Onwards and upwards.

[wolfy 12]

I don't know what you lads and lasses think but I believe we are and have been, assembling a squad of players over the last year or so that is slowly but surely turning into a quality set up, with Pardew keeping the main players he knows can do a full on job as a back up as well as a rotation.

 

Leon Best and Guthrie have departed and it looks like Danny Simpson is about to depart, yet I'm sure Pardew will replace with what is needed and actually add that better quality as well.

 

I know a lot of fans tend to get frustrated when we have a transfer window that promises much and delivers little but in all fairness, we have done exceptionally well with the carefully hand picked players we have brought in and will continue to do so, in my opinion.

 

We have arguably the best chief scout in the league for identifying quality affordable players and we have a manager and coach that can get the best out of them which bodes very well for us in the future, especially with the new youngsters we have brought in to add more quality and potential to our conveyor belt of talent which is an added bonus for the future.

 

I think we are now, one of the best run clubs in the league and we are doing it because we have got rid of over hyped, over paid players and replaced them with better quality and more hungry replacements, who actually want to pull on that black and white shirt and be a part of something special.

 

We have a very talented squad, plus we are now flirting with Europa, which is making other players sit up and take notice of us and wanting to be a part of it, which is why I think we will pull off the needed extra players for the up and coming season, meaning Pardew can rotate the quality in all competitions and knowing they can cope, regardless of the squad not being overly large.

 

We have the added bonus of a fit Steven Taylor to come back, which in all respect is like signing a new 15 million pound centre half because he and Colo will reform a formidable centre half pairing with Williamson as an able deputy.

 

The pleasing thing is, we are only losing players who are either stalling on contracts or are surplus to requirements due to better quality in the ranks and as we all know, quality breeds quality and also helps to persuade better quality to want to play for us.

 

I think we are in excellent hands and have never looked so healthy for a long long time.

 

What do you all think ?

[Brock Manson 0]

I think so signing young players with promising futures is a good way to go about it, but I just hope we're able to bring them through youth & reserve football and translate their potential into their becoming first team regulars.

 

Don't really miss splurging stupid money on players who don't give a shit but I'm still worried whether we'll be investing the money in strengthening areas of the team that need doing so now. Signing Gael & Good is great but if we don't bring in Debuchy and a CB then it won't be a successful window.

[wolfy 12]

I think so signing young players with promising futures is a good way to go about it, but I just hope we're able to bring them through youth & reserve football and translate their potential into their becoming first team regulars.

 

Don't really miss splurging stupid money on players who don't give a shit but I'm still worried whether we'll be investing the money in strengthening areas of the team that need doing so now. Signing Gael & Good is great but if we don't bring in Debuchy and a CB then it won't be a successful window.

I know what you mean but I have a lot of faith in Pardew and his staff to bring in the right quality to have us coping for the season ahead.

I think Newcastle United are the yard stick for other clubs to follow in terms of building for the future instead of building for the job at hand and although it appears to be a slow process, it is actually a fast track when you compare what we were like last time under the old regime of buying anyone who had a name or reputation just to appease the fans and catapult us to glory, which as we all know, failed miserably time and time again and left us in serious trouble.

 

Liverpool tried that last season and it all backfired on them because it was a case of too many players brought in far too early for ridiculous fees, all promising quality but delivering way below the belt in terms of consistency.

[ChezGiven 0]

I've got faith in the judgement of the decision makers but I think there is always going to be a feeling that sticking to a 'value for money' blueprint will mean missing out on opportunities to take the club forward. To be honest, if we signed Debuchy and lost no one, we'd still have a decent chance of top 6 / 7. That chance would be more solid if a replacement centre back and central midfielder can be brought in which looks like it will be complicated. I'd we aren't looking to replace Colo/Taylor or Cabaye/Tiote in the first team, that is a tricky bit of business to get right.

[Baggio 0]

My biggest reservation about filling the squad with young lads is that we don't seem to give them a chance to come through.

 

Lets take Vuckic for example, with Guthrie gone it should be the perfect opportunity for this lad to make the step up to fill that spot but I don't think he will get the chance by Pardew, there seems to be too much emphasis on every game being treated as a must win to risk resting any of our best 11 to give a young lad or 2 a chance and I find it to be a small club attitude.

 

You don't see Man Utd or Arsenal being too frightened to bring a young lad or 2 into the first team to give one of their better players a break, fair enough they are still better than the majority of teams in every area but so are we with a good portion of the league too now, yet you won't see us rest Tiote against someone like Wolves.

 

I do think a lot of young lads will waste their career by coming here sadly.

[jonasjuice 0]

My biggest reservation about filling the squad with young lads is that we don't seem to give them a chance to come through.

 

Lets take Vuckic for example, with Guthrie gone it should be the perfect opportunity for this lad to make the step up to fill that spot but I don't think he will get the chance by Pardew, there seems to be too much emphasis on every game being treated as a must win to risk resting any of our best 11 to give a young lad or 2 a chance and I find it to be a small club attitude.

 

You don't see Man Utd or Arsenal being too frightened to bring a young lad or 2 into the first team to give one of their better players a break, fair enough they are still better than the majority of teams in every area but so are we with a good portion of the league too now, yet you won't see us rest Tiote against someone like Wolves.

 

I do think a lot of young lads will waste their career by coming here sadly.

 

Nonsense NONSENSE NOnSENsE!!!!!

[colinh9 0]

OP is spot on IMO.

 

So far we have gotten rid of dead weight, which is a promising sign. I think Simpson is a great player to keep in rotation- but it seems he is asking for far too much $ to stay on board in that role. In that case, you can acquiese to losing him. Guthrie never was going to break into this team, and you probably already have cover for that role. You could bring in 1 more experienced player and one more youngster and that decision to get rid of him is negligible. Lovenkrands is useless, you could replace him with me and still lose nothing.

 

You even can forgive the board for selling one of their top assets, especially if a 20million pound (or higher) bid is placed.... at least in the next year or two. We can probably get 2-3 very good players for that price, and have shown that already with Cisse. Who here wouldn't take Cisse AND Ba over Carroll? And they cost 1/3 of the transfer price combined. You can make the argument that we've rode our luck with signings and getting the best of them- but it's most assuredly more than luck. The amount of work and effort done as far as recruiting is concerned has paid huge dividends.

 

Now, all that said, we still need more signings in this window for cover. It's obvious we need at least 2 defenders, most likely a winger and at least one proven goalscorer. Might be 20 mil in outlay. I don't think any of us are expecting to compete on every front this year. A good cup run, especially some good times in Europe, and a top 10 league finish would probably satisfy the fan-base. More than anything, I think it's about showing improvement and positive steps forward every year.

[LeazesMag 0]

oh well. Next seasons ticket in the drawer, paid for, and my magpie mover arrived this week.

 

Anybody know the European dates ?

[ewerk 30598]

Fourth Qualifying Round on the following dates:

 

Wed 22.08 or Thu 23.08.2012 1st Leg

Wed 29.08 or Thu 30.08.2012 2nd Leg

 

The Fourth Qualifying Round Draw takes place on or around Fri 10.08.2012.

 

Group Stage dates:

 

Thu 20.09.2012 Group Stage Match 1

Thu 04.10.2012 Group Stage Match 2

Thu 25.10.2012 Group Stage Match 3

Thu 08.11.2012 Group Stage Match 4

Thu 22.11.2012 Group Stage Match 5

Thu 06.12.2012 Group Stage Match 6

 

The knockout section then runs thus:

 

Thu 14.02.2013 Second Round 1

Thu 21.02.2013 Second Round 2

Thu 07.03.2013 Third Round 1

Thu 14.03.2013 Third Round 2

Thu 04.04.2013 Quarter Final 1

Thu 11.04.2013 Quarter Final 2

Thu 25.04.2013 Semi Final 1

Thu 02.05.2013 Semi Final 2

 

Wed 15.05.2013 Final (Amsterdam ArenA)