Has the funky chicken danced his last dance for us?Kevin Nolan has done a lot for this club since arriving here in January 2009 and, with Chris Hughton, managed to build the best team spirit this club has seen since the days of Sir Bobby but it looks as though this transfer window is to be the end of his captaincy.
Sky Sports, Twitter and countless other websites are reporting that Kevin Nolan is currently in London having a medical for the Hammers and that is dire, dire news if true. My usual optimism has been completely depleted as I’ve watched the betting odds being slashed over the past hour to a mind boggling 1/4 at my last check. Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, José Enrique – where is it going to end? Jonas, Coloccini – how many other first team players can we sell?
The irony is that Pardew has been talking about Champions League football and that is where our ambitions should lie. His reasoning for European competition? Keeping our best players. (more…)
Concentrate!On the pitch, what needs fixing? Most would point out the glaring lack of fire-power within the ranks, for the ‘number 9′ Shirt is lies dormant at St James’ Park.
This of course has been true since January, when a certain someone departed to join Kenny Dalglish’s revolution, and our inability to act for a replacement due to the timing of the transfer. Now summer has arrived, we do have the time, and already names are being linked for the vacancy, some realistic, some not so, but the obvious fact is, the owners and management are in the process of finding the man to shoulder the responsibility of the number 9 shirt.
Goals…
Newcastle, performed admirably in front of goal in the Premier League last season, with our captain, Kevin Nolan, managing 12, Carroll 11, Ameobi, Lovenkrands and Best each netting 6, Joey Barton hitting 4 and Jonas along with Steven Taylor netting 3. There were also a couple from Coloccini, and solitary strikes from Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote, along with an own goal from West Broms Olsson, taking Newcastle’s Total to 56. Not Bad, in fact it was the joint 6th highest in the division. The 41 goals scored at St James’ was the most we have managed in the last decade (not counting our Championship season). (more…)
Who are we after?A summary of the current transfer targets at Newcastle United, not a single one of which has actually been confirmed by the club!
As another week gets underway, we can no doubt expect a load more transfer speculation relating to our club because it is after all silly season.
So I thought I’d kick off by doing a brief summary of where we supposedly stand with some of the transfer targets rumoured to date.
First of all, let’s be clear about one thing: the club have not confirmed a single transfer in and have only confirmed the exit of Sol Campbell and Shefki Kuqi, so that is our official transfer status at the moment.
Mehdi Abeid
By all accounts this is actually a done deal and the player himself has confirmed that he has agreed a deal with Newcastle after being welcomed and encouraged by Tiote and Ben Arfa. The 18 year old attacking midfielder has played most of his football for the Lens B team, so I’m guessing he’s down as one for the future. (more…)
Joey Barton with the good luck 'stacheJoey Barton recently heeded Danny Simpson’s advise and decided to join Twitter. Joey has been known to be quite forward and somewhat outspoken and of course wasted no time pondering whether or not his biggest fans Robbie Savage and Piers Morgan would be as vicious in a logged and public manner. Of course they were and I assure you, it’s great fun bullying Mr. Morgan but after being bombarded with tweets from fans requesting he sign a new contract, Joey broke his relative silence.
Now I’m not in the habit of reporting the usual waste you hear on Twitter but, as they say, this is from the horses mouth.
I tend to be fairly positive and patient in regards to this club primarily because I understand knee jerk reactions don’t help us in the slightest. I like to wait for all the facts before I make a solid judgement and until then try to remain as calm as I can and stay as level headed as is humanly possible… but then something like this happens and that Zen-like state goes out of the window. (more…)
How do you think we'll do in the this transfer window?Well, it’s that time again, when thoughts turn from matters on the pitch, to gossip and speculation on who might be joining, and leaving, the club.
So far, there has been much speculation on whether major players such as Joey Barton and Jose Enrique will renew their vows for several more years, or even leave for pastures new. On the other hand, the club have already made one new signing in the shape of French-Tunisian youngster, Mehdi Abeid, and Shane Ferguson has just signed a new five year deal at the club. Meanwhile, manager, Alan Pardew, has claimed to have several irons in the fire regarding the aquisition of new players. On this subject, the usually reticent supremo said:
“We’ve given a player a deadline this week, so that’ll be interesting,”
“We are pitching for a striker that we bid for – that’s been reported. We’re hopeful on that but we’ll have to wait and see. There’s no real feedback from the club on that. And we’re pitching for another couple of players.(more…)
