Newcastle manager Kinnear will have a meeting with Managing Director Derek Llambias and Director of Football Dennis Wise today, for an update on the club’s progress in the transfer market.
Derek Llambias – Managing Director at Newcastle
Let’s hope this meeting goes well, and that we are making progress with some of our transfer targets, because it’s clear we need to strengthen the squad, if Mike Ashley is to have a Premier League team to sell in the summer, and not a Championship one.
Joe talked to the Newcastle Journal today:
“It’s a meeting I’m looking forward to because I need to know where we stand in terms of finances,” “If I can, I’m going to strengthen in every single area of the team. If the finances are available that is what I want to do because I think Saturday highlighted how badly we need to bring in new players.”
“I won’t need to argue my case, they can see for themselves how badly we need to add to the squad. We are down to the bare bones and, although the spirit is there, and we are fighting every time we go out on the pitch, we can’t afford to have so many players playing out of position.”
Of course, the absence of an experienced central midfielder on the subs bench on Saturday cost us dearly in the second half, and Joe changed the side around with Beye on the right wing, Steven Taylor at right back and Gutierrez asked to play in the center of midfield.
But that was 3 players playing out of position, and Joe took some stick for that, but whatever he did, it wasn’t going to be good.
Joe is happy with the effort he got from his players, and he cannot fault them for that, as he continued:
“I can’t fault the players for their determination and they have given me 110% since I came to the club, but we had center-backs playing all over the pitch and that is far from ideal,” “We didn’t have any option, we haven’t got any midfielders fit other than those who are in the youth team so my hands were tied really.”
“We haven’t had any luck with injuries. I can’t believe that I’ve lost all four of my central midfielders, as well as Damien Duff, Shola Ameobi and Alan Smith, at the same time. It’s not something I’ve ever experienced before, but we just have to get on with it and do the best we can.”
” It was definitely a case of two points dropped against Stoke, but it’s also another point towards safety and, despite all the injuries, we didn’t lose the game.”
Welcome to Newcastle, but that also points to the Newcastle injury problems, and for whatever reason we always seem to have more injuries than other teams, and we’re sure it’s got to have something to do with the training pitches, or else it’s just a spell on the team.
Let’s go with the pitches for now. 😀
We should get to know in detail tomorrow, what happened at the meeting today, because Joe is almost as good at communicating what’s going on as Kevin was.
And we think Joe knows the fans are starved of news on what’s happening at the club, and the Irishman is doing his best to tell the fans at least everything he knows, and probably too much, but we think that’s very good.
Comments welcome.
64 comments so far
selly no skill
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Comment #1thet arnt gonna come out and say we have 25 mill to spend are they ed.we really are naive sometimes.lets wait and see and at the end of jan we will know for sure how serious cashley is.and remember,hardly anyone signs decent players in jan unless you pay top whack because sensible clubs dont sell good players half way thru a season.FACT
lesh
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Comment #2Let’s hope they listen, hear and act to support Joe, the players, the fans and of course, Ashley’s investment!
Ian
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Comment #3Ashley now has everything to lose, maybe at last he realises it, but I am not holding my breath.
The board has got him in to this financial mess and they are still there, more the fool him.
I am with ‘selly no skill’ I will see at the end of January, not even going to waste one minute thinking about it.
wilko
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Comment #4what about getting the contracts sorted out of important players, when’s that going to happen ??
wsq
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Comment #5the same thing is going to happen like in the summer.
craig chisholm
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Comment #6ashley is a cock and so are all his men – jk, wise and lamiarse. they cant even offer the guys contracts who are already here let alone get any more in ffs. if you take the previous 3 windows as a blueprint (2 million total) i should think it would be accurate to say we will have less and worse players and that ashley will invest around 750 grand max.
Punk Skunk
Dec 9, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Comment #7Ref named for portsmouth clash: Michael mouse!..
beyethegreat
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Comment #8does any else get the feeling that this maraque is d wises signing
GraemeR
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:23 AM
Comment #9I cant see any top players coming in this window – I expect to see the high earners and those with a price on their head out.
Oba – 10 million
ExEMO – 2 million
Showme – 1 million
Butt – free
Harper – free in the summer
Viduka – free in the summer
Geremi – 1 million
Edgar – ?
Smith – 2 million
Raise somewhere in hte region of 20 million – lop 300k / week off the wage bill – making the losses for fatcash less as well as balancing the books.
In – expect a few youngsters or season long loans. Championship by Feb !!!
Unless of course fatcash gets off his arse and starts runnig the club like a business – instead of touting it about to all
Incognito
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Comment #10Who’s Derek Llambias?
nufckev
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Comment #11I ain’t holding my breath I like life too much
Marty-TOON RISING
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Comment #12Wake me up in February!!!!!
Not expecting much to happen in the Transfer market for us,WHO WILL WANT TO COME HERE?????????????????
The holey grail
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Comment #13The credit crunch is here, with recession on its way, so we are left with a reluctant owner. Other cheaper football clubs are up for sale, and not being sold. It is a buyer’s market, with Portsmouth, West Ham, Fulham, Everton and maybe even Liverpool up for sale. The sad fact is that there are no buyers.
It is by now well known that Ashley completed the purchase on Newcastle United quickly. Having been approached by Sir John Hall over his own shareholding, Ashley with a reputation for “parking his tanks” soon set about the removal of an apparently reluctant Freddy Shepherd.
Without apparently going through “due diligence”, he found the club’s finances in a parlous state to say the least. The club owns the stadium, but not the land it is built on, so it is questionable what the real value of the asset is. Loans taken out to build the stadium as later revealed by Shepherd, had a network of conditions attached to them.
Under the stewardship of Shepherd, the value of the club was in decline. At the time of the clubs flotation on the Stock Market, NUFC’s financial reports showed the club to have Net Assets of around £100m. Ashley bought the club before the accounts were published in 2007. Those accounts also show that a loss was made of over £30m, with Net Assets of MINUS £16.7m – technically insolvent.
One of the plus points of Ashley’s regime is that the bulk of the long term debt was wiped out. He could have done this in two ways, making the club indebted to Ashley, or converting to equity. Abramovic had reportedly taken the first of these two routes, leaving Chelsea at his whim whenever he chooses to leave. Ashley chose the 2nd route, saving the club an estimated £7.5m per year in interest payments.
Other debt was in the form of Trade Creditors. Suggestions emerged from rare reported conversations with Ashley and other sources, that much of that was in the form of transfer fees, spread over a period, and guaranteed by sponsorship revenues. This seemed to be a logical explanation of why high fees were agreed for the purchases of, for example Luque, Owen and Boumsong.
Ashley’s arrival came shortly after the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager. Big Sam had a reputation for building a team on a budget, as he had at Bolton, taking them into the UEFA Cup. Some transfer plans were already in place, with Ashley putting in the cash to follow them through.
We signed Barton, Abdoubale Faye, Alan Smith, Cacapa, Geremi, Viduka, and Rozenhal, all with an international pedigree and success at club level. Also signed was young Spanish defender Enrique. Gone seemed the days when we had swapped the retired Shearer for an ageing Man City reserve midfielder.
Optimism was high, new owner, new players and a manager who some thought had potential. Behind the scenes, player wages were high, being roughly twice what supporters paid at the turnstiles. Our best start to the season for years floundered, with a brand of football that sent insomniacs to sleep. Results were to follow with 2 wins and 4 draws from 14 games.
Then came the Ashley revolution. Sam was out, earning £8m for 8 months work. The funding for the payoff came from Ashley’s pocket. Apparently having shared the torture with the supporters on the terraces, he decided to bring back exciting football to St. James’. The catalyst for this was to be Kevin Keegan.
Keegan’s appointment raised eyebrows in many quarters. Here was a man who, by his own admission, had not seen a live football match for 3 years. During his previous stint, the football had been truly magnificent, earning a place at the top table in English football. He was also a man who had spent £60m in the transfer market, adding value to many players, but also scrapped the reserves.
Ashley had a 5 year plan, to develop the infrastructure and talent at the club. To allow his first team coach to coach, more appointments followed. Jeff Vetere, a scout with a CV that included Real Madrid was brought in to find talent, as was Dennis Wise with younger players. Llambias was brought in for direction with Tony Jimenez as a “fixer”.
The 5 year plan to emulate Arsenal was born. The Acadamy clearly has the most expensively assembled talent in Toon history, with Ranger, Baheng, Kadar, Tozer and Zamblera added to a crop of local talent. The Academy is undoubtedly a short term success, having lost twice in 13 games, and having won the last 7 consecutively.
The new structure allowed for developments within the club, as well as affording Keegan the opportunity to enjoy a family holiday whilst other managers were scouting at the European Championships. However, the blend of personalities developed into a recipe for disaster.
We still do knot know entirely what went on during the summer transfer window, and as we wait to hear the outcome of Keegan’s claim for “constructive dismissal”, we wonder if we may never know. Sympathy is with the manager, based on his earlier reputation and a series of apparently conjoined statements from the LMA.
We do understand that Keegan had run-ins with the board. Whilst Ashley was reported as wanting rid of Barton, Keegan stood by Joey, even though his presence may have interfered with bringing in some players. Keegan won that battle, but apparently not over other transfers.
Even though Ashley was away in New York, reportedly seeking to invest in the film industry, the events that unfolded were clearly laid at Ashley’s feet. Someone seems to have touted round Newcastle players on transfer deadline day, signing players Keegan didn’t seem to want. We do not know if this was with or without the owner’s approval.
Journalist Rob Beasley reported on 7th September: “Ironically, Keegan has no real animosity towards Ashley, who he believes has always treated him decently and been willing to listen. His anger is aimed directly at Jimenez, Wise and Llambias, in that order.”
There may be clues in what really went on, with Jimenez no longer at the club. The protests that followed were in front of only one of the board in the Directors’ Box, Chairman Derek Llambias. Was he left to face the music that he conducted? Dennis Wise has also been recently reported as on his way.
If Ashley is to stay, then things must change. The team needs investment. The reasons for a lack of success in recruiting need to be addressed. It seems funds would have been available for the likes of Modric, Scweinsteiger, Arda, Anton Ferdinand and others.
On balance, Ashley has been good for finances, and good for the Academy. We are not a Leeds and we have a future. He may have made other decisions for the right reasons, but with the wrong outcome. Let us hope he learns from any mistakes that were made, in future making the right appointments.
The supporters do not have to like the owner, but to get behind the team will want to know that he is acting in the best interests of the club. Even Sir John, who saved and rebuilt the club with Keegan, is resented in some quarters. Mr. Ashley, if you read this, please encourage your board to communicate. We can only get behind the club if we know what we are getting behind.
samthecat
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Comment #14What Joe is actually saying is that the pre-season transfer window was only half a job done-its basically a criticsm of the current owner and his minnions and that is not going to go down well.
Ashley must be afraid of us getting relegated and his investment halving. The same question remains though who has the final say in transfers.
Guinea Mag
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Comment #15MA has everything to lose if he doesn’t invest in this team as we may be a Championship team if we do not bring in a minimum of 4 established players into the squad.
The economic climate is not right to sell big organizatoions like Newcastle United, and MA is no fool and will likley hold on to Newcastle until the market improves before he sells. If we do go down (and we could based on the current injury problems and strength of squad) his assett will be worth possibly only 50% of todays value.
Message to MA;
Please forget Llambias and get yourself involved with the transfers and ensure we remain a PL side.
You need to discuss , negotiate and extend the contracts of certain current players so please do it as Llambias has proved his true value to you and Newcastle United…..
What about David Dein?
Xisco Stu
Dec 9, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Comment #16If MA really wants to get the price he’s asking then there are a few things he can do.
He can put up some money to bring in a few well-scouted players in a similar vein to Bassong. The money should be there from Milner’s transfer fee and using some of the money from the triple season ticket sales.
Then he could go and try and get good players signed up on pre-contracts to join in the summer when their current deals expire. I think Schweinstieger is one such player in that position who we have an outside chance of getting.
If he does this then any investor will be buying an actual team, and can focus on getting in the right coaching setup, rather then a side still badly needing some investment on top of that.
Llambias must go though.
Xisco Stu
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:01 PM
Comment #17Isn’t Dein a chairman of the company that has taken a major stake in Arsenal and effectively back on the Arsenal board now along with that bloke from the MLS?
LooneyToon
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Comment #18The Holey Grail…Impressive to type that in under 10 minutes whilst also being spot on my son….
Beezeri
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Comment #19“we had center-backs playing all over the pitch and that is far from ideal,” “We didn’t have any option, we haven’t got any midfielders fit ”
How about Lua-Lua, Doninger, Edgar etc?
Our younsgters are doing well and they are full of confidence at the moment but what’s the point of having them at the club if they’re never going to be given a chance to prove themselves?
I’m sure that giving a change for some of the promising youngsters is way much better option than playing for example veteran Cacapa out of position constantly as he clearly has proved that he’s well past it already and neither club nor the guy himself gets any benefit of that!
I’m not talking about players like Fatty Patty who was like 25 when he was finally given a chance but we all knew it he’s not gonna take it already…
It was exactly the same with Keegan! Only Roeder had balls to take some risk. Just look at Arsenal, Blackburn, Man City, West Ham etc…
LooneyToon
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Comment #20I have just clicked….
We alledge have 12 million to spend in Jan….
Coin from Milner
LooneyToon
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Comment #21Beezeri…
I am off to see the young uns play the neet…
Lets see if these boys can cut the mustard…
I know Lua Lua could….He absolutely tortured Gary Neville last year while playing for the reserves….
The holey grail
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Comment #22xisco stu — you are talking about investing in the team with milners money – they would have paid about quarter of the fee upfront and the rest in installments and remember the fee MAY go up to 12 million depending on preformance and things so no one knows how much we will get. and you cant spent money when you arnt 100% that it is going to come in. that is what fat fred done with northern rock sponsership money he got that all up front and spent it on owen.
Ashleys biggest problem is trying to balance the books when trying to sell and spending big money on big players wont nesiseraly help, look at modric at tottenham, kean at liverpool, berbatov at man u – all big money but will never see the return.
we will loan players as you pay minimal fee to get them and if they are crap you send them back and if they are good and wise does his job and we get first refusal o the sale then you will see a return becasue you know about them already ( but try agree price be4 , look at zaki at wigan)
LooneyToon
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Comment #23Holey Grail….
Are you Chris Mort….in disguise? lol…
good points again fella…
we should start a campaign to bring back the Mort!!!!
4rm the pearl of Africa
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Comment #24David Obua is not a LB,i would know,im Ugandan and we idolise him down here but he is a Left Winger,can play off the main striker and has a decent goal record.His last club,Kaizer Chiefs tried to play him at LB but he is just like Zoggs at LB,woeful. Besides i dont think he is ready for the prem league just yet.
The holey grail
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Comment #25i truely belive that ashleys vision has been lost in the mist that was kk, give him a chance at the end of the day, he has tried to sell and cant becasue as i said in my piece there are more attractive clubs around for sale. support NUFC as a club not just the playing staff. Things could be a whole load worse
JonnyNufc
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Comment #26Lots of good points Holey Grail.
I dont think anyone can deny Ashleys effect on our Academy…8 wins on the trot now.
Hes made a few mistakes but he DOES seem interested in the future of Newcastle.
The problem as everyone says has been his reluctance to invest any of his own money in making our squad bigger/stronger…instead of swapping player for player…looking for cheaper options.
This Gutierrez situation looks like its gonna come back on him also now.
Combine that with giving wise more power of transfers than he should have, and thats where all the problems lie. That and the claims that came out that anyone in the team was up for sale.
Ian
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:02 PM
Comment #27Dave Kitson’s move to Stoke is an absolute disaster, maybe we could do a deal with Kitson to us and possibly Smith the other way?
That way we strengthen our forwards and do not end up with an extra striker?
Xisco to Everton? Carroll out too. Keep Ameobi, he scores and he is cheap.
Duff moved to left back, sell Enrique buy a decent defender and an older seasoned central midfielder.
Before next Summer make a move to steal Cisse when Owen leaves in the Summer before he signs for another club.
michael12
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:03 PM
Comment #28I am not expecting a large sum but one that is prudent. We must understand that the current financial situation is not conducive for splashing the cash.
Even Chelsea will be selling to finance new spending.
Keep your excitement in order as you will only set yourself up to be disappointed.
TOON GOAT
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Comment #29Holey Grail – good points. Ashleys plan was always a good one. His main mistake was getting quitter Keegan in as manager, not realising that he would chuck it in (again) and that most (deluded) fans would blame everybody BUT keegan when he did!
Cyprus-Toon
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Comment #30Personally if I was JFK, I would have replaced Gutherie with Taylor & yes I know Taylor is CB not CM but it would have at least only been 1 player out of place instead of 3 & we all know that Taylor has a do or die attitude so I think he would have played well in that position…..
TOON GOAT
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:42 PM
Comment #31Oh, nad bet there won’t be any money available in January. Can’t blame Ashley now the fans hate him. If I were Ashley I’d say ‘f@ck’em they don’t want me, I’m selling. Why should I shell out if I can get away without doing so? The only reason he might is to protect his investment, but you can bet your arse he wont if he doesn’t have to. AND ITS ALL THE FAULT OF THE IDIOTS WHO COULN’T RECOGNISE WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO!!!
AndyNUFC
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Comment #32Yep, Schweinsteiger’s contract is up in the summer. How’s about we rotate Jonas, Zog and Schweinsteiger between the wings and attacking midfielder? That would be an amazing attack we’d have, with no lack of creativity at all. I say we sign Owen, get a new target man, a really good attacking midfielder, a defensive midfielder, a left back (Riise?) and maybe a CB who can play defensive midfield.
JonnyNufc
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:55 PM
Comment #33Toon your being just as biased as everyone else.
Only yours is towards Ashley.
You’re deluding yourself if you think hes been perfect….he lied about Keegans position on transfer directly to him. He has made a LOT of mistakes..and brought a lot of this on himself.
And i agree that Ashley has done good for the club. But why do people like you have to pretend people are angels.
The reality to MOST situations you’ll find is that BOTH SIDES made bad choices/
JonnyNufc
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Comment #34yeah andy, lets just get in Mourinho as manager while we’re there eh lol
bowburnmag
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:11 PM
Comment #35Great piece by the holey grail. Read something very similar on http://www.rivals. net incidentally…… Canny bit of a plagiarism perhaps? Either way, some valid points.
The holey grail
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Comment #36johnny nufc – its the fact that every one jumped to the side of keegan when the preferbial hit the fan is why people like myself feel i have to defend ashley. he has made mistake but who hasent in life, he has had the balls to stick with his decisions rightly or wrongly. , people hate ashley just through the fact kk walked out and they belive what they here in the SOUTHERN PRESS (they just want to kill our club dont belive them 1 bit). . . . talk about having the blinkers on, see what is infromt of you, a big club in a crisis where by EVERYONE should unite for the good of the club, not personal vendeters.
SUMMARY FOR ALL NUFC FANS MA CANT SELL THE CLUB FULL STOP!! STOP WAISTING YOUR TIME AND ENERGY MONING ABOUT THINGS AND SUPPORT YOUR NUFC. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT MITE HAPPEN ITS GOING TO DO MORE GOOD THEN BAD
TOON GOAT
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:18 PM
Comment #37Jonny NUFC – Absolutely right – Ashley HAS made mistakes. Poor communication, poor Chairman after Mort left , but I still maintain that his overall strategy was correct for the long term future of the club. Just a pity about the execution of that plan, and I repeat, his biggest mistake was bringing back a petulant bottling has been, who when one dispassionately examines his record never won f’ck all except a couple of promotions earned after splashing so much cash he couldn’t NOT get promoted!
bowburnmag
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Comment #38I appreciate KK has not come out of this smelling of roses and has his faults but considering recent history, some people have short memories and long necks.
chuck
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Comment #39Apart from the financial info which I was unaware of I agree wholehartedly with HOLY GRAIL.
But it`s mostly history at this stage.
There seems to be a certain lethargy among fans,
probably as a result of all the s**t that`s gone down over the las six months, but the fact is the club is in deep s**t, we can`t even beat the lower level clubs at home, never mind the top teams.
At present placed one position above relegation.
If this team is not strengthened soon we may be playing Leeds , Cristal Palace etc. next season.
That being the case Mr Ashley would be lucky to get a quarter of the present value.
It does`nt take a genius to figure invest or perish.
lesh
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:32 PM
Comment #40Irrelevant where The holey grail’s missive came from, it hits the spot and askes some questions. Could those questions be clues about Ashley’s plans and a clear out of those involved in the KK fiasco?
In the US investing in the film industry eh? Unbeknown to him, Ashely may have by neglect, laid down the plot for another Monty Python film!