9th. Newcastle
Newcastle were by a distance the hardest team to place next season. Initially, I had them as a low as 15th. I thought about last season, the mess surrounding
Joe Kinnear and him vetoing transfer deals like the Douglas one and I thought of the drubbing they took at the hands of Liverpool near the end of last season. But then I thought about two seasons ago when they finished 5th, I then factored in that they were in the Europa League last year and then they
signed Remy. Two seasons ago they finished 5th but I dont think they will get near that this season, last season they finished 16th but I think the Europa League really didnt help them. So you could say I am sitting on the fence and slapping them in the middle of those two finishes. Looking at their squad; there is no way they should be finishing out of the top 10. The appointment of Kinnear seems very, very strange to me. Highly-rated scout Graham Carr has seen Newcastle sign a number of French players recently, with the majority being a success. But if Kinnear has been brought in to also deal with transfers that will cause problems, and it already has.
There were rumours Graham Carr would leave Newcastle after Kinnear vetoed the potential transfer of Douglas because he hadnt seen enough of him. If Kinnear hasnt seen enough of a player from the French league will he veto that as well? Kinnear strikes me as someone who likes to buy British,
hence the interest in Darren Bent. At least when Newcastle were buying a number of French players they had a plan and a direction. Now theyve introduced someone who doesn't fit into that plan and direction; seems strange. Despite that, Newcastle have enough quality players to finish in the top 10. Key player: Yohan Cabaye Transfers in so far:
Loic Remy from Queens Park Rangers on loan. Possible team to face Manchester City in their first fixture: GK: Krul RB: Debuchy CB: Taylor CB: Coloccini LB: Santon RM: Gutierrez CM: Tiote CM: Cabaye LM: Gouffran AM: Sissoko ST: Remy