Following the news/rumours this morning that James Perch has moved to Wigan for a measly fee of £750K I am going to copy and paste an article I wrote earlier last month. At the time there were rumours going round that Perch was going to be offloaded to ‘make room’; whatever that means in our wafer thin squad. Here is that article which still holds truth.
Summer time sends journalists into straw-clutching over drive as they search for any story to fill their sites and sell their papers. However, it is also a time when fans can reflect on their team’s performance; deciding who should be sold and fantasying about who should be brought in. The latest rumour doing the rounds is that James Perch is being shown the door by Alan Pardew.
Let us hark back to 26th September, 2010. Newcastle were at home to Stoke and Perch was powering home a diving header into his own net as his stock hit an all time low. He seemed a class below the Premier League with his selection often being met with much scepticism. However, fast forward two and a half years and ‘Perchinio’ has transformed his Newcastle career in remarkable fashion. Taking this transfer rumour with a pinch of salt, serious questions must be asked if one of our more consistent performers this season is sold.
Beside Pardew’s questionable tactical capabilities, injuries to key players have been highlighted as one of the causes to our dire season. Why then would we sell one of our most versatile players? This season Perch has played across the back four at centre back and full back positions while also occasionally playing at his best position; centre defensive midfield. Newcastle’s injury curse seems no closer to being solved; which other player can fit into all them positions? Anita can certainly play as a full back and centre midfielder but clearly not at centre half. Furthermore, Ryan Taylor is injured for the foreseeable future while Yanga-M’biwa will surely not settle for the job as utility player.
I believe a player like Perch is necessary in any team. A first team player he is not but what he brings to the team is invaluable. Not only hardworking and reliable, Perch has never came out and complained about his role in the team or shied away from filling in at difficult positions and times. Yes, we need to offload a number of players and bring in some more quality. However, these should be players who bring nothing extra to the team such as Obertan, Gosling and Amalfitano not James Perch.
The only positives I can take from this news breaking this morning is that we have replacements lined up; better quality ones. However, as this is Newcastle United I have extreme doubts that that is the case. You can only really comment on how necessary transfers were after the transfer window has closed and a whole squad is there on paper. However, I worry about this transfer.
Patrick Gallagher (@paddygall26)
shifting the goalposts 