Don’t get me wrong, I was prepared for him leaving way back in last January. Something just didn’t sit right about the whole thing and, in truth, he never really looked interested in the second half of the season and became a liability. His mind was elsewhere.
Inevitably he left, for Liverpool, and with that he tore a huge whole in our left side. Enrique is a cracking player and I honestly thought that we’d struggle to replace him with a player of similar quality. Physically strong and willing to attack and link up with Jonas Gutierrez, Enrique was an important player for us despite his flaws – mainly trying to play his way out of trouble repeatedly and switching off.
This is where Davide Santon comes in to play. The Italian is proving to be more than an able replacement for the Spaniard, and if early signs are anything to go by then we have a player who is actually better that Jose Enrique potentially. It’s early days I know, but the signs from the former Inter Milan youngster are promising to say the least.
Strong in the tackle, defensively aware, sound in possession with an eye for a pass and a penchant for bombing forward, Santon looks to be a cracking player. He has certainly took to the Premier League better than Jose Enrique did in my opinion and has fixed the hole in our left side that was left by the Spaniard.
Now don’t get me wrong, Ryan Taylor did well on the left, but Santon is a much better player and left-back has become a position that I no longer panic about. It was a shame to lose Jose as he grew with us, but in the end he wanted to go so from our perspective we needed to replace him with a player of equal quality – a tough ask!
A tough ask made easy by Davide Santon, who is setting about rebuilding that once prodigious reputation he had as a youngster and it’s with thanks to careful man management from Alan Pardew and a determination from the player to do well that the Italian has stepped into the team and filled Jose’s boots so seamlessly.
Keep it up Davide!
Doing very well is santon think hes ganna be better than jose meself,plus with him at left back, frees up spiderman to get forward a bit more instead of having to cover taylor at left back 🙂
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Enrique is word class so definitely enrique, however, at this moment santon is better than enrique when he was at this stage of his newcastle career, so maybe santon could be better than him eventually
O1R7D(Quote)
I agree with you, Toonsy. Say Santon is here for 4 seasons like Enrique was – at that point I would expect him to be better than Enrique ever was ..
funkness(Quote)
Since Santon has come into the team he has offered up solid defending, good decision making & excellent distribution of the ball. It took Jose a good while to become the defender he was at Newcastle, Davide has just walked straight in at that level. In my opinion, he’s a better player already and he’ll go on to be one of the best full backs we’ve ever had.
Steve(Quote)
The signs are there that santon could become a better player. We all know it took Enrique a good season to find his feet but santon seems to have adjusted quickly and he excites me when he’s on the ball, way more than Enrique ever did.
So, in short, santon for me like!
(No bitterness on my part 😉 )
skipwallsend(Quote)
Looks a class act. Whether he wil prove to be as good as or better than Enrique is a long way off.
Let’s be patient and give him the time he needs before judging or comparing him.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
By the way, I hear the unwashed are sniffing about Erding! He’s not my 1st choice striker but I’d be gutted if they got him! Bastids 😡
skipwallsend(Quote)
Paolo Maldini=Santon>Enrique
Going to be a legent in Newcastle
victor Volobuev(Quote)
Jose took a while to settle so hopefully with steady improvement Santon will be world class in no time. this guy oozes quality and has probably more pace than Enrique..
Santon for me 😀
mark(Quote)
enrique is world class excellent and strong at the back and class when playing up front,i think santon is a very good player but still got along way to go before he can be compared to enrique.
ken(Quote)
@Troy
are you fishing @6 regarding giving players time RE:Cabaye 😉
nowt wrong with comparing I could say Ba is a better player than Carroll now after half a season
mark(Quote)
Going on what Jose did in his first season, I’d say Davide is a far better player… saying that, when Jose joined us, Colo was also very new & neither of them showed what we woudl have epxected but now Colo is captain & been a solid performer for us over the past 3 seasons, Davide has him to safe guard any tiny mistakes he may make this season..
Will Davide be as good as Jose in 4 yrs, I think he will, he just seems full of confidance & that will only get stronger the more he plays & if we can keep a hold of Colo, the bonding will get stronger, same as his partnership with Jonas up the left wing..
The big question is, what happen is Cissokho does sign for us, will he move over to the right, as Aly is only a LB & will take that spot off Davide for sure… tho I think he could easily make the RB slot his own too 😉
Toon69(Quote)
So we’ve got two weeks to secure any players we need… hmmm these 2 weeks will fly by, surely we know by now who we need and r just preparing the financial side of things
mark(Quote)
TOON69
saw a piece on Aly the other day says he has a niggle and wont pass medical
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Btw, how d’ya say a player is ‘World Class’ when he can’t even get into his National team 😕
Just wondering, as it seems the term ‘World Class’ is used to much to describe very good players these days, not exceptional one’s… personally I would say players like Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka, Bale, Modric, RVP, Ba or Tiote are ‘World Class’ but not someone like Enrique, yes he’s very good but if he was ‘World Class’ wouldn’t he be in the Spanish first team by now 😕
Toon69(Quote)
TOONARMYELITE @ 14 – Yeah I did read he had a calf strain but nothing long term… hey, isn’t that the type of players we go for now, one’s with injuries to get the price down 😆 😆
Toon69(Quote)
santon or enrique ….. hmmmmmmm thats a hard one???? hmmmmm errmmmmmmmm lets see now ……. errrrrrmmmmmm FECKING EASILY SANTON MAN!!!!!!!!!! this lad is a class act , he has all the attributes to be one of the best left backs around!! another thing that sways it for me to like santon better is HE LIKES PLAYING FOR THE TOON!!!! enrique wanted away as soon as we got promoted!!! we have a much better squad than last year .. ba for carroll , cabaye for nolan , santon for enrique , benny for barton !!! keep the signings cumn in carr your an unreal scout
Army69(Quote)
@Mark
You must be fishing with me. 😛
Never once did I criticise Cabaye. 😯
I told the truth that in his first 3 games that he looked tidy but went missing for large parts of the game.
That was in response to some on here, including you, that compared him to Fabragas. 😛
You will not find any criticism of Cabaye from me. All i ever said, give him time to settle in before comparing him or judging him. 😯
Now let’s move onto Leon Best who you slate.
He stuck it right up you on Sunday Dwayne! 😛
Leon Best, Superstar,
He’s just as good as Demba Ba.
Leon Best, Superstar,
He’s just as good as Demba Ba. 😛
Troy Stavers(Quote)
TOON69
yeah low in price but high in skills lmao 🙂
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
@toon69
You might find that Spain don’t look any further than Real and Barca. 😯
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy @ 20 – Bit similar to England looking no further North than the M62 then 😆
Toon69(Quote)
Santon has better balance and is technically better than Enrique.
Enrique is stronger.
Santon is performing far better than Enrique did in his first few games.
I prefer watching Santon.
So Santon for me. In a year it could be no contest, his potential is there for all to see.
geoff777(Quote)
@toon69
Santon is Italian. He doesn’t qualify for England? 😯
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Santon looks like a real cracking player, I don’t know why but I just worry about him injury wise, if he stays in the team for the rest of the season, playing the way he has.
I would be happy to keep him ahead of Jose and I was a Jose fan.
Big Dave(Quote)
why compare santon to someone who left us? Lets move on forget the past it does not matter. newcastle united is building for the future i Dont care about nolan Barton Jose Carroll etc i only care about nufc! Toon toon.
Jamie(Quote)
With out a doubt Santon looks a better prospect than Enrique did on arrival..
Jose took two years to start looking a class act and Santon seems to have found his feet within a few months.
Looks like we have got a bargain
mak-elder(Quote)
Jamie so we should never talk about any of our great’s as they are in the past ?
Does history mean nowt ?
Big Dave(Quote)
Santon is a better play now never mind when he develops. Which is why I don’t understand the link with Aly Cissokho as he is also a top left back.
bkemp247(Quote)
Santon has the potential to be better than Jose, no doubt, but then not every player reaches their potential.
To be fair to Jose, fatsam didn’t give him a decent run in the team and after that he was playing in a relegation team where alot more experienced players than him looked ****.
Ref “world class” players, everyone has different definitions of the phrase, using mine for instance, we don’t have any at all 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Troy @ 23 – You don’t say 😆 😆
I was comparing your comment about Spain not looking outside of Barca & Real for players to England not looking further North than the M62 fo English players ie Saylor etc etc…
Santon already has 7 Full International caps for Italy, unlike Enrique who has none for Spain 😯
Toon69(Quote)
Jamie – its more a response to people, like me, who thought we’d have a hard time replacing Jose rather than a direct comparison.
toonsy(Quote)
not so much that mate but what does it matter who is better! Nolan Barton Carroll enrique have gone but some how we are now much better and even more united.
Jamie(Quote)
Bkemp….assuming there’s any truth in the links with him, then I’d guess it’s something to do with the fact that Simpson hasn’t signed a new contract, and that being the case santon would move to RB as he’s not a natural LB.
richietoon(Quote)
Richietoon
I’d say if he stays fit, the only player we have that is proven world class, is Demba Ba.
As for who is better between Jose and Santon… Well it has to be Jose right now. But Santon certainly has the potential to be better.
JJ(Quote)
JJ….Like I said different definitions, none are right or wrong but for me “world class” would be those who would get in a “world” football squad, so none of ours for me I’m afraid.
richietoon(Quote)
@T69
Woo hoo hoo hoo. You have to be the easiest bite on here. Woo hoo hoo hoo. 😛 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Off topic, but I need to learn French pretty quickly. How easy is it? 😕
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy….I’ve seen 3 year olds in france who can speak it, so it can’t be that hard 😉
richietoon(Quote)
@Troy
Woo hoo hoo hoo, you wrote Cabaye off because of your love affair with chubbychebs Nolan, anyhow I never once mentioned Fabragas and Cabaye in the same sentence in the early Cabaye days..i just couldnt understand your constant hounding of the guy after 6mins of footy.. 😀
mark(Quote)
Think we starting to see the wheels come off the man utd bandwagon see berbtov on his way as well the depts catching up with them i hope 🙂
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
@Dwayne Mungo
You make me laugh. 😆
You actually nicknamed him Cabragas. 😆
Woo hoo hoo hoo 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
@Troy
@Cabragas 😆
That was just my pillow-talk with Wolfie, you must of got Thud to pop his feet out of your laundry basket (scooby-doo style) to scale my wall to my bedroom you pervs 😯
mark(Quote)
@Toonsy
It’s like everything, the hours have to be put in, however, basic French is quite an easy language to learn but it’s when you progress, it’s quite difficult to follow the verb endings and participles .
Basic French for a tourist is not too difficult.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
cabaye is my favourite player his first touch is xavi like! i think his only weakness is his play acting and im not talking about the derry tackle but i’ve seen him dive a few times this season but im sure he will adapt to the english game. He needs to get in the gym and put a few pound of muscle on otherwise he will not be able to cope
jamie(Quote)
@Dwayne
Where’s Thud man?! He’s missed. Have you swallowed him? 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
troy @ 36 – Not sure how that is a bite fella but then again, yer easily pleased 😆 😆
Toon69(Quote)
Never mind comparing the 2 players, can you imagine how good we could be if we’d kept Jose and had Santon at right back (not that Simmo has done much wrong). A quality CB and striker to come in and the skys the limit for us, Howay the Lads
micky g(Quote)
Rich – Can you speak French?
toonsy(Quote)
@T69
Woo hoo hoo hoo. The fact you responded to my post trying to explain yourself was enough to class it as a bite.
Now dat is entertainment of the highest level. 😛
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy – I need enough to get by working with them 😉
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy…I’ve lived in Spain since last April and can’t speak Spanish, does that answer your question? 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Nice article toonsy. Haven’t commented in a while but been reading. Back in college now so need something to do to fill my time in lectures 😉
Been very impressed by santon in the last few weeks since he’s come into the team. I think he was well served having time to adjust to the country/ style of football before being thrown into playing every week. Looks like a good signing and potentially better than Enrique but wouldn’t say so just yet
Dubtoon(Quote)
24 hours for Darlington FC to survive.
I’ve got some clothes I can sell.
Skinny jeans £5
Genuine UGG boots £25
Snood £5
Wooly beret £6
Elbow length leather gloves £10
Checked shirt (Thud’s) £1
Laundry wicker basket £16
All donations given to Darlington FC
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Still early days yet, he’s still obviously not quite as strong and possibly quite as quick as Enrique but he does seem a little smarter. Considering its his first season and assuming he can develop at the same rate as Enrique did or even better we could have a real star on our hands….someone needs to teach him how to cross though
Newkie(Quote)
Newkie….Obertan and Jonas are teaching him as we speak 😕 😆
richietoon(Quote)
@Toonsy
Make a bid for my wooly beret. I will hoy a string of onions in.
It helps if you try and fit in their culture. You will also be helping Darlo . 😛
Troy Stavers(Quote)
troy @ 49 – OIC, whatever floats yer boat fella 🙄
Anyways, talking languages, I’ve lived in Cyprus for 5yrs & can only say about a dozen words & 3 of them mean the same thing 😆 😆
Toon69(Quote)
Toon69″3 of them mean the same thing ” …Beer?
richietoon(Quote)
@T69
Whatever floats ya boat?!!!! 😯
Very inappropriate. You now think I’m the bloody captain of the cruise liner sunk in the Med. ! 😯
Tasteless humour you’ve got! 😯
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Cracking article!! Personally i think we have been truly blessed to lose such a quality player and have him replaced with a younger just as quality player. Never thought I’d say it after Jose left but I’d choose santon now!
Poosetoon(Quote)
Richie 😆 Aye that’s what worries me!
Newkie(Quote)
I think the point is that this kid is only 20!!!!! Compare him with our other 20 year olds. He is so comfortable on the ball even against seasoned prem players and is one of those special players, from what I’ve seen so far, that make the game look easy. Have you noticed that he seems to have more time than the standard pro. Don’t get me wrong – I also thought Enrique was going to be a hard act to follow but this boy impresses me enormously. What’s he going to be like in a year or two and how long will we be able to hang on to him?
Tony Toon(Quote)
It’s hard to say at this stage, Santon has definitely started off far better in comparison to Enrique but there is no denying that Enrique is a very good and competent left back. Santon most certainly has the potential to be better than Enrique and let’s not forget, Enrique is in his mid-twenties whereas Santon is still a very young player. I think Sabton will go from strength to strength which is a good thing and a bad thing. Will only be a matter of time until the bigger clubs who can offer European football come knocking 🙁
Mihesh(Quote)
Troy @ 59 – Wot tha **** are your waffling about now 😕
Toon69(Quote)
So looks like Vorm is being lined up to replace Krul! 😯 😉
Also what’s this I hear about Barfa being in a cult??? The kid is as mad as a box of frogs! 😆
*meant in a totally non-racialist way*
Toon Chicken(Quote)
Alright lads, anyone seen anywhere selling Northern Rock kits off cheap? Or is no-one doing that just because of a sponsor change?
blip(Quote)
@T69
Did you go to Cypress on a two week holiday with the lads and couldn’t work out how to get back so just decided to stay there? 😯
Troy Stavers(Quote)
@TC
I told you Krul was a goner for £15m but you scoffed. 🙄
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Makes me laugh that every club in world football still uses the NUFC name to drum up interest in their players.
Did they not get the memo about Fat Freddie leaving? 😆
Toon Chicken(Quote)
lee_ryder Lee Ryder
Told that #nufc not looking at Michel Vorm, sounds like #swansea just generating interest and using NUFC’s name
7 minutes ago
3hourswasted(Quote)
some interesting insight on 2 recently rumoured deals from talksport’s ‘transfer insider’-
Aly Cissokho – Lyon to Newcastle
Lyon have told powerful left-back Cissokho he can quit the Stade Gerland this month, with the player wanting a move to England, preferably to Arsenal. The Gunners are keen, but only want a short-term loan, which Lyon won’t accept. Newcastle consider him an option, but refuse to cough up £8 million, and are prepared to wait. (3/10).
Ravel Morrison – Manchester United to Real Madrid
Morrison is one of the most exciting prospects in the country, but he’s out of contract in the summer, and United are struggling to tie him down to fresh terms. The players agent is seeking a big money, multi-year deal for his client, but Sir Alex Ferguson is unwilling to sanction a pay rise unless his attitude improves. Real Madrid’s name is being suggested as agent ploy to get Morrison the offer he wants, but so far, it’s not working. (1/10).
http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/1467/91/transfer-insider-de-jong-liverpool-man-united-kid-real-madrid
M(Quote)
Troy @ 67 – Na I was posted here & paid to sunbath for 2 yrs by UK taxpayers… loved it so much I came back 😆 😆
Toon69(Quote)
Santon hands down for me, could go on to be a great – has 8 years at the least (injuries aside) before he starts to marginally slow etc.
Already appears to be one of the most promising and potentially accomplished players in the PL.
Good on the club once more – I pray they keep improving everywhere steadily as we have – what a future we now appear to have – spine tingling.
Mike Ashleys Black and White Army ……..
Stardust(Quote)
@67
Thud? Thud is that you?
mark(Quote)
@Stardust
Woo hoo hoo hoo. You horrible little creature.
Your spine is made of jelly so im not surprised it’s tingling. It’s wobblying in sequence with your belly. 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)