Absolutely. People are getting too carried away with prices.... hes still got to do well. 36 million isnt earth shattering for a 23 year old striker these days. Is he better than rondon right now ??? No i dont think so.
Spot on for me although I'm happy with Hayden, Shelvey, Ki and Lonstaff at CM - I'd want 3 more signings in - RB - Tavernier, LB - Rose/N'Soki, CF/Winger - St Maxim and I think we'd have a decent little squad but the issues at the club run much deeper than our "purple" players. We still haven't shifted dead wood I mean Colback, Saviet, Clark? Elliott, etc as yet and need to get the youth players like Woodman/Harker, Sorenson, Gibson, Sterry if he's not part of the squad etc out on loan and then there are the facilities to think about - I mean a coat of paint around the stadium and training ground is - taking a phrase I saw on twitter - like putting a plaster over a stab wound.
How can you say you would be happy with that middle 4? That is a major weakness in my eyes. All out to get a partner for Longstaff is needed - much so than a right back. We can last another season with Yedlin/Manquillo (not ideal I know). I don't see the point of having a top 3 that is excellent and a back 3 that are excellent if the centre pairing is adequate.
Who do you rate higher? Any of those 4 CM's or Manquillo or our non existent LWB? I mean Dummett and Ritchie can cover that position but Dummy is a CB and Ritchie is a winger. Edit: When playing 5-2-3/3-4-3 what ever you want to call it. if we are playing 3 in the middle of the park then I'd agree we need another but Ashley will think Colback and Saviet are the solution...
Colback ? God no ... had more than his chance ... hes simply not good enough at 29 so only gunna get worse
OK, Ki and Hayden and Shelves are all too inconsistent to be starters. Ritchie played better as left wing back then as a winger and for a season is fine with Dummy as back up. Yes I rate Yedlin/Manquilo higher than most of our CM partnerships purely as they're position isn't a major one and as we play 3 CBs then they don't have to be ****ing awesome. In an ideal world yes replace all but CM is our main weakness. Can we really rely on Longstaff for a whole season? What happened when he blows cold or is injured?
I agree - our key signing above all else for me is the centre of midfield. You put a quality ball winner alongside Longstaff, I think that transforms the team. Hayden and Shelvey are decent back up for a club like ourselves. I'd like to see full backs come in on both sides, and also another striker but its not realistic to expect all this to happen in one go.
I get the love in with Longstaff I do but he's played 9 bloody games guys - the fans do this with every young player who comes through. Yes he looks like he could be fantastic and did well last year but NINE games into his career and we are building a squad around him? Hayden and Shelvey back up players for a club like ours?...really? Prior to the 2018 WC everyone to a man was saying Shlevey had to go as he was the best passer in the country, 1 season later he's back up for relegation/mid table fodder Hayden was our best CM by a mile last year with stats similar to Kantes! We've made one signing so far for a NET SPEND OF £7.5m who yes I'm excited about but he's hardly proven on any stage (so I'll keep my council on that one) and suddenly we are going to go out and buy world class CM's to go along side the 21 year old next Iniesta?
Stop being so sensible are you a nufc fan or not. You my friend has to get a grip. This simple balanced argument approach is what will be the devil in you.
I'm not sure how you've to got to where you have from one or two posts. I don't think anybody is saying we have the Iniesta?! Nor is anyone expecting us to go out and buy proven world class ball winners. Sorry but you're talking horseshit and making things up. We can however improve on what we have and we should. I think the problem is you perhaps rate Hayden and Shelvey more than others do. You're entitled to your opinion. There is a reason that Hayden has been available for transfer at a reasonable price for 2 years and no one has bought him. That is just a brutal fact. There is also a reason why one of the biggest clubs in the country are happy to pay 30m to land Sean Longstaff. To be honest the pious "fans do this with every young player" is just outright bollocks too. The fans get excited by any small trickle of youth system players who come through (and with Newcastle it is a very small trickle). They get even more excited by the likes of Carroll and Longstaff who are from the local area. I don't see why fans should apologise for that? Nobody is saying he's a world beater. They do rate him above the likes of Shelvey and Hayden, and yes they do want to see him given his wings. Again nothing to apologise for, he looks a better footballer than both so regardless of age should play. We need to manage him of course and the likes of Shelvey and Hayden should see enough action. If we want to hold him back for inferior players, then I don't think many young players will be clamouring to join our set up. As for Joelinton, I will make no apologies again for getting excited. We've signed a highly talented brazilian forward who has done very well in the Bundesliga. It is a lot harder to score goals there and I am excited by him. He'll need time and we'll probably need further options, but I expect him to do well. We've pissed and moaned as fans about the amount we spend on players. In the last two windows we've spent 60m on our attack. In my opinion we've bought two very talented players. I think its great. We have good options in the centre of defence, we have Dubravka, we have Longstaff. Add a quality ball winner and I think the spine will look as strong as it has in the last knows how many years. It would be great if we then have the likes Shelvey and Hayden, run of the mill PL players, to come in and supplement that.