So, away from the pitch we need to really consider what is going on...
... we need to prepare for not being sold, what this means is making some strong decisions
1, Appoint Shearer on a one year contract
2, Get Coloccini and Barton out this week what ever way you can
3, Sign a right-back who can also cover at centre-half
Then on the pitch Nolan needs to be dropped and Ranger given his chance. These were the obvious problems yesterday (beyond central defence).
If Shearer had been given the role we would have expected to have seen Danny Fox and Bradley Orr come in at full back, Edgar would have stayed and they would have been joined by Steven Taylor as a back four.
The midfield would also have changed. Duff, Smith and Guthrie would have been possibly joined by Fabian Delph, or if we'd missed him another young winger. Barton and Nolan would have been shipped out.
Up front Beckford would be alongside Carroll.
Its not true that you need a deep squad in Championship football. Newcastle still need to strip the side back and then build up the squad. Despite being the only flare player we have Jonas must also be moved on to allow us to build for the winter months.
Our squad can be stripped more:
GK - Harper, Krul, Soderberg (+ Forster out on loan)
This is our strongest element and really we are blessed with some talent in goal
Def - Taylor, Collo, Taylor R, Enrique, Kadar, Tozer, Geremi
We need to bring in two full backs (we've said that before, or Keegan did anyway!). Edgar should have stayed, so we need a replacement for him and ship out Geremi who is pointless in the squad as well as Collo.
Mid - Duff, Smith, Guthrie, Butt, Nolan, Barton, Jonas, Lua Lua
We lack real width if Jonas leaves, and lack creativity in the centre. Barton is a liability, Butt is in his final season, and Nolan adds little. We won't see much change here, but would have seen those three leave and replacements come in had we had a manager in the past 9 weeks.
For - Carroll, Ameobi, Ranger, Xisco
This should be strong enough for the Championship. Beckford would have been a great addition and Xisco is unlikely to add much and could have been released. Again the ideal would be for this to still happen.
Thats a 22 man squad we're playing with, and there is still a lot of fat in there. We need 4 new players in and can ship out 6 comfortably. While reducing staff it would give us a much more solid squad, allowing youngsters the chance to experience the first team as well.
We only have three weeks, and the likelihood is that little will happen, but all we can do is cross our fingers and pray for some changes
Lets see!
Sunday 9 August 2009
A New Dawn? A point at least
On a positive NUFC have started the new season much better than expected, with a point at Sir Bobby's former club at The Hawthorns.
After a minute of celebration for the great man, we got back to second flight football with vigour and certainly entertained the crowd. Both teams showed why the will do well in the Championship, but also were pretty clear as to why they ended there in the first place.
Smith led as a captain should, and Tim Krul came on in the second half for the injured Harper to put in a sterling performance. Ranger got his debut, Carroll was strong up front and Taylor and Duff were solid.
That said the frailties were clear for all to see. Nolan was frankly shocking in midfield, and if Barton has disrupted so much to be back out of the side then Lua Lua must start in the next game. Coloccini struggled, and having been an Argentine international 12 months ago, to see him struggling against a 17 year old kiwi was worrying. Again bring in youth and allow Kadar to partner Taylor next week.
Overall though there was still a lack of coherency and leadership. Newcastle gained a good point, but Hughton does not lead. He missed the obvious substitutions and generally added nothing during the 90 mins.
A better start than expected, but lets remain realistic. We won 3-1 there a few months ago and weren't good enough to stay up, so dropping two points in a league where anyone can beat anyone is a word of warning.
After a minute of celebration for the great man, we got back to second flight football with vigour and certainly entertained the crowd. Both teams showed why the will do well in the Championship, but also were pretty clear as to why they ended there in the first place.
Smith led as a captain should, and Tim Krul came on in the second half for the injured Harper to put in a sterling performance. Ranger got his debut, Carroll was strong up front and Taylor and Duff were solid.
That said the frailties were clear for all to see. Nolan was frankly shocking in midfield, and if Barton has disrupted so much to be back out of the side then Lua Lua must start in the next game. Coloccini struggled, and having been an Argentine international 12 months ago, to see him struggling against a 17 year old kiwi was worrying. Again bring in youth and allow Kadar to partner Taylor next week.
Overall though there was still a lack of coherency and leadership. Newcastle gained a good point, but Hughton does not lead. He missed the obvious substitutions and generally added nothing during the 90 mins.
A better start than expected, but lets remain realistic. We won 3-1 there a few months ago and weren't good enough to stay up, so dropping two points in a league where anyone can beat anyone is a word of warning.
Saturday 20 June 2009
Xisco - £5.7m???
Watching England defeat Spain in the under 21's was a pleasure, but was diluted slightly by one of the Spanish substitutions.
Xisco came in in the second half and his impact was negligible. For a player being paid £50k a week and valued at £6m a year ago by Dennis Wise, he was well out of his depth. The huge difference between his ability and that of ex-Mag Milner and United target Campbell was obvious for all to see.
Based on this performance its not suprising that Xisco is wanting to stay. The Championship is his level, and he would be lucky to get a top flight move back to Spain, so its an easy choice really - take home £2.5m next year in Newcastle and get a few games or move back to Spain, earn £1m and spend most of your time on the bench.
You can't blame the player, but who ever sanctioned the transfer should keep an eye on him and learn that you can't waste money in this way.
Xisco came in in the second half and his impact was negligible. For a player being paid £50k a week and valued at £6m a year ago by Dennis Wise, he was well out of his depth. The huge difference between his ability and that of ex-Mag Milner and United target Campbell was obvious for all to see.
Based on this performance its not suprising that Xisco is wanting to stay. The Championship is his level, and he would be lucky to get a top flight move back to Spain, so its an easy choice really - take home £2.5m next year in Newcastle and get a few games or move back to Spain, earn £1m and spend most of your time on the bench.
You can't blame the player, but who ever sanctioned the transfer should keep an eye on him and learn that you can't waste money in this way.
What Next?
We were told that buyers would be in place this week, and to expect Shearer to be in place by pre-season training started next week. Well...
It seems that Mike Ashley has written off his investment in NUFC with no sign of any management of the club from a board level. It truly seems to be an empty shell. There seems to be little involvement from anyone either at Little Benton or St James'.
There is a desperate need for someone to start sorting the squad out. Even if it is simply a case of removing the overpaid stars from the club for a business reason, rather than assessing the side from a footballing angle.
The reality is that we cannot afford to keep any of the players on over £50k, so that means someone should be actively looking to move on Enrique, Collicini, Jonas, Duff, Smith, Barton, Nolan, Ameobi, Xisco and Martins. Bassong also doesn't want to be there, but who is going to sign him? Arsenal have their new centre back, so the options of cashing in are now vastly reduced.
Unless something happens this weekend then NUFC are in real trouble of facing a mid-table battle next season.
It seems that Mike Ashley has written off his investment in NUFC with no sign of any management of the club from a board level. It truly seems to be an empty shell. There seems to be little involvement from anyone either at Little Benton or St James'.
There is a desperate need for someone to start sorting the squad out. Even if it is simply a case of removing the overpaid stars from the club for a business reason, rather than assessing the side from a footballing angle.
The reality is that we cannot afford to keep any of the players on over £50k, so that means someone should be actively looking to move on Enrique, Collicini, Jonas, Duff, Smith, Barton, Nolan, Ameobi, Xisco and Martins. Bassong also doesn't want to be there, but who is going to sign him? Arsenal have their new centre back, so the options of cashing in are now vastly reduced.
Unless something happens this weekend then NUFC are in real trouble of facing a mid-table battle next season.
Saturday 6 June 2009
Shaping Up
Its now looking that Shearer will be appointed manager next week on a four year contract. With a contract worth up to £3m a year its a huge investment for a Championship club and totally reliant on us getting straight back up. Again far from the safest route, but it seems like its going to happen, so we have to have faith that it will be money well spent, both from a management point of view, and a new buyers view.
As soon as Shearer allows the ink to dry you would expect the signings to come in. It certainly seems that he has his eye on some early signing.
Chris Gunter - The 19 year old Welsh international is short of first team chances at Spurs and with Harry willing to let him come out on load for a season would offer support in the full back positions. The expectation would be for him to come in and hold down a left back position.
Danny Fox - Originally the most likely to come in, but with Gunter looking a cert then it is suggesting that Shearer either isn't keen on the young Coventry full back, or that he's unsure about securing his signing ahead or Premier interest.
Bradley Orr - The ex-reserves captain (when Shearer led the first team) could be on for a return and his first experience of the big time. Solid at Bristol for recent seasons and with great experience in the division, the rigth full back would be a sensible signing.
Its pretty clear that as with Keegan last season Shearer feels full back is where we lack depth, and with Enrique off, its looking that the idea is to bring in 2/3 full backs and potentially allow Habib Beye to move to the centre of defence to support Steven Taylor.
Jermaine Beckford - The talented Leeds strikerr has proved himself at the lower levels and for around £3m would be a good investment to support Carroll, Ameobi and Ranger next season. Much depends on whether the likes of Burnley are willing to take a punt on him in the top flight.
Beyond that you would expect that Shearer would be looking for some creative presence in midfield. Ideally Nolan, Smith, Duff and Barton will leave, alongside Jonas, which would leave Guthrie, Butt and Taylor in the midfield, so we would certainly expect some strengthening to follow and potentially a season for Lee Bowyer to come back in on a free to add some craft and bite into the team.
Lets just see where we go!
As soon as Shearer allows the ink to dry you would expect the signings to come in. It certainly seems that he has his eye on some early signing.
Chris Gunter - The 19 year old Welsh international is short of first team chances at Spurs and with Harry willing to let him come out on load for a season would offer support in the full back positions. The expectation would be for him to come in and hold down a left back position.
Danny Fox - Originally the most likely to come in, but with Gunter looking a cert then it is suggesting that Shearer either isn't keen on the young Coventry full back, or that he's unsure about securing his signing ahead or Premier interest.
Bradley Orr - The ex-reserves captain (when Shearer led the first team) could be on for a return and his first experience of the big time. Solid at Bristol for recent seasons and with great experience in the division, the rigth full back would be a sensible signing.
Its pretty clear that as with Keegan last season Shearer feels full back is where we lack depth, and with Enrique off, its looking that the idea is to bring in 2/3 full backs and potentially allow Habib Beye to move to the centre of defence to support Steven Taylor.
Jermaine Beckford - The talented Leeds strikerr has proved himself at the lower levels and for around £3m would be a good investment to support Carroll, Ameobi and Ranger next season. Much depends on whether the likes of Burnley are willing to take a punt on him in the top flight.
Beyond that you would expect that Shearer would be looking for some creative presence in midfield. Ideally Nolan, Smith, Duff and Barton will leave, alongside Jonas, which would leave Guthrie, Butt and Taylor in the midfield, so we would certainly expect some strengthening to follow and potentially a season for Lee Bowyer to come back in on a free to add some craft and bite into the team.
Lets just see where we go!
Sunday 31 May 2009
Financially and Emotionally Bankrupt
Its looking like another dark cloud is drifting over Tyneside. In the wake of the demise of our little brother at Blue Star (who at least had a good season on the pitch), it has emerged that Mike Ashley is willing to cut and run on NUFC.
If this is true and he is willing to take £100m for the club the it shows how poor the finances have been managed. With reportedly £50m of debt having developed over the past season, you can see why a season in the Championship with a £70m wage bill is not looking too appealing to the ex bllionaire.
Realsitically much of this is driven by disasterous boardroom appointments and managerial changes. Allardyce (£5m), Keegan (£8m), Wise (£3m), Kinnear (£2m), Hughton (£1m), Calderwood (£1m), coaching staff (£1m) and other administration staff (£1m) will have not helped the finances. The money spent on Shearer and Dowie (up to £1.5m) is realistically the sort of total spend we need for the whole of next season on management. Any new regime needs to think about this before bending over backwards and offering the world to Shearer.
With the wage bill of the squad and general running costs Newcastle would need to be brining in £150m next season to break even. In the Championship this will not be possible. If Newcastle can bring in £50m next season then that will be a strong financial performance in that league, so we are desperate to be back in the top flight within two seasons otherwise the longer term future is dire.
Assuming that Ashley sells up and the new buyer can pump in £40m to clear the overdraft, then every single player in the first team squad needs to be put up for sale. Its great news that some players want to stay, but we can't afford them - they all need to go, as the wage bill needs to drop from the current £74m to below £30m.
Things are obviously far worse than first thought. No messiah can change things, only sensible business planning.
If this is true and he is willing to take £100m for the club the it shows how poor the finances have been managed. With reportedly £50m of debt having developed over the past season, you can see why a season in the Championship with a £70m wage bill is not looking too appealing to the ex bllionaire.
Realsitically much of this is driven by disasterous boardroom appointments and managerial changes. Allardyce (£5m), Keegan (£8m), Wise (£3m), Kinnear (£2m), Hughton (£1m), Calderwood (£1m), coaching staff (£1m) and other administration staff (£1m) will have not helped the finances. The money spent on Shearer and Dowie (up to £1.5m) is realistically the sort of total spend we need for the whole of next season on management. Any new regime needs to think about this before bending over backwards and offering the world to Shearer.
With the wage bill of the squad and general running costs Newcastle would need to be brining in £150m next season to break even. In the Championship this will not be possible. If Newcastle can bring in £50m next season then that will be a strong financial performance in that league, so we are desperate to be back in the top flight within two seasons otherwise the longer term future is dire.
Assuming that Ashley sells up and the new buyer can pump in £40m to clear the overdraft, then every single player in the first team squad needs to be put up for sale. Its great news that some players want to stay, but we can't afford them - they all need to go, as the wage bill needs to drop from the current £74m to below £30m.
Things are obviously far worse than first thought. No messiah can change things, only sensible business planning.
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