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Good afternoon, Toon Army. You're not really thinking about Europe, are you?
Hatem Ben Arfa's recovery will be set back a week as he traveled to turbulent Tunisia to be with his grandparents. He is still targeting a March return, and the reports of his aerobic fitness are actually quite encouraging. (Mark Douglas, The Journal)
The Newcastle U18 squad was bounced out of the FA Youth Cup yesterday by Manchester United. The final score was 0-1. I didn't see the whole thing, but from what I saw, it wasn't that close of a match. (Paul Fraser, The Northern Echo)
There's been a lot of talk about the Magpies possibly qualifying for Europe (especially if Arsenal beats Birmingham City in the League Cup final on February 27, probably opening up another Premier League spot), but Alan Pardew doesn't want to hear about it. (Lee Ryder, The Chronicle)
A super cheesy song recorded by the 1974 Newcastle United squad (including Malcolm Macdonald) was "unearthed" recently, and you can hear the whole thing here. (Lisa Hutchinson, The Chronicle)