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Buying
From Our Premiership Rivals - Crystal Palace |
10th May 2005
Index:
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Athletic
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West Bromwich Albion
Europe
Conclusion?
So Graeme Souness wants to bring in players who have Premiership experience
or who can perform in the League, then? Well lets take a look at our
Premiership rivals and see who is available, who could be available
and who we could potentially attract.
Buying from Crystal Palace?
By the time the transfer window reopens Crystal Palace could well
find themselves in Division One should they be relegated from the
Premiership on Sunday, but if they do stay up, their status in the
top-flight will be owed largely to the goalscoring ability of Andy
Johnson who has 20 Premiership goals to his name thus far.
2nd only to Arsenal's Theirry Henry in the goalscorers chart and with
more strikes to his name than any other Englishman.
Johnson of course, prior to Alan Shearer's decision not to retire
as originally intended, was tipped in many quarters to be the man
to fill Big Al's boots and even after the No.9's u-turn, the rumours
that he is Tyneside bound are still doing the rounds with reports
of a £5-7m deal on the cards. Graeme Souness has already went
on record stating he rates the striker too so it wouldn't surprise
me if Newcastle went in for him in the Summer.
The 24 year-old, a £750,000 signing from Birmingham City in
2002, has 66 goals in 117 appearances since his move from the Midland's
to London, scoring 32 goals in Palace's promotion run last season.
So he certainly know's where the back of the net is.
Lightning quick, a willing runner and with a terrific temperament,
Johnson's rise has been a meteoric one. From the reserves of Birmingham
to international recognition with England in the space of 3 years,
he's now regarded as hot property.
With his pace, his goalscoring record, and his character, it's not
hard to see why Souness and others would take more than a passing
interest but from what I've seen of him, he'd struggle at Newcastle.
He's a natural goalscorer and a decent player in his own right but
outside the box he's distinctly average in my opinion and to get the
very best out of him, to make up for his average technical skills
and physical limitations, United would have to base their whole game
plan around him I feel as Ian Dowie has done at Selhurst Park, to
great effect.
Palace leave Johnson up top on his own, play with two wide men, pack
the midfield and try to draw out the opposition's defence so that
their main man can utilise his key attributes, his pace and willingness
to chase down balls. They also hit the penalty area hard and quick
from all angles with Johnson always on hand to sniff out any mistake
or to pick up on any loose balls. It's not pretty but it's very effective.
He's a penalty box striker who relies on that short and quick burst
of sharpness, he needs to play on the edge of the formation and reacts
best to this style of play if you like. At Newcastle he'd be expected
to get involved in play more and will face competition from the likes
of Shearer and midfield runners for space and loose balls in and around
the box.
For the price we would have to pay for him, we already have a very
similar player on our books, a natural finisher with technical and
physical limitations just like AJ - Michael Chopra. Give him a chance!
I honestly feel Johnson would struggle at Newcastle to score the goals
he has done at Palace and would be a massive gamble and ultimately,
a massive failure. Apart from his instinctive finishing abilities,
he's a very limited player.
One player Palace possess who wouldn't be a gamble and who I feel
would be a good signing is Wayne Routledge, a quick,
pocket dynamite who's contract is up at the end of the season. A player
who has already said he'll leave the Eagles and will be available
on a free.
I like what I have seen, very quick, great feet with a low centre
of gravity, he works extremely hard for his team and is a good crosser
of the ball. On a free he'd be more than a good squad player and can
only improve.
Next up, a look at who is available, who could be available and who
we could potentially attract from Everton.
Write In... Who would you like Newcastle to sign
in the Summer? Write in with your suggestions, reasons for your choices
and what these players would bring to the squad and we will publish
your thoughts on these very pages. Send in your suggestions using
the below e-mail form:
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