Newcastle United: Joey Barton and 5 Fortune-Changing Transfers

Buying and selling football players is always something that gets the fans excited, angry or melancholic. For the clubs though, who you buy and sell can have a massive say in your final league position.

Clubs like Newcastle, without the financial clout of billions of barrels of oil behind them, have had to make do with trying to buy players on the cheap. Chief scout Graham Carr has unearthed some gems over the past two seasons.

The following players are, in my opinion, the best bits of business that Newcastle have done to give them this remarkable start to the season.

The all-tackling, all-passing, all-mohawk'd centre midfielder has been a brilliant signing. The Ivorian was plucked from dutch side FC Twente for a modest fee of £3.5m. He has anchored the Newcastle midfield, and stops most attacks through legal—and often illegal—means (14 yellow cards last year, the most in the league).

Impressive performances drew attention from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

Signed for £4.5m from Lille in France, the midfielder has been an ever present force in the Toon this season. The way he has teamed up with Tiote has been one of the key factors in the brilliant start to Newcastle's season (25 points in 11 games, sitting third in the league).

His range of passing is excellent, and he allows for the attacking play of wingers Jonas and Obertan.

Another great player bought for a relatively inexpensive fee.

Demba Ba's boots are on fire. The forward has hit home eight goals in nine games, including two hat-tricks. Newcastle signed him on a free transfer after his contract expired at West Ham, where he scored seven goals in 12 games.

Ba is a real poacher; anything that comes to him in the box tends to end up in the net, he can score with his head (7 total) or with his feet (8).

Another fine piece of business from Newcastle.

Okay, not a recent signing, but the man with the flowing locks has been rock solid this year and looks like one of the top defenders in the league.

He has recently been made the captain of Newcastle and is loving every minute of it. Signed for £8m in 2008, he initially struggled with life in the top flight, however he has since firmly bedded into the side, and has 79 Premier League starts to him name.

Yes, Barton was one of the stand out players for Newcastle last year, but he was also the disruptor in chief, often taking to twitter to lambaste the board.

His departure has been accredited with one of the things that has transformed the side more than one player could: Team spirit. The dressing room at St. James Park is now as harmonious as a Buddhist monastery. Members of the board even join the team on nights out.