England Under-21 skipper Steven Taylor has been told to cut out "crap" performances in a candid message from boss Sam Allardyce.
The young defender was frozen out of Allardyce's squad for the win against Spurs, not even making the bench, and has yet to agree a new deal with the club.
Taylor was heroic for his country at Euro 2007 but has suffered at club level under Allardyce, paying the price for Newcastle's 3-1 defeat at Manchester City, along with Czech stopper David Rozenhal.
Allardyce has ordered Taylor to learn from United's Brazilian stopper Claudio Cacapa and the way he uses brain rather than brawn to snuff out danger.
Big Sam reckons he now has the strength in depth to axe stars - even if their performances dip for just one game.
Four Allardyce summer signings, Habib Beye, Cacapa, Abdoulaye Faye and Jose Enrique are now the first choice defence.
Newcastle are looking to build on their strongest start for 10 years by beating Reading tomorrow and asked about Taylor's future, Allardyce said: "It's not about me dropping players, it's about players dropping themselves because they played crap at Manchester City. If you play that badly, you're likely to lose your shirt. That's not just Steven Taylor - it's most of the back four on that day. One poor performance can cost you. It's frustrating and disappointing for the player in question, but that's the nature of the game. Steven trains his hardest every day and of course he will be frustrated. Basic repetitive training is the answer, particularly for defenders. That hasn't happened too much in the past here. No disrespect to previous Newcastle managers, but it doesn't look as though it has. The perfect example for Steven is Claudio Cacapa. He's not as quick as Steven, not as young but his brain gets him in to positions before the forwards. He makes it look simple. That's one of the big things to learn as a defender - reading the game."
08 10 2007
Michael Owen is happy to play through the pain barrier for both club and country as he continues his amazing return from surgery.
The 27-year-old Newcastle striker made a typically influential return to action as a substitute against Everton just nine days after undergoing a first bout of surgery and eight after the second to score what proved to be the winner.
He will join up with the England squad on Tuesday ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia insisting he is fully fit, but admitting he is still dealing with the after-effects of his visit to renowned German specialist Ulrike Muschaweck.
Owen said: "Everyone knows you can come back from surgery and play. It is just about managing the discomfort. That doesn't stop you from playing. The surgeon said as long as you can manage the pain, you can do what you want because it's not going to get any worse. Unbelievably, it feels great because I have been training since Thursday."
England boss Steve McClaren was in the crowd at St James' Park on Sunday to witness Owen's match-winning cameo, and can expect a call from Sam Allardyce outlining where he believes his £17million frontman is in terms of his recovery.
Allardyce diplomatically declined to reveal what he would tell McClaren, but the man himself is confident he is ready to resume his pivotal role in the qualification campaign, and his pursuit of Sir Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record.
He said: "The surgeon tells me nothing can go wrong in terms of the op. It is much stronger than when I went in. Believe it or not, that's how it feels. Even when I feel a bit tight like I did Wednesday or Thursday last week, you just plough through it and it gets better, if anything. I will listen to the surgeon and nobody else. She has performed thousands of operations before and she knows what she is talking about. I don't see any risk in me playing. It's not like I am pushing myself to get back and play for England. Everyone can see that coming back in eight days to play for my club shows a bit of determination, and I wanted to get out there against Everton. I am feeling good for both teams that I represent."
Newcastle dominated the first half and deservedly went ahead through Nicky Butt's 42nd-minute strike, the Magpies were pegged back by half-time substitute Andrew Johnson within eight minutes of his arrival, and then lost their way.
Indeed, had it not been for last-ditch blocks by Claudio Cacapa and Abdoulaye Faye to deny Victor Anichebe, they might have trailed going into the final 10 minutes.
But it was then that Owen started to make his mark.
Having already forced a smart save from Tim Howard down at the foot of his near post, it was his 86th-minute cross which was cleared to Emre, who took a touch before smashing a 25-yard drive into the bottom corner.
The Turkey international returned the favour on the stroke of the final whistle when he dropped a free-kick on to Owen's forehead, and he duly obliged with the help of the underside of the crossbar to wrap up the points.
In an eventful conclusion to the game, Shay Given could only help Mikel Arteta's deflected cross into his own net in injury time, but the damage had been done.
Given said: "I was disappointed with that, but luckily for me, it hasn't cost us any points. For us, it was important to take the three points because we have the international break. We are all going away for internationals and we didn't want to set off without getting the win. There is a big break and it was nice to get back to winning ways."
Everton boss David Moyes left the north-east a disappointed man having revealed that Johnson was due to undergo ankle surgery this morning, although he refused to blame Thursday night's UEFA Cup trip to Ukraine for a slow start by his side.
He said: "I don't know, I couldn't tell you the answer to that. I didn't think we played particularly well in the first half, but we got better in the second half. In the second half, we nearly deserved something, but we just could not quite get there."
04 10 2007
Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has warned French star Charles N'Zogbia not to allow himself to go the way of Michael Ricketts.
The 21-year-old will link up with his country's under 21s squad next week for games against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania after an excellent start to the new season despite being asked to play out of position at left back.
N'Zogbia has won rave reviews for his performances to date after a wasted 2006-07 campaign after injury and speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal contributed towards a difficult year for him.
However, he has prospered under Allardyce since he replaced Glenn Roeder at St James' Park, and is starting to show once again the ability which led Sir Bobby Robson to fight so hard to lure him away from Le Havre.
But while Allardyce has been delighted with his contribution to date, he has ordered the youngster to keep his feet firmly on the ground after seeing Ricketts lose his way.
Asked if he is pleased to see N'Zogbia making an impression at international level, he said: "Yes, but as long as that does not affect him in the wrong way. That can happen to young men when all the other boys start talking to him about this, that and the other. All of a sudden, he's disgruntled again. It can be a good thing, but it can also be a very destructive thing. You know, I saw a player play once for England, and he is now playing at Oldham Athletic. He's called Michael Ricketts. It affected him that badly. He let himself get carried away by the situation, and his career ended up declining."
Then Bolton striker Ricketts was handed a senior England cap by Sven-Goran Eriksson against Holland in February 2002 after plundering 15 goals for Wanderers in a blistering start to the season, but after an alarming slump in form, was sold to Middlesbrough during the following January.
Having struggled to make an impact at the Riverside Stadium, he left on a free for Leeds 18 months later and after loan spells at Stoke, Cardiff and Burnley and permanent moves to Southend and Preston, is now playing his football at League One Oldham at the age of 28.
Allardyce may have the option of returning N'Zogbia to his preferred midfield role as Everton head for St James' on Sunday as he looks for greater creativity in midfield.
Summer signing Jose Enrique, a £6.5million capture from Villarreal, played the full 90 minutes for the reserves against Manchester City in midweek and could now be ready to start a Premier League game for the first time.
But whoever plays at the back this weekend, Allardyce will demand a much better performance after seeing his defence capitulate at Manchester City last Saturday.
The Magpies led 1-0 at Eastlands courtesy of Obafemi Martins' deft finish, but slumped to a 3-1 defeat as midfielder Elano helped tear them apart at the back.
The absence of Elano's compatriot Claudio Cacapa through a groin injury may have had much to do with that, and Allardyce is hoping to be able to welcome the 31-year-old former Lyon skipper back into the fold for the visit of David Moyes' men.
He said: "The last time he played, we beat West Ham 3-1, and we did not see that type of defending from anybody against Manchester City. I think he would have taken a grip of them with just Emile Mpenza up front. He would have been able to read the situation much better - but it was not to be. But he should be okay for Everton on Sunday."
01 10 2007
Striker Jean-Claude Darcheville feels Rangers' Champions League visit to Lyon is a perfect opportunity for the Ibrox side to progress in Group E.
"Lyon lost a lot of players during the summer and are trying to rebuild their squad," Darcheville told BBC Sport.
"Their defeat to Barcelona was a very important result for Rangers, as I think the defeat will have affected their confidence a little. There is a lot of pressure on Lyon so it is a good time to be playing them."
The 32-year-old Frenchman - an injury doubt for Matchday Two - has been an instant hit with the Light Blues' support since his summer arrival to Scotland.
And the former Bordeaux forward hopes he can make a contribution at the Stade Gerland, a stadium he has thus far failed to score in.
"I have had good results in my career against them, although I have not scored at the Stade Gerland before so hopefully we can get the right result."
Walter Smith's side travel to France on a positve note, having defeated German champions VfB Stuttgart 2-1 at Ibrox, with Barcelona easing past Les Gones 3-0 at the Camp Nou.
"We have a good spirit after the win against Stuttgart," added Darcheville.
"We are all working hard and we showed a lot of character to come from a goal behind to beat them. Even though some of Lyon's best players like Eric Abidal, Tiago Mendes, Claudio Cacapa and Florent Malouda have left, they are still a very good side."
The tie against Alain Perrin's Ligue 1 holders will be Rangers' thirteenth European tie in France and, if fit and available, Darcheville - known as 'The Rocket' - is ready for another lone role up front.
"It can be hard to play up front on my own but I played that position in Montenegro and in Serbia, so whatever the manager wants you don't say no. The team is very confident - I will always try my best for the team whatever role I am asked to play."
