Newcastle United have to be the surprise package of the Premier League this season, but can they sustain their success?
They currently sit in sixth place in the table, a Europa league place well within their grasp and if it wasn’t for Thomas Vermaelen’s injury time winner at the Emirates on Monday night, they would have been just five points off Arsenal in fourth.
Champions League football now looks however, out of reach for a side which continues to surprise the critics.
And while he has been vilified by a large section of fans, and then compounded his lack of popularity by changing the name of the legendary St. James’ Park to the Sport’s Direct Arena, Mike Ashley has to take a fair share of the credit for what has been happening on the pitch.
His scouting team have been plucking gems out of the most unexpected places for a season and a half now, and their latest signing, Papiss Cisse looks like he will join the success story, already having scored two goals in his first four games.
The rest of the Premier League, and some of the biggest clubs across Europe are keeping a keen eye on Newcastle’s performances. Players such as Yohan Cabaye, Davide Santon and Cheick Tioté have come into the side and been revelations, making a nonsense of the notion that you have to pay £20m for a decent midfielder these days.
The deal of the season though, must be the one which took Demba Ba to the North East from the relegated West Ham United on a free, to replace the seemingly irreplaceable £35m England man Andy Carroll.
Not only has the footballing side of the business benefited with Ba being one of the form strikers in the league, this astute (and I would wager no one saw it being as astute as it has turned out) bit of business has led the once financially precarious Newcastle now operating at near break even point.
A rare scenario for any top flight club anywhere these days.
So what next for the Toon? A top six finish and a shot at the Europa League would enable them to hang onto these players which they have scouted so hard to find, and encourage players looking to play in Europe that Newcastle is a serious destination for them.
But, it will be a struggle to hang onto the players which have taken them to this point, and the club now have to be wary of the big money bids coming in to relieve them of their stars.
This is when we will really see whether Ashley is serious about Newcastle as a footballing entity, or if the Sports Direct Arena will remain living on past glories.
image: © mikebrown59
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