Players you thought were good but didn't do well at Newcastle

[LeazesMag 0]

John Dahl Tomasson

 

Duncan Ferguson

[JawD 99]

John Dahl Tomasson

 

Duncan Ferguson

 

Big Dunc was unlucky with Injuries. Well, unlucky or injury prone? You could maybe stick Owen in there. Expensive and picked up too many injuries with us. Also clearly didnt want to be here, yet still had a canny goal tally in a poor team. John Dal definite, done well since he left and I really felt for the lad while here. Kluivert was a fantastic player but we only saw flashes of it. You could tell he was an intelligent player but Im not sure if he was only here for the payday and if maybe SBR didnt want him and could see the effort wasnt there?

[Guest Tuco Ramirez]

Giuseppe Rossi not that he had many chances like.

[JawD 99]

Giuseppe Rossi not that he had many chances like.

 

Didnt SAF kick off because we took him on loan and hardly used him?

[Guest Tuco Ramirez]

Giuseppe Rossi not that he had many chances like.

 

Didnt SAF kick off because we took him on loan and hardly used him?

i

[Guest]

Luque boumsong Owen, great executive decision appointing that souness bloke

[Acid 0]

Kluivert.

[Guest]

Duff

[Besty 4]

Ben Arfa

[Tom 14029]

Cristiano Ronaldo

[toon_don 0]

I was massively excited when we signed Luque, having seen him in the Champion's League with Deportivo. That injury he picked up in his second game here ruined him tbh.

[Dolly Potter MD 0]

Viana

 

If anything he was a victim of the square pegs into round holes rule - when managers sometimes incorrectly envision a player for a certain role, based on attributes. It was suicidal to earmark him as Speed's successor in that deep-playing link-up role, in a midfield of four with a great deal more defensive accountability. The defensive demands [as was the requirement in Speed's role] were at odds with his so-called football education in Portugal [both at Sporting, and at Youth International level] where he was the loose creative outlet in a midfield line of five, a pure playmaker at the heart of the central midfield unit where he was always protected by two defensive midfielders with virtually zero defensive accountability.

[Dolly Potter MD 0]

Dyer.

 

Could have been anything, until Robson changed his pattern of play.

 

A pure ball-carrier/dribbler when we signed him. Instinctive, creative & unpredictable: a dangerous package in the centre of any midfield to cope with, especially with further maturity. But Robson tried to convert him into more of a Scholes-type of midfielder, receive-release-and break into/or to the edge of the box at pace. Robson actually used to run the table of praise about him, by mentioning the miles Dyer would cover over 90 minutes.

 

The way Robson changed his game, as per mentioned, were at odds with his strengths. He largely coached the flair out of him, by entrapping him into a more robotic/standardised pattern of play between the boxes. The Scholes-like work-rate [off-the-ball, but at full pace] probably played a role in his lack of durability ie. hamstring issues.

[sammynb 3793]

Dyer.

 

Could have been anything, until Robson changed his pattern of play.

 

A pure ball-carrier/dribbler when we signed him. Instinctive, creative & unpredictable: a dangerous package in the centre of any midfield to cope with, especially with further maturity. But Robson tried to convert him into more of a Scholes-type of midfielder, receive-release-and break into/or to the edge of the box at pace. Robson actually used to run the table of praise about him, by mentioning the miles Dyer would cover over 90 minutes.

 

The way Robson changed his game, as per mentioned, were at odds with his strengths. He largely coached the flair out of him, by entrapping him into a more robotic/standardised pattern of play between the boxes. The Scholes-like work-rate [off-the-ball, but at full pace] probably played a role in his lack of durability ie. hamstring issues.

 

It's well known that I've always though Dyer was over-rated but when you put it like that one can see the player he should have been and looking at the current 4-3-3 or 4-4-1-1 formations of today's football it's easy to imagine how much more impact Dyer could have had.

At the same time Dyer, Woodgate and players who suffered from chronic muscle issues got what they deserved by constantly being out on the piss especially when the effect of alcohol on muscles is well documented.

[NJS 4505]

Recently Alan Smith

 

Always liked him at Leeds and thought he'd do well. I think he deserves a bit of credit for his attempted re-invention as a midfield player especially in light of his honest comments about not having the edge to be a top class player since his injuries but still a shadow of the player I hoped he'd be.

 

I'd like to see him score then be phased out - maybe Tiote is the answer to that.

 

 

Going back further I'd say Michael O'Neill - he was fantastic when he was in that scoring spell and I thought we actually had found an absolute gem. Maybe Smith sold him too early but his failure elsewhere suggests it was all just a sort of too good to be true deal.