Which one would you be prepared to lose for the greater good: Tiote or Krul?

Will we be cashing a Cheik in January?
Firstly, let me say bonjour! I am Simon, or Raffo and have contributed on here since the breakaway movement last year so I like to think of myself as a fellow rebel!

I grew up in Durham and have lived as an expat in Yorkshire since 2001 when I left home for Uni. I now find myself down in Barnsley with a ‘reet pit yacker’ for a wife, and there’s plenty of stick to be had with the in-laws with all things Toon related. When we were relegated I came home to find a box of tissues left for me on my doorstep by a neighbour. B*stards! Suffice to say I put them to good use! My brother also plays for the monkey hangers so I like to think I have a little bit of knowledge, or at least an opinion!

Now then, I appreciate that it is not a subject that any of us really like if we are honest, losing a star player, but I had a thought this morning making the hour long trek to my oh so interesting job. If we HAD to sell someone, who could we lose and whose absence would have the least negative effect?

What I thought I would do is look at the two players who have been mentioned recently and also curiously seem to have the same potential value of £20 million. There seems to be a feeling that we may well have to sell to buy and I for one wouldn’t mind sacrificing one player to get four or five others in. Speculate to accumulate and all that.

Many will no doubt mention the £35million we should have, but I don’t think there’s very much of that around to be spent. Debts, wages, agent’s fees, transfer fees etc have taken a chunk of that which is fine in my book. As long as any money we bring in from sales is used solely for incomings, a big big IF I know, then lets try.

Tim Krul:

I am sure we would all agree that he has been a revelation this season since taking the No1 shirt from Steve Harper. I was actually someone that had advocated replacing Harp’s, but people may remember that I thought Fraser Forster should have the first crack. I will put up my hands and admit I was wrong. He has been nothing short of fantastic. It is rumoured that Chelsea and Tottenham, along with others no doubt, are hovering and want him in Jan. Well what would this mean?

Steve Harper could come back into the fray and resume his role as No1, but this is a very short sighted view in my opinion. I think we have made the change for a younger keeper and we shouldn’t go back. Cynics may view Rob Eliot coming in as a surprise third choice as potentially paving the way for Timmy to move on. Perhaps Fraser was sent to Celtic to gain first team experience with a view to always coming back to take over from Tim and play as our No1 from Jan?

Cheick Cheick Cheick BOOOOM Tiote:

The midfield powerhouse has been injured recently. Many eyebrows have started to be raised about the length of the injury time he has had, given that the initial prognosis was for a short layoff. There are rumours abound from local hacks that he is a shoe in to be away in Jan, Chelski the likely destination, but who could fill in?

Danny Guthrie has done a decent job in there in Tiote’s absence, but we also have Dan Gosling, Mehdi Abeid and Alan Smith to fall back on if needs be. He does collect an amazing number of cards a season and will be away for the CAN in the New Year too.

My thoughts: Well I think we will lose one of them and I pray it is only one. I think we would be ‘better off’ losing Cheik Tiote. We can cover his loss better in my opinion with Guthrie, but also a slight change in formation can see us play Hatem Ben Arfa behind Leon Best and Demba Ba.

A great keeper is worth 10 points a season at least. Krul has seen his value rocket this last six months and he is vital to us achieving our ambitions this term. There was a reason Harper was replaced as number 1 and I think we would be foolish to go back to him, or the shaky Elliot. Forster is playing in a two team league so would also be a big risk. I say we sell Forster and Tiote and we can go and buy three or four good players, scouted by Mr Carr Esq, to make us a stronger team and really cement our push for the top seven.

I would like to see us buy Pieters to cover left-back and centre-back, an orthodox centre-back who will cover us for the rest of the season but will challenge Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini when they are fit, a central midfielder, another winger and a striker (rumoured to be Maiga).

I think we were always going to see a left-back and a striker in January, so effectively the sale of Tiote could see us bring in a new spine to the team, a centre-back, a central midfielder and the winger. Maybe other sales of players such as Forster, Lovenkrands, Smith and possibly Ranger could see us able to buy another striker plus whatever Ashley decides to give us as a present.

I don’t WANT to see him leave but I think the benefits to the team and what Pardew can do with the money make it the only sensible thing to do. But what do you guys think?

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

138 thoughts on “Which one would you be prepared to lose for the greater good: Tiote or Krul?

  1. RAFFO think you will be waiting a long time for jabba to sell the club imo
    ive said before he will never sell it why would he he will do enough to keep us in PL and he will rake about 40mil each season,would you give that up,i doubt it 🙁

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  2. Absolutely no reason to sell either. There should be a decent kitty left and we only really need three players that are versitile to bring in.

    I see Krul, Coloccini, Tiote and Ba as our indespensible players.

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  3. Batty sadly I tend to agree with ye, thats the point I made earlier, it used to be exciting coming up to the windows wondering who we will buy now Jabba has us that we don’t worry about who we buy as we’re more worried about who we’ll sell.

    Ice and he gets to use us as a giant advertisment hoarding for free

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  4. JJ @ 77 I agree as im sure 99.9% will agree but Jabba is the man that decides, and if the past is anything to go by I would say he’ll sell 😥

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  5. why are we always bringing it up that people are leaving in jan?? i am confident we will still have colo , tiote and krul by feb next year!!! too many negative vibes flying around at the mo , lets stay positive and win the league 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

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  6. The club would have went to the wall if big Mick hadn’t bought it??? My fkn ****.
    “One of the jewels in the premiership” he said?
    When is he going to show some ambition for the club, and tell clubs sniffing around to “**** off were building something I promised when I took over”.
    He’s a liar. His arsewipe of a chairman is a liar,and once again we get the **** taken. Sell cheap tickets, fill the ground then change the name.

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  7. Well- I’m going to chose to be optimistic for the time being. It seems when this group has sold a player they do so becuase 1) the player asks to leave for a “bigger club”, or 2) the player makes outlandish (in the club’s mind) contract demands. I don’t think they have forced a sale of a player when the player was content which is probably the case with Krul

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  8. keithrtoon@70,
    Our starting 11 is better definatly and our work rate and attitude is 100% better so to pardew and carr well done , but the squad is thin keith and workrate and attitude can only get you so far .
    If we continue to sell our better players and rely only on scouts we will decline i am certain of that .
    Can you imagine carroll and ba up front ! and why not ?
    Theres to many inconsistancies buy young and sell on ok then why sell carroll at 22 and maybe tiote ! and why say no to nolan and yes to shola !
    IMO its not a plan or project its just about making money they lie and move the goalposts to suit themselves and it doesent end the naming rights colo what next ! I respect all opinions but just cant agree with some . But im grounded if it is a master plan by a evil genious and the selling stops and the good form continues ( more than 15 to 20 games ) then i will say keith wolfie etc you were right all i ask is the same back if history repeats itself and colo tiote krul etc leave and no money is spent and the the scouts cant repeat there good work year in year out will you say you were right keith ashley is a very good businessman and a **** football club owner . And as bigdave said it boils my **** wene people say “negs” and “get behind the team” and “support the team” iv been doing a canny job of supporting the team home away and in europe for 36 years , show me the evidence hes doing a good job and ill read it but remember he has owned our club for over 3 years and hise tenure did not begin 20 games ago .

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  9. Raffo, well done mate, good first blog, certainly struck up a bit of a debate.

    I sometimes wonder how Keith manages to write his entries with that straight jacket on. Not attacking you mate but I always smile when I read your thoughts on Ashley, imagine you rocking in a chain “Ashley, fucking Ashley, fat evil genius, ruining our club, Ashley, fucking Ashley, fat evil genius, ruining our club… and so on til the next injection.
    I think it’s fair to say we’ve had our exchange on that front and whilst I don’t completely agree with you, I respect your views on the matter.
    For me, he’s a billionaire business man and doesn’t go into anything to make a loss. Unfortunately, with a football club, there are only so many ways you can recoup funds you have put into the club. Regardless of our opinions, I don’t believe any of us would be happy or would accept taking a loss of £100m, no matter what your financially worth, you just don’t become a billionaire with that attitude. Also, if that was his attitude, Carroll would have went for a hell of a lot less. Like him or loath him, you can’t argue he’s not a good business man, you don’t become a billionaire without drive.

    So, back to the question and unfortunately players are one of the few ways of making the profit needed to recoup funds.
    It has to be Tiote for me like. In my opinion he has only actually played well 4-5 times this season, or put another way, half of his outings this season. If as reported, Tiote goes to Chelsea for £20m, that’s fantastic money, if Ashley pushes the deal as far as he can (as he did with Carroll) and we either get more cash or Kalou thrown in, outstanding work!!!
    As an aside, I really don’t think Tiote will be as affective in the formation Chelsea play with only 3 in midfield, as good as he is.
    All that said, I really don’t want him to leave our club.

    Krul, now he can not be allowed to leave at any cost, and I know that is not the new Newcastle way but he simply can’t!
    He has came on leaps and bounds and I honestly believe we are at least 10 points better off with him in the team so far this season.
    I also think that one of the reasons we are still tracking Pieters is his close friendship with Krul and bringing him in would keep Krul settled.

    For me, there are 3 players in our current team that should never be sold, Tim Krul, Steven Taylor and Cabaye. That’s not to say I don’t rate the rest, I do, I just feel those 3 are the spine and heart of our team.

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  10. MDS @ 83 the problem is that the player could be content until the club decide to make it impossible for the player to remain content. ie Colocould be perfectly content now and want to stay at the club, so they offer Colo a new contract on half his wages, do you think he would remain content ??

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  11. Dave- that is of course possible. I’m just saying that I don’t think they’ve done it that way (yet). From what was reported, the contract amounts that were discussed with Joey and Enrique were far from insulting, and AC and Nolan had multiple years left on what were already big deals. .

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  12. MDS offcourse i’m just reading between the lines, but as I said I believe Jose was happy to be here and stay until as he said the club reneged on promise’s that they made to him, and we know that they tried to screw JB over, so as I said I think they will continue to lie and renege on promise’s made.
    As far as ‘the contract amounts that were discussed with Joey and Enrique were far from insulting’ how do we know ? they were offered good Prem deals

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  13. Big Dave,

    He’s kicking on 30yrs old, and half of his current contract, he’d still be getting 40k a week. If he can’t find contentment being captain of Newcastle united football club, playing as part of a solid back 4 and being loved by thousands of fans and being paid 40k for the privilege then it’s time to pack up and **** off

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  14. Because i don’t remember them ever complaining much about what they offered. they just blasted the transfer policy which is fair enough.

    As for Joey, I still think they would have re-signed him if he hadn’t gone nuts on twitter

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  15. sharpy17@85
    its comments like those that put me in straight jacket .
    I have always said he is a good bussiness man but he is not good for the team imo and i am a football fan not a good bussiness man fan !
    Kalou to the toon he he your turn for the jacket then , its like reading the sun .
    20 mill for tiote and little or none spent more likely and thats my problem .
    And finally colo is our best and most influential player and you dident mention him , or is that because you think ashley will flog him .
    Regards my post @84 i will be full of apologies if im wrong …. will you ?

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  16. Sharpy17 @ 90 if that’s how you think we should go about dealing with our better players then im just glad that you arn’t on the board as its bad enough that we have 2 already with that attitude 3 would be a disaster.
    I really can’t understand why as a fan that you should be that worried for Jabba’s money that you would expect Colo to take a 50% pay cut just so that he can stay with us.
    As for his age 30 isn’t that old for a player of his position and I would expect him to still be top notch in 4yrs time

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  17. Can I just say to those who “find it funny we’re the only team to mention agents fees” that we actually aren’t. ALL teams HAVE to publish how much the spend on agents fees. I wrote an article about it a week or so ago. I didn’t just guess we had the 6th highest outlay on agents fees 🙄

    On topic, obviously id rather lose neither but I don’t live in some bizarre world where players never want to move on or deals don’t get done.

    I think its been proven that we could live without Tiote so if we had to lose one it would be him.

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  18. keithrtoon what was your answer !
    sharpy17 what was your answer !
    bigdave@93 i agree again .
    Toonsey@94 we worry far to much about money , a lot more than any other clubs and that is because its been drilled into us by ashley and his croney how poor we are and how much everything costs but they dont mention all the money they have made in player sales and prem money and season tickets and merchandise and advertising and sky money ect ,
    We turn a profit every window and that cant continue because we cant rely on scouts alone do you agree with that ?

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  19. Dunno. We’re struggling without Tiote, though this is an admittedly tough run of games we’ve had.

    I actually think we’ve missed Best a lot too. Is it me, or are we in a bit of a scoring drought?

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  20. Keith, I would never expect or ask for an apology from anyone. I am also not disputing there are grounds for your views, far from it. I’m also not saying I agree with our current transfer policies, I just accept them for what they are as long as they work. Up to now, there is an argument that they have worked, from the business side (which you seem to not want to be interested in) so also from the playing side then, where as football fans the team are performing brilliantly, with most of the new signings fitting in effortlessly.
    Let’s put it another way.
    Do we do a Chelsea and hold on to players til the end of their careers when you then have 5-6 players on huge wages and have a resale value of next to nowt, or do we sell some of our better players in their prime for big money and avoiding huge debt.
    I know what your going to say, were doing neither. But being honest, which club is being ran “your” way, or close to the way you believe Newcastle should be ran. Then, is that club successful… then, how much debt has that club got?
    If your response to that is going to be, I’m a football fan, I don’t care about debt, you just want to win things, then may I suggest you speak with a portsmouth fan who saw their club win the FA Cup with a squad of players they couldn’t afford and look at them now.
    The truth is Keith that you will probably find that there is not a football club being ran the way you think newcastle should be.. and that speaks volumes.
    Debt matters, it affects how the club is ran and if you expect Ashley to keep pumping money into the club, writing it off and taking nothing back, fat chance. As much as you love the club Keith, if you worked your bollocks off to become a billionaire and would see £100m of your money and more put into the club without you getting it back… gues what, here’s the jacket back mate.
    I’m not completely behind Ashley in the running of our club, I just struggle to entirely understand your realistic expectations of the man?!

    As for Colo, I expect him to leave because I don’t see them offering him enough wages wise and there are cheaper replacements (again, I don’t agree, we shld fight tooth n nail to keep him, but thems the new policies)

    I can say I’ll say sorry if Tiote and or others leave but I will certainly apologies for whatever part I play in you being in that jacket mate 🙄

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  21. Big Dave, perhaps I came across alittle flippant there. I do agree that he is our best player and agree that he’s good for another 4 or so years.
    I think what I mean is that he cant stay on 80k a week under the wage cap that seems to be in place, particularly if they are saying to simmo, theres 15k or whatever far lesser amount he’s being offered. Colo is one of their signings and I do believe they want him to say, I just mean that we shouldn’t be held to ransom that’s all.
    I hope they come to an agreement and he signs a contract with us but if it’s only about getting 80k and funding an orphanage, then as a Newcastle fan I’d soon him want to captain the club

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  22. next discussion should be who would fans prefer ashley or shepherd,i know who i would choose,imo under ashley the club is becoming self sufficient,and i cant understand people who dont think that this club,wasnt in serious financial difficulties, when shepherd was in charge.On to subject if i had to choose between, krul and tiote its a no brainer krul has to stay,and i dont think there is any way he will be sold,as ive said a few times on here,we as fans, are bickering with each other about things that haven’t happened yet,lets wait and see what happens in january,enjoy watching one of the best teams wev’e had in a long time,and i honestly believe, we will carry on all season the way we have started it.i’m confident we will get the replacements we need,Christmas can be stressful enough without worrying about january,so howay lads chill oot 😀 😀 😀

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  23. I think the finances are a very real problem, very akin to the country. We are in debt and need to pay it back before we can start to look at pushing on like we were 10-15 years ago. It seems we are never going to have full agreement on the financial side of the club and ashleys methods.

    Thanks for your kind comments I hope to write a few more articles now. I think tiote is the most dispensible out of the two, don’t want to lose either but krul must stay

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  24. Evening all. I wouldn’t like to think about losing either tbh although I am starting to understand the whole, ‘Tiote is primed for a sale’ thing. It’s not like him to miss so many games.

    On Sat I think I would like to see…

    ——————–Krul————–
    Simpson–Perch–Kadar-Raylor
    Obertan–Gosling–Cabaye-Jonas
    ———-Demba–Ameobi-(c)—-

    I think we looked a lot better 4-4-2 in the second half against Chelsea as an attacking threat when Ameobi joined Ba up top. I think Norwich are quite a big strong team and having the two CF’s back at corners will give us that extra muscle. Gosling has been poor IMO and perhaps Abeid should at least get on the bench although I’m not writing off Gosling yet. Jonas back in front of Raylor and non champions league opposition will help a lot. I think it will be a scrappy, tough 3pm affair ‘behind enemy lines’ in Norwich. Is it any coincidence that teams like Norwich and Swansea have a home advantage? Being miles from anywhere and a difficult away trip for everybody. Just a thought.

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  25. sharpry17 @98,
    thanks for answering !!!
    And get this i agree with some things that have gone on recently (not many) , But my expectations are not unrealistic and i do not want big money spent , i do not want to be man city but i do not want to run a club under these unrealistic ties and as i said they are not working to a plan they change the rules to suit ,
    We are much better of than most clubs have bigger gates etc etc it would have cost no extra money to keep nolan carroll barton etc and added the new players to them ,we dont have enough players ! but it gets me wrigling in my jacket when people (not you i did read above) paint him as our saviour and tell me all the **** we have been through is part of some masterplan and we are heading for the stars because that is utter bollocks! as i have said many times i will judge ashley on the clubs form and nothing else because i am a fan ! does that make me mad ?

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  26. keith@84 sorry lad, just home from football…

    Just going off what you said.. starting 11 definitely better than the one with Carroll, Barton, Enrique and Nolan.. agreed.

    Work rate and attitude is 100% better and credit to Pardew, Carr etc.. agree again, think time has shown the opinion that the likes of Barton and Nolan were two main ingredients in creating that is completely wrong.

    The squad is thin… no doubt mate but it is less so than it was last season, besides four different players on the pitch instead of the four gone we have two to three more signings, Ben Arfa and Gosling back this year and a few youngsters making the step up, so all round we are stronger, first team and squad.

    The next bit is where I disagree a bit. Although there is a risk, as there is with any club, in relying on a strong scouting system, we have someone spearheading it in Carr who is one of the most respected in English football at the moment. His record speaks for itself.

    Do all clubs not rely on their scouting system? If there is a club who doesn`t then what method do they use in finding and selecting players of the quality they want to join the club?

    I see where you`re coming from when you say, imagine Carroll and Ba up front, but honestly mate I don`t know of a manager or club out there that would not have sold him for £35m. Put aside the argument that it has not been spent for a second, that is mental money and we would have been mad to turn it down. I think time has proved as much, he is a good player but not worth anywhere near that, especially when you see the likes of David Silva signed for £10million less.

    Tiote is speculation for now. I do think we will sell though for £25m if the offer comes in. As I said earlier mate I think there has to be sacrifices, such as Carroll and maybe Tiote, made in order to build the team / squad, for the moment anyway. Reinvesting all the money aside, if we sell Tiote and get three players who can be considered top half Premier League footballers then surely it would be an acceptable loss.

    Another thing is, what is the rush to spend all this money? Do you know how much Man Utd spent for a season after they sold Ronaldo? Approx. £35m. Not even half. And they were trying to win the league and the Champions League. I would rather we spent over a few years and smartly than simply spend because we have it. I`m not ignoring the fact we haven`t spent loads of it and saying ah sure it`s grand, I just see the logic.

    As far as saying no to Nolan and yes to Shola, it`s very simple in my eyes. Nolan had a great start to last season but scored only two goals after Carroll left and got no assists all season. As well as that he did look like he was running on reserve second half of the season and would not suit the way we play now, definitely not.

    He wanted a five year deal on approx. £60K a week. Chances are in one or two of those five years he might not be a first team player any more and we have another Smith on our hands, only one that could really rock the boat if he is not happy.

    Shola however is on less money and seems relatively happy to be a squad player. Obviously he`d like to be in the team but will spend periods on the sidelines and not make a fuss. As well as that he is a hometown lad, a model professional and a very good influence around the place. That is why I think he got a new deal.

    As for the last bit I think that`s where we disagree once more. I don`t see it as 20 good games. I see it as being good from the moment the Championship season started.

    I know where youè coming from and respect the passion mate, really do. Have spent a lot of time arguing with people involved with certain groups who don`t like the current regime and whether I agree or not what`s sure is they care.

    I`m sure it is frustrating as hell to be constantly called negs or told to get behind the team, but it`s no different to those on my end of the spectrum being called delusional or told you care about business more than the football.

    Fact is Newcastle has one of the most diverse fanbases in terms of opinion I know of, and it is a big reason it is so interesting to be a Toon supporter. It is also a massive reason blogs like this can be great to go on, especially write for, and not just see a common concensus or have people agree with you, that`s boring to me.

    Imagine supporting a club where nothing went on and there was no debate Monday to Friday.. All you had was the match on the Saturday.. Wouldnt be near as much fun would it?!

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  27. Sorry for the delay mate, I cant type for **** but would never shy away from a good debate, just takes an age!!
    I dont think Nolan, Barton and Carroll were sold/given away coz of money mate (Carroll perhaps) I think they were moved on for being greedy arrogant bad apples and I think asides from the financial gain, our team spirit and togetherness has improved massively since they left, I dont believe that’s a coincidence but that’s a different debate…. and one for another day!!!

    Time to turn in, sleep well you Geordie boot boys and girls

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  28. keithrtoon ,
    thanks for reply , yes all clubs rely on scouts but not at the same time as selling there better players at every window !
    If we sell tiote and get 3 in happy days but in my opinion thatwill not happen history shows 20 mill plus sold couple of mill spent if that !
    I guess im just not happy seeing good players leave and average players like shola stay but thats just me .
    Like what you say keith dont agree with much but you seem to be a gentleman ,
    Im gannin to bed see you all later 😉
    MY TEAM FOR SAT
    KRUL
    JOSE COLO PERCH SANTON
    SPIDEY CABAYE NOLAN BEN ARFA
    CARROLL D BA
    😉 😉 😉 😉 😉 😉

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  29. Looks Like i am the only one thinking that we can actually live without Krul and tiote must stay.

    You see Without tiote,we only have guthrie left with cabaye. And what is worst is that guthrie contract is running down.

    As for Gk position,we can at least afford ourself to rely on harper for at least 1 season,and maybe get forster back.

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  30. AoD….I really hope we don’t lose either but keepers are much harder to replace and we won’t get one as good as Krul, Forster won’t be back here and imo doesn’t even come close to Krul from what(little admittedly) I’ve seen of him. When Krul reaches his peak he will be way above any standard Harper got to(again imo).
    Krul has won us games on his own, we are unlikely to find someone even close.

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  31. I think it’s all well and good saying that we’re football fans and not finance fans, which is true, but it’s also folly to suggest the two aren’t linked. No finance and you aren’t going to get very far. The balance needs to be right. Whether the balance is right now is what I’d question more than anything.

    Reet, gonna get my article pants on. Waited until the end of my week off to start redecorating my bathroom so time is precious 😕

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  32. @AngelOfDeath @108

    only Guthrie left?? Gosling, Mehdi, Vickic and showboating powerhouse Smith 😆

    earlier in the post u said get rid of both if the money was good 😕

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  33. @Mark: i not sure about Mehi i always though he is attacking minded style player same goes as Vuckic.

    Smith contract isn’t it ending soon too? 😆

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  34. but the point ppl were making is we couldnt live without Krul and Tiote would bring a huge profit for what we paid for him. We could always buy another midfielder but we do have cover.
    I’m not happy with this as I’d keep both…but as the article says ‘for the greater good’ which should be questioned imo.. is there a greater good?

    As for Krul, who would replace his quality, Harpers knackered, Forster doesnt seem to be rated and Elliot looks far from the finished article.

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  35. Just popped in to see where this debate had got.

    Keithrtoon @104. Thanks and I agree totally. It was a bit of a read but good points very well made. (Obviously better than the way I put it as I only attracted abuse. 😛 )

    My own feelings are one of frustration at the level of negativity despite the relative success of the team compared to 18 months ago. We are trying very hard as Newcastle supporters to live down the “delusional” tag we have acquired from rival fans everywhere. Yet we are still hypercritical of a regime which has (despite obvious and well documented mistakes) taken us to a position which most of them envy. It is this same level of fans vociferous dissatisfaction that prompted our previous owner to sack SBR when we only managed to finish 5th, leading us to our continued downward spiral, managerial merry-go-round, and widespread mocking from far and wide.

    I wouldn’t choose Ashley as a pal to drink with, but he is a very shrewd business man who seems, maybe unintentionally, to be taking the club along a progressive route, both financially and on the field. His goal might well be to inflate further his bank balance but personally I am enjoying riding on the back of his strategy. I have frequently questioned his decisions but so far he has ultimately proved correct. As a result I am very happy to sit back and see where it is all leading. Oh – and I do believe (could be wrong , don’t shoot me) that he has learned lessons and so I would be very surprised to see departures in January. Just my opinion.

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  36. Tony toon , keithrtoon , sharpy17 , wolfie , nobby ,etc
    I want you all to be right i really do in january and in the future but the lines are a little blurred here its you lot that are excusing mistake after mistake and sale after sale ect .
    Tony toon i am not “delusional ” as you put it every point i make is factual it really happened you know , google our history you can read it for yourself .
    Tony i wont shoot you thats for sure and you are entitled to your opinion so lets hope you are right about january , but if history repeats itself and players leave that are not replaced with similair or better players ( going backwards ) then will you and the others stop and think maybe ashley isnt right for Newcastle or will that just be another part of the plan …. i wonder 😉

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  37. Keith – With the utmost respect – Just what history are you referring to? Which players have been sold – in the last 2 years – either against their will or who haven’t initiated a move by their own actions? And would you be suggesting that we haven’t replaced these players with better, quicker, more flexible players who have been instrumental in changing our style of play for the better. I think we have, and with the exception of Enrique’s exit, (he just wanted to move on having had is head turned- it happens) believe we have undoubtedly moved forward as a football team. Our performances and league position surely are proof.

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  38. Exactly TonyToon.

    The point of the article was to highlight or suggest that should Tiote leave for £20million we could buy 3/4 players that would improve the squad and balance and maybe even get someone who would be as good as him. Look at the Judas money and who we brought in. Cabaye, Obertoon, Marveux and BA. We sold one important player for a high amount and have now 3/4 important players in his place. Ba is outperforming Carroll easily at the moment.

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  39. I have tried to stop myself but i cant , im going to do a wolfie ,
    Remember when you were young and went to bed and put your head under the blanket so the boogie man could not get you ?
    The blanket would not have stopped an axe !
    When you cover your eyes at a scary movie ?
    Its still there !
    Wanting something to be great doesent make it great .

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  40. Keith – to continue your idea further. Hiding your head under the blanket is all about worrying what horrible monster might be there. It is only when you lift the cover and open your eyes and look around, taking in the full picture that you realise there’s nothing to be scared about. Check mate?

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  41. Like the aticle, its nice to have new contributors and I am def with the keeping Krul camp…he could well be wold class….

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  42. Tony toon , you dident answer !
    routledge 2mill
    jose 6mill
    nolan 5mill
    carroll 35mill
    total 48ish mill (probs more)

    ba free
    cabaye 4mill
    santon 5mill
    obertan 2mill
    total 11ish mill
    the club up for sale , relegation , name change , keegan , kinnear , lies that was the history i meant did you forget !
    Raffa the carroll money hasent been spent fact .

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  43. Fair enough, but look at where we are now.

    Tiote is absent – injured, being primed for sale, whatever. He also misses games through suspension. Would you rather we kept Tiote, had very little money to spend and that was spent on Maiga and Pieters only for the sake of the argument. Would we be better off missing him and having only Guthrie to fill in and then Guthrie gets injured, like now?

    Or would we rather get £20 million + Kalou for Tiote in Jan, and then go and buy anothe quality winger, another CM, another CB and maybe even another younger raw exciting ST? We then strengthen areas thast need it whilst replacing Tiote.

    I would suggest that the second option would make us a stronger team with a better squad to cope with more matches in the event of european qualification.

    Thanks Toontom – first of many I hope if people liked what I did I shall try more

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  44. Keith – what about the debts that we needed to pay back? The bank loans called in? General day to day running of the club with wages, upkeep etc? I think it is a little short sighted to see the situation as simply as we got £40million in so we can spend £40million.

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  45. Ah, now I see. You’re in the camp of those who believe that because we have the money we have to spend it. Recent success and the upward turn of the club count for nothing. An exciting team playing attractive football in the top 6 of the Premier League mean nothing. The fact that we have acquired all these more influential players you mention for a fraction of the sales income is a source of discontent (to be polite) to you. The fact is you would have been much happier if Cabaye had cost £10m, Ba £15m etc. etc.

    Forget relegation. That IS history. This is now.

    Sorry but I’m out of here. 😉

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  46. I’m staying on the optimistic side of the fence an saying he is not going to leave. (Tiote or Krul). The length of Tiote’s contract gives me the impression we have *at least* one more years service from him before we even entertain offers from elsewhere. However I do admit I’m being very optimistic.

    I also don’t buy into the cynics view that Tiote is being kept back for the transfer window. If Tiote is fit, he plays. It’s as simple as that. We all know his skills but if we want to sell him, we put him on the shop window.

    As for Krul, well it’s obvious we have a world class keeper on our hands and as long as we keep doing well this season we have a chance of holding on to him and having many years of service from him as we did Shay. Plus I think he wants to stay and the buck stops with the player. If the player really doesn’t want to go Ashley can’t force a move. Raffa got it in one with one little sentence. “Krul is worth 10 points a season for us” and there’s your answer right there. And for me he’s already played a major part in those 10 points.

    If either of them has to go, for me it has to be Tiote but lets’ hope it doesn’t come to it.

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  47. Tony you still dident answer !!!!!!!! its like getting blood out of a stone .
    raffa@124 , if the second option happened i would dance naked in the street and sing with happyness ! but as a guessing man i would suggest it wont and if what is happening continues to happen i want to know if people will start to look differently at ashley and maybe just maybe admitt that he is a bad owner for newcastle but for some reason know one will answer me ? that is my problem .Also i have never said i want all the money to go back into player sales or for it to be spent straight away just some and sooner rather than later !
    Tony , before you asked what history ! and now you say forget it !
    Make your mind up .

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  48. Keith – I will answer you.

    I was gutted when Judas left, but for £35million I wouldve driven him there. I think itis fair to say that over the last year Carroll has done nothing to suggest he was worth 50% of that fee. He has potential sure, but so have I given the right training and 2 years to lose the weight! We had to sell him, and if he was looking for a new contract weeks after getting a new one then all the more reason to sell. That is relevant because what happened to that money has stabalised the club IMHO. Not all the money went on fees and wages of course, some on debt and general day to day running of the club. No problem at all with that. As I have said I would rather have a club thats stable and in existance than try and do a Leeds or Pompey and have real real problems and maybe go out of existence.

    I think I would celebrate Ashley as one of the better owners should he continue and his policy come to fruition. Selling a star each year to fund 5 new hungry players is ok. Look at where we are over where we were last season with the so called stars. We have over acheived, sure, but with the money still there to improve on what we have we are in such a better position all round.

    Not the populist view, but keep up the good work I say

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  49. Shouldn’t be either should it? But this is fat Ash we’re talking about, so I’d have to say Tiote even though he’s possibly my favourite player. Why? Well, Krul has saved us more points and looks to improve game on game, Harper is getting old, Elliot is ***** and Forster seems dodgy.

    We can actually cover for Tiote…I’d push cabaye back into the defensive role with Arfa playing behind two strikers personally…Or have him and Demba playing off a target man.

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  50. Raffo , thanks for answering i respect your views , totally disagree with them but respect you .
    IMO the problem starts when we have ran out of top players colo krul tiote ba s taylor and the 5 next five hungry young players are young and hungry but dont cut it in the prem league . Like many we have seen in the past .
    I would just like to see a sensible approach not all superstars (we are not that team anymore) but not a revolving door of young french or african lads because that will not bring us the consistency we crave .
    This year good next year bad ect .
    It makes me sad that fans dont mind losing there better players every window who are in there early 20s for financial gain and a chance of finding more through the scouts ! theres no such thing as a free lunch they say …
    Tony still dident answer !!

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  51. Raffo good article I love a good debate and I love your optimism I used to be simiar but unfortunately not anymore! 😥 And to the other optimists not giving Keith a straight answer here’s the story:

    So cashley buys a club with massive debt, didn’t realise so loans us money to pay him back. His daft decisions play a massive part in getting us relegated, the banks wanted some money back but cashley decided he wasn’t putting any of his money in because he relegated us.

    Firstly, why were we in debt to a bank with an overdraft if our ‘saviour’ who according to some people on here stopped us from doing a leeds and portsmouth?

    No he didn’t, he gave us the same debt so is no saviour, just clever. You think a business man like him would let a club he bought for 200ish million go into administration? Really? You must be more delusional than the geordies on sky sports news. Raffo you say the 35mil stabilised the club? Payed off some debt? But we’ve been told our saviour got rid of our debt unless you mean it’s cashleys debt? Then he IS taking money out the club (which alot of pro cashley on here say he isn’t), and if that’s the case I’d rather he told us straight up so he ****** off sooner. Out of interest have you got any proof it stabilised the club, or is the IMHO just in hope more than expectation or knowledge cos Pardew was told it off cashley and he’s towing the party line too keep his job? (No blame to Pards just doing his job)

    All we heard was ahhh it give us underground heating on the training pitch, about a million pound. Ahh it went on agent fees, 6 million. All the players you say are younger faster hungrier pretty much got offset by everyone else we sold, so I think Keith is asking where is the money? Why do we have to sell Tioté if we have some dosh left over?

    We have massive incomes and smaller wages compared to the season we got relegated so we’re making a profit very soon not including player sales so what is the need for selling our best players? I can guarantee all the new players who came in are on less money than those who left so we’re aren’t that bad as some make out. Sorry for the essay.

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  52. Keith, I think it’s fair to assume that should we go on a bad run with the injuries we have and not pick many points up during the course of Dec and beginning of Jan, and it doesn’t look like the board are prepared to sign new players to improve performance and results you will quickly find people sharing your views.
    But I think what everyone else sees is that we have been linked with players since the last window closed. We have lined up the Maiga and would expect him to sign on the 1st Jan and we are heavily linked 4-5 other players and would expect to sign at least 2 other players.

    If we had a rubbish start to the season, were flirting with the bottom 3 places and all the talk was of players leaving and none coming in, then yes, I’d be by your side but thats not the case.
    The likelyhood is that we will have to sell some of our better players until ashleys loan is paid back. In all honesty I would rather Ashley said, I’m keeping 50% of all money of all sales til I get my money back, the other 50% goes to players unless we are really struggling, then I’ll put more in. Then everyone knows where they stand.

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  53. Billy , cheers and spot onbut I think our wait will continue for answers all is great don’t you know , flirting with the big boys we are !
    Sharpy thanks ill take that as a yes then ! If they keep selling and our short lived form suffers we are side by side yeh ! Hope it doesent but at least you will reason with me people just thinking there right and can tell the future are silly eh .

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