We weren’t doing too well in our search for new strikers this summer, and still haven’t signed a senior player in the transfer market, but the very last thing we wanted to see was for Papiss Cisse to leave the club over the Wonga problem.
Papiss Cisse – Wonga rips off poor people
Papiss has missed the Newcastle tour of Portugal, as he was not included in the squad that left yesterday, and now there are various reports that Cisse could leave Newcastle, and we have to think that’s because Wonga are demanding he wear their insignia on his shirt.
It would appear they will not let him wear a plain shirt or one with a Charity insignia on it.
And now even the Evening Chronicle, which usually takes a decent measured approach to the news, is saying Cisse could now leave Newcastle.
The news is that Cisse was all ready to leave with the squad yesterday, until he was informed he would not be traveling unless he agreed to wear the Wonga insignia – so it looks like Wonga is starting to call the shots at Newcastle – which is ridiculous.
This is the very last problem Newcastle wanted this summer, and it looks like Wonga is playing hard ball on the Cisse problem.
And news for the first time that Cisse didn’t object to the Virgin Money logo because he though they were a good and decent company, and well run by Richard Branson.
But he feels Wonga exploit poor people – which is essentially what they do – with those sky-high interest rates.
This is what a friend told the Evening Chronicle today:
“Papiss wanted to go to Portugal. His bag was packed and he was ready to leave.” “Papiss loves the club, the fans and the city. He just wants the situation resolved.
“He simply feels that this is against his religion.”
Wonga’s agreement with Newcastle is that every player must wear the logo on their kit, and that’s not a good deal for Newcastle, because of Cisse’s unwillingness to wear the logo.
Some will say Cisse has caused this problem, but we don’t agree.
It was Newcastle doing a deal with a company like Wonga, who let’s face it – do rip off poor people – that’s the truth, and for the club to get mixed up with a company like Wonga does the image of Newcastle United no good at all.
What do you think?
Please keep your comments civil on this site, we’ve had a lot of complaints about unwanted racial comments recently – thanks.
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40 comments so far
jeff
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:39 AM
Comment #1my friend in the know said theres much more to this cisse debacle that what has been shown on the surface
he said cisse had a disagreement with pardew over the phone.and he would email me more details.keep you guys posted
#Connections
Sydney Toon
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:40 AM
Comment #2ToonDanno has already said that Cisse is fasting and is still not fit enough and will join the squad on Saturday.
jeff
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:40 AM
Comment #3Ed, I doubt you have any idea what Cisse is thinking. No offense.
Sydney Toon
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:43 AM
Comment #4We will always have an unfit Cisse at the start to every season because he is fasting. I think Pardew is giving him time to stay strong in Newcastle rather than trekking to Portugal in the heat. Maybe it is the new fitness coach that has asked him to stay.
Toon_Tom
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Comment #5Jeff – I doubt you are indian or have connections at Newcastle. No offense
jimmysmith
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Comment #6Well, if I was playing for Newcastle I wouldn’t be too cuffed about pulling on that new jersey aesthetic as it is or otherwise and I’m agnostic. I’m not really sure what religion has to do with it . They simply are an intolerable company to endorse, Yet Cisse is the only one acting out.
Harley
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:49 AM
Comment #7Oh I see. Cisse has extensive financial knowledge of all of the ins and outs of virgin money and has come to the conclusion that they have never given out a loan to someone who couldn’t really afford it. Or charged sky high penalties when said person defaulted on it or chased people for payments when they’ve fallen on hard times and got debt collectors involved!
What a stand up guy this multi millionaire is. He can rest easy as he knows that all of the money in his bank has come from the 50,000 fans who are all very well off and have money to burn.
He’s a hypocrite (if this is true, which it now sounds like it is).
jimmysmith
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:50 AM
Comment #8Ashley is an prize Ahole for putting the players and club in this demoralising position.
spitfire_
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:50 AM
Comment #9“Papiss wanted to go to Portugal. His bag was packed and he was ready to leave.”
What this mean? Cisse was expecting just for one day to be resolve the wonga problem and to fly with the team to Portugal? Why packed his bags… the wonga deal was signed months ago.
Btw isn’t against the religion to put your money in the bank and to take interest? I suppose that Cisse’s money isn’t in the bank… it’s in the vault or in the jars under his bed. And how the club pay him? On cash i guess… not.
jeff
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:53 AM
Comment #10ill post the email here for convenience
“Sup Jeff.
Hows your Dad bro? He still going strong? I imagine moving from Gateshead to Achabbal must have been tough for him, although it is all in the past now.
Anyway, Larry was talking to Claire (AP’s receptionist) and Claire said she overheard Pardew having a fierce argument with whoever he was on the line to (who she later worked out was Cisse or his agent..). The gist of it was about position and how Pardew has come out into the public saying we need a top striker when we already have one. Cisse apparently does not want to play up top with another striker as he will be shafted to RW and sees any signing as replacing him. Thats all she could gather.
Anyway, hows school bro? ” the rest is a bit personal i will leave it out.
there u go guys,straight from the horse mouth
sparky55
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:53 AM
Comment #11Lads…why else would we be looking at buy multiple strikers with campbell and shola and gouffy already in the squad.
They’re after 2 strikers because they know Cisse is going.
2 Purples down and 1 to go.
But don’t worry lads…plenty to come in…we’ll have a bigger squad by the end of the summer but not quite as much quality…but looking at all clubs outside the top 6 that’s all we need to be honest…a much more competitive squad playing a different brand of football and we’ll be top 8 easy.
JFK junior
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:54 AM
Comment #12Ed – That source was a ‘friend’ if papiss???!
Come on man, all you are doing is fueling the fire.
You have know idea what is going on, just like the rest of us.
So bored with this wonga talk. And people go on and on about the Apr, think you need to remember that wonga is a borrowing facility and is paid back in weeks rather than months or years. The interest is based on a yearly rise, which makes it seem more.
End of the day, if you KNOW you won’t be able to pay it back, dont borrow it.
Dannyo
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:55 AM
Comment #13This is very the “responsibility for your own life” comes in.
“McDonalds makes me fatter, let’s go after them.”
These companies wouldn’t see the light of day if people used their brains.
But no, let’s take the easy way out, blaming those who makes things easily available to me.
Jesus Christ, I swear people are getting dumber by the second.
I use credit companies, a couple of them, it’s THEIR fault that I do it? Despite me knowing it’s a bad thing?
Madness what people put the blame on, madness. This isn’t bleeding America! (no offense intended)
izzyb1991
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:55 AM
Comment #14I used to come onto this blog for light browsing, a bit of a laugh at the comments, checking out what the club is up to but it’s all changed now. It’s actually a chore to find useful comments because its all so negative. If it isn’t Pardew out, it’s Kinnear or Cisse or no signings jeeeeez. I really enjoyed it the other day when on one of the threads people started listing top strikers at the club and all time best formations etc with no stress and that’s how the blog used to be and how it should be. If we’re always talking about the negatives, the whole atmosphere is negative and the blog is very dull. I know I’m no contributor here but for my sake, make your banter more fun so I can enjoy reading the blog again. If you won’t do it for you, do it for me- a stranger you’ve never met. Ha!
Seriouslyighten
izzyb1991
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:56 AM
Comment #15*Seriously lets lighten up. We support a great club and you know what. We’re going to have a cracking season. Just you wait.
Jail for Ashley
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:56 AM
Comment #16Conflicting stories, BBC and Mick Lowes saying Cisse has pulled out of tour NUFC.com saying he’s been told to stay at home.
MysteriousStranger
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:56 AM
Comment #17Well thats a conveniant statement his and every other footballers wages rip off poor people! Poor people still have to fork out ridiculous money to see a match.
Whilst I’m all for people having morals and such this blog sounds like there are a lot of morals of convenience. WONGA are no worse than any other bank or money lending facility – house buying, car buying, credit cards etc the rates are discrimitaive against your credit history. I really feel no indifference towards Wonga does getting your house repossessed not rip off poor people. Do his performances last season and his inability to stay onside not rip off poor people who went to see games.
jeff
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:58 AM
Comment #18ps this article is unbelievably bad and grossly misinformed
sparky55
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:59 AM
Comment #19He’s not going because of Wonga…he’s using wonga as the excuse…he’s going because he knows he’ll be isolated all year playing the rubbish brand of football Pardew plays…all of this unrest is down to Pardew and they way he wants to play football.
You could see it on Cabayes face when he left the field every saturday and you could see it on Cisse’s face too…they are royally p!ssed of and want to play in a team that plays football the way everyone else does…it’s only Pardew and Allardyce play football they way they do…everyone else has changed with the times…it’s pathetic!
jimmysmith
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:00 AM
Comment #20@14 and 15 Little Miss Sunshine.
AndyNUFC
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:00 AM
Comment #21Jeff, just stop, you’re just a nuisance.
Anyway have people seen the line on NUFC.com? Says that this has been reported way back – but before the story came out Cisse wants more money on his contract first.
Don’t get me wrong, I think we need to keep Cisse – but he’s 28, and when Nolan done the same thing we turned a corner for the better… Having said that I would love Barton, Nolan & Carroll back! Even Leon Best!
Dannyo
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:00 AM
Comment #22We might as well starting blaming guns for killing people, and not people.
croftus5678
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:02 AM
Comment #23wonga does not rip off poor people as people make there own choices and could easily go to virgin money or barclays ect instead !
it does not pressure people into taking the money or come knocking at your door ! it simply say’s that if no one else will give you the money you need desperatly and there is no possibility you can wait for it i will lend you some but i want a lot back or you can “wait” to get the money some other way !
Keith in France
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:03 AM
Comment #24It’s a load of tosh to think Cisse was ok about wearing the Virgin Money logo because he thought they were a decent company – they make a profit by lending money with interest -just like Wonga.
Granted not so high interest rates but the principle is the same.
Jail for Ashley
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:05 AM
Comment #25Had we have shown some intent this summer we would not be bickerkng over the morality of payday lenders.
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:06 AM
Comment #26Jeff
Why would ask about your dad, you said you’ve never met him!!!
Bro
Your about as Indian as the NFL and about as connected to NUFC as Niall Quinn
Spotlight Kid
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:06 AM
Comment #27Ed, I note your change in viewpoint on Wonga (from being no different to Virgin a few days ago) to a rip off merchant which callously and mercilessly targets people who have fallen foul of current hard times – it is a very welcome one.
I applaud and support you for it, and I hope marks a more principled stand on this blog and among supporters as a whole. This club will never be a great club again if it allows the famous shirt to be pimped to loan shark shysters.
This issue marks a line in the sand for many, I suspect, and along with the appointment of JFK points fairly and squarely at the person who makes them….
Mr Cisse, you are a true star, and a true Geordie – and your courage is such a contrast to the work shy leeches who have bled this club dry over the years. Your lone stand puts fans and players alike to shame.
jimmysmith
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:06 AM
Comment #28Croftus, in other words preying on the desperate, weak and needy. They’re complete rubbish and we endorse them. It’s terrible, but hey, it’s a shitty old world, so there you go.
Clematis
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Comment #29Jeff = mackem troll.
Krul To Be Kind
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:12 AM
Comment #30TADS @ 26
I’ve not posted for a while but the above mentioned post really did make me chuckle!
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Comment #31KTBK
🙂
Spotlight Kid
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:16 AM
Comment #32Dannyo – it’s either called enforced choice or addiction, ditto drug pushers. The market is skewed, but owned by the same rich toff boys that are in government (Lord Beecroft for example).
Likewise guns don’t kill people, but neither could idiot psychopaths if these guns weren’t available. Food wouldn’t make people fat if there was a government standard on what allowable as being called ‘food’. A salt and fat levy, perhaps? Edibility does not equal nourishment.
And even the freedom loving US of A has outlawed payday loan companies in many states.
bigiisdamana
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:24 AM
Comment #33@Harley and others – Am I the only one confused that people are saying cisse is a hypocryte by happily wearing virgin but not wonga? They are in the same industry (money lending) but couldn’t be more polar. Anyone who thinks wonga’s legit – do you think its unfair to illegalise loan sharking? Leaving violence aside (wonga have the ability to destroy lives in other ways; repossession etc) it is very difficult to find much difference. I’m sure I’m not the only (non-muslim) fan who isn’t comfortable advertsing wonga on myself…
oldbobaycliffe
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #34i wonder where cisse will play next surely not for a leaque where the tv is shown by either sky or commercial tv.as they get their revenue from wonga and every loan company going..
Tayls
Jul 18, 2013 at 10:03 AM
Comment #35I do think Cisse will be being left behind because of ramadan. Makes more sense really. Hope he stays only class striker we have 🙁
JP...from The Rock
Jul 18, 2013 at 11:09 AM
Comment #36yawn….this has to be the most boring transfer window ever. And who said it will be an exciting time for us fans this summer? BORING!!!
Cisse grow up! You earn thousands a week, we are the poor people that should complain about Wonga as we would have to use their help, you on the other hand a filthy rich and coming out looking like a prick!
Greebol1892
Jul 18, 2013 at 11:21 AM
Comment #37100% SMOKESCREEN.
He wants out – simple as. Same as Cabaye, just too frustrated with the manager’s lack of ability/nous/tactics.
No.23 will be 1st choice cos AP will not let him go.
£10m from Cisse goes straight into coffers & all is rosy cos we have Campbell & Gouffran as back-up. Even though signing a striker should be no1 priority, we will probably only sign De Jong in reality.
It does not take THIS LONG to sign a striker if we are serious about it. Although I do seem to remember signing a certain Sir Lesley Ferdinand at the last minute……..
NE16 Geordie
Jul 18, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Comment #38Sorry to be controversial but I disagree that WONGA rip poor pepole off. Everyone knows that high interest rates are charged by payday loan companies, its about managing risks, if these people can not get credit anywhere else that is because they are generally a bad risk and the chances are they will be far more likely to defaulult on their repayments. Yes, WONGA make money from charging high interest rates but they also run a much higher risk of getting nothing back and if they charged a standard rate they would not be able to keep doing their business.
These companies exist because there is a demand for them, if there was not they would not be there, in my mind they are far preferable to loan sharks who not only charge rediculous interest rates but will also hapily kneecap you if you miss a payment.
People have a choice, either use WONGA and other payday lenders or don’t, if you choose to do so then you also choose to accept the higher interest rates charged by these companies. Cisse also has a choice, he can either agree to wear the shirt with sponorship or can ask to be allowed to wear a shirt without the sponsorship. If agreement can’t be reached then we will regretably have to sel;l him and replace him with a player who will, simples.
Chrism
Jul 18, 2013 at 1:10 PM
Comment #39Rumours of £200,000 a week apparently being touted by Anzhi have everything to do with this. Its rumoured in the Russian press that this is pretty much a done deal, its just the small fact that NUFC havent been consulted yet.
magpiedom
Jul 18, 2013 at 1:43 PM
Comment #40Hello Ed,
I followed your blog for many years but don’t post often.
One gripe I’ve always had is it’s hard to tell what your sources are. E.g. who/when/where?
Does Cisse REALLY think Wonga “rips people off”? Or is this your interpretation on other facts? I know it’s a blog but I agree that without proper sources this serves only but to fuel the fire!
Please try to give more accurate sources because I just read some of these articles and dismiss it as pure tosh, which is a shame because I really do enjoy following what’s going on at NUFC, but what’s the point if the balance of the reporting is skewed too far towards opinion, than fact?
In my view, Wonga offers a valid, up-front service to a particular segment of the market who need lump sums of cash quickly. Wonga makes the interest rates are clear and if someone is stupid enough to not be able to calculate whether or not they can afford to repay it, then bully for them. I found I needed the service earlier in the year when I got hit by an unexpected tax bill and if I hadn’t have had this type of service (I used a competitor or Wonga), I can tell you not I would have been absolutely screwed. However I knew it was short term, I knew the cost, and I knew I could afford it. It’s not like they’re an arms dealer, or equivalent!
How many shady goings on do you think Virgin and the other banks have going on in the background? Just because you don’t see it in the media doesn’t make them any more “moral”. I think it’s just plain naive.
If this whole Wonga thing really is at the heart of Cisse’s omission from the squad then this is a real shame, and although we can’t force Cisse to play and wear the logo, that doesn’t make him right, nor similarly us right. It’s a serious disagreement and if it can’t be resolved, sell him, as this is severely affecting our ability to compete as a a full strength squad, and at the end of the day, that’s what really matters.