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…)
Hughton: Gagging for a real Outside-Right.Newcastle United manager, Chris Hughton has revealed some of the thinking behind his signing of French wing man, Fabrice Pancrate. Acknowledging a problem on the right hand side of Toon, he observed:
“If I look at one area in which we wanted to bring someone in, it was wide right.
“Jonas Gutierrez and Peter Lovenkrands can play up the middle or on the left, and what we have on the right-hand side is Ryan Taylor, Danny Guthrie and Geremi, but they’re more right sided midfield players.
“I wanted to get what I regarded as an outside right, and the timing was very good.”
Try before you buy.
Speaking of the opportunity Pancrate provided just at the right time, along with the opportunity to assess him closely for two weeks and the absence of a fee, he continued:
“We had the opportunity to look at him. He’s played at a good level, and he was out of contract.
“We had the opportunity to take him on trial. We’ve got a couple of options on the left, or what I call high left, but not too many at high right. I wanted that option.(more…)
Signer ici monsieur Pancrate!It’s been announced on the official site that Newcastle United have struck a sweet deal for Fabrice Pancrate. The French midfielder/stirker has secured a deal until the end of the season, after impressing Chris Hughton in his two week trial, which involved a run out for the reserves against Hartlepool United, with yours truly in attendance.
He had a five year spell with Paris St Germain, which included loan spells at Real Betis and Sochaux. And was being pursued by a number of French and English clubs. He was followed in the summer by Portsmouth, Everton, Sheff Utd and Burnley but nothing came of the interest.
Hughton declared he had been happy with his endeavour and ability in the training sessions, and having been pacy and direct in the reserve game against Hartlepool it seemed to bode well for the Frenchman. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of him to make my own judgement but clearly Hughton has had that luxury. As a supporter having seen him in just the one game, I would say if he can get at defences the way he did in spells the other night, then he will excite the crowd. I only hope he has a final product. (more…)
Needs more games?Cold, damp and pretty miserable, and that was just my fatha. Well no actually, the weather did a good impersonation of mid-December (or else I’m just getting auld). And the first half of the Newcastle vs Hartlepool reserve match sort of felt a bit sorry for itself at times. But with the news that Fabrice Pancrate would be gettin a trial run-out in tonights game and Peter Lovenkrands would be getting some much-needed match fitness, the gate was somewhat swelled by it’s usual numbers and the atmosphere was quite vibrant.
Starting off the night by heading to The Strawberry from work, I realised it had been a while since I’d been in for a pint. It might be my last for a while, judging by the funny looks I got from the regulars looking over my shoulder as I opened my IPhone to browse the blog and discovered picture after picture of naked men. ‘Summat funny about him’ the look said, so I finished off my Babycham and headed to the East Stand.
Eagerly grabbing my A4 teamsheet, I sat down to study the first eleven and realised I only knew half of the team. What happened to the reserves being for first teamers down on their luck? It’s not really ‘the stiffs’ anymore is it? Anyway, some ‘Poolies’ behind me, were inferring that it was a strong eleven that they had out, so our youngsters seemed set to face a stern test. (more…)
Pancrate ready to seal a deal?It’s a cold, damp and blustery day over here in Newcastle, so what better way to spend your evening than to go and watch a reserve game eh? Well that’s what the Bowburn branch of nufcblog.org has decided to do tonight, and I’ve even roped in my old man to come and keep me company.
Of course, it’s free and we’re playing Hartlepool United so there’s a little bit of local rivalry going on, particularly as my mate supports them. So there are two good reasons to go. Plus they’ve moved the venue from Whitley Park (where yours truly used to grace the beautiful turf, back in the day) to St James’ and have opened up the East Stand to supporters. That makes it a bit easier with me being in town already.
It’s admittedly been a while since I took in a ressie game, and it gives me a chance to see some of the young ‘uns that I haven’t seen play a full game. Mind you, I’ve once again managed to miss out another potential 90 minutes of football for Nile Ranger because he’s away with England U19s. I’ll also miss out on seeing Shane Ferguson, Callum Morris and Brad Inman who are all away representing their respective countries. (more…)
