Half time: QPR 0 Newcastle 0

Full time: QPR 0 Newcastle 0

Alan Pardew:

"For us it was about making sure Joey (Barton) didn’t grab the headlines today. And we managed to do that. I wish him well after the game and shook his hand. He’ll be a good player for QPR. He’ll play better than he did tonight, especially at home, he’s a real impact player at home.

"I’m not disappointed we didn’t get more, because we didn’t deserve anymore. We went with two strikers today and in hindsight with the exuberance and players they’ve now brought in, perhaps I should have helped out central midfield a little.

"We struggled and they dominated that area of the pitch and offensively we never created enough to warrant winning the game. On the plus side, our defensive display shows what we’ve been doing all season really. We don’t give much away because we are very organised.

"There is resilience and spirit within the group that makes it difficult for teams to beat us. Being Newcastle we need to threaten the goal more, I’m very much aware of that. I think our flair players were just a little bit off key tonight.

"We were obviously looking to bring another striker in but it didn't happen. We have a good group of strikers. The two tonight didn’t get a lot of service. Not enough to warrant judging them. But, they’ve done well for me. We’ve got Ba who has started to get up to speed now.

"I have no intention of bringing a striker in. I think you have to remember I’ve got Ben Arfa in training. His imagination and flair on the pitch will be an asset for us and hopefully in two weeks time he will be involved in the team.

"The back four were brilliant again. I'm very pleased, and we've got something to lean on because we do look a good, sound unit. I can remember games last year where we didn't threaten the goal at all and got beat 3-0, but we didn't tonight and that might be the difference that gets us up the table.

"We played with two strikers, it's a small pitch and we took a bit of a gamble that we might be able to boss the two centre-backs, but we didn't really. That extra midfield players that they had allowed them to control the game, I tried to stay with that system, but really it was only my confidence in the back four and the goalkeeper that allowed me to do that."

PS: In the week leading up to this game, various quotes from the United boss appeared that gave some partial insight into his mindset following the unsatisfactory conclusion to the transfer window:

"The people who feel let down are the fans. They pay their money and they feel what they are being promised is not being fulfilled. I think from that point of view, all I can say is that Derek (Llambias) will be giving some financial news.

"The money that we got from Andy is going back into the club, but obviously a big chunk of it hasn’t been spent yet.”

"The criticism that's going to come from not getting a striker in has some validity to it because seven months is a long time.

"But I can only say that from my point of view, we put the targets in front of the board and then it comes down to a financial decision, and that financial decision didn't take place.

"It's obvious that our fans and me and the players would have liked to have had another striker here and I think we're going into the unknown to a certain degree because a lot of the goals were created and scored last year are not in this team.

"We bid for three or four players to fill one position and none of them came to fruition, and that's the disappointment that we have to face.

"I feel within the squad, there's a real camaraderie in there, a really good, strong spirit. Defensively, we have shown we are a tight unit and it's just about getting the goals now.

[If Pardew thinks we are sorted defensively then he is sadly deluded: to our eyes we currently only have two proven quality Premier League defenders at the club. Injuries to them and we are in serious trouble.]

"It's going to be important that people step up to the plate and come out of the pack and score goals and contribute to goals with assists, and there's certainly enough talent in that squad to do that.

On Ben Arfa:

"Hatem's progress has been better than we thought, and he is certainly ahead of schedule. When he came back this week we were not expecting him to be in perhaps as good a condition as he is in.

"I have earmarked maybe the Nottingham Forest game as maybe an opportunity for him to take part in that game, but we will have to see how he goes. But so far his injury looks really good and his fitness does too."

On Joey Barton:

"Joey is a controlled animal now on the football pitch. He's an aggressive player, but he has brought that under control. He's a very, very good player and somebody we need to make sure doesn't influence the game as much as he did for us.

"He hasn't got anything to prove to me or the staff here because the players all know how good he is. Obviously, there was a falling-out with the board that wasn't going to be rectified, so Joey has moved on.

"He's got himself a contract that he has earned through not just his ability, but the way he has conducted himself in the last couple of years especially, and we wish him well. It's never quiet at a football club - especially Newcastle - but I enjoyed my time with Joey. He's a challenging personality but he's engaging and entertaining as well as being difficult. We miss him in some ways.

"It's difficult at Newcastle and I don't think the owner's relationship with the fans helps. That's obvious. I don't think there's anything I can say or do that will improve that. Hopefully over the next three-four years, if I bring some success to the club, maybe that can be looked at in a different light. But certainly not in the short term.

"I think Derek (Llambias) is the type to call a spade a spade and so am I. We've exchanged those words and we have to put it right and make sure we work together to move forward. That's where we are. I think it's important that Derek hears from me the message from the fans. I made that perfectly clear to him, how important it was.

"In terms of where I am with the club, I've really enjoyed working here. I love the people, they've been great to me. Hopefully I can repay them with the squad I've got.

"I would have loved to have the striker and filled the number nine jersey. We'd have had the complete picture then and it would have almost been too easy for Newcastle. That's how I've tried to look at it.

"I've not been helped by some of the key players that we've lost this summer. Some because of past histrionics with the board, some just had the desire to leave - like Jose Enrique, who was just determined to leave, there was nothing we could do. Andy Carroll was the same, to an extent.

"I've had difficult periods in that but I'm hoping it will smooth out now and that the players that really come to the fore to us, we manage to keep. We'll see."  

Colin commented:

"I really enjoyed the game, that's what football is about - excitement.

"We should have scored some goals, but you can't ask for everything. To put five or six new players  in 10 days we couldn't have asked for a better performance and I think the crowd will go home happy. I was delighted in the end.

"A clean sheet in football is different class, especially considering we had six new players on the pitch. We should probably have won the game, but if we keep playing like that we'll win games. We've only been together a few days but good players don't take that long to bond and we'll only get better.

"Making him (Barton) captain was just a logical thing really. I had a chat with Adel last week. Adel was straight away right about it. He appreciates how far we have come now and that we need to drive on now.

"We need somebody as our leader. He epitomised what we are about. It was difficult for him and I thought he handled himself well. He just grabbed hold of us. We will have our moments where things won't go so well, but you have to have that in any healthy relationship.

"He regrets certain things in his life like we all do but we all have to move on - I think London is a great place for him to be. No disrespect to Newcastle, but if you go out there, everyone knows who you are. "I think you'll see a different side to him on the field too.

"I know I'm biased but I think he (SWP) can get a lot better than that personally. I said before the game he could get into double figures in terms of goals this year. Shaun has seen a lot of players come and go at his previous clubs and some don't have as much ability as him, but it's about opportunities. He is a player who people will want to watch."