Right then, who should we sign?

[KeiranShikari]

Barton, lol. I guess if we needed somebody for Bradley Johnson to kick around in training.

 

[KeiranShikari]

So that means we actually have just 23 senior players now. It isn't too big an issue then, Lafferty and Van Wolfswinkel leaving would take that to 21 and leave space for 4 players. 

E.Bennett, Turner, Miquel, O'Neil, Lafferty, Wolf, 

Could certainly see a few of those moving on,

 

[Killiecanary]

Or maybe Barton could be our new Becchio??

Sign him, never play him and wreck what's left of his career!

 

[RhythmicTheory]

Andrew Robertson from hull (LB)

Steven N'Zonzi from Stoke (DM) unlikely but a strong rangy dm would be great, someone who can do more than just sit

Fulham have a great crop of youngsters that would be worth raiding for, Moussa Dembele and Caurey Woodrow, both strikers starting to break through.  I think our current strikers will be sufficient for a season or so, they wont set the world alight but theres goals between them, better to concentrate on bringing some younger players through in the mid term.  Failing that, I like a consistent Shane Long, but i wouldn't want to pay more than 8 for him.

There's a kiddy that went to a portugese side from Dundee a couple of seasons back, name escapes me, he can operate central or leftwing, he looked good playing for dundee but not seen any of him since his move.

 

[ZLF]

Barton a couple of years younger I would take - his public rantings idiocy mask a committed talented player - but at 34 far too old.

Mulumbu or NZonzi are good options for me.

As always I expect us to be signing a couple of "who" names - at least we should if the scouting team have done their job properly...

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

I was going to say Remi Matthews, but he's 21 so would have to be counted in the 25. So we've actually got 26 senior players, as I didn't count him. 

What about the two Swindon lads? How old are they?

 

[KeiranShikari]

What about the two Swindon lads? How old are they?

19 and 20

 

[CanaryNath]

N'Zonzi won stoke's POTS award

Slightly unlikely he's move to norwich, methinks.

 

[Personal Trainer]

Would you have Jonas Gutierrez back? I thought he was one of the few at Newcastle that could be bothered at the end of the season and he is a free agent (or cash-cow for his agent!).

 

[CanaryNath]

No.

He's rather past his best. Looked ok in a poor Newcastle team, playing against a Wet Spam side who were already on the beach

 

[kirku]

Would you have Jonas Gutierrez back? I thought he was one of the few at Newcastle that could be bothered at the end of the season and he is a free agent (or cash-cow for his agent!).

Absolutely not, where would he fit in and how is he any better than what we've got already?

We need quality signings in a few key areas and don't need to fill up squad places with mediocre (at best) has-beens or never-weres.

 

[Canaryboy]

Agree with Kirku I think we should be aiming much higher than Guiterrez. Wouldn't make much sense to me to sign him if it means we have to sacrifice somebody like Gary O'Neil, would be a sideways step.

He'd be a squad player at best, we should be looking to sign players with the aim of improving the best XI.  

 

[Suffolk Canary]

Agree with all said above about needing to aim higher than the likes of Jonas.  But how many players realistically AN will sign with the intention of being regular starters?  I doubt it'll be more than 3, maybe 4 at a push.  I know its fun make huge lists of players to sign, but I think AN will mainly stick with what he has, and just add a little bit of quality here and there.  I can't see the starting XI in August being very different to that last Monday. 

 

[Yellow Fever]

I agree Suffolk, and even 3-4 depends on what happens with RvW and Turner. This is an opportunity for quality rather than quantity.

 

[Killiecanary]

I think that's a good point Suffolk. I would prefer we signed 2 players who were clear upgrades on what we already have and who could be considered definite starters. I wonder where AN will prioritise? Defence for me - RB and CB especially. We're probably already well stocked in midfield

 

[Suffolk Canary]

I think that's a good point Suffolk. I would prefer we signed 2 players who were clear upgrades on what we already have and who could be considered definite starters. I wonder where AN will prioritise? Defence for me - RB and CB especially. We're probably already well stocked in midfield

I think he'll give Whittaker a go, as he's been fantastic since he came in. I'd like to think we sign one proper CB. Although a good CB is normally expensive, if they keep you up then its worth every penny. And I think he'll definitely sign 1 quality attacker. Again very expensive, but scoring goals keep you up and gets McNally's hands on that huge revenue boost coming in next season. We NEED to get it right this year and stay up, whatever the cost.  

 

[splutcho]

To be honest I think we need a quality addition at full back, centre back, centre mid, left wing and a striker.

The thinking being that Whittaker and Martin are not really Premier League standard, Tettey has chocolate knees, we have quite literally no left winger and I don't fancy any of Jerome, Grabban or Hooper to score double figures next year.

I'm also very aware that Wes isn't getting any younger and we're soon going to need somebody for him to pass the reigns to.

 

[GJP]

I think he'll give Whittaker a go, as he's been fantastic since he came in. I'd like to think we sign one proper CB. Although a good CB is normally expensive, if they keep you up then its worth every penny. And I think he'll definitely sign 1 quality attacker. Again very expensive, but scoring goals keep you up and gets McNally's hands on that huge revenue boost coming in next season. We NEED to get it right this year and stay up, whatever the cost.  

Problem you get with the CB's is that anyone coming in would look at who is there at the moment. Are we likely to sign someone better than Bassong? No. Are we likely to drop the captain? Probably not. So a potential new player is going to be asking who much of a chance they'll get.

Think Hughton had that problem after he'd brought both Bassong and Turner to the club. They were POTS and PPOTS after their first season, we probably wanted to get someone decent in for competition/cover after that but anyone decent would look at other clubs where they might get in the team a little easier.

 

[Killiecanary]

To be honest I think we need a quality addition at full back, centre back, centre mid, left wing and a striker.

The thinking being that Whittaker and Martin are not really Premier League standard, Tettey has chocolate knees, we have quite literally no left winger and I don't fancy any of Jerome, Grabban or Hooper to score double figures next year.

I'm also very aware that Wes isn't getting any younger and we're soon going to need somebody for him to pass the reigns to.

Left mid is going to be interesting isn't it! If anyone had told me last summer that BJ was going to pay there for most of a promotion winning season, score 15 goals and be the player of the season I would have had them enrolled at the funny farm.

Now...?? I will be surprised if BJ doesn't start there in the PL. This really was a weird season wasn't it??

Tettey needs to stay fit...again plenty of cover in there if he does struggle, but the premier league doesn't have the crazy relentless scheduling of th championship.

 

[Killiecanary]

I think he'll give Whittaker a go, as he's been fantastic since he came in. I'd like to think we sign one proper CB. Although a good CB is normally expensive, if they keep you up then its worth every penny. And I think he'll definitely sign 1 quality attacker. Again very expensive, but scoring goals keep you up and gets McNally's hands on that huge revenue boost coming in next season. We NEED to get it right this year and stay up, whatever the cost.

I'm not a Whittaker detractor....but I do worry about the cover there when he often gets caught too far up the pitch. Not sure he will get away with that against pace and skill. I would like to see us upgrade in that position tbh.

I agree about the strikers - but it does seem harsh on Cam Jam and Grabban. Hoops surely won't stay, bearing in mind his lack of game time in the lower league this season. One quality goal scorer could be worth his weight in gold (look at Defoe at Sunderland for example...crucial goals at crucial times.)