Newcastle's Transfer Policy

Today I’m going to be talking about Newcastle United...now what can I say about Newcastle that hasn’t already been said? Their manager is useless, their first team isn’t good enough for the English top flight, the club is being run by people who are utterly clueless…

I don’t think there’s much I can add. So that more or less wraps it up for today’s post, be sure to follow me on Twitter @ThePenaltyKing1 and I’ll speak to you all next time…

Oh you’re still reading? Still wanting to know my opinion on the situation? You all probably don’t care about my opinion but why else would you be reading my blog? Anyway here’s what I think of the current predicament that has befallen The Magpies.

First of all I want to say that this clearly hasn’t been a one season thing. This has been a continuous demolition job that’s been going on since around 2007/2008 which just by coincidence was when Mike Ashley took over as over of the Tynsiders (it’s funny how that came about isn’t it.)

From a small amount of research I managed to find out that in the 07/08 season Newcastle signed Jose Enrique and Joey Barton and sold Scotty Parker and Kieron Dyer. The fees paid for Barton and Enrique were quite high but if they are part of a team that wins you a trophy then money isn’t an issue right? Wrong.

With the small amount of research I mentioned earlier I began to notice a pattern where young players with bags of potential would be brought in and then be sold when in their prime or in good form for no more than a fat payout.

The first example I’m going to give is the one stated above. Barton (aged 25) and Enrique (21) were brought in for millions. Everyone at the time knew if you could control Barton he’d have been a force to be reckoned with and that Jose Enrique had the potential to be a world class player with his blistering speed and attacking, as well as defensive, qualities.

In the same season they sold Kieron Dyer (29) for £6mil and Scott Parker (27) for £7mil. These two were at their peaks physically and would have been able to give valuable knowledge to younger lads. But the pounds signs were in Ashley’s eyes and he sold the England Internationals to West Ham.

~ Imagine that partnership of Parker and Barton in midfield. 50/50 whether it’d have been a red card for one of them or a broken leg for one of their opponents ~

Ok, ok, some people might think that example is flawed, people will say Barton was shit, so was Dyer, Parker had his best years after Newcastle, etc. But hear me out, below are all the examples I have found I am hoping will make you agree with me.

Newcastle United’s 2008/2009 transfers that back up my theory.

Ins	Outs
Jonas Gutierrez, 25, £2mil	Emre, 28, £3.8mil
Danny Guthrie, 21, £2.5mil	James Milner, 22, £12mil
Fabricio Coloccini, 26, £10mil	Shay Given, 33, £5.9mil
(The legend) Xisco, 22, £5.7mil

Now the big name is Milner there, could’ve been Newcastle’s captain for the next 10 years but Ashley would rather have £12mil in his back pocket. Out of all the players brought in have any of them repaid their fee?

The 09/10 season I’m gonna skip because it was a perfect season for Newcastle in the Championship, gaining a resounding promotion first time of asking.

Newcastle United’s 2010/2011 transfers that back up my theory.

Ins	Outs
Cheik Tiote, 25, £3.5mil	Andy Carroll, 22, £35mil
Hatem Ben Arfa, 21, £2mil loan + £5mil
James Perch, 25, £1.5mil

When you keep in mind that I’m listing risks brought in and quality let go this is another prime example. £35 million for Carroll would’ve been hard to turn down but for the form he was in and the fact he was only 22 said he was the next big thing which is exactly what Newcastle should be trying to keep hold of.

Newcastle United’s 2011/2012 transfers that back up my theory.

Ins	Outs
Demba Ba, 26, Free	Jose Enrique, 25. £6mil
Yohan Cabaye, 25, £4.3mil
Papiss Cisse, 27, £9mil
Gabriel Obertan, 22, £3.25mil
Davide Santon, 20, £5mil

I have to be fair, the people in charge of transfers at Newcastle played a blinder this season and it shows why they finished 5th this season. Gambling on Ba, Cabaye and Cisse was a masterstroke and helped Pardew to a Europa League place.

Newcastle United’s 2012/2013 transfers that back up my theory.

Ins	Outs
Vurnon Anita, 23, £6.7mil *Places head in hands* *shudders*	None

Got to be one up there with Xisco as one of the biggest failures for me. How this lad still gets in The Magpies first team is beyond me and any manager would deserve the sack just for signing him. With no real quality added combined with the strain of the Europa League saw Newcastle slump to a 16th place finish. At least they kept hold of their good players this season...

Newcastle United’s 2013/2014 transfers that back up my theory.

Ins	Outs
None	Yohan Cabaye, 28, Undisclosed fee

Newcastle, now no longer in the Europa League, managed to finish 10th place after a season which saw them start brightly before burning out in January shortly after losing Yohan Cabaye. Rule 101 for transfers: if you lose your best player be sure to have a similar if not better replacement ready to come in.

Newcastle United’s transfers last season that back up my theory.

Ins	Outs
Ayoze Perez, 21, £1.6mil	Mathieu Debuchy, 29, £12mil
Jack Colback, 25, free
Siem De Jong, 25, £6mil
Remy Cabella, 24, £8mil
Emmanuel Riviere, 24, £6.3mil
Daryl Janmaat, 25, £5mil
Karl Darlow, 24, £3mil
Jamaal Lascelles, 21, £4mil

I’m gonna stick my neck out and say that every signing made by Newcastle last season was a gamble. Out of 8 signings only one of them has had any Premier League experience and he was free...some of these lads might pay off (Janmaat, possibly Perez) but the rest just don’t look up for a Premier League fight.

~ Saying that I think Lascelles would be an inspiration if brought into the starting eleven. He’s better than Coloccini ~

After this brief history of Newcastle’s recent transfers can you honestly tell me that they haven’t signed players on a gamble and watched them burn out/turn into world beaters and sold them for millions. One thing Mike Ashley needs to understand is that money doesn’t automatically mean you’re a good team, you need to spend it on proper quality, experienced players.

Plus it’s got to be a club’s main priority to keep hold of their best players. Imagine what kind of a side Newcastle would be if they kept hold of Milner, Carroll, Cabaye, Enrique, Debuchy. Admittedly some offers you can’t refuse but to see it happening more or less every year at Newcastle it’s getting beyond a joke. And the blame seems to be shared with the managers.

Now I’m not saying Pardew was the best manager but to keep the squads he had in respectable positions every year even though his best players were leaving every season makes him a great manager in my book. I think blame has to go solely down to Mike Ashley and the transfer policy he has in place.

After all this I do hope Newcastle can turn this season around, their fans have always had all the traits, ironically, their players don’t seem to have (character, passion, a footballing brain, etc). Sadly with this new batch of gambles that has been brought in it doesn’t look like the Geordies will be staying up this season...good luck for the rest of it lads.

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Cheers for reading.