Vacancy: apply withinNewcastle United are still in the hunt for a striker 6 months after the sale of Andy Carroll. And now they need a left-back too. So just why is it taking so long to recruit new players?
What, you might ask, is the problem? We’ve had six months to replace Andy Carroll and still haven’t, unless you happen to believe that Demba Ba’s that man. And, although Enrique’s actual departure is relatively recent, we’ve pretty much known he’d go for a few months now (the clue was in his refusal to sign a contract), yet we haven’t got a replacement for him either.
Let’s allow some leeway with Enrique. He has only just been sold and we must surely know by now that players don’t come in unless Ashley’s 100% sure he’s getting the dosh for the outgoing player. It might not be a proactive way to run a football club but we seem to be stuck with it.
Some might argue that selling Carroll so late in the January transfer window left us no time to bring in a replacement, which is true. And let’s even be generous and say that £35m was too good to refuse and that it was actually worth limping through the second half of last season without a first choice striker. Surely, though, in the months after the Carroll sale we should have had plenty of striker targets lined up, ready to make bids for them as soon as the transfer window opened.
Mike Ashley: Playing a dangerous game at NUFC?With the new season just a few short hours from kick off, Toon fans everywhere take stock of the events of the past few months and are no doubt wondering what kind of start we’ll have given the merciless squad upheaval.
Since the transfer window opened Geordies have sat around with baited breath hoping for some good news to pop up on the Sky Sports News Ticker. Needless to say, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. [Neil] Taylor, Gervinho, Gameiro, Cabaye, Erdinc, Nolan, Marveaux, Ba, Barton, Routledge, Enrique, Crouch, Defoe, Long, Beckford, Lovenkrands, Bendtner, Benayoun – and that’s just the players we’ve bought, sold, are supposed to be selling or been linked with that I can think of off the top of my head!
Toon fans are a rugged lot and we’ve put up with enough of the proverbial for us to be able to pick apart a rumour from a genuine story and gladly celebrate when we are linked to a top player; at least somebody out there thinks we can sign Messi for an estimated £8m.
Still, taken into account our outgoing transfers (Nolan, Enrique, Routledge) and comparing them to our incoming (Cabaye, Marveaux, Abeid, Ba, Obertan) – I’d usually say we’ve done pretty well! (more…)
Shoule we cut Pardew some slack?So a few weeks ago i decided that I was going to try and be as positive as possible about Newcastle United and to try and look on the bright side of life with regards to the current manager.
Reading this blog daily, and like most Toon fans, not in the North East, I crave even more than usual my daily fix of NUFC news. What I am noticing is that Alan Pardew is not only disliked, but he is hated by the majority of fans and has some very unrealistic expectations on his shoulders given the current regime hes working under. Every comment Pardew seems to make is scrutinised and analysed by the fans who are coming to the conclusions that he ‘talks far to much’, hes ‘patronising’, that he is an ‘Ashley propaganda machine’ and have already written him off as one of the Southern shandy drinkers ruining the club!
I cant agree, and in my positive frame of mind, as far as I can see he has not done much wrong in his relatively short term here, he was not my first or even fifth choice, but he is here now and I have a theory on why the fans should try to not be so negative about him and maybe lower expectations this season as its the clubs hierarchy, not Pardew, that clearly have the lack of ambition to move NUFC to the next level. (more…)
Are they saving the club?A look at Newcastle United’s financial situation to see what Mike Ashley really has done for the club.
One of the things we often hear is that, even if he has no other redeeming features, at least Mike Ashley is sorting out the finances at Newcastle United.
It has become something of a mantra for the pro-Ashley fans but let’s have a look at the figures and see if that mantra is justified.
Before I do that though, I need to disclaim a few things. I’m not a financial expert. I do know a bit about running the books for Limited Companies but obviously nothing the size and scale of Newcastle United.
Additionally, the figures I’m quoting below are from financial reports filed at Companies House which I paid to access via a popular online supplier, so I’m merely trusting that they’re correct.
A First Look At The Books
The following table of figures is taken from the last five years of reports filed by Newcastle United Ltd, which are currently complete up to the 09/10 financial year (Newcastle run July – June for their financial years):
Club needs to wipe its noseObertan transfer to Newcastle United confirmed by Pardew, Valencia interest in Coloccini and Pardew intimates that European football may be beyond us.
It looks like the alleged interest in Gabriel Obertan I reported yesterday is indeed true and the deal should be finalised next week sometime. Alan Pardew confirmed it himself, saying:
“All being well, the deal will be pushed through next week. He’s not really had the chance to shine at Old Trafford but he has pace to burn and will bring some much needed sharpness to our side.”
Can’t say I know much about the player beyond what I’ve researched for articles on this ‘blog, but I hope he does indeed shine at Newcastle and I wish him the best of luck.
According to Fabricio Coloccini‘s agent Fernando Lombilla, Valencia are very interested in the player. Lombilla said:
“Valencia are insisting on signing Coloccini, but Newcastle have just named him captain, which is something that hasn’t happened before.
“So it’s very complicated. They love him in England and he even has a song they sing about him, which lasts a few minutes.(more…)
