The Premier League season of 2014/15 was another one of Newcastle United’s below par seasons where the club was surrounded by continuous speculation throughout the season eventually finding it rather hard to live up to it’s expectations. Alan Pardew was subject to constant criticism due to the team’s in inability to grind out results. Pardew finally decided to part ways but to the shock of many, the club wasn’t in any better condition even after he left. The decision to let him leave and hand John Carver the duties turned out to be a disastrous one as Newcastle somehow managed to survive a nervous relegation battle which went down to the last game week.
Fast forward the summer and Newcastle United now have a new manager in the form of Steve Mclaren. The club has been busy on the transfer front. So far they’ve shelled out a total of 35 million to add to their squad. Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum was the first of three new arrivals this summer. The central midfielder is a midfield enforcer, someone who can add a sense of authority in midfield and dictate the tempo of play. The other two signings are the highly rated Anderlecht pair of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba. They won’t be the last by the looks of it as the Magpies are still looking to add a defender and if possible, another striker to their ranks.
Club captain Fabriccio Collocini is not expected to be involved against Southampton next weekend as he hasn’t yet featured in pre-season. The others lacking fitness are Mitrovic and Mbemba who only recently completed their moves. Steve Mclaren has stressed that pre-season is mainly just for the fitness of his players and most of his players, bar a selected few, are up to the desired mark as far as fitness levels go.
Moussa Sissoko, Daryl Janmaat and Jack Colback – these three can certainly be termed as one of the “most important” players in the squad after enjoying a successful 14/15 season. Sissokho was one of the main fixtures last season, the engine in Newcastle’s midfield and his presence in the team makes a lot of difference. Similarly, Janmaat and Colback were among the standout performers last season.
Moreover, the introduction and impressive displays of young winger Rolando Aarons was one of the positives of the season. The hugely talented youngster is well capable of lighting up the occasion with his pace, skill and trickery.
The team’s tendency, irrespective of the manager in charge, not to turn up in decisive moments is their biggest downfall. Steve Mclaren has the tough task of putting behind the team’s reputation of being dodgey and inconsistent and only time will tell if he’s able to address that, but on paper, Newcastle United look as strong as ever. As good as a loaded gun ready to fire away.