It wasn't all bad news on deadline day....

Much of the talk at the moment is, understandably, regarding Andy Carroll's deadline day move to Liverpool.

The deal makes Carroll the 8th most expensive player of all time, which is ridiculous in all honesty. Still, that is what the market dictated the price for Carroll was, and he was worth it enough for Liverpool to stump up the cash. Whether or not he would have been worth it for us is something that we will now never know.

It's not all doom and gloom though and, believe it or not, there was some good news that came out of yesterday's transfer deadline day.

The first bit of good news is that Stephen Ireland completed his loan move from Aston Villa and will be with us until the end of the season.

The move very nearly didn't happen after a hitch with the players medical, but that was soon ironed out and Ireland completed his switch to St James' Park, although he will have to wait to make his debut as he is currently nursing a slight injury.

Ireland can score goals from midfield, which will be more important now than it ever has been given that we have lost our main striker. If the 24-year-old can rediscover his form he could be a great aseet for the rest of the season as he has demonstrated before at Manchester City.

Hopefully Ireland will use this opportunity to get his career back on track. He never really showed what he is capable of at Villa, and it's debatable whether or not he wanted to be there in the first place. A fresh chance and a new start awaits the Irishman.

Signing Ireland was a good move, but it wasn't the best bit of news to emerge from St James' Park yesterday, not in my opinion anyway. That accolade can go to the news that Xisco has now returned to Deportivo on loan until the end of the season.

The fact that Xisco has moved on will remove a sizeable chunk from the wage budget. Hopefully, given that Xisco is returning home to his former stomping ground, it will inspire him to some excellent performances and will persuade Deportive to make the move permanent in the summer.

Fingers crossed!

It's hard to put a positive spin on the events of yesterday. Losing arguably your brightest talent was always going to cause a reaction. I see the mud-slinging has started from both sides, but as Pardew says, it won't do any good going over old ground. Now is the time to look forward, not back, and get behind the lads who stayed on.

Oh and goodbye Xisco. You won't be missed!