quayside

I have no doubt that Ashley will not hesitate to bin Pardew when he's seen enough and wants rid. He's totally ruthless in that respect. Everyone thought Ashley and Llambias were joined at the hip and look what happened. And let's face it Llambias really was Ashley's mouthpiece and never muttered a word against his leader. What happens if we get to a post Pardew scenario is anyone's guess. I hope it doesn't happen, simply because I want Pardew to succeed as our manager., as I have wanted every one of our managers to succeed. The trouble is that the NUFC job has sunk bigger and better managers than Pardew. Not that we are especially different to other clubs, the vast majority of managers have a shelf life that is not of their choosing.

I really wish Pardew would wind his neck in as well. I would like to hear or read the full transcript of some of these interviews. I remember him being asked whether he was interested in the England job when everyone thought Redknapp would get it. And AP said he wasn't interested, and the headlines proclaimed that Pardew was ruling himself out of the job. He got ridiculed for ruling himself out when he hadn't been ruled in, even Redknapp took the p*ss (ironic as it turned out). Sometimes quotes get put out in the way that has the most dramatic effect.

God he's a depressing t***. The fact he names them is ludicrous That's my point, just say we aren't interesting in selling anyone. If he gets asked what if a bid comes in. Just say "it wouldn't be welcome". I hate him. Literally all he has to say. We don't want to sell anyone. Easy as that. The blokes a f***ing moron And thus he gets called a liar when the club sells a player, as indeed he was when Carroll was sold. Incidentally if Bale does leave Spurs then AVB is a liar.

Any chance of a recap? Saw something in someone's sig but I haven't seen anything else depressing. Was he a credible ITK though? The calling of Pardew makes Golfmag a very credible ITK, probably the best ever. I do find it hard to get hold of the reducing of costs/wages etc. I just don't think he has any say in that. Other than that.... He's the direct link between the players and the board so he has a massive say tbh. It's pretty widely accepted that Hughton was sacked because he was too pally with the players and would stick up for them when needed. He has a massive say on wages that are written into the players contracts? I don't think he has anything like that sort of influence. Nobody has said that, have they? The manager can have a massive say on the clubs overall spending though, aye. If he has a backbone and kicks up a fuss about a lack of spending, or throws in an ultimatum if his players are sold etc, something that Pardew will never do. He's a yes man. I quote "Part of Pardew's remuneration is based on how much the club's operating expenses (wge costs for him) are reduced. " So yes someone has said that tbh, and I don't think he has any say on players' wages. None of that is suggesting that he has a say on player wages though, it's suggesting that part of the reason he was hired was to help reduce the clubs operating expenses. Which doesn't necessarily imply that he has a direct say on player wages. I don't see how he can have a contract where he is remunerated for something he doesn't control. I am not in any way disputing that Golfmag was ITK by the way, clearly he was. I just don't think AP controls any of the clubs operating expenses. I don't think debate will resolve it - maybe we have to agree to differ.

You tell them the player is not for sale at any price. Which is what big clubs do. Big clubs may say that but it doesn't stop them selling when the price is right.

That's a fair point about reducing the wage bill by unloading those who were overpaid. I would think any club would want a "cost effective" squad. Although again I would have to say that I am really not convinced that he has much of say on transfer dealings or ever has had.

The next day he said "I'm not criticising Mike or Derek [Llambias, the club's chief executive]," said Pardew. "That would be ridiculous" No doubt got a phone call and was told to apologise. So the apology cleans the slate. If we don't bring anyone in this summer, other than Remy, and Cabaye goes at 10.55pm on Monday night then financially its been a decent window. Do you think Pardew is going to be happy? I personally don't but some people clearly think he would be because the club had a profitable window.

Any chance of a recap? Saw something in someone's sig but I haven't seen anything else depressing. Was he a credible ITK though? The calling of Pardew makes Golfmag a very credible ITK, probably the best ever. I do find it hard to get hold of the reducing of costs/wages etc. I just don't think he has any say in that. Other than that.... He's the direct link between the players and the board so he has a massive say tbh. It's pretty widely accepted that Hughton was sacked because he was too pally with the players and would stick up for them when needed. He has a massive say on wages that are written into the players contracts? I don't think he has anything like that sort of influence. Nobody has said that, have they? The manager can have a massive say on the clubs overall spending though, aye. If he has a backbone and kicks up a fuss about a lack of spending, or throws in an ultimatum if his players are sold etc, something that Pardew will never do. He's a yes man. I quote "Part of Pardew's remuneration is based on how much the club's operating expenses (wge costs for him) are reduced. " So yes someone has said that tbh, and I don't think he has any say on players' wages. I don't think he's a yes man, he's made pointed comments in the press about investing in the squad, and he openly criticised Ashley for getting it wrong last summer. The comments were at the end of a p*ss poor season and probably have a berth somewhere in the Pardew excuses thread. He says too much to the media and needs to think before he opens his mouth is my view.

Any chance of a recap? Saw something in someone's sig but I haven't seen anything else depressing. Was he a credible ITK though? The calling of Pardew makes Golfmag a very credible ITK, probably the best ever. I do find it hard to get hold of the reducing of costs/wages etc. I just don't think he has any say in that. Other than that.... He's the direct link between the players and the board so he has a massive say tbh. It's pretty widely accepted that Hughton was sacked because he was too pally with the players and would stick up for them when needed. He has a massive say on wages that are written into the players contracts? I don't think he has anything like that sort of influence.

Any chance of a recap? Saw something in someone's sig but I haven't seen anything else depressing. Was he a credible ITK though? The calling of Pardew makes Golfmag a very credible ITK, probably the best ever. I do find it hard to get hold of the reducing of costs/wages etc. I just don't think he has any say in that. Other than that....

And the exit of James Perch

Just looked back in the thread and PSG publicly wanted him prior to his West Ham horror show. Was that tweet about end of April? Early February, she subsequently dismissed it as a joke. Someone must have told her it was getting some discussion! I think she subsequently deleted it but it was definitely there and got some air time on here.

I keep thinking back to Fiona Cabaye's tweet about she and Yohan wanting a "nice transfer" - and that was before last season had even finished.

I gave up on footballers caring a while ago tbh. If he stays and does well for us all well and good, but that doesn't alter the fact that he was rank for us last season when we needed him to step up. A class player (which he is supposed to be) will alway show that class whatever the circumstances.

The club's not worth 300m. Huh? My point is this: why would a company with 100 million in debt and posting yearly losses be MORE valuable to a prospective buyer than one (same assets) with no debts and posting a 20 million or so yearly profit? Can see your point but I think the key to this is that it has always been assumed that Ashley would aim at least to get back what he had spent on the club. So say he spent £140 million buying it and then put another £110 million in as loan, he's out of pocket by £250 million. So if he's selling the club then the assumption is he'd want that sum (at least) for the club to cover his costs. On the other hand if he ever manages to recover all of the debt out of the clubs cash flows then he would only be out of pocket by £140 million. So if he sold the club at that point for say £200 million he's made a £60 million profit overall. And potentially therefore the asking price for the club could be less without the debt. I don't know if that helps...

I think it's a trust problem. When Ashley has left people to their own devices it's come back to bite him in the arse in some way. - Allows Allardyce to sign players he wants, ends up stuck with utter rubbish on high wages - Lets Chris Mort set up a "system", ends up with the manager quitting (rightly) with the others in the system completely despised by the fans and s*** at their jobs - Gets Llambias to run the club, despised by the fans, extremely hesitant in the transfer market to the point that Ashley apparently has to step in to push through purchases in January, fails completely to increase non-football revenues & signs a sponsorship contract that pisses off everyone I don't know if Pardew was Ashley's mate before getting the job or Llambias' mate. If it was the latter then it's another reason that Ashley might not trust people to do their jobs, if it's the former then it's probably why he's still here despite being demonstrably out of his depth. For some bizarre reason it looks like he trusts JFK hence why he keeps turning to him despite him being a lunatic. Ultimately Ashley's either going to have to bite the bullet and find someone to run the club that he doesn't know and initially trust but who can actually do the job and who knows how football works or he's going to have to be a lot more hands-on in running the club. I think you're very close to the mark. Generally in his business dealings he works with people who he has known from the very start, or has known over time and promoted. It's clearly a fkn nightmare getting people in he feels comfortable with, and then when he does they turn out to have gained his trust by basically bullshitting just how good they are in a field he knows practically sod all about. I saw Sir John Hall on TV the other day for the unveiling of the gates & thought he's exactly what the club needs at this point, Ashley should beg him to come in and run things, then I realised that Ashley hates him and Shepherd for not disclosing some of the debts that needed to be repaid when the club was sold, etc. Sir John is 80 now and has Prostate cancer - there is NO way he could run the club now and after he stepped down as Chairman for health reasons in 1997, there were plenty of people who were prepared to rubbish his contribution by saying he only did it for the money..... Would YOU want all that again at 80....?? He was, and remains, the best Chairman/owner that NUFC have ever had and we will be lucky to get anyone similar in the foreseeable future. Remind me, who was it that sold the club to Ashley, and told us he was the best man for the job Sir John is many things, but being clairvoyant is not one of them - Ashley told him he wanted to make the club more appealing and with a wider world appeal...he's done that hasn't he....NOT. Ashley got the shares because SJH wouldn't sell to Shepherd - do you wish he had done that instead..? An interesting theory, SJH and his family sold their stake to Ashley for more than £50 million. How was Shepherd going to raise anything like the money to compete with that? Bearing in mind that even if anyone would have loaned that sort of money (in 2006/7) they would spend a lot of time going over the finances of what was being bought first. Given the state of the clubs finances no one would have got involved imo. Potential buyers had already had a look and run away. From that quote from SJH above it sounds as though the Malaysians he was talking to were preparing to do due diligence, and wanted 6 weeks to do it. Would that deal have gone through? No such problem with Mike of course....

Sorry Inochi but is that an actual media quote or is it a little satirical quip of yours?

I too really appreciate what SJH did for our club. Sure he saw an opportunity and he made a great deal of money from it but the club needed someone with the drive and imagination to put it back on the map again. And he did it. He sold out to Ashley because he was the only buyer around who would jump in. It was well publicised that SJH was looking to sell. Potential buyers (Belgravia and Polygon were named) had looked at buying NUFC, but none of them wanted to proceed. Bearing in mind that at the time of Ashley buying the club, we were in the process of racking up total losses of £45 million for 2006 and 2007 it is not surprising that no one was prepared to take it on. The club was in a desparate financial state and needed something to happen. Not only were we making huge losses but we had bank borrowings secured against every available asset at punitive interest rates. Ashley did the deal seemingly without being too bothered about detailed investigation. And as we all know he has funded it himself ever since for better or worse.

Nolan thought Shola was "fantastic" on Saturday. Weird sh*t indeed....

I thought Llambias was a terrible choice as CEO by Ashley and I blame him for a lot of the turmoil that we went through in the early dark times. I used to shudder every time he made any sort of comment in the press. I thought Ashley could do much better than Lambias. I've posted the words "be careful what you wish for" on here a few times, I need to heed my own advice.

Panic sets in at this time of year. Bluffs have been called and clubs that need to sign players, sometimes just to prove they are in the market, pay silly money. yes but this is Arsene Wenger we're on about Indeed - if it is Wenger who really calls the shots. The real interest may not be from Arsenal and NUFC are simply waiting to flush out the real money? Hate the situation we are in now, we are simply waiting for the bigger clubs to move so that we can (hopefully) move on the players we want. I know that goes against the grain but it is the way it is and where we are. we actually want a player? Other than that silly slip agree, simply the fact of being a club outside the champions league (or arsenal) and the growing trend of football around europe between those with the big cash and those without getting screwed over time and again. Its a sad state of affairs when the winners of the top 4 leagues in europe are between at most 3 clubs but more often 2 or even just 1 club. Fwiw I do actually think we want to bring players in. Would imagine you probably said the same last summer. Not sure about that but I suppose the truth is on this forum somewhere. Looks like you totally avoided the forum last summer, apart from one post. Guess you must've been busy. I seem to remember not being ars*d to post much as I was pretty sure we were only going to sign one first team player.

Panic sets in at this time of year. Bluffs have been called and clubs that need to sign players, sometimes just to prove they are in the market, pay silly money. yes but this is Arsene Wenger we're on about Indeed - if it is Wenger who really calls the shots. The real interest may not be from Arsenal and NUFC are simply waiting to flush out the real money? Hate the situation we are in now, we are simply waiting for the bigger clubs to move so that we can (hopefully) move on the players we want. I know that goes against the grain but it is the way it is and where we are. we actually want a player? Other than that silly slip agree, simply the fact of being a club outside the champions league (or arsenal) and the growing trend of football around europe between those with the big cash and those without getting screwed over time and again. Its a sad state of affairs when the winners of the top 4 leagues in europe are between at most 3 clubs but more often 2 or even just 1 club. Fwiw I do actually think we want to bring players in. Would imagine you probably said the same last summer. Not sure about that but I suppose the truth is on this forum somewhere.

Panic sets in at this time of year. Bluffs have been called and clubs that need to sign players, sometimes just to prove they are in the market, pay silly money. yes but this is Arsene Wenger we're on about Indeed - if it is Wenger who really calls the shots. The real interest may not be from Arsenal and NUFC are simply waiting to flush out the real money? Hate the situation we are in now, we are simply waiting for the bigger clubs to move so that we can (hopefully) move on the players we want. I know that goes against the grain but it is the way it is and where we are. we actually want a player? Other than that silly slip agree, simply the fact of being a club outside the champions league (or arsenal) and the growing trend of football around europe between those with the big cash and those without getting screwed over time and again. Its a sad state of affairs when the winners of the top 4 leagues in europe are between at most 3 clubs but more often 2 or even just 1 club. Fwiw I do actually think we want to bring players in.

Panic sets in at this time of year. Bluffs have been called and clubs that need to sign players, sometimes just to prove they are in the market, pay silly money. yes but this is Arsene Wenger we're on about Indeed - if it is Wenger who really calls the shots. The real interest may not be from Arsenal and NUFC are simply waiting to flush out the real money? Hate the situation we are in now, we are simply waiting for the bigger clubs to move so that we can (hopefully) move on the players we want. I know that goes against the grain but it is the way it is and where we are.