I seem to remember Chris Hughton, in his sagacious words, stating that Newcastle United would have to deal with weeks of ecstasy contrasted with weeks of disappointment in the Premier League. The trouble is that the league presents surprises in what seem routine fixtures, in the case of Newcastle this is exemplified by winning 6-0 against Aston villa, and the written in folk-lore 5-1 dismantling of local rivals Sunderland. The converse has come against Bolton, Blackburn and Blackpool, with all three fixtures having the expectation of gaining a result. Hughton has been spot on then with his warnings, but an auxiliary assumption has been made by some quarters over Hughton’s ability to judge transfer targets.

The belief that Hughton is lacking in his propensities to make adequate judgements concerning players has been given credence in the forms of Leon Best and James Perch. These two players have failed to have much impact at the club; the former has had an ankle injury causing him to be sidelined for this season so far, whilst the latter has been guilty of defensive negligence and naivety. Both players would be classed as ‘squad’ players and have been used in such a manner.

To counteract these two anomalies, for all managers have moments of poor judgement, we can mention signings such as Mike Williamson, Danny Simpson, Sol Campbell, Cheik Tiote, Wayne Routledge, Dan Gosling and Hatem Ben Arfa. Admittedly, three of these mentioned players haven’t played or have been limited to a minimal amount of games. It still evinces the point I’m trying to elucidate, that Hughton, with restricted funds available, has been able to acquire quality players and some appreciation of this should be forthcoming.

Come January Newcastle will struggle to compete in such a saturated market that welcomes a chaotic period of rumours, gossip and hearsay. But with Hughton’s recent track record of managing to gain value for money, I don’t think there’s too much cause for concern. What is interesting is that the position of assistant manager is still left in purgatory, with no movement on the issue for some time now. Hughton would no doubt benefit from an experienced coach, one he could liaise with over possible signings, as this would alleviate the burden of decisions having to be made internally.

The man management Hughton has shown in nurturing the explosive characters of Andy Carroll and Joey Barton has been exemplary to behold. It also serves as a point to consider when assessing possible signings that Hughton may make, as he isn’t intimidated and commands respect from his players. I feel that the missing piece to this puzzle is the introduction of a new assistant who can facilitate the already commendable job Hughton is doing.

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