Summer Transfer Window

[Jatz]

Ah shit that really sucks for them. Zero chance of staying up now I would think.

I imagine he's still out but I must admit that I haven't heard how he was doing since the day it happened.

 

[SM]

I imagine he's still out but I must admit that I haven't heard how he was doing since the day it happened.

Well Glenn Murray only came back late in the season from an ACL he did in the play offs, so can't imagine we'll see Vokes for a while.

Still not sure why EPL clubs don't even seem to consider LARS, or seem to mention it as an option.

 

[apollo_creed]

the cringey breaking news bars return!

MATE THE CRINGey thing in that photo isn't the breaking news bar.
cringey thing 1# - the quote - pass me the bucket. not even a good quote.
2 # - the haircut

 

[chef]

Looking like Ba will be sold to Bestikas for around 8 million.

For a guy who didn't play much, wasn't here long and didn't cost a lot he certainly provided some lasting memories.

My fav

 

[Nallad]

For a guy who didn't play much, wasn't here long and didn't cost a lot he certainly provided some lasting memories.

My fav

This won't end well

 

[pantskyle]

Very surprised that no English team were willing to pay 8m for Ba.

Prove PL scorer who could have worked well at quite a few teams.

 

[LFTWNG11]

Don't think Markovic will be a good value signing for Liverpool. Still very raw and lacks end product. He won't be given much time to settle in either.

 

[Nallad]

Don't think Markovic will be a good value signing for Liverpool. Still very raw and lacks end product. He won't be given much time to settle in either.

Markovic is a jet. He will flourish under BR.

 

[pantskyle]

Don't think Markovic will be a good value signing for Liverpool. Still very raw and lacks end product. He won't be given much time to settle in either.

Has the ability but won't be an instant success. I think Liverpool did pretty good out of this deal, better than the Lallana deal.

 

[chef]

Has the ability but won't be an instant success. I think Liverpool did pretty good out of this deal, better than the Lallana deal.

Yep, he's a very good prospect and going to be able to adjust and develop. With Courtinho, Sterling and Lallana ahead of him at this stage he's got plenty of time.

 

[LukasTheGreat]

Very surprised that no English team were willing to pay 8m for Ba.

Prove PL scorer who could have worked well at quite a few teams.

It would have been a wage thing probably, that or Chelsea wouldn't have sold for 8m unless it was outside the PL.

 

[pantskyle]

It would have been a wage thing probably, that or Chelsea wouldn't have sold for 8m unless it was outside the PL.

Not sure how a Turkish club could out pay most EPL teams in wages and don't think Chelsea selling to another EPL team would hurt that much. They wouldn't be selling to a title contender.

 

[Jatz]

Very surprised that no English team were willing to pay 8m for Ba.

Prove PL scorer who could have worked well at quite a few teams.

The problem would have been wages for a lot of clubs I think. I would have loved Leicester to have a crack at him but we can't afford anywhere near 80k a week.

For those that could afford it, there are better options available.

 

[pantskyle]

The problem would have been wages for a lot of clubs I think. I would have loved Leicester to have a crack at him but we can't afford anywhere near 80k a week.

For those that could afford it, there are better options available.

I disagree. For 8m you aren't getting better.

 

[Jatz]

I disagree. For 8m you aren't getting better.

For clubs like Newcastle and Co? Southampton may have been a good idea but outside of that, no club from 6th down is going to pay those kind of wages. Any club from 6th up can get a better striker and can afford more than an 8mil transfer fee.

 

[chef]

Would have been good for a team like the Spurs.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Great news!!

How do you see the strongest Newcastle XI looking for next season? Where do you realistically see them finishing and why?

(Feel free not to answer these - you've just helped me get really interested in Newcastle and as you're a real fan (whereas I only watched Newcastle about 4-5 times last year) I figured you'd give me some really good insight (and would probably enjoy talking about them anyway))

Mate, you're not wrong at all! There is nothing I enjoy more than talking about the Toon (except perhaps ripping on Scumberland lol!). Hopefully you can watch us a bit more this season - as far as I see it, there's plenty of room on the Toon train and frankly, no club does drama like we do!

Perhaps it's due to not signing any permanent players for almost 18 months but for most of us, this has been a ripper of a transfer window so far! We've historically always been slow about going about our business but at the rate we're going, we might have all our business done and dusted before the opening game which would be amazing.

Maybe it's blinding optimism but I'm really looking forward to this coming season - after the doom and gloom of the second half of last season, we've hit the ground running and look like we mean business again. Last season, we were sitting quite comfortably in the upper reaches (6th after the Boxing day round of matches) and in with a shout of European qualification but the sale of Cabaye (and no subsequent replacement) took the wind out of our season and we crashed to 10th (being pipped by Stoke on the final day).

That being said, the squad we have now (at least on paper) looks much stronger - we've lost Cabaye, Remy and almost certainly Debuchy from our best 11 but gained Cabella (who's been hailed as the next Cabaye) and De Jong (for the price we sold Cabaye for) which will give us a massive boost in the creativity department. Debuchy was my choice for RB of the season last season (and had he played a handful more games, he might have got more plaudits than he did). I suspect he will do very well at Arsenal and get some rave reviews from playing for a big club (story of my life haha). Janmaat looks like a great pick up and should prove to be a solid replacement at the very least - he looks more defensively resolute than Debuchy but might not offer the same attacking threat (though Cabella and De Jong may make up for that anyway). It's a big step up from the eredivisie for sure but coming off a strong showing at the WC, I'm sure he won't be too fazed and will find his feet in time. Ayoze Perez comes with big wraps and Colback is an upgrade on Gosling who left on a free. We had a good 11 last season but a few injuries and we struggle big time given the lack of quality depth. We've (IMO) strengthen our depth this window and found similar/capable replacements for the players we've lost from our best 11 of 13/14.

A fee for Emmanuel Rivière apparently has been agreed so he could join in the next 24 hours as our sixth signing this window. He can play as a target man (an upgrade on Ameobi) or use his pace to run onto passes (which Cabella and De Jong should be able to supply). Cisse who's injured has struggled the last 2 seasons with a lack of supply but as a natural finisher, he could thrive on some quality service and perhaps regain the form he found when he first joined us (scoring 13 in his first 14 games for the club). Another striker and our squad will be set I think. De Jong and Cabella also address another issue we had after selling Cabaye - a decent set piece taker!

As it stands, my starting 11 for our opening game against City would be:

------------------Krul------------------
Janmaat - Colocinni - Williamson - Haidara (though Santon will start ahead of him).
-----------Tiote------Sissoko----------
Cabella---------De Jong-------Ben Arfa--
---------------Riviere-------------------

Subs: Elliott (GK), Yanga Mbiwa, Haidara/Santon, Ryan Taylor, Colback, Anita, Ayoze Perez (or Cisse if fit).

In terms of a prediction - my heart is confident we can do well this season and surprise a few (maybe pushing towards Europe again! De Jong has said he wants to aim for the Champions League so I love his ambition - though that could be a bit unrealistic if we get injuries given our squad is still quite thin and players may need time to adapt/gel as a team). The big concern I think will be Pardew and whether he can harness the potential of the squad. He certainly has some talented players available to him but perhaps doesn't have the tactical genius to get them functioning as a confident ball playing team. If he struggles early, word is he will get the sack (and we might go for a promising manager like Christophe Galtier or even De Boer if he is interested). Either of those 2 would give me more confidence from a tactical perspective.

So heart says a finish of anywhere between 6th-9th.
Head says 8th to 12th. (Club's minimum expectation is a top 10 finish).

On paper, I think we are better currently than the teams around us (and who'd I'd expect to be competing against on the table) such as Southampton, Swansea, Stoke and possibly even Everton.

I'll probably revisit my prediction later once I've seen the other team's make more signings but as it stands, I'm a very very happy (and excited) adopted Geordie

Howay the lads!!!!

 

[ADL9798]

For a guy who didn't play much, wasn't here long and didn't cost a lot he certainly provided some lasting memories.

My fav

Y u do dis?

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Would have loved Ba back but as has been said, reckon his wage demands would have been too much for us (unless we moved on a few players first).

Agree that the outlook for Burnley doesn't look too promising - are there any Burnley fans on here?

Given Ba is seemingly a lost cause, maybe our interest in Ings might step up.

 

[chef]

Y u do dis?

U no like?

 

[Jatz]

Would have loved Ba back but as has been said, reckon his wage demands would have been too much for us (unless we moved on a few players first).

Agree that the outlook for Burnley doesn't look too promising - are there any Burnley fans on here?

Given Ba is seemingly a lost cause, maybe our interest in Ings might step up.

There was a Burnley fan that used to occasionally post in the Championship thread. Haven't seen him for a while though.

 

[Hatchy1992]

For a guy who didn't play much, wasn't here long and didn't cost a lot he certainly provided some lasting memories.

My fav

Still my favourite Ba moment. I'm going to miss Ba, never complained once and was always willing to do his best when he was given a chance. Lukaku could learn a thing or 2 from him.

 

[pantskyle]

For clubs like Newcastle and Co? Southampton may have been a good idea but outside of that, no club from 6th down is going to pay those kind of wages. Any club from 6th up can get a better striker and can afford more than an 8mil transfer fee.

I was thinking only about five clubs.

Spurs
Everton
Southampton
Newcastle
West Ham

 

[Jatz]

I was thinking only about five clubs.

Spurs
Everton
Southampton
Newcastle
West Ham

West Ham don't need him.
Newcastle can't afford the wages.
Southampton don't seem to want to invest back into the squad. That club looks the best fit for Ba from the outside though.
Everton is a good shout but again, he'd need to take a pretty decent pay cut I would have thought.
Spurs would likely be aiming higher (but could do much worse).

 

[NUFC Tiger]

There was a Burnley fan that used to occasionally post in the Championship thread. Haven't seen him for a while though.

Hope their promotion brings him back even if it's only for a season