Jeroen Zoet – Possibly the strongest link so far?Well, it’s been a very busy transfer window so far with all that extra TV money swelling the coffers of Premier League clubs around the country.
No fewer than 61 players have been signed to Premier League clubs at the time of writing, with almost every club signing at least one new player. Sunderland have even signed seven. However there is one rether predictable exception, and there are no prizes for guessing who it is. Of course it’s Newcastle United, who have recently lost Danny Simpson, Steve Harper and James Perch, with Dan Gosling possibly on the way too. Another important issue is that this further English exodus could cause problems with the 8 “home grown” players in the 25 man squads teams have to hand in at the start of the season.
Having written that, there are currently high hopes for the signing of a younger flying Dutchman called Jeroen Zoet to keep existing flying Dutchman, Tim Krul, on his toes more than Robbie Elliot can. If so it would be good move and not just for the mere fact that it’s a body “over the line” as our Silver Supremo is so fond of saying. (more…)
Perch – No evidence whatsoever for Wigan move.It has been “reported” by several frauds in the media, as well as several lazy copy and paste style blogs that James Perch is set to leave Newcastle United.
It all started around a month ago on the 2nd June with a short piece by Alan Nixon in the Mirror. It read:
“Newcastle prepare to dump James Perch to make room for more Frenchmen”
2 Jun 2013 22:30
“Alan Pardew’s Baguette Batallion set to grow and grow – which means no place left for the Englishman.
“Newcastle United will let versatile James Perch go – to make way for new foreign signings.
“Boss Alan Pardew has decided that Perch, who played several roles for him, can be sacrificed in the summer sales.(more…)
Joe Kinnear – A lightning rod?Last season seems like a dim and distant memory now.
Things like a sixteenth placed finish, Alan Pardew’s abysmal tactics and even more abysmal excuses have all been completely forgotten. Forthcoming delights such as the arrival of Wonga and all the opprobrium that will bring have been completely forgotten too, all because of a few interviews from Joe Kinnear as Tyneside finds itself once more in the grip of “Kinnearophobia.”
Is it pure genius?
Strangely, the “local” Mirror Group media, the Chronic and the Journal, have seemingly abandoned their usual sycophancy to the current regime, and have happily been laying into Newcastle United’s new Court Jester at every opportunity. It’s almost as if they’d been given the go ahead to be as brutal as possible by Newcastle United’s Managing Director, Derek Llambaisie Llambias.
Personally, I do not share the antipathy to Kinnear held by many fans, and some of the stuff has been shameful, like the headline in another Newcastle United blog which read “Gan On Kinnear – Have Another Heart Attack!.” I’m not as horrified at his appointment as some claim to be and have alot of respect for what he has achieved in his football career in the past. (more…)
Doh! I’ve lost again!Below you will find my final report for the 2012-13 season on Alan Pardew’s long balls.
It has been a long journey which started in the first few games of the season. Although Pardew has always been something of an old school “route one” manager, I noticed from watching the games early in the season against teams such as Aston Villa, Everton, Norwich and Reading that things started to get even worse this season, and my suspicions were confirmed when I found in my first report (made 11 games into the season) that with 17.7% of their total passes being over 25 yards, Newcastle were indeed the biggest long ball side in the Premier League, ahead of Reading, who were then managed by Pardew protege, Brian “long balls” McDermott.
As I made further reports, Newcastle United maintained their lead, until now. In true Pardew style however, the performance declined in the final stages and Pardew eventually lost out to the kings of “Route One” football, Tony Pulis’s Stoke City (yes, I know he’s gone now), who sneaked up on the back stretch, eventually claiming the title for this season with an overall long ball percentage of 16.2%. In the final countdown, Pardew’s Newcastle could manage third with 15.6%, with the aforementioned Reading sneaking back into second place with a long ball percentage of 15.7%. (more…)
A tough climax to a tough season.Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Sun 19th May, 2013. Kick off: 4.00pm. Referee: Howard Webb (Sheffield). UK TV: Sky Sports 1.
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our final match banter of the season!
Of course, this game sees us facing Arsenal at St James’ Park. Thankfully, it will not be a do or die game for Premier League survival against very stiff opposition thanks to our previous 1-2 victory against the not quite so stiff Queens Park Rangers – That would have been just too much to bear. Even so, the fact that we have been teetering on the abyss so close to the end of the season is indicative of what a disappointing season we’ve had.
Before I carry on though, just a quick note to let you know that I will actually be at the game this time. Hence, I might not be posting the team sheets, links to watch the game online etc as I usually do. I will try, though if some of you regulars could help out by posting the teams, that would be most appreciated! Alternatively, they can be found on the club’s official website
