Time To Reconsider Xisco

There are plenty of contradictory reports floating around about Luuk de Jong. If the Dutch striker ends up playing somewhere other than Newcastle this fall, where else can the club look? Comb the top scorer lists in France, Holland, and Germany, and you find a bunch of players who don't fit the stated transfer criteria.

Meanwhile, Leon Best, a capable Premier League backup, is officially headed back to the Championship with Blackburn. The squad is thin up front, especially with persistent injury concerns about both Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi. With a heavy fall schedule a definite possibility, it is time for Newcastle to bring Xisco back into the fold.

Geordies should be quite familiar with the enigmatic Spaniard, who I recently profiled over at In Bed With Maradona. Both Xisco and the club share responsibility for four utterly forgettable seasons, three of which were spent on loan in Spain. But the current coaching staff has done wonders with players like James Perch and Ryan Taylor, and Xisco actually has some qualities that could be handy in a substitute forward this season.

A bit like de Jong, he is a tall finesse player, decent in the air and comfortable with the ball at his feet. Neither looks especially quick or strong. What de Jong has that Xisco lacks is a striker's killer instinct, the confidence to try difficult shots from any angle. But Newcastle already has two fantastic finishers in Papiss Cissé and Demba Ba. If paired with either, Xisco could well be a tidy link-up player, using his touch to set up his more clinical teammates.

The early preseason friendlies present a perfect opportunity to try Xisco out. In classic Newcastle fashion, the fixtures are yet to be announced, but apparently a pair of exhibition matches are taking place in Germany on July 13 and 16, against Chemnitzer FC and AS Monaco. Meanwhile, Hatem Ben Arfa has been given extra rest because of his stint in Euro 2012, and Cissé will likely be worked in gradually after suiting up for Senegal's summer World Cup qualifiers. With nothing to lose, why not see what Xisco has to offer?

The other important thing to remember is that Xisco is worth more to Newcastle as a player than he is on the transfer market. Despite scoring two late winners to push Deportivo La Coruna back into La Liga, it will be virtually impossible to find a club willing to buy him, or even to pay his full salary in a loan deal. The Perch treatment - being given a very limited role to start the year, and seeing if the player responds - seems ideal. And just as Perch transformed himself from irrelevant to cult hero in the space of a few months, perhaps Xisco will end up doing the same.

Comments

[M]

are you on smack?!

[Bob]

Xiscinho.

[The Geordie Prophet]

you can tell you aren't a Goerdie.

unfortunately in a ideal world you would be correct, but here in the North East of England we had a man we liked to call the Messiah AKA Kevin Keegan.
one of the main reasons Keegan walked out was due to this man, Xisco and the fact that Keegan didn't want him.

Personally i would like to see him given a chance because i think everyone deserves at least one chance and xisco hasn't even had that.

but unfortunately i think xisco would bring back too many bad memories for a lot of people and you have to remember, he may have scored two late goals for Deportivo but he spent most of the season, as well as the previous season, on the Subs bench.

so unfortunately i dont think he has a place in our side let alone the newly promoted Deportivo side.

In a world where there a flowers, butterflies, walks in the park and holding hards with our lovers this theory might work.
But in Newcastle where there are thorns, moths, chasing makem scum bags across pennywell and divorces. i don't think this is the right place or time for the return for the xisco kid.

[Chris]

I can remember reading last season that if Xisco has one more premier league appearance for us, we will get charged 1 million by deportivo la coruna because of an appearance clause in his contract. So I really can't see him playing for Newcastle again.

[BeeGuy]

Gotta look at Xisco's injury record. I'd expect it would be quite similar to that of Little Saint Mick.

Actually the guy that could fill well for NUFC is The Mighty Nile. He has pace, he can bring the ball down and distribute, he has touch on his passing, and he may learn which side of the post and crossbar to put the finishing touch.

[Jim Richardson]

It would be ironic if either Ranger or Xisco came to our rescue next season , but I'm confident the club will come through with b etter options than that .

[seo services]

hey www.newcastleunited.us und danke Ihnen für Ihre Informationen habe ich auf jeden Fall bis etwas Neues von hier abgeholt. Ich habe auf der anderen Seite erleben einige technische Punkte der Benutzung dieser Website entstehen, da ich auf der Website viele Instanzen vorigen I reload erfahrenen könnte es korrekt geladen werden. Ich war etwa, wenn Ihr Web-Host ist OK gedacht?

[Jaeger]

I'm fine bringing him in for like 2 friendlies...maybe at halftime or something like that to see if he can link up with the players on the pitch at all. i dont think he will succeed at all but why not. bringing in another 1 or 2 strikers is the most important target for the summer. we have enough defensive players to make it by if we dont have any prolonged injuries. but the dembas will be exhausted if they have to play 40+ games this year.

[Matt]

I wasn't on the blog this time last year, so I was basically saying this to myself, but I didn't want NUFC to immediately ship Xisco out on loan last season either. Exactly what you said, Jaeger: give him some time in the friendlies and see what happens. If it doesn't work, then I'm sure Depor will take him back on loan and pay half his salary.

Geordie Prophet: You're spot-on as far as what most fans think about Xisco. It's a shame, because he really had nothing to do with Keegan leaving. Except for Ashley, all those guys are now toast. That being said, he's not blameless (faking injury was a cute stunt). But that was three years ago, the club's stable now, and I hope we can all put it behind us.

You're right about his lack of playing time at Depor. But as it stands, he's fourth choice, and NUFC has five important games from Aug. 18 to Sept. 1. Ashley doesn't overpay for anyone, so the coaching staff needs to think about what happens if a striker doesn't come in. Might as well try him in games that don't count. Otherwise, what happens come September when there's an injury crisis, you have to play him, and have no idea what to expect?

[tomas]

Ok my stpd friends, can u please shut the f up and give him a chance???