“I think our fans would honestly accept eighth” – Pardew

Is 8th enough?
Alan Pardew has moved to dampen down expectations ahead of the new Premier League season and claims that the fans would be happy with an 8th placed finish as a minimum.

Speaking to The Chronicle, Pardew was keen not to raise the bar ahead of the new season although he did admit that qualifying for the Champions League will be the ultimate aim for the season ahead.

Much of what we do next season will depend on how we strengthen over the summer, but with no new signings imminent it would appear that we must wait to see who our first “first team” signing will be this summer. Equally important though is keeping hold of our current crop of stars. With another season of Premier League football under their belts these guys can only get better which could help us out next season.

“If we improve and these guys get another year under their belts together, there’s no reason why we can’t do the same – if not better,” Pardew told The Chronicle.

“I don’t want to raise unexpected expectations. I think our fans would honestly accept eighth, though I don’t think they’d want us to finish lower.”

“That would be a decent season, but wouldn’t it be great if we could get in the top four, so that’s where we’ve got to aim.” He added: “Where we fall will probably depend on injuries, form and a little bit of luck.”

So in your opinion is 8th the minimum you would accept from the new season?

It’s a hard one to judge to be honest as so much depends on other teams. I think we fluked it a little bit last season in truth. That’s not to say that we didn’t deserve to finish 5th because we did. What I mean is that other “big hitters” had torrid times last season, like Chelsea who have spent a fortune already this summer.

Ultimately I’d like us to improve on last season although I do understand that it will be hard to achieve. Would I be happy with 8th though? Probably not as it’s a backward step although ultimately I’ll only really be able to gauge my happiness come the end of the season and after I can survey what went on and what went wrong.

How about you though?

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.

220 thoughts on ““I think our fans would honestly accept eighth” – Pardew

  1. 8th as a minimum expectation is fair. Also right to aim for 4th. We’re playing in Europe this year, so extra games to think of, they’ll have an impact.
    Common sense from Pardiola there.

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  2. I will be happy with finishing in 4th place provided an EPL team winning the Champions League does not finish below us.

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  3. The fact that the teams around us last season have spent some money already this season may or may not have any bearing on how well we do, as most of the players they’ve spent massive amounts on may fail to live up to their current standards in the PL, we’ve seen it before on quite a few occasions ie Kezman, shevchenko etc who were top dogs in Europe but couldn’t handle life in the PL, so I’m not worried, I think if we keep the players we have & add 1 or 2 more plus bring up a few of the young lads too, who can play some of the cup games, giving our main 11 the rest they need, I think we’ll be around the same place at the end of next season..

    It may also be we lose a place or 2 depending on how long we stay in europe, it happened with Stoke & Fulham, so unless we bring in a few top class players, we may suffer but hopefully the players we have will step up & show their true value, which will be a problem next summer 🙁

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  4. got to be looking at no lower than 7th as teams like everton wouldont be happy with 8th if we finished 8th people would say last season was a fluke with a couple of defenders in and hoilet look at 6th or 7th h w t l

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  5. I’d accept 8th as long as the teams above us are teams you’d expect in the top 8, and not the makems! Also I’d only be happy if we’d at least tried hard to get europe again. Bad luck is one thing, buta collapse against bottom half clubs (cost us CL last year imo) would be annoying.

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  6. The season gone was not perfect and still we managed 5th.. There is room for improvement so who knows where we will finish.. The PL has become more competitive and it is no longer a three horse race.. man u – arsenal – chelsea. Man City will shake things up for a few seasons and Spurs have competed well.. We will be in the mix again based on our current line up.. get a few more and and we can certainly progress.. lose a few and who knows…

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  7. I would accept 8th ,so long as we won one of the other competitions we are in, Fa cup , League cup or Europa league . A good season for me though would be to finish no lower than last season , even 6th would be a decent finish . The big question for Pardew is , what would Ashley deem as a required finish ? i think mid table could cost Pardew his job after a fifth place finish last term . Remember Ashley did sack Hughton after doing a fantastic job because he felt Hughton had took us as far as he could .

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  8. I think the Europa league will have a big impact on our final league position. I cant see us winning alot of games whilst involved esp if we make it into the group games due to the impact it will have in our match prepartions. We put in a lot of work the week before a match , and that will have to be cut if we have a game thurs then on Sun. Not alot of time to prepare. But think we have enough in us top compete for a top 6 finish but Id be happy enough with 8th

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  9. depends if he strengthens the squad at all i guess. so far its all been one way traffic with departures… so that coupled with us playing in the euro stuff means that we will do worse than last season unless we do add 1 or 2 good guys..a peiters or junior etc. who knows, its newcastle united, anything can happen from 1st to 20th… we are capable of getting both spots.

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  10. Looking at the last two seasons in the carling cup we played the stiffs against arsenal at home with wigan, ipswich and birmingham to play, Last season if we’d scraped past blackburn we would have played Cardiff, Crystal palace and then the dippers which could have gone either way.

    Im not criticizing the managers for changing the team in those matches as the league has been the sole priority for the last few years but Chelseas spending makes top 5 nigh on impossible again so i would target a top half finish and a cup run with a realistic chance of nicking one of them with the quality we have… 😎

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  11. As long as the Mackems finish 13th again. 🙂 And we have a little more success in one of the cups. Our cup record has been abysmal.

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  12. I always look at the last 7 or 8 games in case we are in a relegation fight when the fixtures come out but I’m a born worrier 😉 . This season will be very hard going I reckon ,due to Europa games and fast game turnaround times. We really could do with good start again to ease the nerves like last season ,I only relax once we get to 35 points or so . Really hope we can win a cup this year ,that would be great and would be quite content with 7 or 8th finish considering the extra games and taking into account the fact Pards is saying one more in! .

    From last thread, We really need a new CB as Saylor won’t last the season that’s almost a cert going on history. Nobody as mentioned a back up keeper ,cause that needs addressing too .Elliott not good enough imo . I do think we need Debuchy and really could do with a LB too ,oh and a forward please. 😉

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  13. Too many variables for me. I would probably accept it if we made good runs in europa and the cups.

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  14. Kim we are still gonna have Harper for another season and the club has rejected Birmingham’s advances.

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  15. DJG ,yeah, I know but he may still go out the door ,we just don’t know .I would not be happy just with Elliott as back up.

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  16. IMO Pardew is relieving some of the pressure on a small squad. He knows the fans want the team to progress but if the players are being asked to reach a top 4 finish then burn out may occur with certain players. The thing is though I think the manager prefers working with a small squad as it makes it easier for man management.

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  17. With the added games that a europeam run means, there are possibillities for more bodies in the team as the present squad shows. This is a way for the more experienced players to get a rest and still have the wins to come in. Yes the players are youthful, but that does not mean that they are not skilled enough just need more experience to get to a higher level. The need of the defenders, to nullify when the stalemate come like the three 5-0 defeats we had last year. A few experienced defenders like Douglas and Debuchy and Anita to fill up the experienced account. Youth players are already well occupied in the team, but as in Arsenal the youth that we posess are fullfledged prifessionals that can be thrown in in most games. The need of two new young strikers to learn from the senegalese and Ameobi is sure needed. It would be preffered to get Guidetti and Jordan Rhodes from Huddlesfield. The need of two youth defenders are also there With Curtis Good and Nathaniel Clyne preferred for me. Let the boys play together and get the other youthbodies implemented into the squad so that we have the desired. Maybe even shock everybody and get Hoilett from Blackburn.

    Krul
    Debuchy — Douglas — Colicini —- Santon
    Anita——–Tiote
    Cabaye
    Hatem ———— Cisse————Marveaoux

    The Bench would be from really good players like……….. Taverner, Street. Clyne, Ferguson, Williamson, Good, STaylor, RTaylor, Bigirimana, Gosling, Jonas, Guidetti, Hoilett Rhodes…. Sooo many wonderful players that I forget most of them.. But you get the idea……

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  18. What would the managers of such teams like Aston Villa, Everton, Swansea or Spurs say at the start of the new season if they had found themselves fifth in the Premiership and made the Europa League in the previous season?
    Either “Now we have to push on and do better than that next time round” OR “I think the majority of our fans would settle for eighth this time round”?
    Answers on a postcard please.

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  19. Europe will severely test our depth and resilience, that said we need to qualify for the Europa this season at least. If we dont then we dont attract players of sufficient quality next summer and any of our big hitters that have chosen to stay this term will no doubt look to move on next term. 8th is fine if we win a cup. Carling Cup would do nicely! Gona be a tough season for the Toon Army- full of ups and downs. Looking forward to it 😀

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  20. What? But i have saved for the FA CUP final, LEague cup final, Europa cup final and pitched my tent already for the city tour of newcastle the Premier League trophy. DAMNIT

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  21. Good management.. Pardz is publicly taking the pressure of his playing group and easing fan expectations.. if you think for a second, behind closed doors, he would be expecting anything less than an improved effort over last years, then you would be mistaken..

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  22. As it stands i don’t think we are any weaker now than we were when the season finished . Guthrie has left and will be missed but the new French lad at least makes up number wise for Guthrie . The rest of the departed players hardly played or did not play so will not be missed ,it also gives the young players like Vukic , Sammy Ameobi , Abied , Ferguson,Tavernier and the new lad from Coventry a chance to stake a claim ,if we never test them we will never know if they are good enough . For me Debuchy another CB and a striker would be enough new faces to get us through to January . I honestly don’t think any more will leave this summer with the possible exception of Ranger and Xisco .

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  23. Vuckic will be Guthrie’s replacement I reckon…. Guthrie was keeping him on the bench last season when Tiote & Cabaye were missing.. 🙂

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  24. man c man u] arsenal chelsea

    then spurs,us,everton, liverpool chasing the next 4 so i suppose 5-8 is probably realistic and achievable as top 4 will be hard to break this year hard to see arsenal having such a bad start again and chelsea players wont be playing to get a manager sacked so top 4 looks secure to me the rest is up for grabs.

    but a few below par perfomances or team thinking they have it made and 5 – 8 suddelnly looks like 9 – 13

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  25. Shamrock @21 ,I would agree a cup is a must given the extra games and pressure to get Europe again .

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  26. I would be happy with 7th but not 8th. I know it’s only one place, but that one place is a difference between being top of thr middle clubs, or bottom o the top ones. Losing 3 places from last season would, as others have said, make it look like a fluke season.

    Having said that, I have a lot of confidence in our young players coming through, and for Pardew to manage them well.

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  27. aussie magpie fan says:
    July 12, 2012 at 15:40
    Vuckic will be Guthrie’s replacement I reckon…. Guthrie was keeping him on the bench last season when Tiote & Cabaye were missing..
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    I think you are right in the fact that much of our depth this year is going to come from younger players. it’s time for vuckic, fergie, abeid, and tavs to step up and contribute. Ranger as well if he’s still here

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  28. To be honest I don’t think many of us would be happy with 8th now. I understand Pardew wanting to take some pressure off the players but is this his way of also preparing the supporters for the inability to bring in top players such as Debuchy? I see the hand of Ashley in this. The transfer budget would seem to be around 20M based on the offers already made but that doesn’t take into account the 5M brought in for Best and Forster. The budget seems reasonable but only if we actually spend it! I think we will get a central defender and a striker and possibly a right back but that is it. It may not be enough depending on injuries and how well the youngsters do to maintain fifth while playing in Europe and the domestic cups. Trying to be patient about signings but so far it doesn’t look promising as prices have definitely gone up for our targets.

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  29. I hope that is the case Groucho. I seem to remember a lot of talk last summer from Llambias about really trying to bring in a CB late in the window and the the Bryan Ruiz farce. This summer is beginning to smell the same. I don’t mind bringing our younger players slowly into the starting lineup especially for early cup games since we now have to play in Europe as well but injuries are going to come as always and we just don’t look deep enough yet.

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  30. MDS@30

    Ranger is an interesting one. I wouldn’t have been at all sad to see him go for next to nothing, but we haven’t heard much about him recently (which is a good thing). He easily has the physical tools to make it, so if he’s got his head screwed on, he could make an impact. That’s a big if, though.

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  31. Another ambitious manager a see. 8th why would we be happy with 8th place finish when we’ve just finished 5th and have a top quality team. Keep are star players and bring in some more. and we could easly be challenging Arsenal and Spurs for the other champions league spots

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  32. Charlie Prince @34 don’t forget there are still several charges pending against Ranger and he also sliced his arm open in some kind of domestic accident. I think he is a lost cause. Blackpool tried to sign him last season but he wanted a pay raise. The man (if you want to call him that) can’t even show up on time for practice. Most of us would kill for the opportunities he has had and which he continues to squander. Get him out of the squad as quickly as possible.

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  33. GeordieTwo@36

    I guess Ranger hasn’t been keeping quiet then, I just didn’t hear about some of his trouble. It’s just a shame, because I remember times during our first season back up where he looked more physically imposing than anyone on the field, and that sometimes included Carroll. Granted, he couldn’t shoot worth anything, but you could see the potential.

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  34. Yes it’s a shame Charlie Prince @37 but we have bigger fish to fry (I hope). He was very promising at 18 and 19 and was playing in the U-19 England squad but then he get a bit of money in his pocket and went to pot. He had been in trouble as part of a street gang earlier than that as well. A complete ****** I’m afraid. Surely we are looking for some young strikers to bring along now as we have let half of the reserve team go as well. Then there is the amazing Xisco on the last year of his ridiculous 5 year contract. This will be a challenging season on all fronts by the look of it.

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  35. Quite a burden will be lifted next year when Xisco’s contract finally runs out, but shouldn’t we have a decent gap on the wage bill already? I’m sure Lovenkrands wasn’t making all that much, but wasn’t Smith on a fairly hefty deal?

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  36. Yes Charlie Prince @ 39 it was believed Smith was on 50 or 60K a week so we have reduced the wage bill. There should really be no excuses now. We have spent nothing this summer (1M out for Bigirimana but 5M in for Best and Forster) and already we are hearing we should be satisfied with 8th from Pardew. Strange way to build up for a very promising season. Where are the signings to fill out the Reserve squad as well aside from Bigirimana and Amalfitano? I was expecting more considering Pardew claimed we were going to make some big signings before the European Championships to avoid paying too much for players. Now we have no new proven players and claims we should be happy with 8th?

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  37. According to Twitter/Twatter, Simmo is in advanced talks with the mighty Reading. large pinch of salt me thinks 😉

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  38. I could see the Hoillett rumours being true but I think he has gotten a bit greedy so settling on a wage may be the hardest part. He would play well with either Ba or Cisse I would think and add that extra pace in the attack. I think Douglass will come as soon as he qualifies for his papers. That leaves the RB and several youngsters needed. Pull your finger out Llambias.

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  39. I wonder if last summers early signings have turned us all into spoilt brats that expected the same again . It seems some are starting too worry because no big names have yet been signed up , it could just be because the club are not going too be priced out by clubs expecting over the odds for their players .If Debuchy really wants too come he will end up here , because his club know their is no point in hanging onto unhappy players . NUFC are playing poker with them and any other club that want big bucks but in the end if the players want too come they will .

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  40. TGS ive saw a couple of rags picking that simpson storey up,if its through twatter i dont know,by the way hows dad?

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  41. @40. I know we say it every year but we really need to wait and jdge the window once it’s shut. Although ideal to get players in early, prices go down as the window goes on as players decide to start forcing moves and clubs are afraid to get stuck with dissatisfied players.

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  42. Unexpectedly, I’m expecting my unexpected expectations to be more or less what I expected, but that doesn’t mean I’m not expectant.

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  43. One thing Pardew did say may well have fallen on deaf ears, but hopefully it will remain true come the start of the season – we have managed to retain all of our big-hitters, and no-one has left.
    Several players reputations have gone up since last season, Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Cisse and Ba, and they will all be under scrutiny from the “big clubs”.

    We have Collo and his mate Jonas, Ba swayed it to pull in his mate Cisse, hopefully Cabaye can pull in his mate Debuchy, and Krul his mate…Pieters wasn’t it ?? Two good signings would be great to strengthen the side.

    Then we need the promising youngsters to step up, and really make a challenge for a first team spot. Vukic, Amalftiano or whatever he’s called, Sammy Ameobi, young Fergy and perhaps even Ranger may get himself sorted out. We also know what Marveaux has to offer if he stays fit, a real star turn..

    I’d settle for 8th, but am hoping that we can knocking around between 4 – 6 similar to last season, with a good cup run in there, and also a few good european performances under our belt. Expectations are high for next season. I hope the team on AND off the field are up for it…..

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  44. mick121@48 – maybe that brings in the few millions we need to get the Debuchy signing over the line. Canny swap if you ask me.

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  45. To be perfectly honest I’d be happy with top 10 as long as we have decent cup runs and make the most of Europa football.
    I don’t really like making predictions for next season coz there are just too many variables. Plus we don’t know what players we will start the season with yet.

    I also think that if we pay €10m for Debuchy we are stupid!!. He’s a good player but that’s too much money for him. I’ve said before, I’d soon get a LB like Cissokho for €5-7m and move Santon to right back. With the remainder we could buy Clyne as back up.

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  46. Sharpy17, I agree 100%, let’s wait and see how we do.

    Last season we surprised everyone with a superb season and a top 5 finish. Now the fans think that is par for the course, and that we’ll be pushing Man Utd and Man City which is naive in my opinion.

    I still want us to be right up there, but Pardew is playing it dead right in my opinion, there will be enough pressure on us anyway next season without putting ourselves under pressure with big talk…

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  47. Sharpy
    Don’t think Cissoko will go for €5-7m maybe £6-8m which is about €10m(if not more) do its not actually that much for Debuchy.

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  48. I can only count the two manchester clubs & 3 from london that may well do better than us. So that’s 6th. If Liverpool do better that’s 7th so who else is in the race??

    However as I keep saying it’s points that matter more than position so this year we got 65. next season whilst it would be great to improve on that given our European commitments I would settle for 60+ and a cup final.

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  49. It’s in your hands mr Ashley and Me Pardew.
    I believe it’s a shocking statement.
    We finish 5th and now he’s talking about being satisfied with 8th.
    Surely if you strengthen then it should be in our hands.
    Only Chelsea have really invested.
    Are you not able to get a few players in of quality Mr Pardew?
    You have all the summer to do so.
    Is Graham Carr not coming up with the goods?
    No I won’t be satisfied with 8th.
    That’s out of Europa !
    🙄

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  50. Just thinking on the Hoilett situation .Apparently QPR are leading the chase to sign him 🙄 .That tells me ,he wouldn’t fit in at Toon ,reason being he’s obviously cash motivated rather than ambition motivated.
    If it really is between us two in the prem then ,logic dictates the Toon is the right choice as we can offer European footie ,fantastic stadium to play in ,adoring (mostly ) fans and hopefully no relegation. Contrast QPR ,no European footie and a possible flirt with or relegation and Joey Barton too 😉 . The only pull would be big wages which we can’t match .

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  51. With PSG signing the Andy Carroll lookalike the time must be up for Gamiero. Do we try and tempt him again.

    I am a sucker for giving people second chances but would love Ranger to succeed here. One of best 17/18/19 year old strikers I have seen at Newcastle.

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  52. Ice – the boys at grandmas the neet and the wife’s nightshift so it’s lush and peaceful :mrgreen:

    I’ve just read Pardews interview in the Journal. Reading between the lines he’s wanting Hiollet, Debuchy and Carroll in the next fortnight. I think I could live with that like. But still think we need another CB and don’t know whether he’ll squeeze a Douglas deal in as well or if Good will come in under the youth development budget.

    Andy – I get the feeling Lille may get silly, and just think Lyon may allow Cissokho to leave for less. Lille have the Hazard money so don’t need the money so much. I really don’t mind either to be honest with you mate. I do think Clyne would be a good one for the future though.

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  53. I think it would be okay to finish top-8. We werent expecting much more last season and we havent really added to the team, so for the time being, I think its realistic to expect top-8 – also taking into account we could be hit by injuries and it looks like this year is going to be the year we let the youngsters out(Fergie, Vuckic, Abied, Sammiobi and Tav) and hopefully Gosling will show his promise aswell.

    Like Pardew have said, we havent “lost” anyone(bar Guthrie – which was a shame and Best/Lovenkrands). We are going to play a lot more games aswell this season, so it is going to be interesting to see how we perform in the PL.

    Our squad isnt the biggest at the moment and hopefully we’re able to bring in a couple of players to add to the numbers.

    Re this whole Carroll-thing: I would love to take him back, young people sometimes do stupid things ( I know I do!) but sometimes a second chance is needed. I think Carroll would thrive back at Newcastle if he was forgiven by the fans, and I for one would gladly take him back and see him flourish once again. Cisse/Ba as main strikers and Ameobi/Carroll as our battering ram! What at strike force tbh!

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  54. Toby @ 59 – I am also a sucker for second chances!(probably cause’ I’ve needed some meself…..) Would love to see Ranger get his act together because we have seen what he can do! – Wreack havok!. But sadly he is listed as a reserve player on the official site, so I think we might are giving up on him. Sad story.

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  55. thing is with carroll i cannot get that dive he took trying to win a pen and get krul sent off,it sticks in my crow 👿

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  56. Did Carroll dive to cheat or becasue he knew he was going to score and couldn’t bring himself to do it?

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  57. More unfulfilled promises. What happened to doing most of our business before the euros? If we aren’t willing to pay the price for top players we aren’t going to get anywhere. There isn’t an unlimited supply of tiotes and cabayes for 3/4 million. 8 million for a full back who is in the Ligue 1 team of the year and a shining light in France’s euros seems like a bargain to me. Very negative from pards but there is plenty time left let’s see how it goes. Also what’s happening with the 15m ashley said he was investing into youth talent?

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  58. Ice – that was my issue when Toonsy posted the article on Carroll the other day.
    Said my head says he’s a good player, my heart says hes a ****!!
    True is though, if we can get him for £10m (ish), it would be a hell of a buy. Main problem will be his current wage demand would be out of our budget I’d think

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  59. jl@66…why are you so pessimistic ? We managed to get great players for a good cheap price – Cabaye and Tiote, there doesn’t need to be an “unlimited supply” of Tiotes… 😯

    How do you know that Debuchy won’t come to the toon ?

    Still early days yet man, the manouvering is just starting, just look at it, now Andy Carroll has been thrown into the ring too. There is a lot going to be happening, three new managers at “top clubs” Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea will be wanting to splash the cash, things haven’t even started yet… I reckon with Ibrahimovic supposedly moving to PSG, that’s one potential avenue for Ba closed…all good for the toon 😉 😉

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  60. SHARPY well will see just how much cares for toon if he gets the chance to return but doesnt because of wage demands,but imo l/pool would look right mugs if they allowed it to happen for ten mill

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  61. Sharpy17
    maybe the big gypsy would take a pay cut to come back to the toon… 😉

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  62. Hoilett won’t make a decision until the middle of August at least. Will look for the most wonga

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  63. Rossco – agree with Ice mate, ya dreaming!

    It would have been easier to score, than make that fucking dive look genuine!

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  64. Toby @72 .Like I posted @58 If it’s between us and QPR ,then it’s us all the way .He gets no european footie or owt with them and will probs end up relegated .If he goes with them ,it’s cash that drives him ,not ambition. 😉

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