No new deal for Coloccini yetNewcastle United have been trying to negotiate new contracts with Danny Simpson and Fabricio Coloccini, so far without any success. We’ve seen before that the club is prepared to let players go if they demand what the club thinks is ‘too much’, so what does the future hold for this pair?
It seems like the contracts of Coloccini and Simpson have been ‘outstanding’ for ages and new attempts to get both players to sign new contracts this week have apparently failed. Nevertheless, Alan Pardew is upbeat about the negotiations and said:
“We’ve had conversations. I can see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel now. I can understand why fans are concerned, but we’re making progress.
“It’s not easy, contracts, and we’re trying to do what’s best for the football club and what’s best for the player. Sometimes, they are worlds apart.
“There’s been a bit of antagonism with contracts in the past. There’s a lot more communication here and I think we’re trying to work through the process in a sensible manner.”
The press have suggested that Danny Simpson has turned down a £25,000/week 5-year deal and, although he still has 18 months left on his contract, there have been rumours in the past that he might favour a move away from Newcastle (and the higher salary that might bring him). (more…)
Pardew: More sponsorship, or the players will go!In a move which may or may not be coincidental with the kerfuffle over the club’s recent stadium rename, Alan Pardew has told the Sunday Mirror that though Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias have put the club in a much stronger position finacially, it still needs to bring more sponsorship in.
He also added that if the club failed to bring in more sponsorship, we may lose our best players. The grey gaffer started with praise for Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias’ financial stewardship the club, though it is still in more debt than it was when Ashley gained control of the club in the summer of 2007.
Ba: Gets 50% of next transfer fee says Dirty David.West Ham owner, “Dirty” David Sullivan (not to be confused with the other West Ham owner, “Dirty” David Gold), has been spilling some interesting beans of gossip on Demba Ba’s Newcastle United contract to the West Ham fan site “West Ham Till I Die.”
Sullivan, who of course is one of the owners of Ba’s prvious club, West Ham, claims to have heard amongst other things that Demba Ba would receive no less than 50% of any transfer fee should he be sold on from NUFC, also confirming that his latest club did pay around £2 million to Ba’s agent. He also claimed that Newcastle United bid £4 million for Ravel Morrison, even though he signed to Dirty David’s West Ham for a package which he claimed was only “up to £2 million.” When the transfer went through in the January transfer window, the media only reported a fee of up to £1 million. More on that story later though. Lets get back to the main feature of this story, Demba Ba and his Newcastle United contract.
Of course, as we already know, the African goal machine had a get out clause in his West Ham contract, something which Sullivan bitterly regrets in hindsight seemingly, and the reason why he is now playing for us. However, if what Sullivan said is true, receiving 50% of any subsequent transfer fee should he be sold on from Newcastle would cartainly be another huge incentive for his Tyneside move!
But enough of my pre waffle. After confirming that Ba did have the relegation get out clause from West Ham, Sullivan was asked by the interviewer, Iain Dale:
“How did that work? Did we pay money to Hoffenheim?”
Newcastle United's newest fan?“Twenty years ago, we sponsored Crystal Palace and they got to the FA Cup final. Then last week, we sponsored Newcastle and they beat Manchester United 3-love.”
“So we’re a lucky brand, and may the luck continue throughout the rest of the season.”
The words of Sir Richard Branson, (3-love?? – clearly a tennis fan!) the 4th richest person in the UK and 254th richest in the world. Not bad for a bloke who started with a mail order record business in 1970 and who went on to own Virgin Records, Virgin Megastores and now sees over 400 companies in the Virgin Group, including Virgin Atlantic who have that nice ad on the telly with the bonny air stewardesses and Muse playing the old Nina Simone track “Feeling Good” in the background. Impressive music knowledge there eh? His wealth is estimated at $4.2 billion (£2.75 billion) which makes Mike Ashley look like a Sports Shop Owner. He also has class and charisma so we’d better stop the Ashley comparisons now before it gets too silly.
The bloke has either worked his socks off to make a fortune, or he’s been lucky. Probably a bit of both actually. Now at the age of 62 his Virgin Brand has moved into high street banking by acquiring our very own Northern Rock, transforming it into Virgin Money. By a stroke of luck, this move has linked the Virgin empire with Newcastle United, previously sponsored by Northern Rock. Virgin have agreed a 2 year shirt sponsor deal, hopefully that’s just for starters… (more…)
Demba Ba: Running away from Toon? Not yet says Philippe Auclair.In an interview with “Talk Sport” radio, their French correspondent, Philippe Auclaair, who claims to know Demba Ba and his entourage well, tried to clarify comments made by Newcastle United hitman Demba Ba in a recent interview with French sports radio RNC.
In the interview he said he thought that the player would stay at Newcastle until the end of the season, but also expressed doubts that he would be a Newcastle United player beyind the New Year if his current form continued and his knee held out.
When asked about the player’s commnents, which you can see in full by following the link above if you don’t know them already, Auclair responded:
