Double defensive boost for Magpies?

Captain Colo set for new deal?
Newcastle could be handed a double defensive boost as the January transfer window starts to wind down.

With just eight days of the window remaining Alan Pardew is still searching for defensive reinforcements although it is being reported that a defender is now the top priority and should arrive before the window closes.

The rumour regarding FC Twente’s Douglas Franco Teixeira is doing the rounds again with claims that a fee in the region of £4.5m would be enough to secure the services of the 24-year-old year old defender who is out of contract in the summer.

Adrian Mariappa was linked with us in the Sunday Sun yesterday although I’m personally unconvinced by the 25-year-old. At a rumoured £3m, I personally think we could get a better defender for that price. I mean he’s 25 now and hasn’t been touted by any other Premier League club so you just have to ask, why?

Whoever the new defender is the one thing he must have in his locker is pace. Fabricio Coloccini isn’t the fastest and Mike Williamson is a bit slower than that so by bringing in a defender which a bit of pace it would give us another string to our defensive bow.

In other news I see Fabricio Coloccini’s agent is due into Newcastle to, hopefully, sort out a new deal for his client. Now Coloccini had a ropey game on Saturday, as did all of our defence to be fair, but all players will have off days and he is still one of our most important players. A new deal for our our Argentinian Captain is a must. We have to keep him.

The signs are positive. I don’t expect to see any players bleating on about our lack of ambition this time around for example, not now they’ve seen just what these younger, cheaper models are capable of. We’re also set for a top half finish, maybe even higher if we can carry on what we’ve been doing for the bulk of the season which would mean that the next step up to Europe isn’t too far away. Well, in theory anyway…

So a double defensive boost involving a new player and the retention of one of our current stalwarts?

That’ll do for me!

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.

88 thoughts on “Double defensive boost for Magpies?

  1. Alright lads… this is good news, hopefully he’ll put pen to paper.

    I haven’t had to a chance to comment on the fulham game so i thought i’d put my two-pennth in now:

    It seems to me that if we go behind…. we can’t cope.

    We can’t chase the game.

    Off the top of my head – Norwich (A), WBA (H) and now Fulham (A) are examples of this. There may be more but like I said that’s just from the top of my head.

    When ever we go behind we play a really high defensive line… maybe rightly so as of course we need a goal. BUT!!!

    Our CB’s are far too slow to play a high defensive line. All the game reading in the world means nothing if you can’t get to the ball first. The last goal on Saturday was probably the best (or worst!) example of this.

    So your comment that we should be getting someone with a bit of pace really stands out for me.

    There was definately positives to take out the game though. HBA really impressed and if he practices his tackling he’ll become a brilliant all-rounder. We scored 2 goals at the end of the day and if they hadn’t score any well… obvious statement but we would have one. So the high line cost us… again!

    Guthries goal was an absolute peach!

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  2. Colo is a must , I think most fans would agree on that , he is immense and he will be an important part of our team for a good few years yet IF he signs regardless of him going into his 30’s. In regards to Douglas , I havent seen him play ( like the majority of our targets/new signings ) but if the clubs scouts and Pardew feel he is good enough to sign that is good enough for me!

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  3. Nice one to start the week, Toonsy – especially after that gutting result.

    I was sat by the phone and was very happy when Absolute Radio didn’t ring as arranged. What a day to have to talk on national radio about football.

    The best news was that everyone around and above us had a ***** weekend too, so no massive damage done apart from goal difference.

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  4. Good statement Nobby.

    Your first post was good as well. 😛

    Seriously. I agree with your point about our CB’s having no pace. That’s exactly when Colo gets exposed.

    He isn’t going to get any quicker either. Food for thought. 😯

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  5. I thought we really missed Saylor yesterday. There’s no way the defence would have unravelled like that with him bawling at them and giving it the ‘death-or-glory’ approach.

    Agree with the article completely, though – Colo is our Captain and the glue in the defence, but we need the option of speed next to him to cope with the likes of Dempsey (who deserves huge credit, by the way)

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  6. get douglas in and colo on a new contract and im really happy!! this week we shud defo do business so im lookn 4wad to sein who we bring in cos will for me isnt gud enoigh to partner colo if we wana get into europe!

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  7. The pace issue was only an issue for two reasons.

    1 – No Tiote. When he plays they don’t have to step up as he is usually gloating around where they were stepping up to.

    2 – We were chasing the game. People who are just brushing the penalty off as unimportant really are clueless. In fact I wonder if they’ve actually played the game beyond Sunday League. That pen gave Fulham belief and made it easy for them. Then they got a quick 2nd and then were chasing the game, which is when our high line came into play in an attempt to squeeze the play and push Fulham back.

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  8. heres my predictions for next few games

    brighton win
    blackburn draw
    aston villa win
    spurs ( if demba and tiote back ) draw ( if not ) lose

    hope pardew gives them a big kick up the **** in tenerrife and lets them all know how embarrasin saturday was!! i dont understand tho bcos we played fulham off the park first half!!! strange game

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  9. For me, I thought Saturday was a disaster for the following individuals especially:

    Pardew – Should have rung the changes sooner, shouldn’t have brought Perch on when chasing the game, should have taken Ameobi off instead of Best/not started Shola. Should have taken Cabaye off instead of Guthrie.

    Santon – Caught out of position way too often. His yellow, the penalty and at least a few more goals/good chances came about because he was nowhere to be seen in defence, instead having to sprint back from upfield. I’m all in favour of our fullbacks attacking, but maybe Santon needs to tone it down a bit. Left Colo completely exposed IMO.

    Williamson – What to say? Didn’t look comfortable under pressure. Not a good sign for a centreback. But, then again, he should be 4th choice by the end of this window…

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  10. @Toonsy

    You can’t take away the fact, Colo is rarely exposed but when he is it’s down to playing a high line and getting done for pace.

    Tiote will be gone in February so that’s worrying. 😉

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  11. Toonsy@9 Bang on on both points – 2nd inparticlar. The ref had an absolute shocker.

    If we still had that one goal advantage we would have been able to sit deep where our CB’s are best.

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  12. its not just the players that need to get there act together tho !! pardews tactics were terrible !! perch on ?? when we are chasing a game?? strange decisions

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  13. yeah the ref had a shocker aswell what gave fulham an advantage! the first pen was not on the box!! andy johnson changed it all 4 them! brian ruiz was fantastic 😆 plzd we didnt get him mind

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  14. think people get carried away by thinking we should go to Fulham and win, why? they have achieved far more than us in the last few yrs with regards to league and cup positions, and have a very good team, who wouldnt want dempsey or ruiz or dembele, id take murphy aswell. so chill out. We have half a 1st team missing and people call it embarassing

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  15. The thing is though… when we went behind i was thinking – we need to bring someone on to change the game and get/create a goal. we had NO ONE on the bench that could have done that. our ‘best team’ was already out on the field. at one point (jesus) i was thinking – we need obertan. 😯

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  16. army… i don’t think the 1st pen was even a foul, let alone in/out of the box… so so soft i thought it was a marshamallow.

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  17. I’m just wondering why some choose to defend the CB’s cos they got exposed.

    They got exposed cos they were too slow. Fact.

    Tiote wasn’t there but Guthrie was. Does that mean we are fecked whenever Tiote isn’t playing and we go behind. ?

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  18. If we’re chasing the game i’d prefer it if we broke our line and we kept colo deep still… to counter the counter if you get what i mean.

    Anyway… i was **** faced after the game, ended up in the percy arms to watch the game… got home at 3am 😯 the alcohol number my fulham embarrasment 🙁

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  19. Troy i don’t believe we would of conceeded 5 if that 1st pen didn’t happen. ref was a c u next tuesday. i genuinely believe he’s been paid off by someone. we need to get in touch with wayne rooney’s uncle. 😆 prime suspect numero uno

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  20. Colo is a top player he has been beaten for pace on occasion ie odenwenge and on saturday at fulham and that will happen from time to time but his class on the ball is more than enough for me to want to keep him at the toon for many years 😉 I think the second half at fulham was a blip but the window is comeing to an end so where is the defender ! is MA up to his old tricks !!! 😈

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  21. Agree with everything everyone’s said.

    Come on lads!! Someone come up with some utter, complete ***** to argue about!!

    Why should I always have to do it? 😆

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  22. tory… the percy’s mint. some of the bar maids are tidy as well. although clumsy.

    4 glasses were smashed throught the match (that could have been me throwing my pints at the telly 😆 )

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  23. @whimpie

    I disagree with you. How can you agree with everyone particularly when I don’t agree with you. 😯

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  24. For some reason I can’t bring myself to be all that upset about Saturday. Surprised, yet – but perhaps it’s the shake-up we needed to illustrate how difficult getting a European spot is going to be.

    Oh, that and the fact that the ****, Chelski, Spuds and Bindippers all got done for points as well. :mrgreen:

    Seriously – I think we’ve got away with it this time, but only if it galvanises some action both from the club (in terms of recruitment) and the players who seemed to just run out of belief for 20 minutes.

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  25. whumpie@35, yeh spot on 17 to 20 minutes they just stopped playing but fulham will be around us in the fight for 6 , 7 , 8 in the league . We have 7 or 8 top class players 3 are in africa one is injured and one had an off day !

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  26. Whumpie, I look at it as a reality check, Dalglish hit the nail on the head when he said his players cant turn up an expect to win and we did just that second half.
    Also, we can pick fault with the centre halves who were seriously exposed but we defend as a team, the full backs went missing as did the midfield in front, the whole shape went awol.
    We should have re organized following the first pen, kept the back 4 together and held the midfield instead of charging forward leaving acres of space to be exploited, mind you it didnt help when the front 2 were absolute pish.

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  27. “keith
    January 23, 2012 at 10:51

    whumpie@35, yeh spot on 17 to 20 minutes they just stopped playing but fulham will be around us in the fight for 6 , 7 , 8 in the league . We have 7 or 8 top class players 3 are in africa one is injured and one had an off day!”

    Spot on Keith, I actually just wrote an article discussing that exact point… Cabaye was also playing with an injury and I’d say both Colo and Krul had off days but have been brilliant so far.

    I also believe their lack in belief in our front line of Ameobi and maybe Best to score goals also effects morale when we go behind.

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  28. @JamieDalton82
    Jamie Dalton
    Guincamp winger Anthony Knockaert confirms that Newcastle have been in contact with his agent.
    2 minutes ago via TweetDeck
    Favorite Retweet Reply

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  29. agree with the penalty shout, we looked comfortable until that point. damien duff gets on my tits diving about like some one drove a train in to his back and then haggling the referee “look i dived inside the box”. Gimp.

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  30. sadly Dave i’ve never played above championship level… the old knee stopped me getting my dream move to coventry city when they were in the prem. 😉

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  31. Agree with the last few comments, this wasn’t a bad day at the office coz we were by far the stronger team in the first half. I think they went in at half time and switched off, it’s hard to play football with one foot on a plane to Tenerife like.
    I would have been more concerned if they were as poor for the full 90mins.
    Let’s just hope we don’t miss out on Europe by 3 points tho, coz that game should have been over at half time really.

    Colo really should be kept for me, he may lack alittle pace but he’s a great defender and the younger players can learn alot from him, and according to Saylor he does an inspirational team talk at the start of every game (maybe forgot to do one at half time on Sat).

    I’ve found that football teaches you alot about yourself. I mean, last day of the transfer window in the summer, and like most I was glued to Sky Sports News waiting to see who our new striker would be. Now you would think the disappointment of that day would have taught me a lesson wouldn’t you… well it would appear not!!
    I have convinced myself again that we will sign another 2 players next week (1 possibly a loan), and that our top players will stay put.
    Hope I’m right coz I was like a bear with a sore head for days after the last window, me and the missus had a right barny… she just doesn’t get it man!!!

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  32. Not only was the incident outside the box – it was a dive by that git Duff.

    Apart from that it was all fair and above board.

    The FA will happily throw millions of pounds and thousands of man-hours at a case of name-calling, but cheating? Not important to them.

    Shiny building full of arseholes in Soho Square. 🙄

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  33. west brom games been moved as well… eeeee… i’ve got a life y’know. they can’t be messing with me diary like this! 😆

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  34. Like most people I suppose at the time I felt let down, angry,disgusted,and embarrassed.None of which do any good.Being in charge of a kitchen brigade most of my working life my number one rule was. If we all take the praise when things go right, we all take the blame they don’t,Learn by it and it will make you better.

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  35. Shiny arseholes in Soho Square Whumpie? Surely not. Back to the second half on Sat. Anyone remember another game at Fulham when AJ did exactly the same thing to Colo (think it was his first season) and I think Cacapa. Colo’s really susceptible when someone runs directly at him. The rest of his game is fabulous but Willo? For me he’s weak, slow off the mark and absolutely hopeless with the ball. Please bring in a class centre back now!

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  36. jj@38 , Yeh Cabaye dident look right and to be fair to the team i wouldent blame them to doubt shola and best they dont give us a goal return ! but we move on i dont think we will see many performances like that , heres hoping 😉

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  37. Not that I want to let our lads off the hook, but surely some credit to Fulham’s attack? That was one hell of a purple patch, and they buried every one of their chances. Dempsey was on fire. Again. Dammit.

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  38. If this mariappa is any good it’s a disappointment. Once a player’s been linked with us by Sky or any of the other fiction-peddlars, there’s no way they’re coming here.

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  39. Richie

    Fabio Cannavaro was only 5’10” and Lilian Thuram was only 5’11”.

    Still don’t want him though 😆 😉 😉

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  40. Good words from Cabaye in that interview. Good to see the honesty there, and he’s clearly massively pissed-off about that 2nd half collapse, even a couple of days later. Too right – but a lot of players just don’t think like that these days.

    They’ll put it right. Brighton are about to get torn a new hoop. :mrgreen:

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  41. Whumpie@62- I agree good interview from him and he seems to admit the players thought they had it won at half time .

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  42. JJ….and?….so if your comparing with them, then your saying he’ll be as good 🙄 …or maybe you could mention Simpson and Perch are under 6ft, what happened again at Norwich 😉
    where as A) where did I say I don’t want him?
    B) most Centre Backs are over 6ft so it’s generally relevant 😉

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  43. I think we’ll either see a loan deal for an experienced defender outside the recruitment strategy (i.e. older, too expensive and lousy resale value) or a signing within it. There’s no chance we’ll be buying someone outright who’s more than 26. I hope not, anyway – that strategy is why we’re 6th.

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  44. Mariappa is a CB and also a RB too. That’s all i know ,oh and he’s good with both feet apparently.Is he really the answer to our problem at the back is what i ‘d like to know, anyone watched him much ?.

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  45. Kim…Maybe they’re looking at it more from the point of few that who ever comes in now, may have to be content with place on the bench when Taylor returns?….possibly.

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  46. Biggest culprits were Santon being continually out of position and kruls kicking which was terrible and directly responsible for 2nd pen – only players who actually came out with any credit were jonas and hba
    People rightly knock shola but best was woeful on sat as well

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  47. Think the lenth of the contract ganna be a problem with collo myself he lacks pace now so would any1 here here really give him a 4 year contract on 80 k a week and end up with the same prob we got with smith,just a thought 😕

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  48. So does Pardew still get a hammering for his tactics when the players are admitting that they’ve basically switched off?

    You can have the best tactics in the world but you can’t legislate for poor performance from the players…

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  49. Toonarmyelite

    Colo is now 29, so I’d give him a three year deal, at slightly decreased wages, with incentives for league position and games played.

    He has 15 months remaining anyway so it would be a two year extention and to be honest, I would look to sell him after in about two seasons anyway when he’s about 31.

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  50. Toonsy, the only thing I would say Pardew did wrong was not take off Ameobi and put Obertan on. Just my opinion.

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  51. JJ
    if you sell him 2 years down the line hes worth a big fat 0 mate,For me be smart bussiness sell him in the summer next jan at the lastest then club get back what they paid for him 🙂

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