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):
Finally, the saga looks to be endingNewcastle United left-back Jose Enrique will move to Liverpool this week and Newcastle already have a replacement lined up.
No surprises on this one. It appears that Jose Enrique has passed a medical at Anfield and is leaving for either £5.5m or £6m depending upon which press report you believe, although there is also some suggestion that a further £2m could be payable if he reaches certain performance-related targets.
He joined us from Villareal in 2008 for a £6.3m fee and played 129 games for us scoring his only goal against Nottingham Forest in March 2010, but the Enrique saga has been dragging on for months and I’m glad it’s coming to a close.
Allegedly Newcastle have Erik Pieters lined up to replace him (we reported on Toon interest in Pieters a few days ago), although I’m not sure how close we are to making any sort of signing. I would presume we’re fairly close if we’re finally letting Enrique go. (more…)
£8.5m? Sounds a bit high.Newcastle United allegedly consider a Swiss striker to fill the gap left by Andy Carroll while there are rumblings of interest by other clubs in Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez.
Well, Alan Pardew only has two and a bit days left if he wants to achieve his aim of signing a new striker before the Arsenal game. On which note the Daily Mail has us ‘interested in’ Bayer Leverkusen’s Eren Derdiyok.
They allege that Graham Carr has been watching the striker and that we’re now ‘considering’ a move for him.
The 6ft 3in, 23 year-old, Swiss striker started his senior career at BSC Old Boys where 10 goals in 18 games got him noticed by FC Basel. After moving to Basel he scored 27 goals in 80 games and thusly came to the attention of Bayer Leverkusen. They signed him in 2009 and he has scored 18 goals in 65 games for them, which is not what I’d call prolific. He has also played 33 games for Switzerland scoring 3 goals.
The English media had us ‘interested in’ him back in June 2008 but the rumours failed to materialise into anything back then and I have my doubts as to whether they will now either. Judging by the stats alone, it looks like he’s the sort of player who started out extremely well but has not quite managed to maintain the scoring level that originally got him noticed. (more…)
Two year extension for 'continuity'.Alan Pardew craves ‘continuity’ as Shola Ameobi gets a two year extension to his contract at Newcastle United.
‘Evening all, apologies for my absence over the last two days but I’ve been engaging in a rather offensive activity beginning with ‘w’. By which I mean work, lest those with their minds in the gutter start thinking otherwise!
It seems we’ve given Shola a contract worth another two years. Alan Pardew had this to say about the matter:
“We are delighted to have confirmed Shola’s new contract.
“He has done a terrific job for me since I’ve been at the club and he is also a great character to have around the place.
“It is important to have continuity, and keeping Shola on board helps us achieve that aim.”
I think what Pardew forgot to say on the subject of ‘continuity’ is that it’s a good idea only if the contract is cheap enough. 29 year-old Shola’s evidently was, whereas 29 year-old Kevin Nolan’s clearly wasn’t and 28 year-old Joey Barton’s probably isn’t. (more…)
Pardew smiles at him a lotAlan Pardew is fighting to keep Newcastle United’s resident left-back, but could that cause more problems than it would solve?
Alan Pardew is allegedly still ‘fighting’ to keep Jose Enrique at Newcastle but I do wonder if it’s worth the bother. Pardew said:
“I keep looking at him and smiling, hoping he is going to stay. He smiles but hasn’t signed a contract yet. He was terrific against Fiorentina and showed why I want to keep him.”
I must admit if Alan Pardew kept smiling at me I’d be keen to find the exit and probably phone the police too, but that’s besides the point.
This is speculation on my behalf but I get the impression that Enrique can either take or leave Newcastle and that the only reason he won’t leave is if he doesn’t get a better offer from somewhere else.
Now, I’m a realist and I think the days are just about gone where football players have much in the way of ‘devotion’ to a club, so I’m not knocking him in terms of that. What worries me is that we get into next season without a contract having been signed and then he ends up going on a free next summer. (more…)
