An unexpected bonus!

Staying home after Christmas?
Newcastle have been dealt another piece of positive news for the season ahead and now know that come the next instalment of the African Cup of Nations we won’t be losing as many key players as we perhaps would have done under normal circumstances.

That is because Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse’s Senegal side have been drawn against Cheik Tiote’s Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations final qualifying round draw – a two legged affair that will take place in September and October in weeks that are already scheduled international breaks so will have no extra bearing on our season thankfully.

That means, obviously, that only one side can make it through to the competition proper, which in turn means that we won’t lose all three of them in January and February potentially – it will instead be Cheik Tiote OR Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba.

In a way it is Senegal’s own fault. Their dismal recent showings at the ACoN meant that they took an unseeded place in the draw meaning that they were always going to be up against one of the better teams. However I don’t think it’s the foregone conclusion that some sites are making it out to be with many people backing the Ivory Coast to come out on top over the two legs.

In a way I hope they do as I reckon we can handle losing Cheik Tiote more than we can handle losing our two strikers as things stand, but we’ve seen first hand the quality that Cisse and Ba posses so it would be folly to write Senegal off completely.

However that is just my opinion. Either way we’ve managed to fluke a bit of a bonus and we’ll be keeping at least one of our African contingent through the post-festive period. What I really want to know though is your opinion.

Do you agree with me that losing Tiote is the lesser of the two evils?

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.

132 thoughts on “An unexpected bonus!

  1. Also correct me if I am wrong, a fee can be agreed between to clubs, subject to a medical.. failed medical = no deal… so there would be no legal ramifications….

      (Quote)

  2. Aussie…I meant Maigi would have taken legal action if the club said he had failed a medical when he hadn’t as Marvaux threatened with Liverpool, that forced their club doctor to issue a statement which said he hadn’t 😉

      (Quote)

  3. Rich, I am glad he didn’t sign for us, Maiga seemed like a trouble stirring bullshit artist…. and we no how bad they can be 😉

      (Quote)

  4. We dont need people to pass medicals anyway. I’m sure Ba, Marveaux & Santon didnt, it just means we get them a lot cheaper, and pay them a little (?) bit while they get fit. Thats why I wouldnt be surprised if we sign that injured dutch left back we have been after for years, Pieters isnt it.

      (Quote)

  5. I don’t think a club has a problem signing a player that has an existing injury. As long as they know about it !! A player with a knee injury would be fitness tested anyway to check to see if there are any unknown pre-existing injuries elsewhere.. No one would like to sign a player recovering from a knee injury only to find he has no heart, like Owen 🙂 🙂

      (Quote)

  6. Owen certain had a **** and balls though… he well and truly ****** our clubs finaces over a 5 year period 🙂 🙂

      (Quote)

  7. morning all.
    The Kid @71, I was just reading that ,nice of him to put a word in for us. 😀

    Richie@77 Now don’t go upsetting Aussie this time of the morning 😉 Seriously though ,Dame Edna was never my cup of tea ,but Rolf Harris ,now your talking .Always loved his saturday night show and the big paintings. 😀 😎
    Richie @82 😆 😆 😆

    Back to football ,you gotta laugh ,yesterday Arsenal were after Tiote ,today it’s Benny if Walcott leaves 🙄 The written press get lazier by the day.

      (Quote)

  8. Las vegas and Sunderland dont have much in common but its the only 2 places on earth you can pay for sex with chips…

      (Quote)

  9. Owen even f*ck the bench at Old Trafford….. with his **** cheeks 🙂 🙂

      (Quote)

  10. Kim, thanks for the support, you can clearly see how horrid his behavour is toward me 🙂 I don’t know why either, it is totally unprovoked.. 🙂

      (Quote)

  11. I would say he totally ****** liverpool over they got just £8m for a player at the peak of his powers because the snidey **** wouldnt sign a new contract at the club that had bent over backwards to help him develop as a player and nurse him through loads of injuries, He owed them far more than us and his other clubs and he treated them like something hed trod in…

      (Quote)

  12. And he will do it again where ever he ends up he is fucking them by being there because he is using them to get one last pay day.

    Whod have thunk he would be such a **** after the start of his career when he looked like butter wouldnt melt in his mouth and he lived in that lads poster… 🙄

      (Quote)

  13. Regarding toon transfers, there are squillions of toon dollars to be splashed about, and in my opinion Del Boy and his cohorts can use as many smoke screens and as much skullduggery they like, as long as the right players come in.
    I reckon Debuchy will come in for sure, cos he’s Cabaye’s mate, Pardew wants him, he fits into wor French model, and he’s just what the toon need.

    Regarding centre halves, I fear the toon will go with what we have, with Saylor and Collo making up our back two. At the end of the day, we achieved 5th place last season without Saylor…

      (Quote)

  14. Aussie I see your having problems understanding what I wrote 😀
    As for Maiga you wrote the same thing as I wrote ❓
    But not once did I say the club are making up stories about signing LDJ etc I just said that the club would be happy enough with them stories being in the papers as it would keep the fans onside. 😉

      (Quote)

  15. MM@102 . I think we got relatively lucky with injuries last season ,but Colo is another year older and may pick up a bad injury, also Saylor is really injury prone it would seem. Taking that into account Ifeel it would be foolish not to strengthen at CB ,remember we have more games as well this season and it’s not as if we ain’t known for yonks we need CB reinforcements.

      (Quote)

  16. BD no stress, been a long week mate, so the old brain is working slower than normal (which is very slow to begin with:-)) . Played 18 holes of golf in a comp this morning and struggled through that as well.. 🙂

      (Quote)

  17. MM…cos they are all numbers of players who have left, Barton, Guthrie and Lovenkrands 😉 ……hopefully all to be filled soon 😉

      (Quote)

  18. Gold star for Richie 🙂 🙂 … I bet you sat front and centre in class at school mate 🙂 🙂 🙂

      (Quote)

  19. Kim I agree about CB Saylor is my fav player but I still think there should be another CB of equal quality or better, which would mean that they would have to fight for the starting position.
    Aussie never worry mate I knew you would struggle 😀 as for golf atleast you got to play my game this morning was rained of again FFS 👿

      (Quote)

  20. Kimtoon, I agree 100%, I should have perhaps posted my original comment with a 🙄 🙄 smiley…!

    I was just putting myself in the financial mindset of wor management, and where they will concentrate the available spondoolicks… We all know we could do with stepping up the quality at centre back, we will bring someone in eventually, but whether it will be in this transfer window I’m not sure. Significantly Pieters the cloggy hasn’t moved on yet, he would fill in in several positions across the back line….

      (Quote)

  21. If I’d done that then maybe I wouldn’t have turned out into the waste of space I am now 😥 😆

      (Quote)

  22. Richietoon@108, nice one mate, nice to see someone knows what is happening at the toon… 😉 😉

      (Quote)

  23. Richietoon@112, naaah, that wouldn’t have helped you either mate…. 😉 😉 😆

      (Quote)

  24. Rich 🙂 🙂

    BD 🙂 boils my **** as well when I can’t get out for a hit as well…

      (Quote)

  25. MM…Stuttgart should be of for you if we get them in the Europa shouldn’t it?….assuming we get to the group stages!

      (Quote)

  26. ****, how many ‘as wells’ can you fit into one sentence 🙂 🙂

      (Quote)

  27. aussie magpie fan…..you should stick to 9 holes mate, 18 just puggles the brain … 😆 😆 😆

      (Quote)

  28. Richie, Stuttgart would do nicely mate, not too far from wor hoose either. Could get ugly though, cos they are putting a canny side together, and have a 56K stadium which could get pretty intimidating…

      (Quote)

  29. Big D….have you seen on the dark side that the blogmaster and his stormtroopers are doing a hatchet job on a lad who made a perfectly pointed observation about wor current RB….. 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯

    It’s an absolute disgrace ower there… I’m reminded why I detest the blokes opinions…

      (Quote)

  30. MM, yeah mate 18 holes is certainly hard on the concentration cells… 🙂 9 holes can feel too short & 18 can feel like an eternity, love the game though… 🙂

      (Quote)

  31. Reet, got the toon bus filled up to 4,5 bodies for the trip to Landsberg….pity the rest will be cheering for Monaco 😥 …..maybe I can sway the bairn and his mother 😉 😉

      (Quote)

  32. Aussie, agreed mate, it’s a test of attrition… 🙁

    Couldn’t get into golf mate, tried it but found it too time consuming… my gash driving technique didn’t help much either 😆 😆

      (Quote)

  33. Richie, if that game came off I would be ecstatic. There would be huge toon crew turning up for that game… 😎

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *