The NUFC cull continues...

It seems as though Alan Pardew is pressing ahead and shaping the squad for the new season despite all of the mumblings of discontent going on around Newcastle at the moment.

It seems as though the door is going to be open to more of the fringe players as they are about to be told that their chances of first-team football are going to be limited in the forthcoming season. The message from Pardew is simple. Know your role and understand it, and there is the door if you don't like it.

According to The Chronicle that threat is aimed at players such as Alan Smith (we know already he has been told he can leave, (yet like a bad smell he continues to linger), Nile Ranger, Wayne Routledge and so on. Players who are only ever going to be on the periphery of the squad are the targets this time around.

“There will be a couple of decisions that will have to be made," Pardew told The Chronicle. "It is about accepting your role in the squad. We have players like Joey Barton and Fabricio Coloccini who will be expecting to play every game."

“But we also need players who will need to make competition for places below that group. Some may not see a lot of football.”

“It is up to them if they are prepared to stay and be in that role – or move on. Those are the types of conversations I will be having with the players involved over the next seven or eight days.”

Well I guess you can't say that he isn't being honest with his squad.

However I'd urge caution when dealing with matters like this. Granted some of them players are useless and are about as much use in the Premier League as a chocolate fireguard, like Wayne Routledge for example, but it is a squad game and at some point we will need to call on backup players and hope that they can do a job.

Those that were around last season (so most of them) will have seen that they all ended up getting minutes on the pitch in some form or another so they'll get chances again this time around. It's up to then to then stake their claim for a more important role, like Leon Best did, although with the striker up for sale it leaves me wondering just what the point in trying actually is.

I also take note that The Chronicle understands that Barcelona are interested in Jose Enrique.

Quite how they'd know this is beyond me, and probably beyond many of us, but few would begrudge the Spaniard a move to arguably the biggest club in World football. Personally a good three quarters of one Premier League season doesn't make a Barcelona player, but I wouldn't get angry if he did end up moving to the Nou Camp. Somehow I can't see it coming off though. Jose is a good player. but he is not a Barcelona player.

What do you reckon? Too many chnages too soon? Jose to Barca?