KaKa

Newcastle's Rankings according to their formula 1. Obafemi Martins (35) 2. Kieron Dyer (46) 3. Shola Ameobi (115) 4. Steven Taylor (139) 5. Oguchi Onyewu (159) 6. Antoine Sibierski (168) 7. Damien Duff (175) 8. Craig Moore (183) 9. Emre Belozoglu (197) 10. Peter Ramage (208) 11. Scott Parker (215) 12. James Milner (228) 13. Paul Huntington (239) 14. Charles N'Zogbia (248) 15. Steve Harper (261) 16. Celestine Babayaro (262) 17. Shay Given (264) 18. Titus Bramble (297) 19. Nolberto Solano (318) 20. Stephen Carr (352) 21. Nicky Butt (358) The numbers in brackets are their overall rankings out of 403.

Very interesting article. They don't have the full article online, but I have it at home. They also ranked the players on each team and Martins was, according to this formula our best player, while Nicky Butt was the worst!!! Fascinating stuff check it out. I will type up the rankings for our team in a bit ... Just to add they ranked 403 players and Paul Robinson came in at 402!!! He was ranked as one of the worst keepers in the league!!! My eyes always told me he was and now I have mathematical proof. There are a lot of surprises in there. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/fink_tank/article1851667.ece

They're not crap by any stretch of the imagination. I'm going with Sam's judgement on these two, Kingston especially from what I've heard 2nd hand is a bit tasty. Parky I was wondering though ... do you think Boateng is being monitored as an alternative to Kingston or do you think Sam wants both? I cannot believe Hearts have an agreement to take up the option on Kingston for £500,00 and they haven't done so. Just over a week to go and we will have a chance at him. No idea unfortunately. I have a feeling we would have signed sounded out Kingston untill the Ashley thing changed the whole ball game. What? I was really looking forward to some classic Sam signings. players who would definitely be taking a steop up by coming here, and hopefully doing very well. I had high hopes for Kingston. That really sucks! I hope your not saying Sam's got 'stars' in his eyes. Is he now after bigger names, or has the Ashley thing just slowed everything down.

They're not crap by any stretch of the imagination. I'm going with Sam's judgement on these two, Kingston especially from what I've heard 2nd hand is a bit tasty. Parky I was wondering though ... do you think Boateng is being monitored as an alternative to Kingston or do you think Sam wants both? I cannot believe Hearts have an agreement to take up the option on Kingston for £500,00 and they haven't done so. Just over a week to go and we will have a chance at him.

Agreed, dunno why Sam would want Davies when we have Taylor, is there any point at all? All we need is experience beside Taylor which we can get dirt cheap seemingly. Which is nice. Squad depth. Plus despite what he may have looked like in a U21 game or the odd appearance someone may have caught of West Brom he is actually a very good young player. He certainly is, but for £10 million you want someone who is going to come in and lead your defence. Not a youngster for squad depth. West Brom are really messing the boy up with their outrageous valuation of him.

No way Sam blows £10 million on Davies. This has to be a left over rumours from the Glenn Roeder days. The reaction to Kingston and Boateng makes me giggle though. Is it such a surprise that good players can be found in not so obvious places? Just look at Drogba you want to talk about a late developer? He was playing in the second division at the age of 22! Even Ben Haim, you know, the guy we are all hoping signs ... I wonder what the rection would have been if we were signing him from Israel like Sam did while he was at Bolton. I mean we are talking about an Israeli player from Israel here. People would have been going mental! Sam's got skills. I'm not necessarily saying that these guys will be world beaters, but I can guarantee you they will not be crap, and there is a chance, in my opinion, that they will be very good. They will make a contribution to our team. I am really excited that Sam appears to be sticking to his formula and not deviating from it just because there might be a rich new owner.

who? He's a DM and plays for Lille. I think he's about 23-24 years old. Has a great engine and good breaking up attacks. But he's also good on the ball and has a quite good passing. Has the energy of a duracell rabbit. Would cost quite much, but i believe that £8-9m could be enough. Parker out and him in. Twice the player imo.. If we could attract him, but worth a shot imo.. Laryea Kingston is practically an identical type of player, and might indeed be just as good. He would cost around £500,000. I say we go for him instead. The only difference between the two is the exposure Makoun has received at Lille. Well i have not seen Kingston play at all. If he's that good as you say then i really hope we get him. Would be a bargain for £500 000 if he is THAT GOOD. How comes that he plays for Hearts? It's very difficult for a lot of young talented African players to end up at really top clubs. They usually take the first option that comes to them to go abroad and unless they are brilliant from a very young age (around 16, like Martins was) they don't necessarily go to well known clubs. Therefore, those who really begin to develop around the age of 20 find that they are stuck in places like Russia, Israel, Turkey etc. and a lot of times it is hard for someone to show faith in their abilities because their achievements are not recognised or given much credit due to the leagues they play in. Yakubu started out in Israel and Okocha was in Turkey, both for way longer than they should have been in my opinion, but sometimes it takes a while. Kingston is still registered with his Russian club, but is on loan at Hearts. They have until the 6th of June to take up their first option on a £500,000 transfer. Here's hoping they don't! Maybe SA is trying to encourage them not to, with some brown envelopes, so he can come to us instead.

who? He's a DM and plays for Lille. I think he's about 23-24 years old. Has a great engine and good breaking up attacks. But he's also good on the ball and has a quite good passing. Has the energy of a duracell rabbit. Would cost quite much, but i believe that £8-9m could be enough. Parker out and him in. Twice the player imo.. If we could attract him, but worth a shot imo.. Laryea Kingston is practically an identical type of player, and might indeed be just as good. He would cost around £500,000. I say we go for him instead. The only difference between the two is the exposure Makoun has received at Lille.

We might as well just wait for the bloke to arrive to see how he does. Don't write him oof just yet. You only have to look at the likes of Chimbonda to understand that there are good players who are hidden in some pretty remote places.

Hearts risk losing Kingston HEARTS have until June 6 to finalise the permanent transfer of Larry Kingston from Terek Grozny or risk losing him to another club. The Evening News has learned that Hearts' first-option clause on the Ghanaian must be activated within the next 13 days, as stipulated in the loan agreement brokered with Terek in January. English clubs are monitoring the situation but Vladimir Romanov has first refusal on Kingston for a previously agreed fee in the region of £500,000. But he must complete the deal by June 6 or the player will become available to the highest bidder. Kingston has been alerted to the interest from England but has already publicly declared his desire to remain at Tynecastle. He is currently on a two-week break in Ghana whilst awaiting clarification on his future. The 26-year-old signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Hearts worth £15,000 a week upon his arrival from Terek in January, which will continue from the summer if his move is made permanent. Kingston's agent, Alexander Fedoseev, said today: "I think we need one week for a final answer. We are negotiating with Hearts but the contract states they have the first option. We are awaiting a reply from them. Larry is enjoying his vacation but before June 6 we will know everything. "One agent from England called me and said that a team there wanted to sign Larry, but I said that until Hearts refuse him we can do nothing. I can't discuss any other options with teams until Hearts say no. "I want Larry to stay in Edinburgh." Kingston, 26, saw a potential move to Bolton Wanderers fall through in January before Romanov took him to Hearts on a six-month loan from Terek. Sam Allardyce has since left the Reebok Stadium to manage Newcastle United, but he still rates the player highly and may try to tempt him to St James Park. Sammy Lee, Allardyce's replacement at Bolton, is also understood to retain an interest in Kingston.

There seems to be a gentleman's agreement in place reg Nolan. So not sure about that at all. Not sure about Reo-Coker? Or Nolan? And why is Anelka unsure does he have other offers from any big clubs, are Juve still in for him?

I think 4-3-3 is what we will be going with too, which is why I have been surprised with talks of Owen and Martins staying. I'm not sure either has the skill set to play as wide forwards. We will essentially have to revamp the whole team as we don't have the type of central attacking midfielders who get forward and score enough goals, which is vital in the 4-3-3. I think you mentioned Nolan before, is this still on? Would Nolan and Reo-Coker be the two pushing forward from the middle? It also looks like we might go with Crouch rather than Anelka as the central striker.

All legit mate, that's why there is no bollocks about Beckam and the like. Out of all of that Baines is definite. He tried to sign at Bolton and is one of the players he has continued to track.* Wow ... Sounds good. How do you think he will use Kingston as he can play as an attacking midfielder or a playmaking defensive one. Do you think he will pair him up with the likes of Nolan or Reo-Coker? In which case I guess he would be more defensive. We really need to make sure we get the midfield partnership right.

I don't like to write off someone I know nothing about but up there with Appiah and Essien? What the hell is he doing in Scotland (and not even with one of the big 2) if he is THAT good? He is about 28 isn't he? Unfortunately for him he ended up in Russia early on in his career and it is a very difficult place to get out of. Look, he isn't as good as them, because he obviously lacks the experience of playing for the kinds of clubs they have played for, but skills wise he is right up there. There are so many talented African players out there who arein some of the most unlikely places. Yakubu for instance started out in Israel, and when he first came to Pompey no one knoew of him.

Parky is this info legit? Or are these just your thoughts? Kingston would be a really good pickup. He will surprise the whole league if we get him. Has all of your typical African attributes but also has brilliant vision, creativity and a wicked range of passing. He is right up there with his fellow countrymen Appiah and Essien.

I'll ask again, what the fuk do you think his silence means? That he's not sure where his future is, that he needs to sit down and talk with Big Sam, and that it'd probably be best to wait till the takeover is complete to do so? No point him coming out and stating his commitment to the club if theres any doubt in his mind that he won't be wearing the black and white next season. I too want only players who are 100% committed to the cause playing for the club, maybe Owen just needs proof that we can match his ambitions before he can deliver that commitment. Puleeeeeeeeeeeeeease! You wish you were as fly and sexy as I am! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatever girlfriiiiiiiieeend Prat.

Puleeeeeeeeeeeeeease! You wish you were as fly and sexy as I am!

Totally irrelevant. Its like saying am getting paid at the end of the month, i think i'll stick the £50 note down the drain. This all good if Ashley takes full control and he is willing to put this kind of money in and its not just paper talk. Blimey someone's in a foul mood. Go have a lie down old chap. You'll feel better in the morning. By the way ... I totally agree with you about Owen. Think he's got not guts or courage. If he wants to leave he should at least have the guts to say so. It's funny because I never wanted him here from the moment he said he only wanted to come on loan. However, everyone was so ecstatic about getting him. Personally, I've got no respect for the man. I can't believe anyone still hopes he will stay. I for one will be happy when he moves on, but everyone is entitled to their feelings on the matter. As for Mr. CAshley, I am choosing to remain optimistinc as it is about time we had a bit of luck!

Woah people calm down! How anyone can still be upset about Owen is beyond me. By all accounts it looks like we will have a decent amount of cash to invest this summer so we can replace him anyway. We will put together a new team and it will be a good one so just clam down. Besides if Sam screws it up the new owner has the funds to replace him with someone decent who he will back as well. We are in a very decent position so please stop going on. Let's give Sam a chance to build his team and support him, and wether it goes well or not we will still be alright. I am confident Sam will do well though, so just enjoy it!

Wow ... Do you think Owen and Martins might be leaving and we will be going to a 4-3-3 full time? Rotating between Crouch and Viduka as the target men? Seems likely to me. We are going to need a hell of a lot of attacking midfielders though cause in my opinion we have none at the moment! We don't really have any worthy attacking wingers either apart from maybe Milner.

The Journal say he would be back this week! Shak where the heck did you hear 22nd of June from?!!! That would be outrageous!!! That's practically another month. he is definitely back this week.

They'd be alright players if they had a reliable defense behind them and a good targetman in front of them. Am not saying i would keep them indefinite, in fact if decent money came in id sell em all, but under a new manager they could have some use. I know but in general I think we would have been better off buying players of a similar ilk who were still on the rise, rather than these guys who were cast offs from other top clubs.

I just hope this doesn't mean we go out and buy more Duffs, Parkers and Emres. We need hungry players with a point to prove Sam, so please dodn't succumb!!! Stick to your psychological testing and all of that good stuff PLEASE!!!

Totally agree.

Everyday we here about top strikers who will be moving this summer but still no mention of Adriano. This fella has dissapeared of the face of the Earth it seems. He has fallen out of favour at Inter and isn't anywhere near the first team as Crespo, Ibrahimovic and Cruz are tro top dogs. It seems he has lost his way a little bit. The big question is who will take the risk on this fella? He is still only 25 years old for goodness sake! The problem is he still has enough of a reputation which alone will mean a substantial fee will need to be paid, but with the investment we are expecting this might no longer be a problem, and if handled right Adriano could still be an absolute beast of a striker. Yes, he is very left footed, but his power, pace and shooting are unbelievable. One of the closest things out there to a traditional old school target man in the Shearer or Drogba mould. If Roeder was in charge I wouldn't even bother contemplating us going anywhere near this guy, however we are fortunate to have a pretty special manager who excels at getting the best out of top players who have lost their way a bit and so I think Adriano might be a very worthwhile pursuit. Particularly if Allardyce intends to build a team which plays the 4-3-3 system he had at Bolton, as a fit and motivated Adriano would be perfect as the target man in this system. The question is, is Adriano worth the risk? And for let's say a price of £12million would you have him at Newcastle?