I know Newcastle have to date made only one major signing in Vurnon Anita but the transfer window has worked its magic in other ways to help United off to a cracking start.

It’s been clear in recent seasons that buying English players meant paying a bit extra but recently published figures show just how much home grown players are massively overpriced.

If Mike Ashley handed a £100m cheque to Alan Pardew and told him to go out and buy the best of English (or even British), who would you/he buy? £100m is roughly what Liverpool paid for Carroll, Johnson, Henderson and Downing!

The only question for me is whether this was even better than the January demolition of Manchester United? I would argue it was because how many times have we let ourselves down after the big build up.

Alan Pardew has a squad which has been creaking under the pressure of small numbers and big injuries.

Under Mike Ashley transfer windows have come to be feared rather than anticipated, what should the manager do if he is not backed by the owner?

Big money transfers don’t always work out, as we know to our cost.

Has Carroll really got more potential than Shearer….?

  A player who has suffered maybe most in recent years from being a local(ish) lad is Steven Taylor, born in London but brought back to the north east only…

So have Mike Ashley & Derek Llambias reinvented the (football) wheel, or have the lads had a kind set of opening fixture, carried some luck and actually played some pretty good football?

Issue 1 – August 1988
In August ’88 the first ever issue of The Mag hit the streets, coinciding with a relegation season!

Three world class players had left the region they called home, it makes you cry thinking what could have been with Beardsley, Waddle and Gascoigne. The Mag’s way of dealing with it….

Here are my alternate team of entertainers. Entertained at her majesty’s pleasure, that is. To qualify for the team, my criteria was simple. They needed to have Court appearances with…