merlin

Cabaye was - and is - a very good player ; he was very keen to see the club progress after his excellent first season and was probably instrumental in getting Debuchy and other French players interested in joining NUFC, but he soon realised that the club was never going to fulfil its potential under Ashley and his minions so he eventually became disillusioned and left. In doing so, he has done just what many of the club's own supporters have done by refusing to renew STs and nobody could blame them for that so we can't make Cabaye out to be just a mercenary...he certainly WAS that to a degree, but no more so than many foreign players with English clubs and it could be argued that he thought more about NUFC than many other foreign players do about the club they play for. I certainly don't blame him for trying to do the best for himself and he would probably have still been a Newcastle player if we had progressed after finishing 5th. He will do well for Palace and he won't be the last Newcastle player to leave for a more ambitious club in the next few years.....

If Sissoko does not start to show more appetite for the game and improve his contribution under McClaren's managership, then he has to go ; the lad has the ability to be a m/f powerhouse, running into the box from deep positions but he rarely does so. Admittedly, Pardew and Carver played him on the wing most of the time but that is not his best position in my view. He is at an age when he has to deliver - he must start doing so.

If it wasn't for the fact that we are very short of strikers I would want him gone - he's 30 now and this is the last chance to get a fee of any sorts for him. He has never reached the heights of his 2011/12 campaign when he caught a lot of PL defenders by surprise and everything he hit went in. He will maybe get 10 goals a season and IF we were to sign Austin, I would sell Cisse - too much bad off-field publicity as well....

noooooot really You're right - it DOESN'T defy belief....this is Ashley's NUFC after all.....

Defies belief that the club have retained Coloccini and decided to skimp on replacing him adequately - Colo's pace has definitely gone and opposition managers will play on this right throughout the season. Retaining him for a year as a STANDBY, after buying a top class replacement would have been justified...but we all know this aint going to happen...

Agreed - quite liked the look of this lad and he never really got a chance under Pardew. Not the best around, but will be missed once injuries start piling up... As you hinted, everything about German football makes the amateurs in charge at SJP look like circus candidates...

This, absolutely - but there's no way Ashley will pay what WBA want for Berahino, whereas others - probably now including West Ham - will.

What's he said? I'm generally surprised at how negative he has been at times the last week or so, seems to be building up,to an excuse for out inevitable defeat against Southampton. Although many don't like him, Luke Edwards' article in the DT summed everything up - McClaren will be tightly under control by Ashley and his media minders ; don't expect ANYTHING from him which smacks of his own opinions or is in a major way critical of the way the club is run. He is one of Ashley's minions after all and will be aware that he could well have been out of a job had Ashley not taken him on after Derby fired him.

Haven't seen any pre-season games but the reports have been poor - that doesn't mean we are going to have a bad season but the main problem is surely that the new players have not been signed quickly enough. Pre-season is all about working up an understanding between the players, especially when a new manager and coaching team are in place and there had not been enough time for the 3 additions to get on the same wavelength as their new colleagues. All this is down to the grindingly-slow negotiations being held by the board, doubtlessly aimed at keeping costs down until income starts coming in. If people think back to 1995, we signed players like Ferdinand, Barton and Ginola quickly and all the new signings that came in had plenty of time to gel...we hit the ground running and almost won the league - that is never going to happen under this owner but we are STILL short of a decent CB and striker. I am not too worried about Mitrovic yet as he is young and will improve - he also has a decent record at a high level but will need PL experience ; crazy decision to play Mbemba at RB when we desperately need a decent CB pairing - he will be really tested next week and experiments with only one friendly left were not the way to go....he also will need to adjust to the PL quickly and it aint easy in the first season. Wijnaldum obviously has a proven pedigree and will be an asset when he adjusts to the pace but it seems to me that Aarons and Perez are going to be crucial to forward success. Aarons' injury record is a worry and we have to hope he stays fit - also that if he does, nobody comes in with a bid in Jan..... Once the real action starts, we will have a better idea of what is going to happen but with the current side it is hard to see a finish above 10th-12th place...the addition of a PROVEN CB and Striker may make a big difference to that - we shall see....

Williamson is so far out of his depth in the PL that someone should throw him a lifebelt with 'Championship bottom 6' written on it. He cannot read a game at this level, lacks decent pace and is woeful in the air for a big CD. He needs to go and quickly, or rather, we need to replace him with a much better player quickly - he could scrape through some games when Colo was a fitter and faster partner who bailed him out but he cannot stand on his own merits. An ENORMOUS weak link in the side.

He's a kid still really, so have to give him a bit of leeway I think. Think he came across really well in that interview that was just posted. Going to be very interesting. Looking forward to the season. Yes, he is still young, but people forget that Supermac was only 21 when we signed him from Luton - like Mitrovic, he was very confident in his ability(he rolled up in a white RR at SJP...!) and he delivered straight away. Macdonald scored 30 goals in his first season and became a much better player over the years. He was all left foot when he arrived but his heading improved dramatically. Lets hope Mitrovic has a similar impact but I'm not expecting anything like 30 goals....

No time for Moncur - despite watching him score 3 times over the 2 legs of the Fairs Cup Final, one of the most memorable occasions of following NUFC, and lifting our last major trophy, he has always had a tendency to be patronizing about the fans. After the meek capitulation against Liverpool at Wembley in 74, he was interviewed on TTTV after the club's parade through the city and instead of apologizing and promising to try to make up for the shambles like Supermac did, he merely produced a B&W flat cap, and said ' this to me characterizes the Geordie supporter - a fan gave this to me and said put that on your head Bob'....that was about the sum total of his contribution. Macdonald did his level best in the following 2 years to try to get us another day at Wembley, and he and the rest of the 1976 side did just that although a flu-ridden side lost 2-1 to Man C after a fighting performance - all Moncur has done since was to give grudging praise to KK's management during his 5 years from 92-97 and then to hastily back every shonky leader of the club since, surpassing himself with this sell-out to Ashley... Compare that to Alan Shearer, who despite being a far more high profile player, has given up his box at SJP, probably in solidarity with the fans.... There was, reputedly, two opposing groups of players during Moncur's time at the club, mainly that led by him and those who were part of Supermac's group - you can see why now..!

It would be a real smack in the eye for Ashley/Charnley, but hardly a chance of it happening - McCLaren needs a bit of time to get some more dosh into his bank although if anyone half decent offered him a management position, he MIGHT just do it....likely to have been stitched up tighter than a sailor's burial suit in his contract though because Ashley won't want a repeat of the KK walk-out and there will be clauses about Breach of Contract etc. Now if another club was prepared to pay Ashley compensation......

...and then on top of that, we have Charnley & Ashley too...!

Janmaat is far too good a player(and professional)to be at a no-hope outfit like NUFC ; he was very much on Liverpool's radar and he will do very well there if they sign him in summer. Frankly, I couldn't care less - any player who is decent will be sold from Newcastle and if they want a decent career they should leave. Nobody should get attached to any player because the club IS a selling club and will remain so for years.

The answer to the question posed by this thread is quite obvious from where I'm sitting - why WOULDN'T the site be targeted by Ashley's stooges, they try to control the press etc..?

On the button - he will be there for the foreseeable future like a latter day Doug Ellis...

The Derby result/performance made absolutely NO difference to my views about the club - it merely confirmed what a stain the present set-up is on the club's once-proud history and there is little, if any, chance of this ever changing. I have been finished with NUFC as a proper fan for over a year now and the matches are just incidental in the performance of the whole club. I said over a year ago that I wouldn't step into SJP EVER again until Ashley had gone and I mean every word. Coming from someone who has been a fervent fan since the 60s and who took part in the Magpie Group's ousting of McKeag & Co, you can see what damage these deceitful toe-rags who run the club have done to the bond that used to exist between fans and club because I am by NO means alone.... As far as I am concerned, those who continue to back Ashley & Co are alien beings to what NUFC fans used to be - they clearly are closet masochists and must have money to chuck away...I have no fellow feeling with them whatsoever so that makes it easier to cut ties all round. NUFC is just a laughing stock and Ashley is the one laughing loudest and longest whilst mugs keep lining his pockets and turning up to take turns in the barrel - pathetic. Right now, I cannot imagine that I will EVER see a game at SJP again and I don't care either.

Tiote will be gone by the start of next season - have thought so for ages.

Totally disagree - you've got your view, I've got mine.

You are becoming a voice in the wilderness my friend - just like many others on here.

What fans think we need, and what Ashley & Co think we need are two very different things - if either player was subject of a decent bid, they would be off before you can say 'sell-out'. However, my money is on one of Janmaat, Sissoko or even Krul before these guys but Perez has a better chance of quick departure than Cabella.

As I said earlier in this thread, Liverpool contemplated trying to gazump us for Janmaat in the close season ; they will be regretting not doing so because they will have to fork out another few mill to get him - but get him they almost certainly will. The lad is an excellent RB and will prove himself top quality in their team - totally wasted at the circus called NUFC and its a wonder he is still producing good performances in a side that clearly doesn't care for most of the time. Far better than both Beye and Debuchy in my opinion and I wish him well when he leaves.

The only thing Ashley regrets is that its all gone pear-shaped and shown him up for the conniving penny-pincher and asset-stripper that he really is - he is terrified that one day the Sky cameras will show a half-empty SJP and his credibility will be illustrated for what it really is....all smoke and mirrors. Carver is just another Ashley puppet and stooge.