A few days have passed now since arguably Newcastle’s worst deadline day in recent memory. We have had some bad one’s for sure but to not strengthen this time round ,when we desperately needed additions, feels like a mistake that is going to have serious consequences.
Farce on deadline day
Newcastle fans are used to staying up to disappointment every August and January but this was particularly alarming. It became clear early afternoon no business was going to be done, indeed, a panic loan move for Southampton’s reserve left back even failed to materialise. We have been told all window we need to move players out to free up the wage bill and space in the squad, before we can invest.
Lazaar was loaned out despite us having no cover at left back and De Jong, Hanley and Riverie were shipped out too. It was also finally the end for Tim Krul who was incredibly loaned out to a relegation rival. He may not be part of our plans but to loan him to Brighton of all people seemed odd. It was clear we needed at a minimum, a striker and a number 10 all window.
Dwight Gayle was even effectively floated on the market for a few days to no avail and now must be re-integrated into the squad. There has to be serious questions raised as to whether Lee Charnley is good enough to to retain his position as deal maker for NUFC. However, the likely wider issue may well be that heperformed his role perfectly for Ashley, cutting the wage bill and gambling with our Premiership future with the smallest outlay possible. The claim that Charnley reports to Rafa now seems more ridiculous than ever.
Newcastle’s lack of ambition
After a decade of ownership, Ashley has not really showed any desire to take Newcastle to the next level. We got lucky with some excellent scouting to sign the likes of Cabaye, Ben Arfa and Tiote to propell us to that one season in 5th but after that, success has dried up. After two relegations, finally securing a world class manager made fans think Ashley has finally learned from his mistakes; it is his investment after all.
However, Benitez looks to be joining a list of manager’s who have been alienated by our owner. Keegan famously said that Newcastle will go nowhere under Ashley and this statement is more poignant than ever. Mike did another of his Sky interviews saying we can’t complete with Man City and we certainly can’t. Despite press sterotypes, Newcastle fans know this and do not expect top four.
However, a net spend of a measly £11m this window just isn’t good enough and when Brighton and Huddersfield have net spends of over £30 and £40m respectively, you know this was a deliberate and calculated lack of ambition. Every Premier League team has broken their transfer record in the last 24 months as TV money floods into the Premier League, whilst we still sit on the Michael Owen record transfer of over ten years ago. When Ashley bought the club, we had the third largest ground in the UK and now it will soon be the 9th as our rivals continue to grow and invest. In the meantime, Ashley’s focus has been to block planning permission so we can’t extend St. James’ – even after his tenure.
We have consistently been in or around the top 20 ‘richest clubs in Europe’ for turnover in the last decade and have sold our top players for good money when offered. The quality of players we have brought isn’t inspiring either. Merino looks a find and there are signs of promise with a few of them but when we had a weak squad originally we shouldn’t be gambling on promise, or players who didn’t cut it at other clubs. Some signings may be questionable calls by the manager but when he is forced to shop in the bargain basement it is clear not all signings are going to be a roaring success.
To not back the manager this window is another massive mistake and the issue is that Ashley doesn’t learn from his mistakes, quite the opposite. We simply go from one error to another under his ownership and are forced to consume a diet of soundbite interviews through Sky every twelve months (not NUFC TV or club statements) while he promotes his other business interests in the public eye. This window showed a remarkable lack of ambition. It is particularly hard to swallow as having a manager like Benitez gives us all the cruellest thing in football, hope. Hope we can build something and once again compete in the top half regularly.
Does Rafa stay?
The marriage between a world class manager and owner such as Ashley is always at the forefront of the press. Since Rafa has arrived there has been a steady stream of speculation of how long we can keep him at NUFC. Now more than ever, this seems at breaking point. Benitez is at Newcastle because he wants to be near his family in Liverpool, has a rapport with the Newcastle fans and could see potential in the club.
After being undermined like this though, the most likely thing keeping him at the club is his contract, if stories are to be believed. Apparently any club wanting Rafa has to pay Newcastle £6m, which I think most clubs wanting him will pay. The issue for Rafa is he apparently has to pay that same figure to the club if he resigns. So effectively, Rafa could stay until another club comes in for him, which won’t be long you would imagine. West Ham have been linked and may make their move should they sack Slaven Bilic.
What next?
Newcastle fans will react as they did against West Ham and back Rafa to the hilt. Whilst he is here, he is our hope of staying up and building something, so we need to show him our support. If he leaves either through resignation or to another club I think the vast majority of fans would not blame him. Then you feel it would be the latest crisis and the biggest of Ashley’s reign, with many fans genuinely close to breaking point.
A dull international break may just allow everything to calm down and hopefully come January the club will try and rectify the lack of ambition this summer. Though being NUFC and Ashley, I wouldn’t hold out much hope for that and you get the sense there is far more fallout to come over the coming months.
Eric will never find these comments now.
Stuart79(Quote)
Thanks Simon, another good read. For me, I think there is now little doubt that our error strewn windows are certainly not down to incompetence but strategy implemented by Lee Charnley & co, likely Justin Barnes this time around.
I refuse to accept the line about realising he’s made mistakes because he’s still making them and he’s too astute a business man for that little line to bare fruit. Why in the world wouldn’t he sub Rafa against the future Sissoko payments in order for him to go out and get a quality attacker early doors ? it’s not like we won’t get the instalments is it.
Since the day he set foot inside our club he’s used it to advertise his brand, just as he said he would to Freddie & co, it was his sole reason for buying us along with ‘ having a bit of fun ‘ and I’m sure he is, at our expense. Whilst his brand has grown and he’s been investing in other companies, the club has stagnated, no , gone backwards and invested in nothing of note. No first class academy, no plans to expand the ground, in fact steps taken to actually prevent it.
Mark Douglas put some 13 questions to Ashley yesterday, none of which will get addressed by the regime and one of those questions was about a buyer. Mark states that there are interested parties but not at Mikes price. You have to wonder if it’s deliberate, pricing us out the market, he knows he’s onto a good thing with the global advertising thanks to sky coverage and his brand is expanding globally . Isn’t it funny how he’s growing his brand successfully yet the club is failing to compete. There was always an element of class about NUFC, but even that has gone by the wayside, though temporarily restored once Rafa got to work , but for how long ? Everton have really got on board helping out with the Bradley Lowery fundraiser and previous to his passing thanks to Bill Kenwright’s intervention. Where were we ? as their closest rivals it was a cause we should of gotten more involved with like they were so good after the deaths of Liam and John. I can’t imagine Ashley gave that a second thought, too busy throwing up in fire places to think of someone worse off. Shouldn’t be surprise really, if he doesn’t give a toss about the fans of his own club then well………….
kimtoon(Quote)
I’m starting to think we have a sociopath for an owner, he seems to thrive on the aggro and condemnation. He’s constantly in litigation with someone or another often over trifling amounts as witnessed this week for the sum of £3m, which although is a lot, is nowt to him really.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – Jabba doesn’t believe in keeping up with the times. He thinks footballers are over priced and over paid so he doesn’t pay the going rate. He never has. Mark Douglas has said himself that he was told by someone that Jabba would never spend £20m on one player. He’s been proved right so far. That’s a problem in today’s market.
Stuart79(Quote)
If that’s true Stu, well, we are in big trouble going forward.
kimtoon(Quote)
At the risk of sounding like an Ashley fan – why is that such a big problem?.
There is this thought that the more expensive the player, the greater the quality – and whilst that is largely the case, it’s not entirely true.
The remit in the Ashley era has always been buy cheap, sell big. Now of course we’ve had some dud, but it hasn’t been a complete failure. I would follow that up by saying that all clubs buy duds, and a lot of clubs spend more on there duds than we do.
The problem I have isn’t how much we spend on players. My problem is that we leave our squad short in key areas. So one or two injuries or suspensions has a huge impact.
Rafa would have known that he would not be signing players for £20m plus, and that he would be coaching young players who would likely get sold on at a profit. He would know that, and in the most part accepted it. But he would have expected to get the number of players he said he needed – whether that be at £5m, £10m or on loan.
The fact that that didn’t happen is what pissed me off more than the amount of money we spent in the window.
But Rafa need not take it personally, the same happened with Pardew.
Sharpy17(Quote)
if Rafa goes one way or the other which manager worth his salt would want to take the toon job,theres not many creeps like Pardew knocking about,i als think the fans will really turn,but as Kim says i dont think jabba gives a stuff
icedog(Quote)
Two relegations, and two relegation battles is a complete and utter failure, Sharpy. If you don’t think that’s failure I would love to know what you class as success…
Stuart79(Quote)
After 10 years of Ashley, lets reflect on our league finishes, european footy involvement, progress in the Cups, commercial growth, facility improvement and and entertainment value….
Then ask ourselves if any of it has been good enough?
If you say yes, then you are mad.
shamrock(Quote)
Stuart: I am on my schedule not yours.
Still trying to get my head around the transfer window.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
???
Mate do yourself a favor, take it on the chin, hold your hands up and move on!
shamrock(Quote)
Hasn’t been a total failure according to Sharpy… 😯
Stuart79(Quote)
I didn’t bring it up again. When I can be bothered to look through more than a thousand posts I will.
I am not going to cry about the transfers because we probably got enough to stay up. I just cannot fathom Ashley’s logic. It is much better for him to keep Rafa at least placated. He saw what happened when he stuck by Pardew, there was almost a mutiny.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I’m still not sure whether Rafa’s supposed unhappiness is with Ashley or the state of the market and I still believe he was knocked back by quite a few players too. Players he really wanted. Reina was one, Abraham another . . .
I doubt how much this is a crisis and think Rafa will just get on with his job. Nowt like a challenge and he loves one of those.
georgio(Quote)
I’m not saying our overall season and finishing league position. Of course that’s a failure.
What I’m talking about is the amount of money spent on the individual player – i.e. our own transfer record was on Michael Owen – but was the Owen we got for £17.5m better than the Demba Ba or Cisse we got?!.
I’m saying the fact we got players like Shelvey, Townsend, Gini, Cabaye, Ba, Ben Arfa and others, all at under £15m – that is successful when clubs around you are spending way more.
Where we have failed, and what has caused our final league positions is the lack of strength in depth.
That was evident last season when Shelvey got his hefty ban. He was out of the team and we didn’t create and ultimately didn’t win a game.
Take Gayle out and we struggled to score. So what should’ve been a fairly straight forward winning of the league became far more complicated.
My comment is in response to the earlier suggestion that we won’t get anywhere while we aren’t prepared to spend £20m on a player.
I personally don’t believe that to be the case. But I do believe that we will always struggle while we don’t have a squad strong enough to cope with the full season.
Sharpy17(Quote)
The reason we go down is because the players we buy aren’t good enough. In ten yrs since Jabba bought us we’ve had Cabaye, Gini, Ba, Townsend and Debuchy who turned out to be good players. Good enough to not get relegated. HBA had 4 good games a season, Sissoko was a waste of space, Shelvey and Mitro are liabilities and Cisse had one good season.
So, when teams are spending more than us and staying in the PL and we’re spending less and getting relegated that is not success.
Stuart79(Quote)
I totally disagree. Cisse only had half a good season.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I keep seeing links that Rafa will go to West Ham. He would be mad to go there, their squad is worse than ours. Mark Noble starting 🙂 Artaunovic was the worst purchase of the transfer window. He has a decent game about 1 in 5 and goes missing even during that game.
All Rafa has to do is wait until the end of the season when there will be a Managerial merry-go-round. Spurs, PSG, probably Juve and Arsenal may be available.
I know Rafa says he wants to be close to his family but it is a 1 hour flight from Paris to Liverpool. There is also a company called NetJets that allow you to buy time on a private jet, so with the amounts he earns he could even do that. Would take about the same time as a limo from Newcastle to Merseyside.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stu – I’m not talking about total spending. I’m talking cost of individual players. I’m saying we need to spend more to have a stronger squad. I’m saying we don’t necessarily need to spend £20m just secure a good player.
There’s a difference on total spend and that of one player.
Everton for example had a strong squad of sub £20m players before signing Lukaku. They had been finishing in the top 10 long before spending big on individual players.
WBA and Stoke are stable PL clubs without many (if any WBA) £20m players. Leicester won the league without any, and there may only be Slimani who is over £20m in there squad now.
But they have strength in depth. We go light in the summer window then try to react in the Jan window, rather than just doing it properly in summer. That’s the problem of our transfer windows under Ashley.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I’d still take Cisses half season over Owens time with us mate.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Anything fans can do? Although he is just one person and we are the whole city, but it seems we still can not touch him.
In Capitalism, capital is the king. But even for a king, if he lost the support of his people he can’t survive, right? How come Ashley seems not worry about it at all?
funrafa(Quote)
At the risk of pissing everyone off as well, but I feel it should be pointed out. Sels, Hanley, Gamez, Lazaar, Atsu (who we nearly didn’t bother with), Murphy and (if the papers are to be believed) Gayle.
7 players signed by Rafa. Atsu we eventually signed. Gamez I really don’t know what his role is?!. Lazaar we ended up keeping coz we couldn’t get rid. Sels we loaned out coz nobody would buy him. Hanley and Murphy we sold and Gayle we were ready to let go.
7 players from last summers window – 1 window coz he didn’t buy another in Jan. I’ll take out Atsu & Gayle coz they will play their part this season.
That still leaves 5 players we were actively looking to move out this summer (on top of the deadwood already there). That is hardly planning for the future like and means that time was wasted getting rid of players HE brought in.
I expect the response, they were brought in to get us out the championship. But I’m sorry, it’s money spent and players we had to shift. It isn’t long term planning, and if that’s the response, then I would say, you don’t go from building a squad to get out of the championship straight to signing £20m plus players.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sorry I’ll correct that, we did get rid of Lazaar in the end – but on loan coz nobody would buy him. But spend a large potion of the window trying to get rid of him.
Sharpy17(Quote)
The players you mentioned played their part in getting us out of the Championship – job done! The players we’ve bought under Ashley in the PL have played their part in getting us relegated. Bit of a difference…
I’m not sure a club can plan for the long term future when they’ve just been relegated and need to get out of the Championship in one season.
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – it’s not job done though is it?!. Unless we have only bought the player for your duration in the championship – in which case, that methodology of buying players can’t be encouraged, condoned or accepted IMO.
But to entertain that idea. I would perhaps accept that in the purchase of Murphy and maybe Hanley. But Sels, Gamez, Lazaar oh and I forgot Diame. They aren’t good buys whether your in the championship or the PL.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, re the £20m player thing. No one is saying that’s what we want him to spend but going forward it will become a problem if he has the mind set that he’ll never pay that price as Stu heard.
The reason it will be a problem is because as we have all seen half decent players were being sold for that price and way more already this window. It’s no longer a case of we need to spend that to get a top quality player, more a case of we have to spend that just to compete/ stand still. We didn’t do that this window whether by luck or design, but make no mistake we will have to do it next season should we be lucky to stay up.
Prices are only going to continue to rise along with wages and we will have to keep up and pay up or face the consequences mate imo.
kimtoon(Quote)
Promotion = job done. That was the short term aim of everybody at the club. Once in the PL is should be easier to plan longer term because of the money involved. Not with Ashley though… It’s proving harder to stay in ththe PL than it is to get into the PL under Ashley. That in my view is because Ashley isn’t prepared to pay the going rate for players and always tries to get that “perfect deal” and find a bargain in every transfer. It’s not possible and our last few years under him show it.
Stuart79(Quote)
I am not meaning to absolve Rafa of all blame but Carr was still involved after we got relegated. I have no proof but Sels sounds like a Carr deal simply because of the league he came from. There were buy-out clauses in Diame and Clark’s contracts which is what NUFC looked for pre-Rafa.
We knew a lot of these sales/loans would come down to the last minute so I do not know why Rafa and Charnley didn’t and didn’t plan accordingly.
It will be interesting to know who were Rafa’s targets that he missed out on.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I think it was crystal clear that Rafa bought the likes of Hanley and Murphy to help with the promotion effort and then to be sold. In fairness the players probably knew that too.
I’m not too sure about Lazaar or Sels on the other hand. Probably just **** ups.
Stuart79(Quote)
Kim – I know what you mean, and don’t disagree in the long run. But I still think there will be a lot of decent players available for less than £20m. Mainly because the players we will continue to target are young players who we will look to develop – like Hayden, Atsu, Murphy and Merino for example (though I know he’s not our player as such). That will continue to have its pitfalls mind, but we will never be a City or Utd spending mega money.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Alan ShearerVerified account
@alanshearer
Follow
More
Alan Shearer Retweeted NUFC Index
Very good
An Open Letter to Mike Ashley
September 3, 2017
|
Paul Nicholson
Dear Mr Ashley,
I, like many others, am a life-long Newcastle United fan. I have had my season ticket for 40 of my 47 years. When I started going to games, we were a struggling team, with no superstars, and were a club going nowhere. Drifting along in the lower to middle echelons of – what was then – the second division, with an aging stadium, and a board of local businessmen who were happy to let the club simply exist.
When Sir John Hall bought the club, we finally thought our time had come. Not our time to win trophies, but our time to finally support a club we could be proud of. He transformed us into a side that everyone up and down the country – if not throughout the footballing world – wanted to watch.
In the end, we won nothing, but during that time every fan looked forward to a weekend. We were excited to go to the games – whether at home, or hundreds of miles away on a cold, wet February Tuesday night.
I have told Sam, my 10-year-old son, all of the stories about our 5-0 win over Manchester United, and Asprilla’s hat-trick in our 3-2 win over Barcelona.
After much coaxing and persuasion, my stories finally wore off on him, and like me, my dad, and my grandad before that, became a Newcastle fan.
He got his first season ticket midway through last season’s successful Championship campaign, and he loved it. He was excited about this Premier League season, particularly as I had told him that with Rafael Benitez at the helm, and promises that had been made, finally, we may return to the days of having a team to be proud of. Not a trophy-winning, perennial Champion’s League qualifying team, but one that will win as many games as we don’t, and nestle into the Premier League without the constant worry of relegation every year.
I should, of course, have known better.
In Rafa, we have one of the master tacticians in world football. A manager that most clubs would beg for. When it comes to the game we all love, he, above all others at our club, should be listened to.
So it mystifies and bemuses me why, when he – ”the right man” to lead Newcastle United as you called him during your recent interview – advises you that we need particular players to make us a team able to compete in the Premier League (on the back of promises and assurances that were made to him), he was ignored.
The time to be bold was now. The time to listen to those that know was now. The time to make a footballing statement was now. The time to maintain the growing momentum and feel-good factor was now.
Unfortunately, Mr Ashley, you failed on all levels.
Whether you are wanting to own a club that has a possibility of a good cup run, or a European spot in the table, or whether you are – as you claimed – actively trying to sell the club, then surely the best way to achieve either would be to have a moderately successful product that would either perform to the best of its ability, or look like an attractive proposal for a potential buyer?
My bet, as a fan with a vested interest, is that your interest lies in neither of the above statements. My personal opinion, for what it’s worth, is that you are happy to see the club plodding along, with a minimum of ambition, and continue to use the club and particularly the stadium, as a platform to continually promote your Sports Direct brand as an unofficial sponsor, with little to no money being paid to the club for doing so.
You claimed that you will not put a penny more into the club from your own fortune, yet if your Sports Direct company were an official sponsor, considering all of the advertising in and around the ground, the sponsorship deal would likely be worth a lot more than the amounts of money you have put into the club already.
For us – the fans – it is heart-breaking. We have a love for our club which many would say is unrivalled. It is blind loyalty. If we go into one of your sports stores, and we don’t like the items you are selling, we can just shop elsewhere. With Newcastle United we do not have that luxury. You know that, and you exploit that.
We all watched your interview on Sky. We all hoped we would finally get a chance to hear you answer questions that fans have long been asking. Unfortunately, all we got was a stage-managed monologue of Mike Ashley.
We didn’t want to watch a performance that told us nothing… a friendly chat with a friend and stable-mate, who was never going to ask a hard-hitting question that might be difficult for you to answer or put you on the spot.
I have gone full circle in my time as a fan. We have had our fleeting moment… our flirtation with success. We are now back to the ambitionless, struggling side, just ticking over, without ever making an effort to better themselves.
Rather than pleading you case through Sky, and playing to a national media that, on the whole, enjoys nothing more than reporting on and ridiculing the soap opera that is Newcastle United – particularly when things are inevitably going wrong – make yourself available to speak to me, or fans like me, or the local journalists at the Chronicle, who will ask the questions that need answering. Speak to someone who will at least try to hold you to account on your broken promises, false prophecies, and admitted mistakes – the biggest of which you may have just made this summer.
I would gladly speak to you, listen to you, and have an open mind about anything you, Mr Charnley, Mr Barnes et al, had to say.
Failing that, Messrs Douglas, Ryder and Starforth – local journalists, who by representing the fans, the club actually means something – would also relish the opportunity to sit down and put our concerns to you.
I suspect you will not, but you would – if not get everyone on your side – instantly gain a modicum of respect from the 52,000 fans that pay to see the team you own every week, and the hundreds of thousands that support it from afar.
Failure to do something, could result in the open anarchy that arose a few years ago, except if Rafa were to leave, it would be ten-fold.
The fans are the life-blood of this football club. We don’t own it. We don’t buy players. We don’t seek sponsorhip deals. But we do keep it alive.
Without the fans, this club would be nothing. It would not exist. We have been taken for granted for too long. Your lack of communication with the regional press, and failure to acknowledge our concerns is a dismissal of our importance to the club in your eyes.
But you should remember:
WE are the reason Rafa decided to stay at the club.
WE are the reason the ground was full week after week in the Championship.
WE are the reason that the club makes so much money from shirt and other merchandise sales.
WE are the reason that you can rely on high season ticket sales year upon year.
WE are the reason there is a Newcastle United at all.
But be aware… WE are also the reason that the whole club could fall apart.
I realise that you are not likely to read this – or even know that this letter exists – but if, by chance, you do, I urge you to put things right.
Put in writing to Rafa that you will back him unconditionally in January.
Speak to people that matter to the fans – not David Craig, or another Sky pundit to whom the club means nothing.
Install someone who has a passion for the club in a role of actively seeking out a potential buyer, by selling the vision of Newcastle United that they share with Rafa Benitez, and every single one of its fans.
To allow the club to stagnate and continue to slip into footballing irrelevance, is an insult to the loyal fans and could prove to be too much for many.
Paul Nicholson
kimtoon(Quote)
Didn’t Swansea get Ranato Sanchez on the last day? There were players available and not just Southampton reserves.
I don’t understand Ashley. Our business looked OK judging from what we have seen so far. Admittedly it is a small sample but they have all done OK.
He didn’t need to give Rafa everything he wanted, but at least allow us to compete with West Ham and Bournemouth. To get a 20 million pound player you don’t have to pay it all up front. On a 5 year contract that is 4 million up front. There is something rotten in the State of Denmark.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stu – the thing is, if you look at who we were going for, Rafa clearly knew early on that money was mega tight – and I think accepted that.
Loaning Abrahams, Willy on a free ? – even further on, Whilshire and Targett on loan. He knew that this window was only ever going to be getting what he could with very little money because we weren’t bidding up players for £15-20m.
I agree 100% that Ashley SHOULD has ‘loaned’ even £50m against the money we are guaranteed to get back off the tv money though. But it’s Ashley and I guess I’ve just come to accept it with him – I don’t like it, but I’m not going to waste my time getting angry about it coz simply – he won’t care & it won’t change a **** thing.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Nobody is asking us to be like City. But when teams like Burnley are spending £18m on strikers, Bournemouth are paying £20m for centre halves and Watford are spending £18m on players it’s not unreasonable for us to at least compete with them is it? Average players are now more than £10m these days. But for some reason we always shop two years behind the market. It’s clear that competing with the clubs I mentioned is not on Jabba’s radar and never has been.
Stuart79(Quote)
Sharpy, my only problem with buying players with potential is that it’s one hell of a gamble when your PL existence is at stake. You need a decent proven spine to the team, lads the young ones can look to for advice and guidance and of course an insight on fan expectation. You get the likes of Sissoko, Janmaat,thauvin and Debuchy, cheapish decent players but zero heart and often go missing when the chips are down. You get what you pay for 99% of the time, we’ve had more duds than gems and then sell the gems for prices we aren’t prepared to pay ourselves .
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim, that transfer policy has been an utter failure.
Stuart79(Quote)
I don’t think Rafa will walk just yet (hopefully). My fear is who we would get to replace him? There are a lot of top managers out there but Ashley is absolutely bonkers. Isn’t it true that Rafa contacted Charnley? He wasn’t Ashley’s pick and was done in desperation to save Lee’s job.
When left up to Fatman we usually get someone cheap and out of work (Keegan, Pardew, Kinnear, McClaren) or with no experience in the top job (Ugly John, Shearer, Hughton).
So, who would it be? Troy’s Lee Clark? Harry Redknapp, Tony Adams, Phil Neville? Don’t say Arrogant Alan, I think you could hear the sound of my head exploding all the way from Chicago to Newcastle if that happened.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Well, by default we will see if Dwight Gayle’s hamstrings are OK, and if he doesn’t have the balls to cut it in the PL. Was Joselu underused at Stoke or is he just ****? Will Mitro be on the pitch more than he is banned? Can Perez become more consistent?
We also have 4 wingers – Atsu, Ritchie, Aarons and Murphy. 3 of them are speed merchants. We have some of the tools so I am not quite as despondent as Paul Nicholson. All of these “open letters” are always preachy and over-dramatic. His wasn’t terrible but it was still a bit “think of the children”.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Paul Lambert
Stuart79(Quote)
Lambert is Ashley’s perfect manager. Out of work. Desperate for a job. Won’t moan. Will take a low wage.
Stuart79(Quote)
Will get us relegated 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kim – there needs to be a good mix. I think there are gems still out there and I’m happy with Hayden, Atsu and Merino for example. They just need to be well scouted players I suppose but there is no club without their duds regardless of money spent. But I dare bet the money we wasted on Sissoko hurts less than the money Spurs have ?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Watching Brazil in South American World Cup qualifiers. They are top of a 10 team group. Argentina are 5th which would mean they would be in a playoff with an Australasian team.
I know this is not NUFC related but I thought there was enough doom and gloom 🙂 and it is international week.
It does show the farce that World Cup qualifying is. England get to play teams like San Merino and Malta and Argentina get Brazil, Chile and Colombia. I have said it before, but I just don’t get it.
There has to come a time when these nations that are not very good at football – Scotland – are excluded from qualifying.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Couthinho miraculously recovered from his illness. What was it again? Barcelona-itis?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
His medics said it was emotional stress mate 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
Yes that was a sweet deal, not often you get one over on Levy
kimtoon(Quote)
Kaveh SolhekolVerified account
@SkyKaveh
Follow
More
West Ham suing Sporting Lisbon comms director Nuno Saraiva for libel after he claimed West Ham never made an offer for William Carvalho
best reply to this tweet goes to
Vosey @vose__ · 2h
More
Replying to @SkyKaveh
Watch out Lisbon they’ll slap you in the face with 12 inch dildos
😆 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Stress Kimtoon? Don’t make me laugh. Only got 8 Rolexes has he. Having trouble making the rent! Stress would be looking after a disabled kid or being in a refugee camp.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stress is trying desperately to find a comment that isn’t there and the more you look the more stressed you get… 😀
Stuart79(Quote)
Eric, I said the other day with the bloody aches and pains I got I must be on the verge of a breakdown if injury is down to emotion stress 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
NUFC Index Retweeted
Matt Le TissierVerified account @mattletiss7 · 4m4 minutes ago
More
Matt Le Tissier Retweeted NUFC Index
Good read
On that open letter.
Ex players seem to like it
kimtoon(Quote)
You still on that Stuart? 🙂 I haven’t looked but when I want to go 1,000 comments I might.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
https://twitter.com/TimKrul/status/903625564690546688
Lovely words from Tim there.
kimtoon(Quote)
Press control and f together on each page mate. You can then search key words. Should take you 10 mins max to find whatever he is meant to have said.
shamrock(Quote)
??
Stuart79(Quote)
I’m going to be on this until you accept you’re mistake. Or, of course you find my comment where I said Jabba wanted £400m plus the debt. Something tells me I will be on this until NUFC win the Champions League…
Stuart79(Quote)
Yep. You can see the club means something to him. Always been a top pro for us.
I saw an image of a Man City reserve player having a medical at Galatasaray the other day. He kissed their badge during the medical ffs. He was English. Plastic bullshit like most modern footballers. At least Krul put the time and effort in before declaring his live for the club. Best of luck to him. Cant believe we sent him to relegation rivals. He is a seasoned PL performer ffs.
shamrock(Quote)
I didn’t know that.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Shall I correct your spelling as well. “Your Mistake” not “You’re Mistake”.
You’re has the apostrophe because it is a shortening of You Are.
If I can be bothered I will look up what you said. I really can’t be bothered because it doesn’t mean that much to me.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Neither did I until a few months ago mate! Every day is a school day…
shamrock(Quote)
Stuart
Sorry for describing you as having an oversized head and your neck muscles being unable to hold it up. Similar to a new born. Chick. ??
I had a good sup last night and that’s exactly what my head is like today. Karma ?
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Don’t worry, Troy. Although I couldn’t tell you’d had a drink.
Stuart79(Quote)
Thanks for the grammar lessons. Although I do know the difference it was just an oversight. My mistake.
See, it’s easy to admit to mistakes. Well for us who aren’t testosterone filled alpha males that is… 😀
Stuart79(Quote)
Usually I don’t care about spelling and grammar, especially since autocorrect will come up with some really weird sentences, especially on a cell phone.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
With all of the frothing at the mouth about this being a **** window and that we were outspent by our relegation rivals I had a look at who Brighton actually bought. They may turn out to be great players but has anybody ever heard of any of them?
Jose Izquerto
Davy Popper
Mathhew Ryan
Markus Suttner
Ezequiel Schletto
Pascal Gross
Mathias Norman
Josh Kerr
Steven Alzate
Soufyan Ahannach
They also got Tim Krul and Izzy Brown on loan, who at least I had heard of.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I’d heard of Mat Ryan – he’s the Socceroos’ goalkeeper.
Brisvegas(Quote)
So Roo’s Mrs has upped and left him, again . How many times will she forgive him his infidelities I wonder. What kind of pig cheats when his wife is pregnant , I wonder if he’s looked in the mirror lately.
kimtoon(Quote)
HIs mirrors are all cracked!
georgio(Quote)
Kim – yeah, maybe that documentary painted a rose tinted picture of a very childish, vastly overpaid moron.
The lad has had more opportunities & privileges afforded to him than anyone could ever wish for & he has spat in the face of all of them.
Apparently his missus & kids were on a holiday while he’s drink driving & necking on with a cheap tramp.
I always thought the lad got a hard time from the press because of his misbehavings as a young lad. But he’s 31 now & a father and he’s not grown up. Maybe he wants to have a chat with his good pal Rio about family values.
He may hold these records for Man Utd & England, but he’s no role model – and deserves whatever **** he gets imo
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, it’s total disrespect towards not only his wife but his children too, that’s their mum he’s humiliated. 🙁
She needs to dump him for good now, at 31 he’s not a kid anymore who gets a bit of fame and goes off the rails.
kimtoon(Quote)
https://twitter.com/GallowgateShots/status/904441065616355328
kimtoon(Quote)
Faustino AsprillaVerified account @TinoasprillaH · 10h10 hours ago
More
Open letter to Mike Ashley
http://tinoasprilla.com/2017/09/04/an-open-letter-to-mike-ashley/ …
another ex player likes that letter 🙂
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – I saw the news article this morning and the tramp he was with has obviously been tracked down and is singing like a canary – ‘I’m not a marriage wrecker. We were kissing and cuddling. We hadn’t spoke about going home together but I probably would have went’ – real classy bird.
But Rooney has been in the business long enough to know this type of women is out there and what they are after.
That might read like I’m blaming her, or condoning it had she kept quiet – not at all. Hes a snake, but this isn’t the first time & if she goes back then more fool her.
Sharpy17(Quote)
NUFCThreatLevel Retweeted
Nick Turnbull @nickjturnbull · Sep 2
More
just imagine, what could possibly go wrong 🙄
Replying to @NUFCThreatLevel
Can’t wait for Mitrovic to elbow him and break his cheek bone #noleftbacks #nocentrebackstoplayleftback
1 reply . 1 retweet 6 likes
Reply
1
Retweet
1
Like 6
NUFCThreatLevel @NUFCThreatLevel · Sep 2
More
Ciaran Clark marking Aleksandar Mitrovic this Tuesday night. A win probably sends one or the other to the World Cup. #NUFC
kimtoon(Quote)
Sharpy, yeah she has her minute of fame on the back of his awful behaviour. Her parents must be so proud.
kimtoon(Quote)