Newcastle United: 6 Ways to Transform the Toon Back into a Top 4 Side

Newcastle United are one of the fallen giants of English football.

They came runner-up twice in a row under Kevin Keegan, and the late, great Sir Bobby Robson took them to third and fourth in the league. However, consistency is something that the Geordies have lacked, and in 2008 they were relegated to the Championship.

They have since returned to the top flight, but are a long way from being considered a threat by the big four.  However, by following these six points, they could see their fortunes improving.

No. 1: Stop Selling Key Players

No side will ever improve if they sell their key players. Newcastle United have done just that over the course of the year. 

First to go was Andy Carroll, which left Newcastle without a goal scorer. Kevin Nolan, the club's top scorer over the course of the last year was shown the door, along with Joey Barton.

Two players with Premier League experience, both of them the top performers from last year, shown the door. 

Joe Enrique, one of the best left backs of the year, was also sold—and for a ridiculously small fee of £5m.

No. 2: Get Rid of Mike Ashley

Ashley is not interested in the club becoming a success.

He refuses to put up enough money to properly strengthen the squad. Newcastle made £35m from Carroll and didn't even manage to pay for a striker in the transfer window. They got Demba Ba, but he was on a free.

Newcastle were crying out for another goal scorer—but all Ashley thought of was his bank balance.

Newcastle only have one left back, but once again—Ashley couldn't see any further then his bank statement.

This sorry state of affairs must end if the Toon have any hope for the future.

No. 3: Get Rid of the Mediocre Players

Leon Best and James Perch are examples of this. 

Best failed to score in the league for a whole year, and has since scored only nine times in 30 games. 

James Perch was signed on a four-year deal and has only played 13 games since 2010. 

Shola Ameobi is far and away the worst Premiership footballer I have ever seen. He looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights whenever he gets the ball; he can't shoot and he can't cross.

For a striker to have only scored 48 goals in 240 games for Newcastle is pathetic. Lampard has scored 119 goals for Chelsea, and he is a midfielder.

Alan Smith also needs to go—he is earning £50,000 a week, but can't even make the subs bench.

No. 4: Strength in Depth

Newcastle are thin on the ground in a few positions. Great teams always have good strength in depth, so that an injury to a key player never hurts quite as much.

Newcastle need cover in left back. Ryan Taylor has done a good job at stand-in, but it's obvious that he isn't fully comfortable in the position.

They also need another left winger.  Jonas plays 38 games a year, and if he gets injured we have no out-and-out left winger.

No. 5: Back the Manager

All the best teams—Manchester United, Arsenal—have had steady managers. Tottenham under Harry Redknapp are becoming a strong side.

Newcastle's manager turnover is simply too high. Nobody even knows why Chris Hughton was sacked after winning the Championship and comfortable keeping the side out of the relegation zone.

Alan Pardew looks like he is doing a good job, and he needs to be given four years by Ashley. He needs to be able to build his own team without the fear of the axe.

No. 6: Sign Some Decent Youth Players

All great teams invest in youth.

Manchester United have spent big this year on young players, and it's working. Arsenal have always signed young players and turned them into stars, with Henry and Fabregas being excellent examples of this.

The best player in the world at the moment, Messi, was signed by Barcelona when he has 15.

Newcastle's attempts at signing good youth have been misguided. Hugo Viana, signed for £12m, only played 30 times for Newcastle before being shipped on.

Dan Gosling has had an injury-strewn Toon career, and looks unlikely to break into the starting XI.

The only real bright spark that Newcastle have had is Carroll—but he has been sold.