With the tingle of winter suddenly appearing in the air and the clocks going back to herald the return of dark nights and the strait of the best bit of the football season, it is inevitable that more and more column inches will be dedicated to who Newcastle will and will not be signing in the winter transfer window. The club apparently missed out on two targets this summer, according to their own Fan Forum minutes, and there's a good chance those key areas - up front and at centre-half - will be most hotly pursued in the window (if not before). Clearly with the side sitting in 18th, something has to change - not least in order to convince players to actually sign for the club - and the rumour makers have already started linking players. So with that in mind, we're looking at the biggest, or at least the most eye-catching, and assessing how likely the deals actually are. Just as a kick-off, Andy Carroll will not be on this list. He's not coming back, regardless of how many sites and newspapers talk it up when they've got little to report for the club.
