Whittingham - Would be a great deal for Newcastle.Despite the fact that Newastle put in an assured and comfortable performance against Deportivo last night, few can deny that the squad still needs strengthening.
One of the areas that concerns me is out on the wing, both of them actually. Wayne Routledge and Jonas Gutierrez are likely to be our first choice wide men this season, but what happens when injury or suspension strikes either of them?
On the right, we may just about be alright for a short period as we have Ryan Taylor who can cover there. It wouldn’t be ideal, but he could do a job for a short amount of time. Mind you, I would still like to see it strengthened. What about the left hand side of midfield though? What happens if or when we are missing Jonas Gutierrez? In pre-season we have either played a striker or a central midfielder wide on the left, which is far from ideal. (more…)
Chris Hughton - Faces some tough choices.Right, before I get the obligitory comments of “all over the place” regarding the article title, think about the financial situation we currently find ourselves in, regardless of the circumstances behind it.
By that I mean that we know that we won’t be sloshing money that we don’t have around, ala Feddy Shepherd, but after the capture of James Perch and the seemingly imminent arrival of Dan Gosling, it does at least look like Mike Ashley is going to back his manager, a little.
You can also add to that the fact the we are apparently biddong for players from the continent, with strong links to small, pacey forwards like Mevlut Erdinc and Yanick Djalo having surfaced recently. All of these deals are not costing a fortune, but they are adding strength to the squad and kind of loosely fitting in with that now famous statement that Mike Ashley made – It does seem that the team of last season will form the majority of the team for next season. So with that in mind, plus our tight pursestrings, where should be the next focus of our attention? (more…)
Pre-season training begins.Today is a day that should send shivers down the spine of a professional footballer, well any footballer in fact.
The Newcastle squad reunite today for pre-season training as they step up their preparation for life back in the big time, and by the end of today those summer indulgences will seem a million miles away, particularly for some of the older professionals we have on our books!
Speaking of my own footballing experience, I can confirm what most already know, and that is that pre-season is a horrible place to be. No matter how many times you are told “it will be worth it in the end”, it doesn’t take the pain away from trying to get your body back in the condition needed, and that was just at Zamaretto League level. (more…)
Gutierrez: Won't be seen at right-back!Wor Spidey’s Argentina team aren’t doing to shabbily at the World Cup are they? Let’s just say that I wouldn’t mind England being in their position anyway!
Our lad Jonas has been playing in a position that us fans are unaccustomed to seeing him in, right-back, which kind of lead to a train of thought that perhaps he could cover in that position for us when he returns from World Cup duty, especially now it seems that Danny Simpson looks likely to miss the start of the new Premier League season. In fairness, he hasn’t been overly impressive, but Argentina coach Diego Maradona seems to rate him in that position, and he has played in both group matches thus far. He won’t be in action later though as he serves a one match ban earned by picking up a yellow card in each of his previous two games, but he should return to the starting line-up when the knockout stages begin. (more…)
The main men.Newcastle head back into the Premier League with near enough an entire team that has a point to prove, and that could play right into our hands next season.
There is absolutely no doubt that these players can play in the Premier League, the problem is making sure they do play. Between them, our regular first team squad has over 1,400 Premier League appearances under their belt, and that is something that a newly promoted team has never had the benefit of before. You can call on any number of reasons for our relegation; players that weren’t committed; lack of form; injuries; a poisoned atmosphere around the club; 3,000 managers in one season; lack of direction; lack of investment, any one of them, or any combination of them can be blamed. (more…)
