Paully

Mark Douglas When Yohan Cabaye staged his own wildcat strike at Newcastle United to try to force through a move to Arsenal, Alan Pardew apparently consulted with a senior player about the next move. Pardew prided himself on being a players’ manager and said he was thinking of criticising Cabaye in front of the other players. The message that came back was that Cabaye was their friend, they understood his frustration (many would hope to be moved on themselves if a Champions League club came in for them) and that being critical of him would not go down well. So Pardew – who never publicly stated whether Cabaye was fined – backed off. Crisis averted, player appeased and then coaxed into some of his best performances – before heading off to Paris Saint-Germain. When people ask why Cabaye would sign for Crystal Palace, that anecdote should be informative. The ex-Newcastle boss can offer three things: a team completely built around him (as it was at Newcastle), indulgence and, finally, London. It seems clear that Pardew is pressing the issue, briefing people in South London that a deal can be done. Newcastle have been offered him too but a deal doesn’t seem so likely here. It’s mystifying, really: bringing the midfielder back might not make financial sense but there would be a clear route to pleasing an increasingly fractious crowd. And, more importantly, he would instantly be Newcastle’s best player. As we stretch towards the 40th day since Mike Ashley’s end-of-season intervention and guarantee, it is starting to feel like the rest of the Premier League is increasingly moving in different circles to the Yohan Cabaye during his time at St James' Park Perhaps that is just the impression that early inactivity gives but Stoke’s move for Xedran Shaqiri, Palace’s for Cabaye and Swansea’s for Eder and Andre Ayew illustrate the shifting sands in the middle bit of the Premier League that Newcastle are currently battling in. They might not come off but Stoke putting up £12m for a player of serious class, and Palace talking to Paris Saint-Germain about Cabaye back up what many in football believe about this transfer window: it’s going to be an extraordinary one. A high-ranking official at a club not a million miles away from Newcastle in the current pecking order told me this week that many millions would be spent. The reason? This is the year to shore up your Premier League status. With a new TV deal about to kick in, it has never been more important to separate yourself from the fight at the bottom. The thinking for many is that spending £12m in the summer is better than getting to January and being in such a difficult position that you then need to invest double that – or more – merely to keep yourself on the top-flight gravy train. And the cost of not being in the Premier League from the start of the season after next is going to be huge, possibly as much as £35m. From 2016/17 even the team finishing in 20th place will pocket a minimum of £99m – which is more than the £65m QPR banked this year merely for turning up and doing a not particularly good job of fighting the drop. Against this backdrop, United’s inaction seems puzzling. The ambition at the start of the summer was clear – six players who would mark a definitive break from the bargain buys and slightly muddled recruitment drive of 2014. But United haven’t done more than discussed a deal with Charlie Austin yet. Old problems remain. As much as it might infuriate us, the North East is a difficult sell to players. Believe it or not, hawking Ipswich or Norwich to players is easier than Newcastle sometimes because it’s an hour away from London. It wouldn’t be that way if Newcastle had a compelling sell, of course, but there’s too much bad feeling around the club. The way Steve McClaren’s appointment was handled was hardly proof to outsiders that a break from the negativity was on its way. Back then McClaren spoke of a top-eight target and Cup runs. The squad at the moment is the same one that broke the record for consecutive top-flight defeats. United shouldn’t – and won’t, if they do recruit – be in the relegation fight in arguably the most valuable Premier League season ever. But they have a tough start and time is of the essence. Never mind repairing old wounds and convincing supporters, the bottom line is that financially it doesn’t make sense to chase the perfect deal. The cost to Newcastle of going down next season would be huge. Surely putting it that way is converting into a language that Ashley and his cohorts understand?

Me It’s the same manager he had at Chippa United (South African Premier League!) where he was before The Heed!

My mate has once again dropped his 7 a side team (mercenary pig!) in the shit and signed for this lot after being at The Heed last season! Hopefully he can have a good run of being injury-free! http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/c468f2387dc50838177772d9c0833e9b.jpg

Amazing how 54% were that gullible!

Lovely! http://www.thesportbible.com/articles/sweden-u21s-celebrate-european-championship-victory-with-a-spot-of-trolling

Close to signing for Palace in a cut price deal according to several sources

Don't remind me as I had £10 on him to score first! It was vs Arsenal in the Champions League qualifier!

Ba's variation of goals was unreal! His first touch for his first at Norwich and then finish were quality!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/26/bae489fe110062faaf3633ea191b80d2.jpg

I'm with HTT once again! Ba was the best we've since Shearer for me too!

Some nice contradictions from Andrew Fowler! Newcastle United feedback: Remy Cabella will come good, given new coach and time http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-feedback-remy-cabella-9530359

I wondered why Rio Ave stood out in my head! Newcastle United believe they have landed one of the best up-and-coming coaches in football in Ian Cathro. At 28 some may raise eyebrows and wonder why a lad who many Newcastle fans probably haven’t even heard of finds himself in such a position of responsibility. However, while Cathro’s own playing CV does not extend beyond youth stints with Forfar, Clyde and then Brechin, the Scottish coach is deemed hot property in the coaching world. Last season alone he helped guide Valencia to the Champions League play-offs after assisting Nuno Espirito Santo at the club that finished fourth in La Liga. Since working with the former Porto keeper at the Mestalla the pair lost just six games from 42 matches. And last term they managed to take four points from six from Real Madrid no less, beating them on home turf then picking up a point at the Bernabéu. I actually witnessed the work of Nuno and Cathro two summers ago when their old club Rio Ave took on Newcastle in a pre-season game on a sunny day in Portugal. That day, thanks to tactics drawn up by the duo, the Magpies were swept aside in Vila do Conde. It may have only been a friendly match, but Nuno and Cathro’s side looked hungry. In a 3-1 win they outworked Alan Pardew’s Magpies and, as the game went on, they quickly sussed out Newcastle and exploited the notable gaps. On paper, a team containing Premier League players such as Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, Steven Taylor, Sylvain Marveaux and Jonas Gutierrez should have been able to put up a fight against Rio Ave. But they were quickly blown away in this one and found themselves shell-shocked and 3-0 down after 26 minutes. In short, Newcastle had been blitzed by one of Europe’s emerging forces in the technical area and Newcastle’s backroom staff didn’t know how to cope. Pardew’s only answer was his usual Plan B to throw on Shola Ameobi who pulled back a consolation, but by that time Rio Ave had the game sewn up and held on for a notable scalp. Earlier that week I had the opportunity to speak to Cathro’s boss Nuno who played down the quality of his team before hand, and said: “We just want to play a good game with a good spectacle of quality.” It was hard not to be impressed with some of things he said that day and what he and Cathro had achieved together at Rio Ave, a team from northern Portugal who had modest facilities. Yet their style of football could only be admired. I can’t say I was surprised to see the duo from Rio Ave find their way to Valencia and also perform well in one of the best leagues in the world in Spain’s top flight. Cathro now finds himself at Newcastle and, while many fans are disappointed and in sullen mood due to the lack of transfers, the Scot’s arrival should be noted with a positive vibe. He will work very closely with McClaren, having prowled the touchline with some of the world’s top managers like Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and Diego Simeone To walk away from a team on the brink of the Champions League group stages is a big statement, but Newcastle is the next move on a career that continues to rise and rise. At just 23 he was Academy manager at Dundee United before his stints with Rio Ave and Valencia as No 2. Some will question Cathro’s playing career but after suffering injuries he has been quite honest and open about his time as youth player in Scotland, saying: “I was never a good player, it wasn’t a major sob story”. But as José Mourinho has proved you don’t always have to be a great player to be a great coach. Cathro now emulates McClaren’s own career by shadowing a manager at a Premier League club. That was the case for the 54-year-old at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson and Jim Smith at Derby County. Yet some of Cathro’s soundbites in his already colourful career may strike a chord with Toon fans who like to see good football on the hallowed turf at St James’ Park. When he was working with Dundee United youths he said: “Kids are not playing as much football. “So we’re giving them back the touches they’d have got knocking the ball against a wall or playing 15-a-side with jumpers for goalposts until you were shouted at to come in for your tea or because it was dark.” And when asked if he would be daunted about working in La Liga, he said once: “I understand that it’s a league with a massive appeal but I just see a ball, a pitch, goalposts. “That’s constant wherever you go and that means you are less aware of all the superficial, glamorous parts that are made to make you feel bigger and more worthwhile.” Cathro has also spoken of his desire to be a head coach one day. But there have been hints of working in the UK. Last year he said: “The two things I will need are a full pre-season to get my ideas across and to be somewhere where English is the first language. “I can express myself confidently in Portuguese and I’m getting better with Spanish, but if I’m going to be in charge, I need to be able to communicate properly.” It looks like Cathro has his wish.

We could have picked this team! http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/25/04a94f2e65627f5d4cea465c0e8a7b54.jpg

http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=esp/news/newsid=2185644.html Cathro bringing Scottish nous to Valencia Published: Monday 1 December 2014, 11.08CET "A genius" and "a visionary", according to Valencia CF coach Nuno Espírito Santo, Scottish assistant Ian Cathro tells UEFA.com about his UEFA Champions League mission. "A genius" and "a visionary", according to Valencia CF coach Nuno Espírito Santo, Ian Cathro is ensuring that new Real Sociedad de Fútbol boss David Moyes is not the only Scotsman in Spain's top division. The 28-year-old came to Mestalla along with Nuno and his staff at the start of the season and is helping to revive the club, who are enduring a rare absence from European competition. The six-time Spanish champions are fifth in the Liga with 24 points from 13 games, yet Cathro is reluctant to describe the team's run of form as "success". "We've done what was necessary, which was to bring people together to follow this idea of football that we're slowly building," he told UEFA.com. "Now we have to evolve naturally and run with it. When you stand inside the Mestalla you realise there needs to be Champions League matches there. Getting back into the Champions League is essential. Everyone at the club knows that." Should he help Valencia achieve that mission, it will be another feather in Cathro's cap. He had originally planned to study physics or applied computing at university after a second knee ligament tear put paid to his dreams of a playing career, but instead became immersed in the world of coaching. Cathro was just 16 when he set up his own academy in his home town, Dundee. "It began with just eight kids and a bag of balls I'd bought with my own pocket money," he explained. "I wanted to transmit a different type of preparation based on an individual player having the capacity to go anywhere, to be the best player in the world. I wanted everyone to feel and believe we were capable of going to the top, and to do that we required a broader, faster understanding of the game." The fact that 12 of the 16 boys Cathro used to work with have since joined professional clubs is a testament to the coach's high standards and demands. Of all those former pupils, 18-year-old Ryan Gauld looks to be in the best position to go to the top: the attacking midfielder's sensational performances for Dundee United FC last season earned him a move to Sporting Club de Portugal in the summer. Cathro himself made a huge step up in his career with a move to Portugal two years ago, when he linked up with Nuno at Rio Ave FC, the pair having met on a UEFA B licence course. The former FC Porto goalkeeper was eager to bring Cathro in as he made his first foray into management, and the Scot said he learned "five years of life lessons" in his first 12 months in Portugal. Despite average attendances of 1,800, Rio Ave finished sixth in the league in 2012/13, their best showing in 31 years, and the following season reached the final of the Portuguese Cup and League Cup. That success prompted Valencia to take on Nuno and his staff in the summer, but while Cathro is enjoying his role as one of the coach's right-hand men, he ultimately sees himself as a stand-alone manager in the long term. "If you put time limits on these things then you're already conditioning your current work and creating a pressure for yourself," he explained. "There will be a moment in which the correct circumstances come together, but that's not today."

An excellent summary! Well done indeed, you fat twat! http://www.true-faith.co.uk/thru-black-white-eyes-always-crashing-in-the-same-car-24jun15/

It’s a 'cracking' team for players sold by one specific club within the last few years! Unless you know of better ones?!

Cracking team! @sportingintel: Soon to be ex-Saints XI (4-1-3-2) -- Boruc; Clyne, Chambers, Lovren, Shaw; Schneiderlin; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Bale; Lambert, Walcott

I'd love him back here - top player! http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/west-brom-plot-demba-ba-5942745

It's lovely read! Enjoy Glasto, 'Willo'! http://mobile.nufc.co.uk/default.aspx?s=news-display&aid=4817412

The fat twat has probably just asked his mate to come out with that patter to give some of the Geordie mugs hope that the deal might go through!

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-best-bet-charlie-9518278

The fit ITK seems confident about Bas Dost singing! Win-win kerching! http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/24/58da8dcee285068acd4386b11caecf96.jpg

http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/joel-matip-not-interested-in-move-to-newcastle-united-reports-1-7322570

Spew Newcastle United board member Bob Moncur confident Mike Ashley will deliver - as pressure mounts on signings http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-united-board-member-bob-9492786

@finishedplayers Quality!