Will the Ben Arfa saga end today?

Posted on August 18th, 2010 | 247 Comments |

Ben Arfa - Decision time looms.
Ben Arfa - Decision time looms.
The whole will he/won’t he saga that has been the Ben Arfa transfer story looks like it could finally be coming to an end soon, and about bloody time to!

The whole episode has been a mess from start to finish and I, along with many others, would just like to see it settled one way or the other.

Rumours are rife at the moment as a whole host of potential suitors begin to creep out of the woodwork, according to the press anyway. Newcastle still have a chance of signing of him, although nothing will be definate until we see it with our own eyes on the official website. Who knows, there could yet be some twists and turns left yet!

Few can deny that this Newcastle side are screaming out for the talents of Ben Arfa. He would add that bit of creativity and pace that we are currently lacking and will become a crowd favourite if he shows glimpses of his potential.

For once, I can’t see much that Newcastle have done wrong in the way they have handled this deal. Remember, the deal was agreed and Marseille backed out of it. They are only trying to do what is best for their club and get the best deal they can, which is understandable but also incredibly frustrating for us.

The Marseille president has said the situation will be resolved within 48 hours, which makes either today or tomorrow the most likely time for a decision. From the bits and bobs printed in the French press, it would seem Ben Arfa would prefer to come to Newcastle over anything else that he has currently been offered, although I dare say a hefty payday somewhere else may change his mind.

All we can do is hope that he is allowed to join us, and hope he was genuine when he said he wanted to join us. This saga needs to end, and it looks like it will end soon.

Latest rumours suggest that Werder Bremen have now joined the race for the player, but their coach has denied any interest. Hopefully he is telling the truth and not trying to be coy like Hughton usually is about transfer dealings.

More to come, although hopefully for the last time!

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Comment on this post

247 Responses

  1. Hopefully the hope does not ring false. Either way, I’ll be glad when it’s over.

  2. Mike ashley will bring another crowd pleaser from championship..Just like James Perch who looks like Titus Bramble in the making.

  4. It has been said that Ben Arfa is a worky ticket, judging by the current antics of Given, Bellamy, Milner and N’Zogbia, i think we are used to it.
    If Marseille have jacked the price up from the original agreement then he wont be coming here as, thanks to the reckless spending of Allerdyce, Ashley has been turned over once and it wont happen again.

  5. everybody just needs to relax including myself. ashley was at the game monday. that match couldnt have made him feel his investmant in the club is safe. he is gonna do what it takes to make sure he soesnt lose anymore money. i think ben arfa will be tyneside by the end of today. but regardless i believe we will see 3 players come in by friday. we need to bounce back and make a game of it at home against villa and the toon army needs a boost. new signings are the answer. buckle up this ride is taking off

  6. Hopefully this deal will be end soon. I don’t know what will happen but I’ll more than happy if we can sign HBA. However if he won’t come, so be it.

  7. the thing giving me hope is that the werder bremen rumour has only appeared on that 1 french website.l’equipe havnt ran it so maybe it is just a rumour.

  8. Toonsy,I dont think Marseilles position is understandable where I come from if you agree a deal thats it you don’t go back on it.Maybe karma from hauling Milner away from Villa after agreeing a deal?

  10. Werder bremen agreed a fee a while back,Benny turned them down he doesn’t want to go there…………………of course if they offered him silly money who knows,but I very much doubt it.

  12. we should be worrying about our own bid and no one elses.It is completely irrelevant who bids what,if Werder bid £20m it changes nothing he can’t be made to go anywhere.He will choose

  13. I am worried about our bid. If you believe that Jean Claude Dassier was telling the truth for once yesterday then he is waiting on Ashleys bid. I have no faith in Ashley just meeting the so called minimum demands, he will always try and get the player cheaper so I fear we may miss out because of that.

  14. Newcastle had added an extra £200,000 to their original offer to be paid dependng on appearances ect…

    Dunno anout this WB rumour like, but I was told the two clubs were pretty close to an agreement.

  15. *exclusive* Ben Arfa signs for Bremen in a £6m deal,he will make his debut before dashing to Ac Milan to play for them with Huntelaar going in the opposite direction.He will then fly to England to play for Arsenal who are reported to have paid £12m for the £6m pound rated player.He will then fly to Tyneside and be intravenously fed with red bull energy drink so that he can make his debut v Villa with Newcastle taking up a loan to buy option.Take your pick,at least one of thems true…or is it??? ;-) :lol:

  16. Richietoon you sure it was bremen? Thought it was another German club. Anyway the widely quoted fee for Afra is 6 million euro’s, bremen know OM need to get rid of him to why would they bid 8 million? I just hope we know something today.

  17. Yesterday the Marseille president was quoted as saying the Arfa saga “will be conluded in two days and then we will explain everything”.

    What the hell that means who knows but I just want this to come to an end asap. If we didn’t need him so desperately I would have switched off to this story long ago!

    Marseille have made themselves look a bit foolish over the last few weeks.

  18. true Ashingtoon,and I think he”s worth signing permanently but I can understand the Toons stance as a deal had already been agreed which L’OM pulled out of it.

  19. l’equipe and french football running werder bremen story now doesnt look promising but wait and see.

  20. Stuart79 – not seen you post anything like this before, so here’s hopeing. It does seem the most probable outcome,we get the player, he gets his move to the epl & OM save a bit of face by getting extra money.

    Reliable info?

  21. Noir9……yeah sure(ish) Wolfsburg were also credited with interest at one point.Trust in Stuart,thats my advice :shock: ;-)

  22. noir9 says:
    August 18, 2010 at 7:59 am

    The lady who told me knows people who used to be at the club, but still know a few people, if you get my drift.

  23. Im 28 today so lets hope wor Chris gives me a nice birthday present and gives me Ben Arfa!

    Sucks working on the birthday doesnt it! Earliest Ive ever been in for work too but finish at the same time!

  25. Stuart79 – I hope she’s right, god knows what we’re going to talk about once its sorted. I really wish I wasn’t off this week.

  26. Ben Arfa wont be signing for Newcastle.

    No plans for any capital outlay and all that.
    (hope I’m wrong like!)

  27. Lads did u not hear the french reporter on talksport yesterday he he was sure that he woud b a newcastle player n he benfica had a massive bid accepted ben arfa is refusing to go anywere but here so let’s c he said the benfica bid was Monday, om are desperate for a cash offer but r gonna b forced to take r loan deal were his words

  28. Really hope something happens soon. Gonna be really busy after the next hour and wont see anyting til after 5!! Doubt anything will happen this early in the day tho :(

  29. There will b an outcome today one way or another because it was Monday dassier said 48hours so that’s today, this whole deal is gonna b decided on ben arfa n how much he wants to come here, it dosent matter if they except 30m bid for him they can’t force to go n talk to anyone or join anyone

  30. @26 bloody hell no capitol outlay again hav u not realised yt that dosent mean there is no cash as we wud not of signed perch,campbell n gosling these players will of got signing on fees plus wages so if no capitol lay no deal wud of happened as that wud mean no cash for wages as we’ll as deals

  31. Im getting more nervous as the days go by that he hasnt signed yet , he is the type of player we need , n i just hope we get him

  33. Newcastle boss Hughton expects late transfer business
    18.08.10 | tribalfootball.com
    READ MORE NEWS ON: Marseille, Newcastle United

    Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton expects to do his transfer business late on.

    The days have gone when the St James’ Park outfit could pay big money to attract the cream of Europe to the north-east. Hughton skirted around the subject of Marseille’s controversial winger Hatem Ben Arfa, who tops Newcastle’s shopping list and who appears to be unwilling to play for the French champions again.

    However, the Newcastle manager does expect a lot of deals to be done over the next couple of weeks.

    “Players become available very late, so if you go too early you might miss out on someone you would have liked,” he said. “You also have to make sure you get players at the right prices and the financial aspect is a big one for almost everybody.

    “We have said we still need to strengthen. I am very hopeful of doing that before the window closes.”

  34. Can’t see it happening, how many times have we been down this route with Ashley in charge. This is a typical NUFC transfer window, build up the expectations of the fans and then pull the rug from under our feet.
    Ashley WILL NOT spend decent cash to purchase quality players, he wants them all on the cheap.
    I wish he would sell up and crawl back to whereever he came from.
    I am sick and tired of this debate………

  36. davy, difference is the money for the loans comes out rather larger pot called the WAGES bill, new purchases come out of a fresh pot which is empty , its clear no new money is fortcoming to buy players of say even 6 – 10 million pounds expenditure…its rather dire and sad..

  37. I hav in ch but even I am getting sick of the ryt player at the ryt price speech which he has been saying for amonth with only 12days left arrgghhh being a toon fan can b frustrating at times

  38. MA runs his business’s on shoestrings!! so why not NUFC – as sportssoccer no one does more than 6 hour shifts to avoid meal breaks / tax / ni etc he so tight its unreal!! why shud NUFC be any diff? if u expect nowt u cant be disappointed!!

  39. TBH I feel sorry for CH none of this is under his control. He is struggling to get any financial backing from Ashley and he is not responsible for clinching the deal.

  40. If there is no money id rather they jus say, I fink there is money I personnlly don’t someone like sol campbell wud of signed without wanting to know which players are gonna b brought in he is winner n I don’t think he wud of signed to b in a relegation battle

  41. davy, Sol campbell, signed because he really does not have many places left to go, he is in the twilight of his career. i don’t think he is looking too long term at what is happening with the club , or am I wrong ??

  44. Someone like sol wud of wanted to kno even if he is here a year, he cud of went to play cl wit arsenal win medals at celtic

  45. i see that but realistically he wanted premier , i think arse was a ruse , press talk, and so celtic was not on , so it was either mackems or us

  46. See the Indian trying to buy Blackburn is promising to spend £100M on players!!

    C’mon Ashley, we deserve at least a tenth of that on a couple of players.

    CH must be sick of saying we are trying to bring in the right players at the right price.

    That doesn’t mean a fair price for what the player is worth, it means the right price for how deep Ashley is prepared to dig.

    Ashley needs to do one!

  48. Staffstoon , so did the new brum owners , the portsmouth owners , the notts county owners……ill belive that when i see that cash is splashed

  49. the bottom line davy , is i dont think campbell rEALLY worried a hell of a lot as to who we might sign, he just took his best pay option , or contract offered , which was better than mackem s**t

  50. Sol was actually at celtic disussing contract. Arsene Wenger sed repeatedly in interviews that he offered Sol a contract so not all paper talk.

  51. we need to turn on big fat mike and get him to sell up . this club and fans are bigger than him i carnt put up with his shit any more its got to end some time ??

  52. Anyway the ben arfa for the player is bout playing weekin weekout so its gonna b a case of does he want to do it in pl or bundisliga

  53. IF we get HBA who would you take out of the team, Routhledge or Jonas?… Allot of fans seems to be taking out Routhledge but personally i think he was twice the player Jonas was last monday.

  54. There is nothing we can do to make ashly sell, anyone says boycott matches is a tool u go to the match to support the team not who the owner is

  56. my thoughts are is from seeing manu game we looked outclassed in midfield, and frighteningly the amount of chances we made was very LOW , you need chances to make goals, we are not going to get half the chances we got in CCL , so we need some investment , otherwise we will struggle to get , 34 – 36 POINTS !!

  57. I think you’ll find that club did say there was no money & all the fans got use to that idea & were looking forward to seeing what freebies & loanees’ CH would bring in, than a few weeks ago, CH decided to tell the press that he has money to spend & all of a sudden, every fan want him to buy 6-10m players…. get a grip for frak sake……

    Everyone is starting to hava a pop at Ashley again, who says that he’s the one not spending??? CH has said he’s got money, so it’s not Ashley who’s not spending it, its Hughton who’s not spending the money he’s been given!!!

    Ben Arfa is a loan to buy option, would you all want CH to waste £6m on him only to find he can’t hack it in the PL & is worse than Viana & Luque put together, what would you all say than, ‘Oh I told you’ he’d be no good, we should have gone for blah blah blah instead…’

    We have 12 days left in this window, we have a good enough squad to see us through till Jan transfer window if needbe, then we can look at other options to buy or loan to save us from any relegation worries yeah…

    Take a pill & chill guys…. HWTL

  59. Davy… So you would take out Nolan?… i kinda agree, but since he is captain it wont happen.

  60. Cyprus , sorry to be doom and gloom , but our squad is NO WAY strong enough to last till Jan

  62. Hba has said ch understands him, has anyone heard this bloke buying blackburn on ssn he sounds like the indian guy from phone jacker

  63. 56 nzedtoonman says:
    August 18, 2010 at 9:08 am
    my thoughts are is from seeing manu game we looked outclassed in midfield, and frighteningly the amount of chances we made was very LOW , you need chances to make goals, we are not going to get half the chances we got in CCL , so we need some investment , otherwise we will struggle to get , 34 – 36 POINTS !!

    R u for real? I could of told u the moment we got promoted that we would be outclassed at old trafford ffs , we were playing one of the best teams in europe are you trying to tell me you expected us to get 20 chances at goal? I want success for this club as much as anyone here but we have to lower the bar just a tad for the moment

  64. Valle nolan will get dropped bk into cm wit either barton or guthrie, with hba sitting between cm n attack wit jonas n routledge on the wings

  65. what i mean is that we still have coca cola players and not enough premier quality to necessarily stay up ,

  66. valle…..yeah hoffenheim too.I know werder bid £8m end of july and there were articles saying Wolfsburg were interested and every other team in Europe ;-)
    I don’t know mate some reports saying he was promised the number 10 role but if he is to play on the wing then you have to pick which ever 2 of the 3 are producing the goods……although it doesn’t always work out like that unfortunately.I suspect it would be Routers dropped.

  67. On the result of losing 1 games against the 17 times PL winners, we’ve already decided that our squad isn’t good enough to survive in the PL??? how pathetic…. there are maybe 3 or 4 teams in the PL who can beat us the way Manc Usa beat us on Monday, that being Manc Usa, Arsenil, Chelski & Manc Ali Citey maybe, the rest we can battle with & with the squad we currently have, have beaten in previous seasons in the PL, but all of sudden because we’ve just been promoted with that same squad, we’re going to lose to them!!!

    And before anyone says it, ‘its that squad that got us relegated’ they’re not, we got rid of 11 first team players from the squad that was relegated, plus we don’t have the off-field problems we had either, so all in all, we have a much stronger squad than when we got relegated imo :)

  68. toonlad – how do you sell something when nobody wants to buy? Same story when I read that we need to get shot of smithy etc its easy to say but a bit more difficult.

  70. @63 I agree can’t believe r judgin how were gonna do bcoz we got beat off best team in the country, n @56 ya on about chances in game manu had 12 n we had 8

  71. Johnno,
    Look I have supported Toon since 1966 , so I’m not speaking as a messenger of doom and gloom , but realistically when you remember players like Lee, Beardsley, Ginola, Gascoigne, when we had some GREAT gifted midfielders, Where are the inspiring premier midfilders we will have this season who will strike awesome fear into the other premier teams !! eh hemm…

  72. What exactly will a protest achieve? If you think ashley will be forced out you havn’t been paying attention that last few years.

  73. @69 i hope that was a joke, i think weve seen previously that protesting doesnt work

  74. Davy… Well Barton wasnt at his best at old trafford, but i still suspect that he is our best passer of the ball. With him and Nolan in the centre we would have very little pace and movement and no def mid whatsoever tho.

  75. ashley could of sold us 2 years ago to the people that bought man city and he told them the club was not for sale at any price

  76. Get real NZed… We all love NUFC but you cant expect to put balls past one of the best defences in Europe! Its time to realise what we are: a team that’s building from the bottom with a very tight owner.

  77. Cyprus toon I agree totally I can’t believe ppl who hav every team in the pl as the same standard as manu or chelsea

  78. Richie… Hmm, you might be right altho i would think that would be a shame. Routhledge stood out for me at times at old trafford.

  79. valle, exactly Barton is not pure flair , He’s good , but he’s more of a modern batty , than a beardsley, who was pure creativity…

  80. Davy I know , but give me a prediction as to how many points at christmas, and how many by end of play ??

  81. Nzed… Yah… Even tho you could hate all his bling, we still miss a player like Dyer when he played for us.

  82. Valle yea r cm wud lack pace but the 3 around it wud not, we do need a proper dm to protect the bk 4

  83. yea so are we ment to just sit here and go down again or even be a yo yo team like sunderland was 2 years ago , we deserve better than that sorry

  85. valle….there was a couple of times he didnt play the early ball and got caught or the oppurtunity to pass was gone,but the same for Jonas too(and others).I’d love to see players picked entirely on form but most managers don’t(if any) otherwise Rooney wouldn’t be starting Man Utd’s next game ;-)

  86. Nathandio, I dont expect that but realistically our midfield gave away balls too cheaply at some crucial times, and it does show naivety, on our behalf, SIX games time , how many puntas any guesses ??

  87. no body said we didnt deserve better but protesting gets us nowhere. neither do boycotts so just get behind the team nd show ya support instead of moaning about stuff we cant do anything about

  88. Nzed ill b very dissappionted if we haven’t got between 10 to 12 points from are next 5games, I fink we can beat villa,backpool n stoke at home n cud easly get draws at wolves n everton

  89. Dyer , was class , would run after lost causes , and Robert man these players were Premier class , but I have fears for this team as we do not have enough depth yet

  90. Toonlad – noboby really knows if that story about ashley refusing to sell to the arabs is true, it was in the press but looking at MA could you really see him turning down the chance of a quick profit? It’s fairly academic now anyway, one things absolutetly certain & thats a protest would be pointless & could make things worse.

  91. Most of u fink we will go down I easily fink there 6-7 teams worse than us, west brom will struggle coz they’ve got one style which isn’t effective against pl teams were as we can do both last year we learnt how to ruff to teams up

  92. Those players u mentioned played for us 15 years ago! That is a long time in football! The club has been in decline since sbr

  93. I will just sit and watch silently till 31st, believing in CH’s words.I have faith in him as of now. lets see..

    Afterall you need lots of patience being a toon supporter ;)

  94. Well nzed u will b happy if we get afa coz the french reporter on taksport said arfa is better than nasri, robert n benzema

  95. Davy , Sportsmens bet write it in your diary …

    Villa Home , Loss
    Wolves Away, Draw
    Blackpool Home.Win
    Everton,Away, Loss
    Stoke, Home, Draw
    City , Away , Loss…. 5 POINTS…… MAYBE 7 at best…

  96. Sorry in work n hit submit to early :)

    My point is quickly we time to rebuild the club

  98. Richie… True mate, well as long as we get our fair amounts of results, who am i to scream for one or the other to get picked.

  100. Wow, one loss and its all back… Ashley out, we’re going down, lets fck the fat bastard and not turn up… ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
    Only two weeks ago there was talk of Europe. We must have the most fecked up bunch of fans ever!!!! Bi-polar bunch of crazy bastards!

  102. Our chance of gettin ben arfa r with the player it dosent matter who OM accept bids from if the player demands a move to us they cat force to go anywere

  103. @100 Dont think too many fans actually thought we would get a european spot! but I agree its obsurd to be thinking we’ll be relegated cos we got beat off man u

  105. I’ve jus said I fink we will b beat villa, blackpool n stoke at home n I fink we can get draws at everton n wolves am optimistic n I hav faith in the team unlike u

  107. ash , i divvent think anyone thought of europe maybe only for the holidays , no i hope about three points above the bottom five , first season ,then mebbeee a rich arab will buy us .. and we can start buying propa….

  109. davy, always had the faith, otherwise would not still be here !!so you reckon eleven puntas , and i reckon top wack 7 intrestin………..

  112. It’s all getting very repetitive, not so much the transfer “saga”, but some of the crack on here.

    Bed sheets.
    Ashley the tw@t.
    Ashley being a penny pincher.
    We have no pl experience.
    We’re going to get spanked every week.
    Our current squad WILL be relegated.
    And, to top it all off, that no capital outlay thing!

    Anyway, I reckon HBA will sign tomorrow.

    Even if he don’t, as someone said earlier we can survive til Jan and see where were at then. Some people really do think Stoke, Wigan, Wolves etc are as good as Man U!

    I was quite pleased at the way we played during the man u game.

  116. Daverism
    Try and imagine what the comments would be like if we turned out to be fluky team that got two past Manure and won the game…
    Some of these Bi-polar lot would have nothing but praise for the lads!

  119. Looking ominous. Extract from l’Equipe below suggests that Bremen will invest some of the Ozil money in Ben Arfa and that salary and conditions with Ben Arfa are already agreed. He will get CL football, better salary, better chance to be a success in German league. As most of these guys have little if any moral fibre, I fear he’ll be on his way to Germany shortly. Hope they’re wrong as he’s a very good player and would have been gret playing in a free role off Carroll.

    “Hatem Ben Arfa, qui a de nouveau séché l’entraînement mardi, se serait déjà mis d’accord, via ses conseillers, avec le Werder et leur directeur sportif, l’ancien joueur marseillais Klaus Allofs. Ben Arfa signerait pour quatre ans avec Brême, qui doit affronter la Sampdoria Gênes, mercredi soir, lors du 3e tour préliminaire de Ligue des champions. Son nouveau salaire serait de l’ordre de 4,5 millions d’euros bruts annuels, alors qu’il émargeait à 220 000 euros bruts par mois à l’OM.

  121. Haha. Wed be top 4 nathandio mate!

    If we play with the same determination as we did against man u, well get our fair share of points. Determination goes a long way.

    Nufc 2008/09 – we had quality players, no determination/motivation.

    Stoke 2008/09. The exact opposite.

  122. daverism , love your optimism , but premier back fours will not wince at our line up , we realistically will be 15th at best methinks , season afters may be time to build then…

  123. what a joke,a good player wanted to sign for us that could have made a massive difference and we couldnt pony up the money!!…fecking cocks!!

  124. what a joke,a good player wanted to sign for us that could have made a massive difference and we couldnt pony up the money!…shamefull

  125. we are screwed without the addition of pace and quality -we do NOT have the SKILL or FLAIR to break down premiership defences – that includes the likes of Stoke, West Ham,. Wigan, Wolves etc!
    we don have enough firepower to get the goals reqd to get 3 points!
    i hope i am wrong!!

  126. i think some of the comments from fans saying we didnt create enough against manusa at old trafford in our 1st game back in pl are a little harsh,i thought we created a good amount of chances myself like,we have to remember where we have just came from and what kind of team we have just now lads,i understand that these points are being made in reference to the fact that we need to strengthen though,which we will do.i think we will sign some quality players because if we were going for the usual cheap ccc players then dont anybody think that we would of signed them by now as they would of been alot easier to get in? i think we need to relax a little lads,we were after all playing away at manusa! we played well all things considered,,mind that our last away game was qpr! its a hell of a step up,with a couple of quality additions in the chance creating mould like hba,and a good dm like fer/rios and when we get our injured players back and have a bit of luck on that front we should be fine.i was impressed with the way we started against manusa and took a lot of positives from the game,far more than i had expected to.the talk of protests and the fact that we didnt hammer manusa at ot is ridiculous.as joey b will be uttering under that tache…calm down calm down eh???

  127. jettson , you are very close to the trooth , there is a chasm of diff between ccl and epl , we seemed to blindly walk into this league with a few loans , and some 36 year olds hoping to be in top 6 or 8

  128. Nzed,

    15th? Considering our only target is to survive, I’d take 15th now mate. Happily.

    All I’m trying to say is, people need to just chill out. I’m honestly surprised some of the people on here don’t have heart attacks every weekend. If they reacted to a everyday situation the way they react to football gossip, rumours and results against one of the worlds top 4 teams, they’d be sectioned. it’s not normal to flip moods so easily!

  129. it just saddens me when we are all quite toon mad , that its run by money geeks who dont give a toss about our history or passion, they have no love for the game , they did not get up at 8 am sunday morning slightly overhung to play footy for the local pub , and bleed footballl….ya kna what i mean…

  130. Below 12th, the “gulf of class” between PL and Championship is narrow if not none existent.

  131. daverism i think 15th is realistically honest , no gloom, just facts, i am eternally optimistic , about bour success , maybe next season though…

  133. Well well well. Ashley out has started even sooner than I thought it would. Pathetic. I just dont understand why people cant understand that unless someone offers to buy us, at the price requested then we are stuck with Ashley. If I offered you £50 for your house you wouldnt sell it to me would you.

    I am actually happy with what Ashley is trying to do and want to stop spending money we dont have as a gamble. We dont have it. Suck it up. Fact.

    Also, going on demonstration, bedsheets out etc WILL NOT ATTRACT ANY NEW OWNER!!! And it also just makes us look bloody stupid

  134. 15th is 2 places higher than success.

    Were newly promoted, our main aim is one thing; Survival. That’s all. The sooner everyone realises that the better off we will all be.

    On a side note; I don’t believe this Bremen carry on. I’ve read / commented on this blog since it started, and on eds before that. I can’t recall Stu EVER putting his neck on the line with transfer rumours. I 100% believe him. I suggest you all should too.

  136. skysports transefer centre:

    MARSEILLE have reached an agreement which they hope will see Andre-Pierre Gignac move to Stade Velodrome.

    Hopefully we will now see big step forward and something will happen today, that will determine who ben arfa is transferring to.

  137. Cheers Daverism – Im sick to the back teeth with it, and I just get tarred with the same brush of delusion and wanting the world. NO. I want to finish 15th. Comfortably 15th, without having to go to the last game. I dont want superstars, I want a team that fights for 96 minutes and will not give up. I would obviously like to be entertained but ultimately I WANT A CLUB TO SUPPORT, and if that means we all lower of hopes and we just accept that for the next 3 years we are hoping to finish at the top of the bottom half, maybe a touch higher with some luck and stabilise the club then great.

    The alternative of the Ashley out brigade, will obviously mean a change in manager, a load of new players, a change to the ethic and dynamics. Look at Man Shitty, where on earth are they gona fit all these players? Look at the wages? Are they going to be self sufficient in a few years? No. Are they going to be able to fulfill the upcoming requirement to spend 50% or so of turnover? No. And what happens when the owners get bored? They are in massive massive trouble.

    I just wish some people would think about things for just a moment. I wish we could go back 10-15 years and re-live the glory times, but get a grip. They have gone for the time being. We are not that club anymore and whilst I am happy I was around to see it, we need to focus on the future, ensure we have a club to support in 10 years time and build.

    Rant over

  138. Tummy – Ben Arfa is on his way out of O’M, make no mistake, but the obvious problem is who meets the demands of O’M and then the player. I would like to hope we are in a positive position given his actions last week and what he has said, but thats not to say that if another club, ie Arsenal come in and offer more money then he wont go there. I just want the bloody thing over with then we can move on. Im more interested to see if we are bringing in Fer and/Arevelo

  139. i thought it may have took 7or8 games in before the unrest started,but such is the feeling towards ashley,i knew it would arise again.
    ashley should leave asap,if i was him that’s what i would do.he is never ever going to win around the fans,after what has happened over the previous 3 years.
    i dont like ashley at all,and surely he himself can see that the situation is futile.if he says he wants the best for the club,then he shoulb be doing his utmost to find a buyer.he’s in a situation where he’s damned if does and damned if he doesn’t.
    i knew even when promotion was achieved it was papering over the cracks,and the so called stability at the club is bollox.the only instability that has happened at newcastle is created by ashley himself,and no one else.
    okay the fans protesting made the debacle even worse,but they were only reacting to circumstances,that ashley created.i dont think this club will ever move on until this man leaves for good.
    the whole thing is beyond redemption imo,we are sitting on a perpetual tinderbox,that will never go away.
    ashley must have been mad if he thought promotion would dampen these feelings,although didn’t he say “get promoted and i’ll sell up”?.
    well you can take whatever the club say with a pinch of salt.

  140. “For once, I can’t see much that Newcastle have done wrong in the way they have handled this deal”

    Disagree totally, The thing the club have done wrong is not nipping this in the bud and give Marseille the £6m, Giving us the pacey creative player we lack, We all knew if Marseille got a fair cash offer for him they would prefer to take it and who can blame them.

    I read a few times Ashley has apparantly said he would put cash up for exceptional circumstances well is this not one of them ??

    We could then try and sign loan cover for the wings like Weiss who hasnt got a prayer of being in Citehs 25 and Armand Traore who is behind Clichy and Gibbs at Arsenal and would cover us at left back and left mid.

  141. Couldn’t agree more with that Raffo.

    I don’t understand all these people hoping for a Arab buyout. Obviously it would be fun, but you’d have that nagging thought.. The same ones Citeh fans probably have now. “we’ve just totally overpaid for every part of this” Man City is now a broken club. As soon as the owners are bored they’re under. No one will buy that club with the wage structure etc. Hope I’m wrong as don’t want to see another club go belly up.

    I like the way Ashley is doing things, albeit rather ham fistedly. We’ll feel better knowing our resurgence is due to hard work and good support. Rather than bashing peoples heads in with bags of fifty quid notes.

  142. Trojan, I understand what you’re saying mate, but remember we were all excited about Ashley taking over, who says well get a decent owner? I think it’s a bit of better the devil you know, at the minute.

  143. Trojan69: “ashley should leave asap,if i was him that’s what i would do.”

    Probably one of the many reasons why he’s a billionaire and you’re… not!

  144. Not really nufc related, but has anyone else read sir alexs comments around clubs paying silly money for players? When having a sly and very bitter dig at man city he would do well to remember the £30m he spent on Ferdinand and the £29m he spent on rooney.

  145. Toonlad – You’re either a muckemo the windup or a complete flamin idiot!!! either way, here’s a response from a sensible Toon supporter ok :)

    As for your post about protesting, get a grip, one of the reasons we were relegated was because the fans, that us, started protesting against the owner, thats Ashley & all it did was disturb the players, thats the team & once that started, the rot set in & no one wanted to play for us at that time, so protesting again would just do the same & get us relegated again ok!!

    Arab bid – right, from what I remember, there was a bid form those who finally brought Manc Ali Citey to buy the Toon but Ashley didn’t want to sell outright, he only wanted an investor who would put money in but not have control of the club, so they went away & brought Manc Ali Citey instead & the rest if history!!

    As it’s already been pointed out several times in the past, to sell the club, you first need someone with the funds available to buy it & at present, there aren’t many people out there with a spare £300m to spare, thats how much it will cost to buy the club & pay off the £111m the club owes Ashley ok… if you don’t believe me, just looks at Cessepool, they are currently in the process of being sold but they have several bidders, none of whom have provided proof of funds, so until they do, Cessepool will not be sold & at present are being charged £7.5m per week interest by RBS for the loans outstanding… at least with Ashley, he’s not charging us interest for the money he’s loaned us & he doesn’t want that money back until the club is sold!!!

    If some rich billionaire comes along & buys the club, just like Blackburn seems to have, then hopefully they’ll do due diligence & then decide to give our manager a hefty warchest, as has been promised to Fat Sam, but until that day, we have to get use to the fact that Ashley isn’t going to throw stupid money on players & we have to get use to the fact that what we have will have to do us……

    SO NO FLAMIN PROTEST OK :)

  148. protesting is the last thing we should be considering imo,we need to get behind the lads if we are to have any chance of staying up,which means success imo.we need to wait untill the transfer window shuts to see wether we are going to have had any signins made,which i am 99per cent sure will have,and decent ones too,not crazy money,thats stupid,but a outlay of somewhere between 5-8 m and a few loans,even if we dont get any in we still cant afford any distractions to our players like protesting,we have just been promoted and its going to be tough as it is even with new signings so to turn round and give them even more to worry about would be suicide.ashley will not leave due to any protests,that has been proved,so lets all calm down,try and be positive untill the window shuts,see where we are and no matter what happens we must get behind the team like never before keep sjp rocking with support! protesting affects the players and we cant afford that

  149. FFS would have have this deal tied up long ago. I am so sick of Ashley it is not like the club isn’t making money. Imagine how many extra tickets and shirts will get sold if we sign a decent player who people will actually want to go and watch.

  151. toonchicken,you just dont get it what i’m trying to say,i am not having a massive dig at ashley,but surely you can see this situation is untenable.the longer he hangs around,this is going to go from bad to worse.
    promotion only papered over the cracks of an open festering wound.i understand they may not be buyers atm,but he could put the feelers out.the best thing all around is for him to get a decent price,so he can leave as painlessly as possible.
    toonchicken,stop with your childish insults,because you dont agree with someone’s popint of view.
    mike ashley is a billionaire who probably made his money,by exploiting,treading on toes,and being an all round general b*****d.if that’s the requirement to be a billionaire,then i’m glad i’m poor.

  152. Trojan – he doesnt have to win over the fans does he. All he has to do is to stabilise the club, hopefully put enough capital in to allow the team to acheive the ONLY goal of the season and stay up, and then I am willing to bet that the very fans who are wanting rid because he wont sanction a £15million bid for Ozil, will in fact be won round and be happy for him to stay. Esp when other clubs are going to have to start doing what we have as the current situation is unsustainable for anyone

  153. its everywhere, bremen are guna get him, gutted man, gutted!!! funny ashley paid 10mill for coloccini who is dog shit but wont pay 6mill for a class young player…who wants to join!!

  154. It appears it’s now dependent on how much HBA wants to play in England rather than Germany. If there has been a pre agreement between Newcastle and HBA, and he keeps his word, maybe the latest quotes from OM’s president suggest we’re still in with a decent chance.

    “Le président est revenu sur le cas Ben Arfa, balayant l’idée émise par le Corriere dello Sport d’un échange avec Klaas-Jan Huntelaar du Milan AC dont le transfert est estimé à 15 millions d’euros. « C’est n’importe quoi. En ce qui concerne Ben Arfa, j’espère que ça va se régler dans les jours qui viennent. Il suffit simplement que Newcastle améliore son chiffre dans les jours qui viennent. Ils vont le faire. Comme je l’ai dit, je ne serai pas l’homme qui va freiner ou mettre un terme à la carrière d’Hatem Ben Arfa. Il s’agira d’un prêt avec option d’achat ».

    He’s basically saying that AC Milan is not an option and if Newcastle improve slightly their offer, which “they will” HBA could leave on a loan with buy option.

    Seems to back up Stu’s info of slight increase in fee to get HBA, except if the Bremen deal is for real and they’re offering him 70k a week and CL and this turns his head.

  156. think we will know today where wor benny is going and if its us then im sure the talk of protesting will dissapear again until the nxt defeat..

  157. Comments from Nolan

    “We have to keep moving forward together and that will take time, but this club has to get back to where it belongs, amongst all these big clubs in the Premier League,”“We are not talking Champions League maybe, but in the next five years we have to be back in contention, in the Europa League and working to get ourselves back where we belong for a club of this size and stature.”

    “We can’t get too carried away with what happened last year and we realise this is a whole new challenge.” “I don’t think we have been on a level with Man Utd for many, many years, so we have to bear that in mind.” “It was always going to be a tough day and we knew that before kick-off but I felt for half an hour we played well and had the best chance.” “It wasn’t to be and we have got to take the good bits on to Sunday (against Aston Villa).”

    “We certainly won’t play a better team this year, so we are reasonably happy.” “There are 38 games this season and this was probably the toughest we will have.” “Although some players under-performed we have got plenty of time to put that right.” “The fans have to stay with us and be patient. Together as a united Newcastle we will achieve what we need to achieve this season.”

    I just cant believe he is having to say this type of thing after only 1 game for goodness sake

  159. we are a selling club again and i am no fool i travel home and away i spend my money like every body else ? hes sold all our best players and never replaced them he lives on lyes all i am saying the supporters have a right to say what they think and i am not the 1 that is sick of the ashley goes about his bussines ?

  160. raffo,the problem is,there is always going to be unrest,as long as ashley involved.
    i’ve no doubt he wants the best for the club,in his own way.i just think because of the ill will that exists,it will seriously hamper any plans he has,to turn the club around.
    we are always going to be a couple of steps away from a meltdown.

  161. Trojan, unfortunately mate, that’s how business is. Were not special in this situation you know, I’m sure a lot of other clubs would like rid of their owner, don’t need to name names. We will all be happy when clubs start folding and were still standing, thanks to Ashleys prudence. We’ll probably qualify for CL by default, being one of a handful of solvent football clubs in England.

  162. Trojan – i’m not insulting you – just saying its daft to even suggest that Ashley should just walk away from something he has ploughed hundreds of thousands of pounds into. If that’s the sort of thing you’d be prepared to do than I think I’m right in saying you wouldn’t be a billionaire for much longer.

    What do you think would happen if he did walk away? I’m guessing we’d be royally fcuked – much more so than now – and we’d probably end up in admin.

    Careful what you wish for.

  163. lads for 3 years or more we havnt bridged that cap from central midfield to attack.we have had slow players in central midfield thats why we went down.look at who we have let go butt germei.these were the players we put in.mostly playing 4 or 5 central midfield for 3 years.and ch has been part of that in his time their.so he has still gone that way.dont no why..when it has not been working.he hasnt hardly won any games and played the same way the other night in the prem..ben arfa wont change that fact..we have all said that thats were are first buys should be..we are still waiting and why.toonsy said ranger had a bad attiude last year thats why he isnt playing.i beleive he is doing his best scoring goals in the reserves and doesnt even get a sniff their for he gets pissed off..look at what has xisco done or best.are best game was are first pre season game with young 1s and harris and ranger scored and he was shit hot that day and have not have a sniff since.harris played on the wing or game inside.so what makes xico a better player on the wing.sorry this clown didnt wont to play for us and gets a game b4 them.i would be pissed off as well.then they stop putting it in..becasue they are not getting a chance.

  164. a think its fair to say,, no arfa and no boateng, no , stiker no van aanholt, we need some xtra class however you look at it, if we go down wer in trouble and well lose muney n a doubt ashley will lend muney twice, but cumon, heeds up, how many thort wed do a leeds and wer rong, we can prove ppl rong agen,, or a hope so

  165. lets stick together – we all support and love the toon!
    we do need quality and MA has to HAS TO invest NOW!! we do not need more than a max of 3 players – so long as those 3 are QUALITY – HBA and Fer are that, they are young with bags of power, pace, flair, quality!! take the plunge and get them. I do fear terribly if we are unable to get pace and flair and quality in this team! at the present time without it we are not good enough!saddens me to say that, but i am realistic, i hope we all are!!
    come on MA HBA and Fer would make the world od difference both on and off the pitch!!

  166. just read comment from dassier on la provence talking about the supposed werder bremen bid ”i certify that no proposal has been forwarded to the om”

  167. If he signed even just a couple of decent players, and we’re not talking tens of millions here, and was seen to make a real effort on his part, I couldn’t see most fans protesting against him.

  168. Carroll, Lovenkrands
    Jonas, Guthrie, Nolan, Routledge
    Enrique, Colocinni, Williamson, Perch
    Harper

    That would be my team to beat Villa.

    Jonas, Routledge and Lovenkrands have plenty of pace between them – enough to create holes for Guthrie and Nolan to exploit, and with Carrolls aerial threat and workrate I reckon we’ll run out 2-1 winners.

    Howay the lads!

  169. Toonlad, don’t be such a knob, both the club and us supporters have to learn from passed mistakes, what a tool :roll: agree with you raffo, well said.

  170. weve jus gotta hope he wants to come here more than germany, i dont think wages are gonna be an issue the french guy on talksport said he will b one the highest paid players at the club

  171. Obviously Ashley doesnt have much faith in us staying up coz he just wants to offer the £800,000 and £5.5M to buy him next summer if we stay up. If we dont or it looks like we wont Hugton will drop him after 23 appearances or he will be ‘injured’ and go back and they will again have a player on their hands that doesn’t want to be there. I can understand why this deal has been held up and again its Ashley pure and simple, and now the vultures are starting to circle we could be knackered.

  172. The one thing to remember is how much the players and CH kept mentioning the fact that the support last season was vital to their success. Now i’m not foolish enough to think that a few terrace hits will keep us up but lets not let our frustrations show on match days. Regardless of what or who comes in we need to keep behind this team if we want to do well this season! HWTL

  173. lads it was always going to happen when some team sells their player then papers make up all this crap on ben arfa.anyway he would look reel tw..t if he doesnt come.i think it is more us then him.he came to us over the weekend that says a lot about the player.

  175. well i dont c the problem djg if bremen hav 6.5mill n are deal is 800,000 with 5.5mil next year thats the same deal jus they get there cash next year, OM are the ones fu**ing about we agreed a deal did all they asked then they pulled out, the player wants to come thats why he was here at weekend n on strike

  176. i do agree that with a bid of 5-6 we would of signed him a while ago,if we do miss out it will be so frusrtating coz the boy has done all he can to get his move here

  177. toonchicken,i’m not saying he should just walk away,of course he should get his money back.
    who knows,maybe behind the scences,he could be looking at buyers.what i’m saying is,the situation as it is,will never get any better.ashley will not deviate from his plan as he is as stubborn as fook.
    we also have a militant section of fans,who are as equally stubborn as he is.
    so we are always going to have this mexican stand off,between ashley and a section of the fans.
    there is also a split between fans,which isn’t doing us any good.we are newcastle disunited at the present time,ashley has created so much division in the ranks.
    you only have to look at this blog for the opposing factions that exist.
    it doesn’t seem to matter what ashley implements at the club,it always ends up with the fans up in arms.
    it is like stormy violent relationship,that will end in tragedy,because one of the partners wont walk away.
    the whole thing is unhealthy,detrimental to the clubs future,and it has to come to an end.

  179. The pl is all about money. It always will be. Not too long ago the amount of m oney spurs have spent in the past two seasons would have given them the title. Now city are spending over £100m a season! Madness. There was a refreshing honesty about the game when we were in the ccc. It’s going to take years for us to even start to think of competing for the top six. I guess it depends on what you want out of football. Do you want to just clinically buy the league. Is all that matters is silverware no matter what it costs? Or do we want to watch games where there is an honesty and passion in the team where the players are here for the love of the game and not because their club sold them to the highest bidder?

  181. off subject but anybody interested in andy carrolls match worn away shirt from the derby game last season? also got a robert signed and unwashed 03/04 home shirt for sale.my email is toastman77@hotmail.com you can view my shirts at

    footballmatchworn.blogspot.com

    also really think we will get hatem in before the villa game and maybe another aswell,hopefully fer over rios as he seems the better player and would fit into our policy,anybody think we should try and get beye back for rb?

  182. What was disturbing Monday night was that the midfield just fell apart. Maybe it was because Nolan was “knocked-out on his feet” and could not play his role. Maybe them Smith fell too far back into a defensive shell. That left the wings to run alone with an empty middle. And it left Barton to try to cover 1/3 of the pitch all by his lonesome.

    So the question is,”Was a crocked Nolan better than anyone on the bench?” And when Shola came on, essentially saying we were playing 4-4-2, Why did Smith stay so far back making a 5-3-2?

    In any case, conceding the middle of the pitch for 60 minutes to a pair of fine midfielders was a recipe for disaster.

  183. And even more midfielders… if the rumours are to be believed!

    Neighbours Newcastle United and Middlesbrough are fighting it out to sign highly rated Hibernian midfielder David Wotherspoon

    18 Aug 2010 01:46:15
    Manchester City’s 22 year old Nigerian midfielder Kelvin Etuhu is a season long loan target for Premier League rivals Newcastle United according to the player’s agent

    Ho hum…. no defence, a bulging midfield and no-one for them to feed to put the ball away?

  184. asim i don’t think HBA is worried about looking like a t*at. His reletaionship with every club he has played for to date has cemented his place as a prize t*at.

    Once a t*at always …

    Don’t want him, and the sooner he goes somewhere else the better … then we can get on with our season.

  186. man city have spent over 300 million in 2 seasons. more that the entire 91 professional league clubs put together. to compete with that level of spending will bankrupt the premier league clubs. ferguson is right to criticise.

  187. Does anyone know how many tickets were put on sale for the everton match, they still haven’t sold out yet.

  188. but we need this tw..t.xico on the wing.or him.sorry we are going nowwhere with playing xico on the wing.what is that all about.he plays his pals in thier postions.but if a player his doing well he plays them out of postion so he they cant do anything to spoil the party.are problem is ch.get rid not a strong enough manager.

  189. malchick says:
    August 18, 2010 at 11:45 am

    “man city have spent over 300 million in 2 seasons.”

    Including the large wage deals and other things they have over a billion in total, malchick.

  190. Micky Toon says:
    August 18, 2010 at 11:32 am

    “Now city are spending over £100m a season! Madness. There was a refreshing honesty about the game when we were in the ccc.”

    But Micky, WE were the Man City of the Championship with our £50-60 milion first team squad, with Middlesborough and WBA bringing up the rear as the big money teams of that league. Are you sure that this wasn’t the “refreshing” part? ;-)

  191. If some of this ‘oil money’ gets pumped into buying houses, cars and consumer items in this country though then it can’t be doing the economy any harm in the manchester area. :)

  192. Could never see Arfa coming to the Toon-certainly not on loan.
    Think we have just gone through the motions again…looking busy when deep down I think we all know it very rarely amounts to any real quality being landed.

    Perch,Best,Campbell…..Yawn.

    So many times this has happened Turan,Modric,Arshavin to name a few…..don’t believe the hype Austerity reigns supreme :lol:

  193. Money can’t buy success though as proven by Man City. If they still arent top 4 by end of this season Mancini will be gone for sure and they will buy Mouriniho or someone. They have some superstar players now but I can see them playing as individuals not as a team. From what I have seen anyway. Even with Man U’s reletivly modest spending by top4 standards they are still riding high for a few years because they were built over the long term.

  196. Sirj – “So many times this has happened Turan,Modric,Arshavin to name a few…..don’t believe the hype Austerity reigns supreme”

    Isn’t it the media that has fuelled this wild speculation … It’s certainly not the club!!

    The media again are pushing the HBA story and the club have distanced themselves from the whole story.

    Why do people on here get wound up by the media so much … they are playing us like dicks.

    A bit of realism would be good … HBA isn’t coming here … get used to it …

  197. Newcastle face a battle to land Vladimir Weiss
    Aug 18 2010 by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle

    Could be more chronicle cr## but wouldnt be suprised if there’s some truth in this one. Would be a low cost alternative to ben afra deal, season long loan for Weiss from Man City, Thats ASHLA PRICE, ching ching. :roll:

  198. “We’re waiting for news from Newcastle. For the moment we don’t have any….. we asked them for the minimum (fee) because I have no intention, I say it again, of breaking Ben Arfa’s career – it’s not my style.”

    So there you go, we had first dibs, they asked for a min fee and Ashley turned his back. So now we know where we stand with our piece of crap owner lads.

  199. manu were the original ‘but the league’ c***s, years ago, so they have no room to talk.
    blackburn bought it.
    leeds tried & failed miserably.
    spurs are tentatively ‘having a go’.
    chelsea did it.
    & now manc.
    liverpool & arsenal are the only ones in recent memory that have won it relatively fairly, based on players wanting to play for those clubs. liverpool cos of history & arsenal cos it’s in N. London.
    Sigh!

  201. DJG – and whats the minimum fee?? He could have asked 50p or 50 million … why assume that it was a bargain ??

  202. DJG,
    OM pulled the plug on the original deal.
    That’s why HBA is so pissed, & why Newcastle have said nowt.
    They’re right to say nowt & act casual.
    Otherwise there would be tapping up claims.

  203. C’mon chaps, don’t be despondent about the lack of spend. We’re in difficult times and our Prime Minister says there’s need for economies all ’round.

    He and his trusty poodle Clegg are trying to curb governemnt excess and tell us that ‘We’re all in this together’ [really?]. We must therefore take comfort and trust that our beloved owner’s doing his bit for the all-round and longer term good.

    And the band played on…… the Titanic?

  204. Well obviously they dont want to send him on loan for £800,000. He’s a current frence international their not gonna let him go for nowt are they lol. But I think a real offer between 5-6M from Ashley and he would be a NUFC player by now.

  205. DJG – nearly 1 million in the bank plus his wages off the wage bill doesnt sound like sending him on loan for nothing to me.

  206. going to work lads.always look forward to see if we have signed any1 when i return tonight.please please please get some1 even west brom are close to signing a forward.or if not ch.get ranger and harris in the side b4 u cock everything up.we had 2 minthe head start then any1 and we are no more forward.today saying if we nuy players and somebody who comes a long and wasnt being sold and he is better then the players we are looking at we have missed out.stop talking crap and give us a answer and stop hiding behind ashley u clown.

  207. Yes but can’t you see why Ashley is doing this, he is safe gaurding against us going back down. They want rid of him full stop, not a loan where Ashley can send him back in 8 months time because of clauses in the contract. They need money now to buy players like Gignac and N’Zogbia.

  209. i say back the players we have got we are not going to sign any 1 unless they are free 10 years ago this club was going places under asley we r goig know whe where just standing still ,
    lets hope we can survive this season and see what next brings

  211. Latest on the ben arfa situation:-

    Hatem Ben Arfa’s move to Newcastle looks in jeopardy. His advisors are reportedly in talks with Werder Bremen.

  212. I think our offer is decent and I also think the reason why we don’t offer the cash up front is because we want that money for other areas (defensive midfielder) so we want to put off paying them until the next installment of tv money comes in.

    I also think Marseille are dragging this out to see if they get any takers who will guarantee the money first.

  213. toonlad – 10 years ago we were in massive debt … if we were still under the same owners we would be in the High Court facing a winding up order by no !!!

    I am not a fan of ashley by any stretch of the imagination … but at least we are now operating within our means.

    We are not standing still … we were champions last season and we are one game into this season … having played one of the best teams in europe !!

  215. rangerman … as the club have refused to comment on the ‘speculation’ how do you know what our decent offer is??

  216. 10 years ago we were mortgaged to the eyeballs spending money we hadnt yet got. Yes they were great times, but we are and the football worldis in a different place now. Even Barca are struggling for money. We have got to accept where we are now, I am not suggesting we all dance in the streets and are happy about it, but we have to have some perspective and realism looking into the next 5 years.

    As for Ben Arfa – I am bored with this saga now, if he comes great if he doesnt then he didnt want to be here and we should move onto those that do.

    I am more concerned with the jounals piece that the Fer rumours have cooled, he is a player I think we need far more than Arfa anyway

  217. shrews, mate,
    y’wasting y’time bud.
    As soon as someone puts something logical up here, someone else quotes a spurious press piece (of shit).
    I read it in the daily fail, so it must be true.
    STOP believing press that hate us, have a think lads before you type.
    FFS.

    ps, i’m not dissing peoples views/opinions, just don’t quote/misquote pressmongs as fact. PLEASE!
    ;)

  218. the reason with the fk on with benny arfa is we want to loan him where as OM want to sell him.

  219. Raffo,
    top points mate.
    Though some on here can’t wait 5 mins, let alone 5 years.
    :)

  220. CF – my head hurts from banging it on the wall …

    No problem with opinions, it just winds me up that people throw around facts and figures … from the red tops … which are all b*ll*cks.

  222. They agreed to loan him, with view to buy, then pulled out.
    That’s why he’s gone awol.

  224. According to the London based Metro, Arsenal are now after HBA.

    When will this end.

    So much for ‘early promotion, early signings’

    So much for ‘we have our list of targets’

    So much for ‘we’ll have our new players in for a whole pre-season training’

    So much for ‘we’ll have em in before the first day of the season’

    Now we’re at ‘we’ll have new faces in before the deadline’

    Of course we will but what or whom they are and under waht terms at what price….. we’ll just have to wait and see I guess.

    SNAFU….. again!

  225. clint things have changed OM want the money for him,they want insomnia and gignac,so they need the money.

  226. hitman,
    i know mate, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they moved the goalposts.
    Tosspots!
    :evil:
    Typical french dealings, sadly.
    Waste of space trying to do biz with them.

  227. fkin shockin m8.
    but benny going on one didnt help,he forced there hand,they have no option but to sell now,.

  228. Here’s some low-down from the rumours site, not Ed’s I stress.

    18 Aug 2010 12:25:51
    Hi ed do you have some Newcastle news today mate. Is there more news on Ben arfa or someone els.

    {Editor’s Note: Ben Arfa will go to Newcastle if the club are willing to pay a transfer fee. As I explained last week, once he walked out on the club any thoughts of a loan were off the table. Marseille made it clear to Newcastle and recalled the player. With Oezil heading to Madrid Werder Bremen will probably push ahead to buy the player. Marseille are actively rebuilding already so there is no option for Ben Arfa to stay there.}

    Ed do you think that newcastle will pay the fee and do you know where newcastle are in the deal ?

    {Editor’s Note: I understand, and this is from an absolutely impeccable source, that as of yesterday (Tuesday) Newcastle had only ever proposed and discussed a loan for the player. Marseille approached Milan (not the other way around) about a possible exchange of Ben Arfa for Huntelaar – the response was very much a shrug rather than a yes or no. Hoffenheim have offered a suitable fee but Ben Arfa is not keen. Werder Bremen have to be favourites.}

  229. another player who will be hawked around every club going,then ultimately end up staying at marseilles.

  232. Anyone else hoping that ch is using this benny saga to distract everyone from the real targets? No one had a clue about our last signings.

  233. mike ashley is a prick he karnt even sign 1 player for i hope he sells up because i hate him

  235. I’m sure now he knows you hate him, toonlad, that Ashley will put the club up for sale and be gone forthwith :roll:

  236. We need reinforcements asap, we wern’t terrible at man u but they were a different class, i know this kid ben arfa’s a good player but even without him I still think there’s 3 teams we are better than in the league just a left full back, striker and another midfielder.

    Can’t wait til the villa game!!

  237. Micky Toon says:
    August 18, 2010 at 1:48 pm
    Anyone else hoping that ch is using this benny saga to distract everyone from the real targets? No one had a clue about our last signings.

    No! I think he’s gonna end up getting who he can, at the last minute. But, what can he do? After all, he hasn;t been doning a KK or a JFK and shouting ‘we’re in for this one and that one’ – it’s the media and fans fanning the flames that have raised expectations.

    Let’s be realistic. The club’s broke and it’s aim is to stay in the Prem and build up the finances over a period of years so the club’s self-sufficient and run in a sensible way – with sensible business and investment plans that require shrewd management.

    For gawds sake, draw the analogy with a being victim if a serious injury: We’re rehabilitating and undergoing physio, getting movement back, learning to walk again, then jogging, then running!

    One step at a time… please let’s show patience and support through difficult times.

  239. toonlad says:
    August 18, 2010 at 1:51 pm
    mike ashley is a prick he karnt even sign 1 player for i hope he sells up because i hate him

    Toonlad, you forgot to stamp your feet and say ‘So there!’ Oh, I forgot….. then the door slamming, the little tear, the pet lip and the huffs…. til tea time.

  240. If you want quality you have to pay.Ashley won’t so we’ve got to do with the bargain basement.Thats the way it has been and thats the way it will be.

  241. I am sorry if I have missed something here, but have I slept through 13 days and 2 hours and 45 mins and missed the rest of the transfer window? Has it now shut?

  242. Well said Raffo we need patience!! Can’t believe the shitty rumours we here.

    Hope we get some one in before aston villa game though.!

  245. Hatem Ben Arfa // Aug 18, 2010 at 3:30 PM

    Announced in Newcastle, with whom he had given a financial loan for a season, Hatem Ben Arfa has still not chosen his future destination. Werder Bremen, who has just sold Mesut Özil for 20 million euros to Real Madrid, has just sent an offer for Marseille’s attacking midfielder. The German club, which would have made the French international priority, has 8 million euros to Marseille. Phocaean leaders are poised to give their approval to the assignment. ” If Ben Arfa and his advisers are OK, it does not bother us at all. We believe the German Championship mêmeque conviendramieux him that the game played in England , said in L’Equipe Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier. A final decision could be made Wednesday.

    Hatem Ben Arfa, who again skipped training on Tuesday, would have agreed, through its advisers, and with Werder sporting director Klaus former Marseille player Allofs. Ben Arfa would sign for four years with Bremen, who must face Sampdoria on Wednesday night at the 3rd qualifying round of Champions League. His new salary would be about $ 4.5 million annual gross, so that staff charged with 220,000 euro gross per month in OM. Still under contract with Marseille until 2012, the former Lyon had been bought 12 million euros to Lyon in 2008.

  246. Has anybody else experienced problems trying to take the new Newcastle United away strip (blue) back to Sports Direct due to the fact that it has clicked as soon as it is worn. They refuse to exchange it stating that it is not a quality issue but will ‘click’ if it comes into contact with anything. I have currently sent Sports Direct a letter which will result in me taking legal action if my complaint is not resolved in 14 days. I am reliably informed that the official Newcastle United shops are providing refunds in these circumstances

  247. Newcastle United have been told to include a specific option to purchase the player in their offer to sign Hatem Ben Arfa on a loan deal, according to Marseille President Jean-Claude Dassier.

    The President wants the magpies to ‘add an option in case of automatic continuation in the Premier League.’ This seems to suggest a condition or promise whereby Newcastle will have to purchase the player if they stay up.

    He said:
    “This case is not complicated. On the British side, I asked them to add an option in case of automatic continuation in the Premier League.” We will not let the British take us for idiots. We know them. They saw what was happening with Hatem and they come back.”
    “Bremen is more serious. This would be great for him to go there.”
    On the other side, Werder Bremen Sporting Director Klaus Allofs has said the club’s interest in Ben Arfa was ‘not hot’.

    He told a TV channel before their game against Sampdoria:
    “We’re not looking for a replacement for Mesut Özil. Whether or Marko Marin Aaron Hunt or someone else, we’ll find an internal solution”
    Ben Arfa, the 23-year old France International is believed to be keen on a move to Newcastle United.