These are just several of the dozens of names that have been linked with moves to Newcastle this summer. Tottenham moved quickest in the case of Luka Modric and chances are the reported 10m pound bid that the Toon have supposed to have placed for Batefembi Gomis will come to nothing either. Not being involved in any of the European competitions is bad enough when it comes to trying to sign the best players, but some players will overlook that should they see a club that clearly has the ambition and current playing staff to mount a serious challenge for European football next season.I'm like every other Newcastle fan, I want to see us up there challenging again next season but the chances of it happening are very slim as things stand.
It would seem, if reports are true that Mr Ashley is looking to increase the size of the squad whilst at the same time reducing the overall wage bill. Smart from a business point of view, considering the mess Mr Shepherd & Co left the club in. But in terms of results on the pitch and fans value for money it kind of stinks a bit.
I'm not a business man, but I do know that 52,000 fans will not be best pleased about ticket prices going up by 10% and at the same time seeing the squad replaced by so-called 'Future Stars'. Sure, this has had some degree of success at places like Arsenal but lets not forget, Arsene Wenger had a great team of experienced internationals before he started introducing these youngsters.
Patrick Vieira, Marc Overmars, Emanuel Petit, Freddie Ljungberg, Jose Antonio Reyes, Dennis Bergkamp, Theiry Henry, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Lauren, Jens Lehman, Ray Parlour, Tony Adams and Martin Keown.
Wenger had first class players in almost every position and had the luxury of being able to gently introduce the youngsters we see playing for Arsenal today. Newcastle United just don't have that luxury. It's a very significant difference.
Players like Aaron Spear, as good as he might be.. he is only 15 years old. These are the kind of transfer targets Dennis Wise needs to be chasing during the season, not in the transfer window. The most important thing is to make sure Newcastle United don't take anymore backward steps and the only way to prevent that happening is to target ready-made stars. Yes, they are ridiculously expensive sometimes and these players will want very high wages but this isn't going to change. Welcome to the Premier League Mr Ashley!
Nobody can blame Newcastle supporters for being overly excited when it was anounced that a 'Bilionaire' was ousting Fred Shepherd. Of course we started dreaming. Mike Ashley, owner of a huge company that sells football shirts amongst other things.....surely he would bring in at least one huge name, if for nothing but to fill the coffers of Sports Direct but no, as the days pass it seems far less likely.
Mike Ashley and his new team, consisting of so-called football 'Mr Fix-it' Tony Jimenez and apparent 'Superspy' Dennis Wise seem to have made their intentions clear. They want up and coming stars that will increase in value. The problem there as I se it is, once these youngsters become first team regulars they will be demanding the same kind of salaries as other top players and should they be refused that they will move on to a bigger club. Now, whilst this may make the club a big profit....what is the plan should this happen? To buy more youngsters? Or replace the ones who have left with ready-made stars? I see us going around in huge circles for the next few seasons unless someone convinces Mr Ashley that we need players who can make an impact next season, not in 2011.
It is unfair on the supporters of Newcastle United to be expected to pay 10% extra per ticket next season to watch a team go through yet another transition. It's unfair that without even coming close to signing any players better than we already have, the club expects us to just 'Deal With It' as a certain Big Brother housemate might say.
As it stands today it's hard to see how we are going to even challenge for 6th place let alone 4th. Man City, Portsmouth, Everton and Tottenham seem to be pulling ahead in terms of ambition and this is very hard to take for Toon fans who fill up SJP week in, week out.
Mike Ashley needs speak to the fans and convince people they should turn out to watch the games next season. He's a billionaire but isnt prepared to spend big, pointing to the fact he paid off 100 million quids worth of debt which he wasn't aware about before buying the club. This is the fault of Ashley and his team of advisors not the fault of the fans. How anyone could buy a company without knowing they had so much debt is beyond me. I have to say I'm not so sure the debt was such a suprise. Mike Ashley is no mug, he's a self made billionaire and these kind of people do not buy large companies without full knowledge of the finances.
It's time he made a statement, either verbal, written or in the transfer market otherwise the likes of Michael Owen, Oba Martins etc..will be getting itchy feet too.
Personaly I couldnt care less about us signing a 15 year old Wayne Roney look-a-like, because even if he is a world beater by the time he is 16, he'll no doubt be sold for a huge profit anyway. This isn't the kind of work I feel Dennis Wise should be doing right now, he should be out looking for players to make next season far better than the garbage we have endured for the past three seasons.
Another bad season will really test the fans patience. I'm sure some people may see this as very negative but the truth is, it is becoming clear that Ashley's intentions are not to challenge for Europe next season. Keegan knew something when he came out and said on TV that top four was a dream. KK is one of us, he wanted us to know that we shouldnt expect much next season. What really brought that outburst on though?
Over to You Mr Ashley!