4 major signings in the summer

I'm with you, tbh. I don't particularity care about trivial stuff like our name, badge and kit - heck, I'd even quite like a change from the black and white. I've always found it hugely unflattering, especially on young, athletic bodies.

 

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We'll have to sign or replace De Jong and Remy. Didn't they say in January we were signing 4. Also Alan Shearer reckons there will be an exodus in the summer.

 

With the club not showing much ambition going to be hard getting in quality and keeping hold of the top players we have.
Never expected Remy to stay.

 

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/xg63rjlwjbgo4/House

I am not willing to post my house on an open forum but these are some photos of the inside which I will leave online for a few days

 

If that's your house then you are clearly minted.... it's like a show home...
The pool was the killer for me... we have a fishing pond which is over flowing with crap right now.. you get to walk outside your massive place and take a dip if it get's too hot.
Jealous....

 

Yes I have no complaints Albert I certainly made the right decision all those years ago, the condition by the way is down to my better half

PS This house is even better than the one I had in Pennywell

 

Can't make it back from the pub in time to use the loo?

 

Call me cynical, but I don't believe for a second that the club will make "three or four" signings in the summer.

A replacement for Cabaye is likely, but unless Newcastle United qualify for The Europa League again, why would Ashley even consider spending more than he has to?

Pardew seemed content with the squad before Cabaye was sold to PSG, so why would they spend money other than to replace players that will be sold?

 

We need to sign/replace Remy, De Jong and Shola.

We then need to replace Cabaye, sign a winger and make a decision on Ben Arfa. If he goes we'll need a second wide player.

We then need a new CB and to shift on Saylor and maybe Colo if his heart ain't in it, meaning we could potentially need two CB's.

It's the biggest summer for the club since our relegation. It's not healthy to replace 6/7 players and it simply won't happen in one window.

It's certainly something of concern.

 

There seems to be little chance of LDJ not being signed - he got a stack of praise vs. Chelsea from the manager. Which then makes him the replacement for Shola, so really you're down to signing or replacing Remy. That purely depends on who goes for him, who needs/wants him. The only clubs more desirable than ours who would need or want him would be Arsenal (where he'd be a sub) or Spurs. Chelsea wouldn't sign him, they'll be using Lukaku next year. Man U just don't need another forward. Man City would be too big for him. Liverpool need a forward less than Man U. Everton aren't more desirable and probably couldn't afford him. So by default we may still have him. If we don't, then I'm sure there's quite a few forwards we could be after without Joe's incompetence getting in the way.

Cabella has played coy on going to Newcastle - I'm quietly confident we've already signed him, we're the perfect size for him and he then replaces Jonas, so there's your winger. As for a Ben Arfa replacement, who knows, but I don't know who'll come knocking and if he isn't sold we won't replace. Also Sammy's getting more game time, so may negate the need to sign an HBA replacement (Cabella first choice, Sammy in reserve) if he's good enough.

Cabaye's replacement is the big purchase of the summer, but again there's clubs with no money who have the type of player we want for cheap. Djuricic or de Jong (Siem) seem viable, particularly the latter given our history with Cabaye/Debuchy! So that could be sorted again for a reasonably cheap sum.

Don't know about Saylor leaving - be happy to see him go, but we're not going to let him go without a replacement. There's a lot of CB's out there, though, s again wouldn't be overly worried.

We're probably looking at signing about 4, perhaps 5, if Ashley is still in charge. Nothing to really get concerned about.

 

Cisse could still go too, which wouldn't be a disaster but for me we need three permanent strikers on the books all of which should be of a better standard than Cisse and Shola.

Remy, De Jong and one other and suddenly our weakest area begins to look our best and that's how to improve as a team.

I think Saylor is a lost cause personally, I think a move would be good for both him and us. He's at exactly the same level as he was 6/7 years ago. His game hasn't improved and it's most probably because he can't get the right balance between passion and professionalism on the pitch.

You're right in saying Cabaye is the big one. Anita is neat and tidy, Sissoko strong and powerful, Tiote has become a leader and protects the back four well but none of them have the finesse, vision or goal threat of Cabaye.

I don't think Sammy will make it to be hones but as I posted on the Chelsea thread I do think he should start as many games as possible between now and the end of the season to allow us to see if he's likely to ever fulfill his potential.

All of the above is also based on the fact that we don't lose a Krul, Debuchy or Tiote etc.

 

I was talking to a mate about the whole Newcastle situation, but focused on the DoF thing. There was a decent article from Mark Douglas saying that Glenn Roeder's a top choice as DoF, I tend to agree, actually. And I think the DoF situation is probably the most pivotal in recent times; it will send a message out to pretty much everyone as to whether Mike Ashley is staying or not, and if he is how serious he is. I think we have three options;

1) Appoint a respectable figure, with football clout and local ties - Glenn Roeder, for example - which will mean Ashley does intend to stay for the longer terrm, and is the right move to make if he is.
2) Appoint no-one, which will mean Ashley is doing everything he can to sell the club.
3) Appoint an old mate - Derek Llambias - which will mean Ashley will continue to treat the club with disdain and minimal investment until such time as a suitable offer comes in.

The point is that it's mid-Feb already. The transfer window, arguably our most important, opens in a few months, it's really not a long time. Everywhere I've worked when senior exec's have arrived it takes quite a while to really assess where things are ahead of making changes. Every day that we're "not bothering" is a day lost and - hopefully - goes some way to pointing towards option (2) as the right one. But deep down I think I know that it's probably (3). Anyone got any thoughts?

 

Glenn Roeder, a man unemployed since being sacked by Championship Norwich in 2009, is a 'respectable figure' - a man with 'football clout' - and is someone who you would want to be responsible for the long-term footballing strategy of Newcastle United?

No, of course not. He's cheap, though, and no one else wants him. And that is sort of our criteria for most things, so see point 3, I guess.

 

Thought that Glenn Roeder is employed as a scout by Aston Villa.

 

Yeah, but Roberto Di Matteo, Glenn Hoddle, Bielsa, Heynckes, Hiddink, Matthaus and Rijkaard are all unemployed ex-managers!

It's not my call nor my suggestion, just didn't think it was the worst call in the world. Who would you rather see?

 

None of them were sacked by a struggling Norwich in the Championship, tbf.

I really don't have a clue. If you appoint one, and you give them the control they need to function properly, it's arguably the most important footballing appointment (at least in the long-term) a club can make ( they dictate who's bought/sold, the team's identity; they can sack and hire managers, too - pretty much everything). I do know, however, that if we do appoint one, I don't want it to be Glenn Roeder.

I think Graham Carr's been functioning as a quasi-DoF, and I wouldn't mind him having more control, provided that we streamline our purchases a bit and tend towards a well-defined game plan. I'd want us to hire a new manager too, but I don't really want to debate that.

 

He wouldn't be managing the team though, dealing with tactics etc. He'd be listening to Carr and Pardew, talking to MA and trying to clinch deals for the targeted players. He seems to be a very professional and decent fellow, comes across as intelligent when interviewed and is passionate about our club. Selling a move to NUFC would come naturally to him, as would maintaining his own and therefore NUFCs dignity. I can see why he has been suggested as a decent option.

 

That's not what a director of football does though. You're really describing someone like Lee Charnley, not a DoF. And even if we were hiring someone to do what you're suggesting (again, not really a DoF), then surely we could hire someone with even the briefest experiences of multi-million pound negotiations?

It's pretty tragic, though, that the fact he could probably maintain his dignity is now considered a virtue. Perhaps you should also mention that he hasn't reached the age of incontinence yet.

 

With our previous DoF appointments under Ashley being Wise and Kinnear the ability to maintain dignity and not drag the clubs name through the mud should definitely be considered a requirement of any future appointment and a virtue that any sane NUFC supporter should appreciate. Both Wise and Kinnear under the title of DoF were supposedly in charge of transfers. In Kinnear's case we were told that he would listen to Carr and Pardew and communicate with MA in relation to signing new players, so it is what a DoF does - at least in the model MA is/has been aiming at. Kinnear was also supposed to be reviewing the academy etc but Roeder has experience of this, so again, not a bad choice.