Joey Barton Ready to Leave Newcastle United

The slightly controversial Joey Barton could leave Newcastle United

Joey Barton has been told he can leave Newcastle on a free transfer. The midfielder’s controversial stay at St James Park looks to be nearing a close as the Magpies have placed the former Manchester City player on the transfer list. The 28-year-old still has a year to run on his current contract, but looks set to leave with immediate effect after serious developments this week.

Barton has used social networking site Twitter to declare his thoughts on the club’s off the field troubles which have lingered over the team for some time. Barton is said to be extremely disappointed with the club’s board after a series of events that has torn the current playing squad apart.

The unpopular departure of Chris Hughton, who guided the club back into the Premier League at the first attempt, was then followed by the sale of influential striker Andy Carroll on transfer deadline day to Liverpool for £35 million, without been replaced.

Football betting pundits note how Barton became unsettled with the amount of speculation linking the better Newcastle players with an exit and, after he was willing to sign a new deal, the club decided not to offer him an improved contract. Barton's fellow midfielder and close friend Kevin Nolan then rejoined former manager Sam Allardyce at West Ham after Newcastle failed to offer their club captain and top goalscorer a better deal.

Jose Enrique is also ready to leave Newcastle

Another one of Newcastle's influential players, the left-back Jose Enrique, has been linked with a move away from the club, and to a top-four Premier League side. The move looks likely as the Spaniard made a scathing attack on owner Mike Ashley, and then Barton followed suit after he was overlooked for the Newcastle captaincy in the Toon’s 3-2 pre-season defeat to Leeds.

Controversial Barton, who was dealt a blow when he was refused a visa to travel with the club on a pre-season tour fo America due to previous convictions, seems to have pushed Ashley too far this time and will be definitely playing his football elsewhere in the new season. To make things worse, Barton has been made to train alone and has been fined two weeks wages.

Nile Ranger, Newcastle’s young striker, is also said to be nearing the exit door as Alan Pardew looks toreduce his striking options in time for the new season. Pardew brought in Demba Ba from West Ham following the Hammers relegation to the Championship and has been disgruntled by Ranger’s behaviour since he took over the reigns at St James Park. Ranger, also refused a visa to travel to the USA, was close to a move to Blackpool but after that move fell through, may have to wait in order to find new employers.

What are your thoughts on Joey Barton's possible good-bye to Newcastle? Where do you think he will go? One thing seems certain, Barton most likely won't have a career with England, as Fabio Capello recently said that Barton "might lose his head" while playing for the three lions. Share your thoughts and comments about Barton, Capello, Newcastle and everything else below!

Black Cats On The Up

This season's instrumental new signing, Asamoah Gyan

Sunderland extended their fine recent record with a 1-0 victory over Bolton in the early-kick off to the Barclays Premier League fixtures at the weekend. As it turns out, there was just one more top tier match played on Saturday - West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn - as the big freeze decimated the fixture schedule.

The Black Cats took full advantage of that to move up to sixth in the table after Danny Welbeck’s 32nd-minute goal was enough to see off the Trotters.

Following their 5-1 thumping to fierce rivals Newcastle in October - Sunderland have claimed four wins and three draws from their last eight fixtures. Few would have predicted that they would bounce back from that high-profile defeat and credit must go to manager Steve Bruce. The Northumberland-born man pulled no punches following their humiliation at St James’ Park by saying it was their worst performance under him and he challenged them to show it was simply an off-day.

A 3-2 loss to Wolves apart, Bruce’s players have responded in emphatic style to an extent that they are being touted as genuine contenders for a place in Europe next season. Their unbeaten home form has been paramount to their success, however, they will have to improve their record on their travels as one win in nine away from the Stadium of Light is a poor return. To their credit, that away victory was a 3-0 hammering over Premier League holders Chelsea, which must rank as the highlight of their recent run.

Sunderland’s renaissance is all the more remarkable given that they have had to deal with injuries to first-choice defenders Michael Turner and Titus Bramble and star striker Darren Bent in recent weeks, meaning Bruce has had to rely on youth players to fill the void. Indeed the average age of the team that won against Bolton was just 23.

Danny Welbeck, just 20 years-old

The fringe players have certainly excelled themselves though - none more so than Welbeck, who has netted five goals in his last six games. The striker, who is on-loan from Manchester United, had his best day in a Sunderland shirt on Saturday as he stooped to head home from close range after Jussi Jaaskelainen had parried Bent’s shot. Welbeck also struck the outside of a post as Bruce’s men held on for the victory. The youngster is certainly proving to be a hit with the Sunderland faithful, as those following the latest football shirts news will tell you.

With all due respect to Owen Coyle’s men, Sunderland will come up against much sterner opponents on Boxing Day when they travel to league leaders Manchester United. The rest of the Christmas period sees them face Blackpool, Blackburn and Aston Villa in the space of nine days before their next Premier League outing, a chance for redemption against Newcastle on January 16. If they can continue their recent form from the Christmas period into the clash against the Magpies, victory over them would be the ultimate cherry on Sunderland’s cake.

Meanwhile, you can click here if you are interested in buying some of the latest Premier League football kits for Christmas. Perhaps a Sunderland one with Welbeck on the back, or is that being a bit too optimistic with regards to his future?

The Rebirth of Villareal, Newcastle, and Lazio

This week I'm writing about three clubs from three different leagues, but they're all overachieving this beginning of the season. Villareal, Newcastle, and Lazio are all getting fantastic results this season, but the question is, can they continue this good form?

A group hug after a fantastic goal by Andre Dias

Lazio


Lazio had a very disappointing 2009/10 season, they arrived 12th in the Serie A after a bad run in the Europa League as well. But this season the president Claudio Lotito reinforced, picking up important and talented players like the Brazilian central midfielder Hernanes, along with a fantastic coach, Eduardo Reja.

With only one loss so far this season, Lazio have picked up 22 points out of a possible 27, and this great record puts them top of the table. Lazio are first with a four point lead ahead of last year's Serie A champions Inter Milan, and it doesn't seem like the team will be stopping anytime soon.

Their latest result was a hard-fought 1-0 win over Palermo, and although they didn't play that well, they managed to find a goal with Andre Dias volleying a great ball into the top corner. But it's not like Lazio have been sneaking 1-0 wins to the top of the table, Edy Reja's side has been playing some fantastic football in order to arrive where they have.

So the question arises, can Lazio continue this run of good form, and win the scudetto? Well, I'm going to say no. Mainly because the squad is slightly lacking in depth, and an injury to Hernanes, Ledesma, or Zarate could cripple the side. But Lazio can certainly aim for fourth spot, and maybe even third. Sadly I think that as the season drags on, it'll become more and more difficult for the side to keep up with the "bigger sides", but maybe I'll be proved wrong.

The American/Italian Giuseppe Rossi

Villarreal


Villarreal is another side which didn't do very well in their domestic league last season. They arrived 7th, and while this might not seem that bad at first, the club was used to having the income of Champions League football, something that they'd have to do without this season. But they're looking better than ever now, and they find themselves 3rd in La Liga, behind the two giants of Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

And it's not like the "yellow submarine" is light-years behind Real and Barca, Villarreal is actually just two points away from second placed Barcelona, and three from first placed Real Madrid. While Villarreal are a pretty experienced side, with well-known players, they have some unique jewels in their forward line which have been scoring plenty of goals for the club this season.

Their main two talented forwards are the Brazilian Nilmar, and the American/Italian Giuseppe Rossi. And as backup to those two, there's the American international Jozy Altidore, who's just 20 years old. So far this season, Villarreal has scored 17 goals, of which five were scored by Giuseppe Rossi, and six by Nilmar, so it's evident that the strike partnership is one of the best in La Liga.

The yellow submarine's latest result was a tight 1-1 draw away against Sporting Gijon, first the away side scored with a penalty in the second half, but Villarreal pushed and got a penalty in the final minutes of the match. Giuseppe Rossi scored the penalty to make sure that his side which had been reduced to ten men because Gonzalo was sent off, got an important point.

So what can Villarreal achieve this season? Well, I think that third place for this side would be fantastic. They haven't got too much competition right now for the third place they're currently in, so it seems very possible that they'll be back in the Champions League next season. But can this side dream of splitting up Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the table? Not this season, but maybe with years to come, when they're talented youngsters have developed into world class players, we might even see Villarreal become the champions of Spain.

Andy Carroll has scored five goals this season for Newcastle

Newcastle


Newcastle spent last season in the Championship, fighting to get back into the Premier League for this season. And now that they're back in England's top league, they're really making themselves known to be dangerous opponents. They're currently 7th in the league right now, and they'll need all their strength to remain there considering that there are some tough sides which will fight for their spot in the top half of the table.

Their latest result must be mentioned, they played at home against their rivals Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby. The final result was a resounding 5-1 win for Newcastle, thoroughly humiliating their rivals with a hat trick by Kevin Nolan. But the question must be asked, with a match away at Arsenal coming up next week, could the tables turn on Chris Hughton's side, and could they be on the end of a humiliating spanking?

While I will leave that question unanswered until next weekend, I will reveal how I think Newcastle will do this season in the Premier League. I expect the side to arrive at least to 10th place, if not further up the table. They have a squad full of quality players, and their big forward Andy Carroll has been banging in goals and creating chances for his teammates. The true question is, after this season, how will Newcastle manage to push up into England's best clubs?


I'll leave that for you to think about, so please, comment below regarding any of these three clubs, or the weekend's action from anywhere around the world.

Carling Cup: Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City dumped out

Liverpool's poor start to the season continued as they were sent crashing out of the Carling Cup by League Two side Northampton 4-2 on penalties in a night of shocks.

Nathan Eccleston shows his frustration after missing the penalty.

Abdul Osman scored the winning spot-kick after Nathan Eccleston missed his for Liverpool. Michael Jacobs looked to have sealed an historic win for Northampton in extra-time before David Ngog forced the match to penalties at 2-2. Milan Jovanovic's opener was cancelled out by Billy McKay as the sides were level after 90 minutes.

Shola Ameobi's last-gasp winner secured a surprise 4-3 win for Newcastle to send Chelsea crashing out as well. Nicolas Anelka's two late goals looked to have been enough to force extra-time at Stamford Bridge, but Ameobi's glancing header from Jonas Gutierrez's cross sealed an impressive win for the Magpies.

Chelsea looked set for a comfortable victory after Patrick van Aanholt scored his first senior goal after six minutes, but Nile Ranger, who was at fault for the opener, went some way to atone for his mistake when he equalised shortly before the half-hour mark. Just moments later Ryan Taylor's free-kick put the visitors ahead, and Ameobi scored his first to give Newcastle a 3-1 lead shortly after half-time.

To add insult to injury, Chelsea lost Salomon Kalou to a hamstring injury, and when Yossi Benayoun hobbled off, Chelsea had no option but to continue the match with ten men with Carlo Ancelotti having already employed all three of his substitutes. But two late goals from Anelka, including a casual penalty with three minutes remaining, set up a tense few minutes, but Ameobi wrapped up a memorable victory for Newcastle with his late winner.

Holders Manchester United were forced to come from behind to beat underdogs Scunthorpe 5-2. Josh Wright's long-range strike gave the home side a deserved lead, but it proved to be shortlived as Darron Gibson beat the offside trap to lob Joe Murphy from Chris Smalling's long ball just four minutes later.
After his role in United's opening goal, it was Smalling's turn to get on the scoresheet, netting his first senior United goal to put the visitors ahead.

Scunthorpe could have clawed their way back into the match when Kuszczak palmed Jonathan Forte's long-range effort away, but the ball bounced just in front of his right post before spinning wide.

Scunthorpe battled valiantly, but the gulf in class and fitness began to appear, and the game soon ran away from them with two goals from Michael Owen and one from Park Ji-Sung before Martyn Woolford's 90th-minute consolation.

Ashley Young scored two goals in three minutes as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Blackburn 3-1 at Villa Park. Gael Givet gave Blackburn the lead after 34 minutes before Emile Heskey equalised on the hour mark. And Young's double 13 minutes from time secured victory for Gerard Houllier on his first game in charge of Villa.

West Brom also came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1. Jo's left-footed strike put the visitors ahead on 19 minutes, but two goals in quick succession from Gianni Zuiverloon and Simon Cox sent Roberto Mancini's men crashing out.

Charles N'Zogbia's 90th-minute strike sealed a late 2-1 win for Wigan at home to Preston North End. Wigan looked to be heading out of the competition after Keith Treacy put the Championship side ahead after 23 minutes, but Jordi Gomez's 87th-minute equaliser looked to have been enough to force extra-time before N'Zogbia spared Roberto Martinez's men's blushes.

Chelsea go Top in EPL and Spain sets itself up for El Clasico

With massive matches looming over footy fans, the seasons are beginning to come to their end, this is where teams need to make the games in hand and home matches count. Whether they're pushing for a Champions League spot or fighting relegation.

A small bit of news for any fans of the Championship, Newcastle have been mathematically promoted into the Premiership, returning to the heights they were at last year.

Manchester United - Chelsea


A massive match for both teams ended in probably the best possible way to add massive climax towards the end of the season, Chelsea have vaulted over Manchester United after a 2-1 win away at Old Trafford. Whether the United players were thinking about Bayern Munich or Ferguson got his tactics wrong, they were flat, lifeless, and the loss of Rooney was apparent. It started well for Chelsea, Deco had plenty of time and space, performing well, and Joe Cole also looked rejuvenated on the field; it took 20 minutes until Joe Cole's cheeky backheel slid past Van der Saar. After halftime Drogba was brought on for Anelka, and Ferguson subbed off Ji-Sung Park for Macheda, this led to Drogba' doubling the scoreline, and Macheda's goal which left the match at 2-1.

In Italy, plenty of moments of brilliance were shown, Huntelaar pulled out one of the goals of the season with his weaker foot which helped AC Milan pull off their 3-2 victory (also helped by a winner own goal by Cagliari's Astori). Maxi Lopez continues his great form for Catania, the big Argentinean striker scored a brace which helped Catania win 2-0 over Palermo and stay far away from the relegation zone. Juventus continues to sink, Udinese (who have performed terribly this season) beat the bianconeri comfortably 3-0 with goals from Sanchez, Pepe, and Di Natale who could possibly win the golden boot, currently at 22 goals in the Serie A. And if you want to read a fantastic article on Juventus's current form, check it out at Serie A Talk. Inter Milan and Roma both win, Inter won 3-0 against Bologna and Roma took care of Bari 1-0 at the San Nicola stadium; this leaves Inter one point ahead of Roma and three of AC milan.

In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona prepare for the upcoming Clasico next week, both pulled off wins, Barcelona's a bit more convincing; 4-1 against Atletic Bilbao with a weakened team was no problem for the Catalans. Real Madrid on the other hand won 2-0 away from home against Racing Santander thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo scoring from the spot and Higuain scoring a routine finish. Sevilla begin to wake up and win 3-0 against Tenerife as they fight for the fourth Champions League spot, and Mallorca let them get equal on points with them at 4th place after drawing 1-1 away at Almeria.

In England, Arsenal stay 3 points away from the top after a win against Wolves which was left very late for Bendtner to get the winner, and Aston Villa also got a 1-0 win away at Bolton thanks to Young's goal in the 11th. West Ham get a crucial point away at Goodison Park after a 2-2 draw with Everton, West Ham came back twice, and when Everton thought they'd won after a goal from Yakubu in the 85th, a fantastic diving header by Ilan in the 87th sealed an important point for the Hammers (btw, Mido missed a penalty, shocker!). Manchester City thrashed Burnley 6-1 at Turf Moor, after just 7 minutes Mancini's side were three up, and by the end of the half it was 5-0, it seemed possible that it might end in double figures but Burnley tightened up, conceded just one more, and Steven Fletcher scored a nice one. Darren Bent got his revenge against Tottenham after Sunderland beat Spurs 3-1 with two goals coming from Bent, but he could have had four since he missed two penalties! Liverpool drew 1-1 away at St. Andrews, and much of the media hype is focused on Rafa Benitez's substitution when he took off Fernando Torres and put on David N'Gog who went on to miss three opportunities which Torres would have scored.

What do you think of this week's action? And a heads up for all you video game fans, ZGameWrapUp has resumed posting and is certainly the site to check out for all your video game news. Comment below!