John Beresford is now 46, and he played for Newcastle from 1992 through 1998, largely in the Kevin Keegan era, and he fitted into that team well because of his attacking style.
John Beresford – former Newcastle left back
John played at left back during the time Warren Barton was at right back and Warren now the chief football analyst on Fox Soccer in the US which broadcasts the Premier League games.
John believes we have too many foreign players in the squad, and he;s probably right.
This is what John said in the Newcastle Journal today:
“I think what’s been proved last season is we need to get bigger, better and stronger in all aspects.” “In the first couple of weeks the staff and players need a good rest and now the scouting system has to click into place and make sure they get the right people.”
“I’d prefer them to go down a little bit more of a British route. When we signed five French guys in the January window, I didn’t know any of them. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s good to have a sprinkling of foreign players, but I think we have overloaded a bit too much.”
“I’m not the manager, he’s got to decide. Alan Pardew’s got to look at it and say ‘this is the way I’m going’ and he’s got a certain style he wants to play, which is fine.” “But I think when you look at certain teams, and I know we’re not Manchester City or Manchester United, but what I do believe is that we are like Everton.”
“I think their blueprint is mainly English and British players and they do try to have home-grown in there too.” “I just think that helps in the Premier League if you’ve got a spine of that, and I think that’s where we should be competing.”
“You don’t have to spend fortunes and you can pick and choose your players and they’ve proved you can be successful doing it that way.” “All Newcastle fans want is to be proud of the team again. We don’t want to be getting to two games left of the season and be worrying where we are going to be in league situations.”
“I was getting a little bit worried for us, it hasn’t been a great year.” “But I think it could be a fantastic year for us if we learn from it, and I think if we get the right players in and react positively from it then the season will start well.”
The problem with buying British players is they are so expensive and a good case in point is what West Ham have done in signing Wolves winger Matt Jarvis last summer for £10.7M from Wolves, and look set to sign Andy Carroll for £15M this summer.
Does anybody think close to £26M for those two Englishmen is good business?
Newcastle signed five Frenchmen in the summer for a reported £18M, so it’s not hard to see why Newcastle tend to buy from the continent and France in particular.
But we are also now overloaded with foreign players and we hope we can sign 18 year-old England U21 International Will Hughes for £10M from Derby this summer.
And we are supposed to be interested in Irish International 24 year-old Alex Pearce from QPR, who is available as a free agent.
It would be good if we could get some British players into the club this summer and keep the ones we already have – although we have already lost Steve Harper and Danny Simpson, since their contracts run out at the end of this month – and they have not been renewed.
What do you think?
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25 comments so far
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:47 AM
Comment #1Am I detecting an “anti-everything but English” attitude this morning 😉 lol
Sazzer
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:48 AM
Comment #2Hazzy
Is it Umtiti from Lyon?
Laurent Robert 32
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Comment #3I like Bez, but he says himself, he didn’t know any of them, so tries to know what is closer to home and therefore go British.
Good players with good coaching play good football.
If we could have more British players, then great, but just being British doesn’t mean the team will be any better.
Tommyy
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:52 AM
Comment #4A few Brit players aren’t going to stop the rot.
marc
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:52 AM
Comment #5we all know you have to spend just to stay still in our league which is ONE of the many reason we finished so low this season just gone so if we only bring in a couple we could find our self’s in the championship very soon sad i know this club really deserves better 🙁
just hope the couple that come in make our pretty decent team complete
really think we should push on and try signing Lukaku he and cabs along with benny and marv would be fantastic
Ibizatoon - Back By Popular Demand
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:53 AM
Comment #6I wouldn’t mind more British players, but at the end of the day, other than having to meet requirements I couldn’t really care less. All about quality.
Sazzer
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:53 AM
Comment #7Lacazette, Gomis, Benzia as striker?
Sazzer
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Comment #8Hazzy could it be this regarding movement on Lyon CB?
Get French Football ?@GFN_France
Confirmed: Liverpool are in discussions about the potential signing of Dejan Lovren, furthering the enquiry some weeks ago. #LFC #OL
daltzzzz17
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Comment #9If the current crop of British players were good enough then we wouldn’t need to shop abroad. The fact is that they are not.
England played Cahill and Jagielka centre halves the other day. That is just depressing. No where near international class either of them.
Sazzer
Jun 6, 2013 at 10:58 AM
Comment #10CLOSE: Jeremy Toulalan is set to sign for Atletico Madrid for around €5m before the weekend. Signed a pre-contract in March.
jimmysmith
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:01 AM
Comment #11What’s Bez on about. There really are about two dozen top English players and there spread around the senior clubs. Where not in the ballpark for any English players who will immediately improve us.
David B's Toon
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:08 AM
Comment #12To blame our seasons down fall on foreigners is a bit rich! If no one has covered the lack of tactical nous a thousand times: it must be in the nine hundreds.
There has been a lot of unrest from Demba Ba, because Alan played him and others: out of position. This lead to a move out: which cause even greater disruption? Before any one jump on the foreign band wagon: Andy Carroll exited his way out! Joey Barton caused enough distractions of his own! Premiership players whether foreign or otherwise: come with baggage. And don’t we know it!
Alan is capable of getting the tactics right. I can’t remember any long balls out from defence when Alan picked a team against Liverpool: in the FA cup final. He picked a team in Jan 4 2012 that beat Man U three nil at our ground. No long balls! We drew against Spurs two-two. No long balls!
A total contrast to last season! Alan seems to have one good season: followed by a disaster next. Nothing to do with foreign players! The season West Ham played in that final: they finished ninth in the premier league. Then he goes and gets the sack! Poor tactics! Players playing out of position! Better players on the subs bench: than on the field.
These are the issues that have to be addressed!!
!
geordie@bergen_norway
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:08 AM
Comment #13Newcastle went for english players a few years ago (Owen, Butt, Smith, Barton, Bramble, Parker, Nolan, R.Taylor) and just a few were good for us.
Big money wasted if you add it up.
tequilamag
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:09 AM
Comment #14On the basis that we have to have at least 8 British or homegrown players in the squad I think we do need to be looking at British players as the current British players we have are well below the standard of foreign players we have. Krul and S Taylor are the only UK/ homegrown players that are good enough to be regular starters.
Graeme
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Comment #15Ibiza, I agree, the concept of the “Plan” was a good one and I have no problem with it as it should and could, move us steadily forwards and upwards.
The fact they ditched it halfway through the first year, by resting on their laurels of a 5th place finish, caused total disruption through lack of progress and investment.
Bringing in 5 players in January was a knee-jerk reaction to the consequences of their failure. To now say the 5 players were brought forward from this season is totally contemptuous. Without investment, every year in this league, you go backwards and rapidly, which is what we did.
We have some really good players, but they need support and back-up, which we don’t have, but we should be bringing it in this summer.
We desperately need strength in defense; we need genuine wingers, with pace; we need at least one striker, probably 2 to be honest. Will we get them? Who knows, but the noises coming out of SJP do not instill any confidence!!
Sazzer
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Comment #16“I’d prefer them to go down a little bit more of a British route. When we signed five French guys in the January window, I didn’t know any of them.
How could he not have known at least Debuchy is beyond me.
We have had plenty of british and locals playing this year. No less than any other team. Our best team might not have that many in it but that because we can afford the best english players and to be fair not that many cut it on the highest level anyway.
Black and White with an army lol
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:23 AM
Comment #17iv’e never known a billionaire chairmen to be afraid of spending money IMO i think he bought the french lads for this season so he won’t need to buy any now, just like his SD empire he’s using cheap foreign ppl to keep his business running, out of all the millionaire & billionaires out there MA must be a laughing stock.
i just hope some 1 gets on the phone to Sir Richard Branson and plead to him to buy our club
marc
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:24 AM
Comment #18@David B’s Toon
just to inform you when we played man u and won 3-0
we played shola and ba and all we did all game was hoof it to them dont get me wrong the tacticks were spot on and our front boyz played a blinder but to say there were no long balls is incorrect
tequilamag
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Comment #19Sazzer I agree we have played plenty of British players this year but really they have not been good enough. I love Shola but he would never be in my starting 11.Perch is a decent squad playrer but again would not be a starter for me. Simmo was better than many would have it but he has hone along with Harper. Gosling? no thanks. Fergie best of the rest but probably still needs a year on loan to get up to standard,
marc
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Comment #20@Black and White with an army lol
i agree he would make a great owner
SupaToonKid
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:30 AM
Comment #21All the pundits, ex players and so-called experts seem to not have a clue about what their talking about. They always take an easy option and blame Newcastle’s failure this season on too many French/foreign players – have they not seen that the majority of them are in and around their national side’s squad? It’s as if they’re determined not to pin a blame on the real culprits: Pardew, Ashley, Llambias, the coaches and medical team because they’re BRITISH! The simple fact is Newcastle have got some fantastic players and good back up players, some potentially good youngsters and a great scouting set up but the ridiculously poor coaching, management and medical section is hampering player’s progression, ability and fitness. This is all to be topped up by Ashley and Llambias failing to show ambition and upgrade the staff to match the players and scouts ability. A long struggle ahead seems likely, unless there are big changes this summer to the staff and 2 wingers, a forward or 2 and CB are acquired. Looks like the struggle it is.
On the Dries Mertens link. This is the left winger I’ve been drooling over for the past couple of years and craved for the Toon to sign. A fantastic player with ability to score, assist and take on a man + a great set piece specialist. Unfortunately he’ll likely have a price tag between £10-15M; well worth it in my opinion but it’s unlikely to appeal to Ashley’s shrewd business mind. Even if it did happen, Pardew would suck the attacking zest out his play and turn him into another Jonas.
Brutooon
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:35 AM
Comment #22British are overrated
Ameobi wont even play in a 3rd division in France
blew
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:36 AM
Comment #23No matter who we sign they will be played out of position and suffer injuries. It is the set up that needs
a complete overhaul, sadly, we are stuck with Pardew-
for now-but the backroom staff needs updating.
ITUNDERASHELL
Jun 6, 2013 at 11:43 AM
Comment #24ITUNDERASHELL
Torq,
Any developments regarding possible transfers from Holland and Spain mate?
David B's Toon
Jun 6, 2013 at 12:26 PM
Comment #25marc I stand corrected: but as you say: Alan’s tactics were spot on! Don’t forget Santon covered a lot of ground. I don’t think it was all hoof ball?
Taking that aside I think you get my point. Alan needs to stop drinking his own bath water. He needs to find his game, because although he’s been accused of hoof ball tactics: I honestly don’t think that’s his game! And if it is, well is not very good at it. For a start Big Sam relies on set pieces to help him out. George Graham used to rely on the back to push out. Our set pieces were none-existent! Our back four were not working as a unit!
Our defence was solid the year we finished fifth. The midfield helped out our defence. We played as a unit! Completely different: this time round!
I’d love the time to analyse Alan’s long ball game. None of the clubs he’s worked for are renowned for it. Add all that to Colo being homesick-with the injury problems. Lack of training on the pitch! Then who knows how we’ll fair next season? But like everyone else there is this feeling at the pit of my stomach: that lessons aren’t learnt. Massive protests! And I mean massive! Hope I’m wrong.