Clear the Air Talks ?

[Liam Liam Liam O]

However - I HOPE that the reason for it is for KK to motivate the board to up their game. I think so far they have been pretty mediocre.   I'm not happy with what Ashleys mouthpiece is saying and as I said earlier, Keegan knows far more about football than they do, he also has his last stint to show them on his CV, his way is the best and if they ignore it they are wrong.

 

 

 

What do you think he should be saying?

 

“If he was standing in front of me I’d punch him on the nose.”

 

So would I, but I'll stick to asking him what he thinks Mort should be saying

[NE5]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

[Guest toonlass]

Why is this thread still ongoing? We know the outcome and basically it was the media speculating shite yet again. Surely its time we all backed the club and stopped having heart attacks whenever the daily shite prints more rubbish about our club.

[NE5]

 

So which part is it there that says its impossible to break the top four no matter how much the owner decides to give? I just dont see them in the same context. If you can then fair enough.

 

All im saying is that if in novemeber Mort came on Sky television and said it would be impossible to break the top 4, the gulf is huge no matter how much Ashley gives, are you actually telling me that you'd condone them in the same manner that you condone Keegans words?

 

 

 

Mort quotes borrowed from .com

 

"We don't want to do a Leeds. It doesn't make sense.

 

"This club had £100million-worth of debt which has now been cleared and it would be foolish to stretch it beyond its limits.

 

"I thought Kevin's comments were quite sensible.

 

"I'm not sure what people's expectations are but I don't think most Newcastle fans would be greatly surprised by what he had to say.

 

"There are those who are naturally optimistic but it does no harm to come out with some realism and say that if we get fifth we will have done well. He's right.

 

"I wasn't taken aback by Kevin's comments. He says what he feels. We have just come out of a relegation battle so you can't have people surprised when the manager says we aren't going to get into the Champions League.

 

"This is a long-term building project and we are very happy with Kevin. He's a very enthusiastic character who has got the team playing good football.

 

"We were disappointed to lose to Chelsea but he's got the team playing well.

 

"We have started talking about who we will be bringing in and Kevin will have the final say. He has to have that.

 

"We are very happy with where we are but Kevin is quite right to say we shouldn't expect Champions League football.

 

"It's going to be tough for anyone to break into the top four.

 

"Someone might sneak in there occasionally and there are a number of sides who will have a go but it is incredibly difficult."

 

 

 

Fair enough Mick, I'm clearly not articulating myself well enough  

 

Those quotes obviously condone the comments that Keegan made, but in my eyes that isnt the same as him saying the quotes comments in the first place.

 

I mean if you are honest with yourself and and apply the bit in bold (of my post) in the exact same contexts its meant are you telling me you wouldnt be miffed? Say it was Shepherd who said those comments (for arguments sake) what would your reaction be?

 

mackems.gif

 

that applies to pretty much most of this thread,you would think the southern press have only discovered since last summer how to make mountains out of molehills .........

 

 

[NE5]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=565228&in_page_id=1779&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=picbox&ct=5

 

Michael Owen is facing a £2m pay cut as Keegan and Ashley strike a fragile truce at Newcastle

By COLIN YOUNG

 

Michael Owen could be the big loser at Newcastle with a £40,000-a-week pay cut as owner Mike Ashley last night struck a fragile truce with manager Kevin Keegan.

 

Ashley called for an end to the civil war tearing the club apart as Keegan emerged from an, at times, heated four-hour showdown with his job intact.

 

 

But the manager was told that money for transfers is tight and that captain Owen will see his current £120,000-a-week pay slashed by £2m a year if he wants a new contract to start in a year's time.

 

Ashley called the meeting at his Freshfields offices in London in a bid to end the friction between the manager who guided his team to Barclays Premier League safety and scouting directors Dennis Wise and Tony Jimenez.

 

Chairman Chris Mort and new vice-chairman Derek Llambias were also present.

 

As expected, Keegan will remain as the Newcastle boss for next season, but he has been told in no uncertain terms that outbursts such as last week's, when he appeared to criticise Ashley and the money available for transfers, will no longer be tolerated by the tough-talking billionaire businessman and his boardroom team.

 

The summer war chest will be around £20million, but if the manager wants more money he will have to sell first.

 

Keegan has been seeking assurances that Owen's future will be sorted as he has just one year left on his contract.

 

So far, after six weeks of talks, the two sides have failed to negotiate a new deal. His prospective pay cut amounts to £2m a year.

 

The former England manager is also hoping he will have the last say on transfer targets as London-based Wise and Jimenez scour the globe for young talent.

 

Keegan wants players with Barclays Premier League experience � not least Owen who he wants on a long-term contract.

 

After the clear-the-air meeting, chairman Mort said: 'It was a good meeting. It was both productive and constructive.'

 

In the wake of the 2-0 defeat by Chelsea on Monday, Keegan suggested he would not get the financial backing he needed this summer, and also hinted at frustrations with the chain of command which allowed Wise a major say in player recruitment.

 

Before travelling to the capital, Keegan insisted he would not change his style.

 

He said: 'Part of my job as manager of Newcastle United is to tell fans what's happening at their club. Part of the media's job is to report it correctly, and keep it in context and not go off on tangents.

 

'I'll continue to do what I've always done while I've been manager of Newcastle United, and at Manchester City, Fulham, and England. I haven't changed. I'm not scared of saying what I think the situation is and I won't change that.'

 

Keegan arrived back at St James' in January promising to provide the fans with exciting football and the prospect of a return to the lofty heights Newcastle briefly scaled during his previous spell in charge.

 

If his thoughts are now tinged with a little more realism after four months at the helm, he is no less determined to bring the good times back to Tyneside.

 

In the short term, that will mean ending a difficult season on a high at Everton tomorrow, where his side will take on a team looking to cement the fifth place Keegan believes has to be his goal for next season.

 

He said: 'That's our main target next year and that's a very good target to set ourselves from where we are at the moment.'

 

A positive result at Goodison Park would see Keegan overtake the club's Premier League low points total of 43 under Glenn Roeder last season, something Keegan set as a target several weeks ago.

 

They will have to do it without key players, however, with striker Mark Viduka anxiously awaiting news of his Achilles injury which could yet rule him out for six months, and midfielder Joey Barton unavailable because of bail conditions relating to the city of Liverpool.

 

It is a measure of how much Barton has progressed under Keegan that he will be missed this weekend.

 

The 25- year-old, a £5.8million Sam Allardyce signing, endured a slow start to his Newcastle career after suffering a metatarsal injury in pre-season.

 

But he has started 13 of the last 14 games and is once again looking like the player he was at City.

 

Keegan said: 'Joey can be really pleased with his performances. What he has done here is win over the fans � he has certainly won over a lot of his team-mates, who didn't know quite what he was like before.'

 

No idea how true any of this is, bit worrying if theres genuinely anything to it.

 

Ameobi hasn't gone to Stoke permanently has he ?

 

 

[manorpark]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

 

Not really, I am simply saying (the bleedin' obvious) that Keegans comments (no matter how 'clever' his intentions MAY have been) have only made it specifically more difficult for us to become a successful club (attract top players) and I was refuting a comment made that "a trophy purchase" (singular) would help mitigate the damage.

[Guest toonlass]

Probably a good time to lock this thread now, wouldn't you say?

[NE5]

Actually, we don't know that what the Sun says is crap, anymore than we know the obverse is true.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if there actually was a reckoning of some kind today - Keegan had no right to be running the club down in public after the Chelsea match - all that stuff about never being able to break into the top 4, and I don't even buy the apologists' viewpoint that it's all been some elaborate pre-transfer season ploy to make sure Newcastle aren't ripped off, either.

 

I think the stuff in the Sun's all quite plausible, even if it is entirely speculative.

 

Fishing?

 

Not much. I was merely saying that I do think the scenario painted out by the Sun and other journos about today's meeting is as likely to be truthful as it is fabricated. We have no way of knowing what happened either way - and from a club owner's perspective KK caused some considerable embarrassment for MA with some of his recent comments. Can't take his results away of the feel-good factor he's brought back, granted...but I think it's fair enough that MA would want to make sure KK's mouth and head are both in check as the transfer season approaches.

 

So, not fishing. Just reflecting my own views, openly, genuinely, without prejudice.

 

it will be, like most things, a little bit of truth, dressed up for effect. Its been a meeting to get everybody attempting to row the same way and nothing more. Keegan will have expressed his ambition, and Mort will have expressed economic "common sense" [less ambition and maybe not enough] and Ashley will have told Keegan that his comments have embarrassed him and the club as a whole.

 

One positive is that Keegan may have put across that he wants to be involved in persuading players to sign for the club. We will see. He'll still go though if longer term the club let him down.

 

 

[NE5]

However - I HOPE that the reason for it is for KK to motivate the board to up their game. I think so far they have been pretty mediocre.   I'm not happy with what Ashleys mouthpiece is saying and as I said earlier, Keegan knows far more about football than they do, he also has his last stint to show them on his CV, his way is the best and if they ignore it they are wrong.

 

 

 

What do you think he should be saying?

 

he should be saying the club want to be successful as quickly as possible and they will back the manager as much as possible

 

Either that, or nothing.

 

 

[NE5]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

 

Not really, I am simply saying (the bleedin' obvious) that Keegans comments (no matter how 'clever' his intentions MAY have been) have only made it specifically more difficult for us to become a successful club (attract top players) and I was refuting a comment made that "a trophy purchase" (singular) would help mitigate the damage.

 

so - again - who are these "trophy" players that have been signed in the past ?

 

And what have you got against the club having, for instance, one or two players the top 4 would like themselves, rather than none ?

 

 

[NE5]

Probably a good time to lock this thread now, wouldn't you say?

 

why ?

 

Because somebody doesn't agree with you or the majority opinion that everything isn't so wonderful as you think ?

 

Edit :

 

if you mean me as I started this thread, yes I can lock it, but I've no intention whatsoever of locking it whatever anybody may say in it.

 

 

 

 

[manorpark]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

 

Not really, I am simply saying (the bleedin' obvious) that Keegans comments (no matter how 'clever' his intentions MAY have been) have only made it specifically more difficult for us to become a successful club (attract top players) and I was refuting a comment made that "a trophy purchase" (singular) would help mitigate the damage.

 

so - again - who are these "trophy" players that have been signed in the past ?

 

And what have you got against the club having, for instance, one or two players the top 4 would like themselves, rather than none ?

 

 

 

Hmmm, interesting.

 

Firstly, I did not bring up the subject of 'trophy players' - someone else did.  My response was that one-off big purchases are no good at all. A big purchase is only a sign that you are a club that means business, if it is 'the norm' (part of a continuous process) as it was starting to be when Keegan was last with us, and as it is all the time at Manchester United (for example). A 'one-off' big purchase is not the solution that the poster whose comments I was refuting, thinks it is.  ok?  Let's not get hung up on the past, or previous owners of the club etc, it is the future that matters.

 

Secondly - I have already said it really. To be successful, we should only (routinely) be buying top quality players. If we do not (cannot afford to) then we will not be successful.  Keegans comments help to make it more likely that we will indeed NOT become successful  I hope he is proud of himself.  I think he is a great bloke and a great manager, but in letting the "we are not big enough" Genie out of the bottle - he has done untold damage to our club (as I said in my earlier posts).

[Parky]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

 

Not really, I am simply saying (the bleedin' obvious) that Keegans comments (no matter how 'clever' his intentions MAY have been) have only made it specifically more difficult for us to become a successful club (attract top players) and I was refuting a comment made that "a trophy purchase" (singular) would help mitigate the damage.

 

so - again - who are these "trophy" players that have been signed in the past ?

 

And what have you got against the club having, for instance, one or two players the top 4 would like themselves, rather than none ?

 

 

 

Hmmm, interesting.

 

Firstly, I did not bring up the subject of 'trophy players' - someone else did.  My response was that one-off big purchases are no good at all. A big purchase is only a sign that you are a club that means business, if it is 'the norm' (part of a continuous process) as it was starting to be when Keegan was last with us, and as it is all the time at Manchester United (for example). A 'one-off' big purchase is not the solution that the poster whose comments I was refuting, thinks it is.  ok?  Let's not get hung up on the past, or previous owners of the club etc, it is the future that matters.

 

Secondly - I have already said it really. To be successful, we should only (routinely) be buying top quality players. If we do not (cannot afford to) then we will not be successful.  Keegans comments help to make it more likely that we will indeed NOT become successful  I hope he is proud of himself.  I think he is a great bloke and a great manager, but in letting the "we are not big enough" Genie out of the bottle - he has done untold damage to our club (as I said in my earlier posts).

 

Rubbish.

 

If anything KK's integrity and honesty has been reinforced. Also if it fuels a debate about what kind of club we are and what our immediate ambitions are all the better.

[Jackie Broon]

So we've only got £20m to spend but were wiling to blow £18m of it on one player? Doesn't ring true to me.

 

Even if they have got the info from a genuine 'insider' I just think we're being a bit canny to stop clubs inflating their players' values because they think we have loads to spend. As probably happened last summer.

[NE5]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

 

Not really, I am simply saying (the bleedin' obvious) that Keegans comments (no matter how 'clever' his intentions MAY have been) have only made it specifically more difficult for us to become a successful club (attract top players) and I was refuting a comment made that "a trophy purchase" (singular) would help mitigate the damage.

 

so - again - who are these "trophy" players that have been signed in the past ?

 

And what have you got against the club having, for instance, one or two players the top 4 would like themselves, rather than none ?

 

 

 

Hmmm, interesting.

 

Firstly, I did not bring up the subject of 'trophy players' - someone else did.  My response was that one-off big purchases are no good at all. A big purchase is only a sign that you are a club that means business, if it is 'the norm' (part of a continuous process) as it was starting to be when Keegan was last with us, and as it is all the time at Manchester United (for example). A 'one-off' big purchase is not the solution that the poster whose comments I was refuting, thinks it is.  ok?  Let's not get hung up on the past, or previous owners of the club etc, it is the future that matters.

 

Secondly - I have already said it really. To be successful, we should only (routinely) be buying top quality players. If we do not (cannot afford to) then we will not be successful.  Keegans comments help to make it more likely that we will indeed NOT become successful  I hope he is proud of himself.  I think he is a great bloke and a great manager, but in letting the "we are not big enough" Genie out of the bottle - he has done untold damage to our club (as I said in my earlier posts).

 

no, YOU said "Freddie Shepherd style trophy players". So who did you mean exactly ?

 

Please also explain why you think "trophy players" are different to "top quality players", and if you are only prepared to entertain a team with "many" of these players, where do you start buying them ie if you are against only having one ?

 

Why do you think it is not preferable to have one or two to none of these "trophy/top quality players "

 

If you think we have had "Freddy Shepherd style trophy players" in the past, what particular category would you have put Modric into ?

 

What category would you put Shearer, Ferdinand, Ginola, Asprilla, Batty into ? And some players bought after Keegan part 1 too. Or were you unhappy the club bought these players ? Please explain the difference, or why you didn't want them, because for the life of me I can't see a difference, other than having the urge to move the goalposts and slate the old board, which is not just yourself to be fair ie I'm not having a go at you personally ?

 

 

[STM]

Ne5, out of interest, do you believe the club can get back in to the top four and if you do how much money do you think it will take?

 

I'm no fan of a full scale clear out but a Chelsea esq spree seems the only option, unless we are going to go down the Villa, Man City (until getting rid of sven) route of building for a couple of seasons, then making a push.

[manorpark]

<snip>

 

it's nothing one big signature signing won't put right though.

 

Completely wrong.

 

Old-style (Freddy Shepherd) "one-off" trophy signings will achieve nothing, other than confirm that we are still second-rank 'triers / failures'.

 

 

 

That doesn't make any sense. So buying a world class player at a high fee would confirm us as second rank triers? What would buying second rank players do then?

 

its just to have a go at Shepherd though 

 

Not really, I am simply saying (the bleedin' obvious) that Keegans comments (no matter how 'clever' his intentions MAY have been) have only made it specifically more difficult for us to become a successful club (attract top players) and I was refuting a comment made that "a trophy purchase" (singular) would help mitigate the damage.

 

so - again - who are these "trophy" players that have been signed in the past ?

 

And what have you got against the club having, for instance, one or two players the top 4 would like themselves, rather than none ?

 

 

 

Hmmm, interesting.

 

Firstly, I did not bring up the subject of 'trophy players' - someone else did.  My response was that one-off big purchases are no good at all. A big purchase is only a sign that you are a club that means business, if it is 'the norm' (part of a continuous process) as it was starting to be when Keegan was last with us, and as it is all the time at Manchester United (for example). A 'one-off' big purchase is not the solution that the poster whose comments I was refuting, thinks it is.  ok?  Let's not get hung up on the past, or previous owners of the club etc, it is the future that matters.

 

Secondly - I have already said it really. To be successful, we should only (routinely) be buying top quality players. If we do not (cannot afford to) then we will not be successful.  Keegans comments help to make it more likely that we will indeed NOT become successful  I hope he is proud of himself.  I think he is a great bloke and a great manager, but in letting the "we are not big enough" Genie out of the bottle - he has done untold damage to our club (as I said in my earlier posts).

 

no, YOU said "Freddie Shepherd style trophy players". So who did you mean exactly ?

 

Please also explain why you think "trophy players" are different to "top quality players", and if you are only prepared to entertain a team with "many" of these players, where do you start buying them ie if you are against only having one ?

 

Why do you think it is not preferable to have one or two to none of these "trophy/top quality players "

 

If you think we have had "Freddy Shepherd style trophy players" in the past, what particular category would you have put Modric into ?

 

What category would you put Shearer, Ferdinand, Ginola, Asprilla, Batty into ? And some players bought after Keegan part 1 too. Or were you unhappy the club bought these players ? Please explain the difference, or why you didn't want them, because for the life of me I can't see a difference, other than having the urge to move the goalposts and slate the old board, which is not just yourself to be fair ie I'm not having a go at you personally ?

 

 

 

NE5 man, I'm not having a 'go' at the old board - they bought all the players when Keegan was last here. They were not perfect were they? But they did a lot of good stuff.

 

Trophy players and Top Quality players are the same type of player, but the implication of the use (by the other poster) of the words "trophy player" is that they are one-offs (not part of the norm). Perhaps that is my misunderstanding?  But, I think that is what most people understand by the phrase.

 

I am saying it IS preferable to have LOTS of Top Quality players. You must know that is what I am saying.

 

Shearer, Ferdinand, Ginola, Asprilla, and Batty were all part of (as I have already said) the one time when we were starting to do it right  -  buying top quality ('finished article') players was becoming the norm (that means NOT as one-off acquisitions).

 

Modric, was (I hoped) to be the 'start' of the routine/continuous acquisition of (only) top quality players AGAIN. This may still happen (though not starting with Mr Modric, of course).

 

Now, I have tried to answer your questions.

 

My interest lies not with the past (or any more questions from you about the past) but with the future.

 

Please comment on the future, and whether you think we will ever get over the 'damage' done to our fragile reputation with big foreign (mostly) players that we may wish to attract, by Keegans comments.

 

It was (with our recent few years of poor performances) always going to be difficult in the short-term to attract the best.  It is now (I think) going to be even more difficult, because of what Keegan said.

 

What do you think? 

 

 

[Jackie Broon]

We're in a catch 22, the players of top 4 quality wont sign for us, partly because of geography but mostly because we're not in the top 4. We can't get in the top 4 because we haven't got enough players of that quality. So we need to build towards qualifying for Europe first, then maybe we can attract the players to get to the next level.

 

Imo to really push for Europe we need:

 

Richard Dunn - 4m?

A left back of Beye-ish quality - 7m?

A defensive midfielder who can pass - 7m?

An attacking midfielder who will create and get goals - 10-15m?

A pacy right winger who can cross - 10-15m?

A big, powerful, pacy striker who can hold the ball up - 15-20m?

 

So that's say £70m-ish to get us challenging for fifth. To move from there to the next level? Well we might get lucky and find the players we have are good enough or we might have to spend double or triple that again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Parky]

We're in a catch 22, the players of top 4 quality wont sign for us, partly because of geography but mostly because we're not in the top 4. We can't get in the top 4 because we haven't got enough players of that quality. So we need to build towards qualifying for Europe first, then maybe we can attract the players to get to the next level.

 

Imo to really push for Europe we need:

 

Richard Dunn - 4m?

A left back of Beye-ish quality - 7m?

A defensive midfielder who can pass - 7m?

An attacking midfielder who will create and get goals - 10-15m?

A pacy right winger who can cross - 10-15m?

A big, powerful, pacy striker who can hold the ball up - 15-20m?

 

So that's say £70m-ish to get us challenging for fifth. To move from there to the next level? Well we might get lucky and find the players we have are good enough or we might have to spend double or triple that again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't think we're in the ballpark of sanctioning a £70m spend in one window. Think it will be about £30m tops....All will be revealed by the end of the summer.

[Conjo]

So we've only got £20m to spend but were wiling to blow £18m of it on one player? Doesn't ring true to me.

 

Not actually. The £18m was supposed to be paid up over three seasons, so that would £6m out of a £20m budget.

[Rich]

Summer's going to be the most interesting for a while like, which is hard to believe after the last one.

 

Not every quality player has to cost a lot of money, obviously, but it would still be nice to see us bring in a couple of signings of the calibre/cost of Modric.

 

If that happens, I don't mind at all if we see the likes of Richard Dunne coming in for far smaller fees.

 

A good player is a good player, regardless of the cost.

[Rich]

So we've only got £20m to spend but were wiling to blow £18m of it on one player? Doesn't ring true to me.

 

Not actually. The £18m was supposed to be paid up over three seasons, so that would £6m out of a £20m budget.

 

That's right like.

 

However, does that mean we've potentially got £70M to spend as far as entire transfer fees are concerned if we structure all the deals like that?

 

"Nobody knows" is the only answer to that, though, it's all just speculation.

 

EDIT: But if the Sun is right (ha) it does mean that we were either going to blow the entire budget on Modric or that we have got upwards of £60M to spend in total transfer fees?

 

Does anyone really think either of those is true?

[OzzieMandias]

It's a "trophy player" when a disproportionate amount of the budget is blown on one star, shirt-selling signing.

[Jackie Broon]

 

 

Don't think we're in the ballpark of sanctioning a £70m spend in one window. Think it will be about £30m tops....All will be revealed by the end of the summer.

 

Neither do I. Maybe £50m, max. But, that might be enough to get what we need.

[Mr Logic]

It is not unreasonable to consider if Keegan had been in charge since the start of the season tomorrows game at Everton might have been to decide who finished 5th. (That's looking at the results that could have been very different with Keegan in charge.) 30m spent in such a scenario may well be enough, in instalment type deals that's 3 modrics and 4 others.