Benwell Lad

I think the terraces are out of bounds, never to return. However I quite like how he disregarded the protocol of directors boxes especially when he upset Nile Quinn by wearing his B&W top. Would be good to see him enjoying a night in town after we win, it would do the economy of Tyneside no harm for him and a few cronies to be blowing their money in the pubs and clubs.

He's a top guy and a top keeper. Would expect him to have options in media or to remain in the game after he's finished playing.

Possibly the same people who claimed Carroll's departure = certain relegation

That is used a lot over here. I HATE it. The media is worst and even Shearer refers to them as "United" on TV - now he really should know better !

Tbf, he didn't use the phrase wage cap. He used wage structure which implied that it was more than just a cap, but contract offers were being made based upon performance and ability. He said Enrique's offer would be in line with this structure. Thanks for straightening that up. I think most of us know there is a structure in place (be daft not to have one) but no one seems to know if the alleged "cap" exists. The 30K figure commonly bandied around did not seem to fit with some of the bigger players we have who's market value would be above that. Paying someone based on performance and ability sounds pretty good to me.

Woo - hoo ! Hope Henry has a nasty accident before then mind.

He was FORCED to hand that transfer request in. [/obviously] He loved and still loves the club. He's have played for peanuts if Ashley had only given him a hugh and told him how much he loved him. Carroll was only ever interested in the future of NUFC, until we forced him out into the cold f***ing hell. Peanuts? £30k+ a week is NOT peanuts and he felt that wasnt enough! I'm afraid for a top striker who has market value of 35m that is peanuts. So what would you say is a fair wage for him? Ignoring the utter stupidity of suggesting £30k+ in any circumstance is peanuts. He was one of our best players, arguably the best and one of the top scorers in the premier league so something around the amount our top players are getting. 60k + I imagine. If a 27 year old Alan Smith (who had played 30 games in the previous seasons) is worthy of £60,000 a week in Ashley's eyes, surely one of the most promising young strikers in the world (arguably) is worthy of the same? I really think you are brighter than that statement makes you sound. It doesn't work like that in the real world, e.g Kieron Dyer probably earns about 4 or 5 times what Jack Wilshire does. Contracts are binding and highly paid has-beens don't give them up willingly. Of course I know how much a player earns is not always relative to his quality. However, what I'm trying to say is if Ashley is willing to hand someone like Alan Smith £3m a year for his services, or Xisco around £2m - then he should be willing to make Carroll a high earner as well! The days of those kind of wages for distinctly average players, are hopefully in the the past at this club, but to keep our best players we MUST pay competitive wages. Sure. And Carroll would have become a very high earner had he hung around and renegociated his contract at the end of the season, despite the ink hardly being dry on the one he'd just signed. He impetuously insisted on having it reviewed there and then and the club quite rightly refused.

He was FORCED to hand that transfer request in. [/obviously] He loved and still loves the club. He's have played for peanuts if Ashley had only given him a hugh and told him how much he loved him. Carroll was only ever interested in the future of NUFC, until we forced him out into the cold f***ing hell. Peanuts? £30k+ a week is NOT peanuts and he felt that wasnt enough! I'm afraid for a top striker who has market value of 35m that is peanuts. So what would you say is a fair wage for him? Ignoring the utter stupidity of suggesting £30k+ in any circumstance is peanuts. He was one of our best players, arguably the best and one of the top scorers in the premier league so something around the amount our top players are getting. 60k + I imagine. If a 27 year old Alan Smith (who had played 30 games in the previous seasons) is worthy of £60,000 a week in Ashley's eyes, surely one of the most promising young strikers in the world (arguably) is worthy of the same? I really think you are brighter than that statement makes you sound. It doesn't work like that in the real world, e.g Kieron Dyer probably earns about 4 or 5 times what Jack Wilshire does. Contracts are binding and highly paid has-beens don't give them up willingly.

Absofukkinlutely !

He was FORCED to hand that transfer request in. [/obviously] He loved and still loves the club. He's have played for peanuts if Ashley had only given him a hugh and told him how much he loved him. Carroll was only ever interested in the future of NUFC, until we forced him out into the cold f***ing hell. Peanuts? £30k+ a week is NOT peanuts and he felt that wasnt enough! I'm afraid for a top striker who has market value of 35m that is peanuts. So what would you say is a fair wage for him? Ignoring the utter stupidity of suggesting £30k+ in any circumstance is peanuts. They did offer to review the 5 year deal he had just signed, at the end of the season, when he would certainly have been offered more. The player's impetuous insistence that it be done there and then was rejected, and rightly so.

If you've been watching us, then quite surprisingly, you'll have noticed that the absence of Carroll and £30M in the bank hasn't affected us much at all. However the real answer to that question is more likely to be answered on a Saturday afternoon in August rather than February.

I agree in principle with what your saying about local talismen in the club, and mistakenly believed we had one. Carroll betrayed that belief and despite his public utterances, a new 5 year contract and the promise of an immediate review at the end of the season he proved that London lads like Rob Lee and Warren Barton, and scouse lads like Nolan and Joey Barton have more allegiance to the club than the the greedy Gateshead charva did at the end of the day.

Surely the safest way for him to take his loan money out would be to refinance part of the loan and gear the club to a sustainable level i.e. borrow (say) £60m from Barclays and use it to pay off his own loan. You can see him writing off the balance (given that he was at one point writing off the whole thing). This is easy enough to sell to supporters since most clubs are leveraged to a far lesser extent, and still manage to pay the interest. He could do that. But I don't think he's too bothered about what the supporters think of him so the PR aspect of a financial manoeuvre won't be high on his list of priorities. I don't think any of us can really have a clue what his attitude to that loan is tbh. Perhaps our greatest reassurance is that he is a mega-wealthy individual and major shareholder in a very successful business. i.e. what he has in NUFC is not life and death to him. That said he didn't become that person by being charitable so it's fair to assume he's going to want it back sometime. I do (genuinely) love Newcastle United but if they owed me money I'd want it back.

Keane's ridiculous and unchecked spending (chairman at the time Mr.N.Quinn) has left them a legacy of players on stupid salaries like Ferdinand who they can't shift. Their salary bill is very uncomfortable. Despite their obsession with attendances it's not the real issue anyway - joking apart, reduced price and free tickets etc is not helping the receipts whatever the gate is - they need to up the yield per fan to a premier league level but that is not easy when they're offering tickets at the same price as Blyth Spartans. It is begining to look like they are increasingly dependent on the philanthropy of a hedge fund investor who lives on a different continent. Interesting times.

I hurt - badly - over the Carroll sale, but when the dust settles and you get your head around the figure and the terms (sell on etc) you begin to think - hmmmm.. that was pretty good business and I can't imagine any club knocking it back. Sure his departure weakened our squad, but he had been injured, was injured and still is injured, and frankly (and perhaps surprisingly) we've fared pretty well without him over the last 2 months.

....not to mention the colour of it too Very interesting and informative as always.

They've had plenty of criticism for not talking to the media enough. i know that, but they just talk too much s*** for my liking what kind of f***ing prep work saw us 0-4 down at home to arsenal like? or maybe it was the analysis that got us 4 goals back? The players bottled it in the first half against Arsenal - no amount of analysis can prepare for that. Look at Real Madrid against Barcelona - do you think Mourinho didn't do everything in his power to analyse and prepare for that match? Sometimes things don't go to plan, but that doesn't mean it isn't encouraging that the management team are taking more thorough steps to try and get results. Pardew explained himself (again very eloquently) that from the lunch time meeting that day things had not seemed right and he sensed a depressed mood amongst the squad. That certainly ties in with the first half hour on the pitch. A few home truths were told at half time and in fairness to the players we've been superb in the two and a half games since.

Exactly. Which is why Carroll should have been considered priceless. Don't think I'll ever get over the sale of Carroll, or forgive the 'owners' of the club (because that is all they are, owners) for their lack of ambition when selling him. I do not for one moment believe we are in a position where we "had to sell him" and "could not turn the offer down." The thought of him scoring 20+ goals a season for Liverpool and becoming the #9 for England for the next 10 years makes me feel quite ill tbh. Those who think that we aren't now a selling club, are in denial. The summer will be a true reflection of our direction with Barton,Tiote, and Enrique getting new contracts and some wise investments from that Carroll fee , i will be optimistic as i see this as a defining time for us and let us judge at the end of the summer transfer window . Although I don't really understand the expression as every club sells players, I have seen little evidence over the last couple of years to indicate that we are a "selling club" - quite the opposite as players brought in have generally been better than those who left. That of course is based on an assumption that the Carroll transfer was somewhat extraordinary and therefore an exception. If it is the begining of a trend then we are a selling club, but to date there is no hard evidence to suggest that, just a lot of conjecture and hot air.

You think the wage cap is that high? I raised this question in another thread yesterday regarding the "cap", i.e. does it officially exist ? Sure there has been an official statement regarding future self sufficiency, but no one seems to have seen anything official about the level of the alleged wage cap. It seems that while there is a salary budget (be mad not to have one) there is still flexibility to negociate when the right player comes along.

What could you say that hasn't already been said ;D

I think he talks about the right amount and he's eloquent and sensible too. I was a great admirer of CH but I don't think we'd be sitting with 35 points presently with the same injuries etc, had he still been here. We certainly press the opposition more and better under Pardew and generally look like a much tighter unit. Considering the uphill battle he's had in almost every aspect of the job, he's performed admirably to date.

Fascinating.

Really enjoyed reading this thread as I used to travel across the states quite a bit. We may not have the biggest following in North America but it sounds like we have some of the best fans there !

I don't think we'll do it and frankly I won't be too bothered this season as staying up is the real target. That said had it not been for a few bad decisions/late equalisers/unlucky injuries we could well have made it this season, but I guess a few other clubs' fans will say the same. Over the season there's only been a handful of poor performances (Bolton,WBA,Stoke,Wigan (h), Fulham (a)) and we've seldom been dominated. That's got to be very encouraging and with better luck and some decent acquisitions we could be worth a flutter next season.

Why would we be called deluded? We're 2 points behind 7th which will probably get you there. I always get the impression this is what everyone outside of Newcastle thinks, they probably had a right to think that in our past few premier league seasons but I'd say everyone is a bit more cautious and level headed, dare to dream eh Not what I've heard. Set of deluded c***s apparently. I don't hear many people call us deluded - not people I'd take seriously anyway, just a couple of journalists looking for easy copy and the half wits who actually believe what said journalists say. Not many real fans or football people would say we're deluded and any way I think it was more the "messiah complex" thing that we were accused of.