Alexander Isak - International C*nt

[Yorkie]

2 minutes ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

I just don’t see how that is the safer play, unless they do pay what he is worth to us? And even then, it still sends a message that players can force a move with shitty behavior. Hardly brinksmanship when approaching it from angles other than his cash value. What’s also very valuable to the club is making sure that their other best players don’t start doing the same, and that giants like Liverpool shouldn’t bother with unsettling our players because it plainly won’t work. Levy dealt with a somewhat similar scenario on the club’s terms…as should we. Getting something below their valuation because it is a bothersome situation is absolutely self destructive. 

 

Obviously we need to get an appropriate fee. If we don't then clearly he stays. Probably didn't make that point well enough.

[Checko]

Initially Howe was saying how much he and everyone else likes Alex, he's not playing him to protect him etc. 

 

The moment Howe started talking about needing to deserve to train with the team everything sounded over to me. 

 

It's all very sad how it seems to be ending: he's been a great signing, scored a lot of goals, we won a thing, Champions League 2 years out of 3 & we'll sell him for a bit profit. He's a great player, not absolutely top class - he's not Ronaldo/Messi/Bale/Rooney level by any means, but a very good CF who strikes the ball beautifully. In a possession system where he gets on the ball more he might be better.

 

I'd love him to stay but he's clearly burnt his bridges, Ryan Fraser stylee. He wants to get to the top, which is fair enough, this summer doesn't suggest we'll get him there within the next few years. Just sad the way it's all carried on it & it seems he'll leave with so much bad blood.

[Vinny Green Balls]

And frankly the fee should have gone way up given how Isak and Liverpool appear to have acted.

[lovejoy]

7 minutes ago, Skeletor said:

We have to be seen to stay strong. If we allow him to go for a cheap price (which is why he is behaving the way he has under the instruction of Liverpool to drive down the price) then it says to every other player: Behave like a total cunt and get your move away from Newcastle United.

Yep. It’s massively important we hold out whilst also making any of the current crop think twice about acting the same way.

 

Id be amazed if the squad aren’t fuming with him tbh.

[duo]

All Liverpool are doing is delaying so the price comes down

[Mike]

12 minutes ago, Beren said:

Hopefully the fans follow the lead of Howe.

 

*hides effigy*

[Mike]

15 minutes ago, Nobody said:

Feel like this doesn't mean much  @Ikon and @Flip are both much better than me as well Tbf

 

It was never going to be @Flip. He's not even my favorite Brazilian.

 

Welcome back!

[Miggys First Goal]

Can we stop paying him if he’s downed tools?

[Heron]

Just now, Miggys First Goal said:

Can we stop paying him if he’s downed tools?

I am sure I read or heard players can be fined up to 6 weeks wages max.

[Yorkie]

Don't get me wrong, I want us to act and be as strong as we can possibly be. To totally fuck Liverpool off would be satisfying and you'd love us for doing it. 

 

I just worry about the short-term harm of anchoring Isak in Newcastle against his will, but I do accept the argument that the long-term effects of showing defiance could be more important. 

 

Must say I'm feeling incredibly beaten down by everything this summer. I'm not going to engage in another debate about the extent to which the club has sabotaged itself (or not, as is my argument). All the external forces make it hard not to feel a bit:

 

[TheBrownBottle]

The greedy cunt should have handed in a transfer request by now if he’s wanting out this bad.  That would cost him and his agent money, though.  

[Heron]

For me I'd be surprised if this isn't considered an act of disloyalty thus acting as a waiver for any potential bonuses.

[Heron]

It wouldn't surprise me too if he handed in a transfer request and it was rejected tbh. Which we don't know at present.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2025 by Heron

[TheBrownBottle]

Just now, Heron said:

For me I'd be surprised if this isn't considered an act of disloyalty thus acting as a waiver for any potential bonuses.

You’d hope so - I wouldn’t be vindictive about a player wanting to leave for more money and bigger trophies, but this is beyond unprofessional.  The lad just seems to be a massive cunt. 

[TheBrownBottle]

Just now, Heron said:

It wouldn't surprise me too if he handed in a transfer request and it was rejected tbh. Which we don't know at present.

 

 

 

Yeah, fair enough if true 

[Heron]

I don't know what the ramifications are for players tbh beyond 6 weeks of fines? I'd imagine there are massive insurance policies applied to these kind of contractual agreements that are enforced once the period for a fine has surpassed. It also must hold an element of depreciation of the asset for which the club should have to be repaid - you'd think- in line with FMV for said asset...

 

Maybe that's stupid - I don't know. But you'd think players would have to pay that (to remove liability) - or the clubs themselves.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2025 by Heron

[Kid Icarus]

31 minutes ago, Heron said:

Playing devils advocate here somewhat - but if the way we have played the Isak situation "makes us look weak" or whatever. What would keeping Isak for a year and signing say Jackson and Wissa look like?..

A big dick move, would love it. Not only are you stopping a precedent being set, but you're strengthening as well as dispelling the growing argument (that Romano planted unsurprisingly) that this whole episode will make Newcastle less attractive to players.

[McDog]

In American football you’d get not one cent if you refuse to play. It gets nuanced if you play but play like shit.

[Kanj]

Isak is a nice to have for Liverpool, they do not need to have him. They could sign Mateta, Ramos, Samu etc for far less and get the output they need when Ekitke needs a rest. 

[Heron]

Sorry I should have also said...if a player requests a transfer then it is a request, so the club have the right to decline you'd think. But then in a more reasonable situation what right does a club have to hold a player against their will?

 

Could a player "retire" to bypass that?

 

Again I summer this is all covered by a third party insurance company?

[Doctor Zaius]

I do think there is a way back. This season at least. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/23610289

 

 

Suarez refused to train, Rodgers outright criticized him in the press and then he scored 31 goals the following season. Modric refused to play Spurs opening game of 11/12 then played the full season leaving for Real Madrid the following summer. Both got their moves eventually. There'll be other examples too. 

 

Clubs can and do refuse to sell players, and they're reintegrated for some time at least. 

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

Just now, Heron said:

Sorry I should have also said...if a player requests a transfer then it is a request, so the club have the right to decline you'd think. But then in a more reasonable situation what right does a club have to hold a player against their will?

 

Could a player "retire" to bypass that?

 

Again I summer this is all covered by a third party insurance company?

 

I guess a player could retire but we'd retain their registration so if they unretired they'd be back to square one

[Gottlob]

 

Players forcing a move by refusing to sign a new contract, handing in a transfer request, failing to return for pre-season training etc. feels much more commonplace to me than clubs holding fast and letting major assets rot in the reserves. The latter doesn't make sense financially and threatens to sorely damage team morale. If the players are upset with Isak now I think they'd be more concerned if they saw us holding a colleague to ransom or even sabotaging their career. Isak will double or triple his earnings by moving to Liverpool and aspiring players - whether they're young and ambitious or fancy a big payday towards the end of their careers - will want to know that there is a bit of wriggle room if things go awry or the right move comes along.

 

Liverpool suffered the same kind of thing themselves at the start of the summer with Alexander-Arnold moving to Madrid for nothing. If the situation with Isak isn't salvageable, you try to extract a good price and busy yourself with investing the money smartly so that you can continue to build and improve. Even with the dearth of top strikers who are still available, this whole scenario would be much more palatable right now if we'd managed to secure a top centre-back and some serious cover in the midfield. Then we'd be looking at a really strong core and could take a chance on a striker with some degree of excitement and optimism.

[TheBrownBottle]

3 minutes ago, Heron said:

Sorry I should have also said...if a player requests a transfer then it is a request, so the club have the right to decline you'd think. But then in a more reasonable situation what right does a club have to hold a player against their will?

 

Could a player "retire" to bypass that?

 

Again I summer this is all covered by a third party insurance company?

The club holds the player’s registration - so a player usually can retire to break the contract, but not the registration.  But they wouldn’t be able to pretend to retire and then sign to another club. 

[r0cafella]

13 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

A big dick move, would love it. Not only are you stopping a precedent being set, but you're strengthening as well as dispelling the growing argument (that Romano planted unsurprisingly) that this whole episode will make Newcastle less attractive to players.

This whole attractive with players nonsense is really grating like, as with most things it's very simple. 

 

Are we the players best option in terms of the current club he's at is smaller than ours and we are willing to pay more? Then he will join us. 

 

Are cartel clubs involved? Then player won't join us. 

 

It's much more important we send the correct message our and not roll over for the cartel.