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Maybe that is what he was thinking of, but that was Jan 2010, though i.e. under Hughton.

But didn't they admit in the tribunal that the 'manager has the final say in transfers' was wrong? isnt it also true that we first tried to sign mike williamson in january 09, long before hughton became manager? suggests at the very least that more than one person is responsible for identifying targets. and given how long the average manager lasts, that has to be a good thing. I don't know. No particular complaints if that's true though, I was always open-minded on who was driving our transfers, as well as who had authority over them. As I've said, there are positives to take from the person/people responsible for all our good signings are still at the club. The only thing is the handful we do have evidence on, along with subsequent statements, tend to promote the idea the manager was re-established as the supreme authority (within obvious financial restrictions, for the pedants - he handling other people's money after all) following the Keegan affair, while scouting has also been more in the manager's domain, with statements to the contrary have been proven false or heavily impugned by more firmly founded facts (public quotes from people with no evidence other than conjecture against them like Ben Arfa, Bassong and Hughton etc.).

Get used to it. We used to be a club who bought players for large fees, give them massive career fulfilling contracts, and then could never get rid of them. We are now a club who aims for players on lower fees, on lower wages, but with potential to be a hell of a lot better. It is a natural consequence of the second option that we will worry about the players we sign who turn out to be great player, and then leave for bigger and better clubs. Do it consistently enough for a long period of time and you might get lucky and hit the sweet spot between the Arsenal model and the Man Utd model! ...and if you get it wrong a few times, you end up between the Sheffield Wednesday and WBA model...! go the other way and it's leeds and pompey........and us to certain extent. Leeds and Pompey do NOT have our crowd potential or drawing power. Still, we can always settle for second best instead of 3rd best, eh !? Leeds and NUFC's problems were the result of having a complete dickhead in charge instead of only a partial one.. you just don't want to get it do ya ? it doesn't matter what the size of crowds, turnover or prestige of club,'crowd potential or 'drawing power'......if you try to live too far beyond your means you'll end up fucked. the only difference is the size of the numbers, the premise is the same for all. Indeed, but some clubs have more means than others. That's a key point.

Probably says a lot more than a 100 pages of forum discussion. http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/black-white/harper_hails_iron_mike_1_3101734

Think so... or something similar. Didn't actually happen of course.

The manager who signed those players is gone though. We may have got him in on loan while Hughton was here, but did HBA not sign with us permanently under Pardew? I doubt he'd do that if Hughton was the sole reason for his arrival. Indeed he did. Pardew signed Ben Arfa on a permanent deal for the next 4 and a half years (June 2015). Not wanting to get dragged into this debate, because it's no real comment upon Pardew to say it, but given that under the Hughton regime, Ben Arfa was identified as a viable signing, the deal was negotiated with a view to the pot of money he had to spend, the lad was convinced to prefer us long before he had get well balloons sent to him, and he signed in what would have been a binding deal had De Jong not got in the way, I think it's fair to say Pardew contributed nothing more than a coup de grace to the affair. Saying otherwise is like saying John Carver giving N'Zogbia his first start shows he saw the potential in him that Bobby Robson had failed to spot.

For me, it fell down here. Employing a women just because she's a women is no less sex discrimination than avoiding female employment in the first place. Of course more women is ideal (particularly the heads of women footy ) but I'm surprised the irony (of the above pledge) is lost on him. Saying that...good luck to him. Think you're taking him too seriously... He's just a stalking horse - he's never going to get elected so he's going to make some sometimes overly strong points to highlight the problems FIFA already has instead and get everybody talking. Don't agree with a chunk of his points, but I appreciate his efforts to shake things up.

The manager who signed those players is gone though. We may have got him in on loan while Hughton was here, but did HBA not sign with us permanently under Pardew? I doubt he'd do that if Hughton was the sole reason for his arrival. Shh don't say that, by Wullie's 'logic' when a signing turns out good, it must be all to Hughton's credit. Don't you know Hughton is the next Mourinho...that's why he is now managing err... Christ how dull. Dull coz you have no response? :lol: Anyway not as dull as your Hughton wank fest even after he is no longer relevant to Newcastle Hardly know why people go on about the mess the Halls and Shepherds left us in then... Guess I should lock the SBR thread too...

Of all the reason to hate Mike Ashley, that article gives the worst I've ever heard. Amazing.

£35k I thought it was said to be more like £55k p/w? Something like £3m/3.5m Euros pa. A legacy of the days early Ashley days along with Smith et al.

He's further than most from ideal when he's just plopped in alongside a random partner for a shortish period of time having not been in serious contention previously, though. There's a few possible justifications for him being a back up defender for us, but in a larger scheme of things I can see better types than him for the role. I say that as someone who wants him as first choice alongside Colo for the foreseeable future and would only swap him for a very large upgrade, mind.

Not sure Williamson has a place as a back up defender. Got to cut your cloth accordingly of course, but tempted to say he's a first team defender or no team at all.

Nice one, was searching the wrong website...

Funnily enough, I'm actually clinging to that being true. Would be like Jose and Carroll had died for our sins or something.

I think maybe a better way of putting it is Taylor's generally hastier with the ball. Better potential technique, though, and his nature does mean he can go on those mammoth dribbles occasionally...

Anyone fancy him doing a Dalglish? Not necessarily for us, if the idea gives you a heart attack. And of course I don't mean start mumbling and deconstructing good attacking teams... I'll say this at least, if the Board are that serious about normally only making internal appointments, I'd prefer him to Beardsley...

From Enrique? Don't think I've ever seen those on here. There are mostly quotes taken out of context from a radio interview he gave. They are pretty harsh but he looks indeed pissed off by all the stuff going around your club at the time. http://www.marca.com/2009/07/13/futbol/futbol_internacional/espanoles_mundo/1247478783.html "I don't even know what's happening in Newcastle, we have spent two weeks of preseason and everything it's still the same. Club's for sale, there's no owners and we don't even have a manager when we're just a month away from starting the season. It looked like Shearer was staying but truth is nobody knows what's going to happen" "Things here are not going well. I'm f***ed (sic) sporting-wise and I'm angry for the fans too, they are always supporting us and don't stop cheering in any game we play" "I'm very excited to return to Spain, there's been talk in the press that teams like Atlético are interested in me. If there was an offer from Spain I'd prioritize it above offers from other places." "In England I have a good contract, but sporting-wise I'm not well here and I'd give up money to play on a different team. I want to succeed and and there are more important things than money." That was 18 months ago, bear in mind. Thanks for that, informative. Regarding Enrique's attitude to us, it's also worth noting - especially in the light of the old interview above and what subsequently happened - that he didn't have to say the positive things about us that he did this time to La Marca. Loving the city, being ok at the club etc. - it wouldn't seem he's said these expecting them to be read in England, so I'd say his own outlook on whether he should stay at the club certainly isn't a foregone conclusion.

British, apparently. Was a nice chat with La Marca apparently, so it would seem he approves of what they published. And they published something not a fantastic amount different to what the British press took out. How do you know what was published in La Marca? You understand Spanish? Why do you try to put a negative spin instead of just taking Jose's words as published on the website? Resolved in 2 minutes and 25 seconds. Good work

It's of debatable significance, but in terms of how the finances look in the shorter term at least, it's also worth remembering we traditionally receive our transfer income in gradual instalments - the Carroll deal apparently mainly bucked this trend. In contrast, our outgoings are apparently handled in single, immediate lumps, though. So we may be due money from Martins, Bassong and others also.

British, apparently. Was a nice chat with La Marca apparently, so it would seem he approves of what they published. Wasn't it in Marca that he said the club "made promises they haven't kept." ? Yep. Compared to the very original thing the Daily Mail had in it (only about other clubs), it was actually more critical of the club.

British, apparently. Was a nice chat with La Marca apparently, so it would seem he approves of what they published. And they published something not a fantastic amount different to what the British press took out.

There were plenty more high earners who came along later. What do you think the wage bill stands at? I thought it was generally agreed it was around the £50m mark on promotion. We'll have a better idea when last year's accounts come out. Just did some totting up, for what it's worth. Given loans in and out etc, I came to £35m or so per annum for the main squad as of today. Could be less given surprises like Guthrie's wage (revealed as £4k p/w in court, though I allowed for £10k here). Throwing in reserve and staff wages, extra bonuses and imagining I've underestimated things, maybe it would come to around £40m in total. Allowing a large margin of error, somewhere between £30m and £44m per annum, then.

Aye...

nufc.com headline: 'Barton Questioned' Bastards. Had me going for a tenth of a second, apologies for my lack of faith Joey...