What are Ashley and co's intentions? Have they failed so far?

[Decky]

The squad hasnt been made bigger, infact its been made smaller. It remains to be seen if after the first proper window (i.e. no changing of major staff) have we even been made stronger under Ashley. I know the general consensus is people are angry or disappointed, at least for now. So what are the ambitions of this board? Is it even to make us a good side, one of the contenders? and are they failing?

[Guest Matticus]

I'm content with what we've brought in, it would have been nice to have signed more but I think you'll find quite a few clubs feeling that way.

 

I'm looking forward to the season 

[Dave]

It's obvious they want to build carefully over a number of seasons instead of piling cash in immediately. As Ashley has said previously; like Arsenal have done.

 

Whilst that is a little disappointing in terms of having to wait, overall I'm happy with the approach.

[Rich]

The squad hasnt been made bigger, infact its been made smaller. It remains to be seen if after the first proper window (i.e. no changing of major staff) have we even been made stronger under Ashley. I know the general consensus is people are angry or disappointed, at least for now. So what are the ambitions of this board? Is it even to make us a good side, one of the contenders? and are they failing?

 

Doesn't tell the whole story.

 

Okay, so Carr, Milner, Emre and Faye have gone. Two of whom were first choice players who played a fair bit last season (31 games last season for Milner, 23 for Faye) and two of whom who have struggled for fitness here for years and were generally seen as deadwood (13 games for Carr last term, 15 for Emre) - all include sub appearances. Then there's Rozehnal, who was away from January anyway. Peter Ramage and Lamine Diatta barely kicked a ball between them all season for our cause.

 

Technically the numbers might have decreased (even though I think it's laughable to include Ramage and Diatta) as far as the first team goes, but you'd hope that the quality and fitness will have improved - though I suppose only time will tell on that. I'm still not convinced we've done all our business though, and wouldn't be surprised to see another loan deal or two in place.

[Colocho]

According to today's Daily Mail, Keegan was told that every player has his price and may be sold.

[Rich]

According to today's Daily Mail, Keegan was told that every player has his price and may be sold.

 

According to Keegan the other day, he already knew that and actually said it himself. Nothing story.

[Guest Heneage]

As I said mid through the day, we missed alot of good players, i've no idea where this clubs going.

[ShearMagic]

We simply can't match it with teams like City and Spurs these days.

 

Them's the cold hard facts.

 

I'm more than happy with this transfer window, and we've brought in 3 real gems in Guthrie, Coloccini and Gutierrez.

 

Can't comment on Gonzalez or Xisco yet as I haven't seen them in action, and Bassong has looked promising when I've seen him.

 

The way some of you go on, it's like you'd prefer Shepherd back with his blowing of ridiculous money on extremely average players.

[Guest Gh0StFaC3]

Since Ashley took over, we have more quality in the squad & less hangers-on.

Only problem is, we're still very short on numbers & a few of the signings we've gone for that would have really helped (i.e. Woodgate, Modric) have fallen through for whatever reason.

 

I'm convinced that Keegan was after more players than Nacho & Xisco before the deadline closed, but we didn't get those targets either (remember his quote about the "maybes" & judge me at midnight)... there's obviously something wrong with our negotiating team when it comes time to meet with the players & talk about personal terms!  That, or Ashley is reluctant to pay the going rate for player salaries.

 

I'm feeling better about the squad now, since last season ended... but I'm not bursting with anticipation like I hoped I'd be come the end of the transfer window!

 

[The College Dropout]

It's obvious they want to build carefully over a number of seasons instead of piling cash in immediately. As Ashley has said previously; like Arsenal have done.

 

Whilst that is a little disappointing in terms of having to wait, overall I'm happy with the approach.

 

Arsenal haven't won anything these last 4 or so years either.

 

In the next few years Arsene is going to have to start spending big or else they'll fall right behind.

[Skeletor]

It's obvious they want to build carefully over a number of seasons instead of piling cash in immediately. As Ashley has said previously; like Arsenal have done.

 

Whilst that is a little disappointing in terms of having to wait, overall I'm happy with the approach.

 

Arsenal haven't won anything these last 4 or so years either.

 

In the next few years Arsene is going to have to start spending big or else they'll fall right behind.

 

That's how I feel. Someone made the point about us making two steps forwards at a time whilst other clubs are making four and that's really true.

 

We're making good progress...we're just doing it far too slowly. You can't catch someone up by going slower than them.

[Kanj]

The negativity makes me sick. All I see on here is everyone calling each other morons, c***ts, etc.

 

Take a step back and think for second people - we are Newcastle United - lets act like it for once. The piss taking on eachother is terrible.

 

Howay the Lads

[johnnypd]

we're not allowed to criticise until the transfer window is closed.... ....oh wait, the mantra is now - we're not allowed to criticise.

 

there's a few myths floating around that dont seem to tally with the actual state of affairs. and these refer to the behind the scenes team and the owner rather than on-the-pitch affairs, as that is what this thread is about. (fyi i think we've improved slightly on the pitch to what we had at the end of last season)

 

1. apparently we can't compete with other clubs and we should be pleased if we can break even in the transfer market as that's about our level these days. is that what people are really saying? all a sudden we're supposed to be worse off than we were a few years back?

 

the answer is - have they missed the past few years of investment by a billionaire owner and tv cash injection of at least £18m+ per season? we should have plenty of money to spend, either ashley is being tight with the purse strings & failing to push the boat out or the negotiation team of jiminez and wise is messing up badly. either way this reflects negatively on the owner. people are saying the failue to invest is down to us not being able to compete with other clubs. that is tautological - the truth is the other way round - if there is a reason we can't compete with other clubs it is BECAUSE we've failed to invest

 

2. apparently because we're not in europe we can't get top quality players.

 

the answer is - anyone with an ounce of sense knows this argument is bullshit so can we please put it to bed? yes being out of europe may mean we miss out on some of the targets who eventually move to much bigger clubs, but if you are willing to go that bit further in the pursuit of the best you will land your targets. there are plenty of players out there, it is not like Keegan would've had one player in mind for a position, so that if we miss out on that one player, we don't strengthen at all. in this instance we were able to land two top players which in itself invalidates the claim that being out of europe means we can't get quality. it's a self-defeating argument. Man City were able to attract players like Elano and Petrov last summer despite no european football. We were able to spend £36m in one window under Souness despite no european football.

 

for those making the argument that we can't compete with sides in europe, specifically yorkie, ask yourself this - how come we beat one of these fabled euro teams, Pompey, for the signature of Jonas? i'm guessing it is because we got in there early, did business professionaly and gave him what he wanted. when it came to Coloccini we ended up paying the extra money that deportivo wanted to secure him. these are two successes for which the backroom staff deserve credit, but it's not enough by itself, we should've done this in other instances too. of course in retrospect it now looks like the Coloccini move was paid for by the departures of Faye and Milner, and since Jonas came on a negligable fee/free, it seems to suggest the problem lies more with Ashley than with Wise and co.

 

3. earlier in the window people said we were prepared to spend big and compete. now people are saying we can't compete and must build slowly. why must we now build slowly but two months ago we were on the verge on spending big?

 

the answer is we dont have to build slowly or act in a conservative manner. people have compared this summer to robson's first transfer windows but the situations could barely be more different. we've not spent anything for two years now and robson's spending increase was sanctioned on the back of a new cash injection which at that time happened to be the stadium expansion. there is a direct parallel, a present day equivalent, in the injection of cash from new TV Money. this summer should've also witnessed a comparable surge in spending.

[sicsfingeredmong]

we're not allowed to criticise until the transfer window is closed.... ....oh wait, the mantra is now - we're not allowed to criticise.

 

there's a few myths floating around that dont seem to tally with the actual state of affairs. and these refer to the behind the scenes team and the owner rather than on-the-pitch affairs, as that is what this thread is about. (fyi i think we've improved slightly on the pitch to what we had at the end of last season)

 

1. apparently we can't compete with other clubs and we should be pleased if we can break even in the transfer market as that's about our level these days. is that what people are really saying? all a sudden we're supposed to be worse off than we were a few years back?

 

the answer is - have they missed the past few years of investment by a billionaire owner and tv cash injection of at least £18m+ per season? we should have plenty of money to spend, either ashley is being tight with the purse strings & failing to push the boat out or the negotiation team of jiminez and wise is messing up badly. either way this reflects negatively on the owner. people are saying the failue to invest is down to us not being able to compete with other clubs. that is tautological - the truth is the other way round - if there is a reason we can't compete with other clubs it is BECAUSE we've failed to invest

 

2. apparently because we're not in europe we can't get top quality players.

 

the answer is - anyone with an ounce of sense knows this argument is bullshit so can we please put it to bed? yes being out of europe may mean we miss out on some of the targets who eventually move to much bigger clubs, but if you are willing to go that bit further in the pursuit of the best you will land your targets. there are plenty of players out there, it is not like Keegan would've had one player in mind for a position, so that if we miss out on that one player, we don't strengthen at all. in this instance we were able to land two top players which in itself invalidates the claim that being out of europe means we can't get quality. it's a self-defeating argument. Man City were able to attract players like Elano and Petrov last summer despite no european football. We were able to spend £36m in one window under Souness despite no european football.

 

for those making the argument that we can't compete with sides in europe, specifically yorkie, ask yourself this - how come we beat one of these fabled euro teams, Pompey, for the signature of Jonas? i'm guessing it is because we got in there early, did business professionaly and gave him what he wanted. when it came to Coloccini we ended up paying the extra money that deportivo wanted to secure him. these are two successes for which the backroom staff deserve credit, but it's not enough by itself, we should've done this in other instances too. of course in retrospect it now looks like the Coloccini move was paid for by the departures of Faye and Milner, and since Jonas came on a negligable fee/free, it seems to suggest the problem lies more with Ashley than with Wise and co.

 

3. earlier in the window people said we were prepared to spend big and compete. now people are saying we can't compete and must build slowly. why must we now build slowly but two months ago we were on the verge on spending big?

 

the answer is we dont have to build slowly or act in a conservative manner. people have compared this summer to robson's first transfer windows but the situations could barely be more different. we've not spent anything for two years now and robson's spending increase was sanctioned on the back of a new cash injection which at that time happened to be the stadium expansion. there is a direct parallel, a present day equivalent, in the injection of cash from new TV Money. this summer should've also witnessed a comparable surge in spending.

 

You'll find little argument from me with regards to the first point, or the rest of the post for that matter.

 

Point 2: I've previously highlighted the purchases of Robert and Jenas. Two signings which occured during SBR's opening seasons of transition ie. his second Summer window, and of course Jenas arriving later in the season. On both occasions we beat European football-involved clubs to the punch, Barcelona for Robert & Jenas for Leeds respectively. At the time a cashed-up Leeds, and Barca's player pulling power for obvious reasons, were two major obstacles that stood in our way with respect to signing both players. As you say the 'we can't compete with European-involved teams in the transfer market' argument is bullshit. There's alot of goal-post shifting from many 'Ashley Apologists' going on at the minute.

 

With regards to the final paragraph. It's ties with a single season where we spent in excess of 20m on the signings of Bellamy, Robert and Jenas. And those departures were not financed on the back of major selling, or the product of a tit-for-tat buying & selling policy.............. contrary to the grocery store/balance the spreadsheets buying & selling policy adopted over the previous two Summer windows.

 

Coming into the Summer i expressed a concern that Ashley would complacently look at the positive run of results late last season, and as a result would supply Keegan with just enough funds for him to tinker with the squad, where there was still the need for significant spending/strengthening. This is how the Summer window has played out imo. With regards to backing his now 'appointed/1st choice manager' Ashley has been nothing short of a disgrace, and the appointment of Keegan - to bring entertaining/winning football back to SJP, with minimal financial backing - resembles a publicity gimick now imo. Another gimick/PR stunt to accompany a growing resume ie. his heartfelt 'i stand as head of the Toon Army' Braveheart'esque speech & 'i've always hated Spurs' remark press releases, and of course propensity to mingle with the everyday matchgoer & pose for photographs.

 

Ashley may be as many as stated 'a breath of fresh air', but the 'Our Mike' grocery/corner store/'balance the books' transfer policy is unbefitting of a club trying to keep pace with the likes of Spurs and Man City............. and unbefitting for a manager who returned to the fold to complete unfinished business.

[mrmojorisin75]

i just wrote a huge post like johnnypd, deleted it, wrote another and deleted that too 'cause all that really needs to be said is:

 

FAIL.

[junkhead]

we could've done better, I guess.. still, I'm happy enough

really hope the Uruguayan is good, because otherwise our midfield is still among the poorer ones in the division..

I reckon we'll do alright without backup RB/LB.. Taylor, Colo, Bassong and N'Zogbia are good enough cover..

My only regret is that we didn't get rid of Smith, Ameobi and Duff but their time will come..

 

[manorpark]

Excellent post Johnnypd  -  says it all.

 

You will get a lot of people posting on here saying wen can't do this and we can't do that and saying how 'satisfied they are' with our new lower level of mediocrity (without admitting that is what it is, of course).

 

That is human nature, for some.

 

Also, a lot of people will not post the realities of our lower status on here at all, because they know that they will be attacked as 'doommongers' by the usual suspects.

 

My contribution?

 

I simply want to find a short phrase that sums up how I feel about our club, now (and how many fervent NUFC supporters that I know also feel)

 

I HAVE ALWAYS REFLECTED MY PRIDE IN OUR FANTASTIC CLUB AROUND THE COUNTRY.  NOW (AS I REFUSE TO JOIN IN WITH THE "NEW APOLOGISTS" GRADUALLY ACCEPTING LESS AND LESS AS THE NORM)  I AM QUITE SIMPLY . . . A S H A M E D.

 

Ashamed at how we are gradually being brainwashed into expecting less and less and that "our place" is as a second-rank mid-table club, now (for example) only able to buy cheaper players that no-one has heard of.

 

Yes, thats the word - ASHAMED.

 

I doesn't help (saying this) but it is how it is.

[Tisd09]

I think overall we have brought quality players in, the players that have gone needed to go apart from Faye, would have been nice to keep him especially as he gives us a midfield option. We didn't need to sell Milner but it was a great price. I am gutted that we haven't re-invested that money, but I would rather wait until January than make a panic buy in the last few days of the past transfer window.

 

Our recruitments look good. Colo and Spidey looking particulary impressive, Guthrie has been better than I expected and Bassong looks like a decent option as cover. Jury obviosuly out on Gonzalez and Xisco but on paper look like they will improve the team.

 

Even though we have a small squad I feel it to be much stronger than last season my biggest worry is that if we get a few key injuries then we are stuffed.

 

I have lost all hope for Shola and Smith, maybe just maybe Duff can turn things around but I am not holding my breath on that one.

 

I would have liked bigger names to be signed during the window but a lot of us have moaned at trophy signings in the past. Look at when Deco was 'mentioned' there were many on here that were against that on the basis that he was passed it.

 

We have gone down a different route than in the past, we certainley can't compete money wise with the big boys anymore and it doesn't look like we have that much more than the average teams in the league. The age of the squad is pretty good and we have some rated youngsters on the books. It could be a lot worse than it is now but agree things could be a lot better.

 

As I said earlier I just worry if some of our key players get injured, because there is not enough depth in the squad.

 

One thing is for certain nothing can be done about the situation now. Hopefully we will ride our luck with injuries and maybe just maybe get some top class in come January.

[Dave]

I'm as disappointed as anyone, but 'ashamed'? mackems.gif

[madras]

after saying that i'll reseve my judgement till the window shuts i'll now have to reserve my judgement till i see gonzalez and xisco a few times.

[Colocho]

In my eyes, they have failed in not bringing in another out and out left-back or right-back. To be honest, that is the only thing I am disappointed with.

[junkhead]

ashamed?

that's a bit over the top, isn't it..

personally, I trust in Keegan and I plan to enjoy this season regardless of what you all think..

cut the negative crap, football is not all about transfers and big money signings, so take it easy and enjoy the ride.

[Dunedin]

The ones that have disapponted me are signings made by other clubs and with reasonable fees. Eg Sidwell to AV, Kompany to Man City and Malbranque to the Mackems. These players would have added to our overall quality and were not or should not have been beyond our reach.

[Parky]

we're not allowed to criticise until the transfer window is closed.... ....oh wait, the mantra is now - we're not allowed to criticise.

 

there's a few myths floating around that dont seem to tally with the actual state of affairs. and these refer to the behind the scenes team and the owner rather than on-the-pitch affairs, as that is what this thread is about. (fyi i think we've improved slightly on the pitch to what we had at the end of last season)

 

1. apparently we can't compete with other clubs and we should be pleased if we can break even in the transfer market as that's about our level these days. is that what people are really saying? all a sudden we're supposed to be worse off than we were a few years back?

 

the answer is - have they missed the past few years of investment by a billionaire owner and tv cash injection of at least £18m+ per season? we should have plenty of money to spend, either ashley is being tight with the purse strings & failing to push the boat out or the negotiation team of jiminez and wise is messing up badly. either way this reflects negatively on the owner. people are saying the failue to invest is down to us not being able to compete with other clubs. that is tautological - the truth is the other way round - if there is a reason we can't compete with other clubs it is BECAUSE we've failed to invest

 

2. apparently because we're not in europe we can't get top quality players.

 

the answer is - anyone with an ounce of sense knows this argument is bullshit so can we please put it to bed? yes being out of europe may mean we miss out on some of the targets who eventually move to much bigger clubs, but if you are willing to go that bit further in the pursuit of the best you will land your targets. there are plenty of players out there, it is not like Keegan would've had one player in mind for a position, so that if we miss out on that one player, we don't strengthen at all. in this instance we were able to land two top players which in itself invalidates the claim that being out of europe means we can't get quality. it's a self-defeating argument. Man City were able to attract players like Elano and Petrov last summer despite no european football. We were able to spend £36m in one window under Souness despite no european football.

 

for those making the argument that we can't compete with sides in europe, specifically yorkie, ask yourself this - how come we beat one of these fabled euro teams, Pompey, for the signature of Jonas? i'm guessing it is because we got in there early, did business professionaly and gave him what he wanted. when it came to Coloccini we ended up paying the extra money that deportivo wanted to secure him. these are two successes for which the backroom staff deserve credit, but it's not enough by itself, we should've done this in other instances too. of course in retrospect it now looks like the Coloccini move was paid for by the departures of Faye and Milner, and since Jonas came on a negligable fee/free, it seems to suggest the problem lies more with Ashley than with Wise and co.

 

3. earlier in the window people said we were prepared to spend big and compete. now people are saying we can't compete and must build slowly. why must we now build slowly but two months ago we were on the verge on spending big?

 

the answer is we dont have to build slowly or act in a conservative manner. people have compared this summer to robson's first transfer windows but the situations could barely be more different. we've not spent anything for two years now and robson's spending increase was sanctioned on the back of a new cash injection which at that time happened to be the stadium expansion. there is a direct parallel, a present day equivalent, in the injection of cash from new TV Money. this summer should've also witnessed a comparable surge in spending.

 

Good post jpd.

[Guest thommo78]

Totally under-whelmed!!!!!