Look, I know I shouldn’t get carried away. Trippier’s injury is a huge blow and three wins in a row doesn’t suddenly equal survival, but boy is it good to be a Toon fan right now.
We have hope, we have optimism, we have benefited from the Trippier effect and also have Burn, Bruno, Targett and Wood; all of which I back to make an impact.
So, Mr Paul Merson, what say you now? Our fans would have been up in arms if Bruce had made these signings? “None of them are like signings that are breathtaking” is another line he told Sky Sports as we completed our business on deadline day.
Honestly how wrong can you be? If I was as bad at my job as you are at yours then I’d get sacked, not paid ridiculous sums of money to continually berate our Club and be so wrong doing it.
Not that Merson was alone. Many others questioned our business. Including some fans. What are you all thinking now. It’s not just about the signings and their abilities. It’s about what they also bring as personalities and presence.
Amusingly, Richard Keys wrote on Monday that Kieran Trippier was “not going to win you many games” and that he wasn’t very impressed with our January signings.
Six days later, he’s scored twice to help us win two games – and that was after his sterling display at Leeds which helped us to our first clean sheet on the road all season and yet another win!
How much have these signings raised the standards of those that were here before? They do it for two reasons. Firstly, they improve the quality of the squad and give us so many more options. Secondly, all of a sudden players that couldn’t put a foot right under Bruce suddenly have up their levels.
Why? Because they now know they’re fighting for a place, not just for the rest of the season but also to be part of the project going forward.
We have won three games on the spin and haven’t even seen Bruno Guimaraes start yet – which sums up how the likes of Joe Willock have upper their game as a result of new arrivals. Happy days which have to be enjoyed and savoured and that give us hope.
Trippier’s two goals, Burn’s towering display on his first game back, Targett’s solid a debut, Bruno just looks every inch class and Wood, no goals but four starts, three wins and a draw. He’s playing his part no doubt.
Of course, Howe and his coaches have helped. They had some tough games to start but have took their time assessed what they have and brought in what they could. We’re organised, committed and you know what? A team that tries.
Burn and Trippier for £25m, Targett for nothing (loan), Wood helping us win games in Wilson’s absence and the second £40m Brazilian can’t even get into the team!
Look, I get it there are still tough, tough games ahead and we’re far from out of the Wood, but we know what we like and we like what we’re seeing. Long may it continue.
“we know what we like and we like what we are seeing”.
That is one of my Stanley’s little sayings, that eez…
Also:
“excuse me sport, but I am considerably richer than yoo”
and:
“I say what I like, and I like what I say”. I think that was the Yorkshireman on Harry Enfield, but you get my drift.
Eric+Sykes(Quote)
Make them look stupid? Its a bit like saying the Sun has been made to rise in the morning. Nobody else makes it happen but themselves.
ron(Quote)
It’s fashionable to slag off Keys and Merson. If they said it rained in Newcastle you would point to that one day in June that it was sunny, saying they have no idea what they are talking about and are idiots.
There’s no doubt that the players that were brought in have improved the team, but that’s hardly difficult and it’s hardly the point, is it?
We are the richest club in the world. Shouldn’t we expect to be competing with other wealthy clubs for our players? Wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect that the players we bring in were being courted by the likes of Juventus, PSG and City?
Yes – Trippier has certainly made a difference, but Targett, Burn, and Bruno are still up for debate, with Wood so far looking like some kind of lost plodding dinosaur.
You can’t credit the improvement in team performance on any of those players specifically, especially when we’ve just brought in a new manager.
The pundits are right, if Bruce had brought in Targett, Burn and Wood we wouldn’t be impressed.
We’ve won the global lottery. We’ve scrapped our 25 year old Escort and gone out car shopping. Instead of coming back with a Bentley we’ve turned up with a five year old Kia Sportage.
It’s better than what we had, but it’s certainly not what you would expect from a lottery winner.
You remind me of a kid at his first pantomime, yelling out “oh no it isn’t” every time somebody says something about the club.
It’s sad.
It’s sad because you represent a small percentage of fans who feel they have to react almost violently to everything that’s said that they don’t agree with. They have to find fault with every pundits negative comment.
Let’s not forget we’ve won 3 games against mediocre opposition. There’s a long way to go.
There’s a reason our new players were playing for Villa, Brighton and Burnley.
Yes, they’re better than what we had, but they’re still used Kias.
BykerBill(Quote)
I disagree.
I’d rather we bought tried and tested Kia’s at the moment who can hit the ground running and are solid reliable performers.
A flashy Bentley is affordable but neither what we need in a relegation fight or realistic without the lure of Champions League football.
Dave Dryden(Quote)