Could a Newcastle player be sneaking his way onto the fantasy rada? Obafemi Martins certainly did the business tonight, providing the spark and end product to help Kinnear’s Newcastle climb the table with a comfortable 2-0 win over a bitterly disappointing Villa. Here’s the notes…

There were no surprises on the team sheets. Butt came straight back in to skipper the home side – Guthrie dropped to the bench to make way with Barton keeping his place. Owen meanwhile, was eased back into the action with a place on the bench and a five minute cameo.

As for Villa, Petrov missed out through a hamstring injury sustained against Blackburn last time out. Carew was recalled to the side as O’Neill switched to a conventional 4-4-2.

Two goals form Martins then, following on from his goal against West Brom in midweek – returns that will immediately lift his status amongst fantasy managers. He was clearly the stand out performer tonight, although the entire Newcastle side battled well and kept only their second clean sheet of the season.

Villa, in contrast, were very disappointing. They didn’t play well against Rovers in midweek but still managed the 3-2 win but tonight, they were rolled over far too easily. Villa had some early chances but overall there was little from the likes of Carew, Agbonlahor and Young – particularly in the second half, which saw Villa bow out with a whimper. The form of Ashley Young is particularly worrying to his owners. While Barry, Carew and Agbonlahor have been ticking over nicely, Young has contributed just a single assist in five games now – that’s not a good enough return given his price.

Three home games in the next four might be an incentive to keep the faith with Young and the rest of the Villa boys, but Arsenal and United provide two of the next four opponents and O’Neill’s side will need to raise their game quickly and by some margin. Boro at home this weekend could provide a decent platform to lift things but with Geovanni and Delap offering good value in midfield, I can see a lot of Young owners losing patience before then and shipping him out this week.

As for Newcastle – the likes of Barton and Gutierrez deserve recognition for their assists but are unlikely to attract the same kind of attention that will fall at Martins feet. It’s three away games in the next four for Kinnear’s men – they have yet to win an away game in five attempts so far this season. That, and the threat of an Owen return, is enough to warrant caution when it comes to Martins then.