Comments on: Newcastle aiming for Europe, and they can do it

By: aditya

aditya — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:38:25 +0000

newcastle may be a great team in past but to return the glory days the must reach for big name transfers not free or tranfer listed players , like rafeal van der vaart who plays for hamburg but would be a great player to be brought in premier league and defender like david edgar should be given chance .and at last this season the magpies must focus in defence

By: Ahmed Bilal

Ahmed Bilal — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 11:22:42 +0000

how the hell do you deal with these injuries – you know Ed, if it was the training ground turf and I was the manager I’d dig up the pitch by hand and relay it myself. It’s crazy.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:27:03 +0000

Like lots of other Toon supporters I’m guardedly optimistic for this season. The players brought in seem to be quality and some were just what was needed. We’re still short defensively but upfront there are few teams our equal. Midfield is competitive with the tops sides. If we had a similar quality defensive squad then I’d be less guarded in my optimism. I expect top 10 – 8th? Right now I’d settle for UEFA qualification. At best, with some luck regarding injuries etc. probably no higher than 5th. That would be a massive improvement on previous seasons. Onward & upward!

By: Abu Bakr Jhavary

Abu Bakr Jhavary — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 21:10:25 +0000

Definately!!! Although Sam Alardyce has been solid in his transfer dealings esp his low cost ones. A little concern over Enrique though – I’m not generalising about Spanish players but Luque also came in from Spain with a big price tag and high expectations!!

I sincerely hope that Sam gets another 2 full back as cover for what we already have. I do expect players from the previous regime to be playing a lot better though under Sam.

By: Ed Harrison

Ed Harrison — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:44:09 +0000

Ahmed – that’s a postive assessment
The key to Newcastle’s season and the reason the fans are so upbeat about the team is because of Sam Allardyce. His 7 players signed already are not only quality and experience but 3 free signings in Viduka, Cacapa and Geremi were great. Just think if we could also have captured Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim – who preferred Chelsea instead. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we’ll see how we do at the Reebok on Saturday – but the excitment is back on Tyneside – similar to when Bobby Robson took over 8 years ago.

By: Strikarz

Strikarz — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:46:49 +0000

It’s one thing signing players, it’s another thing altogether getting them to play as a team. If ‘Big Mouth’ Sam can pull that off then I agree, Newcastle are looking likely to return to their ‘glory days’ (of constantly coming second best in the league (even with a 12 point advantage at Christmas) and losing in FA Cup Finals!).

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 18:11:05 +0000

Agree,their strike force fully fit is comparable to the top four…
Midfield is of decent quality what with the likes of Duff, Solano,Barton & Emre etc…
Defense is suspect of lack in depth…
Although Sam proved himself at Bolton,its how he manages the injuries which might determine the level of his success for Newcastle has always suffered because of their poor injury record…