"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…)
United?Save us from ourselves! That is the plea you hear from various quarters with regard the behaviour of other Newcastle fans in recent months, notably recently, in response to the anti-Ashley jeering which was evident throughout the Ipswich game.
The view taken by some supporters is ‘what will be, will be’ and we should get back to supporting the club. Other sections take it upon themselves to communicate their dislike of the current owner and will do until he’s gone. Personally, I say it’s a free country, but it’s not free to watch the Toon and so there are two good reasons, you should be able to say what you want.
However, even I found it a bit bizarre that we celebrated two of our goals with anti-Ashley jeering. And I guess it would have been nice to have got through a special occasion with Sir Bobby without that issue detracting from it. But it’s done now and we should move on, together. Except we can’t, at least for now but hopefully only until we’re sold and we all try to start getting on again. (more…)
Kevin Keegan yesterday.Today, the League Managers Association released a statement on former Newcastle United manager, Kevin Keegan, who is currently suing the club for £25,100,000 for alleged constructive dismissal. Meanwhile, Newcastle United are countersuing the pint sized ‘Mighty Mouse’ for breach of contract.
The statement reads:
25 Sep 2009
LMA STATEMENT REGARDING KEVIN KEEGAN
Following the conclusion of the arbitration process between Kevin Keegan and Newcastle United Football Club, Richard Bevan, Chief Executive of the LMA made this statement;
“Having heard the evidence from both sides, the Panel has reserved judgement and there will be no further comment on the process until the Panel have published their findings.” (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…)
Naked ambitionThe official Aston Villa site has confirmed that Martin O’Neill has agreed the 3-month loan of Marlon Harewood to Newcastle United. The rumours have been rife for weeks now but the speculation ends with the forward joining us at a critical point when our threadbare squad is already being stretched to capacity with a handful of injuries. The official Newcastle site is yet to make an announcement but it seems apparent the deal has or at least will go through in time for the weekend.
The jury appears to be out for Harewood, though I guess all loanees are always scrutinised for the very fact they’re carrying that status, the question being, why are they being loaned out? O’Neill has already gone on record to say Marlon can hopefully get some games under his belt and gain some much-needed fitness. Unfortunately, we really need players who are just about there and ready to hit the ground running so hopefully he’s not too far away and Hughton will welcome him into the squad for Saturday’s televised game at Ipswich. (more…)
