Cronky

See?

I can't see Allardyce and Karren Brady forming a good team.

Yeah, I can see it now. I did ask about this before and no-one responded. This now looks like the club have actually changed their minds. Either that, or the two parties weren't nearly as close to an agreement as Nolan was thinking or saying. We may have embarrassed the player here. I've often wondered about the situation - which I think is mirrored at Chelsea - where the Chairman / Chief Exec doesn't wield much real power, and the owner is only involved part-time. It seems a recipe for confused decision-making. How have we embarrassed the player? He was offered a contract extension as far as I read it. If you delay signing there is always the chance that the deal might not stay on the table if the situation changes. Don't see what either party has done wrong here. Well I'm not at all sure whether we've embarrassed him, but I'm very confused about what's been going on. If it panned out how you said, then the club are entitled to withdraw the offer. But Nolan seemed to be saying that signing the contract was pretty much a formality - maybe there was more to it than that. On the same issue, I never thought it was a great idea for Barton and Nolan to be going round to supporters' talk-ins, talking about the owner, the manager and other players in that free and easy way. It was like they thought they had some special status, as the leaders of the 'group of lads' whose spirit had led to our revival. They also seemed to be acting like they'd be doing the club some tremendous favour by signing their new contracts - as though it would mean them giving the Board a vote of confidence rather than the other way round. I don't think all that would have gone down well with Ashley. Or possibly some of the other players.

while they're both nincompoops, i'd be more likely to believe shepherd. the fact that Llambias chose to preface the amount of pay with 'under kevin keegans management' should tell you all you need to know Well Llambias has yet again broken the 11th commandment and criticised Keegan, but it's interesting to note Keegan's comments on the Owen situation from March 2008 - ................................. I'm not here to defend Lambias but has it occurred to you two he may have been stating a fact? Owen could have been signed on an initial £90K a week with a year on year rise to take it up to £133K when Keegan was here. I really can't see how anything Lambias has said this time is a slur on Keegan. I wasn't doubting what Llambias was saying, and while including the 'Keegan' detail wasn't a 'slur', I think his reason for putting it in is more than just for stating a passing fact. I think he's irritated by the high esteem that Keegan and Shearer are held in by so many supporters, and he wanted to include a subtle reminder that Keegan was lobbying hard, in public and private, for Owen not to be sold and to be offered a new contract. All perfectly true and, because I'm no fan of Keegan's, I've personally no problem with it. But Llambias would be better off keeping quiet because he's not going to win anybody round that way.

Yeah, I can see it now. I did ask about this before and no-one responded. This now looks like the club have actually changed their minds. Either that, or the two parties weren't nearly as close to an agreement as Nolan was thinking or saying. We may have embarrassed the player here. I've often wondered about the situation - which I think is mirrored at Chelsea - where the Chairman / Chief Exec doesn't wield much real power, and the owner is only involved part-time. It seems a recipe for confused decision-making.

Despite all the talk about Nolan's contract being re-negotiated, I was struggling to find any direct evidence of that. The idea didn't make sense because a) the contract still had 2 years to run b) There were other players (Jonas, Colo) whose contracts would expire at the same time, but where there seemed to be no talks and c) Nolan has done a good job for us, but if we want to improve we need to add pace and mobility to the midfield.

I hadn't given up hope for Ranger, so I'm disappointed if this is true. Obviously we don't know everything that's gone on behind the scenes with the player. Still not convinced about this story, because if it's only about his attitude in training, we could loan him out in the hope that he might mature that way.

Well he's there to take chances, so if he can't be relied on to do that..... Why can't we produce more Jack Wilsheres? So few England players look secure on the ball when under pressure.

I don't think we can blame Hart too much for the goals. With the first, that kind of cross is very difficult if a defender doesn't get it. With the second, the wall just decided to stop being a wall. Their keeper doesn't look anything great, so I'd still fancy us to get something. Parker looks out of his depth.

So he was a great player until Keegan left, at which point his form dipped to such an extent that not even Ferguson and Man U have been able to revive it. Bullshit. He'd lost his pace and his decline was there for all to see. Either Keegan failed to spot it, or Owen became a pawn in the power battle between him and Wise. I suspect a mixture of both.

while they're both nincompoops, i'd be more likely to believe shepherd. the fact that Llambias chose to preface the amount of pay with 'under kevin keegans management' should tell you all you need to know Well Llambias has yet again broken the 11th commandment and criticised Keegan, but it's interesting to note Keegan's comments on the Owen situation from March 2008 - “I’ve already started to say to the club that we should be talking to Michael now; not next week, not next month, but now,” Keegan said after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Fulham – his first since replacing Sam Allardyce – in which Owen scored. The 28-year-old has mustered four goals in his past seven games for Newcastle, emerging as an increasingly influential figure. Supporters have not always found it easy to adore their record signing since his £16 million arrival from Real Madrid in 2005, but suspicions about his loyalty and frustration with his injuries have dimmed in recent weeks. Appointed captain by Keegan, the striker, who earns £115,000 a week, has demonstrated his commitment with fine, gritty performances against Birmingham City and Fulham. “Whatever finances are here, I don’t think we could go out and get a player that’s any better than Owen,” Keegan said. “That’s the reason I think we should keep him and, as long as he doesn’t get injured again, Newcastle fans will see a player who’ll grow into one of the greats here. “I don’t see why we should be looking all over the world for foreign players and trying to teach them how to play in the Premier League when we’ve got one who knows his way around and whose goalscoring record is tremendous. So I’ll do everything I can to keep him, but at the end of the day, it’ll be Michael’s decision. “The time to talk with him is now and that’s what I’ll be urging the chairman [Chris Mort] and Lee Charnley [the football secretary] to do. There hasn’t been a reaction yet because I only mentioned it last week, but I could see this coming. Michael’s not going to stop scoring goals, he’s not going to stop catching the eye and he is going to be wanted by other clubs.” Sven-Göran Eriksson, the Manchester City manager, is a long-time admirer of Owen, who has scored 13 league goals in 30 starts for Newcastle. “Michael is vitally important to the club at the moment and, hopefully, for the future, too,” Keegan said. “He’s a great player. He has been both a general and a soldier for us since I’ve been here and you’re seeing him now absolutely at his peak after his injury. He contributes both on and off the field. In a quiet, reserved way, he’s a major influence around the club.”

So you mean we will sign one more striker on top of Gameiro and/or Gervinho? Unlikely imo, although I hope it's Wickham. Gameiro looks more like a Beardsley / Bellamy style player to me. I think we'd still need someone who could lead the line and play with their back to goal a bit. Folks ain't gonna like it, but Pardew rates Shola. He'd probably like to upgrade, but there may not be many available out there who he rates more highly for that particular role.

Did he lose interest in football in 1990? PS - Not wanting to mock. Otherwise, that's a good side.

I can't imagine we'd want him as a lone striker, given his size. I suspect we're looking at either Gameiro or Gervinho for the same role - wide attacker in a 4-3-3. I'd agree about the Owen syndrome.

Ferguson wants hungry players. He doesn't want to see any complacency in a big name player, because that can have a corrosive effect on team spirit, and set a bad example to the youngsters. He doesn't just talk about the club being more important than the individual, it comes out in his decisions as well. 40 + trophies would suggest that he knows what he's doing. I'm not sure what goes on when he decides that a player can leave, but you can bet he's decisive about it and makes his views clear. I think a player would realise that there was no way they were going to win.

'Literally' lost his marbles? I'm sure he wouldn't see any of those players, or Macheda, as direct replacements, but he may feel that at least one of them is ready for the first team, and there comes a point in the development of a side, when you have to back a youngster. I suspect he's disappointed with Berbatov's attitude. There was a spell at Spurs where Berbatov was playing with a lot of determination, and it was on that form that he paid £30m+ for him. I don't think he's shown that for Man U, and Ferguson clearly doesn't feel he can be trusted to rise to the occasion in the big games. Watching the final in the dressing room at Wembley won't have impressed either. He should have been big enough to go out there and publicly stand by his team-mates, no matter what he was feeling. What's wrong with Berbatov's attitude? He's been great for Man U this season and has seemingly been happy to come off the bench and play well when players like Park have got the nod instead. Ferguson has a long history of this type of nonsense when he suddenly doesn't fancy a player. He did the same with Van Nistelrooj in 2006 after he'd started the 05-06 season on fire. Berbatov has shown his class, but I wouldn't say he's given 100%. It was a periodic problem at Spurs, and it's been a problem at Man U. I don't know why, because I'd have thought it was his big chance. No matter what level of ability a player has, Ferguson won't tolerate less than total effort, because team spirit is such an important ingredient in his success. Ferguson's record of continued success despite periods of rebuilding shows that his judgement about when to let a player go is actually very good. He's admitted to a mistake with Stam, but decisions about Beckham, Van Nistelrooy, Ince, Cantona etc have proved to be sound.

'Literally' lost his marbles? I'm sure he wouldn't see any of those players, or Macheda, as direct replacements, but he may feel that at least one of them is ready for the first team, and there comes a point in the development of a side, when you have to back a youngster. I suspect he's disappointed with Berbatov's attitude. There was a spell at Spurs where Berbatov was playing with a lot of determination, and it was on that form that he paid £30m+ for him. I don't think he's shown that for Man U, and Ferguson clearly doesn't feel he can be trusted to rise to the occasion in the big games. Watching the final in the dressing room at Wembley won't have impressed either. He should have been big enough to go out there and publicly stand by his team-mates, no matter what he was feeling.

It could well get tricky. After publicly bigging himself up, he's not going to take kindly to being shown the door. Not unless it's going to sound like promotion, and I can't see any of the bigger clubs being interested. In fact, with the way he's been behaving, a lot of the smaller clubs will be wary. He likes to make his presence felt, and I hope he doesn't cause any problems this next season.

It could happen, but I don't think it'd be the right move for the player. Spurs need a striker, Man U need a midfield player, so some kind of Modric for Berbatov plus xMill deal is feasible.

When he plays in a committed, aggressive fashion, Berbatov is a great player. He's never been reliant on pace, so he should be okay for another 3 seasons or so. I'd take a punt on him if money was no object, but in reality I can't see us paying big money for a 30 year old. Sturridge looks far more up our street.

Agreed.

The sad thing is I don't think Joey himself knows what he's doing.

There will be at least two in half our games I reckon unless Barton really does leave, and people are very mistaken to think that it could or should be any different. Nolan will be starting every game when fit as our club captain. If we're going to be playing some tippy-tappy, movement in the midfield, continental style then Nolan will be a fish out of water.

It's interesting to contrast Joey's behaviour with Tiote's. Tiote was attracting interest from a number of other clubs, but he signed up without waiting to see which other players were going to be brought in or how much money would be spent. It also looks like he's been active behind the scenes in encouraging other players to come. He's shown an unselfish commitment to the cause. On the other hand, Joey decided he didn't want to commit himself until he knew what other players were going to come, and then spent the next few months publicly lecturing the owner about what he should be doing in a way that did the image of the club no good at all. It all seemed like a massive ego-trip that wouldnt have impressed his team-mates either. For me, that's disrespect.

It's not clear what's happened, but if you turn down a contract, you can't expect to roll up 5 months later and automatically find the offer still there. During the intervening period, Joey's behaviour has been increasingly arrogant and disrespectful. It's like he thought he had some kind of untouchable status. Well he hasn't.