Should Mike Ashley get his wallet out?

[Guest optimistic nit]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

 

the problem is we're not in europe. this means that the calibour of players we can attract will be less, and any very good players we can attract will want much more than they are worth. who is out there who is worth 20million and would play for a midtable club? cant think of anyone, and i really dont want us to just throw our money about at average players like we did last time.

 

everyone complained about the last regime apart from a couple yet here you're saying ashley should de exactly what shepheard did. i'd like us to do what citeh are doing, and signing underated players for not much money and building a team that way that could attract big names.

[Yorkie]

Aye he should, but not in January. Going into the January window with the sole intention of blowing big is a catalyst for disaster really; clubs don't sell their best players in January so it'll only spark even further inflation if they know we're coming at them with big bucks. (See Essien*)

 

Enquire for the likes of SWP and Arshavin certainly, but i'd try to spend conservatively in Jan, and plan properly for the summer.

 

 

 

 

*fairly sure that was a January signing wasn't it? If not, i'm making the same point, he was initially touted at around £12m when Man Utd were first in for him. Went for well over £20m in the end.

[Howaythelads]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

 

the problem is we're not in europe. this means that the calibour of players we can attract will be less, and any very good players we can attract will want much more than they are worth. who is out there who is worth 20million and would play for a midtable club? cant think of anyone, and i really dont want us to just throw our money about at average players like we did last time.

 

everyone complained about the last regime apart from a couple yet here you're saying ashley should de exactly what shepheard did. i'd like us to do what citeh are doing, and signing underated players for not much money and building a team that way that could attract big names.

 

Ashley will have to financially back the manager as well as the previous Board did otherwise we will have no chance. What will matter than is whether the manager is the right man or not.

 

[Guest optimistic nit]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

aye, aye, aye, aye and aye.

 

really can't see the zog being sold though. he would have left in august had it not been for allardyce. can see the other 4 going though, although the only one i'd like to stay out of those is martins, and allardyce fought pretty hard for him to stay in the summer.

 

btw we don't need world class players to improve. look at where we are atm, we finished in the bottom half last season don't forget. citeh don't have any truely world class players (who are worth upwards of 20mill) yet they are our main rivals for 5th. lets see european football again before we get ahead of ourselves.

if i was ashley i wouldn't even give sam a transfer budget, i'd just say find good players who want to come here and we'll do our best to get them here.

[Guest optimistic nit]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

 

the problem is we're not in europe. this means that the calibour of players we can attract will be less, and any very good players we can attract will want much more than they are worth. who is out there who is worth 20million and would play for a midtable club? cant think of anyone, and i really dont want us to just throw our money about at average players like we did last time.

 

everyone complained about the last regime apart from a couple yet here you're saying ashley should de exactly what shepheard did. i'd like us to do what citeh are doing, and signing underated players for not much money and building a team that way that could attract big names.

 

Ashley will have to financially back the manager as well as the previous Board did otherwise we will have no chance. What will matter than is whether the manager is the right man or not.

 

he will but read my above post, i have no problems with us spending 30mill in jan as long as the players we buy are worth 30mill and want to come here to play football.

[Howaythelads]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

 

the problem is we're not in europe. this means that the calibour of players we can attract will be less, and any very good players we can attract will want much more than they are worth. who is out there who is worth 20million and would play for a midtable club? cant think of anyone, and i really dont want us to just throw our money about at average players like we did last time.

 

everyone complained about the last regime apart from a couple yet here you're saying ashley should de exactly what shepheard did. i'd like us to do what citeh are doing, and signing underated players for not much money and building a team that way that could attract big names.

 

Ashley will have to financially back the manager as well as the previous Board did otherwise we will have no chance. What will matter than is whether the manager is the right man or not.

 

he will but read my above post, i have no problems with us spending 30mill in jan as long as the players we buy are worth 30mill and want to come here to play football.

 

Couldn't agree more.

[Teasy]

When I think of who from the Newcastle team would make it into the team of a Big 4 side I struggle to think of many names, Martins would most likely be a squad player, you could make the same arguement possibly with Zog but after that there is nobody.

 

 

 

Given definitely, Owen probably, Martins maybe, N'Zogbia maybe.

[Baggio]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

 

the problem is we're not in europe. this means that the calibour of players we can attract will be less, and any very good players we can attract will want much more than they are worth. who is out there who is worth 20million and would play for a midtable club? cant think of anyone, and i really dont want us to just throw our money about at average players like we did last time.

 

everyone complained about the last regime apart from a couple yet here you're saying ashley should de exactly what shepheard did. i'd like us to do what citeh are doing, and signing underated players for not much money and building a team that way that could attract big names.

 

I agree with that, it might be a case of signing quality players who are not what you would call "big name" players that play in either England, Spain or Italy, Spurs done it with Berbatov and Man City done it with Elano, these players are out there it's just about going out and spotting them.

 

Perhaps this Arshavin will be a player like that?

[Dave]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

 

the problem is we're not in europe. this means that the calibour of players we can attract will be less, and any very good players we can attract will want much more than they are worth. who is out there who is worth 20million and would play for a midtable club? cant think of anyone, and i really dont want us to just throw our money about at average players like we did last time.

 

everyone complained about the last regime apart from a couple yet here you're saying ashley should de exactly what shepheard did. i'd like us to do what citeh are doing, and signing underated players for not much money and building a team that way that could attract big names.

 

I agree with that, it might be a case of signing quality players who are not what you would call "big name" players that play in either England, Spain or Italy, Spurs done it with Berbatov and Man City done it with Elano, these players are out there it's just about going out and spotting them.

 

Perhaps this Arshavin will be a player like that?

 

Admittedly only watched the closing stages of the Russia match but he looked good even in that short period of time.

[Parky]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

Agreed. I'd try and keep Martins for another season though.

[Cajun]

I would be very wary of selling Martins unless it was a stupid amount offered. He isn't perfect but he seems to have good time of it injury wise (touch wood) and scores goals. I would only sell if his replacement was signed first.

[Howaythelads]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

Agreed. I'd try and keep Martins for another season though.

 

Depends, mate. All we need are replacements who are better and they could go whenever as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Parky]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

Agreed. I'd try and keep Martins for another season though.

 

Depends, mate. All we need are replacements who are better and they could go whenever as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Fair enough. Just feel with Martins he has some things we can improve and work on. I'd be tempted to give him one more season unless of course a top tier replacement is available and willing.

[Yorkie]

Martins has already improved. He just hasn't played enough.

 

Can't wait to see him in the side week-in week-out now that Owen's injured. Alongside Viduka n'all.

 

Masses of potential here.

[Yorkie]

By the way, another thing about Martins... look at his injury record in comparison to every one of our strikers (Owen and Viduka most notably). Impeccable!

 

He doesn't need replacing. Unless it was Tevez, or someone.

[Howaythelads]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

Agreed. I'd try and keep Martins for another season though.

 

Depends, mate. All we need are replacements who are better and they could go whenever as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Fair enough. Just feel with Martins he has some things we can improve and work on. I'd be tempted to give him one more season unless of course a top tier replacement is available and willing.

 

It's an exaggeration but give me a chance to explain....

 

Martins as a striker is to me like Bramble as a defender. He promises so much. Think about this, Parky. Think about some of the fantastic performances from Bramble, think about the 89 minutes of a solid performance ruined by a single crap decision that cost us a match.

 

Both players have tremendous attributes for their relevant positions but both suffer from poor decision making in my opinion. In the case of Bramble it costs a team goals conceded. In the case of Martins it costs a team chances and goals scored. Ultimately it costs the same thing, football matches.

 

Martins is a one-man band, there's no doubt about it. He lacks awareness of what is going on around him so he makes poor decisions at critical moments. He must improve on this otherwise there will always be that frustration with him as a team player. Individually he needs too many chances to score a goal, something masked by the spectacular.

 

There is bags of potential in Martins but there is also plenty of room for improvement, perhaps he has the right attitude to do it. I hope so.

 

[Parky]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

Agreed. I'd try and keep Martins for another season though.

 

Depends, mate. All we need are replacements who are better and they could go whenever as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Fair enough. Just feel with Martins he has some things we can improve and work on. I'd be tempted to give him one more season unless of course a top tier replacement is available and willing.

 

It's an exaggeration but give me a chance to explain....

 

Martins as a striker is to me like Bramble as a defender. He promises so much. Think about this, Parky. Think about some of the fantastic performances from Bramble, think about the 89 minutes of a solid performance ruined by a single crap decision that cost us a match.

 

Both players have tremendous attributes for their relevant positions but both suffer from poor decision making in my opinion. In the case of Bramble it costs a team goals conceded. In the case of Martins it costs a team chances and goals scored. Ultimately it costs the same thing, football matches.

 

Martins is a one-man band, there's no doubt about it. He lacks awareness of what is going on around him so he makes poor decisions at critical moments. He must improve on this otherwise there will always be that frustration with him as a team player. Individually he needs too many chances to score a goal, something masked by the spectacular.

 

There is bags of potential in Martins but there is also plenty of room for improvement, perhaps he has the right attitude to do it. I hope so.

 

 

As you're saying he isn't a cohesive striker, there aren't enough well developed other aspects to his game so unless he actually scores he contributes little to the final result. I have seen signs of him picking up though and there have been instances of "gosh was that a through ball (the Butt goal) or cross (Owen against Wigan) from Oba!?"

 

He has this other strange habit of rushing when he doesn't need to when as you rightly point out he could take a moment and look up. The other thing against him atm is that he doesn't have the core football understanding to re-adjust postions with regard to the 433 which really needs (and without being nasty) a football brain.

 

SA doesn't rate him either it seems so I reckon he won't be with us by the end of the summer.

[Howaythelads]

I have bigger doubts about the ability of FS than I have about Martins, tbh.

 

If it was my money......

[Yorkie]

"Sam doesn't rate him"

 

How d'you come to that conclusion? How can he not rate him?

 

He rates Owen and Viduka higher than he rates Martins. How dare he!

[olliemort]

Personally, I can see Owen, Emre, Martins, Milner, and N'Zogbia all being potential long-term casualties, and this could prove unpopular with many.

 

Owen is a crock

Emre disappears in away matches

Martins is a one man band who needs to improve but may not

Milner won't ever be better than average

 

I'd be disappointed to see N'Zogiba leave.

 

Agreed. I'd try and keep Martins for another season though.

 

Depends, mate. All we need are replacements who are better and they could go whenever as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Fair enough. Just feel with Martins he has some things we can improve and work on. I'd be tempted to give him one more season unless of course a top tier replacement is available and willing.

 

It's an exaggeration but give me a chance to explain....

 

Martins as a striker is to me like Bramble as a defender. He promises so much. Think about this, Parky. Think about some of the fantastic performances from Bramble, think about the 89 minutes of a solid performance ruined by a single crap decision that cost us a match.

 

Both players have tremendous attributes for their relevant positions but both suffer from poor decision making in my opinion. In the case of Bramble it costs a team goals conceded. In the case of Martins it costs a team chances and goals scored. Ultimately it costs the same thing, football matches.

 

Martins is a one-man band, there's no doubt about it. He lacks awareness of what is going on around him so he makes poor decisions at critical moments. He must improve on this otherwise there will always be that frustration with him as a team player. Individually he needs too many chances to score a goal, something masked by the spectacular.

 

There is bags of potential in Martins but there is also plenty of room for improvement, perhaps he has the right attitude to do it. I hope so.

 

Thats a bit harsh.......I wouldnt compare anyone to Tightass least of all last seasons top scorer and our current top scorer!

[sicsfingeredmong]

Ashley will seriously get his wallet out - ie. a transfer window which doesn't involve a 'sell before you buy' policy as was seen last Summer - or promise a *major transfer kitty as a means of tempting Shearer into the manager's hotseat imo. Shearer has a remodelled back-4 to work with, and Allardyce has established a deeper sqaud with minimal backing from the board when compared with Souness' outlay on less than a handful of franchise players - ie. Owen - and in Luque and Buomsong's cases so-called 'franchise players. So a spine is there to be built upon. As such some of the hard yards have already been traversed, and i think the squad is in better shape as compared with the Summer of 01/02 when Robson brought in the two pivotal players - ie. Bellamy & Robert: the 2 club cancers according to a considerable section of the internet world - who propelled us into the European mix.

 

I think Shearer is cherrypicking his timing in terms of moving into the top job. He didn't want to risk his undebatable hero status amongst his hordes of worshippers by fast-tracking his coaching courses and ultimately taking over a bare bones squad in the wake of Souness and Roeder's respective reigns, and with it adopting a higher chance of failure.

 

Whether it be as a then means of self preservation in the first-team, or just poor judgement by unflinchingly backing his mate Souness at the time, i therefore question Shearer's credibility & ultimate potential as a sound decision maker who will put the health of the club/the team ahead of his own ego and personal motives. I'm also concerned with a bloke's thinking wavelength when they express that 'NUFC players have to of a certain character' at a time when Bellamy and Robert's imminent departures were a foregone conclusion during the Scottish b******'s regime. With that said i feel there will be no marjin for error for the volatile but talented types under Shearer, much like a Souness-led lockerroom imo.

 

I hope i'm wrong but i think Ashley will have to dig deep and frequently too if Shearer is his top-choice, that is if he financially supports his top-choice or 'his man' which imo is a bracket which Allardyce doesn't fall into, because if he does become manager i can envision the sort of players previously mentioned falling foul if Shearer breaks his line/rule when it comes to 'character issues' and actually goes out there and recruits them.

 

 

*the sort of 40-50m figure being thrown about in this thread

[Begbie]

Mike Ashley should get his wallet out if we can attract/get the right players. I dont think he should go out and buy just because he can, and we end up with another luque or so.

 

I feel we need a midfielder who can shoot from distance, and it would be great if he was creative too.

 

 

[Guest RodrigoPalacio]

If you spend 20 million on a 20 million rated player, chances are he's not going to be called Albat Luke Ay or John Alan Boom Song.

[Northern Monkey]

In the summer we only had a net spending of around £10m. Am I the only one who would like to see Ashley well and truly get his wallet out and flex some of the financial muscle we know he has.

 

I personnally think he should just say to Allardyce here's £40m go and spend it 2 or 3 top class players.

 

Dear god, I don't want Allardyce given £40m, based on the £25m or whatever that he's already spent.

[Skirge]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2007/11/20/big-sam-ready-for-transfer-window-72703-20133375/

Big Sam ready for transfer window

 

Nov 20 2007 by Alan Oliver, Evening Chronicle

 

SAM ALLARDYCE has admitted his plans are well advanced so that he can quickly move when the transfer window opens again in January.

 

The Newcastle United boss believes his squad is not big enough – and he also has to take into account that he will be without the likes of Oba Martins, Geremi, Abdoulaye Faye and Habib Beye when they head off to the Africans Cup of Nations at the turn of the year.

 

While Allardyce has strengthened his backroom staff at the club’s training ground, United now also have arguably the strongest scouting squad in their history, with men working for them who have had a lifetime in football.

 

Former United No 2 Bobby Saxton is one, and he has been joined by Adrian Heath and veteran Jackie Chapman, all of whom have a wealth of experience and knowledge.

 

United’s scouts were out in force at the weekend, and Allardyce said today: “They are out watching 24/7, 365 days a year.

 

“All we are doing now is building up a knowledge and a database of players that has had to start from its infancy.

 

“It will take a good few years to come up to speed to live with the big boys in the Premier League, but we have started the process.”

 

United have been linked with several players in recent weeks, but most have been inaccurate.

 

But Tal Ben Haim at Chelsea is one target, and so too are Brazilian central defender Edmilson and Russia’s versatile Andrei Arshavin.

 

Ben Haim would love to link up with his former Bolton boss at St James’s Park, and Big Sam can only hope the Israeli central defender’s current £75,000-a-week pay packet at Stamford Bridge does not prove to be a stumbling block.

 

The next step for Allardyce is to discuss what he would like to do in January with Toon owner Mike Ashley and chairman Chris Mort.

 

The United boss added: “I will have the discussion with Chris and Mike when the time is right.

 

“We will then sit down and plan for what might or might not happen regarding January and move it forward from there.

 

“Those discussions are not needed yet. What we need is the information on the players who would make Newcastle United better at first-team level first, and then below that at an age where we have not got any development players.

 

“The club has very few development players between the ages of 17 and 20, and then below that, to bring through more and better players for the Academy.

 

“That all comes with time, the right structure and the right amount of knowledge to get those players.”