cosmic

Don't forget Steve Stone

Ashley is reverting NUFC back to the pre-Rafa model of buying players and giving them to the 'head coach'. Their job is then to make the player impress so the player can then be sold on at a profit. We're back to being a stepping stone club. Do well at NUFC and you'll be sold on to a better club. So Charnley makes the final call on who to sign on recommendations of Scouting team???

Steve McMahon was the public face of Profitable Group but it was a scam. Doubt they were real bidders. https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/profitable-plots-case-directors-jailed-3million-scam

Friday & Saturday are weekends in Middle East. So Sunday is the new Monday

Changed the game when he came on and his wicked freekick/assist was much better any other set play in recent times

The streaming boxes are a bigger problem for many Asian Broadcasters. For about GBP80 annually, you can watch ALL EPL games and all other non football channels too. Just go to Aliexpress and you can see the choice of boxes

Rafa said he hopes to complete the transfers by 20 Jan. Announcement will be either be then or whenever he completes his list of preferred list of January signings (loan & permanent)

Look on the bright side....he has signed permanently. Imagine the horror and fear if he got long term injury and doesn't fulfill the minimum number of games to make his transfer permanent.

Looks like Dietmar Hamman and with good sense of humour to boot http://nypost.com/2017/07/20/a-rare-peek-at-the-surprisingly-funny-nets-billionaire-owner/

http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/163574190511/george-weahs-cousin-is-ian-cathro-doomed-at George Weah’s Cousin - Is Ian Cathro doomed at Hearts? The tale of Ali Dia is perhaps one of the most entertaining bits of entirely innocent skullduggery in the annals of modern football. Player tries to get a club in the UK, ends up in non-league looking out of his depth after failing at trials at various lower league English clubs. Soon after, one of Dia’s mates calls up Graeme Souness, says that Dia is the cousin of then international superstar George Weah and that he should give him a look. Souness, doesn’t give him a look and, instead, signs him to a one month deal doesn’t see him play a reserve game due to weather and, instead, puts him on for his debut in a Premier League game, replacing Matt le Tissier as a sub, gets subbed himself and then is quickly released after Souness realises he’s been had. It’s an undeniably funny tale, made all the more entertaining by the fact that it happened to Graeme Souness. And some could be forgiven for thinking that it’s happening in Scotland. Ian Cathro might have brought with him extensive references from Rafa Benitez among other football luminaries, but if you were to tell Hearts fans he was a journeyman who had never and would never make it, then many of them might just think that you were right. Is this the right hand man to Rafa Benitez and a man who sowed the seeds for a near impeccable generation of Dundee United youth talent. Or is this some chancer who locked that guy up in a cupboard, made a pretendy CV and is actually some lookalike called Steve, from Coatbridge who is second cousin to Garry O’Connor? There has certainly been precious little evidence that Cathro is anything approaching even a managerial mediocrity, never mind a managerial genius. This has been a stick used to beat the statistical community with, which is wrong - Cathro’s methodology is sound, but how it is put into practice has varied between ham-fisted and cocked up. The enigmatic recruitment of his first transfer window ended in a mess and the recruitment of his second is all sound on paper, but on the pitch it has led to embarrassing losses to Peterhead and Dunfermline in the League Cup. That isn’t necessarily enough to condemn him on - for Hearts and many clubs, the BetFred Cup group stages is a way through pre-season, rather than to be the finished article from day one. To fire a manager based on having a poor BetFred Cup group would be akin to Manchester United sacking Jose Mourinho because they had a poor International Champions Cup campaign - call it proper competitive fixtures all you like, everyone knows that it’s not quite the real deal. But, as omens go, it’s not exactly a good one. Hearts’ Tynecastle refurb puts them away from home for the first four games, and none are especially nice trips. Pencilling in the first Edinburgh derby of the season as Cathro’s D Day is starting to approach the realms of wild-eyed optimism - it’s going to come a fair way earlier than that. The problem for Cathro isn’t his past performance - some of that is excusable. It’s not the current performance - making a team takes time. It’s that if you conjure up a name, you can imagine they’d do better than Cathro is right now. Robbie Neilson? Definitely. Paul Hartley? Probably. Gary Locke? 50-50. Richard Wilson, writer and opinion breather of thefootballlife.co.uk? Even that bell-end would stand a chance of doing better than Cathro. With the greatest of respect to Cathro, the problem Hearts have isn’t just that they now, on paper, have all of the pieces together, it’s that even if you don’t get those pieces working together as you’d like immediately, you should still be beating a part time side like Peterhead with consummate ease. Their deficiencies now defy explanation save to say that Ian Cathro, however good a coach or different an interpreter of the language of football he is, simply doesn’t have the knack for being the leading man. It is not a question of “will the real Ian Cathro please stand up” - he’s already standing yet simultaneously on his knees. That Cathro simply doesn’t have it is no criticism, nor is it a bad thing. It’s not even something that can be backed up with facts or quantified or analysed. xG or xA can’t explain away why Hearts’ performances have been x-rated. Whatever the human element or characteristic that one needs to be a good manager, Cathro simply doesn’t seem to have. He remains a proven high-class coach and a top analyst. Yes, unquestionably, he deserves a chance to put whatever plan it is that he actually has into effect. But also, unquestionably, we are beyond the point where we can reasonably expect that plan to materialise itself in some sort of cogent manner. Hearts, as mentioned in their season preview on this site earlier this week, will have a good season - either Cathro will come good or someone else will come in, take a team which is undoubtedly a highly talented one, and get them playing. Even now, the balance seems to be tipping inexorably towards it being the latter that will happen and not the former.

Seems Josh Murphy was the one to watch during their younger days. He made 9 appearances with Norwich in the Premiership 2013-2014 season whilst wor Jacob was on loan with Southend and Swindon. Hope Josh stagnated and we got the right Murphy twin

Nothing a £100M investment from the Chinese can't solve. Besides, we have Rafa and they have the grumpy dutchie.

http://www.espnfc.com/newcastle-united/story/3139116/alan-pardew-devastated-by-cheick-tiote-death-i-loved-him Sincere words from Pardew Former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew issued a heartfelt message of sympathy following the death of his former player Cheick Tiote on Monday. The Ivory Coast international died at the age of 30 after collapsing during training with his club Beijing Enterprises on Monday, and the coach who worked with Tiote throughout his four-year stint as Newcastle manager offering these words of shock following the news. "I'm devastated to hear the news about my former player and friend Cheick Tiote," Pardew said. "From the moment I arrived at Newcastle, Cheick was a wonderful presence around the dressing room and his performances on the field often defied belief. "There were days when he must have covered every blade of grass on a football field and it didn't surprise me that clubs like Manchester United were being linked with attempts to sign him. "None of us will ever forget that incredible day when our Newcastle team came from 4-0 down to draw an unbelievable Premier League game against Arsenal, with Cheick's incredible goal in the final moments of that game one of the iconic moments in Premier League history. "I loved him. He was everything that you want in a Newcastle player. He had the quality, and of course you'll never underestimate the fact that he wants to win. "I just loved that he was a winner. It can overcome so many obstacles as a footballer. Young players could take a big leaf out of his book in terms of how he approaches training and games and he was a special young man. "To hear the news that he has passed away at the age of 30 breaks my heart and my sympathies go out to all his family and friends who will be devastated by this news. "Life if not fair sometime and I will remember Cheick Tiote as a giant of a midfielder who I loved to managed. Rest in peace my friend."

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/amazing-rafa-benitez-story-offer-13003319 “I wrote five names on a napkin. Clearly one was Higuain, then there were Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Gomez" Rafa rates Dzeko and his transfer fee from Manc City to Roma was 15M quid including loan fee of 4M. Surely he is realistic and has experience of Premiership too.

If his knees are really shot, goodbye to the big wages he was obviously seeking. Lucky to even get a contract after current runs out.

'For Arbeloa, I only have my words of gratitude. In my 16 years as a coach I have him in my podium of the most important players of whom I've worked with. A good player and an exceptional man.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3578399/Jose-Mourinho-rates-Alvaro-Arbeloa-important-player-worked-with.html#ixzz4AdFWWgFt

Ashley's first goal of saving on wages in June has been met. Next goal is save on airfares and lodging for the upcoming trip to US so that means only signing new players after the trip. Unless they are already in US.....

Didn't SM wanted to get his team in by Mon? Guess not this Mon ...

Who's our Head Of Sports Science? I'm guessing that would be Steve Stone. Do we even have such a position or believe in any of the mumbo jumbo black magic stuff like Sports Science? We had some Video Analyst that has since followed Pardew to Palace. We do have one after all....introducing John Fitzpatrick, the Sports Scientist at NUFC https://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-fitzpatrick/58/915/832

Who's our Head Of Sports Science? I'm guessing that would be Steve Stone. Do we even have such a position or believe in any of the mumbo jumbo black magic stuff like Sports Science? We had some Video Analyst that has since followed Pardew to Palace.

From DCFC website...seems his usual entourage are Paul Simpson (Coach), Eric Steele (Goalkeeping Coach) & Alessandro Schoenmaker (Head Of Sports Science). Can't be worse than current lot

Clement reminds me of Steve Clarke. Quiet, studious behind the scene type. Probably more suited to be a Number 2 supporting a real leader than be main man. PV on other hand is a leader in the way he speaks, carries himself and his playing record alone will sweep away all doubts that he is da BIG BOSS

Didn't Pardew come in without his own team except for Woodman? And Pulis also work with existing or new team at Palace and now WBA? Not that these are the best examples ...

He's got 'official' in his name Can't decide if I prefer Ashley to sell now or keep to status quo and get Garde in. New owner new ideas. Dreaming of King Kev riding in with the new owners !

About right timing for us once Garde bugger off to to Gooners, having won the FA Cup in his first full season.