Not to be confused with the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament, Newcastle won their first three matches in the Hong Kong International Soccer Sevens and will move on to see action on Sunday in defense of the title they won last year.

Sammy Ameobi is still only 20, but has gone from fringe first team player to buried on the depth chart this January. He is now headed out to Middlesbrough to get some seasoning

The senior squad will have to pin their hopes on the Europa League if they hope to contest a cup final this season. In the mean time, 4 Toon players will be contesting cup finals over the next 4 weeks.

Through no fault of his own, Newcastle loanee Curtis Good is at the center of an FA Cup controversy with loan club Bradford City.

The sheer number of young players traveling for the last Europa League match may indicate that Alan Pardew (understandably) will try to rest as many senior players as possible. While that may not be possible in defense, there are options up front.

Along with the announcement of significant investment from Wonga into the Newcastle United Academy, there are reports that work behind the scenes looks like securing Category One status for the Academy in the Elite Player Performance Plan

With a fresh 8-year contract on top of his 2 years + already on the job, Alan Pardew will eclipse some massive names in the managerial history of Newcastle United - if he is allowed to see the contract out.