Noises off-stage

Not great preparation for tonight's semi-final. Several papers are openly saying that the club has sounded out Martin O'Neill and Sam Allardyce about taking over from Grant. There's a boardroom meeting tomorrow where AG's future will be decided.

The Newcastle defeat was shambolic, although it's hard to sack a manager who's only lost one of the last six games. If we get a result tonight you'd have to sssume Grant stays and the club might at least benefit from some stability for the rest of the season.

Although his claim that he has ten injured players doesn't really hold up - of the injured legions only Jacobsen, Hitzlsperger, Da Costa, Ilunga and Collison might be in the first team, and most clubs also have four or five casualties at this stage of the season.

But for now let's concentrate on the pitch. Irons!