Does Demba really have a release clause?

Demba's clause
To be honest I’m little bit fed up of talk of clauses. I thought we’d gone past that time of year and didn’t have to worry about it until next December, but still…

Harry Redknapp has seen to that though as, once again, he goes public when declaring interest in a player. It’s not a new thing although it’s worth pointing out that the bloke went scatty when Chelsea done the same to him with Luka Modric.

The object of Redknapp’s media affection this time around? Much like last January it involves a Newcastle striker, but this time it’s Demba Ba who is the object of the alleged tax dodgers affections. The Tottenham manager spoke rather openly to the media about a release clause in the contract of Demba Ba and admitted that he, along with a lot of other clubs, is interested in the Senegal international.

The thing that annoys me is that Redknapp does this all the time. He’ll twitter on about players at other clubs when he really hasn’t got the authority to say anything about them. It’s a move designed to unsettle players and whilst I’m not naive enough to believe it doesn’t go on behind closed doors I do believe that talking of things like this in public is a step too far.

Still, Redknapp is on trial on the 23rd of this month so if he wants to sign Ba he’ll have to get in there pretty quick!

Now a whinge about Redknapp won’t change anything, but it does make me feel a bit better. I like to have a moan from time to time. The real question is whether or not Demba Has a clause in his contract and just what that clause is. Now not being privvy to personal details (unlike Redknapp seemingly) I’m going to have to use history to try and work it out.

Ba does have a history of having clauses in his contracts. He had one at West Ham regarding his release pending a relegation – a wise move really considering that West Ham were bottom of the table when he signed for them and pretty standard practice for a player to ask for one when the club he is joining is running the risk, and subsequently ended up, being relegated.

However contrary to popular belief he didn’t have a clause in his Hoffenheim contract. Instead it was more of an agreement between the club and player. This is what ultimately caused Ba and Hoffenheim to fall out as Ba felt that the German outfit stepped in the way of a move when a Premier League club (Stoke City) came calling. Ba basically tried to force the move himself although it didn’t work out thanks to the medical and that is when Ba ended up at West Ham.

That is only one side of the story though. We need to look at the other party to get a fuller picture. Would Newcastle United really leave themselves vulnerable in the transfer market? Would they really have such a low release clause in his contract? Could the kings of the contract loopholes have left themselves wide open?

You’d have to say that it’s unlikely wouldn’t you? I mean we seem to spend most of our time scouring for players who have the same kind of clauses in their contracts that the press and Redknapp seem to believe is in Ba’s contract, which kind of goes against everything that the club seem to be doing in the transfer market does it not?

Now I’m not denying that there may be some form of release clause in Demba Ba’s contract. What I am questioning is what the extent of that clause is. It might be something like a relegation release clause or it might be a minimum fee release clause. If it is the latter I very much doubt it will be as low as is being reported by bastians of journalism such as the Daily mail or Colin Warris on Twitter!

None of the local press have mentioned this previously and they are usually pretty hot on things like this, especially Mark Douglas who is on the money 99% of the time. More mischief making by Redknapp?

Surely not, your honour!

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.

136 thoughts on “Does Demba really have a release clause?

  1. Troy – It’s only recently (3 yrs) that Spurs have had a higher turnover I think.

    Not too sure turnover is the be all and end all of judging a big club.

    Oh and you’ll find when this financial years accounts come out our turnover will probably dwarf Spurs’.

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  2. @Poopsy

    You are jumping in with 2 feet again with your arms tied behind your back and no lifebuoy. 😛

    At this current moment in time, Spuds are the bigger club.

    They are more attractive to any player because they pay bigger wages and have more financial clout.

    All other areas are similar and can be argued one way or the other. It’s all subjective.

    My point, if you’ve read through the posts from Toonsy, Stu and myself is that at this moment in time, taking into everything but particularly turnover, which is a massive amount more than ours, makes them bigger at the moment.

    All other points, like trophies, fanbase are subjective whether it makes you a big club.

    Our trophies were won over 50 yrs ago. We’ve been in the second tier for far more seasons over the past 40 yrs.

    I’m basing this on current standing and as I said earlier, things can change quickly. Spuds might drop out of the CL and we get in. At that point in time would make our turnover bigger and we would reverse our standing.

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  3. We are a Big club, in terms of financials, stadium, local fanbase: but not very big as there is major step up to Man Utd, Barca, Bayern etc. We have not been a successful club for over 50 years, come close a few times.

    Spurs have higher media presence, a recent history of success and a larger worldwide presence. Both clubs have potential to step up a level.

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  4. Troy – Well considering the Spurts attendance is circa 35k & have a supposed waiting list of 20+k, that makes circa 55k, which would only happen if & it’s a big if, all those on the supposed waiting list actually sign up for a ST… and due to there’s being between £700 – £1800 a season, I wouldn’t bet on them getting everyone…

    You’d also have to think that the reason there ST prices are so high is because they can only get circa 35k into their current ground, so if they moved to a larger stadium, they may well reduce their ST prices in accordance, but even then it may well be more than we currently charge!!

    As for Trophies, they have 2 League & 8 FA plus 7 League Cup, most won after the 1950’s….. we have 4 League & 6 FA cups, won all before 1960… considering the League cup has only been around since the 70’s, we’ve not been in a position to win them, they have, so apart from that, we’re not much different & they still have a bigger catchment area for supporters than us, tho they share it with quite a few more clubs but if they’re as big as they think they are, that shouldn’t matter!!!

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  5. @premandup

    Without being patronising but you are stating the obvious and you aren’t dealing with the question in hand.

    Who is the bigger club at this moment in time?

    Spuds or the Toon?

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  6. Ive just pulled Stu out. I’m coming for you Poopsy. I’m just unzipping my arm cast. 😛

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  7. Just on the ‘BIG’ debate mainly when I think of a club being big its the size of the ground and the support. I also think of other clubs as maybe being more successful ( trophies) and wealthier.
    Imo we are a big club and bigger than Spuds

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  8. @toon69

    No one knows how many fans Spuds would attract. I’m not going to hazard a guess. I don’t see how you could know.

    Arsenal fill their 60k ground. Could they get more? Quite possibly. How many I don’t know.

    How many more could we attract? Who knows with success?

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  9. But Troy, we will have a bigger turnover than Spurs this year and we’ll probably have won the same, does that make us bigger this year?

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  10. Bobby, i can’t blame you for wanting to try and breed with me, would sort your gene set out .. but open flirtation … deary me .. come on, try and harder and get this debate sorted – i want an answer .. whos the bigger club spudz or toon? .. TOON TOON!!

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  11. Man city could never compete with us for fanbase even if we both played in 100k seated stadiums.

    They are the bigger club at this moment in time because of their financial clout.

    True?

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  12. Troy – Yeah it’s all speculation on how many they’d get, your guess is as good as mine but isn’t that the same as saying who’s the bigger club, us or them?? I mean, it all depends on who you ask, yeah they’ve got the success now but we had it less than a decade ago under Sir Bob… they may have it now but who says we wont have in next season or the one after….

    Remember, only a couple of seasons ago before floppychops took over, they were in the bottom 3 until they changed manager, who then got loads of money to spend & hey-presto, they’re now fighting in the top 5-6 clubs every season…

    Yes they’re doing very well this season but they’ve got a run of 9 games coming up that will either make or break there season when they have to play all the other top 8 teams one after another… lets see if they can get thru that lot before crowning them kings… they may well end up below us if results go our way & then are they the bigger club or not!!! 😆

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  13. @stu

    If you read my previous posts your question is already answered.

    Whether we will have a bigger turnover this year I wait and see. From what I recall we need to make up around £50m.

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  14. Stating the obvious coz some cannot distinguish between big and successful. Subjective but would say Spurs today, However we have greater potential. We also have Troy.

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  15. Tottenham Hotspur announce record revenues Wed 16th Nov 2011 | Money & FinanceTottenham Hotspur have announced record revenues of £163.5m for the year ending 30 June 2011. 😯

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  16. Imo troy is correct spurs are bigger , under hall and sheperd we mixed it with the big boys , to far probably ! but not now , a “big club would not need or want to sell carroll” people can’t have it both ways selling players nearing 30 and reducing debt and be a big club imo .

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  17. Troy – That £50m will be from player sales. Also Spurs’ record revenues were due to CL, they’re not there this year, so knock £25m straight off theirs.

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  18. Stu you are losing the debate. What do you predict this years turnover to be as you seem to know? 😯

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  19. Prem if we charged SD for all the tacky signs we would make a bit more money 😆

    Troy I completely get your point, I was just saying that I think of it in 3 ways, size, wealth and success. 😉

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  20. Dont worry bobs, still here .. just aghast at the anti-toon bile being spouted .. i am duty bound as toon fan to state that the toon is a bigger club .. mind anti-nufc bile from you and a few of the others is common place on this blog .. why you dont you jog on and go over to the spurs fans website you judas

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  21. Troy – You forgot to mention that they also may a loss in profit too 😆

    Keith – Are you forgetting that the Spurt sold Berb & Carrick for 30+m too too so if they were a big club why did they do that, oh yeah because it’s an offer you can’t refuse & the players wanted to go… 😆

    Our turnover this season won’t be anywhere near the Spurts because we don’t charge the same prices as them & never will, the fact they’re in Europe will also benefit them but they won’t get anywhere near as much as they did last season due to not being in the CL, so expect them to have lost at least 20% of there overall revenue, where ours will have gone up some what this season, with a new shirt & kit sponsorship being agreed & the fact our average attendance has gone up too, money from TV deals & PL position will be better also if we’re able to stay where we are, so expect the difference between the 2 clubs to be closer than you think 😉

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  22. Troy – I don’t know what this years turnover will be but I know it will be £50m more than last year, at least. I also know that Spurs’ will be a lot less too as they aren’t in the CL.

    Do you not agree with that?

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  23. Seriously booby you properly embarrassed yourself today .. same as when you misread our chances of a good start this season .. and denounced the chances of Cabaye being ‘class’ …. you do not know what you are talking about + you have proven yourself to be a judas .. walked right into it .. embarrassing ..

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  24. Although let’s be honest, turnover counts for fck all at the end if the day. It’s profit that counts.

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  25. Toon69 , so there in europe nice and last year cl nice and won things recently nice and have good player retention nice and have a owner who will spend on player sales nice !!!!
    Toonpipes@ , just saying the toon are better and bigger doesent make you a better fan !
    Of the two clubs I think nufc are the best that’s why I have gone home away and europe to follow them all my life , however that does not make them succesfull big or have a good owner !

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  26. Keith @ 112 – And you point is what, you were wrong about what you said made the Spurts a big club over us, ie having to sell players for £30m+ & you don’t know how to say you were 😆 😆

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  27. “mind anti-nufc bile from you and a few of the others is common place on this blog”… a bit harsh that Toonpipes, people giving an opinion about things they don’t agree with is hardly anti-nufc bile, in fact I don’t recall any one saying anti-nufc stuff on here. We all want the NUFC to be the best they can be, but we have differing views on how to get there, nowt wrong with that imo 😉

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  28. Btw Keith, look back to before the 06/07 season & see where the Spurt were then… it wans’t until 06/07 that they got back into Europe after being no where near there from 99/00 & the League Cup they won, they only won because Cheslki were more interested in winning the CL Cup & put out a very weak side in the final… so find summit else that make you think they’re a bigger club 😆

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  29. Richie, sorry mate, the difference between spurs and nufc in terms of who is the ‘bigger club’ is probably negligible … but for a supposed nufc fan to come out and say spurs is bigger and argue that case is pi ss poor … and there is loads of negativity around .. we should be backing the club …. booby has sloped off cos he knows hes made a boo boo

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  30. Pipes…TBH, I’m not arsed who’s bigger than who, but those arguing for Spurs being bigger aren’t anti Toon, just different opinion that’s all 😉
    As for the negativity, I’m afraid we’ll have to put up with it whilst the window is open at least, I’m hating it to be honest and will be glad when the fecker slams shut.

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  31. The situation with Demba Ba could be anything really and all we can do is best guess.
    Ashley’s no fool so I can’t see Ba having a set price sell on clause, although I can see him having a clause to move for a set price should we be relegated which is fair enough if that’s the case but again it’s just my best guess.

    As far as tapping up, I don’t think Arry would come right out and tap up Ba because he knows he would be in trouble.

    As for what Ba is worth, I have to say, judging him against other strikers and using Torres as an example…if Torres is worth £50 million, Ba is worth 100 million based on his performances and use of the ball, plus goals as he is a complete striker.
    His so called dodgy knees are simply just that.SO CALLED because if they were that dodgy he wouldn’t be playing how he is and getting through games as if he’s only just started.

    Naturally this 50 million and 100 million scenario is out of the water but I think you my meaning. 😀

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  32. Richie, they are anti-toon in my book .. i support nufc .. in arguments wherein nufc is involved, i support them and don’t spend my time constructing an argument against them – unstinting support mate ….. dreary me shambles

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  33. Toonpipes….fair enough, but where would you stand if the arguement/debate was over Man Utd or Toon being the biggest club?

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  34. Toon69 , aye the past , when I mention the past I get told to forget about it and concentrate on the future !
    If u want me to say we are a bigger club than spurs because we get bigger gates and have better support home and away I will because its true .
    But we haven’t won a cup for 43 years haven’t been in europe for years , recently been relegated , nearly went bust (apparantly) and have a owner who likes a profit of qaulity players howay man .

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  35. RICHIE, obviously Man Utd are the bigger club as it stands but that’s because of the success they had.
    It could of been very different had Ferguson not been given the time to turn around their fortunes.
    Remember at one time, Michael Knighton was going to take over and to be fair they were in a right mess.

    Success breeds success which ultimately brings fans crawling out of the woodwork from all over the country to latch on.
    Man City are a clear example of a big club argument because they appear massive now but they weren’t too big when stuck in the third division.

    A clubs size can be measured a few ways but none are set in stone.

    Fan base, size of stadium, revenue, facilities, success rate.
    All of them can be took into account in a *** for tat argument over who is bigger but as it stands now , it’s clear Man Utd are the bigger club.

    Chelsea are regarded as a massive club but it’s simply based on the megabucks thrown at them which again brought the fans out of the woodwork.
    If they had to run on a set revenue and buy players that fit that, they would be known as Chelsea , just another London club.

    Theoretically, Q.P.R “could” buy a new stadium with Arsenals capacity and buy player after player to set them up to top standard and they would fill it with dilutey fans and be classed as a big club.

    For me, all fans will argue that their club is big so in reality it’s an argument that is more pertinent to the bragger and of little consequence to the braggers listener. 😀

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  36. @wolfie , its hard to understand what your going on about but that was you agreeing with me yeh !!
    Simple yes or no please.

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  37. Wolfie…Man Utd was just an example as Toonpipes seems to suggest he’d argue for the toon v any club 😉 Man Utd were always a huge club world wide in my time even before Fergie though maybe partly due to the Busby Babes.
    Obviously you get the glory hunters where trophy winning teams as we would have if the Sheik had taken over the Toon. Aye, Chelsea were nowt before Roman and even now they still havn’t won anymore league titles or FA cups(I think). As I said though, not arsed who’s bigger than who, there’s too many differing criteria, if it was recent trophys then Pompey would be bigger than Arsenal, if it was crowds we’d be 3rd biggest etc etc
    I was there when we were a **** 2nd div club and I’ll be there if we ever end up there again or worse……or at least I would be if I hadn’t deserted my hometown to live in sunny Spain 😉 😆

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  38. Keith man, we were in Europe back in 07 under Roeder, so it’s not that long ago fella… 😆

    As for winning things, the Spurts win a trophy every decade or so, have done since the 60’s but that doesn’t make them a bigger club, it just makes them that little bit luckier imo 😆

    As for looking back, I’m afraid in footy, thats all you can really do when judging 1 team against another because no one, well not unless they have crystal balls, can tell you what the clubs will do in the future, as for going bust, the Spurts almost went bust in the late 90’s too, so you can never say what will happen 😉

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  39. Richie, as i said, i dont spend my time constructing arguments against the toon … so where man utd are involved i would tend to just refer to the fact that the majority of their support is from glory seekers who arent even from manchester and therefore discount them from even starting up with their b ulls hit ..

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  40. Toon69@ , just luckier to win trotheys ok ! and in europe 5 years ago ok ! Yeh the toon are much bigger … Wow

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  41. Keith @ 131 – Where have I said that the Toon are bigger than the Spurts, I just said that the Spurts aren’t any bigger than the Toon 😉 😆

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  42. Woo hoo hoo hoo! Just tuned back in and read the comments.

    Poopsy I sloped off to the match. Posting from the East Stand. 😛

    You even admitted yourself whilst I was away. It’s negligible. You are all over the place with your points. Are they bigger, the same or smaller.

    You’ve picked all 3 to cover your tracks yet I’ve said at this current time spuds are bigger.
    Stu tried to weasel by saying at the end of this season we would be bigger.

    If you read my earlier posts it explains it all and answers all your questions.

    At this moment in time, Spuds are bigger.

    High tank Hugh. 😛

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