Hands off my lads!After the very welcome signing of Ajax’s Vurnon Anita, but also abject failure in the hunt for Lille’s Mathieu Debuchy, Alan Pardew, as well as Cheick Tiote have once again switched the emphasis on to keeping existing players at the club.
Looking at Pardew first, he has said in very recent interviews after the Tottenham game:
“We are on our guard in case some really big bid comes in and we need to react because if someone goes out, another player will come in. But success for me in this transfer window would be losing none of our stars.”
Also saying:
“I worry about losing all my players because unfortunately we’re not Manchester United or Manchester City. We’re always vulnerable. If you ask me do I sleep well at night, I’d have to say, ‘not always’. I’m looking forward to September 1 because by then we’ll all know where we are. We have match-winners in the side.”(more…)
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…)
Pardew: No sense of irony.Alan Pardew, the manager of the club who turned down £30 million for Andy Carroll, and insisted on £35 million “upfront” (plus “12 grand ****ing interest”) for a player the club’s Managing Director later said was worth “**** all,” has blamed Newcastle United’s lack of success in the transfer market on greedy clubs such as Ajax, Lille and FC Twente for valuing their players too highly once they know that big clubs such as Newcastle United are interested in their prize assets. He also pointed the finger at greedy agents and players too.
As well known Daily Mail bigot, Richard Littlejohn, is rather fond of saying, you couldn’t make it up!
The Silver Supremo was asked a remarkably stupid and inaccurate question about why the transfer market has taken so long to get going. Premier League clubs have brought in no less than sixty nine players as of yesterday. That is an average of 3.45 players per club so far, with hundreds of millions changing hands in fees alone, even though it is well known that much of the activity in the English window often happens towards the end.
But before I continue, let’s take a look at Pardew response to this silly question, which seems to be lacking the slightest trace of irony: (more…)
Anita: No deal without reassurances from Silver Supremo.Whilst it has been widely reported that Ajax and Newcastle United have now agreed a fee for Toon target, Vurnon Anita, allegedly around €8.5 million (around £6.7 million), There is still some way to go.
It has also been reported that Anita’s next move (besides thrashing out personal terms) will be to seek a summit meeting with Newcastle’s Silver Supremo, Alan Pardew, to seek certain reassurances on the football side of things. Speaking in an interview for “Ajax Showtime,” the player’s father has outlined some of the reassurances Anita will be seeking from the Grey Gaffer.
Before I begin though, it has also been reported by some sloppier sites that Anita’s wage demands are above Newcastle United’s wage ceiling. Whilst this may indeed happen when Anita’s agent, Derek Llambias and Lee Charnley get around to talking turkey, the Dutch reports it was referring to meant that Anita’s demands for a new, improved contract at Ajax were above THEIR wage ceiling, not Newcastle United’s.
So now I’ve got that out of the way, I’ll begin. Anita Snr told Ajax Showtime:(more…)
