For me it was the biggest reason and had more of a detrimental effect than many people think. You can throw blame at Alan Pardew, the players, the coaching and so on but the simple fact is that the whole squad and management structure were left short by a lack of strengthening last summer.
Lessons were learned in time for the January transfer window but by then it was too late and the rot had started to set in. It’s easier to pick yourself up from a blip, but when things are continually going against you then confidence and belief will start to drain and as we saw last season, players who previously had no issue with performing well became unable to even do the simple things right out on the football pitch.
Fast forward a year and here we are, with pre-season training under way and with no new additions to the squad, so just what is going on at United?
Not a lot it seems. There are plenty of rumours of course but then that is no different to us or any club at this moment in time. The problem I’m having is that all of this has a sense of déjà vu about it. We’ve been here and seen it all before and I’m starting to believe that we’re going to end up in the same kind of situation as we found ourselves in last term. In fact it could be argued that we’re worse off as last term we had the chance to build from a position of strength whereas we don’t have that luxury this season.
Rumour has it that Joe Kinnear – the “dynamo” now behind our transfers – is to jet off on holiday for a couple of weeks which is handy considering that this and January should be the busiest times of his year. I don’t know how true it is and perhaps there is more than a hint of stirring by the press but it honestly wouldn’t surprise me.
It seems as though everyone is cracking on with business whilst we dither about and stand still whilst reported target after reported target fall by the wayside. Angst is building amongst NUFC and I can completely see why. I just hope it ends up being misplaced and that, despite my own particular gut feeling, Kinnear can actually get something right.
I won’t be holding my breath…
sinclair would just be our type of sign,he needs a opp to remove a rip and has a blood clot problem so will not be able to play for a good while sounds just right for us 😀 😀 😀
icedog(Quote)
bigpapa, i would like to see jordan rhodes sign for the club? his 6ft 1 and the championships second highest scorer. might fancy a move from blackburn to the premiership. might get a goal from set pieces? what do you think ?
terry(Quote)
@Bigpapa
The Swansea post was slightly in jest. Their fans could have complained last year had they not won the League Cup as they hadn’t spent the money they had brought in. Went fine so no-one minds.
It’s not about money, it’s not really about quantity, it’s about quality.
If they want to take their time but bring in another Cisse/Sissoko/Cabaye etc then great.
Last summer was ill-judged by them, January shows they might change their transfer market ways.
Which positions do you think we need signings in?
I think 1 reliable striker, 1 first team winger, 1 young striker that is a bit more ready for 1st team action than AC.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
icedod didn’t know he was injured but its a no for me
terry(Quote)
Rhodes, Sinclair, Bent on loan for a year.
I’d be delighted.
Bent just on loan so we can see how Rhodes/AC adapt then take stock again in a years time.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Been out all day ,was really hoping for some good news on my return .It’s looking like nowt will happen until Joe returns .It’s fecking Lambias and holidays in windows all over again 🙄 Why can we sanction the loss of players but not incomings while he’s away?. I am reaching the conclusion that Jabba will get no one in unless Cabs goes and we have funds, we MIGHT get our striker but I am not holding my breath for anyone of note.
KIMTOON(Quote)
TERRY @752 i think the reason PL clubs didnt go for Rhodes is because he is very one paced and will not risk the money they are asking for him,clubs want players with a bit of pace for that type of money mate
icedog(Quote)
That’s what everyone reckons Ice. Too slow for PL.
georgio(Quote)
i’m just thinking out load but denney from watford? swap deal shola for denney maybe throw 2 million
terry(Quote)
its like the young kid at brum a lot of fans thought we should have went for him more so when they wanted young fergie on loan,my thoughts on that is maybe clarke tipped the wink that he wasnt PL standard,just my thoughts on it like cannot see clarke doing us a bad turn imo
icedog(Quote)
TERRY@759 nowt wrong with thinking out loud mate 😉
icedog(Quote)
Lads we don’t get paid to think out loud ,that’s JFK ,Parsnip and Co’s jobs which they are paid handsomely for . Time to start earning you’re wedges fellas get a shift on .
KIMTOON(Quote)
kim, i hope JFK isn’t being paid for being on holiday 1 week into the job? if he needs a holiday after 1 week what is he going to be like in january? his 66 years old and had a heart attack and nearly died, what is ashley trying to do kill him. it makes no sense
terry(Quote)
out of all the directors of football out there wouldn’t sven been a better choose or someone with more experience?
terry(Quote)
Georgio@739 yep that’s great, you’d certainly give Rydera run for his money 😉 😀
richietoon(Quote)
we need tim krul to kick the ball up field to cisse. hopefully cisse is not off side when running for the ball. have all the midfielders back helping our defence thats the plan. lets see if it works out
stem(Quote)
while the cat is away the mouse will talk.
stem(Quote)
Anybody else see this?
http://www.eplindex.com/35034/central-midfield-combination-newcastle-united.html
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
fans yes, this morning. good article.
Premandup(Quote)
So the Bony signing is complete now. But none of the other teams are strengthening or picking up decent players are they Joe? Yes we’ll be fine with what we have. I can already see it now. Who needs more than one decent striker anyway?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
An excellent read FSOTC @768. Thanks for the link mate. Very informative and not just opinion but based on actual facts. It looks like what a lot of us have been thinking for a long time is true. Jonas is fading badly and should be strictly a squad player now. Bigi should get more playing time, and our best defensive midfielder is still Tiote. The comments on tactics and formations are very useful as well. I hope Pardew reads it.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
G2 go easy on JFK. He has had to take a great deal of stress of the fans and the media. Remember he suffers from heart failure and we can manage with Cisse, Goufran, ameobi, campbell? Ashley given JFK the job is madness and the fault lies with him. you might even learn to love JFK and pardew if they have a good season
stem(Quote)
wouldn’t you think it would be nice if thousands of newcastle fans standing outside the airport with big banners saying welcome back joe ?
stem(Quote)
I see no sign of leadership at the club with Joe in there. Is he aware of how far behind other mid table clubs we are in decent signings now? Probably not. Joe lives in his own little world, disconnected from reality. Much like his pal Ashley.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
It would take a lot for me to learn to love Joe STEM @772 mate. Could I just hate him instead? It’s so much easier given his performance for us so far. He should go into standup comedy. He can be the ventriloquist and Ashley can be his dummy.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
G2 im just having a laugh with you about kinnear. maybe if saint james park was full of 52,000 people shouting your the best owner the clubs ever had he might spend more on the tranfers
stem(Quote)
Terry @764 If someone had asked me who I thought might be brought in as our DOF before Joe got it ,I would of said Steve McLaren as he was around SJP an awful lot towards the end of the season. He’s only coaching short term at the moment so if Pards does go I could see him coming in as manager or as Ice said possibly Poyet. The only reason Joe is with us is cause he’s Jabbas pal and poor Jabba doesn’t have too many football friends 😉 .Poor Jabba all alone in his big house with his piles of money wondering what’s the next laugh he can get at our expense.
KIMTOON(Quote)
kim, i would love mclaren as manager of this club or even as director of football, until pardew gets sacked. know ashley is either, stupid with brains running sports direct or gets a thrill out of winding up the geordies. i think its just a hobby to him. i think stamp collecting is something ashley would be better at
stem(Quote)
I know STEM mate @776. Still Joe makes me grind my teeth more often than laugh. He’s going to take us back into the world of chaos. After he gets Pardew sacked it will be anybody’s guess who he will bring in. And Ashley will just sit back and wait to see if the money keeps pouring in. I would take McLaren as DoF as well if we were to get a choice, which we won’t.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
if ashley is reading this then i would suggest you sale nufc or hire a decent manager, STEVE McLAREN fine. Spend some decent money on players. Stamp collecting is more your thing ashley:)
stem(Quote)
Stem@772, I hope you are joking with that comment mate, I couldnt bear one more game, never mind a season, of Shola, he does my head in!
Robert(Quote)
Is Shola leaving Toon ,didn’t I read he might be away ❓
KIMTOON(Quote)
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/newcastle-have-no-need-to-sell-insists-alan-pardew-amid-speculation-over-yohan-cabaye-and-hatem-ben-arfa-8702587.html
Right ,well that means one of them’s off then.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Every window it’s the same Pards banging on about how other teams will have to offer mega buck. Just leave it don’t mention it ,no other manager does it ffs. Even when they are asked about their players they just say he’s not for sale ,non of this it’s gonna take shedloads bollocks. 👿
KIMTOON(Quote)
Creeping towards 1,000 comments…
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
hey ho another day,southhamton sign the celtic m/f,hoots signs a full back thats four players he signed,swansea wrap up another player,it goes on and on,how many have we signed oh i forgot joe is on hols 👿
icedog(Quote)
Toonsy, email with article.
Premandup(Quote)
PREM good on yer mate 😉
icedog(Quote)
Thanks Premand.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Here’s me staining my kegs at the end of last season worrying that we might get relegated and lose our 60 mill per year Sky windfall.
So…what are we gonna do with the 60 mill burning a hole in your pocket Mike ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
So to summarize again we now know what’s going on at St. James Park. Nothing much, because the first thing our new DoF did once hired was to go on holiday. Is that code for having your mental faculties checked out Joe? Maybe some lessons in pronouncing names or some anger management coaching? We can only hope.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Ashley’s going to put it in a nice big pile along with most of the money from the Carroll sale Munich mate. He can bounce around in the cash on his bed. A man and the thing he loves most (his wife must have realized that as well). Is Ashley a man or a big self-wounding child? It’s hard to tell most of the time.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
@FSOTC
Creeping towards 1000 comments.
Half are Aussies comments praising Mikey and telling us all he’s doing a wonderful job. 😛
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I’m hearing rumours that Joe is on his way back this weekend and he’s ready to rumble!!! Bring on the press! 😈
GeordieTwo(Quote)
What’s the record for number of posts on a single thread?
maybe we should just post to break that record at this point because there surely isn’t much about the club to talk about at the moment…
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2359768/Newcastle-face-competition-Darren-Bent-Wolfsburg.html
So Wolfsburg are interested in Bent now. A little more competition for us then? Hurry home Joe if you really want this lad. Does Joe have a smart phone or a tin can and a string?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I haven’t counted, Troy, but maybe 10% are Rodzilla’s Dispatches from the Astral Plane.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
G2, rumor has it that he’s been watching GoT while on holiday and is trying the raven approach…they keep flying to London though…
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
All God’s sperm are precious. Even the one that created our man Joe (I can’t believe an egg had the bad taste to take it on). Let us bow our heads and give thanks now.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Norcal, how are you feeling about Altidore development? Was hoping we’d get him in myself.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
😆 😆 😆 Norcal @798.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
FSOTC…I was pissed…truly pissed. I was really hoping we’d get him or some club other than Sunderland…I mean of all the f-ing clubs…big fan of his.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
I picture Kinnear with a K-mart bought walkie-talkie, hammering the orange transmit button and screaming into the thing “Which one of you is Alan Pardew? You’re a ****. Why doesn’t this thing work?”
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
I’m not even pissed–just fucking disappointed, which is maybe worse. At least if you’re angry you’ve got something to sink your teeth into. I’m just shaking my head and shrugging. I figure we’re doomed to concede a goal to him in our first meeting this season.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Who the heck is left to go after? Is Dempsey worth a shot if TFC is selling? He seems to come through at every club and definitely for country.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
FSOTC @803 😆 Yes I can see that after the can doesn’t work.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
FSOTC @ 804…I agree…Would not be surprised at all if he got the winner in fact…
I don’t know why it bothered me so much. I think I just wanted a Yank on the team, and I thought he’d be the best option.
I’ve been disappointed on several fronts. I think Brek Shea would have been nice and definitely Holden (poor guy, glad to see he did well on Tuesday). Onyewu didn’t exactly light it up like I had hoped. Would just be nice to see someone from this side of the Pond on the team I love.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
I never had great hopes for Gooch in the prem–big and strong, yes, but not positionally great and basically a hoofer, but Jozy’s different. Remains to be seen if he’ll do well on his 2nd visit here, but the signs are good and he fit the bill: Cheap, still only 23, strong, fast, good hold-up play and scoring freely now, plus the American fans he would have drawn in. I imagined he would have done well with Papiss. But that’s all moot now…
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
And who’s left? I really don’t know. I had my hopes set on Jozy, Bony or PEA. I guess Bent is an option, but he’s not what the club had in mind, is he?
Either Carr unearths some unknown diamond or we gamble on a championship player like Vydra or Charlie Austin (if those guys are even available) I guess.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Yeah, Holden–what’s his situation now? He looked good the other night, but he’s not an out-and-out striker, is he?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Holden is a MF and I realize we don’t need that…I don’t think. But kid’s got drive and skill. He’s back now with Bolton and I am sure he’ll get plenty of action with the USMNT after that performance.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
There’s not much more to say until we get some actual news. Is Gosling leaving or not? Are we really after a young keeper? Why no apparent interest in decent wingers yet this summer? Will Kinnear do something positive when he returns? I suppose we’ll have to continue to wait and see.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
yeah, not only drive, but I think he’s a really smart & skillful player. Would love to see him make a full comeback. Hopefully, I’ll see him play in the flesh on Tuesday night. Going up to see the MNT in Connecticut for the 3rd group game of the Gold Cup.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Envious…not sure when I’ll get to another USMNT game. They never play in the Bay Area…or so it seems. Maybe when the 49ers get their new stadium, they’ll arrange for a game there…but can’t really see why they would. Or, maybe when the Earthquakes finally get their new stadium.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
I saw them in a world cup warm up friendly a few years ago in the same place against football powerhouse Latvia. It was fun, but this game kinda counts for something… right?
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Signing off to go drink beer. So long people.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Knock knock
Stuart79(Quote)
Come in if ya good looking…….get oot!!!
richietoon(Quote)
I’m in…
Stuart79(Quote)
From the Mag;
It is now 53 days since Newcastle United played the last match of the 2012/13 season.
It is now 37 days until the Premier League kicks off again, or 39 days in Newcastle and Man. City’s case.
As always in the summer it is the close window signings who make the headlines, or rather don’t in Newcastle’s case at the moment.
The split (different points of view) between Newcastle fans is roughly summed up by on the one hand those who believe, or are desperate to, that everything will turn out ok and no need to panic yet (blind faith?). While the rest look at the fact that as we speak, Newcastle are the only one of twenty Premier League clubs not to make a signing so far and fear the worst (miserable b***ards?).
I thought it would be quite interesting to see exactly which clubs have been the most active (or not as the case may be) and see if there is any pattern.
According to the excellent Soccerway website, there have been 59 signings in the Premier League this summer (including those new players coming in on loan) and so at an average of around 3 per club this is how it breaks down;
7 Sunderland
6 Aston Villa
5 Hull
5 Swansea
4 Liverpool
4 Everton
4 Norwich
4 Fulham
3 Chelsea
3 West Ham
2 Crystal Palace
2 West Brom
2 Stoke
2 Man City
2 Man Utd.
1 Cardiff
1 Spurs
1 Southampton
1 Arsenal
0 Newcastle United
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Hmmm…looking at that list, Troy, one could surmise that yes, we haven’t made a purchase yet, but we are only slightly less active than 3 of the top 4 teams from last season.
I find it interesting that the two most active also were among the bottom 3 survivors…Maybe we’re a bit more confident in our team.
I agree, it would be nice to strengthen in depth, but I am not sure we need to go the Villa or Sunderland route. Didn’t Sunderland by like 50 players last season…and they still finished bottom of the survivors.
I think it will come down to a 2 – 3 smart buys…problem as I see it, is that most of those smart buys have already been bought…by someone else.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
Didn’t Sunderland by like 50 players
oops….should have been “buy”
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
when joe returns from holiday he will sign ronaldo and bale. then he will sign rooney and messi and joe has charm that will lower there wage demands and wit to get real, manu, spurs to sale them to us for 5 million each. good luck joe
barmy or hopeful(Quote)
I read Soccernomics last year and I copied this from the book (one or two little features added):
As a free service to clubs, here are the twelve main secrets of the transfer market in full:
1. A new manger wastes money on transfers; don’t let him.
2. Use the wisdom of crowds.
3. Stars of recent World Cups or European Championships are overvalued; ignore them.
4. Certain nationalities are overvalued.
5. Older players are overvalued.
6. Center forwards are overvalued; goalkeepers are undervalued.
7. Gentlemen prefer blonds: identify and abandon “sight-based prejudices.”
8. The best time to buy a player is when he is in his early twenties.
9. Sell any player when another club offers more than he is worth.
10. Replace your best players even before you sell them.
11. Buy players with personal problems, and then help them deal with their problems.
12. Help your players relocate.
So… by their reckoning:
1. Sunderland is doing the wrong thing. So is Hull.
2. I don’t remember what this meant. Oh well…
3. Not chasing world cup or Euro stars. We’re doing the right thing.
4. We’re shopping in undervalued nationalities. +1
5. If we get Bent, an older player, -1
6. Center forwards are overvalued… so far we haven’t bought on, but we’re looking at a keeper, so +1?
7. Sight based predjudices: we’re not doing that, so +1
8. Best time to buy a player is in early 20s… no purchases yet…
9. Sell any player when a club offers more than their value: Cabaye’s price tag is 25m Pounds… we’re doing that, so +1 (as we did with Carroll)
10. Replace your best players before you replace them–we don’t seem to be doing that. -1
11. Buy players with personal problems and help them (Remy?) not sure, but we dumped Ranger so no net change
12. Help your players relocate… not sure how well we do that, but with many French players, maybe… +1?
Dunno. Too many beer s probably…
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
That was an excellent book. Helping the players relocate was a huge one. I think about Tiote and others. Tiote learning and getting certified in English…albeit from a Geordie instructor so not quite English 😉
Helping them find places to live and people to know. Those all played big parts in transfers being successful according to the book.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)