Unbelievable

Excellent!

Pretty strong team that..

This confirmed then?

So, that's what, £100k a week on wages doing nowt, £5m for the season? As if we'd sanction that. Hold on a sec, I thought extra wages were coming out of the transfer funds? In which case it wouldn't matter. Now there is some barrier beyond which we can't sanction an extra signing because Alan Smith has 11 months left on his contract. this really is getting beyond ridiculous now. We're clearly penny pinching, so you honestly think we'd pay Xisco & Smith £5m for the season knowing we can't use them even in an emergency? Bollocks man. We're too tight to just give money like that away. Are you defending what you think they WILL do, or what you think they SHOULD do..? I haven't defended a thing. All I've said is until some of those senior players on the fringes go, we'll not be signing anyone. Ok, so that's what you think they WILL do. Do you personally think that is what they SHOULD do?

You want facts? Check our record for transfer spending since Ashley joined. Also, since you are suddenly so big on facts, why are you including Erdinc in our squad like he's already signed? Spent about £48m (up to now) haven't we, in the 4 season he's been here? That's not a bad outlay for someone who many claim won't spend on players. How much did we rake in in incoming transfer fees in that time? Your point seemed to be about our spending, not recouping of fees. You know what I meant, or should have..

So, that's what, £100k a week on wages doing nowt, £5m for the season? As if we'd sanction that. Hold on a sec, I thought extra wages were coming out of the transfer funds? In which case it wouldn't matter. Now there is some barrier beyond which we can't sanction an extra signing because Alan Smith has 11 months left on his contract. this really is getting beyond ridiculous now. We're clearly penny pinching, so you honestly think we'd pay Xisco & Smith £5m for the season knowing we can't use them even in an emergency? Bollocks man. We're too tight to just give money like that away. Are you defending what you think they WILL do, or what you think they SHOULD do..?

You want facts? Check our record for transfer spending since Ashley joined. Also, since you are suddenly so big on facts, why are you including Erdinc in our squad like he's already signed? Spent about £48m (up to now) haven't we, in the 4 season he's been here? That's not a bad outlay for someone who many claim won't spend on players. How much did we rake in in incoming transfer fees in that time?

It's quite funny that for a long time people were criticising the club for their lack of communication and now whenever anything happens we just pray to god that they shut the **** up. Strange choice of wording. "Tragic", "indicative" maybe, but "funny"..?

You want facts? Check our record for transfer spending since Ashley joined. Also, since you are suddenly so big on facts, why are you including Erdinc in our squad like he's already signed?

That will be next summer then. Gives you almost a full year to come up with another gullible excuse for our continued lack of ambition..

Link please

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/9397088.stm

I was thinking more along the lines of him signing the contract, or handing in a transfer request, you know, the way things should be done. He's stooped to Ashley's levels and people are buying it purely down to their hatred of the board. Where has this reverence of the sanctity of professionalism in football come from? Any, more pertinently, why can Ashley lie and cheat, but Enrique has to suffer in silence before releasing a few discrete words in his memoirs aged 40. If he can change his situation now by going public, why wouldn't he? The whole, "I'll wait until we're safe" thing, even after the "no capital outlay, bring players through the ranks to sell, etc" not ring any bells? He knew when he made that remark what Ashley was like, yet still played us for fools himself. Quote from Jose Enrique himself please..?

We knew this when the club statement after promotion (no capital outlay, bring players through youth ranks to sell), and it's been well documented about the wage structure, so why the surprise and need for players to run their mouths? Jose knew this when he said, 'I'll wait until we're safe' etc. Pardew said words to that effect, not Jose. Maybe part of the things he claims they have been lying about..?

Knew you'd be here defending them Ian . £4m net spend not been underwhelming then? Right, you would much rather this board was just a one-way discussion with everyone agreeing with eachother. Nothing has changed man, Enrique was always on the way out. The fact he claims the club's management have lied to us about his contract situation doesn't mean anything to you then?

Are you even reading what he's tweeted? Course I am, I know the board are liars but when he wants to leave there's no need whatsoever for this to be made public. Even with all the lying, off the pitch, we're still going about making tidy signings and the making of a decent side. Just don't see what he was expecting from this other than being put on the transfer list, which to be honest, isn't surprising. He's trying to tell you (us fans) something because he respects us and genuinely thinks we deserve better. Maybe you should listen and let it sink in for a second?

If this is how Enrique currently feels, makes you wonder about the mental state of the other two amigos..

Thanks for everything Jose, on and off the pitch..

Over 30 hours without as much as a post in this thread... Starting to feel like this transfer windows was all foreplay..

Give over!

Unless I'm falsely implying a cause and effect between your two statements, why would they need to get rid of the clause in order to be able to sell him..? Wasn't his new deal a vastly better one than the previous contract he had (remember reading something to the tune of a 16k wage rise)?

Spot on. Getting £35m is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity and I saw this as the very last chance for Ashley to win me over, yet it isn't going to plan (for the fans, anyway). This could've been the summer where we got rid of the deadwood and used our financial 'warchest' to really push on and yet we still have those weaknesses you mentioned. And before anyone says "Wait til Septemeber 1st", the writings on the wall, really. It's looking very unlikely that we'll spend more than £10m net and whilst the club can spin it by saying we paid for a bore hole and a new gate, they're not pulling the wool over my eyes. To see it another way, from last season we've gained Cabaye, Ba, Marveaux, Gosling, Ben Arfa and Abeid, whilst only losing Nolan - so our attacking options have vastly improved. But we absolutely need a striker, a back up LB and a versatile defender that fills in at RB or CB. Despite there being plenty of time left to solve these problems, I have no faith in Ashley/Llambias/Pardew to do so.

If he does well, we can offer him a new deal in January, if not, he goes for nowt and we've not really lost anything. If he does well, every non-English team can offer him a deal in January?

Oh great, now people are going to start analyzing his speed and acceleration compared to last season and come out with all sorts of theories including conspiracies why the club agree to buy a crocked player Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself there apal..?

He's never played in Lens' first team, has he? If he wasn't ready for Ligue 1, how would he suddenly be ready for the Premiership? We got him because he has potential and was available on a free. I don't think it's right to expect anything spectacular from him in his first season.