The Newcastle United Transfer Thread: D-Day [Spoiler: Not Much Happens]

[mrmojorisin75]

As long as we're talking about random Newcastle staff sightings...

 

I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. About two years ago in the spring, I was walking past a nice hotel in a neighborhood when some middle-aged man wearing a Newcastle tracksuit popped out of the lobby.

 

Thought it could be some random bloke who had bought a tracksuit, but his top was initialed (like the stuff the coaching staff wears on matchday) so I suppose he might have been someone connected to the club.

 

No idea what he'd be doing there. This place isn't really much of a vacation spot.

 

shit story dude

[papo]

and what the fuck happened with the Fox deal ?

[Skirge]

Sell players, get cheaper ones in and cross fingers

 

Feb 4 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

 

Mike Ashley is adamant he wants to drive Newcastle United forward but he has once again failed to put his money where his mouth is. Chief sports writer Luke Edwards reports

 

THERE is supposed to be a business plan at Newcastle United. Unfortunately, as things stand, you could probably write it down on the back of a Sports Direct till receipt.

 

In short, judging by United’s transfer policy since Mike Ashley took control at St James’s Park, it can roughly be summed up as a plan which requires Newcastle to sell players, bring in cheaper ones and keep their fingers crossed Joe Kinnear can blend them into a team which can avoid relegation.

 

Much was expected of Newcastle United in the January transfer window, but we have been saying the same thing in each of the four windows since Ashley rolled into Tyneside with a brash swagger and a reputation as a sharp businessman with an eye for a bargain.

 

Instead of hoping for something exciting to happen in January – or at least something which would prevent the Magpies playing Championship football next season – perhaps we should have realised, given the previous record in the transfer market under Ashley’s regime and the battering his personal fortune has taken in the credit crunch, such a hope was always going to be a forlorn one.

 

A forlorn hope is a military term for a group of soldiers – normally the first wave of troops attempting to storm a breach in a fort’s defences – in a life-threatening or hazardous position. It seems equally apt for a Newcastle United squad in relegation peril.

 

Kinnear had asked for at least four players to strengthen his playing resources. He got three in Peter Løvenkrands, Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor, but also lost two in Shay Given and Charles N’Zogbia.

 

A small squad is one player better off and, to make matters worse, at a time when he was expected to fund the club’s transfer business from his own sizeable pocket, Ashley has overseen transactions which meant Newcastle ended the month with a profit of around £7.6m.

 

They may have tried to spend that money before the window closed on Monday, but they failed and the presence of any sort of profit – coupled with the £5m believed to be left from the £12m deal which took James Milner to Aston Villa – will infuriate supporters who were looking for a gesture from the Ashley regime that they do indeed have the club’s best interests at heart.

 

That was how Ashley could regain some trust, but the Berkshire-based sports shop entrepreneur has never plunged any of his millions into the transfer market as Newcastle’s owner and he was in no mood to alter his approach despite the obvious need for investment.

 

Despite excitable talk of the billionaire bankrolling an extravagant spending spree when he first emerged as Newcastle’s new owner, Ashley has been prudent at best.

 

His net spend on transfers in his 20 months on Tyneside stands – if you exclude the notoriously difficult to gauge loan fees – at roughly £2.1m. It is a shockingly small sum of money in the modern era and undermines everything Ashley has set out to achieve.

 

To put into some sort of context, Tottenham Hotspur, a club of comparable size also worried by relegation, have spent an estimated £45m on new players in this transfer window alone. According to Richard Scudamore, the Premier League’s chief executive, each top-flight team will receive between £30-£50m per season from the last television deal agreed with Sky Sports and Setanta. Despite a global recession, that figure is expected to rise again when a new agreement is signed in the next few weeks. This money, though, has covered wages rather than transfers at Newcastle.

 

When former chairman Chris Mort was still in charge and willing to discuss club matters in public he insisted Newcastle’s business model under Ashley was based on an Arsenal design.

 

Money will be spent on the best young players from around the world rather than expensive, established international stars on astronomical wages. The young players would spend their best years at the club and, if they were to move on, would do so at a significant profit, money which could then be reinvested in the playing staff.

 

It is an ambitious plan, but it is also utopian. When Arsenal began their new project they did so from a position of strength with one of the world’s best managers in charge. When Arsene Wenger arrived in North London from Japan in 1996, he inherited a side with a strong core and added to it.

 

He won trophies with that side and bought himself time. It is only in the last few years that he has brought through so many exciting youngsters into the first team. Newcastle have tried to do the same from a position of weakness with an expensively assembled squad which hasn’t won anything for decades and a wage bill which eats up 70% of the club’s turnover.

 

Ashley’s plan looks good on paper and probably sounded even better when he was discussing it with his mates Tony Jimenez and Dennis Wise at the casino but, so far, it has failed to convince or achieve results.

 

In time, as a promising youth team starts to mature, it may reap its rewards – but that does nothing to alleviate the concerns of the here and now. Ashley could only do that by signing players for the first team and Newcastle have not managed to do enough in that respect to calm anyone’s fears.

 

The January transfer window creates artificial excitement for 24-hour news channels. In doing so, however, the month-long free-for-all also cranks up the pressure on managers who can be beaten with another stick if they fail to fulfil expectations in terms of player recruitment.

 

There are those who would like to see the window scrapped altogether, there are others who feel it would be more sensible if it – as it does in other European countries – coincided with a winter break. Perhaps things would be calmer if the length of the window was extended in the middle of the season to allow clubs more time to negotiate.

 

Even then, however, you doubt Newcastle would have succeeded where they have failed so many times before under the Ashley regime.

http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/04/sell-players-get-cheaper-ones-in-and-cross-fingers-61634-22849154/

[Dave]

[Ronaldo]

well said

[Unbelievable]

Cracking article. I think it's very significant that the local press are also making this point. Questions need to be asked and answered about our consistent unwillingness or ineptitude when it comes to bringing in the playing personnel required to fulfill the club's (and owner's) ambitions. Especially the point about the Arsenal setup is well made; we are a million miles away from copying their structure and success.

[BONTEMPI]

Spot on that

[Skirge]

We are now starting to see what the Journal and Chronicle should have been sayng a long time ago, seems now Anal has gone they are much more objective in what they write. Won't go down to well with the club but so fk as its spot on all the way, truth hurts as they say.

[Guest The Libertine]

"Despite excitable talk of the billionaire bankrolling an extravagant spending spree when he first emerged as Newcastle’s new owner"

 

talk from who?

[Bad Mongo]

"Despite excitable talk of the billionaire bankrolling an extravagant spending spree when he first emerged as Newcastle’s new owner"

 

talk from who?

 

From Mike Ashley.

 

ASHLEY tells how he wants players with heart and passion for the club and that there is money for Keegan to spend.

 

“Yes, there is. If the deal is right – and that means it’s the right player who Kevin wants – then we will do that deal.

 

“Kevin himself is very particular on who he wants. To use his words, they have to have the right heart for Newcastle United. That is massively important for him – if they don’t, then he is not interested.

 

That does not at all imply we have to sell players to buy. Mike Ashley is a liar and a fraud.

[NG32]

"Despite excitable talk of the billionaire bankrolling an extravagant spending spree when he first emerged as Newcastles new owner"

 

talk from who?

 

From Mike Ashley.

 

ASHLEY tells how he wants players with heart and passion for the club and that there is money for Keegan to spend.

 

Yes, there is. If the deal is right and that means its the right player who Kevin wants then we will do that deal.

 

Kevin himself is very particular on who he wants. To use his words, they have to have the right heart for Newcastle United. That is massively important for him if they dont, then he is not interested.

 

That does not at all imply we have to sell players to buy. Mike Ashley is a liar and a fraud.

 

I remember those comments but cant remember where they came from, did he defo say that?...........or was it one of his goons?

[ToonTastic]

"Despite excitable talk of the billionaire bankrolling an extravagant spending spree when he first emerged as Newcastle’s new owner"

 

talk from who?

 

From Mike Ashley.

 

ASHLEY tells how he wants players with heart and passion for the club and that there is money for Keegan to spend.

 

“Yes, there is. If the deal is right – and that means it’s the right player who Kevin wants – then we will do that deal.

 

“Kevin himself is very particular on who he wants. To use his words, they have to have the right heart for Newcastle United. That is massively important for him – if they don’t, then he is not interested.

 

That does not at all imply we have to sell players to buy. Mike Ashley is a liar and a fraud.

 

It doesn't imply we don't. He does however say "If the deal is right" suggesting money is an object at the club so we won't be spending large fortunes. I'm not seeing the lies and fraud other than suggesting KK has the say in the players but nobody is 100% certain of what happened there.

[Bad Mongo]

Northerngimp, it was from the official interview in the official magazine, reprinted in the Chronic.

 

Toontastic: yes, it does imply we don't have to sell to buy. Money being available means exactly that.

[ToonTastic]

Northerngimp, it was from the official interview in the official magazine, reprinted in the Chronic.

 

Toontastic: yes, it does imply we don't have to sell to buy. Money being available means exactly that.

 

No it doesn't money being available means money will be available to buy players. The selling of players was needed to clear the stupidly huge wage bill we have. He does not once in any statement say we will not have to sell any players. Therefore surely by suggesting that you are the "liar and the fraud" ?

[Bad Mongo]

Money being available means money does not have to be made available through sales, as the money already is available.

[nobby_solano]

money was available, meaning richard wasn't on the phone 

[ToonTastic]

Money being available means money does not have to be made available through sales, as the money already is available.

 

Which it was and money was spent, we also brought money in, I'm really not sure what point your trying to make ?

[Guest The Libertine]

i asked because the only people ive heard officially talking about "extravagant spending spree's" were the fans and keegan, who admits he was shot down about "breaking world records". i dont remember any quote in which ashley or mort say anything like that.

[Dave]

What did the NOTW article say?

[Guest The Libertine]

What did the NOTW article say?

 

which one?

[Dave]

The interview he gave them after he arrived. I can't remember how he described his plans for the club.

[Guest The Libertine]

The interview he gave them after he arrived. I can't remember how he described his plans for the club.

 

i know the one you mean and i cant find it online anywhere. was it confirmed by anyone that it was him saying all that? i remember some form of denial from somewhere about that interview.

[merlin]

I don't know why anyone is arguing about what may or may not have been in the so-called 'Fine print'....

The facts are that Ashley made a profit in the last transfer window - end of...

He has NOT backed KK and the current manager is just a temp because no-one else would take the job.

Its time to accept that the owner has messed up BIG time, and the club will be an also-ran for the foreseeable future.

[JH]

I will run this club my way

Mike Ashley breaks Toon silence

Exclusive by Rob Beasley

 

Mike Ashley dramatically broke his silence over the turmoil on the Toon and defiantly declared: "I had to act and now I'll do it MY way!"

 

Newcastle's' billionaire owner insists he is ready to step out of the background to run the club the way HE wants to from now on.

 

On Tuesday he will jet back from a Far East business trip to join forces with chairman Chris Mort as they strive to bring success to St James's Park.

 

And there will be times when he swaps his trademark Newcastle shirt and returns to civvies as he plots the way ahead in the wake of the departure of boss Sam Allardyce.

 

Today, in an exclusive News of the World interview, Ashley outlines his New Year vision for Newcastle including the qualities he's looking for in the club's next manager.

 

He said: "I want a team that will go all out to try to give Chelsea a walloping, that'll try to stuff Tottenham and that will be brave and bold enough to attack Man Utd.

 

"To date I have invested £250m to try and make it happen.

 

"And I'm not the only one who could see it wasn't working with things as they were.

 

"So when my chairman told me it was time for a change I knew it had to happen.

 

"I just knew it was time for me to become involved.

 

"After all I bought this club to make it a success and the harsh truth is there wasn't much prospect of that.

 

"I bought this club to have some fun and I wasn't having much fun at all. So I did what I should have done in the first place and decided it was time to run the club the way I wanted.

 

"I must admit that when I bought this club my gut instinct was to bring in my own team to run it straight away, including a new manager.

 

"That's no reflection on Sam, that's just the way I have always done things.

 

"But for once in my life I ignored my intuition and, looking back, that was a mistake.

 

"My instinct had never let me down in the past, in fact it's been one of my biggest strengths, one of the major reasons behind my success.

 

"Yet I went against that better judgement after buying Newcastle.

 

"Now is the time to put away my Newcastle shirt. I'm not saying I will never go back on the terraces but now I have to be in the boardroom — I have to be hands on."

 

Ashley was left desperately disappointed with the return on his massive investment.

 

A procession of poor performances, ropey results and off-field problems was a shocking reward for his massive outlay.

 

It was not Ashley's vision for the sleeping giants of English football.

 

Passion

 

He added: "I want a team that is going to be admired up and down the country because of our brilliant, attacking football.

 

"Like they did when Kevin Keegan was in charge here.

 

"In those days everyone in the land loved to watch Newcastle in action. I certainly did.

 

"And I am determined it will be like that again."

 

That sort of stylish, buccaneering football has only been rarely glimpsed at St James's Park this season and Ashley makes no apologies for demanding Newcastle play the way the loyal Toon Army desire.

 

He added:"People might mock me for that and reckon that's all pie in the sky.

 

"But this is a football club, remember — it's about passion, about dreams, about glory. If it's not, then why bother?

 

"Make no mistake I bother, I care and so I will try my hardest to make this club successful.

 

"And I know I don't stand alone — I stand at the head of the Toon Army.

 

"Remember this is a club with a real passion running through it — not least from all those Geordie fans.

 

"And I share that passion."

 

Yet Ashley has still taken a battering over events last week with Allardyce elbowed after just eight months in charge of the Magpies.

 

But those pundits who would have you believe Ashley's a mug punter who does not know what he is doing should beware.

 

After all this is a guy who built his Sports Direct business empire up from nothing.

 

A man who at just 41 years of age boasts a fortune of £1.6billion — put it another way that's one thousand six hundred million pounds.

 

Some mug, then!

 

Yet Ashley is big and brave enough to accept some of the blame, even though he sees positives in his controversial decision to take a back seat so far.

 

He explained: "My thinking was to come into Newcastle United and examine the club from every angle and from every aspect. I wanted to see how it ran, how it worked, what the staff could offer and what the supporters were all about.

 

"I wanted to understand what made this club tick, I wanted to find its soul.

 

"I have done that now and taken a lot of flak along the way.

 

"People have complained I have been in the background too much, not done enough. Are you sure?

 

"Let's get this straight. I paid £140million to buy this club.

 

"I've also paid off £100million worth of debt so today this club doesn't owe a buck to anyone.

 

"And I also gave Sam funds for new players.

 

"Yet I've been hammered by certain people and for what?

 

"Yes, wearing my Newcastle shirt and sitting with the fans.

 

"The critics were suggesting in some way that this was just a cheap trick that would boost sales of shirts in my own stores.

 

"But anyone who knows anything about Newcastle knows all the fans already have their shirts so it's all nonsense, just unbelievable.

 

"And do you know something? I don't regret those days with our supporters at all.

 

"I might own the club but they are the heartbeat and I had a lovely time with them.

 

"And I guarantee that you haven't seen the last of me out there with the lads and lasses.

 

"I will do it again from time to time. That's because among the fans he felt at home but when he sat in his own directors' box he was condemned as unconventional.

 

He explained: "I can't stand this self-imposed etiquette in the boardroom and directors' box.

 

"You're supposed to wear a suit, a shirt and tie and behave like a headmaster.

 

"Why? It's like one of those , snobby, snooty golf clubs where they have rules for this and that. It's nonsense and I won't go along with it.

 

"I want to go to football and enjoy it.

 

"I want to celebrate when my team scores, when my team wins.

 

"It's a game of drama and emotion — of highs and lows, of highlights and heartbreaks. And I want to live it.

 

"So from now on it's all down to me.

 

Dream

 

"I am here because I want to be here and because I want to win trophies.

 

"That's it — period — to get trophies in the cabinet and have a ball doing it. I can't see anything wrong with that at all.

 

"Buying a football club is something I've always wanted to do so it's living a dream.

 

"I always said I bought this club to become part of its passion.

 

"I'd like to think I've done that. Now I want to channel that passion into bringing success and I just can't wait until it happens"

[ToonTastic]

I don't know why anyone is arguing about what may or may not have been in the so-called 'Fine print'....

The facts are that Ashley made a profit in the last transfer window - end of...

He has NOT backed KK and the current manager is just a temp because no-one else would take the job.

Its time to accept that the owner has messed up BIG time, and the club will be an also-ran for the foreseeable future.

 

He didn't make a profit in the last transfer window. The club brought in more cash for players than went out that is all, the club is still running a HUGE loss each season due to the stupid wages.