1. It's the big match between Newcastle and Arsenal at St James' Park. The Gunners are on great form, coming off the back of two 4-1 wins against Fulham and Leverkusen. How will you get go about beating them?

By playing as we normally do at home. The match will be difficult. They will remember us beating them 3-1 at Highbury and will want their revenge. We've had our team in place since the beginning of the week and we are ready for them. We have to get at least a point.

2. You must be happy to play in such a big match?

That's why I came to England. Furthermore, we play in front of a great public who are always there to cheer us on. We will try to please them tomorrow.

3. The away match must be a happy memory for you?

Yes, I scored and won a penalty. I hope it will go as well tomorrow.

4. It's said that when Viera is OK, everything's OK with Arsenal. Do you have an anti-Viera plan?

No. We will try to be tough in midfield but we can play football, too. We don't have a Patrick Viera but we get by. (Laughs)

5. Craig Bellamy is injured. Will you step up to replace him?

No, another player - maybe Carl Cort or Lua Lua - will replace him. We'll see.

More to follow after I've phoned me mam.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

Answers

Awwww....how sweet, Lolo interrupting his interview to phone his mam. ;-))

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

PS. It was me phoning me mam. Not Lolo.

6. A lot of people want to know what happened on the plane earlier in the week.

It's incredible and really stupid but it happened to me. In fact, I was in a small plane going to Paris and I had my hand luggage which contained my t-shirt and toilet bag etc (etc is a great euphemism, Lolo). There was no space in the luggage rack or beside me so I put it on the seat just behind me. I went to sleep and woke up, thinking the plane was beginning the descent for Paris. We landed and some police came aboard and asked the passengers to get out. I wanted my bag but it wasn't there so I asked the stewardess where it was. She asked me to describe it and then I went with her to get it back. In fact, they thought there was a bomb inside (laughs). It's amazing. Had it contained anything suspicious, I wouldn't have been able to get on the plane in the first place. Apparently, they made an announcement but that must have been while I was asleep and I didn't hear it. Anyway, it ended up OK.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

Ciara, do you not think it's sweet of me to phone me mam?

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

Cort or Lua Lua? Not Ameobi?

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

Very sweet, Dougal. :-)

As for Lolo....first off a tshirt and a bag of condoms....must get mind out of gutter.

Second...how often does he fly that he doesn't know all hand luggage must be under the seat or in an overhead? Did it not occur to him to ask a flight attendant for help? Good looking, loads of football talent....a bit lacking in the brain dept, methinks. Bet he'll get so much stick in the dressing room, he'll never make that mistake again. ;-)

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

Dozy git ;)

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

This story is so bizarre it actually makes you wonder precisely what it was he was intending to put in his condoms!

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

United come first Mar 2 2002

By The Journal Laurent Robert last night said it was more important for him to get Newcastle United into the Champions League than it was to go to the World Cup with France.

The Frenchman has enjoyed an exciting first season in the Premiership and has added an important new dimension to United's play.

But the £10m signing from Paris-Saint Germain has told fans there is still a lot more to come from him as a Newcastle player and that his only concern at the moment is helping to bring Champions League football back to St James's Park next season.

He said: "I am not thinking about anything other than making sure Newcastle get into the Champions League next season and, if we can, win the title.

"I have not given up on going to the World Cup, but Newcastle are my major concern and all I worry about. If I play well for Newcastle and help them finish high up the table, that can only help my international prospects, but it is not the most important thing."

Robert has been thrilled by Newcastle's form in both the league and FA Cup this season, but admitted it had taken him a little time to adapt to his new surroundings.

He said: "When I arrived at the club everything was new and there was a lot of new things for me to learn, but I have enjoyed every minute.

"When I came the aim was to get into the top six and into Europe, but we have exceeded that. That has been excellent for the club as Newcastle is a big club which should be in Europe.

"We have played excellent football this season and we deserve to be where we are. We are all determined to make sure we stay there.

"I want to make sure we stay at the top and I know there is more to come from me and I want to play as well as I did for PSG last season.

"Some people may feel I should work harder, but I am primarily an attacker, not a defender. I want to make a difference in attack.

"When I come off the pitch Bobby Robson has no complaints about what I have done and I would like to think I have brought something to the club.

"In some ways it has been hard adapting to English football and I have been asked to play wide on the left, whereas last season I was playing more centrally for PSG.

"I would like to see more of the ball in games as sometimes I can be a little quiet and obviously I want to score more goals, but that is something I am working on.

"I am used to playing on the left now and I am enjoying my football. It helps to be in such a good team which plays such attractive attacking football.

"I have signed a five-year contract and I will hopefully get better and better in that time."

Robert came off the bench at Arsenal in December to win a penalty and score United's final goal in a superb 3-1 victory which gave Newcastle their first triumph in London in more than four years.

And the 26-year-old is confident Newcastle can take all three points again when they face the Gunners in a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash at St James's Park this afternoon.

He said: "Arsenal are a very good team with a lot of good players we are going to have to watch closely, like Thierry Henry and Robert Pires. But we have a lot of good players also and are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment.

"It will be a very hard match, but it is one we are all looking forward to. We have already beaten them at their place this season and they will want revenge.

"It will not be easy, but we are capable of beating them again.

"It is impossible to say how much we will miss Craig Bellamy, but we have the players to come in and take his place."

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

I still feel Robert is the key to us winning something this year. Right now we need someone to 'catch fire' and win a few games for us, and he is one of the very few who can do that, without CB and KD.

Funnily enough for a Frog, I suspect Laurent lacks a little in self-confidence, and is actually a much better player than he thinks he is. It's probably a very complicated situation that also includes him not entirely being one of the "in crowd" in the SJP dressing room, young French men being rather more cerebral and lesser p*ssheads than the Brits, plus the langauge problem contributing to him not being totally accepted as "one of the boys".

In reading your translations I often get the feeling that he his still a bit of an outsider, but one who would desperately like to "get in".

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

He can't be that cerebral if he can't speak any English. He's been at the club for 8 months!

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

That's very true ADK - and, of course, the only way he will become totally accepted is if he takes some positive steps himself, including being able to communicate effectively with his team-mates. However, stating the obvious doesn't necessarily remove the problem.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

If I was BR today I would tell both Robert and Bobby to take on their man and go outside them AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY.

Arsenal's weak spots are left back, right back and Stepanovs. Crosses into the box are our best chance, as there is only Campbell to win them. If we play like that Vieira will be forced to sit back a bit, and without Henry longish defence splitting passes from Vieira won't work.

It'll still be hard, but I'm feeling a lot more confident now that the idea that Henry isn't playing is taking some element of truth on board.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

Even without Bellamy we have the pace to beat them. Without Henry they'll struggle to score with the ease that they have recently. I STILL believe there might be some surprises in the team tonight. If we started with two of our most experienced centre-forwards available tonight, we would start with ROBERT and SHEARER. Lua*2 played left- wing for DR Congo, and did OK. Bernard is OK there too, but hasn't played 1st team recently. We can sit Cort and Ameobi on the bench, and take them on when Robert tires.

IOW, I think Bobby might try for starters

Robert Shearer LuaLua, Speed, Jenas, Solano Distin, Dabizas, O'Brien, Hughes Given.

(Too late for team-pick I guess.) If this formation does not deliver, he drops Robert down to the wing and plays Cort/Ameobi up front.

Or not.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

Robert has to play left wing from the start, simply because their full backs are their weakest links.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002