This summer has seem a remarkable change on Tyneside.
The bleak mood induced by the spectre of relegation has been replaced by a sparkling optimism over promotion. Absent is any sign of arrogance; supporters know promotion is not a God-given right but requires hard work, yet they are confident of achieving that aim.
What a difference three months makes.
At the heart of it all is Rafa Benitez. His decision to stay at St James Park may yet prove to be the best signing of the summer. The Spaniard has set about remodelling the squad, signing a mixture of youth and experience, and imbuing those players who remain with a sense of purpose.
This morning sees talk that the Magpies have triggered the release clause for Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark. Landing the Northern Ireland captain would be a major coup for the club, particularly with many seeing parallels between Benitez’s tenure and the arrival of Roberto Di Matteo at Villa Park.
Coming twenty-four hours after Newcastle employed the same tactic with Hulls’ Mohammed Diame and there’s a sense of purpose building in the days leading up to the opening game at Fulham.
It’s not a one-way street. Georginio Wijnaldum moved to Liverpool, Andros Townsend to Crystal Palace whilst the experience of Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini left holes in the defence. Benitez addressed these departures with Grant Hanley, Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle. He may yet lose Tim Krull but Matz Sels is already on board to cover that eventuality.
The transfer ethos has been underpinned by the requirement for Championship experience. Even Isaac Hayden, £2.5m from Arsenal, spent last year on loan at Hull City. Everything is geared toward promotion.
Translating that momentum onto the pitch is a different matter. For the first time in two decades, Newcastle United were undefeated in pre-season. That has to be tempered by the standard of the opposition but some useful sides in Vitesse Arnhem and KSC Lokeren, were also beaten as well as the chaff.
The one black cloud hanging over the club remains the future of Moussa Sissoko. The French international was issuing ‘come and get me’ pleas even before moving centre stage at Euro 2016. Newcastle’s board weren’t slow to try and capitalise on his performances for his country, upping his valuation to £35m.
Interested clubs from Europe’s elite have steadfastly refused to meet that price tag – or come even close to it – which suggests that Benitez’s biggest task may be motivating a player who doesn’t want to be at the club.
Sections of the travelling support made their views clear at Doncaster and Sissoko won’t be the most popular player in black and white this season. A few goals and good performances may change that view…
Crucially for Newcastle, Rafa has prepared the squad for his absence and with the club still active in the transfer market, could emerge even stronger.
The bookmakers are rarely wrong on these matters and Newcastle are overwhelming favourites with most, head and shoulders clear of the field with 15/8 at Paddy Power the most generous through to 7/4 at Skybet. For those looking to have a bet, make sure to check out SaferGaming for tips on how to stay responsible whilst gambling.
is a game thread going up then?
Kimtoon(Quote)
SM is the pundit for the game 🙄
icedog(Quote)
Tiote didn’t make the bench so I expect he will be off next week.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ice: we have different pundits over here. McClaren has some balls commenting on NUFC. I wonder if it will go as well as for the England/Iceland game. He was absolutely clueless on that and his face contortions went viral after he made that gaff.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
aye mate that was a laughi think its a poor show not having a thread up for the first game
icedog(Quote)
any links up and running folks
Big Dave(Quote)
C’mon then lads, the fun starts here 😉
HWTL
Kimtoon(Quote)
Big Dave, this works
http://www.crichd.co/watch/live/fulham-vs-newcastle-united-live-streaming
Kimtoon(Quote)
Cheers Kim
Big Dave(Quote)
Guys I’ve been having a cat nap after almost 24 hours up, but give me 15 and I’ll get a basic game thread up.
Shamrock(Quote)
cheers Sham
Kimtoon(Quote)
we look a lot more comfortable on the ball so far, last season no one wanted to have the ball,
Big Dave(Quote)
We do Dave, Fulham playing well too
Kimtoon(Quote)
Thanks for link Kim
Premandup(Quote)
Prem , your welcome
Kimtoon(Quote)
nothing coming off for Anita yet.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
janmaat still defending well I see 🙄 poor back pass
Kimtoon(Quote)
oh on 1st view I thought that looked like a pen
Big Dave(Quote)
Me too Dave but ref spot on
Kimtoon(Quote)
This ref is an ex player by the way
Kimtoon(Quote)
ffs that’s a pen, hows he missed that 😯
Kimtoon(Quote)
that should have been a stone wall pen
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave, at least there is consistency in that we still don’t get any pens, even when we drop down a league 🙄
Kimtoon(Quote)
Longwinded excuses, I mean comments from Schteve
“Rafa Benitez’s come in and and taken full control – he’s not a head coach, he’s a manager. It was essential to clear the decks and to bring in people who care.
“Eight players have come in who have experience of this league. Last year we brought in players who were not used to this league but the recruitment policy has changed.
“Last summer we were only able to bring in players who were 25 and over but now he’s brought in eight new players and leaders. There’s a new captain – Jamaal Lascelles is a captain who cares. He really developed and showed how much he cared at the back end of last season.
“They have been relegated but they’ve adapted and made the changes they should have made last summer.”
He also spoke about Jamaal Lascelles:
“He came last season, I knew him from Forest. I had him there,” he said.
“He was big and strong, quite mobile and athletic. He progressed through the year and all of a sudden from nowhere he became a leader which was something we never really had.
“He used to come after the senior players and the foreign players in training if he thought they weren’t putting it in, which caused some conflict. But it was something we needed at the time because we had a very quiet, very passive dressing room.
“At 24 to be Newcastle’s captain is a very big responsibility – the expectation is enormous but I think he can handle it.
“(The conflict) was needed because it was a very quiet dressing room. As soon as he did it once or twice, players started to come back at him. We needed the conflict.
“It’s enormous (that it’s manager not head coach now).”
“It’s well documented that it was sort of managed by committee last season. Now they’ve got a Chief Executive in Lee Charnley who is Newcastle through and through, who can handle the budget and is good with the figures. And you’ve got Rafa Benitez, who is the manager in charge of football matters. No technical director or director of football.”
Eric Sykes(Quote)
ah ffs
Big Dave(Quote)
****, poor defending free header
Kimtoon(Quote)
free header
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Match thread ladies and gents >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2016/08/05/fulham-vs-newcastle-united-championship-match-thread/
Shamrock(Quote)