United's summer recruitment looks patchy right now, but their recent record points to longer-term success
Newcastl Unied's Anthony Elanga (left) and Jacob Ramsey
Newcastl Unied's Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey
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Newcastle's buying policy since the takeover more than four years ago has been held up as a shining example of great recruitment.
The successes have piled up virtually without a failure . . . Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Harvey Barnes, Nick Pope.
However for the first time this summer questions have been levelled about value for money. Oh Malick Thiaw has followed along the yellow brick road to the promised land, but question marks remain over many. The jury is still out.
Nick Woltemade at a club-record £69m has split opinion . . . a centre-forward with totally different attributes and failings to what has gone before. Anthony Elanga at £55m has made little or no impact. Jacob Ramsey (£43m) has hardly started amid a suspect fitness record. Yoane Wissa (£55m) hasn't kicked a single ball due to injury on international duty immediately after signing. And Aaron Ramsdale is very much just back-up to Pope.
That is a huge wad of money - £222m - plus a small on-loan fee for Ramsdale spent without an immediate hint of a return. Thiaw stands apart at £34m, a sleek defender of grace and effectiveness, but United required others to make an immediate impact in a Champions League season of competing across four competitions. That they have not hasn't helped a stuttering return in the Premier League.
Of course I'm not suggesting United have wasted their money or that their Midas touch has deserted them. Far from it. Settling in can take time - think of Gordon and Hall when they first came, Bruno even. Tonali through outside influences.
Nobody could foresee what happened with Wissa and Ramsdale is what he is, which leaves Elanga as the biggest disappointment so far for me. So much pace, so little end product.
Woltemade is the most confusing - produce an identikit picture of what United needed to replace Isak the way United are set up to play and he is not it, clever footballer though he may be.
Clearly Eddie Howe feels certain players aren't quite up to speed enough to be trusted as yet- Ramsey has only started three matches (one each in the PL, Carabao Cup and Champions League) while Elanga has fared just a little better with four PL starts, plus two in the League Cup, and two in Europe. Fitness levels have restricted Ramsey, a chronic lack of confidence held back Elanga.
Of course it was a controversial and confusing transfer window this summer. United, without executives on the bridge to lend guidance and support, missed out on a shoal of top targets like Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike, Bryan Mbeumo, Liam Delap, Benjamin Sesko, James Trafford, Marc Guehi, Matheus Cunha, Dean Huijsen, and Jorgen Strand Larsen to name but a lot. Phew, I'm exhausted just listing them!
It all meant United had to delve deep into the depths of their shopping list to gain some success not that it means automatic failure will follow. For example Thiaw couldn't have been bettered.
Let us hope that we will be toasting Elanga and Woltemade, Ramsey and Wissa in due course because if we are it will probably mean Newcastle being successful.
Geordies need to keep the faith and believe in a recruitment system that has recently served United so well, in the undoubted ability of Howe to significantly improve virtually every player he has worked with, and therefore be ready to back the individual ability of new signings.
However United do need to address the development of the clutch of young players with significant potential who they bought with an eye to the future. The loan department should look again at their temporary placements because the idea of them picking up valuable experience has simply not worked out.
The likes of Antonio Cordero, Travis Hernes and Trevan Sanusi, scattered across Europe, have all but disappeared from the soccer map.
Cordero has managed to record just 83 minutes from six appearances for KVC Westerlo in the Belgian Pro League having played a mere four minutes of league football over the last seven weeks.
Hernes has endured an even more barren run failing to play a single minute for Groningen in the Eredivisie. Maybe he picked up a knock recently but his only action so far has been a 60-minute outing for their Under-21 side. Surely he could have got that in Newcastle.
As for Sanusi he's missed nine French Ligue 1 games in a row due to an ankle injury, meaning he has yet to make his Lorient debut.
Looking at the first-team picture it is true that nobody can get it right all of the time of course. The best managers aren't those who have made no mistakes but those who have made the least.
I always remember Bob Paisley, that trophy-winning giant of Liverpool, telling me just that and adding: "The secret is not to try and justify bad signings by persevering with them as a lot of managers do. Move them on quickly and fans will forget they were even here."
It's a tricky business the transfer market.
History tells us that Joe Harvey and Kevin Keegan were by far the most impressive and successful at buying on our behalf. Where Eddie Howe stands remains to be judged upon the day he leaves us when the picture is complete but it must be said that in these days of directors of football the manager no longer stands alone as the voice of influence.
Nevertheless Howe has some impressive successes on his credit.