Premier League Preview: Newcastle United

(car)Toon

Popularly referred to as the Toons, the team from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, made a dramatic entry to the Premier League last season by thrashing other teams in the Championship. More a business firm than a club, the clubs sold its best player, Andrew Carroll, to Liverpoll for a staggering 35 Million Pounds. No new signing was made but Hatem Ben Arfa, the player on-loan, was bought and should give a new dimension to the team. Joey Barton, the English "Jat", has become even more aggressive than before. Classics such as Shola Ameobi and Alan Smith have not been very good and do not enjoy so much playing time. Mike Ashley, the owner, is only concerned with making money and doesn't care about the team's performance. The Toons, however, had a good start to the season with Andrew Carroll scoring plenty of goals for a top ten finish. His departure in January came as a shock to the fans and the performance level of the team dropped significantly thereafter. The team scored the most goals at home, thereby showing there attacking prowess. Leon Best seemed to be the life-saver for the team and saving them from the relegation battle. A decent away from helped the team to secure a 12th place position on the table. Introduction of new manager Alan Pardew, seemed to be an ambiguous decision as he did save the team but ended up selling their most important player, Andrew Carroll.

Season 2010-11: A good season for the team, from being relegated two seasons before to coming first in the championship and then coming in at 12th in its first season after being relegated. The team has come a long way and things have changed for the team ever since. Old players have been ignored and new young players are taking over and playing in the first 11. Kevin Nolan impressed with his attacking skills and was very important to the team. Leon Best was their best bet for the first choice striker after the departure of goal machine Andrew Carroll. An impressive away record and a high number of goals were scored at home by the Black and White stripes. Even after the departure of Andrew Carroll, the team managed to score goals and finish ahead of other Premier League regulars like Bolton Wanderes and West Ham United. Alan Pardew replaced Chris Houghton and this was a very unclear decision as he made good and bad moves. A decent season for the team from the other side.

Transfers:
In: Mehdi Abeid (Lens, Free), Yohan Cabaye (Lille, £4.3m), Demba Ba (West Ham United, Free), Sylvian Marveaux (Rennes, Free), Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United, £3.0m)
Out: Sol Campbell (Released), Shefki Kuqi (Released), Kevin Nolan (West Ham United, £4.0m), Wayne Routledge (Swansea City, £2.0m)N

Verdict: The team seem to be a good one with the signings of many new players such as Demba Ba, Sylvian Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Mehdi Abeid and Yohan Cabaye (surprisingly all were born in France, including Demba Ba, who now plays for Senegal). The departure of Kevin Nolan is a matter of concern for the team, as he was very important to the team last season. Shola Ameobi signed a new contract, and Sol Cambell left on a free transfer along with Wayne Routledge leaving to join Swansea City for a fee of 2 Million Pounds. The team definitely look stronger than last year as Hatem Ben Arfa (another Frenchman) will be like a new signing for the team as he was injured for a long time because of a tackle by "hitman" Nigel De Jong. All-in-all the team from Tyne look strong and can challenge for a top 10 finish.

2010-11 Position: 10th
Football Finesse Predictions: 10th, 11th
Men To Watch: Sylvian Marveaux, Hatem Ben Arfa, Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Leon Best, Jona Gutierrez, Cheick Tiote