AyeDubbleYoo

Could be a massive Joey prank and he just says there's no developments. Pretty sure if the club were terminating his contract or owt they would announce it themselves before they even told him.

I was actually in the thinking that he may be trying to model us on Arsenal who clearly are the only PL club to turn a profit, that's what thinking does for you eh He's a business man. He sees success as his company making a profit I think he's clever enough to realise that he'll never make a personal profit from NUFC though, he's just trying to limit the amount he has to spend on us.

Exactly. And I don't believe we're buying players to sell on at a profit, we're just being careful to either get players as cheap as possible or to only sign ones that will have a bit of value at the end of their contracts.

I don't for a second believe that the players' would be happy with any of it. The £35 million being reinvested, management being accused of lying and trying to replace every player nearing the end of their contract with a cheaper alternative and it can even go as far back as Hughton being forced out - when he was really well liked and was doing a good job. Well maybe, there's no way for us to know either way. I just don't think stuff like how much of the £35m we've sent will be of that much concern to most players. I also think they're quite resilient to players leaving the club, no matter what the circumstances. The exception might be when they have a very close personal relationship (Barton/Noilan/Carroll) but that sort of group doesn't crop up very often. Anyway, let's hope they are looking forward to the new season.

Good post TBF, I'm not against what Ashley is doing to reduce costs but there has to be a balance between that and not losing too many of your important players. I guess it comes down to whether you agree or disagree with each individual case. FWIW I do believe the Carroll money was too good to turn down, and I don't think we should have offered Nolan a mucg better deal. There is obviously the concern that the club are causing too many of these situations to arise by the way they do things, but we'll see. Maybe it is part of the strategy to bring things like the Nolan situation to a head and get him out while he still has value. Underhand but not necessarily unwise.

I get your point, I am quite sure you don't really believe that the rest of the squad are happy though, do you really? Most players' would just get on with it however Joey Barton is similar to Bellamy in that he would speak out if aggrieved, but as I said before, i think he hasn't quite crossed the line of unacceptable just yet. I don't see any reason to believe the rest of the squad is unhappy. The ones who have just arrived and/or are on contracts they are happy with and have years left will probably be absolutely fine. Obviously they each might have some concerns, but that's normal (maybe Jonas is unhappy that Jose is leaving etc). I wouldn't be surprised if most of our players saw Barton as a bit of a mentalist who they have to humour from time to time. That doesn't quite stack up if you take into consideration Nolan's comments. He, after all, has no reason to lie about any of it, as IMO has got a very nice contract yet he accuses the club of moving the goalposts completely during negotiations and being messed around. Considering he was a very well liked member of the team and had a good season, i'm sure this would have massively upset the group. That's before we even take into account the reinvestment of the £35 million and ATM making a net profit this window. Well Nolan may have been led to believe he was getting a better deal then the goalposts moved. But I don't believe that would upset the other players, especially now he's gone. They might worry about what will happen when their own contracts come up for renewal I guess, but I would think that's a fairly normal worry in the life of a footballer.

I get your point, I am quite sure you don't really believe that the rest of the squad are happy though, do you really? Most players' would just get on with it however Joey Barton is similar to Bellamy in that he would speak out if aggrieved, but as I said before, i think he hasn't quite crossed the line of unacceptable just yet. I don't see any reason to believe the rest of the squad is unhappy. The ones who have just arrived and/or are on contracts they are happy with and have years left will probably be absolutely fine. Obviously they each might have some concerns, but that's normal (maybe Jonas is unhappy that Jose is leaving etc). I wouldn't be surprised if most of our players saw Barton as a bit of a mentalist who they have to humour from time to time.

plenty of footballers leave clubs and are refused contracts without slagging off the club. why are nufc players different? Good question. Either the way they've been treated by Ashley is worse (not denying that might be true) or Ashley is considered "fair game" for public attacks because of what has happened before. Also, no doubt the press are working hard to get stories about this (obviously doesn't apply to Joey's tweets).

Yep, can't really blame Nolan for jumping at a 5 year contract when his legs will be gone in 2, and can't blame the club for cashing in on him in that situation.

Joey isn't the players' spokesman though, why not conclude that it's only players who aren't getting what they want that are unhappy? As I said, when people who aren't leaving, left or refused new contracts start complaining, then I'll worry.

I don't think he necessarily bought the club to make money, not in the short/medium term anyway. He thought he could do something interesting and have some fun, and totally underestimated how much it would cost him. No doubt he would leave any time if he could find a decent buyer... it's finding one that could be an issue. Let's not forget the new owner could be even worse either, we could end up with Venky's.

Luke is a dick.

It's very short-sighted, given our current transfer tactics. We no longer attract players with big salaries, which means when these kind of cheap options are available we have to be a more attractive prospect than any other clubs which may be sniffing around. The more players we lie to and treat like absolute shite, the more chance the player we want is going to be mates with, or in a team, with someone like Nolan who'll quite rightly tell them not to touch this bunch of clowns with a bargepole. Agreed. Less important if you believe new players don't actually care though, which I think might be a fair argument. Also, maybe they only mislead and mistreat people who they are getting rid of or see no future in. If that's the case then the damage might be not too bad. I don't think other clubs are 100% honest in their dealings mind, maybe Ashley is just weakened by his mistakes enough that people now think he's fair game in the media. Also, no doubt journos are working hard to get these quotes from people like Nolan.

We have that already though, unless we get an exceptionally high number of injuries. Don't get me wrong, I want more and better signings as well, I just don't think our current situation is as terrible as people think.

Well, we aren't ridiculously light in every department, and we've already signed a number of players. How many signings do you want in one summer? You're quickly turning into the anti-colocho. Grow up. The fact is we aren't "ridiculously light in every department". We're short on numbers at LB and maybe CB, and short on quality in CF. I've never denied that, but the extreme negativity is mental at times.

I don't think anyone thinks he's doing "a good job" in the normal sense, some people can just understand the financial need for what he is doing and the reality that he's actually not that different to most football club owners - he's just made a number of mistakes that have been pretty high-profile. And also the fact that the people he has pissed off aren't perfect and motivated purely by the best interests of NUFC either.

Well, we aren't ridiculously light in every department, and we've already signed a number of players. How many signings do you want in one summer?

Two years to go is a good time to deal with contracts though no? Especially to avoid the Enrique situation and things like that. Even if the contract offered/asked for was worse than he expected, better to know now that he's not going to accept the club's terms and sell him while he still has some value. Don't understand why they needed to mislead him originally mind. I guess there is a the issue of keeping him happy during the end of last season, but that's a flimsy justification and can only work so many times before players start to mistrust everything.

Not saying you're wrong, but do you think it's really as simple as that? In theory it should be, but I wonder to what extent players become aware of other interest through their agents etc. Anyway, I'm sure a key reason for the sale was that to get £4m for Nolan when he is only going to decline in the next few seasons was considered a good deal. Maybe that and the "style of football" change that the new signings are supposed to be bringing. Thank goodness the new players are all going to be a success, stay fit, and be suspension free then. I didn't see the Leeds game, what did the new style look like with only Marveaux of the new guys out? Was that a response to my post? I was just trying to explain what the reasons for Nolan's departure might have been. Obviously the repercussions of the sale remain to be seen, I was just saying what the thinking behind it might have been.

When players who are in the first year of a long contract and playing well start talking about morale and trust, then I'll be worried. When it's only unstable people like Joey Barton and people who have just been sold like Kevin Nolan, I'll take it with a massive pinch of salt.

What about Tiote and a new striker? I think most people would be amazed if we started the season with Enrique, or at least ended the transfer window with him.

Also, I think that some players and even managers are used to the feeling that the world revolves around them and they are the most important people at the football club. I think working with an obnoxious bloke like Mike Ashley, who is implementing a bit more of a ruthless approach not normally seen in football, might be a bit of a culture shock. Not saying they're wrong and he's right, but I think it might be a new experience for a lot of people and they don't like it.

Not saying you're wrong, but do you think it's really as simple as that? In theory it should be, but I wonder to what extent players become aware of other interest through their agents etc. Anyway, I'm sure a key reason for the sale was that to get £4m for Nolan when he is only going to decline in the next few seasons was considered a good deal. Maybe that and the "style of football" change that the new signings are supposed to be bringing.

You look around at some of the things that happen in football and you wonder what is a normal way to run a football club. Some of the decisions owners/boards make are baffling to put it mildly and the way they implement them even more so. However it's hard to disagree with your point that Ashley's regime has created more havoc than most. I think he could put quite a lot right by simply replacing Llambias with someone who knows what they are doing. I think Llambias is doing exactly the job Mike Ashley wants him to. Ashley has had ample opportunity to bring in a chairman who has a better football pedigree but Dekka's still here. I don't really know what to make of the transfer dealings so far. We've made some good progress in some areas but we clearly still need reinforcements in others. If we don't get a striker and a left back in while letting Enrique go, then it would seem obvious that Ashley wants to spend only enough to keep the club going without sinking any more cash in. As a fan I could quite understand if people vote with their feet and don't renew their season tickets. Ashley's running a business at the end of the day and he either gives the customers value for money or he loses them. Thing is, we got relegated and bounced back immediately, we had a great first season in the Premier League and now we've signed some players who I'm very excited about seeing. Fair enough we could have spent more in the summer, and a player and ex-player are whinging in the media about trust and morale, but I don't think there's anything there to make the average fan stop going to games. As long as we perform well enough on the pitch, I imagine our crowds will be absolutely fine.