Luka Sucic could be signing
Nice move young player to back up Trippier and Krafth.
Depth
Luka Sucic could be signing
He’s a midfielderNice move young player to back up Trippier and Krafth.
Depth
He’s a midfielder
A young Croatian
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Personally I prefer the idea of them buying the best young players they can get from around the world.
Again I think it's patience this Summer but I'm definitely getting the feeling it's going to be a squad solidifying exercise rather than vast improvements. Ashworth is all about the youth as well, so I can see why links like Sucic have suddenly appeared.
Thing is, it's going to be amazing whatever the outcome. Whether it's a bunch of solid, if not spectacular, signings like Targett/Shaw, Harrison, etc., or we do push the boat out and end up with Diaby, Lodi, etc., it's a vast improvement on anything that's gone on before. The key difference is there will be a plan and a joined up approach - Eddie will have a clear vision of what he needs, Ashworth will have a tonne of insight as to how to execute behind the scenes and then the money will be there to make it all happen. Of course we'd love loads of excitement, but if Howe believes Wilson is the best striker we can get right now we've got to have faith that he's right. He's earned the chance to go for it his way.
And it's a delicate balance - it's very unlikely the current squad can continue last seasons form. Why? Because we surprised people and that gets you a long way - we were so abysmal and always played deep, on the back foot. When Howe managed to change it, teams weren't set up to deal with it. Then the players find that extra 10% because the whole place is bouncing. Could we expect as much from the likes of Burn, Fraser, Krafth, Longstaff, Shelvey next season? It's risky to rely on players who have been poor/average at best for most of the time.
Bottom line is, I'm really impatient to see us make signings of course, but judgement so early is just daft!
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Personally I prefer the idea of them buying the best young players they can get from around the world.
There's a few people that have dug themselves into a hole laughing at the 60 to 80 million plus player sales fact, but they'll start the mental gymnastics as the window develops.
It'll all have made sense to them and they'll say they suppose it's the right thing to do and they don't want to be the next man City etc etc... They'll even tell me to trust the process, but they won't fool me..
Why not just say its a good amount now?
£60-£80m would be a decent amount if we had an average aged PL quality squad. It would be ideal for filling gaps and making slight improvements year on year.
It is the exact same figure Mike Ashley offered Rafa 3 and a half years ago in a move to keep him here.
The problem for us is we have a squad which is ageing and not up to task.
There are a number of really good players who are PL class and I would include Dubz, Trippier, Burn, Bruno, Joelinton, Willock, ASM, and Wilson in those.
We then have a few who on their day can step up at times - Krafth, Fraser, Schar, Miggy, Longstaff, possibly Lascelles.
We then have those who are passed their best and need moved on - Fede, Clark, Hayden, Manquillo, Shelvey, Hendrick, Darlow, Gayle, Murphy, Wood,
Then there are the ones we thought would come good but who are **** in reality - Matty Longstaff and Woodman.
You can then see that the immediate signings required would be PL Class - LWB, CB, RW and due to Wilson having the genetic makeup of a Dorito ......A Striker.
A starting 11 of
Dubz
LWB
Burn
CB
Trippier
Bruno
Joelinton
Willock
ASM
RW
Wilson
Would be decent and could hold their own and finish top half.
The issue with the £60m becomes a problem when you realise we need 4 first team players which breaks that down to £15m per position.
In addition to start lowering the age of the squad and not have constant issues in the near future is we also need to buy youngsters that can be given first team opportunities by generating funds from our dross - and that is where the massive issue is.
There's a window every 4 months mate and Newcastle will spend on 4 or 5 players every time.
60 to 80 most likely will mean 80 plus sales, so it's really quite easy to improve the squad with that amount every 4 months.
I really don't understand why people are so desperate to try and convince themselves or others why that amount isn't satisfying.
