Wallace

I am not sure if it can be compared to our situation but the Portsmouth takeover was announced in mid May and they don't expect it to be completed until late July at the earliest once all the checks etc have been carried out. Although the press are hinting that the guy does not have the money so it may not happen.

What happens if he is a disaster at City. He is well-known for being disruptive in the dressing room and difficult to handle - I have heard him described as "poison" in the Barca dressing room before. How will they be able to get rid of him as no-one else will pay the wages? Chelsea have a load of players out on loan running down their contracts because they cannot get back the transfer fee and other clubs cannot afford their wages. They may think they need the marquee signing to push them to the next level and that it is worth it for the potential problems it might cause. However, £250k per week is just so far ahead of anyone else that it is just ridiculous.

The same would have been said of Joe Kinnear.

A few months ago they were saying a deal had virtually been agreed and it would not be going to court. Just shows that you can't believe anything you read as they put out a story to suit whatever agenda they are promoting at the time.

If Ashley is serious about selling the club, then the longer he waits, the less money he will get as the debts will continue to rise. If Ashley is still here next season, then the club will be worth a lot less than a low offer of £70m-£80m he might get now. For prospective new owners, they may be trying to push Ashley into a corner to reduce the price but how long can they afford to do that because again the problems they will inherit will be growing by the day. It is already looking like we will have to write off next season. There was an idiot journalist (Matt Scott from The Guardian) on the radio this morning who trotted out the old "it's all the fan's fault" cliche but he seemed to think Ashley would hang on, sell all the players he could and then put the club into receivership. And Alan Oliver in The People today said that the club were no closer to being sold. Whatever the real plan is, I just cannot understand how come Ashley and Llambias seem to have just totally withdrawn from running the club. And I think the reason not to appoint Shearer is more about saving money rather than leaving new owners with an unwanted manager as they could get around it by offering him a short term contract. If the new owners don't want Shearer, then you would assume if they were foreign owners that they would immediately have to hire someone to advise them and that would probably take us into the new season. As a matter of interest, is the "Fit and Proper Person test" for Premier League clubs only?

If we had a manager, I would not have been surprised to see changes amongst the backroom staff if certain things I have heard are true. Whether this is a sign of imminent changes or staff getting fed up of the uncertainty who knows.

I always remember how arrogant he was and how he would tell everyone what he was going to do to the opposition in games. Players don't really talk themselves up like that anymore. I remember feeling very let down after all of his talk pre the '74 Final and his subsequent poor performance.

Considering Graham Courtney used to work for the club, he is incredibly clueless about them. I am convinced that he gets his all of his information from the newspapers as whenever I hear him on Talksport, he never brings any additional insight and seems more than happy to trot out the popular media stereotypes of the club. And I have lost count of the times, he happily discusses things as if they true when every fan would know the opposite.

I think he was offered a new contract but the terms were poor. I would have thought given a regular run in the team in his correct position that he might do OK in the Championship but he does need to be playing every week at his age and has suffered from never having been sent out on loan.

If a manager (whoever that is) is not appointed within a few days to a week of the players returning I think it's curtains. The training ground will be absolutely awash with rumour and gossip which is never a good thing. No owner, no manager, no future. Everyone will want out. And if that was the case, would Shearer then want the job.

I remember Shearer on 'Teammates' on Soccer AM saying it was Bramble in the past. Taylor and Ramage have both said that as well.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/06/25/toon-defender-david-edgar-set-to-join-burnley-72703-23973160/ Toon defender David Edgar set to join Burnley Jun 25 2009 by Neil Farrington, Evening Chronicle NEWCASTLE defender David Edgar is poised to join newly-promoted Burnley. The versatile Edgar, unhappy with the terms of a new contract offer at St James’s Park, had held talks with another club moving up from the Championship, Birmingham City. But with discussions at St Andrews having stalled, Burnley boss Owen Coyle has moved in for the 22-year-old. Edgar, raised in Canada and the son of former Newcastle goalkeeper Eddie, made 13 first-team starts for United, marking his home debut with a goal against Manchester United. But he suffered for being used at right-back rather than in his preferred position in central defence, and was sent off in the dying seconds of Newcastle’s fateful final-day defeat at Aston Villa last month. With Fabricio Coloccini and Sebastien Bassong also expected to leave United this summer, and the future of Steven Taylor and Habib Beye uncertain, Edgar’s departure will leave the Magpies seriously short of central defenders as the new season approaches. Coyle is a long-term fan of Edgar, having tried to sign him on loan as Burnley launched their promotion drive late last year.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/06/25/tottenham-lead-chase-for-sebastien-bassong-72703-23973159/ Tottenham lead chase for Sebastien Bassong Jun 25 2009 by Neil Farrington, Evening Chronicle TOTTENHAM are out in front in the chase for wantaway Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong. Several clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester City and local rivals Sunderland, have been linked with the 22-year-old Frenchman, who is desperate to stay in the Premier League. And Bassong himself has claimed to have held talks with two top-flight teams. But, while admitting other clubs are tracking his situation, people in Bassong’s camp have told the Chronicle that Spurs are the only would-be buyers to have expressed a firm interest in doing a deal with Newcastle at the price they want. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp sees central defence as the area of his squad now most in need of strengthening, with the fitness of first-choice duo Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate an almost constant concern. But Newcastle’s manager-in-waiting Alan Shearer has advised United’s top brass to demand up to £15m for Bassong, who cost the Magpies just one-tenth that much when he arrived from Metz last summer. That valuation may already have put off Arsenal and would be deemed unrealistic by Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, but Spurs’ interest persists. Even so, Redknapp may yet try to tempt Newcastle into a part-exchange deal involving one or two of his fringe players. “We’re waiting to hear back from a couple of other clubs regarding Seb, but Tottenham are definitely keen,” said a source close to Bassong. “It’s still early days, but we do expect things to be resolved quite quickly once teams report back for pre-season.” Meanwhile, Peter Lovenkrands is the latest Newcastle player to be linked with Sunderland. Talk of the Black Cats landing the not-so-great Dane – whose short-term contract with United expires next week – comes after Lovenkrands’ agent confirmed he is trying to fix him up with a Premier League club. Another player who sees his future in the top flight, Michael Owen, can now add Stoke City to his illustrious list of English suitors, although Turkish giants Galatasaray are also on his trail

Beye will be made captain and Taylor vice captain under Shearer if he can keep them both. It's the logical thing to do, and Shearer thinks logically; it's why we need him. Why is it the logical thing to do? I agree with Beye being made captain btw. But Taylor needs to prove himself firstly before even thinking about having something like the vice-captain's armband. He did play a lot better towards the back end of last season, so let's hope he keeps up that form, then he can concentrate on having something such as that placed upon him. I don't see a problem with Taylor being made vice-captain as you would hope that Beye (injuries permitting) would be the captain in most games. Off the pitch, Taylor probably does more than the rest of the players put together in representing the club at various charity events etc. Anyway, if Butt is still here then he will probably be involved somewhere.

Maybe it is just the Chronicle trying to put more pressure on Ashley to make a decision about Shearer.

Surely if that was the case then the bidders would know in advance of making a bid at all? I would have thought it would all have been clear in the sales brochure but if that's the case then Ashley will have to have a re-think. He could probably have sold the club last year if he asked for a reasonable price (which would have been more than the current price) - if he prices people out again, the next time round it would be worth considerably less. But yet again what is the truth - where Ashley is concerned, it seems to depend on how he feels on any particular day.

And this is all down to Ashley getting his mates in to run a football club instead of hiring experienced people. Most of the problems with wages come from players bought after he took over the club or given new contracts since so he can't blame Shepherd for that one.

It was in The Journal today. http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/06/17/newcastle-united-transfer-hotline-on-alert-61634-23894969/ The sale of United moves on to a significant new stage today when the window for interested parties to confirm they have the funds needed to buy the club closes, and the due diligence process begins. This will also enable owner Mike Ashley to gauge the opinion of all the interested parties and should all of them – and that is understood to be the case – want Shearer as manager, the former skipper will be confirmed as manager almost immediately with his appointment no longer a barrier to any takeover. Should that favourable verdict materialise, Shearer will throw himself into the job with gusto as he tries to make up for lost time, with no pre-season friendlies arranged and no plans in place for the start of the Championship season, even though Newcastle’s fixtures will be released later today.

I am sure it will be a work of fiction as Kinnear lives in his own fantasy land.

I know that Shepherd got us into a financial mess but a lot of the really pressing problems - players's wages and transfer fees are of Ashley's own doing. Most of the players that are on seriously high wages have been bought in after he bought the club or have been given new contracts since.

Because they said not to, and told us that they're just going to update the cards...? No one told me to keep it, it just happens i forgot to take it out my wallett got no idea where i put mine. think i threw it out after being relegated, i'm assuming they'll replace it if i'v thrown it out? They will replace it but you will have to pay an admin fee. I have no idea how much that is though.

Curbishley - a boring manager playing boring football so I guess everyone else would get bored of us as well!

Likewise. Just a reference to the fact that you are on the 3 year deal would be nice so that you know you have been sent the right information.

I think it depends on the consortium Shepherd is fronting. If they are the ones with the money, surely he is going to be accountable to them. I also think that he would not mess Shearer around. I always thought he seemed to behave more as a fan towards Shearer.

Surely Ashley has a responsibility to keep the club functioning at a certain level otherwise he is really messing things up for the people buying the club. If he sells players and there is no preparation for pre-season, that must lower the value of the club as it will leave the new people with so much to do and a lot of immediate outlay. Once a deal is agreed, will the new people still have the option to pull out? That Portsmouth takeover is not due to be complete until the end of August (I think) and that has already been going on a while. (If it is Shepherd, he will know whether Ashley has been shifting the assets out of the club.)