The gelling of the team will take time, although having seen the highlights I am happy that I’ve seen enough to suggest that once the new lads bed in we could have a pretty good team in truth. The second part however – transfers – is kind of time sensitive as there is only 17 days left of the transfer window.
The signs coming out of Newcastle are that we aren’t finished in the transfer market. Good job really. We’ve needed a striker to work alongside Demba Ba for quite some time and now we need a left-back to replace Jose Enrique after he toddled off to Anfield.
Thankfully it’s those two positions that have been continuously earmarked for improvement by Alan Pardew as the summer strengthening reaches it’s climax for the Premier League. In fact we even have a pretty solid link with an actual name for the left-back spot should Erik Pieters make the switch to Tyneside next week.
It’s above Alan Pardew where I have my doubts though, and it’s not just me who feels that way. Maybe it’s brought about by the fact that we don’t actually hear much from anyone above Alan Pardew? Well that changed yesterday when Managing Director, Derek Llambias, had his say on transfers in the matchday programme. Here is what he had to say:
“We are delighted with the business that we have conducted in the transfer market this summer, and we added further quality to our squad this week with the signing of Gabriel Obertan from Manchester United,”
“Gabriel is an exciting player and along with the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux and Mehdi Abeid, we have every right to be pleased with our transfer activity so far.”
“But we are fully aware of the need to add further players to our squad and we will be working hard to try and bring the right kind of players in before the transfer window shuts in 18 days.”
“They are top-quality players who will hopefully make a big impression here, and added to the quality that we already have at the club, we are all very excited about the coming months.”
“But we are fully aware of the need to add further players to our squad and we will be working hard to try and bring the right kind of players in before the transfer window shuts in 18 days.”
So from the man who runs the club on a day to day basis we have a recognition that we need new players still, and that the club will be working hard to get them. Make of it what you will, but to my memory it’s the first time that the man I love to hate has actually commented on something that doesn’t involve licking Mike Ashley’s ringpiece.
With a left-back and a striker I’d feel reasonably happy with this squad. As I said earlier, I’ve seen enough to believe that our new signings will improve and I’m willing, more willing than others it seems, to give them enough time to do so before writing them off after just one game against a perennial top four side.
Llambias has opened his trap now. He has become kind of accountable. Hopefully this will ensure that he carries through his promise!
Did you have to put up a pic of his hideous mug 👿 👿
Its bad enough reading his lies.
“we are all very excited about the coming months” this worries me greatly.
when Llamsarse gets excited it wont be for footballing reasons. Maybe someone is doing due dilligence on the books prior to a takeover.
I’m sure that would excite more than a few on here 😆
Dont forget they have a history of saying one thing and doing another.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Hmmmm neg post already 👿 not good 😳
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
On a more positive note, I can smell bacon sizzling away in the kitchen and the coffee smells great .:lol:
Gotta look after the belly
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
It’s hard not to be negative when you see Llambias’s face and a line about him giving assurances.
Brisvegas(Quote)
I see the signage on the East Stand survived by the way 😳 😳 😳
toonsy(Quote)
On a completely off-topic note, off to clear up the logistics of last night. My mother collapsed at work so need to sort a few things. Back soon 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Yesterday’s performance was all about defending. I think we played a really tight defensive structure. And played it quite well – ironic given that all the huff and puff was about attacking football.
Pardew didn’t send his team out to win the game; it was out there to stop Arsenal from scoring and to hopefully pinch a goal on the break.
We made a better fist of doing that when Obertan was on.
Expect a totally different game next week.
Brisvegas(Quote)
Spot on Bris. A good point yesterday imo 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
Agree wit toonsy assessment tat the team needs time to gel but also when we play lesser teams ( no disrespect to any team but it was arsenal yesterday ) think we will have a very good side this season. Still have ben arfa , gosling n marevaux to come back in to the mix as well. I really hope ( n i think he will ) llmbaris keeps his word. We need two more players. Wouldnt say no to a new centre half either to improve us further. But good start to season yesterday. Sorry to hear about your mam toonsy. Hope all is well
johno toon(Quote)
Sorry to hear that Toonsy. Hope that she gets well soon.
Thad(Quote)
Obertan was pure KLASS. Despite hardly seeing the ball, he was confident on the ball and our team only came to life after Ameobi was brought off. Might just be me, but seeing Ameobi completely shackled by Vermaelan really made the nickname Strola Ameobi stick in my mind. It really highlights the importance of pace and quick feet IMHO. Our best move was when Obertan cut in the box and back heeled to Cabaye. But I feel if instead of Ameobi, we start with Ba and Best or maybe Ba and Obertan, we may have been a bit more dangerous. Ba did not do anything but it wasn’t really his fault, can’t expect him to score when he gets the ball just past the half-way line, not that kinda player but in a couple of games, give him the ball inside the box or just outside it and he will at least test the keeper.
JY(Quote)
Brisvegas @ 7, really good point. Next week will tell.
Any one have any idea when Benny will return??
Shearers Receeding Hairline(Quote)
Following on from your comment in the last thread Toonsy . ..
As much as i have dislike some of Pardews earlier nonsense, i have to say i was very impressed with his post match comments on MOTD this morning.
His staunch defence of Barton was very impressive, especially given the problems Barton’s tweeting caused Pardew just recently.
Showing that he will defend his players that way is exactly the sort of moves he should be making to help improve squad unity.
Pootle(Quote)
Pootle @ 13 – I agree. Very impressed with his interview.
toonsy(Quote)
Can’t believe some supporters are going Ba difficulties.
Also it doesn’t help having creative midfielders like Cabaye when you have a slow as *****, always back to goal, striker like Ameobi on the pitch. As long as he plays it will be hoof ball because it is all he is capable of…
He didn’t have a bad game, he just played the only way he knows how. But if we had a striker that has a bit of off the ball movement, like when Best came on, or even Loverboy, his class will show.
Playing donkey Ameobi, you need a Nolan behind to help out. He’s not there So put Ameobi on the bench where he belongs and get in a striker than can actually face goal.and has a bit of pace.
JJ(Quote)
SRH @ 12 – Anywhere between 4-6 weeks.
toonsy(Quote)
Bris there was some quite good analysis of the game on MotD. A more clinical Arsenal would have been 3-0 up by half time.
I disagree that we defended well, in actual fact we got lucky a few times.
RVP was not at his best thankfully and I think we may have dodged a bullet with Geronimo. Although I accept he may well improve.
(not for the next 2 matches he wont) 😆
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
And I agree with JJ aswell. People getting on the back of Ba need to really look at what he was given to work with. Not a great deal really. We played Arsenal at the end of the day so we were never going to have it all our own way.
Agree with Bris, the defence played well enough although a left-back and some actual cover would be nice as beyond what was out there we don’t have a lot of cover.
toonsy(Quote)
BB – Next three matches. Violent conduct = 3 games 😉
toonsy(Quote)
I didn’t think HBA’s injury looked all that bad.
seems like he takes a long time to repair.
It makes me worry that he is a bit soft 😥
(tin hat on)
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Wenger: “We always leave here with ten men”
It’s cos you have a team full of dirty, diving, cheating bastards, Arsene 🙂
It’s also not just our place you leave with ten men from. It’s quite a lot of places looking at the history books 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Lot of truth in the article Toonsy.
It’s going to take time for this team to gel.
It was not a good performance yesterday. We managed to stay fairly solid and didn’t concede which are good things to take from the game, but creatively we were poor and we looked fairly toothless.
This will improve with time.
One thing should be abundantly clear though – we still need a minimum of two quality players through the door, particularly a striker and a left back.
Llambias’ words are all well and good, but let’s face it, we’ve heard all this sort of thing from them before.
This time we need action.
We need those players in and we need them now.
We also need them to be quality players and not just the cheapest ones available.
Who knows, if Llambias and Ashley actually can fulfil these essential requirements they may actually go some way to mending some of the damage that their previous actions have caused to their relationship with the fans.
Pootle(Quote)
BB – Depends. Define an injury that “looks” bad?
For example a broken leg looks bad, but it will keep you out for six months maybe? A hamstring looks fine but can keep you out for three months. Carroll looked fine but was out for four months.
Ben Arfa has ligament damage which is hidden but also kind of important and takes time to heal such is the nature of them.
toonsy(Quote)
Will song get a retro ban also? The replays show he looked down to make sure he didn’t miss. ******. 👿
Like Joey said in his tweet, if it had been the other way round…………….. 👿
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
The negativity spreads…whilst it’s good the Llambias acknowledges we need more signings, he also says they must the ‘right’ player which a nice little get out clause 🙁
witters(Quote)
Man I’m really starting to dislike Arsenal. This bloke Wenger is one serious whinger…It must be really frustrating being an Arsenal fan…tappy lappy football, huge stadium, loads of money, and they STILL cannot win now. Now they are losing there best players, and they cannae get shot of there whinging manager. Another season of nothingness for the gunners…oh well maybe the Europa League once they get toasted from the Champs League…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Hope ya Mam’s ok Toonsy…..Get well soon Mrs Toonsy.
The best transfer would be llambsarse oot of toon.
We need 2 leftbacks and a striker.
richietoon(Quote)
Oo forgot to say. I was mixing it with football superstars at Gordano services on the M5 yesterday evening when the Torquay United team bus pulled in next to me.
League Two footballers giving t the biggun 😎
I had to point out that their coach had Plymouth Argyle written all over it. They hadn’t noticed, presumably due to the large amounts of styling product in their hair. They weren’t overly happy. The words “cheap travel” was used 😆
I said you try Megabus for really cheap travel 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Munich…Le **** fans have exactly the manager that reflects the way they are….whingers.
richietoon(Quote)
Great to hear Lamearse communicating with fans and saying the right things but actions speak louder than words so let’s judge him in 18 days.
I incidentally don’t agree with his point about his belief that we’ve done well in the transfer Market and added quality. I would think losing Nolan and Enrique and not replacing Carroll is enough to deserve self praise.
IMO we need 2 strikers but we also need the new signings, Cabaye, Marveaux and Obertan to start creating chances fast.
Though a solid defensive performance was evident, the supposedly creative midfield that many hailed, failed miserably by not creating one telling pass in 90mins!
I am seriously concerned, having lost England’s number 9 and our top scorer from last season in Nolan that we are going to struggle to score.
I am not writing Ba off totally but for me he had a stinker of a game and I can only judge on what I see.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
yeah obviously it is worse than it at first looked. Like you say bones heel quicker than ligaments. Shame for the lad and for us as we need his creativity, especially against teams like arsenal.
Still would have been pleased with a point before kickoff, no doubt.
Now to destroy the makems AGAIN 😆
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Was Helen Chamberlain there providing the enroute…cough cough entertainment 😆
richietoon(Quote)
Not enough to deserve self praise rather 😳
Troy Stavers(Quote)
To be fair, although Owlheed should be no-where near our great club, cannot see nowt wrong with what he said yesterday. Nowt wrong with bringing in the “right” players…though time will show if it is all just hot air…We know from experience he tends to tell porkies…we’ll see what happens, if no-one comes in before the end of the transfer window then IVERYBODY should get stuck into him…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Motd and Setanta don’t surprsie me anymore…They seem to make Barton a scapegoat and criticise him at every opportunity. 😡
There was hardly even a mention of Song’s stamp but when Barton grabs someone there’s hell on…
Ah well…and hope she’s ok Toonsy!
TheDimpleboy(Quote)
Rich @ 32 – Nah, but I did get my photo taken with the squad with us fucking about and having a laugh so I’ll send that in to Soccer AM and see if it gets on 😆
Give them credit though, posers they most definitely were, but they were funny and game for a laugh and were willing to chat to everyone.
toonsy(Quote)
BB @ 31 – I actually think HBA will have more of an effect against the likes of Wigan, Blackburn etc etc. Think about it, Arsenal, Coty, the top teams, have players like him so are able to think ahead that bit more and nullify him.
toonsy(Quote)
In defence of the toon, obviously, though maybe naively, HBA was gonna be a big player for the toon this year. The lad got cattled pre-season, which was always maybe gonna happen, now we have to deal with it… What are the club supposed to do ?…we gotta wait for him coming back. Unfortunately that, together with the Tiote visa incident, put back the gelling of the side several weeks…
At the end of the day we hope the toon learned from this…trips to the USA…visa issues…..and a rusty teamj not quite gelled for the first game of the seaon against the mighty Arsenal…bit of a joke if you ask me…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Thad/Dimpleboy – Aye she’s fine. Just resting up now and had to go pick her car up and take it home for her. I bet she’ll be trying to get back to work tonight in fact even though my Dad says she shouldn’t 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Troy, Ba only played half the game, and tbh the whole team was awful in that 45 mins.
Ironically we looked more like scoring ( 😕 ) when we had best/loverman on. Yet you seem to be writing them off by implying we need 2 new strikers. I think we will be lucky just to get 1 😥
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
MM – Aye Tiote did look rusty yesterday. Just shows that fitness training and actual football training are two different things really.
Anyway, match highlight and interviews are up now. Move along to the next thread >>>>>
🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy….take my advice mate, look after yer mam. You only have one of them, give her a good talking to and chain her leg to the bed post so she can have a wee bit of rest mate. Hope she gets well soon..
Munich Mag(Quote)
@toonsy
Who is the scoundrel you mentioned was using multiple pseudonyms on here?
You said you would reveal it today. It’s like waiting for Joeys tweets.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Toonsy@41….Tiote was rusty cos him and big Derek the physio spent all week watching the “A-Team” dvds when he should have been getting his visa sorted oot…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Troy Stavers…I find you boring mate. What do you think of me ? 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
Toonsy…wasn’t someone blathering on about the East Stand signage or summat ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
MM now now, put ya fishing rod away
Anyway everyones moved on to the next thread 😆
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
pardew said this will be a new newcastle…well didnt see much difference and same players…barton and tiote could have cost us big time..we got away with a good draw…tiote was way off the pace…pardew should have took tiote off..for gosling..who has been r best player in pre season…we needed enrgy from central and pardew didnt have a clue…tiote then gets booked and he still didnt make that move..he did the same 2 some player few minutes later but got away with it..the player wgot free from him..he couldnt even tackle yesterdy..so pardew then plays barton…he should not have played…that tells the team..he can do what ever he wonts…barton is not the manager..why was he taken all the dead balls and we let him carry on taken them..every ball he played was ****…
asim(Quote)
Alan Shearer 379 career goals – Sunderland 377 premier league goals, speaks for itself! Brilliant!
Shearers Receeding Hairline(Quote)
Not much to get excited about y’day. didnt create much, looked like the season started 3 weeks early.
Cabaye looked off the pace, but he did admit to needing to ‘catch-up ‘ with the pace of the prem, so hopefully that will come.
frontline messed it up in the first half, we battled for the ball back, retained it then passed to Demba and his similar looking partner Shola who lost it everytime, someone with pace should be invested in as hitting two big fella’s that get caught offside will become very predictable.
funny moment was Bartons ‘oh sailor’ haircut but the reaction of steven tayor was hilarious when bartons face made connection with a limp-wristed slap from Gervinho. Ref!! he elbowed him, which he demostrated 3 times pointing, him there ref, that big black bully hit little sailorboy Joey!! before sprinting 20yrd to the linesman to continue his protests, Elbow linesman, u must of seen it!!! he then commented after the game..”It’s not for me to comment. It’s as simple as that. I didn’t see a thing” lol a fine actor is Taylor who played well y’day btw.
mark(Quote)
***** toonsy…. i have to agree with you….. this is the first admission i can ever recall dekka saying in relation to that we must get in some more players fast. i think they will get two in, a lb and forward. good topic and blog.
off topic kinda…. i think we could galvanise the team in one single move by ashley coming out and saying ‘we are very impressed with baertons continued commitment despite recent events, he is dedicated to nufc and for that reason we have now awarded joey with the contract he so desperatly wanted and has proved he is worth’. A statement like that would be huge and in my opinion.. would be a master stroke by our management.
craig chisholm(Quote)
ba and shola where like a pair of lamposts stood in the first half, no movement for the midfielders to pick out, we need a mobile striker that hassles and defends from the front, ba and shola look too similar and very bad , i believe sammi has alot more movement and so does best, but we need 2 spend hat much is obvious!
jam(Quote)
The Toon boss has presented a hit-list to Toon board that includes Arsenal’s unwanted Nicklas Bendtner and Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega – and is urging Newcastle’s power brokers to break the bank to give him the goal power he craves.
Either one of these would do me, I’d probs go for Rodallega if pushed..
mark(Quote)
Craig – not much chance of that happening, but wouldn’t be surprised if he gets offered a 2yr deal by xmas, but on lower wages. You know how the board like to push their luck re contracts
2 yrs @ £40K/wk. Take it or leave it. Oh and nothing for your agent either lol
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
plus bonuses of course.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Got me feet wet leaving the game yesterday,wengers tears were flooding china town and the irish club.What we saw of the town was a team hampered by that stupid tour and an arsenal that train together so had Jelled.Liked the look of obertan,and think Cabaye will be some signing once he gets settled he ran all day.The way the ball was played to BA did not suits his style of play and he seemed more prone to falling than jonas.Captain Collo immense.Roll on the Mackems. Paper talk Bellamy and Bridge. Would have bellers back.Thoughts peeps
Tommy Gibb(Quote)
We really need a top young striker and we should be ready to pay £15-20m for Sturridge or £10-15m for Macheda (or loan either of them). Sturridge particularly will struggle with Torres, Drogba, Anelka, Kalou and possibly Lukaku all ahead of him in the Chelsea pecking order.
Also a proper LB (Pieters sounds good) plus a strong CB who can also play LB as quality cover.
We have received about £45m in transfer cash and even with training ground improvements there will be plenty to get these 3 new players. Talk of agents’ fees eating into the funds is fair enough, but adding salary costs is just false accounting, as we’ve saved salary on Carroll, Nolan, Enrique, Xisco.
Matthew Tom(Quote)