Surplus to requirements at Man U?Newcastle United are allegedly looking a two midfielders who could be seen as Joey Barton replacements.
I’m guessing that since Barry McIntosh – the guy claiming to be the UK representative of Tranquillo Barnetta – actually isn’t his representative after all, the Toon’s interest in the player is still valid.
And given that it turns out his current salary with Bayer Lederhosen is allegedly £27k/week, if we have indeed offered him a salary of £40k/week then I would guess he’d be tempted by a switch to Newcastle.
Pardew has said that he hasn’t considered replacing Barton yet, which would suggest that Barnetta is not seen as a direct replacement for him. Furthermore, Pardew seemed to intimate that Joey could still have a future at Newcastle if some judicious ‘bridge-building’ is undertaken. (more…)
No more Twits at NewcastleOn the back of Joey Barton’s Twittergate situation, Newcastle United get heavy by making it clear that using Twitter to attack the club is forbidden.
Inevitably, Newcastle United have laid down the law regarding Twitter and all players have been issued with strict guidelines as to what they can and cannot to on the loathsome application.
Basically, they’re not allowed to use it (or other social networking sites) to reveal ‘privileged’ information about the club that might give other clubs a competitive advantage and they can’t use it in a way which might undermine their colleagues at the club.
Joey Barton – along with all the players – has been given a letter from lawyers telling him that he’ll be in breach of contract if he uses to Twitter to comment on club affairs again so, unless he’s prepared to risk his salary, we’ve probably heard the last of his Tweets until he leaves the club. (more…)
Finds his voice againNewcastle United manager Alan Pardew returns to the public eye today with comments about Barton, Enrique, Twitter and Tranquillo Barnetta.
Inevitably Alan Pardew eventually had something to say on the whole Barton debacle. Allegedly the Newcastle manager’s tongue had to be put in a splint following an accident as it attempted to break the land speed record, but it’s now back in action. Pardew said:
“I’ve never closed the door on anyone and I’m not closing the door on Joey.
“He trained with the development team today and, who knows, he may train with the first-team soon.”
Who knows indeed. Pardew continued:
“It’s a situation I didn’t envisage being in.
“Joey is a great player and you want great players in your team. It’s very important as a football club that you are all pulling in the same direction – at this moment of time where Joey is not pulling in the same direction. That’s not to say that can’t change in a short period of time.
“I’m still reflecting on the situation, as is Joey at this present time, on how best to resolve this issue. I think that is important at the moment.” (more…)
It's on then it's off again!Newcastle United are allegedly negotiating to take Swiss winger Tranquillo Barnetta from Bayer Leverkusen whilst Enrique is off to Liverpool pronto.
According to The Journal, we’re already making a move to sign Tranquillo Barnetta from Bayer Leverkusen, although The Journal – in a Daily Mailish fashion – simply states this as fact rather than offering any evidence as to how they know this.
Nevertheless, it seems to be true (that we’ve made a move for him anyway) if the comments of Barnetta’s representative are anything to go by. Barnetta’s British representative Barry McIntosh said:
“As it stands there is not a hope in hell that he will be going to Newcastle. In fact I am angry at their attempts to do it, and behind my back also.
“They have made an approach, but their offer equates to somewhere in the region of £40,000-a-week – which is just ridiculous.
“Why on earth would Tranquilo move to Newcastle for less money? No offence to Newcastle, he would possibly consider going to Arsenal, Liverpool even Tottenham for less – but not Newcastle.
“They have known all along, what it would take to land Barnetta and what he is earning now, and this sort of offer really does border on ridiculous.”
Do they care about fan protests?The Joey Barton escapade continues to rumble at Newcastle United with some fans asking whether or not some sort of protest would help.
It is very difficult to avoid this Joey Barton situation at the moment. A good 90%+ of the Newcastle United coverage for the last few days had been about him and his infernal Twitter machine, which has depressed me and made me wonder if it was worth chewing through the leather straps to get on here and post this morning.
Ironic, then, that I’m going to post about it too.
Joey seems to have induced an air of protest amongst many Toon fans, such as that suggested by my esteemed fellow writer. But I must say I have my reservations and since we don’t have such things as editorial policies on this ‘blog, I’ll bore you with my views on the subject.
I think any protest needs to be designed as an effective step towards some clear end result or it merely serves as a disjointed expression of anger. Some people might feel better from the emotional release it affords but it may not achieve anything towards the actual goal. (more…)
