Boom Cheik the room!

Tiote's wonder goal celebration.
You may or may not have heard the Real Radio commentary of the amazing 4-4 draw with Arsenal at the weekend, but if you have you will know where the headline has come from.

If you haven’t done so you can listen to it by clicking this link which will hopefully clarify it for you and put a smile on your face at the same time!

The man that grabbed us a point was Cheik Tiote as he unleashed an unstoppable 30-yard left-footed volley past the Arsenal ‘keeper and into the bottom corner of the Gallowgate net to cap what was a remarkable comeback, a history making comeback no less.

It was a fantastic goal, arguably our goal of the season in fact, and I say that for a number of reasons. Obviously it capped a fantastic comeback for us, but it also somehow drew a line under the Andy Carroll affair that had left many people, including me, feeling a bit down and dejected. It was a goal that reinforced the team spirit that the club has with these players, and that will stand us in good stead as we aim for the points that will ensure survival.

It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again, just how good is Cheik Tiote?

Since he has signed he has been immense for us. He has been the tough-tackling midfield general that we have missed, although to be fair I never realised just how much we missed one in all honesty. He can pass, dribble, run, shoot, obviously, tackle and protect the back four. Is he the complete midfielder?

He has to be very close to it, and all for a bargain £3.5 million from FC Twente in the summer. Whether it was Chris Hughton or Graham Carr or, as would be more likely, a combined effort between the two that got this lad to Tyneside in August you would have to admit that it was a very good deal.

The problem is that the performances of Tiote have alerted the big rich clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United. The Red Devils are said to be mulling over a £15 million summer bid, but to me that seems like wishful thinking on their behalf. Chelsea however, have apparently asked Newcastle to name their price. This is more realistic in my opinion, but where would you value Tiote?

Obviously the ideal scenario is that Tiote stays at Newcastle, but give the fact that the club will more than likely want to cash in, what price would you name to Chelsea if they did come sniffing?

I’d say £30 million isn’t out of the question. Deluded? Maybe, a little, but for that money they would be getting the next Michael Essien. When you consider that Essien was unproven in the Premier League and cost Chelsea £24.4 million way back in 2005 you would have to say £30 million wouldn’t be entirely out of the question.

Every player has a price unfortunately, but what price would you put on Tiote? To me he is actually invaluable to us, but if a sale was on the cards, and given what Pardew said the other day a sale would seem likely, what price would you ask for Tiote?

Oh and one more thing…..



Just for you Cheik, and for Justin Lockwood aswell of course!

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.

79 thoughts on “Boom Cheik the room!

  1. If Chelsea is looking to replace essien, we should set our target extremely high.

    But I hope it doesn’t come to that. He and barton together in the midfield is invauable in my opinion. I’m ready to sign that Gervinho for the sole purpose of providing a fellow countryman for Tiote to keep hikm happy.

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  2. If Tiote is sold we should be looking for £20+million. There is actually a fairly good replacement in Youssef Mulumbu of West Brom. He is a fantastic player and would be available for around 6-7million if they were to get relegated.

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  3. Tiote is priceless, but realistically lets say if someone offered £15-20m then theres no doubt that Cashley will cash on him 🙁

    His range of passing was immense against Arsenal, thought I was looking at Essien 😯

    I really hope some of the money from ‘you-know-who”s sale will be made available in signing 1 of Tiote’s mate, either Gervinho/Doumbia, that might solve our goalscoring problem and at the same time persuade him to stay with us for a longer period 😉

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  4. I’d take that Gervinho- right age, can’t be too expensive…

    Then use some of the AC money to improve Tiote’s contract-

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  5. He’s invaluable imo..and even if we got 30mil I’d prefer to keep the lad rather than selling him and then delving into a world of speculation and rumour, and perhaps buying flops or players not quite up to the same calibre..even if we could get 3 other players with the cash. Seems to me if we could sign him up then we have a guaranteed starter for the forseeable future and a player who has not yet even reached his peek. Tiote..along with Barton are actually more integral I would argue than Carroll ever was. At the end of the day, we could get a big lump like Shola to get on the end of Barton crosses all day, but the services that Barton and Tiote provide are both brilliant and highly consistent.

    Realistically though, this doesn’t translate to the transfer market-who would ever pay 80mil for a defender? So we wouldn’t get his “real” value. By that I mean…if Carroll was worth 35, Tiote would be pushing for 40mil. If Tiote pushed for the move and we absolutely had to sell, then yeah, 30mil would be about right I guess.

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  6. Batty

    Agree 100%. That’s the thing though, If Tiote were to go we are not going to replace him with a player just as good, so everyone might as well forget about that. Mulumbu is a similar player and can do a great job for us though.

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  7. “His range of passing was immense against Arsenal, thought I was looking at Essien”

    His passing and technical ability is actually superior to Essien. If Tiote adds a few more goals, say 5 or 6 per season, he will be superior to Essien in every way.

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  8. I seem to remember Pards saying, when he first joined, that he was identifying key players and then was going to better their contracts. Now, I know that the AC saga kinda put the kaibosh on that statement but if they start selling all his assets then I can’t see him (Pards) wanting to stick around!
    Hard one…

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  9. If Tiote was sold (Man I hope not…bit if), I’d hope for at least 20 million…would want more of course, but 20 would be nice. Tack on the 35 from AC sale and TV money for another season in Prem. How much money would be available next season…assuming 90% went to Pardew to spend and 10% went to pay MA back?

    We’d have crazy money, right? More than we’re used to seeing in recent times anyway. Could you build a midfield around HBA and Barton? You’d still have Jonas, Guthrie, Gosling, and a few others. But, Pardew could change the style of midfield play and bring in some quality at the midfield and probably a couple of strikers as well…with that much money.

    As for who, I am not sure…though I’d like to see a couple of Yanks brought in (Donovan and Dempsey would be nice additions I think).

    I guess what I am saying, is that it may not be SO bad to lose Tiote in the summer…though I dig watching him play and would hate to see him leave.

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  10. On a totally unrelated note…how the heck did Will Smith become the star he is today with a video like that???

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  11. Norcal- Michael Bradley would have been good move for us as he could back up Tiote and also play in a more advanced role a la Barton. A loan with (reportedly) a 4m option to buy was good business by Villa. I would have taken Jermaine jones too but Blackburn snatched him up on a similar deal.

    We do need to develop a backup to Tiote in case his head is turned. We shouldn’t be selling any of our top players, but if we are forced to, only when a replacement is already on the squad. I used to think Barton could be a perfect DM, but he has become far too valuable in his current role.

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  12. If we got crazy money offers of £20m+ each for say Tiote & Jose, then I would expect them to be sold as that put £5m to add to the £35 already recieved. You can build a new squad with that money.

    However, hopefully it won’t come to that and I am looking forward to a midfield of Barton – Tiote & ??? (Ozan Ipek) a good left sided Joey B. This would then free up Nolan, HBA etc to really attack.

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  13. With regards to summer recruitments, we, like most teams are most probably keeping a close eye on the German League. Some top sides are having mares this season and relegation is a real possibility for some of them. With players like Hunt, Pogrebnyak and Boulahrouz potentially available at a discount it was definitely smart to avoid panic buying in Jan.

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  14. MDS, Michael Bradley was only a loan, right? I agree, would have liked very much to sign either or both of those guys.
    I know this board and really most boards look at European players, and rightly so, but there are some talented Americans out there, and they are generally pretty cheap, compared to the Euro players.
    I keep dreaming of a Yank in Toon stripes longer than a half season loan or something…some day…oh yes, some day.

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  15. I just hope that Tiotes goal will encourage him to shoot more now, as I have said from the moment we 1st seen him that he should take more chances as he can hit the ball like a loaded gun 😆

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  16. Stuart Attwell will be the man in the middle of Newcastle’s visit to Blackburn on Saturday.

    The Warwickshire-based official became the youngest person to ever referee in the Premier League when he took charge of Blackburn’s 1-1 draw against Hull in August 2008, and was promptly added to the international list of referees for 2009.

    Atwell has been handed one United game this season – the draw away at Wolves on Saturday, August 28, in which Andy Carroll netted for the Magpies.

    In that game there were no fewer than 12 yellow cards. James Perch, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan, Carroll and Shola Ameobi all found their way into the referee’s notebook, along with seven Wolves players.

    In total, Atwell has officiated 17 games this term, handing out 53 bookings and two sendings off. His most recent game was West Ham’s 3-1 victory at Blackpool last Wednesday, where he produced one yellow card.
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    Oh dear,are we in for dishing of cards soon? 😆 🙄

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  17. Boularhouz 😯

    Or however you spell it 😉

    No chance. He was shut at Chelsea, with a much better team in front of him aswell!

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  18. AOD – Hopefully not. Warwickshire isn’t that big, and I live in it so if he ***** up I’ll hunt him down and hurt him 😈

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  19. Sorry, lads. That’s me last one, I swear. 😆

    Toonsy

    I am a fan of Boulahrouz. I think his versatility and fearlessness would make him a great partner for Coloccini.

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  20. El Toro
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nusj9FOUN_c

    There are few players I would love to see in Black and White of Newcastle United especially Andre Schurrle(striker)….

    Apart from him, Heiko Westermann(if Tiote leaves, HW can play all across the defense as well) and Marko Marin (can play as an AM and on both RW as well as LW) would be also nice addition to the team

    IMO, Germany is the hot spot for young emerging talents in football right now, wouldnt mind if we were able to get some players from there….

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  21. @neeraj: i agree. i always have some fetish about german players. 😎

    Espeically in defense department,german players all class. 😈

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  22. Neeraj

    I must admit that apart from Marin I haven’t really seen much of the others, if anything at all. Germany does indeed seem like the place to look right now though. Marin would cost a pretty penny and we would face competition from almost every top club.

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  23. If Tiote goes, which I don’t even want to consider, we will obviously fetch a significant fee for him, and I think a potential replacement would come from the Dutch league as well. You all remember Leroy Fer when we were link with him in the summer well boom replacement, but I would prefer we go sign his countrymen Gervinho The Ivory Coast comes to the Tyne.

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  24. AoD…..that’s exactly how it looked when I started going, used to stand at the back of the Gallowgate underneath the scoreboard, Happy days 😀

    BenArfa..hadnt realised it was yours mate, it’s a corka 😆

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  25. well thats aboot reet you were 25yrs old when started going according to toonsy put 3o on to that 😀

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  26. couple of my favs

    cheick tiote once shook hands with Jeremy beadle

    Heather Mills once went in for a 50/50 with Cheik Tiote

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  27. Aliadiere and Ewerthon in talks with Newcastle according to the ever reliable Metro 🙄

    We are the Man City of free transfers, hoarding them all so nobody else can get them 😆

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  28. TOONSY sounds good Aliadiere is **** Ewerthon been oot with injury for 6mths they say,aye aboot reet 😡

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  29. Couldn’t tell you Ice. I know Ewerthon has played this season, but their season is different to ours I think?

    Even so, I’d still take him over Aliadiere 😆

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  30. The ground looks **** there like, its not really very long ago is it in the scheme of things. Someone petrol bombed the West Ham fans. 😯 Crazy

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  31. DLG…that’s why some of our fans should get a reality check…things have been way worse than where we are now.

    I remember the West Ham firebombing well…it was crazy…..going to London wasn’t much fun in those days either..

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  32. DJG – The ground was falling apart, as were many others at the time. It’s just how it was. Hillsborough and to an extent Bradford changed that.

    The scousers go on about Hillsborough being a tragedy, but have a look on youtube for Bradford City fire. I’m not putting a link up because it’s horrible, especially when the comentator says “that poor man is on fire” 😥

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  33. Man Oh man do I hope Ashley doesn’t read this article

    He’d be licking his lips knowing the Toon fans acceptance that we’d be accepting Tiote to go for 20mil plus!!!

    Tiote is probably worth around 25mil for his position, skill and age in the current market.

    But we should only ever let someone go, if we had someone with the potential coming in to be just as good. Which we don’t…

    It’d be like selling a Rolls Royce and buying 15 Uno Fiats. It doesn’t make economical sense. We just lose an appreciating asset and gain who whole bunch of depressiating cr@p.

    I wouldn’t sell for anything under 30mil even if he wants to go!!!

    Its a fact. We won’t find a better left back than Enrique anywhere nor a better DM than Tiote ANYWHERE!!!

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  34. I remember a group of Chelsea fans going crazy on toon fans with Stanley knives in Newcastle…ugly stuff…..

    Whereas I really enjoy seeing the classic old photos of the old West Stand with its domed roof, the the absolute killer for me is the Leazes End without a roof and with that **** concrete terracing…shoit it was…

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  35. Its amazing more people wern’t killed the way they were crushed in to the terraces. Just showed me fatha some of those pics and he just said, ‘you should have seen it in the 60’s’. 😯

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  36. JJ…someone touched on this last week, I think MA has very little ambition and will sell anyone if the price is right. It’s all down to making money, sporting success doesn’t come into it. A certain amount of investment will be made, but just enough to keep us safe in the cash cow EPL.

    There will always be replacements for Tiote and Enrique, though they most probably won’t be better than those guys. But Ashley is busy grounding the fans into the dirt, and we’re all primed for both of these players leaving in the summer. Sad state of affairs, but we’re being treat like **** and he wont bat an eyelid, he knows he’ll never be accepted on the Tyne.

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  37. I liked that old stand at Oakwell though, the one that is 90 year old or something and made of ironwork. It looks good I think, nostalgic. All these new superbowls 21st century stadia that all look the same arn’t my cup of tea.

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  38. Here’s my valuation of Newcastle players:

    Harper (2.5mil)
    Forster (3mil)
    Krul (2mil)
    Simpson (4.5mil)
    Williamson (3.5mil)
    Coloccini (8mil)
    Enrique (18mil) – still wouldn’t sell for less than 25mil
    Barton (16mil)
    Tiote (24mil)
    Nolan (7mil)
    Jonas (6.5mil)
    Ben Arfa (12mil) and rising with experience
    Best (3mil)
    Ameobi (3mil)
    Ranger (2.5mil)
    Lovenkrans (1mil)
    Gosling (5mil)
    S Taylor (5mil)

    Smith (500k)
    R Taylor (750k)
    Routeledge (1.5mil)
    Guthrie (2mil)
    Kadar (1mil)
    Vuckic (4mil)
    Campbell (free)
    Perch (250k)
    Xisco (750k)
    Ferguson (750k)

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  39. Toonsy…Dortmund have the biggest standing end in europe I believe, something like 27,000 in one terracing…they call it the yellow wall or summat…amazing..

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  40. Munich – Aye I was researching terraces around the time we played Peterborough and saw that. I also saw another team (Stutgaart I think) had kind of bar stools/**** rests rather than seats so essentially your stood up but your technically sitting down.

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  41. ‘NUFC cite customer demand for this move: coincidentally of course, most of the “FCB” chants originate from there.’

    Very coincidental indeed. 🙂

    Of course there is nothing to stop a mass movement to the opposite corner and doing it there.

    Also does this mean that the L7 crowd will now have to pay a ‘category 2’ at least price and not a L7 price. Provided they arn’t ‘family section’. Another kick in the nuts from Ashley?

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