As the summer transfer window closed, the club had failed to use the 8 months since the sale of the former number 9 shirt to properly identify and land a striker as a replacement.  Two strikers were brought in on frees in the interceding time... Shefki Kuqi was not quite as successful as Demba Ba has been, if we're being honest.  The failure to identify and sign a striker in the window did not stop the Newcastle brass from throwing a couple of very late (and ostensibly honest) offers that were rejected and/or passed up for offers from other clubs.  Here's a little check-in on how those "targets" and other rumored NUFC targets have fared in the mean time:

Demba Ba (free transfer) - Newcastle

10 games started, 2 subs, 9 goals, 1 assist.

... and now a look at who we "missed out on"

Bryan Ruiz (£10m fee) - Fulham

2 games started, 7 subs, 1goal, 0 assist.

Gervinho (£10.5 fee reported) - Arsenal

13 games started, 2 subs, 2 goals, 6 assists.

Kevin Gameiro (around £9.5m) - PSG

15 games started, 0 sub, 8 goals, 1 assist.

Danny Graham (£3.5m fee) - Swansea City

11 games started, 1 sub, 4 goals, 1 assist.

Connor Wickham (£12m fee) - Scum

3 games started, 7 sub, 1 goal, 0 assist.

Moussa Sow (did not transfer) - Lille

17 games started, 2 subs, 8 goals, 2 assists.

Jay Bothroyd (free transfer) - QPR

7 games started, 4 subs, 2 goals, 1 assist

Shane Long (£4.5m fee) - WBA

11 games started, 0 subs, 4 goals, 0 assist.

Carlton Cole (did not transfer) West Ham United

9 games started, 5 subs, 6 goals, 2 assists.

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (£4.3m fee) - Ajax

8 games started, 0 subs, 5 goals, 0 assist.

Cheikh Diabate (did not transfer) - Bordeaux

13 match appearances, 4 goals

Ji-Dong Won (£2m fee) - Scum

11 match appearances, 1 goal

Jose Salomon Rondon (did not transfer) - Malaga

10 match appearances, 1 goal

Jeremie Aliadiere (free agent) - Lorient

7 games started, 3 subs, 2 goals, 0 assist

Robert Snodgrass (did not transfer) - Leeds United

19 match appearances, 4 goals

Jose Maria Callejon (£4.7m fee) - Real Madrid

4 games started, 8 subs, 5 goals, 0 assist.

Looks like we didn't come out too badly, regardless the bur under the saddle that is the lack of investment of that £35m.