Newcastle United have become the latest club to ban the vuvuzela from their stadium.

Rightly so in our opinion, St James’ Park has always had a fantastic atmosphere generated by ourselves - unlike some other grounds in the country who have to rely on that shite ‘dur dur dur’ music after they score.  We actually get behind the lads for the full 90 minutes.

The vuvuzela ruined the World Cup from the armchair, and we don’t want the matchday experience at our stadium to follow.  Hats off to the powers who be at the club.

We pay good money to go and support the lads, the last thing you want is some teenager blasting a vuvuzela from the seat behind, especially with a hangover.  At least in the modern age, we don’t have to worry about this new addition to the game.

Eight clubs to date have banned the vuvuzela, while the likes of Blackpool have allowed it - they probably think it’s a South American striker who’ll keep them in the Premier League.

A statement on the Magpies’ website said: “The club’s position, aside from them being an item not permitted according to ground regulations, is that the vast majority of fans do not wish them to be heard within the ground.”

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE DECISION TO BAN THE VUVUZELA?  HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW

So big Sol is finally a magpie and it comes at the ideal time for us, Steven Taylor is reported to be out for up to 3 months with his dodgy shoulder problems so it looks like Sol’s going to have a run in the first XI to prove he’s not too far over the hill.

When he arrived I thought “great, experienced and he knows the Premier League like the back of his hand” but to be honest, the thought of him playing every week slightly worries me. He’s still a top quality defender in my opinion, but the main worry for me is he is unbelievably slow! Seriously, a granny on a mobility scooter could have him in all sorts of trouble!

Obviously pace is a big factor when it comes to playing centre-half but one thing that could compensate for this is his ability to read the play before it happens. His positioning is also top drawer so hopefully this will mask his lack of pace. Another thing Chris Hughton will have to think of is the defensive line when Sol plays, if we defend high up there will be loads of grass for the opposition to exploit at will. And the very thought of someone like Craig Bellamy in a foot race against Sol frightens me! I prefer not to think about Campbell Vs Lennon!

Another thing he will undoubtedly bring is his experience which hopefully he can pass on to Messrs Taylor, Williamson and especially Perch, Kadar and Tozer. If a couple of them could get to even half the level of Campbell at his peak then we would be sorted at the back for a few seasons at least.

As far as other transfer rumours go, Hatem Ben Arfa is a must-buy in my opinion. A lot of people might be thinking “who?!” but trust me, this kid’s a flyer! Left-footed, unbelievably quick and a top class dribbler (as good as Gutierrez) he would be something of a coup for us.

The speculation around us being interested in him isn’t concrete but Hughton knows he’s a good player and could be looking at a loan with an option to buy which would be ideal for us because we would need to know if he can settle in England before we take him permanently. The thing that makes me say this is he’s a small player and he would definitely take a few hefty kicks once people realise how good he is, so whether he has the right temperament is a question mark.

His club, Marseille, want rid of him to fund a move for Newcastle reject Charles N’Zogbia and apparently the sale of Ben Arfa will provide the cash for the Wigan winger. So here’s hoping they can agree a loan deal with us and he can form a deadly wing duo with Gutierrez that would trouble ANY Premier League defence, although admittedly a deal looks far from being done.

I think we still need a striker before the Man United game in just over 2 weeks time, literally anyone with experience would be a good choice, maybe Robbie Keane? The Irishman will be overlooked this season at Spurs and wants out, but I’d only take him on loan for the season because he’s definitely past his best. There was also a rumour that Benjani was training with us during the off-season but let’s face it, he’s crap!

Ghana’s world cup star Asamoah Gyan was briefly linked with us too and he’d be a great signing. Fast, durable and a real handful is ideal for us, and I think he’d go well with Carroll up top.

There haven’t been too many rumours of strikers during the pre-season so I’m unsure as to whether Hughton will be bringing one or two in before the new season kicks off.

We’re not too far away from having a side that can definitely survive next season, maybe one or two more signings in the right areas and we’ll be fine.

Steven Taylor could be set to miss the first six weeks of the season through injury.

The defender suffered a shoulder injury in last Saturday’s pre-season win at Carlisle and the Sunday Sun are reporting that Taylor has indeed dislocated his shoulder.

Taylor was hoping for an injury-free campaign after missing the second half of last season with knee ligament damage.

Joey Barton has set himself the aim of returning to the England side.

The Newcastle United midfielder has been capped once by England and feels that he is good enough to play for Fabio Capello’s side.

“For me, first and foremost I want to do well for Newcastle United,” he told the Evening Chronicle.

“But watching some of the performances in the World Cup over the summer I think that on form, I’m as good as anybody in this country.

“I don’t say that lightly and I have to go out and prove that, but surely every midfielder in this country should be thinking like that?

“They should be looking at it and saying, ‘That’s where I want to be and that’s where I can go’.

“That’s my goal, and if I break into the England squad, it proves that I am doing fantastic for this football club.

“I’m a much more rounded footballer now than I was when I first signed for this club. Injuries have restricted my chances to show that.

“If I can sustain fitness for a long period of time, I’m very confident of finding the form that got me in the England squad.”

Yannick Djalo’s agent has claimed that Tottenham and Newcastle have both made bids for the Sporting Lisbon player.

The 24-year-old came through the ranks at the Portuguese club and caught the eye with some impressive displays last season.

“Sporting will let him leave for a fee in the region of €7-8 million,” His agent Lionel da Silva told Record. “The offers we have in our hands, from Tottenham and Newcastle, are over the €5 million mark.

“Therefore, given the difference at stake, I believe this matter will be solved quickly. We have been much more distant before.”

News has reached us today that we have secured our first summer signing of 2010, Nottingham Forest defender James Perch.

The 24-year old can play anywhere across the back four or in central midfield and had an impressive season as Billy Davies’ side narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League.

But Perch wasn’t to be denied the chance to play at the top level and he’s now got his move to Tyneside, albeit 6 months after Chris Hughton first tried to sign him.

Forest turned down a bid for Perch in January and described it as “derisory” but now they missed out on promotion, it looks like they’ve settled on a deal. As yet, the transfer fee is only being described as “undisclosed”, which gives us no idea how much money we have to spend in the remaining months of the window.

There’s been rumours of us trying to sign Turkish striker Mevlut Erding, who currently plies his trade for Paris-Saint-Germain and cracked in a fair few goals last term. That fee was apparently somewhere around the £6m mark which only further confuses us about our transfer situation!

Also today it was confirmed that Kris Boyd has chosen the Championship Smoggies rather than a number of Premier League clubs or even a few foreign teams…we don’t know why either! Maybe because the quality of play is similar in the Championship to that of the SPL.

Owen Coyle is unaware of any interest from Newcastle in Bolton players.

Left-back Jlloyd Samuel has been linked with a move to St James’ and press reports had claimed that a £1million bid had been rejected.

“I’ve not spoken to Chris Hughton on a football level and, to the best of my knowledge, neither has Phil Gartside,” Coyle said in the Daily Express

Chris Hughton has ruled out any chance of Steve Harper leaving Newcastle United.

The veteran goalkeeper has been linked with a move north to Celtic as a possible replacement for Artur Boruc.

“I can categorically state that there is nothing in that,” Hughton told the Evening Chronicle.

“We just won’t sell him. He’s our No.1 goalkeeper, he had a great season for us and he’s a very important member of our squad.”

Hughton also rejected rumours that Newcastle were interested in Algeria goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi.

Bolton Wanderers have rejected a £1million bid from Newcastle United for Jlloyd Samuel, according to Sky Sports.

The left-back has been identified by Chris Hughton as one of his key targets for the new Premier League campaign, but the intitial bid has been snubbed.

Samuel has 12 months to run on his deal at the Reebok Stadium, but with Newcastle’s limited transfer budget it remains to be seen if the club will make an improved offer.

Vladimir Weiss’ agent hints the Man City winger could consider a loan move to Newcastle.

“On Newcastle, I only know what has been reported. We haven’t heard anything yet,” his agent Juraj Venglos, told the Evening Chronicle

“Things will only be decided after the World Cup and I don’t know anything until then. Vladimir just wants to play football - and of course he wants to play at a big club.

“He must make the decision himself, though, and that will only come after the World Cup. We will see.”