'Trying is the first step towards failure'Seven months after the sale of Andy Carroll, Newcastle United have, to the surprise of no one, failed to sign a suitable replacement to fill the void up front.
A day of deadline drama, in which saw United lodge a “bid” for FC Twente’s Bryan Ruiz, has ended up falling flat on it’s face as Newcastle, for reasons unknown, decided to try and bring in a striker by submitting a bid 4 hours or so before the close of the transfer window.
Mr. Ashley had a helicopter ready to swish our man from the clutches of Martin Jol’s Fulham waiting in the capital, but (shock horror), the inevitable news from David Craig was that “unfortunately” United just couldn’t quite seal the deal for Ruiz, and also defender, Liam Ridgewell.
This ‘bid’ seems slightly reminiscent of last January’s “attempt” of bringing in a player (Charles N’Zogbia) just hours before the window closed. So after fans have endured a summer of rumours or “smokescreens” as I’d prefer to call it, Newcastle have failed in their quest to find a striker.
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…)
The quiet man hasn't let us down so far.With the start of the transfer window a little over a month away, the tide of conversation is understandably shifting towards the signing of players that will aid in our attempt to stave off relegation next season.
The thought was that given the fact that Newcastle United have gone about the business of promotion quietly and efficiently, and secured their Premier League place for next season in record time, that this could signal some early transfer activity as we seek to get a headstart on other teams who are also looking to strenghten. People are now starting to point out that other teams are beginning to strengthen their squads, with Liverpool capturing the signature of current Charlton midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey. But that is the only confirmed transfer activity as yet so I feel the early activity of other teams is being somewhat overstated. (more…)
