Strikes me that Toon face a hitman crisis

He really cannot string together a consecutive number of matches and it's cost him his England place.

And as for Viduka, can anyone tell me why he has been in Australia at a critical time for his football club?

Are there no surgeons or no astute medical brains in this country who could expertly assess his injury? Are we so dim over here that Viduka has been forced to fly to the other side of the world?

Surely he could have gone home in the summer, not now, if he needed a rest. Joe Kinnear must be scratching his head because another international striker, Alan Smith, will probably never play for him through injury.

Owen's absence has completely changed the face of Monday's game.

Nicky Butt and Danny Guthrie must privately wonder who they can actually pass the ball forward to.

Who is going to score goals and carry a genuine threat?

That's a department where City are well served. They play some attractive football and can put sides to the sword.

However, there is always a part of every game where they tend to fall apart and struggle. That's because they are still building and developing under Mark Hughes.

Newcastle have to take advantage of that slipshod spell, but where is their firepower to do it?

As a general rule, I've always been against footballers going back to a club where they have been very successful but occasionally, of course, there are exceptions. Peter Beardsley was one. Shaun Wright Phillips is another.

He's regained his appetite and his form since quitting Chelsea to return to City. I applaud him for making a sound career move and not putting cash first.

Mark Hughes is a very meticulous young manager who leaves nothing to chance and he'll do well for City.
Meanwhile, Kinnear has to slog on here. He's instilled a good spirit in the club, but is it enough to bring that elusive victory so required?

City followed by Sunderland away are defining matches for United's season.

A week when their destiny will be hugely affected one way or another.

All of which makes it a huge pity that their top guns are once again conspicuous by their absence.