2023 Summer transfer window - hopes, needs, expectations and rumours.

[Paul.S]

Newcastle?

Considered one of the bigger clubs in Europe?

If you've spent all day taking too much sun whilst doing mushrooms the whole time, and are a Newcastle fan, maybe.

If you read what I said I don't consider them bigger than us but the narrative with Newcastle has always been.

"Greatest fans in the world"
"Everyone's second team"
"55000 through the door every week"
"Sleeping giant"

Plus Shearer being a pundit will help push there agenda. Newcastle aren't currently bigger than us but with FFP loopholes a d the attraction of champions league football they are today a bigger draw than us.

Unfortunately the definition of a ‘big’ club is now measured by how much cash you spend and not by history or anything else. Todays media will push a club forward using this term no matter who owns them, as long as the money is there. I don’t like the term big club and hate the words big 6 even more. The game sold its soul years ago and the media turn a blind eye to where the cash is coming from unless it suits them. The super league threatened TV subscriptions and it was all out war, they even started paying attention to the 14 as they called it. Now, they’ve forgotten that and have reverted back to the norm.
We all know our club, the history of it and the importance it played in the football league. Don’t forget though that football did not begin until 1992 and pundits wouldn’t have a clue about anything that happened before then. We aren’t state owned and have owners who want to grow the club in the correct manner. That’ll do for me because it won’t be long before we force our way into competing for silverware. This club has class and always has had.

UTV

[SoccerHQ]

Don’t confuse rich with big.

Agree
I don’t consider Chelsea as a ‘Big’ club.
Recently successful and rich, certainly, but I’d have Spurs down as a bigger club than them.

I actually think Newcastle are a big club, as too Sunderland, but I guess 1 club towns will always be that.

To any 20-25 year old player now Chelsea would be viewed as miles better club on account of what they've won in last 20 years and said player would've grown up watching them win multiple league titles and CLs.

No different to Man. United winning everything in the 90s and so you had generations of players wanting to join them.

[Clark W Griswold]

Newcastle?

Considered one of the bigger clubs in Europe?

If you've spent all day taking too much sun whilst doing mushrooms the whole time, and are a Newcastle fan, maybe.

If you read what I said I don't consider them bigger than us but the narrative with Newcastle has always been.

"Greatest fans in the world"
"Everyone's second team"
"55000 through the door every week"
"Sleeping giant"

Plus Shearer being a pundit will help push there agenda. Newcastle aren't currently bigger than us but with FFP loopholes a d the attraction of champions league football they are today a bigger draw than us.

Unfortunately the definition of a ‘big’ club is now measured by how much cash you spend and not by history or anything else.

UTV

According to the media and anyone brain washed by it. The description you give is what i would call 'competitive club'. Most that follow their teams home and away for a long period can tell the difference when they're out there experiencing it rather than just watching Sky Sports, Sky Sports news and looking on their smart phone.

[Paul.S]

Newcastle?

Considered one of the bigger clubs in Europe?

If you've spent all day taking too much sun whilst doing mushrooms the whole time, and are a Newcastle fan, maybe.

If you read what I said I don't consider them bigger than us but the narrative with Newcastle has always been.

"Greatest fans in the world"
"Everyone's second team"
"55000 through the door every week"
"Sleeping giant"

Plus Shearer being a pundit will help push there agenda. Newcastle aren't currently bigger than us but with FFP loopholes a d the attraction of champions league football they are today a bigger draw than us.

Unfortunately the definition of a ‘big’ club is now measured by how much cash you spend and not by history or anything else.

UTV

According to the media and anyone brain washed by it. The description you give is what i would call 'competitive club'. Most that follow their teams home and away for a long period can tell the difference when they're out there experiencing it rather than just watching Sky Sports, Sky Sports news and looking on their smart phone.

That’s a good term. We’ve not been competitive for some while, until now.
I’m surprised about how many people get drawn into the Sky hyped media drive. Most of us know it for what it is but there are millions who don’t. I couldn’t care less but their ambition is to promote a certain few clubs constantly. Although it doesn’t affect fans who just focus on their own clubs it does affect potential sponsors, kit sales etc. Would we get the coverage certain clubs get if we won some silverware, I very much doubt it as 81 and 82 showed at the time. I think the owners have seen this and have made the change to try and close the gap.

[Richard E]

The phrase I hate is ‘Champions League Club’ as if that status is an immutable fact of nature and they’re a separate species.

[Paul.S]

The phrase I hate is ‘Champions League Club’ as if that status is an immutable fact of nature and they’re a separate species.

Absolutely and the word ‘Champions’ has absolutely no meaning in that term for most of the clubs in it.

[pablo_picasso]

Unfortunately the definition of a ‘big’ club is now measured by how much cash you spend and not by history or anything else. Todays media will push a club forward using this term no matter who owns them, as long as the money is there.

And yet they still ignored us when we had the third wealthiest owners in the country. And 5th in the world. Before Bohely (sp?) picked up Chelsea.

I remember an article that I saw from The Sun where they listed the top ten wealthiest owners in the Prem, basically so they could marvel over Newcastles new wealth, & at that time we should have been 3rd in the Prem on that list.

So where did The Sun place us?

One would think third, but we weren't even on the list.

Think we are about 5th or 6th in the Prem & 8th in the world for wealthiest owners now.

Although Im not 100% sure.

We are definitely in the top ten of both.

And the media has only just started paying attention after Emerys top 3 form run.

So its not just about wealth...

[Holy Trinity]

I love the debate but Endrick in Brazil doesn't have a chuffing clue who Aston Villa are other than maybe seeing us play teams on TV but he 100% knows who Man City are. History is history and I love our history and am proud of it but the true measure of a big club is trophies. I'm not talking about us winning everything back in the early 1900's or our more recent periods of success in the 80s and mid 90s. Constantly challenging for top trophies season on season for 20 years is why Chelsea are now a much bigger club than us. Man city have flown past us like it or not but they are a much bigger club than us now.

My kids don't have a choice they are supporting us like it or lump it but the best young players around the world don't yet dream of wearing our shirt and that was my point which has been skewed. The next Neymar in Brazil or Mbappe in France isn't getting all weak at the knees about us. So we are having to be patient in our search for players as a lot of our targets won't be seeing us as a guarantee of success.

I'll leave it there as I seem to have upset half of you because your version of big stretches back to 1900.

[tomd2103]

I just find the whole ‘big club’ debate pretty pointless.  In the days where people through the turnstiles was the main source of income, it may have been a relevant discussion, but the money in the game has changed that. 

Celtic and Rangers are probably two of the biggest clubs in Britain, but would struggle to compete with Championship clubs when it comes to attracting players.

[N'ZMAV]

this is pointless.

[Paul.S]

I love the debate but Endrick in Brazil doesn't have a chuffing clue who Aston Villa are other than maybe seeing us play teams on TV but he 100% knows who Man City are. History is history and I love our history and am proud of it but the true measure of a big club is trophies. I'm not talking about us winning everything back in the early 1900's or our more recent periods of success in the 80s and mid 90s. Constantly challenging for top trophies season on season for 20 years is why Chelsea are now a much bigger club than us. Man city have flown past us like it or not but they are a much bigger club than us now.

My kids don't have a choice they are supporting us like it or lump it but the best young players around the world don't yet dream of wearing our shirt and that was my point which has been skewed. The next Neymar in Brazil or Mbappe in France isn't getting all weak at the knees about us. So we are having to be patient in our search for players as a lot of our targets won't be seeing us as a guarantee of success.

I'll leave it there as I seem to have upset half of you because your version of big stretches back to 1900.

You’re right but they’ve pulled up that financial drawbridge now. There’ll be no club competing with the usual few on a regular basis no matter how much cash they have hence most trophies being shared about by the few in the last 20 years or so. Newcastle may have a financial boost due by being in the “European Cup” this year. They’ve a long, long way to go before they can compete regularly.

Our best bet is to do what we are doing and invest in youth and trying to pick up players with potential. This is how it should be done by everyone and I’m glad that’s what we’re doing now.

It’s the self interest of a few that’s ended true competition but in the history of the game I know where we stand and we didn’t have to buy our way there to achieve it.

[Steve67]

Christ we need a signing.

[john e]

The big advantage we’ve always had over everybody else, apart from MU, Liv and Arse is if you take Arsenal being the biggest club in the South, Liverpool and Man United fight it out for the North we are the undisputed king of the Midlands

It’s a massive area of potential and one where people like Dave W and others have been saying we’ve never made the most of for decades

But we still remain the biggest club in the Midlands in the country’s second biggest city
One day the club wake up and realise it

[LeeB]

The big advantage we’ve always had over everybody else, apart from MU, Liv and Arse is if you take Arsenal being the biggest club in the South, Liverpool and Man United fight it out for the North we are the undisputed king of the Midlands

It’s a massive area of potential and one where people like Dave W and others have been saying we’ve never made the most of for decades

But we still remain the biggest club in the Midlands in the country’s second biggest city
One day the club wake up and realise it

I think we're on the cusp of actually doing so mate

[tomd2103]

I love the debate but Endrick in Brazil doesn't have a chuffing clue who Aston Villa are other than maybe seeing us play teams on TV but he 100% knows who Man City are. History is history and I love our history and am proud of it but the true measure of a big club is trophies. I'm not talking about us winning everything back in the early 1900's or our more recent periods of success in the 80s and mid 90s. Constantly challenging for top trophies season on season for 20 years is why Chelsea are now a much bigger club than us. Man city have flown past us like it or not but they are a much bigger club than us now.

My kids don't have a choice they are supporting us like it or lump it but the best young players around the world don't yet dream of wearing our shirt and that was my point which has been skewed. The next Neymar in Brazil or Mbappe in France isn't getting all weak at the knees about us. So we are having to be patient in our search for players as a lot of our targets won't be seeing us as a guarantee of success.

I'll leave it there as I seem to have upset half of you because your version of big stretches back to 1900.

You’re right but they’ve pulled up that financial drawbridge now. There’ll be no club competing with the usual few on a regular basis no matter how much cash they have hence most trophies being shared about by the few in the last 20 years or so. Newcastle may have a financial boost due by being in the “European Cup” this year. They’ve a long, long way to go before they can compete regularly.

Our best bet is to do what we are doing and invest in youth and trying to pick up players with potential. This is how it should be done by everyone and I’m glad that’s what we’re doing now.

It’s the self interest of a few that’s ended true competition but in the history of the game I know where we stand and we didn’t have to buy our way there to achieve it.

I think our best bet in the immediate future might be using Unai Emery as our big draw and targeting quality players that have played for him before. 

Hopefully they can then take us in to a position where we can cast the net a bit further.