As the annual summer transfer window draws to a close, Newcastle United by all accounts, appear to have finished their transfer business. Manager, Steve McClaren whilst being interviewed has openly expressed his delight at Newcastle’s activity and the acquisitions Lee Charnley has brought into the club. Having invested £50 million Mike Ashley has delivered on his promise to invest in a team which struggled last season. The question on many fans’ lips is “has the transfer window been a successful one for the club?” I would say on the whole yes however I have reservations which I intend on explaining.
Victory against West Ham United secured Newcastle United’s Premier League status. A season many will want to forget. Being honest after the game having the chance to take stock the club was a mess. Inadequate and incompetent coaches, Despondent players and many who were unfit to wear the famous black and white stripes resulted in very little to be optimistic about. Newcastle United had huge issues to address.
Defensively Newcastle were nothing more than appalling. Having conceded over 150 goals in the last 3 seasons, defensively Newcastle required a shake-up. Chancel Mbemba, since making his debut has already become a fans favorite. Quick, Strong, intelligent, whilst being comfortable in possession Mbemba has taken to the Premier league like a duck to water. Having never played right back before he was very assured when facing Memphis Depay and for £8 Million appears a bargain.
Mbemba is the only defensive reinforcement, something I find rather perplexing. I truly believed Newcastle were in need of more than Chancel. Captain Coloccini and Steven Taylor along with Mike Williamson were not players I could see the club moving forward with. Taylor for all his love for the club has persistent injury setbacks preventing him making the amount of appearances we require. You must also consider Taylor’s mental stability. He has a tendency to put his team in trouble making decisions many find mind boggling, Red cards and silly examples of indecision will never help his cause.
Coloccini in my mind had to be moved on. He was never the captain I wanted to see this season. I believed the Argentine to be finished without the care or desire to move the club forward. Bi-annual trips to Argentina, lack of emotion to defeats and unable to motivate his peers to perform to their capabilities, this summer was the perfect time to part ways and move on.
Mike Williamson still being here is something I also wasn’t envisaging. Williamson is without a doubt one of the worst defenders I have seen in my years supporting Newcastle. Never have I saw a player so clearly out of his depth. The problem with Williamson is who in their right mind would want to buy him? What attributes does he offer a team? More than likely Newcastle will look to loan him out and release at the end of his current contract.
Left back also concerns me. Both Haidara and Dummett have shown very little to prove they are of the desired quality. A modern day full-back has a huge responsibility in a modern system. Primarily used to remove the threat of opposition wingers, they must transition to offer offensive support. Haidara defensively worries me. Positionally naive, teams have targeted Haidara and attained success. Dummett has not had a chance to stake his place due to injury, but I just don’t see him as a fullback. Having started his career as a central defender, Dummett lacks finesse in the final third.
I am of the belief Newcastle needed a commanding and dominant centre back and a left back. By commanding I mean physically and athletically imposing. Capable of dealing with the aerial threats of opposing forwards, leading a defense by example. During games against Southampton and Swansea-Newcastle struggled against cross delivered to target men. Saturday brought a morale-boosting clean sheet, filled with positive and brave defending. Steve McClaren and his staff have to be applauded for this, however, my worry is consistency. Will these players consistently put this level of defensive performance in? At this moment in time one can only hope the team continue producing, there’s a long way to go to banish defensive woes.
Newcastle United, for the majority of the season, lacked creativity. Such a statement is easy to make and covers a broad subject however the issues the club faced were troublesome. Limited intelligence in possession, coupled with a lack of movement saw chances for strikers to score scarce. Newcastle’s Midfield last season was largely anonymous. Bypassed by aimless long balls, saw the strikers isolated and restricted. Dutch International Wijnaldum was brought in to readdress the clear deficiency. Having arrived from PSV as a league winning captain much was expected of the new star. Wijnaldum has shown exactly why he cost £14-million pounds. Wijnaldum is exactly what Newcastle have been missing. Technically assured, very quick with a vision and awareness to bring others into play. Wijnaldum is the perfect link between midfield and striker. Scoring on his debut with a Header many strikers will be proud of Wijnaldum has started in a rich vein of form and I look forward to seeing him grow as the season moves on.
Frenchman Florian Thauvin arrived to a mixed reception. Many fans were upset the club used Cabella as a makeweight in a deal to bring the cultured winger to Tyneside. I actually back this decision. Cabella, despite working under inadequate coaches was not suited to the system McClaren is looking to utilize. I don’t feel this should be a debate about who is the better player more who suits the system more. McClaren is looking for wingers to stay wide, stretch the pitch and offer service to strikers. Cabella has a tendency to move inside narrowing the pitch and limiting opportunities. Having made a cameo appearance against Manchester United on Saturday, Thauvin looked very assured and comfortable in possession. Seeing his first touch result in Luke Shaw hitting the turf brought a smile. Had Thauvin been a couple of inches bigger the result could have been so different. Graham Carr has tracked Thauvin from a young age, having watched him on numerous occasions I am of the opinion the only way is up for the lad.
Papiss Cisse was by far and away Newcastle’s most potent goal threat last season. Very few others contributed. The need to bring in another striker was imperative. Having seen the club shell out £13 million for Mitrovic I must again applaud the club. Mitrovic is regarded by many as one of the most exciting strikers in Europe. His debut against Manchester United showed we have signed a lad with huge potential. Mitrovic gave his all shuffling and pressurizing defenders, never giving up on lost causes as well as standing firm in what became a thankless task. Mitrovic is a physical striker, built to withstand the demands of the rough and tumble. Holding the ball up whilst always offering an option Mitrovic will become a valuable asset moving forward. Seeing a fine header crash off the crossbar at Old Trafford showed he has a prowess in the air not seen for many a year on Tyneside.
Overall I think we should be happy with the signings. Each player whilst only playing 3 games have shown they have the capacity and ability to succeed in the premier league. I am a little concerned by the lack of defensive signings but looking at the squad it’s the best it has been for many a year. Steve McClaren will need time. Last season it would have been easy to sell all and sundry. That simply is not possible at all. Slowly Steve McClaren is making his mark on the team. The task now is to continue as we mean to go on. There is still players surplus to requirements, looking to move them on, trimming the squad makes sense both practically and financially. As the dead wood is weeded out McLaren will be able to address further areas of concern. Steve McClaren whilst responding to journalists questions made a very great point when talking about the squad. Declaring he was happy with the squad however stating “a manager is never truly happy”, quite a significant statement. We as fans all have an opinion however I think it’s both fair and reasonable to suggest we are moving in the right direction.
