Following Kevin Keegan’s recent comments about Sunday’s match winner Georginio Wijnaldum being “the best signing Mike Ashley has made as Newcastle chairman”, we started to mull over the Magpies’ transfer dealings since the Sports Direct Supremo took over at St James’ Park back in 2007.
Under Ashley, Newcastle have become renowned for snapping up precocious talents under the age of 26, giving them a platform to hone their craft and, ultimately, moving them on to a bigger club for a substantial profit.
Although this flawed transfer strategy rendered positive results during the outstanding 2011/12 season – where Newcastle finished fifth and narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification – in recent years, its many defects have been emphatically exposed.
The Magpies scarcely avoided relegation last season, and fans believe that the current playing squad’s tangible lack of experience and leadership is at the root of the team’s recent struggles.
Prior to last season’s Survival Sunday showdown with West Ham United, the eternally unpopular Mike Ashley chose to address the aggravated Toon Army in a candid television interview – vowing that he would be loosening his purse-strings from now on to ensure that the club can challenge at the right end of the table.
Despite spending over £50million to bring some of European football’s brightest young stars to Tyneside over the summer, Newcastle still find themselves residing at the foot of the Premier League table four months into the current campaign.
After sufficient time to peruse the Magpies’ playing personnel, head coach Steve McClaren has reportedly implored the Newcastle hierarchy to revise their stifling transfer policy in the upcoming January transfer window – concurring with the fans’ viewpoint that the current squad badly lacks in character, nous and maturity.
For all of its many failings, Ashley’s contentious transfer policy has undeniably seen some exceedingly gifted footballers pull on the black and white shirt and wow the St James’ Park crowd with their genius.
Here, we attempt to construct an XI of the best players Newcastle have signed since Ashley took the reins from Freddy Shepperd. The formation is 4-3-3.
