Football Season Guide

Newcastle are once again living up to their billing as the main entertainers in the summer in terms of providing all sorts of absurd off-pitch nonsense, mostly stemming from their board of directors. The Magpies actually had a better season than expected last year, staving off relegation without too many problems despite a shock change of manager and loss of their bes player midway through the season. They had done quite well for a promoted team and Alan Pardew has been rightly credited for his handling of the club after the departure of the supremely popular Chris Hughton. Yet, just when things looked to be going smoothly at St James' Park, the ugly face of Mike Ashley's antics off the pitch stole the show. Pardew has seen none of the the £35m that the Andy Carroll sale generated that were promised to him and the transfer plans went into disarray in the early weeks of June. It only got worse when contract offers to star players like Joey Barton and Jose Enrique were withdrawn after it became clear that the wages on offer were too low to be accepted. As a result, both players now look on the verge of exit, the Spaniard all but set to link up with Carroll at Anfield while the outspoken Barton has been made available on free transfer after publicly criticising the club. And all that comes after the sale of skipper Kevin Nolan to West Ham after he also refused to sign a new contract on lower terms. It is difficult to understand what is exactly going on with the Magpies except that Ashley and the rest in the boardroom are doing everything in their power to destroy the great team spirit and cooperation that was nurtured at the club by Hughton. The bright spot in all that mess was the fact that Newcastle bought well and in Yoann Cabaye have the bargain of the summer so far for just £5m. Demba Ba showed enough at West Ham to convince Pardew that he can succeed as a centre forward at St James' Park. However, with so many key departures, one must worry for Newcastle and what can a bad start of the season may do to them.