The Fish

I do. We don't know if Championship stalwarts like Gayle, Shelvey, Hayden, Clark, Darlow will cut it in the top flight. To guarantee a midtable finish we can't risk half a season with them as lynch pins. We could probably rely on them to deliver 13th-17th with a few additions. I reckon getting midtable over a couple of seasons would cost less than going for it in 1. Doing it in one means we have to hit the ground running, our stars, our squad and our staff need to perform a level that is several levels highers than they are now. Frankly I don't think Gayle will get 20 goals in the top flight, I don't think teams will afford Shelvey as much space and time, I don't think Darlow will face as few shots. I think that added difficulty will mean we can get safe but not much more than that. To guarantee more would mean overhauling the squad. Over two seasons Mitrovic might suddenly find his feet in the summer after our first season back and become a 20 goal striker (he won't), a decent club might get relegated meaning we can steal their standout, wantaway star for buttons, we've more time to identify and court targets... dunno, it's hypothetical. But aim to guarantee safety 17/18, push for mediocrity in 18/19, see where we are and where we can get. Maybe even give the cups a proper fucking go?

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I think more than safety (>14th) would cost £100m in our first season. Aiming to jump from Championship to midtable would need a reliable striker in the Prem (£25m?), a strong pair of CBs (£30m?), a game changer in midfield (£20m?), and depth across the squad (£30m?). I'm content to walk before we run.

Or an intransigence on the part of the other club, a lack of available targets, or targets being available at a more reasonable price in the summer, or players uninterested in joining a Championship team without assurances about playing time, or, or, or, I don't think any of us know enough about the machinations behind the curtain to state that it is definitely anything, we can suppose and assume and speculate, but nobody knows for sure. I agree that had we signed someone like Townsend we would have been in a better place in our chase for promotion and yes, an impressive signing in the January window would have signalled intent. But is intent really worth spending £13m on? After every game Rafa says "We've got to keep working hard, we want to win every game, we want to be promoted", So does whichever player is wheeled out. Is our intent unclear? I don't like buying a player for buyings sake, there'd be criticism of a bloated squad of average players if we signed a bunch of cunts just because we can. I genuinely believe that we've enough in the squad to get up automatically, if not as champions.

That makes sense. Is Brady more of an Allardyce player than Townsend? I don't know enough about him, but surely Allardyce prefers a winger that gets chalk on his boots to one that cuts inside more often than not?

No, a couple of leftbacks and a defensive midfielder (traditional Allardyce signings). Wonder if there was someone they were looking at, but couldn't make a deal and that then had a knock on effect with us?

I don't think we'd need to spend that much to be better than 3 other teams in our first year back.

Did Townsend's availability become solid after Palace had secured their targets? :dunno?

Don't know how we managed to get to 58pts in 27 games, especially when we didn't even have Ameobi and Sterry. Think you're confusing "want to" with "need to" to be honest. We remain presumptive champions, we remain odds-on to go up automatically. Would Townsend have kicked us on a gear, sure. But I don't think our promotion push is scuppered without him, and it's certainly not under threat because we didn't sign Mo fucking Barrow.

Jesus, really?

@tfweeklypod has the best insight on this so far. They spoke to Rafa in December and even then Benitez emphasised how difficult the window is, and that he'd only be buying the right players. Have to say, the reaction hasn't been surprising in the least. Townsend would have been a good addition, and I believe we were working to that end. However, I don't think him staying at Palace signifies a return to the bad old days, I don't think it signifies broken promises, I don't think it spells the end for Rafa or anything else. I think it means that we tried to sign Townsend but either the deal wasn't right for us, wasn't right for Palace or wasn't right for Townsend. I think we looked at players like Barrow and McCarthy and at least one of those three things meant those transfers didn't happen. Rafa apparently wanted to buy for the Premier League, is Mo Barrow going to be Premier League ready, can't we do better than James McCarthy in the summer?

Derby, Norwich, Villa, Brighton, Huddersfield, Reading.

Wouldn't fancy Townsend and Yedlin on the same flank if we face anyone half decent.

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Sure, why not, Michael Ricketts did.

Shan't

I think if we'd got past Oxford few would be demanding signings this window. I think there's a thing goes through people's head during a transfer window as when there's a 3 for 2 deal on soft drinks in the supermarket. I think this squad is on course for a c100pts season and will be enough to get us promoted automatically. Every squad can be improved, but if we're being quoted £35m for two Croatian lads under 20, £16m for James McCarthy and £22m for Tom Cairney, if Patrick van Aanholt moved to Palace for £14m and if Jake Livermore is "worth" £10m I'd say this window isn't the one to be buying players. As has been said, it's clearly a seller's market and while we're financially hale and healthy it behoves Rafa and the owner to keep one eye on the recruitment that will be needed in the summer. If we could secure a couple on loan, that'd be perfect, but it seems that selling clubs want permanent deals, understandably so. Playing well for a Championship club for 4 months isn't going to increase a departing player's value by much, and for senior players like McCarthy and Townsend those 4 months are 4 months off what is surely their last contract with their club. If they're getting £50k a week, will playing for Newcastle in the championship raise their selling value by £800k? I doubt it.

Agree, but, as with Hanley and Murphy, it may have been a safety net should Lascelles/Mbemba or Gayle/Mitrovic fail to perform in this league. Especially as Elliot was injured at the beginning of the season. It's an odd one, no doubt, as I've said before he'd be better off leaving Newcastle United and rebuilding his career elsewhere.

Was surely a gamble that Sels wouldn't be under that much pressure from a lower league side, we played 3 CBs so any pressure should be dealt with. As it is, his confidence must be shot. Although, there are few circumstances that he'd actually play now. Darlow is 1st choice, Elliott must be 2nd choice, so aside from an injury disaster between the sticks, I don't think he'll take the field for us in a competitive game ever again. meh.

Read somewhere that Mitrovic was the nominated penalty taker, which would certainly make sense given the line-up. Rafa said that if we progressed it would be by using the squad and the team he picked should have been enough to progress. Mind, on another day we would have been a couple of goals to the good in the 1st half. Oxford deserved their cup victory and Newcastle deserve criticism for falling to a team significantly lower down the pyramid. That said, the tantrums and bed wetting needs to stop. At the beginning of the season we all agreed that Promotion was the be all and end all, we're still on course for that. Despite that, I don't know why Rafa keeps giving Matz Sels a shot; Sels P14 W7, D3, L4 F29 A13 Wins Reading 4-1 Bristol 1-0 Brighton 2-0 Derby 2-0 QPR 6-0 Preston 6-0 Birmingham 3-1 Draws Aston Villa 1-1 Hull 1-1 (lost on penalties) Birmingham 1-1 Losses Fulham 1-0 Huddersfield 2-1 Wolves 2-0 Oxford 3-1 DARLOW P20 W16 D0 L4 F41 A14 Wins Cheltenham 2-0 Wolves 2-0 Norwich 4-3 Rotherham 1-0 Brentford 3-1 Barnsley 2-0 Ipswich 3-0 Preston 2-1 Cardiff 2-1 Leeds 2-0 Birmingham 4-0 Wigan 2-0 Burton 2-1 Forest 3-1 Brentford 2-1 Rotherham 4-0 Losses Blackburn 1-0 Forest 2-1 Sheff Wed 1-0 Blackburn 1-0

2-0 Ffs

Armstrong just scored for Barnsley

He definitely deserves criticism for missing a penalty. Have to say, it sounds like Eastwood is playing a blinder.

FFS Mitro