DEAR SIR, I would like to make it known that not all Newcastle United fans are upset by the removal of Chris Hughton as manager.

While many in the Toon Army seem to think that club owner Mike Ashley has lost the plot, I think that maybe it is a masterstroke on his part to make the change now.

After all what has Hughton done?

Okay he may have led the club out of the Championship in some style last season, and might have taken the team to a comfortable mid-table position in the Premier League – drubbing Sunderland along the way.

And some may also give Hughton a lot of credit for seemingly handling difficult characters like Andy Carroll and Joey Barton well and getting some great performances out of a team that many thought might struggle in the top flight.

But really was he going to take the club any further?

To bring in Alan Pardew gives the Magpies a chance to make the step up to the next level and start making a real challenge for Europe.

Having achieved so much with Reading, West Ham, Charlton and Southampton, Pardew will no doubt soon have the Magpies soaring – and there is no way that he will suffer a similar fate to the likes of Sam Allardyce and Glenn Roeder who could not lift the club to their rightful place at the top of the English game.

This has to happen as Newcastle are truly a giant club even if we haven’t won anything for ages.

Anyway here’s to a great future under Mike Ashley, even if he has already said the new boss will not be receiving any funds to make a move in the transfer market in January, and I feel that the removal of Hughton will be vindicated in the very near future.

PS: I apologise for writing this letter in crayon, but they won’t let me have any sharp objects in here!

IT WOULD be easy to gloat about England’s destruction of Australia in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide – and being one for the easy life I think I might just do that.

I was going to start by having an attack of Norwegian commentator syndrome and gurgle insanely ‘Rolf Harris, Ned Kelly, Crocodile Dundee your guys took one hell of a beating’, but that would be kicking the Aussies while they are down.

And the amazing upshot of what happened at the Adelaide Oval is just how down the home side are.

I certainly cannot recall an Australia cricket eleven ever being in such disarray.

The loss of Simon Katich to an Achilles injury seems to have been a signal for widespread panic in the Baggy Green’s camp, while the loss of Stuart Broad to a muscle tear might be a disappointment to the England squad but merely seems to have highlighted the strength of the tourists as they mull over who from Chris Tremlett, or Headingley pair Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan, should replace the Nottinghamshire all-rounder.

From the England point of view selecting Tremlett for next week’s Test in Perth would appear to be the correct choice as it would essentially be a statement of intent to attack, though Bresnan’s inclusion would ensure that England would have batting ability a long way down the order.

But while England work out their selection with intent, the Australians are racing around trying to drag Shane Warne out of retirement in the hope that the spin king could not only work some magic with the ball but somehow miraculously restore some belief to a team who no longer appear to have the confidence to compete.

Perhaps one of the most telling moments in Adelaide was the reaction at the end of the first day’s play when skipper Ricky Ponting seemed to make a complaint to his opposite number Andrew Strauss about what he perceived as sledging – whingeing Aussies, surely not!

But right now Ponting’s side do not appear to have what it takes to turn this series around as they need two wins from the final three Tests and they would appear to be a million miles away from achieving that just at the moment.

But history has shown that Australia do have plenty of resilience and, having licked their wounds, they may come back fighting.

So best get some gloating in now then!