It is unfortunate that any Premiership team has to rely on the overseas football market for players but you have to say Wilfred Zaha is becoming all to classic an example. £18M for someone who has no Premiership experience, is an excellent talent no doubt and loaned back to his current club to get more experience. That said the big 4/5 Premiership clubs are the makers of their own misfortune in the overinflated values they have paid and are paying.
So for the cost of Wilfred Zaha, the Toon have bought 4 players of which 3 are French Internationals, I know where my money would have gone. It would be nice to do both but NUFC don't have the funds to do that. As for how NUFC will do, they'll stay up if they win against Southampton next as it will give them momentum but they need more reinforcements in the summer from wherever given Simpson will go, Guttierez is starting to struggle, Collo will be gone, Shola isn't up to it and Cisse needs a shrink to work out where his form his gone. 3 points and 3 of the 4 teams above us to lose it is mid-table, it is that close at present.
As much as Pardew has the contract, it shows to an extent the ambition of the club based on its business model in that we will always be happy finishing 4-6th and never challenge for the title because he is not up to that task. And to a certain extent I agree as I would rather the club works as a business in the black from its own revenue streams and is good entertainment to watch rather than title winners with 100's of millions in debt and administration looming around the corner like in the days of Shepherd. Just wish Ashley and his mouthpiece Lambarse would work on their PR.