Wallace

that was a case of Redknapp getting his media mates on it (hell even the Christmas day thing at Spurs training ground SSN had where they asked about Carroll was disgusting) But then NUFC were touting Carroll around to different clubs and I wouldn't be surprised if Spurs thought they would get him until Liverpool got involved.

I received mine a few weeks ago but I did order it.

I might be totally wrong on this but all I hear from the club is references to cutting costs rather than trying to generate new revenue streams. I think (but correct me if I am wrong) that Shepherd was pretty good on the commercial side of things and I am sure our corporate revenue has plummeted hugely since Ashley's arrival and our sponsorship deals are bringing in less money that before. Whilst the current economic climate and our relegation can be attributed to that, I am aware that there are corporate clients who have taken their business elsewhere because of Ashley and I also think we are a damaged brand that many businesses do not want to be associated with. And if that is the case, then it can only be down to Ashley. The impression I get is of a club (deliberately) cutting itself off from the community by their refusal to engage with the city and if this continues for any length of time, the damage will be irreversible as more and more fans drift away. We have seen before that when the club reaches out and embraces the city, that it can be a powerful thing and hugely beneficial to the club but all we seem to have now is mistrust and conflict. With regards to the incoming players, I see them purely as having been bought with the intent of selling them on for a profit within 2-3 years max. For example, Cabaye is 24-25 with a 5 year contract so by the end of that, he will be at the age where the club will no longer be prepared to offer him a new long-term deal and they will not want him to run the contract down so that means they will have to sell him probably in the third year of his contract. I see Ben Arfa as being their trump card because if he does prove a hit in the Premier League, then he will be a very valuable player. I'd be interested to know how they are selling the club to the incoming players as I have no expectation that there is any serious intent to build a team to challenge for European places only to do enough to comfortably survive. If we do start to look like we can achieve something it will be because of how well our players are doing which will then make them targets for other clubs and therefore they will be sold. At present, you can argue that the squad is better than last year and the club may yet surprise us with a couple of quality strikers but we still have little strength in depth. I fully expect there to be more outgoings - will they be replaced? I only hope that those leaving will be the fringe players rather than the likes of Tiote and Colo and that will be a concern until the transfer window closes. Sorry but I am a cynic and have absolutely no trust in the board or Pardew and with whatever soundbites they feed the media in order to appease fans.

Could be that the new Enrique contract is coming out of the Carroll money as well seeing as Tiote's did. Although that is unlikely to happen.

I went to this dinner and Keegan was great with the fans as always. Spent as much time with each person as they wanted - no moving people on quickly. There were a couple of Mackems in front of me (I guess in their 40s) saying how much they loved Keegan - they were genuine and had liked him since his Liverpool days and were thrilled to meet him and get their pic with him. They had a good chat with him and told him that even though they supported Sunderland, they had always been fans of his. Keegan was quite chuffed or perhaps bemused - said to me - "can you believe that - they're Mackems"!

A lot of the fringe players were in yesterday e.g. Richardson, Vuckic etc so I don't think it means he is being seen as a defender.

SimonPryde Simon Pryde Attention #NUFC fans! Alan Pardew will be #totalsport guest tonight from 5.30. Back with a bang!

Didn't Wickham score against us at SJP in the Championship?

Also the Milburn has lots of empty seats whereas the East Stand is normally full so that gives a better impression.

You could probably add Harper to that list. Rumours of the club wanting him out and Harper himself being disillusioned as well.

Poor Ashley. How has he managed to lumber himself with all these players who only care about money? This scenario will be repeated each season. And it can't be because we only manage to recruit greedy players. There is obviously something in the way the hierarchy deal with the players that is causing these problems and it will backfire big style at some point. Nolan always managed to get the players focussed on playing for NUFC rather than dwelling on grievances off-pitch - not sure who will do that now.

Blackburn fans thought he was terrible and were relieved when they got rid.

I think the closest would be Wolves which is separated from the town centre by the ring road.

Douglas is being fed stories by NUFC. No doubt he is trying to follow them up with other sources to confirm them but I would not be surprised if the club are using the local media to their advantage.

Not quite sure where to put this. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/nol_sport/nol_football/clubs/nolclubs_newcastle/1327605/Newcastle-bosses-to-cut-ages-and-wages-following-Kevin-Nolan-sale.html?CMP=SOCjam_TW_NOTW Sticking to their guns... Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias won't budge on their policy Exclusive by Martin Hardy June 19, 2011 NEWCASTLE chiefs are sticking with their policy to reduce the wage bill and the average age of their squad. Toon fans were stunned last week when club captain and 12-goal top scorer Kevin Nolan left for Championship side West Ham. The midfielder turns 29 on Friday and St James' Park bosses, led by chairman Derek Llambias, will limit deals for any players approaching their 30s. A source said: "There's no way the club would offer long deals to players who are 28 or 29. "There was no way they would contemplate bettering the deal West Ham offered. He was on £40,000 a week and they offered £10,000 more. "The club is on the way to being in far better health financially." This summer the Toon have already crossed the Channel to pick up midfielders Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux, as well as landing West Ham striker Demba Ba on a free. And they will carry on with their policy of picking up bargains around Europe as they look to make the club self-sufficient by next summer. That would give them a head start on their rivals with UEFA's financial fair play rules set to be implemented over a three-year period. The initial break-even assessment will cover the financial years ending 2012 and 2013, which will be assessed during 2013-14. Rennes ace Marveaux, who agreed a five-year deal on Friday night, has hit out at reports a proposed move to Liverpool fell down because he failed a medical. The 25-year-old said: "It's a load of rubbish. I'm in good health and fit to play. "I returned to training with Rennes at the end of the season and could have played in the last game if they had wanted. "It disgusts me a bit to read things like that because I know it could have an impact on the rest of my career. "I didn't sign for Liverpool because there were contractual differences on Thursday night."

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/nol_sport/nol_football/clubs/nolclubs_newcastle/1327534/West-Ham-Uniteds-Kevin-Nolan-furious-at-Newcastles-Alan-Pardew.html?CMP=SOCjam_TW_NOTW Payback Tyne... Nolan feels let down by Pardew for not fighting his corner Exclusive by Martin Hardy June 19, 2011 KEVIN NOLAN is angry that manager Alan Pardew did not fight harder to keep him at Newcastle. Midfield man Nolan completed a £4million switch to West Ham after Toon failed to offer the long-term contract extension he wanted. The 28-year-old initially did not want to drop down to the Championship. But when contract talks broke down at St James' Park, the former Bolton star believed he had no option. And he feels let down by Pardew for not fighting his corner even though he repeatedly stated his desire to draw up a new deal for a player who scored 12 Premier League goals from central midfield. "Kevin is disappointed with Alan Pardew," said a source close to Nolan. "He thinks Pardew paid lip service to keeping him at Newcastle. "He feels let down and he's furious with his former manager. Kev expected him to try harder to keep him at the club during contract talks. "The incentives they wanted put in Kev's contract were all about how high up the league table Newcastle finished. "They are managers' clauses, not players'. If they'd wanted him to be manager, they should have given him the job." Nolan was a key figure in making the Toon players accept Pardew after their anger at Chris Hughton's sacking in November. "Kevin is especially disappointed because he made a point of supporting the manager when he first arrived at Newcastle," added the source. "It was a very difficult time for Alan Pardew to take over and the support of the club captain was crucial. "He needed Kevin Nolan on board and Kevin made sure the dressing room moved forward with the new manager. "When the crunch came, the manager did not reciprocate the support and that was very disappointing. "Kevin was a big character who helped him settle in and that was forgotten." Talks started in March about a new deal that would have extended Nolan's stay in the North-East for up to five years. But Newcastle blew a 3-0 lead in the final game of the season against West Brom, which angered owner Mike Ashley, who had promised the club's staff a £500,000 bonus for a top-10 finish. Nolan was instead told he could have a new two-year deal with the option of a further 12 months and that it was not for negotiating. He had been hoping to get nearer the £50,000 a week that West Ham ultimately slapped on the table. But Ashley's vision is to hunt Europe looking for young players at bargain prices, such as Cheik Tiote who was bought last year for £3.5m on initial wages of £10,000 a week. The message is clear that Pardew will have to build his team around Ashley's vision - not the other way round.

Other priorities at present.

Better not be. He struggled when Dann got injured.

I am still concerned as I am not sure whether it is a good idea to overhaul the first 11 to such an extent. The latest rumours about Colo and Simpson means that at this point, it looks like we will only have Krul, Taylor and Williamson involved next season. I wonder if the bench is still to comprise of the likes of Perch, Raylor, Guthrie etc or whether they will be improved upon. Also, when there are so many French speaking players arriving, how much effort will they put into integrating with the rest of the squad and learning to speak English - will we be back to the old cliques in the dresssing room that the players have succeeded in eradicating in the last 2 seasons. How does it impact the home grown rule? At the moment, it looks like we will have to meet that with the fringe players. If it all works then great but it sounds to me that one or two of these players are definitely the type to go missing when the going gets tough. I still think we are taking a huge risk.

http://ketilstensrud.com/2011/03/20/under-the-loop-sylvain-marveaux/

Was only pointing out that Wraith had mentioned Best and £4m this morning and tomorrow's papers are now saying the same thing. I just hope that there are deals more advanced than we are aware because if their targets start turning them down, we could be in a right mess.

Steve Wraith said this on twitter earlier today. stevewraith steve wraith @ @geordiejohn41 jose jonas shola joey and heard leon best is up for 4m #laughable 17 hours ago

It will be interesting to see how he does next season - there is a huge responsibility on his shoulders as West Ham seem to think he will guarantee them promotion. He is now 2 years older than when we were in the Championship. He has been bought in and appointed captain immediately and is obviously expected to galvanise the dressing room in the same way as he did with us. However, he was already part of our team when we got relegated and was not jettisoned in over players already here and maybe some of the current West Ham players will resent that especially with what he is being paid. They may also be wary of his close relationship with BSA. I am sure Nolan can cope with the challenge and will do a good job but there is an awful lot expected of him.

Can't get excited by prospective signings until they have actually signed. No guarantee that they will want to come here.