Harper: Waited long enough for his chance!Here we go with the first in a series of player reviews for the season just passed. Rather than an individual write up for each player I thought it would give us more to discuss and work through if I reviewed the team by on-field position.
That of course means our player review for the season 09/10 will feature four editions; Goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers. So in true football cliche style, let’s build from the back and start off between the sticks with a review of our goalkeepers and how they have done this season.
It does appear to have been an area where we have been blessed with quality for a good few years now, and with top quality rising through the ranks at St James’ Park it looks likely to remain one of our strongest positions for some years to come. For many years we had Shay Given, a brilliant keeper and widely regarded as one of the best in the Premier League throughout his time with us. In January 2009, Shay moved on to Manchester City where of course we wish him all the best, apart from against us next season. Whilst losing Shay was a blow, most of us knew we had a good backup ‘keeper in the form of the forgotten man of Newcastle United. (more…)
Not far to reach for the stars!There’s no arguing that Fraser Forster is a ‘huge’ talent, as he towers a good several inches over the tallest of his Newcastle defenders. But is he good enough to attract the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham scouts?There have been several rumours this weekend after a dearth of speculation over player departures, (well it is that time of year), and one relates to the big fella from Hexham.
He’s had a number of impressive displays in the junior and reserve sides and was pushing Tim Krul as back-up to Steve Harper. However, after Krul’s return from loan to Falkirk, it was Forster’s turn to go out on loan to gain some match experience.
And he’s been out at Stockport County, Bristol Rovers and Norwich City, where he remains on loan until the end of the season.
A commanding and able goalkeeper, though still relatively inexperienced, Forster is highly regarded in these parts by the experts.
But with first team opportunities at a premium, could Forster’s head be turned by the bright lights of the big city? (more…)
Jus' chillin'?Chris Hughton has admitted that he is pretty laidback as the hour approaches and the ‘temporary loan signing’ window shuts at 5pm tomorrow night until February.
It has long been reported that Leon Cort has been on Hughton’s radar but Hughton has been telling the Chronicle that he’s not in any rush to sign players just for the sake of it:
“You never know, but realistically looking at the squad I don’t really expect to bring anybody in during the next month or so.
“Of course, all sorts of things can happen in the next 24 hours, and phone calls will be made on Thursday with players potentially becoming available.
“Some clubs might make a decision that some of the players who weren’t available earlier in the season are now there for loans. But we’ll see.”(more…)
Newcastle keeper currently on loanNewcastle United have agreed to extend the loan of bright young keeper Fraser Forster to Norwich City until the end of the season.
Forster is Newcastle born and bred, playing for the Toon since the age of 11. After a brief spell on loan at Bristol City, the Hexham born keeper has really impressed at Norwich City keeping a clean sheet in 8 out of his 12 games. The deal means that Forster is now eligible for Norwich in future FA Cup ties with a 2nd round tie coming up against Carlisle on the 28th November
Norwich manager Paul Lambert said : “I think Fraser has done phenomenally for us and he’s got an understanding with the back four and is performing really well.
He said: “You need a presence and some of the saves I see him make, even in training, I think how has he got there?
“He’s only 21 years of age and goalkeepers can play for a lengthy time in their career. He’s done great.
““We have no chance of keeping him, the hopes they have got for him,” said Lambert. (more…)
