Unbelievable

If we paid the money, he would join us no question. Krul, Siem De Jong, Janmaat and Anita are here man. Dutch bonanza. His stock is already way above ours man.

There is no way Wijnaldum would move to either Sunderland or us.

Yup. I don't think he's being kept on however.

"With the Hammers out of the race the likes of Newcastle, Southampton and Chelsea should have a clear path to make a move for the striker." Love how they make it sound like West Ham is the biggest club in the world. Anyway, after them we are clearly the most attractive option available to him, so I expect him to have his medical tomorrow at the latest.

Deadline

Look, I'm not being negative for negativity's sake here unlike what some people might think. Think about it: why would a Dutch poster on a NUFC board with a history of defending Dutch and Eredivisie players when they have been (in my opinion) undervalued come out and express dismay at the arrival of a possible Dutch number 9 at Newcastle? I would love nothing more than to see a Dutch striker become a hero at this club. I wanted us to sign Dirk Kuyt back when we were supposedly after him. I have no ulterior motive here, I couldn't possible have. I hope we don't sign Bas Dost. That doesn't mean I'm writing him off before he's even kicked a ball for us or will not give him a chance because he's not our player yet, and whilst that is the case I sincerely hope we look elsewhere and aim higher. His record isn't all that bad and I will always defend any Eredvisie striker record against the likes of Ronaldo (the poster) who suggest the league is so weak that any striker could score over 30. That said, he scored 77 goals in 163 competitive games in Holland (one season in Jupiler League, 4 in Eredivisie), or slightly under one in two. Take out his "Pardew 5th place season" anomaly and it drops to in 39 in 124, or slightly under one in three. Wolfsburg shelled out for him when his stock was high (after the anomaly) and at the higher Bundesliga level you would expect a striker with these numbers in Holland to score maybe one in four in a stronger league, which proved to be the case in his first two seasons at Wolsburg (12 in 41 in Bundesliga), where he was a squad player at best despite the fact that they had paid just shy of 10m euros for him. His hot streak earlier this year for Wolfsburg was seriously impressive, but nobody saw it coming (a bit like Papiss Cisse's streak in his first few months here) and I think nobody who closely follows the German league can realistically see him replicating it, not least Wolsburg which explains why they want to cash in on him while his stock is (once again) high. Having said all that, his goalscoring record is not my biggest worry with Bas Dost. It is the fact that he is the type of player that needs the team to be built around him and quite frankly, he is not good enough for that to happen at the top level. Considering our current group of players, there is hardly anybody here at this point in time capable of providing him the service he would require to be even considered half decent. Bas Dost is more or less purely a box player, a luxury we sadly cannot afford as we are in deperate need (in my view) of a forward who can transform the way we play offensively, and by this I don't mean hoofing it at the big lump up top, but somebody with some pace, movement and intelligence about him. A wider criticism would be what this transfer represents, especially coming in the wake of Mike Ashley speaking of Champions League football and talking about the club finally pushing above its weight. Bas Dost is to the Newcastle number 9 shirt what Steve McClaren is to the Newcastle hot seat: utterly underwhelming and a sign not of renewed ambition, but of ingrained mediocrity. It is simply not good enough and ultimately all this penny penching and taking chances in the hope that some may come off will only continue to see us fall further down the footballing ladder. The club is absolutely raking it in from TV revenue, posting profit after profit and the most we have spent on a striker under Ashley (one of the richest people on the planet) is 10 million pounds or about half what a good lower Premier League/top Championship forward would set you back nowadays. Yes, I am negative about the direction of the club in general and this potential transfer in particular, but I don't f***ing want to be. I would much rather the club was run ambitiously with a striker capable of replicating the heroics of the best number 9's we've seen over the years. I'm sorry to say there is no way that Bas Dost will ever be that player, not ever. His goalscoring record as well as his all round play are nowhere near good enough.

You didn't answer my question - how many Wolfsburg fixtures did you watch last season to gain such an expert judgement on him? The bloke started 28 games last season (across league, cup and international), scored 20 goals and got 7 assists. Terrified of the ball he is, absolutely terrified. Fine. He's a penalty box striker with good general instincts but needs to be force fed. In other words his ability on the ball isn't very good at all and seeing as we don't really create much it would be De Jong mk2 ( the crap one) except i agree with Unbelievable, De Jong is a better player. Still didn't answer my question, but okay Lets hope we don't sign this bloke, because four people on an internet forum claim to have scouted him on a regular basis (with their intense and fantastic scouting record) and deem him unable to be a success for us. :cheesy: And your qualification for opining on this subject is? I've not said he's good nor bad, I've just criticised others who have slated a man who they've barely seen kick a ball. I've simply stated to give the bloke a chance (should he sign). Except we have seen him kick a ball unlike you. You're beyond help. Your argument is pathetic. PS - I went and watched Wolfsburg live on one occasion last season and managed to catch between 6-8 of their league and cup games on TV. But obviously you know everything and you are a world class football scout. Good on you. So you're not ignorant, just completely rubbish at properly assessing a player. But please do tell, what did you see in Dost's style of play that made you think he would be good enough for the PL?

You didn't answer my question - how many Wolfsburg fixtures did you watch last season to gain such an expert judgement on him? The bloke started 28 games last season (across league, cup and international), scored 20 goals and got 7 assists. Terrified of the ball he is, absolutely terrified. Fine. He's a penalty box striker with good general instincts but needs to be force fed. In other words his ability on the ball isn't very good at all and seeing as we don't really create much it would be De Jong mk2 ( the crap one) except i agree with Unbelievable, De Jong is a better player. Still didn't answer my question, but okay Lets hope we don't sign this bloke, because four people on an internet forum claim to have scouted him on a regular basis (with their intense and fantastic scouting record) and deem him unable to be a success for us. :cheesy: And your qualification for opining on this subject is? I've not said he's good nor bad, I've just criticised others who have slated a man who they've barely seen kick a ball. I've simply stated to give the bloke a chance (should he sign). Except we have seen him kick a ball unlike you. You're beyond help.

He scored over 40 goals in 60 appearances with Heerenveen over two seasons. 20 in 28 appearances with Wolfsburg. Three seasons of absolute luck! What a complete terrible player he must be! Sigh. I've never said he was a terrible player. Just not good enough for the level we are/should be aiming for, as well as not at all being the type of forward I would like Newcastle United to build their attacking play around. Not sure what is so difficult to comprehend here.

Give it up man. There are at least four people (Felipao, The Prophet, Mole and me) on here who claim they have seen plenty of him (more than you no doubt) who think he has hit a purple patch and is a pretty average player, almost certainly not good enough for the top end of the Premier League, which is where we apparently aim to compete and not worth what we would likely have to pay with his stock being as high as it is ever going to be. I am yet to see anybody say they have seen him play loads and suggest the opposite. Your blind hope argument doesn't really carry much weight I'm afraid.

Still totally lost on me, sorry. Seriously though, good little player is Berghuis. Wide forward with a semblance of the Van Persie about him. Same goes for Ziyech who is more a central attacking midfield player, plays for McClaren's old club who are in a mess financially so may well be willing to do a deal. Both beautiful left pegs

What?

Too soon, but Riechedly Bazoer is one to watch

Steven Berghuis

Hakim Ziyech

Luuk de Jong is a better player, and I'm not even joking.

Steve McClaren appointed as head coach and Bas Dost our first signing. Yeah, we'll definitely be heading places...

Wait, they didn't mean it that literally surely?

“It’s a new beginning for Newcastle United" Fuck off

Aye

Pete Greaves (spelling?) from Sky wasn't it?

Nobody knows jack shit, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from 8 years of Ashley ownership to suggest we are in for another shocker of a transfer window. From where I am sitting they have given a clear "statement of intent" by appointing McClaren.