Barton and Enrique departures – will they be replaced?

Posted on August 3rd, 2011 | 41 Comments |

Liverpool allegedly taking Enrique for £10m.
New left-back needed at the Toon
Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton fires off some parting shots as he heads for the exit along with left-back Jose Enrique. The club must now look at how these players will be replaced (if indeed they will at all).

Joey Barton was given a two-week fine for his renegade Twittering yesterday, which probably comes as no surprise to anyone. It certainly didn’t surprise Barton himself who said:

Ha ha the inevitable, 2 weeks wages fine has just arrived. Needless to say it shall be appealed forthwith.

Barton also accused the club of releasing ‘false reports’ about the situation to the press, saying:

Everyone here knows I speak the truth.

I also have too much respect for my teammates and the fans to get in a tit for tat war with them. I have too much self-worth and dignity.

He was also apparently quoting both Orwell and The Smiths on Twitter but this particular debacle is beginning to get on my nerves now so I won’t bother with the quotes. Barton was made to train alone yesterday and I reckon his inevitable exit will come quite soon.

As, it seems, will Jose Enrique‘s, which is another situation that seems to have been dragging on since the Stone Age. Our old friend the Daily Mail suggests that a £10m deal is all but done to take Enrique to Liverpool. As usual, the newspaper merely reports it in omniscient fashion rather than offering anything that might reasonably be called proof, although there’s a good chance they’re right in this instance.

Liverpool have been the main contenders to sign Enrique from the start so it should come as no surprise if the player ends up there, despite the fact that they don’t offer the Champions League football Enrique said he was after.

I’m now more interested in who we bring in to replace Barton and Enrique. I presume that if we did get £10m for Enrique it wouldn’t mean Pardew had £10m to spend on a replacement because the standard mantra at the moment is that any transfer fee received would have to cover wages, agent’s fees, signing on fees, nights out at the casino etc., which by all accounts costs many trillions.

So, at a guess, we’re probably looking at a left-back in the £6-£8m range. There were rumours earlier in the summer that we might be interested in Celtic’s Emilio Izaguirre and with the Scottish club particularly keen on Forster it might just be possible that some sort of swap deal is in the offing.

As to Barton, I’m not sure he will be directly replaced as I have a feeling the club would say they’d already accounted for his departure with the acquisitions of Marveaux, Cabaye and Abeid and the return from injury of Dan Gosling. Both Gosling and Jonas – and Raylor for that matter – can play on the right of midfield.

Having said that, rumours have been stirred about our ‘interest’ in Tranquillo Barnetta since it became clear that Barton was leaving but personally I’d be surprised if we made a move for him.

There is still of course the matter of getting another striker, which has always been thought of as a priority for the remainder of this transfer window. I’d guess we will see a new striker of some sort and a new left-back but beyond that I doubt there’ll be any more signings this summer.

Onwards and upwards eh?

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.

Related Posts:


41 Responses

  1. So, at a guess, we’re probably looking at a left-back in the £6-£8m range.

    Looking is one thing….actual buying is another.

  2. I can’t see any decent players being bought as in really bought with a transfer fee.
    You won’t get many free transfers these days either what with the soaring costs of wages and agent fees and signing on fees and undersoil heating bills.

    Great to see Partridge be silenced for a few days bet he is squirming…..wonder what his next move will be….big up his massive squad,mention how the youngsters are ready for battle,the dressing room is united blah blah blah

    It really is fookin dire.

  3. In a dream world we’d get Johnson from Man City. Guaranteed starter, good skill, lots of assists. Would cost us between 10 and 15 mill though so cant see it happening. Any good wingers in the CC?

  4. After seeing how Vukic, Gosling and Abeid played in pre season I think we are looking quite good in midfield for the future. If Cabaye can adapt, Ben Arfa can stay fit and Tiote stops getting so many yellow cards those two to three spots should be well covered.

  5. Don’t worry Llambaise is watching utube as we speak, he’s spotted a couple of hopeful players they have both had lots of international experiance as they have been unemployed and living in spain, they last played in the unigate sunday league and would be quite happy just to come in on a saturday to fill in, they also have a friend who might be interested if MA agrees to pay him £7.00 per hour as he needs to take time off from his day job to cover

  6. A disturbing rumour I heard was that Ngog is part of the deal for Enrique – there’s the new striker! Wouldn’t surprise as it would seem a cheap option

  7. Teams shaping up nicely
    Krul
    Simmo Taylor colo ?????
    Gosling tiote cabaye marv
    Shola ba

  8. why are there some massive c0cks on here that blame Pardew? That talk about protests etc?

    It really is embarrassing. The fans at this club think they can act how they want , go and support another team, the people on here who expect us to be competiting in the top 6? look at the money in the PL it’ll never happen for years, look how everton do it? theyve sold big players and there fans dont turn into little knobheads booing and jeering the manager.

    Also was everyone so in love with Barton when he punched Pederson? i for one would of sacked him then and no one would of give a fuuk!

  9. My prediction is that we will sign Cheikh M’Bengue. The French U21 Left Back to replace Jose. I would imagine he would cost around 4-5 million. Then Ferguson will be used as our second left back throughout the season (i.e. rotation and injuries).

    Replacement for Barton??? Well Barnetta is indeed a fine player; who has great pace and running ability (as we saw against england he also has an eye for goal). He would be a great addition; as would junior Hoilett from Balckburn. We were linked for a swoop for him earlier in the season as he only has a year left on his deal and from what i gather has still not signed an new one??? Any thoughts on this? Gosling has looked fantastic centrally; but he isnt a player who enjoys playing wide right. We may have to potentially start the season with Jonas on the right and Marveux on the left. Ben Arfa can also operate wide left despite pardew claiming he see’s him as a no. 10.

    As for our striker; Shane Long has to be the man. Let’s be honest a 6-8 million deal for him is less of a gamble than 6-7 million for Erding who would want more in terms of wages i’d imagine. Long looked a cut above last season in the championship; is pacey; strong in the air and very clever. i think he got 21 league goals last year against 9 from Erding (correct me if i’m wrong). Other than these two guys; Defoe would be too costly (and presumably wouldnt want to move North); Carlton Cole is awful as well as a carbon copy of both Shola/Ba. How about a cheeky swoop for Gabby Agbonlahor? Seemed out of favour at Villa last year; very quick and could be capable of getting goals (if not prolific). Finally theres the option of a loan deal for Sturridge (although i’d rather we just went out and bid a proper amount of money to Chelsea for him. Other potential loans; Vela (Arsenal), Wellbeck (Man U)???

    It’s not rocket science. We needed a striker and if we lose our only left back and our first choice right sided midfield player then we really need three replacements!!!

    Will we spend the money? I hope so; we need to or we may really struggle when injuries and suspensions start hitting. I think we have a cracking group of around 15-16 first team players plus some promising youngsters. The club NEEDS TO ACT THIS WEEK. SWIFT SIGNINGS TO APPEASE THE MASSES.

    I NEED TO BE APPEASED…or i simly won’t go this season. I held back on getting a season ticket until the end of the window or i saw some real money being spent on improving the squad. My gut instict has so far been proven correct and we have four weeks now to make sure we are not left short!!!

  10. @ Wayne….Gosgling isnt a right sided player. He has said so himself. We have all but destroyed Guthrie by playing him there regularly.

    @ Cew….Why call people Cocks becuase they feel they wish to protest against what they see as their club being run poorly? The fans have a right to be heard; when you pay your money you are entitled to that very right. Nobody has mentioned top 6 that i can see other than yourself. I think most PL teams would try to hold onto there previous fans player of the year; despite Bartons misgivings as a person for NUFC last year he was pivatol. Perhaps it is you that is the cock and perhaps it is you that should go and support anothert team.

  11. Impending response from Pards: “We wuz well lacky cuz we already ave a repl-ay-sment for J-ow-ey in Y-ow-han Cabaye and we have R-aye-lor for J-ow-say!”

    Put money on it lads.

  12. any cash made will b going into fattys pocket or deffinately going in2 transfer fund for the 2015 transfer kitty(unless we get a freebee and it goes on his wages(just like the last 35mill)

  13. Any fees will be spent on free transfers in January and undersoil heating maintenance as well as the dreaded winter leccy bill :lol:

  14. cook and SJT have just gave me an epiphany: All received transfer fees are going into the transfer kitty for the end of the 5 year plan where we will have more money than Man City and can splash as much as we like. A percentage of all received fees will go, as Sir Jason said, into the electric bill.

  15. Any spare change will be spent on a life size Mike Ashley Statue in pure brass to celebrate his successful time on Tyneside :lol:

  16. One thing’s for sure, rather than buy a replacement for Jose weeks ago and at a sensible price, we’re now in a sellers’ market and quoted prices’ll be silly!

  17. @sirjason: Brass? I heard bronze with gold inflections.

    @lesh: Bugger, you’re right. I heard it was down to the emergency!

  18. Posted this on the Facebook page just now, but would anybody fancy bringing Insua the other way if Bull does go to Cesspool?

  19. Has anyone seen the BBC website, regarding how cheap blackburn rovers has made a day out there, ie 10 punds to get in , a tea, a pie , and a programme all for 17squid 50p…admittedly who wants to watch blackborn, BUT credit to them for making it appealing financially to joe punter..

    HOWEVER disgust at the powers that be , of 92 clubs only ONE abstained to give details of matchday ticket prices good old you guessed it NUFC !!!!

    So as a blogger , can anyone put prices on the cheapest day ticket on a saturday, a pie, a tea and a programme ?? any takers on this fiscal conundrum , MA take a step back please …

  20. Aye, I was going to do an article on that yesterday, nzed. Didn’t get a chance though.

    If I’m at a game soon I’ll get the prices. Cheapest ticket is about £30 iirc (might be cheaper in the family area, not sure) and pies are around £3.50 or something. Prices of the watery pints in plastic glasses make me cry so let’s not talk about that.

  21. Thump,
    so thats 33.50 , plus say 3.50 for a programme , and say 2.50 for a tea, so thats 50 p shy of FORTY quid, true value for real quality , not sure eh ??

  22. Barnetta & Izaguirre please.
    Soh ! guess Ashley was the first one to blink in the brinksmanship game and lost money on the deal, we sold Jose for less than we paid for him.
    That plus the fact we lost one of our best players for nowt in Joey.
    So much for the management skills of our owner (Pardew you say ? he’s only got the title, does’nt have any say about anything)
    As for getting the two mentioned, yeah in your dreams!
    How did we ever get so lucky as to have been bought by this guy, just look at who he has for aides, two refugees from a casino, thank goodness for Hughton bringing in Carr, at least HE knows something about the game.

  23. I’d be very surprised if we replaced Enrique with a player of any worth.

    We havent replaced Carroll yet despite promises. We also have dosh left from Routledge and Bartons wages.

    Barnetta is rubbish stirred up by the Chronic and Journal who insisted today Enrique may leave us…wow great reporting. they also mention no clubs have bid for Joey?!?! so the Chron do communicate with MA?

    what happened to out great scouting team that have been watching footballers all over Europe etc… wheres the replacements we need for 2 weeks time??

  24. nzedtoonman@24, that all depends on who is playing us too.
    Last time I paid for a ticket at SJP was arsenal at home. Level 7, two rows from the back, so not exactly the posh seats. £38.50 and there was probably a booking fee or something on top of that.
    Football really has become a rich mans game, both on and off the field.
    I haven’t lived in Newcastle since 1997 so I only get to the occational home game, so I’m not up on the prices these days.

    When I think about how I paid £22 each for my Champions League tickets against Barca, PSV, Dynamo Kiev etc.. and I was in the Milburn stand, right on the halfway line and close to the front of the stand, it makes my wonder how we get away with charging £30+ for the cheapest tickets against teams like Blackburn, stoke, etc..
    I saw every Champions league home game for that money and in really good seats.

  25. One more thing, am I the only one who isn’t moved by some of the names being mentioned here?
    I’m not a world football expert, I follow NUFC and to a lesser extent England and Wolves due to family connections.
    I haven’t a clue who half of these guys are, so I find it hard to get excited about them. Do people really know who they are or are they just getting excited because of football manager games and what the chronic is reporting?

  26. Just names to me as well Micky….to be honest I don’t even bother looking online for any details of them when when unknown players are mentioned…..stopped doing that after we didn’t sign Modric and Arda Turam plus 50 others that season…..once bitten twice shy.

    If MA can hold out until the window shuts without denting that £35M Carroll cash Plus say 7million Enrique money and a couple of Million for Routledge that will be a fair bit of interest he will be getting…as well as the savings on the wage bills he will be a happy chap.

    Who knows we may even get an undersoil heating upgrade next season…deluxe model.

  27. it makes my wonder how we get away with charging £30+ for the cheapest tickets against teams like Blackburn, stoke, etc..@ MickyToon. Understand what you mean Mick but whilst I’m certain that its not just down to greedy players just think on….Barton Nolan, Enrique & the rest are all on fantastic wages, however for some of these guys its not enough they want a guaranteed 13 million for 5 years work two of which will probably be spent doing nowt sitting in a treatment room. This goes part of the way to explaining the rise & rise of ticket prices, and in no way will I be labelled an Asley apologist, but when the club stand up to these greedy feckers the fans support the players and slag off the owners….????????

  28. Joesoap….I think you will find our wages compared to many prem teams are slim,that is why we very rarely nail top players,why we shop abroad,get freebies….look at the wage bill how much it has decreased since MA took over.

    Nothing is replaced with like for like either that is probably down to the 35M cost of a bunch of foreign freebies with huge agent fees and 5 year wage packages paid up front by Andy Carroll…thanks Andy.

  29. Am I the only one not concerened about losing Enrique? He really isn`t that good, also, he has 1 year left on his contract, keep him, let him rot with the stiffs, why let Liverpool think they can pick up a phone and expect to get any one of our squad, their defence is cac, their desperate, if they want him so badly let them pay over the top rates like they did with Judas.

  30. Dylan,
    aye mate, make liverpoop pay over the odds for a player running his contract down.
    & yea, their defense is pap.
    :)
    Better off getting some canny cash for him like, rather than letting him walk for nix next year.
    If we can get a fat pay day from the scousers again, it’ll be a laugh robbing them twice in half a year.

  31. Liverpool seem all to happy to pay plenty for players since Dalglish took over so, yeah, if Enrique’s off, let’s flog him to the bin dippas.

    I have no idea how they afford it TBH – last I read they were £400m in debt or some such.

  32. Hugh,
    they’re gambling big time.
    They also know that they’ll get the usual ‘extras’ from refs etc.
    Every little helps.
    ;)

  33. Aye Clint. They’re gambling they get back into Europe pronto. Like next season. But I think they’ll have their work cut out with Spuds and City sniffing around the European slots too.

  34. Hugh,
    they know they are in steep decline & like you point out manc & spuds coming up on the rails.
    It’s by no means ‘nailed on’ that their gamble will pay off.
    It should be a very interesting season for them.
    They’ll have to gel real quick & that doesn’t look like it’s happened yet.
    They’ve shipped 15 in the pre’s.
    Eeeek!
    :)

  35. BTW,
    did i read correctly last nite on ssn that manusa got thumped 8-2?
    Or did my eyes makes it up?

    :)

  36. Just a thought here but with all these rumours/wishes has anyone actually thought about the fact that who the he’ll will sign for us ATM? The club is a complete laughing stock AGAIN!! BFM llambiarse and the puppet have made sure of that can you imagine the contract talks? So player x were hoping to get into Europe…. We did America this year but next season were defo doing pre season in Malaga!