Ashley arrives by helicopterMike Ashley and Derek Llambias arrived at Newcastle’s training ground by helicopter yesterday to discuss the club’s transfer priorities with manager Alan Pardew.
Pardew’s main targets were allegedly Seb Larsson and David Bentley but both of these players seem destined to play their football elsewhere.
The humiliating defeat at the hands of Stevenage might have emphasised the club’s need for a bit more quality in depth, so hopefully the pow-wow will have been fruitful and some new transfer targets will have been identified.
Apparently Ashley and Llambias also took in yesterday’s reserve game against Hibs in which Dan Gosling made a return from injury while they were at the club.
Kevin Nolan reiterated the need for new blood, saying:
“If you are fresh, it always makes that bit of difference and it just shows we do need probably a couple more players and hopefully we will get them in January to help us out and get us over that finishing line at the end of the season.(more…)
Dan Gosling: First game as a Magpie.Dan Gosling has been speaking on his return to action, in a “closed doors” game against Hibernian, who are now of course, managed by ex Newcastle United assistant manager, Colin Calderwood.
The 20 year old midfielder completed around 70 minutes in the 3-3 draw, in which Gosling almost scored after 15 minutes of the game, with a mazy run and shot eventually being blocked by the Hibs keeper, Graham Stack. This was Gosling’s first game in a black and white shirt, and he admitted to feeling somewhat “tired” after being out of the game for so long with an anterior cruciate injury picked up while playing for his last club, Everton.
Speaking to the club’s official website, he said of the game, and his general condition:
“I’m tired but I feel alright. I stiffened up a little bit but it was a good run-out and I really enjoyed it.
“I was getting more confident as the game went on and it’s a shame I couldn’t last the 90 minutes, but that’ll come sooner rather than later. (more…)
Dan Gosling: Ready for action at last!As most of you are no doubt aware, midfielder, Dan Gosling, was signed by prevous manager, Chris Hughton on a free when his contract lapsed at Everton. This was despite him carrying a fairly serious anterior cruciate injury, which he picked up after been flattened by Wolves goalkeeper, Marcus Hahnemann, in an Everton game with Wolves. This was always going to keep him out for several months, and he is still to make his Magpies debut. With the latest news coming in that the young star is finally ready for action, with current manager, Alan Pardew, arranging a special training game against Colin Calderwood’s Hibernian, I will take a look at Gosling, and what he brings to Newcastle United as a player.
Playing style.
I suppose that primarily, Gosling is what would usually be described nowadays as a classic “box to box” midfielder, ie a dynamic midfielder who can operate in many areas of the pitch, combining both attacking and defensive qualities as needs must, and not a million miles away from existing Newcastle players such as captain, Kevin Nolan, and Joey Barton. He is also what could be described as a “versatile” player too, who can play both on the right, in the centre, and also in defence at right back. He is also a player of some talent who has been sought by major clubs in the past, has played with England Under 21s and is still only twenty years old.
When he signed for Newcastle United, Chris Hughton described him thus: (more…)
The most impressive signing of the window.Well that is it for the summer transfer window, and all in all I have been pleasantly surprised with the business that Newcastle have conducted.
Newcastle have swelled their ranks with five senior players over the summer, and one of those in particular has been rather eye catching.
Hatem Ben Arfa is the signing which most fans want to see in action. The 23-year old Frenchman should be just what the doctor ordered and will add some gallic flair and creativity to the ranks. The lad has undoubted talent, although there will no doubt be question marks, as there is with most overseas players, whether or not he will be able to produce those moments of magic we know he is capable of in the Premier League. (more…)
Blah blah bloody blah!The press have a nasty habit of conjuring up fairy stories with very little substance, and they particularly seem to enjoy trying to make Newcastle look silly with them.
For years and years now we have been the subject of unfair, unjustified and down right ridiculous stories in the press. Some of them have been true, but the vast majority have either been false or have been hyped up to the point where they are bordering on becoming false.
So I had to have a giggle this morning when I looked at the early morning edition of The Daily Star. Now I know it is a newspaper that doesn’t generally bother about accurate or realistic reporting, in fact if they ran a story saying that the sky is blue I would have to look outside to double check, but this latest piece of troublemaking is tenuous to say the least, and that is being kind! (more…)
