I have yet to speak to anyone who isn't surprised at Newcastle's decision to sell Kevin Nolan - their captain and main source of inspiration. A huge gaping hole has been left in their midfield, and all because they wouldn't offer him one more year on top of their two year contract extension offer.
I suspect that manager Alan Pardew hasn't had much say in the deal, given he has already expressed his desire – several times – to keep the player at the club.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that when the club was in the Championship Nolan was one of the players who dragged the club up by the bootstraps and hauled them back into the Premier League at the first time of asking. Those who bet on Premier League weekend games will know how vital he was for them last season as well.
He will now be walking into a similar situation as Upton Park, though he will also be joined by his former manager, and mentor, Sam Allardyce.
With Scott Parker set to leave the London club I don't think the Hammers could have got a better replacement. He is the all-action lead-by-example sort of player Parker is and plus he knows what it takes to get out of the Championship.
I can understand why Newcastle want a policy of signing young players, but experience is also crucial to any side as well – just look at Man United and their reliance on the likes of Giggs and Scholes in the games that mattered. Those following the Premier League promotions should bear this in mind.
Newcastle never won a game last season when Nolan wasn't in the side - the heartbeat of a team shouldn't be tampered with lightly, the collateral damage could make things worse, see the reaction of Joey Barton as evidence of that.
But Newcastle's insistence to chop and change - needlessly flying in the face of logic in the process - may put them in serious danger once again next season.
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