Dear fellow Newcastle United fans,
I’m putting pen to paper because I need to get a few things off my chest so I hope you’ll bear with me because I WILL get onto the football.
I’m feeling pretty depressed personally because at the age of 77 years old I have just had my second knee replacement operation (10 days ago), so I’m locked up at home, in loads of pain from the wound and in recent nights I’ve had psychotic dreams (possibly because of mixing whiskey and pain killers – stupid, I know, but don’t judge me!) which are impacting my sleep i.e. so terrifying I’d rather be awake than asleep!
Wouldn’t be so bad If I could sit out in the garden and read the paper in the sunshine but we’ve had days of cloudy windy weather, it’s rained on and off, the forecast for the next week is rain every day. GREAT!
Then, stupidly, I decided to watch that heap of horse manure served up by England on Saturday night against that soccer giant, New Zealand, and had to turn it off at half time because it was making me so depressed. I sat down in my orthopaedic chair (thanks NHS!) to watch TV the next morning as I didn’t know the score, decided to risk the second half (I know, I know, that Tramadol is addling my brain!) but what upset me the most was not the football (you have to make some allowance for the heat) but watching a team composed of several NEWCASTLE UNITED players, more than I can ever remember. Current players like Livramento, Big Dan Burn (well done Big Man!) plus Gordon (who’s only just left us), Toney, who we let go far too early, Trafford, who may yet end up at St. James’ Park, and most gallingly of all, Elliot Anderson who could be on his way to one of the Septic Six this Summer for a massive fee.
Now there’s the basis of a decent team there and if you add Tonali (although I think he might go, although we shouldn’t let him – he owes us big time!), Bruno (would be the start of the decline if he left), Miley, Joelinton (I know he’s on the decline but on his day is still immense), Thiaw, Botman, then a decent coach should be able to get a decent tune out of them – and a top coach should be able to get Champions League football on a regular basis.
I looked at the final Premier League table this morning before writing this article (I know, I shouldn’t, because it depressed me even more) and I am still amazed that just four points separated Newcastle United from the European qualifying places, however, it is what it is.
But with my current mood and with looking at the transfer news (what transfer news – a second division goalkeeper from France, beaten to an 18-year-old by Brighton, several anonymous midfielders, wingers, full-backs from Eastern Europe, Denmark through to Brazil, Senegal & Timbuktu??) all I can see is despair and the Toon going backwards.
News of Arsenal looking at Kroupi, ManUre having signed Ederson and maybe Bowen to come as well, Man City after Anderson (mind, I’d be wary if I was him now that Pep has gone!), Spurs signing Robertson (wasn’t he worth a three-year punt?) and maybe Senesi, everyone after Sandro Tonali etc. etc., makes us look pedestrian and on the back foot.
Note that in the Toon players I mentioned above there were no forwards and that has to be where we are looking to improve this Summer. I like Woltemade and can see an intelligent footballer in there but unless Eddie Howe can use him in a different role, or he can become more agile, quicker and robust, then I fear he may not be able to hack the Premier League and have to be sold. Osula came on leaps and bounds and showed promise but you wouldn’t want him to be your number one striker next season surely?
We need a striker as a statement signing. Osimhen, maybe Jonathan David on loan with an option to buy, or someone who has slipped under the radar with the big clubs like Igor Thiago, Guirassy from Borussia Dortmund. or try to tempt Toney back. and before someone says we couldn’t pay them the wages, Newcastle United have to alter the pay structure to accommodate it or we will fall further behind (the other option, of course, is to get lucky with a 6’7′ Moldovan with the skills of Messi in the Greek third Division for £20m but how often does that happen?).
Presumably, we are all largely of the opinion that Elanga and Wissa were an expensive, drastic mistake and should be consigned to a skip somewhere and Jacob Murphy is no longer good enough. So with only Barnes as a decent player for the front three (some would argue but only as an impact sub) we need a couple of decent wingers to take the project forward.
Are any of our academy players going to figure next year? Eddie Howe has been mystifyingly reluctant to give any of them game time so are they good enough? EG Cordero, Neave, Shahar, Sanusi, Salia, Park, or do we need to replace them? I think this is one of Eddie’s biggest faults and although I’m happy to have him in charge next season, I think the dark clouds will start to gather over St. James’ Park by Christmas if we aren’t near the top of the table and playing a decent brand of competitive football!
Can anybody see any light at the end of the tunnel to improve my mood, or is it just another train racing down the track towards me???
Ghost Of Len White