How you do you rate our summer transfers?

More to come from Mbemba?
More to come from Mbemba?
In terms of spending money, our outlay over the summer far surpassed what I personally expected to see invested into the first team.

In the region of £50 million was spent on incoming transfers with NUFC recouping very little by not cashing in on any of their supposed ‘big hitters’ within the squad. Whether it is enough was a different question.

So with 12 games, or just under a third of the season gone, I’m going to have a look at what our new signings have done for us and if they’ve made the impact that we’d hoped. For the purposes of clarity I’m not going to include Ivan Toney who has impressed at reserve and U21 level and will instead focus purely on the four main acquisitions – Aleksandar Mitrovic, Georginio Wijnaldum, Florian Thauvin and Chancel Mbemba.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has made a solid start to life at Newcastle and appears to have settled down somewhat from his baptism of fire. In terms of goalscoring it’s just two goals in ten Premier League appearances (eights starts – one of which he was sent off after 16 minutes – and two as a sub) and it’s also worth noting that hes sat out three games through suspension, which was his own fault in fairness.

But it’s his contribution to the team that is most promising. He has given us a focal point, someone to hold play up and bring others into play, a presence in the box and he unsettles defenders creating space and therefore opportunities for others. I think there is still more to come too from a player who at just 21 still has a lot to learn.

My rating: 7/10

Next up is Georginio Wijnaldum who will no doubt be courting some interest from some big clubs should he continue. He is our top goalscorer although a four goal haul against Norwich has bolstered that tally and he’s also laid on another two goals for his teammates.

This is not a bad return for just 12 Premier League appearances in a new league. He’s also hit the target with more attempts than anyone else in the team with 66% of his shots either resulting in a goal or forcing a save from the opposition goalkeeper.

My rating: 8/10

Chancel Mbemba has been an effective addition to the defence and I like him a lot. He very nearly gifted Bournemouth a goal on Saturday after slipping up but even the greats have done that on occasion. Just ask Steve Gerrard.

If you look at the stats from WhoScored.com (whom are really good to be fair) you’ll see that Mbemba pretty much walks all over Coloccini in terms of tackles, interceptions and clearances – which is basically what a defender needs to do. And at just 21 (allegedly) he’ll get better.

My rating: 7/10

Finally we move on to Florian Thauvin – or the scapegoat as he has become. Seemingly written off by a swathe of fans the 23-year-old has already drawn criticism from some quarters despite only playing 305 minutes of Premier League football from three starts and four sub appearances.

I’m not writing the lad off. It’s a big ask to come to the Premier League and perform immediately however I do see why people have issues with his game. I just don’t think we’re playing to his strengths at the moment, in the same way we didn’t for Remy Cabella or Hatem Ben Arfa. To play in front of Daryl Janmaat (aka AWOL) you have to have a notion of defending as it’s likely you’re going to need to cover while Janmaat is up field and I think that is part of his problem. Time will tell of course but there is definitely room for improvement.

My rating: 5/10

So those are my thoughts on the main chunk of our summer transfers. Do you agree or disagree? Have I missed something obvious, remembering this is just my take on things? Do you feel that you could put your money where your mouth is and use this Bet 365 code to have a flutter towards where you now think we may finish the season?

Feel free to discuss and debate below.

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.

337 thoughts on “How you do you rate our summer transfers?

  1. I can also feel some silverware coming very soon! I have a small silver egg cup I can have engraved with “Most Bottom 10 Finishes Since 2007 (Championship Season not included)”. Beautiful.

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  2. Endless Benny arguments…**** weak wind ups from Troy, **** jokes from G2… ahh blog life is grand! 😳

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  3. Aussie
    I haven’t been on for weeks. I just tuned in and saw some criticising Pards for not putting his arm round Benny and therefore blaming him for Benny not being successful at the toon.
    I think you need to be having a dig at those making the ridiculous assumptions about Pards. 😉
    What are you going to bring to the table? More gripes of those making comments on the blog. YCMIU. 🙄

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  4. There’s some who thought Pardew was a good manager. Now there’s a stretch of the imagination 🙄
    Hope he gets the England job!

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  5. I never said he was good mind Georgio. 😉
    I actually said he’s an average premier league manager who did a decent job at the toon under the circumstances.
    I disagreed with the majority on here who thought he was ****.

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  6. Just checking on Aussies contribution on this thread.
    In 11 days he’s made one comment criticising others for commenting.
    Who needs bloggers like that? FTSOTB 🙄

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  7. He just won’t go away. On the Newsnow feed he pops up every few days. In addition he is always talking about his time at NUFC (probably partly because he is asked). He has done a good job at Palace so far, SO FAR. Knowing him and his past jobs he will be sowing seeds of discontent. But, we should wait until after the Leicester game as I envisage a news and blog onslaught about the crafty cockney. I bet Uncle Ed writes at least 20 related stories 🙂

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  8. I thought Stoke would beat us and I was wrong. I think Leicester will beat us. Let’s hope I’m wrong aga 😆

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  9. Eric
    Few managers can keep happy camps for more than 18 months. If he does then he’s done an exceptional job considering he walked from the toon after over 4 yrs leaving us in 7th place. 😉
    He’s been there almost a year now.

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  10. Hope you are wrong Troy. I lived in Leicester for 8 months in the ’80s and me, my brother and a friend were attacked by about 30 f@ckheads on the way to Filbert Street. They were obviously out for trouble as they were throwing big nuts and bolts at us. Luckily, I could run faster back then. I never want Leicester to win and hope they fade badly.

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  11. Troysta: I have told you before I don’t have Pards’ mobile number and I doubt he could hear my cries of anguish over the Atlantic Ocean. Here is something from the BBC saying we were 10th when he quit. Still mid-table, but you keep saying 7th. Maybe the BBC are wrong, I don’t know:

    http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30636616

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  12. Here is the paragraph from that BBC article so you don’t have to dig for it:

    “WHAT PARDEW LEAVES BEHIND
    Pardew leaves behind a Newcastle side in 10th place in the Premier League, respectability and the same position they finished last season. He will also have gone out with a 3-2 win against Everton.”

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  13. Enough of the effin Pardew stuff.
    Anyone know if Vardy’s fit? Even though I don’t rate him as a footballer ( he has 10% better control than Cisse) I’d be happier if he didn’t play as he’ll roast Colo for speed..

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  14. Troy – I’m not sure if that was a defensive reply, but I never forced the bloke out. I’m of the opinion he did a really good job under the circumstances. Fifth spot and Europe makes his time with us a successful one IMO. I don’t think he was brilliant by any stretch, but yeah I would say he was an average manager that done a really good job under the circumstances.
    However I don’t agree he was forced out by anyone. We all knew if Palace or England came then his head would be turned. I don’t blame any fan as his results and performances at the end warranted the criticism. Do I blame Ashley?, not really either to be honest. That was a big fee that Palace paid for an average manager.
    I do blame Ashley & Charnley for what happened thereafter though!! – for any owner to write off half a season in such a way is a disgrace, and a total disrespect to the fans who cough up their hard earned cash.

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  15. Here’s a stat that should give people pause in anointing someone as the next big thing or writing someone off (Thauvin) after only a few games:

    Andre Ayew – No shots or chances created in last two league games. Three chances created in last seven league games. Five shots in total in last eight games.

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  16. Despite the fact they keep telling anyone who will listen they have turned the corner it will be another struggle for them tomorrow.
    It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Leicester City play with their high tempo and turn us over easily !

    It’s a case of turning a corner and straight into a brick wall !

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  17. Top of the YCMIU news is that Obertan has had a reoccurence of his hamstring injury and is ruled out until March. Obertan…Newcastle…Hamstring injury…Nah 🙂

    I haven’t looked at the stats but I bet they go something like this in his 5 years at NUFC: Goals 3, Assists 5.

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  18. I think there has been an improvement in performances (pre Bournemouth) in the last month or so

    Leicester concede goalscoring chances more than any other side i’ve seen this season and were less than solid

    4-2 Norwich style basketball match

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  19. Well I see we are getting on top of these hamstring injurys at the club with all the extra staff,bloody doe-does the time span is getting longer with time out of the game

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  20. Leicester have got to go on a bad run at some point, hopefully it starts tomorrow. Vardy is desperate to equal RVN’s goals per game run and he is bloody quick ( watch out Janmaat and Colo ), however he is nursing a dodgy hip so hopefully that slows him down a tad. 😈

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  21. I reckon Vardy will run rings around Colocini. His to slow and the amount of goals we conceded this season is 70 percent down to him.

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