Gallowgate Toon

I'd love to have Perotti but he's out of our reach, surely. He's a great talent and he'll be expensive as well, no way Sevilla will let him go cheap.

Just been in the Deli at Darras and saw Leon Best and some of his mates.

Back in training today iirc? Great boost for the players.

The idea that we wouldn't sell Enrique for less than £25m never mind £12m when his contract is up after next season is so f***ing ridiculous that you should feel ashamed to post this garbage. Don't shoot the messenger, the guy actually works within NUFC. I don't think the club genuinely values Jose at 25m but i'm certain now that some serious enquiries were made for a 12m fee in January (from AC) whereas before i didn't think Milan had made contact. On the 25m front, if that bit is true, i think it's a case of the club humouring Milan and just seeing if they'd bite.

From what i've been told, AC bid 12m for Jose in January, the club said no and that they wouldn't sell for less than 25m. The guy's a good source, thought he was taking the piss at first but if the journos are picking up on murmurs like this now, it could quite possibly be true.

I'd prefer Piatti, whenever i've seen him he's looked pretty decent if a bit small. How's he doing at Almeria? He was another one of those that fell under the 'next Maradona' category iirc.

The part about his fitness levels is very impressive. He's certainly a determined boy.

The best we can hope for is Ben Arfa comes back and lights up the league. That might give Jose some confidence in the club for next season.

Fair enough Man U or Arsenal etc but Villa and Liverpool?!?! The line 'I won't close the door on anyone' hardly screams of ambition either, it makes him sound hypocritical like he'd rather be anywhere than here.

Stupid comments from Jose, there's something seriously different about him atm. Seems a totally opposite character to the guy that said he wouldn't leave here for anyone but Barca. He's been different since the whole Twitter scandal imo and if those quotes are true, they are a stab in the back regarding what he's said in previous interviews. Very disappointed.

There was a mention in a Daily Mail article iirc with Pardew saying he was ready to recall him with a fairly immediate effect? Said something along the lines of 'he wanted him in and around the training ground to get him mixing with the team again'.

I think he trusts the players a bit more than Hughton does, he gives the likes of Enrique and Coloccini more licence to move further up the pitch and do their own thing. Under CH we were a well drilled team, disciplined but very predictable in terms of attack and i think Pardew has definitely made us more expansive but impressively has managed to maintain that solidity CH instilled. Great work so far.

I think cause Pardew likes the fullbacks to get higher up the pitch, Jonas has a bit more space to do his thing. He's not as off balance trying to simultaneously skin 2 players and cross unlike before and it's evident in his new found accuracy.

What a connection on that volley after the Williamson offside, some technique he's got.

Not sure if it's already been mentioned in this thread but I've got it on good authority that Milan put in a £12m bid for Jose in January but the club said they would only listen to offers of at least £25m.

Played Nile son.

Isn't Ranger supposed to have a bit of a knock? Pardew's usually spot on with subs, possible reason?

Embarrassing move by the club.

Unreal player, even in the first half I thought he was fantastic. Arse players literally ricocheting off him at one point Wilshere ran away from him. Credit to him and Joey, put in captain like performances driving the team forward even when it looked like all was lost.

Perfect timing to bring him back to training now, seeing him on the training pitch will give the players a massive boost. Probably the best news we could possibly have had considering the latest saga.

I'd say the club was lacking ambition if we hadn't accepted the deal, limiting ourselves to a stupidly overhyped, glorified battering ram of a striker who, if anything limited our style of play. We can get players a on a different level to AC with that cash. Seriously what is with the clamour for Carroll on here, he's not that good and never will be, he wasn't even the best player in our squad. What tools apart from heading does he really have to make it as a great player? His skill is average, as is his pace, intelligence and finishing. People need to give their heads a shake saying he was going to be a PL great (not specifically you Dave), after scoring 11 goals in one of the worst standard seasons in the league's history, a season where Leon Best has scored a hattrick and a newly promoted club has hit 5+ goals in 3 matches and lets not forget Kevin Nolan already has 10 goals as well. We now have a great chance to build a good footballing side with some higher level players, with this money we can get 6/7 Ben Afra/Tiote like signings ffs, If Andy Carroll had stayed we'd have been confined to alot of boring route 1 stuff and i wouldn't want a team to be built around him for long as he can only take you to a certain level as aplayer. Onwards and upwards i say. Good luck with that. Jesus H. Christ. I'm sure that post is all just in our heads, it can't really have happened, can it? Unbelievable. 6 or 7 Ben Arfa/Tiote-style signings? On this day I weep for the tragic passing of reality-based arguments. Firstly buying good players for minimal fees isn't hard like see Dembele, Afellay, VDV and Sessegnon for recent proof. Secondly i wasn't saying that 6/7 was a realistic outcome either, i was saying that in terms of price equivalence you 'CAN' (not will realistically) get that as those deals were around the 5m mark and 7 x 5 = 35. And pay them nothing? Doubt they'll come. Hence why i put 6 as well to allow an extra 5m in wages if that's how it will work.

I'd say the club was lacking ambition if we hadn't accepted the deal, limiting ourselves to a stupidly overhyped, glorified battering ram of a striker who, if anything limited our style of play. We can get players a on a different level to AC with that cash. Seriously what is with the clamour for Carroll on here, he's not that good and never will be, he wasn't even the best player in our squad. What tools apart from heading does he really have to make it as a great player? His skill is average, as is his pace, intelligence and finishing. People need to give their heads a shake saying he was going to be a PL great (not specifically you Dave), after scoring 11 goals in one of the worst standard seasons in the league's history, a season where Leon Best has scored a hattrick and a newly promoted club has hit 5+ goals in 3 matches and lets not forget Kevin Nolan already has 10 goals as well. We now have a great chance to build a good footballing side with some higher level players, with this money we can get 6/7 Ben Afra/Tiote like signings ffs, If Andy Carroll had stayed we'd have been confined to alot of boring route 1 stuff and i wouldn't want a team to be built around him for long as he can only take you to a certain level as aplayer. Onwards and upwards i say. Good luck with that. Jesus H. Christ. I'm sure that post is all just in our heads, it can't really have happened, can it? Unbelievable. 6 or 7 Ben Arfa/Tiote-style signings? On this day I weep for the tragic passing of reality-based arguments. Firstly buying good players for minimal fees isn't hard like see Dembele, Afellay, VDV and Sessegnon for recent proof. Secondly i wasn't saying that 6/7 was a realistic outcome either, i was saying that in terms of price equivalence you 'CAN' (not will realistically) get that as those deals were around the 5m mark and 7 x 5 = 35.

Well the club has a hell of a while to scout a lot of players, hardly impossible is it? Anyway that's only one way to spend the money, there's tons of varieties. I just think this saga doesn't necessaily signal a lack of ambition, fair enough if we'd sold at 20m but we've given ourselves a platform to get a better team, which would show ambition. One door shuts another opens etc. Obviously if they go for someone inferior to what we had then i'll hold my hands up and say yeah we're small time but the club have been giving off great signals with the latest transfers in, so i'd rather wait and see.

A team should sell one of their current best players to open the door for superior ones to come in, surely? AC as aplayer was going to limit our ambitions in the future because he's an average striker who is only suited to a one dimensional style of play. The timing of the sale was shocking to but the opportunity was too big to miss. Te second point is moot tbh but recent windows suggest the club can do smart business. Sorry but Carroll didn't limit our play, rather made the very best of what limited play we are capable off. If we're being truthful, bar the Ben Arfa who's not played 3 full games this season, Barton's been the only bit of creativity in our midfield and Carroll made the most of that. That first sentence pretty much encompasses my point, our team attack wise is terrible, we now have the opportunity to build something better overall. So to become better we need to go back to being s*** again? The only team that has worked out how to do that was Manure as far as I can remember, when RVN left. Surely you do realise that the reason people are pissed is because AC was still improving with every game he played? No people are mainly pissed off because the lack of immediate replacement is stupid but won't be detremental to our survival chances ultimately imo. And we don't have to become shit again, we're already fairly crap but extremely lucky the league is abysmal this year but on top of that all we need to do is ensure survival then we have a great budget to dramatically improve, so 6 more months of playing exactly the same way but with potentially less efficiency. The lad's improved no doubt but his potential is limited, let's just see how he does in a side who prefer to play the ball on the deck.

A team should sell one of their current best players to open the door for superior ones to come in, surely? AC as aplayer was going to limit our ambitions in the future because he's an average striker who is only suited to a one dimensional style of play. The timing of the sale was shocking to but the opportunity was too big to miss. Te second point is moot tbh but recent windows suggest the club can do smart business. Sorry but Carroll didn't limit our play, rather made the very best of what limited play we are capable off. If we're being truthful, bar the Ben Arfa who's not played 3 full games this season, Barton's been the only bit of creativity in our midfield and Carroll made the most of that. That first sentence pretty much encompasses my point, our team attack wise is terrible, we now have the opportunity to build something better overall.