OTF

1 or 2 scored none conceded. Hopefully we get out of the gates quickly. Lovenkrands to get on the score sheet again.

Yep. 8 million for him with such little experience is good business as he did have some big weaknesses. This season he hasn't really been needed at all and next season would have been the final year of his three year contract. At the end of that he could have left for nothing. Business wise it was defintely the right decision, and team wise it didn't work out too poorly.

Don't worry guys, it must be a mistake as Owen isn't injury prone - just check his brochure.

N'Zogbia is definitely a good player, pacey good on the ball, can shoot and can cross if given time, but he does have one weakness that will stop him from really excelling and going to the next level (in my opinion). He puts his head down too often when he has the ball and goes on a run. Consequently he's good at beating players, but misses passing opportunities that would be plainly visible if his head wasn't down. Routledge and Jonas also suffer from the same problem. When they make a big run with the ball they're in a one man one goal situation far too often - ie. they have only one directive head towards goal. Out of the three of them Jonas is the weakest at shooting, and N'Zogbia probably the strongest (haven't seen a great deal of Routledge). N'Zogbia would benefit the most out of playing in a better team IMO though Routledge is the quickest when on the ball, and Jonas is the best at tracking back, defending and winning free-kicks. Jonas is premierleague quality without a doubt. Too wasteful for a starting gig in a top side but is a headache for all defenses and is helpful in defending particularly when the opposition is on the counter. People who think otherwise likely have an axe to grind or have a far too one dimensional way of assessing the value of a player.

No doubt, but he's now realised that noone is interested in buying football clubs at the moment. They're money sinks as a result of spendthrift 'rich' clubs throwing far too much money around at players, consequently forcing the price of players up beyond the amount that can be recompensed with regular footballing income. The recent drastic increases in Television money has only served to further blow out player wages and transfer fees. I think in the next 5 years we'll see wages and transfers settle down quite a bit, and consequently clubs like Newcastle (big gates, merchadise sale etc) will be able to run at a profit. When this happens buyers that are more than fantasy may emerge.

Yep. The short version of my post is - they've done a decent job of doing a pretty easy task and will probably not do a very good job of what will be a much much harder task.

There's no denying that a fairly decent job has been done since we've been relegated. Most of the players sold were at or past their use by date (Milner and Bassong perhaps the exceptions to the rule, though we were compensated handsomely for them both). Hughton has done a solid job of steadying the ship and keeping the players on task, focused on promotion. In the transfer window players were bought that changed the squad, or added much needed depth or covered for injuries (jury is still out on Best). With all that said we started the season with an unfathomable advantage over most other clubs in this league. Our assault on the championship was from such a position of power, so much so that were we to fail in being promoted it would have been yet another huge fuck up. We will be promoted though, and a solid foundation will have been laid. We'll be going up with a squad that would have been the envy of probably all sides to be promoted in the relatively brief history of the premier league. With some smart investment in our playing squad we'd be in a great position to ensure survival. Will we see it? It's anyone's guess. So far as I can tell Ashley will only buy players who are young (so he can onsell them like a share), he'll also only buy players who are available on the cheap. That's a relatively small pool to be choosing from, and doesn't give me much confidence that we'll fill the deficiencies that will become apparent when we're playing a much higher calibre of opponent. Apologies for any mistakes in that... Posting such a long message from a phone sucks.

There's certainly some similarities between our position last season and their's this season. We both seemingly had a better quality of player than the teas around us, but we both also had confidence that is at rock bottom. Portsmouth and Burnley seem to be nailed on for the drop, so like last season there's a collection of teams that could fill that third slot. I honestly think that this year Hull will go down, Wolves will escape relegation by the skin of their teeth (but will go down next year) and Sunderland will be spared the blushes.

Frustrating as he is if you can't see the value of a player who can hold possession and continually beat and frustrate the opposition then you're on a different page altogether.

Pretty much on the money here, though Coloccini still doesn't look comfortable against pace with the ball on the deck. Enrique was definitely green when he first came to us, and had some injury problems coupled with a manager who seemingly refused to give him a consistent run in the side. As others have pointed out he's not yet at the top level in terms of attack from a full-back, but he's constantly improving in that regards. In terms of defense as I previously mentioned he's better than Baines. Bridge is decent, but in my humble opinion is terrribly overrated. Whoever said that Enrique was continually exposed in the Premier League obviously didn't watch any/many games. He not only did his part, but also helped on many occassions to cover for the complete lack of pace that we had across the back (Coloccini and Taylor in particular are slow, and Beye is also not quick). I remember him largely nullifying an in form Aaron Lennon last season, something that not many fullbacks in the league would be capable of. One thing that does concern me is that this season he's perhaps a little too confident on the ball - in that he'll keep the ball at the back because he's confident he will be able to beat the player trying to close him down. Just about without fail he does however in the Premier League against a much higher class of opposition he'll be doing it much tougher and the risk will become much much greater. On the whole though he's not long been 24 and continues to show signs of improvement.

Does this include the funds generated from the sale of players (including those at the close of season)? If so it will have been inflated by the great many sales totalling 30 odd million pounds .... Milner, Given, Bassong, Duff, N'Zogbia... If it doesn't it should give a good indication of the level at which we should be aiming at competing. Our revenue should return to being at this level (or above if TV money has gone up) for next season, whilst our outgoings have been reduced drastically - not just on wages, but also general operations. The wages will go up (hopefully) with the purchase of some better players and the cost to get them in initially will be a big hit but balanced over 3 years there should be no reason why we're not back in the top half of the premier league.

Not even close. Habib Beye was past his best when he came to Newcastle. He was an excellent player for us because he read the game well and when he committed to a tackle he just about always pulled it off. At Villa there's very little reason to invest in Beye. He has a few years left at best. He's there simply to be cover in the event of injuries. Mind you in our side he'd waltz straight back into the right back position. Enrique has been on the improve ever since coming to us, but always had the foundations to be an exceptional player. He's quick, he's strong, and he has a powerful left foot. His reading of the game has improved immensely, as has his ability to combine with the midfield on attacking raids down the field.

I agree about Enrique, I always thought he would be a good player. He is one of the best full backs playing in this country. However, your estimation of 5 players is a bit short, and even 5 players would cost a fortune. So it isn't going to happen. I agree that it won't happen, but I do think that that is all that is required (assuming a good run with injuries). I think there's a chance that we will see 5 players come in but they won't be of the standard that is required. I really wish that Best was not bought, thus far he seems to only just be championship standard and will be well out of his depth in the Premier League (would LOVE for him to prove me wrong). As a result I see any money spent on him as coming off whatever amount will be spent over summer which is certainly not a good thing.

Quality images.

I'll go on record to say that there is no way in the world that Enrique is not a top half of the Premier League quality left back. He's better than Wayne Bridge. He's a much better defender than both Baines and Bale. Given their current Spanish influence he would be very at home within Liverpool. IMO we're five good players and a good manager away from midtable premier league. The difference between mid-table and top half is nothing more than a bit of belief and a good injury free run.

Scary how poorly they're doing with the amount of money spent of late. We won't spend anywhere near the amount they have in the past several years.

Tamas Kadar does look promising, composed on the ball, strong and aware but he is predominantly a CB not a LB....i'd rather him and Williamson be back up for CB alongside maybe another CB and us go and get another natural LB as cover for Jose. I agree that Kadar is decent backup for Jose at left back. Tall for a fullback, but I think he fancies himsefl to be able to play there - seems to like being n the ball and getting forward. Predominantly a central defender becuse of his height, but at a pinch could be played left fullback. Ryan Taylor should laso be able to do a job there at a pinch, so I'd say getting cover in for Jose should be lower down our priority list than some decent central midfielders and a quality forward.

Nervous moments at the end there. Looked shaky as.

Quality header.. he seems to head a lot better in traffic.

Awesome start....

When is van aanholt's loan up?

Thing with Hughton is that they had a pre-existing relationship with him as one of their trainers/coaches and so would have already been calling him by his first name. He's more or less been the right man for the job, keeping the squad happy and performing pretty well, deflecting any potential bad publicity/media beat ups with his calm persona. Next season though it will be a completely different story. The confidence could disappear very quickly and the heads will drop. What Hughton can do in a situation like that is perhaps an unknown entity. He did have some experience in that sitaution last year but without the year of experience and the deeper relationships that he will have forged with our players. Given that he was signed for multiple years, and that he's done a good job so far if we're promoted there's no way Ashley will get rid of him. That is unless we find ourselves in a horrible predicament mid-season. If he does choose to part ways with Hughton under circumstances like that we could find our old friend Joe Kinnear back in a 'caretaker' role.

A few weeks back on the Guardian.co.uk, Football Podcast (with James Richardson) they were talking up his prospects as an option for England on the left.

And we only have to think back one season to remember what we've got in store in a fourth bottom season. Were it not for a mistake from the linesman in the penultimate game last year we'd have finished exactly there. Season of Dross here we come!

He does have good technique under pressure, however what happens quite a bit is he'll beat one player whilst looking for a passing option and will then have to try to beat them again or thread an impossible ball because no passing option s have presented themselves. I'd put it down to imitations of other players which in turn goes back to team selections. Guthrie doesn't have pace or trickery, but he's half decent at using his body to protect the ball. It would be nice to see him form some sort of partnership with a steady midfield setup. I really thought he'd be a central figure for us this season - hasn't turned out to be the case because of what appears to be blatant favouritism towards some of the more 'experienced' players.