1st July 2005
By Ally
Graeme Souness, having removed Hughes, O'Brien, Kluivert and Robert
from the payroll and with the imminent departure of Craig Bellamy
and possibly others?, a number of players are needed to fill the void.
I'd say that around 7 players are needed to improve on last season
and turn us back into a top 6 side, of course Scott Parker has already
signed so another 6 need to be identified. Souness himself has said
that he needs a left-sided midfielder, a left winger and two strikers.
Along with this I think we need another central defender and a right-sided
midfielder.
1. Luis Boa Morte
Boa Morte is a player that I really admire. When he came to Arsenal
in 1997, as a striker incidentally, I thought he was just another
of the many foreign flops that the Premiership seemed to be full of
at the time and although he didn't exactly flop, he didn't do an awful
lot with limited chances due to the signing of Henry and Suker soon
after. An eventual move to Fulham via Southampton finally saw him
settle into the left wing position and over the last two seasons he
has really stood out in an average side. In 2004/2005 he had a terrific
season scoring 8 goals and creating 11, putting him in the statistical
top tier of creative midfielders along with the likes of Downing and
Robben.
We tried to sign him in January and I was disappointed we missed out,
but I think there's a good chance of a summer arrival. Media links
have died down a bit but there is plenty of time left to sign players.
I think that he's just the player we need on the left to create things
for us. According to Opta stats, he dribbled 234 times last season,
nearly twice as much as the second place player in the Fulham team.
His direct style will excite the fans and I think he's got an excellent
technique on the ball. Souness wanted Robert to be hard working and
to track back and was unsuccessful, but Boa Morte seems a different
player. He is very hard working and made the most tackles in the Fulham
team last season, 147, more than any of the club's defenders.
He seems to fit the bill perfectly, a creative winger that will work
hard. He can also play off the front man as a support striker, and
whilst I think he'd be signed primarily as a winger, he'd offer cover
upfront. There are rumours that he has a £3.5m release clause in his
contract, if this is true it would be a great deal. I'd pay up to
about £5m for his talents and think he'd be very successful. There
has been talk that he may do what Louis Saha has done and star for
a poor team then struggle for a top team, but don't forget we finished
alongside Fulham last year and are hardly looking to win the league!
As far as I'm concerned, he's the best and most realistic target out
there and we should work to get him on board.
2. Emre
Souness has said that a left sided midfielder is in his sights, presumably
to play either alongside Parker, or on the left of a three man midfield.
Of course we still have Hugo Viana who could play in this position
but the impression I get is that he will be sold as soon as possible.
If he came back this summer he would be like a new signing and I think
it would be good to give him another chance. Obviously he's a Robson
signing though and perhaps not one that Souness sees in his future
plans.
Anyway back to Emre. Admittedly I've not seen a huge amount of this
lad, but over the last few seasons I've seen him play well in a number
of high profile matches. The 25 year-old Turkish international has
suffered recently at Inter Milan with the sheer size of their squad
meaning his opportunities are limited. He is described as a midfield
'schemer' who is an excellent passer, tackler and dribbler. One fault
of his is that he doesn't score enough goals, he's the kind of player
who will score 2 or 3 from midfield and it could certainly be argued
that we've enough of those in the shape of Jenas, Dyer etc. He's also
a bit of a diver but as we've seen with Ronaldo at Man Utd, that can
be worked on.
Central midfield was an area where I thought we looked weak all season
and a partnership of Emre and Parker is an exciting one. A price of
£4m is reported and whilst that appears a bit high for an Inter Milan
substitute, there a few other players with the pedigree he has that
could sign for us. I could name you a host of midfielders who are
better than him, but none of these are realistic and we have to face
reality that we are trying to climb all the way back up the table,
not consolidate in the top 4/5 as in the past.
3. Luis Figo
At the time of writing Souness has admitted an interest in the 32
year old Real Madrid winger. If you had asked me even 2 months ago
if there was a chance of the former World Player of the Year signing
for Newcastle I'd have laughed it off. Yet his fallout with the Madrid
manager has left him available for a free transfer albeit with extravagant
wage demands.
Right wing is a position we've yet to solve since Solano was sold
18 months ago. Dyer can do a job there but he lacks the final ball
that Shearer needs to score the goals, he's better suited centrally.
Although Figo would only be a short term solution, 1-2 years maximum
he would give us what we've been missing. An intelligent footballer
who can whip a cross in and make clever runs and passes. Now that
Robert has gone we also lack quality from set pieces. The addition
of Figo would put an end to this, he's one of the best around. He
only missed 5 games last season and performed to a good standard so
that gives me hope that he wouldn't be 'another Kluivert'. The Dutchman
had been suffering from motivation problems and injuries at Barcelona,
Figo simply wants to end his career playing first team football.
Ideally my target for the right of midfield would be Shaun Wright-Phillips,
but regardless of what local media might lead you to believe, there
isn't a hope he'll come here, if anywhere. I'm struggling to think
of any other realistic targets, but at the moment Figo is realistic.
His wages seem to be the only stumbling block, he's currently on about
£90,000 a week. I imagine we'd probably offer about £50-60,000 and
I hope he'd accept. A midfield of Boa Morte, Parker, Emre and Figo
would be one to admire and the even slight prospect of it excites
me greatly. Hopefully Jonathan Woodgate will put a good word in for
us!
4. Daniel Van Buyten
The names that I've proposed so far won't come as big surprises to
you, but as far as I'm concerned that shows the club are on the same
wavelength as I am, wanting quality players to play for Newcastle
United. We were linked with the giant Belgian defender when Robson
was manager and he surprisingly later moved to Man City on loan. He
then moved from Marseille to Hamburg in Germany and has become very
popular, regarded by many as one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga.
The 27 year old would be an excellent signing if it happened. We've
lost depth in the squad through the sales of Hughes and O'Brien, and
whilst Taylor looks to be a brilliant prospect, a couple of injuries
could see us looking very short. Look at Chelsea, they have Terry,
Gallas and Carvalho as their main central defenders and Robert Huth
as the upcoming youngster. If we managed to sign Van Buyten we'd have
him Boumsong and Bramble as the main three and Taylor as the star
youngster. Taylor will also benefit from being versatile and playing
at right and left back when needed.
Titus Bramble impressed me in the second half of last season but as
we all know he does seem a bit injury prone and is certainly error
prone. You can never have too many good players and I feel the addition
of Van Buyten would sort out our central defence once and for all.
A price of around £4m is spoken of, and the player has already expressed
an interest in signing for us.
5. Dirk Kuyt
The striker situation is one that worries many people, myself included.
Kluivert has gone and Bellamy is sure to go, leaving us with an ageing
Alan Shearer, a poor Shola Ameobi and an unproven Michael Chopra.
Two strikers are an absolute must. Kuyt, 24, is a Dutch international
at Feyenoord and is impressing many people with his performances,
scoring 49 goals in the past two seasons. I've seen him play a couple
of times both for Holland and Feyenoord and he has terrific work rate
and a great finish. It's a risk though, being the top scorer in Holland
doesn't make you a good Premiership player, a quick glance towards
Mateja Kezman will tell you that.
But there are so many players who have been successful once graduating
from the Dutch leagues. He's a player that would excite me, but he's
also being courted by Liverpool in particular and its hard to see
him choosing us over them. A price of around £8m is reported which
I feel would be worth it, but it may be too much. Many people feel
that Hugo Viana will be used as a makeweight in any deal for a striker
but its unlikely to involve Feyenoord seen as he wants to stay in
Portugal. Out of the five players I've listed so far, however, this
one is the one I least expect to happen.
6. Alan Smith
Alan Smith is a player I wish we'd signed last season but unfortunately
he went to Man Utd. I'd call this a realistic signing but an unlikely
signing if that makes sense. If Man Utd were to sell any striker I'd
have thought it would be Saha, but I reckon if we offer decent money
for Smith they'd accept as they need to sell to buy. Personally I
think he's a terrific little player. He's been unlucky at Man Utd
that when he signed he seemed certain to be the second striker but
then Rooney signed and he got pushed to 3rd choice. I think with the
offer of regular first team football and the chance to play behind
what could be a good midfield would be an attractive deal.
He has his critics due to his temperament and his goal scoring ability.
Only 6 goals last season and that seems to be an average for the lad.
I think he's a good striker though, and I reckon that if he played
as an out and out striker for the whole season, not midfield as he's
often played, he'll score about 13-15 goals. I can't see it being
a popular signing though due to his lack of goals but personally I
believe in him. The team needs goals and many will feel that he's
not the man, so perhaps I'm in the minority on this one.
Ferguson would want his money back and I reckon an offer of around
£7m would tempt him. Rumour has it that Ferguson would want Dyer in
any swap deal and 6 months ago I'd have snapped their hands off, but
he's been impressive recently and I think he deserves a chance in
a forward role.
Conclusion
| Given |
| Carr Boumsong Van Buyten Babayaro |
| Figo Parker Emre Boa Morte |
| Kuyt Smith |
That looks a good team to me, and with Shearer having a reduced role
we need two good strikers to fill the gap. The defence looks solid
with Bramble and Taylor filling in as quality cover. Our midfield
would have excellent depth, N'Zogbia, Jenas, Faye, Ambrose, Dyer and
Bowyer. Might not all happen, but I'll be happy if it does!
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