"In football two days is a long time, and a week is a very long time."

That's what Wine Hrooney's foot is wishing, anyway. For
the idle Magpies, though, a week is a very long time
indeed.

Loyal readers of TDH will have already predicted TDH's
level of satisfaction with last night's result at the
Reebok. Credit to Stevie Mac's men for getting a tough
point on the road when they could easily have let this
one slide. But now it's up to the Toon.

Here are the scenarios that give us an easy trip to
Europe. 1) Bolton loses against the Brum Bums. 2)
Bolton draws against the Brum Bums. 3) Bolton beat the
Brum Bums and our glorious Magpies beat Chelski. Alas, a
draw against Chelski is not enough in this last case,
since Sam's Army have the advantage in goal differential.

It really could go either way. Let's hope Brucey's mix
of miscreants and Chelski rejects have the bottle to
extract a point away from home as their last Premier
League hurrah. The matches will be played
simultaneously. TDH will be praying at the altars of
Saint Seamus and Friar Mikael.

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Roeder is now 3-5 on at Betfair to be the next manager.
Apparently the powers that be have been talking to Faria
Alam's boyfriends about whether his enrollment in a UEFA
training program is sufficient for him to qualify as a
full-fledged manager. Again, TDH will register a
complaint against this ridiculous restriction of the
labor market. We brave souls of Tyneside should be able
to hire Bozo the Clown if we want (and indeed we have
done so on occasion).

It's hard to object to Roeder given his revitalization of
the team. But his experience at The Academy of Frank,
Joe and Rio doesn't speak too highly of his durability.
TDH says give him a one- or two-year contract with big
bonus clauses and possible extensions. The more
incentives, the better.

Mac Daddy's odd on the England job are now down to 1-14
on. TDH has already tried (hard) to offer a sanguine
appraisal of his chances as manager, so enough said for
now.

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Was Dan Smith's tackle on Diaby worthy of legal action?
Well, let's just say some frustration is understandable
among the detestable Mackems after their record-setting
season. But TDH saw it happen, and it was more than
ugly.

The former U-16 international made the lunge in a
decidedly deliberate, immature and unprofessional
fashion. But calling it an assault could turn the world
on its head. Would players who make similar tackles with
less-dire consequences then be subject to prosecution for
"attempting to injure"? You'd have an arrest every week.

The outstanding thing in Smith's case was the obvious
link between his frustration and the viciousness of the
tackle. It showed that he was not ready for top-flight
football. His two yellows and one red in less than three
matches' worth of playing time adds further proof.

The FA should ban him from football for a year, so he can
grow up a bit. That punishment would put players on
their guard much more than a prosecution, which would
cost the taxpayers plenty with only a marginal chance of
success.