Cheick’s mate! The striker Newcastle United should really be going for…

Posted on January 15th, 2013 | 41 Comments |

“‘Phenomenal’ was all a breathless Fred Rutten (Vitesse Arnhem’s manager) could say. A word so rarely uttered in the Eredivisie it took many by surprise. Phenomenal you say? In truth no other superlative could do justice to the display of incredible forward play he had the pleasure of witnessing from one of European footballs most in form strikers. Wilfried Bony.”

Oranje Wednesdays: The extraordinary swagger of Wilfried Bony.

Vitesse Arnhem’s 24 year old muscled magician, Wilfried “Daddy Cool” Bony is currently the Eredivisie’s highest scorer and with very good reason. Cheick Tiote’s Ivory Coast team mate is now seen as a natural successor to Didier Drogba with his great strength, dynamism, hold-up play, aerial threat, great finishing abilty and importantly, superb techinique on the ball – He also has a good injury history too.

With the abovementioned combination of qualities he can sometimes be quite simply “unplayable.” People may have compared him with Didier Drogba, but I also see something like an African Alan Shearer. Like Big Al, he can also drop deep and win the ball for himself when he isn’t getting enough upfront, and is also very adept at making space for himself using his ‘bony’ elbows (OK, I’ll get me coat after that one).

To look at the downsides to get a balanced view though, whilst he is by no means slow, on the other hand, he isn’t quite a greyhound either. However, looking at realistic striker targets for Newcastle United, I can’t really see anyone better at the moment.

He also has some measure of versatilty, being able to play as an attacking midfielder and second striker as well as the traditional Centre Forward role. Although he is valued at only around £7 million £8.8 million and rapidly rising in football transfer website “Transfermarkt,” looking at his overall standard of play he is worth a fair bit more than this, and it could take an offer of something over £10 million to prise him from the clutches of Vitesse Arnhem.

Wilfried Bony’s stats.
Sparta Prague (2008-11).
Season App Gls Ass YC RC MPl MPG
2008-9 20 4 5 2 – 1234 309
2009-10 39 13 – 5 – 3160 243
2010-11 24 17 – 5 – 2083 126
Vitesse Arnhem (2011-).
Season App Gls Ass YC RC MPl MPG
2010-11 7 3 – 3 – 585 195
2011-12 34 18 8 3 1 2835 158
2012-13 24 22 5 4 – 2000 91
Ivory Coast (2010-).
App Gls Ass YC RC MPl MPG
Competitive 9 4 1 – – 335 84
Friendlies 5 – – 1 – 195 –
Total (2008-13).
App Gls Ass YC RC MPl MPG
162 81 19 23 1 12427 153
.
App – Appearences, Gls – Goals, Ass – Assists, YC – Yellow Cards RC – Red Cards, MPl – Minutes Played, MPG – Minutes Per Goal.

Of course, much Newcastle United attention has been focused on Marseille’s Loic Remy recently, who can indeed be a magnificent player when he is in form. Around a year ago ago he was looked upon as a £20 million player, and it is possibly this which had Mike Ashley’s juices flowing like Pavlov’s dog. Of course there is also his versatility, most notably for Newcastle his abilty to play either centrally or on the flanks of a three pronged attack, the second of which Bony isn’t noted for. However there is a reason why he now has a Sports Direct style “70% OFF!!” tag hanging ’round his neck. Poor form has dogged him this season. He has seldom started for Marseilles and his goal return so far has been a mere 3 goals in 23 appearences.

Returning to Bony though, whilst he may be a central player who doesn’t play on the flanks. I would say that we need more than Cisse at the spearhead of attack with only Ameobi as an alternative, and another wide attacking player is the subject of another ‘blog.

But anyway, whilst Remi may indeed be “Mr. Right” for the Toon in the longer term, what we need is Mr.Right Now with the state we’re in currently! Well “Daddy Cool” is certainly Mr. Right Now, and if Newcastle United don’t have a go for him now, they may end up kicking themselves in the fullness of time for he is headed for greater things in the coming years, possibly at another Premiership team such as Liverpool or Chelsea.

Another video of Wilfried Bony in action.

Goals 2011-12.

Poll

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1091 articles on this blog.

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts

Posted on by workyticket in category: European Football and Facts and stats and Player Reviews / player ratings and Thoughts and reflections and Videos and Workyticket , with tags:
Comment on this post

41 Responses

  1. Worky I would be glad to see wilfred bramble through the door at the minute! The way things are going anyone we go for in france someone will try to hijack, so we might as well spend the first three weeks of the window making offers for people we do not want and then when money is getting tight everywhere try and do some business.If it is true that the hoops are going to spend €10 million on a player who has no experience of the premier league and could take six months to find his feet and give him a free transfer clause if they get relegated that is football gone crazy, I just cannot believe that is true.

  2. sammy d says:
    January 15, 2013 at 7:27 pm

    “Worky I would be glad to see wilfred bramble through the door at the minute!”

    I’ll bet you’d draw the line at Titus Bramble though sammy. :-)

  3. we needed a striker who could hit the ground running we havent got the time for a player to bed in it might of taken remy the money grabber time to ajust get some one in quick thats in form and couple of centre backs or we are not going to servive its a pitty some multi billion air isson watching our situation and comes to our rescue and buys ashley out before he desroys the best club in the world

  6. chris says:
    January 15, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    “we needed a striker who could hit the ground running”

    That was exactly the thinking behind this piece Chris, besides the fact I’ve been watching alot of Eredivisie and it really was about time I put it to use and tipped another Dutch player for Toon.

  7. I think we would be better off with shane long anyway, and if ashley’s budget cant stretch to that then shane ritchie may have to do

  8. I meant shane long rather than remy post 6 was not up at the time I think bony lad could be a good thing in the premier league but cant see us putting a deal together for anyone who is highly regarded by anyone,lets face it we only got debuchy because of cabaye.

  9. worky you should be working for Graham Carr, or Greham Carr should be working for you! :-)

  10. worky do you have any thoughts as to why no one has gone for or linked us with mbiwa of montpellier who is in my opinion an outstanding player

  11. worky @ 6: ironically, rumors persist that Mbia himself will be off…

    sammy @ 8: we weren’t interested in Long when he was available for not much out of the championship. Don’t see that happening. In general, we don’t do much buying from PL sides under AshleyCo.

  12. I have to admit to not being that aware of Bony, but since your piece in the Metro I have been boning up on him. He certainly does look the business, which is probably the reason we won’t go for him. He looks like he could have a reasonably high salary, and he doesn’t seem to be unsettled at his current club.

  13. Rumor has it, now that we are in a state of panic, that we are preparing to make a nine million quid offer for young Siem de Jong, at Ajax.
    And as Worky has recently professed to have watched a lot of the Dutch Eredivisie, in which case he can verify the guy could fit in very well with our present side.
    He can play both up front, behind the striker or as an attacking midfielder, quite similar in fact to the hustling Shane Long, who we could have had for six million by the way.

    Question is would we be able to prise him from a possible Eredivisie championship club, as he is both the team Captain and driving force behind the side.
    Have to say, theres never so much angst for fans as during the Transfer windows, will he go or will he stay?, will he sign or will he not?
    The plots thicken.

    Oh! on a different note, what has Arry to lose ?
    What i mean is, there’s a big chunk of money for him if he keeps QPR up.
    His offer to Remy, will no doubt have a get out clause, which the club will no doubt exercise if relegated, not only in Remy’s case, but to a lot of overpaid non performers in the side.
    And would’nt it be ironic if QPR were to avoid the drop and NUFC did’nt.
    If Arry brings in the players he is after, i’m convinced he can stay up, thats the difference between us and QPR.

  14. chuck very few players have come into the premier league from another league and started prolifically immediately some take 5 games some take ten or more so it will take droopy till the end of the season to get the team playing the way he wants, if they do escape the drop it will be a last day by the skin of their teeth escape and i think (hope) we will be out of the relegation equation by then

  15. A mate of mine has just text me to say that remy was actually rejected on medical grounds by the toon. Aparrently he failed the hoooof test!

  17. there’s a kid on the chronic blog, saying owld deputy dawg was in france nearly two weeks ago, telling loic remy, it didn’t matter who came in with a bid, QPR would outbid them.
    so the bingo caller and greyhead gimpfist had no chance of getting him, if you believe that.

    who’s this 20 year old left back from nancy?, he’s played 33 games for them, we’re supposed to be in for him.
    i’m starting to think that others may be right about ashley and co’s transfer gealings, or lack there of.
    they put out stories about players they have no hope of signing, then at the back end of the window, they will bring in more kids, and a couple of rejects.
    is this the true modus operandi?, of that rotten lowrachy?

  18. aye, the test probably involves hoofing the ball as high as you can, into the air.
    to pass the test, there has to be snow on the ball, and that’s even in the summer.

    i hope going after another goalkeeper, doesn’t signify the departure of tim krul.
    how would we replace our main playmaker lol.

  19. sammy d says:
    January 15, 2013 at 9:34 pm

    “chuck very few players have come into the premier league from another league and started prolifically”

    Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse were two Sammy. There are quite a few I think. The Premiership seems like water off a duck’s back for most of the Dutch for one. I think it used to be more your siesta loving Latins who needed to get up to speed, remember Morientes? Top world class hitman when he went to Liverpool but never got up to speed here. Torres has done it in reverse though.

  20. sammy d @ 14: that’s a stereotype, really. How long did Cisse take to settle? Ba? Tiote? Cabaye? Plenty of players from other leagues hit the ground running here.

    @ 15: that sounds like AshleyCo propaganda. Just like Maiga’s failed medical. At least that latter one turned out well…

    worky @ 16: pork, too! someone warn our muslim players!1!

  22. tunyc says:
    January 15, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    “worky @ 16: pork, too! someone warn our muslim players!1!”

    Have you heard of “Shergar” over there then tunyc?

  23. bergkamp and henry both took a season to settle in.

    i suppose there’s always going to be that risk, especially with foreign players. sadly it’s a luxury we can’t afford right now.

    aubamayang had another unimpressive 120 minutes for les verts this evening.

    i hear there’s a rumour of gomis now. not sure where that’s come from but he’d but much more up our street than spangly boots.

  24. One of the most annoying stereotypical bits of nonsense is, it takes players from different leagues a season to adapt and to suggest both Bergcamp and Henry had any difficulty, just is’nt true.
    It’s football, a simple game , same rules (though played a bit different by NUFC)
    Did anyone notice Debuchy have any problems?
    One of the reasons it annoys me is simply that the great tactician Pardew used it as an excuse to bench Tevez, Mascherano, HBA, Marveaux, Santon etc.
    In fact some of the best players he ever had.
    An idiot.
    Now i would be willing to admit it’s both a faster game and players dont get a lot of time on the ball, also possibly more physical.
    But any pro should be able to adjust in no time.
    As worky said, players arriving here from the Dutch and German leagues play a similar style, where there’s less need to adapt.
    But a season?
    Most managers would get rid of any player who took anywhere near that long.

  25. Worky sez @2#
    Bet you would draw the line on Titus Bramble though !

    Why? he’s ten times the CD of players like Raylor, Perch, and of course Williamson.
    Or any other would be CD in the side, apart fom Colo and Saylor.

  26. @chuck

    your just wrong re. berkamp and henry.

    while it may not have been a full season in henry’s case it took him a while as he’d been switched from his natural position of winger to centre forward…

    “Henry was immediately moulded into a striker by Wenger, a move that would pay rich dividends in years to come. However, doubts were raised about his ability to adapt to the quick and physical English game when he failed to score in his first eight games. After several difficult months in England, Henry even conceded that he had to “be re-taught everything about the art of striking.”

    it certainly was a year for bergkamp…

    “On the opening day of the 1995–96 league season, Bergkamp made his full debut against Middlesbrough. He struggled to adapt to the English game and failed to score in the club’s next five league matches, prompting ridicule by the national press. On 23 September 1995, Bergkamp scored his first and second goals for Arsenal against Southampton at Highbury. Bergkamp ended his first season with 33 appearances and a goal tally of 11, helping Arsenal finish fifth and earn a place in the UEFA Cup by scoring the winner against Bolton on the final day of the season.

    The appointment of Arsène Wenger as Arsenal manager in September 1996 marked a turning point in Bergkamp’s career.”

  27. Just in case its not already common knowledge, we’ve got a bit of approx 2 million in for 20 year old Nancy full back Massadio Haidara.

    However his agent has also had discussion with Roma, and Series A is thought to be his preferred destination.

  28. Stewpot
    He joined Arsenal in 1999, was converted from winger to striker, scored 17 goals from 31 league games plus 5 cup games where he got one goal.
    And you are claiming he did’nt adjust.
    FFS, thats a goal every second game, what would he have had to do to adjust in your opinion ?

    As for Bergkamp
    He got 11 goals in 33 games his first season 1995 and averaged around 13 per season for the next few years until Henry arived i 1999 but usually missed about ten games a year.
    Were only counting EPL goals here
    Believe it thats adjusting and why not a guy who had played in both the Dutch and Italian leagues for nine years before coming to the EPL.
    So 11 goals in 33 games is not adjusting ?
    Damn Stew you got some tough standards.

  29. Unless Ashley bows to the fact he will have to start paying market prices, for players, we will get no-one.
    He’s not shopping at Sports Direct.

  32. stewpot says:
    January 15, 2013 at 11:36 pm

    “bergkamp and henry both took a season to settle in.”

    I seem to recall that both changed their style quite a bit when they moved to Arsenal, Stewpot. Henry wasn’t a forward who scored loads of goals when he went to Arsenal, he was a winger. On the other hand, Bergkamp scored more goals before he went to Arsenal, but he eventually became more of a support to Henry after he joined the club later. When Bergkamp joined, Bruce Rioch was the Arsenal manager, not Wenger, and Bergkamp actually got a bit of stick in his first season and was seen as something of a disappointment.

  33. Yank Toon Fan says:
    January 16, 2013 at 8:49 am

    “Don’t think Remy was an at-market price…”

    Yes and no Yank toon fan. His form is in the doldrums and when that happens, his hardly surprising that his value was going to dip, though it’s still a fair bit higher than the sums being bandied around when we were supposed to be buying him.

  34. pete_toon says:
    January 16, 2013 at 9:47 am

    “Has there been any update on the Ladbroke’s rumour that we are going after Odemwingie?”

    Too old for Ashley, unless it was a last minute panic buy after his bids for younger livestock were laughed away as being ridiculous, and his “hardball” strategy has fallen flat on it’s face.

  35. I must admit I wondered if this was a reserve put in place to try and placate us at the end of the transfer window.

  36. Well that young lad Haidara has changed his tune today, and is now saying that Newcastle would be his preferred choice over Roma, so a 180 from yesterday. He’s a France under21 international so must have something about him

  37. Number I’m seeing for Remy’s weekly wages is sometimes 95K/week and sometimes 60K/week. So he may well have gone for market rate.

  39. I hear you, worky-just pointing out that we’ll never know whether it was QPR offering “stupid” high wages or NUFC offering “stupid” low wages.

  40. We don’t offer stupid wages the word you are looking for is DERISORY.
    If I was a player I would rather work with Redknapp that Alan Pardew…it’s a no brainer.
    If Remy is the best we could identify to replace someone like Demba I think our scouting network should be binned off PRONTO.