Joe Kinnear has talked today about 22 year-old Sebastien Bassong, who has been a revelation at the center of Newcastle’s defense in our 5 game unbeaten run.
Sebastien Bassong – a revelation in Newcastle defense
Newcastle manager Joe talked about Seb today:
“He has probably been our biggest plus, Sebastien, since I put him in there,”
“I was led to believe when I got here that he was a left full-back, but since he has been shifted to the middle he has been one of our best players.”
“He has made it very difficult for me to leave him out, and with Steven Taylor being injured, he has seized it.”
“He and Coloccini have been outstanding for us. Everybody else now is seeing a new player.”
“Most of the players, if they are honest, didn’t think that Sebastien would still be in the side as he is now.”
Sebastien was always a center-half, who plays on the left side, but he was shifted to left back following the poor form of Jose Enrique at the beginning of the season, but his preferred position, at 6’2″ tall, was always center-half.
Seb is a good example of how the new Newcastle policy of buying young players with great potential fairly cheaply, and then developing them at Newcastle, can be successful.
It can pay off, and in Bassong’s case it paid off quickly, since he was one for the future when he was brought in during August.
But as we discussed yesterday, maybe Mike Ashley’s strategy could work and work well, and it seems it doesn’t have to take a long time to work either, and that’s encouraging.
Comments welcome.
21 comments so far
Daniel
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Comment #1The fact that JK thought he was a LB shows we need more coaches – that’s not his fault just it shows how hard of a time he must of had coming into this bunch of players.
Chris F
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Comment #2do we even have any coaches these days? lol
but yeah, i have to agree with him, bassong has been as solid as a rock these last 5 games, the kid’s showing good potential just have to hope he has good character to go with it and doesn’t let praise go to his head.
LooneyToon
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Comment #3The lad has been outstanding….
Hope people realise that he is still young, learning and will make errors at some point….when they come along, he needs to be backed….not barracked out of the club…….
Bargain of the season…along with Spiderman….who I saw in the MetroCentre yesterday….looked over the moon when I gave him the thumbs up….top lad….
iffy
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Comment #4did anyone watch the champion league draw?
Chris F
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Comment #5aye, LT, couldn’t agree more.
too many of our ‘fans’ don’t even give kids a chance, one bad game and they’re after their heads.
like xisco, he’s barely kicked a ball in anger and already he’s being slagged off left and right.
no wonder out managers are often reticent to rush our youngsters into the first team.
irish_al
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Comment #6I like Bassong but he seems to now being praised to heavily, he has performed well but there have times were his play has been risky, Defoe could of had a pen when Bassong put his arm across him in the box last week
I hope he continues to play well but i feel that as our expectations of him are heightened that if he does not meet them peoples opinion of him will turn, similar to the way they have with many of our younger players
Chris F
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Comment #7tbf, irish_al, stuff like that defoe incident will happen with a defender no matter how good or bad they are, it’s just the way the game goes.
the really good ones just get away with it more 😉
HeronMag
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Comment #8Irish_Al:
Very good point mate.
Jimmie
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Comment #9I partly critized Mike´s vision yesterday and got some stick about it so OK, I changed my mind att supporting it all the way…
But still I could live with it if Mike spent some millions to add some creativity like Arsjavin to the side.. 🙂
irish_al
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Comment #10yeah i agree Chris F
But just because things have gone your way doesn’t mean they will continue to do so
Although John Terry seems to be the exception to the rule, lol
And if Carragher had put through his own net like he had recently whilst wearing black and white i feel he may of been ridiculed rather than supported
Have to say i’m pleasantly suprised that thus far the comments on the thread seem to be mainly in agreement
Chris F
Dec 19, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Comment #11the kids haven’t finished school yet, give it an hour.
Xisco Stu
Dec 19, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Comment #12If the club are smart they can boost the coaching staff by bringing Gary Speed back.
Tom_Toon
Dec 19, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Comment #13Good to see Taylor being kept out of the team, he was and is a liability.
NotAGhostToon
Dec 19, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Comment #14Gotta agree with tom_toon, bassong has been brilliant and the key difference for me is how collocini has played alongside him compared to taylor. The moment taylors in the same side as colo, colo starts making mistakes, next to the calm head of bassong he’s been a lot better, long may it last!
Tore Torell
Dec 19, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Comment #15Bassong is an amazing prospect for the future, he’ll get games for France if he goes on like he’s been doing lately.
Great to see Taylor benched, now it’s just Butt left of the liabilities in the side, then we have a decent side.
nightfall
Dec 19, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Comment #16what do you think of selling taylor?
i mean…all manager who worked with him thought of him as the “leader”..when he plays he commands the back 4…but it’s not working for him or us for that matter, ‘cos his positioning is simply bad.. he should just learn from older players, but i think he’d only listen to players who he idolize: terry, rio, carragher. if he’s ever going to become as good as he has the potential, he should play along side one of those 3, ‘cos i think he’ll learn and not command and do thing his own way only if he plays with one of those 3… at least..that’s what i think..
G
Dec 19, 2008 at 2:36 PM
Comment #17Taylor will learn. Can anybody remember Tony Adams before he turned 25? Taylor has time on his side, and will be the complete deffender. Yes he makes mistakes, but so do all young players. The point made earlier makes sense, get behind the players, or go and support manyoo if you cant stand losing.
workyticket
Dec 19, 2008 at 2:37 PM
Comment #18Bassong was a top French prospect even before we signed him, so it doesn’t surprise me at all how good he is. The only things that surprised me was how cheap he was, and that Arsenal didn’t grab him first as he’s right up their street. The incredibly cheap price we bought him for may have led to some people underestimating him initially.
Another French defender we were looking at is called ROD FANNI. I would’ve loved having a player with a name like that!
workyticket
Dec 19, 2008 at 2:56 PM
Comment #19“Can anybody remember Tony Adams before he turned 25?”
I can G, he was excellent then too. He was certainly MUCH better than Taylor, even though he was as p*ssed as a newt most of the time! That’s why George Graham made him Arsenal captain at 21.
Looking at it another way, can you remember when they said that Titus Blunder would be the new Sol Campbell?
G
Dec 19, 2008 at 4:34 PM
Comment #20Even when Adams was arse captain at 21 he kept handling in the box and making howler type errors. The difference is, arse fans gave him a chance, unlike the lack of respect Taylor gets on the thread above. As for Titus, don’t even get me started… the guy could have been the best in the world if only he knew how to concentrate! Good point though workyticket.
Sav
Dec 20, 2008 at 12:17 AM
Comment #21Exactly. We find one good player and half a dozen munchkins on here decide thats their cue to slag off the next bloke in the chain. Its a squad game, nowadays. And that means we support the squad. Its not too long since Taylor was the only defender guaranteed to be first on the teamsheet, with Carr on one side of him and Bramble on the other. Give the kid a break!