Is Coventry striker the Best a Mag can get?

Posted on February 1st, 2010 | 190 Comments |

Another masked crusader?
Another masked crusader?
Early Monday morning news coming through on the last day of the transfer window, that Newcastle are close to signing Coventry City’s Leon Best. Sky Sports are reporting that the Republic of Ireland striker may be on his way to Tyneside with Chris Coleman unlikely to sign a new deal in the summer when his contract runs out.

The smogs were after Best early doors in the transfer window but SSN are suggesting that he will join us on a three-and-a-half year contract, should he pass his medical today. Having failed with the capture of Jermaine Beckford from Leeds and Victor Moses from Crystal Palace, Hughton looks to have turned his attentions to the next best thing available. Marlon Harewood would have been the obvious choice but for his untimely injury.

Twenty three year old Leon Best has had a fairly unspectacular career so far, starting off at Southamption but spending most of his time on loan, at QPR, Sheff Wed, Bournemouth and Yeovil respectively, before moving on to Coventry City in 2007. Almost three years later, he has 22 goals to his name in 102 appearances, while having represented his country four times.

At a time when we’re crying out for a natural goal-poacher, Leon Best doesn’t immediately spring to mind but SSN seem fairly confident that it’s going ahead. I think I might be a little disappointed if this materialises quickly, as I was looking forward to a last-gasp and impressive announcement on the storke of midnight. And what’s the crack with all the interest in getting lads who’ve worn masks? Some kind of new NUFC fetish?

NUFCBlog Author: bowburnmag bowburnmag has written 234 articles on this blog.

Related Posts:

Posted on by bowburnmag in category: Bowburn Mag and Chris Hughton and NUFC gossip and speculation and Transfers , with tags: , , , , ,
Comment on this post

190 Responses

  1. Looks like a right Twat in that stupid mask…like a cheap Edgar Davids.
    Mike Ashley is probably getting the masks already made up in some asian sweat factory to bash out at his shops for a tenner to cover his wages.

  2. I’m going to be dead busy so I’ll not see much of the drama but I’ve just realised we’ve got SSN on the telly at work but it’s always something more ‘appropriate’ for clients, so that’ll be gan on for the rest of the day…

    But just thinking, is this kid the one that chuck kept banging on about? Again, as with Moses, I have no idea what this lad is like, so I may get grief for describing his career as “unspectacular”? That was just on his goals-to-games ratio really. I thought we wanted a proper goalscorer. If we couldn’t find him, is there any point in buying just for the sake of it?

  3. I agree bbm-Pointless signing,prefer a prem marksman on loan and if we got promoted get someone decent in.
    He would never cut it i the prem at the moment….unremarkable.

  4. bowburn – Yes, it’s the one Chuck kept banging on about. 1 goal every 5 games in the championship! Impressive!

    Forgive me but I will be very underwhelmed if we do sign him!

  6. Toonsy-Forgive me but I will be very underwhelmed if we do sign him!
    Only if you forgive me as well Toonsy ?:)

  7. i think Ashley had a knock on the heed thinks he is Dr Who went back to the 60’s and got us an Irish man called Best

  9. give the kid a break man he myt come good you never no much rarther have him them donkey or carroll

  10. Maybe the best of an awful bunch…just not exciting me and with the amount of opps we create his ratio of 1 IN 5 will end up 1 IN 10…prolific!

  11. As a Cov fan, I can understand the disappointment. But you are getting a decent targetman, quick, powerful, and good with the ball at his feet. He will thrive at a bigger club

  12. We are also linked with Vela and Cousin (possibly in the loan window) 2 very usefull players and Vaughn who would be a good signing if he isn’t a recidivist crock.
    Still no obvious signs of a decent midfielder.
    Although if CH would take a (small) risk and play a more attacking lineup we might not need some of the not exactly exciting prospective signings. Some of the young players we have are probably as good if not better than some of the target signings.

  13. 22 goals in 102 games dosnt exactly fill you with bastada confidence like.pointless signing and giving him a 3 1/2 year contract dont make sense

  14. Aye Billy we are linked with many players but they don’t seem to materialise….I don’t expect any signings of any major interest today…but if I am surprised then I will give Mike Ashley some credit.

  15. Agreed hitman…imagine his ratio if we got promoted?
    My gut feeling is Mike is enjoying the championship so much he is planning for another season in the fizzy’s and buying players that are championship quality in order to secure more fizzy football.

  16. Just to emphasise my point, I reckon some of our youngsters if they were with Crystal Palace or Coventry or a lower league teams, I’d bet they were getting regular starts and also getting similar reviews to Moses. Would we be fighting to try and sign them as well, Oh yeah we already have them!!!

  18. I have seen Best play a few time for Ireland and he has been dreadful , He is a handful for defenders he is strong and puts himself about alright but i havent seen anything else from him , I would be dissapointed if we sign him as he is not the type of striker we need

  19. Dont get me wrong, I understand we aren’t going to get a premier league striker, but I would hope we can get strikers with a better ratio of 1 in 5.

    Fat Dave – We already have targetmen in the squad with Carroll, Ranger and Ameobi. If we are to get a striker I would prefer a fox in the box type. We have one in Lovenkrands, but what if he gets injured?

  20. Fat-Dave, that homily sounds like a sales pitch and that you will be glad to see him gone. :)
    He has the looks of another Shola which again is no better than we already have.

  21. Guys, What’s your opinion,if we can make only 1 last deal today,which Position is more needed?? Be it on loan or Perm.

    IS A creative Mid-fielder or A Goal Scorer Striker???

  25. AOD – Good question. I would say a creative mid. If we got one of them then our strikers would get more chances, especially now we have the wings sorted with Routledge and Jonas. Only problem with that is that Hughton wouldn’t drop Smith/Nolan/Butt to play them.

    The answers to our problems could be under our noses in Vuckic. If the chances are created, I’d back our strikers to score in this league.

  26. Big Willy – Beye showing his true character, and that his speech about loving Newcastle and the fans was pure bol1ocks!

  27. Mmm as long as he has some pace he will give us some sort of variety, we only got tall slow strikers, and yes Lovenkrands is faster than a donkey, but we need to have variety and competition for places. I would agree with all of you though, is he premier league quality? But i guess that Ashley has no vision for the future.

  28. Fat_Dave says:
    February 1, 2010 at 9:38 am
    As a Cov fan, I can understand the disappointment. But you are getting a decent targetman, quick, powerful, and good with the ball at his feet. He will thrive at a bigger club
    <<<< he best go too wigan then

  29. As a sky blue, I’d be disappointed to see Best go especially to another championship side, but that’s partly because he had a rough start.

    Best is technically very good although his final touch still needs work.

    The problem at Coventry was his style. He is one of those forwards that gets in good positions but doesn’t look like he’s working hard off th ball. With Coventry’s lean spell at the time it mad him look a little isolated and like his heart wasn;t in it.

    He has since looked threatening and a much better player. Strangely the facemask seemed to make him play better.

    Sad to see he’s getting abuse before he signs from numpties who still can’t accept which division Newcastle are in or their current financial status. It might not be a step up after all if that’s the attitude. I think Mr Houghton Knows a bit more than you guys

  30. well he is coming is’nt he lets just hope they dont INSULT us and give him the number 9 shirt

  31. Hmmm, How I Miss Kevin Keegean 4-3-3 formation last season.

    It did somehow works,with Our “Fearsome” 3 strikers. Owen,Martins,Viduka.

    If we can somehow replicate that,would be nice.

    Even though some say games are totally different from reality,I always played 4-3-3 formation at Home,And 4-2-2 diamond when away. It works perfectly.

    If CH insists to let butt play more competitive matches before he retire this season.**Might Be**, he can put butt right in front of the two CB’s. Same As Smith in a 4-3-3 formation.

  32. For what it’s worth, I don’t think we’re desperate for either. Although I hate his guts, we have Barton back soon. We now also have ‘proper’ wingers, so Guthrie can be officially in the middle (he’s there anyway wherever you ask him to play) plus Lua Lua coming through.

    As for strikers, we’ve got plenty; just nobody currently banging them in as much as we’d like.

    BUT

    Look at the team at the moment and you realise two things:

    1. They will need time to gel with so many new faces – especially Routledge. Once Enrique is back the service to our strikers should step up a big notch.

    2. We are good enough to win the Championship, which is all we need right now. Any spend above that before summer is just money risked which I’d rather save until we know what we need to buy for next season.

    Oh, and about Best: 10 goals this season and CCC player of the month. Not bad. Better than what we’ve got, though?

  34. is best better than what we already have upfront,,,thomas we no what league were in,and as for houghton he knows jack sh1t hes a puppet for ashley the slave trader..

  36. Forgive me for being thoroughly underwhelmed should this go through like. Hughton said we need someone who can finish chances, knows where the net is, so why are we looking at a lad with a goa tally such as his? Would love the likes of carlos vela in but that won’t happen. Out of curiosity, how the hell did that young welbeck from man u end up out on loan without us having a clue? Seemed quite the player every time I saw him like, shame.

  37. Thomas: >> “Sad to see he’s getting abuse before he signs from numpties who still can’t accept which division Newcastle are in or their current financial status. It might not be a step up after all if that’s the attitude. I think Mr Houghton Knows a bit more than you guys”

    You are so right. Fortunately whe whiney, reality-impaired idiots who seem to congregate on here don’t represent the opinion of most fans. They just can’t get their heads around the basics of running a club, let alone being in a CCC side. We’ve even had remeniscence on here about Owen, Martins and Viduka – 3 names that perfectly illustrate what got us relegated in the first place.

  38. Ok, the Toon Moaners on here, what the hell DO you want? Your multiple choice options are:

    1. Pay through the nose to get players who otherwise don’t want to be here.
    2. Put in daft bids for prem players and wait for the knock-backs.
    3. Find a rich arab to buy us some silverware.

    OR… mad idea… get players who come for the right reasons and don’t cost more than we need to spend. Do enough to get promoted. Spend the summer building a prem team based around the players who’ve shown they can hack it. Sell the others at no loss or a profit because you didn’t pay above the odds for them in the first place.

    This has been a great transfer window. Lots of good players in and one huge drain on the coffers shipped out. No big-money gambles or vanity signings.

    4 POINTS CLEAR.

    Ashley may still be an untrustworthy (slavedriving?) git, but his team have done very well this window. You lot sound like the kid who’s upset because he only got 23 birthday presents and wants 24.

  39. Ok 22 in 102 isn’t impressive, but he has scored 10 of those this season. He is quite young so maybe he is jus maturing now?

  41. Wow. Here we go again. 5 days ago you are all in here saying that CH was the NSF manager nufc has had in the transfer market and fair play to Ashley etc… We are about the close the transfer window with no-one going out (paying wAges that no one in the fizzy leagues pay) and 5 new faces at a good age And not paying rediculous wages. You want our team to play better? Then stops being so negative And support our new players.

  42. I think the problem with Best is that he’s no differenet to what we already have. We were crying out for someone with some skill and pace as a foil for our existing target men. Speaking of which, i see Kamara has joined Celtic on loan.

  43. What I meant was that was our BEST STRIKERS last few seasons isn’t it????

    And relegation was not based on players mainly. It also consists of other factors.

    That 3 strikers,if the club was stable,no changing of managers like changing of clothes,and fitness is top,They Will be Our Best 3strikers.

    Anyway,that’s my opinion.

  45. Magpie – there’s a long time until midnight… ;)

    I’ll be happy when the day is over and we’re not short of more than just Geremi (who’s transfer was like a belated Christmas present as kid, off relatives you rarely see).

  50. Watched it this morning toonsy…them people in the factories must have really bad lives 36 to a dormitory and 1 toilet imagine if a few of the had the shits :)

  51. Thomas, sorry for not getting excited about a less than impressive striker who has scored 1 goal every 5 games. I forgot I should get the party poppers and silly string out!

    Its not a dig at him, its the fact that he is similar to what we have already, so what is the point? I live in Rugby mate so I know full well what Best is like, from what I read in the papers, what i watch on TV, and from what I hear from a lot of mates and colleagues who also support Cov.

  54. bowburn mag, the window closes at 5pm. It would have closed last night but it was a Sunday so they leave it open a bit longer.

  56. How is it that I’m the only dozy get who didn’t know when the window shuts? :oops:

    And he calls himself ‘informed’…

    No he doesn’t, before you say owt!! ;)

  59. Hope there is a good shocking transfer news happening later to the toons.

    Off to eat my dinner.(6.54pm @Singapore)

  60. Wonder if this means one of our other strikers, perhaps Carroll, is on their way out? Probably not but we could probably get more for Carroll than we wil be paying for Best.

  67. You are all so ridiculous, slagging him off before he’s even signed. I am a lifelong Toon fan and am embarrassed by you.

  69. Don’t know if it stops the shit* but if you add astafoedia to your indian cooking it helps to stop farting.
    A lot of EPL managers are saying they hate the transfer window, I can’t help wondering if there is any legal basis for it’s enforcement. Anyone know what the Euro rules etc. say, I would imagine it’s a restriction of trade in some way. The old transfer anytime was a bit more sensible and less frenetic.

  70. the toon are going around buying all the best championship player do will they be any good in the premiership ?

  71. MoLar – Your one dimensional viewpoint is also embarrasing! Do Toon fans only live in Newcastle? No!

    I live in the Midlands, near Coventry in fact. A lot of mates down here and colleagues support Cov. I also get to read the local Cov papers, so I know anout Best! The Cov fans seem happy to let him go and they are a bottom half team! Why should we be excited? Forst 3 comments from a Cov board;

    Looks like best has agreed a move to newcastle,,after sats performance by him im amazed anyone wants him…….
    ===
    can go missing in games and gets the hump if things not going his way
    ===
    Incosistant sums him up. Can be brilliant or very poor, depending on which Leon Best turns up. Not as good as Carroll or Ameobi. His body language ofen appears to have a ‘I dont give ****’ attitude about it. With the right manager I think he could do really well.

  72. Not singling out your comments hitman, but it seems there is a culture of whingeing about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. I agree with Whumpy, we have done the best thing possible during this transfer window, which is to not change too much and buy cover where most needed. The Moses thing was a shame but we move on. I don’t always think CH makes the right decision with subs etc, but to be fair, I like him and I think he is totally committed. Some people’s sarcastic remarks about Best, before the signing is confirmed, is just ludicrous. These are the exact same people who thought Enrique was useless until very recently. We need to get behind the team, get behond new young players. It makes players confident, it makes them play better for God’s sake.

  73. Aye, I’m not personally having a go at the lad and will reserve judgement until we see him play at sjp. However, his record wouldn’t fill anyone with confidence and if a bottom half ccc side are happy to see him leave whilst claiming he’s no better than what we have? We need a straight up goalscorer and the impression being given across the board so far is that’s not what we’re buying, that is my only issue!

  74. How is my view one diemnsional? I haven’t commented on where fans live so what is your point? We as Newcastle fans can’t judge how he is going to play for Newcastle unitil/if he signs. Perhaps he was playing badly for Coventry, but there are many reasons why that might be and I am not in a position to judge. We are not in control of who we sign; my point is that we should get behind new young players if we sign them. If you disagree with that you have got a problem.

  75. MoLar – He’ll always get a chance with me, when he has the Black & White on he’ll get my support, but he’ll have to work to keep it!

    You said basically that we don’t know anything about him, I do. Like I said, I live down here so I’ve heard about him, read about him and watched him.

    Why Best though? I think the problem is the fact he is too simliar to what we have already, not that Best is rubbish. If anything it’ll just push Rangers development back!

  78. I’m with MoLar. It’s threads like this which feed the “Deluded Newcastle Fans” headlines.

    Can anyone name another CCC team who have had anything like the activity (and spend) we’ve had in this window?

    Just which one of CH’s new signings were you so disgusted with on Saturday that they deserve the stick you’re giving Best before he even signs?

    Just a load of deluded, whining, non-supporters.

    In my humble opinion, of course.

  79. toonsy >>>>Why Best though? I think the problem is the fact he is too simliar to what we have already, not that Best is rubbish. If anything it’ll just push Rangers development back<<< because he,s cheap as chips

  80. Well from what I’ve seen of him he looks quicker than what we’ve got already (except Lovenkrands) but I don’t know much. We will see. I never said people didn’t know anything about him. I’m sure you know more than most poeple, but playing for a new club can change a player. My point is that we can’t control who signs for the club, and that we should get behind new NUFC players. What is the point in critiscising them, what good will it do. I’m surrounded by whingers at the game and it does my head in, it’s not why I go and watch football.

  81. I remember everybody, myself included having the same reaction to the Antoine Sibierski signing. I’d be happy if Best proves me as wrong as Sibi did

  82. Whumpie – If you wan’t to cream over Best, go ahead. It’s your choice, and your opinion.

    People have differing opinions, you need to accept that. Just because I’m not overwhelmed with a striker who averages 1 goal in 5 in the championship, doesn’t make me any less of a supporter than you.

    For what it’s worth, I don’t think he is better than what we have. With Best we will have 4 tall, target man type strikers, and 1 nippy one in Lovenkrands. Can you see an imbalance there? I can! What if Lovenkrands gets injured? We have 2 lumps (or 1 away from home) up front which promotes the kind of long ball football that has been sussed out by other teams.

  83. I do share the concern that Best will just give us more of the same, though. And about his temperament.

    But I worried about Williamson’s inability to hold down a place in his last teams. I worried about van Thingy’s age. Routledge was the only one I thought looked good on paper. But they all did ok in their matches so far. Hopefully it’ll be the same with Best.

    What I object to are the people just generally whining because we’re signing CCC players and wanting prem ones. What planet are you on??

  86. There are positives to take from what those few cov fans said. They pointed out that in his day he can be excellent whilst also pointing out there’s days he just looks like he can’t be bothered. We could knock him for a potential attitude problem or we could say that with a fresh start, a new manager and a club at the top of the league he will enjoy his football here and we’ll see far more of those brilliant days than the cov lot have!..like I said, I’ll reserve judgement and if he turns out to be a diamond in the rough I will again admit my immediate thoughts were wrong and say fair play to the club!

  87. Whumpie says:
    February 1, 2010 at 11:52 am
    I do share the concern that Best will just give us more of the same, though. And about his temperament.

    But I worried about Williamson’s inability to hold down a place in his last teams. I worried about van Thingy’s age. Routledge was the only one I thought looked good on paper. But they all did ok in their matches so far. Hopefully it’ll be the same with Best.

    What I object to are the people just generally whining because we’re signing CCC players and wanting prem ones. What planet are you on??
    <<<<< whumpie u keep going on aboot us moaning because we are buying championship players whats gonna happen if we go up have we got too sell them all in 3 months time at this rate the whole squad will be up for sale at the end of the season a, a tiny bit of ambition wouldnt go a miss by the fat controler

  88. Another issue is we can have all the strikers in the world yet we have nobody to create any chances other than on the wings.

  89. It’s not even about this specific player. It’s just a general point which is we should get behind every new Newcastle player.

    We all have a right to an opinion, but I think the ability to get behind each and every player determines how much you can really claim to support a team.

    Some people are ALREADY saying Wayne Routledge is sh1t. It’s laughable.

  90. Ross, I need the number of your optician. Rose-tinted specs they may be, but it’s the sort of thinking we could do with!

    BTW, let’s not forget that the loan window remains open. To be honest, unless a player is a pretty sure bet of retaining his value (as seems to be the case with signings so far), I think loans are a good option for us. Look at Simpson and now Van Hardon (or whatever he’s called) – try ’em out, sign em if they meet the grade.

  91. I agree with Toonsy there, got to have somebody who can feed the ball on a plate to whoever is playing up front. As somebody said earlier, the season Keegan played the 3 up front with Owen in the hole worked wonders.

    As for what Batty said, I think he’s right. Ok there is no way we can be going for a top of the range PL player, but think back to the last time we were in this situation. Didn’t we sign some PL players who were maybe coming to an end of their careers, maybe just a couple of seasons left in them, but good enough to get us up and keep us there the following year? Thats what we need to do, get some players in who will do it in the short term, next couple of years. By the time we are up again and made sure we are staying there, we can be investing in the young players with skill who will be the future.

  92. I’m fed up of the some of the comments I’ve heard from Newcastle fans lately. When we signed Routledge I mentioned to a mate that I was pleased we’d signed the lad. His response “He’s not premier league quality”!! Eh…the last time I looked we were in the CCC!! Some fans STILL need to take a reality check. Do you think Moses would have gone to Wigan if they were in the CCC, no chance! But the CCC is where we are & the majority of good players will always be blinded by the Prem & go to the likes of Wigan, Burnley & Hull before choosing a fizzy pop side. It’s disappointing but that’s where we’re at right now…that and the fact our owner has a strict budget in place meaning that once the value goes above and beyond his valuation we’re out of the running.
    We desperately need more creativity in the side now but I think that unless we sign Fabregas some fans will never be happy!
    HTL & Best!

  94. Scott McDonald in talks about going to Boro, sorry I meant Celtic reserves.

    He’d have been a better solution to our problems.

  95. Whumpie I agree. We need to give him a chance. Friday everyone positive about the transfer window, today the opposite – like a bunch of manic depressives.

  96. I have been very happy with this transfer window , tho Im sure of Best from what Ive seen of him playing for Ireland , tho I have complete faith in hughton

  97. Must admit, optamist that I am I was underwhelmed by this news. However (optimism creeping back in) I know a few cov fans and some have posted on here, none of them seem that happy that he’s leaving. Toonsy’ll disagree @71 :-)

    If he’s coming then we have to hope he comes good and he gets motivated (it must be f’in demotivating being at Cov). I think the team will be able to do that to him, them and us of course.

    And what is that mask all about. Is it injury protection or some kind of enhanced bio-engineered ball spotting enhancement or is it just daft?

  98. Everyone’s just pissed that the ‘moan factor’ has dropped, so they’re just finding anything to whine about.
    Yea, ashley’s a c*** etc, whatever.
    Shit! we’ve got shot of Geremi, brought in some defensive cover, a winger & now, potentially, a striker.
    Lighten up lads.
    It’s not world class players but what would it be like if we’d done nowt?
    We’ve done some business that hasn’t broke the bank, only a certain type of player is gonna come here right now, so until such time as we get up, this is life in the chumpionship.
    Hello!

  99. I have said it loads of times in the past. A players previous goal ratio only gives about 10% insight into their quality as a player. Look at Kuyt’s record before Liverpool, Afonso Alves’ before Boro. These things must be taken into context. He has different players and management around him. A different stadium, different training facilities and is probably given different instructions. Whats more important is how his core competencies compliment our side, and based on Hughton’s signings so far i am quietly confident Best will do well for us. What i am more worried about is Hughton’s shockingly negative tactics.

  103. Whumpie- Haha, like i’ve stated in previous entries regarding him, he hasnt set my heart alight but at the end of the day if he’s in the b&w i’ll get behind him. Christ he might even turn out to be half decent! lol. Also, like you say the loan option is still there until Thursday is it?

    Toonsy- I like Mcdonald. He is an out and out goal scorer. Right place at the right time and he knows where the net is, i’d like him here.

  105. Dragonera:

    Yes! Negative tactics. Still feel peeved about the Foxes game. Must move on, hope CH can.

  106. DC on ssn says that best will be the only deal done for the toon,i would of liked us to try for a creative mid like.

  108. toonsy-Are SSN reporting McDonald to Boro? Slightly disappointed by that tbh like, he looks a good player and i’m pretty confident he’d do a job for us, he’s the type of player we need.

  111. Diomansy Kamara gone from Fulham to Celtic on loan. He’d have been great for us and without the hassle of a 3.5 year contract.

  112. So he is taking Rangers place on the bench? Bit of a joke really! He won’t drop strolla or Carroll or nolan upfront so why? If it was up to hughton he’d have

    …………………………..harper……………………………..
    Simpson..rtayls..Will..Collo..Tayls..Kadar..Enrique
    …………………….Butt….Smith……………………………..
    …………………………………………………………………….
    ………………………..Carroll…………………………………

    We need butt and smith to sure up the defence!

    If we dont watch out were going to lose the real talent in Ranger, kadar, Krul, Vuckic, Lualua etc, this was their season to really give them games! Instead theyre warming the bench and were chasing after players their age to jump into the first team!

  113. well according to the BBC transfer ticker thing, the club have confirmed we are in talks with Cov about Best. (was quite obvious given the fact he’d been seen at the training ground but according to Ian Dennis, confirmation has been given)

  114. Mikey – I agree. Signing Best will just push Ranger down the pecking order. We have 4 strikers already, why the need for a 5th?

  116. Ranger should have started against Leicester i reckon. He has a far better first touch that Carroll. The only thing i see in Carroll is his ability in the air. He’s a decent target man and can flick the ball on but his finishing needs to be worked on and his first touch is poor. Nolan is pretty useless playing as a second striker. Give danger Nile a start more regularly for me.

  118. Ross

    I agree with youabout Carroll’s technical ability with the ball at his feet, it does leave a lot to be desired. But that’s not even the reason why i don’t rate him, as these things can be developed and improved upon. It is the mental aspects of Carroll’s game that make me want to see him leave. His awareness and intelligence is shocking. He is either too close or too far away from his partner, he dwells on the ball for far too long when a good pass is available, and he also tries to take on players when their are players in good positions. He is stupid. He just runs around like a headless chicken and works hard. Not too mention he thinks he has made it already. How many times has this idiot been in troube off the pitch? Get shot of him i say.

  120. Boo’d off on Saturday for being rubbish against Blackpools defence!! He has ability, he can finish and he is the most big headed waste of non trying space I have seen in a very long time.

    Good riddance and thank god he has gone.

  121. Dragonera-Another thing that frustrates me RE Carroll is how incredibly one footed he is. There will be times you’re screaming at him to shoot but he’ll always look to put it on his left foot-given the fact he’s not brilliant with the ball at his feet, 9/10 he’ll lose the ball.
    I agree with you RE positional sense and the worst part for me is, i dunno if that can be taught. Thats natural strikers instinct as far as i’m concerned. They can work with him on moves and drills in training, but there is part of it that has to come naturally, split second decisions/runs being made etc.

  122. Matt

    “…He has ability, he can finish and he is the most big headed waste of non trying space I have seen in a very long time.”

    That’s decent news. The “non trying” part may have something to do with playing for Coventry. That is not a swipe at you, but you lot aren’t having the best of times in the Championship and maybe he feels he should be playing at a higher level. Seeing as we are pushing for promotion and there is competition for places up front in our team, i fully expect his effort levels to take a sudden increase. Im just guessing though. He may indeed turn out to just be a lazy s**t! haha

  123. Ross

    Agreed, mate, which is why i would like to see the back of him. How i try to weigh it up is, would i rather have him or play against him? Unfortunately for Carroll it is the latter for me. One of the most one dimensional and easily nullified attacking threats around.

  124. Matt

    “…He has ability, he can finish and he is the most big headed waste of non trying space I have seen in a very long time.”

    Lol Should fit right in :-)

  129. BBB- SSN ran a story on both us and Stoke being interested in Huseklepp a few days ago but it doesn’t look like anything will materialise. Shame some WUM has just edited his Wiki entry and stuck it on a Newcastle board in the hope of fooling us,lol.

  130. bigbadbob says:
    February 1, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    “Somebody has just posted this link on the chronicle transfer blog”

    Just retards vandalising Wiki again.

  135. If we want an attacking midfielder we should make a 5million bid for Denilson from Arsenal in the summer. The fans’ patience in the young Brazilian seems to have run out due to his slow development and shocking performances this season. None more exemplary than his contribution to all three Manchester United goals yesterday before he was hauled off at the hour mark. I know what people are thinking, “he is s**t! Why should we go for him”. It is understandable for you to think that, but he is only poor at the minute because Arsene Wenger insists on moulding him into a box to box, ball winning defensive midfielder. He doesn’t have the positional sense, awareness or physical attributes to play in this position. Denlison is best in the Fabregas role, pulling strings in the middle of the park. This is where he played for the Brazil U-21’s and he was awesome. He is a goal threat, a great passer of the ball and would really add some much needed creativity to our shocking central midfield area. The first team to sign him from Arsenal and use him in his proper position has a real steal on their hands.

  136. I remember when we signed Craig Bellamy from Coventry, their fans were over the moon that they had got rid of him. Expectation was low but he turned out to be a cracking player. Let’s hope the same thing happens with Best.

  137. Bit of a fan of Nakamura, wouldn’t have minded seeing him given a loan til the end of the season.

  139. There was nothing remarkable about the careers of Bellamy or Andy Cole before we signed them and look what happened……need to reserve judgement and be hopeful rather than always assume the worst!!!

  140. Toonsy you’re not my mate Steve are you? I live in Warwick and he’s the only NUFC fan I know around these parts. :D

    As for people wanting Ranger in the side instead of Carroll or Strolla, I agree with Carroll, but not Strolla, he’s finally found his playing level and he’s looked like a decent player in the CCC. What we should remember is that the manager picks the team on what happens in training and not just on the 5 or ten minutes they get at the end of a game. Personally I think CH is no mug and he knows what makes a decent player, he’s a coach first and foremost. There *must* be something going on at the training ground to make him keep picking the players he does.
    Perhaps Butt just gives a better reach around. ;)

  141. Micky – I’m not your pal, Steve. The clue is in my username, particularly the ‘sy’ bit – my nickname for Simon.

  142. Micky Toon

    I live in Warwick! Do you watch the games at the Railway or Western?

    I’d go Ameobi/Ranger and give Carol something to think about for a couple of fixtures. He could work on ditching the falling over and looking offended routine.

  144. On a positive note and a touch of schadenfreud, Shorey has left Forest, has to weaken them a bit, I hope. :)

  146. A touch of Schadendfrued…isn’t it a bit early in the day?

    Balls to it, pour me a glass as well. :)

  150. BBB, whats the death rate in that event. ;)

    And it’s never to early for a bit of schadenfreud.

    About time we have been able to enjoy it rather than be the object of it.

  153. A very ambitious signing.
    I bet we had to fight of other clubs with a stick :)

    Undisclosed fee means cheap as lonsdale right?

  155. At least Best has a bit of pace, Shola and Carroll couldn’t beat my grannie even if I took her walking stick away from her

  157. nufc.com are saying theres no TV (UK or overseas) for toon game on friday – unfortunately they’re usually spot on so it looks like radio stream only :-(

  158. I’m not expecting any more signings to be honest
    Hughton seems to think we’re ok in midfield for some bizarre reason

  161. Penalty Spot – I tend to sit at home and watch them on me own. :(

    Is there a decent crowd in either of those places? Many mags get in there?

  162. stevep – It was just David Craig saying on SSN that he would likely make his debut in the live Sky game with Cardiff on Friday.

    Perhaps it waqs just him ballsing up?

    Big Willy – Could be, a vast majority of our play is played in the sky nowadays so…. :D

  164. Stevep

    I don’t think we desperately need a midfielder in January. We just need to give Vuckic a run in the team and stop playing Smith, Butt, and Nolan together. However, In the summer we should definitely look for a creative midfielder though as our current midfield will definitely struggle to make an impact at top level. I would like to see Butt and Nolan leave in the summer, with any two of Kevin Prince Boateng, Denilson and Jamie O’Hara coming in.

  165. According to ssn nani is brilliant now cos he played well once in a 100 games. Cocks.
    :)

  166. On a positive note, it looks like we may get through Jan without selling any 1st team players.

  167. Clint

    You’re wrong!…He has actually played well TWICE in 100 games! The game against Hull he was good as well ;) haha!

  168. I though the game was on Friday night due to Police advice because the mackems are playing Wigan at home on Sat. Don’t recall any history between Cardiff and Wigan or the Mackems to warrant change of Kick off.

    Makes sense for it to be on telly though as Sky often show Friday games

  169. Makes sense for me. He’ll provide backup for when we get 2 strikers injured and need one on the bench. He’ll also up the competition for places.

    Worst that can happen is he doesn’t deliver and we sell him on at a modest loss in the summer.

    Actually, no, strike that. Worst that can happen is that he’s an utter toss-pot who chips away at the team spirit… and we sell him for a modest loss.

    But let’s just credit CH with pulling something out of the bag when needed – he obviously had a well-planned strategy here, and so far his signings have looked good.

    We wanted more bodies to mitigate the risk from injuries, and we’ve got ’em. We wanted Geremi’s wages off our tab, and that’s happened. We wanted a proper right-winger, and we’ve got one. We wanted Simpson to stay, and he has.

    Job done, CH and co. A lot of work, a suitably modest overall investment of cash, probably an overall lowering of the wage bill (i.e. Geremi probably earned more than all the new lads put together) and, I think, enough done to be able to stay in the top 2.

    Compare that to transfer windows of the last 4 years.

  170. ive just checked sky sports for friday neet and theres no footie game listed,DC talking shite again

  171. Whumpie

    I must admit, i didn’t actually want Simpson to stay. I would have much preferred beating Boro to the loan signing of Kyle Naughton.

  172. Would ideally have liked to see Skjelbred or Huskelepp come, there is still time for the optimists around. I, like many others am worried with the negativity of CH. We should have gone 442 when they went down to 10men at the weekend and it seems pretty obvious to me that certain players are playing as a kind of thank you for staying with us in the summer. I dont see why youngsters arent being given a chance, although Vukic and Lua Lua have been injured, but I want to see Vukic given time on the pitch taking Nolans role behind the lone forward when he is back fit. I hate to say it but I long for Barton to get his boots back on and Butt has simply got to go now. Smith is not really the linchpin he was and perhaps a spell on the bench with Guthrie taking his CDM role would be good all round. I really want to see Best given a chance to show us what he can do, telling though it is he has got the no20 shirt and the hallowed no9 remains vacant, despite having 5 forwards on the books!!

  173. I stand corrected Dragonera.
    Nice one.
    He must be worth a bomb now, maybe they’re trying to get shot, hey?

  174. Whumpie @ 169 – You make it sound like a decent windiw there.

    Give me time, I’ll formulate a way of making the window look poor! :D

    Still time for Taylor and Colo and Jonas to be sold yet ;)

  176. Clint

    Yes, mate. It’s rumoured FFS is on his way back and we are interested in signing the portuguese winger for around 35million on a 5 year contract at around 90k a week wages.

  178. Bloody hell! How desperate are West Ham eh!? Signing all of the drips and drabs from other clubs, haha!

  180. Micky Toon @161

    Railway’s better, 2 sky lines so it’s on even if there’s a competing fixture. Odd Toon fan in usually, never a crowd. The landlord’s a Villa fan and reminds me every time I’m in there that he remembers ‘sending us down’. All good natured though. Never any hassle.

    Should be in there on 13th (unless there’s one earlier)

  181. hmm on the sky tv guide they’re showing the following for fri night

    19:00 Super League Rugby SS1
    19:30 Eng vs Wales Rugby Union SS2
    20:00 Golf SS3
    20:00 Cricket

    Maybe toon game is a late addition and they’ll drop one of those

  182. Toonsy

    It says the game is showing live on SkySports’ article confirming our signing of best. I didn’t check the tv guide, but the guide is more likely to be wrong as the game has been moved from the weekend…I hope.

  183. Dragonera,
    don’t even joke about it mate.
    I’m getting the collywobbles as i type mate.
    :)

  186. From NUFC.COM

    Sky City slipup?

    From the SkySports website, Monday:

    Best is expected to go straight into the Newcastle squad for this Friday’s game with Cardiff, live on Sky Sports.

    God knows where they’ve got this from, but our game against Cardiff City on Friday is not scheduled to be live on Sky – or anywhere else. The game was moved on police advice to avoid clashing with the mackems.

    Their schedules on Friday night consist of Rugby League, Rugby Union, Yachting and 20/20 Cricket.

    We’ve written to both Sky and the Football League to confirm that this is an error and that a late, unpublicised decision to transmit the game live hasn’t been made.

  188. I’m not saying we couldn’t have done better in this window, but compared to what? The pre-Ashley days when we managed a few vanity signings who leeched the club of dosh and made no effort, or the Ashley windows before this one when we did nowt until 4:50 on deadline day then brought in very little except some utter gash because Wise got a kickback from the agent?

    I think we’ve got a decent CHAMPIONSHIP squad now, no more. And I hate to say it, but yes, Barton returning will make all the difference.

    How about this:

    —————Harps
    Simpson – Colo – Williamson – Enrique
    Routledge – Guthrie/Barton – Smith – Jonas
    — Shola/Carroll – Ranger/Nolan/Best/Loverboy

    And that’s not even mentioning Krul, R.Taylor, Fitz Hall, Van Aarnie, Pancake, or any of the youngsters.

    This lot will need time to gel, but I honestly think we’ll probably still win the league with this lot. Stop giving CH stick – which part of ‘4 points clear’ do you think makes him look bad?

  189. (Of course, the footie will remain as ugly as Pedro’s scrote, but you can’t have everything, eh…)