John Barnes is a legend of English football and spent an 18-month spell at Newcastle United, but his latest comments have irked the Toon Army.
Barnes claimed that Newcastle couldn’t really use their wealth in January as they can’t sign ‘superstar’ players. He went on to say they can forget about the euphoria of being the richest club in the world and that Mike Ashley leaving hasn’t changed much.
He said (via The Chronicle): “There are no realistic names for Newcastle to buy in January that might save them. There are no superstar players going anywhere, especially not to Newcastle. They might have a lot of money, but they can’t spend it in January because of their league position.
“None of the top players will go to Newcastle before the season’s end. Newcastle must work with what they have, and they have to stop conceding goals.
“They can forget about the euphoria of being the richest club in the world.
“Their confidence has taken a beating over the last couple of years – and that isn’t going to change overnight.”
How many players do Newcastle need to sign?Five or less?
More than five?
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His comments really hit a nerve with Newcastle fans, who didn’t hold back in their attack over what Barnes had to say.
How the Newcastle fans reacted…
“Why is every pundit so condescending towards #NUFC fans when it comes to this? We’re (most) not stupid, we know the position we are in in the PL and we know how difficult this transfer window/season will be. No one is expecting superstars or 22 year old future Ballon d’Or winners!”
“It’s clear as day from our targets that we aren’t looking at those players. Keep up Barnes.”
“It’s not all Ashley and Bruce’s fault we’re in this position? Are you actually joking, Barnsey?”
“Oh well. We might as well just give up then.”
“He literally has no idea what NUFC owners are doing behind the scenes. Just another rent-a-gob giving an opinion which is effectively clueless.”
“John Barnes’ cup is definitely half empty.”
Although Barnes arguably isn’t wrong to suggest it will be hard for Newcastle to attract the top names in January given their league position, he’s wrong in saying they have to ‘work with what they have’.
Signings in January may not be glamorous or eye-catching, but improvements can certainly be made to the side.
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It will be interesting to see who Newcastle do sign in January, with names such as Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Aaron Ramsey floating about.
It’s an uphill task for Newcastle to survive, sitting 19th in the league following their latest defeat at Anfield.
In other news: Newcastle fans left fuming after this