Derek Llambeezy

[madras]

Considering this is from Llambias i suppose this belongs here....

 

i've no need to sell my house, if someone offers me double what it's worth i'll start packing tonight.

[Mole_Toonfan]

Aye see what happens in the summer, hopefully the talk is backed up by actions.

[dcmk]

i was just taking things to conclusions like dcmk is doing.

 

carr is doiung a good job, the clubs hit rate is very good and he plays a major part in that but was no-one else surprised that we got sissoko and m'biwa (even cabaye). the former two had been linked for a while, came in very cheap and we aren't the highest payers, not raise an eyebrow at all ?

 

Carr watched Cabaye from 18 years of age, does your guy deserve more plaudits for that one, because we actually signed him and he didn't f*** it up? 

he's watched a lot of players, i wonder if we try to buy everyone he reccomends ? and like i've said, whoever persuaded him to sign deserves as much plaudits as anyone else.

 

No, him and Pardew both agree on a player from Carr's shortlist.

Whoever persuaded him to sign doesn't deserve the same amount of plaudits, no.  By offering more money than a French team are paying them is hardly rocket science is it?

 

The single most motivating factor in a transfer is money.  If your unsung hero makes transfer targets ignore a better salary, bigger clubs and their agents advice - because after all they are only interested in more cash then wow this guy you speak of does deserve as much credit.  Imagine what he could do with a small team like Luton Town eh?

 

 

 

[taxfree]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

[TRon]

Can you both not agree that for a transfer strategy to be successful you need to both target the right players and then get them in? If you have one, but not the other, it still doesn't amount to much..

i'd guess it's easier to identify good players than to actually persuade them to come to your club when you quite possibly aren't the best option. you never know carr may even have a hand in this, who knows ?

 

'Best option'.. based on what mere speculation?  We offer them a bigger wage then they were on at France.  That's basically accounts for 95%+ of whether we sign them or not.

 

It's Carr who actually shortlists these players who fit the clubs current needs and whether or not they are within our reach with the budget constraints, etc.  Like before, Carr seems to be the main cog in recruitment.  This magical mysterious man that you mention didn't just get Sissoko to agree a 40k-odd a week deal and turn a blind eye of an offer of 80k a week that he could have got at x, y or z. 

 

Would Carr have recommended giving a 150k/week deal to Michael Owen in his final year here? You know...that fella you used to have as your avatar? I'd say we've done quite well in getting shot of players at the right time for the most part. Nolan, Carroll, Lovenkrands all spring to mind. We have built a squad of real value out of nothing. Carr did his bit, but there's a lot more to it than that.

[Dokko]

I don't know if Carr has made decent money over his career, but I really hope he retires here and we give him a massive retirement present. He deserves it.

 

 

[madras]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

nobody is looking at it negativly, its all positive at the minute but it's more than just carr finding players, which i've no doubt other clubs were looking at aswell, i peronally don't think sissoko and m'biwa came here as we were the best deal financially, i think they were persuaded by more than that, maybe as the best show case for a further move but given the wage prudency we appear to be showing i'd doubt we beat everyone else off with wages.

[dcmk]

Can you both not agree that for a transfer strategy to be successful you need to both target the right players and then get them in? If you have one, but not the other, it still doesn't amount to much..

i'd guess it's easier to identify good players than to actually persuade them to come to your club when you quite possibly aren't the best option. you never know carr may even have a hand in this, who knows ?

 

'Best option'.. based on what mere speculation?  We offer them a bigger wage then they were on at France.  That's basically accounts for 95%+ of whether we sign them or not.

 

It's Carr who actually shortlists these players who fit the clubs current needs and whether or not they are within our reach with the budget constraints, etc.  Like before, Carr seems to be the main cog in recruitment.  This magical mysterious man that you mention didn't just get Sissoko to agree a 40k-odd a week deal and turn a blind eye of an offer of 80k a week that he could have got at x, y or z. 

 

Would Carr have recommended giving a 150k/week deal to Michael Owen in his final year here? You know...that fella you used to have as your avatar? I'd say we've done quite well in getting shot of players at the right time for the most part. Nolan, Carroll, Lovenkrands all spring to mind. We have built a squad of real value out of nothing. Carr did his bit, but there's a lot more to it than that.

 

Well yeah, in total agreement with what you said.  We are actually discussing whether Carr deserves the praise he currently gets when we eventually bring in one of his recommended players that turn out to be good.

 

Without his scouting finds,  the shortlisting and both him and Pardew having to agree whether or not to start negotiations for that player, the subsequent transfer steps would ever take place. 

 

I can't think of a more important member of our present recruitment strategy, and its present success should be rightly attributed to Carr more than anyone else involved, would you all not agree?

 

[dcmk]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

nobody is looking at it negativly, its all positive at the minute but it's more than just carr finding players, which i've no doubt other clubs were looking at aswell, i peronally don't think sissoko and m'biwa came here as we were the best deal financially, i think they were persuaded by more than that, maybe as the best show case for a further move but given the wage prudency we appear to be showing i'd doubt we beat everyone else off with wages.

 

Please don't tell me that this drawn out discussion is because you have took idle speculation (that there was genuine better offers for Mbiwa and Sissoko) and turned it into an outright fact?  Come on really??  How many players turn down bigger contracts in this day and age.

[jdckelly]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

its nothing new either tbh we know the score, if stupid offers come in for players they're off

[madras]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

nobody is looking at it negativly, its all positive at the minute but it's more than just carr finding players, which i've no doubt other clubs were looking at aswell, i peronally don't think sissoko and m'biwa came here as we were the best deal financially, i think they were persuaded by more than that, maybe as the best show case for a further move but given the wage prudency we appear to be showing i'd doubt we beat everyone else off with wages.

 

Please don't tell me that this drawn out discussion is because you have took idle speculation (that there was genuine better offers for Mbiwa and Sissoko) and turned it outright fact?  Come on really??  How many players turn down bigger contracts in this day and age.

no no, it's came from me watching the players, having an idea how good they are and finding it difficulit to understand that I appear to have better scouting skills than liverpool, spurs, arsenal et al.

 

i am genuinely surprised that these players have came here, they tend to go to clubs offering better wages than we do and in the champs league plus it's not like they are the 'hidden gems' of carr style folklore.

[dcmk]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

nobody is looking at it negativly, its all positive at the minute but it's more than just carr finding players, which i've no doubt other clubs were looking at aswell, i peronally don't think sissoko and m'biwa came here as we were the best deal financially, i think they were persuaded by more than that, maybe as the best show case for a further move but given the wage prudency we appear to be showing i'd doubt we beat everyone else off with wages.

 

Please don't tell me that this drawn out discussion is because you have took idle speculation (that there was genuine better offers for Mbiwa and Sissoko) and turned it outright fact?  Come on really??  How many players turn down bigger contracts in this day and age.

no no, it's came from me watching the players, having an idea how good they are and finding it difficulit to understand that I appear to have better scouting skills than liverpool, spurs, arsenal et al.

 

i am genuinely surprised that these players have came here, they tend to go to clubs offering better wages than we do and in the champs league plus it's not like they are the 'hidden gems' of carr style folklore.

 

Well if there is no offer from any other teams then your unsung hero has done nothing more than offer him a better wage than his current team in France, in a nutshell, right?

 

That's the more plausible explanation imo especially when you consider that we missed out on Remy when a team, who are bottom of the league, offered the same amount of money as we did (apparently).

[OzzieMandias]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

nobody is looking at it negativly, its all positive at the minute but it's more than just carr finding players, which i've no doubt other clubs were looking at aswell, i peronally don't think sissoko and m'biwa came here as we were the best deal financially, i think they were persuaded by more than that, maybe as the best show case for a further move but given the wage prudency we appear to be showing i'd doubt we beat everyone else off with wages.

 

Please don't tell me that this drawn out discussion is because you have took idle speculation (that there was genuine better offers for Mbiwa and Sissoko) and turned it outright fact?  Come on really??  How many players turn down bigger contracts in this day and age.

no no, it's came from me watching the players, having an idea how good they are and finding it difficulit to understand that I appear to have better scouting skills than liverpool, spurs, arsenal et al.

 

i am genuinely surprised that these players have came here, they tend to go to clubs offering better wages than we do and in the champs league plus it's not like they are the 'hidden gems' of carr style folklore.

 

Well, I understand what you mean and share your surprise.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Since Carr has been at the club our signing success rate has been brilliant, the only one that hasn't been a success is Amalfitano, who on a free wasn't a major gamble (reckon we could easily sell him to a club in France) and perhaps Abeid (still young so has time)

 

Of course it's easy to dismiss Carr by saying the players are obviously good BUT our signings before him were very hit and miss and you only have to look at the signings of other clubs to appreciate what a good job we are doing

 

Obviously the sole credit can't go to Carr, he arguably plays the biggest part as identifying good people-players isn't easy BUT the other people deserve credit for making the deal happen (Pardew/Llambias/Charnley??)

 

Edit- Shouldn't forget agent Cabaye and Ben Arfa

[merlin]

If he admits they were wrong to skimp on necessary squad strengthening in the summer, fine - the crucial thing now is that they don't do it again and set back the club's progress.

 

Everyone makes mistakes - its whether you learn from them that determines what sort of individual you are.

 

We shall see.

[Skirge]

Some more today

 

City-style investment wouldn’t be blocked by NUFC boss says Llambias

 

 

MIKE Ashley will sell Newcastle United if a prospective owner is willing to replicate Sheikh Mansour’s impact at Manchester City.

 

That is the admission of Derek Llambias, who says it would be “irresponsible” of the current regime to deprive Newcastle fans of something they can’t give them. The Abu Dhabi cash injection at City has turned the club from a middleweight Premier League force into champions of England who have ambitions to conquer Europe. The procession of top internationals through the doors at the Etihad over the past three years has been breathtaking. Ashley is one of Britain’s wealthiest individuals, but his financial punch is no match for Mansour, hence Newcastle’s desire to do things differently.

 

But if another Mansour were to approach the club, Llambias says they would not hold on to Newcastle despite feeling confident that their blueprint can eventually deliver success.

 

“I think everything is for sale. In life, everything is for sale,” he said. “It’s like in your personal life, you’ve got your house and your family and you’re very happy with that.

 

“Suddenly someone knocks on your day and says ‘There’s a big price for your house’. You’ll think: ‘I will do that – if it’s 40 or 50% more than I thought I would get you’ll think I’ll do that because it wouldn’t make sense for you not to.

 

“For us, if someone knocks on the door with a huge offer to buy the club and says ‘This is our ambition’ then it’s a conversation that it’s only sensible to have.

 

“It would be irresponsible of us to say we wouldn’t have that discussion if there’s someone interested in making a big investment and they want to put their wealth into Newcastle. It would be irresponsible of us not to give the fans their dream.”

 

 

NEWCASTLE United’s newly-unveiled Six Game season ticket package is an attempt to turn St James’ Park into a hostile environment for visiting teams, while also making attendance more affordable for the average fan.

 

United managing director Derek Llambias unveiled the new season ticket package on Thursday with a pledge to continue coming up with ways to draw people back into the ground.

 

The package starts at £110 for adults and £55 for children, and includes the Tyne-Wear derby in April – which is unlikely to go on general sale if the Six Game package sells out. The idea is to create a sold-out stadium, while also making tickets more affordable.

 

Llambias said: “We’ve always tried to make coming to watch football here affordable. This is a big stadium – 52,000 people (can get in),” he said.

 

“You’ve got to make it affordable because times are tough at the moment, you can’t get away from that. You can’t get away from the local economy and what’s happening up here. So we introduced the 10-year deal, we introduced the nine-year deal, the 50% season ticket offer, and now this six-game deal.”

 

Llambias said it is not a money-grabbing initiative – it is about atmosphere.

 

“This isn’t about finance. We’ve already got three sell-outs in that six-game deal,” he said.

 

“It is about filling the stadium. We benefit as a club and a team as it becomes a fortress here.

 

“That’s the whole idea. If we can generate an atmosphere like Chelsea every home game then this is a tough place to come. We talked to different people who aren’t connected to us.

 

“We talk to agents of different players and they say they don’t like coming here. It is intimidating. That’s what we need every week. If we can do that, we’ll find ourselves in the right space.”

 

Anyone interested in the package should call the box office on 0844 372 1892, go to www.nufc.co.uk/ticketoffer or call in to the Box Office in person.

 

 

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2013/02/08/city-style-investment-wouldn-t-be-blocked-by-nufc-boss-says-llambias-61634-32769520/#ixzz2KIVHtCMv

 

 

 

 

Derek Llambias: 'We have no need to sell players'

by Mark Douglas, The JournalFeb 8 2013

 

DEREK Llambias has railed against the perception of Newcastle United as a selling club and insisted: “We’ve got no appetite to sell our big players.”

 

Ever since they brokered the £35million sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool, United have been stereotyped as a club that buys players on the cheap from the Continent and sells them on for a quick profit.

 

But despite almost constant speculation linking their crown jewels with a move away, the only significant sale since the summer of 2011 has been Demba Ba, who was able to leave for Chelsea in January by virtue of a contract clause inserted when he joined Newcastle.

 

Managing director Llambias insists that observers have “missed the point” completely when considering Newcastle’s business model and that during the current phase of their development there is no pressing need to sell.

 

Although they are open about “trading” when the price is right, he says the club has now cultivated an image as “difficult” sellers who will not budge if a certain valuation isn’t met. “People get us wrong,” Llambias told The Journal. “Everyone is missing the point. We do need to trade at some stage but not really at this stage.

 

“The perception is that we buy cheap and sell at a huge price, but that’s not correct. It’s lovely if you can do that, by the way, but it’s not what we do. To be honest we haven’t got an appetite to sell.”

 

Asked directly about reports linking Hatem Ben Arfa (pictured left) with a move away from St James’ Park, Llambias said Newcastle were primed for more speculation this summer.

 

 

He warned that the club would never be “easy sellers” in his time in charge.

 

“You’re going to get speculation all the time, like we did last summer. All those links are going to get brought up again – nothing is going to change,” he said. “Are we primed for it? Absolutely, we’ll have

 

discussions at the time. But we’re not easy sellers, we’re known for that. And these are all big players.”

 

While United aren’t easy sellers, they are also considered buyers and Llambias says they are unlikely to buy any more “purples” this summer unless they do decide to sell.

 

United’s colour coding system categorises “purples” as first-team players, “reds” as developing players or those underneath the first team challenging and “blues” as up-and-coming youngsters.

 

Llambias told The Journal the club’s focus this summer is on “reds” – although they will replace any frontline talent with a player of similar calibre.

 

“We will trade. If we lose a player, we will bring one in of that standard. That’s just normal trading for us.

 

“The remit for us is that Alan needs a number of players into the team that he can draw on for the various competitions.

 

“That’s our gameplan.

 

“You can’t have too many players that are first-team players sitting on the bench, there’s a balance, you need to have players just behind them pushing the first team.”

 

Llambias feels that, despite the criticism which inevitably comes Mike Ashley’s way, supporters are beginning to be won over by their strategy of laying foundations for stability.

 

He said: “Having a responsibility for this club, you’re always going to be open to some form of criticism.

 

“That is what the game’s about – you can’t have all these glowing appraisals of how you run your club.

 

“It doesn’t work like that.

 

“I do occasionally read the comments on the blogs and on the local paper websites – I understand some of that.

 

“But I was on the train this week and a couple of guys came up to me and started talking to me.

 

“They appreciated what we were doing and that we’re trying to do something the club’s not done before financially.

 

“This club needs to be solid. It needs to be solid, not just financially, but as a team – a management team. We think we’re getting there.”

 

 

 

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2013/02/08/derek-llambias-we-have-no-need-to-sell-players-61634-32769492/2/#ixzz2KIWWYlFa

 

 

 

 

 

Exclusive interview: Derek Llambias - NUFC Managing Director

by Mark Douglas, The JournalFeb 8 2013Comments (2)

 

Newcastle United hope to be able to compete with the Premier League’s big guns in two years, as managing director Derek Llambias tells Mark Douglas in an exclusive interview

 

DEREK Llambias is rightly proud of the financial framework laid down over the last three of his five turbulent years on Tyneside.

 

Putting Mike Ashley’s plans into practice has taken the hide of a rhinoceros and the foresight to see past football’s usual boom and bust logic. But this footballing fourth way now faces its biggest test – can it deliver tangible success to Tyneside?

 

They will never erect a statue outside St James’ Park to commemorate Newcastle United’s wage-to-turnover ratio dipping below the magic 60% mark.

 

As much of an achievement as this might be – and United are on track to achieve it, despite the recent flooding of the squad with more first-team “purples” – Newcastle fans didn’t raise the decibel level on Saturday to celebrate stability and the club’s robust wage structure.

 

The noise and fervour was down to the re-emergence of a team capable of producing football of power, poise and passion. The buzz was whether the debut of Moussa Sissoko (pictured right) bore comparison to Malcolm Macdonald’s, a debate to energise any Saturday night on the town.

 

None of this is lost on Llambias as he holds court in the Virgin Money suite that overlooks the majestic stands of St James’ Park.

 

United’s managing director might talk about blueprints, wage structures and constructing a robust black-and-white bottom line but the romanticism of the game is not lost on him. He is a football supporter himself – and he and Mike Ashley will regularly travel to support England. “We get it,” he says at various points during our chat. Most crucially of all, given their previous touch-and-go situation with supporters, he is moved to comment: “We listen, we honestly do. People don’t think we do, but we do.”

 

So he knows that logic must be mixed with fantasy when it comes to football. He talks of having to remove his inner fan when it comes to this year’s FA Cup exploits, pragmatically figuring that, while losing to Brighton might be painful, it might help Newcastle’s avowed aim of staying in the Premier League in the long-run.

 

For Llambias, the key point to stress is that their “model” is not simply aimed at keeping the club afloat or ticking along without the requirement of a huge loan. It is to actually deliver tangible success at some point – and a team capable of competing with the top four.

 

When will that success be delivered is the inevitable next query. The honest answer – without exactly nailing his colours to the mast – is two years. It comes with caveats, of course, but Llambias can envisage a situation in which Newcastle are slugging it out with the heavyweights sooner than you might think.

 

“We always said we had a five-year plan. We feel this season may have put us back a little bit, but I think we’ve now worked our way through that. I would say we are a couple of years away from absolutely having a really, really strong squad with the depth we need.

 

“A trophy for (manager) Alan (Pardew) would be just incredible. The FA Cup is his dream for this club. For us a trophy would be a dream. Mike and I would love a trophy, for sure we would. We’d also love to challenge those big boys though.

 

“When you look at last season it was exciting for us sitting there and thinking, ‘If we’d won that game we’d be third and if we won that game we’d be fourth and then thinking how it would feel if we’d have been pushed out of that Champions League place by Chelsea’.

 

Newcastle United hope to be able to compete with the Premier League’s big guns in two years, as managing director Derek Llambias tells Mark Douglas in an exclusive interview

 

“We are building. Can I say we’ll be challenging the top four in two or three years? I can’t say that because football’s a strange sort of world and plenty of things can happen. Top clubs fall down, they might not be investing as much or somebody else might do something which transforms a club’s fortunes. I would hope in two years’ time we’ll have an even more exciting squad.”

 

When Europe comes again, United will be at the forefront of the English clubs dipping under the financial fair play regulations. When it comes to that golden wages-to-turnover ratio, they are on the right track.

 

Llambias said: “We have always had a target with salary to turnover and we stay within that – that’s why you lose one or two deals occasionally. Once you break those fundamental rules it’s very difficult. Where do you stop? Where does that level of salary stop? Our wages are 64% of our turnover at the moment. That will go down because we will get more money in next year. The commercial deals will boost our income and the new Premier League TV money.

 

“What we have done is take it up to our figure for next year now, so there will be a slight blip because we’ve brought in more players than we were anticipating. But next year we will be spot on.”

 

Briefly, he then allows the romantic to get out: “Of course, there are exceptions. If Lionel Messi suddenly said he wanted to live in the North East then we’d say absolutely! But seriously, there’s a reality to it. It’s a question of us sticking to our guidelines – that’s where we are.”

 

How can the club continue to improve?

 

Llambias’ answer is to grow globally and to continue to look at other ways of generating revenue, like the contentious stadium naming issue. As much as the model is faithfully adhered to, it is not everything. He explains: “A model is a model. There are always exceptions – you can’t just say ‘This is our model, we’re going to do this and we’re going to stick to it’. It doesn’t work like that – it’s a work-in-progress.

 

 

“For us it’s about building. Stability is massive for this club – it has to have stability. We don’t take any money out of the club and whatever it generates goes back into the club.

 

“Take the naming rights, for example. It’s such a contentious issue – we understood that but what we were trying to do was bring a player onto the pitch. Look at Sissoko, the naming rights have helped pay for him. That’s money we didn’t have. If you look at it – (we’ve signed) Sissoko and it (the name of the stadum) is now back to St James’ Park.

 

“That wasn’t bad business. It is what it is, it’s the future. Our size of club just can’t compete with the Chrysler deals (Man U). We just can’t do it.

 

“We don’t have that global reach yet. Over the next few years we need to expand into that market and that’s really what our concentration is. How do we build that global market?

 

“That’s about bringing in different partners and getting our brand out there a little bit more. Worldwide we have three-and-a-half million fans, Man United have 350million and sell 1.2million shirts.

 

“That’s what it is – the reality is there’s massive gaps between us and them. How do we close that gap? We don’t get there by throwing money at it because we can’t.

 

“We haven’t got enough money so we have to get there by building slowly, building solid foundations. The club is always going to be safe, financially safe. It’s got to be like that.”

 

 

 

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2013/02/08/exclusive-interview-derek-llambias-nufc-managing-director-61634-32769521/2/#ixzz2KIUc8hPA

 

 

 

 

[Benwell Lad]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

nobody is looking at it negativly, its all positive at the minute but it's more than just carr finding players, which i've no doubt other clubs were looking at aswell, i peronally don't think sissoko and m'biwa came here as we were the best deal financially, i think they were persuaded by more than that, maybe as the best show case for a further move but given the wage prudency we appear to be showing i'd doubt we beat everyone else off with wages.

 

Please don't tell me that this drawn out discussion is because you have took idle speculation (that there was genuine better offers for Mbiwa and Sissoko) and turned it outright fact?  Come on really??  How many players turn down bigger contracts in this day and age.

no no, it's came from me watching the players, having an idea how good they are and finding it difficulit to understand that I appear to have better scouting skills than liverpool, spurs, arsenal et al.

 

i am genuinely surprised that these players have came here, they tend to go to clubs offering better wages than we do and in the champs league plus it's not like they are the 'hidden gems' of carr style folklore.

 

Well, I understand what you mean and share your surprise.

 

My euphoric reaction in the pub last Saturday after the match was along the lines of "how did WE sign him (Cissoko) why didn't he end up at Real Madrid or somewhere? ". His stock may have been high previously but has risen considerably again after his first 2 PL games. Anyway we got him, and having rushed the deal forward means someone other than Carr has performed very well.

Regarding wages on offer, contrary to some opinions, we are offering as much as anyone outside of the CL select few and the looney clubs. Perhaps the CL elite considered they had full squads and priorities lie elewhere in strengthening, so financially we are the next best thing.

[steve_69]

Some more today

 

City-style investment wouldn’t be blocked by NUFC boss says Llambias

 

 

MIKE Ashley will sell Newcastle United if a prospective owner is willing to replicate Sheikh Mansour’s impact at Manchester City.

 

That is the admission of Derek Llambias, who says it would be “irresponsible” of the current regime to deprive Newcastle fans of something they can’t give them. The Abu Dhabi cash injection at City has turned the club from a middleweight Premier League force into champions of England who have ambitions to conquer Europe. The procession of top internationals through the doors at the Etihad over the past three years has been breathtaking. Ashley is one of Britain’s wealthiest individuals, but his financial punch is no match for Mansour, hence Newcastle’s desire to do things differently.

 

But if another Mansour were to approach the club, Llambias says they would not hold on to Newcastle despite feeling confident that their blueprint can eventually deliver success.

 

“I think everything is for sale. In life, everything is for sale,” he said. “It’s like in your personal life, you’ve got your house and your family and you’re very happy with that.

 

“Suddenly someone knocks on your day and says ‘There’s a big price for your house’. You’ll think: ‘I will do that – if it’s 40 or 50% more than I thought I would get you’ll think I’ll do that because it wouldn’t make sense for you not to.

 

“For us, if someone knocks on the door with a huge offer to buy the club and says ‘This is our ambition’ then it’s a conversation that it’s only sensible to have.

 

“It would be irresponsible of us to say we wouldn’t have that discussion if there’s someone interested in making a big investment and they want to put their wealth into Newcastle. It would be irresponsible of us not to give the fans their dream.”

 

 

NEWCASTLE United’s newly-unveiled Six Game season ticket package is an attempt to turn St James’ Park into a hostile environment for visiting teams, while also making attendance more affordable for the average fan.

 

United managing director Derek Llambias unveiled the new season ticket package on Thursday with a pledge to continue coming up with ways to draw people back into the ground.

 

The package starts at £110 for adults and £55 for children, and includes the Tyne-Wear derby in April – which is unlikely to go on general sale if the Six Game package sells out. The idea is to create a sold-out stadium, while also making tickets more affordable.

 

Llambias said: “We’ve always tried to make coming to watch football here affordable. This is a big stadium – 52,000 people (can get in),” he said.

 

“You’ve got to make it affordable because times are tough at the moment, you can’t get away from that. You can’t get away from the local economy and what’s happening up here. So we introduced the 10-year deal, we introduced the nine-year deal, the 50% season ticket offer, and now this six-game deal.”

 

Llambias said it is not a money-grabbing initiative – it is about atmosphere.

 

“This isn’t about finance. We’ve already got three sell-outs in that six-game deal,” he said.

 

“It is about filling the stadium. We benefit as a club and a team as it becomes a fortress here.

 

“That’s the whole idea. If we can generate an atmosphere like Chelsea every home game then this is a tough place to come. We talked to different people who aren’t connected to us.

 

“We talk to agents of different players and they say they don’t like coming here. It is intimidating. That’s what we need every week. If we can do that, we’ll find ourselves in the right space.”

 

Anyone interested in the package should call the box office on 0844 372 1892, go to www.nufc.co.uk/ticketoffer or call in to the Box Office in person.

 

 

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2013/02/08/city-style-investment-wouldn-t-be-blocked-by-nufc-boss-says-llambias-61634-32769520/#ixzz2KIVHtCMv

 

 

 

 

Derek Llambias: 'We have no need to sell players'

by Mark Douglas, The JournalFeb 8 2013

 

DEREK Llambias has railed against the perception of Newcastle United as a selling club and insisted: “We’ve got no appetite to sell our big players.”

 

Ever since they brokered the £35million sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool, United have been stereotyped as a club that buys players on the cheap from the Continent and sells them on for a quick profit.

 

But despite almost constant speculation linking their crown jewels with a move away, the only significant sale since the summer of 2011 has been Demba Ba, who was able to leave for Chelsea in January by virtue of a contract clause inserted when he joined Newcastle.

 

Managing director Llambias insists that observers have “missed the point” completely when considering Newcastle’s business model and that during the current phase of their development there is no pressing need to sell.

 

Although they are open about “trading” when the price is right, he says the club has now cultivated an image as “difficult” sellers who will not budge if a certain valuation isn’t met. “People get us wrong,” Llambias told The Journal. “Everyone is missing the point. We do need to trade at some stage but not really at this stage.

 

“The perception is that we buy cheap and sell at a huge price, but that’s not correct. It’s lovely if you can do that, by the way, but it’s not what we do. To be honest we haven’t got an appetite to sell.”

 

Asked directly about reports linking Hatem Ben Arfa (pictured left) with a move away from St James’ Park, Llambias said Newcastle were primed for more speculation this summer.

 

 

He warned that the club would never be “easy sellers” in his time in charge.

 

“You’re going to get speculation all the time, like we did last summer. All those links are going to get brought up again – nothing is going to change,” he said. “Are we primed for it? Absolutely, we’ll have

 

discussions at the time. But we’re not easy sellers, we’re known for that. And these are all big players.”

 

While United aren’t easy sellers, they are also considered buyers and Llambias says they are unlikely to buy any more “purples” this summer unless they do decide to sell.

 

United’s colour coding system categorises “purples” as first-team players, “reds” as developing players or those underneath the first team challenging and “blues” as up-and-coming youngsters.

 

Llambias told The Journal the club’s focus this summer is on “reds” – although they will replace any frontline talent with a player of similar calibre.

 

“We will trade. If we lose a player, we will bring one in of that standard. That’s just normal trading for us.

 

“The remit for us is that Alan needs a number of players into the team that he can draw on for the various competitions.

 

“That’s our gameplan.

 

“You can’t have too many players that are first-team players sitting on the bench, there’s a balance, you need to have players just behind them pushing the first team.”

 

Llambias feels that, despite the criticism which inevitably comes Mike Ashley’s way, supporters are beginning to be won over by their strategy of laying foundations for stability.

 

He said: “Having a responsibility for this club, you’re always going to be open to some form of criticism.

 

“That is what the game’s about – you can’t have all these glowing appraisals of how you run your club.

 

“It doesn’t work like that.

 

“I do occasionally read the comments on the blogs and on the local paper websites – I understand some of that.

 

“But I was on the train this week and a couple of guys came up to me and started talking to me.

 

“They appreciated what we were doing and that we’re trying to do something the club’s not done before financially.

 

“This club needs to be solid. It needs to be solid, not just financially, but as a team – a management team. We think we’re getting there.”

 

 

 

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2013/02/08/derek-llambias-we-have-no-need-to-sell-players-61634-32769492/2/#ixzz2KIWWYlFa

 

 

 

 

 

Exclusive interview: Derek Llambias - NUFC Managing Director

by Mark Douglas, The JournalFeb 8 2013Comments (2)

 

Newcastle United hope to be able to compete with the Premier League’s big guns in two years, as managing director Derek Llambias tells Mark Douglas in an exclusive interview

 

DEREK Llambias is rightly proud of the financial framework laid down over the last three of his five turbulent years on Tyneside.

 

Putting Mike Ashley’s plans into practice has taken the hide of a rhinoceros and the foresight to see past football’s usual boom and bust logic. But this footballing fourth way now faces its biggest test – can it deliver tangible success to Tyneside?

 

They will never erect a statue outside St James’ Park to commemorate Newcastle United’s wage-to-turnover ratio dipping below the magic 60% mark.

 

As much of an achievement as this might be – and United are on track to achieve it, despite the recent flooding of the squad with more first-team “purples” – Newcastle fans didn’t raise the decibel level on Saturday to celebrate stability and the club’s robust wage structure.

 

The noise and fervour was down to the re-emergence of a team capable of producing football of power, poise and passion. The buzz was whether the debut of Moussa Sissoko (pictured right) bore comparison to Malcolm Macdonald’s, a debate to energise any Saturday night on the town.

 

None of this is lost on Llambias as he holds court in the Virgin Money suite that overlooks the majestic stands of St James’ Park.

 

United’s managing director might talk about blueprints, wage structures and constructing a robust black-and-white bottom line but the romanticism of the game is not lost on him. He is a football supporter himself – and he and Mike Ashley will regularly travel to support England. “We get it,” he says at various points during our chat. Most crucially of all, given their previous touch-and-go situation with supporters, he is moved to comment: “We listen, we honestly do. People don’t think we do, but we do.”

 

So he knows that logic must be mixed with fantasy when it comes to football. He talks of having to remove his inner fan when it comes to this year’s FA Cup exploits, pragmatically figuring that, while losing to Brighton might be painful, it might help Newcastle’s avowed aim of staying in the Premier League in the long-run.

 

For Llambias, the key point to stress is that their “model” is not simply aimed at keeping the club afloat or ticking along without the requirement of a huge loan. It is to actually deliver tangible success at some point – and a team capable of competing with the top four.

 

When will that success be delivered is the inevitable next query. The honest answer – without exactly nailing his colours to the mast – is two years. It comes with caveats, of course, but Llambias can envisage a situation in which Newcastle are slugging it out with the heavyweights sooner than you might think.

 

“We always said we had a five-year plan. We feel this season may have put us back a little bit, but I think we’ve now worked our way through that. I would say we are a couple of years away from absolutely having a really, really strong squad with the depth we need.

 

“A trophy for (manager) Alan (Pardew) would be just incredible. The FA Cup is his dream for this club. For us a trophy would be a dream. Mike and I would love a trophy, for sure we would. We’d also love to challenge those big boys though.

 

“When you look at last season it was exciting for us sitting there and thinking, ‘If we’d won that game we’d be third and if we won that game we’d be fourth and then thinking how it would feel if we’d have been pushed out of that Champions League place by Chelsea’.

 

Newcastle United hope to be able to compete with the Premier League’s big guns in two years, as managing director Derek Llambias tells Mark Douglas in an exclusive interview

 

“We are building. Can I say we’ll be challenging the top four in two or three years? I can’t say that because football’s a strange sort of world and plenty of things can happen. Top clubs fall down, they might not be investing as much or somebody else might do something which transforms a club’s fortunes. I would hope in two years’ time we’ll have an even more exciting squad.”

 

When Europe comes again, United will be at the forefront of the English clubs dipping under the financial fair play regulations. When it comes to that golden wages-to-turnover ratio, they are on the right track.

 

Llambias said: “We have always had a target with salary to turnover and we stay within that – that’s why you lose one or two deals occasionally. Once you break those fundamental rules it’s very difficult. Where do you stop? Where does that level of salary stop? Our wages are 64% of our turnover at the moment. That will go down because we will get more money in next year. The commercial deals will boost our income and the new Premier League TV money.

 

“What we have done is take it up to our figure for next year now, so there will be a slight blip because we’ve brought in more players than we were anticipating. But next year we will be spot on.”

 

Briefly, he then allows the romantic to get out: “Of course, there are exceptions. If Lionel Messi suddenly said he wanted to live in the North East then we’d say absolutely! But seriously, there’s a reality to it. It’s a question of us sticking to our guidelines – that’s where we are.”

 

How can the club continue to improve?

 

Llambias’ answer is to grow globally and to continue to look at other ways of generating revenue, like the contentious stadium naming issue. As much as the model is faithfully adhered to, it is not everything. He explains: “A model is a model. There are always exceptions – you can’t just say ‘This is our model, we’re going to do this and we’re going to stick to it’. It doesn’t work like that – it’s a work-in-progress.

 

 

“For us it’s about building. Stability is massive for this club – it has to have stability. We don’t take any money out of the club and whatever it generates goes back into the club.

 

“Take the naming rights, for example. It’s such a contentious issue – we understood that but what we were trying to do was bring a player onto the pitch. Look at Sissoko, the naming rights have helped pay for him. That’s money we didn’t have. If you look at it – (we’ve signed) Sissoko and it (the name of the stadum) is now back to St James’ Park.

 

“That wasn’t bad business. It is what it is, it’s the future. Our size of club just can’t compete with the Chrysler deals (Man U). We just can’t do it.

 

“We don’t have that global reach yet. Over the next few years we need to expand into that market and that’s really what our concentration is. How do we build that global market?

 

“That’s about bringing in different partners and getting our brand out there a little bit more. Worldwide we have three-and-a-half million fans, Man United have 350million and sell 1.2million shirts.

 

“That’s what it is – the reality is there’s massive gaps between us and them. How do we close that gap? We don’t get there by throwing money at it because we can’t.

 

“We haven’t got enough money so we have to get there by building slowly, building solid foundations. The club is always going to be safe, financially safe. It’s got to be like that.”

 

 

 

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2013/02/08/exclusive-interview-derek-llambias-nufc-managing-director-61634-32769521/2/#ixzz2KIUc8hPA

 

 

 

 

 

Careful Derek, any more sensible stuff like that and I might have to stop calling you a cunt.

 

[Dinho lad]

“We don’t have that global reach yet."

 

Taking European competitions seriously might help.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Good stuff. There's no way you could look at that negatively.

its nothing new either tbh we know the score, if stupid offers come in for players they're off

 

Which in turn is nothing new in football anywhere tbh

[Yaron]

Which kind of players are in the "RED" category? the likes of Adam Maher for example?

[Jagten]

Anyone know what he said re: safe standing?

[aussiemag]

I'd say the likes of Marveaux, Haidara, Obertan, Shola, Gouffran, Williamson are red. As long as they are like Gouffran and Marv I'm happy.

[Unbelievable]

Which kind of players are in the "RED" category? the likes of Adam Maher for example?

 

The likes of Bigi and Hiadara probably. I can't see Maher fitting in that category for us as he'd be the cost of a "purple" ().

[Yaron]

I'd say the likes of Marveaux, Haidara, Obertan, Shola, Gouffran, Williamson are red. As long as they are like Gouffran and Marv I'm happy.

Obertan,Shola and Williamso are not in the Red category,they are in the Black one