I've heard it a few times now but we are finally being noticed by various people in and around the media....however they cant help to add that we have played 'easy fixtures'.
Albeit, we have played teams at the right time Arsenal were in disaray, Sunderland look ****e, Fulham are knackered already, QPR had a team full of new players (with no strikers), Aston Villa look a shambles and Blackburn look even worse.
However, these fixtures are only easy for one of the top 6 teams. Are we a Top 6 team?! No! Nobody will label us with that. So are their any easy fixtures for a club that are looking to finish in mid table? In fact, a lot of people say we are going down this season. So how the hell can a team that are supposedly going to finish 18th...had easy fixtures?!!
Surely the easy fixture has been for our opposition? No?
If you play Arsenal, Sunderland away, Fulham, QPR away, Villa away and Blackburn how many points would you have said we would look for in these games? I would say the optimistic of us would have us down for around 8 realistically. Some pundits would have us down for just 2 not naming any names Paul Merson, or 4 or 5 Mark Lawrenson.
But no, a team that has had its worse pre-season in living memory, that have lost their most influential players and have failed to find a proven striker are sitting 4th on 12 points....and more importantly are their on merit. We have played immense in a few of these games. Totally dominated Villa and Blackburn for e.g. Lawrenson said on motd "Yes, they won, but they played against Blackburn which was an easy game" Yea, the same Blackburn side that beat Arsenal last week and have won 6 games in a row at St James Park. We made it look easy due to our total dominance of them.
I for one hope all of these imbeciles keep ignoring us or putting us down, even if it's ever so slightly, because I prefer us to be against these knobs proving them wrong rather then have them jinx us with their horsesh*t.
Keep up the good work lads. From what I have seen in the rest of the league, the 7th place 'best of the rest' league position is a realistic target and I hope we get it.............as long as we keep wining these 'easy' games obviously!
HTL HWTL!
Newcastle United Blog - brought to you by @ToonBano
Carroll To Come Back In January?!
As I foresightly/optimistically predicted back on February 1st whilst Andy Carroll was finalising a deal at Liverpool, the scouse fans are already starting to turn on the lad from Tyneside based on his lack of impact but more importantly, because of the ridiculous price tag around his neck. For someone so inexperienced to be signed for £35million was a bit ridiculous and as much as I didn't want him to leave, you just can't turn that down!
Liverpool fans have a history of running players out of town when they decide in all their wisdom, they aren't good enough for their team. Robbie Keane & Paul Konchesky lasted 6 months. Joe Cole, Alberto Aqualani, Milan Jovanovic, Craig Bellamy, Andrei Voronin all lasted 12 months. These were high profile signings with an element of excitement and expectation. Both of these emotions became solvent and off they went out the same door they came in, in a very short amount of time. Will Andy Carroll do the same? At the moment, it seriously looks like it.
What pissed me off beyond belief was the 'transfer request' debacle which Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias totally fabricated themselves. We all know DL and MA were never going to reject the £35million. It's what they wanted, and they got it. Derek Llambias has even said the exact words 'We couldn't turn down £35million'. So why did they insist on having a transfer request from Andy Carroll for the sake of saving themselves a few bob on bonus money owed to Carroll and making themselves look like the good guys and totally destroying Andy Carroll's name with a lot of people on Tyneside?! Why? If NUFC had sold AC and simply said the words, 'It was too good to turn down', nobody would have criticised them. Not even me! But they didn't. They acted like the conniving scheister's that they are.
By the time January comes around Andy Carroll may be nothing but a bench warmer and out of favour with the Anfield massive. If this is the case then there is only one striker in the world I want to see where the Newcastle No.9 shirt....and that's Andy Carroll. Looking for a replacement for Carroll has proven to be an impossible task. Their just isn't anyone out their of the significant quality, availability, price tag or interest in playing for NUFC to take on the role. So why bother? Why not just sign the man himself back for a significantly less some, if not on loan until the end of the season?
If you think the above is impossible and would never happen....two words. Robbie Keane. £20million Liverpool signed him for, he was considered a flop and was back at White Hart Lane for £12million. All within 6 months!!
If it weren't for the 'transfer request' issue plus the fact some fans just don't accept under any circumstances a player leaving full stop, bringing him back for less money than we sold him for would be a no brainer. It certainly is in my brain. However, AC gets a rough ride from some Toon fans whenever his name is mentioned and sadly that can't be ignored. Hopefully, if he were to sign for us these fan's are fickle enough to accept him just as quick as they turned on him, when he bags a few goals.
All this is hypothetical obviously as we are in September and he is still part of their first team squad, albeit slipping down the pecking order. But if he were to be in a position where his time at Liverpool is untenable come January, similar to Robbie Keane, then I for one hope we bring him back so he can finish what he threatened to start and become a Geordie No.9 Legend. If we don't sign him back, somebody else will!
Liverpool fans have a history of running players out of town when they decide in all their wisdom, they aren't good enough for their team. Robbie Keane & Paul Konchesky lasted 6 months. Joe Cole, Alberto Aqualani, Milan Jovanovic, Craig Bellamy, Andrei Voronin all lasted 12 months. These were high profile signings with an element of excitement and expectation. Both of these emotions became solvent and off they went out the same door they came in, in a very short amount of time. Will Andy Carroll do the same? At the moment, it seriously looks like it.
What pissed me off beyond belief was the 'transfer request' debacle which Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias totally fabricated themselves. We all know DL and MA were never going to reject the £35million. It's what they wanted, and they got it. Derek Llambias has even said the exact words 'We couldn't turn down £35million'. So why did they insist on having a transfer request from Andy Carroll for the sake of saving themselves a few bob on bonus money owed to Carroll and making themselves look like the good guys and totally destroying Andy Carroll's name with a lot of people on Tyneside?! Why? If NUFC had sold AC and simply said the words, 'It was too good to turn down', nobody would have criticised them. Not even me! But they didn't. They acted like the conniving scheister's that they are.
By the time January comes around Andy Carroll may be nothing but a bench warmer and out of favour with the Anfield massive. If this is the case then there is only one striker in the world I want to see where the Newcastle No.9 shirt....and that's Andy Carroll. Looking for a replacement for Carroll has proven to be an impossible task. Their just isn't anyone out their of the significant quality, availability, price tag or interest in playing for NUFC to take on the role. So why bother? Why not just sign the man himself back for a significantly less some, if not on loan until the end of the season?
If you think the above is impossible and would never happen....two words. Robbie Keane. £20million Liverpool signed him for, he was considered a flop and was back at White Hart Lane for £12million. All within 6 months!!
If it weren't for the 'transfer request' issue plus the fact some fans just don't accept under any circumstances a player leaving full stop, bringing him back for less money than we sold him for would be a no brainer. It certainly is in my brain. However, AC gets a rough ride from some Toon fans whenever his name is mentioned and sadly that can't be ignored. Hopefully, if he were to sign for us these fan's are fickle enough to accept him just as quick as they turned on him, when he bags a few goals.
All this is hypothetical obviously as we are in September and he is still part of their first team squad, albeit slipping down the pecking order. But if he were to be in a position where his time at Liverpool is untenable come January, similar to Robbie Keane, then I for one hope we bring him back so he can finish what he threatened to start and become a Geordie No.9 Legend. If we don't sign him back, somebody else will!
Would you have him back?
Most Resilient Football Club In Premier League History
I'd just like to congratulate a Football Club that sits in the higher echelons of the Premier League and that are still unbeaten.
That have won both League Cup games and are looking forward to the 4th round draw on Saturday.
That have stretched there unbeaten run to 10 games!
Who am I congratulating? Man Utd surely...? Man City then...? No. Step forward Newcastle Utd football club of course!!
...........and this is after having the worst pre-season in living memory, after (mistakingly) selling top scorer and captain Kevin Nolan, after selling want-a-way (best) left back in the league Jose Enrique, after (wrongly) releasing most influential player Joey Barton for free, after having a net spend of precisely zero on transfer fees and after (annoyingly and frustratingly) not spent any money on a decent striker to replace Andy Carroll!
NUFC are without doubt THE most resilient football club in the Premier League and it's history. It doesn't matter what handicaps come our way, from all kind of directions including self inflicted, this football club will always carry on regardless and fight to win football matches. Harchester Utd in Dream Team can only claim to have had more sh*t thrown against them....and they were crap!
To be a NUFC fan is something of a unique experience, just going through last night's 4-3 thriller at Nott'm Forest is the latest example. Long may the season continue and anyone who thinks Blackburn is just gonna be a straight forward win....very optimistic of you.
Oh and their is one more thing............it's alway's emotional.
Total Dominance!
Villa 1-1 NUFC.
Totally dominated this game from start to finish. Aston Villa had nothing. Saylor tried his best to give them something, he has to have at least one Kamikaze moment that lad!!
Should have won. How Aston Villa are still unbeaten this year is a mystery! They were horrendous and clueless. McLeish isnt a good manager.
Best looks like he is stepping up to the plate and take some responsibility. He deserved a goal. Shola did well didn't he.....?? Sammy's the man.
Cabaye was absolutely awesome. Cracking signing. Fair play to the people involved in bringing him in. If it wasn't for Shay Given showing why he is still the best keeper in the league, he would have had a goal. That shot against the bar was immense. Only downer he had to square that ball right at the end. Cant believe he f*cked that up. 3 points on a plate.
I'll take the 1-1, but showed who the better team is. 54% possession, 21 shots on goal, 13 on target, 9 corners (according to BBC) 1-1 totally flatters Villa!!
2 key moments against us: Coloccini shocking defending for their goal; Cabaye should have squared it for a tap in at the end.
Apart from the QPR game, no-one can say we don't deserve to be where we are.
Undefeated. Keep it up!!
P.S. I wanna see Marveaux start instead of Obertan next game.
HWTL!
Totally dominated this game from start to finish. Aston Villa had nothing. Saylor tried his best to give them something, he has to have at least one Kamikaze moment that lad!!
Should have won. How Aston Villa are still unbeaten this year is a mystery! They were horrendous and clueless. McLeish isnt a good manager.
Best looks like he is stepping up to the plate and take some responsibility. He deserved a goal. Shola did well didn't he.....?? Sammy's the man.
Cabaye was absolutely awesome. Cracking signing. Fair play to the people involved in bringing him in. If it wasn't for Shay Given showing why he is still the best keeper in the league, he would have had a goal. That shot against the bar was immense. Only downer he had to square that ball right at the end. Cant believe he f*cked that up. 3 points on a plate.
I'll take the 1-1, but showed who the better team is. 54% possession, 21 shots on goal, 13 on target, 9 corners (according to BBC) 1-1 totally flatters Villa!!
2 key moments against us: Coloccini shocking defending for their goal; Cabaye should have squared it for a tap in at the end.
Apart from the QPR game, no-one can say we don't deserve to be where we are.
Undefeated. Keep it up!!
P.S. I wanna see Marveaux start instead of Obertan next game.
HWTL!
Dodgy Agent Fees in Barton Deal.
It is being reported in The Sun and other media outlets that their are 'irregularities' in the Joey Barton free transfer to QPR in regard's to agent fees. Apparently Barton's agent Willie McKay made himself a cool £1.3million out of the deal but their were also payments of £1.2million made to another company involved in the deal. Which is concerning the FA.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3812830/Agents-coin-25m-from-Joey-Bartons-free-transfer.html
Willie McKay made the shrewd move to not actually represent Joey in the deal and chose to represent QPR instead, which loopholes a host of things during a transfer as regards to tax, payments, etc. In a nut shell he has made himself as much money out of the deal as he could, as has Joey Barton. After all, Barton didn't have to pay McKay as he wasn't representing him, Joey was representing himself. Nice work gentleman.
I could be cynical and say they have acted like crook's or croney's but to be honest I don't care. TBH I probably would have done the same if it's legal. However, what I do care about is NUFC. So my point in all of this is:- So what the hell have NUFC made out of this transfer? Answer: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
What's obvious from the above is QPR were adamant they wanted Barton to join their team and were willing to shed out a few million to get the deal done. So why in the hell have NUFC let this player go for free?! NUFC could and should have made at the very least a tidy some of around £1million from this deal. When you look at the fact that, now free spending, QPR have shelved out £2.5million on agent fees, £1.5million on a signing on fee, £40-£60k a week in wages in a 4 year deal, plus a bonus of £250,000 to Barton if QPR stay up....a modest transfer fee to NUFC wouldn't have stopped them in their tracks would it?!?!
Adding up the total cost to QPR reads about: £4million in fees + £10million contract = £14million. £14million!!
NUFC have made = £0. Absolutely nothing, except getting him off the wage bill.
Totally ridiculous.
And people say Mike Ashley is a financial whizzkid!?!!!!?!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3812830/Agents-coin-25m-from-Joey-Bartons-free-transfer.html
Willie McKay made the shrewd move to not actually represent Joey in the deal and chose to represent QPR instead, which loopholes a host of things during a transfer as regards to tax, payments, etc. In a nut shell he has made himself as much money out of the deal as he could, as has Joey Barton. After all, Barton didn't have to pay McKay as he wasn't representing him, Joey was representing himself. Nice work gentleman.
I could be cynical and say they have acted like crook's or croney's but to be honest I don't care. TBH I probably would have done the same if it's legal. However, what I do care about is NUFC. So my point in all of this is:- So what the hell have NUFC made out of this transfer? Answer: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
What's obvious from the above is QPR were adamant they wanted Barton to join their team and were willing to shed out a few million to get the deal done. So why in the hell have NUFC let this player go for free?! NUFC could and should have made at the very least a tidy some of around £1million from this deal. When you look at the fact that, now free spending, QPR have shelved out £2.5million on agent fees, £1.5million on a signing on fee, £40-£60k a week in wages in a 4 year deal, plus a bonus of £250,000 to Barton if QPR stay up....a modest transfer fee to NUFC wouldn't have stopped them in their tracks would it?!?!
Adding up the total cost to QPR reads about: £4million in fees + £10million contract = £14million. £14million!!
NUFC have made = £0. Absolutely nothing, except getting him off the wage bill.
Totally ridiculous.
And people say Mike Ashley is a financial whizzkid!?!!!!?!
Above: Willie McKay, "Hello Mike?, thanks for your help in the Barton deal. I'm off on holiday..!"
Response to NUFC Board Answers
Looking at the responses from the NUFC board to the questions from the fan's in my earlier post; a few things stand out to me.
NUFC: "Assuming a tenth place league position, that gives us a wages-to-turnover ratio of approximately 65 per cent."
It seems we have a 65% wage ratio. So given we have a turnover of £100m for being a Premier League club and an average operating costs of around £20-£25million, last season should have seen us make a tidy Net profit of £10-£15million........not including massive transfer money gained!! But yet we still had transfer spend this summer of practically ZERO! Will be nice, interesting reading when the finance details are released.
NUFC: "The fee offered was a deal too good to turn down".
"That’s just one side of the equation of course. On the other side is a player, and one I would add that we have the greatest respect for. He could see an incredibly attractive opportunity for him too. Eventually both the club and the player agreed that a deal would be in the best interests of both parties."
It seems clear from this that the club couldn't refuse to turn down the Andy Carroll transfer fee, so to create the 'transfer request' controversary they did, for the sake of saving a few bob on bonus money that would have been owed to Carroll due to selling him when he was still under contract, totally crippling his name and reputation amongst 'his own' geordie fans, was and is a total disgrace. I knew it at the time, and with every quote from all parties involved since, it becomes more and more clear that Andy Carroll doesn't deserve the label of 'Judas' that he has with a large amount of NUFC fans. Which obviously harms any chance of the lad coming back to the club at some point in the future to finish what he started. Which the rest of us NUFC fans, who recognise the shenanigans of the board, are hoping will happen. Shocking!!
Some of the NUFC board quotes are acceptable, seem genuine to believe and are pretty obvious in places, however in general:
You may be able to fool the sheep who follow our football club; but some of us can see the wood from the trees at a 100 miles away. The smell of bullshit is also overpowering at times. I have learned nothing from these responses, except the views I already have are pretty much confirmed and set in stone.
We are ran by bullshitting, self-sympathising, incompetent clowns. End of. The sooner this black n white double act are long gone from our neck of the woods, the sooner this football club will finally meet its potential again.
What other fine mess do they have up their sleeves next?!
NUFC Board Answer Fans Questions!
The Evening Chronicle's much publicised question and answer session with the Newcastle United board has been published.
There are 14 selected questions from the fans, with all the answers below. How The Chronicle couldn't find an extra worthy question to make it a nice round 15 is a strange one. An additional question from my point of view would be; Just what exact pleasure does Mike Ashley get from being NUFC owner? Is seems to be the biggest mistake of his life, which he still gets abuse and criticism for, in which he continues to make ridiculous decisions and mistakes; but yet he is still here?!?! Why? Unfortunately my question hasn't been asked but here are the questions that were:
1. Where's the money that was pledged to be reinvested in the squad after the sale of Andy Carroll gone?
We made it clear when we sold Andy that the fee we received would stay in the club, and it has.
The money will be spent prudently within the club and on new players as and when we are in a position to do so. We didn't promise to spend all the money in this window. Money will be available going forward, for the right player at the right time. If the club had been able to move on other transfer targets this summer, then more money would have been spent.
It's a point we've mentioned before, but transfer fees are only one part of the cost incurred in signing players. A free transfer mistakenly indicates that it is without cost to the club, but no transfer is actually free. Most supporters will be aware that the agents fees, signing on fees and salaries are inflated in deals with free agents.
Our wage bill this season will increase by seven percent as a result of the business we've done, including new deals for existing players. Assuming a tenth place league position, that gives us a wages-to-turnover ratio of approximately 65 per cent.
Any suggestions that the owner has in some way profited from the sale of Andy are absolutely untrue.
2. Why is there such a lack of communication with the fans from Mike Ashley and his board?
When Mike Ashley bought the club back in 2007, we were keen to engage with supporters and did so with some regularity.
As a result of some of the things we’ve done in the past there will always be fans who will not like nor believe what we have to say. The upshot is that when we speak publicly more often than not we are criticised.
Some football club owners and board members talk regularly in public and enjoy it, others don’t. We much prefer to concentrate on running the club and letting the football do the talking.
After the statement I made last week, it was interesting to read comments from some supporters saying “I just wish they’d shut up!” Of course everyone has a different view, that’s football for you, which as we all know is a very passionate game.
We understand the natural appetite for information and the need for fans to have clarity on the direction we’re taking the club. It’s why we have committed to an annual mission statement from the board, along with regular communications from our media department.
Last year the media team facilitated over 500 interviews with the manager, players and other club officials which demonstrates that the club does place importance on communicating with fans.
3. In 2009 you outlined your plans for the club at a fans forum. Can you give us an update on how you see our position now against that plan and if it has changed? What is the long-term plan for Newcastle United?
Since that fans forum meeting in 2009, the club is now on a far sounder footing. Financially we are in much better shape, even taking into account the impact of relegation.
We urgently had to address a number of problems and we’ve made great strides in that respect.
Our long-term plan off the field is to make sure that Newcastle United is self-financing, which in turn will allow us to invest in the squad, our youth development system and our facilities, without having to rely on additional financial support from the owner. There aren’t many clubs in England who can hope to achieve that.
It’s obviously our football ambitions that supporters are understandably more interested in. This year we’ve set ourselves the target of a top ten finish in the Premier League.
In the coming years we will continue to build the club sustainably. We have a generous owner, but we don’t have the bottomless pockets that some clubs do. At the moment we cannot compete with the financial strength of the top six.
We are not a club willing to take a reckless approach and permit spending beyond our means, the result of which can be crippling at best and bankruptcy at worst. Instead we have a realistic view of what we can achieve at Newcastle and how quickly we can achieve it.
4. Can you justify why it took seven months to pursue a striker before failing at the eleventh hour to secure a signing?
We understand fans’ frustrations - we share them, as does the manager.
Despite what many may think we didn’t leave it late, in fact we started our search the minute Andy Carroll left. It’s difficult to convey the amount of work that goes into the process of scouting, assessing and analysing players to ensure that anyone brought into the club is of the right age, quality, character and team fit.
We have to be certain that our targets have the strengths and skills that complement the current squad and the balance of the side. Then of course there’s the transfer fees and wages to get right. The fee we received from the sale of Andy Carroll was a windfall, but it’s not money we can afford to waste, so prudence and adherence to our strict transfer policy is important.
The manager and our scouting team identified a number of targets very early in the year and we worked hard to secure those players as soon as possible. There are three parties involved in any deal; the buyer, the seller and the player, and deals can fall down for any number of reasons brought about by any one of those parties. Unfortunately it wasn’t until very late in the window that negotiations broke down.
At that stage we turned our attention to other available players on our shortlist. However we will not compromise our transfer policy by making rash and costly signings that are not right for this club. Many clubs live to regret knee-jerk business decisions conducted in the final few days of the window. We have no interest in players reaching the end of their careers who are offered for extortionate fees and demand long-term contracts and high wages.
The details of our negotiations in the window must remain confidential; suffice to say that despite our best efforts unfortunately we were unable to agree the right deal for an additional striker.
5. Public opinion on Tyneside from large sections of fans is that they no longer trust statements coming out of the club after several empty promises. What assurances can you give fans that they can believe what the club tells them?
We don’t feel we’ve made empty promises. Sometimes in these situations it’s impossible to win.
If we say nothing we are criticised. If we state our intentions and they are not realised, we are criticised.
Going back to the sale of Andy Carroll, just to reiterate we did not promise to spend all the money from that transfer in the summer. We said that not a penny would be taken out of the club and that is exactly what we have done.
In relation to Andy, it’s worth addressing the issue that upset fans back in January. Yes, we said repeatedly that Andy Carroll was not for sale. On reflection perhaps we should have chosen our words more carefully. We had no intention of selling Andy Carroll.
If I can draw an analogy: My house is not for sale. In fact you could offer me twice what it is worth and it would still not be for sale because it has a personal value to me right now that is greater than twice the price. But if someone knocks on my door with a truly extraordinary figure, a sum which I had never imagined would be offered, then there comes a time when I have to seriously consider it.
The same is true in football. We could not have imagined when we rejected offers for Andy of £25m and £30m that any bid in excess of that would be tabled. And that was our position in January: do we continue stubbornly to refuse to sell at any price, or is the offer now so high that it deserves serious consideration. The fee offered was a deal too good to turn down.
That’s just one side of the equation of course. On the other side is a player, and one I would add that we have the greatest respect for. He could see an incredibly attractive opportunity for him too. Eventually both the club and the player agreed that a deal would be in the best interests of both parties. Was it ideal that the bid came in on the final day of the window? No, but we stand by our decision that it was in the best interests of the club despite it being too late to bring in a replacement. Without Andy, we still achieved a very credible finishing position in the league.
So our statements that Andy was not for sale were not disingenuous. We had no intention of selling Andy, not at £25m, nor at £30m. Because we had never anticipated the vast sum eventually tabled then to all intents and purposes he was not for sale.
If some fans feel the can no longer trust what we say, that’s a shame, but all we can do is continue to tell it as we see it and hope that people will take us at our word.
6. Given that level 7 was deserted in some parts at the Fulham game, is there any reason why those who want to sing can't all be sat together rather than upsetting fans who don't want to sing, which appears to be the problem in the Strawberry corner? What has caused the club to fundamentally change its stance to standing in the stadium?
I think it’s worth restating the reasons behind the changes we’ve made to Level 7.
The Family Enclosure last season was extremely popular, so much so that demand regularly outstripped supply. It’s important for us to be a family friendly club and to encourage an atmosphere where future generations of supporters feel welcome and are properly catered for.
Given that our previous Family Enclosure wasn’t large enough to accommodate all those wishing to sit there, we took the decision to extend it from 5,000 to 6,500 seats, making it the largest dedicated family area in the Premier League. The sensible thing to do was to extend the existing enclosure into the North West corner, rather than ring-fence a separate pocket of seats elsewhere in the stadium.
The positive result of this has been that we now have an additional 1,000 children and their parents with season tickets in the Family Enclosure this year.
Understandably those fans who had to move seats as a result were disappointed to do so. Whilst it heralded the end of the Level 7 ‘singing section’, we didn’t want to create a new singing section elsewhere in the ground. We would far rather encourage a good vocal atmosphere around the whole stadium than in just one part.
The club hasn’t changed its position with regard to standing. Persistent standing has never been condoned, not least because it’s in breach of strict ground regulations that apply to every club in the country. The safety certificate issued to us by the local authority is conditional on us complying with those regulations. The bottom line is if we don’t take action to address persistent standing, then we will find ourselves in trouble with the local authority and ultimately the Football Licensing Authority.
Just to be clear here, we’re not talking about temporary standing during moments of excitement – that’s part and parcel of enjoying a football match. We’re talking about standing for long periods of the game.
We should point out that less than five percent of fans stand for long periods of a game. The vast majority want to use the seat they’ve paid for and abide by safety regulations. We’ve only had two home games so far, but we’ve already received over a hundred complaints from supporters upset that their matchday experience has been spoilt by a minority of fans who refused to sit down and on occasion used threats of violence and foul and abusive language in response to reasonable requests from fellow supporters.
A number of those complainants actually felt the situation was so disruptive that they chose to leave the ground at half time. That is not fair, plain and simple. We won’t tolerate persistent standing or foul and abusive language and we will look after the needs of the vast majority of supporters by issuing bans to those who continue to ignore our repeated requests.
7. Many fans clamoured for a marquee signing on the striker front. Are those days gone and can we expect more continental-based players coming in January, if any?
The days of Newcastle United acquiring ‘trophy’ signings who command huge salaries for past successes on the pitch are over.
Yes they have generated excitement and anticipation in the past, but ultimately many of them have left the club poorer and with little to show for it in terms of our standing in the league.
As for where we scout from, we have no specific policy to recruit continental players and we obviously have to satisfy the Premier League rules in respect of home-grown players.
It’s not about where a player is from, it’s about their ability, age, character and value for money. We’ve found this year that we have got better value for money on the continent which is why we’ve recruited well from France in particular this summer.
8. Are you concerned about the 10,000 drop in attendance and that fans are either not renewing season tickets or have headed to support local non-league teams instead?
On the contrary, season ticket sales are actually up on where we were this time last year.
We introduced a ground-breaking ten year fixed price deal for season ticket holders this year. This was a genuine initiative aimed at rewarding loyalty and guaranteeing long-term affordability for fans. The deal was very well received and in fact two-thirds of all season ticket holders have taken advantage of that deal. So we’re delighted to have introduced a genuine initiative which has been so popular, and we’re very happy with the number of season ticket holders we have this year.
It’s too early in the season to suggest there’s any trend emerging with regard to on-the-day sales. The Fulham fixture was a Sunday match and a 1pm kick-off, as well as falling during the school holidays too. Those factors undoubtedly played their part. Also of course Fulham’s travelling support was very small at just 433. The attendance was actually not far off what we had expected for that fixture. For the Arsenal game, the attendance was far higher than we saw for the first game last season which is fantastic.
The support this club receives is phenomenal and never taken for granted. If we do see a trend emerging for whatever reason, then we will look to address that.
9. Is Mike Ashley considering putting the club up for sale?
Mike Ashley has no intention of putting the club up for sale.
He is still extremely passionate about strengthening the club and making it a real success. We are balancing the books and getting the finances in order, but there’s plenty more work to be done and he’s committed to doing that for the long-term.
That said, it’s worth going back to the analogy of the house that’s not for sale. If suddenly an incredible offer comes in, he may have to consider it.
From time to time we are approached by people claiming to have an interest in buying the club. Our message to them is clear: buy a box for a commitment of five-seasons and then we’ll know you’re serious. No-one’s taken us up on that offer!
I’d like to make a further point here. This club can’t support itself without the financial backing of Mike Ashley; we still rely heavily on the owner. To date Mike has invested over £280m into the club, including £140m in interest-free loans. For him to continue to support the club, he has to be interested and enthused to do so. He deserves credit for his financial support but a section of supporters don’t make him feel welcome at St James’ Park, or when he attends away games. Criticism is part and parcel of the job, abuse is not. This makes life uncomfortable and certainly doesn’t make Mike feel more inclined to put his hand once again in his pocket. That’s not stubbornness, it’s human nature. I think most of us would feel exactly the same.
10. Newcastle United has the third highest attendances in the country, Sky TV and income from merchandising, plus a lower debt position than many in the EPL. Why in terms of player recruitment can Newcastle not compete with smaller clubs like Stoke, Fulham and QPR?
We're privileged to have a huge fan-base and the TV income and merchandising revenue that goes hand-in-hand with that.
The efforts we’ve made over recent years to reduce our debts has only been possible because we’ve kept our operating costs in check and carefully managed our wage structure, wage to turnover ratio, and transfer spending policy.
It would be inappropriate to pass comment on the way other clubs run their business, and it would be a largely irrelevant exercise. Suffice to say that we have a strong business strategy which we are committed to following and which we believe will reap benefits for the club and its supporters over the years to come.
11. Are you aware of fans' disgruntlement with the away ticketing policy given the Toon Army are among the most loyal fans in the UK, and will you consider reviewing the policy?
Yes, we’re aware that some fans are unhappy with the changes we’ve made.
There was however a lot of anger from the majority of law-abiding fans at the behaviour of a few at our friendly game against Darlington that evening, and it’s as a result of their behaviour that we have introduced these restrictions.
We did so to protect the reputation of the club. The scenes we witnessed at Darlington were disgraceful and cannot be repeated. The changes we’ve made ensure that the club has better control over who gets access to away tickets so that people who break the law are able to be identified much more easily.
If non season ticket holders want to purchase tickets for away games, then it’s very simple to do so by way of a club membership.
12. Alan Pardew said he was 100% convinced he would get a new number 9. What changed?
T was everyone’s desire at the club to bring in a striker. As I said in answer to a previous question, we worked hard to make that happen but ultimately couldn’t complete a deal that we’d hoped to.
Alan was aware of the efforts we were making in our negotiations and as such had every right to be confident. We were making good progress on a number of fronts, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the player over the line.
13. Why was Joey Barton allowed to leave for free and join a club that could be considered to be a rival in the Premier League?
Joey's a big character and a talented player, which is why we supported him from the moment he came to Newcastle, in spite of the difficulties he faced in his first two seasons here.
In January 2011, we were keen to offer Joey a new contract because we wanted to keep him at the club. We offered him what we considered to be a great deal but unfortunately Joey chose not to accept it.
We felt we couldn’t improve on that offer and therefore would need to consider selling. However with a transfer fee attached we received no formal interest from any club. We eventually made a decision to release Joey on a free transfer after well-publicised differences between the club and the player couldn’t be resolved. We wish Joey all the best at Queens Park Rangers and look forward to seeing him on Monday for our fixture at Loftus Road.
14. Many fans now consider us to be a "selling club" after the departures of Nolan, Enrique, Carroll and Barton. How do you respond to this?
The term "selling club" is a misnomer. In reality all clubs are selling clubs at the right price – even the Premier League’s top six clubs.
We’re no more a selling club than any other in the Premier League – you sell players, you buy players; that’s football. The Manchester Citys of this world operate on a different level to most other clubs, including ourselves, and it’s easier for those with greater financial clout to hold on to their best players and replace those they need to.
The fact is, we’ve done some excellent business in this window and brought in seven very good players. The quality of these new signings shouldn’t be overshadowed by the fact that we were unable to bring in an additional striker.
I’ve addressed the circumstances of Andy and Joey’s departure in earlier answers. In relation to Kevin Nolan, we offered Kevin a new contract at the start of the summer. Unfortunately he wanted a longer deal than we were prepared to offer and ultimately an approach came in from West Ham which worked for the player and his long-term security, as well as for the club..
The situation with Jose was very straightforward. We tried to negotiate a new contract with him early in the 2010/11 season, but the player wasn’t willing to enter negotiations at that time. When we did eventually get round the table with Jose we offered him an exceptional deal. His advisors subsequently made it clear to us that he wanted to pursue a new challenge elsewhere.
If a player wishes to leave the club, then there’s only so much we can do to try and keep him. We did everything we could, but he chose to move on. Faced with the prospect of running his contract down and leaving for nothing, we had to look to sell.
Selective responses:
It seems we have a 65% wage ratio. So given we have a turnover of £100m for being a Premier League club and an average operating costs of around £20-£25million, last season should have seen us make a tidy Net profit of £10-£15million........not including massive transfer money gained!! But yet we still had transfer spend this summer of practically ZERO!) Will be nice interesting reading when the finance details are released.
It seems clear from this that the club couldn't refuse to turn down the Andy Carroll transfer fee, so to create the 'transfer request' controversary they did, for the sake of saving a few bob on bonus money that would have been owed to Carroll due to selling him when he was still under contract, totally crippling his name and reputation amongst 'his own' geordie fans, was and is a total disgrace. I knew it at the time, and with every quote from all parties involved it becomes more and more clear that Andy Carroll doesn't deserve the label of 'Judas'. Which obviously harms any chance of the lad coming back to finish what he started. Shocking!!
You may be able to fool the sheep who follow our football club; but some of us can see the wood from the trees at a 100 miles away. The smell of bullshit is also overpowering at times. I have learned nothing from these responses, except the views I already have are pretty much confirmed and set in stone.
We are ran by bullshitting, self-sympathising, incompetent clowns. End of. The sooner this black n white double act are long gone from our neck of the woods, the sooner this football club will finally meet its potential again.
What other fine mess do they have up their sleeves next?!
Newcastle United East Stand New Sign Change!
It has been reported that the famous and classic 'NEWCASTLE UNITED' sign on the East Stand has come down and will be replaced with the following (in this order):
PUMA (logo) SPORTS DIRECT (logo) NEWCASTLE UNITED SPORTS DIRECT (logo) PUMA (logo).
In my humble opinion this is a total joke. We all know Mike Ashley owns Sports Direct so why does he need to plaster the shit all over our beloved St James' Park?!
Football clubs up and down the country 'sell' naming rights and advertising space of their stadium to companies to make revenue. So given the fact that St James' Park is advertising Sports Direct so prominantly.....does NUFC have a written contract with Mike Ashley's Sports Direct?! For the right to advertise his company is NUFC actually MAKING MONEY OUT OF IT?! Probably not. Which is a disgrace!!
Football fans tolerate their clubs giving up stadium names and having massive sponsorship logo's in their stadium with the knowledge it is bringing in a tidy amount of money to support their clubs finances. Football fans would not tolerate such things if their club gave them away for FREE! So why should NUFC fans be any different? If I am uninformed about this sponsorship situation then I will hold my hands up, because I admit I don't actually know the details. Does anyone?
If Mike Ashley makes a statement saying that he is pumping an amount of money from Sports Direct in NUFC for the naming rights of the stadium (Sports Direct.com @ St James' Park) and this new advertising logo on our East Stand, then fan's would be a lot more likely to accept it...even if we dont like it. I would also be keen to know details of what contract we have with PUMA to see how much money we are making off them?! This should be available to the public should it not? We know other clubs sponsorship deal amounts for e.g. Man Utd, Man City etc.
Does any such advertising contract with Sports Direct exist??!! Is NUFC going to make any money out of unwillingly selling our soul?!!
I want answers!!!
P.S. (this is unconfirmed) I have been informed after writing this article that Sports Direct only pay NUFC £47k for the rights to use our football club a major marketing tool. If this is indeed true, then this is arguably the worst thing Mike Ashley has ever done to our historic proud football club since he 'bought' it. Say what you like about his lack of abilities on the football side, but to sell the club's image and soul for no real return is an absolute disgrace.
The man is nothing but a cheap crook. End of.
PUMA (logo) SPORTS DIRECT (logo) NEWCASTLE UNITED SPORTS DIRECT (logo) PUMA (logo).
In my humble opinion this is a total joke. We all know Mike Ashley owns Sports Direct so why does he need to plaster the shit all over our beloved St James' Park?!
Football clubs up and down the country 'sell' naming rights and advertising space of their stadium to companies to make revenue. So given the fact that St James' Park is advertising Sports Direct so prominantly.....does NUFC have a written contract with Mike Ashley's Sports Direct?! For the right to advertise his company is NUFC actually MAKING MONEY OUT OF IT?! Probably not. Which is a disgrace!!
Football fans tolerate their clubs giving up stadium names and having massive sponsorship logo's in their stadium with the knowledge it is bringing in a tidy amount of money to support their clubs finances. Football fans would not tolerate such things if their club gave them away for FREE! So why should NUFC fans be any different? If I am uninformed about this sponsorship situation then I will hold my hands up, because I admit I don't actually know the details. Does anyone?
If Mike Ashley makes a statement saying that he is pumping an amount of money from Sports Direct in NUFC for the naming rights of the stadium (Sports Direct.com @ St James' Park) and this new advertising logo on our East Stand, then fan's would be a lot more likely to accept it...even if we dont like it. I would also be keen to know details of what contract we have with PUMA to see how much money we are making off them?! This should be available to the public should it not? We know other clubs sponsorship deal amounts for e.g. Man Utd, Man City etc.
Does any such advertising contract with Sports Direct exist??!! Is NUFC going to make any money out of unwillingly selling our soul?!!
I want answers!!!
P.S. (this is unconfirmed) I have been informed after writing this article that Sports Direct only pay NUFC £47k for the rights to use our football club a major marketing tool. If this is indeed true, then this is arguably the worst thing Mike Ashley has ever done to our historic proud football club since he 'bought' it. Say what you like about his lack of abilities on the football side, but to sell the club's image and soul for no real return is an absolute disgrace.
The man is nothing but a cheap crook. End of.
Seven Year Itch!
Today is 7 years after Graeme Souness became NUFC manager, taking over from the sacked Sir Bobby Robson RIP, inheriting a Champions League quality squad of players, crippled the club financially with overspending on over rated total flops and leaving the club in bottom half of the table mediocrity, with more massive bills to pay then I had when I moved away from home...!!!
When you consider the fact that the signings made under his leadership, the complete lack of success, the fact he took a Champions League team to bottom half of the table medocrity, the players he sold for eg Aaron Hughes who is going a lot stronger than Boumsong, Babayaro and Moore right now all these years later, the fact he took over from Sir Bobby RIP, the fact that all of the huge financial mess we are STILL paying for to Ashley was under his leadership......I would say, in context, he is the worst manager we have ever hired in our history. We have had worse managers as regards to ability and performance, but those managers didnt inherit a champions league team and then cripple the club financially. (Although Kenny Dalglish dismantling Keegans Champions League, top of the table team, into Dad's Army comes very close!)
The truly sickening thing about him is; he genuinely thinks he did a good job and the fans got him sacked because they didnt like him. Disgusting human being. Hate him.
"NUFC has 30,000 fans and 20,000 customers" is his favourite saying about NUFC.
"I did a good job by getting to the FA Cup Semis and UEFA Cup Qtrs" is his other defence.
Go f*ck yourself you 13th placed finishing, over spending, arrogant, ignorant, useless c*nt.
When you consider the fact that the signings made under his leadership, the complete lack of success, the fact he took a Champions League team to bottom half of the table medocrity, the players he sold for eg Aaron Hughes who is going a lot stronger than Boumsong, Babayaro and Moore right now all these years later, the fact he took over from Sir Bobby RIP, the fact that all of the huge financial mess we are STILL paying for to Ashley was under his leadership......I would say, in context, he is the worst manager we have ever hired in our history. We have had worse managers as regards to ability and performance, but those managers didnt inherit a champions league team and then cripple the club financially. (Although Kenny Dalglish dismantling Keegans Champions League, top of the table team, into Dad's Army comes very close!)
The truly sickening thing about him is; he genuinely thinks he did a good job and the fans got him sacked because they didnt like him. Disgusting human being. Hate him.
"NUFC has 30,000 fans and 20,000 customers" is his favourite saying about NUFC.
"I did a good job by getting to the FA Cup Semis and UEFA Cup Qtrs" is his other defence.
Go f*ck yourself you 13th placed finishing, over spending, arrogant, ignorant, useless c*nt.
Laurel and Hardy
Sexy Lingerie?! Are You Sure?!
In case you haven't heard, NUFC made the announcement yesterday that we are launching a Lingerie range from all the official club shops and the official website. Now coming a day after we all saw Mike Ashley doing his 'striptease'....great timing once again by NUFC.
Now I sent Ashleigh Ignelzi the 'good' news, who is that fit bird who was interviewing our players when we were on tour in USA at Columbus Crew. Oh yes, I am now friends with her...she had this to say; "This is awesome! One of the many reasons why I love #NUFC! " @NufcBano @AshleighIgnelzi
Other NUFC fans of the female variety said this;
As you can tell, the ladies are loving it....!! Maybe not.
I think I'll stick with the good stuff for all my lady friends....although we all know there is nothing sexier than a girl in a NUFC home shirt and nothing else...!! Fact!
This is the statement:
The club has signed a deal with football-related underwear specialists Premier Lingerie to stock the official club shops with special black and white underwear emblazoned with the club’s logo.
Now I sent Ashleigh Ignelzi the 'good' news, who is that fit bird who was interviewing our players when we were on tour in USA at Columbus Crew. Oh yes, I am now friends with her...she had this to say; "This is awesome! One of the many reasons why I love #NUFC! " @NufcBano @AshleighIgnelzi
Other NUFC fans of the female variety said this;
Not exactly stunning stuff, but I'm up for those french knickers. The rest is pretty rubbish lol
is all a bit boring if you ask me I was thinking it was gonna be like the katy perry west ham stuff! A few nice things tho!
As you can tell, the ladies are loving it....!! Maybe not.
I think I'll stick with the good stuff for all my lady friends....although we all know there is nothing sexier than a girl in a NUFC home shirt and nothing else...!! Fact!
Model not bad to be fair.
This is the statement:
The club has signed a deal with football-related underwear specialists Premier Lingerie to stock the official club shops with special black and white underwear emblazoned with the club’s logo.
The range includes bras, briefs, French knickers, stockings, suspender belts and camisoles in a variety of sizes.
Stuart Middlemiss, Newcastle United’s head of retail, said: “This is something which a lot of other clubs have been exploring and we are keen to see how Newcastle fans take to the club-branded lingerie.”
The deal sees United become the second Barclays Premier League club to stock lingerie in their club shops after linking up with Midlands-based Premier Lingerie. Wolverhampton Wanderers were the first to sign up last Christmas, and now the company is in discussions with numerous other clubs.
Paul Robinson, director of Premier Lingerie, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Newcastle United – it’s such a big club and has a massive fan base, not only in the north east but across the country and further afield.
“We’ve had a great reaction at Wolves so I’m confident that they’ll also be a hit with Newcastle fans.”
Paul added: “Women now make up about 20 per cent of football supporters but only three to five per cent of club merchandise is aimed at them. A lot of clubs simply stock pink t-shirts with the club’s logo on them – that’s not good enough. Not enough clubs are doing anything sassy for their female fans, so that’s where we’re helping.”
Over the past two years and using high-quality materials, Premier Lingerie has developed an exclusive range of lingerie for female supporters. The range includes a variety of styles produced in club colours, tastefully adorned with official insignia.
The full range is now being stocked in Newcastle United’s club shops and is also available online at https://shop.nufc.co.uk/cgi-bin/live/ecommerce.pl?site=theclubshop_nufc&state=products&dept_id=98&sub_dept_id=01
To find out more about Premier Lingerie, call 0121 5300 124 or visit www.premier-lingerie.co.uk
Mike Ashley Striptease! (Warning, this is rank)
In case you haven't seen it yet, our illustrious owner Mike Ashley was on a night out with Sports Direct people and decided to do a 'full-monty' in a Chinese restaurant, presumably after he polished off the last of the spring rolls and kung pao chicken!
If this man wasn't such a useless, pig-headed, obviously arrogant c*nt...then this may be funny. I'm sure his Sports Direct chums were having a whale of a time. But given this comes a day or two after the EPIC FAILURE to land a striker for NUFC due to either lies, lack of ambition, lack of wanting to spend any money or total incompetence, it's as funny as seeing your pathetic boss at the Xmas party totally drunk and trying to be funny but failing and just making himself look like the total c*nt he is in front of all of his employees.
Words can't describe how much I would love to beat the living shit out of this man, force him to sign over NUFC to the fans and then throw his beaten fat ass off the Tyne bridge. Where he will float, face down, out to sea and never to be seen ever again.
This man OWN's OUR football club. OUR'S! This man below. Just think about it when you look over the twat's moobs.
Warning!! This isn't pretty.....and yes, he is slapping himself with his own belt.
If this man wasn't such a useless, pig-headed, obviously arrogant c*nt...then this may be funny. I'm sure his Sports Direct chums were having a whale of a time. But given this comes a day or two after the EPIC FAILURE to land a striker for NUFC due to either lies, lack of ambition, lack of wanting to spend any money or total incompetence, it's as funny as seeing your pathetic boss at the Xmas party totally drunk and trying to be funny but failing and just making himself look like the total c*nt he is in front of all of his employees.
Words can't describe how much I would love to beat the living shit out of this man, force him to sign over NUFC to the fans and then throw his beaten fat ass off the Tyne bridge. Where he will float, face down, out to sea and never to be seen ever again.
This man OWN's OUR football club. OUR'S! This man below. Just think about it when you look over the twat's moobs.
Warning!! This isn't pretty.....and yes, he is slapping himself with his own belt.
Cunt.
The Transfer Window Is Now Closed! So How Did We Do?
I could go on for hours about Deadline Day, and the £35million, and lots of things. But I won't. I'll keep it very straight forward and just look at NUFC's Priority's since the Window opened from July 1st and how we did at achieving them.
Priority No.1:- One World Class/Potentially World Class Striker or 2/3 Good Strikers.
Actions:- Demba Ba on a free transfer. That is all.
Result:- FAILED. Rating: 1 out of 5.
Conclusion: The fact we had at least a £12 million cheque burning our pockets, given the 'transfer offers' we apparently made, makes our No.1 priority a BIG FAT F*CKING FAILURE. Not to mention the fact we sold a striker for £35million and replaced him with a Free. Not to mention the fact the striker we have brought in looks a total f*cking donkey with a lame leg. So we now go into the next 4 months with Best, Ba, Shola and Lovenkrands as NUFC's Fab Four up front. F*cking Farcical. Pardew my French.
Priority No.2:- Keep hold of key players.
Actions:- Lost/Sold Captain Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique and Joey Barton. Kept Tiote and Coloccini.
Result:- Have to say FAILED, but could have been worse! Rating:- 2 out of 5.
Conclusion:- Losing Capt Nolan and Joey Barton will hit the team harder as the season goes along. You need these types of characters to keep the spirits up if things start to go pair shaped. They were instrumental in our season last year. Enrique was also a key player who will be missed in our defensive line. At least Tiote and Coloccini are still here for now...they cannot be aloud to leave!
Priority No.3:- Improve the squad's quality.
Actions:- Signed Ba, Marveaux, Cabaye, Obertan, Elliot and Santon. Sold Nolan, Barton, Enrique, Routledge, Campbell and Forster (loan with option to buy).
Result:- Neither Failure or Success. Rating:- 3 out of 5.
Conclusion:- If we had brought in these players I mention and ADDED to the squad we had than it would have been a Success. They all look quality/good additions to the team. However, we have REPLACED the players that have left. Who also had quality. We will have to wait and see if we improve on last season's 12th place finish.
Priority No.4:- Improve the squad's quantity.
Actions:- Signed Ba, Marveaux, Cabaye, Obertan, Elliot and Santon. Sold Nolan, Barton, Enrique, Routledge, Campbell and Forster (loan with option to buy).
Result:- FAILURE. Rating:- 1 out of 5
Conclusion:- As I have already said, we have replaced like for like, not improved. Which when you consider we didn't have a big enough squad to begin with is very worrying long term. Centre of defensive looks total bare with Williamson injured. We lack bite up front still. The fact we don't have a NETT Spend in the transfer window is an absolute disgrace considering the astronomical fee Carroll went for, on top of the sales we have made and including the transfer budget we would have had anyway! Total disgrace!
Priority No.5:- Get rid of Deadwood off the wage bill.
Actions:- Xisco (loan), Routledge sold, Campbell released. Ranger, Smith, Perch are still here picking up wages.
Result:- Neither Success nor Failure again. Rating:- 2.5 out 5.
Conclusion:- Details of the Xisco loan are obviously kept quiet, but it's hard to see Deportivo paying anything more than 50% of his wage maximum considering they are in the Spanish second division now. The lad is still on our books raking in £50 - £60k a week. Just get rid! The same for Alan Smith. Except he isn't even out on loan, he is still here! Just get rid! If we can afford to get rid of Joey Barton for a free transfer.....why not these 2?! Someone has to explain that one to me. Xisco has 2 years left so compensation may be that stumbling block, but Alan Smith's contract is up at the same time as Barton's was! Ridiculous. Getting rid of Sol Campbell a year before his contract was due to end was a good move, although to not retain his services in some kind of coaching role does seem a total waste. Routledge has gladly gone. Birmingham and Blackpool have been chasing Ranger all summer but yet he is still here?! Showing off fake guns, getting arrested for breaking people's jaw's and not looking like getting even a minute in a NUFC shirt this season. Again, ridiculous. And if James Perch gets any playing time this season it will only be due to a crippling injury list to every player who has ever played full back in his life/youth...!!!!
After all 5 priorities are taking into account:-
Overall Result:- FAILURE. Overall Rating:- 2 out of 5
Overall Conclusion:- We dont have one striker of any real quality, even though we needed at least 2. We dont have enough strength in centre defence if god for bid Saylor or Coloccini get injured or suspended. We have lost key men in the dressing room, training ground and on the pitch in Nolan, Barton and Enrique. They will be missed. We have brought in some good talent in midfield and at full back with Marveaux, Cabaye, Obertan and unbelievably Davide Santon. Its a shame this Davide Santon transfer is pretty much short lived given our EPIC failure to bring in key players in other areas, but he should come good. For Ashley to sell on for a tidy profit at some stage in the next few years....cynical but blatantly true.
Basically I cant see us finishing higher in the league then last year or going that much further in the cup competitions. We will have up and down games a plenty given the unknown nature of the players we have acquired. We wont go down, that I am sure of. But the fact we had a genuine chance to improve the squad's quality with quantity given the financial clout we suddenly acquired, and chose to use it to pay for bills basically instead of the squad is angering, frustrating, disappointing and unfortunately unsurprising seeing who is STILL running things NUFC at the end of a phone from somewhere down south.
We will all be looking to the January transfer window to see what the mastermind's decide to do or not do after we go through the next 4 months with the team we have.
Howay the lads!
Priority No.1:- One World Class/Potentially World Class Striker or 2/3 Good Strikers.
Actions:- Demba Ba on a free transfer. That is all.
Result:- FAILED. Rating: 1 out of 5.
Conclusion: The fact we had at least a £12 million cheque burning our pockets, given the 'transfer offers' we apparently made, makes our No.1 priority a BIG FAT F*CKING FAILURE. Not to mention the fact we sold a striker for £35million and replaced him with a Free. Not to mention the fact the striker we have brought in looks a total f*cking donkey with a lame leg. So we now go into the next 4 months with Best, Ba, Shola and Lovenkrands as NUFC's Fab Four up front. F*cking Farcical. Pardew my French.
Priority No.2:- Keep hold of key players.
Actions:- Lost/Sold Captain Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique and Joey Barton. Kept Tiote and Coloccini.
Result:- Have to say FAILED, but could have been worse! Rating:- 2 out of 5.
Conclusion:- Losing Capt Nolan and Joey Barton will hit the team harder as the season goes along. You need these types of characters to keep the spirits up if things start to go pair shaped. They were instrumental in our season last year. Enrique was also a key player who will be missed in our defensive line. At least Tiote and Coloccini are still here for now...they cannot be aloud to leave!
Priority No.3:- Improve the squad's quality.
Actions:- Signed Ba, Marveaux, Cabaye, Obertan, Elliot and Santon. Sold Nolan, Barton, Enrique, Routledge, Campbell and Forster (loan with option to buy).
Result:- Neither Failure or Success. Rating:- 3 out of 5.
Conclusion:- If we had brought in these players I mention and ADDED to the squad we had than it would have been a Success. They all look quality/good additions to the team. However, we have REPLACED the players that have left. Who also had quality. We will have to wait and see if we improve on last season's 12th place finish.
Priority No.4:- Improve the squad's quantity.
Actions:- Signed Ba, Marveaux, Cabaye, Obertan, Elliot and Santon. Sold Nolan, Barton, Enrique, Routledge, Campbell and Forster (loan with option to buy).
Result:- FAILURE. Rating:- 1 out of 5
Conclusion:- As I have already said, we have replaced like for like, not improved. Which when you consider we didn't have a big enough squad to begin with is very worrying long term. Centre of defensive looks total bare with Williamson injured. We lack bite up front still. The fact we don't have a NETT Spend in the transfer window is an absolute disgrace considering the astronomical fee Carroll went for, on top of the sales we have made and including the transfer budget we would have had anyway! Total disgrace!
Priority No.5:- Get rid of Deadwood off the wage bill.
Actions:- Xisco (loan), Routledge sold, Campbell released. Ranger, Smith, Perch are still here picking up wages.
Result:- Neither Success nor Failure again. Rating:- 2.5 out 5.
Conclusion:- Details of the Xisco loan are obviously kept quiet, but it's hard to see Deportivo paying anything more than 50% of his wage maximum considering they are in the Spanish second division now. The lad is still on our books raking in £50 - £60k a week. Just get rid! The same for Alan Smith. Except he isn't even out on loan, he is still here! Just get rid! If we can afford to get rid of Joey Barton for a free transfer.....why not these 2?! Someone has to explain that one to me. Xisco has 2 years left so compensation may be that stumbling block, but Alan Smith's contract is up at the same time as Barton's was! Ridiculous. Getting rid of Sol Campbell a year before his contract was due to end was a good move, although to not retain his services in some kind of coaching role does seem a total waste. Routledge has gladly gone. Birmingham and Blackpool have been chasing Ranger all summer but yet he is still here?! Showing off fake guns, getting arrested for breaking people's jaw's and not looking like getting even a minute in a NUFC shirt this season. Again, ridiculous. And if James Perch gets any playing time this season it will only be due to a crippling injury list to every player who has ever played full back in his life/youth...!!!!
After all 5 priorities are taking into account:-
Overall Result:- FAILURE. Overall Rating:- 2 out of 5
Overall Conclusion:- We dont have one striker of any real quality, even though we needed at least 2. We dont have enough strength in centre defence if god for bid Saylor or Coloccini get injured or suspended. We have lost key men in the dressing room, training ground and on the pitch in Nolan, Barton and Enrique. They will be missed. We have brought in some good talent in midfield and at full back with Marveaux, Cabaye, Obertan and unbelievably Davide Santon. Its a shame this Davide Santon transfer is pretty much short lived given our EPIC failure to bring in key players in other areas, but he should come good. For Ashley to sell on for a tidy profit at some stage in the next few years....cynical but blatantly true.
Basically I cant see us finishing higher in the league then last year or going that much further in the cup competitions. We will have up and down games a plenty given the unknown nature of the players we have acquired. We wont go down, that I am sure of. But the fact we had a genuine chance to improve the squad's quality with quantity given the financial clout we suddenly acquired, and chose to use it to pay for bills basically instead of the squad is angering, frustrating, disappointing and unfortunately unsurprising seeing who is STILL running things NUFC at the end of a phone from somewhere down south.
We will all be looking to the January transfer window to see what the mastermind's decide to do or not do after we go through the next 4 months with the team we have.
Howay the lads!
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