The reason? Newcastle are apparently looking into the possibility of signing highly rated Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk from Groningen in the summer.
Groningen’s General Manager Hans Nijland has confirmed that the defender and his agent are set for talks with United in the near future ahead of a summer move for the 20-year-old who has been in impressive form this season, making 22 appearances and scoring three goals along the way.
Van Dijk is under contract until 2015 so cash will be needed to secure a deal, but with the player looking to move on and test himself on a bigger stage it seems as though any official approach from United would prompt the player to want to move. Even so, I don’t think it will take a huge fee to prize him away and would say that roughly £4m would be enough to seal any deal.
Now I know next to nothing about this player, but in general our scouting is good so I would hope we’ve put the time and effort into looking at the lad.In fact I’m pretty certain we will have so if Graham Carr and Co rate him then it’s good enough for me.
It also helps add to a position that is in dire need of being strengthened – defence! In fact I’d go as far as to say that I’d be happy with us just concentrating on beefing up our defence over the summer, providing we don’t lose any of our first-teamers course. If we do they will also need replacing.
I’m happy that we seem to be pressing on with things in the transfer market and already have plans in place. What is needed is not a major overhaul in personnel this summer, instead we need to carefully add to what we have already, and with this rumoured interest it would appear that we are looking at doing just that.
Maybe we can have a proper pre-season next time to boot!
Holy ****!!! what the hell happened at QPR???
What a great night of results for us!!!
God I truly hate Liverpool!!!
Heard something quite worrying on the 3 Legends tonight like, if Bolton, Everton or THE SCUM reach the final of the FA Cup it would mean 6th place misses out on Europe… I’ve emphasised the scum because I spot a potentially sick twist to the end of our season… Christ I hope I’m wrong!!! 🙁
Sharpy17(Quote)
Next two games are crucial…
Lose both and Liverpool will move ahead of us on the log…
Win both, however, we would be 8 points clear of Liverpool with just 7 games to go… Virtually out of reach and top six secured…
JJ(Quote)
signing off for a bit…
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
JJ….what would be a nightmare is the scum losing the FA cup final and nicking a Europa cup spot off us…….not as bad as them winning the fecker, but bad never the less 😕
richietoon(Quote)
FSOTC
Not Best mate… Saylor
Up until Saylor Got injured we had the joint best defense in the league…
Now of the top 15 clubs, only Norwich have conceded more goals than us.
Just shows how **** Willo has been and how we’ve missed Steven Taylor.
How wrong Stardust was…
JJ(Quote)
Sharpy that’s right.
It’s sickening that 6th could count for nothing in terms of Europe. We are relying on the scousers to win their tie. Otherwise we would have to get 5th 👿
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
JJ to be fair Tiote has been missing for half those games as well. Huge miss though. Absolutely insane to think we didn’t make even the slightest of defensive investments in January, even if Williamson was okay, Pards clearly has no faith in Kadar, we have literally noone left.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
JJ…you’re assuming Liverpool will beat Wigan, win our next 2 and it’s possible we could be 11 points clear of them….unlikely, but possible 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Richie @73
Agreed, that’s why I bet a mate 100 quid they wouldn’t catch us… Think that bets safe…
Problem is I owed him from a game before when I gave him 10/1 odds that we’d never lose to Stevenage last year. So we should be square.
JJ(Quote)
JJ…. at least you’ll get your money back, for future reference never bet on the Toon v a lower league club in the cup 😉
…on that note I’m outta here, later lads
richietoon(Quote)
Solano I know. It was a terrible gamble. We’ve been so fortunate with other results this year. We could honestly have challenged the top four.
Throwing it away at Fulham, missing the pen against Scum, last minute against Arsenal. Drawing from 2-0 up against Wolves. That’s 10 dropped points…
We’d be sitting in 3rd now. And it could have been done with some defensive investment…
We probably won’t have an opportunity like this for many seasons to come… It’s been a strange season… One of opportunity.
JJ(Quote)
QPR have just taken some of the sting out of our draw with Wolves for me, beating the bindippers from 2-0 down 😆
Susan(Quote)
JJ I reckon we have one more slight window next season, whether we will see the investment to match in the summer i’m not sure, but i think Tottenham/Chelsea/Liverpool will all still be shaky next year.
All goes back to that Luiz sending off on Ba!
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
I’m out too.
JJ(Quote)
FSOTC I think the think is Best played in most of the games when Saylor was in the side, but from Best has been out we have had Willo and a few game we didn’t have Tiote Cabaye etc so it would make them stats void imo
Big Dave(Quote)
Has Demba Ba even scored since we signed Cisse?
If he has, it isn’t often. It seems to have knocked him off his game.
funkyjesus(Quote)
FJ
He scored the first in the win over Villa, don’t think he’s scored since mind
Halftimebovril(Quote)
Erique-absolute clanger tonight
Maybe he’s trying to save some face, make sure liverpool finish below us because he’s only realised what a bunch of c*nts they are now?
Newkie(Quote)
I’m struggling to recall exactly, but with Best connecting to Ba, Ba seemed to be aflame. Since Best got injured, Ba just hasn’t been putting ’em away.
Probably better explanations out there–the Best connection may be more more correlation than causation–but I would be very curious to see someone with real stat & strat chops take up the question.
Help me Statto-wan Kenobi! You’re my only hope!
STATTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Defensively, we’ve definitely suffered since Saylor’s absence. I have to admit, I was critical and very doubtful of the boy, but my-oh-my, was I wrong.
Willo–well, he works hard… and I want him to do well, and sometimes he does okay, but he’s definitely in a rough patch.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
wow great results for us tonight. If this doesn’t spur the lads on then nothing will. Chelsea play Spurs next as well, a result at the baggies could see us catch or even overtake them and a result in the ‘pool game would keep them at bay. Never a better time to go on a good run of results.
DJG(Quote)
funkyjesus March 21, 2012 at 23:00
Has Demba Ba even scored since we signed Cisse?
If he has, it isn’t often. It seems to have knocked him off his game.
In the games that they have played together, Ba has played deeper and out wide more. He tracks back more and is more like a ‘no.10’. Whereas Cisse is like the ‘no.9’ that gets on the end of things and plays closer to goal. He has scored another 2 goals since Villa when they both scored. I’m not too bothed tbh. This means they are striking a good balance and partnership and complement each other rather than get in each others way. Cisse is a born goal poacher by the looks of it so no harm him being in the box. Pardew said he was signed for his finishing and to be at the ‘end of play’. Ba will get less goals with Cisse in the team but does it matter, it’s a team game.
DJG(Quote)
Is it a case where we’re only creating x number of opportunities and either Ba or Cisse’s going to collect them?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
I mean regardless of Best & Ba or Cisse & Ba pairings–the chances our team creates are just pretty few & far between, so either one of them, each of whom is a great finisher, is going to reap the rewards?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
I think Cisse and Ba would score a lot more if we played Ben Arfa behind them rather than the right wing. Ben Arfa himself would probably chip in with a few too.
Pootle(Quote)
Cabaye, Tiote and Perch in the middle should be pretty strong defensively and mean if one of them does surge forward we aren’t left weak in the middle. It would mean Ben Arfa wouldn’t be needed defensively tracking back as much.
Pootle(Quote)
I mentioned before,as long as liverpool,chelsea,spurs. Any two of them in fa cup final. We are guarenteed for europa if we stay on 6th-7th. 😉
As for ba+cisse. I feel this pairing is just decent enough. But is difficult to see both scoring together,due to the fact that both are similar strikers. Unless we get shola into play,he will be providing the assists to both strikers.
That will be a 3front forward line up. 😛
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
The way Chelsea are in turmoil I think we could get 5th.
We have to keep winning of course and that’s looking our biggest hurdle at the moment.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
A haphazard 1-0 win at home against Norwich doesn’t seem like the perk me up but it will have done the world of good to kick us back on track.
If we can go to W.B.A and hopefully take the 3 points and other results go in our favour like they did mostly last night, then we would be sailing along comfortably with 8 games to go.
As it stands now, we are 5 points clear of Liverpool and 2 behind Chelsea…
If we could claim 3 points and say Liverpool draw at best, then theoretically we can be 7 points clear with 8 games remaining , leaving a home game against Liverpool to come, which if we won that, that’s Liverpool blown out of the water and we can seriously think about pushing Chelsea for that 5th place.
All pie in the sky theory at the moment but it’s very possible.
Hopefully, we will get our second breath as Arsenal seem to have done and go on a confidence boosting run to the end of the season…
Who knows eh. 😀
wolfie(Quote)
Call me a cynic but I can’t see us getting anything from West Brom. They dismantled Scumberland with ease at home and our form hasn’t been much better.
With Willo having a very rough patch, I’m betting his confidence will be rock bottom at the minute.
Would take a draw before a ball had been kicked.
EvilFranky(Quote)
If ( and that is a big IF ) we beat West Brom and Spurs and Chelsea drew this weekend we would be 5 point off Champions League spot with 8 games to go 😯
Johno Toon(Quote)
Franky @105 I would be the same with West Brom , they are a good side.
Johno Toon(Quote)
EVILFRANKY, considering we are in 6th place and West Brom are no where near, what puts the thought in your head that we can take the 3 points?
Are you basing it on history or because you think Willo or someone will have a stinker or is it that West Brom are suddenly top notch and we are ****?
Seriously, what makes you think on the downside like this?
wolfie(Quote)
Can=Can’t . 😀
wolfie(Quote)
Wolfie – Because as Johno said West Brom have been decent under Hodgson, they beat us at home and now we have to go and play them at their place where they have taken the scalps of Chelsea and Scumberland who are teams around us.
In their last 7 games they have only lost twice, and have scored 13 goals…
No not impossible but that form doesn’t fill me with confidence. Plus having a very shaking CB more than likely low on self esteem…you get the picture.
EvilFranky(Quote)
Evil I think your right I do think we will struggle against WBA as im sure they will put up a better fight than Norwich or Wolves.
Big Dave(Quote)
Big Dave – Will will get beat if we perform like we did against Wolves or Norwich.
I dunno what it is but we seem to score then completely go to sleep?? Wolves were there for the taking, then we totally fluffed it. Against Norwich we did nearly the same except we didn’t concede so went on to an unconvincing 1-0 victory.
I just hope we up our game…
EvilFranky(Quote)
West brom are a good side and i really rate hodgson as a manager but i cant see any reason why we cant win there, Yes they beat us earlier in the season but we did have perch at centre half, vuckic in midfield and best getting caught offside every two minutes.
Tiotes back shielding our back four, Williamson is dodgy but probably would have dealt with two of west broms goals at sjp which were tap ins from knocked down crosses when they took advantage of our lack of height and the dembas up top we have every chance for me…
CC(Quote)
West Brom have consistently had the better of us over the past 2 years or so. Recall the two Championship games – both draws but both times outplayed and lucky to get a point.
Same season we went there in the cup and got a spanking.
Moving on to last year, we got dicked at their place again and then enjoyed a rare 45 mins of dominance before capitulating to a 3-3 draw at SJP.
That brings us to our home game earlier this season… where, surprise surprise, West Brom outplayed Newcastle and avoided defeat
Not saying we can’t get a result on Sunday like…. but it would have been tough even if we were in good nick
M(Quote)
hard game on sunday as west brom are our bogey team!! they hammerd us in december when it came to attacking and i think 1 upfront on sunday with 5 in midfield may help!! i will be really happy with a point on sunday and really hope tiote gets back into the team!! my team on sunday would be
================krul==================
simpson======colo===wilo==========santon
benny===perch====tiote====cabaye===jonas
=================ba==================
Army69(Quote)