NEWCASTLE UTD 3 BOLTON WANDERERS 1
NEWCASTLE: Given, Ramage, Elliott, Boumsong, Babayaro, Solano,Parker, Emre (Bowyer 82), N'Zogbia, Shearer, Ameobi (Luque 83).
Subs Not Used: Harper, Faye, Clark.
BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, N'Gotty (Pedersen 45), Jaidi,Gardner, Faye, Okocha (Nakata 17), Speed, Nolan, Davies,Giannakopoulos, Nakata (Vaz Te 75).
Subs Not Used: Walker, Ben Haim.
Att: 52,012
Resurgent Newcastle are on the up, and I dread the day Graeme Souness or his curly-haired side-kick Dean Saunders pop up in the media to say "we'd have got it right if Freddy Shepherd had let us stay at Newcastle" ... because that is utter bollocks. Saunders has already said they are ready for a return, and God help the club that takes them on!
Nobby Solano's exquisite 34th-minute free-kick and Shearer's bullet header 11 minutes later put the Toon crowd on Cloud Nine, but it is only what we have come to expect from the team now the Sweaty Sock has gone.
These maybe the same players ... and let's not forget we still have that big injury list ... but this a different TEAM. The buzz is back at St James', and boy did we need to feel it. Fat Fred got it sadly WRONG last time ... and he had better make up for it with his next appointment ... because we don't want to go through the crap we have had to put up with ever again.
A manager who had lost it ... and even worse ... a chairman who continued to back him!
When Shola Ameobi made it 3-0 with 21 minutes remaining the day was complete, and did anyone notice when Kevin Davies pulled one back on 71 minutes? They may have noticed, but it didn't spoil anything.
A manager who had lost it ... and even worse ... a chairman who continued to back him!