Topic: Fabian Ben Scharfa

[Odin]

That’s about what we paid for Sissoko. Many players go under the radar, let’s not assume he’s s*** until we’ve seen him play a few times.

Not fussed about the small spend if we're actually bringing players in. We fell away mid season last year because we had no adequate cover for injuries, suspensions etc..

Our strongest 11 can compete with most of the clubs in this league, so it’s going to be a matter of seeing how many games we can manage that (playing our strongest 11..)

[KaKa]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

[NUFC_Chris]

Seems to be happening at least if harbinger of doom Mr Ryder seems to think he's inbound.

[geordiedean]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

[KaKa]

unwanted defender moves out, 3rd choice moves down to 4th choice and a new signing to challenge a partnership that has proven to be very solid.

Not fussed on the price. Lejeune proved to be better than similar signings like Hoedt last year despite being cheaper. Schar seems similar to that. If he didn't have a release clause he'd be costing a lot more.

The problem isn't this kind of signing, it's that we aren't doing enough of this kind of signing. We should have used Hayden wanting to leave to replace him with another midfielder to challenge our main two

I feel like because other clubs are throwing money around, every move that isn't a big fee is now ridiculed.

It''s just not right to look at things that way.

I mean look at Lascelkes and LeJeune who we all love now. What did they cost?

[SteveMc]

Good timing as Lejeune’s injury sounds worrying

[Ian W]

I can see both sides TBH, we know that Rafa isn't signing the players he really wants but at the same time he is bringing in some players that are really useful.

If he's third choice and we're not selling Lascelles this seems like a decent signing. But even as I say that I'm sure I'm falling prey to reduced expectations. It's not easy being an NUFC fan under Ashley.

[HawK]

I think Kaka's on the take, personally.

[KaKa]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

Okay. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. We'll see how it all plays out.

When we finish above Fulham, Wolves, Brighton et al. I will come for you!

When Stoke were splashing the money last summer it sure did look impressive, but it all meant nothing in the end.

We will see.

[STM]

I've never seen him play. If he's better than Clark, it's probably a decent signing.

[KaKa]

I think Kaka's on the take, personally.

Ha! I wish

I just really rate our manager, and I'd bet on him even with players lower down his list than these other managers splashing the cash.

We just need to get him the numbers he needs and we'll be good.

It''s not ideal that we cannot get him his top options, but I don't think all the player's we are getting are going to be completely useless either.

I am still excited to see what Rafa can do even in these conditions.

[Sho'Time]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

Okay. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. We'll see how it all plays out.

When we finish above Fulham, Wolves, Brighton et al. I will come for you!

When Stoke were splashing the money last summer it sure did look impressive, but it all meant nothing in the end.

We will see.

You're an absolute divvy.

Sell a centre half for £5-6m. Buy another who arguably is little to no improvement and does not significantly improve the first team for £3.5m, thus (Ashley) pocketing a couple of mil change (we'll never see).

You wouldn't mind if it was an isolated example, and yes it is an OK business dealing, but we're still in the EXACT same position we were in before Mbemba left.

So yes, let's not spend any money - look what Stoke done and it clearly didn't work out for them! Thank the lord Mike Ashley is here to stop us from making their mistakes by keeping the money for himself! 3 cheers for Mike! You absolute divvy.

[AY]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

Okay. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. We'll see how it all plays out.

When we finish above Fulham, Wolves, Brighton et al. I will come for you!

When Stoke were splashing the money last summer it sure did look impressive, but it all meant nothing in the end.

We will see.

I'm with KaKa on this. Lejeune has had one season and was pretty big signing (8 million or what?), so of course this is a backup player who is pretty good and plays regularly for the Swiss. I am happy with this one, hopefully we get at least one striker and one or two midfielder still.

[KaKa]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

Okay. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. We'll see how it all plays out.

When we finish above Fulham, Wolves, Brighton et al. I will come for you!

When Stoke were splashing the money last summer it sure did look impressive, but it all meant nothing in the end.

We will see.

You're an absolute divvy.

Sell a centre half for £5-6m. Buy another who arguably is little to no improvement and does not significantly improve the first team for £3.5m, thus (Ashley) pocketing a couple of mil change (we'll never see).

You wouldn't mind if it was an isolated example, and yes it is an OK business dealing, but we're still in the EXACT same position we were in before Mbemba left.

So yes, let's not spend any money - look what Stoke done and it clearly didn't work out for them! Thank the lord Mike Ashley is here to stop us from making their mistakes by keeping the money for himself! 3 cheers for Mike! You absolute divvy.

I'm not a divvy. I'm just thinking rationally.

We are not in the same position because Rafa did not rate/trust Mbemba at centre back, and clearly did not want to use him there.

He now has a 4th centre back he will actually use and who he likes no matter where he is on his list.

Why do people want to go out and spend a lot of money on a position where we are so stable.

This is ridiculous.

[Kid Icarus]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

He hasn't said where they are on the list because he's not stupid, but there is a list and Rafa's mentioned that.

[Sho'Time]

It's not about spending money on this deal, this deal is OK if viewed in isolation - the reality is that it's a typical Newcastle signing and why on earth should anyone be even remotely appeased by this? We're still getting the p*ss took out of us here.

[ponsaelius]

Like I said in the other thread I've seen quite a lot of him for the national team. He's good in the air and decent on the ball. Likes to play long raking passes like Lejeune. Also a big threat from set pieces usually. There was a spell during qualifying for the last Euros where he was scoring every other game.

That said, he's not the quickest and a card magnet. H missed the last 16 game against Sweden due to a daft yellow, which ultimately cost them a quarter final place when Djourou came in. Probably this is the reason there's not more teams interested.

Personally I think it's both a decent gamble at 3.5m, but also a reflection of how pathetic we are.

[STM]

Erm guys, you are spoiling my bath.

[Sho'Time]

That’s about what we paid for Sissoko. Many players go under the radar, let’s not assume he’s s*** until we’ve seen him play a few times.

Not fussed about the small spend if we're actually bringing players in. We fell away mid season last year because we had no adequate cover for injuries, suspensions etc..

Our strongest 11 can compete with most of the clubs in this league, so it’s going to be a matter of seeing how many games we can manage that (playing our strongest 11..)

Not comparable... Sissoko had 6 months left on his contract, we bought him early and cheap to get him straight away rather than in the summer.

[geordiedean]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

Okay. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. We'll see how it all plays out.

When we finish above Fulham, Wolves, Brighton et al. I will come for you!

When Stoke were splashing the money last summer it sure did look impressive, but it all meant nothing in the end.

We will see.

You're an absolute divvy.

Sell a centre half for £5-6m. Buy another who arguably is little to no improvement and does not significantly improve the first team for £3.5m, thus (Ashley) pocketing a couple of mil change (we'll never see).

You wouldn't mind if it was an isolated example, and yes it is an OK business dealing, but we're still in the EXACT same position we were in before Mbemba left.

So yes, let's not spend any money - look what Stoke done and it clearly didn't work out for them! Thank the lord Mike Ashley is here to stop us from making their mistakes by keeping the money for himself! 3 cheers for Mike! You absolute divvy.

I'm not a divvy. I'm just thinking rationally.

We are not in the same position because Rafa did not rate/trust Mbemba at centre back, and clearly did not want to use him there.

He now has a 4th centre back he will actually use and who he likes no matter where he is on his list.

Why do people want to go out and spend a lot of money on a position where we are so stable.

This is ridiculous.

It's called improving the squad and creating better competition for places. The top teams are also stable as you say in these positions but do you see them getting bargain basement signings as cover..no

It's because if an injury or suspension or losd of form happens they need someone equally as competent to step in

Your rationale is staggering

[Sho'Time]

Ah FFS, geordiedean agrees with me. I'm with Kaka on this.

[Disco]

Personally I think it's both a decent gamble at 3.5m, but also a reflection of how pathetic we are.

That's exactly it.

[hoppaz]

From a few years back but worth a read...

http://outsideoftheboot.com/2014/02/20/fabian-schar-scout-report/

[TRon]

Hasn't this fella just been relegated from La Liga?

3m release clause FFS wonder how far down the list he waa

You and your lists man. My goodness

What am I missing? Isn't that what Rafa has said?

Nope. Rafa has said nothing about where anyone is on his list.

Yes. But Rafa has said that the more time passes the harder it is to get the players at the top of his list.

Not sure what's wrong or funny with him wondering how far down this guy was?

We have an established pairing at centre back that is very good.

We just signed an international that played in the world cup to come in as the third centre back and challenge the two that start.

Why would anyone wonder how far down the list he is? Who exactly where you guys expecting to come in as a third centre back?

Looks a really good signing to me. Certainly more than I was expecting for that position. All things considered.

Some people are just happy with anything. We should be buying a lad to play alongside the captain and push Lejeune down thats what majes squad's better There's no way Rafa has thought hey the lad I really want is that Schar who is at Deportivo La Coruna. This so smacks of desperation

Its like wanting to buy a Ferrari and having to make do with a Vauxhall Corsa

It's not really the biggest problem tbh, CB is probably the least of our worries, we have far more important positions we need to upgrade on.

[Odin]

Lascelles and Lejeune are a good pairing, so it would take a significantly better CB to dismantle that. We ain’t in the market for that..

We had a very good player who couldn’t be arsed learning a few words of English to help his team communicate with him on the pitch. So he didn’t play and wouldn’t have played this season barring a total emergency.

This guy has plenty of experience and is still young enough. He’s also physically suited to this league.

Don’t see what the problem is.