Newcastle United: the rest of the transfer window will be absolutely crucial for us, as we are currently at least 4 or 5 players short (add another if Dyer fucks off to West Ham, which, for the record, I hope he does). If Big Sam can get in a couple fullbacks, an experienced centre-back and a holding midfielder then there is no reason why a European spot isn't a realistc goal.
The squad at the moment is very, very thin though, especially in defence (when Steven Carr and Celestine Babayaro are your two first-choice fullbacks you know something is wrong). We could do with a younger defensive midfielder because Nicky Butt - as good as he was last season - hasn't got much left in the tank. Wingers, not an issue; with Duff, Solano, N'Zogbia and Milner there's a nice mix of youth and experience, and we're pretty tasty up front too.
A cup run would be ace, but I don't expect us to challenge for anything until after a couple of years of steady progress really.
I like what Big Sam's done so far though, he should get a knighthood for peddling Bramble alone
. He's everything Glenn Roeder isn't; a manager with an impeccable grasp on the fitness side of things and a man with an uncanny ability to get the best out of his players... hell, it even looks like Albert Luque could be useful for us next season.
For the first time in many years I'm optimistic about the future of my football team; I'm not sure if I like it, really...