And given the injury problems that have impacted on our season so far, we had more reason to be relieved than most.  Throughout the autumn Glenn Roeder must have been wishing he could don a balaclava, jimmy open the window on the sly, bundle a couple of handy reinforcements into a bag marked ‘Swag’ and make a swift getaway before anyone at the FA noticed…

And the injury situation really has been (pardon the pun) crippling.  If Derek Wright thought his treatment room felt rather cramped last term, then this time out he really must be pressing for that extension.  So far, from front to back, the following players have missed a significant number of games: Shay Given, Steve Harper, Stephen Carr, Celestine Babayaro, Olivier Bernard, Craig Moore, Titus Bramble, Nolberto Solano, Charles N’Zogbia, Nicky Butt, Damien Duff, Emre, Scott Parker, Kieron Dyer, Obafemi Martins, Shola Ameobi, and of course – of course – Michael Owen.  Put it this way: if Chelsea, with all their millions, suffered so many injuries to key players, they too would struggle to cope.

But struggle we have, in a positive sense, and following a very disappointing start to the season – and the absolute nadir of the home defeat by Sheffield Utd which dropped us to 19^th – things have started to pick up.  Roeder has been insistent that the circumstances have given rise to a new togetherness within the squad, and a refreshingly unfamiliar all-for-one-and-one-for-all determination.  That much has been evident from many of the performances since mid November – not least that with which we saw in 2007, which even drew praise from Fergie himself – but perhaps someone should tell Albert Luque?  It wouldn’t be Newcastle if there wasn’t one malcontent unable to resist grumbling to the papers, though…

The circumstances have also conspired to create some unlikely heroes: most notably, Antoine Sibierski whom many, myself included, regarded as a bizarre signing back in August (and that was being charitable) but who has given everything for the cause while being kicked all over the park – and scored some vital goals in the process.  What’s more, with the likes of Steven Taylor, Peter Ramage, Paul Huntington, and David Edgar finding themselves in the first team, we are at last beginning to see our own Academy bear fruit after years of glancing enviously at the youth team production lines at clubs like Middlesbrough.

Nevertheless, the youngsters have been forced into the frontline sooner than their former mentor Roeder would have wished, and no matter how well they have coped when faced by attacks as potent as Chelsea’s or Man Utd’s over the festive period, it’s essential for their long-term development and confidence that they are eased in gradually rather than lobbed in at the deep end in the hope that they won’t drown.  In that respect, the opening of the transfer window could not have come sooner.

So, what can we expect to our movements to be?  Well, we could do with another striker, particularly with Giuseppe Rossi having been recalled to Old Trafford and Luque likely to sashay off back to Spain – but SURELY this time the director and management team will recognise that they must focus their attentions on recruiting at least a couple of top-class defenders?  With Fat Fred holding the purse strings, though, you never know…  Wayne Bridge, Sylvain Distin, Leighton Baines, Matthew Upson and Gareth Bale have all been mentioned and would all fit the bill, but making a move for any of them – and particularly the latter two – is bound to start a bidding war.

The other issue, of course, is how much we will be prepared to shell out, particularly with European football next season still a relatively remote prospect.  I suspect that if the right players are both available and interested, then funds will be found – but there’s no guarantee.

The danger, as always, is that the transfer window – for which so many of us have waited in anticipation for so long – is seen as some kind of panacea.  It’s not.  A clutch of good signings who stay injury-free can be just the shot in the arm an ailing side needs, but managers can’t be expected to work miracles in the space of a month, and if something happens to be seriously rotten in the state of Denmark then throwing money at it will not make everything all right.

Thankfully we have some cause to believe that we’ve turned a corner (the disappointing results at Bolton and Everton notwithstanding) and are going into the New Year with a measure of form and confidence.  Of course, Birmingham and their cauliflower-nosed plastic Geordie of a manager managed to earn a replay at St. James’ Park, but things could be much worse.  We could be West Ham or Charlton, for a start.

Ben

Black & White & Read All Over

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