Little Vurn: NUFC's "marquee" signing in this window.As you no doubt know only too well, the Summer transfer window ended at 11pm on Friday evening. But are you happy, or not, overall, with the comings and goings at the club?
Reviewing the ingoings and outgoings at Newcastle United during this particular window (see table below), nine players have left the club and four have come in. I have included Ryan Donaldson and Phil Airey in the nine outgoings as they both enjoyed at least one or two outings for the first team in the past, though I have omitted several other Academy players who were released by the club in the infamous “night of the long knives” at the Benton Academy, when at least seven young prospects were axed in one go, plus the slightly older Kadar.
Though the figures are approximate, the overall spend for the club seems to be a figure of around +£2.64 million to +£3.14 million. Looking at the individuals involved will always be something of a subjective thing, but having a bash at some kind of assesment, I would say that the club has lost three squad members who had been very handy for the club when the inevitable injuries occured, or when more regular choices were fulfilling international commitments in major competitions such as the Africa Cup of Nations. We also lost the all but redundant Alan Smith (and his huge wages), the talented but constantly on loan Fraser Forster, the once regarded as highly promising defender, Tamas Kadar, who never quite failed to live up to earlier expectations, as well the two bairns mentioned above. (more…)
Villa sign a younger replacement for Shay Given?Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Sunday 2nd September,2012. Kick-Off: 4:00pm. Referee: Lee Probert. UK TV: None.
Sunday brings Premier League football back to St James’ Park as Aston Villa provide the opponents for a 4pm kick-off. There will be no UK TV broadcast of the fixture so it will be time to scour the internet for links if you’re not attending the match.
Newcastle will look to bounce back from last weeks defeat at Chelsea. While Villa have lost both their Premier League fixtures to date, a 0-1 loss to West Ham, and a 3-1 defeat to Everton last week at Villa Park. Historically Villa have struggled at St James Park, with only one win in the last twelve years. So the omens do look good if you believe records mean something.
Newcastle United Vs Aston Villa History
The way in which the Villans goaded the Magpies back in 2009 when Newcastle were relegated still strikes a nerve with many Toon followers. On Newcastle’s return to the Premier League in 2010 / 2011, Villa provided our first opponents at home, so a chance for some kind of retribution presented itself. Joey Barton, a Kevin Nolan double and an Andy Carroll hat trick helped to inflict a 6-0 mauling for the Magpies. Last season, Papiss Cissé introduced himself in style, controlling Jonas‘ left wing cross and lashing a volley past ex-Magpie Shay Given to secure a 2-1 victory. The last time we lost to Villa at St James’ Park was during the 2004 / 2005 season, where we witnessed Lee Bowyer and KieronDyer fall out very publically and get themselves sent off for fighting after Bowyer felt that Dyer was refusing to pass the ball to him in the game. (more…)
DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC!Speaking in his pre match press conference for tomorrow evening’s Atromitos game, Alan Pardew has suggested that the club’s policy of making very low bids for transfer targets, hoping to unsettle the players until they force a move from their current clubs may have failed this time, and that all the transfer targets we have in mind all seem to be “secure at their clubs.”
The Silver Supremo told reporters:
“We know who we are watching and if there is any movement on them we may trigger ourselves. Agents keep offering us players but we scout our own targets. The players we have in mind all seem secure at their clubs.”
Also, when Pardew was asked if there was still the possiblity of a deal being on for potential prodigal son, Andy Carroll, Pardew reponded:
Two Phoenixes who have risen from the ashes.In a football world which is used to great turns of fortune, the two protagonists in today’s game at Stamford Bridge, Swiss Supremo, Roberto di Matteo, and our own Silver Supremo, Alan Pardew, have arguably seen two of the greatest.
Firstly, there is the fall and rise of Chelsea manager, Roberto di Matteo. After getting promotion with West Brom alongside Chris Hughton and our lot, and a good start to their subsequent Premiership campaign, his and West Brom’s form then nosedived, with only one win in ten games. The then seemingly perennial “yo-yo” club looked like they were heading for relegation once more, and the Swiss Italian was sacked and thrown on the managerial scrapheap.
After losing out to the aforementioned Hughton for the managerial position at Birmingham City, a blessing in disguise some might say with the chaos unravelling behind the scenes there, he was taken on as assistant to Andre Villas Boas at Chelsea. Of course, it would be something of an understatement to say that Villas Boas’s new approach had a few teething problems, and there is no time for those with Chelsea managers. So within months, di Matteo found himself in charge of one of the world’s richest clubs, and competing for some of the highest honours in the game. In less than 25 games, which were full of the grit and defensive discipline that was missing under his predecessor, and less than a year and a quarter after being thrown on the managerial scrap heap, di Matteo was a Champion’s League winning manager, and an FA Cup winning manager to boot. (more…)
Hands off my lads!After the very welcome signing of Ajax’s Vurnon Anita, but also abject failure in the hunt for Lille’s Mathieu Debuchy, Alan Pardew, as well as Cheick Tiote have once again switched the emphasis on to keeping existing players at the club.
Looking at Pardew first, he has said in very recent interviews after the Tottenham game:
“We are on our guard in case some really big bid comes in and we need to react because if someone goes out, another player will come in. But success for me in this transfer window would be losing none of our stars.”
Also saying:
“I worry about losing all my players because unfortunately we’re not Manchester United or Manchester City. We’re always vulnerable. If you ask me do I sleep well at night, I’d have to say, ‘not always’. I’m looking forward to September 1 because by then we’ll all know where we are. We have match-winners in the side.”(more…)
