Derek Llambeezy

[Tisd09]

Put him in a room with Barton.. then we will be buying players.

 

Good idea, Kinnear can say Barton wants to chat about his contract they both walk through the door with smiles on their faces as Barton walks in Kinnear stops, shuts the door and locks it. Barton with cheeky grin on his face.  Come Feb 2nd  Mbia, Another decent midfielder, decent target man and cover right back are brought in along with a couple of squad players with Smith, Butt, Geremi and Cacapa out the door.

 

The only downside is that Barton will probably have to serve his suspended sentence but with Mbia and another decent midfielder in there are no worries there.

[Thespence]

Does Dekka know that Darsley Park is still classed as a active war zone by the UN & has had more casualties than the current tiff between them without foreskin & them lads who know a good looking women by her eyes. Hopefully Sam Allardyce much hyped BUNKER is still in place for him to work from.

 

1 day up there & Lovenkrands is signed up

 

[Fenham Mag]

http://i.imgur.com/qMdWu.png

 

[Guest Roger Kint]

probably a better crosser tbf

 

[Guest michaelfoster]

Jonas been sold and replaced with Llambias

[Ryan_Taylor]

[Guest Rob 1988]

I can see the evening chronicle headline now : ''Northern Shock'' Derek Llambias named as new center back 

[Elbel1]

I can see the evening chronicle headline now : ''Northern Shock'' Derek Llambias named as new center back 

If he had been wearing the training top with our new sponsor on the headline could have been 'Virgin on the Ridiculous'

 

[Fenham Mag]

I can see the evening chronicle headline now : ''Northern Shock'' Derek Llambias named as new center back 

If he had been wearing the training top with our new sponsor on the headline could have been 'Virgin on the Ridiculous'

 

 

[JH]

From laughing stock to a club with spirit and soul: Newcastle rise from the ashes

by George Caulkin.

 

Derek Llambias is talking money. The managing director of Newcastle United is explaining how a dysfunctional club, bloated and broke, has retreated from peril to the point of self-sufficiency. He is talking about the lack of clarity in football finances, about the feckless irresponsibility the game encourages. But he is talking, too, about passion, history, soul and spirit, the majesty of a stadium he still calls St James’ Park.

 

That Llambias is talking at all is an indication of how the narrative at Newcastle has been transformed. The corrosive events that culminated in the team’s relegation in 2009 erected barriers of barbed wire between supporters, Mike Ashley, the owner, and the media, but the story has moved on; sixth in the Barclays Premier League and close to breaking even, something on Tyneside has gone drastically right.

 

There was a time, not too long ago, when the notion of Newcastle being lauded for economic competence (or any other sort), would have prompted belly laughs. When Ashley bought the club five years ago, they had a third-party debt of £76 million, annual interest of £6.5 million and a tired squad flecked with vanity signings. They still owed £36 million on deferred payments for players.

 

“If Mike had not come in at that time, the club would have been in dire, dire trouble,” Llambias says. “It would have been another Portsmouth, maybe worse, because it is such a big club.”

 

The journey from that precipice has included some brutal episodes — “we were naive and we made mistakes, which we apologise for,” Llambias says — but it is difficult to find fault with where they are now.

 

Even the jaw-dropping moments that appeared to invite pressure — and which, in the spirit of glasnost, it should be acknowledged brought them opprobrium in these pages — have worked out pretty well. The dismissal of Chris Hughton felt harsh and the sale of Andy Carroll risky, but Alan Pardew has performed expertly as manager, while Demba Ba has excelled with league goals after costing precisely £35 million less than the striker he replaced.

 

There is no sense of yah-boo vindication on Llambias’s behalf. This interview appears at a time when Newcastle are performing well and pushing for Europe, but he has said much the same previously, in private.

 

That suggestion will always meet with cynicism, but it is true; his reluctance to speak openly — while hugely frustrating — has been based on some livid scars. Everybody had them.

 

“Hopefully, we are now being the custodians that we are meant to be,” he says. “It would be lovely if we were all hand in hand — club, fans, the media as well. That would give us a chance to grow.” And how about this: “The spirit and the soul of this club belongs to everyone. That can never be owned. It’s history and tradition and you’re never going to remove it. You can only add to it.”

 

The ingrained perceptions of Ashley and Llambias make some of this sound startling, but there is a compelling argument. In their annual figures for 2010-11, announced yesterday, Newcastle’s turnover and ticket sales were up, they had a healthy wages-to-turnover ratio of 60.6 per cent and their third-party debt was £212,000.

 

At Aston Villa, a club harbouring similar ambitions, wages-to-turnover are 91 per cent, with total losses of nearly £54 million.

 

The £140 million that Ashley has pumped into the club since his purchase for £13 million in 2007 is a debt, but remains interest-free.

 

“People don’t believe it, but the owner doesn’t take a penny out,” Llambias says. “These figures show it.”

 

At the same time, staggered by the old-boys, backroom mentality of football governance, Newcastle have taken a, well, principled stand. On transfers, wherever possible, they pay full fees up front (the Premier League board rejected their attempt to change the regulations in 2010).

 

There is bafflement at the creditors’ rule that protects clubs ahead of local traders.

 

On players’ contracts, Newcastle are uncompromising; no overseas pensions, no image rights. “We don’t do goal bonuses or anything like that,” Llambias said. “We inherited one of those with Obafemi Martins; maybe that’s why he would always shoot from the halfway line!”

 

The question has always been whether this straight-edged approach and the desire for the club to finance itself, the signing of youthful players and selling them on, can co-exist and thrive in the mess, mud and blood of football.

 

“Many times I’ve said a business is a business, but there are two sides to it and we do understand the emotional side as well,” Llambias says. “It’s not that we’re not fans, but we’re also trying to protect it, so the club is comfortable and everything is optimised.

 

“We understand the history, we understand the tradition. We are not from the North East, but we understand the passion and it’s just incredible. The most amazing game I’ve ever attended was the 4-4 with Arsenal [last season].

 

“The first half was a horror show. Mike wasn’t there, I was with my wife and I just wanted to curl up in a ball. I just thought if we can get one goal and keep it at 4-1, I’d be happy. It went 4-1, 4-2, 4-3. At 4-4, grown men were crying around us. That sends shivers down your spine. That’s why we do it.”

 

Europe, Llambias says, “would create a whole different problem, but a nice problem”, and at a club where “self-sufficiency is our plan — keep buying, keep selling, keep buying, keep it affordable, but still compete”, it might persuade the talented young players scouted by the influential Graham Carr, and moulded by Pardew, to stick around.

 

“Cheik Tioté, for instance, is out there,” Llambias said. “People know he’s a good player. How are we going to stop a big club from coming in for him? It’ll be very hard. If someone knocks on the door, the reality is that we may have to trade.

 

“If you can take players from Arsenal, you can take them from anybody. But one thing in our favour is that we now have a very good side and that might encourage the player to stay.”

 

Departures always cause anguish, but with money being reinvested into Newcastle’s youth academy, at least the strategy is clear. Talking helps.

 

“We do engage with fans,” Llambias insists. “We met a guy who drives from Bournemouth for every home match, so we invited him to be our guest, to ask us anything he wanted. We’ve done it with others. Sometimes they’re still critical, but we just ‘come on, just ask us’. It gets them thinking.”

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/premierleague/article3345303.ece

 

Name change? Even Mike Ashley still calls it St James’

By George Caulkin

 

The renaming of Newcastle United’s stadium has been a rare source of pain on Tyneside this season, but Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias do not blame the supporters who continue to pay homage to St James’ Park. Mainly because they do so themselves.

 

“Naming rights is such a passionate thing, but it’s not about being disrespectful or taking away the tradition or the history of the club, it’s about trying to get another Yohan Cabaye out there on the pitch,” Llambias, the managing director, said.

 

However, he will not have been so forgiving of those fans who pulled down a Sports Direct sign at the stadium last night while watching Newcastle’s reserves draw 3-3 with Sunderland.

 

“Do you think me and Mike call it the Sports Direct Arena? We call it St James’ Park, because it is St James’ Park,” Llambias said. “But, to optimise our commercial side, we needed to get that in there. Other clubs do it. Mike is a Chelsea supporter. Everyone thinks he’s a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, by the way, and that upsets him. But if Stamford Bridge was changing names, he’d have a view. It will always be Stamford Bridge. The same goes for St James’. But we have to do our best for the club and for the people who turn up to see the game.”

 

Newcastle’s financial results are hugely encouraging, yet their scope for growth is limited. In an area affected deeply by the economic downturn, they have implemented nine and ten-year price-freeze schemes for season tickets, while their television income is largely fixed.

 

The commercial arm is the one area that can be improved. In 2010-11, Newcastle brought in £15.7 million in commercial revenues, compared with £50 million at Tottenham Hotspur. Selling the naming rights is viewed as integral. Until they find a partner, Sports Direct, Ashley’s company, will remain involved.

 

“We know the naming rights is contentious, but that income is something we need,” Llambias said. “Could our stadium be the O2 of the North? I think it could. It’s already a cathedral, but it’s dead in the summer. There are things the club can expand on, but we are limited. Sports Direct is showcasing it and that is the business that gives Mike the power to put £270 million of his own money behind the club.

“We’re not riding roughshod over people’s love. If we wanted to do that, we’d just put ticket prices up.”

 

Ashley has twice attempted to sell Newcastle, most recently in the aftermath of their relegation in 2008-09, but he is no longer seeking to do so. “We’re not doing this to sell up,” Llambias says. “The reality is that if someone comes up with a chunk of money, I’d have to put it to Mike and he would have to consider it.

 

“Would we sell it to someone who couldn’t afford it? No. Would we sell it cheap? No. Why would we? We’ve put the money in, done the work and now we may see the upside of what we’re trying to grow.”

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/newcastleunited/article3344997.ece

[JH]

DEREK LLAMBIAS ON...

 

The possibility of Mike Ashley selling the club: “We’re not doing this to sell up. The reality is that if someone comes up with a chunk of money, I’d have to put it to Mike and he would have to consider it. Would we sell it to someone who couldn’t afford it? No. Would we sell it cheap? No, why would we? We’ve put the money in, done the work and now we may see the upside of what we’re trying to grow."

 

Toon manager Alan Pardew: “Alan was the right combination of what we’re looking for and understands where we’re going. He’s a good guy, good with the media, good with the players. Tactically he’s very good - he doesn’t get it right all of the time, but nobody does. And we know how he’s going to play before a game and we like that with Alan. He’s got a passion and he’s settled down in the North-East really well and loves it.

 

His relationship with the Toon Army: “We do engage with fans. We met a guy who drives from Bournemouth for every home match, so we invited him to be our guest and for them to ask anything they wanted. We’ve done it for other fans we’ve met in restaurants. Sometimes they’re still critical, but we just say, ‘Come on, just ask us’. At the end of the day, when they’ve met us, it gets them thinking."

 

New faces for next season: “We have targets for the summer, and we’re not in a position of having to beg. People are saying, ‘Ah Newcastle. Of course we want to talk to you’. We do a brilliant video presentation - very sharp, it is great - and it opens eyes to what the club, the fans and the city are all about.

 

Selling members of the current squad: “We’ll be losing one or two names this summer, but that’ll be regenerated back into the squad. Alan’s plan is to get a smaller squad, with better quality - so the bench is better. That’s our aim over the next two years. We can’t do it all this summer - we’re not sure what the market will be like this summer when we’re trading. We will lose some faces. For instance, Tiote has been with us a year and a half. He is out there. People know he’s a good player. He’s proven in the Premier League, he’s not picking up as many yellow cards, he’s learning. How are we going to stop a big club from coming in for him? It’ll be very hard. One thing in our favour is that we now have a very good side and that might encourage the player to stay. But if someone knocks on the door and says they want this or that money, the reality may be that we have to trade."

 

Selling Andy Carroll: “Sometimes you can’t hold a player back from moving. It’s in their best interests. Take, for example, Andy, and look what he’s getting [at Liverpool], several times the wages [he was on at Newcastle]. The only person who said no to that deal was Mike. The reality is, it’s a risk, it’s January, can we replace him? We couldn’t. It was a risk."

 

Paying £9million to sign new No9 Papiss Cisse: “We spend a long, long time identifying our targets and he was our number one choice. But at first we couldn't afford the price or the salary so we moved on to the next one, which was [sochaux striker Modibo] Maiga (who ended up failing his Toon medical). January came and nobody knew Cisse was happening, which is how we like it - those are our most successful deals, without the interference, in terms of upping the price or someone coming in at the last minute."

 

Securing centre-back and skipper Fabricio Coloccini and goalkeeper Tim Krul on long-term contracts last week: “We’ve made a big commitment to Colo and Tim. People asked why we hadn’t done the deal, but it took a long time - it didn’t happen overnight. Coloccini’s took a year. We never want to find ourselves in a position where we lose somebody like we did Jose Enrique [who was sold to Liverpool in the summer after failing to agree a new contract]. We didn’t want to lose somebody of his value, or the team building that Coloccini gives you as captain. Colo doesn’t fit our profile in that we wouldn’t bring a 29-year-old in, but he’s here and he’s proven. He’s an all-round top pro and will finish his pro career here at 34. He’s like a Giggs or a Scholes - a solid player and you can build around him. Krul is up and coming and can be anything. We’ve got him on a five and a half year deal and we’re very happy."

 

His tough negotiating policy: “If we did it for one person’s wages, we’d have to do it for the next and then we’d get a reputation. At the moment, players and agents know that our first offer is very close to the final offer. Once it’s off the table, it’s off the table and it only goes down. It’s never up, it’s always lower. There are more football players than there are clubs. The manager has his targets and we just move on."

 

Source

[Ash]

Bye Cheick. :'(

[madras]

i'd love to see that presentation, it was mentioned when cisse signed.

[Dave]

Bye Cheick. :'(

 

Certainly reads that way doesn't it? 'We’ll be losing one or two names this summer... We will lose some faces.'. Can't see that referring to the likes of Alan Smith.

[ponsaelius]

That will suck.

 

Maybe the squad will improve on the whole though.

[Wallace]

Not sure why Pardew wants a smaller squad - we haven't got enough players as it is.

 

[Guest neesy111]

Mark Douglas a few months ago said expect 1 major departure but that will lead to 3-4 more signings.

[madras]

Bye Cheick. :'(

 

Certainly reads that way doesn't it? 'We’ll be losing one or two names this summer... We will lose some faces.'. Can't see that referring to the likes of Alan Smith.

reads like they've identified him as someone they can get more for than they think he's worth.

[Ameritoon]

That does not bode well. 

[Fenham Mag]

They are relying on the same scenario happening with the sale of Tiote , to what happened with the sale of Carroll, is it a risky strategy? It's obviously not a popular one but it makes a whole lot of sense after the success after Carroll's sale.

[Mole_Toonfan]

 

DEREK LLAMBIAS ON...

 

 

 

Selling members of the current squad: “ For instance, Tiote has been with us a year and a half. He is out there. People know he’s a good player. He’s proven in the Premier League, he’s not picking up as many yellow cards, he’s learning. How are we going to stop a big club from coming in for him? It’ll be very hard. One thing in our favour is that we now have a very good side and that might encourage the player to stay. But if someone knocks on the door and says they want this or that money, the reality may be that we have to trade."

 

 

 

Did he really have to say this part? its almost like hes inviting offers 

[Foluwashola]

A smaller squad? 

[David Icke - Son of God]

They've been banging the Tiote drum for ages Just before every window we get Pardew coming out in the press saying "Oooh, look at him. Isn't he a handsome chap? Doesn't he smell nice? Wouldn't it be awful if someone were to come in and make a bid for one of our star players? Eh? Wouldn't it?" and yet he's still here.

 

 

[ponsaelius]

Wouldn't surprise me if clubs are genuinely frightened to pay big money for one of our players after Carroll's form over the last year. 

[Sifu]

Well then, summer will be fun.