Club toughens stance on Simmo contract

Posted on November 25th, 2011 | 33 Comments |

Newcastle United's contract negotiations with Danny Simpson appear to have reached an impasse.
Take it or leave it stage?
Comments from Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew appear to indicate that Danny Simpson is now at the ‘take or leave it’ stage in contract negotiations.

Further to my article a few days ago in which I mentioned the contract situation with Danny Simpson, it seems the club is toughening its stance a bit more if Pardew’s latest comments are anything to go by.

Pardew said:

“It will be as dangerous for Danny as it is for us to delay any longer.

“He is a player who within 18 months has broken into the first team and established himself. We are a big club and he has done very well.

“Now we have a situation where he has a contract and feels he should be rewarded with a new one. I agree with that. I believe that really all we’re talking about are the figures, but is very difficult at this level to say we think negotiations are at a particular point when he probably thinks they are somewhere else.

“But if we can’t reach an agreement, he will have to move on, it’s as simple as that.

“My personal preference is for him to sign quickly because he has got a lot of competition in that area. Danny needs to secure his future with us because he does not have long left on his current contract.”

Meanwhile Simpson himself still thinks his future is at Newcastle. Simpson said:

“I’m happy here and they want me to stay, but contracts don’t get sorted overnight. My family is here and it’s a great time to be here. The city is buzzing.”

It will be a shame if the club and Simmo can’t reach an agreement because our back line has been excellent this season and keeping them together is, I think, important. However it seems that the club is taking an ever tougher stance on contract negotiations these days and won’t pay more than they think a player’s worth.

It’s understandable that Simmo is pushing for the best deal he can get – wouldn’t we all? – but we’ve heard this sort of stuff from the club before and it generally means that things are at an impasse and the club has made their final offer. As such, I wouldn’t be surprised to Danny Simpson leaving the club in January.

But you never know – perhaps there’s time for a settlement yet.

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

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Comment on this post

33 Responses

  1. Sad to see him go. But we have cover in that position in Ryan Taylor and Davide Santon. So, not too worried, if we do get Pieters or another left-back in by February.

  2. Haappy to hear this…. Why should he mess nufc arpund over a few thousand when hes loaded already and hes got raylor up his arse and young santons gonna be a star. If he doesnt want to stay. Bye. Your good for us but not irreplacable. Well in on this one pardew

  3. Rightly he is entitled to get the best terms available from his employer but his employer is rightly not going to risk the cohesion and stability of the team especially the defence.

    Simpson is a good fullback but not an exceptional one. However, he has made the right back position his in a big club with a top perfoming team that has the best defence in the premiership. He has a lot to lose.

    If he wants more money than is being offered then he must face the consequences be that losing his place in the team to Raylor and letting his contract run out or being put up for sale now. I’m sure there are some teams lower down the premiership trying to avoid relegation and/or teams in the championship trying for promotion that would take him.

    Could be the biggest and worst decision of his career.

  4. Seems like that is what the Toon Chiefs do now…..Anyone they want rid of give them an offer they won’t accept and they get moved on.
    Then the board don’t get as much stick when removals are done this way.

  6. “Really all we’re talking about is the figures and that is very, very difficult at this level. If we can’t reach an agreement, he’ll have to move on – it’s as simple as that.”

    1. Thats fundamentally what all contracts are ever about :(
    2. “Pardwho, though, is determined to keep the centre-back (Colo)” Now where have I heard that before ?????
    3. Is this really the best way to engender team spirit and morale ?

  7. Pardew has just demonstrated what a sleazy git he really is.
    At least Simpson statement was one that showed he wanted to stay, but was not confrontational.

    Whereas Pardew’s was both threatening and confrontational, obviously echoing his boss’s sentiments.

    The lad has been an exceptional case, regardless of criticism he has kept his head down, improved his game and saved the club literally millions.

    What does he get for it, the lowest salary of any starter and quite a few non starters and by asking for an increase, gets offered another low ball contract.

    Look these matters are best kept between agents and the club, not splashed about the media, that’s why players have agents, to look after their interests.

    Plus i’m surprised at the number of so called fans who have jumped on the Club/Pardew band wagon in condemning Simpson.
    Shame on you, you obviously just don’t get it !

  8. “We are a big club”

    This is what I still hate about Pardew and why I can’t say I actually like him in the final analysis (though he’s doing a good job and should not be fired). He is a shameless rhetorician and employs his art on behalf of the jerks and amateurs who run this club.

    When he needs to carry water for the administration’s tight-assed transfer policy (not commenting on the effectiveness of the policy), we get “we can’t compete with some PL clubs, who are backed by nations and spend like them” but when he needs publicy to turn the screw in a contract negotiation, “we are a big club” and of course he should want to play for us, even if Wolves will give him 5K more per week.

    So what makes us a “big club,” Alan?

    The iconic ground, recently renamed after our owner’s tacky sportswear company after 120 years? A renaming for which you made excuses, publicly.

    Club legends like Shearer and Keegan, so recently ridiculed by Mr. Llambias? Or a local tradition of producing quality footballers, wherever they end up playing, like Carroll? What do you think of that?

    Is it the fan base? Who by a strong majority disagree with the way this club is being run by people for whose unethical, unprofessional and uncouth behavior you’re constantly making excuses, Alan?

    I have no doubt that the club is lowballing Simpson. He’s not a worldbeater but he does yeoman’s work and widely reported to be the lowest paid in the squad. He should be paid on par with other starting fullbacks in the PL, and I doubt that’s what’s on offer.

  9. tunyc – can you sustantiate the claim that “a strong majority disagree with the way this club is being run” – I’m not looking for an arguement, I just want to know if it can be proved.

  10. chuck says:

    November 25, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    “Plus i’m surprised at the number of so called fans who have jumped on the Club/Pardew band wagon in condemning Simpson.”

    They know what they’re doing Chuck. They’re tapping into ordinary people’s prejudices about spoiled, overpaid footballers and their evil, manipulative agents. They also know that quite a few fans tend to underrate Simpson.

  11. tunyc says:

    November 25, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    “When he needs to carry water for the administration’s tight-assed transfer policy (not commenting on the effectiveness of the policy), we get “we can’t compete with some PL clubs, who are backed by nations and spend like them” but when he needs publicy to turn the screw in a contract negotiation, “we are a big club” and of course he should want to play for us, even if Wolves will give him 5K more per week.”

    tunyc, I did write shortly after he was brought in that this is what Ashley and Llambias really meant when they said that they wanted a manager with more “experience”.

  12. Supermac says:

    November 25, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    “tunyc – can you sustantiate the claim that “a strong majority disagree with the way this club is being run”

    Supermac, you could have a look at some of the polls on here and elsewhere, eg 75% of 1130 people waht Llambias to eff off (and thats mild compared with a few other similar polls I’ve seen). 80% of a similar amount don’t agree with Ashley’s giving away stadium naming rights to Sports Direct etc etc…

  13. How much is Simpson on anyway?

    I’ve avoided passing judgement on the Simpson situation because I don’t know what he’s on and what the new contract offer is worth.

    Depending on that I might either be backing him or holding the exit door open for him.

  15. You see, I’d say he’s worth considerably more than that, although nothing like the £50k/week range IMHO.

    If he weas demanding, say, £30k/week, I’d support him.

  17. worky – OK – I agree Llambias is dreadful
    – I would add that I am not a Pardew fan either (but I give him credit for our current success)
    – and the SJP renameing was a fiasco – but I reserve judgement awaiting sponsorship results

    But, the stated policy of restoring financial stability, not buying and ditching faded stars, investing in younger players, youth teams & trainers are positive steps and I support them.

    So on balance I disagree that “a strong majority disagree with the way this club is being run”
    but accept that “a strong majority disagree with certain aspects of the way this club is being run”.

  18. SM, you’re no different to me (except that I’m better looking of course). I support some policies and reject others. I think some Ashley decisions have been good and some have been bad. I think Pardew’s done a great job on the pitch but spouts a lot of nonsense.

    I also change my mind a lot.

  19. Supermac says:

    November 25, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    “But, the stated policy of restoring financial stability, not buying and ditching faded stars, investing in younger players, youth teams & trainers are positive steps and I support them.”

    Aye Supermac, but this constant use of spectre of Freddy Shepherd by Ashley and his henchmen (setting the lowest possible benchmark) is flawed, wearing thin and intended to deceive just like virtually everything Ashley and Llambias have said and done since taking over the club. Karl Doenitz could have said the same things about Hitler, but he was still a Nazi.

  22. Hugh, did you know that the spirtual father of Neo Conservatism, Leo Strauss came up with the original concept behind Godwin’s Law before the days of bulletin boards and such? His term for it though, as metioned above, was “Reductio ad Hitlerum” (Reduction to Hitler).

  24. worky & Hugh – without being picky, I must remind you that Godwin’s law does not claim to articulate a fallacy; it is instead framed as a memetic tool to reduce the incidence of inappropriate hyperbolic comparisons. Although deliberately framed as if it were a law of nature or of mathematics, its purpose has always been rhetorical and pedagogical.
    Also there is no evidence that Karl Doenitz would have said the same things about Hitler, and although it is beyond doubt he was still a Nazi, neither had any territorial ambitions concerning NUFC or SJP, nor any 1,000 year development plan.
    I rest my case
    HWTL

  25. Aye Supermac, but Ashley, Llambias and their Goebbels style PR machine articulate fallacies just like the Nazis did, which was the main thrust of my argument. Anyway I wrote that Doenitz could have said that, not that he would. ;-)

    Ashley seems to be more influenced by Stalin with his five year plans rather than Hitler with his thousand year one for the Third Reich.

  26. Hugh de Payen says:

    November 25, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    “I didn’t know that.”

    Aye, I’ve read quite a bit about Leo Strauss, he was a tosser. Though being the spiritual godfather of the Neoconservative movement makes that more or less a given.

  27. It’s comments like these last few that make this blog great.

    Perhaps Ashley’s leading a new Cultural Revolution in the NE.

  28. Id just like to say:
    full credit to u guys for keeping this blog as interesting as it is and providing us with in depth information about our favourite club. Gone are the days of scouring through newspaper after newspaper just to read about lies and rumours made up by the press to sell a few extra copies in the local corner shop…. Its great to hear the thoughts and opinions from guys so passionate about our club, especially when most of my conversations are with biased scum (ie maccems) and end up with an argument and sum serious drafts of dog breath from the shit that comes out of thier mouths.
    Once again, thanks and keep up the good work.

  29. I think you’re over thinking ashley like.

    He’s a successful, ruthless, businessman & a bit of a maverick as a kicker.
    Least that’s how it looks to me.
    Maybe that’s complicated or at least complex, it’s also virtually anodyne in it’s delivery.

  30. Well if you think Leo Srauss is a wanker, I would trade you him for one of our Neo Liberals (dont let the name fool you, not unlike National Socialism ), nowt to do with Liberalism, their policies have a lot more in common with Fascism.
    Played a major part in the behind the scenes policies adopted by the Bush regime
    One of which was Wolfowitz, Which i’m sure you are familiar with.
    Who thought he was going to inherit the no 1# spot at The World Bank, (Another of my favorite organizations)

    A bunch of one time Marxists, who took a hard right turn.
    Mostly from City College of NY, a hotbed of Marxism during the thirties and forties and a school that has produced more Nobel Prize winners, than Harvard & Yale combined.

    But you probably already know this, i just get carried away sometimes.

  31. more like Al Capone than Stalin or Hitler – perhaps he’s offered simpson & Collo offers they can’t refuse?

  33. Kevufc says:
    November 25, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    “Id just like to say:
    full credit to u guys for keeping this blog as interesting as it is”

    chuck says:
    November 25, 2011 at 9:05 pm (Edit)

    “Well if you think Leo Srauss is a wanker, I would trade you him for one of our Neo Liberals”

    Kev / Chuck,

    Sorry that your comments were held in moderation for so long, I was doing the match preview there. Thanks for the encouraging words too Kev, much appreciated!

    Chuck,

    I think we’re discussing the same thing? Most of the original Neo Cons claim to be ex Liberals, or to use one of their phrases they were “Liberals who were mugged by reality.”

    Strauss was the mentor of Irving Kristol and then came all the other bastards like Richard Perle et al. Actually I’m pretty sure we are as the Neo Cons of Kristol Snr (as you probably know his son was a famous Neo con too) grew out of the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party. In that respect they seem like those ex smokers who become aggressively anti smoking and that sort of thing.