mofo

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/comment-alan-pardew-defends-joe-kinnear-but-fails-to-hide-the-significant-cracks-in-newcastle-foundations-8796917.html

Comment: Alan Pardew defends Joe Kinnear but fails to hide the significant cracks in Newcastle foundations

 

Loan signing of Loic Remy was the only new arrival at St James' Park this summer

Martin Hardy

 

Tuesday 03 September 2013

 

 

The uneasy truce came at three o'clock on Tuesday, 16 hours after the transfer window had shut. In it, Alan Pardew spoke of being in an "optimistic frame of mind," of "exciting partnerships" and said that Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle director of football, had "worked hard on numerous targets."

 

Last week Pardew had said there was money to spend, regardless of Yohan Cabaye's future. Two weeks ago, Pardew had stressed Newcastle needed to get "one or two transfers over the line before deadline."

 

Nothing happened, but the power struggle is such at St James' Park that there is a need for caution from Pardew. He cannot say that he wished the club had landed Darren Bent. He cannot express frustration that his squad has added a little bit of quality in Loic Remy and lost even more depth after being pruned.

 

Pardew's position is way too precarious for that kind of attack.

 

A beast of a football club walks on egg shells.

 

Only Kinnear feels confident enough in his role to ride roughshod over the airwaves, although even he has lost the gusto that saw proclaim to the world that he would make Newcastle better and stronger upon his appointment, lest we forget, on a three-year deal, back in June, when what little semblance of sense at this football club ended.

 

His first act as director of football was to block a move that had taken 12 months to set up for the central defender Douglas. Graham Carr, the chief scout who Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, personally gave an eight year contract, was ready to walk because of it. It is thought there was a deal close to completion on Monday for a wide midfielder as the clock ticked towards 11 o'clock. Again it stumbled at the finishing post. The ramifications of that remain to be seen. James McCarthy was a target until reality dawned that Cabaye would not fetch £25 million and Wigan would not sell for less than £12 million. Bafetimbi Gomis was close but could not be completed.

 

Just over 46,000 saw Newcastle struggle past an unadventurous and uninspired Fulham on Saturday, 5,000 less than watched the corresponding fixture just under five months ago. That is a drop of almost 1,000 fans a month. No club can afford that kind of haemorrhaging. More than 11 per cent of St James' Park was empty for the second home game of the season. There is growing unrest, borne out by those figures.

 

Ashley raged at last season's failure. A season after finishing fifth, Newcastle were perilously close to being relegated. Derek Llambias, the chief executive, resigned. Pardew was punished with the appointment of Kinnear, who is still the manager in waiting. The existing manager will not walk, so he treads an uneasy path. He was also handed an eight-year contract. There is a desire not to face another huge pay-off.

 

Kinnear, it can now be argued, has succeeded. 2013 will go down as the summer of smoke and mirrors. His words filled the space where signings were expected to go. Privately, Ashley fumed at having to spend a total of £33 million to land five players, Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Massadio Haidara, Mathieu Debuchy and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, in the January transfer window. Two of those deals were supposed to happen this summer but the threat of relegation increased their need (and their expense).

 

Newcastle were never going to be major players in the transfer market this summer. The bluster of Kinnear hid that unsettling truth to Newcastle supporters. There was never a pot of money to spend. Investment depended on Cabaye being sold for a fee of around £20 million. On Sunday night, the message inside the club was that the drawbridge on the France midfielder had been pulled up. They would not sell the player, no matter how great his desire to leave. Not getting a major fee for Cabaye - the biggest offer was £10.2 million from Arsenal - is Kinnear's only real failure. Pardew has been unsettled. Nothing has been spent.

 

The Newcastle manager's words yesterday were released as a statement and sit at such a polar opposite to the mood of a football club.

 

"We are delighted to have brought Loic Remy to the club in this window and we believe he will form an exciting and effective partnership with Papiss Cisse," his statement read. "Joe (Kinnear) has worked hard on numerous targets, particularly an additional offensive player. However some of the options that were available within our financial means were not as good as the players we already had and there is no point bringing in new players unless they can improve us and take us forward. We did the majority of our business in the January window, signing five excellent first team players. With the strong squad we have we should all approach the season in a positive, optimistic frame of mind."

 

Optimism. It is a rare currency to find on Tyneside right now.

Nice to see some of the journo's speaking out, Hopefully they will give pardew a drilling.

http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/mike-ashleys-transfer-window-suggests-sale-of-newcastle-united-is-imminent/

 

Mike Ashley’s Activity Suggests Sale Of Newcastle United Is Imminent

 

I have been tremendously heartened by the way Joe Kinnear spent the whole transfer window clinging to a branch, upside down and asleep. I am not in the least upset at the club’s relative inactivity in the international market for player purchases.

 

In my view, and I have no special knowledge but do have an obsessive fascination in the bizarre mental make-up of the Toon’s glorious owner, as well as being impervious to wishful thinking, I believe Mike Ashley is already waving us goodbye.

 

The most interesting fact about this boring yet unpredictable billionaire, and this story has been in several newspapers, is that, after his parents mortgaged their house to borrow money which they then provided to young Mike to get going as a sports retailer, the ungrateful upstart fell out with them so badly he stopped speaking to them. They still live in the same house they mortgaged for him, while he has at least one very large house in a plutocratic corner of north London, a larger pile of money, and, as we know, a yacht moored in the Med. Having been beholden to close relatives and not having liked it, he has decided, I believe, not to take orders from anyone ever again.

 

The structure of his highly successful business is very unusual. As is well known, he took Newcastle United private when it had suited Sir John to operate through a public company. Sports Direct is a PLC, but Ashley’s own shares in Sports Direct are held by a private company, MASH Holdings. It is rare for a large chunk of a public company to be owned by a private one.

 

The payment of dividends, the valuation of debt, and, crucially, the shuffling of cash become opaque if certain accounting techniques peculiar to private companies are used. It would be much harder, for example, to use profits on player sales (which technically are capital gains, and therefore not taxable as trading profits) to pay wages if the company were public. Mike Ashley, I believe, does not like people second-guessing him, and does not regard himself as being accountable to anyone – he sees no reason to give interviews, for example.

 

Yet this man who knows best, takes no orders, and refuses to be accountable, appoints a loose cannon with a dicky heart to be his executive for incoming transfers, putting the nose of Derek Llambias thoroughly out of joint and prompting his resignation. We have no evidence that Pardew was upset about Kinnear, but he will have been, I have no doubt. At the same time we know that Ashley regards outgoing transfers as so important that he does them himself. He asked Arsenal which part of Cabaye they wanted to buy when they didn’t offer what Ashley thought he was worth. Nobody else thought Cabaye was worth that much, but Ashley did, and as a result he wasn’t sold. Indeed he allowed, or forced, Cabaye to listen to a phone conversation in which Cabaye was humiliated.

 

In relation to Cabaye, the easy and logical thing for Ashley to have done would have been to sell him for £10m. It would have produced a profit, and he could have blamed the sale on the player, as he did with Andy Carroll. He could then have used half the money for a couple of incoming transfers. This was exactly what I believe was discussed on the yacht – who to buy if Cabaye were sold. But he didn’t do that. Why not? Was it just because he had dreams of repeating the Carroll coup? Not if he had been listening to the lukewarm reaction of the Arsenal executive. No. He kept hold of Cabaye in order to keep Pardew, and indeed Graham Carr, on board.

 

Not everyone will agree with this. And I share the view of many that Kinnear was appointed precisely in order to destabilise Pardew, and to call off the many transfers lined up by Carr and Pardew (Gomis, Thauvin, Aubameyang) which Ashley did not want to conclude. Ashley, correctly in my view, distrusts Pardew’s judgement of players. He also trusts Carr’s judgement, but doesn’t see Pardew as manager for much longer. His next manager, who will not be Kinnear, will be someone whose judgement Ashley trusts, and who will be allowed to make his own decisions.

 

But some time in the last few weeks a buyer – I would bet a lot of money on this – has hoved into view. I don’t know who it is. It might be this Ukrainian chap who looks like a skittle. It might be one of those Americans we were all talking about a few months back.

 

But someone is talking to Ashley about a sale. And Ashley might not understand much about football club management, but he understands the value of stability. After all, he rewarded Pardew, and virtually everyone else, with an eight-year contract.

 

I’m guessing. I might be wrong. But wouldn’t it make sense for Ashley to steady the ship pending the sale of our club to an unknown billionaire who could then do something popular early doors and sack Pardew? Wouldn’t it make sense for the next manager to be the appointee of a dashing new owner? Sacking Pardew and appointing George Graham or Glenn Hoddle or Lee Clark or someone, frankly, dun- coloured and disappointing would simply bind the hands of the new owner. This would jeopardise the sale. And Ashley will know the next owner will want to appoint a top-rank manager who will cost a lot of money and will want to spend a lot of money. A Ukrainian oil billionaire of Newcastle United would want to compete with Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovich, I would have thought.

 

 

And Ashley is desperate to sell. He’s not in this for the long haul. He wants a quick route into the Champions’ League with Rangers. Can’t you just smell it?

 

Thought it was worth a post.

Nonsense.

you would hope this would mean the end of any more pathetic "alan pardew's black and white army" or "pardew gizza wave" chants. he should get as much stick as JFK or Ashley. he could have just kept his mouth shut.

Agreed this statement proves what many have said before, he will say/do whatever Ashley wants him to.

I have said on numerous occasions that I thought he got some unfair stick (well deserved MOST of the time)

But to come out with this shit is a disgrace..

Think it will take a lot to get rid of Ashley but getting this tool out is a step in the right direction..

Look at Liverpool to see what owners who want their assets on the pitch can do for your club.

Thanks to our owner compared to theirs we are nowhere in comparison.

He has surely made his money back now, why doesn't he sell up?

 

Can't be far off it though?? Shirley?

Allo Allo,

 

Now I understand on transfer deadline day everyone seems to have an Uncle, Friend, Cousin, Cat-walker that is best friends with a mega-star footballer and they have heard that they are seconds away from signing for whatever club the person writing the article seems to support but………..

 

Fridman

Fridman

In the immortal words of ‘Allo, Allo’, listen carefully as I will say this only once.

 

When I was 18-19 I worked in Germany for a company who made things to do with aeroplanes. They just did your normal everyday aeroplanes that you and I go on holiday on – however, every now and again some ridiculous order from a oil baron gazillionaire would come in and we would make that plane as a one off for him/her.

 

I left the company and returned to blighty but stayed in contact through social media and emails with a few of the lads I worked with.

 

Last weekend I got a very bizzare email from one of the Ukrainian lads who worked there saying that Mikhail Fridman (Chairman of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest privately owned investment groups – Forbes assessed his wealth in 2011 as $15.1 billion, making him the 7th richest man in Russia) is in opening talks with Ashley for our club. Now obviously, besides this email I have from someone who worked with me, I have no proof, so as much salt as you want to pinch with this one I suggest.

 

But it didn’t half get me thinking about how good that would be. Plus other than to wind me up, why would this guy email me this.

 

Has anybody heard something similar? Would people want him in? It would explain to me Ashley’s failure to spend this summer other than a Remy loan deal. I mean why put any more money into it when someone is willing to take it off your hands.

 

Having googled this guy, other than looking like Ashley’s Ukrainian double and being in oil, that’s all I know.

We can only dream.

Struggle to vent all my anger at Kinnear when its this bloke who's fully responsible.

Aye, he is a cancer & is destroying the club.

Honestly can't see him selling anytime soon as long as the club is making money.  :'(

Have palace signed the most players today?? Put a fiver on last night.

Wank.

Don't want him dead.. but I hate the bloke so much!!

 

Why not?

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/832939/drago-o.gif GIFSoup

Bang tidy..

'the man with the beard and no teeth'

That was awesome!

Any chance we could change the topic title to "Mike Ashley is a wanker" even just for a day to make me feel better??

Please...

have we done the least business in the league this window?

 

Once Manure sign someone, yes.

 

Fellaini will sign tonight.

Dream on, he's off to Man U.. 

Don't want him dead.. but I hate the bloke so much!!

They've got a real chance to build on the good feeling generated today, going into a two week break. I'd like to have confidence that they'll do that, but, well, they're daft cunts.

Agreed.

Kemen that's not fair!

Touché forgot about him.. 

Best summer signing by some distance IMO....

People still chanting s*** like 'Pardew give us a wave'

 

Well thats all fair and good if they are doing it waving their middle finger around as they chant. Providing its not in the family enclosure.

 

Somebody near to me shouted Peado when he waved.

Wonder how Pardew felt after hearing that witty jeer...

Gone bayern to win 2-1

Price ??

Derry City and Dundee double.

 

Chelsea at nearly 4/1 to win a one off football match is also too good to ignore. Backed.

Still 6/4 insane price..

Really hope this comes off, like the look of what little I have seen of him.

Justin Hardy ‏@Hardyboy79 3m

If #NUFC actually succeed with their £3.7m bid for Sao Paulo striker Luis Fabiano then that would be a bloody good purchase #IntoMyDreamTeam

Expand

Isn't he a bit old & shit now??

Easily our best player tonight. Really impressed me.

I know Gouffran in particular f***ing loves the Evening Chronicle. His confidence is going to be negatively affected by 35-40%.

 

a) If he's saying this in the press, he'll more than likely be saying it in the dressing room - the depressing b****** that he is.

 

b) As if the players just go home from training and sit in a dark room with their fingers in their ears going "LA LA LA LA LA LA". They'll know exactly what he's saying.

or he's lying through his teeth in order to give Morecombe proper respect and not just to be perceived to be arrogantly looking down at them and saying something completely different to the players.

 

Judging on previous form, I know which one is more likely to be correct

the one which fits better with the current agenda? Sorry but its an annoyance of mine, theres plenty out there for people to have a go at him for without this kind of thing which every prem manager would say something along the same lines to the press.

 

He said if they get physical we'll lose ffs

 

There's showing respect and there's utter f***ing madness.

he's right, we get into a physical game with them we're doing something very wrong when we should be using our (in theory) superior technical ability to beat them.

 

Exactly. It's a fact of football from grassroots to the highest level that inferior teams will try to make the game a physical one to get the upper hand. All he's saying here is that we need to use our technical ability to win, not 'MORECAMBE ARE MINT AND WE'RE GOING TO GET BUMMED'.

 

There are so many things he can be rightly criticised for, standard pre-game comments aren't one of them. Unfortunately if you're anti-Pardew on here though, you have to be against every single thing he says/does.

 

What utter bollocks.

 

Okay. The vast majority of posts in this thread support this, but nevermind.

 

I'd say there's probably a wealth of evidence that supports it, like. You might struggle to find any showing it's 'utter bollocks'.

True...

Any chance we could change the topic title to "Mike Ashley is a wanker" even just for a day to make me feel better??