He had fighting spirit...Rumours will no doubt have reached most Newcastle supporters that Habib Beye is reportedly unhappy with his time in the Midlands. Part of the villainous collective that saw us relegated last season, Beye became an official Villain when Martin O’Neill took him to Aston Villa in the summer in a £2.5m deal.
Arguably one of our most consistent performers while at the club, it was inevitably a kick in the teeth when he jumped ship following our drop into the Championship. Some will argue that he was entitled to leave and play as high as he could, having almost always put in a decent shift for the Mags. Others will insist he should have stayed and fought to get us back up, some even cynically considering that a deal was brokered on the day of relegation at Villa Park.
The Senegalese international has only turned out five times so far for Villa and the Daily Mail suggest he will inevitably move on in the summer. Putting two and two together, you might think a versatile defender with a connection to the club, experience of the Premiership and who would be available for a relatively decent price would be an obvious option should we get promoted. But it’s never that easy, especially given the circumstances under which he left.
Assuming the rumours are true and he’s available in the summer, would you have him back? (more…)
Van Aanholt: Good while it lasted.Most of us are aware that Saturday’s game at Watford marked the end of Patrick van Aanholt’s short term loan move from Chelsea and that he has now headed back down the A1 to the bright lights of London. Chris Hughton did try to extend the loan but Chelsea were unwilling to play ball as they suffer their own defensive crisis.
I can understand Chelsea wanting the boy back as he has been nothing short of exceptional in his brief spell on Tyneside, but with Jose Enrique now fit and raring to go in our next match against Barnsley, there would be little point in stifling the young lads development by sitting him on the bench, especially when we have young Tamas Kadar who can play left back should anything happen to Enrique.
It seems the Newcastle United supporters have made quite an impression on the Dutchman. After the final whistle blew at Vicarage Road on Saturday, van Aanholt split from his team-mates and walked over to the travelling Toon Army to pat a final farewell, for which he recieved rapturous applause. Reflecting on his reception, van Aanholt had this to say: (more…)
Brrrr...Derek Llambias, our much-maligned Managing Director, has been running his mouth off again and has revealed that Newcastle United are no longer for sale and claims fans are beginning to come around to owner Mike Ashley’s way of thinking.
It’s a somewhat surprise statement really as surely any hint of a sale was ended back in October when the club was taken off the market for a second time after again failing to find a buyer, but Derek Llambias believes Ashley is now beginning to show just how committed he is to the Newcastle cause.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, PR disaster Llambias had this to say about Ashley’s commitment to the team: (more…)
Moneyball is a funny old game...It’s the time of the year when Deloitte publish their annual ‘rich list’ of European clubs, and this years report holds a pleasant surprise for Newcastle United and offers us fans another chance to stick two fingers up at opposition taunts with the revelation that the Toon still have a place in top 20 of Europe’s richest clubs.
If anything the list confirms something that a lot of us already know, that Newcastle United have massive potential to be European contenders. The list publishes figures from the 2008/09 season which we all know was hit by many many troubles on and off the field, a combination of which ended in our relegation.
The report takes into account money that is generated on a day-to-day basis and it reveals that Newcastle United managed to generate £86 million pounds in a relegation season, not bad and can only be bettered by the likes of the Big 4, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City from the domestic game. Of course, however much of that £86 million was then spent on wages and other day-to-day running costs is an open question that can only be answered by the official accounts being published. (more…)
Roll up, roll up...One thing that has struck me about being relegated to the Championship is just how different the attendances are. I’m not talking about our home attendances, I don’t need to, as the average of nearly 43,000 speaks for itself and should improve as we get closer to the end of the season. Here, I’m more looking at away games and the effect Newcastle United could be having on the Championship.
We’ve seen the Toon Army takeover entire stands and more at away grounds this season. Cast your memories back to Barnsley where we had 7,000 away fans at Oakwell that day. You could say it is great business sense from the opposing teams chairmen, if they have spare seats then why not make sure they are sold and increase revenue for the club?
Of course we haven’t had it our own way at away grounds at all times. Sometimes we only get the bog standard away allocation which, of course, is the home clubs right. If they are able to sell these empty seats to their own fans then that has to be the priority but there are also a few teams that have a strong following themselves and so are unable to give us any more tickets such as Derby and Sheffield United. (more…)
