What do you think we need to get in/get out in January to have a top 4 squad?

[Guest Deep456]

The transfer window has JUST shut...is it not possible to have a couple of weeks to let the current crop of players settle in and play before we start judging how good they are(n't).

 

starting a January transfer window thread already, christ. No wonder the media label us demanding and impatient.

 

It's just looking forward.

 

can't we just take a few days to appreciate and look at what we've JUST got....I bet you're that kid who makes a Xmas list in September, yammers on about it to your mam and dad non-stop,but as soon as you've opened all of your toys, you're making a birthday present lists...

 

No one told you to join this thread don't like it,don't enter simple. Also I am a kid yes but I am happy with what I get. I don't expect anymore from my parents as they pay 12k on my school fees for one of the best schools in the country with a 40% input into oxford/cambridge. I am more concered with your grammar than the Newcastle squad atm.

[Shak]

I'd prefer to use 4-4-2 myself, just think signs are pointing towards 4-3-3 instead.

 

If we'd bought a winger instead of Smith then I think we'd be heading towards 4-4-2 more often, would have liked that tbh.

[Guest Hodgson09]

Milner will improve, he needs that end product which will come in time, and he needs the confidence to pull the trigger when he has the opportunity. I like Milner and think he will become a very good player. He will reach his potential sooner if he grows a full beard though.

[Taylor Swift]

Milner will improve, he needs that end product which will come in time, and he needs the confidence to pull the trigger when he has the opportunity. I like Milner and think he will become a very good player. He will reach his potential sooner if he grows a full beard though.

 

:lol: you may have a point

[Shearer9]

I'd like to see a really top class winger come in, someone who can has loads of pace and can play on both flanks, I think that could make a real difference to this team.

[Guest mobiius]

I'd like to see a really top class winger come in, someone who can has loads of pace and can play on both flanks, I think that could make a real difference to this team.

 

i think we have a top class winger in Damien Duff it remains to be seen whether BSA can get him back to his mercurial best. not sure if he can play on both flanks though.

[ElDiablo]

I'd like to see a really top class winger come in, someone who can has loads of pace and can play on both flanks, I think that could make a real difference to this team.

 

i think we have a top class winger in Damien Duff it remains to be seen whether BSA can get him back to his mercurial best. not sure if he can play on both flanks though.

 

Duff's comeback has gone under the radar a bit recently imo. Really looking forward to seeing if he can get back to his best. Imagine if he can, my word we'd be formidable  If we add a centre midfield creator to that - not far off a regular champions league standard squad.

[Cajun]

Milner will improve, he needs that end product which will come in time, and he needs the confidence to pull the trigger when he has the opportunity. I like Milner and think he will become a very good player. He will reach his potential sooner if he grows a full beard though.

 

As good as I think Milner is unfortunately I don't think he will ever grow a full beard, probably will hold him back in the long term but he can still make it as a decent back up if we do sign a winger with a proper beard.

[ohmelads]

I suspect Ashley may have had something to do with the Smith signing. Without him we have Geremi, Barton, Emre, Butt and now Faye for central midfield, and already have four strikers. And he isn't a winger. His signing made no sense, and the mood when he signed was more one of "another player in, fair enough". He's already played in three different positions for us and I'd like to think he'll be a good utility player but his fee, wages and desire to play probably won't stand for that, we're not Chelsea. Sam's comments when he signed were along the lines of "when a quality player like Smith becomes available". Then we see Ashley turning up to every game with Smith on his back and it makes you think. When everyone is fit I can't see him in our starting XI and the money really should have gone on a winger.

 

As far as January is concerned, I don't think there'll be much activity because we've managed to do a lot of business this summer and overhauled the squad. A right winger with pace to burn would give us a lot more options though and some genuine competition for Milner.

[Elliottman]

to the guy who made this thread :

 

have you seen Smith play? or are you juding on what this forum says?

 

Smith may not have made ahuge impact, but thats due to not knowing where to play him, not a case of him being good enough...

[Mick]

I suspect Ashley may have had something to do with the Smith signing. Without him we have Geremi, Barton, Emre, Butt and now Faye for central midfield, and already have four strikers. And he isn't a winger. His signing made no sense, and the mood when he signed was more one of "another player in, fair enough". He's already played in three different positions for us and I'd like to think he'll be a good utility player but his fee, wages and desire to play probably won't stand for that, we're not Chelsea. Sam's comments when he signed were along the lines of "when a quality player like Smith becomes available". Then we see Ashley turning up to every game with Smith on his back and it makes you think. When everyone is fit I can't see him in our starting XI and the money really should have gone on a winger.

 

As far as January is concerned, I don't think there'll be much activity because we've managed to do a lot of business this summer and overhauled the squad. A right winger with pace to burn would give us a lot more options though and some genuine competition for Milner.

 

I'm not sure if Ashly had anything to with us signing Smith, I hope if he did then it was only in giving the go-ahead to spend the cash.  I think what we do in the January window will depend on our league position, I'm sure if we're in the position that we are now then money will be spent in an attempt to gain one more league place come the end of the season, I've got no doubt that we'll spend when the time is right.

[Guest Knightrider]

We lack a mobile centre-forward, pace and ball carrying skills down the right and a playmaker, add them and give the team a year and we'll be going places big style.

[Mick]

We lack a mobile centre-forward, pace and ball carrying skills down the right and a playmaker, add them and give the team a year and we'll be going places big style.

 

We've brought so many players in who will be playing regularly that they will need months to gel, the fact that we're doing so will in the league is very encouraging.

 

Once Enrique is getting a regular game we can move N'Zogbia to left wing and Milner to the right, I think Owen and Martins can do a job up front.  I'd love Emre to become that playmaker but I'm not going to hold my breath on him doing it.

 

[Guest Knightrider]

I suspect Ashley may have had something to do with the Smith signing. Without him we have Geremi, Barton, Emre, Butt and now Faye for central midfield, and already have four strikers. And he isn't a winger. His signing made no sense, and the mood when he signed was more one of "another player in, fair enough". He's already played in three different positions for us and I'd like to think he'll be a good utility player but his fee, wages and desire to play probably won't stand for that, we're not Chelsea. Sam's comments when he signed were along the lines of "when a quality player like Smith becomes available". Then we see Ashley turning up to every game with Smith on his back and it makes you think. When everyone is fit I can't see him in our starting XI and the money really should have gone on a winger.

 

As far as January is concerned, I don't think there'll be much activity because we've managed to do a lot of business this summer and overhauled the squad. A right winger with pace to burn would give us a lot more options though and some genuine competition for Milner.

 

I don't think Smith was an Ashley signing whatsoever, I think Big Sam thought for the price of £6m he'd get himself 3 players effectively, someone who can play central-midfield, right-midfield and centre-forward, plus a very very strong character for the dressing room. Furthermore, an experienced Premiership campaigner at the right age which has been a criteria of Sam's all summer.

 

We'll soon see the validity in signing Smith when the African Nations Cup comes along, Viduka's inevitable tiredness/injury/jet lag from trips to Australia becomes a feature or if Owen breaks down again. We could also lose Geremi to the African Nations Cup while neither Emre or Butt are exactly injury free players, especially if the latter's rumoured migraine problems don't go away.

 

Also when we signed Smith there was uncertainty over both Martins' and Owen's future plus that of Barton's too (court case/broken foot).

 

Smith is kind of like an insurance ticket and if viewed taking everything I've said into context, makes absolute sense and actually shows just how shrewd and analytical our manager really is which again, is all good whether Smith isn't exactly a fantastic player or not. One thing I do know is he will contribute positively to the course.

 

 

[Dave]

What a stupid idea for a thread.

[Guest Knightrider]

We lack a mobile centre-forward, pace and ball carrying skills down the right and a playmaker, add them and give the team a year and we'll be going places big style.

 

We've brought so many players in who will be playing regularly that they will need months to gel, the fact that we're doing so will in the league is very encouraging.

 

Once Enrique is getting a regular game we can move N'Zogbia to left wing and Milner to the right, I think Owen and Martins can do a job up front.  I'd love Emre to become that playmaker but I'm not going to hold my breath on him doing it.

 

 

Aye, it's just pleasing being able to talk about opinions and uncertainty about who plays and who doesn't and where. I'm convinced happy days are around the corner and what we're witnessing now is just the start of it and nowhere near to what we'll be in the following years. He badly needs patience and time though because there are many shocking performances and dour 1-0 wins around the corner, and some not so good moments too, which we'll have to take on the chin in order to get there. Like our team with a few more additions, allow him the time and patience, and we'll go places big style. The big 4 will become the big 5 in my opinion, backed by Ashley and Mort off the pitch.

[Mick]

 

Aye, it's just pleasing being able to talk about opinions and uncertainty about who plays and who doesn't and where. I'm convinced happy days are around the corner and what we're witnessing now is just the start of it and nowhere near to what we'll be in the following years. He badly needs patience and time though because there are many shocking performances and dour 1-0 wins around the corner, and some not so good moments too, which we'll have to take on the chin in order to get there. Like our team with a few more additions, allow him the time and patience, and we'll go places big style. The big 4 will become the big 5 in my opinion, backed by Ashley and Mort off the pitch.

 

The whole club is making massive strides both on and off the pitch, we actually look as if we're going to build something with good foundations, it's a long time since we've looked like doing that.

I sometimes have my doubts about Allardyce, 4-3-3 and the long ball looked like it was here to stay but he's changed it around for our last couple of games and we've looked better for it.  I have no problem with using different formations, in fact I'm all for it, I love seeing teams change formations during games to keep the opposition thinking and I can see us doing that, the two week break should do us good in that respect as Allardyce will have seen his players in real games and will have a chance to do a bit of work with them, he can make some adjustments to our game and then try them against Derby in just over two weeks, I can’t wait to see it.

 

[Begbie]

I hope we sell Emre, get around 3-5M for him. I hope we get a star playmaker in the likes of Deco, Riquelme etc. We need a big personality, with creativity to control the midfield.

I also hope we do like Arsenal and Liverpool, and buy some young players for backup. We have to think of the future too, and it would be nice to get the future stars.

[Mr Logic]

I suspect Ashley may have had something to do with the Smith signing. Without him we have Geremi, Barton, Emre, Butt and now Faye for central midfield, and already have four strikers. And he isn't a winger. His signing made no sense, and the mood when he signed was more one of "another player in, fair enough". He's already played in three different positions for us and I'd like to think he'll be a good utility player but his fee, wages and desire to play probably won't stand for that, we're not Chelsea. Sam's comments when he signed were along the lines of "when a quality player like Smith becomes available". Then we see Ashley turning up to every game with Smith on his back and it makes you think. When everyone is fit I can't see him in our starting XI and the money really should have gone on a winger.

 

 

Smith, gay icon. 

 

Ashley, Smith on his back. 

 

Rather not think about it.   

[Guest Knightrider]

Aye, the international week (another fucking one?!) will be good for us. Will allow him to view the Wigan game and prepare for Derby extensively.

[Guest Knightrider]

If we are to get a playmaker, it will probably have to be an unknown or someone cheap as I can't see us attracting the Decos of this world and lets face it, even with money, there aren't many around.

[Mick]

I hope we sell Emre, get around 3-5M for him. I hope we get a star playmaker in the likes of Deco, Riquelme etc. We need a big personality, with creativity to control the midfield.

I also hope we do like Arsenal and Liverpool, and buy some young players for backup. We have to think of the future too, and it would be nice to get the future stars.

 

I think we'll have a good idea by Christmas if Emre is going to become an important player for us, if not then he could be gone in January.  He's got to be given a chance under Allardyce, it would be stupid to get rid of him before seeing what a good manager can do with him.

[Superior Acuña]

I'd be surprised if we really make any signings in january.  Only if a particularly good offer comes up (a la duff) or maybe a youngster.

[Guest Knightrider]

I think we'll strengthen, I think depending on where we are in the table Big Sam may get a big lump of cash to splash out a bit.

[Superior Acuña]

I think we'll strengthen, I think depending on where we are in the table Big Sam may get a big lump of cash to splash out a bit.

 

I dunno.  We've bought 9 players. over a variety of positions, i can't see him being given much money.  I'm not even sure where he'd spend it.

 

I think emre and a couple of others may be off