Grand designs

[Jimbo 175]

WHATEVER ELSE one might say about Sam Allardyce, he is bound to change the way Newcastle do business. The newly-appointed St James' Park manager signed or took on loan no fewer than 49 players from the summer of 2002 to the present. In that same time, Newcastle United brought in just 29, despite the fact that they had three different managers - Sir Bobby Robson Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder - each of whom, presumably, was eager to bring in "his guys".

 

It's worth contemplating that number again: 49 players in five years, almost a full side every 12 months. By contrast, in the same period, Sir Alex Ferguson acquired 22 new faces, Arsene Wenger 32 and even a guy like Alan Curbishley, forced to make emergency buys to avoid relegation year after year, limited himself to 38.

 

Allardyce's buys span the gamut from hidden gems to guys who simply remained hidden. Imagine the following XI: Ian Walker; Ibrahim Ba, Cesar Martin, Zoltan Harsanyi, Blessing Kaku; Fabrice Fernandes, Bulent Akin, Dwight Pezzarossi; Javi Moreno, Chris Armstrong, Mario Jardel. All of them are players Allardyce signed for Bolton, between all 11 of them, they made just one Premiership start.

 

And that has pretty much been the Allardyce way: chuck as much as you can against the ceiling and see what sticks. Thus, for every Jay-Jay Okocha there are a handful of Delroy Faceys, Salva Ballesta and Steve Howey (three Premiership starts between them).

 

And for every Tal Ben Haim, there is a cluster of Les Ferdinands, Ali Al Habsis and Matt Jansens (a trio who started just four league matches).

 

This is not to denigrate Allardyce in any way. On the contrary, his approach took Bolton to four consecutive top-eight finishes. What's more, he did it without jeopardising the club's finances: rather than signing players to long-term deals, most of his arrivals were either on loan or one-year contracts which meant, even in the case of relegation, Bolton would not have been saddled with an unwieldy wage bill.

 

Of course, Newcastle is an entirely different proposition. The funds are there, fueled by the loyalty of the Toon supporters and the notion, repeated so often - and most recently by chairman Freddy Shepherd - that it must be true, they are "one of the twenty biggest clubs in the world".

 

The club's prospective new majority shareholder, the reclusive Mike Ashley is a very wealthy man and the Newcastle supporters expect him to pull, if not an Abramovich, then at least a Dave Whelan. On Friday, Ashley announced a full review and it remains to be seen what role, if any, Shepherd will play in the future: given that, under his stewardship, Newcastle's share price lost nearly 25% of its value, it may be wise to show him the door.

 

In any case, every indication is that Allardyce will rebuild the side top to bottom, which is good news for agents and intermediaries. One of his first moves as Newcastle manager was to axe in one fell swoop no fewer than six players (Oguchi Onyewu, Olivier Bernard, Craig Moore, Pavel Srnicek, Titus Bramble and Antoine Sibierski): a necessary move to clear space for the new faces. With Lee Clark moving into a full-time coaching position and Scott Parker shipped off to West Ham, his squad is left with just 15 senior professionals among the outfield players which is, no doubt, the way Allardyce likes it, because it leaves plenty of room for new signings.

 

And there will be lots of work to do, particularly if Allardyce is to replicate at St James' Park the style and formation which were so successful for him at Bolton. Simply put, he and Roeder have diametrically opposing views of the game, which is why something radical is about to happen: either an overhaul of the squad or an overhaul of Allardyce himself, which is rather unlikely.

 

Start with the forwards. At Bolton he like them brawny and strong in the air. At Newcastle, his two best strikers are Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen, both of whom are of the small and quick variety, which is why he secured the services of a bruiser like Mark Viduka on Thursday. Owen is still untouchable in England, which would suggest Martins is either headed for the bench or the wing or another club which is a bit of a shame for a striker who, at 22, was the clubs' top scorer last season.

 

Allardyce likes his wingers and in James Milner, Damien Duff and Kieron Dyer he has a ready-made trio, provided they stay healthy. Joey Barton, his top midfield target, looks to fill the role that was Kevin Nolan's at Bolton, but the rest of the middle of the park is up in the air. At the Reebok he could count on Gary Speed and Ivan Campo, big, slow veterans who were also exceptional in the air and dead-eye passers of the ball. Now, he's stuck with the pixieish Emre Belozoglu and the ageing Nicky Butt, neither of whom seems to fit the mold, which would suggest more signings.

 

But it's at the back where he'll have to do most of his wheeling and dealing. With the exception of Steven Taylor, who seems the prototypical Allardyce central defender, the rest is up for grabs. Ben Haim, who was so effective for him at Bolton, is already pencilled in as his next signing, not least because he, like Viduka, is on a Bosman.

 

Don't be surprised then if, when Newcastle kick off the 2007-08 season, goalkeeeper Shay Given is the only survivor from the XI that started in last year's opener. It's not just a function of Allardyce's penchant for wheeling and dealing, it's the necessity to rebuild a squad which has lacked an identity for too long. Reconstructing it will take time, especially if the goal is to rebuild it in Allardyce's image.

[tinofbeans 91]

emre in pixieish shocker.....

[Asprilla 96]

What is he trying to say....

[Jimbo 175]

What is he trying to say....

 

He's shit

 

[Guest alex]

What was his net spending on transfers though?

[Guest Albuquerque]

For every James Richardson there's a Jamie Redknapp and Gabriel Marcotti.

[2bias 3]

i thought that was a good read to be honest, come on sam

[Besty 4]

i thought that was a good read to be honest, come on sam

 

Thanks for that.

[Park Life 71]

Expect a couple of big, high tempo and athletic Africans before long.

[Guest Albuquerque]

Expect a couple of big, high tempo and athletic Africans before long.

 

Gezahgne Abera?

[nufc4ever 0]

Like that Kingston fellow.

[Park Life 71]

Like that Kingston fellow.

 

 

If you knew anything about it Dave and I suspect you do, you'd know Hearts had first option on him.

 

 

 

But yes like that Kingston fellow.

[nufc4ever 0]

Bitchy!

 

[Park Life 71]

Bitchy!

 

 

 

You need a firm hand.

[snakehips 0]

For every James Richardson there's a Jamie Redknapp and Gabriel Marcotti.

 

Too true

 

I enjoy listening to Richardson, but Marcotti thinks he knows the lot, whilst Redknapp is, well, Redknapp!