Newcastle United

Newcastle United summer signing Siem de Jong will miss the club's opening match of the Premier League season against Manchester City due to a calf injury.

Magpies manager Alan Pardew confirmed the attacking midfielder was among the group that wouldn't play on Sunday:

Craig Hope of the Daily Mail provided further details about the ailment:

As revealed by Sportsmail last week, the Dutch midfielder suffered a calf injury after returning from New Zealand last month and has not featured since.

Newcastle signed De Jong to bolster an attack that finished in the middle of the pack last term. He scored seven goals in 19 Dutch Eredivisie appearances for Ajax, but also missed time due to injury, which makes his quick absence following the move even more concerning.

At the same time, clubs are usually far more willing to play it safe with players at this stage than they would be later in the campaign. It could be an instance of the club just trying to avoid a more serious injury that could sideline him for a longer period.

Lee Ryder of The Chronicle passed along comments from Pardew, who currently expects to take the pitch next week against Aston Villa:

Once healthy, he figures to provide an attacking presence Newcastle lacked recently, especially during the second half of last season. Damian Buxton of Squawka provided his outlook for one of the side's marquee additions:

Given Newcastle's disdain for spending money in recent years, De Jong's signing can only be a positive. If he can reprise his Dutch form then he could be a bargain and add much-needed attacking force to Newcastle's midfield, finally going some way to replace [Yohan] Cabaye.

It's always a disappointment when a club signs a player during the summer and they aren't ready to feature when the new campaign gets underway. The good news is that it doesn't sound like an injury that's going to keep him off the pitch for long.

De Jong flashed some terrific talent during his time with Ajax. There will be a transition period as he acclimates himself to the Premier League. Once he goes through that, he should prove himself as a key asset for Newcastle, assuming he stays fit.

Across the Premier League this season, there are going to be plenty of footballers under pressure, but one such example you may not immediately think of is Newcastle United's Jack Colback.

Crossing the divide between two great rivals in football can often be seen as a move that thrusts you into the spotlight as a footballer. Recent examples of Carlos Tevez and Sol Campbell are testimony to that, but as well as giving you more attention in media circles, it can often be a move that launches your career into orbit.

Colback is going to face plenty of attention (and pressure) this season after his move across the north-east from Sunderland to boyhood club Newcastle. But if he can play to his potential (as we saw on occasions last year), then he has all the tools to be a vital cog in Alan Pardew's side this year, as they strive for a much improved season this time around.

And Colback himself is set for a huge year, as he looks to plug the gaps that United had in their midfield last season.

Pardew has already told the media that Colback isn't here to make up the numbers, and when you look at his stats from last season, it's easy to see why. Arguably one of Newcastle United's chief failings last year was in attack, with Pardew admitting that his side struggled to overhaul losing positions last time around.

Scoring 43 goals in just 38 games would suggest that's very much the case, and attack is clearly an area United have tried to strengthen this season. But while Siem de Jong, Emmanuel Riviere and Ayoze Perez will be the three new signings from whom goals are largely expected, it is the work Colback will do behind them that could have equally as large a bearing.

His pass accuracy of 89 per cent last season was higher than any midfielder who pulled on a Newcastle United shirt (per Squawka), and in that central midfield role he is likely to play, Colback will fast become the hub of a Newcastle United side that simply craves goals. The forwards are nothing without a strong midfield behind them, and in Colback, Newcastle have a man who can get moves flowing with consummate ease.

Also, their midfield guile seemed to disappear across the Channel with Yohan Cabaye in January, so Colback's steely determination and excellent passing ability will become a huge component of Newcastle's success. Sitting in front of the back four is often overlooked as an important role in modern-day football, but the success of Germany at the World Cup has brought the role back into prominence.

That isn't to say Colback is a Bastian Schweinsteiger or a Sami Khedira, but he will certainly provide Newcastle with an element of defensive capability that they didn't seem to possess last year. Colback was far and away Sunderland's strongest midfielder in defence last year (again, via Squawka) with an impressive 54 clearances and 39 interceptions in the 33 Premier League games.

Is Jack Colback going to be regarded as Newcastle United's most exciting signing of the 2014/15 season? Absolutely not. But it is often the less exciting players who become the most important ones. The fulcrum of a side, if you will. And with Colback anchoring the Newcastle United midfield in both defence and attack, they have a player who is ready to make a big impact with his new team this year.

For some years now, football fans, pundits and indeed managers have craved "stability." With the average Premier League manager barely lasting a season in his job and only seven top-flight bosses currently being in situ for more than two years, it is perhaps understandable.

Manchester United even appointed a manager, David Moyes, partly on the basis that he could bring stability after the turmoil of seeing Sir Alex Ferguson leave. Stability is, to say the least, a much sought-after commodity.

And it is a commodity that Newcastle have. After Arsene Wenger, Alan Pardew is the second-longest-serving manager in the Premier League, having taken up his position in December 2010. Those three-and-a-half seasons have been, to say the least, rather mixed, with periods of relative success followed by periods of what one might charitably call "drift."

Last season was a perfect encapsulation of this. On Boxing Day, Newcastle beat Stoke 5-1 and were in sixth place, sitting pretty and with sights on a European place. They won just five more league games after that, losing 14 and virtually undoing all the good work of the season's first half.

Add to that the sale of Yohan Cabaye and some rather difficult relations with the local media, and 2014 has thus far not been a particularly good year for Newcastle.

So will it improve this term? There have been some promising signings, some to replace departing players and some to strengthen their squad, particularly in midfield. Daryl Janmaat is in for the Arsenal-bound Mathieu Debuchy, while a combination of Remy Cabella, Jack Colback and Siem de Jong will try to replace Cabaye's contribution.

However, their squad still looks light. They always seemed to have insufficient depth up front last season even with Loic Remy, but he has returned to QPR with only Emmanuel Riviere replacing him.

At the back, too, they would appear to have deficiencies, with none of Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor exactly inspiring huge confidence. Indeed, while they finished tenth last term, they had the sixth-worst defensive record in the division, behind only the three relegated teams (Norwich City, Fulham and Cardiff City), Sunderland and Aston Villa.

Pardew hinted this week that his transfer business was not over but didn't go so far as to promise new arrivals. He said, as quoted by Craig Hope of the Daily Mail:

We've always maintained that we will watch the window until the last hours. We've done some terrific business and I think it must be exciting for Newcastle fans that we've got some terrific, offensive players.

I feel much more comfortable with the team and we can play a brand of football which is expected of us. I think we could really trouble teams this season, which is something we didn't do in the second half of last season.

Newcastle may well have a form of stability in their managerial situation that others might be envious of, and Pardew's good relationship with owner Mike Ashley means only a catastrophic start to the season will change that position.

But the question for most Newcastle fans must surely be whether they can arrest the drift that made the second half of last season so painful to watch. There could even be a case to say that drift was brought about by complacency, which was inspired by the "stability."

With proven talent replaced by men who can only be seen as gambles, even the stability that has defined Newcastle could be eroded this season. Either way, they must hope for a change from the ennui of last season.

It may only be pre-season, but noises coming from certain quarters on Tyneside suggest all is not well when it comes to Newcastle United’s defence.

On Tuesday, it was captain Fabricio Coloccini who came in for some uncharacteristic criticism after a lack-lustre display against Huddersfield Town.

While last weekend, the slurs were reserved for centre-back Steven Taylor, who was singled out by some fans following the 3-1 loss to Spanish side Malaga.

The introduction of Mike Williamson seemed to add stability to the Magpies’ back four during the Schalke 04 Cup—much like it did last season when the 30-year-old was drafted in following a calamitous first-half against Everton.

But the frailties that plagued the Toon during the previous campaign have set the club and its followers on edge, and big questions remain about their solidity at the back.

During a disastrous run last term that started with derby defeat to Sunderland in February and ended with a 3-0 reverse at Arsenal, Alan Pardew’s men shipped 29 goals in just 13 Premier League fixtures.

And such porous tendencies left a mark on the club’s loyal followers, who have seen nine new faces arrive at St. James’s Park this summer, but just one central defender.

The player in question is highly promising Jamaal Lascelles, but the 20-year-old will not even figure for United during 2014-15 after being loaned back to Nottingham Forest.

Aside from Coloccini, Taylor and Frenchman Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa—who has spent much of pre-season covering at right-back—Newcastle have the option of dipping into a pool of untried talent at under-21 level.

The likes of Remie Streete and Lubo Satka have gotten minutes under their belts this summer, but neither has yet broken his way into Pardew’s first-team plans.

If the Magpies begin to leak goals once more when the action gets underway, the former Charlton Athletic manager will be left with little option but to shake things up.

Tellingly, the No. 5 shirt remains vacant in Pardew’s squad ahead of the new season, and the 53-year-old may well be tempted to try and fill it before this month’s transfer deadline.  

When Jack Colback became the first player to leave Sunderland for Newcastle United in 16 years this summer, disapproving voices could be heard on both sides of the Tyne-Wear divide.

Not since goalkeeper Lionel Perez in 1998 had an individual swapped red-and-white for black-and-white in the north-east, and the repercussions were not lost on the 24-year-old.

Born just a few miles away from St. James’ Park, the lifelong Magpies fan came through the Black Cats’ youth ranks, signing his first contract with the club back in 2008.

The deal prompted a mixed response, with Geordie fans still smarting after Colback scored against the Toon during last season’s derby.

Meanwhile, on Wearside, the thought of losing a crowd favourite to their most hated rivals stuck in the throat of many a Sunderland supporter.

However, since the switch was confirmed in June, the former Ipswich Town loanee has gone quietly about his business, notching six pre-season appearances with minimum fuss.

His assured presence in United’s engine room underlines his efficiency, with hard work and stable possession at the heart of everything Colback brings to the side.

Off the pitch, he displays a similar sense of level-headedness, and he has described his new employers as "a club looking to go places."

In an interview with the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, the midfielder said:

There might be a bit more pressure—the fact I’ve come from Sunderland—and I’ve got to try to turn the fans’ heads at Newcastle and win them over. But it’s something I’m relishing.

I have come to play for my hometown club, the club my family has supported and I have supported—that was the biggest thing.

Neat and tidy, and with a great amount of self-confidence, Colback will bring an enthusiasm to the Toon’s middle third that was sorely missing for long spells last term.

In an adventurous formation, his direct style sees him find some useful positions, while an abundance of strength makes him a useful ally when backs are pressed firmly against the wall.

His initial battle will be to win over the remaining skeptics who refuse to view his former allegiance with anything less than unease.

However, once the campaign gets underway, it won’t be histrionics that makes the doubters eat their words, but a resolute determination to fulfil a boyhood dream.