Buying and Selling
By Nick Raynor
April 18 2005
Well, seeing as we have little to play for now many of us are looking for how we can reform the team in the summer.
Personally, I would love to see us back in the Champions League but UEFA Cup is a minimum requirement and through league position. We should be in the top 6!
To do this, the squad is really going to have to be sorted out and players that we don’t need anymore just got rid of.
Here’s a look at our senior squad as it is now:
Goalkeepers
Given
Harper
Defenders
Right-Back
Carr
Hughes
Centre-Back
Boumsong
Bramble
O’Brien
Hughes
Elliot
Left-Back
Babayaro
Elliot
Hughes
Midfielders
Right-Wing
Dyer
Milner
Ambrose
Central Midfield
Dyer
Jenas
Bowyer
Faye
Butt
Milner
Left-Wing
Robert
N’Zogbia
Milner
Strikers
Shearer
Kluivert
Ameobi
Bellamy
That’s a total of 22 players.
WHO SHOULD WE SELL + BUY
Goalkeepers
OK, we’ll start off simply. Given and Harper are perfectly fine as they are. We have a top quality goalkeeper and a decent reserve incase Given in unavailable. No worries here.
Defenders
Souness’ signings in the summer were decent I think. Boumsong was the kind of player we were looking for and has been very good at centre-back. Babayaro has been acceptable at left-back when he has actually played. Carr at right-back has been decent too and there is no need to replace.
We do need to scrap O’Brien. I will give him credit for the service he has done for the club because he gives 100% all the time but he can simply not cut it at this level and may be better suited to a newly promoted Premiership team than us. I think we should be able to get £1 million for him aswell.
Babayaro is another interesting one. He’s had injury problems but IF he can sort them out I want him to stay. But if they will be persistent I want rid of him sooner than later and get somebody else in but I’d be happy with Babayaro.
Elliot I feel is not good enough and is about 30 now so maybe time to move him on aswell. I doubt we’d get much for him anyway.
Now the key at the back is a new centre-half. True, Bramble has improved and
But who? We’ve not actually been linked to anybody since signing Boumsong and there are few options open to us ESPECIALLY if we do not qualify for continental competition.
Woodgate is always an option.
Upson, King and a few others were mentioned in January but we’ll just have to see what Souness does.
Let’s look at our defenders afterwards:
Defenders
Right-Back
Carr
Hughes
Centre-Back
Boumsong
NEW PLAYER
Bramble
Hughes
Left-Back
Babayaro
Hughes
It looks a lot more agreeable to me.
Midfielders
Here’s where it gets complicated. I think we should be selling a few names here but getting a few in aswell.
Against Man Utd, people thought we may need another attacking midfielder because we couldn’t pass the ball etc… but I think we have that in Bowyer and Dyer who were obviously suspended. Jenas was injured as well.
I don’t think we should sell Bowyer; he’d just hit some decent form as had Dyer and I think we should give them another chance. There is no need to sign another AM as we have those 3.
I also think Faye should stay as he has been decent for us especially for the price we got him for. We have quality youth like Ambrose and N’Zogbia who I’m happy to use as back-up players if they are happy to stay.
But that is all I think should stay. Butt, Milner and especially Robert should go.
Robert has opened his mouth too many times and is not performing like he should. He’s had one chance too many and I think it is time to call it on his career on Tyneside. We may get a few million for him too.
Butt just hasn’t been the man we hoped he would be and we’ll probably shift him on for a pittance.
Milner is an interesting one because he hasn’t played much but hasn’t looked anything special when he has. He was good at
All I think we need to buy is a new left-winger. Again, many options I’m sure Souey will explore such as Giggs and Duff but left-wingers are in short supply so I hope we can find somebody decent.
Here’s the midfield situation afterwards:
Midfielders
Right-Wing
Dyer
Ambrose
Central Midfield
Dyer
Jenas
Bowyer
Faye
Left-Wing
NEW PLAYER
N’Zogbia
Also looks a lot better to me – And Finally…
Strikers
Simple here – We have 4. Shearer is obviously staying and Ameobi doesn’t deserve to be sold.
Bellamy will definitely go and if we don’t sell Kluivert I don’t know what is going on. Bellamy might actually go for £5 million which is very good and I reckon about £3 million for Paddy.
We then need a minimum of 2 strikers in. One quality man who can knock them in alongside Shearer and maybe a young prospect.
There have been numerous links with players such as Owen, Johnson, Saviola etc… and I did a piece last month indicating who I thought we should get and who should stay. But again, its all down to Souness.
He convinced Shearer to stay, who knows who he will sign.
Strikers
Shearer
NEW PLAYER
Ameobi
NEW PLAYER
Here’s a look at the final team in my opinion:
Goalkeepers
Given
Harper
Defenders
Right-Back
Carr
Hughes
Centre-Back
Boumsong
NEW PLAYER
Bramble
Hughes
Left-Back
Babayaro
Hughes
Midfielders
Right-Wing
Dyer
Ambrose
Central Midfield
Dyer
Jenas
Bowyer
Faye
Left-Wing
NEW PLAYER
N’Zogbia
Strikers
Shearer
NEW PLAYER
Ameobi
NEW PLAYER
Now if the places where is says NEW PLAYER are filled with someone top quality, I think we could have a good year next season (How many times have I said that before)