Let’s Colo it a day!

Posted on June 4th, 2009 | 43 Comments |

Mike Ashley ponders his future at the club.
Mike Ashley ponders his future at the club.
Our financial position is pretty frightening. Our short, medium and long-term future, very much dependent on cleaning up the balance sheets. We are undoubtedly about to start free-fall into the red without some fire-fighting with our numbers.

What can be done about?

Mike Ashley has already severed 120 contracts for support staff around St James. Clearly the biggest issue he has is terminating the complicated and compensation-riddled paperwork of unwanted players on our books. While it is as inevitable as a barf-covered pavement outside Blu Bambu post-midnight on any given Saturday, it is not going to be easy.  Balancing the need to sustain, at the very least, a Championship status against the very real threat of liquidation is something Mike needs to worry about now whether he is able to pass on the reigns or not. He will want to recoup whatever he can, even if damage-limitation on the depreciation of our squad’s value is the most we can expect.

So where does he start? Who will be guiding him in terms of which players and what kind of squad will be required to not only prepare for a promotion push but perhaps more pertinently prevent an unthinkable drop into the third tier? Is it folly to rid yourself of troublesome, inept or passionless players by releasing them and causing more debt rather than easing it? Could it be that these players will just end up staying on the books and freeloading anyway. Who will be touting these people around, now that resident recruitment expert Dennis Wise is no longer part of our happy family?

To my mind, it seems there is a fine balance we need to strike between offloading, by whichever means, the top earners without that proving detrimental to the strength of the squad. Of course there is an argument to say most of our top-earners my not have the guts for the fight in The Championship anyway.

For me it would seem obvious to pedal a number of players –

Coloccini- expensive, high-earner who we can’t afford the time to adapt. One of the most obvious candidates to leave. Back off to Spain for me.

Martins – Probably our best opportunity to make some cash. An enigma really and I don’t think it matters what division we’re in, he’ll be hit and miss.

Xisco – Hands-down, the best evidence to justify why Dennis Wise should never have been given free reign on transfers. Will we get even a fraction back on what we paid for him though.

Geremi – Rusty when he came, now slightly more rusty but a canny bulge in his wallet. I think we’re probably stuck with him to be honest.

Viduka – Probably the most frustrating talent we’ve had for a while. Not cut out for The Championship at all.

Smith – Apparently you can become a bad player overnight. Will be up for the fight but I think it’ll do everyone the world of good if he goes, even for buttons.

Butt – I like him though I’m worried about his legs finally going. I know he will be a popular choice to be pedalled.

Owen – Where did it all go wrong. We could potentially pay several decent players his wages and still have some spare. He could terrify The Championship but I can’t see him sticking around.

Ameobi – How did the lad get another contract? Will probably prove to be a success story in The Championship though and raise our hopes again.

Barton – Even if we’d been paid to take him, it would have been a bad deal. He could smash the place up (probably literally) down in the 2nd tier but do we really need the baggage?

Cacapa – Evidence once again that you can become a bad player overnight.

Jonas – Hard-working so guts will not be a problem in The Championship but high wages for someone who may once again prove to have no end product.

Lovenkrands – I think he’ll have loved the idea of playing for the Toon but I can see him being happy to be cut loose if there’s another offer on the table.

Just my thoughts and I know there are others could probably go the distance in other people’s opinions.

NUFCBlog Author: bowburnmag bowburnmag has written 234 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

43 Responses

  1. Even though Duff and Beye have said they will stay we will have to do something about them. Their wages are too high for the championship so they will have to take wage cuts or be shown the door. Atletico Madrid are also interested in signing Enrique for about £4.3 million.

  2. Good Article BBM

    Luckily the rate of sterling v the euro means that we have a chance of recouping our money on Collo – I will be honest I like him as a player, but I agree its now possibly too expensive to let him adapt – I do think he would walk it in the Championship.

    Xisco – I will wait to see if he stays or goes – as Shearer will have formed an opinion – I just havent seen enough of him to form a view.

    Butt, Jonas and Lovenkrands – all have the right mentality for me, I think they are men you can build a team around, and with more creativity in the team I would like to think Jonas will end up delivering more end product.

    I do like this new heavy dose of realism – even if its just on this blog lol.

  3. Its a matter of keepin the faith again will jonas come good? If Xisco played week in week out in the coca cola league could he come good. Will Barton behave himself or clash again with Shearer. Out of that list i would keep Barton Jonas Lovenkrands. Massive descions have to be made with knowbody to make them.

  4. You are right though Stardust,

    The comments on this blog are well considered and reflect the Reality which is facing us next season in the CCC .

    Stability and a forward looking plan which everyone can see and sign up to is going to be the secret of our promotion back to the top level. Patience as well( – although I get very impatient) will be needed by us all and I just hope that the long discussions which AS,MA, DL have had will lay the strong foundation for our success in the coming seasons, even if MA sells up soon ,the blueprint should be there .

    The waiting game for the appointment of Alan Shearer as manager is very frustrating .Iwish they would get their fingers out and get on with it .Things to do players to hire and fire and a team to build .

    Howay the lads

  5. I would personally try and keep as much of the back together as i could , think enrique bassong taylor and beye would be the best defense in the championship and give us something to build on.

    if we lost enrique i would go for daniel fox out left , if we lost bassong id bring beye into the centre and possibly brinng in orr or gunter or simpson we have been linked with,

    Midfield id be willing to listen to any offers on anyone bar guthrie and lualua.

    Upfront keep ranger carroll mclovin and bring another 2 forwards , dunno why id go for beckford and lulua for some reason.

    Key positions for me would be the wings , we need to provide ammuntion for the boys to put away

  6. I also had a slightly less serious outlook but the Editor rightly said it was perhaps better left as a comment rather than an article –

    For Sale/Available –

    Ford Collocini – Central curly locking. ABS (absolutely bloody…). Traction control (allegedly). Warranty included but no guarantees other than to hugely disappoint. Will accept half-decent Championship defender as swap.

    Suzuki Smith – Economical (pace rather than costs) and drives well when not injured. Sat Nav (map does not include directions to where the goal is). Will accept offers in the region of £6m (will come good….honest).

    Peugeot Geremi – Needs new suspension and may need new engine in a few miles. Still looks good when stationary (invariably). Rarely used. Will accept offers of a good home ONO.

    Vauxhall Viduka – Part Service History – small signs of rust, starts everytime during Spring though may need care during the colder months. Rarely used and in pretty good condition. Ageing but rare. – £1m or will swap for ‘Cockneys Oot’ banner and 30-batch steak and ale pies.

    Citroen Xisco – Fully untaxed and untested. Suits Mediterranean conditions, rare Spanish-built right hand drive (as per golf course).

    VW Owen – Cheapie(?!?!) to clear – we need the space.

    Subaru Barton – Slightly unreliable but gutsy once running. Temperamental when going round the bend(s). May attract unwanted attention from local constabulary. In good nick (or was) and has previous. Honestly, you can have it….

  7. Toondog

    Yeah its been great so far, I think our biggest challenge will come when we have made a few improvements and listed on the likes of NewsNow how we keep the posts considered?

    On one hand you can just plain edit them lol – not acceptable. Or ask people to be constructive on their criticism, or tell them to “scram” (since we are a polite blog too lol.

    Thatll be the difficulty, I think from the style of posts so far (myself excluded obviously) that it will appeal to a broader range of fan than just the ones who want to swear at each other.

    And I like the different takes on events by different posters too – its more rounded.

  10. Well we should know more about Shearer being appointed tomorrow. Here are his quotes from Monday:

    “I met Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias last week and we discussed at length the future of Newcastle United and my desire to be the manager moving forward.

    “I made no demands but there were obvious conditions. We simply proposed an honest evaluation of what was needed to get the club back into the Premiership whilst building solid foundations for the future

    “I fully understand Mike Ashley’s decision to sell the club as he feels it’s now in the best interest of the club and the fans. I hope to know more by the end of the week.”

    Lets hope its good news! :D

  14. bowburn,have you been sitting waiting for comments to come through.lol.its agood blog but eds is the best,thats were all the fun is.

  15. hitman – Nah, just posted an article for the morning and saw your update. It’ll take time like but I think we’ll get some decent people on here eventually. Not necessarily nicking Ed’s readers like. Of course, by then I might have run out of ideas….

    You seen mozza around recently?

    ESAMIM – good idea. Me being one of the viewers technically….

  16. haha no you cant have any bowburn ‘article writer’ mag only the new members can have some when they join :)

  18. I do like this new heavy dose of realism – even if its just on this blog lol.this from stardust.
    The comments on this blog are well considered and reflect the Reality which is facing us next season in the CCC .toondog
    Yeah its been great so far, I think our biggest challenge will come when we have made a few improvements and listed on the likes of NewsNow how we keep the posts considered?On one hand you can just plain edit them lol – not acceptable. Or ask people to be constructive on their criticism, or tell them to “scram.stardust
    hitman – needs more people like you to mix and match.bowburn.
    you have killed this blog.

  20. hitman, I have to admit that you have a point there. Football isn’t something to be “reasonable” about. Definitely not in Newcastle anyway! :-)

  23. Hoi Sanddancer!!

    I meant I don’t always agree with what you say but I always agree it’s sincere. I wouldn’t be comfortable with just being patted on the back all the time. You can pay for that sort of stuff.

    And I rarely agree with old Stardust. That’s partly why the lads are letting me contribute.

    Anyway, my articles are done. Off to kip. I have engineers to organise in the morning (despite not knowing what I’m organising them to do).

  31. worky rod is spot on m8,why did you get stardust involved hes hated on eds blog.he comes across aaarrr well you no.

  32. He’s not that bad once you get to know him ;-) , we all have different views on here anyway. That’s the whole point.

  33. Hitman, I think you’re being unfair to Stardust.

    I’ve had a fair few arguments with him myself in the past but I don’t believe disagreement is a good reason for either censure or personal hate.

    Alternative opinions are in fact extremely valuable. They make us think outside our comfort zone and challenge us to consider different perspectives.

    Often we find ourselves doggedly opposing alternative opinions – sometimes only out of ego or sheer bull-headedness – but occasionally, if we’re honest, we can say, yeah, maybe he does have a point.

    That doesn’t necessarily mean we change our opinions completely, but we can sometimes admit that there’s room to modify them a bit. And in doing that we become wiser.

    Things are rarely black and white after all.

    I think this blog has had a promising start and I think diversity of opinion by the editors is what can set it apart from Ed’s blog.

    News is important of course but in reality you can get that from anywhere – it’s opinion that makes a blog interesting.

  34. Hitman – as you’re aware on Eds blog things become, well, a little heated.

    I explained during last year that I spoke in a certain way to certain people in kind. For example myself and BBM have had hundreds of debates but always friendly. Worky and myself never had a crossed word. Occassionally whilst in the middle of a fire fight (it wasn’t easy having my views) I was a bit sharp with good people,(friendly fire whilst doing windmills) I always apologised when I became aware I had offended.

    What you failed to catch on to was the “higher intellect line” was the one mechanism I used to get a bite – wasn’t that part of the banter? After all it was usually me v 100 – what was I meant to say lol- I am laughing at myself now by having a picture of Einstein on here.

    I have never apologised to you hitman as – as you are aware you more than give as good as you get.

    As for this blog, I am helping get it started, as is BBM and many others, including Hugh (thanks for the defence in my absence :ugh) by keeping it active.

    If my involvement stops people coming – I ask – if its stopping reasonable people coming – I will step aside – this blog could be fantastic.

    If its stopping those who just go on to shout and swear – I don’t feel bad about that fella.

    I listen to folk and will step aside as and when – I have an incredibly busy life in any event – I thought I was adding to something good.

    Worky – first post here from my Blackberry! Woo hoo

  35. hitman – If you get back over at some stage, then please tell me you haven’t taken that personally? How many times have I called you a Sanddancer? I know where you’re from, I was just putting a personal touch on my reply and winding you up. If you’ve really taken it personally then that wasn’t the intention. You normally just call me a makem. I can’t believe anyone would believe that I think I’m ‘a cut above’. To see me burping, farting and swearing in the office, I doubt you’d have the same opinion. I’m as working class as the next working class man. But I’m going to try and keep my foul mouth off here, in case any impressionable kids are reading. I would hate to think I’d contribute to them picking up ugly habits. I’m just quite lazy with my daily swearing because it’s the environment I’m in.

    Bit below the belt giving worky’s blog grief though mate. Thought you were above that, no matter how heated debating gets.

  36. HITMAN think you have gone a bit over the top there m8 theres no 1 who,s fell out with stardust more than me ive even slagged worky before but i think the pair of them are good lads m8

  37. Batty – that’s the thing, men can debate, be angry, disagree totally, call each other names when in anger – then go straight to the bar and have a pint and a laugh. That’s part of “living” isn’t it?

    BBM – the cut above line I think was directed at several aspects, the standards of the posts, the way the debate is structured, the fact all views are encouraged, the fact I hoped for no bad language – as you say – so kids can read it.

    I think his comment is born out of insecurity. I mean that in an honest way – I am not looking for a bite.

    Will struggle to get on today to reply often- in Scotland Golfing!

  38. Stardust – I’m not some bleeding heart liberal and I’m not by nature an argumentative person. That said, I’ll have a bit of banter and look after myself. But I’ve never been someone to offend intentionally but if my articles and posts do that then fair play. I guess I’ll need to live with that like you said earlier.

    I think it’s about time MT stepped up to the plate with an article. It seems somehow a littl crass commenting too much on your own article even though I want to add to the postings!

  39. BBM – I need to correct my post – I believed the CUT ABOVE comment was aimed at me, the blog, the way articles and posts are structured – Not your post!

    Fore right…… Lol

  40. BBM – Just trying to find the time. Between you and me I do most of my ramblings when I’ve got a spare five minutes at work. I might have to be one of these people who logs on at weekends and evenings as my workload is going to triple from 1st July.

  41. Stardust – He included my line “we need people like you to mix and match” in his original post. I think he just misinterpreted what I was saying and took offence. What I’d meant, was along your lines of different views. There aren’t many as straight-talking as hitman and that’s why I’ve always respected him whether I agreed with him or not. I totally understand people will be critcal in their appraisal of the site and will call it how they see it. I don’t expect everyone to like what we’re doing but I thought his recent posts on Ed’s blog were a bit snidey.

  42. Snidey and Cheap – Folks forget Worky put all the work in for their benefit as Ed wouldn’t answer if he was def closing down.Thereon to put the site down – for whatever reason they choose to give – is more than “poor form”

    Either way I think it has made a very very promising start, I actually think in time as we make it known we will pick up a lot of posters that wouldn’t normally post on Eds.

    Onwards and Upwards!

    Fore Left lol (really got to stop posting lol)

  43. Stardust says:
    June 5, 2009 at 11:00 am
    Snidey and Cheap – Folks forget Worky put all the work in for their benefit as Ed wouldn’t answer if he was def closing down.Thereon to put the site down – for whatever reason they choose to give – is more than “poor form”

    Either way I think it has made a very very promising start, I actually think in time as we make it known we will pick up a lot of posters that wouldn’t normally post on Eds.

    Onwards and Upwards!

    Fore Left lol (really got to stop posting lol)
    <<<<<think people forget the work what u lot have put into it and think of the hits u will have when ED goes on his holls for 5 week