Newcastle United – News Roundup – 27 July 2009.

Posted on July 27th, 2009 | 10 Comments |

Shearer scores but still in limbo.
Shearer scores but still in limbo.
Today I can begin with some good news. England beat Germany 3-2 to win the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy with goals coming from Les Ferdinand, Alan Thompson and Alan Shearer. The night, however, belonged to Sir Bobby Robson and his cancer research foundation to which the proceeds of the game were donated. Sir Bobby is, and forever will be, a shining example of the good side of football.

Alas I must now move on to less celebratory news. Shearer has spoken of his frustration about the current situation at Newcastle United, saying:

I am the same as everyone else, I am in limbo – I don’t know what is going on.

I know as much as you. I would dearly love it to be sorted out one way or the other then the club can move forward.

Everyone is telling me there are people in to buy the club. If that is the case, then great.”

He was also keen to dispel rumours that he’s close to walking away from things:

I don’t know where that’s come from, it’s certainly not from myself. I want it sorted out as quickly as everyone else does.

I’m a fan like everyone else and I don’t like to see the situation the club is in.”

The Telegraph is running an article about how ‘directionless’ the club is at the moment, which is hardly news, but they also mention that Coloccini and Gutierrez are targets for Real Zaragoza, Oba Martins is being tracked by Wolfsburg and Harry Redknapp is after Seb Bassong to reinforce his injured defence at Spurs.

Yesterday’s Sunday People reported that Iain Dowie is tired of waiting for Newcastle to sort itself out and applied for the manager’s job at Southampton and that Shearer will instead turn to Gary Speed as his No 2. I’m not sure how the Sunday People knows this as there are no direct quotes, so it’s possible that they just made it up.

The same report also claims that Llambias has said nobody has met Ashley’s £100m asking price for the club. Finally they go on to say that Keith Harris is now away on a fortnight’s holiday and suggest that this means nothing will happen regarding a new owner for at least 2 weeks, taking us into the new season before things are resolved. I’m not sure I really believe that though. Keith Harris may indeed be on holiday but I’m pretty sure he has a phone with him and if any of the interested buyers make a firm offer of the sort that Ashley’s looking for, I’m sure Harris would manage to get things moving forward.

Having said that, I have no reason to believe that anything will happen before the start of the season anyway. I suspect that Ashley’s only concern in all this is that he gets the price he wants for the club and I doubt he’s particularly concerned about the frustrations of the fans, the players and Shearer.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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10 Responses

  1. Izeebollox concerned Hugh!! You’re dead right :D

    I think he stopped caring about us a while ago as fans. Now we’re an intangible asset he’s looking to flog.

    Even if it is all speculation –

    I like Dowie but I imagine Speed will do a good job as a coach/assistant manager if he’s appointed. Intelligent, thoughtful, good temperament, disciplined and very experienced in the game. Should be a smooth transition.

  2. I think we’d better prepare for the long haul over this takeover stuff, by which I mean we should now consider the prospect of Ashley not moving on his price and being stuck with the club (and us stuck with him), possibly until at least January.

    Having said that, would Ashley risk it? The way things are going, survival in the fizzy pop might be all we can expect and if come January we’re looking dismal on the pitch Ashley will have an even harder job selling the club.

  3. Usual line about not contributing as much as I’d like, yada, yada, blah, blah, etc..

    Anyway, I’ve been pondering our situation for ten minutes over a lonely cup of coffee and my conclusion is that Ashley is waiting for an economic upturn. Perhaps he is gambling that if there is an upturn in peoples fortunes then the money men will be willing to spend more of their capital on a football club as their proper investments (by proper I mean ones that actually give them a monetary return on their investments) start to make them money again?

    Isn’t this how rumours start? ;-)

  4. I feel I must confess. It was chucking it down with rain, here, so I bought a cheap golf brolly from one of Ashleys shops. Please don’t get me banned from Newcastle. :-)

    On a more serious note, does anyone know if anyone is selling the tops that the England team wore in Sir Bobby’s game? I’d love to get hold of one.

  5. MT – Good craic. :D

    Not sure about the strip.

    Gotta go, trying to do some work for a change.

    Have to catch up shortly!

  6. “I am the same as everyone else, I am in limbo – I don’t know what is going on.”

    Does wor Al mean the city in the Democratic Rebublic of Congo? Or the waiting room on the outskirts of hell?

  7. Or the waiting room on the outskirts of hell?

    worky thats not a nice thing to say about the club you love

  8. beyethegreat says:
    July 27, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    “Or the waiting room on the outskirts of hell?

    worky thats not a nice thing to say about the club you love”

    Well that’s what that ‘limbo’ is Beye. It’s kind of like the Darras Hall of hell. It would mean wor Al had been a great sinner, but had been spared the worst (hell itself) through being pals with God.

    It would also mean that he’ll have to wait until Jesus comes back to redeem us for our sins before he gets his name back on the manager’s door!

  9. It would also mean that he’ll have to wait until Jesus comes back to redeem us for our sins before he gets his name back on the manager’s door!

    —-

    Will any Messiah do? Kevin Keegan for example ;)