The Newcastle United Blog

58 responses so far ↓

• 1 figsdad // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:15

  doom and gloooooom we will rise above..

  have faith tooooooooooooon army……………………………………….

• 2 Spyro // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:30

  i can tell that you too are quite upset about the reality of the arshavin situation Ed, it is clear in your writing. i suppose we just need to look towards tying down the future andrei arshavins and arda turans

• 3 Petey // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:34

  just seems to me that newcastle are too scared to sign in case people are flops.

  coming to the premieship and just losing value to almost nothing, shevschnko or luque style….

  but i dunno, keegan made a good signing for us once upon a time, im sure he can do it again, even if football has changed

• 4 Hadrian // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:37

  plenty more fish in the sea , look at ajax !
  then again , they dont appoint people like dennis wise to find their talent .

• 5 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:39

  The problem? HESITATION!!!!! the clubs below the top four!! are all saying what IF?? IF IS A BIG QUESTION!!

• 6 Egar // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:42

  There’s a lesson to be learnt here about being a tight pocket. KK knows about it but I guess MA needs to wise up quick if he wants NUFC to compete with the big 4 next season.

  Excessives can backfire (remember Leeds) but securing 1 or 2 new top player a year does seem to be a basic prerequisite to moving forward/upward.

  There’s still time to do something about it for NUFC but it sure is going to cost more.

• 7 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:43

  Until I hear official word that they’ve signed elsewhere or renewed their contracts at their existing clubs, I’ll keep the dream alive.

• 8 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:44

  Arshavin may not want to go to teams like Man U or Chelsea!!! will they get regular football!! where as, teams like ours its almost a garrentee!!

• 9 Rob // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:45

  If only it is as easy as just buying a player in Jan. If it was then we would have signed 5 players already this summer. There are far to many unknowns to claim that we could and should have bought this guy in Jan.
  Its all speculation and rumour.

• 10 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:46

  I really think we had and might still have a chance to sign both Turan and Arshavin. However if it turns out that we blew it, I swear I might turn emo

• 11 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:47

  Rob, how long does it take to sign a player in general?

• 12 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:51

  Depends on the player doesnt it.

  Depends whether he wants to move, whether his clubs wants to sell, how many clubs are interested, his asking price etc.

• 13 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:53

  we could have probably had both if we just paid 11 mill for each before the Euros started!!

• 14 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:54

  Turan sill aint worth 11mil IMO, even after the euros.

• 15 Matthew // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:54

  Keegan said himself he had to look up some of our squad on the Internet when he took over so how exactly is he supposed to know whether some bloke playing in Russia is what he needs?

  The club have slapped bids in for Arshavin, Turan and Gomis according to reports in their home countries but you can’t blame clubs for wanting to wait and see how they do in a competition like this as their fee can only really go up.

• 16 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:57

  Yes 11 mil is a little too steep for Turan. Back in January, how much was the quoted price for Arshavin?

• 17 Matthew // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:58

  Off topic but tomorrows NOTW say Keegan’s going for Lennon at £6 million.

• 18 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:58

  8mil werent it?

• 19 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:58

  As already said “MORE FISH IN THE SEA?” + We dont know what the club have pre - signed if any?

• 20 Tom4Nufc // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:59

  Jinal, in january depending in which paper/site u went on it was 7-9m

• 21 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 0:59

  6mil?!?!? Thats a bargain if Keegan can improve his end product.

• 22 Tom4Nufc // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:01

  Tom_Toon- agreed an absolute bargain, lets sell milner 9m, get lennon 6m, good peice of business

• 23 Matthew // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:03

  http://blogs.notw.co.uk/sport/2008/06/keegan-in-for-l.html

• 24 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:04

  Wow 7,8 or 9 million seems like a complete steal at this point in time!

  You know all the time we tell ourselves “If only our more of our players had the dedication , commitment and passion for the club like us fans”.

  Arshavin and Turan definitely seem like that.

  I don’t want to sign the next Ronaldo and he ends f**ing us over like what Cristiano is doing right now with Manure.

• 25 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:07

  Lennon????

• 26 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:08

  I now keegan likes to take risks but lennon? just really unsure!!!

• 27 danuneek // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:08

  Dont get me wrong Arshavin looks quality, but, whose to say he will be as good in England. Russia have looked good, but so did Greece and most of their players 4 years ago, Dellas, Charasteas etc… now where are they? I know it can’t be any coincidence that Russia are doing well just as Arshavin has returned and Zenit have won the UEFA Cup, but the way people are reacting you would of thought we’ve been relegated. Just be patient, we will be signing players.

• 28 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:09

  7,8 or 9 million is a complete steal for Arshavin.

  Something inside me tells me that Arda and Arshavin would play for the club with the same passion that we fans have for it.

  I don’t want us to sign the next Ronaldo only to end up getting screwed over like what Cristiano is currently doing with Man Utd.

• 29 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:10

  just feel maybe a step back once again!!?

• 30 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:10

  Aaron Lennon looks good but he reminds me too much of Dyer - talented but lazy

• 31 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:11

  Lennon is far better than Milner already, hes younger too and we will make a profit on selling Milner and buying Lennon.

• 32 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:12

  Who does Pavluchenko play for?

• 33 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:13

  Spartak Moscow, however Real Madrid were linked with him loads before the competition.

• 34 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:15

  Cheers Tom_Toon. You seem to be on here alot. Do you think we have snapped up anyone as yet?

• 35 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:16

  Look at the profit Man U will get out of it they will almost be able to buy a team with the money!! but yes a fantastic player!!

• 36 Tom_Toon // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:16

  No clue.

• 37 Jinal // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:24

  ^^
  *sigh*

  I was hoping you were an inside man in some disguise lol

• 38 作底 // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:31

  Fk it

• 39 ameritoon // Jun 22, 2008 at 2:48

  Arshavin seems outta the picture but I’ve got a gut feeling with Turan. What’s the word on Seb Larrsson? I still think he would be a great signing. I think with those two would improve our midfield drastically.
  I’d love to see the Arshavins and Van der Vaarts but we do have a fairly solid foundation built already (assuming we resign MO and Taylor). Throw in Nicky Shorey and Cuellar to sure up the back end and that’s a pretty solid side. A top 4 finish is a unrealistic goal for every team outside of Arsenal,Liverpool, Chelski, and ManUre but if KK gets this team to click European football is a serious possibility.

• 40 Piers // Jun 22, 2008 at 3:38

  This makes sense Ed. I’m a really optimistic person, and to be honest i don’t think we even have the slightest chance of signing Arshavin or Turan. So let’s stop all of the dreamer talk and talk about other potential Newcastle Targets.

  As for the article….. Over here in the US (where i live as well) most professional sports have salary caps to avoid whats currently happening in the Prem. It just makes all the sense in the world….I don’t understand why it’s not a part of the premiership.

  Having league salary caps make the leagues so much more enjoyable to watch because any team can win on a given day. It also makes the personel decisions mean so much more.

  For example in the NBA
  The Boston Celtics went from being 2nd to last last year to being the champion this year. Tell me thats not interesting to watch…. thats like saying Fulham could potentially win the Prem next year.

• 41 Archie Brand // Jun 22, 2008 at 5:20

  The premier league is in the middle of a huge change that will help level the proverbial playing field, or at least lessen the slope.

  I think we all have to agree that it was Abramovic that made Chelsea the superpower that they now are - or, if we’re honest, his millions.

  One by one premier league teams are being taken over by billionaire corporations with the intent of making them successfull and reaping the resultant benefits.

  Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham, Man City , Aston Villa all have big bucks investors, its likely that Arsenal are next with Kroenke and others waiting in the wings, and of course good old Newcastle United have now joined that select group of teams now referred to as “Big Boys Toys”

  When everyone in the top league is owned by the super rich and they;re all ploughing the millions in then the playing field once again becomes level.
  There is a slight slope , brought about by things like who’s playing in Europe next year, and WAGs wanting to live in London, and half of the French National team refusing to play for Newcastle because Barton does, but that’s nothing to do with the a clubs financial status and will always be a factor.

  Yes, Abramovic’s millions gave them an unfair advantage - for a couple of seasons - the length of time it took for the penny to drop.
  But now everyone is doing it and its a premier fact of life - where is the advantage if every one in the premier league is loaded?

  There was a time when Man U were so successful and so wealthy that only Arsenal were considered serious competition.

  The top 2 became the top 3 and now the top 4.

  “When everyone is special, then nobody is special”

  I disagree with you Ed. The money is not the problem - it’s the solution.

  The break-away superleague is an idea that has been knocked around for years. If the rest of the premier league isn’t taken over by the filthy rich in the next 3 or 4 years we’ll probably see the concept resurrected.

  And its not such a bad idea - so long as we’re in it, of course.

• 42 Joe Aussie // Jun 22, 2008 at 6:06

  Regarding ways to get a more level playing field in British Soccer, Australian Rules Football has an interesting method for achieving this. All the clubs competing in the AFL which is the equivalent of the Premier League, have to abide by a salary cap which means that each club can only spend X amount on players wages so if you have a star player and you want to pay him big bucks it is going to mean less for the others in the team. This has the effect of limiting the richer clubs in the number of top players they can afford which seems to work quite well as there has been a steady turnover of different clubs winning the competition over the years.A few years back the Brisbane Lions won for three years in a row but this is quite unusual. Perhaps this is something the football governing bodies in the UK could look at.

• 43 Nick Dryden // Jun 22, 2008 at 8:54

  Jinal I don’t think Ronaldo is screwing over Manu. He will probably net them 70M on an 8M investment after only 3 years !!
  Our targets, if acted on far earlier, are fine.
  Our problem seems to be Wise and his lack of ability when ” closing the deal ”. I agree we should be looking for the future Arshavins, but Wise just doesn’t appear to have what it takes to land these younger playes. Even getting Spear seems to be a major problem. Also we desperately need foreign technical coaches which is why I think Nobby Solano could be so valuable as a player / coach who could oversee the S.Americans / Spanish players development etc.

• 44 jordi // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:00

  If the Premiership brought in a wage cap then the best players (who command the biggest wages) will just go abroad.

  The examples above for Aussie and American Football only work because they’re the only countries who play that sport.

  For a wage cap to work it would have to be worldwide or we would just become a third-tier footballing nation.

  Even if the actal wages were capped clubs would just throw in more ‘perks’ (houses, cars etc) not to mention the fact it’s probably against some EU law to restrict the clubs expenditure.
  They are businesses now, like it or not.

• 45 The Entertainers // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:09

  Firstly it does sound like sour grapes on our behalf. This topic would never have came up when we were throwing cash about and near the top of the table and in Europe.

  The salary cap is an idea that does keep coming up from time to time, but i just dont understand how it can be implimented.

  Do you just pick a randam number and say this is the limit. This will cause friction as some teams will believe they can afford a lot more, if you raise the amount then we have the same situation we do now.
  If its taken as a % of each clubs revenue you would still have the same pretenders.

  The prize money in th PL could be reversed! The champs get the least (they have europe to claim money back) and the bottom clubs gets the most this way there is extra money for the lesser teams to help those team be more competitive next season.

• 46 Robert from Serbia // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:14

  Woodgate,Modric,Arshavin,Turan,Riise,Veloso….if we did buyed this players,wow,we would be in top 4….but we will go for Nicky Shorey,Kitson,Kapo,….top 15

• 47 euanpolo // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:19

  How can people say we have no chance of signing Arda Turan and Arshavin, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to convince them to sign! The main problem is that our director of football, Wise, is a football man, not a businessman. We need to get a bettre negotiater for the job! Keegan gave Wise a list of 3 players to sign whilst he KK was on holiday and the only one we’re close to signing is Aaron Spear.

• 48 Rob Kirton // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:48

  For you guys outside of the UK who are suggesting a salary cap. There is one fact that it is easy to overlook. Places such as Spain and Italy are only a 2-3 hour flight away.

  Any salary cap would have to be achieved across Europe and of course the premier league do not want that. Our game generates more money as puts more bums on seats (albeit in front of TV screens around the world), and we can attract better players by means of putting more into their pockets.

  This is a tough nut to crack

• 49 George // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:57

  Any form of salary cap helps thr Big clubs and is almost certain to be challenged in law.

  What is required is a solid club stratgey on tranfers i.i buy 4 good young ones and an established star until the young ones devolop and do this evey year

• 50 Neil // Jun 22, 2008 at 11:00

  Dear Ed,

  Spot on! I’ve been saying this for a long time now. Football is part of our communities. It is not for men in suits! Where’s the excitement, apart for Sky TV, when Arsenal field a complete team of non-Englishmen, where Benitez bullies an aspiring Villa, where Fergie thinks he has a God-given right to keep Ronaldo and where a Russsian oligarch sparks a wage explosion and a tidal wave of mercenaries?

  Answers?

  Salary cap - Quotas on homegrown talent - Blatter’s only good policy.

  But the horse may have already bolted!

  Regards,

  Neil

• 51 clinta // Jun 22, 2008 at 11:46

  I doubt this article concerning the poor future of the premiership would of been written by you if you were a fan of a big four team ed?

  we had our chance to be a big for (or a big 2 for that matter!) and we blew it!

  i know reality can suck at times - and it seems that some toon fans are finally waking up to where our club is at, but it could be worse we could be an average championship team instead of an average premiership one..

• 52 Ian // Jun 22, 2008 at 11:58

  To me every player with a brilliant future that is spoken about features highly in the press, in other words they latched on to them first, surely a scout should find them before the press?

  I can pick up a paper or google search a top midfielder or promising player, if that is the way we are doing ot then sack the scouts and pay me to sit behind a screen!!

  Arshavin and Gomis were top in the press, they had brilliant seasons, Gomis has fallen flat on his face he looked very poor amongst premiership type quality, and I see the press and public have gone very silent about him.

  Just shows it isnt easy and hindsight is a great thing, it also shows that no-one should pay over the top for these players as their future performance is not guaranteed. Top payments for consistent season performances only, a fee should be under the going rate for one good season and signs of promise.

  I say do not follow the press, buy older players out of favour with the press and younger players who show promise before a news reporter is telling us about him as that is far to late and likely we will pay too much for him.

• 53 Punk Skunk // Jun 22, 2008 at 12:26

  It’s dumb to think most football clubs aren’t aware of who’s out there, playerwise!..If we, the fans know, then the scouts know!..

• 54 Punk Skunk // Jun 22, 2008 at 12:45

  Defo Ian, ignore the press BS, they put prices up by who knows how many %!..

• 55 reb // Jun 22, 2008 at 14:25

  maybe this is a naive view, but if top players go straight to the very biggest clubs they will never become legends in their own right. Manure fans would not hail shearer like we do had he signed for them all those years back. obviously he’s a local lad but you get my point. why be forgotten at chelsea etc sitting on the bench, when you can be adored somewhere else?

• 56 Ian // Jun 22, 2008 at 16:00

  reb, agree with that, better to establish themselves elsewhere then take a top spot in a big team, SWP is the best example of choosing the wrong team at the wrong time, who knows how big a name player he could have been if he had thought a little more before choosing that team.

  Got to be confident in yourself to take that route.

• 57 Sav // Jun 22, 2008 at 18:20

  You are right, Ed, but you forget that we are already part of one big elite - the Prem League which has left loads more teams in the Championship struggling to get near us and fewer and fewer can do it and survive. Similarly, its ok for us to raid the best players from Russia and Turkey and there’s nothing those clubs can do about it. 3 out of 4 Champs Lge finalists from the Prem this year and you see nothing wrong?

  It is only going to get worse. ManU put a dent in the FA Cup. Big clubs can own-and-loan more players than they have room in their squads for, they want their 39th game in Asia and now they want to increase substitutes to 7. Who is that going to help, - the smallest clubs?

  No-one minds a clique while they are on the inside. The top 4 have us on the outside of their clique and suddenly you are squealing. Bit late, but better than never. In the end, everyone will realise that it has become dull, unexciting, predictable. By then, many real fans will have taken up golf or online poker because they can’t afford it or can’t be arsed with it.
  - Hope Roman and Thaksin turn the lights out as they leave.

• 58 stk // Jun 23, 2008 at 17:27

  this is commonplace not just in sport, but under the auspices of globalisation, ie. the rich get richer whilst the poor feed on the scraps.

  having all clubs owned by billionaires would be a no-no and should be stopped, immediately. why? because it them becomes so far removed from reality that an average joe will be earning 200k a week in ten years. smith on 60k, prim example.

  yes the vast wealth of teams makes for exciting viewing, but c’mon, it is getting boring, i think kk did use the right word. who watches the spl for the tension? no one, cause u know whats going to happen.

  a salary cap would be my preference, implemented by fifa, worldwide, for kicking a ball around 5 million quid a year, thats ok is it? the best doctors save lives, saved mine twice, they get paid 2% what smith gets.

  i love nufc and always will, but this whole side of the modern game is really starting to grind my gears and if we all lived in a more egalitarian society, where we can still have sports stars, just put their place in the world into perspective.

  there are wars, famine, genocide and injustice everywhere. so many more important things than these plonkers, after all it is just a game. sir stanley matthews got a plumbing job after football and he was the ronaldo of his day.

  again, its so far disconnected from reality, i can hardly afford food, petrol, rent etc that think if footballs to survive, perspective and abit of normality is needed.

  salary cap would be a start.