Alan Pardew:

"Well, it's a marvellous performance for Newcastle I thought everything we tried to achieve in the game sort of come off for us - we defended well, we obviously conceded possession but we always carried a threat.

"This was a victory for our fans, because we get criticised for not concentrating in the cups in particular - I've been a bit unlucky as a manager I think in terms of when those cup games have come round. 

"But I had a whole group to select from tonight - we protected ourselves a little bit for Liverpool and we can go and attack that now and we've got real confidence and belief and it's very important in football.

"It's important for us that we just keep this momentum going. I do know what I'm doing - I think I've had most of the scalps as Newcastle manager, maybe except Arsenal, and I look forward to playing them.

"We don't ever come not to win. We had a game plan. The players needed to execute it but I couldn't ask for more than they gave me.

"It was outstanding in discipline and the way they carried the threat all night. The pace in wide areas is something that I think is an asset for us."

About Ryan Taylor:

"Obviously he was outstanding. Professional footballers sometimes get a bad press for the way they conduct themselves and their professionalism but you are talking about a guy who for two years has been injured and conducted himself in the best possible manner.

"He came in with a smile on his face, encouraged players in those two years. He got his reward because of that professionalism. He has only had one and a half reserve games and to play like he did was absolutely outstanding and a credit to himself.

"Our staff have been very impressed with his conduct. He is a beacon of light in professional football. We are delighted we have been able to give him a platform but he had 10 good players around him and we couldn't have asked for more."

Ryan Taylor:

"That was a fairytale, a dream, everything, it all came true tonight. Two years of hard graft for myself just to get back playing football is a big thing for me, but what a performance that was from the lads.

"To put those boots and that shirt back on against the champions and for us to give a performance like that is a dream come true. Lots of people have played a part and the people who stood by me deserve more credit than I do. 

"The manager's had me scouting, watching training, learning new things about the game. There are no words I can think of, from the medical team to the fans, I can't thank the football club enough."

Pellegrini said:

"I think that Newcastle deserved to win maybe we are very unlucky also because we have three or four chances but cannot score a goal.

"My feeling is that we are not playing well. We are in a difficult moment with a lack of trust. We are conceding too (many) easy goals and we are not scoring the chances we have to score. That's the feeling at this moment.

"It's a lack of confidence that we must address as soon as possible because we need to continue to be involved in the other competitions. 

Of course we must be worried - we didn't win the three games we played this week. We must be worried about that but we must find a solution and we must address it.

"We will see with the players which is the way to try and recover that confidence because it's not normal to see this team playing the way we are now.

"Yaya (Toure) was a little bit tired with his groin so I didn't want to risk him (any longer).

 

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Concentrating on the League has been our mantra, protecting the revenue stream our sub-text. And from Brighton to Benfica and across this city at Old Trafford, that grim reality has come to pass in recent seasons - a joyless extinguishing of the very essence of hope that keeps people engaged. 

This reached a nadir in January when a pathetic showing at home to Cardiff left thousands of Toon fans feeling cheated - not by bungling officials or cynical opponents, but by the sharp practice of their own side - apparently doing their masters' bidding and knocking themselves out.  

A club whose deeds who were once immortalised in a brochure called "The Cup Romance of Newcastle United" looked to have descended to a new low, even worse than those infamous giant-killing days like Hereford, Chester, Walsall and Bedford - not attempting to win.  

And the end result of forcing people to let their heart rule their head? Picking and choosing games if they go at all, wholesale discounting of high-end match day tickets and the growth of a family section to fill swathes of unsold seats. And that's just for league games: god knows on what basis the club would have tried punting tickets for a home cup tie in the wake of the Cardiff disgrace. 

Which brings us to the Etihad and what looked to be the latest manifestation of a familiar tale.

Our cup trail (or trial) usually follows a familiar course (or curse): beat some "smaller" outfits as a
warm up then get caught cold and knocked out by the first "big" team we encounter, or one who happens to be sufficiently bullish to become have a go heroes with the minimum of effort. 

But tonight something changed, as Alan Pardew sent his kids out trick or treating two nights early and they contrived to put the wind up their bogey side and a bat up the nightshirt of an "old c*nt".  

From ninnies to ninjas - and teenage ones to boot.

Despite making six changes from the side triumphant at Spurs on Sunday - and missing Papiss Cisse and Cheick Tiote - United secured a remarkable and ground-breaking victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Strikes from Rolando Aarons and Moussa Sissoko dumped the cup holders out, while every gamble Pardew took paid off. Fielding Paul Dummett at centre half, entrusting Gabriel Obertan to be a wide -running target man, giving Mehdi Abeid a pivotal role, relying on Adam Armstrong to lead the line, gambling on the fitness of Aarons and seeing his first-choice men avoid injury ahead of Saturday. 

Perhaps his biggest wager - and one that was a longer odds shot than Newcastle at 9/1 to win this two horse race - was to throw Ryan Taylor straight back into the fray after one sedate reserve game since ending a 26 month absence due to a pair of career-threatening knee injuries.

The over the wall man duly completed the full game, providing an assist for the opener and a fantastic goal line clearance late on. Pushing his luck still further, Pardew made his final permitted change at 1-0 with 25 minutes of normal time remaining. That meant Taylor would have had to play an additional 30 minutes of extra time and take a penalty had this contest gone the distance. 

Ahead from their first meaningful attack, Fabricio Coloccini accidentally hit his own post and Rob Elliot made some vital stops as City looked to quickly wipe out our unexpected advantage. At the other end though, we continued to deviate from the script and Dummett had a volley cleared off the line after being wrestled to the ground, before Armstrong went close with the last kick of the half.

With every expectation of a home revival after the break, the reality was somewhat difference and United should have been awarded a penalty with the score at 1-0 when Obertan was blatantly felled by Aleksandar Kolarov - who would have been red-carded but inexplicably escaped censure.

Thoughts of that injustice were soon banished though, as Sissoko weaved into the area before netting his first of the season in similar style to Aarons in front of the cavorting away fans.

They celebrated in ironic style with the "Poznan" move that City fans indulge in and the jubilations continued well after the final whistle as the players came over to join in - although the manager again refrained from joining in.

Having concluded an interview in the centre circle, the last player to take a bow was a clearly emotional Ryan Taylor, who ended up in the front row of the lower tier, handing his shirt to a young fan, and saying "enjoy this moment and keep the shirt for yourself".

The draw soon after took the shine off this win slightly, a fourth successive away tie meaning we now face three London trips in as many weeks before Xmas. But this tie was hardly met with rapture when announced in extra time at Selhurst Park.

Our first Quarter Final tie in this competition since 2006 should hold few fears though for a side that has rather spectacularly rediscovered the winning habit, despite lacking the senior players that left the manager bemoaning his lot earlier in the season.  

As they were in the second half at White Hart Lane United were rewarded for a positive stance and getting on the front foot and playing without fear - upsetting opponents who, like Spurs, seemed to believe that the full extent of the effort required to be successful was unplugging their headphones. 

So-called experts may harp on about the unrealistic expectations of Toon fans, but in reality we maintain that they are ridiculously easy to please, responding to any hint of effort and commitment allied with some attacking adventure. Have-a-go heroes.

        
While many of younger fans who took advantage of cheap admission in half term week enjoyed one of the best nights of their supporting lives to date, pleasure and satisfaction was no less evident among older followers. 

In a timely reminder that good things sometimes do come to those who wait, comments from those attending and tuning in confirming that previous scores were settled here - right back to Dennis Tueart's bicycle kick in the 1976 Wembley Final defeat. We'll get them all in the end....   

An aberration, a blip - or the hint of better times? Who knows, but if the recent protests directed at Pardew increased the backing for him from the players and shamed them into contributing more on the field, then every placard, bedsheet and chant was worth it. Indifference isn't an option here - and whatever motivates the squad doesn't matter, as long as someone or something does.

Biffa