Bobby Robson has been forced to put his bid to bring the world's best young talent to Tyneside on hold after admitting that the combination of a spiralling transfer market and Newcastle's poor Premiership season means the club's priorities lie elsewhere.

[so far so good]

The Magpies' manager has one of the best scouting networks in Europe and United's staff know all about the best emerging players at home and abroad.

[4 South Americans, 3 Englishmen and an Irishman later we are yet to feel the benefit of this. Is this "One of the best scouting networks in Europe" in the same way we have the "best stadium in Europe"?]

Robson was represented at several key fixtures during the recent Uefa Under-16 Champion-ships

[He gave the England team a pep-talk before they lost heavily to France in other words.]

but the former England boss admitted: "The race for young talent is hairy. In the old days you could spot a player's potential and nick him for less than £1m but clubs are wise to what will happen now and it's just not possible.

[Ooh, surely not the kind of sharp practices we are all so heavily against, surely?]

"A club in our position cannot afford to pay big money for a kid who might not make it because we need ready-made players who can come straight into the first team. We are very open-minded when it comes to keeping an eye on youngsters but it's becoming more and more difficult to make a move."

[Gavilan, O'Brien, Lua Lua....6mil+]

Although United will continue to pursue the best young local talent to feed into their increasingly successful Academy, Robson is talking about teenage players who have already broken into first teams elsewhere and youngsters who would command a substantial fee in today's transfer market.

[What academy? Postcode please]

Newcastle have watched Nottingham Forest's David Prutton (pictured) this season and know all about Crewe striker Dean Ashton but both teenagers are rated in the £3m-plus bracket - despite their lack of top-flight experience.

[And yet this crap started off by telling us that we were no longer looking to sign young talent.]

Abroad the situation is just as critical with clubs increasingly determined to sign their star men to long-term contracts and keen to maximise their income, should the decision be made to sell.

[So to recap: we aren't buying any more young home-grown players but would be using "one of the best scouting networks in Europe" only they aren't selling over there anymore. Sorry.]

Last month The Journal revealed that Robson had run the rule over Ajax midfielder Rafael van der Vaart (above) but it is understood the Amsterdam club have slapped a £5m price tag on a player enjoying his first season in the Dutch First Division. "I have watched him a couple of times and he's a fine player," admitted Robson. "I like him a lot but I cannot see Ajax selling him unless they were offered a massive amount of money."

[Aha! Let's have 5% of our 100mil Dougie]

Robson is not alone in his admiration for van der Vaart and a host of leading European clubs are continuing to monitor the 17-year-old's progress. The United manager watched the left-winger make his Under-21 debut against Portugal last month and was so impressed he travelled to Holland the following weekend to take in Ajax's game with Nijmegen. However, it has since emerged that Ajax have drawn up a five-year deal to keep their prize asset in the Netherlands and a source close to the club claimed: "He is simply un-gettable. "The club will never sell him unless it's for a phenomenal amount of money and at 17 there is absolutely no need for Ajax to cash in."

[So in other words we won't be signing him. May as well run the rule over Del Piero, Totti, Batistuta and Rivaldo if we aren't bothered whether or not we have a realistic chance of signing the players.]

Thankfully, Newcastle academy director Alan Irvine is supplying his manager with a host of homegrown players and for the first time in a decade the Magpies are beginning to compete with the likes of Manchester United, Leeds and Liverpool in terms of developing genuinely gifted juniors.

[Okay, so 2 of the juniors have broken into the reserve team. Since when does 2 people constitute a host? The last line is so ridiculous it's hardly worth reading.]

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Answers

Sadly softie i too smelt the same horseshit as you, and i hate to admit i think its the first signs of a real crisis.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Couple that with the way they've thrown up there arms in horror at the 10 mill price tag put on Sikora by Vitesse and it's beginning to look like Mr. Robson might have his work cut out to get his hands on any of this summer cash.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

After all, we do our most astute transfer dealings before the Summer: Hamilton, Tomasson...;-)

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

"A club in our position cannot afford to pay big money for a kid who might not make it because we need ready-made players who can come straight into the first team".

That's the piece I prefer to focus on - at the very least it suggests that BR may have realised that a few more Luax2's is not going to change our short-term prospects which could be really dire if we don't strengthen the squad with proven talent, and now.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Yeah, but the worrying thing is he clearly thought LLL was ready to come straight in when he signed him, and I suspect the same goes for Gavilan. Now they'll try and make out these were players for the future - bollocks. We needed immediate first teamers when these players were signed - Cordone...don't even GO THEEEERE! - and we still do. Sorry to predictably bring out the RG and KD words, but as far as I can see YBR's done no better then his predecessors, except insofar as the players don't hate him. And that's just because the power clique - Shearer/Lee/Barton or whoever - can just toss it off in the knowledge that a weak staff haven't got the nous to shake their collars.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

BR's is certainly not above criticism Dan. However, let's keep a sense of proportion.

KD inherited a good squad of players that needed some tinkering, took out all the flair and replaced it largely with cr@p. TDO completed the demolition.

BR inherited in Club at rock bottom in more ways than one, a total shambles. He got basically the same players playing for the Club and their pride again. In doing so he saved us from the Nationwide, no doubt about it.
He has got rid of most of the acquired dross, substantially reduced the wage bill, and the treatment room queues, and spent a nett £2mm - not very wisely admittedly. However, I really believe that apart from Cort and Bassedas he has generally bought what he felt could afford rather than what he really wanted.

I will admit that this season something has gone wrong. Injuries are partly to blame, but there something more to it. The senior players who were largely responsible with BR for rescuing last season are a year older, are increasnngly struggling to last the pace, and several need to be replaced. This is certainly another factor.

My instinct is that the players, for whatever reason have lost some respect for Bobby and his coaching ability. However, perhaps some of them, like us, have become utterly frustrated and disenchanted with the Club hierachy and their apparent inability to respond to the blindingly obvious - the need to improve/strengthen the squad.

My real concern is just how much damage has been done to Bobby's standing/credibility in the dressing room because of all of this. I have to say I'm very concerned now about his ability to take us forward, and while I don't wish to have to even consider yet another change of Team Manager, it may sadly prove to be be inevitable.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

I believe replacing YBR at this stage would set us back another season or two. However, I think he needs a good (nay, potentially great) assistant who will command the respect of the less established players. Is Shearer this man? I'm not sure. I really would like to see YBR have a long-term role with NUFC. He has a shed-load of experience. We'd be foolish to hoy that away. The main factor behind this is planning. I know a few who aren't convinced we are capable of that ;-)

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

I still reckon we need to get shot of Wadsworth.

KK lost it when Fazackerly left.

KD never had it

TDO ditto

YBR did well until Steve Clarke left.

If Als knee is OK we'll start picking up again but I don't think we can rely on that. We need to get the lads playing as a unit. Anybody who watched Liverpool on Saturday and Bayern tonight saw 2 teams who were 110% together - we're a collection of parts that need work. Coaches do this.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

On this point of team bonding etc etc. Are any of the current team actually good friends with each other? I wouldn't say so by what I see on the pitch. You can see the Lee, Speed, Shearer and Barton group being cliquey but are any of our young guns good mates?

We can't expect them to perform if they don't get on in every day life.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2001