2 2 M A Y		1 9 9 9
The Final Reasons to be Optimistic	1	Less than 24 hours until our victory
The FA cup final team and tactics has secretly been passed to me, I said I wouldn't tell any one, but I lied. Read Less than 24 hours to go and things are really buzzing on Tyneside. Last year everyone thought that we might just win .This year most people are confident that we WILL win it. There is a great mood of optimism about the whole area that was missing from last year. The cars, coaches and mini buses full of the geordie faithful have started to leave for London. Many on board don't have tickets and just want to be near the lads when they lift the cup tomorrow. Others not lucky enough to have obtained a ticket will pack the Clubs and pubs across not just Newcastle and Tyneside, but throughout the world to see the game tomorrow. Millions more will be glued to their T V sets in their homes willing on te toon. Newcastle will have an extra man out on that pitch tomorrow, or it will seem like it as the Manks will be outsung and out cheered by the geordie masses in Wembley . And that leads me onto todays reason to be optimistic. The Toon Armies great optimism and great support is the final reason for us to be optimistic. It's an old cliché that says, our fans are the best in the world. The simple truth is, ours are the best in the world Every Toon Army member everywhere on the planet thinks that we will win, That great will to win, will be conveyed to the team be it by vocal or telepathic means . The Toon Army WILL BE victorious, Believe it and it WILL happen  Keep the faith ,  FOR THIS IS OUR YEAR.
Reasons to be Optimistic	2	Days left until our victory
Newcastle United have Better players in most positions than Manchester united, therefore we will win. If you were Ruud Gullit and had the chance to swap any of your players for any of their players how many would you swap. i reckon one , possibly two, and the two I had in mind may not even play. Lets compare the likely starters position by position.
Harper or Given, are both World class Goalkeepers with a big future, I wouldn't swap Either for the ageing Danish blerk G K Schmichael, Past his sell by date, literally. He is not the player he was 3 years ago. Susceptible to Hamman and Solano's Free Kicks Griffin or Barton . Both Miles better than their counterparts on all fronts Griffin must be considered the next England right back R. B A C K G Neville or Brown, How Neville still makes the England teams is a mystery . Keegan will dump him soon Domi Is an absolutely brilliant player, Only Roberto Carlos is a better left back in the world L. B A C K P Neville, absolute joke, another player over rated my Hoddle, our midfield will flatten him Two from Hughes, Beharall, Dabizas .This is Newcastle's problem area, having said that I wouldn't swap The Youngsters, Beharall or Hughes for Johnson or May. Dabizas was brilliant last year and is coming back into his best form D E F E N C E MAN U have conceded a good few goals this year, the reason is their dodgy defence. Only Japp Stam would make the Newcastle team and he is probably injured, Neither Johnson, May or Berg are up to much. If Glass is fit then I would consider him to be just as good as his counterpart Ryan Giggs, L . M I D Giggs has his good days, but too many bad days. His days at Man u are numbered , I wouldn't buy him Solano is our best Right midfielder and more than a match for the over rated Beckham. I would chose Nobby over Beckham not only for his great allround play but for his temperament. What's the odds on Beckham getting sent off? R . M I D Beckham is a decent player. when it comes to crossing the ball and taking free kicks their are few better. He would be preferred in my team to Lee who is starting to slow down and Maric who hasn't warmed up yet. but not to Solano HAMMAN and SPEED have improved greatly this year. Hamman is the complete footballer, and arguably our best all round player. His free kicks could be a match winner. As for Speed, what a difference a year makes, last year we would have swapped him for twenty Regal and a packet of crisps. Now he is priceless. if Ruud does suprise us by playing Lee in his preferred Central role then he will be more than a match for his opponents. M I D F I E L D Keane , Butt and Scholes. Butt and Scholes are no match for our central pair. Indeed they don't seem good enough to be retained by Alex Ferguson, with Sunderland even being linked to the ginga duo. That's about their level. As for the Girl hitting Drunken Animal that is Roy Keane. It wont be long till he gets a life for breaking an opponents legs, he's not a football player he's a thug Alan Shearer, England captain and overall best player in the Premier league. The most inspirational Newcastle captain since Bobby Moncur, and he won us a canny trophy. Duncan Ferguson the other half of the most feared duo in the league, If Stam doesn't play man U have huge problems, literally. Temuri Ketsbaia , Newcastle's cult hero and potential Match winning super sub, not much to chose between Kets and Solksjear, but i would opt for Kets for his single minded, "I am gonna win this game by having a damn good go attitude" Little Louis Saha, A great prospect for the future. sums up Ruud's team, Youth, talent and enthusiasm before experience S T R I K E R S Dwight Yorke, Gets a few goals but overall not the complete player that Shearer is. Would be good enough to be our third choice striker. Andy Cole, Dwights side kick, wasn't good enough to continue his career at St James' park and still isn't good enough Ole Gunner Solksjear. If he was a bit more consistent, he could be a good player, Is fairly sick of being the number three, and hence his moral is low, he would be better off moving to a team like Sunderland were he would be the best player that they ever had. Teddy Sheringham , A has been in the same class as Ian Rush. Ok so I said 2 reasons to be optimistic, it should have been 11 reasons today as most of the men that matter (the players) are as good as if not better than their over rated counterparts. Ask yourself the same question as I did, how many of our players would you swap for Man U players?

Reasons to be Optimistic 3 Days left until our victory Alan Shearer will be giving 110 %, He could win the cup for Newcastle single handed. He was absolutely gutted last year when Tony Adams lifted the trophy and the site of 300,000 fans cheering them after they returned from the defeat really embarrassed him. He is determined not to let his team be beaten again, he is now captain and will lead us to victory from the front. The Toon Army wont be chanting "attack, attack" as they were last year. Newcastle will be throwing everything at Manchester United. How will they respond with the thought of a European cup final just 4 days later. Will they be as committed and give everything like the magpies? I don't think they will, We want to win this more than they do. Ruud Gullit is a master technician, He out foxed then at Old Trafford, winning a credible draw in the so called theatre of dreams. if we can draw there than we can win at Wembley. Ruud will have something up his sleeve, be prepared for a suprise either in the team selection or the tactics, he's up to something. Meanwhile Ruud has taken a short break form the FA cup preparations to complete the signings of next years central partnership of Alan Goma and Elena Marcelino. Goma is believed to have cost £4 million from Paris SG. Marcelino who plays his last game for Mallorca tonight in the final of the cup winners cup is said to have cost close to £6 million. Neither of the players will be unveiled until sometime after the FA CUP final. On the fitness front both Ferguson and glass are stepping things up and hope to be involved from the start of the game. It looks like it could be to late for Charvet , although he has been training he is not expected to be ready for Saturdays game. Robert Lee is also doubtful after going off during last Sundays game against Blackburn. This should open the door for Nobby Solano, who has been very impressive this season scoring some great goals . More reasons to be optimistic along with any more toon news tomorrow. And finally our sister publication has uncovered the truth about Roy Keane and the Slapper that he Slapped, She was infact an undercover Scum reporter, her exclusive story is here Reasons to be Optimistic 4 Days left until our victory  Their only decent defender is out injured. Japp Stam is unlikely to be fit for the final leaving them with the two Neville's, Ronnie Jonsen and David May. They will find it hard to cope with our strikers Roy Keane their influential captain has just been arrested for assaulting a woman. We all know that this gutless pig is an animal. But kicking a defenceless woman is going to get him into the bad books with not only his manager and fellow team mates, but also THE PRESS, they are turning against Manchester United. By Saturday Man U will have very little support from any of the newspapers or TV stations Most pundits will be wanting Newcastle united to win, Last year we were the bad guys, Hall and Shepherd were disgraced, Dalglish was not terribly liked due to his negative tactics. Most neutrals wanted Arsenal to win the double. This in turn rubbed off on the players. They didn't have the inspiration to win. other than the loyal Newcastle fans, the players had a disgraced board and a hopeless manager, there was little inspiration to do well. This year everyone will be behind Newcastle United. We will be everyones favorite, unless of course you are a Man u fan More reasons to be optimistic tomorrow, I read in a paper tonight that a city Anal ist thinks that Newcastle will be in deep financial trouble over the next few years. He suggests that with the share price being so low Newcastle will have to sell their star players such as Alan Shearer in order that they can pay for the £45 million ground extension. He says ."where s the money coming from to pay for the £45 million ground improvement? It has to come from somewhere so players will have to be sold" What a total load of Bollocks this is ! this bloke is paid to come up with these assessments. Hasn't the thick southern **** got a calculator? If so he would be able to work out the following. Newcastle united have secured a 7 year loan from Barclays bank  for £42million . that is around £ 6.million per year PLUS interest. The new stand will hold 14,000 more suporters. There are 25,000 people on the waiting list, meaning every seat will be occupied every week. Each seat will bring in around £400 per season from the season ticket holders and atleast another £100 per year from Cup games. ( perhaps even more if we are successful) so that is £500 x 14,000 per year which to my reckoning is £7,Million each year. So there you have it more than enough to pay for itself within 7 years, and after that big profits and no doubt another extension above the old Gallowgate stand. I should have been an accountant.....   Reasons to be Optimistic 5 Days left until our victory   Newcastle United have A 50 / 50 chance of winning on Saturday, indeed over the last 26 years the underdogs have won the cup the same amount of times as the favorite Ruud Gullit has brought success with him , wherever he as been. Eindhoven hadn't won anything for a long time until he arrived, the same goes for AC Milan and Chelsea. They were sleeping giants that he helped to awaken. Newcastle Like their opponents will field 11 International players on Saturday, Indeed , The English, Welsh and Peruvian team captains along with the future German all play for Newcastle. Unlike last year we have had no pressure on the team prior to the match, last year Dalglish was under pressure as the team wasn't performing, Ditto the players and the threat of relegation was in the air. This year things have been a lot more comfortable, they have been secure in mid table and have nothing to lose by gong out to win on Saturday, unlike their opponents who are expected to win the treble. In Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson Newcastle have not only the most expensive strikeforce but the most fearsome duo in the premiership. Don't believe the rumours that Ferguson wont be fit, he has been saving himself for the big day and will cause the so called Manchester united defence immense problems. .. Put your money on Newcastle United, for this is our year.

EARLIER NEWS HERE