Our scouting network

[Ragatino]

I'm hoping that will change now Wilson is in and feet under table.

We can't habe another last summer again.

Indeed. The old saying 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating' comes to mind.

Through out December the targets for January were identified and as usual the agents leaked the info to the press.

Dayann Methalie, Kees Smit, Tiago Gabriel were 3 of the primary target.

From an uniformed (as we all are) point of view with zero connection to the club or decision makers this is how is seems to have played out.

- Wilson / Club identified the targets before the window

- Wilson / Club communicates interest with the targets agents and through intermediaries with the club

- Wilson / Club feedback

Methalie - surgery delayed the potential signing
Smit - declared he won't move in the Jan window. Jorge Mendez involved - big money, Summer Transfer saga
Tiago Gabriel - nothing clear regarding why that didn't progress / Dan Burn's rapid return to fitness

- The recruitment team including Eddie / Wilson / Club decided not to go down the list of targets to 2nd, 3rd, 4th choice.

Both the points can be true.

The club needs to bring in more quality. The club shouldn't just sign anyone.

As mentioned above, the transfers the clubs hasn't moved quickly enough in the summers previously to secure the top targets.

It makes sense not signing the lesser targets just for the sake of it. That being said, it only makes sense IF the summer business secures the top targets.

The noise around the money is just an excuse.

Signing in Jan or June is the same tax year. Talk of PSR restrictions is inaccurate. Kieran Maguire is the only person I believe when it comes to the finances of each club.

NUFC have a lot of 'head room' (another wa*k modern phrase. Shall we start a most hated modern wa*k phrases that are completely unnecessary as there are already terms for those things?) to sign players. Wilson has confirmed that, Eddie was confident ahead of the window that deals could be done.

That changed midway through the window as the reality of the challenges became evident.

Eddie's clearly involved in that decision, he's part of the team to make the decisions, collectively the decided that the players available were not worth the investment & wouldn't be the next step up in quality with the 'High ceiling' (another Wa*k phrase) have the potential to put the club on an even footing with the cartel.

He lives by that decision, he dies by that decision. The fanbase is divided between the rational and the uneducated.

I want my team to win the league. I want my team to win the Champions League. I want my team to win FA Cup and League cups every year.

I want my team to dominate & set a legacy of winning for decades.

We know why that isn't possible right now. All the restrictions, the Cartel ref bias, on and on and on.

Eddie himself is not the 2nd coming of Jesus, the man makes mistake, just like every other manager. Anyone seeing the challenges Pep is having at City right now? After all the money they've spent, the greatest manager of his generation is still struggling to get a tune out of them.

I don't like to compare but we be realistic. When the bed wetters point out what Eddie has spent and what Emre is doing at Villa that's all well and good but when the counterpoint to their argument is reflected using their own argument it's irrelevance to the same people.

You can't debate stupid. The Absences of fact is never an issue when it comes to the emotions of a moron.

[toptoon]

Good post.

[Ragatino]

Good post.

Thanks Tops, I appreciate you!

Any genuine fan of the club wants nothing but the best for the lads and future success. The support the manager. Of course I'll criticise when and where I see it necessary.

However, the incessant hatred and rage filled negativity is just pathetic.

It reminds me of a time, many moons ago in my career, as a junior engineer on a project. One of the seniors, we'll call him Mr Jobsworth AKA Mr JW was one of those guys who complained about everything and spent as much if not more energy criticising and avoiding responsibility than it'd take to actually get the job done.

During the project there was a critical error in the installation which had potential to derail the whole job. Naturally it was discovered 10 mins before the close of the working week.

Mr JW, was all packed up and heading for the car park passed the unenthused admin girls, his weekly sleeve offensive in an attempt failing spectacularly as usual when the fault was found.

He immediately threw his hands up 'not my job gov!' and off he trotted. It wasn't his work stream. It wasn't mine either. However, down the line the implications were universal for all workstreams.

The rest of the crew filled out leaving 3 of us to deal with the situation. It took all weekend. We, 3, slept under the desks Friday & Saturday night getting wrapped up on Sunday around 6pm.

Heading out into the low setting Arabic sun, that rich egg yoke orange ball illuminating the dusty, sandy atmosphere was as satisfying as the first pint back at the hotel bar.

14 hrs later sat in the my first managerial meeting with the lads debriefing the Director of Project and top managers, MR JW was front and centre, kept chipping in with comments here and there as though he was part of it.

After his 4th or 5th interruption of the two guys and my break down of the whole situation, I guess it was the sleep deprivation and shortened patient, I paused my updated and turned to Mr JW and politely asked him to keep quiet as he had ducked his responsibilities and walked out on the buzzer at 5pm.

I then turned back to the senior managers at the top of the meeting table, and made it very clear, who'd resolve the situation, piling credit on my two colleagues and down playing my own role.

After the meeting Mr JW was on the war path.

Later that day, I was called to speak with the Director of Project. A former Royal Navy Commadore, a big fat man call Garry, round like a barrel, peg teeth, 80 a day smoker. One of those super posh military fellas who cuts through bs like a knife.

He thanked me for the hard work and dedication with the two other lads but was most impressed with the way I handled the meeting. Offered me a promotion to Project Manager. Basically going from the coal face to Executive suite over night.

Next day was the managers meeting where I was introduce to the team as my new post and the new updated org chart was displayed and discussed. MR JW was not not on it. By the Friday he had been let go and was on his way back to the UK.

It's a shame we don't have a Salty Old sea dog like Mad Garry to marshal the fan base.

[Ragatino]

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/spor...-lack-33350838

In the pre-City Presser Eddie explains it.


The Magpies also resisted the opportunity to retain Jamaal Lascelles and recall Matt Targett, who could both offer centre-back cover, but Howe, speaking at his Press conference before the Man City game, said: "The squad is OK. If it was a fully fit squad it would be really strong. Of course it is not, so you have to get players fit.

"We need our injured players back fit. Until we do that, there is an imbalance, and we are certainly stretched defensively. But I am happy with the squad when it is at full strength."

When asked why new recruits weren't brought in, Howe said: "Financially, it wasn't possible. As I said at the start of the window.

"There were players we were looking at for the future, younger players we could develop. Ultimately, it didn't happen. I didn't think there was a player coming in that could affect us."

When asked if it was a risk, Howe said: "Yes. But I think I chose my words; we were left with no other option.

"Every decision we make has a long-term implication. There is no guarantee signing somebody with the funds we had would help us short-term anyway.

"It is what it is and we are used to working in these conditions now. We have only been active in one window out of the last four or five.

"We are under financial restrictions. We have to be smart and decided to wait until the summer. The decision is that the summer window is a lot easier to recruit. There are more players are available and better value for money.

"We had a limited amount of money to use in this window and were the right players available to help us in the short-term? Those options weren't available to us, we can't sign players that don't exist, we have to sign players and we have to work under the conditions we are in."

Howe was then asked if PIF are prepared to still back the club, and said: "There is a willingness to spend what we can but work within PSR limits."

[Ragatino]

I take from that the fact that the players they wanted weren't available for money that made sense.

They could have forced signings by paying over the odds like the club did for Wissa in the summer. A 25m quid player for 55m quid. Now getting pelters from the bedwetters as terrible business & a waste of money.

A player value at in January might mean that the club can't up a bid for a better player by 10-15m (bigger transfer fee or higher wages offered) in Summer to secure the deal.

Is it frustrating? Yes of course.

Like I said above.

Ideal world the club goes out and just buys 10 elite level 21-23 yrs olders for 100m a piece end that lead to title challenges and trophies galore over the next few season. We want the club to win the league and everything else. That is going to take a lot more time and many more transfer windows.

The Rules and restrictions are working perfectly. To restrict NUFC from competing. Well done to UEFA. EPL. et al for your brilliance at institutional corruption.

[Guybrush]

Mind you with the World Cup this summer, that will surely affect our activity - let?s face it, the players we want to sign SHOULD be playing in it - so that will delay transfers until late in the window (no preseason) and if they have a good tournament - let?s face it, the players we want to sign SHOULD have a good tournament - then surely that will jack up their asking price 🤷🏻*♂️

Surely, If we want to compete, we need to be investing in and improving the squad every window, rather than playing catch up every fourth window.

Rant over 😆

[Ragatino]

Mind you with the World Cup this summer, that will surely affect our activity - let?s face it, the players we want to sign SHOULD be playing in it - so that will delay transfers until late in the window (no preseason) and if they have a good tournament - let?s face it, the players we want to sign SHOULD have a good tournament - then surely that will jack up their asking price 🤷🏻*♂️

Surely, If we want to compete, we need to be investing in and improving the squad every window, rather than playing catch up every fourth window.

Rant over 😆

Very good point. We're men of a certain age where the world cup used to turn up some gems no one had ever heard.

These days less so.

With the analytical and forensic scouting and recruitment, there is also a plethora of fan led Youtube channels who chop up footage of every 16-17 year old from far flung lands, generally with some god awful music over the top, showcasing the next gen's talent.

The profile of player NUFC are targeting is 19-24.

Players like Kees Smit is 20. He has only made 2 appearances for the Dutch U-21s team. The likelihood he'll be at this world cup is slim due to the quality of the Dutch national talent pool.

So, there is business that can be done. However, it will be and no doubt will be trotted out as a valid excuse should the summer transfer business not go well.

The difference is, that the fans, simply won't buy it.

[toonviking]

This thread beeing about our scouting, our signings since the takeover is going in the total wrong direction. The likes of Tripper, Bruno, Burn, No14, Hall, Tino... its been a while since we got one right.

All that Isak money we blew off on Wissa and Elanga, and blowig big money on Ramsey a totally mediocre midfielder is just mind blowing...

[Ragatino]

This thread beeing about our scouting, our signings since the takeover is going in the total wrong direction. The likes of Tripper, Bruno, Burn, No14, Hall, Tino... its been a while since we got one right.

All that Isak money we blew off on Wissa and Elanga, and blowig big money on Ramsey a totally mediocre midfielder is just mind blowing...

Yeah, I wonder why?

The cartel laughed at NUFC at first.
The deals were done rapidly as there was a urgency to spend and one thing about Ashley was there there was no PSR issues.

Signing Trippier was a impressive.
No one knew Bruno. It was a good signing but no one was calling it a coup.
No one believed No.14 was gonna be a success and laughed. In Spain they said we'd been robbed. That if he'd gone to another Spanish club he's have gone for 25-30m. The lad scored only 6 la liga goals the season prior to signing.
Burn, no one in the fan base wanted this and saw it as a desperation signing at the end of the window.
Hall didn't play for almost the entire first season, everyone, me included, were fuming saying the club wasted money on a 'project' player when the club needed ready made. Also, there was comments around it being an Ashworth signing and Howe didn't want him.
Tino's signing was questioned because of the big outlay when Tripz was playing so well and there was cover in that position.

Pretty much none of the about business was considered good at the time.

A season or so on Hall is a worldie, BDB a hero and Cup final goal scoring legend. No.14 made the club a 100m in clear profit when sold. Bruno becomes a talisman.

It's all clear in hindsight. The only people who know they would work out are the same people who acquired the more recent recruits. Eddie and his team.

Since then the club has become a serious threat.

So much so that the cartel has pushed through new rules to shackle the clubs progression. APT, associated Party Transactions AKA 'The Newcastle Rules' - the secret vote of 19 clubs which NUFC were not informed or included in.

What we see what played out in the summer's transfer window is clearly planned and orchestrated.

Clubs signing players to stop others getting them is common but the entire media machine and cartel clubs systematically use their influence with player agents and the big sports agencies to leak all information pertaining to NUFC's targets and jumping in for players that NUFC had been quietly trying to sign time and time again.

We all lived it.

When the likes of Delay, Joao Pedro, Mbueno, Sesko and Ekitike. All going else where depsite the best efforts of the skeleton recruitment team of the stats guys Andy Howe & board member Jamie Rueben, two men with good intentions but very little weigh in the sleezy world of football recruitment.

These were genuine targets but the list according to the cartel media was about 15 longer.

That being said. What was the club supposed to do? Sign no one. The melt down would have been just as bad if not worse.

With regard to 'Money being blow' - 250m spent - amortised over 5 years = 50m quid. Isak 130m + Kelly 20m + Miggy 15m = 165m

Profit - 165
Loss - 50
= 115m in the black from last year.

Revenues up to 345m quid despite missing out on European Competition last season.

The finances are in good shape. That being said spending over the odds is not sustainable, when there are 7 players out of contract in the summer of 2026 & A futher 5 players out of contract in 2027.

The players brought in cost more than they probably should, Wissa was never a 55m player. Ideal world the club would have signed Igor Thiago from Brugge for 30m quid.

However, without a Director of Football & Eddie Howe not having been on a long sabbatical where he'd been touring Europe and had a list of players, as he did that first season Signing Tripz, Bruno, et al taking a risk on an unknown 23 yr old looked like far more of a risk than Wissa who banged in 19 non-penalty Prem goals last season.

This all played out whilst the No.14 noise was battering the club's reputation and drew media stooges to constantly questions the ambition and direction of the clubs project. Boy o boy didn't the negative fans lap that up.

Some people just don't want to be happy haha.

All that said. Would I have preferred Semenyo to Elanga? No, Probably not. I wanted a more technical player than both of them RW. I wanted a wide play maker, an Maghnes Akliouche or even a Kubo.

I understood that Elanga was signed to plicated No.14 as his Swedish national team mate. Only for the rat to bail days later.

What's the point of all this?

- No one is every completely happy with summer transfer.
- The Executives have failed in their roles, quit the club and in Mitchell's case, I believe, intentionally disrupted the club with his attitude, unprofessionalism & mismanagement of Specific players contracts.
- The Executives have failed the manager over spending or failing to secure the commercial revenues to enable the club to sign it's top targets quickly, quietly and efficiently.
- The team has out performed their commercial spend every season since the take over.


In Summery.
It ain't too bad folks.

The clubs not gonna get relegated. Still in the Champions League.

Cross the road to walk in the sunshine once in a while.

[Jammy89]

Well written Rag - feel quite a bit better reading that.