Llambias Q&A with Chronicle: OP updated with Thursday's articles

[Guest neesy111]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/12/we-backed-kinnear-s-transfer-window-requests-72703-22913302/

DEREK LLAMBIAS claims all of Kinnear’s January transfer-window requests to the board were accepted.

 

He added: “All I can tell you on this window is we said no to nobody.

 

“We asked ‘who do you want?’ We were given two players. One was Michael Johnson, and we asked how much.

 

“It was £8m, and we waited two and half hours before we heard back from Manchester City.

 

“So then we asked ‘who else?’ We went for Kieran Richardson, that bid went straight in.

 

“We had already agreed Kevin Nolan and Peter Lovenkrands as back-up, and Ryan Taylor.

 

“We really wanted another midfielder because of what had happened to Danny Guthrie and Joey Barton.

 

“It did not happen – but we never said no to any requests. We are happy to spend the money.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/12/llambias-youth-policy-is-the-right-way-to-go-72703-22913304/

TOON managing director Derek Llambias has insisted Mike Ashley is determined to make sure Newcastle United are competing to bring the best of local and global talent to St James’s Park.

 

Llambias this week unveiled United’s ambitious strategy to be competing “for everything” within five years.

 

And Llambias feels that youth development is a major part of those plans, underlining the importance of the club’s controversial continental director of football model.

 

Youngsters like Nile Ranger, Tamas Kadar, Wesley Ngo Baheng and recently-signed duo Haris Vuckic, a 16-year-old Slovenian, and Samuel Adjei, a 17-year-old Swedish striker, are already tipped as stars of tomorrow.

 

And with homegrown talent such as James Taylor, Sammy Ameobi and James Tavernier also coming through, the current regime is excited about the future.

 

Llambias told the Chronicle: “Mike is happy to spend money and that’s what we are doing.

 

“We are spending money on the academy. This summer we spent £2m on kids who we feel should be doing well in the future.

 

“Obviously we have to support our first team, but three or four years down the road some of the talent we have got in is fantastic.

 

“We’re very excited that they’ll make it and become part of the Newcastle United family.

 

“We’ve spent money on the backroom staff of £1m. That will increase with the foundation and the centres of excellence as we grow.

 

“And we see our future with bringing in both home grown and international players.

 

“We have got Haris Vuckic who everybody is very excited about.

 

“He could be an absolute star.”

 

United have made a significant improvement at reserve and youth level this season thanks to Richard Money.

 

Llambias added: “We want to build through our academy but there was no academy when we came in.

 

“It was very poor and we got Richard Money on board who is excellent.

 

“Everybody is working together.

 

“You can’t have boys’ club teams that are better than your academy.

 

“We want to get to all the schools and filter it through the centre of excellence then to the academy.

 

“We want to hit the North East as much as possible and scout the rest of the country and overseas.

 

“We see that as a very important part of going forward.”

 

Another big factor in the academy, though, is the controversial figure of Dennis Wise.

 

His jet-set scouting role is said to cover all categories of players, although Llambias said: “He will scout young talent and experienced players.

 

“In this particular window Joe Kinnear gave him a list of players to go out and look at.

 

“That would be senior ones for this window.

 

“The on-going thing is that Dennis has been out there with his team looking at young players for the academy.

 

“These are players who will be built up through the reserves.

 

“So when we pinpoint a player, Dennis will go in there as part of the negotiating team.

 

“Myself and Mike will be on the phone and pressing the buttons as far as how far we can go financially.’’

 

---

 

Could make it worth buying it for once:

 

The Evening Chronicle and The Journal this week publish a Newcastle United exclusive.

 

Our sports writers have been given exclusive access to NUFC's Managing Director Derek Llambias who answered the questions you asked us to put to the club.

 

The Chronicle's Lee Ryder and The Journal's Luke Edwards went along to St James's Park last week and tomorrow, the Chronicle will bring you the first instalment, followed by more revelations in The Journal on Wednesday.

 

It is the first time Mr Llambias has faced the fans' questions.

 

It's been a turbulent season for Newcastle with Kevin Keegan's depature and Mike Ashley's subsequent decision to put the club on the market.

 

There followed Joe Kinnear's shock appointment as manager and the decision to take the club off the market.

 

Then during the transfer, the club's talismanic keeper Shay Given left while some signings - Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor - meet with more approval.

 

Get the Chronicle on Tuesday to be first to read the exclusive interview, followed by the second part in The Journal on Wednesday.

[Syrette]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/10/derek-llambias-sorry-for-lack-of-communication-72703-22893621/

NEWCASTLE United supremo Derek Llambias has apologised to the Toon Army for the enduring silence that caused public outrage on Tyneside.

 

The lack of communication has infuriated many fans, but Llambias revealed today his plan to heal the deep rifts caused by Kevin Keegan’s unexplained departure in September by swinging the doors back open at St James’s Park.

 

Llambias, Toon tycoon Mike Ashley and his board all claim they had no choice but to head for “their bunker” in the aftermath of Keegangate, the saga which not only rocked football, but also resulted in Geordie fans turning on the current regime in a mass protest on the day of the inept 2-1 defeat to Hull.

 

And, in an exclusive interview, Llambias has outlined plans that Ashley believes can have United “challenging for EVERYTHING” within five years.

 

After breaking his silence since being appointed to the Toon board in June, Llambias also revealed:

 

:: HOW he and Ashley were gutted to see Kevin Keegan quit;

 

:: HOW the current board have regretted the huge mistakes they’ve made;

 

:: WHY fans will now be given a voice at St James’s;

 

:: HOW the director of football model — with Dennis Wise STILL on board — will put the club in great shape for years to come;

 

:: WHY Ashley will splash the cash in the summer.

 

However, Llambias was keen to lift the lid on why there has been such a deathly hush around the club since KK sensationally walked out on the club for a second time in Toon history.

 

Speaking on the club’s woeful lack of communication, Llambias told the Chronicle: “We apologise and I personally apologise for the miscommunication.

 

“Historically, with Sports Direct, Mike stayed under the radar for 20 years until he floated his company.

 

“Then all of a sudden people realised there was a £2.5billion company there.

 

“He stayed under the radar because he had very little Press communication.

 

“But we do realise owning Newcastle United is a totally different forum.

 

“When Chris Mort was here he was very proactive with the Press.

 

“When I came on the board, Mike and I discussed it and we basically wanted to keep a lower profile.

 

“Then within no time at all KK happened.

 

“And then it just got worse and whatever we said got worse.

 

“So we decided to keep as low a profile as possible, get on with our business plan, move forward with what we were doing with our management team and to assist whatever manager was coming in as best as possible.

 

“Maybe we have made mistakes on the communication side.

 

“We freely admit we have made mistakes and we put our hands up.

 

“But now we’re in a position where Mike is back on board and we’re not selling the club.

 

“Our intention is to go back on the track we were on before with our business plan.

 

“We think that is the only way forward for the particular club.

 

“And I think it will be a model going forward for a lot of Premier League clubs.

 

“So we’re now trying to put the stability back into the club as far as that is concerned.

 

“We apologise and I personally apologise for the miscommunication.

 

“Mike has gone out and made some generic statements.

 

“We try to do generic statements through the club Press office which people have seen.

 

“Basically now we’re saying The Chronicle and the Journal are welcome to come in and ask the questions on a regular basis.

 

“We haven’t got anything to hide.

 

“We’re realistic about where we need to be in the next year or so.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/10/mike-ashley-eyes-five-year-plan-for-nufc-glory-72703-22893622/

MIKE ASHLEY is making plans which he hopes will allow Newcastle United to “challenge for everything” within five years.

 

The Toon tycoon is sifting his way through a financial programme that will clear debts left behind by the previous regime and allow Newcastle to compete in the transfer market with the rest of the Premier League and European big guns.

 

United have mapped out their future and are banking on their youth and academy system to bring through the best in homegrown and foreign talent.

 

Managing director Derek Llambias told the Chronicle: “In five years’ time I would hope we would be challenging for everything.

 

“We hope to be like an Aston Villa.

 

“But you need to have solid grounding under your feet.

 

“You need that – it should have been built years ago.

 

“We inherited so much.

 

“We’re knocking down walls and rebuilding.”

 

And despite the perception held by some that Ashley and his board have wheeled and dealed in order to make money for themselves, Llambias insisted the United owner has spent a net £38m to keep Newcastle fighting for survival in the top flight.

 

Critics have claimed that Ashley only has himself to blame for jumping in with both feet and not doing his homework ahead of his purchase of the Magpies.

 

But due to his dynamic business style, in which the Sports Direct owner has been known to take risks, Ashley had his heart set on buying United and wanted to take them back to soccer’s top table.

 

And the club’s silence in recent months has left fans to make their own conclusions over exactly what is going on at St James’s Park.

 

It has emerged that despite the flak endured by Ashley and his board, the dire financial status left behind by the previous regime left Ashley to pay for stars bought by Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder out of the net £34m splashed out so far, along with other purchases in the last two years.

 

United are still paying for the likes of Oba Martins and Damien Duff, while the club have only recently cleared debts for Spanish flop Albert Luque and Emre, who they inherited after staggered transfer plans were agreed by the old board.

 

There are still further payments to make on some of those transfers over next two years, while the £11m from major long-term commercial deals, understood to be Northern Rock and adidas, was spent up front by the previous regime on the first team.

 

Llambias said: “We are trying to get away from dating so that we don’t have huge amounts of money going out.

 

“We are trying to pay up front.

 

“People like Coloccini, Xisco and Gutierrez, which is just getting sorted out now – we own those players.

 

“It’s like buying a car on HP but then it gets written off, but you still have to pay it.

 

“That’s how the business was being run, they ran it on a credit.”

 

However, Llambias has vowed that United will spend again in the summer and with several players set to be out of contract in the summer, the MD believes the wage bill will be freed up to allow Newcastle to sign players who fit into the new structure.

 

He added: “There is £8m there and it will be spent in the summer.

 

“Mike isn’t afraid to spend money out of his own pocket.

 

“Last year we lost £34m, this year we’ll lose £20m, and next year it will be around £7m.

 

“But it still doesn’t mean that Mike won’t invest when he has to invest.

 

“We aren’t a selling club, we’re a buying club.

 

“We are out there in the market.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/10/newcastle-united-md-answers-your-questions-72703-22893618/

CAN you offer any explanation as to why there has been a lack of communication from the club and owner, particularly during the time when Kevin Keegan departed the club?

 

EFFECTIVELY we can’t answer any questions on Kevin Keegan until we have made a settlement. We didn’t want to lose Kevin.

 

SO why doesn’t Mike Ashley like speaking publicly and is there any chance that might change?

 

THERE is a possibility Mike will speak publicly.

 

I think Mike will continue to do generic statements through the website and the local Press.

 

I think at the moment we want to clear up some of our outstanding issues, because Mike would want to tell people everything including the KK case.

 

He would want to say what was happening and that would shoot us in the foot.

 

He knows that and he’s the sort of guy who would sit and take a polygraph test. And he means it.

 

WHY has Mike or yourself (Derek Llambias) been quoted in the national Press rather than the Chronicle, Journal and Sunday Sun?

 

IT’S not like we have a relationship with anybody – sometimes these things are twisted.

 

We haven’t got a relationship with anybody.

 

If the truth were known, the relationships Mike wants to build are with the Chronicle and the Journal.

 

He’s always made it clear that local Press are the most important to Newcastle United.

 

That’s why we want to build up a relationship.

 

Maybe I should have done this in June. It’s a long time ago but at the time we wanted to keep our format of a low profile.

 

But August came, the window was there, then September 1 and it all got terrible.

 

We found ourselves without a manager and it was difficult, then we really were the bad guys.

 

If that hadn’t happened who knows?

 

We were always going to come and talk to you guys. But once it got nasty, we had to be careful what we were doing.

 

And that’s why we started attacking some of the papers.

 

There were some things that were so outrageous that we had to ignore them, because if you antagonise them they get worse.

 

But if you ignore it gets worse. It got to a point with our families and friends and some of the issues with fans where it got out of order.

 

We’re not out there to antagonise we’re out there to get everybody on board again.

 

CAN you offer an explanation as to why the communication has dried up?

 

Historically with Sports Direct, Mike stayed under the radar for 20 years until he floated his company.

 

Then all of a sudden people realised there was a £2.5billion company here.

 

He stayed under the radar because he had very little Press communication.

 

But we do realise owning Newcastle United is a totally different forum.

 

When Chris Mort was here he was very proactive with the Press.

 

He continuously spoke to the Press.

 

So when I came on the board, Mike and I discussed it and we basically wanted to keep a lower profile.

 

Then within no time at all KK happened.

 

And then it just got worse and whatever we said got worse.

 

So we decided to keep as low as possible, get on with our business plan, move forward with what we’re doing with our management team and to assist whatever manager was coming in as best as possible.

 

CAN you explain why Mr Ashley completely ignored a request from NUSC to meet in a location of his choice to liaise with fans?

 

WE’RE in dialogue with them. We have a monthly meeting and we need to get the record straight – we are in dialogue with NUSC.

 

We have a monthly supporter meeting where a reasonably representative group of people who represent our fans tell us what for.

 

They have been invited to be part of that forum so there are four or five of them coming along.

 

It’s not true that we have blanked them.

 

We have engaged with them and had dialogue since they formed. And we’re sitting down again with the group.

 

Their initial approach was not in the correct tone. They are a small group and they are charging a subscription fee which was a bit strange to us.

 

They are welcome to come along to our forums. That’s fine, they are coming on February 12 and there will be four or five of them.

 

The whole idea of the panel is basically to give them an idea of where we are going and what the expectations for the future are.

 

We don’t want to talk about Kevin Keegan, which is an issue they will insist talking about. Unfortunately, that’s not what the tone is.

 

There are breakaway supporters groups. They (the NUSC) are a small group and given more credence than they deserve.

 

DOES this interview signal a change in management style which will keep the fans informed as to which direction the club is heading?

 

THIS is a change in direction, yes. We’ll have regular meetings once a month and regular meetings if there are any issues.

 

I’m not expecting to have one every time something goes wrong. Basically we wanted to address some issues.

 

We’re not selling, we’re trying to stabilise our team and we’re back on track with our business plan.

 

WHAT exactly does Dennis Wise do and will he be staying?

 

DENNIS is our director of football. He is out there looking for players.

 

He will remain part of our management structure. It works quite well with Joe and Dennis and ourselves.

 

IF Mike Ashley cares about the club and listens to the fans, why didn’t he reinstate Keegan and get rid of Wise?

 

IT’S a no-comment I’m afraid.

 

It’s something we can discuss later. It was never a possibility.

 

WOULD Mike consider re-appointing Chris Mort as chairman?

 

THAT’S not going to happen.

 

WHAT role does Tony Jimenez still have?

 

HE’S gone. He went in October.”

 

HOW can you justify running a company from London when the company’s head office and entire operation is based in Newcastle?

 

WE don’t have an office in London. Let’s clear that up.

 

Dennis is travelling most of the time but he’ll be here twice a week. I am here five days a week.

 

Mike is in the Midlands and running Sports Direct. He comes down once a week, and he’s going to spend most of that time at the training ground. Being run from London is nonsense and it’s never been the case.

 

It’s just that we’re Londoners.

 

MANY fans believe you are destroying NUFC. Discuss.

 

RELEGATION is a major fear for us too. Whatever players the manager has asked for, he’s had.

 

Are we disappointed we didn’t get another midfielder? Yes.

 

Are we disappointed we didn’t get another right-back? Yes. But that January transfer window is so awkward.

 

As far as we’re concerned we see Newcastle United as having an exciting future.

 

It’s not a question of anything else. Why would you buy a business and then just run it into the ground?

 

HAVE you treated fans with contempt?

 

I CAN understand why they feel like that. But no.

 

Our silence is seen as contempt. But that is due to the outstanding issues such as arbitrations with courts and we’ve had to keep a low profile not to jeopardise any of those outstanding issues.

 

We’ve made mistakes. Football is a new business to us, not running a stadium.

 

Communication has been a mistake. Sometimes we feel like we’ve been bombarded and then when we have come out it’s been twisted.

 

That has made us mistrusting of the Press.

 

---

 

Shall be a very interesting read.

[Teasy]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/11/newcastle-united-will-stay-in-premier-league-72703-22903902/

NEWCASTLE United chief Derek Llambias has underlined Premier League survival as the key factor in Mike Ashley’s quest for honours at St James’s Park.

 

The Toon managing director feels that with January transfer window signings Ryan Taylor, Kevin Nolan and Peter Lovenkrands on board, and Joey Barton, Michael Owen, Habib Beye and Oba Martins all to return from injury, Newcastle can and MUST achieve their goal of staying up.

 

Failure to stay afloat in the top flight would leave Newcastle facing a major dip in revenue in the Championship but whatever happens Llambias promises that if fans stick by the club, in return all revenues will be reinvested into the team.

 

Llambias said: “Relegation is a major fear for us too. We have a business plan in place. We have to be ready for the future, but realistically I think we’ll stay up.

 

“That’s what we’re working towards and that’s why we knew we needed to spend money in the transfer window.”

 

And Llambias says it was the away trip to Manchester City, Ashley’s first public appearance since Keegangate, that sparked off the signings of the new trio of players and the failed bids for the likes of Michael Johnson and Kieran Richardson, following injuries to Owen and Barton at Eastlands.

 

Llambias said: “We knew we needed players and then, bang, out of the blue there were two players who you wanted in your team that weren’t there.”

 

That night the Toon’s executives had no choice but sit back and watch moneybags Man City sweep United aside, with big-money buys Robinho, Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips on board. However, Llambias says that Newcastle’s five-year plan, in which he hopes the Mags will be challenging for everything by the end of that period, is not on a par with City.

 

He said: “That will be built up over a period of time. We aren’t a Man City. Mike is a billionaire, he’s still a wealthy man, but if you look at his business it’s gone down from £2.5bn to £200m.

 

“The credit crunch is painful but he’s got a solid business that will come through the crunch quite well. It’s not a case of throwing hundreds of millions at it. We aren’t trillionaires.

 

“Man City will throw whatever they need to throw at it but how long will it take them?

 

“And how much will they spend? They will have to spend what, £600m? Maybe more the way they are going.

 

“We haven’t got that – nobody has got that money. Even Chelsea are struggling. We want to be up there, of course we do, but it will take time.”

 

Newcastle have not ruled out the possibility of stadium expansion in future years, while fans will be delighted to see that a scoreboard is about to make a return to St James’s for the first time since the early 1990s.

 

Llambias said: “We can expand the stadium by another 8,000. The fans have to come on board and fill up the stadium we have here first.

 

“We would love to build it up to 60,000. But we’re not there yet. The market is tough – there are a lot of people out there who are suffering.

 

“We understand that and we try to be realistic. We have a new commercial director, Barry Webber, and one of his projects is to get out there and get some sponsors on board on a jumbotron scoreboard.

 

“I love a scoreboard. The issues are the locations and the cost – it is almost £1.2m.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/11/mike-ashley-did-not-miss-nufc-dubai-meeting-72703-22903899/

DEREK LLAMBIAS has rubbished claims that he and Mike Ashley opted to go to a bar in Dubai ahead of a meeting to sell Newcastle United.

 

On September 16, 2008, United were linked with Middle East group Zabeel Investments over the possible sale of the Magpies, just days after Ashley put up the ‘for sale’ signs on Barrack Road.

 

However, Llambias says that Zabeel’s bid to buy United was unrealistic.

 

When pressed on exactly what happened in the Middle East, he said: “The Dubai story? Dear, oh dear.

 

“We were drinking in a bar, but weren’t supposed to be at a meeting.

 

“What happened was we had a meeting with Zabeel Investments in the afternoon, but it wasn’t a realistic deal – it was never going to happen.

 

“They offered us a ridiculous deal and we said ‘fine’ and then went to the pub.

 

“It was very nice and that was it. We were drinking in a bar and that was it – there was no meeting.”

 

And while the club was on the market from September 14 to December 28, Llambias revealed there were no “solid” offers from any of the interested parties after Ashley hired investment banker Keith Harris to sell Newcastle.

 

He said: “We had interested parties, but we left it up to Keith Harris.

 

“We didn’t want to know who they were until somebody came up with a solid offer.

 

“There were people sniffing around but we didn’t take much notice.

 

“Then it came to a point where the emotions were out of here, Mike calmed down and off we went, back to the tracks where we should be. Now we’re not for sale. We want to get back on track.”

 

Llambias has also slammed claims that the entire United squad were put up for sale in the lead-up to Kevin Keegan walking out of the club during the August transfer window.

 

He added: “That’s absolutely rubbish – malicious rubbish.

 

“If that was the case we may as well sell the whole club and go.

 

“It upsets us as a club. You have to understand it from Mike’s point of view.

 

“He’s now in for £250m and he is still going to have to invest going forward.

 

“He loved being in the pub and interacting with the fans, and he would tell them the truth.

 

“When you lose that fun in football it’s difficult for him.

 

“He’s not a guy who wants to sit in the chairman’s suite.

 

“West Brom wouldn’t allow him to wear jeans and his shirt and jacket.

 

“So when they come here I will insist they wear jeans and T-shirts.

 

“We’ll see how they like that one!”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/11/llambias-hull-city-protest-was-tough-to-take-72703-22903901/

DEREK LLAMBIAS has revealed he fully understands why the current Newcastle United board have been branded the Cockney Mafia.

 

The Toon managing director insisted that Newcastle aren’t run in London and that no United office exists in the capital.

 

However, for the first time Llambias has reflected on a day from hell for him, Mike Ashley and the rest of his board – September 13, 2008.

 

That day, 24 hours after Ashley had failed to convince Kevin Keegan to return nine days after walking out, United were beaten by Hull City at home as fans protested in huge numbers on Tyneside.

 

Ashley didn’t attend for safety reasons, leaving Llambias left surrounded by empty seats in the Toon directors’ box.

 

TV cameras also picked out Llambias’ expression when fans paraded a “Cockney Mafia out” banner in front of the executive suite as part of the mass protests.

 

Llambias said: “They are Mike’s seats. Now he’s back he will sit next to me again.

 

“It was difficult as far as fans were concerned, I felt a bit isolated.

 

“But quite honestly my position is to run the stadium side of things and the income of the club.

 

“It’s all part and parcel of my job, that’s why I was there.

 

“I don’t manage the team and don’t get involved with the team.

 

“I certainly don’t know enough about football to start telling Joe Kinnear who to put on and take off.

 

“I’m there to support and run this business for Mike.

 

“I can understand why he didn’t come and I can understand why Dennis didn’t come because they are associated with the football side of things.

 

“But for me, I run the business, we sell the pies and chips.”

 

And, reflecting on the Cockney Mafia banner, Llambias admitted he had to take it with good heart.

 

He said: “The one thing about fans is that they chant some great stuff.

 

“They are funny and they are so quick. When I saw that banner, I had a wry smile.

 

“I knew they had gone a long way to do that.

 

“I thought ‘that’s their statement’ so I had a wry smile.

 

“People said I was being smug – I wasn’t. I thought they’d gone out of their way to do it.

 

“I have heard the chants as well, some of it’s very funny.

 

“I have a sense of humour and they aren’t being spiteful so I can understand it.

 

“I can understand their passion. There is so much passion here and you have to appreciate that.

 

“So as far as the lonely times in the stand are concerned that was just me getting on with my job.

 

“It wasn’t a case of ‘up yours’, it was a case of the club is bigger than us, it was always the factor.”

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/02/11/derek-llambias-lifts-lid-on-n-zogbia-and-given-72703-22904206/

TOON supremo Derek Llambias has revealed his feelings over the departures of Newcastle United stars Charles N’Zogbia and Shay Given.

 

The pair jumped ship at St James’s Park during the January transfer window, with Given opting for Manchester City while N’Zogbia headed for Wigan and made his debut in front of 16,499 in their 0-0 draw with Fulham.

 

Llambias has accused N’Zogbia of being “deluded” but says that Given, who still has plans to hold fund-raising events for cancer at St James’s, will always be welcome at Gallowgate.

 

Llambias told the Chronicle: “Since I’ve been here Charles was always trying to get out of the club.

 

“He seemed to have this delusion that he was going to Arsenal or Man United and he’s ended up at Wigan.

 

“What’s all that about? It makes you think what are his motives.”

 

And speaking on Given, Llambias added: “The Shay situation was really difficult for us – he was an icon here, he was like Alan Shearer.

 

“We didn’t want to lose that.

 

“We never wanted to lose him.

 

“We emphasised that to him.

 

“Mike Ashley flew into to see Shay and tried to make him realise how valuable he was to us.”

 

“We want to continue working with Shay on his Macmillan charities.

 

“We don’t want to lose this relationship with Shay and I’ve made that very clear with the charity.

 

“It’s unfortunate, but what can you do when a player wants to leave?

 

“It’s no good having a player sitting in the stands, what can you do?

 

“It doesn’t do anybody any good.”

 

Llambias has also reflected on the exit of James Milner back in the August transfer window when Aston Villa coughed up £12m for his services.

 

Llambias said: “We didn’t want to lose James Milner.

 

“Realistically, he was only worth £6m according to people on our football side.

 

“Mike’s reasoning was that Villa would never pay £12m.

 

“But Villa went on and on and on, it got to 10 and we stuck to 12 because we didn’t want to lose him.

 

“At the end of the day I sat here with Milner and his head was turned, he’d played for Villa before and he wanted to go.

 

“We are not a selling club. We’re a buying club.”

 

Meanwhile United confirmed they go back in for January transfer targets Kieran Richardson, Michael Johnson, Nedum Onuoha and Albin Ebondo in the summer.

 

---

 

We'll hear Llambias telling lies and talking nonsense.  That's my confident prediction anyway.

[Guest Heneage]

Shall be a very interesting read.

 

Doubt it I imagine it being

 

"Dear Dererk, if you could be any type of biscuit what type of biscuit would you be?

 

A;) A Jammy Dodger"

[WhatTheFunk]

 

I really hope the directors will have taken this Q&A seriously, and come out with some serious explanations. It could be a good first step to mending whatever is left of our bridges, to hopefully pull together and look forward to some re-building next season.

 

ahhhhhh the life of the eternal optimist. i'm such a cunt!!!

[Syrette]

Shall be a very interesting read.

 

Doubt it I imagine it being

 

"Dear Dererk, if you could be any type of biscuit what type of biscuit would you be?

 

A;) A Jammy Dodger"

 

Edwards said at the NUSC meet that they'd not censor any of the questions, so you'd hope he'd stick to his word.

[Guest neesy111]

As for the level on the NUSC meeting (some had decent questions/ideas though) i cant see this being a serious conversation at all, hope im wrong.

 

sorry but both side's would just try to get at each other in such a meeting

[Nobody]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club.

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club".

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

[themanupstairs]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club.

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club".

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

 

Hmmmm...let's have the full text then. Looking forward to reading the whole thing

[dcmk]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club.

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club".

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

 

Guy certainly has a sense of humour, how would we do this then? 

[Bad Mongo]

Guy certainly has a sense of humour, how would we do this then? 

 

That's obvious: We sit back and hope the other clubs implode.

[NG32]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club. 

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club". 

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

 

 

 

[gdm]

obviously means challenging for Championship glory or maybe even league 1

[beardsleymagic]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club.

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club".

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

 

Great, not only is he a ignorant prick, but he also lives in cloud cuckoo land.

[Raconteur]

What were we expecting other than a whitewash?

[Guest firetotheworks]

Do you think this could be the public statement that Mike Ashley was supposed to make after the transfer window? And realising it was a fuck up he's sent out his hired goon to do an interview with The Chronicle instead?

[ToonTastic]

Do you think this could be the public statement that Mike Ashley was supposed to make after the transfer window? And realising it was a f*** up he's sent out his hired goon to do an interview with The Chronicle instead?

 

Hired goon ie the Chairman of the football club !

[PM]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club.

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club".

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

 

Guy certainly has a sense of humour, how would we do this then? 

 

Johnstone's Paint Trophy and then the Conference will be up for grabs within the next few years.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Do you think this could be the public statement that Mike Ashley was supposed to make after the transfer window? And realising it was a f*** up he's sent out his hired goon to do an interview with The Chronicle instead?

 

Hired goon ie the Chairman of the football club !

 

Yeah...?

[NG32]

"Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years." the more i look at that the funnier it gets.

[ToonTastic]

Do you think this could be the public statement that Mike Ashley was supposed to make after the transfer window? And realising it was a f*** up he's sent out his hired goon to do an interview with The Chronicle instead?

 

Hired goon ie the Chairman of the football club !

 

Yeah...?

 

As in who else should be talking ? It's the chairmans job to talk to the fans and to do the day to day running of the club. That's what Mort did when he was in charge and he did a damn good job of it. Current chairman so far is awful at his job though.

[Skirge]

Whats the point?, it will be just the shite they think we want to hear, action speak louder than words and so far their actions are screaming

WE DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT YOU LOT OR THE CLUB!

[ToonTastic]

Skirge - Chill

[Guest firetotheworks]

Do you think this could be the public statement that Mike Ashley was supposed to make after the transfer window? And realising it was a f*** up he's sent out his hired goon to do an interview with The Chronicle instead?

 

Hired goon ie the Chairman of the football club !

 

Yeah...?

 

As in who else should be talking ? It's the chairmans job to talk to the fans and to do the day to day running of the club. That's what Mort did when he was in charge and he did a damn good job of it. Current chairman so far is awful at his job though.

 

Read what I said man! Ashley said HE was going to come out with a public statement after the transfer window. Im suggesting that he's getting Llambias to do an interview with The Chronicle instead.

[ikri]

Highlights of the interview include:

:: Derek Llambias apologising to Toon fans and admitting that the board's silence since Kevin Keegan left was wrong.

:: A promise to give the fans a voice at the club.

:: Predicting that Newcastle will lose millions this year but maintaining "we are not a selling club".

:: Revealing that Mike Ashley believes Newcastle can challenge for EVERYTHING within the next five years.

 

 

Guy certainly has a sense of humour, how would we do this then? 

 

1) Wait for UEFA to kick all clubs with huge debts out of Europe (Liverpool, Man Utd, etc.)

2) Qualify for Champions League by finishing 12th

3) Watch as a load of top clubs implode due to their debts & no CL incomes

4) Buy their players for a pittance

5) Be one of the few clubs left standing

 

Or

 

Hire (and fund) a decent manager after seeing how Villa have done