Who’s going (not me)?
I think Koeman might start with Rodruigez on bench, but I’d put him in my first eleven…
Stekelenburg
Cedric, Fonte, new defender tbc, Targett
Claise, Wanyama
Tadic, Mane, Rodriquez,
Pelle
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What did I tell you, Lou?
Originally posted by @Coxford_lou
Who’s going (not me)?
I think Koeman might start with Rodruigez on bench, but I’d put him in my first eleven…
Stekelenburg
Cedric, Fonte, new defender tbc, Targett
Claise, Wanyama
Tadic, Mane, Rodriquez,
Pelle
Can’t wait!!
Agree with this most of this line-up Lou but think Yoshida will play.
I’ll be missing this too. And Vitesse. And Everton 
I just put this line up on the other thread! We agree Lou! This is like a bond now between us.
Are there any other threads where we can put team line ups?
Can we be bezzies now, Fatso. I’m sure we’ve got so much in common!
According to his instagram account Bertrand could be back sooner rather than later 
:
862 likes
10m
iamryanbertrandI’m looking forward to this season more than any-other. Injury has gone perfect and I will be back sooner than expected. I know myself now as a player more then ever. And I know what I have to do! #Letsgo #wemarchon
4 Likes
Good footballing knowledge, Goat. I’ve given you a vote up to demonstrate my own expertise in this area.
And as I seem to be the only one going to this game, I’ll try to learn the rules of association soccer in the meantime.
Sooooo excited 
COYS
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Originally posted by @Coxford_lou
Originally posted by @old-ottery
Sooooo excited
COYS
I’m so excited too, Ottery!!!
More excited than you
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I don’t know, Ottery, I’m so excited I could burst!! 
(It’s a good job Turkish doesn’t hang around this forum… )
Originally posted by @Coxford_lou
I don’t know, Ottery, I’m so excited I could burst!!
(It’s a good job Turkish doesn’t hang around this forum… )
Such a delight
Really pissed off with the fixture computer, as I can’t do this and Arnhem. Will be the first time I’ve missed a trip to the Bigg Market since 2001 (when it was a re-arranged evening match).
Haven’t had to find a pub with dodgy stream since the xmas games in 2013 (Cardiff + Everton). Where in Southampton haven’t been frightened off by Big Bad sky and will still show it?
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Sourced from BBC article
Newcastle United v Southampton
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Newcastle may hand debuts to summer signings Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba.
Fabricio Coloccini’s Achilles problem will be assessed, while Cheick Tiote, Emanuel Riviere and Paul Dummett are unlikely to be fit.
Southampton boss Ronald Koeman could be absent on Tyneside after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
Jordy Clasie and Shane Long missed out in midweek through injury and illness respectively, and will be monitored.
Ryan Bertrand, Gaston Ramirez, Florin Gardos and Fraser Forster are all ruled out.
John Murray: “Back in May when these two clubs last played home matches in the Premier League, joy was unconfined.”
"Southampton’s 6-1 thrashing of Aston Villa took them to 60 points and sealed a seventh-place finish. Newcastle’s 2-0 win over West Ham on the final day sparked relief as much as joy as their first victory since February meant a tortuous second half of the season ended with their status intact.
"Now Steve McClaren, a man who had four times rejected invitations to become manager at St James’ Park, will take charge of a Premier League match for the first time since 2006.
“As ever, the mood on Tyneside will be interesting to gauge.”
Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren: “Southampton had a good season last season and they got into Europe but I think that will hinder them as the season goes on.”
"But does it at the beginning? I don’t think so, because they have started their competitive games earlier and they have got into that rhythm.
“I think they were the surprise team of last year, not so much in where they finished but in the way they played the game, so there is no doubt we have got a tough start.”
Southampton assistant manager Erwin Koeman: "If you play Europa League, don’t complain - you have to be happy that you can play in it and happy that you start on Sunday in the Premier League.
“Football does not sleep - it lives every day. Before you know it, it’s Sunday so we have to prepare ourselves very well because that’s a totally different game from the two against Vitesse [Arnhem].”
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Sourced from ESPN FC article
Ronald Koeman injury has no effect on Saints, says James Ward-Prowse
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Southampton will have to start their Premier League campaign without Ronald Koeman, but James Ward-Prowse is confident the manager’s absence will not derail them at Newcastle.
The Europa League has proved costly to English clubs over the years, but talk of the manager’s fitness is not a scenario anyone could have foreseen.
Saints secured progress to the playoffs with a 2-0 win at Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday evening, giving Koeman something to smile about at the end of a painful return to the club with whom he began his managerial career.
On the eve of the second leg the former Dutch defender ruptured his Achilles, meaning he took to his place on the bench with crutches and his foot in a protective boot.
Koeman said after the match he was seeing a specialist in his homeland on Friday morning and Press Association Sport reported he will miss Sunday’s game as a result.
He also Tweeted a photo of himself on a hospital bed:
Sitting out the trip to St James’ Park is certainly be a blow for Saints, but midfielder Ward-Prowse is confident they have the wherewithal to manage such a scenario.
“He joined in training as he does and it was a freak thing where he stepped back and it went,” he said. "These things happen, it’s just one of those things.
“[It would not impact us] at all. You can see he focus of the lads. I think some teams it may affect, but we were solid and focused on the job in hand.”
Ward-Prowse believes this weekend’s clash with Newcastle will prove “very difficult” as Steve McClaren’s arrival will have “rejuvenated” them.
However, Southampton will arrive in the north east bubbling with confidence after securing a 5-0 aggregate win from what had looked to be a tricky clash against Vitesse.
“We knew we had to perform well and the job was half done,” Ward-Prowse said. “But we were very professional and managed the game well and, obviously, the early goal helped us settle into the game. It’s just a case of doing things the right way for Sunday.”
It certainly looks a tough start to an important Premier League season for Ward-Prowse.
The 20-year-old has already made 74 top-flight appearances, but has yet to establish himself as a regular starter.
That task will be even harder in what Ward-Prowse believes is a better squad than last term, although he is confident of progressing and earning a maiden senior international call-up.
“I want to start every game I can,” he said. "I’ve had a few years of starting games and not starting games so I want to nail down a permanent place in the team.
“Obviously international-wise, I want to be heading for the full England squad. So hopefully if I keep performing well for the club, then hopefully the first team with England will come calling.”
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Sourced from Mirror.co.uk article
Steve McClaren will get Magpies flying again insists Jack Colback
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Jack Colback is describing the mood in the Newcastle dressing room last May.
“There was no celebration, just music on for the first time in a while. The emotion was overwhelming relief, and the odd pat on the back for getting the job done,” he said.
Toon had just beaten West Ham 2-0 to end a run of nine defeats and a draw. Relegation had been avoided on the final day of a season during which they had soared to fourth spot in November after six wins in a row.
“We couldn’t celebrate just staying in the league. That is not what this club should be about,” said Colback.
Some 77 days later, as the new season kicks off against Southampton, with a new manager in Steve McClaren, new staff, and three big-money new signings, Colback insists the outlook has changed.
Familiar sight: Colback prepares to kick off after Newcastle go behind once again during a testing campaign
“The mood is optimism. Regardless what has happened in the past, football moves on quickly,” said the midfielder.
“There are new signings which the fans can be excited about. It is a fresh start. There is no point dwelling on last year.”
The final-day escape has been a reference point for McClaren in pre-season. Especially in terms of the raucous, defiant atmosphere that can be created with team, and fans, feeding off each other.
Above all else, Colback says the motto is to “entertain fans” and “create memories” especially by having a good crack at the cups.
“The manager has showed us video clips from that final game,” he said. “He knows it is a great club to be at when you are winning games. It is the best I’ve been at when it is on the up, and that’s what we want to create.
Geordie Colback, 25, was one of the Magpies’ most reliable performers and enjoyed his debut year after switching from bitter local rivals Sunderland.
The early winning streak, before Alan Pardew quit, gave him a taste of the good times. He said: “Beating Chelsea and Liverpool at home were the best games I have played in, in terms of atmosphere.
“We’d come to the end of games and there were still 50,000 fans there, no one rushing to beat the traffic and all that. Which was brilliant. We were going well around November time. We won six in a row and got a taste of what this place is like.”
He believes McClaren is a ‘hands-on’ boss and said: “The manager says he wants to be attacking, with a certain amount of caution. It won’t be like the ‘Entertainers’ of the Kevin Keegan era, 6-5 and 7-4, because football has changed a lot.”
So what is the target for Toon this season? “It is hard to say, ‘We’ll go for eighth’, because if you win loads of games you might finish fifth,” he said.
Tyne and no fear: Steve McClaren wants his players to attack
“You can’t limit it but you also have to have realism. A club like this should be looking at top 10. Sometimes it doesn’t work out like that though.”
And surely the cups? Especially after the club’s policy of not making them a priority has been scrapped.
Colback said: “It is essential to challenge in them. I have had a good cup run before and got to the Capital One Cup final and it was great with Sunderland. The fans here would love that.
“Football clubs have to be about creating memories for the fans, a good day out, stories to tell their family. It is the same for players and their families. Hopefully we can get on good run.”
Maybe then the player nicknamed ‘Ginger Pirlo’ because of his methodical passing, can celebrate?
He added: “One of the physios calls me Ginger Merlot! That is probably more fitting because I like a small glass of red wine every now and then… only if we win.”
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Sourced from Daily Star article
Southampton star Dusan Tadic looking forward to Steve McClaren reunion at Newcastle
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Toon boss McClaren gave Southampton star Tadic his big break by paying £5.4m for the Serbian flyer when he was in charge of Dutch club FC Twente.
“It was a pleasure to work with him and for sure he is going to make Newcastle better,” said Tadic.
"He really helped me. He brought me from Groningen to Twente. Because of him I made the move.
"It was great, there was a great connection between us. I always said when he left Twente it was sad, but this is football.
"He gave me a winning mentality, to take responsibility, to work hard.
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Sourced from Daily Echo article
Tadic: Newcastle boss McClaren a big influence in my career
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DUSAN Tadic has credited Newcastle boss Steve McClaren for having a major influence on his career – and believes Sunday’s opponents will be a tougher prospect now he is in charge.
McClaren, who took up the reins at St James’ Park this summer, signed Tadic when he was FC Twente boss in 2012, bringing him to the Dutch club from Groningen.
The Saints playmaker, who moved to St Mary’s last summer, was glowing in his praise of the former England manager, ahead of the Sunday’s Premier League opener.
“He’s a great manager, a great person,” he said. “It was a pleasure to work with him.
“For sure, he’s going to make Newcastle better. It’s a real pleasure to work with him.
“He really helped me. He brought me from Groningen to Twente. Because of him, I made the move.
“Not only because of him, but he was the main reason.
“It was great, great connection between us. I always said when he left Twente it was sad, but this is football.”
Asked what the biggest thing he learnt from McClaren was, Tadic revealed: “A winning mentality. To take responsibility. To work hard. These kinds of things.”
Despite their friendship, Tadic insists that will be put aside for the 90 minutes at St James’ Park.
“We are professionals, you need to watch yourself,” he said. “He’s on the other side, I’m on this side. I need to be focused on my things and he needs to be focused on his things.”
Tadic believes Saints must be sharper against Newcastle than they were in Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League win away to Vitesse – a result that earned the club a 5-0 win on aggregate over their Dutch opponents and booked a spot in the competition’s play-off round.
“I think it was a good result, but I think they played much better,” he said. “Vitesse was much better in possession, they were more dangerous and I think we were defending ok, but when we got the ball we need to play much better.
“Our performance wants to be much better with the ball and we need to play much better with it.
“We really, really need to improve that segment. It’s easier to play with the ball.
“We were defending, but we give them too much of the ball and then it’s difficult to play. What I say, we need to improve that because this is going to be important not just for Newcastle but for all season.”
Tadic added: “We need to get a good start. They’re going to be sharp. I would hope to win.”
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Don’t forget, Furball, if you decide to contribute to the match thread live from the stadium, for goodness sake don’t mention the line-up or the score or any other information that might be useful - that’s not how we do things here!