Leon Best
Malcolm Macdonald: "The pressure will now be relentless following the closure of the transfer window.
"Every day between now and December 31 Alan Pardew is going to face question after question demanding to know who is going to score Newcastle’s goals on a regular basis.
"A striker who claims 20 to 25 goals a season guarantees there will be no relegation. It’s just how far his team can go after that and how much others will chip in.
"Since United spectacularly failed to land their striker replacement for Andy Carroll this week I am now wondering who out of their five front men will even make it to double figures.
"There is much that can be said about all five, but if I had to sum them up in only a few words here is how I would do it:
Shola Ameobi: injury prone.
Demba Ba: invisible.
Leon Best: work to be done.
Peter Lovenkrands: nearly man.
Nile Ranger: too much baggage.
Best does not do enough work outside of the box.
"When I was sitting there watching him win the match the thought crossed my mind: will Mike Ashley see that performance as good enough to save him between £10m and £20m in the transfer market this coming week?
"I was worried and as it turned out nothing was achieved."