This story never seems to to go away, but there again we suppose there’s not much news about Newcastle over the last two weeks or so.
Oba Martins – very popular at Newcastle
The Sunday Mirror is reporting today that Newcastle United will sell star striker Obefami Martins for £15M, to bolster manager Kevin Keegan’s transfer fund.
Martins joined Newcastle for £10M from Inter Milan two years ago, and is one of the very few Newcastle buys whose transfer value has actually increased while at the club.
The Sunday Mirror says Martins is stunned by the news – and we’re not surprised by that, because it’s just not true. 😀
Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan returned to his desk last week, and has said nothing at all to the press since arriving back, and we’re still trying to work out if that’s good news or bad.
The Sunday Mirror is saying the Newcastle summer transfer kitty could be as low as £20M – unless Kevin raises money by selling some of his current stars.
We’ve already sold Emre and Rozehnal for around £7M, and Ameobi will go soon, hopefully for another £3M at least, and we should sell Alan Smith for as much as we can get for him – let’s say we can get £4M for him at least – we paid £6M for him last summer.
Even if the Sunday Mirror is right that Ashley will give £20M, that still has Kevin getting around £34M, but the fact we were willing to offer £18M for Luka Modric earlier this summer must put serious doubts on that £20M figure.
We’re not sure why these papers keep bringing Oba Martins up, and keep saying we will sell him.
Selling Martins would not make the Newcastle fans happy at all, since he is a popular player at the club, and it seems it will not make Oba too happy either.
The boy is a good player, and loves playing for Newcastle, and has said more than once he loves living in the city, and doesn’t want to leave.
When will it ever end?
Comments welcome.
68 comments so far
51times
Jun 29, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Comment #41mozza – That’s not so far out there.
HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES
Jun 29, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Comment #42Players the club should be selling on instead of our quality are the crap and almost finished such as
Smith, Duff, Geremi, Viduka, Cacapa, Ameobi
Come on wake up and smell the coffee!!!!!
scottish mag
Jun 29, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Comment #43so basically balague is saying we have been offered barnetta, frei, behrami, zhirkov, zyrianov and had put enquiries in for arshavin and pavlyuchenko b4 the euros and also aimar
well i would be well happy with any of them,
just with those players our team coud be
gk. given(harper)
rwb. beye (behrami)
lwb. zhirkov (enrique) lol zhirkov lb
cb. faye( taylor)
cb. new cb (cacapa)
rm. arshavin(milner)
lm. barnetta(n’zogbia)
cm. aimar(geremi)
cm. zyrianov( butt)
st. owen(pavlyuchenko)
st. martins(pavlyuchenko)
i think that is a quality team, going just by wot balague says, wot do u guys think
xfer
Jun 29, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Comment #4420 mil? You got to be kidding me.
mozza
Jun 29, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Comment #45@51 times he did say something of interest keegan and terry mc were watching a player in spain 2 rows behind them dennis wise and jimenez were there to watch the same player and report their verdict on him, keegan didn’t have a clue, if there is truth in that then something stinks at st james’s, lets hope it’s crap eh
Hadji
Jun 29, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Comment #46Egar….Thanks,i come from a sunny country of Macedonia.Atm its 36 degrees outside. 🙂
Soren
Jun 29, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Comment #47When will people stop envy us from having Martins?!?!? No we wont sell and no you cant have him.
Ian
Jun 29, 2008 at 1:04 PM
Comment #48it worries me that Newcastle seem to take his loyalty for granted, they should mention him more often.
The club has never been the way it should all of the time Martins has been here, yet he has always kept his enthusiasm.
None of us know what he is capable of, he was messed around something terrible by Allerdyce, away at the ANC, injured slightly, then moved in to another position which he plays well for keegan, yet still managed to score a very respectable amount of goals.
If he gets a clear run through next season then we will have a good idea of how good he is, I really dont know he could be 14-18 premiership goals, more if he was in his favoured position which is down the middle.
Really Martins and Bye are probably our two best players excluding keepers, both reliable and both quality so we should expect clubs to sniff around him more, if he didnt like the place so much I think there would be a lot more interest in him.
The club needs to make sure he knows how much we all think of him as a player.
Geordie Nick
Jun 29, 2008 at 1:28 PM
Comment #49ian- i dont think ashley etc really think a lot of martins tho, the fans love him, and keegan likes him, but dnt think the board really think much of any one of our players and wud be willing to sell ANY of our players for a decent price. thers goin 2 b a LOT of stick and pressure coming ashleys way soon if ther isnt andy signings or at least something from the club, as at the minute it seems like nothing is happening at all, keegan coming bak to work was supposed to be the start of the transfers but its gone even more quet since he came back and im not so sure thats a good thing
WIGAZ
Jun 29, 2008 at 1:35 PM
Comment #50Change of subject, anyone else think we should put a bid in for Guiza! he’s looked good for spain when he’s come on & i think he would play well with oba & owen! seen in the people that the mackems are supposed to be after him for £10m doubt he would go there but think he would come to us like!
Kaler
Jun 29, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Comment #51Guiza to the mackems?? Not a chance in hell. We have more chance of signing him, but its still a very thin chance.
WIGAZ
Jun 29, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Comment #52Thats what i thought to Kaler! we should put a bid in tho! see on news now it says Aimar is waiting for a call from either everton or us coz he wants move to PL! also says Barca haven’t bid for AA yet & us & everton are still in the thick of it! not sure whether it’s BS or not! would love to Sign Guiza/Arshavin/SWP & Bridge within the next few weeks! not very likley tho! think Aimar could be a very realistic possabilty!
iain
Jun 29, 2008 at 2:18 PM
Comment #53LOL@the press, so martins doesnt have a 13m buyout clause anymore as they all stated he did, or maybe as we all know its complete bull.
Spyro
Jun 29, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Comment #54Diarra is a much better player than Butt, not sure about better man, but Diarra is far better technically and an awesome player defensively.
ScottyT
Jun 29, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Comment #55gd to see some people dont just take current performances into light when analysing a player. for example milner, butt, taylor all got slated at some point on this site this season and were said to be sh1te and should be sold etc..
but when looking at a player take into account what they can do and have done over their toon careers. milner butt and taylor had been our most consistent players the past season nd eventully some people realised butt wasnt so bad after all. viduka is another 1 who gets slated on here cos hes lazy.. yes he is but hes also got quality imo and scores important goals. hes getting on like butt however but both arent as bad as most ppl on here give thm credit for.
iain
Jun 29, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Comment #56sums up the situation with the press nicely imo…
(lifted from nufc.com)
Part of former Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder’s recent press conference at Norwich, after realising that the “club insider” has followed him from SJP to Carrow Road:
“One of the silly things is, I guess most of you here want us to do well next year so why advertise who we are interested in so everyone else can see? Because you can miss out on players like that. There are not that many good players around.
“I have seen a lot more of the papers than I would normally do during the close season and plenty of you have hit the crossbar and the post with the stabs you have had.
“Some of those that have hit the bar and post will go in the net and others will come back into play, but you are giving away a lot of clues to other clubs, because you haven’t got the information from me, you have trawled the websites and you have your little moles here and your little ants there and the thing that never ceases to amaze me is how human beings who have a secret can’t wait to tell someone.
“It is a real failing in human nature and the reason they do it is because they like to think they are big, they are important. ‘I know something you don’t. I’ll tell you because you’re jealous I know and you don’t’. It’s like kids innit? And indirectly it wounds you or can wound you.”
Hadrian
Jun 29, 2008 at 3:04 PM
Comment #57these stories are great arent they , kev having to sell oba for poxy 10-15 millions .
kev also being pushed towards 10-15 million pound signings of the likes of gomis .
anyone who has seen them both play will tell you they are worlds apart and you would rather oba in your team any day .
written by
“Brian Mcnally”
sure ive heard that reporters name before , dont think this is the first time he’s stirred shiite at newcastle .
Bob
Jun 29, 2008 at 3:23 PM
Comment #58Great words by Roeder.
bigpeaovtheweab
Jun 29, 2008 at 3:25 PM
Comment #59this site is quickly turning into pure doom and gloom why dont u put some happy storys up instead of all the negitive things going on last year i enjoyed comeing on this site now am not so sure!
ObaFan2
Jun 29, 2008 at 4:14 PM
Comment #60More BS from the Sunday “bog” papers.
Geordie Nick , post 27 says it for me too.
If this is true (lol as if?) then we are not going to do anything next season of any note, ie £20 million transfer fee and having to sell our best player(s).
So very little has been spent on our first team so far under MA but plenty is spent behind the sceene on staff.
gallowgatecorner
Jun 29, 2008 at 4:31 PM
Comment #61Hadrian- You will have heard of Brian McNally if you have been supporting the Toon for a fair period of time.
McNally is the Sunday Mirror’s northern football correspondent, but is based in Newcastle.
He has been variously accused of being a Magpie and a Mackem, but I am told he is actually a big Celtic fan.
McNally used to be chief sports writer with both the Sunday Sun and The Journal where he won a lot of awards for his outspoken columns.
When Keegan quit in 1997, McNally had the exclusive story of his departure and in recent weeks has broke the new contract for Steven Taylor and the Shepherd wants to buy Real Mallorca story.
I hope he is wrong on Martins, but usually he is on the money or near abouts as he has been around Newcastle a long time.
Strangely enough I had heard the figure of £20million bandied about at a sportsman dinner I was at recently with the crack being that KK could raise more by selling some of the big wage earners.
Martins probably makes some sort of sense as I can’t see clubs falling over themselves to but Damien Duff or Alan Smith.
MAG PIE
Jun 29, 2008 at 6:34 PM
Comment #62I wouldn’t want to see Martins sold but I don’t think that Keegan sees him as an ideal partner for Owen. I’m guessing we will revert to 442 next season and, if so, Martins could find himself surplus to requirements. Unless Owen does a bunk over wages first?
Michael Parker
Jun 29, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Comment #63We would easily blow more than £15 million on a string of duff Smiths to replace Oba. Selling good players never makes economic sense, money’s wasted buying replacements and revenue is lost in piss-poor team performances.
daiv
Jun 29, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Comment #64Ed,
Its all very well criticizing the press for make believe stories. All it takes is a simple statement from KK saying we shall not sell. The silence from Newcastle is deafening which means that these stories will continue. Is there some truth in it?
What is a fact that NUFC is selling players like they are going out of fashion and we are buying nobody. We seem like a club hell bent on relegation. Being linked with players like Konchenskt and Malbranque is so disappointing. Where is the ambition in this club. It reminds of the era 10 years ago when we sold quality like Sir Les and brought in cheap old has beens. That was the start of the club’s decline and it is getting worse. So much for MA being a saviour. Massive disappointment from him. Hide your shirt and clear off into the director’s box.
Ian
Jun 30, 2008 at 8:46 AM
Comment #65Agree with daiv and many others above, why not simply come out and say he is not for sale, it makes the player feel better, us and anyone who might join the club, new players always mention Martins, the press seem to steer them to saying something about Owen but they mention Martins themselves.
Like others have said, it is all very well getting £15m for him but there is a good reason why other clubs will pay that much money for a player like Martins, young and cheaper ia a gamble, i also do not see Arsenal so eager to let go of their striker and buy a youngster to replace him, yet Arsenal is the example that is constantly given regarding cheaper players and their striker wants to leave, because of the low wages??
Surely if Arsenal are thinking about buying him then we arent basing the way we run our team around their model, otherwise they would be looking for Gomis types and not our martins?
We need to get closer to the top of the heap, then starting dictating our terms when we have a lot of leverage to negotiate with.
until then we are in with the rabble trying to get the best we can however we can.
bailey
Jun 30, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Comment #66Hope it is not true but think NUFC should put out denials or confirmation when these type of rumours start.
David Moyes was quick to deny Andy Johnson was not for sale so why cant KK do the same about Oba.
Must admit that for some reason I feel really uneasy about NUFC at present.
cespa
Jun 30, 2008 at 6:26 PM
Comment #67First apologize to be gloomy I do have a feeling that Martins will be sold for nothing else but to recoup some of Ashley’s “investment” in Newcastle. I think what he is trying to do now, is to keep Newcastle in the premiership and then sell the club on to another investor for a profit. To be honest I don’t have a good feeling about this guy.
Ian
Jun 30, 2008 at 8:04 PM
Comment #68cespa, apparantly they have been spotted in Dubai where people usually go to raise finance or sell part or all of their businesses.