toon25

We're buying young players so we can sell them at a profit in 2/3 years time. Perfect business strategy. Maybe. I don't think he's planning to stay for the long term though. I'm glad the days of everest high wages are going; in the long term I see football in general heading that way. With foresight, I can't see how its going to end in anything but tears with the likes of Man City and Chelsea once the oligarchs finally get bored and see no further profit in it. It may be gradual but in many senses you could argue we're taking the right stance. Regular business ethics don't apply with competetive sport though, as their are too many variables to apply spending just enough to accumulate and having to rely on merely having employees on roll that can fill a playing position. It's only ever going to get you so far. I'm no doom-mongerer as I'm quite happy with many of the signings in midfield; they seem really astute buys but the dismantling of a strong defensive unit has been the catalyst for the decline of many an effective team. I think we have a first team that is adequate without the players that have left, assuming they maintain fitness but I won't rule out the possibilty of a struggle or even relegation. Maybe we are a club struggling from the 'sins of the father' and the Fallout of the Shepherd years and Ashley in a clumsy, botched way is seeing the way things are headed. The noises made not too long ago suggest that the man wants out, as I suspect that though he sees clubs are potential cash-cows; it is difficult to do stay in the top tier and especially do well in the way he may have originally desired, coupled with the extra difficulty of slaking the ambitions of an avid fan base. What I can't understand is why Ashley is getting rid of the best/most highly paid players at the club if he wants out. Whilst he'll save ££, how many new club owners, that have acquired their clubs recently, have done so on the basis of the wage bill being lower? Very few I'd guess. I doubt that twat at Liverpool first looked at the wages before whacking in an offer. If someone wants a club, they'll have it and frankly, a successful, ambitious, upward looking club, is far more likely to gain attention than a club starting a firesale of its core group. Which leads me to ask, if Ashley is indeed looking to sell, what type of people is he targeting? On the basis of his actions so far, he's most likely looking for the equivalent of a Sports Direct chav popping in to pick up his Donnay boxer shorts.

I do sometimes wonder why we come under so much media stick whilst all those Scouse twats got so much sympathy when their fat Americans were taking them to the pit of oblivion.

Reading a few of the more sensible posts here, I quite agree that Enrique isn't the one to blame here. The only irksome thing is going to those Scouse cunts - those oh so loyal fans that left in their droves when Woy was fucking things up for them. They truly are the equivalent of 'Spawney Get' from Viz. But who can blame him for leaving a club, as Dave rightly said, that in the past month has sold/pushing out, some of its most important players? For quite some time I've firmly been of the opinion that whilst generally clueless, Ashley has had the right intentions - no club has an endless pit of money and its only right that he should make it self-sustaining. But this week has finally proved that I've been wrong. I honestly don't know what the guy is up to. Initially I was devastated by the Carroll transfer, but later came around to think that the money would come in useful this summer, even if some of it was used to cover costs of free transfers and updating the training ground. But quite simply, the fact we've not signed anyone in key positions (a forward, LB, and a CB) has frankly shown a lack of foresight. These clowns don't think in the future. They deal with things on a day to day basis. If a good sum comes in for a player, they'll look at it seriously and take it. They'll not even think about replacements. What I find most sad is the extent to which we've fallen so far behind twats like Liverpool over the past 6-8 months. Whilst they were VERY lucky to engineer the exit of their owners, we nevertheless had an opportunity to challenge with the squad we had on 1st Jan, with minimal investment, for a place in Europe. Alas, what Ashley's continued presence does is keep a firm divide in this club that will continue to grow and fester. The only thing stopping that divide from causing a swathe of negativity from engulfing the club was the 'team spirit'. Now, that's gone. Irrespective of whether or not we replace Barton and Enrique, that team spirit is now far more fragile and I firmly believe that we'll be weaker as a result. The players we will have brought in won't have that desire to stick two fingers up at the owners and the press, to prove doubters wrong. I personally wouldn't have thought it would have done much to appease us fans this summer. Even if we'd have held on to Nolan, Barton and Enrique and perhaps brought in another forward as well as the freebies, I dare say a majority would have been happy. What Ashley is thinking by dismantling the core of the team I truly don't know. He might save ££s, but how that might make Newcastle United a more saleable asset when we're in the shit I don't know. Ashley has no ambition, he doesn't even appear to want us, so kindly fuck right off you fat twat and stop palming off a loyal fanbase with bullshit excuses. Was quite looking forward to the new season last week. Oh well.

Jesus. Anyway, I thought we'd agreed personal terms with him about a month ago and it was only the agent fees holding things up?

Too true, the serious s*** at NUFC under Ashley only started when this numpty got his feet under the table. http://www.true-faith.co.uk/tf/features.nsf/0/301B9BE80BDACCF1802578DF0065862C?OpenDocument Whilst Mort was also a liar, he was, at the very least, a face for the club. Other than that poxy he interview he gave to SSN about a 'package' to sell the name of the ground to the highest bidder, I can't remember the last time Llambias spoke about club events. I also recall him sounding like a complete plonker.

How genuine were the bids for M'Bengue btw? Media bullshit or was there really an attempt to get him in?

The issue in Jan was the lack of time to find Carroll's replacement. That said, I personally think we needed another striker anyway, but that's now by the by. Absolutely NO excuses this time, however. They've known for months that Enrique was likely to leave so they better damn well find a replacement.

What an utterly absurd post. To apply that logic to all southerners is moronic. I hardly ever reply to WUM posts or posts that show such complete ignorace, simply because it's a waste of time, but in this case I have to say, you're ocming out with a load of pure, unadulterated bollocks.

I love this club more than my own family apparently, so they keep telling me anyway, and i'm not even a Geordie, infact i'm as southern as you get, but from the age of 4 i've had this club as the centre of my life, dramatic maybe but completely true. Ive spent more money following this club and than you could ever dream of, a mental amount infact. Like you i hate what Ashley is doing, but in this case i think the blame was with both of them to begin with but now its Joey who has made it into the s*** storm it has become. Was Keegan wrong when he suspended Joey was at Man.City, was Shearer wrong to make him train alone when Joey kicked off after his stupid challenge at Liverpool and slated Shearer in front of the team, there has to discipline at clubs, Barton may not like it but as is being proven he cannot behave himself, eventually the bad side of him comes out, when it comes out in some people it affects one relationship, like Cole and Sheringham at Man.Utd, they didn't speak but didn't let it go further, But with Joey it affects everything, everyone around him suffers. I know Joeys case is different but tbf at the start he had valid points but he has gone way too far, the poor little me act has shown to be utter crap now. This isn't about his contract, it isn't about loving this club, its isn't about wanting whats best for all of us, not anymore, its about him and his need to be centre of attention. Or am i as a southerner and everyone else who refuse to blame just Ashley being controlled ?. For the record I dont see myself as a southerner, just a person, partner and a dad, i dont see you as a northerner, i see you as a person, a special one at that because of who you support, that anti southerner attitute you have stinks and does you no justice. Here, here.

I hope you're referring specifically to those southerners that are in fact dopey. Really can't abide the assumption that if you're not born north of the Watford gap you automatically know fuck all about football. Ridiculous.

I'm a southerner and I know fucking loads about the game.

This. Will have been told he can leave on a free if an offer comes in. He will most likely say he loves it here and is staying on, refusing to speak to other clubs that have shown an interest. If he's as principled as he says he is, he will have told them he's going nowhere and will stay until the end of his contract. This could become like one of those situations of FM where, in order to get rid of Smith for fuck all you continually slag him off in the press and fine him until he finally relents and he goes.

Part of the reason Hughton was sacked/Pardew was brought in was that Hughton was supposedly too close to the players Exactly. Didn't Barton himself say he liked Pardew at a talk-in? There's no conspiracy here other than the fact Barton has continued to push his luck and has ended up picking a fight with someone that was bound to end in tears.

me too Can't see any other reason why he'd continue to mouth off about the owners on Twitter tbh.

Will end up at a club like Fulham I reckon. (If rumours are true of course) Will he be replaced is the question?

The only hassle I've witnessed is a few muppets on a messageboard crying into their keyboards. Right. Well if you could afford the occasional newspaper you'd see that his words create negativity far beyond the forums that we just don't need when trying to attract players and maintain a modicum of team spirit. Nail. Head. Once again. This club is plagued, and will continue to be plagued whilst Ashley is here, by a divide from top to bottom. All Barton does is add fuel to flames. It's hardly as though the fans are ignorant of the fact that Ashley is unpopular among staff and fans alike.

Agreed 100%. The League simply isn't what might be termed an 'open' competition any more. Money has changed that. I think it's a sad indictment of the game that finishing 4th is considered the panacea for many a club, even to the extent that finishing in a European spot, a la Spurs is either considered not good enough or a waste of fucking time. right, so what's the solution? bust ourselves trying to get somewhere we simply would not be able to sustain without massive investment (sounds familiar) or fuck about in mid table and hopefully sneak a cup or something? first ones not really an option tbh is it?...only thing that changes the parameters would be a great crop of youngsters coming through and/or stumbling on a genius as a manager who propels the club there himself EDIT: i'm taking ashley out of this train of thought by the way Unfortunately I think that for clubs aside from Shitty, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, and possibly Everton, fucking around in mid-table is the best we can hope for, especially in our predicament at moment (I'm not disappointment by this, btw, I'd prefer that than flirting with relegation). I'm not just talking about lack of investment, Everton have shown that lack of investment need not preclude an attempt at challenging for Europe, I'm talking about the degree of division within the club, from top to bottom, that will continue rear its head so long as Ashley is here and so long as people think something 'isn't right', either with transfers/team form/etc. There's a blame culture at NUFC that's not going to go away any time soon. It's not helpful and it's going to cast a shadow over this club time and time again. I'm not saying we ought not to discuss some of the issues, nor that some people are entirely blame-less in fermenting this culture, simply that until there is a sense of unity and togetherness, from the board to the fans, we'll not be going anywhere fast, irrespective of who we might buy/not buy.

Agreed 100%. The League simply isn't what might be termed an 'open' competition any more. Money has changed that. I think it's a sad indictment of the game that finishing 4th is considered the panacea for many a club, even to the extent that finishing in a European spot, a la Spurs is either considered not good enough or a waste of fucking time.

Absolutely. It's also completely unhelpful given the fans' frustration with lack of striker/lack of any contingency plan whatsoever for a new LB. Strange all of his rants seem to coincide with any sign of fan dissatisfaction too

Really like Joey, but it's exactly this nonsense that will keep the club divided - fans and players v the board.

We've had such a disjointed pre-season that i don't expect us to hit the ground running. But given the players we've brought in so far, and they're undoubtedly talented, HBA's return and the emergence of Vukic, I see no reason not to be optimistic for. The forthcoming season.

On what basis? The cunt.

Mancini on about needing another central mid and a winger. How many players do they want ffs? Any ideas as to who's likely to be shown the door at shitty?

Bloody hell Skirge. Absolutely genius.

[quote author=Skirge link=topic=68821.msg3097746#msg3097746 date Every time I see your sig, Skirge. Has me in stitches man. I aim to please.. but I think it takes to much attention away from my avatar. Not at all sir. That, also, gets me everytime. Would defo like to see a bigger version.