Newcastle United F.C. - The season so far and the road ahead.

Looking back at the season, Newcastle started with 14 points in their 10 first game weeks, something one can say has to be sufficient of a side that was recently promoted from the Championship with no other ambitions than to survive in the Premier League. But then a line of defeats started; in their home game against Bournemouth on November 4th, team captain Jamaal Lascelles suffered an injury that sidelined him. This started a series of 8 games with no victories – 7 defeats and 1 draw.

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With Lascelles on the sideline, it seemed that the team’s will to sacrifice had vanished. In his absence, an average of three goals were conceded every game. The captain was back in the game against Everton on December 13th, where the team suffered a 0-1 defeat after a clumsy intervention by Karl Darlow. After a promising start to the season, the situation appears very dark as we move closer to the challenging Christmas fixtures with a squad who possesses some obvious flaws.

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The first bright spot in a long time was a (rather undeserved) victory against West Ham at the Olympic Stadium on December 23rd. Next, Newcastle were hosting Manchester City which resulted in an expected defeat. At this time, two important games remained against bottom rivals Brighton and Stoke, which resulted in 4 points. This leaves Newcastle at a total of 7 points out of 12 in the Christmas fixtures, which is a more than satisfactory result!

Looking back at the season so far, it looks good considering the team’s condition. Newcastle have suffered defeats against all top 6 sides except from one draw against Liverpool. They have delivered in games against their bottom rivals and are currently residing at 13th place but still with only 2 points from the relegation spot. The bottom half of the table will prove to be a very close race. What will happen in the transfer window?

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Mike Ashley has been the owner of Newcastle United Football Club since 2007. He has previously put the club up for sale, but nobody has yet shown any interest in the price Ashley is demanding. Last fall he announced once again that the club was for sale. There have been rumours for a long time of a buyer by the name of Amanda Stavely, who was also involved in the purchase of Manchester City in 2009. In other words, she’s had previous experience and success with the purchasing of football clubs. The last news on this matter is that Ashley demands £50 million more than Stavely wishes to pay. In the light of this, Rafa Benitez and Mike Ashley have agreed upon what needs to be done during the transfer window as far as new players go. Despite Ashley’s efforts to sell the club, he is still largely interested in keeping Newcastle in the Premier League. A relegation would most likely cut the value of the club in half.

Rafa Benitez has a good idea of what new players he wants and he has handed in a “transfer list” to the club’s managing director Lee Charnley. Even though they agree on what players they need, Ashley also claims that the club needs to rid themselves of some players before new ones come in. Players mentioned are Jack Colback, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Jonjo Shelvey and Chancel Mbemba. It would seem that time is of the essence if the club wishes to act on these wishes. Otherwise there have been a few rumours about players coming in, however nothing steadfast. What seems most probable today is a few players coming in on loan periods. Chelsea’s Kenedy, West Ham’s Sakho and Joe Hart, Real Madrid’s Achraf Hakimi, Liverpool’s Danny Ings and Daniel Sturridge, Crystal Palace’s Souare and PSG’s Kevin Trapp has been mentioned since PSG has a new goalkeeper coming in. Even Chelsea’s David Luiz has been mentioned but all of the above are just rumours from the mill.

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Even though the tactician that is Rafa Benitez is of the best coaches there is, he will need players who possess the qualities that are required to compete in what is said to be the most competitive league in the world. The Newcastle squad consists of players who are eager to sacrifice themselves for their manager and their team. Lascelles, Clark, Perez and Murphy are all good examples of this. These boys are really on a roll. But still, Benitez needs reinforcements. First of all, he needs a striker who is guaranteed to provide goals at a Premier League level. Joselu has never provided enough goals for a top league player, even though he is a decent player who works hard. Dwight Gayle has proved that he is a solid striker in the Championship, but has shown yet again that he can’t reach Premier League level. The third option for striker is fan favourite Aleksandar Mitrovic. He played well in Belgian Anderlecht and has also been solid for his national team. It seems as though he was never really given the chance in the club and that Rafa has not been able to put his trust in the Serbian striker. In any way, Newcastle needs a new goal getter!

Of all the buzzing rumours, an injury-free Daniel Sturridge would be very interesting. He would be properly motivated as he would want his minutes on the pitch to be able to get himself into Gareth Southgates’ England squad. With that said, an injury-free Sturridge is probably too much to ask?
The team also needs reinforcements in the goalkeeper and back positions. A Joe Hart with his extensive experience and the same motivational foundation as Sturridge would be a good fit. And obviously a quality goalie like Kevin Trapp. Of the earlier mentioned rumoured players, Souare and Hakimi could fill the back positions. The team should aim a little higher as these two probably won’t elevate the team any more than existing players Yedlin, Manquillo, Mbemba, Gamez, Dummet and Haidara.

Other than this one can only hope - for the supporters’ sake - that the acquisition of the club will be sorted out as soon as possible so that money can be freed to purchase players before the transfer window closes on January 31st. This coming weekend, Newcastle is facing bottom rival Swansea at home. Apart from the FA Cup triumph against Luton, Newcastle haven’t played at St James’ Park since October. The fans really deserve a long awaited home win in this match!

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