For puposes of illustration onlyNewcastle United striker Demba Ba undergoes cryogenic treatment and tweets accordingly.
I can remember a time when it was all the rage for ‘eccentrics’ to have their head removed and stored in freezing conditions. After death that is. It’s definitely not recommended before death as heads can be useful to living beings, not least as a place to keep a hat. The premise was that in some far-flung future the technology would be available to either transplant the head onto a new body or somehow ‘download’ the brain’s data into a computer and carry on a life within some technical reality.
Personally I have no truck with ‘far-flung futures’. When I was about 12 or 13 – which would be at a time when flares, fizzy cola bottles and Earth Wind & Fire were the vogue – my maths teacher told me that, by the year 2000, technology would have replaced much of the work people do and that we’d all just turn up for work two days a week and live a life of leisure the rest of the time.
Needless that turned out to be the single most inaccurate thing I learnt at school and I’m sure my professional life would have been completely different if I hadn’t been taught that by the year 2000 I could loll around on beaches all day and still collect a fat pay-cheque.
Anyway, that’s all padding for a post that is about nothing more than Demba Ba’s recent cryogenic treatment. He didn’t remove his head but instead removed his clothes and spent 3 minutes in a room cooled to -110C, which is exceedingly chilly, and tweeted thusly: (more…)
Rumours gaining strength?The Dutch press appears to offer further suggestions that FC Twente’s Douglas is bound for Newcastle United this summer, although perhaps the most pertinent question is whether or not we lose any of our current stars this summer too.
Further to an article I posted last week about Newcastle’s interest in FC Twente’s Douglas Franco Teixeira, the Dutch football magazine ‘Voetbal International’ has said that the 24 year-old central defender is indeed likely to switch to Newcastle this summer.
They suggest that a fee of €5m (£4.12m) has been ‘prepared’, which is about half the figure I mentioned in the previous article (which I got from the ‘Transfermarkt’ site). This makes sense I suppose as he will in fact be out of contract this summer.
According to Voetbal International, Douglas wants to wait until late August to make the switch though. This is because he will then have spent 5 years playing his football in The Netherlands and can become a naturalised Dutchman, thus allowing him to play for The Netherlands’ national team, which is apparently his aim. (more…)
Potential target?Newcastle United have been linked with two defenders from the Dutch league recently: Douglas and Erik Pieters. But is there anything to subtantiate the rumours?
The Chronicle – and other elements of the press – have been linking us with FC Twente’s Douglas Franco Teixeira recently.
The 6ft 4in 24-year old central defender has apparently told FC Twente boss Steve McClaren that he wants to leave at the end of the season and the Premier League is his destination of choice.
Apparently a ‘source’ at FC Twente said:
“It’s not a case of if Douglas wants to play in the Premier League – it’s simply when. He’s told the manager he wants to go.
“Steve McClaren also has a new defender lined up to replace him in the summer and appreciates that Douglas wants to move on.”
Anyway, on the back of this report I thought I’d do some digging around in the Dutch press to see if I could find some sort of indication that Newcastle is indeed in the running. (more…)
In demand?Much speculation surrounds Newcastle United’s Demba Ba with rumours of release clauses, interested clubs and new contract offers from Newcastle. So will Demba Ba still be at Newcastle United next season?
Demba Ba has been hailed as the Premiership’s best buy of the season. This and his 16 goals for us this season has obviously attracted a certain amount of attention and we keep reading rumours about clubs being after him.
Blabbermouth Redknapp went on record to say that there’s a release clause in Ba’s contract that might make it easier for clubs to try and swipe him away from us at the end of the season. Redknapp seemed to take a particular delight in publicising that one but I’m sure Ba’s agent would have made that common knowledge amongst clubs anyway, if it wasn’t already.
The latest rumour from The Sun suggests that we’ve offered Ba a new 4-year contract with a much improved salary and terms. The Sun alleges that his salary will rise from £35k/week to £50k/week and that he will also get a £5m signing on fee paid over the 4 years. That works out at about £74k a week, which is not bad although he would probably get offered more by the alleged ‘richer’ Premier League teams if they were interested (Chelsea, Spurs, Man City … maybe Liverpool). Of course any speculation about our alleged offer and the monetary sums suggested depends upon The Sun’s report being true and it could of course be complete twaddle. (more…)
The Hitman.When Norwich City rocked up to Saint James’ Park on Sunday with Paul Lambert (manager) and Delia Smith in tow, it was going to be a great opportunity for a bit of revenge after the mauling we took away to them earlier in the season.
Last time out we were missing a few key players in defence and midfield. This time we had a better squad to pick from, but still missing a couple in the shape of Cheik Tiote and Ryan Taylor. No matter,the game kicked off and Newcastle got straight on it. Captain Coloccini misplaced an early pass out of defence that went straight to a Norwich attacker, but Yohan Cabaye was quick to mop up, spun around and lofted a sweet ball right into the path of Pipiss Cisse, whom had beaten any offside trap expertly. John Ruddy, the Norwich ‘keeper, rushed out to close him down but he still had plenty of time to trap, then try and lob it into the Leazes net. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite get enough height on it and Ruddy duly picked it out of the air.
That spurred the team on though and it was all Newcastle for the first 10 minutes. As the clocked ticked towards the 12 minute mark, a great bit of Hatem Ben Arfa tenacity from deep in his own half, where he won the ball back from the opposition and turned it into attack. First feeding Cabaye, who returned to Ben Arfa, the ball then found it’s way to Guthrie who curved a great ball out to Jonas on the left. One touch later he whipped an excellent early ball into the Norwich area that found the marauding Cisse around the penalty spot. His deft, glancing, sidefoot shot then crashed into the top left corner of the Leazes goal. Newcastle United 1, Norwich City 0. (more…)
