The confirmation of Paul Midgley as the new Head of Youth Recruitment could be imminent. Both Craig Hope and Fabrizio Romano, who broke the news over the weekend are stating that Midgley’s move to Newcastle is a done deal.
Paul Midgley will start work at Newcastle this week, joining from Man City in academy recruitment role. More scouting appointments expected across all levels of club #nufc
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) November 28, 2022
Paul Midgley to Newcastle, done and confirmed. ????? #NUFC https://t.co/4dg6goicEJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 28, 2022
Midgley held a similar position with Leeds prior to his arrival at Manchester City as a northern regional scout in August. At Leeds, he was responsible for the recruitment of players aged 12 to 16.
Judging by the young talent at Elland Road, Midgley could be a monumental appointment for Newcastle United. The club are determined to add quality to the Academy with a number of teenagers linked with January moves.
Australian international Garang Kuol will join in January after his signing was confirmed during the September international break. Kuol has been outstanding for Central Coast Mariners as he eyes another opportunity with Australia in their final group match against Denmark on Wednesday.
Yesterday, The NUFC Women defeated the Barnsely Women 2-1 in a second-half comeback in the Women’s FA Cup. The highlights of the cup win can be seen in the YouTube video below.
Photo credit: Newcastle United

196 comments so far
magicmac54
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:46 PM
Comment #41Romford Mag@12
Still laughing at your reply mate, a real cracker 😀 😀
CLINT FLICK
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:47 PM
Comment #42Dazzler
Totally mate.
That’s what I’M Talking about…
😉
dazzler
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:48 PM
Comment #43Assassins,
Be honest, did that post already exist on FB? You wrote that waaaay too quickly otherwise.
Wor B
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:49 PM
Comment #44Haha
Non-footie comment of the day to Assassins.
😆
CLINT FLICK
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:49 PM
Comment #45Assassin’s
100 wpm type monster!
😀
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:53 PM
Comment #46dazzler – but did Southgate ever say that he’d ONLY select on form? Let alone only select on Premier League form. That would be stupid to bench or leave out players who have played well for England and have never let Southgate down. I’ve never seen an international manager do that so doesn’t that say something?
magicmac54
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:53 PM
Comment #47Raj Jail
Do you wire up people`s christmass trees when your onshore!!! Fancy a trip to the Emerald Isle young man 😀
G
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:54 PM
Comment #48Assassins, couldn’t have answered that any better if I tried! Brilliant post.
Assassins Inc
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:54 PM
Comment #49Dazzler, I’ve waited years to unleash that one, yes originally on face book but timing is everything. 😉
dazzler
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:55 PM
Comment #50Also, how foaming would you be if you’d been in the form of your life for the better part of the year, really taken to a new league in a new country only to be benched for Fred?
Don’t even get me started on Joelinton!
The Bard of Bensham Bank
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:58 PM
Comment #51Wor B,
Aboubacar – Love it!
🙂
Assassins
– Brilliant, but you forgot to add 1 knacker to write a poem about it!
😉
I only popped in to give advance notice to Fenners that a Munster poem has been completed and will be aired sometime in the a.m.
Laters
😉
🙂
Essex Geordie Bill
Nov 28, 2022 at 3:59 PM
Comment #52Assassins
If that’s not a copy and paste effort then well done, however that’s ten minutes of my life I will not get back. 🙂
Romford mag
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:00 PM
Comment #53No schar
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:03 PM
Comment #54dazzler – how gutted would you be if you’ve consistently played well for your international team, been a pivotal part in them qualifying for a major tournament, and you fit in very well with a specific role that the international manager wants you to play and then you get dropped for a player who has a different style of play just because they have been in better form for their club?
magicmac54
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:04 PM
Comment #55Dazzler@35
Brilliant post there Dazzler and i simply couldn`t agree more fella.
Assassins Inc
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:06 PM
Comment #56Bard you’re going to be busy writing two poems about Aboubacar and the off shore sparky.
But I’m sure they will be belters.
cleveleysbob
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:06 PM
Comment #57Assassins proves categorically why we are bottom of the productivity league. 😆
dazzler
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:08 PM
Comment #58TDS,
Yep, he did:
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-southgate-idUKKBN15U0J1
You’ve never seen an England manager do that, in reality though. No one pays that much attention to other nations.
The reality is, other nations win more than we do because they aren’t afraid to leave their big names at home when they aren’t in form. Even when they do take them, they aren’t guaranteed a start if they aren’t pulling up trees for their club.
Pickford has most definitely made mistakes in goal for England, Maguire has most certainly played shite for England and cost us goals, Henderson can’t pass further than 3 yards, so I don’t believe they’ve never let Southgate down. He picks them because they are familiar and that will often end badly.
Novocastrian66
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:10 PM
Comment #59Players must get fed up with getting called up in to international squads if they never get a decent chance to show what they can do.
Unless you’re Coady of course who must not be able to believe his luck.
Assassins Inc
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:11 PM
Comment #60Dazzler, back you on that, Southgate did say he would pick people who were playing well and then did the opposite.
Maguire was playing like a donkey, dier was playing like one legged giraffe, Dan Burn was playing like a boss along the whole back line in all positions. He should have been in the squad.
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:12 PM
Comment #61Err Lads!!! I am the Global Observation Scientist (Well I was). You lot will put me out of a job.
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:12 PM
Comment #62Dazzler – he didn’t say what you said at all! He said, “I never pick on reputation — form has to come into it. You have to look at the opposition and the type of game you’re expecting and select the players best suited to that.” The likes of Pickford and Maguire HAVE been on good form for England. Plus he talks about the kind of game you’re expecting and experience in World Cups is vital!
How many mistakes has Pickford made for England that led to a goal? It’s ridiculous to suggest that Pickford should be dropped for Pope and almost as ridiculous to suggest that we have any centre halves who justify starting for England more than Stones or Maquire.
Every single international manager behaves like this so why do some fans keep thinking that they know more than them?
dazzler
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:14 PM
Comment #63TDS,
I’d no doubt be disappointed, but at the same time I’d accept that maybe I hadn’t been performing consistently enough week in, week out for my club and therefore understand the decision from a purely objective standpoint.
I’d also use that as a motivator to really up my game so I never feel that disappointment again.
Such is life, nothing should be guaranteed. It’s cronyism at its finest, and exactly why England will win nowt in my lifetime.
Novocastrian66
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:19 PM
Comment #64TDS; I would say a player gets picked based on his form for his club.
If you cannot get a game for your club you shouldn’t be picked for England.
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:21 PM
Comment #65Is Fred in better form in club football than Bruno? No. Starts for Brazil.
Is Maquire in better form in club football than Burn or Coady. No. Starts for England.
Ake started for Netherlands but doesn’t play too often for Man City
Fofana in the France squad has played 4 games in the PL this season
Laporte started for Spain and has 285 minutes in the PL this season
I’m sure there are a bunch of other examples of players who are barely playing for their club but are starting in the World Cup. Really not sure why people can’t get their heads around the fact that maybe these international managers know more than us.
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:24 PM
Comment #66dazzler – I don’t understand why so many fans correlate club form with international form. Sometimes a player’s role is different at their club or they’re just not very comfortable with the players they’re playing with. Can go the other way too where players are flying in club football but aren’t suited to international football or there’s someone more suited than them.
A successful football team isn’t about the best 11 players but the best team.
dazzler
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:25 PM
Comment #67TDS,
“Form has to come into it” – so why would you ever consider Maguire? Just because he has played well for England in the past has no bearing on whether he will play well again in the future. If so, why not ask Shearer to dust off his boots and get on the plane? I appreciate it’s an absurd example, but its still somewhat relevant. Past form is irrelevant, current form should be everything.
Maguire has been shite week in, week out for a number of years so has no right in the England squad. Selecting him is cronyism.
Pickford was at fault for Denmark’s goal in the Euros. Yes, we still went through but he made the mistake. There are others that escape me at the minute.
I also disagree that every international manager does this (to some extent yes), as CF mentioned and I concurred. Fullkrug scored an important equaliser for Germany against Spain. If he was English, he wouldn’t have ever been on the plane, most likely. That’s why Germany, Brazil, Spain etc have had a lot more recent successes than us, because they take gambles that we seem too scared to make.
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:25 PM
Comment #68Novo – as I just posted actually, I think that’s 100% wrong. And every international manager agrees with me, there’s more to it than that.
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:26 PM
Comment #69dazzler – because Maguire’s form for England hasn’t been bad! He also says “has to come into it” not “is the only factor”. So Maguire’s form for Man Utd counts against him but his form for England, his experience, his leadership skills, his time playing with the other England defenders, and his attacking prowess all count for him.
dazzler
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:27 PM
Comment #70TDS,
It should be about picking the best squad of players available based on who’s playing the best and making them into successful unit capable of winning the Euros and WC.
If a manager would rather hinder himself by picking familiar faces over the best for the job then perhaps they shouldn’t be an international manager at all.
Munster Mag
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:28 PM
Comment #71Paqueta not bad at all
The Taco Taker
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:29 PM
Comment #72Wor B,
Civilization has indeed progressed a huge amount. Most of us are so unconcerned about our ability to survive our environment that we are sat in comfy chairs pontificating about football with mostly like minded people from across the globe while swilling back the odd intoxicating beverage!
We are possibly the only species to have ever existed in the universe to have reached such heights.
🙂
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:31 PM
Comment #73Dazzler – Fullkrug is a striker who has 10 goals in 14 appearances in the Bundesliga this season, that’s form that warrants consideration. It’s extremely rare that an uncapped 30 year old defender with zero experience of European football gets selected for a major tournament so Burn was always a long shot. Toney is the closest example to Fullkrug when it comes to England but Southgate took Wilson instead.
How is selecting Wilson, Gallagher, or Maddison anything other than selecting on form and taking a gamble? What about Saka 2 years ago? Bellingham and Foden getting their chances young?
The only player I was surprised to see miss out was Toney.
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:33 PM
Comment #74Always railed against warming. We are coming out of a mini ice age . Thames frozen for several months between 1600-1800 . In AD 250 Romans grew grapes in south of England.Climate change. That thermonuclear thing in the sky does not give constant output.
ToonDarnSarf
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:34 PM
Comment #75dazzler – that’s not what any international manager does, they just don’t. They pick a certain number of the top players available and then they pick other players around them to complement their best players.
And I still have zero idea why people think club form is 100% the only factor relevant to who gets selected.
cleveleysbob
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:34 PM
Comment #76I think Bruno would do a better job than Silva, but I don’t suppose he’d want to play CB 😀
Raj of Hailsley
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:35 PM
Comment #77All done 😀
cleveleysbob
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:37 PM
Comment #78It seems that Bruno’s ability to play a more attacking role has limited his chances. He was playing most games as a DM, now can’t get on pitch. 🙁
cleveleysbob
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:38 PM
Comment #79Jail, I hope you’ve completed all the steps on Assassins list 🙂
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Nov 28, 2022 at 4:39 PM
Comment #80Welcome to the game Jail