AyeDubbleYoo

I mean, what are we supposed to do? If we can't get the players we want first, then we need to look for other options. Whether people call them panic buys or not is irrelevant really.

Why?

Can't believe anyone has this attitude tbf. We haven't won anything in how long? Should be going for it. Spot on, we should be mixing youth with experience and going out to win this IMO.

I think this too basically, I think most of our outgoings are explicable, and not done purely for profit. Yes we could have held onto Carroll, but the money was too good for most clubs to turn down. Yes we might have kept Nolan, but we were right to to match his West Ham deal. Enrique basically got too good to stay at his current club at the same time his contract was coming up.

It was affordable because it was taken out to finance the expansion of the stadium to 52,000 seats and a significant increase in our corporate hospitality capabilities- this was drawing in considerably more than the cash required to service the debt. If net-net the expansion makes money, it doesn't matter what the position is for the overall business. You need to look at that in isolation as a sensible move for the business. We had not (as far as I am aware) plugged cash flow gaps with additional loans, although the club was in a very worrying position with regards to its overdraft (and only a banker's sneeze away from being in a very uncomfortable position)- which is why I still find it odd that Ashley paid so much for the club when it was headed for a very rocky 12 months cash-flow wise. I don't think anyone would dispute the financial merits of the decision to expand the stadium, it was a truly excellent move in every respect. But in order to be able to afford to service a loan you have to be generating positive cash flows from your day to day business. And at the time Ashley took over we were not doing that. Contrary to what you say we did plug cash flow leaks with other loans and this was not purely done through an overdraft it was done through a variety of loans. As I said earlier these were at increasing rates of interest. The proof is in the 2007 accounts and we had collected loans as follows: - £42.5 million at 7.65% interest secured on future season ticket and hospitality income - £13.1 million at 8.55% interest secured on future sponsorship income - E4.5 million at interest of LIBOR +2.25% secured on the first team training ground - £8 million at11.72% interest secured on future broadcasting income - £1.5 million secured as a second charge on the training ground plus an overdraft of £11 million. Whatever method Ashley used to value the club it didn't have anything whatsoever to do with his perception of it's ability to generate positive cash flows. His lack of due diligence would have left him unaware of the true state of the finances. Quayside in very sensible post non-shocker.

Well it's a bit of a mixture isn't it? The original signings being early is still very good, but we still need to make some more. It'll be a massive blow if we don't get a striker and LB, but the window hasn't closed yet.

Sure he'll start tonight, no reason why he wouldn't really.

Always try to buy Hoarau on Pro Evo, but "chances of a deal are almost zero". Read into that what you will.

Surprised we didn't go for him first TBH.

Thank God it'll be sorted by Friday!

Those quotes from them seem to make the deal more likely to me. If they're talking openly about bids and him leaving then we might still pull this off.

Selling players like Andy Carroll doesn't help. Indeed not, but not many clubs can turn down that sort of money. Besides that, let's not kid ourselves. If Carroll's development didn't stall and he became a top striker, he was never going to be ours for very long anyway and we probably wouldn't have gotten 35m for him if we sold him later. Speaking of Carroll he has been awful recently. Got halled off early against arsenal. They are already complaining about how he makes them play long ball football. Not his fault, but it could mean his rapid transition to the bench.

IMO I don't really mind. For me Newcastle has always been like this and I'll enjoy every matchday as it comes without particularly worrying about where we finish at the end of the season. As long as we don't get relegated it's fine and if we do better than expected that's a nice bonus. Couldn't care less who actually wins the title, or about the entire Champions League for that matter. Might as well be a completely different sport. I feel the same really, as long as we compete week-to-week and have a decent team to get behind it's fine. I can remember when we getting to the latter stages of the Champions League though, wouldn't mind another taste of that.

Selling players like Andy Carroll doesn't help. Indeed not, but not many clubs can turn down that sort of money.

I was talking about this with my mackem mate the other night, he basically says he's given up on football because it's impossible for clubs like ours to progress. I'm still not sure I believe that entirely, and we'll see the effect of financial fair play, but it doesn't look rosy.

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/41572_2204391556_1588_n.jpg I know man, this kind of thinking is mental. As if the club wasn't in worse financial shit before he arrived. He just took over loans from much more demanding and expensive lenders.

And Barton for all his twitter bollocks.

If our debt is reducing I guess it's still a good thing. If we owed the money to Barclays they could well be asking for much more aggressive repayments. Look at Everton's situation.

Why would he? He already knows a big club won't come in.

How does it does it compare to the past mate? Genuinely interested to know, I've only been supporting since KK era number one, and it doesn't seem to have changed much since then. I guess one difference was that we used to pay the silly money to make players choose us, and now we're on the other side of the fence.

http://www.nufcblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Accounts.jpg From the 2010 accounts I didn't know that, interesting. As everyone says, will be fascinating to see what the next accounts say.

Oh come on, be realistic. So it hasn't happened yet. But it will. Well that's a different question. It might, but then loans are usually paid back. We're lucky we don't still owe the money to a commercial bank TBH. Well I hope it doesn't cost us, this brinkmanship of attempting to have just enough quality to prevent relegation. Last time they tried it, we ended up in the Championship. Now, seemingly, after learning nothing from the last time the roulette wheel was given a spin, we are doing exactly the same again. So do I, but stop changing the argument. We were discussing whether he's paid himself back, which he hasn't. We wont know that until the accounts are published. He may have, for all we know, or the money may be just sitting in the bank. Who knows. I know man, I was talking about in the past. If he starts repaying himself in the future then fair enough.

Emnes has some qualities like, he's certainly quick. I don't want him like, but he isn't that awful for a young lad at lower Prem/Championship level.

Because as it stands he isn't getting a new contract so he will have to do that anyway after 5 years, his two choices are move now on a 5 year contract with someone else, or stay and hope for a new contract here, with Ashley in charge that isn't happening, he doesn't really have a choice tbf. Or stay for that year on his current generous contract (something he is contracted to do), then get that 5 year contract with someone else. That's my point though, he can only get a contract with someone else next season if he doesn't have a career-ending injury before then. Why should he wait? He has the chance to secure his future now.

Ian, no... What has this summer done to you!? What?