Source: SKY_Sports
Nolan leads the charge
Despite the fact that Newcastle dropped down to the Championship last season, you just can't keep the Magpies out of the news.
Takeover talk and the appointment of a new manager continue to dominate - but shouldn't overshadow what's happening on the pitch.
Apart from a recent hic-cup, Newcastle have started the season superbly and caretaker boss Chris Hughton deserves immense credit...as does all-action midfielder Kevin Nolan.
Ever-present Nolan has already chipped in with six valuable goals as Newcastle look to make an immediate return to the Premier League.
And he believes the club must invest in January to keep the promotion dream alive. He says: "We need to strengthen. We have been saying this for a long, long time and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
"We need to strengthen the squad if we are going to give ourselves the best chance of going up. It's a paper-thin squad and a couple of injuries kill us. It can't be allowed to happen and it is frustrating to have to keep saying it."
Magpies themeContinuing on a Newcastle theme, Alan Smith is also in the running for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month award for October in the Championship.
One-time striker Smith has had a difficult time in the North East, but has knuckled down this season and is blossoming more as a playmaker, and grafter, than a goalscorer these days.
Former Newcastle striker Michael Chopra is the leader in the goalscoring stakes in the Championship, by a country mile, and already has 11 goals to his credit for high-flying Cardiff.
Leicester's seven-goal striker Matt Fryatt makes up the top four as it stands at the moment, but all that could change over the course of the next eight days, so keep registering your votes for Fans' Player of the Month here on givemefootball...
