Barton Ponders QPR Switch.

Newcastle midfielder, Joey Barton is set to make a decision on his future later today. The one time England international has completed the second part of his medical at QPR's training ground as he moves closer to a departure form St. James' Park.

The talented midfielder, who signed for Newcastle from Manchester City in 2007, has been granted permission to leave on a free transfer regarding critisizm he launched at the Newcastle recruitment initiative on Twitter. Which, seems valid given the £39M revenue of the Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan sales is yet to be re-invested in big-name replacements.

However, Barton has made his reluctance to leave clear, stating on Twitter ''Don't want to leave Newcastle.....I've made that clear but my hands are tied.'' Also, many United fans have expressed their support for the player with various banners at the Sunderland match stating their respect for the 28-year-old.

Also, manager Alan Pardew has claimed that he would be happily welcomed back to the club saying,

"He knows he can come back here and we'll take care of him.'' Going on to say, ''At the same time he's got an offer that is making him think to go elsewhere."

So, Barton is currently considering his future options with his latest tweet stating, ''Going to have to make a decision today, its only fair to all parties.'' Which implies to me that he will move for the sake of convenience.

Premier League New Boys Fail to Progress in League Cup

All three of the Premier League's promoted sides failed in their attempts to progress to the next round of the League Cup.

Firstly, Swansea City faced the seemingly innocuous test of League 2 outfit Shrewsbury Town. However, they made wholesale changes, with only defender Ashley Williams and striker Danny Graham managing to retain their places in the side. Though Brendan Rogers' men did start positively, they failed to build on a 10th minute lead provided by a Shane Sherriff own goal. Shrewsbury launched a spirited fightback and, to their credit, closed out a 3-1 victory, with January recruit from Torquay United, Nicky Wroe, scoring in stoppage time.

The second premier league casualty was Norwich City. The Canaries made 11 changes from the team which drew 1-1 with Stoke on Sunday. They paid the price for their complacency and made an ignominious exit from the competition with a 0-4 thrashing at the hands of League 1 MK Dons. The Carrow Road defeat forced boss Paul Lambert to brand the match the ''worst'' of his two year tenure.

Warnock was 'pleased' with QPR's exit.

This was stark contrast to the reaction Neil Warnock gave after Rochdale inflicted a 0-2 home defeat on his weakened QPR side. He stated that he was ''glad'' to have departed from the competition and disregarded its importance and claimed the competition needs ''a revamp.'' The disappointing 4,755 attendance at Loftus Road does little to oppose his point.

Meanwhile, Brighton progressed to the next round with a 1-0 victory over a relatively strong Sunderland line up. Summer signing, Craig Mckail-Smith netted an extra time winner at the Stadium of Light, meaning that half of the premier league clubs in last nights games failed to progress to the next round.

These results give further evidence for claims the credibility of this competition is in decline. With 'bigger' clubs prioritising competitions such as the F.A Cup and European ventures. In the wake of Birmingham City's Carling Cup victory and subsequent relegation, the relegation candidates may now fear any distractions from the lucrative Premier League. A league cup run doesn't bring in significant revenue, so, who wants to win the Carling Cup?


elation...





...and dispair