Geordie_once_removed

He was looking good in the few appearances he made in the second half of the season too. Him, Miley and the new version of Gordon hopefully give us a few more options.

Provided Watford are paying 60% plus of his wages this is about the best the club could do. I still think there is a solid player in there, but given his recent form and injuries no club would risk a permanent signing. For him I hope he has a good season and restarts a career that Bruce and Ashley's Newcastle killed. For the club I hope we can then flog him for a few million next summer, I doubt we'll ever see him in a Newcastle shirt again.

Is it just me or has ASM leaving been discussed so much on this forum that a little part of my brain feels like it has been willed into happening by this disccusion. So I find myself oddly annoyed at the forum for being responsible.

I think there is a solid player in there it's just the club have never been in the right place for him to develop. First we were turbo sh#te and toxic under Bruce and Ashley. Then we needed seasoned pros to get us out of the mess the above had got us into. Now, while he still has potential, we're too good for him or can't afford him the playing time to get him up to the level needed even for back up. I hope he gets a good move and can restart his career, he's always seemed like good professional.

I thinks it more us playing hard ball. We have a price we won't exceed (that is below Leicester's valuation) and a player who wants to come here over all other clubs. It's now a case of who will give in first. I fancy our chances of 'winning' this one and getting him for our valuation.

Agreed. Even if you have a real dislike for them (I don't as my family is from Heaton but I've never personally lived there) there can be no greater diss than just ignoring them.

Barthez mark II?

Was meant for the Barnes thread.

I think we have our price (probably around the £25 million reported) we have communicated this unofficially while getting the player on board. Now we'll sit back and wait. We've seen Man City and the like do this before and they usually get their man. It's really gratifying to see us in the same boat already. We know we have an exciting project, a fantastic coaching team with a proven record of improving players in place and that this sell us to players so they won't want to go anywhere else. This is much like the prospect of working with Guardiola does for City.

If he had played mainly RW I'd be all in. We just seem so well stocked at LW I don't get it and can't get excited. To my (ignorant) eyes LW seems arguably our position with the most strength in depth, don't all of the following class to some degree as LW players: ASM Gordon Joelinton Anderson Isak So depth seems good to excellent and only aided by the fact that they do slightly different and good things.

Is it just me or does Mitro look a bit like he is taking fitness advice off our illustrious former manager/professional salad dodger?

It's not even really a record in the top flight unless you think football in the UK started in 1992.

I'm see the priority as RW, RCB and then LB. If Schär is injured the drop in quality to our next RCB is bigger than from Burn to Targett. I know a more attacking LB would give us a better balance, but due to his age and propensity for knocking himself out on a football pitch I feel relying on Schär is too much of a risk. Obviously I want both but if we can't have it all...

So that's about £170 million on Rice and Havertz. Which is the last player Arsenal got serious, above 30 million, money for? Surely they'll be at their FFP limits now. Rice seems like a good move, but someone needs to explain Havertz to me. He's not a bad player but I just don't seem what he adds to an already very good team, especially as I feel they have a few alternatives who all are good and similar.

Almost perfect. Just add 'our' to the "in a Fiat with our Dan" to make it fit the line better.

I like Southgate, apparently stick me in a suit and I have a passing resemblance to him. So if England win something under him there is a potentially lucrative side hustle as a look-alike of him. He's a good coach/manager but not a great one. Eddie Howe actually highlights quite well his shortcomings. Howe has all those good communication, man management skills Southgate excels at but combines them with a (respectful) ruthless streak Southgate lacks. As well as the ability to have a clear footballing philosophy that he is able to adapt to the opposition and the situation more than Southgate. That's is why Howe is showing signs of being a great manager while I suspect Southgate will only ever be good.

The size of the bobble on the turf the ball takes on the trough ball! Not seen that since the 90s.

A new LB is 3 or 4th on the priority list for me. My order is CM, RW/RWF, then RCB or LB. I love Burn but when you look at the stats playing him makes us a bit one dimensional and places a lot on Trippier not getting injured. If you have someone with more attacking treat down that side, with Trippier fit you can vary how you attack more. If Trippier gets injured then you can play a similar way to this year but switch the focus to the left. We also arguably have out best attackers on the left and this could help us get more out of them. Finally we could in some games switch to a back 3 with attacking wing backs. It just gives us a lot more options.

I've read this several times too. It's just another example of how they are a really smartly run club. As an emerging player this must be a major draw. If Leicester really are asking for £60 million for Madison consider how that approach differs. They won't get that, it'll drag on so they can't buy to replace and people who they might buy will be questioning if it is a good idea to go there as they too might end up trapped.

I can't believe that image of Bruno controlling the ball is real. I thought it was a commercial tie in with the new EA Sports football game or something.

I have this with Coloccini on the back. Great kit if you ask me, didn't we come in 5th in it as well?

Perhaps this has been answered earlier but I'm not going mad that image is computer generated right? If so why? Anyway nice kit. It may be the first I'll buy since Wonga sponsored us (in a years time, in the sale. Naturally).

I'll admit my ignorance upfront but wasn't he a bit of a leftfield/underwhelming appointment for Celtic? He looks like he has done well there but so too did Lennon. I smells all a bit Nuno Santos to me. Also I can't decide if it would help or hinder him if Kane was sold. Sell him and he'll be expected to successfully integrate into the team the 2/3 signings made to replace Kane's goals. We've seen time and again this isn't easy. Keep him and that is a big personality sticking up the place because he's not got his move and isn't exactly overawed by some Greek bloke who was just working in Scotland, it's a bit of a prestige drop from Conte!

Lingard released, not getting him might prove to be one of the best bits of transfer business we did in that January window.

It would help if Southgate wasn't allergic to calling up Newcastle players. I can't understand how Gallagher is in the England squad over Longstaff for example. Willock too if he wasn't injured.