United wise to shop in the bargain bin??

There are plenty of premiership players who will be free agents this summer. Domestically there are Seb Larrson, Johan Elmander, Zoltan Gera and Nigel Reo Coker. These lads are all solid premiership players with bags of experience. I would see Elmander and Larrson improving our team and Gera and Reo Coker bring handy additions to our squad. No doubt there are also many quality players around the world that will be free agents this summer


I have no problem with Pardew looking at these lads - and any other free agent this summer - so long as it means we are also buying other players. It is smart business to look at the free market and save money wherever we can if that then means we have more cash to spend on the high quality players we need to take the team to the next level.

Who is Moussa Sow??

This week Newcastle have been linked with a 40m summer move for two of Lille's stars - Gervinho and Moussa Sow. 


We will have all heard of Gervinho and have probably seen his lightening pace and keen eye for goal during his time in France and while on international duty for the Ivory coast. However Moussa Sow is a different story. I doubt that your average Newcastle fan - myself included know much about Mr Sow.


I decided do some research. Sow is a 25 year old forward who was born in Senegal. He has an inpressive goal return this season with 17 goals in 25 games in League un. At 5ft 11 he is a big lad and from what I have seen he uses his physical presence well.


Sow fits into the transfer ideology of Mike Ashley - he is 25 years old and looks set to improve as he matures as a player. 


There is no chance we will part with 40m for Gervinho and Sow, however it would be good to see them both arrive at St James park this summer.

Is it a mistake for Pardew to dismiss making a move for Connor Wickham this summer?

Wickham has been on the scene at Ipswich for a few years now and has show great potential at such a young age. He really is a man in a boys body which has put him, literally high above anyone in his age group due his 6ft 3in body.

He has made 59 appearances for the tractor boys and scored 10 goals - not bad for a team that has been struggling around mid table in the Championship for the last few years. Wickham has also been a England regular at all the different age groups.

As with any player with huge potential come a big price tag - look at the Andy Carroll deal. Therefore Wickham is likely to cost anything between 10m-15m. I agree this could seem a little risky for a 17 however I think Wickham is worth the risk. He is way ahead of where Carroll was at 17 - Wickham is almost at a Rooney level in his development.

Again we are likely to face competition for his signature if we were to pursue a deal - but I really think we could be missing the boat if we do not try and get him now.

I can liken this to the situation with the likes of Dawson at Spurs, Lescott, and Jagielka as in everyone knew they were good players playing in the championship but until some one took the risk on them no one truly believed. Look at where these players are today because someone took the risk and spent money on them.

Wickham is only going to get better and better - one day he will be the leading forward in England and will play at any of the top clubs. Why not go for him now, benefit from his service over the next few years then make some money selling him on in the future.

Players we should sign: Charlie Adam

Charlie Adam the Blackpool captain is someone who we should break the bank to sign. 

Adam has had a fantastic season for the seasiders and was very close to moving on in the January transfer window. Newcastle would face competition from clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham however our main selling point should be that he will walk straight into our team - he can run our midfield whereas at Liverpool and Spurs he would have to play backup to players like Steven Gerrard and Rafael Van Der vaart.

Adam has the creative spark we need in the centre of the park, he is deadly from set pieces, and he has the heart and passion to drive the team forward. He really is showing his quality even in a poor Blackpool side and he no doubt could make the step up to the next level.

Adam: the extra quality we need?

Pardew at fault (again)

Alan Pardew got it wrong again on Saturday with his tactics and selection.

All week he was talking to the papers saying how we would play our game as normal and not worry about Stoke however when it comes to match day he springs a tactic change and selects a 3-5-2 formation. In my time following NUFC we have never been a 3-5-2 team and Saturday showed exactly why. To then add insult to injury he made Sol Campbell the lynch pin at the back - the key position in a 3-5-2 formation even though Sol has not played since late 2011.

Steve Harper must also take some blame for this heavy defeat as he looked shaky all afternoon gifting the second goal and getting no where near the first or third - an all around bad day at the office.

We are hitting a bad patch of form at the wrong time of the season. I do think we will be OK, but to do that we have to win the up coming 6 pointers against team in and around us like Wolves and Villa.

Hopefully the international break will allow us to get some players back to fitness and get can put an end to this poor run. For this to happen Pardew needs to make some wise choices as I really do feel he has been off his game over the last few weeks.

Players we should sign: Stephen Warnock

Continuing with the list of players we should sign this summer I want to feature another full back Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock.

Warnock learned his trade at Liverpool before moving onto to Blackburn in search of regular first team football. After a successful spell at Ewood park he was signed by Martin O'neill at Aston Villa and became part of a young, promising, and exciting team.

Warnock has since fallen out with Gerrad Houllier at Villa and have been frozen out, now training with the young team. He is a talented full back with has England caps. He could be either a replacement for Jose Enrique or cover, either way he would be a great signing for the Toon. He is young, hungry, and has a point to prove. He knows the league inside out and would add something to our thin squad.

Warnock: The kind of player we need at the Toon

Players we should sign: Wes Brown

Sol Campbell will no doubt leave the club in the summer, or maybe even move into the coaching staff so that will leave us one centre defender down.


My choice to fill this position would be Wes Brown from Manchester United. Brown came through the youth ranks at Old Trafford and has been a solid squad member for the past 10 years, but has never really been a constant starter. Brown has bags of experience and could help our younger / less experienced defenders learn the game. You do not spend your entire career at Man Utd and pick up England caps if you are not quality. 


A move away from Man Utd be the new lease of life Wes needs, a lot like Phil Neville who has flourished at Everton since his move a few years back. He would be a great asset for the United squad.


If we went into next season with Colo, Taylor, Willo and Wes Brown as our centre halve options then I think we would do just fine.

Brown: Great asset for NUFC?