This is a summer which has really exposed the difference between the haves and have nots. Why should Newcastle bow to Liverpool and Isak?<\/p>\n
Send your views to theeditor@football365.com<\/p>\n
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Big old Newcastle sadness ahoy<\/strong> I\u2019ll preface this by saying I expect absolute zero sympathy from all who read this distinguished mailbox I\u2019ve been reading for 20 years, especially given my club is owned by the Saudi investment fund (no whataboutery here). I\u2019ll also preface this by saying I have one life to live as a football fan and I am desperate for there to be more joy than sorrow in it \u2013 and I\u2019ve only seen that balance really start to shift again in the past 3 years.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a rant about PSR (yet). My biggest frustration with Newcastle this summer is that our USP\/advantage these past 3 seasons has been COMPETENCE. Botman, Tonali, Bruno, Hall, Tino, Isak, Gordon were such unbelievably shrewd signings. Even the ones that felt less so \u2013 Wood, Barnes, Targett etc \u2013 haven\u2019t exactly been bad. We seemed to be smartly run, but that only now extends to the playing and coaching staff, the rest is an absolute mess:<\/p>\n Backroom staff: A CEO who has been serving notice for 12 months. A commercial director who doesn\u2019t do much commercial, a Sporting Director who left with so many question marks.<\/p>\n Failure to do commercial deals: the assumption is we\u2019re waiting for the City court case to resolve but we could have milked the interim timeframe with smaller deals.<\/p>\n Training ground: I lived in Newcastle for 25 years of my life and there\u2019s an abundance of land. We keep saying this is a priority, but we keep redeveloping the existing instead.<\/p>\n Retail: All we do is shift tat, it\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n Stadium: Just delaying the inevitable, it\u2019s obvious you want to move. Come out and say it.<\/p>\n Even our social graphics were hilariously bad the summer we had supersavers and county cricket clubs rinsing us \u2013 deservedly so.<\/p>\n But recruitment and on-the-pitch was always the saving grace. Instead we\u2019ve abandoned this approach and it seems to be a mishmash of major un-gettable European talent or Premier League premium deals only. We needed first teamers yes but we also needed competitive depth \u2013 we move from one target at a time and at snail\u2019s pace. Accept where we stand in the food chain now and act accordingly, unearth the next Bruno. I love Eddie and everything he\u2019s done but he also shouldn\u2019t be the voice of authority on transfers, neither should his nephew.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never witnessed a self-implosion like it.<\/p>\n On to Isak, I think it\u2019s pretty disgraceful that a player on 120k a week can effectively down tools<\/strong><\/a>, refuse to come on an important, profile-boosting pre-season tour and simply abandon all goodwill. He never felt the type. And the concerted, cold-war style campaign<\/p>\n Liverpool have run through paid shills like Romano, whilst incredibly modern and clever, are designed to systematically destabilise a club\/potential rival and unsettle a player. I really hope we dig in\u2026 I\u2019d quite happily see Isak sit the first couple of months out without his move. He\u2019s making the entire situation worse, and creating a dark cloud heading into the season. They haven\u2019t even bid!<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the system. Rules brought in post-takeover that stop us growing. Yes we need to drive commercial revenue. In order to do that, we need to keep spending to balance the Champions League and cup runs: but spending is stifled, PSR spreadsheets amortisation bla bla bla. We can\u2019t pay the wages, fees are too high, progress is stifled, back to square one and suddenly your prospective sponsorship deal disappears.<\/p>\n Fine, we\u2019ll use one of the PIF brands (regrettably), nope, we\u2019ll make that hard for you too (though as I\u2019ve said before, we should rinse it). I\u2019m sick of hearing Liverpool saying they used the Coutinho money to get to where they are now, using it as a comparison. You are LIVERPOOL. We will take decades, if at all, to get to that level. I\u2019m not asking for a Chelsea-style free-for-all, just a bit more leeway.<\/p>\n How to move forward? Can\u2019t believe I\u2019m saying this but I\u2019d be abusing the system to it\u2019s every inch now. I\u2019ve seen other teams do it. We should too. Everyone thought we would. Accept the governance is here to slow us down, now fight dirty against the governance. But will we? Can\u2019t see it, because we\u2019ve lost the ability to function competently.<\/p>\n What was the point of this email? I\u2019ve lost it. Just wanted to rant. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2026Barry (Perth) makes some fair points, but his doubts about whether PSR rules were designed to protect rich clubs are entirely irrelevant. I agree that they probably weren\u2019t designed to do so, but the fact is that they do and are doing it right now.<\/p>\n It\u2019s frustrating as hell, and seems blatantly illegal to tell owners that they can\u2019t invest more in their own business than they\u2019re making from it, but still, the whinging ought to be toned down. The rules are the rules, and PSR does at least provide some armor against charges of buying success (which most of us would happily ignore). It helps to imagine what it\u2019s like for Sunderland, lol.<\/p>\n That said, I have not yet begun to whinge about Liverpool\u2019s disgusting behavior over Isak. But that will have to wait until I\u2019m no longer at work, and a few drinks really stoke my rage and creative viciousness. \u00a0<\/p>\n Definitely a Big Six bias<\/strong> READ: Aston Villa stepping on mid-table quicksand with Morgan Rogers test<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Thought Isak was unavailable, Arsenal fans?<\/strong> So it\u2019s rather confusing to see Isak is about to sign for Liverpool!<\/strong><\/a> How has this happened? \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n Are players supposed to be casually kicking about outside a tube station, with an \u201cavailable\u201d sign around their necks? Or, so big serious trophy-winning clubs, proactively make players become available?<\/p>\n Still. At least Madueke was \u201cavailable\u201d, along with the Viking Clogger from Brentford\/Sporting Lisbon (delete club as appropriate) \ud83e\udd2d \u00a0<\/p>\n Darwin must be the GOAT<\/strong> So a player who has little composure and snatches at shots creates a lot of low-xG chances, but is better than a clinical finisher who only shoots once or twice but scores each time? Being a good striker isn\u2019t about making chances, it\u2019s about finishing them. Someone who consistently over-performs xG is a good finisher. Someone who consistently under-performs xG is a bad finisher.<\/p>\n Using Ed\u2019s logic, Nunez must be the best striker in world football. He creates quite a lot of low-xG chances and scores so few of them. But since xG is the only metric that apparently matters for strikers, he\u2019s the GOAT. Which is precisely why league champions Liverpool are keep\u2026.selling him and replacing him.<\/p>\n If a striker has an xG of 1000, but only scores 2 goals, does that mean he\u2019s good?<\/p>\n As always, stats \u2013 any stats \u2013 are useless on their own. xG is important, but its sure as sugar not as important for a striker as actually scoring goals.<\/p>\n That is all. \u00a0<\/p>\n Could be worse\u2026you could could be Man Utd<\/strong> Now, I like Watkins. He\u2019s another perfectly decent striker who\u2019s not quite set the world alight as hoped. But he\u2019s also someone who was unsettled and considering leaving when Villa were considering taking up their option to sign Rashford. Because Rashford was being picked over him. Because he\u2019s a better player, even as a striker. And at the same time we are stuck in a loop of sending Rashford out on loan to better clubs than us.<\/p>\n Thank god for the transfer and man-management wizards at United, eh? Brilliant. It\u2019s right up there with the chat about swapping out Onana for Martinez at a net cost.<\/p>\n Then we have other news, which is Bruno looking decent at #10, and Mainoo in a complete surprise looking good at #8; who\u2019d a thunk it? Meanwhile United have just signed two other first XI #10s. So, one of Amad (one of our best players in the last 18 months), Cunha or Mbeumo will be on the bench? Now that\u2019s big brain thinking by the lads upstairs. At least we\u2019ll have cover for rotation in those 1 games a week.<\/p>\n What a time to be a United supporter. Almost makes me wish for the crazy Woodward days.
I\u2019d like to think I\u2019m a fairly level-headed fan most of the time, and able to balance my inner 12-year-old superfan with the now considerably older, mature rational thought. But us football fans are generally irrational and this summer<\/strong><\/a> has made my head spin I must admit.<\/p>\n
Harry, York<\/strong>
(PS. Fully expect us to still be an excellent team, but right now we are hollow at CB and have prolific wingers supplying William Osula only)<\/p>\n
Chris C, Toon Army DC<\/strong><\/p>\n
As a Villa fan it really does feel like teams like Villa and Newcastle are not allowed push forward compared to the so called big six who seem to be able to spend at will.
Kevin G Conroy<\/strong><\/p>\n
Could you please help clear up some confusion for me here? Arsenal fans have unanimously told anyone here that it was impossible for El Pulizon \u201cPaella Pulis\u201d, to sign Alexander Isak because Isak \u201cisn\u2019t available\u201d.<\/p>\n
Stewie Griffin (The UN now needs to urgently afford special protections to the Ashtray!)<\/strong><\/p>\n
What is Ed Ern on about?<\/strong><\/a> The best strikers are the ones that create a lot of xG rather than the ones who score lots of goals? Ronaldo is great because he had 3 shots from 3 crosses but only one was on target. He\u2019s the best because he turned a defender before shooting? Utter nonsense.<\/p>\n
Clive (LFC)<\/strong><\/p>\n
Amusing story shared on this site about the United striker shortlist<\/strong><\/a>, now focused on two options. Seems fair, and Sesko is a perfectly decent striker (not better than Hojlund IMO, but there we go). But the other option is Watkins.<\/p>\n
Badwolf<\/strong><\/p>\n