PREMIER LEAGUE 2015/16 PREVIEW: Newcastle United
“Toon’s had a miserable 2nd half of the season, where after the departure of Alan Pardew magpies went from looking a certainty in the top half come the end of the season to a serious contender for relegation. Magpies had to win the last match in order to avoid relegation under John Carver, and this season they would hope for a better performance with a new manager and a few new signings.”
Newcastle United had a season to forget last term, where they narrowly avoided relegation in the last match, thanks to the famous goal from Jonas Guitearez. Newcastle was looking all set to finish in the top half come the end of the season, but after the departure of Alan Pardew to his old club Crystal Palace, magpies had a serious dip in form. Toons lost 9 out of the last 11 matches, which made them a serious contender to go down, but they managed to avoid it in the last match. John Carver had to leave the club after his dismal show as the club manager, and the club is now focusing on building up for the future.
Newcastle’s first signing of the summer was of the coach Steve McClaren from Derby. He was tipped favorite to replace Alan Pardew by the bookies, but the club waited till the end of the season to sign him. McClaren in his first few days made it clear that he wants to sign a few players to make sure that a debacle from the last season won’t happen again. Newcastle’s 2 marquee signings are of a Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaidum from PSV and a Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Noticeable outs include the release of 2 senior pro’s Ryan Taylor and brave cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez and Sammy Ameobi on loan to Cardiff City. Reports suggest that Magpie’s have already signed Anderlacht’s highly rated defender Mbemba who is seems to be a long term replacement for Ryan Taylor, and are waiting for his visa to announce the signing, and are also linked with the signing of QPR’s Charlie Austin and Northampton’s highly rated 19 years old striker Ivan Toney.
Steve McClaren is also hoping to convince Fabio Collocini to stay at the club for another season, to say the least. Defensive midfield looks solid with Sissoko and Colback, who will provide the much needed stability in the team, whereas Cabella will be hoping to have a far better season right behind new signing Mitrovic, with Wijnaidum and Ayoze Perez to swap wings for the magpies.
This season is more about how McClaren, who will finally have a chance to get his record straight after a horrible time as an England’s manager, will perform in the top flight. His performance with Derby was more of a success apart from last quarter of the season, and he would like to rise once again as the brightest footballing mind in the country. In all, Newcastle’s squad is not the one who should be fighting in the relegation zone, and with a manager who had experience at the top level, Newcastle should be able to finish higher in the top half or can expect to finish in the top half as well.