With under a fortnight to go until the new Premier League season gets underway Newcastle appear to be doing their best to create more problems for themselves than any of their top-flight rivals could ever dream of as skipper Kevin Nolan has been jettisoned to West Ham, Jose Enrique wants out and Joey Barton is being given a free ticket out of Toon.
Newcastle are no strangers to pressing the self-destruct button, going back to the cruel axing of the late, great Sir Bobby Robson seven years ago as he was replaced by Graeme Souness who only managed to take the club further away from the higher echelons of the Premier League.
Following the alienation of club legend Kevin Keegan a couple of years later and the subsequent relegation in 2008, they finally managed to get on track as Chris Hughton guided the Magpies back to the top flight at the first attempt in May 2009.
However, the Tynesiders, led by the controversial owner Mike Ashley, started their new destabilising process last winter when the extremely popular Hughton was harshly dismissed to be replaced by Alan Pardew, whose appointment left the Toon Army faithful hugely under-whelmed.
Within a month star striker Andy Carroll was sold off to Liverpool for £35million during the January transfer window.
The remaining players brushed off that exit as they comfortably got over the end-of-season finishing line in a creditable mid-table spot – albeit surrendering their status as the north east’s top dog to Sunderland (Newcastle 11/8, Sunderland 4/7 – Season Match Bets) courtesy of a final-day, three-goal giveaway against West Brom.
Over the summer the club decided to let Nolan join former Toon boss Sam Allardyce at relegated West Ham and full-back Enrique has made no secret of his desire to leave the Geordies for pastures new, which has only served to inflame the relationship between the fans and the club’s hierarchy.
Disgruntled at goings on behind the scenes, controversial midfielder Barton hit out at the board on his Twitter account for turning Newcastle into a selling club that is not capable of securing a top-six finish (Newcastle 12/1 – Premier League Without Top 6).
And before he could make an announcement over his future at 4pm on Monday, the club stole his thunder by confirming that he is available on a free transfer.
Barton’s impending loss will leave a huge void in the middle of the park, while Alan Smith has also been told he is free to leave if a suitable offer comes in.
That means Pardew’s summer arrivals will be under immediate pressure to adapt to the pace and style of English football as soon as the first ball is kicked against Arsenal (Newcastle 13/5, Arsenal 5/6, Draw 12/5 – 90 Minutes) at St James’ Park on August 13.
Winger Sylvain Marveaux has joined from Rennes, while former Lille man Yohan Cabaye will be tasked with filling the gap left by Nolan in the middle of the park.
Both are highly rated, but the French Ligue 1 and the Premier League are two very different animals and how Newcastle fare could well hinge on how quickly the new boys settle in.
It is not all negative news, though, as Demba Ba (33/1 – Premier League Top Goalscorer) – who impressed with seven goals in 10 starts for a struggling West Ham side last term – has arrived to try and take over from Carroll, while the impressive Hatem Ben Arfa should soon be fit after missing the majority of last season with a broken leg.
Defender Steven Taylor has enjoyed a good pre-season after working his way back to full fitness and is looking at the new season positively.
He said: “I think it’s a completely new team. You’ll see a different style and a different way of playing.
“They’ve excited me. The new players look fantastic – their technique is phenomenal.
“Next year we’ll be just as strong as a unit.”
However, Newcastle#s shift in direction seems to be too much too soon and is similar to what Gareth Southgate tried at Middlesbrough in the summer of 2008 when he allowed the likes of George Boateng and Mark Viduka to depart and brought in French midfielder Didier Digard and Dutch striker Marvin Emnes.
Digard proved to be an injury-prone flop, while Emnes has taken several seasons to find his feet in the English game and in the meantime Boro went from a mid-table Premier League side to a struggling Championship side over the following three seasons.
Could the same fate which blighted the Teessiders await them in seasons to come? (6/1 – Relegation).
Newcastle’s future appears to be at a crossroads at this moment in time with the potential to go either way in the new season and there should be plenty of interest in how their fortunes will pan out.
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