wolves from ours doors and are moving back in the right direction.