The Toon vs The Trotters

Newcastle United will be looking to do the double over Bolton Wanderes when the sides meet at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday.

The Toon came out on top with a 3-1 win when the teams last met, and have recently looked more solid, winning once and drawing twice in their last three games.

Keeper, Steve Harper said: “We look to go in full of confidence with five points from three games, we’re looking to get a good result.”

Newcastle will be missing key players including the suspended ex-trotter Kevin Nolan, and injuries will keep out Joey Barton (knee), Habib Beye (Ankle) and Michael Owen (Ankle).

Bolton have been steady this season and are looking comfortable sitting 10th in the Premier League.

Matt Taylor who scored a superb free kick in Bolton’s last game, a 2-1 win against West Ham, is in confident mood.

“We now go into the Newcastle game in a good frame of mind, it’s another home game for us and another one we’ll look to pick up points from,” said Taylor.

Due to their recent form, Bolton Wanderers seem the stronger side, but Newcastle have rallied of late making Sunday’s clash hard to call and well worth a watch.

Going solo: Doherty’s back

March 16 sees the release of Pete Doherty’s debut solo album, ‘Grace/Wastelands’, along with an eagerly anticipated nationwide tour.

‘Grace/Wetlands’, even Doherty has admitted, started life not as a labour of love but a contractual agreement, his current record deal requiring a solo album.

However, with producer, Stephen Street, famed for working with bands such as The Smiths and Blur, and all but one track featuring Blur’s Graham Coxon on guitar, the album promises to be Doherty’s most cohesive yet.

The album’s lead single, ‘Last of the English Roses’, is a typical Doherty-crooned ode to an England which time has forgot. ‘Broken Love Song’ is another track gaining rave reviews, co-written with an old friend Wolman, it is a fantastic piano, tremolo and string laden affair, which could sit comfortably in the top 20 thanks to it’s memorable hook.

A lot of the album’s tracks have been floating around in various incarnations for some time but have never been anything more than rough studio demos or laptop recordings and Doherty recently equated ‘Grace/Wetlands’ to putting a messy desk in order.

The nationwide tour kicks off at Cardiff Uni on March 13th and makes it’s way to the North East on March 26th at the Newcastle Academy.

Although no specific details have been released regarding the tour, it promises to be a Doherty style bonanza, so expect new solo efforts, classic Libertines and Babyshambles tracks, potential special guests and most of all, expect the unexpected.

England face Ireland while the Scots take on Italy

This weekend sees grand-slam chasing Ireland take on England at Croke Park, and Scotland hosting the Italians at Murrayfield.

Ireland are looking to avenge their humiliating defeat at Twickenham last year by trying to emulate their famous victory over the English at Croke Park in 2007.

That time Ireland thumped England 43-13, in an emotionally charged atmosphere.

“Two years ago we had a record win over England but that was a real one-off,” said Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll. 

Ireland will want to continue their good run, after defeating France on the opening day of the championship and beating Italy in Rome two weeks ago.

Declan Kidney, the Irish coach, has named an unchanged squad to face England on Saturday.

Ulsterman, Paddy Wallace has been given the thumps up after suffering from a head injury against France, which needed 16 stitches over his left eye.

England will be desperate to get their campaign back on track after being soundly beaten by champions Wales 23-15, two weeks ago.

Toby Flood is England’s only change. He gets the number 10 shirt, replacing Andy Goode, who drops to the bench.

England coach, Martin Johnson, said “he has played pretty well coming off the bench, so we think it’s a great opportunity for him to come in and start.”

Danny Cipriani, the young fly half talked up as the next Johnny Wilkinson, has failed to impress while wearing the England shirt and is again left out of Martin Johnson’s squad, despite having a good run of domestic form for Wasps.

The Scotland-Italy match has been marked down as the wooden spoon decider, but the with their nations pride at stake, expect to see 80 minutes of raw passion on show.

Scotland coach, Frank Hadden, has made two changes to his squad, with both Euan Murray and Alastair Kellock coming in.

“We are delighted to recall Euan Murray and bring someone as experienced as Al Kellock in to replace Jim Hamilton,” said Hadden.

 The Italians themselves have also made changes to the side that lost to Ireland two weeks ago.

Andrea Marcato and Marco Bortolami return from injury to join the Azzuri along with Leonardo Ghiraldini and Gonzalo Garcia.

This will be an extremely important weekend for all the teams and should prove to be a great spectacle of rugby.

North East trio in relegation dog fight

With only 12 games remaining, the North East’s Premiership teams still have a fight on their hands if they want to avoid relegation this season.

Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough have yet to acquire enough points to secure their safety in the Premier League and all three teams go into their next games wanting to take all three points.

Newcastle face Bolton on Sunday and a win at the Reebok could see them leapfrog their opponents in the league table. They currently lie at 15th but with the relegation battle being the closest it has ever been, many teams’ positions in the table could quickly change.

Their players appear to be up for the fight, including new signing Ryan Taylor. He said: “I am up for the battle to be honest. I have been in one for the last two years with Wigan, so I know what it is all about. We always managed to escape.

“What you need is a good little run to get yourself away the danger area. That gives you breathing space. You do not want to get sucked in even more.

“It only helped our chances of staying up when we beat West Brom. I did not have any second thoughts about coming here as far as the challenge is concerned.”

It is Sunderland that currently leads the pack but they face a tough trip to Anfield when they play Liverpool on Tuesday night.

It is still uncertain whether star striker Kenwyne Jones will play as he is still suffering with a knee injury. There are also doubts over Steed Malbranque and Teemo Tainio but Djibril Cisse is expected to be fit.

Middlesbrough also play Liverpool but on Saturday and they’ll be hoping to get something out of their home fixture, especially with them languishing in the bottom three, just above West Brom.

Their situation appears to be the direst as they have a tough string of upcoming away games to play including Arsenal and games against many of the relegation threatened sides.

‘Boro will be hoping to end their horrendous run of form but will be boosted by their win against West Ham and booking their place in the quarter finals of the FA cup.

Step out into something new this Spring

What happens when an athletic leader joins forces with the fashion footwear brand of the moment? Well…A colourful, sophisticated collaboration is born!

We at InJournalism introduce, ‘New Balance’ for Nine West…with fashion forward, attitude driven styling, each shoe looks sporty and ultra chic. As athletic classic is updated by seasonal colours and fresh fabrications they offer something a bit different for the keep fit, fashion conscious of you.

Using the best of ‘New Balance’ trainers and infusing the hot colours of Nine West and their trademark footwear, this Spring/Summer gives us something to look forward too.

Led by the creative director, Fred Allard of Nine West, and Savania Davies-Keiller and Roberto Crivello of ‘New Balance’, you can now bag yourself a pair of these gorgeous feet friendly sandals online.

They are available to buy now on the Nine West website (www.ninewest.com/newbalance). As you scroll through their many designs you will be sure to find a pair that is as bright and colourful as you are. From a collection of Icon, Sheer, Kiki and DNA this new range has something for everyone.

“Sporty summer sandals in bright colours and in build sex appeal” is what they promise but just how comfortable are they? Well these sandals claim to have “comfort technology built in”.

So if you would like to lead the way this Spring/Summer get ahead of the crowd and get a pair of ‘New Balance’ on your feet. You’ll be leading the footwear fashion of the season!

Eddie Izzard: Movie screens to Metro arena

After six long years of waiting, the enigmatic Eddie Izzard returns from the States for a 24-date UK stand up tour, ‘Stripped’. Read more

Please Welcome Back… Phoebe Philo

Phoebe Philo

Revamping a bundle of sweetness into the famous Chloé designs between 2001 and 2006; the invention of the pad lock hooked high street to catwalk as they mimicked this phenomenon bringing Chloe’s light to people’s hands.

“Phoebe Philo is credited with bringing a street edge to the Chloé` label.” Said Jo Craven, the fashion features editor of Vogue.  In 2001 she became Head designer at Chloé, following the departure of her friend Stella McCartney who she had known for many years.  McCartney and Philo go back further than Chloé as they had both studied together at the famous university of fashion, Central Saint Martin’s.  McCartney left Chloé to go on and launch her own label, ‘Egonymnous’.

Philo then became head designer of Chloé at just 27, where she took on the role at full speed. She made Chloé huge profits by introducing, what we at InJournalism call, the ‘Cute’ era for Chloé. It was her designs of the pastel coloured tunic dresses, the pretty blouses and flared jeans, which made the brand her own.

In the beginning, she may have been seen as McCartney’s replacement but, she proved them wrong.  Through her individuality her time at Chloé turned into a stepping-stone for her career as she had now proved that she was able to do it alone. Today she is recognised as a fashion icon, having high status and respect within the fashion idiom due to her success and innovation within the Chloé label.

Philo left Chloé after 5 years so that she could become a full time mother and said: “My decision to resign is for personal reasons, especially to spend more time with my new baby in the coming months.”

Three years on, Philo is said to be making a comeback. No longer designing for Chloé but concentrating on a line of her own it seems everything Philo touches turns to gold as her former assistant is now appointed as the creative director at Chloe.

There has been speculation that Philo will pair up with Celine, owned by fashion icon, Moet Hennessy, who in the past has worked along side Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs.  Considering her pioneering work for Chloé, she would be quite at home within the Celine brand.

Philo’s come back will be nothing less than magnificent as she puts her finishing touches to a line designed for an older demographic than before.  With a little bit of research she realised there to be: “a huge gap in the market for thirty something women.”  She promises her line will be practical, but just when the return of the highly acclaimed Philo is actually going to happen will keep us on the edge of our seats.

So ladies keep your eyes and ears open as Phoebe Philo is sure to shake the fashion world once again!

Rhinos look to make history

Leeds Rhinos head into this Sundays World Club Challenge match with Australian outfit Manly Sea Eagles, looking to be the first club to be crowned Champions of the World for a second successive season. Read more

Hartlepool look to build on last week

With only one win in nine games, Hartlepool are slowly sliding towards the League One relegation places, but were boosted with a 1-0 win over Swindon last week.

They come up against Colchester, away from home on Saturday, and Pools need to build on last week’s win to avoid slipping towards the relegation places. Every team below Pools has at least one game in hand over them, so they’ll be hoping for a positive result this weekend.

On-loan striker Daniel Nardiello is ruled out for six weeks with a groin injury but will stay with the club until the end of the season. Rune Lunge and Jamie McCunnie are also definitely out, while Joel Porter Michael Mackay and Matty Robson are doubts.

Director Of Sport, Chris Turner said: “We want to try and get in behind Colchester and cause them problems; we certainly won’t be sitting back, we’ll be trying to take the game to them on Saturday.

“We picked up two excellent results at the start of the season against Colchester and Scunthorpe who had both just come down from the Championship.

“However, I know that Colchester have since changed their manager and enjoyed a good run of form of late so we’ll be in for a tough game.”

Alan Perkins

They think it’s all over

With Liverpool yet again slipping up at the weekend it seems the title race is pretty much over for the Merseysiders. Read more

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