I do so wish I had a car. I would certainly save a lot of hassle. It would definitely lead to me being less tired!

I taught today. It’s not the first time: it’s just the first time I’ve mentioned it here. It didn’t go terribly badly, there was still a lot of criticisms but I’m still learning. So despite being catastrophically tired, it’s all still good.

So… I took Matt to Shearer’s Bar. I thought I would try to enjoy the last night in the Premiership, enjoy the atmosphere (and pray). We also went around the Quayside, pretending to be cultural in the Baltic art gallery… I think Matt understood more of the exhibits than me, though I thought the pieces on the Yorkshire Ripper were clever, albeit rather dark and oppressive.

We went to Chinatown, had a nice all-you-can-eat buffet, which I had remembered is one of Matt’s favourite phrases! That was nice… no deep fried prawns from what I could see… but nonetheless really good!

I haven’t been up to too much else besides, really.

I started my voluntary work on Friday. It’s been ok so far – I haven’t been able to be too active so far in my project but I’ve made a start on my plan.

Tomorrow though I’ll be going down to Kent… “for one night only”! Same old dull train journey though, which is a bind, but it’s all in necessity. Let’s hope I can achieve everything I set out to…

If you ask any Newcastle supporter they are admirably pragmatic — on the one they would have loved Given to stay, but on the other hand they realise that being a goalkeeper for Newcastle is a desperately unenviable task at the moment, and much of the team I suspect would rather be somewhere else. They warned us we were going to turn in Leeds United; our team will fall apart, we get relegated, and languish in the lower leagues as a defeated giant rather than a sleeping one.

I imagine that many players will be looking for their first opportunity to escape. Michael Owen will be almost certain to leave at the end of the season (for free, of course) and all the players of household names will be able to engineer their exits as we seek to raise funds for… whatever it is we are meant to be raising funds for.

But there is one word ringing around the North East at the moment, and that is "Championship". The ripples on the Tyne, Tees and Wear are growing ever choppier but I’d wager that Sunderland and Middlesbrough are far better prepared for relegation than we are…

You may be completely baffled by the first paragraph of this post, so I shall feed you a little of the recent history I have experienced with TOC. I bought a pair of jeans from TOC a little over a month ago. They were more expensive than I would like to pay for a pair of jeans; however I accepted I probably would not find a pair I liked the appearance of more. Satisfied, I wore them on a weekend away to Liverpool. I found on returning home that the turnups had somehow frayed and that a button had fallen off.

I took them back to the store I purchased them in Newcastle, two days before the buyout. They explained that if I wanted an exchange I would have to go to the MetroCentre, since their stock of those jeans had been moved their. Today I did just that. They had the jeans, but not in my size. So I asked for a refund.

I had a credit card receipt, but apparently no other receipt. This rendered me unable to claim a refund. (The credit card receipt has “receipt” written on it… so I’m not sure how the phrase on production of a receipt works here.) I found this peculiar since I had evidence I purchased the jeans from The Officers Club, I could demonstrate how much I paid for them, and I had the goods with me with evidence they were substandard and faulty. Yet I was able to exchange them for something else in the shop, but I could not get my money back.

So, to the comparison between The Officers Club and Newcastle United… I want to support them both, because they are local. They both basically rip you off and give you a crap product. And they won’t give you a refund.

One question that has been raised is "what good does it do?". But the question is, what good does booing anyone do? It seems many people have forgotten why they would boo anyone. It is a show of displeasure and dissatisfaction. Ashley Cole is no stranger to being booed: in many instances in the past he has warranted such action from, I have to say, the opposition’s supporters. However, players are expected to take it on the chin and continue. And so he does.

Ashley Cole is seen as the epitome of the modern footballer: arrogant; obnoxious; greed-fueled and money-driven. He may be a talented footballer, but the English supporters would far sooner see it in a humble and gracious person. What many supporters feel is that we are growing accustomed to a "first team" culture in the England squad, with infallible regulars, in which certain members in the hierarchy at The FA have grown permissive of complacency. Cole is not the only player guilty of complacency, but this coupled with his perceived attitude has highlighted him as a target. I am guessing the fact that he has cried off from the coming World Cup qualifier will not help endear him to England supporters.

I feel that the blame should land at the door of The FA’s Soho Square headquarters. They are very quick to criticise (read boo) their own supporters. If you ask your supporters to pay £50 and come far and wide to watch some lazy football, you cannot expect them to show delirious pride thoughout the game. Many players could do with being dropped to evaluate their performances (as Beckham and Owen are doubtlessly familiar) and The FA should be less inclined to alienate their team’s following.

There aren’t many cities in Britain that have just one football club to represent them. The North East is home to the majority. Therefore the moods of the towns round here closely follow those of their football clubs; and their residents are fiercely loyal. What makes Newcastle United even different from those is the incredible drama that follows it: flirting closely with success with major disappointments and dramatic scenes away from the pitch.

Which brings me to Kevin Keegan. There is a lot peculiar going on around St. James’ Park. Firstly, the wording of the official statement seemed to admonish any responsibility for Keegan’s resignation. It laid the blame entirely at Keegan’s door, hoping to be able to deny their part in the disagreements between the two parties. It also distinguished the gulf between Keegan and Board: referring to differences between Kevin Keegan and ‘Newcastle United Football Club’ — Keegan really was, it seems, the outsider.

Secondly, the club setup is very strange. It is supposed to mimic the setup of European teams. However, establishing Dennis Wise — a personal friend of Mike Ashley — as Director of Football was a rather odd move: he has no experience at board level (especially for such a position in a Premier League club) and he was hired after Keegan came. One should notice Ashley did not see fit to create the role during the tenure of Sam Allardyce.

People suggest that Ashley is running the club as a business, seeking to make money from it. However they say "never mix business with pleasure", and hiring your friends in positions of great responsibility should not be well-received in the stock market. What is Ashley up to? Even within the business world one cannot imagine the moves he has made as having any benefit to the club. It cannot be much of a pleasure either, and I suspect he shall find that in the coming weeks.

Some also point to Capello’s seemingly infallible record in club competition. Yet many forget he dropped Beckham and was ready to sell him off; before accepting his mistake and brought him back in time to win the La Liga title for Real Madrid. He isn’t immune to error, despite his glittering honours.

But enough of England. The transfer window closed just over an hour ago. It was a little disappointing for Newcastle supporters, getting one player on loan and obtaining another being given the number 19 shirt: it does not bode well (19 was formerly Titus Bramble’s shirt). We were told to expect another three or four good quality signings. I guess we shall establish in due course whether in fact they match the quality Keegan promised. However, Xisco and Ignacio Gonzalez are new faces and I expect they will be given a warm reception by the supporters, as ever.

The news of the day rather belongs to Manchester City though. Changing hands again — but this time to a hugely wealthy consortium — and immediately splashing out on Robinho and fleetingly showing interest in big names such as Berbatov, Villa and Gomez rather stole both Manchester United’s and Chelsea’s thunders. The latter had a rather sheepish and subdued day while the former got their man in Berbatov. Rather good we got Man Utd out of the way!

Group Stages

Group A

1. Portugal (1)
2. Czech Republic (3)
3. Switzerland (4)
4. Turkey (2)

Group B

1. Germany (2)
2. Croatia (1)
3. Poland (4)
4. Austria (3)

Group C

1. Netherlands (1)
2. Italy (2)
3. France (4)
4. Romania (3)

Group D

1. Spain (1)
2. Russia (2)
3. Sweden (3)
4. Greece (4)

Knock-out Stages

Quarter Final

• Portugal beats Germany
• Croatia beats Turkey
• Netherlands beats Russia
• Italy beats Spain

Semi Final

• Croatia beats Portugal
• Netherlands beats Italy

Final

• Croatia beats Netherlands

I am an oddball.

It does feel a little like things are on the up. I hope it lasts.