Pre-season v Valencia

In case you haven't read elsewhere....

today's game is now set for a 5pm kick off.

This is apparently because Valencia had issues with their aircraft this morning.

With Spanish internationals such as Silva and Villa included in the 22 man travelling party this promises to be a stern test for Newcastle. It is unclear whether Serbian forward Zigic will be included as there are rumours of him travelling to the potteries in order to complete a deal for top flight new boys Stoke. It might be a good idea if Zigic arrives on Tyneside for Newcastle's top brass to have a chat over a glass or two of sangria with their counterparts. Zigic has the right credentials to stake a claim in our side with a better than one goal in two games strike rate.

Habib Beye looks set to carry on his pre-season with at least another 60 mins against the Spaniards meaning that knock or not, he should be ready for the curtain raiser at Old Trafford. We're looking forward to seeing more of the green boots flying down the wing and can only hope that Geremi's either not playing or gets out of the way long enough for Habib to overlap...