Santon’s English love story: His latest full interview with CalcioMercato [In English]

Posted on July 25th, 2012 | 83 Comments |

Davide Santon at St James' Park.
Santon: Totally settled in now (but misses his Italian scran)
Davide Santon has given another fairly extensive interview for the Italian CalcioMercato.com (Football Market), which was published on Monday.

When I saw how snippets of it had been taken out of context elsewhere (as is usually the case with such interviews), with even the title of the original interview suggesting that the young wing back was angling for an immediate move to AC Milan, I decided to do a translation of the full interview for you delectation and publish the full transcript on here so you can judge for yourselves.

In the interview, he gives a very positive message of how he’s raring to go for the new season, how happy and well supported he feels by his colleagues and the fans on Tyneside, how he’s now overcoming his language problems and adapting well to the different style of the Premiership, how he’s glad Newcastle united said “no” to Roma and much more.

The interview was held by Calcio Mercato’s Simone Togna, and like the last Santon Calcio Mercato interview I translated on here, many of the questions seem to be designed with the intent of making him say he wants to come back and play for an Italian team, which is understandable I suppose on an Italian site. However, he also revealed that he is now engaged to an English girl, which could indeed be an important factor in keeping him on Tyneside. After all, I’m sure that she would be very reluctant to give up the delights of Metro Centre and the glorious Tyneside weather for somewhere like Milan with all it’s shoddy clothes shops and second rate restaurants!

Anyway, without further ado!

Santon to Calcio Mercato: Never again to Inter. AC Milan? It would be beautiful.

Simone Togna: “Firstly, how are you physically?”

Davide Santon: “I’m really good. I recovered from a knee injury and now I’m facing the preparation with Newcastle at my best.”

Simone Togna: “Do you feel perfectly integrated in the team now?”

Davide Santon: “Absolutely, yes. I am fine with everyone from my colleagues in the team to the fans, and now that I understand what the coach wants from me I’m ready to play a great season.”

Simone Togna: “But have you had any difficulties? Perhaps with his (Pardew’s) English?”

Davide Santon: “Yes, in the beginning I did have some problems with the English, understanding what Pardew wanted from me and also the style of the Premier League, but that’s all in the past now.”

Simone Togna: “This year, where do you want to go?”

Davide Santon: “I think we can safely fight for a place in the Champions League. It’s hard, but we can do it.”

Simone Togna: “What is the difference with the Italian league?”

Davide Santon: “The Italian league is more tactical, more physical than the English league, and there is also much more space to play. It’s another reason why I am fine here across the Channel. Here (in England) more of the fans will the fans will support you always, even if you lose three / four straight games, they will continue to cheer for you, without whistling and complaining at the first difficulty.”

Simone Togna: “Which colleagues do you get along with the best?”

Davide Santon: “I get along with them all honestly. If I speak Italian I do so with Captain Coloccini (an ex AC Milan player of Italian heritage of course with a name like “Coloccini”). But we are all really united and close. There are no problems between us, and I think we see that on the pitch.”

Simone Togna: “Why do you young Italians phenomenons like yourself, Verratti, Balotelli, etc emigrate abroad?”

Davide Santon: “Simple: because in Italy you do not bet on young people.”

Simone Togna: “Is this the reason why you left Inter?”

Davide Santon: “I left because I had not played away from Inter. I needed my space to grow and prove my worth. I also had some problems with the Nerazzurri, beginning with (Rafael) Benitez in particular who did not see me. For this reason I left, and now I’m delighted to be able to defend in the shirt of Newcastle. If I were the owner I’d probably still in Milan, but since I was not playing, I decided to change the air to show my worth.”

Simone Togna: “But you miss the Premier League? Or do you miss Italy?”

Davide Santon: “The only thing I miss is the food of Italy (What’s wrong with ham and pease pudding stotties like, Davide?). For the rest I do not miss anything much. Since I started playing Pardew has continued to select me for games here, and I am appreciated by all. Despite being young I feel the confidence of all toward me. Then I found love here, and got engaged to an English girl who loves me for myself and is not looking for fame.”

Simone Togna: “The Inter fans are always very fond of you and miss you, Would you ever go back?

Davide Santon: “I can only thank the Inter fans who are always with me because they were really beautiful, but I do not think of ever returning to Inter.”

Simone Togna: “Do you still hear from the Inter players?”

Davide Santon: “Obi (young Inter midfileder, Joel Obi). We exchange a few short message from time to time. With the others I have pretty much lost contact.”

Simone Togna: “What has Mourinho given you more than the other coaches?”

Davide Santon: “Firstly, I should say that I can only thank him because he was the first to give me confidence and focus on me. He knew how to get me fired up, to use the right words at the right moment. It caused me to feel like never before and transmitted a winning mentality to me.”

Simone Togna: “With Mourinho you marked and defused Cristiano Ronaldo…”

Davide Santon: “Yes, it was the perfect match. Even today people stop me on the street and congratulate me for that match. Against Manchester United ended 0-0, but I really played a big match and I’m proud to be able to limit one of the strongest players in the world.”

Simone Togna: “Mourinho called you a phenomenal youngster, Lippi called you a predestined one (when he also compared Santon with a young Paolo Maldini). What is your dream career?

Davide Santon: “Winning the World Cup with Italy, as well as some great victory with my club.”

Simone Togna: “Who’s the best player you’ve played?”

Davide Santon: “Luis Figo, a real phenomenon.”

Simone Togna: “What do you think of (Sulley) Muntari and Lucio (ex Inter and Juventus players respectively), who went to Milan and angered Inter and Juve fans?”

Davide Santon: “After all they have won and lived through together for Inter, they could have avoided certain phrases, but if they felt the need to utter them, they had their reasons…”

Simone Togna: “You would never go to Milan?”

Davide Santon: “Well, as a child I was a fan of Milan, so it would certainly be beautiful to wear the shirt of the team I supported as a child. But after playing for Inter it would be a choice which I should perhaps reflect on.”

Simone Togna: “According to Radiomercato you are being followed by Rome.”

Davide Santon: “Yes, it is true. The Giallorossi (Yellow and Reds) spoke with the leaders of Newcastle, but the British have explained how I was not for sale. And I’m glad they did it.”

Simone Togna: “You are the captain the (Italy) Under 21 side, you are very strong, where you can get?”

Davide Santon: “Firstly I’m sorry about the departure of Ciro Ferrara (the ex Italy 21 coach), who will do very well at Sampdoria. But we have a very strong national side, of course we aim to win the European Championship.”

Simone Togna: “Who is strongest player of the light blues (Italy)?”

Davide Santon: “I think we really have a good squad and we are all strong, but if I should give you a name I would say Mattia Destro (young striker just signed by Roma from Siena) who will do well at Roma or Juve. But the important thing is that wherever I go, they do play and not stay on the bench, because he is very strong and trustworthy.”

Simone Togna: “But soon you want to regain a place in the full national team I guess…”

Davide Santon: “Absolutely, yes. I tell you I would have expected to be present in the selection of the National Pre Europeans. I’m not saying that I had to finish in the final 23, but I thought at least the final 30. But I have no problem with Prandelli, I will do my best to get new confidence in the hope of returning as soon as possible to defend the colours of the national team. I know it depends only on me, then I will do my best to play in the Confederations Cup next year and especially the World Cup in Brazil in two years.”

Davide Santon: “Did you expect the European Championships to go so handsomely for the Blues (Italy)?”

Davide Santon: “Seeing the game expressed by the team, I hoped they could go far. Too bad for the final, but congratulations to the Blues.”

And that was that for the interview.

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83 Responses

  3. Lets hope Pardew realizes what he has in this youngster and gives him playing time.
    It appears Ashley has ruled out a Debuchy move (dumb)because of the asking price.
    What does he think the French RB is worth?
    After destabilizing the guy, he then leave’s him hanging in the wind, nice guy!
    Back to the drawing board, could be Sissokho (the Lyon Cissokho) a two for one, attacking L/wingback or midfielder, moving Santon to the right side.
    With Tiote and Jonas covering in front, would give the pair opportunities to bring the ball up.
    We still need a decent CB, whats up with Douglas? we gonna lose him too ?
    Have a feeling we will get a bunch of clubs in for Ba, now we are coming to the end of the window, but perhaps some may have concerns in regard to his knee problem.
    But seems Loic Remy, is our number one target at the moment.
    Another Cisse situation, where any side signing him is guaranteed a profit, Why ?
    Like Cisse who was valued at £15m.,until his German side were looking at relegaation and needed to sell, Remy is on the last year of his contract and the club could use the money now.
    It’s rumored we have put in a £12m. bid, it’s a no brainer, a proven youngish player, with a good sell on profit, wheather Ba stays or goes.
    But this brinkmanship stuff is getting old, we know who we want and antagonising their clubs, with low ball bids will get us nowhere, other than regretting opportunities missed.
    My point? we couldda had Moses for £2m.

  5. Santon 24 apps.

    Dubuchy, just back from vacation, spurious pressmongery, ‘that piece’ about ‘sell on money’ not cost.
    Destabilizing my butt, he says he wants to leave, yonks ago!
    Playing possum in transfer negs–Normal!

    Douglas has to stay in Netherlands ’til he can claim nationality–AUGUST–Hello!

    I’ve a feeling that the press will try & sell Ba for us, Stop the press!

    Remy price quoted has been in Euros not pounds.

    Brinksmanship in transfer negs is ‘old’, aye, welcome one & all to the world of football/business.

    moses?

    :lol:

  7. Would prefer Remy to Carrot. Still a month left until the window closes so don’t give up all hope yet guys.

  8. worky,

    don’t see why mate, it’s as plain as the benk on ya moy!

    NO ONE will give them £35m, nor should they, especially seeing as he ain’t rated there.
    No brain required!

  9. Clint, whatever Liverpool do, or do not do with their players with their players has nothing whatsoever to do with Alan Pardew. If someone was trying to unsettle one of our players in the same way, I’m sure that you would have something to say about it.

  10. Er, when ‘we’, apparently, have some interest in buying him, ‘we’ do have the right to answer questions, when put, about him.
    They did ‘unsettle’ ac when they bought him from his last club, ‘us’, i think.
    No i wouldn’t have something to say about it & if i did, have i not got that right?

    ‘We’ have apparently made some kinda bid for him, less than £35m i would guess. They will not get that or anywhere close, so they will have to take a hit (bloody nose, at least it shouldn’t show on their red shirts too much).
    QED.

  11. brendan rodgers ‘unsettled’ ac mate.
    Don’t get how you & your keen mind could overlook that man?

  12. What about droopy Harry coming out wiv Ba’s buy out clause..every NUFC fan was slating him for bringing that into the public eye.
    Its unbelievable how we unsettle players(Debuchy,Maiga) then dont finalise n secure there signitures.
    I think we should try n get in on the M.Turner deal.he’s cheap enough,wages shouldnt be a problem.imo he’s a better CB than Willo,which lets face,thats not hard.a CB i would love us to sign would be S.Caulker.how much he would cost i dont know but he would certainly be a very good addition to wor defence.
    Remy also would be a good signing.with only a year left on his contract surely his fee wont be that large.i was reading earlier(paper shite probs) that shaktar were after Ba n were preparing to offer him 95k aweek.
    I was sick ov all these transfer rumors afew weeks ago.even more sick ov them now.i just want to hear abit ov good news saying NUFC have confirmed the signings ov 2players blah blah blah..the start ov the season cant come quick enough for me.im missing the crack,match day banter n the compulsery pint before n after the match..HWTL TTBWA

  13. jak,

    i think Willo was part of the defence when 11 clean sheets were gotten last term mate.
    Not bad for a crap CB, huh?
    Dubuchy was always leaving Lille this season, he unsettled himself.

  14. jack72 says:
    July 25, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    “What about droopy Harry coming out wiv Ba’s buy out clause..every NUFC fan was slating him for bringing that into the public eye.
    Its unbelievable how we unsettle players(Debuchy,Maiga) then dont finalise n secure there signitures.”

    Exactly, Jack. I seem to recall that Clint was foaming at the mouth over that one too. :-)

    Were putting in very low bids, trying to unsettle the players and hoping that they do the rest.

  16. Williamson’s OK. I can’t see why were ripping into and unsettling our own players so much when they were reason why we got to fifth last season. Is it because Ashley has convinced us that we can always get better ones for next to nothing?

  17. OOOPS pressed comment there n didnt mean to…
    What i was saying tho Clint,was that when Colo n Saylor were the starting pair we had the best defensive record,then Saylor got injured in the chelski game.that 3nil defeat proper flatterd chelski.there shite Coloccini(Luiz)should ov been sent off after 10mins for a blatent foul on Ba.there 2nd came when Saylor was down injured n 3rd in last minute ov added on time.after that game we lost the best defensive record.
    I personnally dont rate Willo Clint,you do by the sounds ov it.were all intitled to our own opinion.mine is i think we can do a hellava lot better than Willo for cover.your saying we had 11 clean sheets when he played but remember Clint we have a top top keeper between the sticks n also another 9 good players,so it wasnt all down to Willo why we got them clean sheets.

  18. worky,
    no mate, i didn’t & don’t foam at the mouth/gash or where ever. I didn’t like auld ‘arry igor long before that little twist of the knife.

    jak,
    na mate, i don’t particularly ‘rate’ Willo, just making the point that we had 11 clean sheets with him at CB, it’s a fact mate, sorry.
    Sometimes our personal tastes don’t marry up with facts.
    Not dissin’ ya for it, it’s just perception.

    If you think Willo is one of our less ‘exciting’ players, that’s ok, but saying he’s crap/denigrating him cos he’s not that ‘exciting’ is bally rum, init?

  20. Saw Swansea play last night here in Colorado. They didn’t look sharp. Granted it’s a tough place for British sides to come and play. 5200 ft above see level and it was probably mid 80’s F at game time. They conceded within 5 mins. The conceded a second about 12 mins later. It was a fabulous goal, but the player had plenty of time to get the measure of it. He should have been closed down. Swansea pulled one back from a really nice free kick. But they didn’t great a lot from open play.

  22. CLiNT haha. Yeah, I was kinda in a rush typing that. Silly typo. Pity you can’t edit your own comments after posting them.

  23. tripp,

    i was more doing a play on colorado’s playing level was above swan-sea’s level, by about 5200 ft mate.
    Ya get me?
    :)

  25. worky,

    that’s from the same interview mate.

    Somewhat less than an ‘attack’ like, though in pressmong it’s virtual war, i guess?

  26. Clinton
    Those were rhetorical questions @ 3
    I was’nt looking for answers.
    And you may be the only one (oh wait a minute, you and Workey both agree that Williamso is a good player) who thinks Williamson is a PL player, actually he’s crap and if that destabilizes him, good.

    Definately u-turns by both Pardew and Rodgers.
    Pardew was willing to take him back (AC) and half-assed advocated it, possibly until Ashley probably explained the fact that he was’nt worth half the £20m.

    Whereas Rodgers made it obvious earlier, he (AC) was’nt part of his plans, until possibly he too was told otherwise.

    And yeah we were responsible for unsettling Debuchy, using Cabaye his old buddy, but obviously pissed off the club Lille so much, with our lowball crap and listening to Debuchy’s shit, that they are now playing hardball and will probably sell him elswhere.
    So much for our hard nosed approach.

  27. chuck,
    neither worky nor myself mention the word ‘good’ or any other with regard to Willo, we simply said ripping him sucks. He was still partly responsible for both clean sheets (numerous) & a 5th place finish.
    Wriggle all ya want, it won’t change the fact.

    Dubuchy was leaving already too, suck it up!

    rodgers unsettled ac, then we apparently made a move.

    Get a grip(e) man!
    ;)

  28. So what is so bad about Williamson then? What are the weak points in his game, and his strengths too. Lets see someone actually attempt to back up their arguments for a change.

  29. worky,

    it’s simply because he’s seen as work-a-day/unexciting i think mate.

    There’s always at least one player that isn’t ‘fashionable’
    or suchlike, isn’t there?
    If/when he goes, someone else will be singled out for special attention, ’til we have a team of world class players, hey?

    :)

  31. Which came first, the chicken or the egg.
    Talking bout Debuchy, neither one of us can be sure, but i believe Cabaye was instrumental in Debuchy’s desire to leave.
    And all Williamson was responsible for was a lack of defensive capeability.
    And if you think otherwise, hell we all make the occasional misjudgement.
    As for Rodgers and Carroll, we all read Rodgers statement concerning Carroll, could’nt have been plainer, the guy was’nt in his plans.
    Of course Ashley would have been remiss had he not enquired what the asking price was, actually i think he wanted him on loan, possibly to see how he might fit, or whatever?
    See if he could make a buck outta the situation, who knows and who cares.

  32. Oh dear!

    They displayed the South korean flag when introducing the North Korean team at the millennium stadium today!

    Eeeek!

    How embarrassing!

  33. Sorry,
    it was Hampden Park, Scotland, not Wales Millennium Stadium.

    Phew!
    That’s ok then!

  34. chuck says:
    July 25, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    “And all Williamson was responsible for was a lack of defensive capeability.”

    But you can’t elaborate and tell us why that is, Chuck? Is he a poor tackler? Does he caught out of position too often? Does he get beaten in the air too much? Why does he have this lack of defensive capability you write of?

  35. rodgers was on sly sports telling the world about his ‘views’ on ac, opening up a right can of worms.
    It was at least as bad as any AP gaffe that you jump on chuck. We didn’t read it, we saw it!

    So, the club didn’t undermine Dubuchy’s position, Cabaye did?

    The chicken came first!

    ;)

  36. WORKEY
    Williamson, where do i begin?
    He’s a tall guy, but poor in the air, many big CD’s get goals from set pieces, he never scores, that also applies to his defence.
    He is a poor positional player, many of the opposition goals came from him being out of position.
    Which in turn, puts pressure on his defensive teamates, often drawing them out of position.
    He has a tendancy to go to ground, which takes him out of the play (a lot)and usually means you were beaten to begin with.
    He ball watches, lacks both pace and control and his distribution is awful, often feeding it to the opposition.
    If you have’nt noticed these things, i dont know why.
    And i hope you are not saying he’s a good player, even Clinton would’nt go that far.
    The only reason he played so much was we had no one else for the position.
    And by the way, is this not a football blog to mention everything in regard to football, or a homer feelgood site where no one is allowed to be negative as far as players are concerned.
    I detest it when people say “just support the side” are we supposed to just shut up then?
    Cause i dont like Raylor either and could mention a few negatives as far as he is concerned.
    I dont get to many games in which case my verbal support
    is minimal, but i have been a fan of NUFC since the early fifties, not some johnny come lately.
    But if i call em as i see em and aint gonna change.

  37. CLINT
    Yes i also saw it, Rodgers interview that is, and ?

    Plus i mentioned both AP and Rodgers to-gether, in regard to their U-turn statements, not singling out AP’

    And erm where did i say the club did’nt undermine Debuchy, Cabaye did ?
    I think you will find i said i believe Cabaye was “instrumental” in Debuchy’s desire to leave, not quite the same.

  38. chuck,
    so how, pray tell, do you account for so many clean sheets on his watch mate?
    You attempt to make him sound like a dead dog on the pitch, effectively 10 men. That’s just not the case!
    You waaaay over-egg your ‘argument’ & that smacks of ‘witch-hunt’ man.
    I’m sure if we went & looked at all the goals against we’d find the real truth, something way short of your contention.

  39. I would say Williamson is average but we need his height as Coloccini isn’t great in the air/isn’t the tallest centre back. For a couple of games he tried to play himself out of trouble at the back and got HIMSELF into trouble. Somebody must have had a word because after that his distribution was quick and more direct (the “dreaded” hoof, but entirely appropriate for Williamson’s skill set). I can’t remember too many goals from set pieces so he was probably disciplined then, or Simpson hacked it off the line (I don’t have stats to back this up).

    Totally agree that some of the players we are linked with most people have hardly seen except on You Tube. I see very little of the French and Dutch Leagues and would appreciate any comment on Remy.

  40. Chuck, I’m sorry but most of that is simply wrong I’m afraid. He is actually rather good in the air, and was far more successful in aerial duels than Coloccini, and he didn’t lose possession as much as Captian Colo either. He was about the same on tackling, and Williamson’s tackling and his strength are two of his strongest suits. Williamson was certainly no easier to dribble past than Colo, though Colo wins out hands down on his control of the ball, and can dribble his way out of trouble whereas Williamson is far more of a clear his lines man. Williamson did actually create more chances on average than Colo though. Although Colo’s passing is generally better, Williamson was actually better on crossing, though there isn’t really that much to go on for both of them in that regard. Williamson did make the odd error and it certainly isn’t his strongest point, but all defenders do and he certainly wasn’t awful. Perhaps his weakest point is his shooting but he’s a defender after all. Both Colo and Williamson played to their respective strengths mostly last season, and made a very good combination overall.

  41. When I say Willamson is average, I mean average for the premiership which includes teams like Villa, Wigan and Sunderland and whoever is in a relegation scrap. If we have aspirations to be top 6, then he is way below that level.

  42. Clint
    I was asked to explain by Workey, being one of Williamsons critics, why that was.
    You obviously read it and disagree.
    Yet you refuse to say he’s a good player, on that basis i rest my case.
    He is either a good player or not, which is it ?

    My last word on the subject.

  43. I would also say centre back is the hardest position to play because mistakes are magnified in terms of importance and often lead to scrambles or goals.

  44. Sorry guys, i stand by my critique of Williamson, you are entitled to your opinions as I am and perhaps we should leave it at that.
    We would’nt want a repeat of GS vs whatsisname’s bickering last night.
    Dont take it serious GS, just jerking your chain.

  45. GS, don’t worry your pretty little head about Remy. Ashley will have to put a serious bid in of £15 million+ and might still have to compete with more free spending teams such as Arsenal, Tottenham or Liverpool for his signature, so it almost certainly won’t happen. Marseilles had to pay over £13 million for him not so long ago and I don’t think he’s anywhere near the end of his contract.

  46. Chuck: I had been on a bit of Gin ’til early hours and that always makes me cranky. I usually stay away from the stuff but that is all that was left in the house :)

  47. Isn’t i weird that whenever we are linked with a player it is always reported that there is one year left to run on his contract. Then it turns out the situation is more complicated or there is more than one year. Douglas and Remy are the ones that spring to mind and I have seen people on Blogs say Debuchy as well. Then with Simpson, a lot of people were saying he was a free Agent this summer.

    It is like the great “tw@t” conspiracy in junior school where so many people said it was a pregnant fish that it was almost accepted to be a pregnant fish.

  48. Well to-morrows another day, hopefully a repeat of to-days weather, get in a bit of fishing and tell a few lies in the pub about the big one that got away.

  49. chuck says:
    July 26, 2012 at 12:20 am

    “Sorry guys, i stand by my critique of Williamson”

    Chuck, what if he changed his name to Michel Guillaumefils, put a string string of onions and garlic around his neck, donned a beret, pretended he played for Marseilles and Paris Saint Germain before rather than Watford and Wycombe Wanderers, and erased all other traces of him ever bring English? Would that make you like him? ;-)

  51. GS
    Nothing strange about it, i’m sure Mr. Carr has his instructions on the matter, free agents, or those on the last year of their contracts.
    Nothing coincidental about it.
    The devil is in making the deal, now i wonder if Ashley has considered hiring a good dealmaker, he paid attention to the fact he needed a good scouting system.
    I mean would you buy a used car from wor Derick ?

  52. I think Llambias has a good background in Casinos to thrive in today’s football. Wouldn’t you hire a mongoose to deal with snakes (Agents and Chairmen)?

  53. GS says:
    July 26, 2012 at 12:37 am

    “Isn’t i weird that whenever we are linked with a player it is always reported that there is one year left to run on his contract.”

    GS, Remy signed for Marseilles about two years ago on a five year contract, so he can’t be in the last year of his contract.

  54. Worky @53: I know, but I have seen it mentioned a few times he was in the last year. They were wrong it happens quite often.

  55. WORKEY
    I have said my piece on williamson and am bored with the subject, no mas par favor!

    GS
    WORKEY ? it’s nothing more than an abreviation, think of the amount of wear and tear on my didgits saved.
    Plus you must be aware that Yanks have this habit of abreviating first names.

  58. Chuck: you always put in an extra “e”, so I thought there must be a reason. You could save your digits even more if you called him “Worky” :) No criticism from me, you can call him what you like, just an observation.

  59. GS says:
    July 26, 2012 at 1:26 am

    “No criticism from me, you can call him what you like”

    I call Chuck “Statler” after the grouchy old heckler in the Muppet Show.

  62. GS,
    aye, i read Remy was in his last year too, dunno if it’s true or not?

    chuck,
    nice little swerve, period, full stop, dood!
    ;)

  63. Clint: I think Remy has more time than 1 year to go, as Worky said. What I am getting at is that these false stories get started and then repeated to the point where people think they are true.

    So, now some people think we can get him on the cheap because his contract is running down, which is utter bollocks.

  64. GS,
    fully agree mate.

    That’s why reading papers etc. is like hoying mallets at a dart board, a pointless exercise!
    :)

    ‘Believe nowt of what you read/hear, & half of what ya’ see!’

    :)

  65. Does the window close on July 31st. ?

    If so time to get serious, we have been playing the brinkmanship game for the last month or more.

    It’s been reported Ashley has personally taken over the dealmaking, apparently unsatisfied with the present state of affairs.

    Yep! time to shit or get off the pot, no one i hope wants to repeat last years fiasco, where we continued trying to impose our will on clubs, until we ended up paying top dollar for Santon , in a desperation move.

    Fortunately (in spite of AP not givig him much opportunity to show his stuff)he has turned out to be a good buy.

    IMO the present chase for Remy is based on Ba’s departure
    and the fact he has a suspect knee, in other words, make a few bucks on Ba, who does’nt seem to fit well with a more consistent Cisse and we dont seem to know where to fit him in.

    As opposed to a proven goalscorer over the years in Remy, who can also play the wing.

    Imagine a forward three of Remy,Cisse and HBA, with Cabaye directly behind feeding killer passes, backed up by Tiote and Jonas, with Santon and Debuchy bombing down their respective wings.

    Not to mention Colos. quality and Saylor throwing his body around, backed by the Brasilian Big Doug.

    Now thats a side that would put fear into most clubs, especially when coming to “St. James@ Park”.

    All of the above backed up by some of the most talented young players around, hell this club could be a dynasty.
    But what the hell do i know about football?

  67. GS says:
    July 26, 2012 at 10:31 am

    “Clint: I think Remy has more time than 1 year to go, as Worky said.”

    “On 19 August 2010, Olympique de Marseille confirmed on the club’s official website that it had reached an agreement with Nice for the transfer of Rémy. Rémy underwent a medical on the same day and signed a five-year contract”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo%C3%AFc_R%C3%A9my

    I’ve just been protecting the page from Geordie vandals.

  68. All this talk about bringing in a foward to play on the left ov a front 3 wiv Ba departing…if that happens n we do lose Ba(which i really hope he stays) now if Cisse gets injured,who’s ganna fill in?Shola?pffft..thats one ov the reasons we cant afford to let him go.he has proven he can score in this league n he will probably continue to score in this league.i would like to see either Moses or Sinclair come in.both could do a job on the left for us.

  69. Worky @67, you should be trying to protect the site as there is someone masquerading as Chuck @65. This intruder is positively giddy about present players and the future of the club. He makes no mention of Pardew’s tactics f@cking everything up, or Martinez or Junior Hoilett, so it can’t be the real Chuck :)

  71. I skimmed the article. The bit on set pieces is interesting and backs up what I have intuitively felt for a while. I also saw something a long time back about even Beckham having a very low ratio of goals to attempts ratio from free kicks.

    As I said I skimmed it and this may have even been said.

    If there is a wall in front of you, I think most of the time you are probably better off squaring the ball or playing around the wall with a chip as you will have the opponents outnumbered. There again I am not a tactician and if this was the case then you would think managers would be doing it.

    For corners, maybe sending the slower tall players up isn’t the correct tactic every time as possession is lost quite often. The interesting thing to me is how much the crowd get excited at every corner when in fact the goal scoring ratio is very low. Still it does lead to scrambles in the box, which is exciting.

    My conclusion is that after watching Swansea, all the tactical analysis makes for a boring game. Oh, and we battered them at SJP last season without getting the result, so maybe Rodgers is not the messiah.

  72. If any of you can get BBC2 NI, the kids team (under 17 I think) are in the final of the milk cup, Europes top youth tournament.

  73. Sorry to weigh in so late re: Williamson. I think he’s a useful squad player but he does have a specific flaw or two. He’s not good with the ball at his feet. His preference is to boot or head balls that come to him as far up-field as possible. He is often responsible for losing possession. Stats show that he is one of our least accurate passers: only Shola, Demba and Obertan were less accurate among our non-GK players last season. This really stands out when he’s playing next to Colo. (Oh, for the “I don’t think Tiote’s that good” crowd: he attempted more passes per game than any other NUFC player and was a close 3rd in accuracy.) Swansea’s center halves aren’t “sexy” players either but they can consistently find a pass. That’s a big part of their possession game.

    Second, he’s not that dominant in the air for a guy his size. He’s the defensive version of Crouch.

    I’m not ripping him. I’m just surprised at some jumping on criticism of Williamson as if there’s nothing to criticize about him. Remember-he’s no more an NUFC player than Obertan…

  74. See?

    tunyc shows the way in the ‘how to constructively criticise’ a player stakes.

    Well done tunyc!

    ;)

  75. In the realm of more believable rumors, what do you guys think of us being linked to Babel? Few years too late if you ask me…

    Speaking of unbelievable rumors, I’d bet that our “interest” in Remy and Cissokho (sp?) are rumors planted by NUFC to drive down the asking prices of Carroll and Debuchy.

  77. tunyc says:
    July 26, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    “In the realm of more believable rumors, what do you guys think of us being linked to Babel? Few years too late if you ask me… ”

    He’s still only 25, tunyc, and he might be fairly cheap nowadays, around the £4 million area.

  79. tunyc says:
    July 26, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    “Speaking of unbelievable rumors, I’d bet that our “interest” in Remy and Cissokho (sp?) are rumors planted by NUFC to drive down the asking prices of Carroll and Debuchy.”

    You obviously know him well, tunyc! ;-)

    I’m still thinking about that big bid which Tottenham allegedly made for Carroll, just before Liverpool were drawn in and went crazy. ‘Arry and Tottenham denied all knowledge of it, and (strangely) I beleived ’em.

  80. We were linked with babel in the run up to him signing for liverpool.
    He looked good, but didn’t seem to get much/enough game time at the anfield & thus, slumped…for me.
    Don’t know if we need another midfielder, though at the right price (shrugs!)…

    We need a mobile striker first!

  82. Clint
    I recognize the dig at me in your praise of TUNYC,… “he leads the way in constructive criticism” !
    Talking bout both of our criticism’s of Williamson
    You got on my case for saying almost the same thing, though mine was a tad more severe, for which i’m unapologetic.
    My question is, as you refused to call him a good player
    (TUNC actually wimps out in the same manner by calling him …..”a usefull squad player”)
    Faint praise by both, why cant you just admit, the guy is pants.

  83. I don’t call the guy pants because I’m sure he’d make me look like a proper asshat on the pitch. I still play, so I do think about that. He IS a useful squad player. I’d love to have guys on our bench who would start at any other club like City but I also criticize their owners for buying success. Since I don’t want to be a hypocrite, I can’t claim not to relate to a desire not to pay our reserves (where Williamson would be if the squad were properly deep) 50K+/week. Finally, I coach a bit and have found it useful occasionally to tell someone they suck at some things without being offensive about it.