The window is open, but who would you sign?

sam wrote...

david albelda would be a great signing in my view one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and henri saivet from bordeaux would be an amazing signing we need 2 buy young wonderkids similar to wenger maybe de la pena who is currently in the spain squad or torje a good young romanian valon behrami would be just what we need as well as chritian zapata and gyan asamoah from udinese though expensive definitely worthwile and also every 1 should get behind big sam and give him plenty of time to turn things around

Posted by: sam  | January 1, 2008 2:56 PM

medan wrote...

I belive assuming Big SAM starts playing attcking football and the right formation the team needs 3 players.

1] A creative and attacking midfielder that can run the midfield and hold to the ball and score goals specially from free kicks. Problem with Emre is he can create but seems to loose the ball too often rarely scores. I for one would go for Diego a Brazilain playing in Germany.

2] A tall pacy CF that has skills and can score goals. Viduka is too immobile no pace, Shola is a bench warmer should be traded, Smith is really a bench player. We need a striker with a pedigree of Trezegue form Juventus. Of course I wish Bebaratov but that is not going to happen thus I would go for Klose from Germany, great finisher.

3] An imposing CB as much as I like Taylor and Cappaca I believe they do not dominate strikers, Rozelan is too weak. This one is a though one as there not that many avialble out there with high level exprience I would definetely buy from Portugal or Spain.

Hope we get one or 2 good players.

Posted by: medan  | January 1, 2008 3:23 PM

si wrote...

I think Wes Brown, Samir Nasri, Diego from Werder Bremen, Van der Vaart,Diego Placente, Deco...basically an improvement in class of players to what we have and a healthy amount of flair players. I'm not saying all of these but two or three would be amazing

Posted by: si  | January 1, 2008 3:23 PM

andre wrote...

Bring kompany,van den borre,felipe(udinese)biglia(anderlecht)banega(boca) is a few but very good signings in my book

Posted by: andre  | January 1, 2008 3:54 PM

toon king wrote...

i belive flair is the key skill and money

am diego ribas fantastic goal scoreing midfielder would cost 15 million now but worth every penny splash the cash ash

cb kompany big strong defender will be best in world at some stage 8 million

rm cm van der vaart classy player with skill and ability to score wonerful goals and gett the toon cheering with joy would cost 10 15 millon

ash spent no money yet and i think it time to back sam now

sams had little money to spend and ddone ok with it

Posted by: toon king  | January 1, 2008 4:17 PM

marc kobrin wrote...

Zigic - CF

Brown - Defence

Arshavin/Diego - Midfield

Posted by: marc kobrin  | January 1, 2008 4:18 PM

phil matues wrote...

buy class only....vincent kompany and van der vaart from Hamburg and david albeida....

Posted by: phil matues  | January 1, 2008 4:20 PM

Duncan Baines wrote...

I think a left back so Nzogbia can be moved into midfield. Also a striker too as Viduka/Smith have failed.

Posted by: Duncan Baines  | January 1, 2008 5:00 PM

iain nicolson wrote...

albelda is being dumped by valencia for a reason, they wanted to tear his contract up along with several others.

make of that what you will.

but imo the 4 key attributes for nufc players signed from now on must be

1 - not over 30 and with their career heading south. weve signed enough past there peak players to last us a lifetime...
owen/viduka/smith/duff/cacapa/geremi/
butt. no edmilsons or albeldas please looking for a last pay day.

2 - pl experienced

3 - signed from teams in and around us in the league, thus weakening them and strengthining us. where would blackburn find another bentley ???

4 - if foreign try and sign players used to harsh climates like e.europe even brazilians that have played in places like russia. no portugese/spanish/italian players 9 times out of 10 they whinge about the weather etc not such a problem when they play in great teams like arsenal but once the team is struggling it quickly becomes an excuse.

signings for us imo that could do well depending on funds...

scharner/bentley/cruz/brown/shorey/hunt/lita/barnes/omozusi(fulham rb)/ujfalusi/rado kovac/dani carvalho/jovetic/hamsik/arshavin/
pavluchenko/appiah/scott brown/

i could list plenty of good players that would imrpove our sqaud and in many cases first 11. it comes down to 3 things.

how much money allardyce wil get, how he intentends to carry on having us play and what sort of player really wants to play for a manager like allardyce.

Posted by: iain nicolson  | January 1, 2008 5:18 PM

iain nicolson wrote...

not in a million years will players like diego/vaart/nasri want to play for allardyce when the could go to real/barca/juve.

VDV wants to move to spain anyway.

few more names possible though... maduro/zigic/

Posted by: iain nicolson  | January 1, 2008 5:22 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

Yes January has been a nightmare for Newcastle United- Remember Greame Souness’ first foray into the transfer window (January 2005) which clever scout gave us John Alain Boumsong, Amdy Faye and Celestine Babayaro surely needs to be hauled over the coals as the trade’s descriptions act would surely forbid any use of the word ‘footballer’ when labelling those three.

We actually have the quality, we have the talent, N’Zogbia and Milner won’t be dashing off to the African cup of nations, so that answers the question about lack of service to Mr Owen, (Personally I’d flog Owen to the highest bidder, sadly there isn’t one) your next poser Lee, is we need a leader, well once again I don’t think if you look at his birth certificate, you will see Republic of Congo in Nicky Butt’s nationality section?

Nicky Butt is the perfect example, he’s been man enough to turn his career around here and I spotted him telling Geremi (The Captain) to get forward against Liverpool.

So we have the service, we have the leader and we actually have able defenders in Steven Taylor and Cacapa, Enrique won’t be leaving for Africa, we have two brilliant goalkeepers in Harper and Given, three flying wingers in Duff, N’Zogbia and Milner, we have a so called world class finisher in Owen and a solid battler in Viduka, so where’s the problem.

The solution is simple- I was aware that when Arsene Wenger showed an interest in young Charlie, he was interested in playing him in the centre of midfield and that’s exactly where I’d like to give him a go, now hows about playing Duff and Milner down the flanks (Duff on the Left one and Milner on the right one ladies and gentlemen!!) and playing Charles and Butt (As Captain) in the middle, harnessing a hell of a lot of creativity and battling qualities as well.

Viduka and Owen could pair up in attack and the back four could be allowed to gel in the face of Cacapa and Taylor, with Enrique down the left. This leaves cover in the shape of Smith, Emre, Rozehnal and Harper etc.

Right back needed then!! But that only tells half the story, I wouldn’t give Allardyce any money at all, I’ve said before, it doesn’t matter if we sign Ronaldo, Kaka, Terry, Rooney and Henry, they will all be limited under this limited regime, the players are here, but sadly the manager isn’t!

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | January 1, 2008 5:27 PM

Craig wrote...

Can tell a lot of people are using the likes of football manager to choose their players haha. Definitely the 2 Belgians going by that (vanden borre and kompany), and why not go for the seal (kerlon).

To be honest, I think we could do with crouch as often as it’s mentioned. Love him or hate him, he gets more than his fair share of goals when he’s given the games. I’m a big fan of smith as well he just needs to get his scoring boots back on, but at least he always shows up giving 200% so although lots of people from what I’ve read don’t like him, I think he’s quality. Another striker that would be a quality signing, although it would be an almost impossible signing, would be babel. Might sound a bit silly, but he’s not getting a regular start for Liverpool, and lots of times this season he’s stepped onto the pitch and scored a goal, kind of in a similar boat to crouchy.

Definitely need a creative midfielder; On Barton,, although he hasn’t been a big hit since his arrival, but you could see he was getting there. Was just a bit slow on the ball which suggests either a lack of confidence or match sharpness. I remember hearing me might get deco last transfer window and I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but now I’m starting to change my mind, and I think he may be just what we need.

In defence, I think jaap stamm would be an amazing signing, I don’t actually know where he is at the moment, but last I remember he was playing for ajax or psv, and I cant remember hearing he’d retired. But I think he’d be an ideal player. Everything we’re after, a leader, a big presence, premiership experience. I like Wes Brown, and he wouldn’t be a bad signing, but I personally don’t feel he would be a step in the right direction. When I first heard we were after him, I thought he was a good idea, but look at who we’ve got at the moment, Rozenhal, Cacapa, Taylor, Faye. I just feel Wes would be a step to the side rather than forwards, he’s a good defender so he’d be good to keep numbers up, but better waiting to get him on the free next summer if possible.

Needless to say, one of the players most prem teams will be after either now or at the end of the season Giles Barnes is a player id like to see in a Newcastle shirt. But definitely like Mort said, some youngsters would be a start, coming in and trying to make the step up, and if you pick the right sort of players, they’ll give everything to get there. I also rate Matt Derbyshire as a great young striker that would be worth considering.

Posted by: Craig  | January 1, 2008 5:36 PM

iain nicolson wrote...

jaap staam retired didnt he ???

as for players leaving i think carr/shola have to go and the way sma treats him i doubt emres too keen to hang around much longer - how longs left on his nufc deal, cant be that much, maybe cash in while hes fit and playing well the few minutes he does get.

i agree with the thought that sam should concentrate on getting the best out of what weve got, as tbh barring any major injuries during the acn we could easily get by on what we have.

given/harper

rb - carr/edgar/taylor

ch - taylor/roz/edgar/cacapa

lb - enrique/zog/edgar

rw - milner/duff

lw - milner/duff/zog/

cm - butt/emre/smith/zog

cf - owen/viduka/smith/carroll/shola

letting carr/shola go and getting two players in rb/cf or cm depending wher smith will play. seems to be the minimum.

where only going to miss faye as martins is being wasted anyway and if we played 442 its 99% likely owen would play ahead of him.

Posted by: iain nicolson  | January 1, 2008 5:48 PM

Myron wrote...

I personally think we need a creative attacking center midfield someone like Van der vaart to help on dictate the team tempo and scoring. Next we need a proper left back maybe Nicky Shorey, we just cant rely on Zob to play in that position whole season. Then a crosser will do fine for the team.
Happy New Year everyone~~~

Ryder's reply: Anyone who has suggested Van der Vaart is correct, he'd be a great signing

Posted by: Myron  | January 1, 2008 5:57 PM

John Best wrote...

There are probably a number of players, that we would like; to strengthen the side but as I have stated before, we will be left with rejects and no hopers. Nobody with ambition is coming to NUFC, ; great support but poor chairman & manager, the rest just fall into line. Thank God , that there are some worse sides in the Prem. but they are few and far between. This is going to be a long run in !! 50 points max.

Ryder's reply: Some fair points John but I have to say that it is a gamble signing anybody no matter what time of year it is.

Posted by: John Best  | January 1, 2008 6:14 PM

Jason Sayers wrote...

Van der Varrt
Diego
De Rossi
Fred
Marcell Jansen
Daniel Alves
Ibanaz Pablo

Sorry were not playing Fantasy Football.

Ufort we are no longer classed as a big boy no matter what we blinded black and white deciples think. Unless we get champs league football we have no chance of attracting world class players, young or even just past it.

I swore I was prepared to give BS 3 years adn that's still whatI am gonna do. Give him the money and let him play his own Fantasy Football.

We will all pick our fav players but it's onl;y BS that counts.

HOWAY THE LADS

PS just for good measure.....
David Villa....I can dream

Ryder's reply: Cheers Jason but do you think we missed a trick not snapping up Gary Speed as player/coach?
Certainly Speedo would have been a short term solution to our problems.

Posted by: Jason Sayers  | January 1, 2008 7:15 PM

chuck wrote...

Cant understand why Sam wastes Nzogbia at left back, he really does`nt know how to defend, but would make a terrific left side midfielder in tandem with duff.
So whats wrong with our six million defender Enrique, is he injured?
Cacapa seems to be adjusting to the prem. Taylor could benefit from his experience.
Think Milner would be better employed as an inside right midfielder,can put his foot in and can score, sorry he is no winger, Wright-phillips anyone?
Brown and Shorey would add proven prem. experience and shore up the defence(no pun intended)
AS for forwards Nick Anelka would pair up effectively with either Owen or Martins.
Soh! how aboit,
Given
Brown Cacapa Taylor Shorey
Wright-philips milner Nzogbia Duff
Anelka Martins

Posted by: chuck  | January 1, 2008 7:53 PM

Nicci wrote...

Paul Patterson,

I agree with absolutely everything you have said. we do have the players so come on, play them in their best positions

Nicci

Posted by: Nicci  | January 1, 2008 7:58 PM

Dan wrote...

If Nicholas Bendtner still wants to leave Arsenal then we should go for it, to solve our left back problems we could try and prize Nicky Shorey from Reading, though that would be a long shot. For an extra Striker we could try Andriy Arshavin, seems promising enough. All we need then is a right winger incase Milner gets injured, possibly a creative midfielder in exchange of Emre and possibly jump the gun and fork out the cash for Wes Brown, he won't hal be gettng alot of contract offers come the end of the season. The last long shot would be Justin Hoyte.

Posted by: Dan  | January 1, 2008 9:29 PM

Deaco wrote...

We need only a limited number of players. Lets recap:

GK - Sorted

Defence - Enrique, Cacapa, Faye, Rozehnal, Taylor, Carr, Beye, Ramage

Midfield - Duff, Zog, Emre, Butt, Barton, Geremi, Milner,

CF - Viduka, Owen, Martins, Smith, Ameobi

On paper this looks excellent. So why can't we string a few results together? Sam has them playing out of position and in unfamiliar formations. THe man is completely void of playing a simple 4-4-2. This is obviouslu what the players are accustomed to. We don't have the players to play the formations he desires.

Posted by: Deaco  | January 1, 2008 9:40 PM

RAY WILSON wrote...

Hi Lee- well said the fans need quality-not much point Sam signing more like he did last summer-as you said no rip roaring success amongst that lot why? simple they are not good enough-if they were we would not get beat by the likes of Derby,Wigan,and get lucky draws at Sunderland-we also were humiliated by Portsmouth and Liverpool. This simply cant go on . Alan Oliver has summed it up perfectly in his half term analysis. We need to sign quality -you cant make average players into something they are not. Keegan was wise he always went for quality and we know quality costs money -so what we got Cole, Asprilla, Ferdinand and Shearer-they all cost big money-todays prices mean bigger money. There are two players I would like us to sign- Berbatov-dont tell me we cant pip the big boys with this one if we really wanted to-Keegan would have-the other one is David Bentley-our midfield is crying out for him-Blackburn are not that rich they could not hang on if the price was right-If we persist with Sams sub-standard signings -we will still spend several millions-as we did during the summer-and what will we have to show for it? I would say precisely nothing as we have so far-you get what you pay for -so unless Mike Astley is content with a 14th or 15th league placing-he needs to spend big and go for quality-the only thing is he needs to get Sam thinking the same and let him know -his signings may have been ok for Bolton -they do not work at Newcastle-I am starting to think maybe Philip Gartside was not exactly spouting sour grapes when he said the fans were bored with Sams game and needed a change.The best managers we have had in my memory never let us down on quality -Joe Harvey always bought wisely-and Keegan made us very special. We are such a long way from those standards now-I wonder can they ever return-I have been a Newcastle supporter all my life -Milburn,Mitchell,Scoular,Allchurch,Eastham,White,Davies,Supermac,Jinky Jim,Tony Green,Terry Hibbert, Keegan, Terry Mac,Beardsley,Ginola,-I could go on -we have become very ordinary-if something is not done soon -then we are slowly going to go back to where we were before King Kev came -but next time one point may not save us.

Posted by: RAY WILSON  | January 1, 2008 10:03 PM

Richard Gee wrote...

I am only an occasional attendee at SJP but watch most games on tv. I do believe that Newcastle cannot take the chance of sacking big Sam at the present moment but he really does need to take a hard look at the teams he keeps turning out.He gives the impression that he chucks 16 names in a hat and after Smith picks out another 10 to take the field. I cannot understand his motives for persisting with Smith and until lately with Gerimi. Whilst the former gives 100% Sir Alex wouldn't have sold a player who had a promising futrue and Gerimi looks too slow to catch the last Metro from SJP. I feel sorry for Enrique who has not been given the opportunity to show if he has talent or not. He will never pick up the pace of the Premier league when he cannot even make the bench. Beye has shown that given the opportunity he can adapt to the pace and looks good for the future. Poor N'Zog deserves a medal for his stirling efforts. A left back he certainly is not but pushed up field he is showing everyone what he is capable of. I only hope Arsene does not come a knocking for a very good French talent.Milner and N'Zog out wide with Butt and Emre in the middle with Owen or Martins through the middle up front would give the team the pace and creativity the crowd is looking for.
With the transfer window now open I am not holding my breath to see who is going to be enticed to SJP to play alongside Sams present mediocre team selection.

Ryder's reply: I think Bob Moncur has said similar, stick with Sam but the big man needs to look at his style of play to keep the fans on his side.

Posted by: Richard Gee  | January 1, 2008 10:20 PM

Goran wrote...

We keep buying players that big clubs don't want to have, like Duff, Geremi, Babayaro, Smith and so on.
I like the way Arsenal do it. Buy young unknown players and make them into stars. Eduardo will be one of Europe's best strikers very soon and no one ever heard of him before Arsenal got him. I would bring the player who made Eduardo a star in Dinamo and that is Luka Modric. His passing, creativity and skills are great and he will be sold very soon to a big club.

Also Emir Spahic that is playing for Lokomotiv Moscow, that can play central defender and cover as a back, no one probably heard of him too, but so was the case with Vidic ( Man U ).

It seems to me that our scouts are very poor ones, there are so many talented players out there and I'm sure we will end up buying Bridge, Brown or some big club back up again!

Posted by: Goran  | January 1, 2008 10:47 PM

Andy Mac wrote...

What's the point of asking who we'll buy when the manager has no idea how to deal with or get the best out of the current set of players ?

Continually playing N'Zogbia at LB is bordering on the insane.

Posted by: Andy Mac  | January 1, 2008 11:13 PM

Roland wrote...

Personally I worry that whoever we sign in the January transfer window will end up playing out of position because Sam thinks versatility is important. I think getting the best out of a player is important so for a start I'd sign someone else at left back as $6million Enrique has apparently been training as a goalkeeper ensuring N'Zogbia is being continually wasted at left back. Our best player by a country mile (except at defending ironically enough) is being hidden in defence. I've got no real problems with the defensive players we have as long as they get played properly, keep Geremi as an emergency right back and buy a creative midfielder (Deco would be my choice but can't see it happening. Or Kaka ha ha) .
I really like the look of Menez but everyone seems to think he's already an Arsenal player, it's a shame as he's tough and quick with all the skills, I like that French player with the scarred face, can't remember his name, Ribery, that's the fellow, but again an Arsenal player.
Up front, someone big and strong and quick (ish) who can hold the ball up and finish..One name leaps to mind, Gudjohnson, and Sam knows him really well too. Crouch I could go for but he'd be expensive and would make us look foolish every now and again. It probably won't matter that much anyway, Mike Ashley will only keep Sam on for the next six months and then review prior to the summer, Sam was a Freddie signing and you can't help thinking that unless we finish sixth or higher Sam on the outer and a big name Rijkard or Trappatoni or whatever will come in. Remember what happened to Ranieri at Chelski? writing is on the wall.

Roland in Sydney

Posted by: Roland  | January 1, 2008 11:38 PM

Phil wrote...

ToonKing,
Just watched some vids of Diego Ribas da Cunha.(Midfielder,Werder Brehmen)
The people who get to see him play every week are blessed.What a player he looks.
Nice one for pointing him out.
I'd b interested if we signed him but Sam would play him right back or sumthn.

Posted by: Phil  | January 2, 2008 12:47 AM

James 09 wrote...

Crazy thought but how about playing Enrique - that'd effectively be a new signing. Or should that be effectively two new signings with N'Zogbia playing in position.

Will Allardyce have 10-15 mill in total, let alone to splash on one player??
If we want young players at bargain prices that are going to develop into fantastic players - let's get our hands on a certain Arsene Wenger's notes.

Van der Vaart, Nasri, Diego - I guess we can dream but just somehow I can't see those players figuring very high in Sam Allardyce's plans. Unfortunately, the slightest dribble of realism would suggest we would have major difficulty bringing in that quality (and especially as they're all under 25) of player in.

We're still far from defensively sound and I'd gladly add Wes Brown to our squad - he'd be cheapish too. Mind you, we've scored more than one goal only twice in our last eleven matches, so who knows where our priorities should be. Of much more importance - the points return of 9 from those 33. However, dig a little deeper to the manner of many of those goals (e.g. 2 own goals, 2 penalties,cross/shot)and we get a hint of just how bad we've been.

In line with some other posts here, I think we could significantly improve with our current squad if only Allardyce himself would improve.

Posted by: James 09  | January 2, 2008 2:58 AM

Paul Venn wrote...

I read recently Chris Waddle, I think it was, saying we needed to sign some flair players. Good point about flair needed but what about N'Zogbia, Duff, Milner, Emre, Martins? Do they not possess flair?

Regardless of what people think about Owen and Viduka they are proven goalscorers. Even Smith and Shola can score goals - we just need to give them the ammunition.

What the big boss needs to do is inject flair and creativity into BSA's thinking and even with the Ghana exodus we have plenty of talent. Maybe not top 4 talent but surely better than the also-rans we keep embarrassing ourselves against!!

If we have to buy, we buy grade A, Premier League quality or promise, simple as that.

Let's hope 2008 is a Happy New Year because I am tired of false dawns.

Posted by: Paul Venn  | January 2, 2008 8:17 AM

Geoff Forster wrote...

We need a quality left back.

Plus at least one mega star flair player would be great to get the fans back on board.

Time to 'Splash the Cash Ash' or sack Allardyce very soon (like tonight).

Posted by: Geoff Forster  | January 2, 2008 9:32 AM

John Best wrote...

Sam is playing a very defensive pattern.largely because his defenders, arnt up to the task, I refer to his back 4.The midfielders are barely average class and are trying to help the back 4, as a number 1 priority; this leaves the strikers abandoned up front, withour proper service.
If Sam went for an attacking formation, we would get slaughtered, as we are below par in all departments.Given that Sam bought 8 of these players , he must shoulder the blame to some extent !!Which of his super 8 have shone ??? None of them would get a start, at any worthwhile Prem club.We need a minimum of 4 top players NOW, to save the season; clearly we have no youngsters ready to come through the ranks; which speeks volumes for the poor managers who have gone before him. The club is a JOKE. Morale, who is kidding who;it could,nt be lower.ask Joey Barton. Opposition teams want to play us every week, our present chairman; makes Freddie Shepherd look good.

Posted by: John Best  | January 2, 2008 9:35 AM

STEVE wrote...

We are just awful to watch under BSA and he seems to think that we are goin in the right direction,i cannot see it,its so negative.But i think if he plays 4-4-2 and lets the players attack,plus a couple of goalscoring ball-players we should see a turn around.....if not performances like at home to liverpool will become the norm.Something like GIVEN,BEYE,FAYE,CACAPA,ENRIQUE..MILNER(RW),SCOTT BROWN,DAVE KITSON, NZOGBIA..MARTINS,ANELKA.................We aint gonna get Berbatov etc and we could gamble on a couple of foreigners,old players like albelda and edmilson who have never experienced the frenetic pace of the prem just arent gonna cut it,plus its only a short term fix, i do like the look of modric and zigic,but i think brown,kitson and anelka are safe bets and its realistic that we can go out and get them....dave kitson is a gem by the way,hes gonna be a top player........heres hoping anyway..HOWAY THE TOON....3-1 VS MANCITY

Posted by: STEVE  | January 2, 2008 10:48 AM

shearer4pm wrote...

sorry but have u seen him play!!!!

i feel we need a signing who will get the job done in midfield without causing a fuss"
i think we need someone

Posted by: shearer4pm  | January 2, 2008 11:45 AM

Whumpie wrote...

I'm on the side of those saying we already have almost the team we need - just not the tactics to use them. We need to sort another LB if Enrique isn't making the grade, and we need someone to take over from Nobby for delivering accurate crosses.

BUT there's one more consideration: with the FA edging towards introducing quotas for home-grown players, we need to look for young, English talent where possible. Matt Taylor or Nicky Shorey, anyone?

Posted by: Whumpie  | January 2, 2008 11:58 AM

Anonymous wrote...

How's about transfer Allardyce. A free transfer would be nice.

Posted by: Anonymous  | January 2, 2008 12:33 PM

Shiftay wrote...

for starters thought id point out behrami is a swiss international :P (was born in yugoslavia tho) and there isnt any chance of him joining, and we dont need him..hes a right sided player and our right side, if any, is our strongest (milner and beye are probably 2 of our best performers at the club)

david albelda would be a quality signing but again i cant see the need for another defensive midfielder, dont buy for the sake of buying! (again my reasoning is that nicky butt has been the clubs week in week out constant and is deserving his spot)

i agree we need a creative midfielder, but stretching to diego and van de vaart is nonsense from people who just bought these guys off football manager.

realist target that i would set big sam is to play players in there right positions (see martins, n'zogbia, milner) and buy a "get stuck in" midfielder and someone to create chances.

id like to see andrey arshavin (was really happy when he was linked with the toon) in the black n white and also i think we have a chance of signing darren fletcher whos hardly played all season at man united and fergie is best mates with big sam...who knows? :)

id start with:

Given
Beye - Taylor - Faye - Enrique

--------------Butt------------

------Fletcher - Arshavin-----

Milner ---------------N'Zogbia

-----------Viduka-------------

at the moment i dont rate any of our forwards, and viduka is the only one scoring...

Posted by: Shiftay  | January 2, 2008 12:59 PM

rich wrote...

Firstly, we could be in the top 6 now if Sam played the players in his current squad in the obvious, simple formation (4-4-2) with an attacking mentality. However thats an argument for another day.

In terms of buys:

APPIAH from Fenerbache. The guy is a class act, strong, tall, no nonsense dominating central/defensive midfielder. Very underrated and hence undervalued!!

Also a very creative central midfielder is a must. Any of those metioned previously.

A new centre forward. Let Shola go. Let Owen go. Get Anelka instead.

Plus lets start snapping up some promising youth players from around the globe as well as on our own doorstep. We'll eventually find our own Fabregas or next Beardsley!

Our defence will never get better unless we start to attack in games. You sit back for 90 minutes, you will eventually concede goals and eventually make mistakes. We need to take the pressure off the defence. However, one common denominator in our 'poor' defence in recent years is the goalkeeper. I like Given and his desire to stick with Newcastle is good to see but for me (and i've said this for many years) he doesnt talk to his defence, he doesnt organise his defence, he doesnt know when to come off his line and his distribution is very poor. He may well be one of the greatest shotstoppers in the world but i'd rather we had a keeper who did everything very well than did one thing brilliantly and be average at everything else. We should start looking at bringing Krul in as Givens deputy next season and then (as long as Krul continues to show his early promise) replace Given as the number one.

Posted by: rich  | January 2, 2008 1:01 PM

Big Kev wrote...

Spend the lot on one player, Klass Jan Huntelaar of Ajax. This kid is going to be the next big thing, a cross between Torres & Van Nistlerooy, Pure quality. The lad has everything, pace, power, skill & he scores goals for fun. Van Der Vart would be a good buy but he seems on his way to Chelsea. as for Huntelaar, Buy him now before he ends up at one of Europes big guns!!!

Posted by: Big Kev  | January 2, 2008 1:33 PM

Bazza wrote...

Go for David Bentley - he will be as good as Pedro ever was - believe me!!

Posted by: Bazza  | January 2, 2008 1:44 PM

henry allen wrote...

i think we ned to bring the old days back lets gettitus bramble for defence,laurant robert for midfield and sibierski upfront

Posted by: henry allen  | January 2, 2008 2:17 PM

john low fell wrote...

I agrree with most of the posts, especially Paul's. Bringing in unknowns over-priced by their agents,chosen by who knows who and mismanaged when they arrive would be ludicrous. Suprisingly the posts make little mention of our home grown talents and having watched the pacy pair of Jonny Goodsmark and Lua Lua ( cousin of )this might bejust the right time to give them a go. As long as they get the right kind of help from the intelligent and less crude older players we might get a pleasant suprise. Are Arsenal the only team with the 'gonads ' to try out new things ?

Posted by: john low fell  | January 2, 2008 2:32 PM

Campbell Waddell wrote...

Unless we can sign a couple of quality top drawer players there's no point signing anyone. Berbatov is the player that seems to be on everyones shopping list so we probably would'nt get him, but how about having another go for Eidur gudjohnson, he does'nt seem to get much of go at Barcelona. On the defending front we really need a wise old head back there a leader with the ability to look after the ball and not treat it like a hot potatoe. The trouble is there are'nt too many candidates that fit the bill someone in the mould of a Franco Baresi, is there anyone like him around these days, I don't think so, but that is the kind quality we need to improve our fortunes otherwise it's not worth signing anyone. The fact that it will cost so much to get rid of big Sam means talk of sacking him is just ludicrous, so we should get behind the man and the team and hope he gets it right this new year. All the best everyone especially to those wearing the black and white.

Ryder's reply: Berbatov is also a massive Toon fan too but whether we'd shell out £26million is another matter.

Posted by: Campbell Waddell  | January 2, 2008 2:52 PM

Big Kev wrote...

Oh & I think people need to get real here. It seems to be spend £10m on this bloke & £15m on this one & Ashley has spent nowt, well the blokes spent a fair bit buying the club & getting the debt (which we've got by spending the above amounts on very average players who were supposed to be the business) to a more realistic level. People have to realise this is a long term project & you can't keep sacking managers every few months, that's why we get no where. The only two managers in recent times to have achieved anything were Sir Bobby & Keegan & they had time. Anyone remember Bobby's first couple of seasons? They were awful. Or when Keegan sold Cole? That season died a death but he waited, was given time & bought the right man in Sir Les!! Get behind Sam, give him time & we might end up doing something. Whats the alternative? Another 50 odd years of winning er NOWT!!

Posted by: Big Kev  | January 2, 2008 3:19 PM

Duncan Baines wrote...

I think it is wrong to say Robson's first two seasons 'were awfu'l, especially in the context of arguing we should 'get behind Sam'. For example, beating Manchester United 3-0 and our very unlucky FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea were better than anything Allardyce will ever manage!

Posted by: Duncan Baines  | January 2, 2008 6:08 PM

Anonymous wrote...

World class move by Allardyce putting in Owen at the time he executed it.

Posted by: Anonymous  | January 2, 2008 10:18 PM

stuart T wrote...

i think the manager who eva it is will only get a small amount of money in january probs sayin it up for the summer. but if ashley is willing to spend id lyk to see:

two centre backs maybe players lyk
wes brown, hypia, o'shea and lescott etc.

spend big on a right midfielder to provide service to strikers such as: david bentley, wright-phillips, beckham and lennon... would love to see bentley playing for us rate him more than milner

and i think we need a striker... viduka is a bench warmer not up to scratch probs coming on for the last 20 mins if the games isnt going too well.. so maybe: crouch, heskey (probs wondering what is he saying but remember heskey and owen for liverpool and england.. immense combination) or someone like klose from germany such a class player.

i also think we need a quality creative midlfielder: diego,deco and nasri.

players to get rid off: martins to create some cash dont think the lad will be round for much longer and get a good £13-14 million for him. also emre under achieved maybe £4-5 million for him. also carr and ameobi probs get £2 million each for them.

we need to be playing attacking, flair football and the only way i can see us doing that is by getting a new manager i.e the one and only 'big al'. he will defo play attacking football as he is always banging on about it on MOTD but also would get the balance of sorting out the terrible toon defence we have had to suffer with over the years. allardyce style of football is baffling.. he is trying to be too organised and abit to predictable (long ball) or as he would call it a 'long pass' the guy doesnt have a clue!

Posted by: stuart T  | January 2, 2008 11:06 PM

Steve T wrote...

Too much fantasy by some people here.
Nearly every expensive foreign import we have brought in has whinged their way to the bank first, then another club second. Names are being hoyed about of players I doubt many people have seen play regularly. Lets face it, the egos and the exotic dont want to come here when theres nowt to win and no Champs Lge. Lets get back to basics.......

Need a left back (still!...) to free Zog. Im fed up with Allardyces pig-headed insistence on using our most creative player as a very makeshift left back and messing about with Milner on either wing. Howzabout signing Shorey, Premier League hardened, and playing Zog left, Milner right. God knows whats going to happen with Enrique but it will run and run no doubt......

A playmaker is required but they are gold-dust and though talk of Bentley is most welcome I'd be highly surprised if he came here right now. Hopefully the prior suggestion might help to produce more chances. Could do with a tough, mobile centre forward who can lead the line and read the game as Martins clearly can't. Although he never gets the right service. The Owen situ is becoming a joke. Viduka is in and out and rarely looks fit. Smith grafts away to little effect. Crouch may could be useful and seems to have developed the knack to score consistently. Probably cost a fair penny though.

As for central defenders.....God knows!
14 years in the Prem and yet to find a decent, settled pairing. I don't geddit.
Would have been nice to get Woodgate back and surprise surprise, he's rarely injured since going to Boro. Would have been a good pairing with Taylor. Where are we when the likes of Lescott gets snapped up for relatively cheap price?
Oh yeah, squandering millions on Boooooumsong. Ah divven knaa!....

Posted by: Steve T  | January 3, 2008 12:05 AM

Stuart wrote...

I wish people would get more realistic

why dont we try and sign messi or ronaldinhio maybe ever cristiano ronaldo?

we just need a few solid players at the back who have premiership experiance and one creative midfielder.

Posted by: Stuart  | January 3, 2008 1:00 AM

Steve from the States wrote...

I have noticed over the last few games that all teams now double team us when we pick up the ball out wide...they clearly understand that we have no creativity in the center of the park...shut down our talented wide players and we are lost.

If you watched City today they attacked thru the midfield (Elano) and dragged Newcastle all over the park how often was Petrov open out wide....compare it to when Milner picks up the ball and he is immediately closed down.

Not sure who is the answer but we need a QUALITY attacking center midfielder....Someone earlier mentioned Nzogbia although he's not your typical "spray the ball around the park" center mid but he might force the opposition to respect us in the center of the park to free up space for Duff and Milner.

Having said all that we created many chances in the first 20 minutes...but we have zero confidence at the moment in front of goal.(Martins looked out of it again today) Owen missed that chance and then our heads went down.

Just my two cents

Posted by: Steve from the States  | January 3, 2008 3:42 AM

Anonymous wrote...

Duncan they were awful especially season two just look at the league table!! We had to watch the likes of cordone, Domi ,fumaca & Gavilan, Shocking!! I know it's not great at the moment but we have to stick by our manager & give him a chance.

Posted by: Anonymous  | January 3, 2008 11:01 AM

Iain wrote...

Think some of the continental players are too much of a gamble after Viana, Marcelino etc and northern European players are likely to have fewer difficulties adapting to the league and the weather.

Players I would look at, and who would likely be achievable) would be:
Wes Brown (CB or RB)
Matt Taylor - Portsmouth (LB - would give some overlap down the left flank and weigh in with a few goals per season)
Alan Hutton - Rangers(RB - the best British right-back I've seen in a while and great going forwards)- failing that shift Geremi to right-back rather than midfield
Scott Brown - Celtic(CM/RM - although may need to weight until the summer - a real terrier and decent in front of goal)
Lucas Podolski - Bayern (very mobile and intelligent forward who is good at linking between the midfield and strikeforce and currently warming the bench at Bayern)

Posted by: Iain  | January 3, 2008 1:11 PM

tom wrote...

Ahem.mmmmmmmmmm. 3 61/2Ft very quick defenders. A creative midfielder good for freekicks and unexspected shots 30pluss yards out.

Posted by: tom  | January 3, 2008 2:09 PM

tom wrote...

Reading your comments.I belive to many players are playing different positions each week Sam wants them to be versatile. Remember a few seasons ago solano handled on the goal line said he forgot he thought he was playing in goal

Posted by: tom  | January 3, 2008 5:39 PM

Brian wrote...

Newcastle`s only solotion in this moment is to find some prommissing youngsters because the best players who will be availeble in the marked will go to bigger clubs. Old players who cant get a chance in Man.U, Liverpool or Chelsea will loose the motivation i think that even Crouch will go down a level or two if he came and he will problebly only come if he can earn more than he already do at Liverpool

Posted by: Brian  | January 4, 2008 11:29 AM

mark wrote...

I'm sick to death of sam allerdyces obsession with the opposition. After the stoke game he was quoted as saying his team needed to have a particular game plan to nullify stokes aerial threat! I just wish he'd spend less time worrying about who he's playing and just concentrated on how his own team were going to try and win the match. Why can't he just pick a formation,buy and pick players who can play in it,get them to give their all every game and try and attack teams a bit more? Big teams don't worry about the opposition and they didn't get big by worrying. I don't like to harp on about the past, but keegan just set out his best side and attacked, and the only worrying was done by the oppositions manager. He seems more concerned with how to stop the opposition winning,rather than trying to win the match himself,and if this continues i can't see newcastle achieving anything of substance under allerdyce.

Posted by: mark  | January 8, 2008 10:53 AM