Even Joey Barton may be back soon!Newcastle United’s extensive injury list appears to be showing signs of relenting as the season draws to a close. A number of both long term and short term injuries appear to be clearing up which can only be a good thing as the Toon seek to finish off the job of promotion this season.
Arguably the most notable of those injuries to clear up is Jose Enrique. The Spanish left back has been out for five weeks, and had his comeback against Barnsley two weeks ago cut short with a slight recurrance of his hamstring injury. He was named on the bench against Middlesbrough although manager Chris Hughton decided not to risk playing the defender and decided a couple of days extra rest would be better than risking losing Enrique for a longer period of time.
The Spaniard is raring to go for the title run in and firmly believes his injury problems are behind him, something we all hope is true such has been his influence this season. Speaking to The Chronicle of his injury, Enrique had this to say: (more…)
The bull wants reinforcements!On another slow Newcastle United news day, Jose Enrique has urged the club to capitalise on the fantastic start to the season by adding the extra players needed to give us the best shot at finishing the promotion job off.
It appears Jose is fearful of the fact that losing too many players could jeopardize the Toon’s lead at the top of the table. The former Spain Under-21 international added:
“We need new players, some have already gone.”
“We’ve got a good squad, but when people go then we need to get replacements.”
I’m sure Enrique would be alluding to the likes of Marlon Harewood and Zhurab Khizanishvilli who have both returned to their original clubs. It does seem though that Jose is remaining generally upbeat about the manager’s chances of bringing in the required players. He added:
“I am sure that Chris has this situation already in hand – if he wants my recommendations I hear that Lionel Messi and Ronaldo would be great signings!”
“It’s a big club with a lot of fans and we’re a good bet for promotion.”(more…)
Thou shalt not pass!Two months (and a bit) on from the last review, with the transfer window looming, I thought it might be worth having another look at how the players are doing. With off-field sagas taking a backseat for now, the focus is thankfully on the pitch and given our recent blip, does it add significance to the opportunity to invest this month?
We’re just about halfway through our first season in The Championship since our untimely relegation, and as we sit proudly at the top of the table, it goes some way to proving the quality and endeavour that we have available in the squad.
There is still that underlying fear that our position owes much to the lack of quality elsewhere in the league, an argument which holds some water. Much of our good start to the season is undoubtedly owed to a tremendous defensive record, which was something surely none of us expected.
For what it’s worth here’s my own term review of the keepers and defenders. I’ve only included the lads who have played at least a couple of games so far and I’ve just added to my initial review from back in October. (more…)
Left back legend already?If it was possible, given his start to the season, Jose Enrique will have gone up in the popularity polls amongst Newcastle supporters, after he went on record to say he’s not interested in the alleged interest of Mackem boss and alleged Geordie, Steve Bruce.
It’s taken a while for some people to grow to Jose, given his penchant for playing the ball out of defence and occasionally ‘over’ playing it. But this season he has generally done things in the right areas, and is clearly one of the best players in the Championship. The left back has shown defensive resilience together with an appetite for getting forward and his strength and pace allow him to do both to great effect.
Of course, that has led to speculation that Premiership clubs would come looking for him and with the January transfer window sneaking ever closer, Newcastle fans will be cautious over outgoing players. It’s been rumoured that Enrique has several suitors but the latest speculation is that the unfortunates from down the A19 are keen on him. Jose put a smile on the faces of all Mags with his latest statement:
“I don’t care about Sunderland. Even if the newspapers said Chelsea, I wouldn’t care. I worry for my team – I love the city, I love the club and I don’t care about signing for another team.”(more…)
Toon's 'Three Amigos'.Toon midfield dynamo, Danny Guthrie, has been expressing his admiration for Newcastle United’s ‘Three Amigos’, Jose Enrique, Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez. As Newcastle United prepare for a wet Monday evening at Deepdale in Preston, Guthrie mused on how they have defied the stereotypes about fancy foreign players who aren’t up for a good scrap in the English Championship.
On their spirit, and the so-called ‘English mentality’, Guthrie gushed:
“You might talk about the so-called English mentality, about being able to fight when your back is against the wall and showing strength in adversity,”
“But the foreign lads have also shown plenty of spirit and that’s really good to see. You sometimes hear stories about players who don’t really fancy a battle when they come over to play in this country, but Jose, Jonas and Fabricio have really knuckled down. It would have been easy for them to fob it off once we had been relegated, but they have stayed and they have got on with it.
“People have preconceptions about what foreign players are going to be like and whether they have the stomach for it, but they have been brilliant and haven’t been fazed by anything this season.” (more…)
