Routledge showing us what we are missing. Or is he?

Routledge back in action for QPR.
Wayne Routledge departed NUFC back in January having felt the wrath of Alan Pardew who branded the pacey wingman as ‘not good enough’ for the Premier League.

Truth being told, Pardew was probably correct in his assumption. Routledge struggled to get the grips with the Premier League for us, and it wasn’t the first time that he has been less than impressive in the Premier League after failed spells at Tottenham, Aston Villa, Fulham and Portsmouth. In fact his only real success in the Premier League came at Crystal Palace where he registered eight assists in one season. No goals though…

However, Routledge has found himself in amongst the goals again now that he has dropped back down to The Championship and has hit the back of the net an impressive four times in 13 appearances since his return to Loftus Road. Much as he was for us, it appears that Routledge is helping to push QPR over the finishing line and into the Premier League.

If I was them however, I’d be looking for a replacement as soon as promotion is assured as the lad is just not cut out for Premier League football. I mean he has had enough chances now and even said at the start of the season that his chance to play in the Premier League at Newcastle was make or break and would probably be his last chance to prove himself in the top league.

It’s a strange one really. On one hand you would expect a player with so much pace to be a right pain in the backside for the opposition, but he isn’t and far too often he is anonymous in games at this level. Put him down a level and, as evidenced by his performances for us last season and now QPR this season, he is exceptional. Is he part of the Chopra club?

The Chopra club is a special club that features players who are exceptional in The Championship but poor at Premier League level. Michael Chopra (remember when he was going to be the next Shearer?) is probably the most obvious example, but Wayne Routledge is rapidly catching him up.

So having said about how Routledge isn’t cut out for Premier League football, would I have him back at Newcastle? Yes, but let me explain…

I just never saw the wisdom in letting him leave, especially when we already have a squad that is thin. At the end of the day Routledge would have offered another body for us to use and surely would have been better than playing Danny Simpson out on the right as we were forced to do not so long back. He isn’t on massive wages either so there is little financial incentive to move him on.

So, to answer the title, Routledge is showing us what we are missing, if we were in The Championship, and there is a case for him still being on Tyneside given the lack of depth within the squad whilst not being good enough for Newcastle in the long term.

I think that makes sense. 😉

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

80 thoughts on “Routledge showing us what we are missing. Or is he?

  1. In hindsight we would have kept him til the end of the season but it looks as if were safe now so am not too bothered.

    For next season so this doesn’t happen again I feel that if we get injuries in the wider positions we may see more of Lualua with Pardew saying when he was playing for Brighton he really impressed him etc.

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  2. I’m still not sold on Lua Lua. Granted we haven’t seen much of him, but the bits I have seen the words ‘heedless’ and ‘chicken’ spring to mind.

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  3. Yeah, hopefully we see more of him in pre-season but I would be hoping for something along the lines of; Gervinho, Wijnaldum, Barton, Ben Arfa, Jonas and Lualua who can play out wide if needs be and like you say we don’t end up with Simpson there again.

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  4. I think we definitely need some proper wingers. If Benny is going to be in the hole that rules him out so we need more on he wings. Barton is doing great out there like, but I’d still like to see him in the middle

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  5. I think one of the reasons Ben Arfa is going to be playing in the hole is because Barton won’t be getting moved from the right, from the sounds of it were going to be playing 4-4-1-1 and Nolan and Tiote aren’t going to get dropped.

    I think we may say Jonas benched a few times next season and competition seems to bring the best out of Jonas.

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  6. That 4-4-1-1 doesn’t leave much room for many new players IMO. Assuming we keep Enrique and Barton we have a solid first eight plus a keeper. Then we have Benny so all we need for the starting line up is a striker 😕 😕

    Then what? Pad out the squad with freebies and cheapos?

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  7. Personally I think we will sign a striker and a left winger for our starting XI and the rest will be younger players classed as ‘for the future’.

    I was talking to the guy that wrote the Wijnaldum article before on Twitter and he was saying if we do go for him he isn’t seen as a starter with him being 20, so players like that I’d imagine.

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  8. That’s what the journalist was saying like. He’s one of my favorite players outside NUFC and I know how good he is and I was shocked as well but if that is the plan and it comes off things will be looking good.

    You would assume though that if Ben Arfa is going to playing in the hole that would mean a 4-4-1-1 formation or maybe 4-2-3-1 but then that would leave Barton or Nolan as the odd one out imo.

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  9. Just talking to my mate before about Sunderland and we were saying with Welbeck probably going back to Man Utd they could spend about 22 million and make the squad worse just by buying the loan players they have bar Welbeck.

    You can’t help but laugh 😆

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  10. Aye it’s hilatious. Four loan players on Sunday and to buy them would cost a wedge, and that is just to keep the players that they’ve got already. Next level indeed 😆

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  11. Sensible planning from them like 🙄

    Big game for them vs Westbrom on Saturday, probably bigger than ours was vs Wolves :mrgreen:

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  12. Well there unbeaten under Woy and Sunderland a rock bottom in terms of confidence, if they don’t get a goal early there fans will turn on them big time! :mrgreen:

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  13. Should of heard them on the legends man, I actually felt embarrassed for some of them. Some were actually blaming Quinn 🙄

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  14. I know. It’s funny as fook. I’m just sitting back and watching the fireworks.

    Boing Boing 😆

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  15. If we are due to see all this new investment, an upgrade to lil Wayne HAS to be in the cards. Can’t see how pards can bring him back with a straight face now after basically showing him the door, locking it up and barricading it when he left for qpr. If he was to return. I don’t think it would be long before he reached raylor status.

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  16. I have a feeling if they lose or maybe even draw vs Westbrom there will be a knee **** reaction and he will either resign or be sacked… Or at least am hoping anyways :mrgreen:

    Jersey, yeah I think we’ve agreed a deal with QPR anyways if they come up which looks likely now.

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  17. Toonsy, he didn’t turn up for the first bit and Malcolm and Bernie were just rubbing it in and playing Hawaii 5 0 but he was actually brutally honest and was saying were totally unbalanced and with the money we’ve spent not to have full backs and wingers is a disgrace.

    Some fans were calling in having a go saying he was too negative but the majority were saying he hadn’t gone far enough and were saying they’d sell them all if it was up to them 🙄

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  18. Exactly my point 😉

    How many of their players would you actually have? Gyan? For me that is about it.

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  19. Aye Gyan, that’s I like the look of Muntari and Welbeck but there not theirs :mrgreen:

    I was arguing with a few of them before and they were trying to say Sessegnon and Muntari will be better buys than Ben Arfa and Tiote. I just laughed at them!

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  20. Aye 😀

    Muntari who really wanted to go to London rather than go there. Does it show? 😉

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  21. 😆

    Nah, fair play. What I will say to people who who think about setting up their own site is that it’s a lot harder than you’d think. Not so much the technical sidem but the promotion side of things and getting sites noticed is the hard part.

    Worky was bang on with little titbit.

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  22. That’s why a lot of credit has to go to you and everyone who’s been here since this started up in January for how quickly it’s grown!

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  23. Sorry. I think hard may be the wrong word 😆

    Time consuming would be better!

    Dan, it’s everyone mate, not just me. A blog is nowt without people reading and writing article and comments so in that sense it’s been a team effort 🙂

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  24. I know 🙂

    If it keeps going it’s to be the biggest thing around but I hope we keep the core of people who’ve been on here since it began, the likes of Dave, Ice, Batty etc :mrgreen:

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  25. 😆 I bet when your done it’s a good feeling 😉

    Anyways am off, my sleeping pattern is getting worse by the night.

    Later mate.

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  26. Aye, its not far off being bedtime for me 😯

    Nights are great! Mind you I’ve done nowt all night and have just sat here surfing the net. Wrote two articles as well 😆

    I love abusing company time 😀

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  27. Sweet, I am getting bored with them now to be fair. Mainly due to boredom with the job I am doing as opposed to the shift itself.

    There going to be many tears?!

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  28. Nah doubt it. Not from me anyway. Had just about me fill of nights so I won’t be sad to see them go. I don’t mind doing them on the odd occasion, and my new job will involve some nights, but not every night 🙂

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  29. It’s actually picking up really well without Newsnow, but I’ve reapplied just. Not heard owt back yet but it takes ages anyway to go through it all 🙂

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  30. Nee worries mate 🙂

    Can’t believe Rooney is back for our game. That ****** always scores against us 👿

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  31. toodle pip. Roon the spoon wil score, and we will get beat, but I am not too fussed about the manure game as we never get anything against them, only major 5-0 magic days!

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  32. I still think it was a bad mistake letting rout go.he gave a new dimension to the squad.and i think if we had him against perhaps the slower teams like blackburn,stoke,fulham etc,we might just have gotten something especially blackburn i guess…One position i think we should have tried hid out was alongside a big striker like Ameobi or Best.His pace would have put the defenders in a lot of trouble…

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  33. DJG – I’m really really hoping that was Routledge just acting the plank as a wind up. Surely to god nobody can be that dense as to believe that 😕 😕

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  34. He isn’t consistent enough for the prem. No doubt he will go back up with QPR and struggle again. We could have done with him when Barton was missing but thats all. Just shows how footballing brains is one of the most important things for a footballer, because he’s twice as quick and has more dribbling skills than Barton.

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  35. Shame really because if he had the confidence and the consistancy I think he would be a top player. Similar to Perch.

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  36. Potentially both Norwich and Leeds could do double promotion. And they said Boro would be favorites. 😛

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  37. Good coz they would both probably have risen too quickly, go straight back down and thats only one other relegation club we would have to find next season… im waffling.

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  38. RE: Routledge

    We all go on about players who need to feel loved and need an arm around them to perform, ie: Benny and Ireland. Even Joey to an extent.

    Routledge is the same. He isn’t one of the best players here and wasn’t getting the confidence boost some players need. He obviously gets that at QPR, hence him performing.

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  39. For me, it boils down to the manager letting the player down, as the lad clearly has ability and a managers job is to get the best out of his players.

    Oh and……Bruce oooooot 😉

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  40. Toonsy @ 49 I’m hoping that Manure appeal against his ban as the morning papers seem to think they will – thus running the risk of his ban being increased!
    Keeping my fingers crossed but if I’m honest I’m just as worried by Berbatov and Hernandez so either way we gonna be up against it 🙁

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  41. Regarding Routers, it shows that he is not Premier class but it also shows our squad is wafer thin in various positions particularly right midfield.
    I know Pards said in his radio interview that he let Routledge go cos of several reasons and of those was that he had a replacement set up but fell through at the last minute.
    However there’s no getting away from it, if Barton does not play there then Routledge is better than the rest.
    Bad planning really. ! Get the replacement in before letting him go. Pards has to take some criticism for this one.

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  42. Dan…..they’re right to call for Quinn’s head. If the players/team are **** then that’s down to the manager, if the manager is **** and spending wads of cash on **** players then that’s the chairmans fault.
    Bruce is and always was a **** manager and I’ve been horrified everytime he’s been linked with the Toon job…

    personally though, I think they’re both doing a sterling job and long may it continue…or at least until relegation is assured 😆

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  43. “Bad planning really. ! Get the replacement in before letting him go. Pards has to take some criticism for this one” …yep

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  44. Did we agree to a fee with QPR? Hope not, a few more goals and we might be able to get a bit for him

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  45. For me it’s that time of night -again, where I’ve been out in the tiles – with people this time, rather than just poor old me at home with that Johnny Walker geezer. Not sure if this has been said. Sorry, Toonsy, couldn’t be bothered reading the article or the comments…

    Routledge, too good for the Championship, not good enough for the Premier League. Best to get rid of him. Don’t care if he wasn’t replaced. Empty space on the wing is better. Shocker of a player. Prefer Raylor. Prefer Lua Lua. Goddammit, prefer

    Had a few good games last year. Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. I feel about as much for this guy as you, Toonsy, do for Raylor. Except I think, compared to Rotledge, Raylor is like Kaka, albeit with a broken tibia, fibia or *****, or whatever it was that mr Arfa had.

    Routledge = awful. Has the point been made yet?

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  46. MDS….I’d guess that we probably already agreed the fee….just a guess though 😀

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  47. Good night out Bris? …though I’m getting the vibe you don’t rate Routledge? I may be wrong though 😉

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  48. IMO Routledge is one of those players who in the championship thrives because he is one of the best players in the team and is playing against people worse than him. He has confidence to run with the ball beat players. In the PL he doesn’t have that confidence as he’s not one of the best therefore he is very average.

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  49. Richie, I’d prefer Robert back than Routledge. I really think this guy is one of the most over-rated players there has ever been in the PL.

    He has no close control, cannot run with the ball, has no idea how to dribble, has no balance and his crossing is about on a par with the average quadriplegic.

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  50. That sounds like me your describing 😆
    If it makes you feel any better though, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see him in a Newcastle strip again 😉

    Right I have some external roller blinds to try and remove about 10 years gunk from….laters.

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