Santoon!
I know what your thinking to yourself, ‘what’s new?’, ‘what are you getting at?’. Well, this article is to give everyone a bit more optimism, me? I’m one of the optimists.
Davide Santon, signed for NUFC on the 30th August. Basically a replacement for Jose Enrique. Not a bad one, well it seems, Marcello Lippi once described him by saying: “A predestined that reminds of a young Paulo Maldini”.
He seems like a great prospect destined for a successful international career, and if Sky Sports News are correct, a one million pound profit has been gained through this transaction and Jose’s departure.
Kevin Nolan’s surprise departure inspired the signing of Yohan Cabaye from french champions Lille. So far there is no problem with the switch around and Cabaye has been a key performer so far for Newcastle in the early stages of the season. He seems to adapt to a more defensive approach than Nolan, he does get up and support the Strike force when ever necessary though. He also takes a good corner kick.
Obertan and Marveaux were a couple of signings which came along with a package. They’re injury prones. Obertan provides a lot of pace to the side and has done quite well this season causing worries to opposition defences.
Marveaux has not played enough for an evaluation of any kind. He is an outstanding free kick taker though, not that he will have much chance with them with Ryan ‘Over the wall’ Taylor in the side.
Even though we have all been in demand of a striker, Demba Ba is yet to play to his best and I believe he will have a big impact on the side during the season.
And Leon Best is always there, he has proved he knows where the net is on numerous occasions, and will surely pop up with more than a few goals this season, the question is; is he a fifteen goal a season man? Probably not.
All in all, it’s been a good transfer window with some important signings, it just seems that deadline day, is not the day for us.
Your views?
« Can you really blame Alan Pardew? | Would you have had any of these deadline day strikers? »
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83 Comments
Good article Louis!
Yes it’s frustrating, very frustrating we didn’t get another striker we need or wanted but moaning about it isn’t going to do much about it.
Bit more positive news as well today;
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/09/02/hatem-ben-arfa-due-back-with-newcastle-72703-29349484/
In the next window I am in the same camp as those who see that Colo and Spidey will be disposed of entering the last 18 months of their contracts with no hope of the same terms being offered.
Tiote will be a transfer target of other clubs as will Krul. I believe good offers will for all will be accepted.
On the window past nobody can yet judge if we have done right or wrong time oly will tell.
What did get me is we supposedly were trying to buy 8, 10, 12 million pound strikers and hope they would accept our salary structure. Not a chance in hell. If we are supposedly only going to pay £40,000 per week then shop in the market of the £5 million pound strikers. Surely there was someone in that bracket who would be better than Shoala and definitely Lovenkrands
it would have been a better window if Aston Villa had signed Simpson instead of Hutton
Question: Ba has seemed like a ghost in his first few appearances for us. Does anybody know if he was fasting for Ramadan?
That might explain his limited appearances and his relative invisibility in those games.
FSOTC, yeah he was fasting, same as Tiote, Ben Arfa and Abeid I believe.
But that’s over now isn’t it?
milesstarforth Miles Starforth
#nufc’s 25-man PL squad will be confirmed later. Interesting to see if a place in it for Tamas Kadar, who wasn’t given a squad number
1 hour ago
Ramadan is over. I wonder how much this affected them. Many of us felt Tiote was way off in his first few games too.
FSOTC
Ramadan is now over so if the case and I don’t know if is we hopefully will see a stronger player not sure how it effects his technical ability. Against Scunny his second touch was a tackle.
During the Fulham game Tiote was taking drinks and I was led to believe he too is Muslim
I think that fasting will have affected them in a big way.
Let’s hope… because it would be good to se improvements from Ba & Tiote. Though Ba’s contribution against Fulham was major.
Louise, I wouldnt say it was a bad window but i wouldnt say it was good either, probably better quality and younger but the squad is no stronger numbers wise.
It still does not answer the oft repeated question that is , WTF have they been doing for 7 months? Actually looking for a forward or trying equally as hard to find reasons not to?
ramadan is a joke and thats the truth.. as far as the word’ fasting; is concerned. In saudi arabia, the home of islam, mecca and medina etc.. food consumption triples during ramadan and that is a fact as i was just reading it in the arab news. Its not a fast as such.. i call it more binge eating and gourging themselves all bloody night.
Ramadan finished on 29th August and its now Eid until 03rd September… so next time you see Ba he will be fat as hell.
And even Lee Ryder is upset!
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/09/02/comment-do-we-really-want-to-repeat-bad-old-days-72703-29349488/?
no-one can say if the window has been good or bad can they? its impossible. what we have bought are calculated ‘what we hope’ are good players as they were cheap or free. Thats about it in a nutshell. i have to say though, i do like cabaye and unlike some, i always rated obertan when i saw him at man utd.
“It’s not that bad” as a statement on a potential team which could be put out given a season of no injuries or African cup is a fair assesment.
“It’s not that bad” is a pile of balls considering the lies & paper thin squad we’ve been dealt.
We all better hope L’equipe Economie come good, I for one have my doubts.
THis was a good read Louis
I agree things are not so bad at Newcastle. I think our team is much improved with creativity and pace from last season. It was disappointing we did not see a top striker come in, feels like we missed an opportunity to really climb the league if he had.
I’m still huffed with the no-striker show.
Although I can see light at the end of the tunnel with the ‘potentially’ decent signings I fear for the January window when offers for Krul, Simpson, Tiote, Vuckic come in and are more than likely accepted.
All the club have done is swapped proven for unproven, risky business with relegation if wrong!
again, like i have always said…. its the lies and crap i cant stand. the pretence of saying they are tryign hard or want to win things and will back the manager in the market… all rubbish that i just cant stand anymore. i hate the fat fuking knacker and his side kick.
Any word when this statement from the club is coming out?
MsiDouglas Mark Douglas
Seems communication from SJP is imminent… #NUFC
4 minutes ago
Once you actually sit back and look at it, There were four strikers we actually wanted this summer. Gervinho,grameiro,erdinc and maiga.
Gervinho went to arsenal, fair play bigger club than us. Grameiro wanted to stay in france, got big money off psg. Erdinc wants to stay in france/psg and has done. Maiga we were all saying probably not good enough and we didn’t want him plus i doubt many of us had seen him play. Glad we didn’t get ripped off for our fourth choice striker. Looking at everyone else’s business there are no strikers i’m dissapointed we didn’t sign bar maybe bendtner. Granted we were promised one but no point just buying for the sake of it. The players we have bought are ON PAPER great additions. The only players we lost are Barton,enrique,nolan. I for one don’t think bartons a great loss and was sick of the joey barton show. Enrique was quality but was disinterested at the end of the season and was always off and the fact that nolan went to west ham probably tells a tale. I’m content and satisfied, More dissapointed in ridgewell not signing than missing a striker.
A Premier League footballer has admitted that a bite of chicken produced by his club owners left him feeling ill. Blackburn Rovers defender Michel Salgado had to eat the spicy drumstick while filming a TV ad plugging Venky’s chicken. The former Real Madrid and Spain right-back plucked up the courage to take part in the advertisement, which also stars Ewood Park teammates David Dunn, Jason Roberts and Ryan Nelsen
…………..and you think our owner’s bad!
Sorry for the essay.
Nice one hitman , sounds like to me i say jump the club says how high?
It’s all relative I suppose. It just feels like another kick in the bollox that’s all.
But we’ll know more in the next few weeks. If we struggle to score (which I believe we could do) then it will be that bad.
Lets look at the reality – we have Lovenkrands and Ameobi who have never been consistant goalscorers in the PL, we have Best who’s started well but in my opinion just doesn’t look like a PL striker and we have Ba who we just hope stays fit. No real bankers in there.
lee_ryder Lee Ryder
#nufc to make a statement this evening, club also agree to answer fans questions from @EveningChron readers
lol its like waiting for the North Korean leader to communicate. what does our great leader have to say in addressing the geordie nation. antisipated, bated breath
Spot on with ur essay rorycn
lee_ryder Lee Ryder
#nufc @EveningChron readers questions will be answered next week by the board
5 minutes ago
maybe we would have got ruiz if this had happened,poor scum
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11681_7143983,00.html
Personally I couldn’t care what they have to say in their statement. Words can’t bring in the striker we need and they promised they would deliver. Ashley didn’t even have to use his own money to make it happen.
exactly right David, their patter is irelevant now. more excuses and bull
CaulkinTheTimes George Caulkin
#NUFC been working on statement re transfer business. Nothing to do with Alan Pardew’s position. He’s frustrated, but going nowhere.
5 minutes ago
BLA BLA..more BS
Smart move by the club to answer the questions of the fans though, they are obviously assuming that we think they won’t have the questions before hand and they they won’t cherry pick them and that the answers aren’t prepared.
Glad pardews not leaving he might be a joke in some eyes but im more than happy with the way things are going on the pitch and the last thing we need is more upheaval, Win at QPR and we are quarter the way to safety after 4 matches.
Actually feel sorry for him like i did with hughton, These managers keep on performing minor miracles with their hands tied behind their backs and get next to nowt but hinderence and ineptitude from above…
Cc what was your exciting news you had?
@padaxes
You say;
We are more creative and have more pace in the team.
Have we? All the games I’ve seen, we have lacked ideas and looked pedestrian.
Are you a Man Utd fan on the wrong blog.?
CC – I agree I like the football under Pardew. However I don’t like the bullshit that comes out his mouth though.
I don’t think he should go, it would hurt the team more than anything and I dread to think who we would get into replace him.
Disappointing that the team down the road not only seems to have a better squad at the moment but also a better manager, chairman and owner!
Mag1010 – They’re still shit though to be fair.
Troy Stavers says:
September 2, 2011 at 14:24
@padaxes
You say;
We are more creative and have more pace in the team.
Have we? All the games I’ve seen, we have lacked ideas and looked pedestrian.
Not bad for a team trying to gel but can still get 7 points out of 9 is it?
Troy@39-
Compared to last year with Carroll and Nolan, I think you’re right that we look less dangerous. But I do think we’re more “creative”, as very few of the goals that Carroll and Nolan scored were born of creativity. The big question is whether our team will gel, and whether that brings a little more end product with the creativity.
Explain to me how we look creative? We have looked void of ideas going forward and there’s no hiding it.
QPR got Barton, Wright-Phillips and Ferdinand.
Still rate they are never going to finish higher than 16th and are 50/50 to get relegated.
Only teams with squad better than ours are:
Man U, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal (top five), Tottenham…
Then I’d say we are on par with the likes of Stoke, Fulham, Bolton.
So anything below a top 10 finish I would class as failure. With the squad we have.
Would like to play Santon at right back, so with a quality left back (Pieters) and a quality striker (Cisse) we could have been pushing that top six and should have been looking for seventh…
@Johno
I’ve maintained on many threads, I will be delighted if we play crap football if we keep getting the points. That will do for me but I won’t accept that we look more creative than last season.
I believe we beat Villa 6 nil at this stage last year.
Troy,
The only teams that has looked fluid going forward in the first three weeks are Man U and Man City.
Even Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool havn’t really looked threatening.
Thats why I think apart from Man City, Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bolton… no side has scored more than three goals.
Give them a bit more time to gel, we’ll only what they are couple of in about a months time.
Troy the troll – just trolls the blog every day twisting and whining. He is as thick as mince.
He says we are not creative – and the signings maybe duds – but the only thing to ensure you don’t get bitten by dud signings is to negotiate hard, to make sure they are well researched and if they don’t work out its not the end of the world.
Troys, and other like minded souls, thinking is so obtuse and full of hate (through misunderstanding) of the board – he never stops to think, but his noodle nodger brain isn’t really capable of objective thought.
Toonsy please ban Troy
Troy,
We beat Villa 6-0 with the same side that we brought up from the Championship, they had been used to playing together for 50 odd games.
This lot have had three games, so they are still learning each other, isn’t that obvious…
@Stardust
You want Troy banned because you have different opinions to him?
I’m not saying we’ve seen all that much creativity yet, although I do think it will come. But no matter how many goals we scored against Villa and Sunderland last year, I don’t remember a lot of creativity. What I remember is Barton sending high balls into the box for Carroll to head home or knock down for Nolan. I wasn’t complaining – it was working and I thought it was fun to watch, mainly because Carroll seemed like a force of nature. But either way, I think it would be a bit misleading to call that side “creative”.
Just thinking that, JJ.
Troy’s right that the team has lacked fluidity, creativity, the ability to weave pretty doilies on the field, but I figure it just may come after a few more games and practices together. Our pre-season was a shambles, really.
This international break couldn’t come a a better time for the team, really. They’ll be feeling relatively confident after a few wins and the comeback against Scunthorpe. Best will be feeling responsible for busting a gut to earn the starting spot and Ba should be feeling eager to get some goals in too.
Dunno, Craig, I guess you’re right that people fast then feast during Ramadan, but physiologically (had to try to spell that correctly three times) it has got to make a difference, playing a full match or even as a sub on an empty or near empty stomach.
Any doctors/sports medicine/fitness enthusiasts on here to testify?
Its amazing how people can twist words.
Have I once suggested we won’t gel?
Have I once suggested we won’t become creative?
All I’ve challenged are those who have stated we are more creative this season than last.
Until I see it I won’t accept it.
Simples .
TheDimpleBoy
No – because he is a trouble maker who only comes on the blog to wind people up – he told me this personally over a pint – he is laughing at everyone! He can’t believe he gets away with it!
@ TheDimpleboy
I want Troy banned because I want to see who is next in line to take over his gannies balls… em ball.
Ba will prove a good signing. Ramadan is now over so watch his and Cheiks energy levels raise. With regards to Besty being a 15 goal a season man well 2 down 13 to go bring it on!!
Come on lads grow up people getting banned this isnt a playground this is a blog to chat opinions and contest them. If they were that good opinions we wouldnt be sitting here sharing them
The main dissapointment for me is that we could have had a real shot at 7th place this season if we’d have given it a go in the transfer window. A net spend of a couple of million really is pretty poor considering what we’ve brought in. We do have January to make up for it (I know, don’t laugh)!
Could be a opportunity missed imo.
Let’s give it a couple of months before saying we have no creativity. Cabaye already looks to be finding his way and starting to get his passing game going. Tiote will improve, as will Ba. Best definitely appears to be a poacher. If Santon fits in well he will improve us also. And then hopefully Ben Arfa can really ignite the attack.
jj..i think u got bolton wrong mate…they will struggle 2 stay up…i watched them ..they are crap…rest i agree with…
I feel like we really missed out on Cisse. If we actually landed him…
He banged ‘em in for fucking Freiburg last season, and they finished awfully low in the table. I think he had 22. In the prem, that probably translates to, what 15 or so? I know, I know, you can’t algorithmically figure it, but…
all of you bleating on about the striker who would you suggest? Who is good enough for decent amount of money say £10m?
stuart79..yes spot on….thats whats pissed me off more then anything…thats the thing i cant get my head around….
The best evidence we have to go on is this:
Two years ago we were relegated, and on the blogs the phrase “do a Leeds” was born. We sold many international players and bought lots of lesser-known, cheap ones. The fans said we were stuffed.
We won the league and broke every record, beating our target (automatic promotion) by 23 points.
A year ago we started on our promotion season, with the blogs whining about how we weren’t prem quality and wouldn’t score any goals; how we’d be the new yo-yo club.
We were safe with several games to go, and were within 2 minutes of a top-half finish. Again, we beat our target comfortably, and were the 7th-highest scoring team in the process.
No matter how annoying the management and their strategy may be – it bloody well works. They have EARNED the right to call the shots and ignore the advice of those who basically cry ‘doom’ when they don’t see what they expect.
Liam I would of liked us to have gone in for shane long!
Shane Long has actually impressed me so far this season, but it is still early days.
Whumpie says:
September 2, 2011 at 16:08
I do worry about you sometimes.
hope this statement by the board hasnt got to be done by 11pm 2nyt or they will never get it done !!!!! idiots!!
bet pardue feels like such a clown now after saying judge me on september 1st!! YES PARDUE we have judged you matey , fecked up big style !!! DONT AND I MEAN PLEASE DONT open your gob and tell fans we are close to deals if these deals were never gonna happen EG erding was nearly over the line , maiga was nearly over the line etc it just makes you look daft!! i would rather you come out with ” no we dont wish to buy a striker as we are tight fcukers and have no ambition of getting this club to a higher level ” !!! start telling what the fans want to hear pardue and cut out the lies man!!
Whens the statement due??
Stuart: Ok, I admit that post was pretty much to stir up some discussion – but it is actually quite hard to argue against.
To be honest, if AP just stopped making stupid promises and the club were just honest and said “we couldn’t get anyone good enough without committing to daft expenditure for several years” then I’d be happy. Ish.
Hey NUFC Fans!
, If i am correct i am more worried about our number1 choice getting injured and we struggle to replace them.
we are all forgetting one thing, we do have the squad to beat any team but not the teams from manchester….
we do not have the best No.2 LB or RB (maybe taylor and fergi)
NO No.2 CB (Williams, kadar, james…hmm)
Midfield am happy and will not talk about it.
Striker’s ?? if we play 2 up front and Soba… has never played more than 15games a season so count him out… who is our replacement…
This is the reason why we needed few extra legs… hope our academy brings in some young guns at this end of the park… similar to AndyC …
Kick NRanger out.. if he gona wast his life…. then its up to him… we dont want bad press in or around NUFC…
TC folks and enjoy this season… we will finish between 7th and 10th this season…. Good LUCK NUFC
Whumpie @ 66 Well said! Those are indisputable facts. IMO we are still improving but that has yet to be proven.
From what I gather, maiga was the target we wanted and dirty del was confident we could get him. Sochaux were playing a good game, the no time for a replacement card usually bumps up the price and after having done that themselves in January, Newcastle saw through this and did not play the game. Int opinion, I think the deal is done for January, sochaux have time to find a replacement and the toon get their man for a fee they want to pay, not including the deadline day premium (stokes signings case in point). Its a gamble till January with the strikers we have, however that’s what mike and dekka love though
people are saying we will finish 7 – 10th this season!! i will be happy if we finished above 18th!!! the shite thats went on at this club i dunno how we are pulling out results all the time!! must have a good spirit in the camp
I agree entirely with Stardust, best post of the day..
Ban Troy
as long as we stay in the prem and feed MA the cash he’s owed we’ll be ok in a yr or two. tiote, colo, Jonas, Krul next out and possible Vuckic if he’s show-case enough for other teams to take notice..then big MA will take his cash and walk, forgetting about his sorry adventure with Ncle.
statement from DL:
Whilst we did turn our attention to alternative prospects in the latter stages of the window, we have a very clear transfer policy and will not make knee-jerk decisions at the last-minute which are not in the best interests of the club. We understand that supporters will feel frustrated that we did not sign another striker during the window, but it was not for lack of trying that we did not bring our final target in.
lack of trying took 8mths
@mark
You would miss me.
What a load of bollocks! Every one of these ‘signings’ is speculative, hoping to be able to turn a profit. Not one of them established Premiership players or anywhere near it.
and, I bet you pillocks believed that David Craig got a call live on Sky from the FC Twente chairman about the bid for Ruiz – get a life morons
« Can you really blame Alan Pardew? | Would you have had any of these deadline day strikers? »