You can take the Skouser out of Merseyside, but . . . well you get the idea.

Newcastle are set to embark on a pre-season tour in the US, playing against Sporting Kansas, Orlando City and Columbus Crew, but will do so without the help of Joey Barton.

Barton will now link up with the Toon reserve squad in the Netherlands for his pre-season warm-up.

As a football fan, there’s a part of me that feels a level of sympathy for unlucky Joey. There was, should I rather say, till I had a look at some of his less honorable antics.

July 2004: A mass punch-’em-up erupted in a friendly at Doncaster Rovers which saw Kevin Keegan criticizing Barton for causing it.

December 2004: During the clubs Christmas party, Barton used the eye of young teammate Jamie Tandy as an ashtray, stubbing his lit cigar into it. Barton was forced to pay a fine by Manchester City of four weeks wages (roughly £60 000) and was later sued by Tandy for £65 000 in wages. (Quite a pricey cuban it would seem)!

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Manchester United squandered an opportunity to move nine points clear at the top of the English Premier League table when they were held to a 0 – 0 draw by Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.

The visitors were guilty of poor passing throughout, though Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs missed good chances.

And striker Javier Hernandez felt he was fouled in the box by Danny Simpson late on, only to be booked for a dive.

Newcastle deserved a point, though, and might have had a penalty of their own when Anderson felled Peter Lovenkrands.

Both decisions could have gone either way, with contact made on each occasion, but referee Lee Probert waved the appeals away to ensure an absorbing clash ended goalless at St James’ Park.

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Newcastle star striker Andy Carroll’s car was torched while parked on the drive way of club captain Kevin Nolan on Wednesday.

After being charged on Monday with assaulting ex-girlfriend Laurie Henderson, Carroll – who will claim self-defence – was bailed by magistrates to live with Nolan at his house in Ponteland, Northumbria, until his next court appearance on January 10.

But just two days into his stay with the former Bolton midfielder, 21-year-old Carroll was the victim of an attack on his chrome-plated Range Rover.

Carroll had bought the car earlier this month to celebrate signing a new five-year deal with the Magpies, but vandals set it alight shortly after 7pm BST on Wednesday. Graffiti was also daubed on Nolan’s garage door.

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Alan Shearer will be offered a four year contract to manage the newly relegated Newcastle United.

Shearer’s spell as interim manager ended with Newcastle’s final game of the season at Aston Villa, but owner Mike Ashley was reportedly due to meet with the former England striker on Tuesday to discuss the terms of a permanent contract.

Ashley knows that Shearer’s popularity among Newcastle fans and his standing in the game will be major assets as the long slog to restore the club’s credibility and Premier League status begins in the close-season.

For the first time in 16 years, Newcastle are no longer a top-flight club, but Shearer has no intention of feeling sorry for himself.

The Newcastle legend, who took charge for the final eight games of the season after Joe Kinnear’s heart surgery, met the squad for an end of season debriefing on Monday and reportedly told them there would a major overhaul of the playing staff if he stays.

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Manchester United regained their seven point lead at the top of the table after coming from behind and beating Newcastle United 1 – 2 at St. James Park last night.

Wins for Liverpool and Chelsea 24 hours earlier had encouraged thoughts of the title battle being opened up once more and Peter Lovenkrands 9th-minute opener for Newcastle would have triggered huge cheers on Merseyside and in West London.

But the stumble United’s rivals had hoped for failed to materialise on a night that saw Manchester City dent Aston Villa’s hopes of securing Uefa Champions League football next season with a 2-0 win at Eastlands.

United’s win restored their seven-point lead and the champions also have a game in hand to help them close out a third straight English title. Newcastle ended Edwin van der Sar’s record-breaking run without conceding a goal in a league match but were unable to defend their early lead.

The Magpies caused the visitors serious problems in an impressive 20-minute opening spell which yielded the strike from Danish winger Lovenkrands, the first league goal conceded by Dutch keeper van der Sar in 1 311 minutes of play.

Having weathered the storm, United equalised after Dimitar Berbatov set up Wayne Rooney for a 20th-minute strike and, ten minutes after the interval, the Bulgarian striker found the net himself with a tap-in from Park Ji-Sung’s cross.

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Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given could be on his way to Premier League rivals Manchester City today, according to a report in British tabloid newspaper The Sun. It is claimed that the Citizens have had a bid of £8.5 million accepted by the Magpies and that the 32-year-old has already had a medical at Eastlands.

Toon Army manager Joe Kinnear recently admitted he had failed to persuade Given to add to his 11 year stay at St. James’ Park and it now seems that he will sign an £86,000-a-week contract with Manchester City.

Source: soccernews.com