Anita: Excellent vision and technique for a defensive playerOf course, there was much delight on Tyneside when Newcastle United announced they had finally signed the very talented and versatile midfielder and defender, Vurnon Anita, from Ajax.
So, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at Anita’s game gathered from my experience of watching him in the Eredivisie, though it is hardly extensive. I have also included a cornupcopia of videos of the 23 year old mostly looking at his individual contributions in five Eredivisie games, as well as a few more just for fun. Before I get to the videos though, here’s an outline of Anita’s game.
Primarily a defensive midfielder nowadays, Anita started as a right footed right back, and he has also played as a left back too. Though Ajax’s Gregory van der Wiel has kept him from keeping his hand in on the right side of defence in recent times, I’m sure that he could still hold his own there too. (more…)
It's that man again, but what about Debuchy (and Cabaye)?So it has come from the horse’s mouth, well, Vurnon Anita’s mouth anyway, that Ajax and Newcastle United have agreed a fee of around €8.5 million, or around £6.7 million plus bonuses for Vurnon Anita.
A medical supposedly happened yesterday, though there doesn’t seem to be any definitive news as I write this on personal terms being thrashed out, or the Silver Supremo summit meeting requested by Anita, where he was looking for reassurances from Pardew about the nature of his role within the squad.
But what is going so right here that didn’t go so right with the Debuchy affair? And what must Debuchy himself, not to mention Yohan Cabaye, and even Danny Simpson think about it?
I must admit that I have written my fair share of criticism about the way Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias have gone about their business in some negotiations, and I still stand by it. However, credit where credit is due, it must be said that £6.7 million plus bonuses seems to be a fair and equitable fee for both sides in this case and they seem to have got their man. However, this isn’t to say that all being well, it shouldn’t be an excellent investment for Newcastle in the long term for a highly talented young player who’s value should appreciate further over time. (more…)
Pardew: No sense of irony.Alan Pardew, the manager of the club who turned down £30 million for Andy Carroll, and insisted on £35 million “upfront” (plus “12 grand ****ing interest”) for a player the club’s Managing Director later said was worth “**** all,” has blamed Newcastle United’s lack of success in the transfer market on greedy clubs such as Ajax, Lille and FC Twente for valuing their players too highly once they know that big clubs such as Newcastle United are interested in their prize assets. He also pointed the finger at greedy agents and players too.
As well known Daily Mail bigot, Richard Littlejohn, is rather fond of saying, you couldn’t make it up!
The Silver Supremo was asked a remarkably stupid and inaccurate question about why the transfer market has taken so long to get going. Premier League clubs have brought in no less than sixty nine players as of yesterday. That is an average of 3.45 players per club so far, with hundreds of millions changing hands in fees alone, even though it is well known that much of the activity in the English window often happens towards the end.
But before I continue, let’s take a look at Pardew response to this silly question, which seems to be lacking the slightest trace of irony: (more…)
Speaking in his post match interview after Newcastle United’s abject 4-1 capitulation to the Bluebirds Red Dragons of Cardiff, Alan Pardew blamed injuries to top players for the defeat.
In a fairly confusing message from the Grey Gaffer, he also blamed the attitude of the squad because they thought they should have brought the big names, (presumably Ba and Cisse who both missed the trip) even though they were carrying knocks. However, you can listen for yourselves in the video above. (more…)
Should Newcastle United follow the Golden Rule?That is the maxim which has been known as “The Golden Rule” for several centuries, but how would Newcastle United feel if they were treated the way they have been treating some other clubs recently?
Make no mistake, there have been reams of complete fiction embroidered around our recent attempts to sign players in an attempt to titillate the excited Newcastle United fan. That empty mantra about Newcastle United not being “held to ransom” over players any longer has been repeated constantly, as if other clubs have been somehow unreasonable for refusing to sell their finest players for sums far below their true worth. The longest and most notable saga in this particular transfer window has been that of Lille right back, Mathieu Debuchy, and this is the case I will concentrate on mostly here, as this piece would be far too long if I looked at all of them in the same detail.
Just to get things straight, Newcastle United’s two bids for Debuchy were equivalent to around £3.9 million and £4.75 million respectively (€5 and 6 million). Hacks such as Lee Ryder from the Evening Chronic were incorrect in quoting them as £5 million and £6 million. As to whether this was deliberate, or just lazy and incompetant “journalism” I cannot say with complete certainty. Neither of these bids had a hope in hell of being accepted by a strong Champions League club for a French international player who has three years left on his current contract, and has been estimated as being worth as much as £10 million in the current market. Lille’s Chairman, Michel Seydoux, made it clear himself that we could have had Debuchy for an very reasonable £6.3 million (“Our price is €8 million, because he is a quality player” said Seydoux). However, that may not have been the point as even after Seydoux’s clarification, Derek Llambias persisted with the same strategy of making another derisory bid which he must have known would not be accepted, perhaps in the possible hope that Debuchy might go even further in his attempts to force the club into letting him go at a much reduced fee. In the event of course, it led to Lille withdrawing the player in complete exasperation with Newcastle. (more…)
