Our Best Players

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Colin Sharpe

Member
Jun 11, 2011
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Heaton Mersey
I thought I'd have a look at this thing about selling our best players,

this was said a lot during the last season, that we sold our best players and it is now being used to infer that we will again sell our best players and rely on luck to fill those spots again.

I want to challenge this.

Last summer we sold:

Barton (whose performances turned out to be part of a campaign that just scraped survival)
Nolan (whose performances were admittedly part of a promotion campaign, but with fewer points, via the play-offs, under a 'better' manager and in a team on which more had been spent than NUFC)
Enrique (whose performances were part of a less successful campaign than us, though granted, Pools GA were fewer)

would any of these players have actually improved our season ? if not, how can it be argued that they were our best players last summer ?

Now lets look at who we kept:

Krul (one of the top keepers in the league)
Colo (one of the top defenders in the league)
Tiote (courted for £30mil constantly, watched by the top teams in the league)
Ben Arfa (lets not forget, he was ours 10/11 too and we kept him)
Gutierrez (has been a rock for us this season, played every game)
Simpson (love him or hate him, he's done his bit, and the stats suggest he is up there with the best this season)
Ameobi (well, he does score against the mackems :-))
Saylor (again a solid defender)
Raylor (versatile utility player who has filled in for us well)

I see absolutely no weight at all in the argument that we will sell our best players, we have shown no sign of doing so really since the relegation season and even then (at the time) I argued we'd lost our highest profile and highest paid rather than our best. This argument just doesn't add up, there is no evidence to support it so the idea it will happen again this summer is pretty ludicrous.

The only player I would add from list one would be Enrique, and I wouldn't swap one out of list two to accommodate him.

What we do is sell out most high profile players or those who cause trouble / drain resources and those for which we can get obscene transfer fees for, and long may this continue.
 
It may be argued that enrique would have improved our team, Nolan would have added squad depth but we got good money for a player who would not have started, as for Barton, I think him leaving actually helped team spirit as he is a devisive character.
 
Enrique wanted to leave, Nolan couldn't negotiate the terms he wanted with the club, Barton, well he just engineered his downfall, as is his way.
 
There is no argument at all, Enrique would certainly have improved our team. He is one of the best left backs around, far better than Santon in the role, and it would also have released Santon into his more natural role at right back. If you offered to swap him with either Raylor, Ameobi or Simpson, it would be a no brainer for me (and I think all three have had great seasons).

I see no reason to think there will be a mass departure this summer. We may lose to fund any summer spending but many clubs of a similar level will need to do the same. Thats football.

Enrique was one of our best performers undoubtedly but we had no choice. It was understandable from his point of view, just one of those things. The other two were two of our best performers the previous season also and it was a bold move by the club. Its worked out well. If we did likewise and lost 3 or 4 of our best performers again, we'd just have to have faith that the scouts could do it again. Of course you can't always get that right but its just the way it is.
 
Warm Pouch said:
If you offered to swap him with either Raylor, Ameobi or Simpson, it would be a no brainer for me (and I think all three have had great seasons)
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- but would Enrique have scored against the mackems !

Seriously though, fair point, though Enrique is the only one, and I do wonder how good the player is when surrounded by the team, which I certainly think made Nolan and Barton look better players than they were.
 
Hornette_TID said:
Isn't Mike Williamson on your 'best players' list? ;)
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Not quite but the fella did a solid job for us. Good bloke and proper 100%er. Even when he came in for some criticism after a rocky spell, he gathered himself to play a big part in our little run at the back end which almost got us to the promised land. A rare visit to these parts for yourself Hornette.
 
Warm Pouch said:
Not quite but the fella did a solid job for us. Good bloke and proper 100%er. Even when he came in for some criticism after a rocky spell, he gathered himself to play a big part in our little run at the back end which almost got us to the promised land. A rare visit to these parts for yourself Hornette.
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They talk funny down that way, could you understand what she was saying?
 
Warm Pouch said:
Not quite but the fella did a solid job for us. Good bloke and proper 100%er. Even when he came in for some criticism after a rocky spell, he gathered himself to play a big part in our little run at the back end which almost got us to the promised land. A rare visit to these parts for yourself Hornette.
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yes indeedy..thought i'd drop by..couldn't resist a little dig at the little boy who throws his toys out the pram when things don't go his way. I'm over it now lol. Nice to see you Mr Pouch. :)...and of course Mr Bruce..
 
Hornette_TID said:
yes indeedy..thought i'd drop by..couldn't resist a little dig at the little boy who throws his toys out the pram when things don't go his way. I'm over it now lol. Nice to see you Mr Pouch. :)...and of course Mr Bruce..
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Sounds interesting, I take it Mike did not leave on the best of terms? We might get a hissy fit next year. We have Steven Taylor back and the club have made it clear another CB will be coming in. Did he really used to play in midfield (as a mate told me when I was slaughtering his touch) for you sometimes? I just can't see it given his clumsiness and him having a touch like an elephant.
 
Hornette_TID said:
yes indeedy..thought i'd drop by..couldn't resist a little dig at the little boy who throws his toys out the pram when things don't go his way. I'm over it now lol. Nice to see you Mr Pouch. :)...and of course Mr Bruce..
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Just joking about you talking funny down there, I'm sure you talk just fine.
 
Warm Pouch said:
Sounds interesting, I take it Mike did not leave on the best of terms? We might get a hissy fit next year. We have Steven Taylor back and the club have made it clear another CB will be coming in. Did he really used to play in midfield (as a mate told me when I was slaughtering his touch) for you sometimes? I just can't see it given his clumsiness and him having a touch like an elephant.
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Not that i remember, he played CB most of the time. He put in a transfer request which was refused, so he wouldn't get on the coach to Swansea, refused to play so we got rid. His attitude sucked to be honest. Maybe he's grown up a bit since then...i wouldn't bank on it though. He is the only reason i didn't want Newcastle to finish 4th...not that it would have mattered anyway...but to think of him in the Champions League was a little sickening to say the least!
 
Hornette_TID said:
Not that i remember, he played CB most of the time. He put in a transfer request which was refused, so he wouldn't get on the coach to Swansea, refused to play so we got rid. His attitude sucked to be honest. Maybe he's grown up a bit since then...i wouldn't bank on it though. He is the only reason i didn't want Newcastle to finish 4th...not that it would have mattered anyway...but to think of him in the Champions League was a little sickening to say the least!
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Don't let the door hit ya, where the good Lord split ya.
 
Hornette_TID said:
lol i wanted them to be 4th for all the other reasons!
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Backpeddling quicker than an italian army here Hornette! <laugh> I suppose it just shows how fickle football is. He's a **** bag when with yourself, but a model pro with us. Bizarre. I must admit I hate it when they refuse to play/train etc. Its their bleeding job!!!!
 
He isn't the only current toon player to refuse to play or train with his former club, but that guy has a touch somewhat better than MW's
 
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