Souness hands Chopra rare chance
Newcastle boss Graeme Souness handed young striker Michael Chopra a rare chance to prove himself in the crucial Barclays Premiership clash with the manager’s former club Blackburn.
The 22-year-old was one of two changes to the side which went down 1-0 at Fulham last weekend as he replaced Charles N’Zogbia, with Titus Bramble returning from an ankle injury in a defence which was without Stephen Carr after more surgery this week.
However, there was no place even on the bench for Turkish midfielder Emre, whom Souness had hoped to include following his recovery from a thigh tendon problem.
Mark Hughes, the man who replaced the Scot at Ewood Park when he left for Tyneside, made three changes with former Magpies Craig Bellamy and David Bentley suspended and Andy Todd ill, as Zurab Khizanishvili, Tugay and Shefki Kuqi returned.
