ARE NEWCASTLE GETTING IT RIGHT WITH THEIR FRENCH REVOLUTION?


Posted on: January 24th, 2013 by Scott No Comments

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” “We have had success with French players before so lets go there again.” This would appear to be the attitude taken by Newcastle United in this transfer window. They have got so many French players now they’ll have to start serving croissants and crepes on the terraces. But after this latest influx from across the channel, surely we should be asking just whether this is a sensible approach to take.

 

It is difficult to ignore the fact that Newcastle are right in a relegation scrap unless things turn around pretty quickly. After such a wonderfully successful season last campaign, it has all gone very wrong very quickly on Tyneside. They made no significant investments to the playing staff in the Summer and have since been struck by injuries, poor form and a fair slice of bad luck. January came and the misery deepened. Dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship Brighton, and star man Demba Ba hotfooted it to Chelsea faster than you could say Au Revoir. Clearly Newcastle needed to bring players in during this window and bring in players they have. All of them French, all of them relatively cheap and above all else, all of whom with no Premier League experience.

 

This does not sound to me like a good strategy in a relegation fight. Newcastle have brought in defenders Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou-Yanga-Mbiwa, and Massadio Haidara, striker Yoan Gouffran and probably midfielder Moussa Sissoko as well. These are talented players for sure. However it is only natural that they should need a bit of time to adjust to the English game. Newcastle don’t have that time. They need these players to hit the ground running or face the prospect of a serious survival scrap. This is the risk that you take when signing players from foreign leagues. There is no guarantee these players will shine in England and I would have thought that in the position Newcastle find themselves in, a few British players would have been better targets.

 

Preferably a few players with experience of a relegation battle. It’s a different kind of pressure. James McCarthy at Wigan is a player I would have thought Newcastle could have taken a look at. He’s survived relegation on a few occasions and is a very talented player. There have been rumours linking the Toon Army with West Hams James Tomkins. That would be a prudent signing for them. He is a lad who has suffered relegation and knows English football inside out. It is those kind of players I would want to see in my side when the going gets tough. I would be concerned about the fight of this French contingent and how quickly they can adapt to the Premier League.

 

I also think Newcastle should be criticised for their transfer policy. They have become fixated with French players. It would seem that they have forgotten that other nations can play a bit of football. Its not as though France are the powerhouse of world football at the moment. Their league is average at best and their national team is a total shambles. Whilst it would seem that some reasonable transfer fees can be agreed with French clubs, I think trying to look for some different kind of players from different parts of the world would be a good idea.

 

In addition to this, there must be a risk of divisions in the squad between the French players plus the French speaking Africans and the rest of the nationalities in the squad. Having a such a large batch of players from one language group, but not from the clubs home nation strikes me as potentially problematic, especially seeing as the French now outnumber the English. That cannot be acceptable. Count up Newcastle’s British players and you would struggle to make double figures. Count how many make the first eleven and you would struggle to get off the mark. This is not good for the English game. Arsenal were roundly criticised a number of years ago for fielding entirely foreign elevens and Newcastle will almost certainly be doing the same. They are showing no inclination to bring through British youngsters or invest in young British talent, and for this, Pardew and the board should be strongly criticised.

 

Time will tell whether this latest French invasion at Newcastle will pay dividend. If these players adapt quickly, things will be just fine. If not, then the Magpies are in a real scrap and we’ll see just how tough these players are then.




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