Newcastle United attracting stars to St James' Park

Oct 23 2011 by Mark Douglas, Sunday Sun

Selling clubs are usually easier to deal with, and outside the Champions League elite they are aware of their place in the food chain.

Boss Alan Pardew sets the scene: “The club had a strong process in France before I arrived. Graham Carr has a big influence in that particular country, and he’s somebody that we all trust.

“We also have some really good contacts there. Don’t underestimate how important that is. When a player comes through the door, we know what we’re getting.

“We feel that we’re getting good players, good characters. You don’t know for certain whether he’s going to be a success until ultimately he plays but you can have a good idea of what you’re getting.”

It doesn’t end there, though.

Big agents with international players are not the only ones extended Toon’s hospitality.

An agent with several teenage South American prospects was invited to their Benton base during the international break and others with players that may be ready for the Premier League in three to five years are kept in the loop too.

Newcastle’s charm offensive includes engaging with the overseas media.

French journalists and TV cameras have been granted interviews and access over the last few months.

And while the occasional Joey Barton cross-Channel chat might have caused them a few issues, major features on France’s equivalent of Match of the Day have done the trick.

United are also proving that knowledge is power in the recruitment game.

For while reputation might have been enough to persuade them to part with big cash in the past, they are now turning up to meetings with selling clubs and agents armed with reams of information.

No longer do they depend on telephone number wages to dazzle prospective recruits – Pardew can now tell a potential signing WHERE they will play, WHAT is expected of them and even HOW the club can improve their game.

For a player like Cabaye, for example, his summer move was likely to be the most important of his life.

So his agent sought reassurances that United would be a proper platform for him – that they actually knew what they were buying and where he would fit into their strategy.

Armed with stacks of information provided by a scouting team that had collectively carried out five years of background work on him, Pardew was able to soothe any worries the then Lille skipper had.