The College Dropout Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Always liked Andre Ayew. Probably best as a left sided forward - not a striker. Works hard. Handy in the air. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Our results have tended to coincide with how hot our strikers are. The spine of our side has proven fairly capable of holding it together if someone is scoring goals. If we can find a striker to hang our hat on I'd be happy to look at a CB next, then another midfielder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ElCid Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I don't think we will be in for a CM and to be honest it's certainly not a priority. For me we need a CB and another wide player (assuming Ben Arfa doesn't have a role). Both PEA and Lacazette can operate wide and upfront so ideally one of them would perfect (you could also throw in Remy in that scenario as well). If we are looking at players from Lyon then why aren't we after Umtiti? You're right about CB but disagree as there is a critical need for CM also as messers Colback, Tiote, Anita (and Sissoko to be honest also) are not going to create chamnces or pop up with goals either. If this club has any ambition we should be in for CB, CM and a proven 20 goals per season striker - but they are not and that's why it will be same poor mediocre season, managed by a muppet and drab standard of football. Unless Sissoko is going to be shifted out wide then they will look at how many CM's we have think that we don't need them, arguably they are right. Tiote is the only one who can't make a forward pass, lets not forget that Bigi is there as well. So you have Tiote, Anita, Colback, Sissoko, De Jong, and Bigi all competing 3/4 places. We are weak outside, and we are weak in the central defensive positions. These for me are priorities, if on top of that we get someone like Grenier then great, but for me these positions need to be filled first. Disagree with your summary about the CM but your entitled to it :-) I think none of them offer much in anyway and that's why teams with more girfted creative players nearly every time boss the game - im my opinion if you control the midfield you control the game. Our midfield can't even hold the ball for more than three or four passes. A CM pairing of Tiote and Sissoko are more than capable of dominating in terms of breaking down play... and Sissoko can then move the ball forward. We now have both Cabella and De Jong in front of them, both of whom can create. How many teams in the PL, apart from the obvious, have more than one or two creative players in the team at once? I didn't say 2 I said 1 creative player - who you said would be my pick out of the current CM bt is not the answer to progress again in my opinion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki679 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Anita (Tiote) Sissoko (Colback) De Jong (Abeid) Cabella (HBA) Aarons (Gouff) Riviere (take your pick) Players in brackets are the cover / subs. Could be possible and should give us some depth and fret. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Surprises me to keep reading people are desperate for another midfielder and striker when personally I still feel our biggest problem (other than Pards of course) is our inability to get the ball from the back to the midield. Partly it's because we don't have a goalkeeper who is particularly comfortable with the ball at his feet and partly because when Williamson or Taylor play we immediately have a player who is, in passing terms a bit of a liability. Seems like Mwbia has been written off by the management so it's an area that needs addressing. If Taylor is still firmly part of our first team we'll struggle - his poor positional sense and panic mode style of John Terry defending won't be doing us many favours. Agree with this, I see all this talk of getting yet another striker and wonder what we're gonna do with them all? I think it's almost certain we'll only be playing a one striker system with de Jong behind, that leaves you Cisse, Riv, Chucky and Ayoze + new striker all competing for one place. Then Gouff, Armstrong etc. as well I think a big part of the problem is that our defense plays so deep that there is a massive gap between them and the midfield and they end up just having to play oofball We unquestionably DO need a PL standard CB, maybe even 2...Colo has been excellent for most of the past 5 years but he is clearly on the wane now and the other two are not good PL standard in my view but the club has ignored this weakness or, once again, failed to pay the going rate for what we need. The striker thing keeps cropping up because most people have doubts about the ability of the ones signed to either adapt quickly to the PL or because they are either inexperienced (Perez, Armstrong)or have a less-than-impressive scoring record previously(Riviere). Ferreyra is the wild card for me, he could prove reasonable or flop...it will be interesting to see what happens. We must hope Cisse benefits from the input of our new midfielders but I am not very confident..! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole_Toonfan Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Because none of the CMs are creative, sure the ones in front are but how are they going to consistently get the ball with the likes of Tiote spinning on the centre circle not releasing the ball quickly enough. Basically we need a CM who is going to get the ball and quickly put the attackers in position to cause damage. None of them can do right now, they either don't have the vision or the ability to do so. I can almost guarantee that at some point this season we are going to complain about the ball constantly sticking in the middle of the pitch not moving forward. Because that's what is going to happen with Tiote/Colback/Sissoko/Anita in the middle and the likes De Jong and Cabella will be isolated. A good number 10, which I hope De Jong and Cabella can be, can operate anywhere between your standard midfield line and your standard striker line. It's not like they're going to be completely cut off from Tiote and co. We're talking yards. Sissoko and Anita are perfectly capable of picking up the ball and moving it forward anyway, so I don't really see the problem. You could improve on them sure, but I don't see it as a priority at all. I would agree, except this team is coached by Alan Pardew. We have had a problem with moving the ball from the half way line to in and around the box through out his tenure. Except the problem has been flipped now, before we had Cabaye who could do what I described but there was few options in front of him. Now we do have those attacking midfield options but no Cabaye to find them with regularity. If we still had Cabaye it would be great but sadly we wouldn't have these players if he stayed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbnufc Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 This is the best one http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s70/st186783.htm? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissmag Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Always liked Andre Ayew. Probably best as a left sided forward - not a striker. Works hard. Handy in the air. Same here. Versatile and hard-working... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Balotelli man He would be dumped in the reserves for falling out with Pardew within a month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissmag Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 This is the best one http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s70/st186783.htm? that made me laugh :-) but on a serious note I can imagine that Milan really wants to offload him asap...but certainly not to NUFC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Because none of the CMs are creative, sure the ones in front are but how are they going to consistently get the ball with the likes of Tiote spinning on the centre circle not releasing the ball quickly enough. Basically we need a CM who is going to get the ball and quickly put the attackers in position to cause damage. None of them can do right now, they either don't have the vision or the ability to do so. I can almost guarantee that at some point this season we are going to complain about the ball constantly sticking in the middle of the pitch not moving forward. Because that's what is going to happen with Tiote/Colback/Sissoko/Anita in the middle and the likes De Jong and Cabella will be isolated. A good number 10, which I hope De Jong and Cabella can be, can operate anywhere between your standard midfield line and your standard striker line. It's not like they're going to be completely cut off from Tiote and co. We're talking yards. Sissoko and Anita are perfectly capable of picking up the ball and moving it forward anyway, so I don't really see the problem. You could improve on them sure, but I don't see it as a priority at all. I would agree, except this team is coached by Alan Pardew. We have had a problem with moving the ball from the half way line to in and around the box through out his tenure. Except the problem has been flipped now, before we had Cabaye who could do what I described but there was few options in front of him. Now we do have those attacking midfield options but no Cabaye to find them with regularity. If we still had Cabaye it would be great but sadly we wouldn't have these players if he stayed. i think the more likely pattern of play you'll see next season is tiote and colback being very static in front of the back 4, they'll take the ball and pass it directly back to one of the defenders and he'll then be under pressure and will launch it we have one hope in the current crop of players to put together a team that can play it bit and get some movement going to make sure we're not caught on the back foot when we have the ball, and that's anita, however we all know he'll not be a starter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exiled in Texas Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 'a season outside the Champions League will not be damaging to his career' It's sad, but when I read that statement, it did not to mean that Newcastle would be in the CL within a year, but Lacazette could move on to a new club after just one year with Newcastle. I am actually OK with us being viewed as a stepping stone club (as long as its a stepping stone to the Champions league clubs and not to the likes of Spurs or Everton or Southampton). My view is that for each player who uses us to step up and move on, another one sees us just as a step up and stays. That process then fuels our progress upwards at a steady pace. Life must be good in Texas to have that sort of mentality. Yes, I know that I am isolated from the day to day feelings compared to those in Newcastle. So I'm probably less emotional about the team (and Pardew). My point being, that we are not going to be able to challenge Man Utd, City, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. They are financially outside of our league, so we need to focus on solidifying our place in the next group with Spurs, Everton. We are not going to be able to take massive steps to change the team, we are just not set up that way (ahem, manager, ahem), so I see us taking smaller steps and if we need to turn over players every 2 years than so be it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Anything to read into the number 5 being left vacant? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki679 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I think it was Wullie that made a fantastic post a while ago showing just how much of a lie the whole 'can't compete' thing is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 That Balotelli one would be unreal. Would also snap their hands off for that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Milan are desperate for funds, and are seemingly offering Balotelli to everyone! We could never afford his wages, otherwise it would have been great. He's a fantastic striker, and he's mad enough to do something to get Pardew sacked. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 he's mad enough to do something to get Pardew sacked. season long loan should be enough, fuck maybe even 3 months Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Its not just his wages we couldn't afford tbh, Milan would still command a large sum for him. He may divide opinions, but he is always good to watch in one way or another. He would certainly bring back some of the entertainment value to the club, which is something that we all know has been almost completely eradicated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMTEX Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 He'd just end up benched for Shola Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Its not just his wages we couldn't afford tbh, Milan would still command a large sum for him. He may divide opinions, but he is always good to watch in one way or another. He would certainly bring back some of the entertainment value to the club, which is something that we all know has been almost completely eradicated. That article said Santon, Ben Arfa and12million. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ste Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Literally zero chance of signing Balotelli. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiemag Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Literally zero chance of signing Balotelli. yup hes a champions league striker. Would be a good signing for Liverpool or Arsenal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimburst Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I don't even rate balotelli that highly but I would fucking love him here. I just want a bit of passion and excitement at the club again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tisd09 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Its not just his wages we couldn't afford tbh, Milan would still command a large sum for him. He may divide opinions, but he is always good to watch in one way or another. He would certainly bring back some of the entertainment value to the club, which is something that we all know has been almost completely eradicated. That article said Santon, Ben Arfa and12million. That would be one of the most crazy transfers ever. Think I would love to see it as there is a good chance Balo would beat the crap out of Pardew within a few months Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Five o Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Pardew and Balotelli, that will work out nicely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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