Johnson is better than Santon (people seriously underrate this guy. By far the best attacking rightback in the country and not half as bad defensively as many suggest. If you have a good quality sitting midfielder, like Lucas, then he can push on more knowing that the space will be covered), Lucas is better than Tiote. Otherwise I'd go with that team. You ignore the point that Ben Arfa was rejected by most clubs due to past injury problems (but he's always had great talent) so he was just a lucky gamble which payed off. Demba Ba was also a massive gamble, the lad still has a 25mm nail in his leg which was needed to save his career after injury, and he still plays with discomfort at times. Again, he was rejected by top clubs despite his quality because of the gamble. Another lucky signing which paid off. You give far too much credit to your scouting team....Cabaye and Cisse were quality finds though. Edit: and Krul
Lucas only having two decent 'halves' of seasons. He was very good in the second half of our 2009/2010 season. And also under Roy Hodgson. That's two years and a half. He has been improving ever since he got here. We've seen him going from young player with no confidence to a player who is one of the best in his position in the premier league. And I think he'll keep improving to the point where he's 27/28 he'll be amongst the best in the world in his position. And also the fact that you would have Santon ahead of Johnson. But that does not surprise me, so I cannot be bothered to debate it, because its clearly something thats been peddled by the media for a long, long time, because he wasn't fancied at a London club when he was young. If anyone actually watched Johnson on a regular basis they would see that he is an excellent defender and footballer who would not look out of place in any side in the world. Apart from that your posts were ok, and I agreed with them.
I'll give you the Johnson thing, he's not my favourite player but can't deny that he's good. I really like Santon and he's still really young so I think he has the potential to surpass Johnson but I guess everyone has an opinion...[EDIT: Lucas just made the same point about his namesake...Hardly a surprise a supporter shows bias to his own player] Can't agree with you on Ben Arfa though. Ben Arfa's issues were injuries? His attitude (fought with 3 players and fell out with even more managers) was what put other teams off, hence his nickname 'l'enfinte terrible'. We bought a World Class player for no more than 4.5m (and many newspapers suggest it was as low as 2!) The fact that Pardew handled him so well is nothing to do with luck, nor was De Jong going through him and snapping his leg in half! Demba Ba has a knee injury, yes, but we bought him on a free, so that's just plain and simple good business, even if he didn't live up to his potential he wouldn't have been a major loss. You say we give too much credit to our scouting team and then name 2 of the best known players in our team? Cisse was 2nd top scorer in the Bundesliga and Cabaye had just led Lille to a domestic double, hardlys hidden gems...Also Krul has come up through our youth team joining just after he turned 17, he has nothing to do with our current scouting network. The quality of our scouting lies in how we get the players, not just who we get...Our entire starting 11 and bench cost less than Carroll and Henderson
Most teams in the premiership recognise Lucas's ability, not just Lucaaas. United would take him in a heartbeat, so would Chelsea or Arsenal and it's not because he's a bad player who could warm their bench and supply them with half time drinks. You basically just told me more issues with Ben Arfa than I was aware of! Fair play if Pardew handled him, I rate him as a good manager, but he has had injury problems in the past and yes, it's luck he's lasted the season. Just like Van persie has and just like Ba. Demba was free, but you' could have still been paying his wages along with signing on fee for an entire season, just like Marveaux, whilst he tried to regain fitness. Your gamble paid off. Also, if you claim Cisse and Cabaye aren't hidden gems (I don't follow german or french leagues, so to me, they were out the blue successes - I doubt I'm no the only one) then what exactly does your scouting team deserve credit for? They don't buy players or negociate deals, they find them. All I read is about how great they are...I've yet to see why or how. Anyway, it's kinda irrelevant. Newcastle have done well for whatever reason, but don't get on some kind of pedestal because of one season. Lets see what happens over the summer and beyond because your depth in squad isn't there yet and injuries could screw you over next year.
Did I just read that? Lucas? The same player who was hammered by a large section of LFC fans up until last season where all of a sudden he is the saviour now? Lucas better than Gerrard? Get real!
Why do you want rafa back you plonkers didn't he buy Ryan babel And n'gog good god how the mighty fall
Lucas and Gerrard are different. I always rated Lucas. Never understood the haters. Lucas is a world beater.
Please find me evidence that Ben Arfa was considered 'injury prone' before having his leg snapped in half by De Jong! And yeah, we could've risked playing Ba's wages, however, considering the list ESPN recently released showing club wages, ours have shrunk by a mental 34% in the last year, so Ba can't be on THAT much. As for our scouting network, they are exactly that, a network. Why is it Newcastle got Cabaye for £4.5m after Arsenal had tracked him since he was a teenager? If rumour is to be believed its because Carr got a tip off about his €5m buy out clause. Why is it that to a man (Obertan was apparently Pardew's choice) they've all fitted perfectly into our system - Carr gave an extensive interview about choosing his players. He doesn't just look at the way they perform, if they're skillful, or if they've got pace. He watches who they pass to most and who that player most emulates in our current set up, who in our current set up would fit their tempo, style and temperament. They deliberately target players who have connections: the french lads at the minute, Ba n Cisse, Cabaye and Debuchy (reportedly after him from Lille). It wouldn't surprise me if we go for a young Italian to give Santon someone to keep him settled in Newcastle. I know it sounds pathetically simple and that all scouts must do that...You can say 'I've yet to see why or how' Newcastle's scouts are good...Quite simply look at who we've brought in and for how much. Compare that to any other team in the league and tell me who's done it better for less?
sorry but the german league is a BIG risk and actually i nthe main a big step up to the prem. Same for france. Newcastle did well to scout the players and take the risks. Ben arfa was unlucky. breaks through virtual assult are not injury prone like say aquilani. credit to where it should be they did well to recruit what they did but it'd be awful to think they'll only end up passing them on again.
This was a massive worry for us as fans until a recent article. Basically said we have a massive, constantly updated database of both our players and potential targets. It treats players like products, calculates everything they do well and poorly (passes attempted Vs successful, say) how long they've got left on their contract etc. With that, their prices continuously change. For our own players they'd have a worth and a cost - how much we think they are actually worth and how important they are to us. So, according to Lambias, Carroll cost £35m with most of it up front, because we knew Liverpool had cash in hand and it was the last day of the season and we probably wouldn't be able to replace him, so he was more valuable. ...So aye, basically I know that if we were to sell the likes of Tiote, Ba or Cabaye, we've got a realistic target lined up with a predicted price and quality. Hopefully it'll stop us chancing it with highly paid flops like Xisco and Luque, and prevent ill informed panic buys!
Why do people think Rafa is a control freak...? He worked with a DoF type person at Valencia and was happy to agree to the terms offered to him when he joined Liverpool. His issue was purely with Rick Parry and his half-cocked approach to transfers and contract negotiations!
That's just goal.com bollox, Pep has not said anything, goal, are just assuming, based on the fact that he is taking a year sabbatical, and he wont change his mind about that. Same way that they are assuming that he is even on the list.
You make a good point in fairness, however would you guys accept 30mil for the players you have in that team? Whilst you guys have bought incredibly well (which incidently I have acknowledged on here a couple of times previously) its easy to look at the players that succeed and assume its the norm, unfortunately I could give you a list 10 pages long of players bought for that figure that turn out to be poor or do not adapt to the prem(again something your buys have excelled at) The reality is that 30mil to our squad is not going to make much of a difference; crucially I think when you consider a new manager coming in. Whoever comes in will want to make their own signings and changes to adapt to their preferred system or style of play. At the same time there is no guarantee that our existing players will want to stay, perhaps they are upset over Dalglish's treatment, they don't like the new manager or the direction or ambition of the club. The trouble is apart from Suarez there is not so much value in the squad, perhaps Reina is the next biggest potential income. 30Mil given to Kenny I think would have made a difference but to a new manager with new ideas its really not that much! Also I am really not sure Gerrard would get into the team you posted, certainly not on the season gone! We have only one world class offensive player right now in my opinion and thats Suarez, to add to that we need more than 30mil.
Why do we all talk about Cabaye like he was a good 'find'? Anyone that knew anything about European football knew he was a good player and would surely move on.
That is exactly what we need to avoid. Chopping and changing managers is bad enough, but if each one chops and changes the squad too then it is a real recipe for disaster! The basis for a decent side is there, that is evident by some of the performances (not results) we have put in this season. We need to add some quality and consistency to the side as well as some much needed pace (feels like I have been suggesting pace for a lifetime!).
Agree with that, same goes for Ben Arfa who had a 'trouble-maker' label. Similarly Ba, Marveuax and Cisse who, for whatever reason, no one wanted to gamble on despite them all doing well in their respective leagues beforehand (I am referring to Ba's time at Hoffenheim). Credit where credit is due though, Newcastle took the plunge where others didn't and its paid off Tiote was a superb find though
