The Toon Army Thread

[NUFC Tiger]

Matija Nastasic is a pipe dream I think, I would absolutely jizz my panst if we got him but I think the more realistic option is Richards. Nastasic probably see's us as to much of a step back considering he graduated from being a regular at Fiorentina ( above Newcastle) to Man City, and by the looks of it he will go to Arsenal, plus his wages would be quite large. Sinclair? I'll pass on him, he is a typical journeyman who has never found his place at a football club, has a ton of talent but has never made any good of it.

I really wish Mike Ashley could see how big our club could be and really invest in it on the park, we need to throw away that 'development club' tag that players use for to take the next step onto bigger things and start mixing it with the big boys. I'll give Ashley credit, he is a smart operator, our club is now debt free and strong financially but he will never win the fans over until he really invest in Newcastle on the pitch and that means wages of 70-80k+ and 10-15 mill transfer buys.

True about Nastasic - maybe a loan option if no one comes in for him? I think Pellegrini said he's happy to go into the season with only 22 players in his squad (would City consider loaning him though I wonder? Given they can have a squad of up to 25, surely they'd include him in the squad if no buyers come).

Sinclair would be a good replacement on Obertan/Gutierrez or even the frozen out Ben Arfa and give us another wide option. I really would like to see Sissoko playing central instead of wide. For reportedly $2.5m, probably could do worst. He was good for Swansea before going to City and chasing money.

Very true about Ashley too Tige. I read somewhere that despite signing 9 players this window, our net transfer spend in the last 12 months is something like $7.5m (which is a paltry amount for a PL club when you think about all the TV money floating around).

He is using us a vehicle for Sports Direct and getting free advertising. The thing is, if he dipped into his pocket even just a tiny bit for a 'big' name signing or something, it would propel the club up in lights - a little bit of investment and we could really make a good push for becoming regular top 6 finishers.

Further to that, higher finishes in the league means growing the fanbase, more high profile televised matches (more advertising for him), bigger sponsors wanting to associate with the club and ultimately more merchandise sales for his empire. He wants to expand into Europe and Asia, what better way than having the club perform strongly in the league and helping grow the brand?

 

[robertg22]

Matija Nastasic is a pipe dream I think, I would absolutely jizz my panst if we got him but I think the more realistic option is Richards. Nastasic probably see's us as to much of a step back considering he graduated from being a regular at Fiorentina ( above Newcastle) to Man City, and by the looks of it he will go to Arsenal, plus his wages would be quite large. Sinclair? I'll pass on him, he is a typical journeyman who has never found his place at a football club, has a ton of talent but has never made any good of it.

I really wish Mike Ashley could see how big our club could be and really invest in it on the park, we need to throw away that 'development club' tag that players use for to take the next step onto bigger things and start mixing it with the big boys. I'll give Ashley credit, he is a smart operator, our club is now debt free and strong financially but he will never win the fans over until he really invest in Newcastle on the pitch and that means wages of 70-80k+ and 10-15 mill transfer buys.

Yep this is spot on. The Cabella signing is definitely a step in the right direction, but we need more. De Jong should be good also, but he has a pretty bad reputation as far as staying on the park goes.

Nastasic would be perfect, he's only 21 and has plenty of experience. Probably unrealistic though, as you said Arsenal sounds like a good fit.

 

[robertg22]

Sinclair would be a good replacement on Obertan/Gutierrez or even the frozen out Ben Arfa and give us another wide option. I really would like to see Sissoko playing central instead of wide. For reportedly $2.5m, probably could do worst. He was good for Swansea before going to City and chasing money.

I just think we need to focus our time & money on signing strikers or center backs. We're pretty well stocked out wide and De Jong coming back will help that, as we can pretty much move Cabella out wide permanently. I think he's a bit small/skinny to play through the middle, he went to ground far too easily on a few occasions.

Would be even better if Pardew got sacked, you'd assume then Ben Arfa would be back into the mix! One can only hope.

 

[tige19]

True about Nastasic - maybe a loan option if no one comes in for him? I think Pellegrini said he's happy to go into the season with only 22 players in his squad (would City consider loaning him though I wonder? Given they can have a squad of up to 25, surely they'd include him in the squad if no buyers come).

Sinclair would be a good replacement on Obertan/Gutierrez or even the frozen out Ben Arfa and give us another wide option. I really would like to see Sissoko playing central instead of wide. For reportedly $2.5m, probably could do worst. He was good for Swansea before going to City and chasing money.

Very true about Ashley too Tige. I read somewhere that despite signing 9 players this window, our net transfer spend in the last 12 months is something like $7.5m (which is a paltry amount for a PL club when you think about all the TV money floating around).

He is using us a vehicle for Sports Direct and getting free advertising. The thing is, if he dipped into his pocket even just a tiny bit for a 'big' name signing or something, it would propel the club up in lights - a little bit of investment and we could really make a good push for becoming regular top 6 finishers.

Further to that, higher finishes in the league means growing the fanbase, more high profile televised matches (more advertising for him), bigger sponsors wanting to associate with the club and ultimately more merchandise sales for his empire. He wants to expand into Europe and Asia, what better way than having the club perform strongly in the league and helping grow the brand?

Have City ever loaned a big money signing? I'm not sure but I'd think even at his age they would rather sell than loan, they are fairly ruthless when it comes to the business aspect of football. I'll take Sinclair over Obertan but I'd probably take Routledge over Sinclair and Routledge is a hack lol.

Listen, one thing everyone needs to be clear on is Mike Ashley has no association or connection to the North East, he doesn't feel obliged to feel any emotions towards the community or it's supporters, It's a complete 180 when comparing Fat Mike to Fat Freddy Shephard. I know Freddy had his criticisms and he ran the football club into a fair whack of debt but no-one could ever doubt his passion for the club, it's supporters and the North East, it's a friggin total sha,e that Freddys ambition isn't shared by Ashley ( who actually has he coin to turn the club into a power). I could understand if Mike Ashley was struggling for coin but the facts are he is one of the top 20 richest people in the UK, he is worth billions and spending 50 NET million is like $1000 to me, it's not THAT much.

As it stands we are a sell first buy second club and for this reason I support the sale of Tiote, if we could re-invest those funds into a CB or notable striker then I would be happier.

Has anyone seen the early season form of Lacazette for Lyon? We really missed out on one there.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

I just think we need to focus our time & money on signing strikers or center backs. We're pretty well stocked out wide and De Jong coming back will help that, as we can pretty much move Cabella out wide permanently. I think he's a bit small/skinny to play through the middle, he went to ground far too easily on a few occasions.

Would be even better if Pardew got sacked, you'd assume then Ben Arfa would be back into the mix! One can only hope.

So true about Pardew!

The only way I could see that happening though is if we struggle poorly early on. I think De Jong can play CAM with Cabella and Sissoko either side with Gouffran and Aarons being other options.

Have City ever loaned a big money signing? I'm not sure but I'd think even at his age they would rather sell than loan, they are fairly ruthless when it comes to the business aspect of football. I'll take Sinclair over Obertan but I'd probably take Routledge over Sinclair and Routledge is a hack lol.

Listen, one thing everyone needs to be clear on is Mike Ashley has no association or connection to the North East, he doesn't feel obliged to feel any emotions towards the community or it's supporters, It's a complete 180 when comparing Fat Mike to Fat Freddy Shephard. I know Freddy had his criticisms and he ran the football club into a fair whack of debt but no-one could ever doubt his passion for the club, it's supporters and the North East, it's a friggin total sha,e that Freddys ambition isn't shared by Ashley ( who actually has he coin to turn the club into a power). I could understand if Mike Ashley was struggling for coin but the facts are he is one of the top 20 richest people in the UK, he is worth billions and spending 50 NET million is like $1000 to me, it's not THAT much.

As it stands we are a sell first buy second club and for this reason I support the sale of Tiote, if we could re-invest those funds into a CB or notable striker then I would be happier.

Has anyone seen the early season form of Lacazette for Lyon? We really missed out on one there.

I really hope we can get a CB and ST in during the last few days - seems to have gone cold the last few days on the Richards front.

Lacazette - 2 goals from 2 games, certainly starting off well. A shame he didn't want to come join us.

Apparently Ashley has put Strawberry place up for sale (a bit of land near the ground) that if sold, could potentially restrict any future expansions to St James' by landlocking the stadium in.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-united-fans-hold-meeting-7636946

I don't mind Ashley's running of the club in trying to make us more financially viable, I just wish he had the club's best interests at heart instead of his pockets. He's sitting on a club with so much potential but just doesn't seem to want to fork out more money than he has to.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Liam Sweeney, one of the Toon fans who lost his life in the MH17 tragedy had his funeral yesterday and it was great to see the club represented with Pardew, Colocinni, Carver and Charnley all attending. Nice gesture from the club I thought.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

In transfer news, some rumours we are holding out for $14m for Tiote (would be good business I think given he cost us $2-4m I think? from Twente).

There was some talk that we were interested in Marseille winger Andre Ayew but that seems to have gone cold (as have the Sinclair rumours).

We are again being linked to Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk for $8m and there's been some suggestions Richards could be on his way to Roma.

 

[tige19]

In transfer news, some rumours we are holding out for $14m for Tiote (would be good business I think given he cost us $2-4m I think? from Twente).

There was some talk that we were interested in Marseille winger Andre Ayew but that seems to have gone cold (as have the Sinclair rumours).

We are again being linked to Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk for $8m and there's been some suggestions Richards could be on his way to Roma.

I have a gut feeling that we won't do any business until January and I have a gut feeling that unless guys DeJong, Cabella, Gouff, Sissoko score then fans will be calling for Pardews head pretty quickly. We are so thin up front, we literally have zero PL proven scorers ( I won't count Cisse's flash in the pan early form). I will jizz my pants if Riviere bangs in 1 against Villa and we get the points.

 

[tige19]

Big day for me... Need some help! I have a mate staying with me and wants to get on the piss here in Sydney, which is a problem because hawthorn vs Geelong is on followed by toon and villa!! The issue is I hate watching sport pissed, I feel like I'm missing things. The other flipside is that I get the night away from the mrs and I can get sauced.

I like the sport option, will probably save me $300 to.. Id be shattered if I lost both

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Haha tough one and definitely a big night for you tige!

Maybe pump him full of drinks and have a few yourself so you can still follow what's going on?

I've got a similar situation, my birthday on Monday so I'm heading out for dinner and drinks with a few mates tonight AND hopefully will be watching the game somewhere (thank feck we have the early game this week!). Toon Triumph would do nicely!

 

[tige19]

Haha tough one and definitely a big night for you tige!

Maybe pump him full of drinks and have a few yourself so you can still follow what's going on?

I've got a similar situation, my birthday on Monday so I'm heading out for dinner and drinks with a few mates tonight AND hopefully will be watching the game somewhere (thank feck we have the early game this week!). Toon Triumph would do nicely!

3qtrs pissed and done usain bolt on the mate.. Unlucky! Ah well, toon and hawks I come

 

[robertg22]

Gouff geeezz....

 

[robertg22]

Take the point I guess. We really need a striker.

 

[tige19]

Siem should have nailed it.. Had he been on the park from the get go he would have! Looked great, was clearly our best for the time he was on.

Capella looks like the PL is to physical for him, he hasn't adjusted at all. In France you have time on the ball, you can creat your own separation and gallop into space but in the PL you're harassed and tugged and pulled all day. He needs to adapt, he has all the ability in the world.

Jaanmat was brilliant, he is a real rock and never gets caught out of position.

Williamson solid as usual.

Colo done what he does against championship level attack.

Colback is so good, he just has a huge motor and distributes so well. Lacks a bit of creativity and not the quickest guy out there but he is workman like and has plenty of talent. Tiote is well replaced.

Rivière is a concern. He had some nice touches but he isn't the best dribbler so doesn't beat his defenders one on one very often, not like Remy. In fact, rivière is exactly like a poor mans Remy from what I've seen. Fingers crossed he comes good.

Not happy with the point, villa are deplorable and I've got no doubt they will go down. We dominated the game, if would have been a perfect afternoon for Ben Arfa and Loic Remy to run havoc... Ohhhh wait :-/

 

[robertg22]

Janmaat was great. He will be better for us than Debuchy I reckon.

Agree with you about Colback too, he has been great. If we do end up selling Tiote for the 14m being reported, I hope we spend that money on a striker! Desperately need one, Riviere is not a #1 option. We have only scored 5 goals in our last 10 premier league games, that is shocking.

 

[tige19]

Janmaat was great. He will be better for us than Debuchy I reckon.

Agree with you about Colback too, he has been great. If we do end up selling Tiote for the 14m being reported, I hope we spend that money on a striker! Desperately need one, Riviere is not a #1 option. We have only scored 5 goals in our last 10 premier league games, that is shocking.

To be fair 14mill is way way way overs for Tiote. 7-8mill is like his worth, the fact he's contracted until 2017 leaves the ball in our court.

 

[scon]

Chris Waddle was fairly disdainful about the quality of the team 'if Villa were facing a team of any quality this game would have been over a long time ago.' etc.
Definitely need an attacking playmaker in the midfield(de Jong) and Riviere obviously must have a partner(Remy remains my hope regardless of what the old stager Redknapp has said).He will have a terrible season if played up front by himself.
Coloccini is still up to it for mine but another central defender would be a good thing.Colback is a ripper.
Janmaat has settled immediately and will be a great buy from what we've seen.Cabella will learn to beat them when it really counts I would say cos he looks like an intelligent player and will be clubbed like a baby seal if he doesn't figure it out;I'm confident he will.
Even though Pardew still has a couple of decades left on his contract I can't see him lasting if we continue to average 1 shot on target per game.
Even though I don't want him there I acknowledge that he is surrounded by a resounding lack of ambition which is no doubt reflected in his game day tactics and style.It's like Obama's foreign policy 'Just avoid making any monumental phark-ups'.
The window's still open and thankfully Cashby has said he doesn't want to buy Glasgow Rangers.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Only managed to catch the last 20 or so minutes but seems like we had a few chances to win it (saw the De Jong attempt late on and Gouff might have had a decent chance too?).

I think Riviere will turn out to be a decent striker for us but as was said, he is used to playing with someone up front with him and might not be the type who can lead the line himself.

Williamson's red was a bitter blow - I fear that means Taylor will get the nod ahead of Yanga...We have Palace at home next up, I'd be worried if we don't win that one!

Before that though, I think we have a League Cup game against Gillingham tomorrow morning? Suspect we will see a few youngsters like Armstrong, Aarons, Abeid, Ameobi, Haidara etc all given games. Hopefully Perez gets a full game too as I've liked the look of him (and he was stiff to get subbed off so soon after coming on against Villa) Hopefully we'll see our first goals for the season!

Cast your mind back to last season when we struggled a bit early, remember this guy? He helped get the ball rolling with the winner vs Fulham and a great game against Villa from memory.

2 assists and a goal (Armstrong got a hat trick as well) for the U21 side this morning. Pardew, give him a second chance! He's too good to rot in the reserves.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/alan-pardew-watches-hatem-ben-7668547

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Also, did anyone see Pardew do this on the weekend? What is he doing? Trying to tell someone to 'settle down, stop dancing around and enjoy the game' maybe?

 

[scon]

More like don't forget I'm the knob-end who's your coach.
Williamson serves his suspension against Gillingham where Saylor would probably have started anyway.
Would be great for us if Ben Arfa has decided to play to his potential and prove Pardew wrong...just have to get past Pardew's ego now.
Before you started watching everything was there except decisive/incisive final third play with either power or guile on the end of it.
#bringbackshearerisay.

 

[tige19]

More like don't forget I'm the knob-end who's your coach.
Williamson serves his suspension against Gillingham where Saylor would probably have started anyway.
Would be great for us if Ben Arfa has decided to play to his potential and prove Pardew wrong...just have to get past Pardew's ego now.
Before you started watching everything was there except decisive/incisive final third play with either power or guile on the end of it.
#bringbackshearerisay.

Remember last year when Pardew was comparing Ben Arfa to Messi? This guy really is a sore sore sod.

 

[robertg22]

At least HBA played in the reserves game, that is a step in the right direction. Would love to see him, De Jong and Cabella behind the striker.

Edit - we don't have a striker... but it's good to dream lol

 

[NUFC Tiger]

More like don't forget I'm the knob-end who's your coach.
Williamson serves his suspension against Gillingham where Saylor would probably have started anyway.
Would be great for us if Ben Arfa has decided to play to his potential and prove Pardew wrong...just have to get past Pardew's ego now.
Before you started watching everything was there except decisive/incisive final third play with either power or guile on the end of it.
#bringbackshearerisay.

Just realised that myself - actually pretty lucky it works out that way. I think I read Yanga is injured too which is why he hasn't been on the bench so far this season but isn't far off a return.

5 days left in the window, I get the feeling we won't be bringing anyone else in (I shouldn't be disappointed after we signed 9 players but kind of feels like a bit of a let down if we're done shopping).

 

[robertg22]

Just realised that myself - actually pretty lucky it works out that way. I think I read Yanga is injured too which is why he hasn't been on the bench so far this season but isn't far off a return.

5 days left in the window, I get the feeling we won't be bringing anyone else in (I shouldn't be disappointed after we signed 9 players but kind of feels like a bit of a let down if we're done shopping).

Game vs Gillingham is a good chance for Haidara to get a chance too because Pards seems hell bent on just picking Dummett. Having said that, Dummett was a bit better against Villa.

I hope Ferreyra gets a start too, we desperately need SOMEONE to score for us, Riviere hasn't looked particularly likely at all.

I doubt we'll see Sammy or Armstrong vs Gillingham though, both played last night. Aarons didn't play in the PL or last night, so you'd assume he plays against Gillingham.

 

[scon]

5 days left in the window, I get the feeling we won't be bringing anyone else in (I shouldn't be disappointed after we signed 9 players but kind of feels like a bit of a let down if we're done shopping).

Baulked at getting the thing that makes all the other signings make real sense because it's the most expensive piece of the jigsaw-someone who puts it in the net.