'Paul Mitchell is a fraud' - Absolute nonsense

Social media is a weird and not-so-wonderful place at times, especially when Newcastle United go through a tricky patch, either on or off the pitch.

One theme I've picked up on recently is this idea that Paul Mitchell is bad at his job. I've even seen the term 'fraud' used by some on Twitter, which is utterly bizarre to me at this stage of his tenure on Tyneside.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he hoped for a far more productive first six weeks in the job, but one frustrating transfer saga doesn't undo all the great work he did at Southampton, Spurs, RB Leipzig and Monaco. He's a quality operator who will come good in the long-term - not someone fans should be writing off because the Marc Guehi saga has dragged on for far too long.

Mitchell will ultimately be judged on his work at Newcastle, not on what he's done in the past, but for some to suggest he's already 'bad appointment' or 'doesn't know what he's doing' just doesn't sit right with me. It's like us already deciding that a summer signing is a flop two games into the season.

I'm not attempting to cover up what has been a seriously underwhelming window with just three days left to do business, but we have to realise that Mitchell's work at Newcastle will be defined on so much more than six weeks of work; especially when he arrived after a messy end to June, with two of our co-owners gone and a lot to work through between him, Eddie Howe and CEO Darren Eales. That's not an excuse, but he's come in at a highly chaotic period.

Howe went public in his backing of Mitchell yesterday and spoke positively of the "really good relationship" he's building with the 43-year-old, suggesting there's no issues behind the scenes and insisting that our push for signings is not on "any one person."

I accept it's been a bad window so far and we need action in next three days for Mitchell's sake, but I'm confident he will still be a very smart appointment for Newcastle United in the long run.