Unfortunately reality set in again on Wednesday for Newcastle fans when we were beaten fairly easily by Liverpool 2-0.

After two successive wins with clean sheets hopes were high that we could get at least a point from Anfield; but that was not to be and we gave a fairly poor account of ourselves, particularly following our great form at West Ham.

It was actually a good time to play Liverpool who had but 4 points from their first four games (Newcastle had 6 from 4 games) but the truth be known we are still fairly ordinary at the moment and it is a long time since we picked up anything from Anfield in any case.

If we are to do well this season some of our young players like Peter Ramage and Steven Taylor will have to step up to the plate and start turning their potential into solid performances for the club.

Moore and Ramage looked great at the center of defence against West Ham and Ramage doesn’t make many mistakes and hopefully will keep his place at the expense of Titus Bramble when Titus returns from injury.

If Newcastle are to achieve 5th place this season we will need to beat teams other than the top four, particularly at home, which is one reason the Fulham loss (2-1) was so hard to take. It is a must win at home to Everton on Sunday. They are a good side and very hard to beat and it will not be easy….but this game will let us know what we are made of.

With such a small squad Newcastle cannot afford many injuries this season (or suspensions). The injury to Shay Given is the worst he has had since being at the club since 1997. Steven Harper is very well thought of (and a local lad) and it was a pity he slipped up with the second goal at Liverpool. Steve is allowed one slip as he gets back to match fitness but he knows better than anyone that he cannot make any more if we are to pick up enough points by Xmas to remain in contention.

Hopefully, in the January transfer window, we will be able to add to our numbers.

I believe Steve is a top rate goalkeeper and he is on good money at the club. If he plays to his undoubted potential in the next several weeks – he could have Steve McClaren looking at him as we seem to be short of real class English goalkeepers right now. We’ll see what happens.

One potential piece of good news for the club is that Kieron Dyer is back in training and Roeder is delighted with his fitness levels. That shouldn’t be too surprising since he has been training in the south with fitness coaches since April as he tries to strengthen his hamstrings, which have been cause for concern ever since Ruud Gullit signed him in 1998. Kieron signed a lucrative contract a year ago, reportedly worth 80K pounds/week, but played very little last season.

This really is do or die for Kieron. If he breaks down again then great doubts will hang over his career. Let’s hope he comes through it all – certainly there has been no doubt about his abilities and he has grown into a man at Newcastle, particulary over the last couple of years, when he has shown remarkable courage under great adversity. Certainly when he steps onto St. James’ park again the crowd will give him the ovation he deserves. We wish him the very best.

The other good news is that Olly Bernard (left back) is approaching match fitness after a third game in the reserves this week – it will be nice to have Bernard back in the squad to push Babayaro – after all we need as many defenders fit and ready to go, given our shortage in numbers.

A win on Sunday will keep us up there in contention, nothing less will be acceptable.