So who fancies living up to this then?Well here it is, the third and final chapter of my mid-term player review. And a topical area for discussion, as speculation remains over a move for Leeds Utd’s Jermaine Beckford, or A.N. Other should we fail in that bid.
The No.9 shirt is almost as synonymous with Newcastle United, as St James’ Park, the black and white stripes or that deed funny accent we’ve got. It’s been made particularly special in this part of the world because it’s been worn by some of the best players this country has seen. The likes of Gallacher, Milburn, MacDonald, Cole, Shearer have graced that shirt and it will undoubtedly always be a big shirt to fill.
Ironic then, given that the No.9 shirt and the prestige it carries with it is currently up for grabs, that we have a group of strikers who fall somewhat short of the standards we’ve come to expect from our centre-floorboards, and that none of them look like earning that honour just yet, particularly in this current barren spell…..
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…)
So who fancies living up to this then?Well here it is, the third and final chapter of my first term, first team player review. And not a moment too soon it would seem, to take the focus off Llambias’ less than convincing SSN interview.
The No.9 shirt is almost as synonymous with Newcastle United, as St James’ Park, the black and white stripes or that deed funny accent we’ve got. It’s been made partcularly special in this part of the world because it’s been worn by some of the best players this country has seen. The likes of Gallacher, Milburn, MacDonald, Cole, Shearer have graced that shirt and it will undoubtedly always be a big shirt to fill.
Ironic then, given that the No.9 shirt and the prestige it carries with it is currently up for grabs, that we have a group of strikers who fall somewhat short of the standards we’ve come to expect from our centre-floorboards, and that none of them look like earning that honour just yet…..
So how far short have they fallen so far? – (more…)
Stopped PlayingIt seems that Xisco’s career at the Toon might be over after he admitted that he ‘stopped playing’ to force through his loan to Racing Santander.
The Mirror, which I’d usually take with a pinch of salt, actually contains quotes this time. Xisco said:
“After a difficult first year in Newcastle, this year seemed it was going to be more of the same and a good time to leave. I even stopped playing in the last few days to force my exit.
“If they hadn’t accepted the loan at Santander, I would have regarded my situation at Newcastle as hopeless.”
We paid Deportivo £5.7m for the striker in September 2008 and he has only played in 7 games, scoring 1 goal. I’m not sure what to make of his claims that he ‘stopped playing’, it seems to me that he never started playing. For some reason the club has seemed reluctant to play him no matter whether it has been Kinnear, Shearer or Hughton in charge. (more…)
Spanish hitman on year loan deal. News has come in from the website of Cantabrian La Liga side, Racing Santander that a one year loan deal has been arranged for Toon striker Xisco.
23 year old Xisco (full name: Francisco Jiménez Tejada) signed for Newcastle on September 1, 2008, for a fee thought to be around £5.7 million, rising to over £7 or 8 million depending on appearences according to various reports. He is also on a very long 5 year contract which extends to 2013. However, despite injury problems with the Tyneside squad, Xisco has only made a handful of first team appearences for United, scoring one goal, and was a relatively high earner at around £45,000 per week. (more…)
