... starting Newcastle United's Intertoto Cup campaign short on strikers for the second year running. But ... COME ON ... he has had all summer to eye up who he wants! And many Toon fans are starting to wonder if chairman Freddy Shepherd is keeping hold of the purse strings.
How can we forget the summer Shepherd and his partner Douglas Hall toured the world - Brazil, Holland, Spain and Australia - supposedly chasing Sir Bobby Robson targets? Only to tell us all the following Christmas that there was no money to buy players, and they knew there would be no transfers that campaign.
Shepherd is notorious for only releasing money when the season is about to start, supposedly saving money in wages. But, as players sign yearly contracts, he is still paying wages the following summer when the players are idol. So why not pay the wages BEFORE the campaign, giving the manager a chance to blood them into his team, rather than when they are on holiday just before the contract ends?
With so little time until United host Lillestrom or Keflavik, bringing in a suitable striker has to be Roeder's priority, and he has said it for months!