Colback for England!

Jack Colback. The spotlight is certainly on you this season. As a Toon fan, I never questioned where he came from. My love for Newcastle United powerfully outweighs any dislike (or, indifference, it would be fairer to say) towards Sunderland. Yes, I look for that match when the fixtures are released and, in the weeks preceding it, the feelings of excitement and apprehension see-saw in my head. Who will win the match, the points and, most importantly, the bragging rights? But, Jack Colback’s arrival at St. James’ Park could well have occurred after a stint at Upton Park, rather than the Stadium of Light, it would not matter to me. Now, I know some, on both sides of the Tyne-Wear divide, will be asking the question: why? First and foremost, he is a midfielder. If we are honest, Newcastle had to strengthen pretty much all areas of the pitch, so, any bodies coming through the door would always be a positive for us. As basic and as fundamental as that sounds, it is true. After an 18-month drought of permanent signings, to recruit a decent, hard-worker local lad is quite the bonus. Secondly, he is good. He was, from what I hear, good for Sunderland and, in his first two performances in black and white, he has been the stand-out player for me. Something of a box-to-box midfielder against Manchester City, it was with excitement that I noted how, on Tiote’s return, Colback will be able to run freely at the front of our midfield, assisting the efforts of Siem de Jong, Remy Cabella and Moussa Sissoko. Just a thought. I’ll be honest. Apart from his silence-inducing performances against Newcastle, I never really noticed him in a red and white shirt. But, with a good concoction of questions from unsure Toon fans and patience from those willing to give him a chance, it seems that he is spurred on by the idea of making a point and, if his first two matches are anything to go by, it seems we have quite an exciting player on our hands. Possibly, dare I say it, a future captain? What we do have to remember, at the end of the day, is that his time at Sunderland is all in the past. Jack Colback’s future took something of an unexpected turn yesterday, when he was named in the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against Norway and Switzerland. Although, ‘unexpected’ may not be the right word to use, after time was called on the international careers of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick. I won’t ask the obvious rhetorical question of: ‘Would he have achieved his spot in the squad if he still played for Sunderland?’ (we could be here all season) and, this is not to say that Colback has not earned his call-up, but, his chance of carving out something of an international career is certainly strengthened by the absence of the three aforementioned midfielders. It is clear that England manager Roy Hodgson has to look at his midfield options. Whether Colback will only collect half an hour on Wednesday night or become an England regular, it is with a sense of pride that Newcastle fans can look at the England squad and see his name in there. Quite rightfully, Sunderland fans should too, but, I can understand any reluctance, on their part, to do so. This season, for Jack Colback, is a big one and, as I said earlier, the spotlight is definitely on him. Whether you are a NUFC fan, still murmuring on about his past employer or waiting to see how he will fare in the first derby of the season in December, it is clear to see that the nine months ahead pose challenges he will not have faced before. The big question is: Is he up to them? Sadly, as is so often the case, time will tell.

Gillingham away

26/8/14 A clean sheet, a first goal of the season (sort of) and safe passage through to the third round of the Capital Cup. They’re the positives. As was repeated by the radio commentators, it wasn’t a ‘harem-scarem’ cup tie, mainly because Gillingham only had one shot on target and, although it was hardly a classic performance from Newcastle, we are through to the next round of a cup. The way we, as Newcastle fans, take this information, can obviously spike out into many different ways, ranging from the ecstatic ‘if Sunderland can reach a cup final, then we can reach a cup final and win it!’ attitude to the more sobering ‘we had to rely on one of the players of a League One team to score against his own team in order for us to get through. We are getting relegated this season’ approach. Personally, I bounce from one point to the other, depending on the circumstances we face: home or away, the opposition, etc., but, I’m usually positive looking. To me, there’s something magical about a cup competition and the further we progress, the more excited I get, particularly should potential winners fall by the wayside (Manchester United crashed out this evening away to MK Dons). But, after tonight’s win away to Gillingham, I couldn’t help but think of the downright bizarre statement that came from the Newcastle hierarchy before the season began, in which they wrote off cup progression. Is our performance in the Gillingham match a follow-on from this announcement? I’d like to think it was the club’s clever way of playing down their own quiet confidence for the coming season, but I know this club and what it likes to put us through. But, I am going against my initial response to the result and I am being negative. Let’s accentuate the positive. Through to the next round of a cup competition, this can, hopefully, light the spark that gets the goals and points flowing on a very young season and, should we reach May and look back on, at least one, cup run, I, personally, consider that to be a successful season.

Options for the front.

After a pretty successful Transfer Window, in which our midfield was strengthened, it feels fair to say that, although we have plenty of options in that department, the opening two matches of the season have asked questions of both the front and the back. Today, we’re going to focus strictly on the options Newcastle have up front. Watching Emmanuel Riviere struggle to hold his own against Man City and only show glimpses of his potential, I expected to see him step up against Aston Villa, but, again, he was fairly non-existent. This is, by the way, no comment on him as a footballer. It takes players time to bed in and it takes some longer than others, and, with Riviere, I believe we have a player who will be something of a slow-burner on Tyneside. His progress will also depend on who Pardew thinks best suits him as a strike partner. Out of all of the signings NUFC made throughout the summer, he is the one that arrived with, perhaps, the least fanfare (Colback crossing the Wear-Tyne divide; de Jong and Cabella arriving under the banner of ‘midfield maestros’ and Janmaat impressing for Holland in the World Cup) and yet, at the minute, it is he who the Geordie faithful are looking towards to spearhead this campaign. After the two aforementioned performances, this may appear to be a something of a gloomy situation we’re heading for, but, look at Pardew’s options: 1. Papis Cisse. Since his barnstorming debut in the Premier League, Toon fans don’t need to be told that Cisse has struggled to reach the same heady heights, causing some to doubt his ability. But, should he return from his injury with no problems and, with the right support, perhaps from Riviere (or Goufrann), it is possible for him to rediscover his knack of finding the back of the net on a consistent basis. 2. Facundo Ferreyra. On a season-long loan, it wouldn’t be right for me to pass comment on a player I have yet to see play, but, I think it says a lot about Newcastle that they have this young man on their books (as back-up) for a year and are not looking to him to bang in the goals as much as they did last term, with one Loic Remy, who, of course, was also on loan. 3. Ayoze Perez. When 21-year old Perez signed for Newcastle early on in the summer, I, for one, thought he was certainly one for the future, but, after coming on in our opening matches, a quick burst of pace and the urgency to get into the box is definitely a plus to our game this season, as well as seasons to come. He was incredibly unlucky not to make his mark in the best possible way against Man City, so, if a few goals come from him this season, would he not be considered a bargain for less than 2 million? 4. Youan Goufrann. Does anyone else remember when forwards were exactly that? For all the players you could list that have been branded with the social media term of ‘Pardewed’, Goufrann is the one that nobody seems to have picked up on. Newcastle have always looked stronger with him up front. Not necessarily an out-and-out striker, he has always impressed me when playing just behind the main forward, particularly when that was Loic Remy last season. Surely, to get the best out of this footballer, wouldn’t it would be better to allow him to repeat this role, rather than push him out to the left, because you don’t know quite what to do with him? 5. Siem de Jong. I read something on our summer transfers and all it said of Siem de Jong was ‘Newcastle have now signed the right brother’. Luuk aside, Siem can play as a striker, but, with the forwards I have just listed, it is my humble opinion, that, once fit and confident, he plays in the role of the number he has been given. Should he be positioned up front, it may turn into a mirror situation of the Cabaye fiasco, in which we were looking to one player to both create the goals from the engine of midfield and to score them all at once. From what I know, de Jong as attacking midfielder. There, he can see more of the ball and, indeed, more of the play, which will allow him to create, as well as score goals. So, despite the distinct lack of goals in the opening two matches, it is nowhere near cause for panic stations. Because of the lack of Premier League experience and the waiting for Cisse to return from injury, patience is key. Just give it time, Geordies.