There are two players we’d just love to see Alan Pardew sign for Newcastle this season.
Daniel Sturridge – could score lots of goals for Newcastle
The first one is 21 year-old Daniel Sturridge of Chelsea, and surely this lad is exactly what Newcastle are looking for?
He’s strong and showed at Bolton that he can score goals in the Premier League, with a good 8 goals in just 11 league games, and would surely improve once he gets regular games in the Premier League.
He has good class but his chances at Chelsea are likely to be severely restricted, with so many experienced strikers at Stamford Bridge.
That will only change if Chelsea elect to sell some of them this summer, but that will probably be the decision of whoever will replace departing Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti – maybe Guus Hiddink will come in again – or even Jose Mourinho will come in again.
We’re not sure how much the London lad would cost but think he would be less risk than Lorient’s Kevin Gameiro, simply because Kevin is unproven in the Premier League.
Maybe Newcastle could get the lad in for £10M or less, and we think that be an excellent but for the Tyneside club.
N’Zogbia played great for Roberto Martinez this season
The other player we’d love to see come back to Newcastle is 24 year-old winger, Charles N’Zogbia.
We criticized Charles severely when he left the club in January of 2009, but he’s done very well at Wigan, and there are now definite signs that he’s matured as a person and as a player in Lancashire.
Since joining Wigan, he’s added goals to his game and was a prime reason Wigan again avoided the drop this seaosn, with Charles scoring some key goals for the club.
In 88 appearances for Wigan, Charles scored 18 goals, and in 158 appearances for Newcastle he scored 9 goals.
And if you believe the news going around about the French International, he is said to be very keen to come back to Newcastle, a City he has visited many times since he moved to Wigan two and a half years ago.
Sunderland and Liverpool are also thought to be interested in the player.
But imagine how much more threat Newcastle would be up front with these two lads in the side.
Here’s hoping.
Comments welcome.
Note: This article was written last Wednesday.
75 comments so far
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Comment #41Angryman
Yeah if it is abeid, then i agree it was misleading. But I think in the past under freddy all our business was public knowledge. Fees went up because of it, egos of new recruits blew up too as did fan expectations…
Under the new regime i believe our recruit has been better and the way they go about it (smoke and mirrors) is better for the club.
Yes as a fan id love to know everything lol as we all would, but if we land players better than we had and move forward year after year i dont think any of us can complain
stk85
May 26, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Comment #42sturridge, n’zogbia, menez, gervinho and a couple of defenders and i’m more than happy. maybe kyle walker?
Angryman the Angry fan
May 26, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Comment #43Magpitilidie, agreed, doing it the right way is to keep gobs shut until players are tied up to ‘meaningless’ contracts. And personally I have no interest in who we are looking to sign, until i see them playing keepy ups at st james in a toon top.
All I do is I look at the last 5 years and think, lords alive, we do Sh!te every transfer window, yes we have brought in good players, tiote, ben arfa to name a pair, but we have brought in some dross, and we have NEVER strengthened the DEPTH of our squad!! WHY…..because transfer windows are all about making profit to this regime, and nothing to do with strengthening the squad!!!!
LondonMagpie
May 26, 2011 at 3:06 PM
Comment #44@stk85 get of the LSD
we will never sign all 4 of them players looks like you aint going to be more then happy this summer
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 3:12 PM
Comment #45Angryman
Thats where we differ. Yes i believe the club want to run itself on an arsenal model (lets not forget the new rules coming into to play financially next season) but all profit made goes into the club. Whether its on a new pitch, new wages, new players, under soil heating or whatever. The money gets reinvested.
I honestly hand on heart believe Ashley as a businessman wants to win. He wants to make his companies the best available.
If that means signing cheaper tiote style players that are quality and most importantly WANT to play for the club then great! The policy of signing players under 26 also is a great idea!
The squad depth i really dont see as a big an issue as most. Next year a lot of the youngsters will be ready to fill voids imo. Fergie, richardson, sammy ameobi looked gd, vuckic etc.
I just think ashley cocked up early, but since he has improved imo, next time he cocks up majorly ill be waving pitch forks with ya mind :p
37 BEN ARFA 37
May 26, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Comment #46some one on twitter is talking shite …
37 BEN ARFA 37
May 26, 2011 at 3:17 PM
Comment #47was only yesterday that wigan manager martinez said he will only sell nzogbia to a club in the top 5 playing in europe.
so i doubt it has changed over night… lol
BEN37ARFA
May 26, 2011 at 3:29 PM
Comment #481st blog lol
ive heard that the mystery CM is charlie adam, thats why the club arent letting jeoy b and willie mckay take them for ransom!
i think he would be a great signing, miles better with a ball than joey.
stestickle
May 26, 2011 at 3:31 PM
Comment #49yep seen pardew at sjp dont know about the suits and the singing like
Angryman the Angry fan
May 26, 2011 at 3:31 PM
Comment #50Magtildie,
Okay, no probs. The squad issue is a majopr factor for me to be fair. The depth of the squad in this league needs to be DEEP. As proved on numerous occasions where we had suspensions and injuries and on occasions could hardlky field a team!! (Maybe a slight exag, but not great was it). Now if the youngsters are as good as your saying, bareing in mind i actually go to alot of the reserve games with my 7 year old daughter (trying to get her interested with not much success, the ds gets more attention than the match) then why on earth did we not use them more during injury times and suspensions? truth is we do have 2 or 3 very good youngsters, but the rest are distinctly average, so average they couldnt displace the likes of perch, smith and Raylor?? Now that tells me one thing, Pardew has not a great deal of faith in the majority of the current crop and wanted experience in the team. So why would he entrust the kids to fill the void next season?? he only bled three players, Ranger, ferguson and Sameobi! The latter because our lack of decent strikers is laughable!
Then theres the next thing, we get rid of thre and bring in one, when the squad os p[ainfully short!
This window, I predict, enrique, gone, jonas, gone, kuqi campbell, off already andy maybe one or 2 more, and Pardew is talking of bringing in 4 players, a couple of which will get bums off seats……..
The concern here is that all the signs are exactly the same as the last 8 transfer windows. Players out not enough in……..BUT yes I will wait and see at end of window, no probs with that. But again, i would wager, that we will make a tidy profit in transfer dealings, and still have a paper thin squad at the end of this window!!
My house on it im that confident.
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 3:44 PM
Comment #51Angryman
Well on youth – You say if they are good why hasnt pardew played them? Well in the premier league it is the same across the league. If you are Wayne Rooney or Cesc then you will be playing regularly from 16 years old BUT we dont have a world class youngster atm. So Pardew like many others opt for exp over ability.
For instance, I too have seen reserve games this year and last, I would say in all honesty Sammy, Richardson, Fergie, Traviner and Vuckic could quite easily play in the premier league. Set it a light? no. Play consistently well? yes. Hopefully next year im proved right on that front.
Squad depth – Yes we have lost sol and kuqi, and lets assume we lose barton and enrique too. Thats four out and lets assume we bring 4 in. Well lets also not forget we will gain gosling and ben arfa too. And also the youngsters that could (should) step up. The hope at the club is that the youngster arent paid to play reserve games and then mmove to football league, its that we sign young players who will eventually play for the club. Carroll didnt do it till he turned 20 rememeber.
My prediction is we make one signing that is a big name (not CL big) and three or 4 others that are lesser known or unknown Tiote styled. Thats my opinion and hopes lol
solano
May 26, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Comment #52Most on here (and indeed our current manager) believe we over-achieved this past season…..that was largely due to a hardcore of players pulling us through…ie Barton, Enrique, Tiote, Nolan, Colo and earlier season, AC…..this is the skeleton we should be building muscle around….unfortunately because of their ability, they seem to be the only one’s who will attract interest from other clubs…..why so many here are willing to see the back of these in favour of bringing in unproven foreigners with youtube reputations is bewildering….surely, a few foreign investments would settle a lot better if we didn’t sell the soul of our team?
jonnymcdonald
May 26, 2011 at 3:51 PM
Comment #53Ed there has been no rumors or speculation about sturridge so why keep going on about him! Yeah would love him to sign but it’s not going to happen!
Try and stick to actual rumors that may materialise.
solano
May 26, 2011 at 3:54 PM
Comment #54MagpietillIdie…..be careful not to drown in your pool of ambitions…..
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 3:57 PM
Comment #55solano
Tell me what i said that is out of reach
solano
May 26, 2011 at 3:59 PM
Comment #56Nothing!
roshan MAGPIE
May 26, 2011 at 3:59 PM
Comment #57i think we must nt sign gameiro nt because he has no premier league experience bt because he dosent want to come to NUFC
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 4:05 PM
Comment #58solano
lol ok, thought i smelt sarcasm
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 4:07 PM
Comment #59roshan
nail + head = you
scdoty
May 26, 2011 at 4:13 PM
Comment #60@jonnymcdonald
Bit harsh mate, poor bloke is in hospital having major surgery. He pre loaded these blogs before he went in. Give him a break.
Angryman the Angry fan
May 26, 2011 at 4:14 PM
Comment #61Magpietilidie,
Your debate on this matter is slightly flawed!
If we get rid of Barton and Enrique??personally i think Barton shall remain, and one or 2 others leave, likes of Raylor and perch, smith….
anyway I digress, say 4 out is what you expect and four in….so we lost three in january yup, and gained None? 7 Players Gone from the SQUAD…which already includes HBA and Gosling, in the SQUAD, this being a threadbare squad as specified by Pardew, the Manager, and you will be happy with 4 maybe 5 players :-S?
That leaves us still short, by 2 players in an already threadbare squad? as stated by the Manager…….
Basically what I am trying to say is…..because of mismangement, we potentially are going to need 10 players-ish, to boost the squad, should the expected outgoings occur….now, if the fat controller had give p[ardew his 2 to 3 offensive players, like he said he needed in january, and he did, then we would not be in this predicament!!
ALL WELL buying 3-4 top quality players…great…….but, this will not boost the squad numbers, that are needed to cover for the inevitable injuries and suspensions……..if the kids step up to the mark there will be no one happier than moi, but as you rightly point out, pardew tends to go for Experience over youth :-s
I worry thats all.
Angryman the Angry fan
May 26, 2011 at 4:18 PM
Comment #62Solano, agrre 100%
We need to keep what we got and add!!
Joey Bartoon no matter what you think of him personally was our best, most creative player last season by far!!
No one can argue that, lets keep the majority of the squad together, and supplement with 3-4 very good players, whilst also bringing through, sameobi, ranger, ferguson, richardson, vukcic, then we wont have to go out and buy 10 players to replace what we have lost the last 18 months!!
In the EPL now, the youngsters are great in championship to cover, EPL is huge step up!
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 4:30 PM
Comment #63Angryman
But thats my point I personally dont think our squad lacks depth. Barring major injury crisis we arent as threadbare as the club leads us to believe.
http://www.nufc.co.uk/page/Teams/PlayerProfiles
That is a big squad that should have easily achieved mid table (which we did) and had we kept carroll, had ben arfa and gosling available we would have done even better imo.
I cant see many players leaving including perch and smith, i only see enrique as 50/50. I just think if they pull off 4-5 signings we will be gunning for top 8 minimum.
but its all opinion based this football lark lol. We will just see when it happens and you can give me keys to ya house then 😉
solano
May 26, 2011 at 4:39 PM
Comment #64Till…..There’s a lot of poo and deadwood that can’t be shifted in there….our pool of strikers is the worst in the PREM..then there are the Perch’s, Smith’s, Guthrie’s and Raylors….it’s not just a case of having a body to fill the shirt, they have to have the ability to play and take us onto, dare I say it, the “next level”……I’m all for promoting the youth if, and it’s a big if, they are good enough….from what I have seen, we don’t possess any thing special and after all the millions spunked on the Academy….we haven’t produced anything of particular note since the early 90’s (pre-Academy)
Angryman the Angry fan
May 26, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Comment #65MTID, again, im afraid i have to disagree…Take out 5 of those players….eg, ireland, routledge, Tozer, Kuqi, the youngun who was at hartlepool, sol campbell……4 of those werent even at the club backside end of last season ??? Unlikely to feature this season….now lets add to this Raylor, Smith, enrique, forster (Maybe), Bartoon??
Oh dear, not looking great is it?
My point precisely!! The squad is indeed threadbare, was last season second half of the season and unless we get in numbers, it will be this season……..
Surprised you have totally disagreed with Pardew? After all it is him thats is consistently saying there is no way the squad is big enough!!
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 4:48 PM
Comment #66Solano
I dunno mate thats a bit harsh. The Ashley regime have bought some youngsters that have big reputations that SHOULD make the grade but are all just turning 17,18 now.
Ferguson is the main one to make an impact and actually look good enough theres kadar, lua lua, Ranger hasnt been great but honestly carroll was 20 before he turned into a 35m wanted man lol
Players i think will be gd enough next year or year after:
Vuckic, Tavenier, Richardson, Moyo, airey and sammy ameobi.
Im not saying 100% they will be in the starting 11, but they will def be in the first team squad. Weve got kids with a lot of ability imo the only problem is the premier league isnt the greatest for giving youngsters a chance nowadays because a lot rides on every game. Managers are so scared of the sack they choose experience everytime assuming its better than youth.
NathanH NUFC
May 26, 2011 at 4:54 PM
Comment #67To be honest, id much rather see Gamiero & Menez at the club, although Gamiero is a bit of a gamble, with him, Ben Arfa and Menez in the squad, we would have great attacking flair & creativity, should Gamiero prove his worth. I must admit im rather excited about what the summer brings (:
solano
May 26, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Comment #68I’ll defo give you Ferguson….very exciting…the rest we’ll have to wait and see…..it shouldn’t be sink or swim for them by getting hoyed into the first team because a lack of quality (ala Ranger)….
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Comment #69Angryman
Well if you look at what pardew says, he says if we had ben arfa, gosling and carroll to choose from it would have been an easier season.
Im agreeing we need to bring 4 or 5 in def, 100%, i just think our squad is not threadbare. Look at the team that went to chelsea, i was there, that was our apparent threadbare squad, great result then lol! I just think its harsh to basically say those under barton, nolan, enrique etc arent good enough for the premier league. No they arent good enough to win the league but it is good enough to stay in it.
With additions we can progress, and of course i want that, and that was my point originally. Small steps toward success. We have good foundations atm, we now need to build. If we lose barton and enrique i would expect them to be replaced ON TOP of the 4 or 5 as well. Im not disagreeing with that.
All im saying is based on our current squad, all injury free, its a good squad as is.
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 4:59 PM
Comment #70Nathan
oh yeah dont get me twisted i want new signings and those you said would make me explode in my pants, but all i was saying was we have good foundations.
We need to recruit but not by 10 players
solano
May 26, 2011 at 5:04 PM
Comment #71For once, I’m not blaming the MA regime for the paucity of good youth team players…..I actually believe the whole English Academy system just does not work……quite a bit has to do with the money element and putting stars in the eyes of 7 year olds….I much preferred the old system of boys club football and learning the game before taking a step up at 14+….signing pre-pubescent kids imo doesn’t work and has actually held back the development of those kids who have actually made it…..Steven Taylor would have developed quicker if he wasn’t treated as a prima donna a a kid at the academy……
GeordieTwo
May 26, 2011 at 5:09 PM
Comment #72Just to add to the debate about our squad size, don’t forget we always have one of the worst injury records in the Prem year after year. I don’t expect this to change quickly as the owner doesn’t seem to be addressing it. I think we will need at a minimum 6 or 7 players in especially if we lose any more such as Jose. We have a few youngsters who might make it to the bench (most likely being Vuckic and Tavernier) but they would have to stay healthy which so far they have been unable to do for any lengthy period (especially Vuckic who has already had at least 2 major injuries). And talking about getting Sturridge for 10 million or less is ridiculous. Chelsea have huge striker problems, Torres looks hopeless, Drogba will be sold so why would anyone think they would part with Sturridge? Let’s be realistic here. How much did it cost Liverpool to buy Carroll from us? Is Sturridge really worth 25 million less? Give it a rest.
Magpietillidie22
May 26, 2011 at 5:10 PM
Comment #73solano
agreed mate, they should go back to cleaning boots etc, not have 50k cars as their first cars. Especially as my first car was a renault clio 1998 :/
GeordieTwo
May 26, 2011 at 5:22 PM
Comment #74Agree with you Angryman. We need quite a few players in. This combination of owner and manager looks very poor to me and I won’t even mention Lambsarse or the board! Looks like a summer of discontent starting already. I hope things change and surely we will get a decent striker in or we will be fighting to stay out of the bottom 5 next season. Team spirit seems to be already heading out the door. We are taking a huge gamble with Barton considering the state of some of our other midfielders (will Gosling ever stay fit, is Guthrie good enough even as a squad player, will Vuckic make the step up to the first team, on and on …).
GeordieJordy
May 26, 2011 at 5:43 PM
Comment #75Joey Barton is now on Twitter, “Joey7Barton” Officially confirmed by Danny Simpson……..Get the tweets sent to him guys!!!!