TRon

They don't need it. If they know he's joining us then they can fob their fans off with "at least we tried". Not dissimilar to Ashley's last minute bid for Zog in January.

Whoever it is we better step it up as of now. Gameiro is a waste of time if his heart is set on Spain.

Good crosser but no pace either so for us he probably wasn't the right option anyway. Can't wait to rape Sunderland next season with two lightning wide men while Larsson is left gasping in their wake.

It can only mean we are serious contenders for Gervinho or Zog. We were never going to sign Larsson if either of those ends up here. Sunderland are getting our left overs tbh.

Danny Graham from Watford seems to think we are interested in him. I wonder if Gameiro doesn't pull his finger out whether we might switch to him? I hope he's not shite though. Bit of a step down I know but he is supposed to be wanted by QPR but he's waiting on us coz he's a Gateshead lad. Add that to us supposedly waiting on Gameiro to make his mind up and it's enough to cause a nervous twitch.

Danny Graham from Watford seems to think we are interested in him. I wonder if Gameiro doesn't pull his finger out whether we might switch to him? I hope he's not shite though.

There's always a chance that with so many changes - assuming some of these signings come off - that things could go pear shaped next season. Enrique, Nolan and Barton were key players and to lose them all might mean we take time to gel doesn't matter how good the signings look right now. Even so it's good to see the club being decisive and not dithering once decisions have had to be made.

Weirdly enough, so am I. And I don't have a clue why. Just a feeling he'll sign on the dotted line. I don't personally, the club seem to be pursuing M'Bengue quite seriously now. Plus if they are thinking like Baggio then they might have already allocated his wages elsewhere.

I doubt we are replacing Enrique in order to save money because that's a false economy. Enrique is battle hardened and proven in the premier whereas M'Bengue will be raw and might not settle however highly rated he is. We could lose £1m a year just in finishing lower in the table if he doesn't perform like Enrique. Jose is dragging his feet and we've seen that this regime won't be held to ransom by players who aren't committed to the cause.

If Nolan and Barton's future is under doubt here then I'd be happy to keep Guthrie. He's still young and has got talent, even if he doesn't make the most of it. He's done well enough as a back up player. If we lose Nolan or Barton then we could maybe give Guthrie a better contract.

I would imagine it will be difficult to make the new signings of the calibre of players we are looking at and handing out long term contracts to players already on our books. There'll be a wage budget and to stay within that you have to make choices. Seems to me in January Barton was offered the chance to cement himself here but without a commitment from the player the club have looked elsewhere. His new contract will essentially go towards securing the Gervinhos or Cubayes.

Have you looked at the make up of the teams who finished in the top four this season? And if any of those four teams were relegated. How many of their foreign players would hang about? It's not having a go at any particular nationality and I shouldn't have singled out the surrender monkeys French but if we buy Cabaye and are relegated next season do you think he'll stick around? We should be building on the lads who regrouped and built the team spirit we have now. Not getting relegated might be a major priority for some next season but I'd prefer it if we built a team which can go on and attack the top six. While I'm sure Pardew would love to be able to keep Joey here, if he's asking for players to be brought in that will get the fans off their seats, then Barton also has to fit himself into that equation rather than looking for contracts which will lock him in for the next 4 years. If he really wants to stay in any case.

The thing is, if we want to buy good players that cost a lot of money we have to let some go. We have enough players who should go to reduce the salary - R.Taylor, Campbell and Kuqi (already happened), Smith, Lovenkrands, probably even Harper. But not the likes of Barton and Nolan. The money for new players comes from the Carroll money. 35 mio should be enough to get us some players without having to sell our best ones. Barton and Nolan have both been offered new contracts. True they might not be as lucrative or lengthy as they would like but that happens at all clubs when players reach a certain age or physical condition. Realistically no club which finishes 12th in the premier is going to be paying 60k a week to every member in the squad.

Have you looked at the make up of the teams who finished in the top four this season?

The thing is, if we want to buy good players that cost a lot of money we have to let some go.

"suggestion" would probably have been more accurate but there seems to be some substance behind the rumours.

That's the spirit! ah you know am right though.... you cannot tell me you honestly belie we are going to sign these players ? Zoggy Gamerio Cabaye Emana Gervinho Obviously we aren't going to get all of them but the fact we are in pretty advanced talks with both Cabaye and Gervinho is reason for hope...and that's coming from me and I'm a sceptical fucker at the best of times.

Either will do nicely. Maybe Zog would be the sensible choice as he's seen that the grass isn't always greener so less likely to see us as a stepping stone.

I don't know what sort of contract was put in front of Nolan but he hasn't exactly rushed to sign it. If Cabaye is going to sign it means that we aren't going to give him an improved offer, assuming the initial offer is still on the table. Nolan will have to make a decision whether he is happy to be a squad player or would prefer to leave.

Seems crazy that Gervinho would consider us ahead of Arsenal so maybe us getting his mate (allegedly) Cabaye has swung it in our favour? Buying in bunches really does pay off.

Sounds a bit on the high side for a player in the last year of his contract. Not that I'm complaining if it's true.

It's been argued for some time by Ashley "apologists" but until the signings are rubber stamped we won't know if it's true. I know in the season we were relegated Llambias talked about having money to spend if we stayed up but we didn't.

Your mate Llambias. Clearly his knowledge of football is under-rated.

http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,76545.0.html Join the discussion Yes join it quick, everyone's trying to get it locked. Presumably because it's causing people to use the term "going french" through some sort of subliminal messaging.

I'll be impressed when they sign.