Colos Short and Curlies

it's certainly not a good thing when you're looking to progress as a football team and have manageable debt... We could have spent £10m on Carlton Cole rather than Ba on a free. i know which i would rather have. We spent £4.5m on a French intenrational midfielded. Or we could have spent £20m on Henderson. Again, I know which I would prefer. Of course I'd have loved us to get Gameiro or Gervinho, and we do need a left back at least for the back 4. We do however have to accept that with no European football and not being in London we're not going to get the likes of G or G easily, £35m or no £35m in our pocket. Using it to plug a few financial holes, improving the training facilities (which in teurn will hopefully help our injury record) whilst still freshening up the team is the best way that we could have used the money imo. Again, I hope that we've kept some in reserve so that should we get Europa league football next year (or look like we're in with a shout of it in Jan), we have the ability to spent some more cash then.

Sorry not directly pointed at you, but the fact that we're not spending vast sums of money keeps coming up. I still find it strange that in every walk of life you look to spend the least amount of money to bring the greatest benefit, except for football. Of course I would love another striker brought in and a decent replacement/backup for Enrique as a minimum, but for some people it appears that would rather we had spent £15m on a striker of Ba's ability and another £15m on a player of Cabaye's ability, and then spent another £10m on a winger like Marveaux. I like the fact that we are looking outside of the UK for signings as they give much better value for money, and the fact we are exploiting clauses like are we is to me, a good thing. Everyone is happy we're looking for Bargains. People are not happy that we sold our best asset & then used the money to balance our finances. Which is what happened. So a company that has recently been losing money and has a bit of debt uses a windfall to plug some of the gaps? Whilst still recruiting new players in the summer window, exploiting contract loopholes/expirations to reduce these costs. And that's a bad thing?

Management in lying shocker! To be honest though, stages in 'negotiations' mean different people to different things. Nolan will have his interpretation of what the handsahke meant, as will Disco Dekka. If Nolan's account is 100% factual then the powers that be are in the wrong, I seriously doubt this is the case. I also find it strange that in MA's other business his top staff are happy working for him and the packages that they are offered, but seemingly when it comes to football they offer a pack of peanuts as a basic wage. Perhaps it's expectations of the players that need to change? I liken the approach they are taking to being the first team in F1 to pit in changable weather conditions. They're trying something that players and agents aren't used to, IF it becomes the norm in football we may find in a couple of years that we are in a great place when other teams all of a sudden find themselves lumbered with a squad on inflated wages and no way getting rid of them because of this.

Sorry not directly pointed at you, but the fact that we're not spending vast sums of money keeps coming up. I still find it strange that in every walk of life you look to spend the least amount of money to bring the greatest benefit, except for football. Of course I would love another striker brought in and a decent replacement/backup for Enrique as a minimum, but for some people it appears that would rather we had spent £15m on a striker of Ba's ability and another £15m on a player of Cabaye's ability, and then spent another £10m on a winger like Marveaux. I like the fact that we are looking outside of the UK for signings as they give much better value for money, and the fact we are exploiting clauses like are we is to me, a good thing.

Bit of a forum low point Thought he was being a bit of a dick tbh

For a top 4 team maybe, Cole would be a regular in any team outside the top 4 bar Liverpool imo

i've been saying this for weeks. some will tell you you're not allowed to judge the deal in hindsight though. that it's folly to judge how astute the deal was by taking into account what you do with the money you got for him, the compensation you receive for losing such a player. it's utter bollocks. last season Carroll was banging them in for us and looking like a world beater, personally i dont care that he asked for a pay rise, he should've been given one. great players are paid great money, and if you dont like it sell the club at the loss, fuck off and let someone with even the tiniest clue about football run things. also if any players have a problem with a great player being paid more than them they can ship off to wigan or any other countless number of clubs who cant attract players worthy of high wages. i've also said this before but selling Carroll was the catalyst for Enrique's unrest and we've heard even more about it recently, whatever Carroll does at Liverpool the fact remains that in this team with our players around him he looked un-playable at times, but we've got money to pay for tarmac and agents fees now, class mike, fucking class. we could and should have done every piece of business we've done this summer without selling Carroll. and now we have to wait for smith and xisco to go before we bring in anyone who can actually play football because we dont want to pay them for doing nothing? we've been doing that for years!! so it's next summer again is it? mint, i'm looking forward to it. And here's me thinking AC had got a payrise last year. Silly me. when he was offerred a new contract? He got one October/November time did he not?

i've been saying this for weeks. some will tell you you're not allowed to judge the deal in hindsight though. that it's folly to judge how astute the deal was by taking into account what you do with the money you got for him, the compensation you receive for losing such a player. it's utter bollocks. last season Carroll was banging them in for us and looking like a world beater, personally i dont care that he asked for a pay rise, he should've been given one. great players are paid great money, and if you dont like it sell the club at the loss, fuck off and let someone with even the tiniest clue about football run things. also if any players have a problem with a great player being paid more than them they can ship off to wigan or any other countless number of clubs who cant attract players worthy of high wages. i've also said this before but selling Carroll was the catalyst for Enrique's unrest and we've heard even more about it recently, whatever Carroll does at Liverpool the fact remains that in this team with our players around him he looked un-playable at times, but we've got money to pay for tarmac and agents fees now, class mike, fucking class. we could and should have done every piece of business we've done this summer without selling Carroll. and now we have to wait for smith and xisco to go before we bring in anyone who can actually play football because we dont want to pay them for doing nothing? we've been doing that for years!! so it's next summer again is it? mint, i'm looking forward to it. And here's me thinking AC had got a payrise last year. Silly me.

The reason why we sold Nolan had little to do with him being happy or not. NUFC was sensible and didn't want to give him a 5 year contract, but West Ham did. His fitness is questionable and will be even more so as he gets older. The same goes for Barton too. Neither SAF or Wenger hand out lengthy contracts to players in that age group, and nobody is branding them as idiot for following that policy. With todays salaries, it's the sensible option imo. Having two aging, expensive permacrocks (worst case scenario) on the bench that no other clubs want, is not good for the club. It's this scenario we're now experiencing with Smith. He's cashing in, and we cannot reinforce the squad without him leaving. But nobody is interested in him. I'm not very business minded, but I know in any business it's important to have a contingency plan. It's all very well doing the above - but what we need to be doing is spending the cash or at least signing the players to cover these positions. In life the majority of things that have any quality also have a higher value. If we want to keep key players, we have to do so by showing some form of intent in the market. If key players are unhappy or unsettled we should be signing players to cover them then fuck them off or doing what's required to please them. This seems to have been the case with Nolan and possibly Barton, but certainly not with Carroll and seemingly not with Enrique as of yet. As far as I'm aware Jonas and Fabricio are good mates with Jose, so surely this news/ongoing saga is unsettling them too? If Jose goes, this wont be the end of it all - surely? Whilst I agree on following an Arsenal style model, you have to be incredibly skillful, experienced and even a slight but lucky to develop something the way they have. I wouldn't exactly say Newcastle has ever really been renowned for doing well as far as a scouting network goes. What I'd like to know is what is going on behind the scenes. Our management has pretty much came out and said these key players have all been offered good deals and/or that the players are want-away rather than the club simply wanting to cut the wage bill. I'd take a guess that it's somewhere between what the board tell us and what the players tell us, but whilst we're in the dark, I think I'd be trying to find the pitch with the players rather than the boardroom with Mike and Dekka. Let's not forget these are the cunts who've openly admitted to lying and misleading the support of this great club... The business plan is to replace older players with younger, hungrily and yes, cheaper versions whilst looking to promote from within. Same as most businesses really. You've just got to hope that the powers that be recognise where and when its actually right to spend a bit more cash on a particular area when the time calls for it. Again like most other businesses

Fair enough Colo's Short and Curlies! I was definitely reaching with my comparison of fans to friends The reason I had to, was because the situations are so very different - and I do think you underestimate the relative power balance between your respective previous employers, and his with Ashley and co.. I do believe if you thought you had the power to make sure your boss didn't get away scott free for reneging on his seven grand pay bump - you would. Or at least you wouldn't let your boss deceive others about the reason for you not renewing your contract for another five and a half years (as seems to be the standard length of contracts at NUFC these days). Anyway, those are my two cents on the matter - and I'll certainly follow this thread (and indeed your response ), but I can see it getting cyclical and intractable to continue engaging in! Nobody is forcing him to stay for 5 more days, never mind 5 years. It just seems sad that he's playing games where noone wins. It does smack of someone who is drunk texting at 3 in the morning. But its too early for that over there. Maybe his agent is tweeting on his behalf?

I must say, I find it difficult to believe you'd spend an extra year working for employers you neither liked or trusted - if you had the choice to go elsewhere sooner. I don't think you're thinking of Jose Enrique as a real person. I know he's a Newcastle United superstar - but also a human* and he probably just spent six fairly miserable months of his life (and not an insignificant amount of his career) working for an employer that sacked a line manager he got on well with (Hughton) with no real reason and then had some of the promising talents of the team sold off with no massive push for improving the squad. To expect him to wait patiently for another twelve months ... well, I don't blame him. And from a "being a man" viewpoint, there's an old saying "you should never be afraid to do the right thing" - which, in this case, is fight the power and speak your mind. * - not to paint him as some underprivileged malnourished orphan or owt When I've been unhappy I've kept my head down, looked fokr a new job, handed in my notice and done things properly. I'd expect a PROFESSIONAL football to hand in a request quietly, seek a new opportunity and do things correctly. Have your employers spoke to your friends and told them you're unwilling to renew your contract and not let you set the record straight with them too, then? Seriously? His friends? My last employer went back on a promise on wages to the tune of 7 grand, I stilll did as my lady post. If he wants to leave then that's his prerogative, but putting this on Twitter ( I've always said Twitter is full of tweets by twats) is just letting himself down. He's playing a game as much as MA and co are

I must say, I find it difficult to believe you'd spend an extra year working for employers you neither liked or trusted - if you had the choice to go elsewhere sooner. I don't think you're thinking of Jose Enrique as a real person. I know he's a Newcastle United superstar - but also a human* and he probably just spent six fairly miserable months of his life (and not an insignificant amount of his career) working for an employer that sacked a line manager he got on well with (Hughton) with no real reason and then had some of the promising talents of the team sold off with no massive push for improving the squad. To expect him to wait patiently for another twelve months ... well, I don't blame him. And from a "being a man" viewpoint, there's an old saying "you should never be afraid to do the right thing" - which, in this case, is fight the power and speak your mind. * - not to paint him as some underprivileged malnourished orphan or owt When I've been unhappy I've kept my head down, looked for a new job, handed in my notice and done things properly. I'd expect a PROFESSIONAL football to hand in a request quietly, seek a new opportunity and do things correctly.

Nothing wrong with the place IMO. Damn road works are a problem but overall not too bad a place. I've never lived anywhere else though so not really a great judge. Theres enough going on to keep Routledge out of trouble. Scott Sinclair is from London and he seems happy enough in the city. They just have to watch out for mad Mary and teabag, they can be a nuisance. Don't get me wrong, its a nice city. Just not my kind of place. Right first time. It's grim. And that's coming from someone born in wallsend, who lived in Liverpool for 6 years and now resides just outside of llanelli. In other words I know grim when I see it! Cardiff is under an hour away so is guess he'd live somewhere closer to there.

Ashley will be insured for the 2 mil payout, it won't be coming out of his own, SD or NUFC's pocket.

Wind I believe

Probably either the SD bonus payout or his moves to buy up shares in USC and JD Sports

Cash may not change hands, but SD will 'pay' for advertising due to related party transaction rules (more boring accountancy I'm afraid). Left pocket/right pocket for MA, but it would go towards any income the club generates and will need to be at a market rate (I'm guessing realistically we could look at the fee Arsenal get from Emirates if we wanted to put a top level amount on it for the UEFA FP regs)

AFAIK it is bought direct from the supplier. There's weird and wonderful tax legislation that would make it hard to make any benefit from pushing it through SD

Apart from all of the free advertising all around the ground. How do you know its free? Total speculation here, but who's to say that the sponsorship deal won't be worth 'x amount' a year when Financial Fair Play comes into effect, to counter any loses? "Oh, we made a £20m lose? OH well, that's how much I paid for sponsorship this season..." "Oh, we made a £15m lose this year? Yeah, that was the Sponsorship total." The first point here is interesting, and I've had second hand accounts of how Ashley rewards those loayl to him and who do a good job for him (one acount was for a receptionist who was on a SD night out in a casino. MA placed a £1000 bet on the roulette for her with the promise of any winnings going straight to her - lets just say she had a sore head that night). Conversely however, MA is ruthless with those who are not these things. And guess how he must feel about us fans? He's protecting his asset alright now, but would you spend millions of your own money on a crowd who have threatened your family?

If thats your opinion why dont you keep it to yourself. I think that this thread is quite interesting given that it involves the Sponsor of St James Park, The guy who owns it also owns NU. If this thread showed that Sports Direct made a loss it wouldn't be so pointless would it? The problem is that there are some people who will use this purely as a stick to beat MA with - i.e. that money could have been used for transfers etc, completely dis-regarding the fact that it is for a separate business and the money being used for these bonus payments belongs to SD and not MA. Anyway, fair play to the fat lad and his corporate crew for this - there's many a retailer who won't have this sort of incentive scheme for its staff, and lets be fair it must be hell on earther working in one of those shops for any decent period of time

I don't think the Carroll deal should be judged in hindsight based on what happens to the team afterwards. Let's face it, we sold him because the club needs income, the player wanted an improved/inflated contract and the deal was too good to turn down. That's it. Any other reason is just an attempt to justify an unpopular move. Added a key point to the reasons for the sale

Dave. 9m transfer fees, 65k wages, all these are "assumptions". You are assuming that he is available at this price, but who knows the truth? I use historical fact that is available so far. The best example for you is Phil Jones because there is a clause triggered and therefore his price is the most reasonable one. We have tried for Gameiro, Gervinho and Erdinc. Why are you ignoring them then? Because last time I checked points aren't handed out based on players you try for. Seeing as you're going big on facts, how do you know we lodged realistic bids for those players? All we have is speculation. Our bids might have given us no chance. Also I haven't seen any of them play so it's hard for me to judge whether or not they'd be good for us, I'll openly admit that. I know for a fact Carroll and Nolan were capable in this league, and the same applies to N'Zogbia. using the same logic then, you don't actually know what we have done, who we've bid for, how much etc ? so what are you complaining about ? Exactly, just look at when we missed out on signing Modric, we were straight back into the market and made sure we didn't miss out on our second choice, Danny Guthrie. Out of all the players that could have been chosen, Guthrie is probably the worst as he was ientified by Keegan as a player he wanted

Dave. 9m transfer fees, 65k wages, all these are "assumptions". You are assuming that he is available at this price, but who knows the truth? I use historical fact that is available so far. The best example for you is Phil Jones because there is a clause triggered and therefore his price is the most reasonable one. We have tried for Gameiro, Gervinho and Erdinc. Why are you ignoring them then? not that i'd want to answer on dave's behalf but the players we've tried to sign wont win us any points this season Hopefully going to drag this up when Gervinho scores an OG on the first day of the season

I kinda agree with this but at the same time to push on to the next level it's a must to spend big cash on the best players, you can't break the top 4 without doing it. I'd rather have a couple of building years and then add one or two cherries on the top tbh. You get the most out of the top pleayers by putting them on a decent platform, not by asking them to drag a team up by the scruff of the neck. of course, adding great players to the team now would be stupid Not what I meant obviously, but imo we will be better off in 3-4 years by building a solid first team and then adding your top players to it then by spunking our load now on one or two big fees

I kinda agree with this but at the same time to push on to the next level it's a must to spend big cash on the best players, you can't break the top 4 without doing it. I'd rather have a couple of building years and then add one or two cherries on the top tbh. You get the most out of the top pleayers by putting them on a decent platform, not by asking them to drag a team up by the scruff of the neck.