Cronky

It is a bit of an eye opener. Maybe why outsiders like neil and brummie view the situation differently to the majority of Newcastle fans. Yeah, it's a good article. I said a while back that it's too early to judge Ashley, and I still feel that. He has a long term plan but of course most supporters want things to happen now. I actually like his ability to stick to his plan no matter what other people might be saying. Once an owner starts making decisions to please the fans is when things get dicey.

Come on, he's made a decent point about Welbeck, who looked very ordinary in his cameo appearances for Man U, but a different proposition with a run of first team games. It could well be the same for Obertan.

The first couple of times I saw him, he looked decent. More recently, he's struggled to make an impact. Obviously, if you're not playing regularly, it's difficult to hit form. And Man U must have seen something in him in the first place.

Pardew seems to think that he can repair the damage that's been done between Joey and the owner, and between Joey and the rest of the team, through the relationship that he himself has got with him. Either that, or like any anxious manager, he wants to keep hold of one of his best players if at all possible - at least until there's a replacement in. It all feels unrealistic. Too much has happened and I don't think Joey himself, in this 'victim' mode, has enough insight to make the necessary adjustments.

The problem with Twitter is that the players who are least capable of using it sensibly seem to be the ones who are most keen to use it. If I was a manager, I'd ban my players from using it. Although the majority of players may be okay with it, there seems to be a significant number who are not. As you can only operate one rule, I'd go for a blanket ban.

Well he's been dealing with it for the last 6 months, and it's been getting steadily worse. Perhaps he needs to rethink.

I really don't think Pardew understands Joey or the situation.

For all we know they could be a number of clubs in for him. It's possible, but they would also need to be clubs that Jose would be keen to join (ie of Liverpool's status or greater). I'm not convinced by the speculation about the likes of Arsenal and Barca, and I can't see an auction happening.

Liverpool must feel they hold the aces and can land Enrique for a small fee if they just wait a bit. The player wants to go, we need to get rid, and they seem to be the only club in the running.

Jose thinks that the rest of his career would be better served at Liverpool rather than us. It's a crucial decision for him at an important point in his career, and he's made it. That's all that's happened here. I don't think he's right on that, but let's not slit our wrists over it, or light the torches. Liverpool have been buying up a lot of high profile, flavour of the month-type signings, and I think that all they're doing is marking time.

Now I'm getting worried.

I don't know why you say it's the 'same old nonsense'. No-one suggested that Carroll or Nolan were troublemakers. Given that Barton has a history of bust-ups with team-mates, and given that his statements over the last few months (eg best English midfield player bar possibly Wilshere) have become increasingly egotistical and eccentric, it's not unbelievable that at least some of that account is true. I feel that various managers have been prepared to indulge him, because he's a talented player and they don't want to lose him. Pardew had this hope that Joey would knuckle down this season and that way earn the contract that he wanted, but I can't see that that was ever going to be Joey's reaction to the situation. He's effectively been demoted and his reaction was far more likely to be resentment and a desire to hit back.

In all honesty, Man Utd have got rid of plenty of players who haven't adhered to the club culture in the past and, as far as I can tell,, fans have generally supported this stance. Its more the anti-glazer protests. far more aggressive than ours Ashley can do anything to us. We cry for a week or two, then its all back to normal again. He knows this, he realised it after the Keegan stuff. It would be interesting to see how other sets of fans would react in the same situation. Rooney threatens to leave Man Utd and masked men are threatening him outside his house. I still havent a clue how Ashley even gets in the fuckin ground! Because what they did is pathetic and we have more pride and self control to rise above s*** like that ? Totally agree. Doesn't really help us though. Im just struggling to think of a situation where Ashley would be forced to leave. He's like a fuckin cockroach I'd say more like a barnacle, fecker just wont let go. I cant fathom why he just doesn't sell, all the stick he gets and yet no hint of selling, either he is trying but asking too much or just wont sell, our club has become his own little toy, sadly. Well he tried to sell and failed over a period of two years. I'm sure he regrets buying the club, but he came to a decision eventually that the uncertainty was more wearisome than the hassle of making a go of it. So he formed a long-term plan and has committed himself to it. That's where we're at now. He can't be comfortable with all the abuse, but he seems resolved to ignore it and plough on.

He seemed to be trying to play a diplomatic game with Joey, giving him a lot of rope to voice his opinions in the hope of keeping him on board - particularly because he really rated him as a player. Unfortunately, the diplomatic route hasn't worked.

I think we've recruited well, and even without Barton and Nolan, we've got a better side than the one that finished last season. I was actually looking forward to the new season as we've potentially got a new, more skilful style as well as new players. The Nolan-Barton-Enrique incidents have left a bad taste in the mouth, and it needs the new side to bond and rally together. Whether Colo is the man to do that particular job, I'm not sure, but the new lads all seem keen. This last week has been depressing but, in football, moods can change very quickly.

Didn't Nolan complain about Pardew? I don't think so, unless you've read something I haven't? I seem to remember that he said he felt a bit let down by Pardew - that he didn't fight hard enough to keep him.

Joey has been acting more and more like a loose cannon over the last few months, and this end was predictable. It's sad, because no-one has benefited from all this. Not least Joey, because I can't see any of the bigger clubs in the Premiership taking a chance on him. Does this mean that he won't be available for selection and won't be participating in the first team training? Now that this is happening, I think he has to stay away.

Too little too late.

It seems to me that Joey has constructed the justifcation in his head, that what he's doing is for the benefit of the fans and the club as a whole, in that he is exposing the problems which the owner is supposedly creating. I think the reality is that he's been hurt and embarrassed by the brush-off that he received when he didn't get a new contract, and this tweeting is an extension of that particular personal battle. He's acting like a stroppy adolescent who can't recognise his own part in the situation, or the viewpoint of other people. He comes across as so wrapped up in himself that I can't see him responding to the little heart-to-heart chats which Pardew seems to put a lot of faith in.

I think Pardew has to step in now. After January, Joey became more and more outspoken, and Pardew's response was to say that he didn't mind players voicing their opinions. It felt like Joey was too powerful a figure in the dressing room and/or too important on the field for him to risk confronting. The problem has steadily snowballed, and I think Pardew's inaction is partly to blame.

It's the chief scout and the manager that have picked out Erdinc as the target. Unless they're the fucktards that you meant.

There was always going to be a problem when Joey, a powerful figure in the dressing room, was refused a contract. He's been marginalised, and if he can't exercise influence in a positive manner, he's going to find some other way. He only started tweeting after he was refused a contract. What he's effectively saying is 'there's a major problem at the club but I'm not allowed to talk about it'. Sorry, Joey, but that's a bullshit statement. If you choose to talk, you have to say exactly what the problems are and give people the chance to respond or make their own minds up. Being vague like that only leads to speculation and worry - which was perhaps his objective. It was always a concern of mine that he wouldn't be able to handle the position that he's found himself in with the club. It looks like he can't and will have to go.

The problem with Gameiro, Gervinho and Erdinc hasn't been the money being available. The players wanted to join or stay with clubs that have better prospects. As we're talking about Arsenal and a cash-rich PSG, that's understandable. We could start trying to pay way over the odds, or buy players who aren't any better than the ones we've got, of course. Neither seem a good idea to me.

Beckford's got something, if only as a squad player. At the right price, he'd be worth a punt. We seem to be aiming for a lone striker system around Ba, but could do with the option of going all out 4-4-2 with a specialist finisher up front. Beckford would be a decent option for that position.

Isn't this the usual trap - the account of an Ashley critic being treated as gospel while the viewpoint of the regime is treated with total scepticism? The noises coming out from Nolan at the time were that they were close to an agreement but hadn't reached one. I don't buy this account which implies that they'd agreed the deal verbally but decided to wait a few months before putting pen to paper. It sounds similar to the Barton situation. Nolan was offered a deal but decided he could hold out for something even better. Then when negotiations start again he finds the same offer isn't on the table. Well tough. They're running a business, a lot of money is at stake and the worth of a player isn't static. Nolan over-played his hand. I think that, as with Barton, Ashley either got annoyed with the way they were going round these talk-ins, acting like they ran the dressing room, or that he realised, with the players that were being brought in, that keeping Nolan wasn't that important.