It's that man again, but what about Debuchy (and Cabaye)?So it has come from the horse’s mouth, well, Vurnon Anita’s mouth anyway, that Ajax and Newcastle United have agreed a fee of around €8.5 million, or around £6.7 million plus bonuses for Vurnon Anita.
A medical supposedly happened yesterday, though there doesn’t seem to be any definitive news as I write this on personal terms being thrashed out, or the Silver Supremo summit meeting requested by Anita, where he was looking for reassurances from Pardew about the nature of his role within the squad.
But what is going so right here that didn’t go so right with the Debuchy affair? And what must Debuchy himself, not to mention Yohan Cabaye, and even Danny Simpson think about it?
I must admit that I have written my fair share of criticism about the way Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias have gone about their business in some negotiations, and I still stand by it. However, credit where credit is due, it must be said that £6.7 million plus bonuses seems to be a fair and equitable fee for both sides in this case and they seem to have got their man. However, this isn’t to say that all being well, it shouldn’t be an excellent investment for Newcastle in the long term for a highly talented young player who’s value should appreciate further over time. (more…)
Well Done Lads!If those folk down in London don’t give Sir Alan Shearer his knighthood soon, I reckon we should just make him a Geordie knight anyway!
As some Newcastle fans will know, Alan Shearer got involved with St Cuthbert’s Care in Newcastle in 2006 when he donated £320,000 of his testimonial proceeds towards the completion of the charity’s unique £1.2M activity centre for disabled people.
The Alan Shearer Activity Centre was officially opened by Alan on 11 May 2007. In October 2007 – an exact year after his outstanding financial contribution – Alan also opened the Alan Shearer Short Break Centre located on the same site to provide respite for disabled people and their carers.
In 2011 Alan and Lainya Shearer became patrons for St Cuthberts Care. In spring 2011, activities at the Alan Shearer Activity Centre became free to disabled members, at the same time they began to provide free short break holidays for disabled children and adults in the Short Break Centre located on the same site. The funding for both of these free services is in excess of £100,000 a year. Alan helped to raise £52,000 at the charity’s corporate ball and he organised a celebrity golf day raising an additional £45,000. (more…)
What reception will he get?Former Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll expresses his nervousness about his visit with Liverpool to St James’ Park on Sunday, while Alan Shearer writes off our chances of Champions League qualification.
Andy Carroll has confessed to nerves about his trip to St James’ Park on the weekend, saying:
“I don’t usually get nervous but this might be a bit different.
“All of my family and friends will be there but they’re so big on football I’m not sure who they’ll be supporting.
“It’s great to see Newcastle doing so well. I support them, was brought up there and was lucky enough to have played for them. They will always mean something.”
Of course the circumstances of Carroll’s departure have been the subject of much debate, although Derek Llambias’s comments of a few months ago shed some light on the situation. Yes, he did put in a transfer request but it seems his hand was somewhat forced and he may not be the ‘Judas’ that many make him out to be. I wonder what sort of response he’ll get from the Toon Army? (more…)
A double victory for Redknapp this week.Venue: White Hart Lane. Date: Saturday 11th Feb, 2012. Kick-off: 5.30pm. Referee: Andre Marriner.
For Newcastle United, this was a day to forget – started poorly, defended poorly, played poorly” Those words uttered by Sir Alan Shearer just about summed up this game for us. To be fair, Alan equally poured lavish praise on the performance of Tottenham Hotspur, who started well, attacked incisively with pace and skill, and pretty much outplayed us in every department.
We can have no complaints. This was not a game where the score flattered to deceive, in fact it could have been a lot worse. Yes it might have been different if Tiote had been sitting in front of the defence, if Cabaye had been available to manufacture some bullets for our Senegal strike force to fire, if Ryan Taylor had been there to put the free kick over the wall, if Steven Taylor had been in defence.
Sadly, that’s all ifs and buts. The truth is that the 11 men we sent out to play this game just weren’t at the races. Alan Pardew took the blame for getting his formation wrong, but how many of us before the game didn’t want to see both Ba and Cisse up front in our favoured 4-4-2 formation? Personally I expected Tottenham to score, especially against the defence we had out and without Tiote to protect it. So in my book we needed some potency up front. And looking at the players actually available to Pardew, there wasn’t a great deal of scope to change things in a way which would have produced an improvement. (more…)
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.(more…)
