Update: Enrique, Routledge, Cabaye, Sporting Kansas City and the pitch invasion
Posted on July 19th, 2011 | 5 Comments |
The whole Jose Enrique situation is beginning to grind on me at the moment, so I’ll be brief.
According to press reports, Liverpool are ‘closing in’ with an £11.5m deal for the player, which – if true – must be a very recent move by Dalglish’s mob because just a few days ago Alan Pardew said this in relation to the Enrique situation:
“We have had no concrete offers.”
I’ll be disappointed if he does go to Liverpool after all his crowing about wanting Champions League football although, if he’s clearly not going to sign a contract for us, I’ll be glad to see the back of him so that we can recruit a replacement left-back well before the new season gets under way.
Next we come to Wayne Routledge. Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed on Saturday that the club had made an improved offer to Newcastle for Routledge when he said:
“We think he would fit into our style and excite our supporters. We will wait to see if we can agree a deal.”
There is now speculation in the press that Newcastle have accepted a £1.8m bid for the player and it’s now up to Routledge – who apparently didn’t go on the US tour with the squad – to agree personal terms. However, Leicester City and QPR are also said to still have a strong interest in the player and they could yet match or improve upon Swansea’s bid.
As to the US tour itself. You will no doubt have read that Yohan Cabaye is the latest Toon player to be denied access to the free world. The US authorities have apparently rejected the player’s visa due to a ‘minor issue’ which could mean anything. Maybe he had sex with a pygmy marmoset at some point in his youth – I dunno. It’s a shame really as I’m sure the club would be keen to get as many of our first team players together as possible. Cabaye will now apparently go to Holland instead, along with the other potential terrorists at Newcastle United who have been denied US access.
As to the preparations for tomorrow’s game against Sporting Kansas City, Assistant manager John Carver said:
“The first training session this morning was really good. It was important after a long journey on Sunday to get some work done today. That said, we kept it to a light 45 minute session so we’re easing the lads in slowly and allowing them to acclimatise to the heat and get used to the facilities. That’s very important.
“The facilities in Kansas are fantastic and Swope Park is just what we need to make the most of our match preparation. After stretching and running, we focused on ball work with short drills that get the heart rate going and sharpen the skills.
“We have to be aware of the effect of the heat on the players and make sure we give them time to acclimatise to these conditions. Their initial reaction is that it’s an uncomfortable heat, but you’d be surprised how quickly they adjust and deal with it.
“Obviously we keep a close eye on how players are reacting to the heat and make sure they’re taking enough fluids on board to keep them hydrated. It doesn’t really change the way we train, it’s just about monitoring their performance closely – it’s easy to work too hard and not realise that you’re overdoing it or getting dehydrated.
“The lads’ fitness levels are great. After Friday’s game, it was important for them to have a rest day on Saturday before flying out here. But now it’s good to get stuck into training again. Fitness-wise, they’re right at the stage that we want them to be.
“This evening’s training session will be tougher. Now that they’re familiar with the facilities and the heat we can turn up the intensity. We’re all looking forward to Wednesday’s game. The Livestrong Stadium is a fantastic new facility and we’ll have a training session there tomorrow as part of our preparation.”
Finally, it seems the FA are awaiting reports into the pitch invasion at Darlington and some reports suggest that Newcastle might face disciplinary action over the trouble. This is something I vehemently disagree with. Sure, find the individual perpetrators and throw the book at them, but the game was not held at SJP under Newcastle’s stewardship and I dislike majorities being randomly held responsible for the stupid acts of minorities. So there.
Anyway, have a good day everyone.
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.
if Jose enrique was in front of me i wd slap him. he is messing us arounddont give double meaning answers.