Cheick mate. Signed, sealed, delivered!Newcastle have completed the signing of 24-year old Ivory Coast midfielder, Cheick Tiote from FC Twente for a fee of around £3.5 million.
Tiote has now been granted a work permit and will probably join up with the Newcastle squad after the international break next week.
Tiote becomes signing number four of the summer and should add some much needed pace and physical strength to the midfield engine room. Indeed he has been tipped to be a huge success in the Premier League by his former boss, Steve McClaren, who worked with Tiote in Holland and took an unfancied FC Twente to the league title.
“It’s a great thrill for me to be joining such a famous club as Newcastle United,” Tiote told the official club website. “I am aware of the great tradition of the club and the tremendous support they get from the fans.”(more…)
Cheick mate. Signed, sealed, and almost delivered!Newcastle have made signing number four of the summer by securing the services of Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote from FC Twente for a fee believed to be around £3.5 million.
The move is still not 100% completed as both clubs and the player have to wait and see whather or not a work permit will be granted for the 24-year old.
That shouldn’t be a problem in all honesty as the lad has had enough caps at international level for it not to be a problem. Once that is granted though, Tiote will join up with The Magpies squad and take his place alongside the other new recruits of the summer – James Perch, Dan Gosling and Sol Campbell. (more…)
Tactics - It's a funny old game.Last season we saw a change in approach to some games, with the focus being on keeping things tight, particularly away from home.
It served us well last season, and it looks like it will be used again this season as Chris Hughton attempts to make Newcastle hard to beat.
The theory is that the game has moved on from simply playing that old favourite, the 4-4-2, and it is now a formation that is becoming redundant, out-dated if you will. Indeed you only have to look at the World Cup to see what is meant by that. Not many teams used a 4-4-2 other than England and a few others, and we all know how well England’s World Cup campaign went – Not very! (more…)
Taylor - Out for 3 months.It has been confoirmed today that Newcastle defender Steven Taylor will be sidelined for three months with the shoulder injury sustained at Carlisle nearly two weeks back.
It’s a huge blow for both the player and the team as Newcastle look to use this season to consolidate their place in the Premier League, although the signing of Sol Campbell has cushioned the blow a bit, for me anyway.
This is the latest setback for Taylor in what is turning out to be his ‘annus horribilis’. It all started back in January when he injured his knee against West Brom which forced him to miss most the remainer of the season. Then there was the infamous ‘Glassjawgate’ affair in which Taylor allegedly recieved a broken jaw in a training ground dust-up, now add this latest injury to the list and we have a central defender that has only made two appearances this year due to this horrendously bad luck with injuries. (more…)
Sol signs 1 year deal.Newcastle have today confirmed that they have secured the services of 35-year old Sol Campbell on a one year deal.
Campbell will take the previously vacant number 5 jersey and will bring with him a whole host of experience that will hopefully help Newcastle establish themselves back in the top flight.
Although Campbell is appraoching the end of his playing career it still looks like it could be a good move for Newcastle. For me, Campbell proved he can still play at Premier League level last season with Arsenal, and the fact that Arsene Wenger was apparently keen to get Sol to sign on at The Emirates again should be a decent sign that he could have another top flight season left in his tank. (more…)
