Hughton - Skint!The capture of Dan Gosling means that Newcastle have now increased their squad numbers by two this summer, but we can expect more new faces to come.
I wouldn’t expect any new faces to be established Premier League faces though, especially after what Chris Hughton has said today.
It’s pretty clear that there is money there, but only if the deal represents good value for the club. That is all well and good, but if it is providing good value for the club then the chances are that the fee will be minimal, if there is one at all, and that limits our options in the transfer market quite significantly as we look to try and build a squad capable of surviving in the Premier League. (more…)
Does Hughton have some of these?The question on the lips of a lot of Newcastle fans currently is: Who will be our first signing of the summer? We now know it will be James Perch, but is there a masterstroke to come from Newcastle United?
The goalposts have moved, slightly, from just scraping the bottom of the free transfer barrell to a now more widely recognised notion that we do have at least some money to use in the transfer market. I doubt it will be a lot, and in fact I very much doubt there is a budget as such, more likely a deal will only be sanctioned if it offers good value for the club, well that is my opinion anyway.
But does Chris Hughton have an ace up his sleeve? He has been keeping his cards close to his chest all summer long, and even recently called for privacy on the transfer front whilst he conducts his business. There is none of this drum-banging going on, like say at West Ham, who are spouting off about multi-million pound bids left, right and centre, which has amounted to them doing less business than us throughout the summer. No, no, we amble on quietly, frustratingly quiet, although Hughton has admitted that he is surprised by the calibre of player that has become available, players that he never thought would be available in the first place. (more…)
Hughton - Still confident of signing new players.Chris Hughton has today reiterated his desire to keep Newcastle United’s tranfer activity private, until any deal is ready to be announced.
There is nothing new in that really, and I can understand it to a point, but my god it doesn’t half make things frustrating for fans who are wanting to see some tentative signs of action.
All this comes hot on the heels of some speculation regarding a bid for PSG forward Mevlüt Erdinç, a bid that was subsequently rejected, although Hughton wants to remain tight-lipped about any of his potential transfer activity. I, personally, wanted to see us do our business early and get the required playes in before pre-season to give them the best chance of settling in at Newcastle, but as training starts on Monday and we still haven’t signed anyone, then my preference looks highly unlikely to happen. (more…)
Hughton calls for more patience.Chris Hughton has today called for yet more patience from the Newcastle fans, and urged them to trust him in his endeavours to strengthen the squad over the summer.
The problem with that is that this transfer window is beginning to have an alarming air of similarity to what has happened in previous transfer windows. I can’t really blame fans for being sceptical as memories of the past kick in, but that is something that Hughton has to deal with and must understand. The fact that we as fans have been led around the garden path before is still fresh in the memory for some, and when they hear conflicting stories, or stories that there has been no progress behind the scenes, then the immediate thought is to look at the past form of the current management hierarchy, Hughton excluded of course. On the other hand, we do have to bear in mind what happened in January and I personally hope that the way we went about our business back then can be repeated. (more…)
Hughton: Will be looking at new players.It has been a line that has been trotted out with alarming frequency over these past few weeks – that Newcastle will be signings players. But today has seen a change in attitude from Chris Hughton as he spoke to The Chronicle.
Previously, I got the feeling that any sort of quotes that had come from the mouth of Hughton had been laced with a kind double meaning, maintaining that signings will be made but also not being entirely certain on the whole situation and leaving room to manouvre on what has been said. That isn’t the case anymore, and some of the certaintly contained within the words of Hughton should move to quell the fears that the Newcastle team would be forced to battle on with what they have. With two months until the new season, Hughton is now adamant that we will be bringing in the players needed to give us the best chance of survival in the Premier League next season, although he also reiterated that we wouldn’t be going wild with the cash, something I think we all know now about and something that has been done to death already. (more…)
