Geordie_once_removed

He seems perfect for the Saudi league. Still a big name, he went to Qatar with England after all, so attractive to them. I don't think his injury record would be such an issue there either as the pace of the league is slower so he'd likely have fewer injuries. Kante was almost permanently injured for his last couple of seasons in the Premier League, he went to Saudi and he looks a player reborn in the Euros. 

Adams has impressed me this tournament, well except at doing anything vaguely threatening in front of goal. Good job he's not playing up front alone...

Ok here's my final thoughts on what it still quietly to be transfer bollocks anyway. Our lot have heard on the wind that Everton will sell him on the cheap if the deal is done before the end of June, so the club has put in an offer. It'll be nowhere near the 35 million and is quite likely to be sub 20. As a sweetener for Everton they have offered Minteh on loan with a very low loan fee.  Meanwhile later in the window Wilson is sold for about 10 million. If it all works out it could be considered a win win win for the club.

They get a player who knows his place in the squad, while also offering something a bit different to the established number 1 striker.  A hot prospect gets Premier League minutes. The money from Wilson (and saved here) is used to get that top quality RW and RCB the club is look for.

Right that's enough fantasyland for me. I'm off Vampire hunting, as you all know the shortest night of the year are the safest for this.

If this turns out to be DCL for about 15 million, with Minteh going the other way on loan I'd be fine with it.  My only concern would be that Dyche doesn't seem the ideal manager to help develop a winger with flair.

3 hours ago, Chris_R said:

 

Gardening leave is his notice period, because he's put in his notice to leave. You can do that at any place of work without having somewhere else to go, this is no different. He'll serve out his notice period (gardening leave) and then he's free to do whatever he wants with his life.

 

What we feel about how Man U have handled this and whether we have any recourse is entirely separate, and doesn't depend on if he ultimately goes there or not.

 

We're asking for compensation to shorten / waive his gardening leave.

That's kind of what I expected. The main cost to Man U would be political in that they look cheap, amateur and ultimately not as trustworthy to potential employees which would matter some as those at the top end of the industry may not want to deal with that, so they would be overall a less attractive proposition.

1 hour ago, r0cafella said:

Our options? If man united decided they didn’t want Ashworth I imagine he would rot on gardening leave and go at the end of his contract. 

I was meaning towards Man U. On the one hand there is a clear disruption of a rival due to approaching their employee but legally I'm not sure that would be much of a case as we presumably didn't have to put him on gardening leave. It would be politically costly to Man U and make them look a bit cheap and amateur but beyond that I'm not sure if their would be tangible consequences.

Apologies if asked already but what are Newcastle's options if Man United decide to walk away? Can they still demand some compensation? He clearly can't come back and you've lost the use of a key employee (while still paying him).

On Southgate as a manager, I broadly like him as England manager but international football is so different from club football and I think it will really expose his biggest weaknesses as a manager and not really compliment his strengths. Specifically his lack of tactical flexibility and ability to impact games with changes while no one will really care that much about how he carries himself with dignity and seems to impart that on his team. When you're a club manager you're not really representing anything bigger/embodying and broader principles, so why would people care that much.

4 minutes ago, Keegans Export said:

Really? We sold ASM and needed a productive left-winger to replace him which is exactly what we got

Gordon, Joelinton, Willock and even Anderson could play there with only minor changes to the established system. Even with ASM leaving it seemed the position we were strongest in.

I wonder if Chelsea signing Tosin ahead of us meant we went for Trafford over the Georgian guy as he's cheaper and we now need to reallocate some funds to buy a CB.

To me the signing makes a lot of sense as do most of our transfers. The only one I still don't really get is Barnes.

Happy with this. Though he does look a bit like Sloth from The Goonies.

5 hours ago, Pilko said:

 

Never forget.

That looks just like a Viz fake newspaper page for 'Take a shit'.

Just like Everton going for Phillips is the most Everton signing possible at the moment. Hendrick signing for us under Ashley was such a peak Ashley move in such a terrible way. I feel bad for the guy, before he'd even kicked a ball for us he had already become the personification of the deep malaise the club was in. But by God I'm also glad to see him going and another connection to that period severed and relegated to history.

1 hour ago, BGRM said:

Everton after Kalvin Philipps according to SSN. 

Oooo that is such an Everton signing.  

I wonder that without European football the club might actually spend more than it was planning to in order to show to the top players that as a club we're still progressing hoping this will make them stay. I think next season is perhaps the biggest in the clubs modern history, if it goes well and Champions football is secured I think it is possible to see Newcastle win the League within the next couple of year. If we falter then that will see Howe go and a number of our top players pushing for moves and we become a northern Spurs, the nearly men, who occasionally taste European football but are never realistically in with a chance of winning the league.

1 hour ago, SUPERTOON said:

De Zerbi to Chelsea doing the rounds amongst Chelsea fans.

That'll do pig. That'll do.

Goes hand in glove with their "strategic" approach to owning a football club. Have a money ball approach to player recruitment based on buying young unproven talent, then hire a manager who just left a club due it's policy of signing young unproven talent over more experienced players.  Can someone get me some popcorn while I sit back and enjoy this?

Fecking Scum United. I'm mainly hacked off for three reasons. 

1. I live on continental Europe so I've possibly lost a chance to see is play live.

2. Scum United fans won't appreciate playing these games and we really would have.

3. It shouldn't have gone down to this. Everton and Brighton at home should have both been won and Scum United were there for the taking.

3 hours ago, KingArthur said:

De Zerbi left Brighton because he didnt get enough say on who comes and goes. How is that different with Chelsea?

Exactly. That's why hopefully he'll end up going there and even the ashes of the club will catch fire and burn down.

I wrote this as part of a longer post in the Next Season thread:

"Chelsea are a close second behind Villa in terms of our biggest threat, their team has a lot of talent I just hope they do something stupid like sack Pochettino who seems to be slowly turning a group of individuals into something resembling a team."

So it was all me, you're welcome. Allegri is available, has a big name, seems like a bit of tool, has a dislikeable face, isn't great at developing youth and seems to be on a downward trajectory in his career. He's perfect for them. I shall use my powers to now make this happen.

Wow, just when you think they couldn't do any more dumb things. It's like they really don't care at all about meeting PSR. Him and his staff's payout must be £10 million plus. Who would actually want to go there now?

2 hours ago, Optimistic Nut said:

Guessing the Play-Off Final could be a big moment as to whether we get a fee for Fraser and get him off the books completely, or end up having to loan him out again and pay a chunk of his wages until his contract expires? Could be worth £8-10m to us in fees and not having to pay his wages if Southampton go up.

Personally I think they are more likely to sign him if they don't go up. In the past he's shown he can get unsettled when not first choice but he's not really good enough at the top level. If they get promoted I think they'll say thanks for your service and send him back, looking for younger players (e.g.Whittaker) or abroad. If they lose he's shown he's a cheap option who is good enough to help them with a promotion push.

I see a top 4 finish mainly as I look at our rivals (except Arsenal and City) and see some clear weaknesses.

Liverpool have a creaking defence and have been spoony this season, I see a post Klopp hangover coming.

Villa I see as the biggest rival but they faded at the end of the season and the rigours of the Champions League might stretch their squad like it did ours causing a similar drop off to us. 

Spurs faded even worse than Villa and I think they'll struggle even more as teams adapt to Ange's tactics quicker than he can (or will) adapt in turn, if I were a Spurs fan his body language during some of those recent defeats would concern me he just didn't seem to know what to do.

Chelsea are a close second behind Villa in terms of our biggest threat, their team has a lot of talent I just hope they do something stupid like sack Pochettino who seems to be slowly turning a group of individuals into something resembling a team. 

Man U, based on their curret players I don't see anything to fear and they won't be able to sign all the players needed to change this. All their bluster over Ashworth is because they can't afford to even pay half a reasonable release fee.  It seems they'll have a new manager (which will impact their recruitment both financially and in terms of planning) and their recent record here isn't great, so I hope for another season of mediocrity for them.

You know what, I'm starting to think our recruitment team and manager might know a thing or two. He was great today. Bring on a summer training with Eddie et all and I think we can expect a very impressive season next year.

49 minutes ago, STM said:

Don't be fooled, Murphy isn't good enough long term.

 

We need a team of quality players, who all believe they have it in them to win a game on their own.

 

On too many occasions a Longstaff, a Murphy, or even a Krafth at the back, will not play at a high enough level during the crunch games.

 

I like Murphy, he's a good lad and a decent player, but christ he need pushing down the ladder. He's ahead of Miggy mind.

I agree and disagree, I do see him still having a role over the next 2/3 years. But strictly as an impact sub or as part of a clearly designed game plan e.g. against someone like City where we plan to ceed a lot of the ball bit be really rapid on the break 

Yet another performance that should (but won't) shut up his critics. He's a real asset to the team when used correctly. I really hope he's here next seasons, albeit with a shiny new RW who starts most games ahead of him.

Assuming Livramento is out I'd go for a slightly leftfield choice of:

Pope

Krafth - Schar - Burn - Hall

Anderson - Bruno - Joelinton

Gordon - Isak - Barnes

Longstaff offered very little against Man U so I'd pick Anderson over him, he's also been good defensively so would help out Krafth who is an obvious weak link but still gets the nod over Trippier who isn't looking match fit. It's time to unleash Big Joe and I just want to see that front 3 on the field together more. Hopefully they would be very fluid and hard to mark.