Good news today in that Sebastien Bassong is to be suitably rewarded for his outstanding form for Newcastle this season with a new contract.
Sebastien Bassong – when will France come a calling?
The contract Sebastien signed last summer was for three years, but such has been the contribution of the Frenchman this season, like yesterday’s strong performance as just one example, that the Tyneside club are all ready to offer him a new and improved contract. Good thinking!
Bassong is also a great lad, and the only question with this 22 year-old 6′ 2″ Frenchman is just how good can he finally become, and how long will it be before he gets a call-up for the full France side?
He’s done so well this season that whatever we paid for him – and the estimates range from £500K (that’s what Derek Llambias claimed recently) to £1.5M, is chicken-feed and it’s a great signing by Dennis Wise.
In fact in order to justify his huge wages at Newcastle, Dennis Wise needs just one Bassong type signing every year, and he’ll be worth that money.
The Newcastle club are determined that Bassong – who right now is said to be one of the lowest-earning senior players at the club – is justly rewarded for his tremendous contribution to the Tyneside club, and that’s exactly what the Newcastle Board should be doing.
Bassong put in another superb performance alongside the ever improving Fabricio Coloccini (who played the Brazilian striker Jol very well yesterday), in Newcastle’s battling second half display that saw the team get a valuable point in the goalless draw with Everton, with just 10 men.
And you cannot say that our squad is not chock full of players who will give their all for the club – and that’s just exactly what Newcastle fans love to see.
Bassong told the local Shields Gazette this morning:
“We had to stick together after the red card, it was a setback but we overcame it,” “We looked solid and we were very brave. It was a hard game, but it’s a good point for us.”
“I’m more pleased the team got a clean sheet and a good result.” “It’s pleasing to get man of the match, but I’m really proud of my team-mates for sticking in with 10 men.”
“The result was a really good one for us. I think we could have won it as well. One point is OK, but it could have been three.” “We’re happy with the result, and we have confidence that we can go to Bolton and get something.”
There’s even a decent case to make that Seb could be a good future captain for Newcastle, since he seems to stand little nonsense on the field.
This is good news for a change, and certainly there should be a huge reduction to the Newcastle wage bill when big wage earners like Geremi, Viduka, Cacapa and Owen, and maybe even Alan Smith, are moved out this summer.
No better place then to allocate that available wage bill to those who deserve it, and there are very few Newcastle fans who wouldn’t say Seb deserves every penny of whatever increase he gets.
What a great signing this lad has been for Newcastle. As we said, a little bit of good news for a change.
Comments welcome.
52 comments so far
Kash
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Comment #1Was quality yesterday, kept sweeping behind Colo and clearing up. And he was the only defender I saw trying to push our defence out by closing down further up the pitch!
I also think Taylor and Enrique were solid too. Taylor made on mistake with the backpass, and Enrique was caught off guard in the run up to the Nolan challenge, but otherwise both had very good games!
Kash
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Comment #2I’d also like to add, that Colo should not be given the chance to spray passes. He is woeful at passing, as is Butt.
I’d like to see Butt much deeper, pretty much on top of the back four. Colo distributes to Butt, who plays a short but simple pass to another midfielder or full back to distribute further.
We were far too direct yesterday with no one up front!
Anyone notice that Harpers kicks were off target too!
Really need to work on passing and mving as a team! Don’t they train 5 a side?
murphy
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Comment #3Good news, where did you get this info from ed? there doesn’t seem to be much on the net about his new contract and seb doesn’t mention it in his interview? it’s a very good move by newcastle as in the summer i’ve got a feeling a few clubs will be making a move for the lad and if he’s on peanuts it’s not gonna hold well.
Kash
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Comment #4@Murphy – It will be in the chronicle!
hitman
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Comment #5murphy,i put it on the prevoius thread,its from the south shields gazette
club insider
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Comment #6pure quality this guy – sign him up for as long as we can ! Bargain of the season !
murphy
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Comment #7thanks Guys.
club insider
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:34 PM
Comment #8Harpers kicking was bad yesterday, you could feel the groans and sighs echo round the ground yesterday!
Maybe he was just having an off day ? It happens
RichY
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:34 PM
Comment #9how much does Wise get paid?
Dragonera
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Comment #10Give him a 5 yr deal with a 10k increase in wages
beyethegreat
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:36 PM
Comment #11rich y
1 mil a year
Dragonera
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:36 PM
Comment #12Harper was class yesterday imo, he wasn’t called into action much though. He made a couple of good reaction saves and distribution aside he was good
beyethegreat
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Comment #13dragon
agreed
club insider
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Comment #14Dragonera,
Agree with that but I have never seen him kick so poorly !
stevep
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Comment #15I doubt he’ll sign it this year, he’ll prob want to see where we end up although he will have noted that his good mate N’Zogbia is hardly lighting up Wigan!
If one of the big four come in he’ll go but otherwise I reckon he’ll sign in the summer
RichY
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Comment #161 million to sign 3-4 players… wow
Prince Bassong
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Comment #17Good on them, Seb deserves a bigger wage and a longer contract too, hopefully 10 years. 😀
I agree with your last comment Kash. I believe the problem is a mental thing that many British teams have and for one reason or another they can’t apply those 5-a-side type situations to real games because we’ve got the players to be able to put that into practise. Just look at what’s happening with the England team right now.
This is where I feel we need to get a foreign manager in and there’s no shortage of those who are relatively well-proven with good experience of the English game. Deschamps, Bilic, Martinez and Ketsbaia are 4 that immediately spring to mind. If we want an English manager then we should raise our own by getting those that have the correct attributes but take on board a whole different attitude (along with the players) when it comes to football.
With British managers not going abroad (only Hodgson and McLaren are present day exceptions) they do not have the current ideas for today’s game. The closest anyone can get are those that have played in the big teams like Man U, and there we have Bruce, Ince, Hughes etc but they can’t beat the man they learned the trade from, Sir Alex himself.
So if we can get the right man who can bring these fairly small changes into the team effectively we could see a huge difference in teh team performance and a reduction in injuries and suspensions too.
This is my one wish for the club ahead of any big signing even if it was Ronaldo or Kaka.
murphy
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Comment #18___________Harper__________
_______Bassong___Taylor_____
R.Taylor______________Enrique
______Collocini____Butt______
Duff_________Smith______Jonas
____________Martins_________
Team i’d try at Bolton.
Kash
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Comment #19@Prince Bassong – Ferguson is a class manager, mainly because he oversees and manages situations. He brings in coaches to do the coaching, so he doesn’t involve himself on what happens on the pitch.
Man Utds current formation was created by Carlos Queiroz, the fluid movement by the front line. The quick interplay and counter, all from Queiroz!!
So we don’t necessarily need a foreign manager, but a manager who has these FRESH ideas on how to implement a formation that works effectively in every way, as in being a sold unit, able to retain possesion, counter quickly and possibly have some sort of attractive football to it also.
hitman
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Comment #20id keep s.taylor at RB and have r.taylor on the RW,i wouldnt have duff anywhere near the 1st team
Dragonera
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Comment #21hitman
You and me both.
richyg01
Feb 23, 2009 at 1:58 PM
Comment #22Brilliant news, we need to tie him down and get him and Collo working together regularly.
I see Bass as a BIG signing.
Brilliant signing by Wise, the fact that Wenger is interested says it all about Bass. Sign on mate!
SuperShearer
Feb 23, 2009 at 2:23 PM
Comment #23Loved watching Bassong yesterday, he’s so cool on the ball, unlike so many Newcastle defenders over the years he never panics when he is defending. He simply collects the ball in a very methodical manner and then looks to clear it in the best way possible. It amazes me how much time he finds on the ball and this is down to his excellent reading of the game. It’s a good idea offering him a new deal because I can see the likes of Villa and a lot of foreign teams sniffing around him. He’s only 22 for crying out loud.
murphy
Feb 23, 2009 at 2:31 PM
Comment #24Yeah, with value your wage should increase, unfortunatly it doesn’t happen the other way round, if that was the case, Smith, viduka, cacappa and geremi would all be on 10k each!!
Bassong value when purchased 1.5m? now 6-7million? he should be on 25k a week. he’s probs on about 10k now do you recon? and they might give him 15-18k?
Will
Feb 23, 2009 at 2:35 PM
Comment #25Best thing that the Board have done since signing the lad. Definately a 1st team choice for us and for France very soon, I would say.
Tom_Toon
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Comment #26Harpers distribution was very poor for hm yesterday, but no worse than Given’s was almost every game when he played!
Robbanufc
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Comment #27Bassong will play in South Africa 2010, just wait and see 😀
Great news! Bassong is so far our player of the season in my opinion.
LoonyToon @ graft
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Comment #28Excellent move by the Newcastle board…..
By signing this lad up and giving him an improved contract in response to his magnificent form, it shows we want to keep our best players and sends out a message to the rest of the up and coming lads at the club…
“Perform on the pitch and you will be rewarded…”
Someone mentioned Villa as possibly wanting to sign him….They couldnt afford him….neither could City….as he aint for sale 🙂
waddler
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Comment #29This lad looks like a future captain to me.
Also well done Dennis Wise for spotting this lad, hope you can unearth a few more diamonds.
chuck
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Comment #30Sure, best deal of the year Bassong.
And Shay is only gone a coupla weeks and its allready,”he hoofs it up the field”, for Harper and not so accurate as Shay, c`mon folks !
Alex Ferguson, yeah agree Queroz had a great deal to do with the tactical part of Utd`s. game.
Dont understand why he has`nt been successfull as a manager so far, perhaps with Portugal.
Look the main differance between the top three or four PL teams is directly related to the amount of funds spent on players, simple.
Man U., Liverpool and Chelsea have spent heavily and the newly rich Citeh are about to join them in the spending league, also expect a spending surge from the Arsenal who`s season leaves something to be desired and proves that you can`t do it on the cheap as some at this club seem to think.
Micky Toon
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:30 PM
Comment #31chuck – I can disprove your theory with two words Tottenham Hotspur.
I’m not aiming for a joke here, just showing that money does not buy success you have to have the right people in the club who know how to spend it. I’ll also reference Allerdyce in his nufc tenure.
chuck
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Comment #32In regard to Spurs Micky, you have to remember three different teams have been created by three different managers in three years.
Also some of the purchases have been funded by sales of players.
They are an exception ,but the overall theory that money well spent can achieve success and the more money available the more success.
Ok Compare Sunderland to Newcastle, Keene spent big got in some good and in my opinion some questionable players.
We have made a profit from sales, who is having more successfull season ?
Micky Toon
Feb 23, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Comment #33Chuck, you’ve said it yourself, money spent wisely. Something you didn’t mention in your earlier post, hence my reply.
Sunderland have been below us for a lot of this season and are only 3 points above us. A win at the weekend would have put us one point behind. Is that one point really worth over £50m? At this moment in time. Perhaps at the end of the season, if they stayed up by that one point, but at the moment their lavish spending isn’t really doing them any favours, hence why their manager was booted out.
Portsmouth have spent bigger than us and probably boro. Seeing as we are supposed to be the only club that makes a profit in the transfer windows, according to some on here, then there are quite a few clubs who are below us to disprove the theory.
I apologies for not making much sense I had a four hour drive after the match, last night and was up at 6:30 this morning, so I’m a bit wooly headed.
chuck
Feb 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Comment #34Yeah o`k we can agree to disagree MICKEY.
chuck
Feb 23, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Comment #35TOM_TOON
Still taking shots at Shay I see.
How come you are the only Newcastle fan to not rate Shay ?
TORONTOON
Feb 23, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Comment #36one of the most sensible things to do by our mgt
lesh
Feb 23, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Comment #37A pound a week on his wages’ll not keep him when his agent spots the potential.
This will be a big test for the Board and it may just tell us whether or not they’re on this earth or Fullers! To get him signed up for at least 5-8 years’d be quite something.
Fingers crossed eh?
Tom_Toon
Feb 23, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Comment #38a 2 and a half or 3 and a half year extension with wages going up every year is what I think it’ll be.
jamie
Feb 23, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Comment #39i feel like mistik meg lads i said thie was gona happen yesterday
bassong legend
Alex
Feb 23, 2009 at 6:17 PM
Comment #40lets hope that while they are preparing a new contract for Bassong , they think about sorting out a new contract for Carroll before he walks . Apparently they have offered him a really low wage . i want both to stay along with Enrique these guys are our future