Some extremely bad news being reported tonight, that Pablo Aimar has signed for Portuguese giants Benfica.
 Kevin Keegan - go to plan B boss
So any hopes (and we had some earlier today) that he would be coming to Newcastle seem to be dead, and to say the very least it is very disappointing.
Setanta Sports, who are of course a credible news source, are reporting that Benfica have agreed a fee of €7.5M (£5.9M) with Pablo’s club Real Zaragoza, and it goes on to say Aimar will be officially unveiled on Thursday, pending the successful completion of a medical.
Aimar is quoted as saying:
“Fortunately, I have always been able to choose where to play in my career.”
“I had other offers, but I always wanted Benfica,”
We suppose this is another player to cross off the list, and it’s not good news at all. The Daily Mirror this morning had an exclusive, in which we had thought they had some inside information, and they reported that Newcastle were on the verge of signing the player.
But this has turned out not to be the case, and we had also thought (hoped) that having just signed Argentine, Jonas Gutierrez would have helped to persuade Aimar to come to Tyneside.
This news may also not be true of course, so we’ll just have to hope something may still happen, but this summer for Newcastle fans, has been a bit tough, to say the least.
But we have to assume Newcastle were one of the clubs in the mix for the star Argentine, and he didn’t want to come.
As we said this morning, attracting players to Newcastle, after two disastrous seasons, is not easy, and Kevin has to start at the bottom - again.
This doesn’t help matters one little bit, but we will have to try to keep the faith.
Kevin and the management team will need to move to plan B, and create a plan C, just in case, if they don’t already have one.
The road back for Newcastle will have its up and downs - and they’re usually downs at the start - which is what we are seeing now.
Also, we have again noticed with the comments on the site, that there are too many fans of other clubs coming on the site and making inappropriate comments.
There mustn’t be much going on at their clubs - or else they are just fascinated with the Magpies.
If any readers come on this site with obvious fictitious IDs for their e-mails, so we cannot contact them, as more than a few have done today, they will be banned from making comments on the site.
Comments are still welcome on this bad news - but please keep them civil.
375 responses so far ↓
1 Oba // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:27
What did I say. Oh yeah, LIES.
The Mirror reported it. It’s bound to be a lie.
2 alex // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:27
perhaps his wage demands were to high and we just said no?
it’s not the end of the world.
3 AndyNUFC // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:32
Pfft, maybe i’m being stupid but, this silence from the club… mixed with the fact our hopes get built up and up… then killed, doesn’t exactly give me confidence in the club. I’d like even just a statement to communicate with us about recent speculation and even the type of players we’re after, it’s just not good enough if they want people to renew season tickets.
4 geordiegraham // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:33
FFS MAN!
5 euanpolo // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:34
As I said on Setanta the Premier League boat only comes once, or twice if you’re lucky and never comes back. As far as I’m concerned Aimar’s career is sunk. He may as well retire now! Then again if the reports are untrue, then he might still be able to catch the ferry, although I doubt he’ll get a decent seat! Yes I am angry so lets go to plan B and deny that we were ever interested in him!
6 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:36
this is more confirmation
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=779440
7 donegal toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:39
i dont know why it says “extremely dissapointing” news, for i for one im not extremely dissapointed but not because i dont rate aimar, theres obvious potential to be worked on , but because there was never any indication whatsoever to suggest newcastle were even in for him, how can you become so emotionally involved over the possible transfer of a player we unofficailly were never in for?
i think when were linked with players some of you should stop giving them the legendary status just becasue their name was mentioned to us in the paper
Guiterrez - no one saw it
Guthrie - no one saw it
theres a pattern here
8 Danny // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:39
I hate the Daily Mirror… they disgust me… bringing innocent fans hopes up like that.
“Exclusive bla bla bla…” I hope your paper printing machine dies and u go bankrupt!!!
That said, too bad, he would’ve been great..
9 mr_flibbles // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:40
I think we all agreed he was too old to be the outright solution to the creative center midfielder role. I will not take this as bad news that he hasnt signed because i think there is just as good a player out there that are also much younger.
Aimar is not the player he was, his side were relegated so he wasnt playing for a huge team anyway. There is a good reason for this- he isnt good enough.
We will get the creative player we need, and i think it will be a better solution than Aimar you watch.
Also just thought i’d mention my continuing anger that Alan Smith is still a Newcastle United player.
10 ToonTinka // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:40
Haway Kev, go out and get us a gem of a creative midfielder, Aimar was past his best anyway.
11 Jay // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:41
Yet another failure by Newcastle. Maybe we will have to make do with the £1 million of talent that we have signed so far.
12 gordond // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:41
Gutted but life goes on
i trust in KK he will deliver the goods
13 Midjew // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:44
KNEW this would happen.
oh well, maybe it was just a ploy for benfica to fork out more money
14 Smells like Ghoti // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:44
yes but the club is always silent until it is released officially by the club. we can always speculate and dream. but in reality people are not gonna sign. we are not in europe and kk is fantastic though outside of england not many will have heard of him now. what he can do is still a belief into the current players that they can do the job. though i hope otherwise. altering a team normally takes a season to adjust. i think. thats’s where the youth policy comes in. i think the club is trying to grow talent through youth and then introduce the sucesses into the 1st team and sell the rest to the wolves. tell me if u think im wrong
15 Danny // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:46
I do have faith in KK, i really do, i just dont have faith in how MA wants to go around with his business when it comes to players and contract talks…
16 Patrick // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:46
Like I said in another post, let’s just watch nufc.co.uk!
17 Glenn // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:48
He’s only a little bloke, last thing we need is another stumpy, lightweight skillful midfielder unsuited to premiership football who would look brilliant in Spain or Italy, we should have just kept Emre if thats what we wanted.
18 Steeley // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:48
Im not particularly fussed that he wont be coming to Newcastle, but what does bother me is that yet another player has turned the club down (despite us having offered (supposedly!) a much bigger fee - and obviously therefore a bigger signing on fee).
Perhaps KK doesnt have the draw that he used to!
By the way Ed, I think its highly unfair to have a go at the redtops for printing such stuff and getting all the fans hopes up, for you to then go and do exactly that by writing even more suggestive articles on your site! People in glass houses, and all that….
19 donegal toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:48
i dont think thats true look at harry redknapp, every imterview i read of that guy he’s spilling the beans on who he wants, which is kinnda stupid really, but managers do do these things, Southgate too the ..–..–
20 ToonTinka // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:50
I ain’t to bothered about Aimar, I just can’t remember a time when so many players are to have knocked us back…
I hope are luck changes and soon
21 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:51
If we wer in for aimar im gutted he never signed if not and its a smokescreen den kev has some1 in mind for a AM that we are crying out for! @donegal toon where are u in donegal..not many of us in donegal
22 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:51
guys never mind us geordies who have been around few years, know everything is not plain sailing with the club, i remember us nearly singing a 17 year called torres but fat fred wouldnt pay 3 million for him, we want people who want to come and fight for the shirt id have players who had 70% desire and effort and 30% skill at this club any day, we got to be very optimistic this season i mean i cant go any worse than the past few years
23 Soren // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:52
Hmm. A shame if we didn’t sign him, but not the end of the world.
In other news. I know its just gossip, but we are apparently ready to sell Krul to Chelsea! :s
http://www.skysports.com/football/transfer_clockwatch/0,23710,14896,00.html
On Skysports papertalk.
I for one dont believe it, as I think he will be our next super goalie.
And in totally unrelated news, the new film Hancock rocks!
24 Macca // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:52
Why does everyone keep complaining about renewing season tickets? Not telling fans about potential transfer targets is simply not to alert other clubs.
If you were a season ticket holder, you would know the deadline has past for season tickets. Rethink your comments please.
25 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:53
Not to worry .. if his agents were discussing terms with Newcastle it all came down to money .. would rather have a younger player looking to prove something.
26 DC Toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:53
There are other players out available so this is not the end of the world. All I care about is that we have signed some creative midfielder by the start of the season. It doesn’t have to be Aimar, it doesn’t have to Arsharvin, it doesn’t have to be VDV, it just has to be someone. Arda still hasn’t moved, etc. Have faith guys. It may take some time but I would rather we get players who are quality and who want to play for the Toon. As BSA demonstrated last summer, signing a whole mess of players is not the way to build a sucessful team.
27 toon4lyf // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:53
emre dd amasing when fit so if its another one of him nat injury proe ad be happy
aimar is a great player he was injured when they most of there season im sikined wer missin out on him
28 knobsack phil // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:53
totally gutted. My only hope is that we were not in for him at all, and were working on other targets. I really had a feeling this morning we would sign someone, and when saw reports thought it would come true.
Lets hope it was a smakescreen and the real player will be announced tomorrow.
29 Jim // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:54
Personally, I’m quite pleased this didn’t happen because I think the guys best years are behind him.
If he was ‘all that’, he’d have been in much more demand. Unfortunately, it does highlight NUFC’s diminished pulling power and emphasises, I think, our need to pay a bit more to convince the better player to gamble with the Toon and KK. If we can build momentum from that, January will prove an easier window to convince the professional ‘player’ to sign. I’m not suggesting we do a Leeds but we really have to aim for a minimum top 8 to push on from and that, in our position, takes hard cash above desire to play for the club. Sad, but true.
Our true commitment will surface come September. After that it’ll be guts and glory. I don’t want to bring Argentinian capability on that front in to disrepute, what with Jonas and all but there’s a bit of history on that ‘front’. Ha’way the Lads!
And Ed:
“…Keegan, Wise and the rest of the recruitment team have done one fabulous job in getting Aimar - a great great signing for the club.”
Have a word with yourself.
Any comment?
30 donegal toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:55
@ irish toon9
don’t i just know
A little rural village right beside the northern border tragically
31 ToonTimbo // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:55
I have to stress this is my opinion!!
I think KK is signing (or trying should i say) lots of argentines because he has his eye on the next big argentine ‘wonderkid’ and having argentins will help him settle in!! Just a wish though!! Sergio Aguero would be nice lol!!!
We have had scouts n SA havent we
32 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:55
We were in for him, he agreed terms yesterday, today we decided not to honour the agreement. Same happened with Inler. His agent flew back out at 6pm today
It was all agreed, but Benfica were reportedly the ones that leaked it
33 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:57
now i dont want to start of ashley bashing as i am 100% behind the man but if the supposedly reliable source i’ve found, which i believe might have been matt’s source for the mirror scoop yesterday, is to be believed the deal broke down over wage demands as aimar was more than happy to sign, and this was supposedly the problem with the imler transfer as well. bit disappointed if thats true but still 100% behind what ma and team are trying to do.
34 Loons // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:57
To be honest, I am very pleased that for the first time in a long time my club is acting like a ‘big’ club. Not like the Fat Fred days of being on the tele every day telling us ‘it’s never dull at Newcastle’.
Have the club ever said we were signing Aimar? No? Just a bunch of lazy hacks and an agent wanting to create a market.
Ashley has not put this management team in to fail. So try and sit back and be proud that we have a management team that actually works professionally.
The signings will come. The right ones. And the club will let us know when they are here!
35 Piers // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:57
We can’t attract any big talents. Definately not the club we used to be……..so disappointed. Who are we going to get now? We were supposedly going to spend upwards of 30 million pounds for this summer transfer season…..we have two players with a grand total of 5 mill. Wow great job.
36 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:58
My predictions before the end of next week for transfers are, Turan, Fernandez, Cuellar .. all can be got .. I’m sure KK has singled these ones out, as for the rest we’ve been linked with .. ie Aimar, these were always good players at good prices but not the no 1 targets.. probably Wises list not KK’s
37 donegal toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 22:59
Did i not just read on wiki that fernandez has a buy out clause of 50 mill euro or is that BS
38 Tom_Toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:00
Daniel and Bosck where are you getting this from?
Gutted if that is true about Inler but not at all bothered about Aimar.
39 ToonTimbo // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:00
Im in love with Matias Fernandez and dearly wish him to sign but its there any credible evidence that we are even interested in him!!
And Tom Toon - Theyre probably 1 off spurs fans!!
40 Nick // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:02
lads come on this is daily mail we must learn to take things with pinch of salt, i aint saying aimar is out of our range anything but. However these are the people who brought you the EXCLUSIVE Bin Laden meeting. Would haev loved to see him in the prem could of been awesome foil for Owen and Martins etc.
Besides there is still ages left in the window and lots more Aimar like stories, adds some variety
41 Ross G // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:03
Too be honest I reckon it was true and we couldnt match Benfica financially for him. It was the same with Modric, Ashleys cost cutting has turned us from the best option of Prem club to join out of Europe, to a Bolton its very depressing I think Ashle needs to go personally, Keegan cant be happy that probably not one of his principle targets have come. It hurts but this is further evidence of a down-spiralling club. Aimar although wouldnt have been my first choice he is a top player and the intent shown from his transfer will help bring others as well as help settle the likes of Owen who probably is waiting to see who we bring in before signing. If Ashley cant spare at least £50m of his £2bn + fortune then he never bought us for the interest it is for the profit, I cant beleive he wants more investors when in three transfer windows his net spending on transfers is around £12m, worst in the League. ASHLEY OUT
42 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:03
As i just wrote on an earlier link…
I always found it strange that his agent made this comment
“We have begun to speak to an English club - not Everton - and already we have offers for the club and player.â€
One media source speculated that we where the mystery club and suddenly everyone from Ed to all the Nationals WAS SURE that we was the mystery club… But never once where we mentioned by the agent or Zaragoza.
43 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:03
relax… If you really think it over you would agree that buying Aimar would hold some risk anyway… Not only has he been bad at Zaragoza, but he is also quite small and would properly take allot of time to settle… Think about it… Kluivert, Luque, Viana, how many skilled players have we seen arrive over the years who just wasnt cut for the English game or who had already been fed up with football?… When you think about how secretive the club has been, there is the chance that this was a decoy.
44 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:04
Fernandez has supposedly said he wants to play in the Premiership and he hasn’t (based on Wikipedia) played too much this year for the 1st team .. even when fit ..sounds like somebody who wouldn’t turn us down .. I don’t think 50K Euros would be the price .. more aroound £16 mill .. I reckon..
45 bailey // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:05
Never know who to believe do we. Hope it was all just paper talk. Would be good to be able to face Ferdinand and tell him supporters wouldnt have wanted him anyway.
46 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:06
Daniel and Bosck .. sounds like you’ve a good source .. were inler/Amiar KK’s list or Wise’s??
47 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:07
Toontimbo i’m definately not a one of spurs fan i regularly post on here and am 100% a toon fan
48 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:08
ezpect the mirror to confirm aimar signing for benfica in the morning
49 donegal toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:09
theres actually a lot of sites although maybe not totally credible but there is a good few like, so, and keep in mind he was awarded the south american footballer player of the year award in 2006 BEFORE he joined villareal so, they snapped him after that for i think i read 8 mill euros? so its obvious there going to put somebody (especially after just winning that award) of that kind of potential a low evaluation
50 the voice of reason // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:09
is it possible to start a rumour that every single player anywhere in the world is coming to NUFC. then at least we would know virtually everything was bulls..t…this is doing my head in where someones coming then they are not….arrgghh…tell you what I will start my mate told me that Ronaldo thought that when he said Real Madrid everyone would know that he really meant their feeder club the great NUFC
51 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:09
Aimar is definately away to Benfica .. the http://www.goal.com site used a quote from Aimar .. they couldn’t do that or they could be libel.
52 donegal toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:10
A high evaluation *
53 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:10
no need to wait, confirmed on zaragoza site
54 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:10
If this has come down to wages like da modric saga i can see KK jackin it im..get yer wallet out MA ffs
55 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:10
bailey… Ferdinand is a nice guy, I really like him… He had the courtesy to stay away, knowing that he wouldnt be good enough for us… Stand up guy i say
56 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:11
If this has come down to wages like da modric saga i can see KK jackin it in..get yer wallet out MA ffs
57 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:11
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.realzaragoza.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dreal%2Bzaragoza%26hl%3Den
58 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:11
Fernandez is a top player .. and young .. we’d have to pay big ..
59 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:12
lol… times headline
“Pablo Aimar set to escape Newcastle’s clutches”
So we’re some kind of beast with cluthes now?… He didnt slip through our fingers, no no, he escaped our cluthes… Hehe, the times are usually ok tho
60 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:12
If this was solely down to wages .. even if KK was gagged he would say something .. the next couple of days will speak volumes, if there are any quotes from KK’s mates in the papers..
61 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:13
I dont know the specifics of who’s list they were from, I just know what happened over the past few days. Everything was fine up until 4pm today when we decided to withdraw the agreed contract from yesterday. We had the fee agreed (7m in one go) but had a change of heart about 4 oclock today. I dont know if we were trying to reduce the wages a little bit more or what the logic was, but it didnt work and Aimars agent walked out. Big fail on our part. Same thing happened last week, met the release clause for inler, press conference arranged last thursday, then wednesday night we withdrew the offer
TT - I have 3 sources, all of which had this one. A friend who knows Llambias, someone from the press office and a journalist.
62 letim // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:14
the internet makes things a million times worse with rumours, even though we all can’t wait to make a big signing…. sit tight, we’re becoming an organised club and the press can no longer read us like a book, so they spend all day spread rumours to fill columns and now, websites!
have some faith, we’ll get someone to provide the ammunition we need up front!
63 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:16
TT - i have one source, supposedly a journalist i think, that posts elsewhere that my boss let me know about.
64 ToonTimbo // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:16
Sorri Bosck!! Im sure ur toon through and through!! I just didnt recognise ur name as u dont mine!!
65 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:16
Things like this can happen if there are better targets lined up .. hopefully the recruitment team are doing a good job on getting their preferred targets..
66 magpie man // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:16
we will keep missing out on targets who we make “late” bids for , i think we could have got aimar if we had gone in for him and tried to seal it up sooner. Im all for siging younger players but we need some older expierience to the squad aswell and whether the toon hierachy want to admit it or not that will mean opening the cheque book a little bit more. Im not saying Guthrie and Jonas are going to be bad siginings but surely the likes of Aimar’s calibre should be a priority if we want to get back into the top half of the table at least.
67 domtoon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:16
Hmmmm slightly disappointing but it wasn’t right it wasn’t right. If he really said that and wanted to go to Benfica, well, then, he can go do one to be frank.
We don’t want idiots coming to the Toon who don’t want to come to the Toon so let’s save that £7 mil for the next up and coming star and get those players in who have the hunger, passion and desire to play in Black and White.
Let’s face it, Aimar is sheer talent, but it hasn’t shown at Zaragoza and at £7 mil, for a player of his stature not to have made an impact at his last club, would we really want him at the Toon? A gamble which could have paid off yes, but perhaps it could have been one of the best things that happened to us.
Keep an eye on how he does at Benfica, and we may very well be letting out a huge sigh come next Summer….
68 normski1930z // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:17
arrrrgh just finished work and was hoping to come home to a signing any signing but again nothing, what the f**k man my patience is now startin to wear very thin….
69 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:17
daniel .. have you heard if they’ve an offer in for another CM??
70 Beetrice // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:17
it’s like America under Bush
Only a football club
71 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:19
Bosck… Well, if what you say is true then we can truly say that NUFC has the ambition to attain a respectable league position save from relegation and thats it… Sad, but it seams like we are the only football club run as a proper business and i fear we are going to pay for that when the season ends… I must say that tho i dont mean this personal, I truly hope that you or your source is full of bull.
72 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:19
Dan Ive heard similar, but havnt we got to be relistic with our signings, benfica is champ league , we need to ensure we get some good am in though i dont know what MA’s standing is, I want the man to come on our web site and lead from the front, draw the line in the sand and we newcastle and this is what were doing ohh man he is so frustrating !!!!!, for future At mids avaiable moutinho (12 million) stephen defour (6 million)
73 Tom_Toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:21
If you both have these sources then you surely know some targets.
74 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:21
valle if it is bull then it is on their part as i am just relaying it!!!!
but he has definately signed for benfica subject to a medical
75 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:22
Wonder wat pedro’s up to this season!!
76 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:23
tomtoon - nope all i know is that he reckons newcastle mucked up on this one. no mention of other targets as of yet.
77 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:23
Bosck… As i said, it wasnt personal… I dont know you and i wouldnt call you a lier without knowing it was true… I just HOPED it was bull, because otherwise we seem to be a big mess.
78 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:23
Tom Toon’s right ..dan etc with your contacts you must know if we have bids in for somebody.. I’ve a feeling ones nearly completed..have you heard anything??
79 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:24
Ive not been told of any, but it doesnt mean there arent any. I only get scraps of information normally (eg the press conference dates) but all 3 sources came in over the past 36 hours with regards to this, and a frustrated rant brought the rest out. A lot of people at the club are getting very frustrated by this, its not just the fans
80 ToonTimbo // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:25
I wont expect to wake up tomorrow hearing that Newcastles signed a player because i’ll just be disappointed!!
bad times at the park!!
81 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:26
Doesn’t sound good .. maybe KK might be getting more involved in transfers then??
82 Ally // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:26
Dan if u r correct, these matters should be conducted professionally in a professional manner, and these two dealings were clearly not
83 brave new toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:26
this summer is oing my nut in… did we really want him? did we pull it at last minute, because we have someone else lined up? wouldn’t we pay his wages? maaaaaaaaaan!!
still, kk knows what us the fans want.. and I trust him to bring the right players in,
but how fing frustrating is it!!!!, sat all night with the pc on, and ssnews, and back pages of every newspaper strewn around the room doesn’nt help
84 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:26
Daniel… Do we know who decided to pull out?… If it was KK then all might be well and good, but if it was Ashley then we are in big trouble.
85 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:27
Sounds like Ashley and KK are getting frustrated with Wise..
86 bell jan // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:28
Forget aimar he is cack anyway
87 Ally // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:28
valle - I wholeheartedly agree with ur comment, if it is Ashley we r in trouble
88 Tom_Toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:29
Bosck and Daniel - Are we definitely not going back in for Inler then?
89 ToonTinka // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:29
I hope we get to find out the truth of what is going on behind closed doors.
Something just isn’t right at all
90 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:30
The money is obviously there .. just the negotiations aren’t working as expected .. I think Wise etc are out of their depth..
91 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:31
I was just burtsing into a little laugh here… Imagine this, for years some club insiders with to big mouths have told the press about our targest weeks before we got them (or they went elsewhere) could it be that all this is made up to cover our tracks?… Just a far out thought on my part, but it seems strange all this.
92 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:31
Dan i was informed that there was 2 press conferences booked ,one for tommorow one on monday and i know mondays is still going ahead can your sources confirm this ?
93 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:31
Newcastle united = Rollercoaster
94 Eyeball // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:31
Kick him in his pips!!!
Thats all I have to say on this matter, Just getting a bit dissapointed about missing out on big targets. I dont wanna sit through another season like last time where we had to wait 6 months before something entertaining happened and we started playing good football!!
Cmon Keegan getting them fired up!!!
“you score 3….fine we’ll score 4″!!!
95 gorskino10 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:32
my view is his quote is a lie he means he could only join Benfica only gave him the cash he wanted so that’s good for us if he was only moneygrabbing. But I disagree with someones view who said kk only signs players who has not been mentioned by guthrie was in the news weeks before we signed him so that was obvious also aimar would of been and now he needs plan D as the others were modeic etc…. Just sign monnet paquet please……..
96 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:33
Calle could be true .. if the papers don’t have some stories from KK’s mates etc that is.. seeing that KK’s is gagged .. if nobody connected with KK says anything in the next 2 days all must be well.. IMO
97 Tom_Toon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:33
Anth? one for tomorrow? Unveiling Gutierrez and Guthrie or a new signing?
98 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:33
It was the money side of things that pulled the plug. Everything was fine up until last night, no medical was undertaken so it wasnt like he is injured. Im just hoping its because something better came along, but thats the optimist in me.
This is the sort of thing that almost made keegan walk the first time he was at newcastle (according to his autobiography at least) so im worried on that front too (ive had no news on this front tho)
Very little information comes from our end TT - im only reporting what ive been told
99 Aimars gone! // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:33
its on zaragozas official site hes gone to Benfica.. FFS
100 AndyNUFC // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:33
I’m not convinced at all by the lack of signings, dan, gimme some hope here mate… are you aware of how much an influence Keegan has in any of these transfers?
101 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:35
gorskino10… Where did you read about Guthrie weeks before he signed?… I read NUFC news sites using newsnow all day and i only saw it the night before it happened, and then it was only a rumour, no exclusives and quotes.
102 Hammy // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:35
OOOooooohhhhhh,
I’ve just washed down 3 bottles of painkillers with a can of Red Bull………..I have an antidote beside me which I can take if Newcastle sign anybody of note in the next 24 hours, I’ll just have a quick nap and check the blog a little later…..
103 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:36
Anth - they always pre book them to get the press there so tomorrows was for Aimar, ill text my mate to find out the crack for mondays
104 Bosck // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:36
know no more than daniel. supposedly with imler we reached the right figure to trigger release clause but then failed on terms.
105 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:37
i know tommorows is canceled,
keegan has been told that he cant speak to the press untill next monday
Does mike ashley love the club 31st of august will tell us alot wont it
106 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:37
Daniel… You say the money side, but that means it wont have been Keegan that wanted out of the deal then? or dont you know about that for sure?
107 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:37
Guthrie said in the press (or one of his friends did) he was going to be signing. It was around the time of the mooted exchange with Milner. Ill see if I can hunt down a link
108 scott9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:38
i said i wud not b happy until the deal went through i had a feelin someting like this might happen we alwaqys get let down all the time nothing ever goes right for us y does this always happen gutted we were to slow he was keen on comin to us so y didnt we do the deal quicker im begining to hav serious doubts about michael ashley
109 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:38
Doesn’t bode well Daniel .. must be a signing on Monday .. probably Cuellar..
110 bailey // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:40
Think it is time KK started speaking and telling us the truth about these alleged targets. Were we after them or not. It all very well blaming newspapers but until something is said from the club then rumours will abound. I am all for NUFC showing a bit of discretion but think they have gone too far.
Also cannot believe some of these players were on THE LISTS. So where are those alleged targets.
I would rather the club came out and said they were signing nobody. It would really PEE me off but at least I could stop wondering and could get off this daily roller coaster ride. Also read that Owen will likely just let his present contract run down.
111 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:40
Dan I heard a slight whisper about an brazilan striker who plays for inter, that we have made initial enquires about him im sure you know who i mean , you heard the same ?
112 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:40
What sort of targets are we going to get?? if wages are low???
Fans are wasting there time if we think we are going to get Proven quality or better than we have he doesn’t want to spend money!! yes we’ll get signings but of what quality???
ASHLEY TO SELL UP!!!
113 Hammy // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:41
Aye Robbie Elliott, player coach on £5000 a week… great stuff
114 scott9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:41
does ashely not understand we r gonna hav to offer high wages because were not in eurpope other whies they just wnt come aimar is a qaulity player i am really disapointed with this
115 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:41
Here is the link for Guthrie. Its tribal but it quotes the Journal
http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=98736
June 17th, signed July 10/11th
Hang on - tribal got one right???
116 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:42
We’re def in trouble if ashley pulled the plug..KEEGAN WILL WALK
117 scott9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:43
players we shud hav been in for
inler doesnt luk likely
aimar gone
crouch gone
sidwell gone
come on now get it sorted
118 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:43
I heard we were looking for a striker but I don’t think Adriano is it..
119 AndyNUFC // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:44
The fans don’t like this… does Keegan like it? I don’t think so. What the f***s the point in having a manager that doesn’t manage players he wants.
120 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:44
yeah its him , he’s just finishes a loan at sao paulo
121 Beetrice // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:46
that doesnt neccesarily mean anything daniel, he could of meant he expects to join newcastle because maybe he thought the swap deal would go through ot there was the slightest of indications that it would, then when they declined the swap deal, fancied the look of guthrie but wanted to keep milner so bid for him soon as pos
122 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:46
Before anyone starts to worry about keegan leaving he cant,his football circus has debts of 1.5million so he would like to be i dont think he will this time
123 Daniel // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:47
Ive not heard that - I just got a rant at how things are going. I would love to be able to give you a list of targets, but that sort of information doesnt get leaked easily (especially at our end)
Beetrice - I wasnt putting it up for any other reason than somebody said they had seen it in the press and i had seen it too. I had no information on that deal at all, and a few hours notice on Guttierez.
124 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:47
Do fans think ashley’s going to come out and tell us are yes inler, aimar etc etc were our targets but I didn’t want to spend that on wages!! what would we say after renewing our season tickets??
125 Beetrice // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:48
how has it gone from
“newcastle miss out on aimar”
to
“The fans don’t like this… does Keegan like it? I don’t think so. What the f***s the point in having a manager that doesn’t manage players he wants” some of you lot are conspiracy nuts or something
calm down
126 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:48
I cant take this much longer has to be the most head wreaking close season ever IMO
127 ToonTinka // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:49
So it sounds like we are attracting the players or being offered these players, we are just losing out in agreeing terms. Really sounds like someone isn’t doing there job properly upstairs to me.
This dosn’t seem very clever, I think we have tried to sign our number 1 targets now aswell and we have failed in them.
128 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:49
Adriano has got better recently .. but big wages and personal problems .. suppose thats what KK is good at .. sorting out footballers worries and making them better players … still a bit far fetched .. supposedly Chelsea have been offered him.
129 TheGoldfishBowl // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:49
I’m just SICK of this now. I think anyone who believes we are going to be top 8 or above next season is DELUDED. We are looking more and more like a club with no ambition. The other day we were linked with Emilinao Insua on loan. Signings like that would be an EMBARASSMENT. What has it come to? We are talking about going cap-in-hand to other clubs begging for players on loan. If these transfers (Aimar, Inler etc…) are breaking down due to wages, then I’ll be FURIOUS! We have NO European football and we are in what many players see as the ‘provincial backwater’ of Newcastle upon Tyne. All we have to offer is money, and without decent wages, we can forget signing decent players. Thre more time goes on, the more I suspect that our days of being an ambitious club are over. I am increasingly convinced that we have no money to spend, how else to explain the Guthrie deal? I just dont know what Mr. Ashley sees as success. Is it merely keeping the club in the Premiership? The more I look, the more I think that we are being converted into a mid-table club who ‘know our place.’ I want SO much more than that, and so should we all. When you look at our stadium and fan-base, the facts are WE SHOULD BE IN THE TOP 4. I know its not going to happen in the near future, but at least show some ambition! I hope I’m wrong about Mr. Ashley, but the more I look, the more I think that the Newcastle I knew is gone. The Newcastle I knew were an ambitious club, who even if they got things wrong, THEY TRIED! They were a club who saw themselves as a big club and a club who had PRIDE.
130 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:50
Anth… Surely we dont want KK to stay only because he has finacial trouble… We want him to be happy while he is here.
131 ToonLoon // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:50
I tell you what-Wise and Keegan might need to dust off their boots. Do we have a first team yet?
Maybe thats why we got a hold of Elliot.
132 normski1930z // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:51
bailey micheal owen must be looking on and thinkin “what the hell is going on here” f**k this am off……
133 AndyNUFC // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:51
Conspiracy nut? Mate you haven’t got a fing clue what you’re talking about. I’m just annoyed that my club that charges huge prices for season tickets and doesn’t give me any indication that we have any sort of ambition. Why bring in Wise? Keegan is our manager. The 2 lists just shows how much Keegan isn’t respected at the club.
134 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:53
Keep the faith people if any1 can get players to sign for us its king kev(hopefully asap)
135 TheGoldfishBowl // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:54
If all Keegan is here for is to earn the money to support his soccer circus, we are in trouble, as Mr. Ashley can run the club into the ground if he wants, and have no fears of public comments from Keegan…
136 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:55
yeah i know thats what i want,
but with that preasure from his buisness our football club
we all work and have debts and still do a good job it keeps us on our toes ,
i was just saying if he wanted to make a stand (which he did alot of time when he was here last time) he will defo think it through
Newcastle needs a owner who is a the focal point of the club the city the fan and mike does not do that, for me i just want him to come out and speak on tv just somthing
137 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:56
Problem is he’s getting them in and Wise + co are screwing it up.. if you’re offered a top class player they expect top class wages .. you can’t barter too much there .. the bartering was getting them to choose Newcastle in the first place .. seeing as we can’t offer european football .. but we can offer a top manager and top supporters
138 Irish toon9 // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:56
Ah man the more i read the more depressed i get on whats going on..! Someone put me down!
139 blitziouz // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:56
this is the modric saga all over again. Very dissapointed not to get aimar ):
140 valle // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:57
I agree that we should keep believing in our management till the window closes, but I cant escape worrying when i hear from inside sources that the deals die because of wages. If it was KK who had a change of heart it would be another matter altogether, but if the above is true then our ambition has hit rock bottom.
141 TheGoldfishBowl // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:57
Do people really believe Keegan is an attraction to players these days? Most players now dont remember Keegan as a player and hes not seen as a top coach in Europe. Indeed, the rest of England seemed to think our reappointment of Keegan was a sentimental decision, and seeemed to see it as a bit of a joke…do players see it like that??? Like it or not, most players in Europe dont dream of being managed by Kevin Keegan, I’ll bet…
142 sweendog // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:58
Aimar isn’t one of our top targets .. true we wanted him but maybe something better has come along.. just a thought.
143 Anth // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:59
who do you think speak to the players and sells the club to them , it seems wise and jimenez just speak to agents and clubs
keegan can sell the club but is he getting the chance
any one got a spare billion pounds on them ?????:0
144 Beetrice // Jul 16, 2008 at 23:59
I love newcastle and im not looking to offend any one here but seriously some of the stuff i read on here man, Dear Lord
why if we fail in an uncomformed bid (as of yet) for a a player do people on here start spewing s*** about backroom discomfort, or people not respecting keegan wah wah wah some of the crap you lot make up isnt even relevant to the topic thats being discussed on here, you like to spindle wee webs of conspiracies of disease in the board
nutters
145 normski1930z // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:00
know what lads when i was driving home from work tohight i was in a good mood full of hope and expectation and i have now been home about 30 mins and im sick as f**k….
146 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:00
normski totally agree!!!
irish toon9 - the problem is its not kk who can get players to sign its ashley and he doesnt want to spend money!
147 valle // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:00
sweendog… Yah i thought today, that perhaps they got the HSV deal all wrong, perhaps it was VDV we where after… Incredible that this hope still lives inside me tho, after the summer we have had so far lol
148 TheGoldfishBowl // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:01
I still have my suspitions that Mr. Ashley may be looking to sell. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A RICH OWNER BUYING A FOOTBALL CLUB AND THEN BEING RELUCTANT TO INVEST IN THE SQUAD. WHAT IS THE POINT? THE MORE TIME GOES ON, THE MORE I SUSPECT ASHELY MAY BE UNWILLING TO INVEST.
IF HE WONT INVEST IT SUGGESTS ONE THING - HE MAY NOT BE HERE IN THE LONG TERM…
149 Irish toon9 // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:01
Bin laden anyone?
150 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:01
If keegan isn’t talking to his targets then theres a major problem .. he needs to be able to suss out the player as well as selling the club..
151 BoomToon // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:02
A few weeks ago I think it was NUFC.com that mentioned that Guthrie had stated to close friends that he was going to join us. Which is why Bolton never bothered to try and sign him.
152 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:03
I think wise and co are finding their feet and so far its back fired .. they’re not used to hard negotiating which Ashley wants..
153 TheGoldfishBowl // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:03
I actually preferd Shepherd to Ashley! I know Ashley paid off the debts, but at least when Shepherd was in charge we had ambition, and weren’t trying to slash spending while other clubs spend MORE!
154 ToonTinka // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:03
Beetrice, the players agents are turning up to the club to thrash out deals and jetting straight off home, it’s no good!!!!!!
155 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:04
VDV .. I think we need to be in Europe for him .. unless we break the wage structure which I don’t think is gonna happen .. would love it if he came though.
156 Anth // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:04
because we fan know that aimar is attacking midfeilder we have needed since rob lee , or just of the striker as in ol pedro ,
its so gutting that we have not got him , he is very top player and if indeed it was pulled by us then its very sad statement we are putting out to the football world,
I just want keegan speaking again and to see whats is his vision for this season
157 valle // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:05
Beetrice… You might think that some people takes it to far, but it is perpectly natural that supporters start to doubt their clubs ambition when info like this leakes. And it dosnt take a genius to figure out that if its the upstairs guys that pull the plug everytime we have a player in the bag, then KK wont be to happy… But as you say, its all speculation so far, but then again isnt that the idea with a blog such as this?
158 Oba's Mum // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:05
I was so excited at the start of the window, things are going from bad to worse. Everyone has had a buzz today about amair joining, am totally gutted, will we sign anyone else, probably not
159 TheGoldfishBowl // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:05
If its true players’ agents ARE storming out of negotiations, what does it say for the competence of those who are negotiating for us?
160 Leo // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:05
i personally am happy, i have maintained through this whole debacle, he would flop like a rotten fish…
i would love to go through the past articles and see what peoples individual reactions are for different news about a specific player.
wish i had studies phycology because it would be so interesting, anyway i need some sleep now london hotel room was crap and the place doesnt shut up at night thank god am back in the toon, woop woop= thats the sound of the police.
161 Hindu // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:06
For crying out loud people. Daniel and Bosck are getting their info from a Daily Mirror journalist (the guy who wrote the story this morning). He regularly writes on the Blackburn message board (link: http://www.brfcs.co.uk/mb/index.php?showtopic=19147). Yesterday he was certain Aimar was signing. Today he’s backtracked big-style.
Now, you should all stop believing everything you hear and calm down.
The story broke from a journalist from the Mirror. Alan Oliver regurgitated that article, and now everyone thinks it was gospel.
There has been zero confirmation that we were even interested.
162 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:06
Don’t give up hope .. sounds like on Monday we’ll hear about a new signing..
163 AndyNUFC // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:06
It’s unconfirmed because the club does not talk to people at all. Maybe if the club picked up a paper and realised how strong the speculation was, they would have thought “hmmm, best tell the fans that we aren’t going to bid for him” or whatever happened. Fact of the matter is though this would just not be happening if Keegan was in charge of transfers. Look where he got us when he was in charge before.
164 Chris // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:06
I can’t believe that we actually agree transfer fee, and then players terms only to try and barter with the agents afterwards. It’s not making sense.
I believe Aimar’s agent has used us to get a better deal, or we weren’t even in for him in the first place.
I couldn’t get excited earlier and I even said “today has started with a bang and will go out with a wimper” and I wasn’t wrong.
I think we all need to chill out, I’m contantly on the web looking for transfer news, and it’s nearly all gossip which ends up disapointing.
I still have faith we will sign decent players, but I haven’t got a clue what’s happening at my club anymore. Chinup lads and lasses
165 valle // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:07
sweendog… Any rational thinker would agree that VDV are out of our reach, my point was that i catch myself hoping from time to time
166 ramalama // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:08
this far to tight wage structure could put us in the s**t for years, if we dont progress the rate footballs growing at the moment we’ll be left behind
were not gunna be gettin into europe when teams like villa pompey spurs man city are all gettin ahead of us in the transfer market
the ‘business’ as MA sees it wont be doing too well so he”ll get bored and do a runner
167 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:08
Do we really think better will come along!?
weve looked at signing our first choice!! now we are on our 2nd and we are getting turned down!!
ashley will panic and we’ll end up with crap or panic buys!!
168 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:08
I’m off .. just remember the futures bright ….
THE FUTURES BLACK N WHITE
169 Irish toon9 // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:10
@HPS - totally agree its not keegans fault its ashley and his “advisors/money men”
170 Oleg G // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:10
IMPOSSIBLE !!!!!!!
this is a nightmare.
I don’t understand it……… is there anyone in charge???
171 Oba's Mum // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:10
as long as we improve on next year we will be okay, i guess the papers make things worse, but we had a small squad anyway, the only thing i think is that we will play all of the new youngsters next year and hopefully they will gel
172 Black and White Blood // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:10
@Ross G (41) - Are you an idiot..?
Guys this is hard I grant you, but come on, how can we judge MA at this moment, yet alone shout for him to go as Ross G has…? Can you really blame the guy to carefully weigh all aspects of each transfer up – Lets recall he backed SA purchases last summer, WOW they were awesome buys!
Ok if little business has been completed by the end of August, maybe question his motives. Very few and I mean very few actually know what occurs behind closed doors, even as we speak. BOS and Dans I’m not questioning your honesty regarding sources, nevertheless, I don’t recall either of you posting info about this deal prior. Furthermore, I’m unable to locate any of your posts informing us we were signing the last 2. Again, I’m not questioning you guys, but possibly I would assume you both are being led up the garden path by your so called sources. I am able to provide plenty past tense info, but very little before the event! You see my Dad knows the guy who works in the office – Eh what office..? or my Aunty cleans the Dressing room – So or even my source is chief editor at the Chronicle – So! Even if these were true, how could these be reliable sources? Do you get my point. …..No offence intended though.
I have full trust in KK, furthermore, I strongly feel MA is the man to lead us forward - Let’s get of his back and support the board for the time being.
173 Beetrice // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:11
Yes yes generally true however when we were being linked with the miguel veloso’s , the gomis, gomez keegan never stepped out and said yup we were in there, but he did with modric, so that would lead me to believe that he would in fact come out and say look we tried for “such and such” aimar in this example, which he still may do though i doubt it
174 HATE PRAWN SANDWICHES // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:11
Sweendog - this isn’t down to KK, wise and co. the only one to blame is Mike Ashley the man with the money!!
175 valle // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:12
On the bright side… Whoever we lose out on from now on, it wont make me nearly as sad as with Modric unless its VDV or Diego and we all know that those 2 are properly out of our reach anyway, so i guess i can chill lol
176 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:12
Valle .. yep I agree although realistically we do have a chance, money talks ..
177 sweendog // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:13
Luckily after all this it looks like KK has spelled out he needs a CM .. can only be good news.. as everybody else knows it.
178 Hindu // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:13
I urge people to read my post a few upwards.
There is Zero confirmation that we were in for Aimar. The info Daniel is regurgitating is from Alan Nixon (nicko) who posts on the Blackburn forum.
179 apan // Jul 17, 2008 at 0:15
Im not gutted, i believe in KK and
TO THOSE WHO SAID THAT SIGNING PLAYERS WITH CHEAP FEES IS USELESS = GET A LIFE!
DOESNT MEANT THAT THE PLAYERS IS CHEAP AND U NEVER HEARD OF THEM THEYRE NOT GOOD, JUST LOOK AT EVERTON!
CHANGE UR MINDSET! OR BRAIN OR MIND FOR ONCE! We sign luque for 9.5 million and turns out to be disaster, guthrie and jonas for less than 5 mil is a WISE MOVE!
This is why we are lacking behind, typical mindset brain, oh without top players we doomed, how about UNDISCOVERED TALENT? yes thats why most of arsenal players we never heard of them until they became stars there, we need that mindset, not splashing 40 50 million just for the NAME or what u thought TOP PLAYERS! This is not FOOTBALL MANAGER for once gosh grow up be a matured fan for once
BELIEVE IN OUR TEAM! when will we stop being culprit to our team? yeah pointing fingers again, no its time to back KK & the management up instead of whi