In my two decades as Newcastle fan I have had worse Christmases, tucking into my Turkey in 2008 whilst languishing four points above the relegation zone springs immediately to mind. This was made all the worse by having to bypass drinking my despair away due to a nice early drive to Wigan the next morning.

It was all going so well, Newcastle United had just earned a fantastic point at Old Trafford and were in confident mood ahead of their clash with Chelsea.

However, things change quickly in Football and Alan Pardew's side are now facing an injury crisis that threatens to derail their fine start to the Premier League season after Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners at St James' Park, a score line which very much flattered Andre Villas-Boas' charges.

La Premier League riapre i battenti dopo i quarti di finale della League Cup (che hanno visto anche la clamorosa eliminazione del Manchester United, ai supplementari, ad opera del Crystal Palace). Si parte subito con il ‘Big Match of Saturday', infatti al San James Park il Newcastle di Alan Pardew ospita il Chelsea di VillasContinua a leggere .

Andre Villas-Boas attempts to shake off the haters, as well as an unforeseen run of truly shit results, on Tyneside. This isn't go to be easy. Four defeats in five? I can't go for that (no can do).

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Who: Newcastle United (est.

Ducky's Note: Ray A is a Football fan and enthusiast. Here he explores the subject of name changes across stadiums to accommodate sponsor needs. Ray works with Wish.co.uk and you can learn more about the football stadium tours they offer.

Anybody who thinks names aren't important should just ask themselves whether they've heard of the following: Frances Gumm; Pansy O'Hara; Joseph Yule; Mary Cathleen Collins.

Naming wrongs Concerned that Newcastle's meteoric rise to upper echelons of the Premier League might fully repair his once irreparable public image, Mike Ashley has decided to once again alienate the Geordie faithful by renaming St James' Park in honour of his sports shop. The stadium will now be known as the Sports Direct Arena.

Mathias Kniepeiss/Getty Images(Bleacher Report)What comes to mind you think of the term home-field advantage? To some clubs it is just a saying and a hopeful truth, while to others it is a true existence as their stadium and their fans have a profound effect on the opposition.
To say that football is a game that brings out the full passion of its fans in an understatement in many different categories.

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A crazy crazy night!

It was the best of games; it was the worst of games.

For 45 minutes on Saturday, Arsenal were unplayable. They led within seconds and looked out of sight after ten minutes thanks to a three-goal salvo from Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and Robin van Persie.

NEWCASTLE, England Newcastle staged one of the greatest fightbacks in Premier League history on Saturday, dealing a blow to Arsenal's title hopes to claim a 4-4 draw on a day of record goal-scoring. The second-placed Gunners ran riot in an extraordinary opening at St James Park, sweeping into a 4-0 lead after only 26 [.

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Time to tame the Toons..

Arsenal travel to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United after beating Everton 2-1 on Tuesday night. Although the spot light for once won't be on the Gunners when the two teams kick off in Tyneside.

St James' Park hosts its first match since the controversial sale of local hero Andy Carroll, with Alan Pardew's Newcastle in desperate need of a result to lift the gloom on Tyneside.

After a manic January deadline day the fallout has begun on Tyneside following Andy Carroll's record breaking move to Liverpool.

Carroll sealed his shock transfer to Anfield late last night after ‘handing in' a transfer request earlier in the day, which resulted in Newcastle ‘reluctantly' accepting Liverpool's crazy £35m bid.

LONDON, England— Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland has completed a loan move to Newcastle for the rest of the season. Ireland's arrival at St James' Park came just hours after reports emerged that the deal had fallen through because he had failed a medical. The 24-year-old former Republic of Ireland international had a disappointing start [.

As we haven't even managed a point at St James Park since 2004, I'm not exactly brimming with confidence. However, Spurs haven't been there as title contenders in that period so hopefully we can put things right tomorrow!

Steven Pienaar looks likely to play some part but Wilson Palacios and Benoit Assou-Ekotto are doubtful after picking up injuries in training this week.

LONDON — Lowly Stevenage pulled off the giant-killing shock of the FA Cup third round on Saturday, upsetting Newcastle 3-1 on a day when several Premier League clubs were sent crashing out. Stevenage in the fourth tier of English football and ranked 73 places below the Magpies advanced to the next round courtesy [.