Newcastle United Discussion

[Honey Honey]

Wum. As if all that matters is that you sign someone with a pulse 

[Storts]

2 minutes ago, LFCMadLad said:

Is the lack of spending by Spurs due to the new stadium, simular to the route Arsenal went down or just Levy reigning the spending full stop?

Well...’it’s nothing to do with the new stadium because the transfer fund is seperate’ - that’s the official line which you may or not want to believe ha! On that point however, we’ve actually already paid a good chunk of the stadium over the last few years, so on that front we aren’t too badly off.

The real problem is squad players we can’t get rid of, and the HG quota. Basically to bring in any non HG player we need to get rid of 4 foreign players - a hard Brexit dream - and unfortunately they’ve proven really hard to shift 

We are told the market has been really tricky for everyone this year (apart from you guys who have overpaid on agent fees etc to get things done because you have a lot more cash than most - this is how it’s being spun anyway). Our focus has been on HG players but even that has been a struggle. My guess is we get 1 maybe 2 before next week but it’s just not going to be enough considering how much you’ve strengthened and our desperate need for a new CM. The other problem we have this week is possible departures of Toby, Dembele and Rose which would be suicidal this late on - particularly Toby to United if we don’t get Martial back   

[LFCMadLad]

6 minutes ago, Storts said:

Well...’it’s nothing to do with the new stadium because the transfer fund is seperate’ - that’s the official line which you may or not want to believe ha! On that point however, we’ve actually already paid a good chunk of the stadium over the last few years, so on that front we aren’t too badly off.

The real problem is squad players we can’t get rid of, and the HG quota. Basically to bring in any non HG player we need to get rid of 4 foreign players - a hard Brexit dream - and unfortunately they’ve proven really hard to shift 

We are told the market has been really tricky for everyone this year (apart from you guys who have overpaid on agent fees etc to get things done because you have a lot more cash than most - this is how it’s being spun anyway). Our focus has been on HG players but even that has been a struggle. My guess is we get 1 maybe 2 before next week but it’s just not going to be enough considering how much you’ve strengthened and our desperate need for a new CM. The other problem we have this week is possible departures of Toby, Dembele and Rose which would be suicidal this late on - particularly Toby to United if we don’t get Martial back   

You think top 4 might be under threat? United seem a bit in turmoil with Mourinho as he is so maybe that could be to Spurs benefit?

[Storts]

7 minutes ago, Harvsky said:

Wum. As if all that matters is that you sign someone with a pulse 

You've signed your starting goalkeeper permanently after an excellent loan spell, a previously highly touted CB with experience in Germany and Spain, who will likely slot straight into your first 11. You've got your left midfielder back for another year after a really good loan spell. You've signed a starting Premier League Central Midfielder that at the minimum offers you good depth in the position, and a new striker who admittedly I know very little about. You've also only really lost Merino and Mbemba of any note, and neither of them had much impact in their time at the club.

Sorry if I don't get the violins out and join the whole pity party. By all means be critical, but don't dress things up as if you're completely hard done by and haven't signed anyone. We know you don't like the owners but from the outside he's nowhere near as bad as is made out up there. This is classic Rafa too, and the fans are lapping it up. 

[Storts]

4 minutes ago, LFCMadLad said:

You think top 4 might be under threat? United seem a bit in turmoil with Mourinho as he is so maybe that could be to Spurs benefit?

Don't know to be quite honest with you mate. If we can get through the tricky first month when our world cup players are going to be limited then I think we will be alright because after all that we still have an excellent first 11 - but this year is going to be tricky as on the face of it most of the top 6 have improved themselves again. We'll see.

 

Mods would be good to move these posts to the Tottenham discussion. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

34 minutes ago, Harvsky said:

Wum. As if all that matters is that you sign someone with a pulse 

Tbf it's definitely more preferable to sign someone with a pulse than without.

[Honey Honey]

1 hour ago, Storts said:

You've signed your starting goalkeeper permanently after an excellent loan spell, a previously highly touted CB with experience in Germany and Spain, who will likely slot straight into your first 11. You've got your left midfielder back for another year after a really good loan spell. You've signed a starting Premier League Central Midfielder that at the minimum offers you good depth in the position, and a new striker who admittedly I know very little about. You've also only really lost Merino and Mbemba of any note, and neither of them had much impact in their time at the club.

Sorry if I don't get the violins out and join the whole pity party. By all means be critical, but don't dress things up as if you're completely hard done by and haven't signed anyone. We know you don't like the owners but from the outside he's nowhere near as bad as is made out up there. This is classic Rafa too, and the fans are lapping it up. 

You're complaining about dressing up when you've just called a £3.5m centre half "a previously highly touted CB with experience in Germany and Spain". I heard you were after a quota filling first team centre mid, would you like former England international Jack Colback?

The transfer argument is really quite simple, fans want to see solid attempts to improve that starting XI. The anger is the result of a culmination of important questions we are simply not being given the answers to. We are not emotionless lemmings who are just going to say oh you won't give us answers, that's ok, we'll assume the best despite history. We want to know where the money is going, we want to know why a club with our revenue is buy to sell, we want to know why the last set of financial accounts contain financial engineering that neutral football finance experts cannot fathom. We want to know why the club has made a £23m profit in this transfer window with press reports saying we can't afford the £6m asking price for a left back. We want to know where did that money they told the local press we offered for Jorgensen in January go? Was that a lie? Which is the lie? What has happened? Why won't you bring clarity so that we don't live in perpetual fear and expectation of being misled.

Bringing a couple of last seasons loans back are stand still moves. The only new addition with any liklihood to go straight into the team without the helping hand of injuries is Muto, but even then it depends what he looks like in training compared to Gayle as on paper there's little difference. Ki and Schar start at the back of the queue needing to earn a place over others. That is not normal procedure for signings that are about the intent of improving your starting XI, that's just a hopeful squad numbers game. Cheap hopefuls that's what we got. Mbemba is also not a loss of any note under Rafa. He was 4th choice centre half. You might need to download the latest patch on FM.

[Storts]

13 hours ago, Harvsky said:

You're complaining about dressing up when you've just called a £3.5m centre half "a previously highly touted CB with experience in Germany and Spain". I heard you were after a quota filling first team centre mid, would you like former England international Jack Colback?

The transfer argument is really quite simple, fans want to see solid attempts to improve that starting XI. The anger is the result of a culmination of important questions we are simply not being given the answers to. We are not emotionless lemmings who are just going to say oh you won't give us answers, that's ok, we'll assume the best despite history. We want to know where the money is going, we want to know why a club with our revenue is buy to sell, we want to know why the last set of financial accounts contain financial engineering that neutral football finance experts cannot fathom. We want to know why the club has made a £23m profit in this transfer window with press reports saying we can't afford the £6m asking price for a left back. We want to know where did that money they told the local press we offered for Jorgensen in January go? Was that a lie? Which is the lie? What has happened? Why won't you bring clarity so that we don't live in perpetual fear and expectation of being misled.

Bringing a couple of last seasons loans back are stand still moves. The only new addition with any liklihood to go straight into the team without the helping hand of injuries is Muto, but even then it depends what he looks like in training compared to Gayle as on paper there's little difference. Ki and Schar start at the back of the queue needing to earn a place over others. That is not normal procedure for signings that are about the intent of improving your starting XI, that's just a hopeful squad numbers game. Cheap hopefuls that's what we got. Mbemba is also not a loss of any note under Rafa. He was 4th choice centre half. You might need to download the latest patch on FM.

He was! He was excellent at Basel and has 40+ caps for Switzerland. It's an excellent value signing and I don't see what the problem is with getting a good deal. I feel like Newcastle fans are falling in to the trap where big money = a good signing. I know from experience the majority of our best signings have been on the cheaper end. When we've spent big it's often gone wrong.

These are fair questions. I'm not going to profess to knowing the ins and outs of your finances like you will do - although it's certainly going to have an element of spin attached to it, because you don't like Ashley and never have. You talk about your revenue and buy to sell...Imagine being the 9th richest club in the world and also having to sell before you buy. We leave our business until the last week to try and get a better deal - because we are both run by businessmen and not free spending Oil Tycoons. Again - I've no qualms with you questioning where some of the money has gone but the whole window you've made out you haven't done any business at all, and I disagree with your assessment that it's standing still. You've got Kenedy and Dubravka for a whole season now - you've definitely improved depth at CB and CM and your new striker if he goes straight into the first team should be an upgrade. 

We're clearly not going to agree on this - and I do take on board fully your concerns around the finances and the lack of transparency there - so I can sympathise, I am just not on board with the notion that you are completely hard done by, when from the outside again, I think you've done some reasonable business at good value. 

Either way if you're right - our first game of the season is going to be an absolute shocker. We have no players available. 

[Honey Honey]

22 hours ago, Storts said:

He was! He was excellent at Basel and has 40+ caps for Switzerland. It's an excellent value signing and I don't see what the problem is with getting a good deal. I feel like Newcastle fans are falling in to the trap where big money = a good signing. I know from experience the majority of our best signings have been on the cheaper end. When we've spent big it's often gone wrong.

I'm not saying he would or wouldn't be good. Fact is he doesn't come in as a first XI signing. He starts life as 4th choice. We don't have a problem with that. Lejeune's injury means he's likely to get an early shot but he's going to have to take it straight away.

We are not asking for an expensive centre half. We had one of the best defences in the league last season, particularly the Lascelles - Lejeune partnership. 

We have a problem scoring goals. We need solid investment in attack and have done for some time.

Squad players are all well and good but we need to be improving on our weak points in the first XI as well.

[Burning Gold]

 

[Danny]

I don't get the feeling sorry for Rafa, he knew what to expect and now he's getting it.

[Honey Honey]

Two new reports this weekend after we failed to score for a 3rd friendly in a row.

The times claims the reason we aren't providing the funds for transfers is down to Mike Ashley refusing to buy players in installments (as per the normal way) because it will effect the club value and profit he makes from selling the club. We are only allowed to buy using cash reserves and first installments from player sales. We can't spend the Mitrovic money until it is in the bank account over the next couple of years. Lmao.

The other report is from the local press who say the hierarchy is listening after we lost 4-0 to Braga and have promised Rafa 3 more players through the door. Not pricey ones though, just bodies.

[DNA]

4 hours ago, Harvsky said:

Not pricey ones though, just bodies.

[Stan]

 

[Machado]

Came across this earlier... Newcastle's squad depth. 

[Honey Honey]

The clubs official twitter have been blocking fans who tweet #AshleyOut at them 

 

[Rick]

The fat pig is buying House Of Fraser.  

[Stan]

spirit of Lejeune  

[Julio Geordio]

On 05/08/2018 at 09:14, Danny said:

I don't get the feeling sorry for Rafa, he knew what to expect and now he's getting it.

 

He knew to expect a budget of minus £20m? Is that really what you're saying? We all know Ashley said Benitez could have every penny the club generates and we all know that was guff, he's been proven to be a liar in court. But spending minus £20m on an already poor squad is a farce. 4 of the 7 players we signed were relegated last season, 2 were already here and the other (Muto) doesn't look prolific.

[Julio Geordio]

14 hours ago, Rick said:

The fat pig is buying House Of Fraser.  

 

It's true, my House of Fraser super sized mug arrived today.

[Danny]

27 minutes ago, Julio Geordio said:

 

He knew to expect a budget of minus £20m? Is that really what you're saying? We all know Ashley said Benitez could have every penny the club generates and we all know that was guff, he's been proven to be a liar in court. But spending minus £20m on an already poor squad is a farce. 4 of the 7 players we signed were relegated last season, 2 were already here and the other (Muto) doesn't look prolific.

We all know Ashley is a shithouse, so did Rafa. He knew what he was getting himself into, poor decision making if anything.

[Julio Geordio]

20 minutes ago, Danny said:

We all know Ashley is a shithouse, so did Rafa. He knew what he was getting himself into, poor decision making if anything.

Poor trolling ability if anything.

[Danny]

32 minutes ago, Julio Geordio said:

Poor trolling ability if anything.

Really not trolling, anyone could have told you something like this would have happened when he took over. Rafa knew, has nothing for people to feel sorry for. He gets paid a decent wedge for it too.

[Julio Geordio]

Just now, Danny said:

Really not trolling, anyone could have told you something like this would have happened when he took over. Rafa knew, has nothing for people to feel sorry for. He gets paid a decent wedge for it too.

McClaren was given a decent budget, certainly not minus 20mill. Then when we went down Rafa was given what was needed to bring us back up. So you can't really say he knew what he was signing up to. This is the worst window of the lot. Even Spurs fans who moan about spending 0, that's more than what we've spent. Suppose our fans deserve it too, eh?

[Danny]

4 minutes ago, Julio Geordio said:

McClaren was given a decent budget, certainly not minus 20mill. Then when we went down Rafa was given what was needed to bring us back up. So you can't really say he knew what he was signing up to. This is the worst window of the lot. Even Spurs fans who moan about spending 0, that's more than what we've spent. Suppose our fans deserve it too, eh?

Everybody knows that Ashley is a shithouse, everybody. Fans don't choose to support a club based on it's ownership, but managers decide to work based on that. Rafa knew that Ashley was a shithouse and knew a lack of consistent investment would happen as it always has done. If he likes a challenge then fair play, that's down to him. If he didn't see it coming, then it's bad decision making.

I wouldn't want Ashley within a mile of my club, you are nothing more than an asset to him. But Rafa knew that, I get the worshipping of him because he's fighting for the club, but he took a well paying job knowing fully what the owner is like, he's not a poor soul.