quayside

We both know he was strongly tipped to have been coming here, I can't think of a more less likely appointment and he'd be the last name I would have used if I was trying to look like I knew something. Llambias lives in Essex and, as it happens, is a West Ham fan. A lot of West Ham fans (well of the ones that I know anyway) think Pardew was ok for them so maybe that's where the idea came from. Oh yeah and he loves a night out in the casino and owes Llambias shitloads of gambling debts etc etc.

Of course Llambias will put the Ashley case, what else could he do? Llambias is an absolute c*nt and everyone knows what Ashley is about and how he operates, we've seen what's happened here and we can all read how he operates with Sports Direct. But this whole " different agenda" stuff that you refer to - it involves completely f*cking and drastically reducing the value of a business he's stuffed hundreds of millions into does it? It involves playing yo-yo with the leagues and surrendering tens of millions in revenue? We lost to Fulham and may well lose to Arsenal, dark forces are at work...

Very poor. A proper joke poster nowadays. Just repeating what I was told Doesn't really bother me if it's true or not. It's just people love having digs for the sake of it. Keegan, Shearer, anybody with a hint of legacy at NUFC, you'll always get somebody willing to besmirch their names. It's just sad, as if we haven't got enough to be down about. besmirch

Judging a pundit will always be subjective. So defensive. Love it. Me too.

Judging a pundit will always be subjective.

fyp out of respect

Pants pissed

He does look a bit lost, he probably is. But that's what this business is about. How did Shearer feel at 16 years old 6 hours from home following his dream in Southampton - and not earning £75k a week.

Respect.

The short answer to that is nothing. He did at one point reduce his loan by £1 million but he stuck a load more money in after that. Going back to the thread I'm not arsed whether he reinvests the whole Carroll booty or not. The most important thing is quality rather than money spunked - if we buy 5 players of the same standard as Tiote and Ben Arfa for £20 million I couldn't give a toss if Ashley uses the rest to reduce his loan tbh. If some of the money goes into improving the youth set-up and scouting system, that would be A Good Thing. It would. My point was obviously that amount spent is not as relevant as quality of player bought. Boumsong for £8m or Williamson for £1m? Luque for £9m or Ben Arfa for £5m? Alan Smith for £6m or Tiote for £3m. That sort of thing. Obvious of course but I can see a lynching party being assembled if £35m isn't spent when in fact it might be possible to make a huge difference with less.

The short answer to that is nothing. He did at one point reduce his loan by £1 million but he stuck a load more money in after that. Going back to the thread I'm not arsed whether he reinvests the whole Carroll booty or not. The most important thing is quality rather than money spunked - if we buy 5 players of the same standard as Tiote and Ben Arfa for £20 million I couldn't give a toss if Ashley uses the rest to reduce his loan tbh.

I hope he hates it there. Looks very nervous. Is that his first ever proper tv interview? Can't remember him doing one when he was with us.

The debate about why it happened and who forced what issue will crack on for ever. But undoubtedly we are more at risk than we were. And I don't think many people are glad we are in this situation, I for one would rather yesterday hadn't happened and AC was still here.

Abdoulaye Faye was one he scrapped with.

The wage bill will keep reducing as higher earners get to the end of their contract and aren't renewed (e.g Smith) or are shipped out (Xisco). I would say that a club with Carroll in it would be a more attractive sales proposition than one without though.

not easier to manipulate - told what to do and what not to do from day one, even before day one hughton came from modest background, by all accounts took the job on without asking for the MONEY for re-investment that shearer was but developed into someone with quite a lot of power in the club because of his achievements. power that would manifest itself in, i dont know, having a say in how the club is run? something its been proven in court ashley and llambias dont like putting in the hands of the manager. i dont see hughton as an iron man, i see him as not alan pardew. and i see alan pardew as a man put in a job for a very specific reason, and that is so ashley can do what he wants, when he wants without getting landed with another court case. unless you think he was appointed because of his experience and achievements? or would care to explain why pardew was being lined up for months while hughton was still here? I find the first line of your post to be contradictory. Surely you are defining manipulation? The circumstances as to how Pardew got the job are not relevant to me. This is football, it's a sh1tty industry and can be brutal at times. We aren't the only club to have shafted a manager and Ashley's regime isn't the only one to have done it at Newcastle. I've said before on here why I think Pardew was appointed. It was because Ashley thinks Pardew will do a better job at this level than Hughton. Many said it was a crap decision at the time (me included) but I would say that Pardew's support is growing. You clearly believe that Carroll was sold against his will and well - I don't.

I really do not think that Carroll was the innocent young player shipped off to the other side of the country against his will by the evil despot Ashley. However I agree that anything said in an official club interview should be taken with a pinch of salt.

I see that the theory that Pardew was appointed because he is an easier man for Ashley to manipulate than Hughton is still doing the rounds. This is the same Hughton who was himself widely branded as a yes man and a puppet following Ashley's refusal to give the job to Shearer. I have to say I have a real problem seeing Hughton as some sort of iron man who would have somehow single handed prevented Carroll, Ashley and Liverpool FC from pulling off that deal yesterday. It's nonsense imo.

http://www.bootcampking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/NoShitSherlock.jpg I suppose it does at least put paid to the conspiracy theory, hinted at by True Faith and others, about Carroll not really being injured and simply being kept fresh for a high value sale on 31st January. Wait it's not the end of the conspiracy theory yet! Fat Mike had a clause in the deal that prohibited Liverpool from playing Carroll in the next few weeks and where Dalglish had to go on record saying that Carroll is indeed injured so that Ashley would be accused of orchestrating the whole deal including the injury part Of course. How could I fail to see through that

So was Carroll bigger than club then? Of course not, just a damn important player for the clubs future and the fans. Is it unreasonable that his contract reflects that. The contract was only signed in October iirc, since when he's done a very good half a season and is now out injured for some time. The club said they would look at the contract in the summer when he's done a full season (less time missed when he's injured) and renegotiate then and I can't see that as being unreasonable. I really rate Carroll but Liverpool have taken a huge financial risk with this deal imo.

So was Carroll bigger than club then? And if they had given in to Carroll it is tantamount to giving every player in the squad an invitation to rush in and demand to renegotiate their contract.

http://www.bootcampking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/NoShitSherlock.jpg I suppose it does at least put paid to the conspiracy theory, hinted at by True Faith and others, about Carroll not really being injured and simply being kept fresh for a high value sale on 31st January.

Agree with those who draw attention to the use of words by Pardew, money going in to the club is indeed different from money going into players. Fwiw I think the club will invest in players this summer (assuming we stay up) and I think the investment will not just be on lower league potential. But whether it matches the Carroll money is another matter. No capital outlay to me means that the investment in HBA and the players bought last year has to be funded as well.

I've been really trying to get my head round the reason for the transfer request. This seems the most logical explanation I've seen so far. At the end of the day money is king. If you believe it you could also add into that explanation the scenario described by Pardew for a how and why the request got handed in. According to Pardew it came from an attempt by Carroll to force the club to increase his wages which was rejected. That would explain how Carroll was able to come to the conclusion that he was forced out.

I'm sure he wanted to come, the cynicism that greeted the bid is understandable but it is highly unlikely that the club would have gone for him if there wasn't an indication from N'zogbia that he was up for it. Whelan turning it down is totally understandable, any chance Wigan might have of staying up would reduce significantly if he left.