Firstly let me apologise for the lack of articles. Like many Newcastle fans I have grown so disillusioned with the club since January. I really fell out of love with Newcastle, and football in general - I dreaded match days as it became expected that we would lose and plunge further and further into relegation trouble.
Everything about Sunday was awful until the the victory was secure. The whole build up during the week, the pundits tipping us for the drop and the feeling that the world was against us winning and would celebrate our relegation.
As we now know thankfully this didn't happen and the lads had enough to get the result we needed. Seeing Jonas score our second goal was a magical moment that only football can produce. After everything that Jonas has been through over the last few years I cannot think of a more deserving player to seal our survival. He truly is a Newcastle United hero who will be remembered in Geordie folklore.
The second half of Sundays game reminded my why we all love football, and Newcastle United and since then I really have been buzzing with excitement. Hopefully I am not being naive but I really do think we are on the cusp of a big change at the club. Mike Ashley's interview was a huge step and if he follows up on his word then we are in for an exciting summer. Of course this is a big IF and word can only go so far - Ashley needs to back this up with actions. The biggest of these actions will be appointing the right manager to lead us forward.
Yes we are owned by a multi Billionaire, however we need to still be realistic - even though Ashley spoke about investment we are simply not going to be the new Man City. Spending 70m would be a giant step in the right direction and would get us back amongst the top 8 where we belong.
With this is mind I have tried to be as realistic as possible when looking at potential manager appointments and player recruitment. Yes we all want Carlo Ancelotti or Jurgen Kloop - but it is not going to happen. Remi Garde, Michael Laudrup and Steve McClaren are names we have been linked with over the past few months and to be honest I would be happy with with any of those - McClaren being my 3rd choice.
Once a manager is in place we can set about player recruitment. I've gone for players with PL experience. There are very few members of our first team squad that I would worry about losing.
Keeper
Kasper Schmeichel If Tim Krul is sold
Defenders
Virgil Van Dijk We need 2 starting CH
Steven Caulker We need 2 starting CH
James Chester Good cover, better than Willo
Kieran Trippier Competition for Janmaat
Midfielders
Leroy Fer Replace Tiote
Etiene Capoue Replace Tiote
Mohamed Salah Quality player
Forwards
Charlie Austin Goals needed if Cisse is sold
Danny Ings Goals needed if Cisse is sold
Patrick Bamford Huge potential
Aleksandar Mitrović Goals needed if Cisse is sold
