August 31st - "I predict a riot"

[Scottish Mag]

So yes we are still in limbo with the same old stories being churned out day after day but the longer it goes on the more it is looking likely that Fat Ashley is going to remain in charge.

 

We have a squad that currently has only 3 (experienced) defenders in Enrique, Taylor and Colo. We have already lost Beye, Bassong, Cacapa and Edgar and its more or less common knowledge that Enrique and Colo are just waiting for the call to move on and I would not be surprised to see Moyes sniffing about Taylor should they lose their battle to hold on to Lescott.

 

Up front we have lost Owen, Viduka, Martins and Lovenkrands leaving us with only two strikers in Shola (don't think I need to cover opinion on how useful he is) and Carroll, who in my opinion is far from the player many on these forums think he is. He throws himself about and gives us a good physical prescence but he is very inexperienced having only had 23 starts for us and 3 goals to date (11 starts/1 goal for Preston)

 

The big irony is that our biggest weakness last season, our midfield, is currently our strongest part of the team. Again though Jonas is just waiting on a move and the likes of Smith, Butt, Geremi, Nolan, Guthrie are all similar type of players and along with Barton an Duff are eating up the majority of our wage bill.

 

Yes we have young players on the fringe such as Kadar, Ranger, Vuckic, Lua Lua but they have little or no experience at first team level and we cannot go pinning our hopes on these youngsters.

 

We have a game moved for TV now being played on the evening of 31st August, that evening where we normally sit glued to SSN waiting to see some last minute moves, usually leaving us bitterly disappointed as we sign no one or the likes of Sibierski. This year however if Ashley is still in charge it could be so much more than being disappointed, this year we could see the tight bastard still in charge, the likes of O'Leary in charge at the club, little or more likely no signings brought in to a tiny squad and lets be honest several of those currently in the squad in present will be gone if any offers come in.

 

We think things are bad right now but should Ashley not go I think we all know its going to get a whole lot worse, but whilst there are arguments currently if protesting is the right or wrong thing to do I think come August 31st, the typically manic deadline today where supporters lose all rational thoughts in the hope that their club sign Etos, Messis and Kakas, putting together an even weakened squad, some beers before the game and god help them if we get a poor result this may cause an uproar in the stands and all hell to break loose.

 

Heres hoping a takeover happens soon (wishful thinking) but if any of the above comes about its certainly going to make the Leicester match one hell of a night.

 

 

*I missed out Xisco, the forgotten man, but I think that says it all when it comes to him.*

 

[Mowen]

Good post. Squad size is a massive concern at the moment, and as much as I want the takeover etc. to go through it might almost be worth O'leary coming in just to get some bodies at the club. Problem is I can't see Ashley hiring him if he'll ever do anything Ashley doesn't want. We're in a bit of a pickle.

 

Still think we'll go up mind

[relámpago blanco]

I reckon we'll see a few loans, 1 or 2 go out and someone akin to O'Lewary appointed and like Mowen I still think we'll go up.  Look at what we had to field under Roeder, Players that can't even get in league 1 sides.

[LiquidAK]

The thing that worries me is, even if we do go up with this team, we'll have to buy a whole new squad pretty much when we get there in order to stay up.

[TRon]

Good post. Squad size is a massive concern at the moment, and as much as I want the takeover etc. to go through it might almost be worth O'leary coming in just to get some bodies at the club. Problem is I can't see Ashley hiring him if he'll ever do anything Ashley doesn't want. We're in a bit of a pickle.

 

Still think we'll go up mind

 

I think we will go up if we sign a decent striker but we aren't going to get one of the calibre we need on loan, so I think this will be Ashley's major fuck up this season and it will cost him millions.

 

 

[madras]

for all we definitly need at least a couple of new faces in it seems more unbalanced than short on numbers(how many central midfielders have we got,i'd be happy to lose 2 and bring in a forward and a full back)). practically all clubs in the championship will be using their kids to bulk out their squads. the likes of vuckic,kadar,lua lua,ranger,ngo baheng,donaldson,tozer would all be looking to get a fair few games at all the other clubs.

[Ashley17]

Agree with the point of your post, but fortunately we can loan outside of the window (short term deals only) and although that won't be enough, die hard optimists will cling to it.

 

Also, I think the transer deadline will be moved to September 1st, as August 31st is a bank holiday. I hope it is, would be weird playing on the last day of the Summer window, and frankly stupid.

[Guest Taff]

Best post I've seen in a while fair play. Can't really coment much more as you've covered most things.

[Scottish Mag]

Those of you thinking we will go up, I assume that is based on the current squad of players? I agree that with one or two additions, especially a striker with a bit of pace and a no nonsense defender who would be more suited to the Fizzy Pop League coming in for Colo we would still arguably have the best squad. 

 

However I cannot believe for one minute that if Ashley remains in charge we will not see more players going out the door.  As speculated on .com we already have people sniffing about Jonas, Colo, Enrique, Duff, Geremi and Butt and other rumours surround the likes of Smith and Barton.  Given the salaries these command I do not for one minute believe that Ashley will bankroll the salaries these guys are on and unfortunatley whilst we all know that if he lets another 3, 4 or even 5 go that we will be in an awful state numbers wise I have no faith whatsoever that he will not continue to strip the team of the majority of its assets to claw back the money he has invested...

[Wallace]

I think also that some players that might have been happy to stay because they thought Ashley was going and Shearer was coming in might rethink things.  The way Ashley has behaved in the last 2 years, I would imagine it would be quite demoralising for some players to hear that he was staying on.

 

[Guest sicko2ndbest]

Why dont we start a campaign across the whole of football appealing to our fellow football fans to boycoutt all sports direct stores. Put some the facts of Ashleys reign on a flyer, set up a web page and contact all the big fansites to promote our push in the understanding that we do the same for them in the future should they need our help

 

We could even take the mickey out of ourselves calling the campaign 'BOYCOUTT'. Not everyone will get on board but if only a quarter do thats a hell of a lot of money coming out of sports diect stores.

 

This is the only thing Ashley will listen to!

[Guest Roger Kint]

I think also that some players that might have been happy to stay because they thought Ashley was going and Shearer was coming in might rethink things.  The way Ashley has behaved in the last 2 years, I would imagine it would be quite demoralising for some players to hear that he was staying on.

 

 

Majority of them still cherish the ludicrous contracts Ashley handed them imo

[TRon]

Those of you thinking we will go up, I assume that is based on the current squad of players? I agree that with one or two additions, especially a striker with a bit of pace and a no nonsense defender who would be more suited to the Fizzy Pop League coming in for Colo we would still arguably have the best squad. 

 

However I cannot believe for one minute that if Ashley remains in charge we will not see more players going out the door.  As speculated on .com we already have people sniffing about Jonas, Colo, Enrique, Duff, Geremi and Butt and other rumours surround the likes of Smith and Barton.  Given the salaries these command I do not for one minute believe that Ashley will bankroll the salaries these guys are on and unfortunatley whilst we all know that if he lets another 3, 4 or even 5 go that we will be in an awful state numbers wise I have no faith whatsoever that he will not continue to strip the team of the majority of its assets to claw back the money he has invested...

 

I would go along with all of that. Which is why I believe all the whooping and celebrations at getting good money for the likes of Oba, Bassong and Beye are misguided.

 

"Oba's got the touch of a rapist! £9-fucking-million!! Woohoo!"

 

 

Yeah well enjoy watching Shola this season.

[Mowen]

Those of you thinking we will go up, I assume that is based on the current squad of players? I agree that with one or two additions, especially a striker with a bit of pace and a no nonsense defender who would be more suited to the Fizzy Pop League coming in for Colo we would still arguably have the best squad. 

 

However I cannot believe for one minute that if Ashley remains in charge we will not see more players going out the door.  As speculated on .com we already have people sniffing about Jonas, Colo, Enrique, Duff, Geremi and Butt and other rumours surround the likes of Smith and Barton.  Given the salaries these command I do not for one minute believe that Ashley will bankroll the salaries these guys are on and unfortunatley whilst we all know that if he lets another 3, 4 or even 5 go that we will be in an awful state numbers wise I have no faith whatsoever that he will not continue to strip the team of the majority of its assets to claw back the money he has invested...

 

There are a number of caveats to my belief that we'll still go up (natural optimism / delusion being one) but I think the main reason is that it should be so easy to take us up. A couple of players here and there (striker, cb, little bit of pace and maybe a winger) and a half competant manager and we should piss it. However, like you say, with Ashley at the helm that is far less realistic than you might hope.

[Mowen]

Those of you thinking we will go up, I assume that is based on the current squad of players? I agree that with one or two additions, especially a striker with a bit of pace and a no nonsense defender who would be more suited to the Fizzy Pop League coming in for Colo we would still arguably have the best squad. 

 

However I cannot believe for one minute that if Ashley remains in charge we will not see more players going out the door.  As speculated on .com we already have people sniffing about Jonas, Colo, Enrique, Duff, Geremi and Butt and other rumours surround the likes of Smith and Barton.  Given the salaries these command I do not for one minute believe that Ashley will bankroll the salaries these guys are on and unfortunatley whilst we all know that if he lets another 3, 4 or even 5 go that we will be in an awful state numbers wise I have no faith whatsoever that he will not continue to strip the team of the majority of its assets to claw back the money he has invested...

 

I would go along with all of that. Which is why I believe all the whooping and celebrations at getting good money for the likes of Oba, Bassong and Beye are misguided.

 

"Oba's got the touch of a rapist! £9-fucking-million!! Woohoo!"

 

 

Yeah well enjoy watching Shola this season.

 

I don't think that's really why people were happy. Given that Oba was unaffordable for us and clearly never going to stay, I was quite pleased with £9m as it was a couple of mill more than I expected.

[Martin Lol]

Good post. Squad size is a massive concern at the moment, and as much as I want the takeover etc. to go through it might almost be worth O'leary coming in just to get some bodies at the club. Problem is I can't see Ashley hiring him if he'll ever do anything Ashley doesn't want. We're in a bit of a pickle.

 

Still think we'll go up mind

 

I think we will go up if we sign a decent striker but we aren't going to get one of the calibre we need on loan, so I think this will be Ashley's major f*** up this season and it will cost him millions.

 

 

 

I'm not convinced that many, if any, loan signings will really give you the quality you need irrespective of the position.  I don't know who Newcastle have got coming through the Academy and reserves (other than those I've seen in international matches), but there seem to be a few with good potential.  But will signing loan players be any better than throwing your youngsters in at the deep end?  I'm not convinced.  It's been reported that Newcastle might want to make a couple of loan signings from Spurs.  Bostock, Rose and Parrett could be contenders, but Bostock apart, they are still pretty raw, I don't think they would necessarily do much for the squad other than beef up the numbers.  More experienced players, like Chimbonda for example, we're looking to sell, not loan. 

 

I just get the feeling that Ashley has left the 'loan players option'  too long and the better ones have already found a temporary home.

[Guest Roger Kint]

One paper listed Dervitte and Cox(i think) as the two we wanted. Prefer Boetang or Dos Santos over untried kids mind.

[timnufc22]

Why dont we start a campaign across the whole of football appealing to our fellow football fans to boycoutt all sports direct stores. Put some the facts of Ashleys reign on a flyer, set up a web page and contact all the big fansites to promote our push in the understanding that we do the same for them in the future should they need our help

 

We could even take the mickey out of ourselves calling the campaign 'BOYCOUTT'. Not everyone will get on board but if only a quarter do thats a hell of a lot of money coming out of sports diect stores.

 

This is the only thing Ashley will listen to!

 

I agree, this is from U V on toontastic:

 

Target Sports Defect. Make it known that any true Newcastle supporter should not buy anything from his stores until he sells up. Set up pickets outside the shops (at least at first) to publicise it. At the very least stores in the North East should suffer if support for the club amongst the general population is anything like claimed.

 

Use negative publicity about Sports Defect practices - they're probably no worse than anyone else, but a cheap tat merchant like that is bound to source a lot of it's merchandise from sweat shops, and treat it's staff poorly. If we make sure that Sports Defect are constantly associated with cheap child labour in poor conditions (it doesn't even have to be true), false sale promises, imply his goods are of a really poor quality, etc - over time it will have a negative affect on sales across the country.

 

[Guest Roger Kint]

Thats never going to work like

[madras]

Why dont we start a campaign across the whole of football appealing to our fellow football fans to boycoutt all sports direct stores. Put some the facts of Ashleys reign on a flyer, set up a web page and contact all the big fansites to promote our push in the understanding that we do the same for them in the future should they need our help

 

We could even take the mickey out of ourselves calling the campaign 'BOYCOUTT'. Not everyone will get on board but if only a quarter do thats a hell of a lot of money coming out of sports diect stores.

 

This is the only thing Ashley will listen to!

 

I agree, this is from U V on toontastic:

 

Target Sports Defect. Make it known that any true Newcastle supporter should not buy anything from his stores until he sells up. Set up pickets outside the shops (at least at first) to publicise it. At the very least stores in the North East should suffer if support for the club amongst the general population is anything like claimed.

 

Use negative publicity about Sports Defect practices - they're probably no worse than anyone else, but a cheap tat merchant like that is bound to source a lot of it's merchandise from sweat shops, and treat it's staff poorly. If we make sure that Sports Defect are constantly associated with cheap child labour in poor conditions (it doesn't even have to be true), false sale promises, imply his goods are of a really poor quality, etc - over time it will have a negative affect on sales across the country.

 

it may work inin limited fashion at his north east outlets. wouldn't work elsewhere.

[Skirge]

You can't riot now,..

12.08.2009

NUFC Backs 'Enjoy The Match' Campaign

Football League campaign aims to promote family-friendly atmosphere at SJP

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~1752005,00.html

[Slugsy]

Excellent OP which I agree with. 

 

I also think it is going to be a lot harder than some think to get promoted and even with 2 or 3 additions we will struggle as what we have at the club is a) not good enough in terms of volume and b) not good enough in terms of quality for the most part.

 

I also agree more will go out with less coming in.

[MW]

Deadline day is on 1st September iirc

[Heron]

You can't riot now,..

12.08.2009

NUFC Backs 'Enjoy The Match' Campaign

Football League campaign aims to promote family-friendly atmosphere at SJP

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~1752005,00.html

 

Tossers.

[JH]

Deadline day is on 1st September iirc

 

Aye. Monday 31st is a Bank Holiday.