Wallace

http://www.people.co.uk/news/news/tm_method=full%26objectID=22074934%26siteID=93463-name_page.html 28 February 2010 DELICIOUS slip of the tongue [...] Dave Kidd Delicious slip of the tongue on Radio 5 Live's Blackburn v Bolton coverage, when co-commentator and Newcastle keeper Steve Harper inadvertently referred to his former manager as Saddam Allardyce.

The trouble is the club are so inconsistent in what they say and have admitted in court that they deliberately lie as a PR exercise and along with being shrouded in secrecy, no-one knows what to believe anymore. All of this money he keeps putting into the club are just loans so he presumably he will want it all back at some point. One of the concerns raised by the football authorities recently is the dependence of clubs on owner loans. However, I can't help but think this is just another one of those timely reminders from the club about how grateful we should be to poor Mike (especially with all the current discussion and concerns raised by the Portsmouth situation). If it wasn't for him ........ blah blah blah. Well he got himself into this mess. No-one made him buy the club and he was responsible for the poor decision making that got us relegated so I for one have little sympathy for him.

I still think we know too little about Ashley's real intentions. At the moment, we are led to believe that he keeps pumping in interest free loans. Isn't that what Gaydamark did at Pompey until he decided he could not afford it anymore and then pulled out? Yes Pompey spent more than they could afford but so did we and even though Ashley seemingly has made as many cutbacks as he can, he still has to keep loaning the club money. Surely our debt is just getting bigger all the time and he will want those loans repaid in due course. We may seem to be managing at the moment but only because we are so dependent on him and that could change at anytime.

Maybe not but neither is he likely to get anywhere near the first team anytime soon. He will be out on loan again next season. Look at Mancienne - seems to have been on loan at Wolves for ages.

City are going to have a problem when wanting to get rid of their players because of the wages they are paying them. They are probably going to have to heavily subsidise a player's wage if they move him on to another club or they are going to end up having players on loan all over the place as no other club will be able to afford to buy them.

I think he is doing OK. It is his first season really as a first team regular and he has had good and poor games. He has been playing against some experienced players and given them a hard game and often has 2 or 3 men on him in the box. He is starting to get goals now so that will give him some confidence. I think he has the potential to be a good player but it depends on how hard he is prepared to work and if he gets some decent coaching.

Mick Lowes reckons Guthrie partners Nolan in the middle with Smith dropped. Best with Carroll up front, Williamson back in for Hall. Jonas on the wing.

Is it? As long as Sky keep playing mega bucks for the TV rights wages will remain mega high. I think youre right that they will drop, but not by much and only in the short run. Therell always be clubs who are prepared to pay just that little bit more to beat off the opposition. Players are the capital on which football success is built, wage inflation is unavoidable. The only clubs in real trouble are the medium sized ones who relied almost entirely on the TV money, and then got relegated. Manchester United and Liverpool arent in trouble because of wages, but the way they were purchased. Pompy are the exception not the rule, they just went mad. The traditional well supported clubs have sizable debts but theyre not all about to shake hands on a wage capping agreement. This isnt to say Football doesnt need to get its act together; just that the belt tightening wont be as severe as the overreaction to Pompys demise suggests. A 30k cap at Newcastle would probably see us loiter around mid table, a £15k cap and well be perennial relegation strugglers. And what makes you think Sky will keep funding it with the same wedge?? What makes you think they wont? The PL has a worldwide audience of 4b and football is what sells Sky. Take it away and the number of subscriptions would plummet. They wouldnt pay £2b for the rights if it wasnt essential to their business, and they wouldnt pay £2b unless it was profitable. Sky are already facing a battle to stop the clubs going it alone. Significantly dropping what they pay for the rights isnt going to help their cause. Sky have now also got ESPN to worry about. Setanta were never in a position to seriously compete with them but ESPN can if they wish and that could drive the price up.

I wouldn't want to rely on us winning all of our home games because the way we play that is unlikely. All the more reason every point away from home might prove crucial. Agreed - we have drawn 2 or 3 games at home that we should have won.

I think Jonas and Enrique work well together. He has definitely been poorer since Enrique picked up his injury.

I am always amused when the media pinpoint the Liverpool game as being when Given decided to leave as he knew long before that he was off to City in January.

I was shocked at how bad he was yesterday. In a lot of games, I just forget he is on the pitch so the only judgement I can usually make is that he must have been fairly anonymous. But yesterday, he was so sluggish in thought and action - it looked like he had been on the drink the night before. He was half-hearted in everything he did - he was unable to pass accurately to players close to him, he miskicked balls, he seemed unaware of what was going on around him, he dithered on balls for so long, that they were easily nicked off him by Swansea. The one thing I would normally say in his favour is that he is fairly vocal on the pitch and encourages the other players but that all becomes irrelevant when you are playing rubbish yourself. I hope Hughton would drop him but fear that he is too influential. On another note, I don't think Barton's return will change things much as he always seems to need a lot of games to get match fit. If he is in peak form, he is definitely an asset but are there enough games this season for him to achieve that.

Funny how Keegan's signings were given low wages (Bassong - £5K and Guthrie - £4k) whilst Wise's signings received £80k a week. Still cannot believe that £80k is correct because it is such a preposterous figure for a defender who had not proved himself in the Premier League. It winds me up when Ashley moans about the wages when most of the players were signed under his ownership and other players given new contracts.

Radio Newcastle are saying Smith, Butt and Colo all out with injuries. Guthrie and Noland in midfield with Jonas and Routledge on the wings. They think Hughton is leaning towards partnering Best with Carroll rather than Lovenkrands.

I am sure that with Liverpool being the lucky club they are, they will fall on their feet somehow as they usually do.

How bad is it up there? f*** all up here It's all melting tbh Supposed to be really bad weather on Friday.

From Simon Bird's Twitter "Despite what sky are reporting I'm assured habib beye deal is OFF. Bid was accepted but he's on good money at villa"

Talks broke down between Stoke and Portsmouth over James. Begovic was going to Spurs but backed out because he did not want to sit on the bench so Stoke are now in talks with Begovic instead.

Might help him and Ranger if there was someone to coach them on forward play. From what I can tell, the coaching staff consists of Hughton and Calderwood (defenders) and the goalkeeping coach.

' Great goal tonight, watching the game he reminds me of Dorgba, but hell he's not 16, something went wrong with the papers and he'll befinished byt he time he's 22 like Geremi! Got him for Newcastle on FM10, quality Is he the one who wants to go to Chelsea because Drogba is his idol? His father is insisting he finishes his education first.

http://www.lukewhostalking.co.uk/2010/01/newcastle-united-in-efficient.html "If Victor Moses signs - and I've been told he is desperate to come to St James' Park instead of Nottingham Forest or WBA - Newcastle's squad will be better at the close of the window than it was at the start. "

http://www.sportcroydon.co.uk/palacenews/Magpies-lead-chase-Moses/article-1781075-detail/article.html Magpies lead chase for Moses Friday, January 29, 2010, 10:24 ​by Daniel Jones CHAMPIONSHIP leaders Newcastle have made a "substantial bid" for Palace teenager Victor Moses. Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle believes the sale of the 19-year-old holds the key to securing a safe financial footing for the Eagles. West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest have already had bids for the striker turned down and it now seems likely that the Magpies will win the race for the most sought after player outside of the Premier League. Newcastle boss Chris Hughton confirmed his interest in Moses following Palace's 2-0 defeat at St James' Park on Wednesday night and the Advertiser understands that a "substantial bid" has now been made.

Since they are selling Moses because they need the cash, maybe any club buying him will have to pay the whole fee otherwise what is the point if it is in instalments. Is Ashley still paying all transfer fees up front? If so, that may be to our advantage because very few clubs can afford to that these days. It might also explain why the offers are so low.

For Moses to join us is a pretty good career move for him imo. Joining a team almost guaranteed for promotion, 90 mins every game and a 52,000 capacity stadium. I heard an interview with Matt Jackson (Palace player) the other day and he was asked about Victor Moses. He said that he had been advising him that he should move to a club where we would get to play regularly and not one of the top clubs at this stage of his career. If he proves he is good enough, he would get there soon enough but with a lot more experience under his belt. He was meaning the lower table Prem teams but I guess we would be the next best thing.

I don't suppose he will have had the opportunity to train with the team as yet so probably best to keep Kadar in there as at least he and Colo know each other's game.