Season Preview: Newcastle

Overall Outlook - Welcome back from exile to a team that, on talent, we could never figure out how they ended up in the Championship in the first place.  I guess they took dysfunctional to an entirely new level.  Hopefully for their sakes, they're ready to reverse some of the sins of their recent past and come back stronger (and perhaps more realistic) for their exile.  The talent on hand is certainly better than their fellow partners in promotion Blackpool and West Brom and it is also probably better than a few of the sides that finished the season toward the bottom of the Premier League last season but avoided the drop - we're looking at you Rovers, Wolves, and maybe West Ham.  That said, there's nothing that says that the Magpies' talent won't continue to be degraded by dysfunction once the going gets rough.  Still, my prediction is that they finish between 14th and 16th in their bounce back season.


Projected Starters - Harper, Campbell, Enrique, Coloccini, Simpson, Nolan, Guthrie, Gutierrez, Carroll, Lovenkrands

In the Rotation - Smith, Taylor, Ben Arfa, RTay, Routledge, Gosling

Kicks - Guthrie and occasionally Taylor when he plays are likely to take the majority of the kicks with the arrival of Hatem Ben Arfa from France potentially altering that mix once he arrives and (presumably) works into the starting line-up. 

Newcomers

• Hatem Ben Arfa, M - {I'll write this now on the assumption he signs] The left winger has long been linked to big clubs and specifically Arsenal but a move has never really materialized leaving us to wonder if Hatem Ben Arfa is really French for Freddy Adu but he might get a chance to strut his stuff this season at St. James' Park.  If he does, he'll likely take a role on the left side of midfield and potentially do well with Phantom Points as well as the occasional goal and assist.  Definitely one to watch if he completes the move;
• Sol Campbell, D - With Steven Taylor injured to start the season there will be a premium placed on Sol getting himself in shape and partnering Coloccini at the back.  Once Taylor returns in October Campbell will be nice depth in the squad.  Regardless, probably not a great fantasy play since he didn't return value on a much better team at Arsenal last season;
• Dan Gosling, M - The versatile player left Everton in controversial fashion over the summer and won't be available until December or January after tearing his ACL last March against Wolves.  Once he returns, he's likely to compete for a job on the right side of midfield with fan favorite but decidedly limited Gutierriez.  My guess is that he wins the job sometime in the Spring in situations where NUFC can afford a more attacking line-up.  Gosling isn't a bad defender per se but he won't match Gutierrez's tireless work rate.  An OK option to look in on in January or February for fantasy managers;

Rising Youth

• There aren't a lot of young players rising up the ranks at NUFC who are likely to get meaningful playing time for the first team this season so probably not much for fantasy managers to look at here; Sorry, this is Jeremy chiming in... Andy Carroll is the next big thing and has been handed NUFC's storied number nine shirt.  He came on well at the end of Newcastle's relegation season and scored 17 goals in the Championship last season.  Everyone at the club is hoping he's a young Alan Shearer, though he might just be a young Kevin Davies.  
• Behind him in the pecking order - well, in truth behind Carroll and then Ameobi - is the wonderfully named Nile Ranger.  Ranger is a star at the U19 level scoring a goal every other game for England.

Fantasy Breakdown

• Best - Hard to say who the best option will turn out to be on this team.  Ryan Taylor has made some nice fantasy noise but that's when he was listed as a defender.  Kevin Nolan seems to have found himself last season but the question there is whether he rediscovered his old form or discovered that he's really only a Championship player now.  Andy Carroll's rise has people wondering if he'll translate that form to the big leagues but I have my doubts that he'll score more goals than he'll receive cards. I also have a soft spot for Guthrie because he did some nice work for me two seasons ago and so I'm picking him as the best of this bunch but I'm sure that will turn out to be wrong;
• Best Value (non-newcomer) - They're all sort of newcomers and there's potential value in whomever turns out to get the points so I'll refer you to the above and say that the answer will likely come from the Nolan, Carroll, Guthrie group unless/until Ben Arfa arrives;
• Best Projected Value - See above;
• Worth Considering With Good Match-ups -  Harper, Carroll, Nolan, Guthrie;
• Worth Knowing If He's Starting -Ben Arfa, Taylor (Roger)