It is safe to say that the majority of transfer purchases made by Newcastle under the reign of Mike Ashley have been unsatisfactory, but we shall address that at a later stage. For now, I would like to show you my top five choices for the best signings we have made under Ashley’s reign. I will be taking price tag, fan popularity and contribution to the team into account.
Kevin Nolan
To kick things off, Kevin Nolan. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but I think signing Nolan was a very shrewd piece of business considering everything he contributed to the team.
After a prestigious career at Bolton Wanderers, we snapped him up for just £4 million in January 2009 – the year we were relegated to the Championship. Despite the relegation, Nolan stayed at the club and was one of the main reasons we came straight back up to the Premier League. He scored 17 goals from midfield during that season and was voted Championship Player of the Year.
Following our promotion, Nolan was appointed as club captain. Another season in which he flourished followed, as he picked up a memorable hat-trick against Sunderland and 12 Premier League goals. He was a massive fan favourite and it was a sad day when he left to join West Ham.
Demba Ba
One I reckon everyone will agree with – signing Demba Ba on a free transfer in 2011. He hit two hat-tricks in his debut season against Blackburn and Stoke. Ba won Premier League Player of the Month in December 2011. He contributed to our first win over then champions Manchester United in a decade. Even after having to leave us in January of that season for the African Cup of Nations, he finished as our top goalscorer with 16 goals and was voted by the Premier League managers at the time as the best signing of the season. In his first game of the 2012-13 season, Ba scored in a 2-1 win against Tottenham. He scored our 1,000th goal of the Premier League era. Demba was a very popular figure on Tyneside, but – rather unfortunately – he left us for a measly £7 million due to a clause in his contract.
Yohan Cabaye
Wor Yohan or Dreamboat – one of my favourite players of the Ashley era. We picked up the midfield maestro from Lille for a reported fee of £4.4million in June 2011. This transfer fee proved to be only a fraction of what the Frenchman was actually worth. He took the number 4 shirt, which was vacated by Kevin Nolan before his departure for West Ham.
Yohan was a marvellous set-piece taker and after a great start to his season, he, along with Demba Ba, contributed to the historic 3-0 win over Manchester United with a stunning free-kick. In the 2012-13 season, he scored in a 1-1 draw against Sunderland, but his season was halted by a lengthy groin injury. He came back and scored goals against Southampton, Stoke and Aston Villa.
Yohan was swiftly gaining serious attention from top clubs, such as Manchester City and Arsenal, who both had £10 million bids rejected, and rightly so. The Frenchman wrote his name into Newcastle United folklore by scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in December, our first win there in over 40 years.
Although his career at the club ended on a sour note with his refusal to play in attempt to force a move to his boyhood club PSG, there’s no denying he was a fantastic signing for his price and the club made great profit from him, selling him for roughly £20million.
Moussa Sissoko
One of only two players on this list who still remain at the club. The dynamic midfielder signed in January 2013 from Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse for a reported £2million.
In just his second game for Newcastle, the Geordie faithful could see exactly what Sissoko was all about. Pace and power. He smashed home two goals against a dominant Chelsea side in a memorable 3-2 victory at St James’ Park. He would burst past opposition defenders with ease and either score or create opportunities.
In the 2013/14 season, Moussa scored goals against Hull, QPR and West Brom. He also contributed to six assists – a club high for the season.
Sadly, in the season just gone, Sissoko was just a shadow of his former self – but it was the same story for 90% of our players. Be that as it may, Sissoko still managed some very good performances and scored the opener in our final game of the season against West Ham – who knows what would have happened had he not got that header into the back of the net.
The Frenchman has attracted interest from a number of clubs, but it is Liverpool who are reportedly leading the chase for him. Newcastle have slapped a £20million price-tag on Sissoko.
Jack Colback
Jack consistently performed to a brilliant standard last season – despite our shambolic campaign – and that is saying something.
He was the most controversial signing of Ashley’s era – coming directly from our bitter rivals Sunderland on a free transfer. Though many will focus on him being a former Black Cat, it is the ‘free transfer’ that is the most astonishing.
This lad puts his all into every single performance in a black & white shirt and is one of the only players on our current squad who earns his place in the starting line-up every week. He scored four goals for us last season and was one of the most played players last season.
His performances impressed England manager Roy Hodgson, who called up ‘Ginger Pirlo’ to the England squad on the August 28th, but a calf injury saw him withdraw from the squad. He has failed to receive a call up since – probably partly due to Newcastle’s dismal form.
Other notable mentions:
Danny Simpson (£750,000); Daryl Janmaat (£6.5million); Cheick Tiote (£3.5million); Papiss Cisse (£9.5million); Mathieu Debuchy (£5.5 million); Ayoze Perez (£2 million)
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