Why Newcastle have never been in better shape

Much has been made of the failure to land the striker we were so apparently desperate to ‘get over the line.’ I’ve read many articles concentrating on the lack of spending at the club but what about the players we currently have, how good are they and what can we expect of them?

Firstly, I would say that I agree with the masses in that we have been lied to, again, and we really do have a lack of ambition when it comes to competing for other top players. I’m sure that Ashley would like to qualify for the Europa League, but let’s face it; his aim is to maintain Premier League status and not much more.

However, under Shepherd we lived vastly beyond our means and we are paying for the mistakes of Luque and Boumsong, and the ridiculous wages we gave some players, now. Under Ashley we seek to discover potential at a lower price. Cabaye has already been touted as the midfielder that the big four may have missed. Under Shepherd, we would have most likely matched Stoke’s bid for Crouch which in the short term would be nice, but Crouch is not a top player, he has never scored the goals to be classed as one. He simply is not worth £10 million.

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We now sign players, such as Ba, who should have cost £6/7 million but we get them for nothing. It’s a clever tactic so long as we realise that sometimes we simply have to pay the market rate to secure the player.

Whilst the board has shown an acceptance to selling their top talent, I feel that there are justifiable reasons for all of the departures. Nolan is not as good as Cabaye and would have struggled to get many games, the fee for Carroll was ridiculous, Barton was more trouble than he was worth and Enrique wanted out. The proof will undeniably come if we cash in on somebody like Tiote for £10-15 million.

Much of the current squad are an unknown entity, but if we look at the midfield I think you would be hard pressed to find a better Newcastle midfield in the last 10 years. Defensively we also have some real talent there. Coloccini has become a real top drawer performer and Steven Taylor seems to be knuckling down and really improving his game. Santon blatantly has potential although I anticipate it’s going to take him 12 months to adapt. A strike force of Ben Arfa and Ba also has the potential to be exceptionally potent, fitness permitting.

Our real problem is our lack of strength in depth, but the failure to bring in a striker may just solve that problem. Hopefully the likes of Sammy Ameobi and Haris Vuckic will be given more opportunities as a result of the failure to sign a striker, and let’s hope they make the step up. It is unquestionably a dangerous ploy to rely on unproven youth but I get the feeling we have several players who are simply waiting for their chance.

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