Jump to content

Recommended Posts

http://i.sofoot.com/IMG/img-photo-messi-vomit_x500_arton146347.png

 

http://argville.com/images/funny-pictures/soccer-beckham.jpg

 

Zidane, Messi, Becks.. fuck, we've made a massive mistake.  Evidently Nolan is one of the finest midfielders of his generation.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Howaythetoon

The thing with Nolan was that he had the perfect team around him here at Newcastle, especially so under Hughton. At West ham I don't think he has, even at Bolton I didn't think he did either, hence why his goals and assist numbers were (are) pretty average compared to his stats at Newcastle. He'll do well enough for West Ham but nowhere near as well as he did for us. At the time I was disappointed when we sold Nolan, not so much because of his goals and such which of course were vital but also because of his character. He was a good man to have around the club, a good professional and captain. Anyway he's gone now, I shall remember his goals against the mackems and those goals that helped us win promotion and keep us in the Premier League. He'll go down as a Toon hero for me. The way I always look at things regarding players is this: were we better off with Nolan or were we worse off? We were better off for my money, and quite so too. Nopw he's gone and been replaced by seemingly a better player in Cabaye, hopefully he can have a similar or better impact on the club and if so, we're laughing.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Of course we will forever be grateful for what he's done for the club. But I can't help but feel he 'lucked out' with us, as it were. Just the timing of everything, for him to step up to the plate along with the likes of Barton to help us back into the PL and keep us there. I'm not discounting him of all credit, but I think everything fell into place for him in a way here, on and off the pitch. Probably won't get that at West Ham, and can't help but feel he's been shown up a lot faster there. We got rid at the right time, most definitely. After helping us through a tough patch, goals or not, he's the sort of passenger in the middle of the park that we need to upgrade on if we are to progress past a run of the mill, mediocre PL team.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I still wonder why Nolan got pushed.

 

Was it Pardew wanting a new kind of team and identifying that Nolan can't run? Or was it just the board wanting a high earning influencial dressing room player off our books?

 

Fair play to Pards if it were his decision, that would be a brave decision to make. I think its clear Nolan woouldn't be getting in our first choice team this season, I wonder how much a positive influence he would have been having to sit on the bench most weeks?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Pardew said that they weren't going to offer Nolan the contract he wanted (5 years etc.) and that was because he was not going to be a first team player for much longer.  Pardew also said that he wouldn't have been a very good player to use from the bench anyway.  Dismissed!

 

Makes perfect sense.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was quite surprised at the number of people on here who were pissed off about Nolan leaving at the time. He doesn't have the engine or vision to be an influential midfielder and was a passenger in a lot of games. He's good in the box mind you and can nick a goal but he's never going to boss a Premiership midfield.

 

I've just remembered listening to that tosser Micky Quinn on Talksport when news of the transfer broke. He was going on about Newcastle having lost the plot because Nolan was the "heartbeat" of the side and how you couldn't replace him with a foreigner etc etc.  ;D

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nolan was an integral part of us getting back to the Premier League and last year, his positive contributions were very significant. Looking at it now though, swapping him effectively for Cabaye looks like a smart move, even though I don't think Cabaye will too often bother the scoresheet.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was quite surprised at the number of people on here who were p*ssed off about Nolan leaving at the time. He doesn't have the engine or vision to be an influential midfielder and was a passenger in a lot of games. He's good in the box mind you and can nick a goal but he's never going to boss a Premiership midfield.

 

I've just remembered listening to that tosser Micky Quinn on Talksport when news of the transfer broke. He was going on about Newcastle having lost the plot because Nolan was the "heartbeat" of the side and how you couldn't replace him with a foreigner etc etc.  ;D

 

I think what worried people most at that time was the squad atmosphere once Nolan's left.  The performance prior to relegation was fucking shameful if you can remember, and the team was clearly playing with no heart and no soul.  We were led to believe that Nolan/Barton/Enrique were the core of the team revived by Hughton and getting rid of these players would bring us back to square one.

 

Well now obviously this is not the case, and this makes you wonder what is the most important element for "squad atmosphere".  Is it a leader? A couple of British players? A manager like Pardew? Or the performance-based bonus clause inside the new contracts? Or just luck?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think equality is also important for a harmonious dressing room, it's always dangerous if there's a preferred group of players. With the influx of new players from abroad, I'm tempted to say it's just as well we don't have Barton and Nolan strutting round like they own the place. Bet they can be a right pain in the arse for other players.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was quite surprised at the number of people on here who were p*ssed off about Nolan leaving at the time. He doesn't have the engine or vision to be an influential midfielder and was a passenger in a lot of games. He's good in the box mind you and can nick a goal but he's never going to boss a Premiership midfield.

 

I've just remembered listening to that tosser Micky Quinn on Talksport when news of the transfer broke. He was going on about Newcastle having lost the plot because Nolan was the "heartbeat" of the side and how you couldn't replace him with a foreigner etc etc.  ;D

 

I think what worried people most at that time was the squad atmosphere once Nolan's left.  The performance prior to relegation was f***ing shameful if you can remember, and the team was clearly playing with no heart and no soul.  We were led to believe that Nolan/Barton/Enrique were the core of the team revived by Hughton and getting rid of these players would bring us back to square one.

 

Well now obviously this is not the case, and this makes you wonder what is the most important element for "squad atmosphere".  Is it a leader? A couple of British players? A manager like Pardew? Or the performance-based bonus clause inside the new contracts? Or just luck?

 

I fully understand your point and I'm sure those players played a huge part. But I just feel with Nolan (not the other two) that it was becoming very evident in the second half of last season that he hadn't got much to offer on the pitch. On the "squad atmosphere" point  I guess it is the manager's job to create the right squad atmosphere, obviously he needs players around him who are onside with his approach. I don't know the effect or extent of the bonus scheme really, but I give Pardew a lot of credit for handling some quite big changes in the squad whilst getting us off to a decent start.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nolan had a good season and tried to capitalise on it as did Barton. In this case it actually worked massively in our favour that our board are misers and not too emotionally attached to the players. I can think of players in the past who have probably negotiated themselves some nice new contracts on the back of being "great for squad moral" or local heroes. Nicky Butt? By god was he good for squad moral. Top bloke :thup:

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was told by someone who claims to be "ITK" that Nolan sat down with Mike Ashley around Christmas and told him in no uncertain terms that it was him, Barton, Smith and Harper who were responsible for Newcastle's upturn in fortunes and that they wanted new deals which reflected their status. Ashley didn't like that much. Pardew had already looked his fitness levels and alleged alcohol consumption and wasn't keen on keeping him. That pretty much put and end to the possibility of him getting the contract he wanted and opened the gate for Barton's exit too. Harper has since been frozen out (I'm told he is looking for a transfer to the USA for a final pay day). Smith is obviously just running down his contract.

 

Out with the old, in with the new.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was told by someone who claims to be "ITK" that Nolan sat down with Mike Ashley around Christmas and told him in no uncertain terms that it was him, Barton, Smith and Harper who were responsible for Newcastle's upturn in fortunes and that they wanted new deals which reflected their status. Ashley didn't like that much. Pardew had already looked his fitness levels and alleged alcohol consumption and wasn't keen on keeping him. That pretty much put and end to the possibility of him getting the contract he wanted and opened the gate for Barton's exit too. Harper has since been frozen out (I'm told he is looking for a transfer to the USA for a final pay day). Smith is obviously just running down his contract.

 

Out with the old, in with the new.

 

Hmmm.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was told by someone who claims to be "ITK" that Nolan sat down with Mike Ashley around Christmas and told him in no uncertain terms that it was him, Barton, Smith and Harper who were responsible for Newcastle's upturn in fortunes and that they wanted new deals which reflected their status. Ashley didn't like that much. Pardew had already looked his fitness levels and alleged alcohol consumption and wasn't keen on keeping him. That pretty much put and end to the possibility of him getting the contract he wanted and opened the gate for Barton's exit too. Harper has since been frozen out (I'm told he is looking for a transfer to the USA for a final pay day). Smith is obviously just running down his contract.

 

Out with the old, in with the new.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aNtW3f9V9DU/TICKo92vVOI/AAAAAAAAAvc/JcmK1cBV3M8/s320/Smoking+baby.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...