January shopping now a necessity

Nov 18 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

Where Newcastle must strengthen

DEFENCE: With Sebastien Bassong raw at centre-back and Claudio Caçapa apparently unsuited to the demands of the Premier League, Newcastle need a top-quality centre-half to not only provide cover for Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor, but to also offer the sort of competition for places which gets the best out of those in possession of the shirt.

But it is in the full-back positions that Newcastle are woefully short. Had Dennis Wise and Tony Jimenez produced a left-back for Kevin Keegan in the summer he may well have still been United manager and not in a legal battle with the club for compensation.

With no specialist cover for Habib Beye or Jose Enrique, an injury to either would be a major problem, while Enrique’s form against Wigan has once again raised serious doubts about the £6m recruit from Villarreal.

MIDFIELD: There is a distinct lack of creativity in this area following the departure of the injury-prone Emre.

The Turkish international was not replaced, despite Keegan’s pleas to do so, and this is something which also needs to be addressed as a priority in January.

Joey Barton, Nicky Butt and Danny Guthrie are good players, but are all of a similar mould. On the left-wing, Damien Duff and Charles N’Zogbia are a decent pair, but there is no real cover for Jonas Gutierrez on the right following the controversial sale of James Milner to Aston Villa, something which could also be remedied in the New Year.

ATTACK: Newcastle are strong in this department, with Mark Viduka and Alan Smith still to return from injury to complement Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins, Shola Ameobi and the so far ineffective Xisco.

There could be a problem, however, if Michael Owen is sold in January as the club captain is virtually irreplaceable.