There have been reports in the last day or two that Newcastle should be looking at the free agent market to sign somebody who can score goals for Newcastle this season, especially since it seems we could lose Siem de Jong for up to four months, with a torn groin muscle.
Jonas – former Valencia forward
Failing to sign a striker on the last day of the transfer Monday last Monday and then having Siem injured a few days later is a very good example of just how Murphy’s Law (often appropriately also called Sods Law) works – if something can go wrong it will and at the worst possible time – that’s one definition of it.
There have been reports that former Brazilian great Ronaldinho is available as a free agent. but he’s way past his best and already 34 years old.
But former Brazilian International Jonas is now a free agent after finishing his four year spell at Valencia, and the 6¨ tall Sao Paulo born Brazilian International can play as a forward or as an attacking midfielder.
In his four years at Valencia, which ended last season, he played 139 games with 51 goals, and just last season he scored 10 goals in just 22 appearances for the Spanish club.
That’s not too bad a goalscoring record right there.
Jonas turned 30 on April Fool’s day, so he’s still relatively young, and probably would love to give the Premier League a go.
Like most Brazilians (at least of old) he’s a skillful player – not unlike Siem de Jong – and surely he would be a decent acquisition for us on a two year deal – or even a one year deal that can be extended if he does well.
But from what we’ve seen so far this season, we don’t exactly have a lot of prolific goalscorers in the side, and probably our best goalscorer is now out for four months.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
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239 comments so far
Slank
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:42 PM
Comment #1REPOST
89Slank // Sep 5, 2014 at 12:41 PM
Lev
Mash Holdings is wholly owned by Mike Ashley 100%.
The accounts to April 2013 show a profit of £256 million before tax.
Newcastle United is listed as a net liability even though it recorded a turnover of £102 million.
I believe Mash Holdings have a big holding in Debenhams and just recently in House of Fraser which is now Chinese.
I believe a reason for keeping the debt in Newcastle United / Mash Holdings is an accounting one.
Belfast
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:43 PM
Comment #2The last day of the transfer window was about trimming the wage bill it seems. So I can’t see them being interested in any free agents that would add to the wage bill.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:44 PM
Comment #3We will not even looking for any players. We have already named our squad.
John Toon Doe
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:44 PM
Comment #4Sorry Ed, but this is very unlikely
jayphoto
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:47 PM
Comment #5Jonas is a decent player but pretty sure Sunderland tried to take him and it fell through because he wants to go back to Brazil?
Slank
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:49 PM
Comment #6Jayphoto
Brazil ? Argentina me thinks.
Slank
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:51 PM
Comment #7Jayphoto
Got me Jonas’s mixed up. Yes Brazil.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:52 PM
Comment #8http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Gon%C3%A7alves_Oliveira
Deffo brazilian
check the toastie
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:53 PM
Comment #9Just got rid of one shite Jonas, now Ed wants us to get another. Get a Grip. Signings are irrelevent whilst The Moron is in charge.
WE ARE DOOMED……..
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:54 PM
Comment #10I hate it when my Jonas’ get crossed.
martoon
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:55 PM
Comment #11Markaccus @3 – I thought you could change your 25 man squad as long as you stayed within the HG rules etc. or is that not the case?
The other night we were looking at out of contract defenders – Zat Knight is available – no worse than Saylor in my opinion!
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:55 PM
Comment #12Check
We haven’t got rid of the other one. He is named in the squad.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 12:58 PM
Comment #13Martoon
Not sure about that one tbh. So you might be right.
On Zat Knight. Cant be worse that taylor like you say. Probably better. Gutz out, Zat in.
Slank
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Comment #14Markaccus @ 10
Yes it’s horrible when they get mixed up, makes the eyes water !
LewSpi v2.0
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Comment #15Ibiza
Nice to see you’re still around and keeping an eye on the Toon. Hope the white isle is treating you well.
Just had a busy year or two mate, also got fed up of the ‘1st’ comments and such which seemed to be a massive rave at one point, still keep up with and massively appreciate Ed’s articles, but keeping up with the threads is like a full time thing that I haven’t had time for unfortunately.
davetoon
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:10 PM
Comment #16@Slank. So the incorporated body that owns Newcastle also owns other assets?
Interesting theory about the debt. maybe Newcastle is giving cash loans to Ashley’s other businesses.
nut meg
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:10 PM
Comment #17Off topic but just looked at some beautiful photos of last nights celebrations of the great north run.Outstanding ! The Tyne bridge all lit up gave an overseas owld codger like me a great big lift & made me forget about the footie for a couple of minutes.
nut meg
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:13 PM
Comment #18If anyone is interested.
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/29-stunning-pictures-great-north-7724392
richyg01
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:17 PM
Comment #19Loan signings would be pointless, as the squad lists can only be changed during a transfer window cant they??
Slank
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:22 PM
Comment #20Davetoon
Yes, it is Mash Holdings that have shares in Sports Direct from which most of the income comes from.
NUFC is but one of a few holdings in the Mash portfolio.
Newcastle United I believe doesn’t add much to the overall bottom line of Mash Holdings. I believe NUFC is self financing and doesn’t borrow or lend. For a modest fee Companies House would know as they have the audited accounts.
I find it quite funny all these Jocks complaining about Ashley buying a £1 stake in Glasgow Rangers but not complaining because they don’t know that he is a part owner of the Chinese owned very Scottish House of Fraser. Also all these fans saying that they will boycott Sports Direct but shop in Debenhams where he is also a big shareholder !
DokToon
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:29 PM
Comment #21gmorning all,
belfast, unlike you, alot here are first time readers and long time posters lol 🙂
Mr Magpie
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:32 PM
Comment #22Slank
Sorry i did reply to you @92 on previous thread but i am not on my computer & my phone is not letting me repost.
Our Toon
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:36 PM
Comment #23We are the geordies the geordie accountants
davetoon
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:50 PM
Comment #24So Mash Holdings own Newcastle and his Sports Direct shares? I wouldve thought he would separate Newcastle by another holding company but I guess nothing will ever go wrong cos Newcastle is cash rich
MAUTITOON
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:55 PM
Comment #25well,could this be THE BEN ARFA’S CURSE?Might well be.stripped of the number 10 shirt,isolated in the reserve team,blamed for most of the club’s bad result and eventually chased out of this club.Beware Mr PARDIEU.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:56 PM
Comment #26Sing during Audit.You only sing during Audit, sing during aauuudit, you only sing during aaauuudit.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:57 PM
Comment #27We’re here, we’re pure, our finance is secure, Newcastle. Newcastle.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 1:58 PM
Comment #28Ooohhhhh me lads, ya shud a seen us counting
fiscally sound and sensible, our bank ballance is mounting.
Our Toon
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:06 PM
Comment #29Markaccus
That’s funny mate ahahahaha…seriously though why on earth are we the only fans that continuously bank on about finances?
G
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:06 PM
Comment #30If we are signing freebie past their sell by date Brazilians, I would rather they went for Nilmar. At least he can juggle with his feet.
jimmysmith
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:11 PM
Comment #31So a sustainable football club, fine. But why does that mean we can’t have a decent squad and coaching set up in the mean time. Why not exactly, other than the owners a bit cheap.
LewSpi v2.0
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:15 PM
Comment #32Hahaha Markaccus they had me howling there.
jimmysmith
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:22 PM
Comment #33So we have to endure austerity on the pitch and pay the highest ticket prices of any domestic league in the world, to an owner who is already obscenely rich, because it’s his wealth and his club to do what he wants with. That’s about it isn’t it. Ashley could quite comfortably sort the club out in the short term and the long, without hardly noticing, but won’t. God only knows why not.
DokToon
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:23 PM
Comment #34our toon,
its simple, we make money, and dont spend to improve our squad.. if we were spending to actually improve our club, no one would be so focused on it…
Slank
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:29 PM
Comment #35Mr Magpie @ 22
Just gone back and read your comments, which I missed first time, apologies.
I doubt the TV money has disappeared. It will be revealed, I’m sure, in the 2014 / 2015 set of accounts. The club I believe runs on a very tight budget and there isn’t a lot of cash around. Fans make simple calculations based on assumptions of transfer fees received and paid out. It’s not as simple as that. There are a lot of costs involved which don’t make the headlines. I believe the club still need to sell players, although probably less so now with the TV money, to make ends meet.
I don’t think Sports Direct would be allowed to pay Mash Holdings for advertising their product on a company wholly owned by Mash Holdings when the major shareholder of Sports Direct is the same person who owns Mash Holdings. The City and the other shareholders, some of whom are union pension funds, wouldn’t stand for it, and rightly so.
jimmysmith
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:34 PM
Comment #36We’re 25 million quids worth of centre back and centre forward away from lifting the profile of the club and the owners company immeasurably, while the club has 80 million in the bank and plans well in place to wipe its own nose as a matter of course, and the owner has a personal wealth of over 3 billion, and we’ve decided to go with what we’ve got. Just so I’m clear.
Markaccus
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:41 PM
Comment #37Our toon
Honestly don’t know, mate. It’s all very well saying “surely we could have spent more”, but when people go into deep analysis it starts to irritate. Mind, maybe the finances are more entertaining than the football 😀
jimmysmith
Sep 5, 2014 at 2:49 PM
Comment #38Just done a bit of math. That’s less than .75% of his personal stash that he wouldn’t be so much as spending, but shifting from one place to another. Less really, or nothing at all, if he simply decided to use the telly money and perhaps delay this “sustainability” crusade of his a season.
Ciaran
Sep 5, 2014 at 3:02 PM
Comment #39SDJ out for 4 months? Well luckily we have invested in squad depth and squad building so as to cover inevitable injuries to the first team…
More players have left the club this summer than we’ve brought in. We are weaker not only numerically, but also in terms of quality to the squad that started last season.
On top of that, many of the clubs around us have strengthened significantly and if they can get their teams to gel – Stoke, Swansea, West Ham, Hull, Southampton etc then we could easily see ourselves struggle to finish inside the top half of the table.
I still think we will have enough about us to finish 9th/10th, but we will also see a number of poor displays, some thrashings and excuse after excuse as to why we’re not winning those winnable games (we the fans are now to blame, add that to the list of science, the wind et al) so it will be another frustrating season I’m afraid.
Go toon gooooo
Sep 5, 2014 at 3:06 PM
Comment #40Parde,go for Mark Vidooka.He is retired free agent.Go.And by the way Rolandao is better option than some examples in Newcastle.And BTW relegation team was better than this sterile team now.Good luck for Debuchy,Ba,Cabaye,Remy,Ben Arfa.Newcastle United AGAIN starting from zero.Congratulations.Even Roberto Di Matteo probably can’t repair this team now.