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…)
Edging close perhapsReports in The Mail and The Mirror are suggesting that Newcastle United may be sold by the end of this week. We’ve heard it all before of course but one of the newspapers will get it right one day and maybe it’s today.
Last week Newcastle issued a statement saying that Ashley’s £100m asking price has been met and all deals were now at the ‘sale and purchase stage‘ and apparently senior staff at the club have been told to brace themselves for ‘a big week‘ this week.
It was speculated that the sticking point was the loan facility with Barclays, so presumably – if a sale is imminent – that has now been sorted out and Barry Moat is in a position to take over the club.
If Moat takes over it is of course widely thought that Alan Shearer will be appointed as manager, although whether or not that’s a good idea still divides fans. At a function last week Shearer was indicating that he would not wait for Newcastle forever and was prepared to consider managing another club, but if the takeover is as close as the newspapers are suggesting it looks like Shearer won’t have to do that. (more…)
Guthrie red-cardedNewcastle were beaten by Peterborough and dumped out of the Carling Cup last night. It’s probably for the best given our small squad and the higher importance of the Championship but, despite such pragmatism, it still stings to lose.
I wasn’t at the game, didn’t see it on TV and didn’t listen to it on the radio – I simply followed it on the BBC web site – so I’m not really in a position to write much of a match report. The Telegraph has a reasonable report and I’ll just make a few comments and leave it at that.
One of the things I did notice while following it on the BBC was a very telling statistic: Peterborough had 28 attempts on goal (21 on target) to our 7 attempts on goal (2 on target).
When I prepared that match preview yesterday I mentioned their potent, 3-pronged strike force and they certainly seem to have taught us a thing or two about attacking the goal. With those stats I’m surprised they only got 2 goals and at least Tim Krul must have had a reasonable game to keep more out. (more…)
