Martin Lol

Sounds like JJ is on his way to Inter. God, I hope we don't replace him with Nolan. Doesn't even bear thinking about.

Dunno but there's ITK's saying we've bid £1m for Kevin Nolan

Not exactly a transfer but Spurs are withdrawing from the Premier League Reserve League to be replaced by some friendly matches and mini tournaments to be arranged as and when necessary. The promising youngsters (and there a few) are more likely to go out on loan to Championship or League 1 sides. QPR want Danny Rose, Forest want Chris Gunter and Dorian Dervite, WBA want Dean Parrett, Watford are asking about John Bostock, amongst others. Never really thought about it before but as the Reserve League generally speaking slows down player development, it makes sense to me. http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/reservesnews120609.html

Oh, that's an interesting and insightful opinion that hasn't been covered before HUNDREDS OF f***ing TIMES EVERY DAY BY EVERY POSTER ON THE f***ing FORUM. Go back to copying and pasting made up ITK knowledge from other Spurs forums, it's far more entertaining. Just in case you'd forgotten................

Who's been relegated from the PL without debt then? Are you being thick? Don't we owe MA £100m? He's written it off. But, I'd rather still owe the 70m debt the club had 2 years ago and remain in the PL. Comprende? Yeah, obviously. But that debt was still there the day we got relegated. It's only since then it's been written off (and even that looks iffy) - so debt levels had nothing to do with our being relegated. He increased them during our stint in the top flight. We were relegated primarily for not investing in new players in the 3 windows, it was argued at the time here and elsewhere and by Mashley that we had to get the books in order first. Maybe, but the apathy around the January transfer when it was obvious to everyone that improvements to the squad had to be done beggared belief. That was the critical window.

It's not going to be an easy league to get out of. Leeds, Southampton, Norwich etc would like to be back in it.

Doesn't the vast majority of Chairmen of football clubs take out as much as they can get? I think most fans will tolerate the Chairman taking a thick wedge if he does what is necessary to keep the club from being relegated. It isn't Shepherd's mismanagement that has taken Newcastle to where you are today, it's Ashley's. Shepherd has made many mistakes but wasn't found lacking in investing in the club if relegation was looming. I can't think of another club that has ever made a profit on transfer dealings in the January transfer window while sitting in the bottom 3.

As an outsider looking in, I don't believe that Fat Fred would have allowed Newcastle to get relegated, he's passionate about the club. You, like Spurs, were in a mess. Levy spent his way out of trouble in the January window, I believe Fat Fred would have done the same, Ashley opted to make a profit on his dealings. If Shepherd was in Ashley's shoes right now, you could guarantee that he wouldn't be sitting on his hands wondering what to do like what is happening now. I'm not saying Shepherd was/would be the perfect chairman but there's a hell of a lot worse options out there. Better the devil you know and all that.

I'm not sure that but Arsenal will want to buy Bassong with Thomas Vermaelen seemingly on the verge of completion. I don't think Bassong to Spurs is likely either, I cant see Levy paying £12m or anything like that. With half the Spurs hierachy in Spain trying to do a deal for RVN and 'Arry in Ecuador watching Argentina, there's not a lot of people about who could actually arrange a transfer anyway.

Bentley is apparently saying that talks are underway to take him to Man City. Hughes got the very best out of him but when you can afford any player on the planet, do you really want to sign Bentley, even if he did play well before? Bentley seems to think so. I think Lescott could wind up with City as well, good defender. Shame Dr Spectrum isn't around to see it all, think he would have enjoyed it.

Wouldnt it be hillarious if he turned into a world beater Even Steven Spielberg couldn't have dreamed up a scenario like that!!

Bruce is a far better option than Keane or Sbragia ever were. Gets on very well with Wenger who pointed Palacios and Valencia in his direction. I think Sunderland could do very well next season.

Not necessarily. Maybe Taylor has no wish to move down south even if the club want him to.

I'm guessing that MA's mate won't be bidding to buy NUFC off him. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/24/paul-kemsley-lehman-bets-spreadex Lehmans bet lands tycoon in high court Nick Mathiason The Observer, Sunday 24 May 2009 It was a brave call. In the week before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, Paul Kemsley, one of the property world's most colourful figures, placed a series of bets, each worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, that shares in the doomed US financial giant would recover. In many ways, it was a reasonable gamble. That Lehman Brothers would be allowed to fail was almost inconceivable. In fact, on the weekend prior to its bankruptcy it appeared that there were two suitors vying to rescue the US giant. But that wager and a series of others are at the heart of a dispute now heading to a high court trial following a ruling in the Royal Courts of Justice last Wednesday. In that ruling, it also emerged that retail tycoon Sir Philip Green volunteered to lend his friend £2m to meet a margin call. The situation faced by Kemsley comes as a surprise because he is considered very wealthy. A well-known figure in the London and New York property market, his businesses are said to be trading well despite difficult conditions. He has a history of making property investment and share transactions and built up a large position in property firm Quintain. He sold his stake to HBOS, which then unsuccessfully attempted to buy the whole company. In 2004 Rock, his investment vehicle backed by currency speculator Joe Lewis, built up a 28% stake in Countryside Properties. Kemsley sold to Alan Cherry, the chairman and founder of Countryside, with backing from HBOS, making a £12m profit. His most spectacular deal involved a building in the heart of the City, which Kemsley and HBOS bought for £40m and sold for a £30m profit to a former Russian deputy finance minister just five months later. The gamble by Kemsley, who is an associate of Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley and Apprentice supremo Sir Alan Sugar, was placed with Spreadex, a leading spread betting firm that he regularly used. The dispute between the two is over a £2m "margin security" to cover losses suffered on a series of spread bets. Spreadex made an application to the high court to get a summary judgment without the need for a full trial. That was rejected last Wednesday on the grounds that "there was a direct conflict of evidence which would ... be inappropriate for the court to resolve on a summary judgment". Spreadex was given leave to appeal, and costs settlements have been deferred until a full hearing. Like the rest of the financial community, Kemsley - who already had racked up large debts with Spreadex - is believed to have reacted with shock when he learned that, rather than being rescued by a rival bank, Lehman Brothers had crashed into bankruptcy. That event increased losses in other bets made with Spreadex as world markets collapsed. Spreadex's case is that an agreement was in place that if Kemsley's losses exceeded £3.6m, he would pay £2m as "margin security" within 24 hours to cover them. By last October, Kemsley's debt easily exceeded that figure and Spreadex claims it said to the former Tottenham vice-chairman that if the money could not be paid, his positions would be closed. Kemsley says that he did not agree to have the positions closed, that he was in a position to pay the margin call, and that there had been a misunderstanding. Kemsley's lawyers have issued a counterclaim against Spreadex to get security for legal costs, in the event that the firm has to pay his fees. Kemsley believes it is hard to gauge the strength of the firm's finances as it has not filed "account information of value" since March 2008. For Spreadex, the situation is "frustrating" because when a spread betting firm receives a bet from a punter, it takes out the same bet with a counterparty broker to cover itself in the event of a big payout. Spreadex claims it has already paid out on that counterparty bet on Kemsley's losses, which it believes indicates its financial strength. When asked about the bet on Lehman Brothers, Kemsley's lawyer stated that the wagers were part of Spreadex's claim. He added that Kemsley believes that "if Spreadex [had] behaved properly" and not closed certain other positions on company shares, Kemsley's position would be far more favourable than is now the case. Kemsley believes Spreadex should have acted more responsibly by not allowing him to take on positions when he was already in debt. The situation is a dilemma for spread betting firms: if they act, they could offend clients, and altering the terms of existing agreements may make them liable to claims against them. Kemsley, Spreadex and Green all declined to comment.

And I don't want him at Spurs either as Louise Taylor is suggesting.

Agreed. You would have thought Ashley would have learnt his lesson with the Keegan debacle but it seems not. With Sky now saying probably no more news until early next week, the odds would be against Shearer taking the job on. If he was likely to accept the job, Ashley would, as you say, just give Shearer what he wants.

Arsenal are interested but they won't pay anything like £15m either. They too are really looking for experience though.

Having bought Defoe, Keane, Palacios et al, I don't think anyone was surprised that there would have to be some sales before more purchases. At least in 'Arry we have a proven wheeler dealer. If he can get Bentley and cash to Villa with Barry going in the opposite direction, which is being widely mentioned, I'd be delighted but I don't think there's a cat in hell's chance it will actually happen.

:lol: It looks like Footylatest read the Chronicle article as well. There are some quotes as well but that doesn't necessarily mean Bassong actually said them! http://www.footylatest.com/arsenal-aston-villa-spurs-and-man-city-fighting-over-15m-newcastle-defender/ Arsenal, Aston Villa, Spurs and Man City fighting over £15m Newcastle defenderMay - 28 - 2009 It has been reported today that Arsenal are very keen on the Newcastle defender Sebastian Bassong, who has indicated that he has no intention of playing in the Championship next season. Aston Villa, Tottenham and Man City have also been impressed with Bassong’s form this season, and with Bassong looking to stay in the top flight will all have a chance. Newcastle are keen for him to stay at St. James Park, so it will take a high bid of around £15m to persuade them to part with the ex-Metz man, who only joined Newcastle at the end of last summer. His performances have earned him a call-up to the Caneroon national squad. Bassong told reporters: “Everybody knows that I am an ambitious boy, and playing Championship football never crossed my mind. “You have to have a plan for your career, and playing in the second division would be a step backward.”

The same could be said about Coloccini, apparently he is still well thought off in Spain. I wouldn't be surprised if you got £10/11m for the pair, but the rest? What KeithKettleborough said.

I wasn't having a pop.

Bassong is probably already on the radar of a few PL teams. Better news would be his announcement that he wants to stay with Newcastle and work to bounce right back. That's quite possibly the most staggeringly obvious statement I've ever seen you make. More relevance than deciding which international team to play for to be fair.

Bassong is probably already on the radar of a few PL teams. Better news would be his announcement that he wants to stay with Newcastle and work to bounce right back.

I think one problem is the sheer number of teams in the Championship who are capable of going on a run of wins. A very good team could wind up mid table if they meet a lot of opposion teams on the top of their game.

So, given that you haven't seen the Newcastle youth teams basically what you're saying is that you've no idea as to whether we'll be in a better position than Sunderland to promote kids into the first team squad? No, but the Sunderland Academy kids were sufficiently collectively better to come top by a significant margin. The main point is that if Newcastle are going to speedily return to the Premier League, it will be more likely with talented players experienced at the Championship level rather than youngsters, no matter how promising, who are still learning thier trade (in my humble opinion). I wonder where we will find those talented players with experience seeing as we couldn't attract them in January when we could offer them a Premiership place? I would have thought it is totally different now. Ashley is a far wiser man now than he was then, Newcastle were a good sized fish in the Premier League pool and now are a very large fish is a Championship pool. I would have no doubts Newcastle could attract the players needed to get them out of the Championship, transfer funds permitting. My one reservation is whether it will be possible to get the influx of a lot of new players to gel into a team quickly enough to get promotion next season. Personally, I doubt it, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong.