James

Thats what I think. It'd be criminal for negotiations to proceed all the way through to a contract being signed without the manager trying to sell the club to the player - something Keegan can do (even if its making up s****! Rob Lee, anyone?) If I was Keegan I'd say to Mort I want to be involved, to find out about the player I'd be managing, ask what his ambitions are in the game, and if I was the player I'd be wanting to meet Keegan, to find out his ambitions and goals for the club. Domestically and with other English speakers yes, but it would make little difference with international players, especially with personnel from some of the Eastern European/South American clubs where the transfer choices do not belong to the player. I'd be wary of making those kind of signings tbh. Well Modric was one of these, although once he left Dinamo, I suspect he would get an English agent such as Peter Harrisson instead.

Well IcemanBlue was right about Croatian officials in London, while Elan has got some stuff right in the past, so no complaints here.

Thats what I think. It'd be criminal for negotiations to proceed all the way through to a contract being signed without the manager trying to sell the club to the player - something Keegan can do (even if its making up shite! Rob Lee, anyone?) If I was Keegan I'd say to Mort I want to be involved, to find out about the player I'd be managing, ask what his ambitions are in the game, and if I was the player I'd be wanting to meet Keegan, to find out his ambitions and goals for the club. Domestically and with other English speakers yes, but it would make little difference with international players, especially with personnel from some of the Eastern European/South American clubs where the transfer choices do not belong to the player.

Fair do's. I'll sort it.

Right, I'm now very keen to beat Spurs in the League table this season. Lets show the league table to players thinking of joining Spurs this summer.

At least there is some closure on this one one way or the other.

Fitness tests for Faye and Viduka.

Usually i'd say that's a moot point and all player should know the 'keeper is the one standing on the line but when you have Steven Taylor in your side.... I'm thinking more about times when the keeper is on the edge of a players peripheral vision. They can spot his position earlier and act quickly accordingly.

I reckon Mike Ashley should become our new kit model btw.

The Chelsea keepers kit is how it should be at Newcastle. It's more visible to team mates so that defences can have better organisation, plus some experiments suggest that players miss more chances against a keeper wearing a bright coloured kit. Whereas we are stuck with the anonymous grey at a black and white club next season.

Agree with the conclusion obviously, but I don't think his injury record can be described as 'a disgrace'. That suggests it's his fault and/or he chose to be injured. I acknowledge your comment, I did think about elaborating, but it would involve listing his injury indiscretions. In summary though, there are some players who get injured and unless faking, no player can be blamed for that, but you get the impression that some players work harder to get back to fitness, while others let themselves go. Those that work hard come back ahead of schedule or close to on time providing they don't push themselves, and these players also quickly slot back into action. The likes of Carr are back weeks to months behind schedule, and have put on two waist sizes. Dyer may have had his injuries, but at least he always hit the ground running when he came back.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7367989.stm Keegan interview. The press have already siphoned the main quotes, but it is always good to see it said.

Not 100% sure, but I think Grade I listed buildings are way above council jurisdiction.

I suspect that those involved with stand redevelopment would want to create their own design rather than imitate what is already there.

KK refuses to deny, Croatian reports suggest we had a Croatian record bid rejected

It is £8.6m for Eduardo I think.

http://www.newcastle-online.com/2008/04/25/should-he-stay-or-should-he-go-stephen-carr/ Those are my opinions regarding Carr's future. I doubt few would disagree with my conclusion.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2008/04/25/owen-targeting-hat-trick-repeat-72703-20819482/

I suspect it is just another example of the apparent media love of Modric in Croatia, in that the media are pretty much hitting refresh every 15 minutes on .cock, Chronicle and the Nationals at the moment, and whenever a new Newcastle story comes up, they are looking to put a Modric spin on it. Signing Modric may be very good for promoting and selling the NUFC brand in Croatia.

Him and Henry both seem to have a liking for the No.14 shirt. There is only one way to decide who gets it: FIGHT!

The thing that annoys me most to be honest is the moaning about the posting of shit. Especially when some of the moaners are prolific transfer mongers themselves. Anything that would reduce the moaning for me is good, as i find transfer season entertaining. The more outlandish the better.

Breaking news (pinch of salt):

Can't say I've seen him fly, interact with fairies, or remain a boy.

despite everything so far, it will probably all be Lukas Ramaseur

Apparently its the fee, not the wage. I'm not sure that we'd provide all the hospitality, then offer £6m less than the apparent January asking price. It is just one paper after all. All of the talk is coming from his club, not NUFC. Bidding war, nothing more. Coming from Telegraph, .com, and the Chronicle as well remember. When has Oliver ever taken a story off a foreign newspaper?