At the end of June Newcastle was said to be linked with former Tottenham midfielder Lewis Holtby.
We thought at the time Holtby may be a good acquisition for Newcastle because of his Premier League experience, and he seemed a decent enough player while at Spurs.
The 26-year-old signed on at Spurs from Schalke four years ago but didn’t have all that much success in London
Lewis signed a four-and-a-half-year contract and cost Spurs £1.5M.
26-year-old Lewis Holtby while at Spurs
He was sent on loan to both Fulham and Hamburg before making the move to Hamburg permanent in a £4.6M move in 2015.
In late June Holtby was available for just £5M, apparently because he’s on high wages and Hamburg wants to get him off their wage bill.
He is reported to be an excellent professional who works hard in training so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Rafa could sign this player for just £5M.
He seems to be a consistent player for Hamburg, but we wonder if the players Rafa now wants to sign – maybe three more – will be high-priced players that will add class to the side.
That’s what we need.
That would not be Holtby, although he could add to the squad with his good play and experience at a relatively reasonable cost with today’s silly transfer fees.
He played 24 times for the German U21 side with 14 goals and has 3 full caps for his country.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
204 comments so far
Bambams
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:09 PM
Comment #41Hibbit
I am still glass half full mate !
We will be fine next year…..
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:12 PM
Comment #42RUNAWAY777
time you came home mate it’s nowhere near as bad as you think 2 signings could make all the difference ,
never had you down as a quitter .
irish_nufc_fans
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:13 PM
Comment #43Grey is good. Left sided winger too I believe?
Ultimately think we will be fine but think it will be a case that we get 1/2 more players and free up space in the squad and may look at re-enforcements in January.
West Lancs Geordie
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:15 PM
Comment #44Ashley doesn’t do any rewards for performance schemes so nothing for Rafa there. He just revels in zero contracts, screwing his poorly paid staff to the floor, joke gambling & yes Bambams throwing up in fireplaces. Yeah a man of true quality & integrity.
RUNAWAY777
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:20 PM
Comment #45Hibbit good bro I have talked to a lot of lads back home and they seem all to say the same tensions are raseing as no top class players have arrived no one want to go to matchs week in week out for our team to be beating yes your rite there’s 30 days left but what will you say in hindsight if no one comes in bro.
West Lancs Geordie
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:20 PM
Comment #46Yeah that’s the trouble Irish we are awash with wingers now. That & goalkeepers seems to be the only positions we are interested in. I too feel we only need 2/3 more quality additions at striker, cover for Shelvey & full back Dummett. Gotta also weed out the dross thereby pruning the wage bill.
RUNAWAY777
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:21 PM
Comment #47On the 9th bro I’ll be in toon can’t wait
West Lancs Geordie
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:29 PM
Comment #48If we are to look at home grown good potential championship players then what about Tom Cairney (Fulham) & Tom Ince (Derby County)
geordiemark
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:30 PM
Comment #49lets face facts here there wont be any more signings, yeah were linked to a lot of players but that’s it its all done now, so saying all that and with our squad of players now only a couple can handle this league that’s it doesn’t look good for us at the end of may but they that isn’t our fault it isn’t rafas fault, ITS THE OWNERS FAULT YET AGAIN and mugs fall for the crap Chinese consortium rubbish to sell season tickets, the only way to get rid of Ashley is by not going to the match simple as
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:31 PM
Comment #50RUNAWAY777 Hi mate
still a long way to go players will arrive and i’m still very confident we will get the players we need
i don’t know who these guys are you are taking to but i guarantee when the whistle blows against spurs it will be in front of a full house
irish_nufc_fans
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:33 PM
Comment #51Cairney £20m- no thanks and Ince signed for Huddersfield and is on fire in Pre season!
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:35 PM
Comment #52West Lancs Geordie
Tom Cairney just signed a new contract with Fulham
Tom Ince signed for Huddersfield
geordiemark
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:37 PM
Comment #53hibbit
I wouldn’t bank on it, ive been a die hard toon fan for 50 years nothing has ever changed at our club ever, I used to have a season ticket for years until Ashley started taking the micky out of the fans with all his bull he has taken millions out of our club through none payment of advertising just run up how much it would have cost him for his sport direct to be televised live around the world for 10 years and how much hes made out of it and the man has the gaul to say we owe him 129 million daylight robbery, such a great businessman yet stupid enough not to do a check on the clubs books, look how much money they have made on transfers out the club andy carroll 35 million, the dutch lad 25 million and crapsoco 30 million plus cabaye went for 19 million ect ect and then do the sums who come in doesn’t all add up does it
ShirebrookToon
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:45 PM
Comment #54Runaway
Chill out bro. 30 days left in the transfer window, Rafa is still here, Spurs game sold out. Enjoy the sunshine mate. It’s not that bad yet
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:47 PM
Comment #55geordiemark
sorry mate it will be a full house the mood on doesn’t reflect the mood of the fans who go to games
RUNAWAY777
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:51 PM
Comment #56Hibbit ok I’ll stand by your side and hope for these player to come in I am not a quiter but it’s not just the season ticket I spend between 75 and a 100 on match day in the ground and around town before and after the games as many more do too I think I will stop giving that fat twat extra money at the game now.
ShirebrookToon
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:51 PM
Comment #57Hibbit
I agree. Yes there is still a couple more players to come in.
toon kk
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:53 PM
Comment #58Mash can take as much pi55 out of the fans as he likes and he knows it, he even changed the name of SJP to the sports direct areana and had poor managers or yes men and fans still parted with good money to watch the biggest load of dross going.
Rafa is here now but so is Mash, the man can’t be trusted.
Bobbybee
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:54 PM
Comment #59Has anybody heard Rafa say he’s interested in any of these targets we’ve ‘missed’? I haven’t, just heard journalists claim it. Like they’ve claimed it for over 300 so far. Yet people gobble it up.
Rafa is in charge of transfers. He keeps repeating it but nobody listens to him, they’d rather listen to bullshit.
Rafa buys players to do a specific job as part of a specific plan. He’ll decide who he wants and nobody else.
He’s just explained as clearly as possible that we need to shift more out before more come in. Not to raise funds but to get the squad down to a managable size. You think he’s lying?
He knows what he’s doing. He’s got the budget he was happy with but now he has to show he can use it wisely. He wants his project to succeed and getting rid of players is part of that job.
With a month left in the window he has time to complete his aims.
Getting rid of players on high wages and long contracts is difficult. Why would they move? You wouldn’t.
Fixing this club after years of neglect WILL NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. These players are just part of the problems he’s working on. Trust him. There’s still time. Spending is not finished, some on here said that after we bought Atsu ffs. Rafa’s walking out. Six times and counting. Get a grip ffs.
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:58 PM
Comment #60RUNAWAY777
were all in the same boat i have 90 mile round trip 3 season tickets parking and a bite to eat
the money goes nowhere but i’m far to old to be giving up now
the ledge
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:01 PM
Comment #61exactly bobbybee good post , I wish some on here would just stop the drama
Rotonda heights
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:08 PM
Comment #62Bobby
Hear what you’re saying but Rafa has been dealt a very poor hand here.
The carr legacy has got us stuck with Saivet, Haidara and Riviere, while trying to reduce squad numbers.
Plus we are allegedly baulking at paying 13M for Perez.
Yes there is still time, but 2 relegations really doesn’t inspire confidence in anything Ash does or says.
Rafa is a top man, very decent, moral and honorable, Ashley is a drunken, classless, boorish oaf who spews up in fireplaces and has told so many lies and been found to do so for so long now, ever since the KK trial. Has Ash really learnt from JFK twice, Llambias, Wise, AP, renaming the ground etc etc. The mood music suggests not.
If we suddenly sign Correa, Vazquez and Perez, or even just one of them, I might just be convinced.
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:17 PM
Comment #63Just imagine we will kick off the season with the current squad…we might even finish the window with this squad!
We shouldn’t even have to worry about spending more than we have this window…money will be rolling in next season and the FFP won’t just take one season in to account!
ShirebrookToon
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:17 PM
Comment #64Runaway
I have a 280 mile round trip with my season ticket! And it doesn’t bother me at all!
Bobbybee
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:22 PM
Comment #65Rotunda, the most important word you used there was allegedly mate. We’re talking about a striker that’s scored an average of just under seven goals a season. Take that in. Seven seasons, 48 goals. Is that the striker you seriously want? More to the point, does Rafa?
I get the frustration mate, honestly I do, but like you say, he was left a mess. A mess he has to sort out to make his project work. He’s a great manager, but he hasn’t got a magic wand.
When he says ‘we need to sell before we buy, not to raise funds, we have the money, but to reduce the squad’ it makes so much sense my mind boggles that people can’t see it too.
If he wanted, he could drop it all on Penfold and Ashley’s toes and nobody would question it. The reason he doesn’t is because he’s in charge of transfers, not them.
It’s frustrating for everyone – how frustrating must it be for him – but he knew all this and still took the job on because he believes in his own ability. Maybe some on here should share that belief and get behind him.
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:27 PM
Comment #66just can’t work out why the mood on here is so alien to the mood of the match going fans it’s total at odd with everything i hear and see in and around the city the excitement and anticipation is intense, while on here it’s nowt but doom and gloom
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:31 PM
Comment #67hibbit…that’s just because your drinking buddies want a night out without the missus…they need to be excited or else everything is just ruined 😉
Bobbybee
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:33 PM
Comment #68Jesper, as piglet said – imagine we don’t. Want to put your money where your mouth is? I’ll happily wager this will not be the squad when the window shuts. There’s wheeling and dealing still to be done. Clubs will need to make moves after the season starts – they always do.
There are options to getting rid of Riviere etc, such as paying half their wages, but you don’t take panic decisions like that whilst there’s a month to go. We might still find someone mad enough to take them yet. There is no miracle cure to years of neglect. How can people whine about years of disaster, then expect it to be fixed overnight? Where’s the logic in that? How can that even be plausible? This is real world, not Football Manager or FIFA. These are real life problems Rafa has to face.
hibbit
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:36 PM
Comment #69jesperfuglsang
like i said total alien
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:39 PM
Comment #70Bobby…that Winnie the Poo story was boring and irrelevant when Jail told it…what made you think it would be any better now?
giimps
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:40 PM
Comment #71FIFA would just offer a load of backhanders to resolve any issues……..allegedly, Rafa will change things organically, encourage our unwanted players out to get playing time to make room for hopefully quality replacements, my only worry is if we need to sell Mitro to fund incommings, I’m pretty sure there will be more quality in our side before the window closes, maybe a couple of loanees but with any luck they are the right incommings
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:42 PM
Comment #72hibbit…that’s because we don’t need an excuse to drink and escape the missus…
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:44 PM
Comment #73Bobby…how about shutting the blog down until the season starts? We are all just talking here…we don’t know what will happen…we are not even saying anything in particular is happening!
…lighten up my friend 🙂
Bobbybee
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:45 PM
Comment #74Hibbett, I rest my case mate. 🙂
Shirebrook, I used to pick up a couple of lads from Worsop who contacted me when I advertised for anybody wanting a lift. That put miles in my journey from Chesterfield but they had no other way of getting there.
Their dad was grateful, but he once asked me ‘Why would you do all this every other week’? I simply replied ‘Why would I not’?
We get it mate. If people don’t, how can you explain it? 🙂 🙂
toon kk
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:47 PM
Comment #75Bobbybee
Not having a go mate, there is time for moving players in and out, but you hit on a point,” years of neglect” it has also taken a toll on alot of fans, we’ve become used to disappointment, spirits lifted just to be let down by MA.
I do hope Rafa can turn things around but it ain’t gonna be easy.
Mag52
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:49 PM
Comment #76.
Toon KK
If we’re reduced to panic buying in January just to stay in the PL, and Rafa sees this as the result of being starved of funds in this transfer window, can you see him staying at the club ? I can’t.
Bobbybee
Aug 1, 2017 at 6:52 PM
Comment #77Jesper, maybe because you couldn’t work it out first time? I don’t need to lighten up, I’m not the one saying things like ‘what if’ whilst searching for disasters. Maybe you should take your own advice and stop fretting about things that are unlikely ever to happen. That’s going out of your way to find things to whine about. If there’s nothing wrong, let’s invent some? I need to lighten up? I’m fine mate, save your concern for those who need it. It’s not me panicking about imaginary issues.
GeordieTwo
Aug 1, 2017 at 7:03 PM
Comment #78It all comes down to what we do between now and the end of the window. What we’ve already done is not nearly enough. I think everyone should be skeptical by now but with a month to go I’ll wait and see. If we can’t even get rid of our dead wood in the next couple of weeks the frustration levels are bound to climb.
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Aug 1, 2017 at 7:04 PM
Comment #79Bobby…and Winnie the Pooh said: “If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear”
GeordieTwo
Aug 1, 2017 at 7:04 PM
Comment #80NUFC.com seem skeptical as well if you read their waffle comments. I think we have a good right to worry after ten years of Ashley.