"I'm claiming this much"Kevin Keegan is not claiming £25m from Newcastle United according to The Sunday Express.
Keegan’s constructive dismissal claim, which the ‘judges’ retired to consider over the weekend, has been plagued with rumours of £25m claims that will put the club into administration.
Yet a ‘close Keegan aide’ told the Express: “That is just malicious nonsense. This figure has obviously been leaked to try to place Kevin in a bad light.”
Apparently what Keegan is claiming is the £8m he is owed on his outstanding 3 and half year contract.
I’m not really one for trusting ‘sources’, ‘insiders’ or ‘close Keegan aides’ but I believe the gist of this is correct. £25m is a quarter of the value of the club (at Ashley’s estimate of that value anyway) and there would simply be no justification for such an amount, no matter how wronged Keegan might be. (more…)
£25m pleaseAccording to The Sun (titter ye not) Kevin Keegan is demanding that Mike Ashley pays him £25m to settle their compensation battle.
The figure includes £9m payable for the remainder of his 3 and a half year contract with Newcastle United plus £16m as compensation against the loss of future earnings.
This is of course the sort of thing that fuels fears the club will go into administration.
A ‘source’ apparently said:
“Keegan is crazy. Does he really want to bankrupt Newcastle?
“It is madness to think he should be paid that much but perhaps he sees this as a last big payday.
“For a bloke who says he loves the club, this is all very, very strange.”
I will eat my hat if Keegan is awarded £25m and I’m really quite fond of my hat. £25m is a significant proportion of the club’s value and there’s no way I can see Keegan justifying such a payout, no matter how wronged he may have been by the club. (more…)
Happier timesSome news agencies are reporting that Kevin Keegan’s payout could force Newcastle into administration (see here for example).
What they are saying is that ‘some at the club‘ (who?) fear that a potential £9m payout to Keegan will break the club and send it into administration. They go on to point out that we will be penalised 10 points as a result.
I must admit I find it hard to believe that £9m would send the club into administration given that we’ve saved £35m/year on wages and sold players to the tune of £22m in the last few months. I know we’re struggling and that £9m is no insignificant amount when taken in the context of things like our working overdraft with Barclays but it still seems unlikely to me.
Llambias has previously denied that administration is even a remote possibility and … hang on, virtually everything he says turns out to be untrue. Ah, so much for that line of thinking! (more…)
Toon by tomorrowMartin O’Neill has confirmed that Newcastle are set to take Marlon Harewood on a 3-month ’emergency’ loan. The move should be completed by Friday.
O’Neill said:
“Newcastle are still looking to do something in terms of Marlon.
“I think they are waiting to hear whether they have permission from their owner to go and progress the move.
“I think the opportunity for him now coming back from injury, to get involved in a cause, would be very important and only a benefit for all of us.
“Marlon has been out since pre-season with injuries. He is fighting back, is feeling fine, trained for a few days on the trot.
“But people are pressing for places and at this moment we have competition up front. Delfouneso is going to be a really excellent player and he is hovering around in terms of being on the bench.” (more…)
Both good and bad?When Mike Ashley rode into toon he took the Freddy Shepherd Gang by surprise. Shepherd claims he was ambushed while he lay incapacitated on a hospital bed and before we knew it rumour quickly became fact and Ashley had bought Newcastle United, not exactly with a suitcase full of money but without any of the this due diligence nonsense that troubles most businessmen.
Thus began a new era in the club’s history and it’s one that has managed to divide fans almost throughout. The partisan divisions – often drawn along the lines of Ashley v Keegan – are, in my opinion, unnecessary. I believe it’s perfectly possible for a person to do some good things and some bad things and I don’t believe Mike Ashley is any different in that respect. With rumours once more circulating about the sale saga nearing a close I wanted to try and take a balanced view of Ashley’s time at Newcastle.
One of the main things I thank Mike Ashley for is prising the club away from Freddy Shepherd. I’ve heard arguments suggesting that we wouldn’t have been relegated if Shepherd had remained in charge and maybe that’s true, but I believe the club would have been in dire straits financially. (more…)
