Aimar snub is no surprise

Anonymous wrote...

very very dissapointed. i swear. (toon fans)

Posted by: Anonymous  | July 17, 2008 10:23 AM

tonny wrote...

I have heard from a colleague who works occasionaly for newcastle that they are arranging a press conference for monday or tuesday for some big news regarding the club. He wouldnt say what it was but said it wasnt a signing. Is kk walking? is the club for sale? I am meeting him for a few beers and lunch at 12 so will hopefully be able to get some proper info from him.

Posted by: tonny  | July 17, 2008 10:26 AM

Adam Knox wrote...

I agree with you Lee, it is no surprise. However one thing that is both surprising and alarming is our next wages policy. I understand and agree that our wages were simply too high. However, a source of mine who revealed the Aimar 'move' well before the media did, has told me that we missed out on Modric, Imler and now Aimar due to wages. We would not budge on personal terms for any of them.

Now, if Aimar always had his heart set on Benfica, then that's fine but Benfica are hardly a rich club, so I doubt they're offering Aimar 'Galactico' money. This of course raises the question; surely we can compete with Benfica for wages?

Above all, yes a tough line on wages needs to be taken, however we don’t want to be seen to be cutting our nose off to spite our face. From last season’s already small squad, we have lost a further 6 while gaining two. We need at least a centre back, a full back for cover (if not two) and a creative central midfielder. I understand there are clubs in a better place to attract players i.e. Europe and performance related but, Mr Ashley, how do you expect us to do better in the league (and therefore attract better players) if we can afford to buy any players as it is?

Even Steve Harper voiced his concerns today...

Pull your finger and cheque book out Ashley... before it's too late.

Posted by: Adam Knox  | July 17, 2008 10:49 AM

Michael Oneil wrote...

I'm gutted about Amiar because we could have had could have had one of most creative midfield players in the world. I totally disagree with your defeatist views as to why he did not sign. If you read the Mirror, it is obvious that the deal broke down because of personal terms offered by our intrepid trio in London (Wise et al.) Amiar's deal with Benfica - just announced - is 6 million pounds over 4 years..i.e. 29,000/week - less than Steven Taylor.

Tell me... what on earth is going on at Newcastle? Oh..excuse me... I forgot myself, I guess that has to remain "one of football's great mysteries" and so I doubt that we will ever find the answer on these pages - eve though I thought that was what journalists were meant to do..uncover the truth..but maybe that is just a to uncomfortable thing to have to do.....

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 17, 2008 11:08 AM

Lee C wrote...

Hi Lee,

Well altho i am somewhat dissapointed i would still rather have a player who would be fully committed no matter what potential they may or may not have, besides he was ment to have that but never fully lived up 2 it and how old he is well was big gamble with hindsight i think.

Yes may have had odd good spells but think we have done that way to often with past transfers so perhaps this will be blessing in disguse. Anyhow i still think we will get players in as is obvious we need a few more faces and in KK i trust as well we know how much he loves the toon and well he done ok last time didnt he ;).Just think we should all be patent and see what transpires think we may be pleasently suprised.

Best wishes Lee C

Posted by: Lee C  | July 17, 2008 11:23 AM

Michael Oneil wrote...

Do you only publish neutral comments, which are non-critical of the blog owner? I guess that is freedom of the press/blog for you.

Michael Oneil

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 17, 2008 11:31 AM

chuck wrote...

Improving with time Lee, blog was on the mark.
Think about it ,want a comfortable life in a great city with decent weather and no language or cultural problems.
Play in a league thats not that physical or demanding.
Also play in European competition.
As opposed to playing for a mid league team with demanding fans in a cold ass northernmost English provincial city.
In a league thats based more on physicality than actual skills.
Yeah its a no brainer !

Posted by: chuck  | July 17, 2008 11:37 AM

ROBERT SMITH wrote...

The failure to recruit Aimar highlights a problem which is shared by the majority of the clubs in the Premiership. That is, the Champions League has distorted the transfer market. Many clubs are struggling to secure any new players of quality. NUFC will struggle as will Sunderland and Boro if new players cannot be bought.

Posted by: ROBERT SMITH  | July 17, 2008 11:42 AM

ROBERT SMITH wrote...

The failure to recruit Aimar highlights a problem which is shared by the majority of the clubs in the Premiership. That is, the Champions League has distorted the transfer market. Many clubs are struggling to secure any new players of quality. NUFC will struggle as will Sunderland and Boro if new players cannot be bought.

Posted by: ROBERT SMITH  | July 17, 2008 11:42 AM

Karl Williamson wrote...

Lee , Whats more frustrating is the uk media and local media report time after time nufc arer close to signing this that , and the other when in fact its all nonesense i dont care about those monkies down london writing dross about whos the next star to reject us but what does bother me is your local paper should be writing stories on concrete information and not mere speculation i know stories sell papers but it seems time after time we get are hopes dashed by mis information. your thoughts.

Karl

Posted by: Karl Williamson  | July 17, 2008 11:43 AM

Karl Williamson wrote...

Lee , Whats more frustrating is the uk media and local media report time after time nufc arer close to signing this that , and the other when in fact its all nonesense i dont care about those monkies down london writing dross about whos the next star to reject us but what does bother me is your local paper should be writing stories on concrete information and not mere speculation i know stories sell papers but it seems time after time we get are hopes dashed by mis information. your thoughts.

Karl

Posted by: Karl Williamson  | July 17, 2008 11:44 AM

Anonymous wrote...

Devastated !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im really worried about this season.

Posted by: Anonymous  | July 17, 2008 11:47 AM

jarramaddog wrote...

if he's not willing to fight it out and 'play for the toon shirt' then let him go.........

Posted by: jarramaddog  | July 17, 2008 11:56 AM

gordon wrote...

aimar is not a world class player he used to be anymore nearly 29 and had a big part of zaragoza getting relegated.
and why do idiots come on here claiming there will be a big conference next week.

Posted by: gordon  | July 17, 2008 12:04 PM

Topher wrote...

I've not been one to complain about the new structure at NUFC - Keegan concentrates on all things playing whereas Messrs Wise, Vetere and whatever the other one is called focus on signings. The main reason for this is that it works at other clubs and is a successful formula.

However, this story confirms something I had already suspected. Keegan should be more involved in signings. What confirms this? Benfica's sporting director - Rui Costa. Great player and no doubt a hero to someone like Pablo Aimar.

Let's put ourselves in his shoes here. Two people come to see you, which one do you sign for? Dennis Wise (eh? who?) or Rui Costa?

Everyone knows the famous Keegan and Robert Lee story, seemingly with the exception of Mike Ashley!

Posted by: Topher  | July 17, 2008 12:16 PM

sleeping weasel wrote...

Like the rest of you I'm gutted we didn't get Aimar. Just the type of player we needed... and he had great hair! Hopefully the Messiah has someone else up his sleeve. A couple of decent defenders wouldn't go a miss too.

Posted by: sleeping weasel  | July 17, 2008 12:28 PM

Anonymous wrote...

Well According to those comments made earlier

newcastle we're only used to get benfica to pump aimar's wages as he had no intention of coming here

and there no was no indication that Newcastle we're the named English Club

the highest wage for players in portugal is around 30k, we would of offered more than that

also the fact benfica are in europe and his old manager is there

i'm not gutted because by the sound of things, he would never have come

on the wages, well tell the idiot's in the charge of the club b4 ashley came thats why we are careful now they put joey barton on 60k a week, duff on 65k, owen on over 100k, martins on 80k, babayaro and carr on 30k a week

thats why we are in trouble, we would of gone bankrupt if it wasn't for ashley

we spend more in wages on those players, than the likes of blackburn on their whole squad

something has to change

theres still 4 weeks of the transfer window, easy time to get the 3-4 players we require

Posted by: Anonymous  | July 17, 2008 12:41 PM

sims wrote...

Bothered,............if he was still that good, why were only Benfica in for him ? He's finished !

Posted by: sims  | July 17, 2008 12:46 PM

David K wrote...

The cold hard facts are that we're not able to compete either on an ambition nor on a financial front compared with clubs that will bebefit from European competition this season. I'm encouraged that this hasn't stopped the management team from trying, but harber doubts about the strategy and motives of the owner. I don't think Mike Ashley's naive enough to think that he can maximise his investment in, what will be without new blood, a second-string club, but worry that he might be trying too hard, too soon, to balance the books a bit better. Overall, I still say give the management a chance to turn things round, but if we continue to miss out on transfer targets in the way we seem to be, Ashley may be paniced into cutting his losses and off-loading which would, in the long term, be the worse possible thing for the club.

Posted by: David K  | July 17, 2008 1:11 PM

philip wrote...

Lee,

The gulf between NUFC and the EPL teams qualifying for the Champions League has been clear for the past few years. The lads may be able to put in a laudable effort against one of the top four teams every once in a while, but NUFC cannot compete with them on a week-in, week-out basis. This shouldn't be a surprise.

More troubling is the growing gap between NUFC and teams like Tottenham and Portsmouth. The current Newcastle squad cannot hope to finish higher than either of those teams absent incredible luck on NUFC's part, or an incredible collapse on theirs. Newcastle will start the season with a highest realistic position of 7th place, assuming they outperform Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Missing out on Aimar would not be a big deal if it were only him, but throw in Modric, possibly DeJong and others who have turned down NUFC advances, and the team starts to look a bit radioactive.

I have to wonder what Ashley, et al plan to do to make the team capable of qualifying for one of the European cup spots? Investing for the long term by scouting young talent is one half of the equation to building a successful team, but it is equally important to address short-term needs, too. In particular, I cannot stand a full season of a three-man midfield that lacks the creativity and legs to pose much of a threat.

Posted by: philip  | July 17, 2008 1:34 PM

Ben wrote...

The news is that we could have made the signing yesterday but wouldn`t pay his wages! As I have stated previously unless somebody is at the 30k or less bracket Ashley isn`t interested, The way the club is being run is not of that of a club pushing for a top six place, trying to cut your captain`s wages when he`s under 30 and just finished the season of very well is a joke! And the fact that he is looking to get backers to help him out proves he isn`t willing to invest large sums in the first team, All this board has done so far is balence the books and make the club look a better proposition to buy! lets not forget that Ashley has spouted in the national press that he was going to back KK with large sums in the transfer market and he also stated that he would do so when KK was appointed!, This board at present is being shown to be a total sham ! Lets all hope I am wrong but lets not forget they hardly backed big Sam either!

Posted by: Ben  | July 17, 2008 1:41 PM

OLD TOM wrote...

I agree with lee on all he has written.
Who is the one that tries to persuade someone to come to Newcastle. I believe someone who is a true Geordie with strong passionate views on what football means to Newcastle fans. May be an ex player. DONT FORGET IF NEWCASTLE HAVE A ENTERTAINING GAME, THE FANS ARE HAPPY AND THE WOMEN AT HOME HAVE A NICE WEEKEND

Posted by: OLD TOM  | July 17, 2008 1:55 PM

Derek Pringle wrote...

"aimar is not a world class player he used to be"

Yes he is!

"why do idiots come on here claiming there will be a big conference next week"

How do you kknow there wont be one. You seem to be as well qualified at being the idiot that you claim other people to be.

Posted by: Derek Pringle  | July 17, 2008 2:03 PM

Michael wrote...

Not quite one of football's great mysteries I'd say, but good enough for a bit of intrigue.

Fact is Benfica are a bigger club than us and he clearly was in no rush to join the Premier League gravy train..He would earn more here than in Portugal I'd wager.....

Its just that not every player under the sun would fall over themselves to play in the Premier League, despite what SKY and friends would like you to believe!

Posted by: Michael  | July 17, 2008 2:17 PM

Michael Oneil wrote...

About the 'press conference' next week - A rumour is that it's related to delegation of duties at NUFC (new signings) and that KK is off. I'm sure there can be no truth to this after the Aimar saga.

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 17, 2008 2:18 PM

Michael Oneil wrote...

I finally figured it. The deal broke because Ashley told one of the world's finest midfield players that he had to buy his own club suit.

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 17, 2008 2:23 PM

Anonymous wrote...

"Lee , Whats more frustrating is the uk media and local media report time after time nufc arer close to signing this that , and the other when in fact its all nonesense i dont care about those monkies down london writing dross about whos the next star to reject us but what does bother me is your local paper should be writing stories on concrete information and not mere speculation i know stories sell papers but it seems time after time we get are hopes dashed by mis information."

Because that's how people make a living.

Posted by: Anonymous  | July 17, 2008 2:41 PM

stephen guss wrote...

how man, hey man, let's not get too carried away here. In terms of wages we are suffering from years of paying stupid money for under deliverers and we stil lhave too many of them on the staff - Geremi, bless him, at a reported 60k per week?????? So naturally we are trying to reduce but don't think it will stop keegan getting the right guy if he wants to come but that's the key point, the likes of Aimar are using us to get the deal they want. Much as i admire aimar there has to be a big question as to whether he could fit in the premiership - his reputation in spain is to not relish the physical side and not last 90 minutes. Granted 5 minutes of class from anyone in midfield would be an improvement but it seems Aimar would hardly have been a nailed on success. Anyway separate point dear Thomson House, how come we have to go to the web site to get this kind of analysis when the regular columns just beat the drum of geordieness?

Posted by: stephen guss  | July 17, 2008 2:54 PM

duhbrain wrote...

Oh woe is me...........more doom and gloom and gnashing of teeth over the non-capture of a hyped up overseas player. "One of the world's best midfield players" - my backside. Funny but I have never heard him being mentioned as belonging in the same class as Kaka, Xavi, Iniesta, Deco, Ribery etc.

Can anyone on here truthfully say that they watched Aimar regularly last season? 22 games no goals for a team that got relegated - um, sounds like the answer to all our problems.

Yeah we've lost 4 players but they were recognised as dead wood by all and sundry - get real people.

Oh and by the way Everton haven't signed anyone.

Posted by: duhbrain  | July 17, 2008 3:07 PM

Adam Holmes wrote...

I'm disappointed in that at the end of the day its another snub following on from Modric, Woodgate etc. It doesn't put our club in a good light and I d imagine if he was a genuine targe that Keegan will be gutted as well.

In saying that, I am recall Aimar being banded round a lot of clubs weeks ago and it seems strange that if he was a genuine target why such a late move?

Posted by: Adam Holmes  | July 17, 2008 3:37 PM

iain wrote...

why would newcastle want a past his best, lighweight player who obviously wasnt that keen to come here in the first place unless we reverted to type and offered him silly wages.

the fact that he negotiated with us suggested he had one thing in mind get more money than befica were offering.

im a bit annoyed weve lost out on a player but it could be worse, its not like modric going to spurs.

Posted by: iain  | July 17, 2008 4:01 PM

bendy wrote...

to be honest if the only reason aimer has gone to benfica is money then let them have him. I 4 one am sick of the mercenaries we have signed in the past. If he wanted to sign 4 up he would have. People 4get football teams are businesses now adays and have to be run as such which means you have t ate as low overheads as possible. Ashley's recruitment plan is spot on. So lets not get excited about supposedly signings until they have signed on the dotted line. Note the two signings so far weren't reported in the press until the deal was done

Posted by: bendy  | July 17, 2008 4:01 PM

Fred wrote...

"I finally figured it. The deal broke because Ashley told one of the world's finest midfield players that he had to buy his own club suit."

There could be more truth to that than you think!

Posted by: Fred  | July 17, 2008 4:32 PM

cav wrote...

first of all this is a discrace.lost madric now aimar.all coz ashley wont pay big wages well how are we going to sign big players.a mean 'come on benfica'newcastle can out power them with money enyday of the week.top in bottom of this is the toon need at least 4 5 new players.c bk,left back, creative mid,another striker coz viduka is class but also a sick note.rite bk cover 4 baye.

Posted by: cav  | July 17, 2008 4:45 PM

STEVE wrote...

REALLY,REALLY GUTTED....why oh why do i skint myself every year for this lot????at least before we had good signings...but now....

Posted by: STEVE  | July 17, 2008 4:46 PM

Mark T wrote...

I totally agree with MA policy regarding players. Lets think about the dross that has 'graced' SJP in the last 10 years...and the wages wasted on these players. Anyone who knows La Liga will tell you Aimar has been average for the last 2 seasons yet people are saying lets pay him more than Benfica to get him on board. Patrick Kluivert anyone? Most people look at Arsenal as a blueprint for buying players and without doubt they have a good scouting system..they also have Wenger and the attraction of London which for foreign players is a factor. I would look more at Blackburn who have bought Santa Cruz, Pedersen, McCarthy, Bentley and Samba for a combined fee of £9 million...less than we paid for Luque. Ok this policy may hurt for the next couple of seasons but do you not think this is why MA brought in Keegan...to keep the natives happy until he gets rid of the high earners and replaces them with a squad for the medium to long term?

Posted by: Mark T  | July 17, 2008 5:06 PM

Sy wrote...

At this point I don't think we know why Aimar isn't a Newcastle player. But if what Michael O'Neill says about £29k a week wage demands then this is a sorry state of affairs.

No-one wanted Aimar to join us more than me, and I'm not so deluded that I'll say we're a bigger club than Benfica. The problem is now that I really can't see where we're going to turn for the creative midfielder we desperately need. Some people have said Aimar isn't world class, etc. Well, even though I disagree I understand where you're coming from. But the reason he was such a good proposition is that he was about as proven and high profile as we're likely to get, and for about £5m you won't ever find a better option.

But I think the current situation screams that our stature is rock bottom...and a massive part of this has to be down to the uncertainty over who is running the club and their intentions for it. From a footballing perspective, we must appeal more than the likes of Portsmouth & Man City. We have a squad which includes some of the Premier Leagues most well known players over the last ten years. We have one of the biggest stadiums which is always full (will it be next season...?), and we have a manager who was instrumental in creating the worldwide lure of the Premier League with his style of play and charisma. This is far more than the other clubs who are out-playing us in the transfer market. It has to come down to our new structure, refusal to pay even reasonable wages, and all the negative press we've been receiving for such a long time now.

We need to change our attitude. Just look at some of the players we've missed out on by continually dragging our feet. We need to be more proactive because this hesistant mentality is doing us no good whatsoever. There's a difference between not being held to ransom by potential signings and paying the money their ability warrants. Smith, Duff, Carr, Babayaro, Barton - not worth even a third of the wages they're on. Martins worth the £80k a week he's looking for? I like the lad a lot, but he's not worth that wage. I'd give Owen his new deal because at this point he's one of a precious few that are helping give the club some professionalism and optimism for next season.

These continuing disappointments and constant uncertainty are disillusioning to say the least.

Posted by: Sy  | July 17, 2008 6:00 PM

Clark W Griswald wrote...

So our second choice playmaker turned us down. I was surprised not to see rolling along the sky sports news bar " Aimar signs for spurs".
Now we've apparently been offered frings. I dont believe that story, apart from where it says he's considered too old for us. Id sign frings today, look at ballack and hamann both german midfielders that survived the 'top notch' prem league. The same league that people like bramble and alan smith play in.

Ashley should look at the current squad if he wants value for money and lower wages cos some go against the grain. The afore mentioned smith - 60k a wk, a striker (supposedly) by trade, hasnt scored in the league for 3 years. Excellent value for money that one.

If Aimar went to benfica for other reason than cash then theres nothing we couldve done about that but what I thought straight away was the useless trio managing our transfers had again not done enough to persuade him. I dont trust them to complete any deal for us!
At this rate I can see panic buying happening, we dont have a squad big enough to survive in the league let alone enough quality.

Posted by: Clark W Griswald  | July 17, 2008 6:56 PM

Geoff Forster wrote...

No proof we were in for him.

So far the two signings have been done fairly discreetly. Jonás Gutiérrez a complete surprise to the media.

I'm sure we'll get a few good players in before the season starts.

A team of players, playing with passion, proud to wear the shirt will do for me. Prima Donnas on massive wages can be a big negative on team spirit.

I have complete faith in KK.
Not so much in Ashley.
About zero in the press.

Posted by: Geoff Forster  | July 17, 2008 6:56 PM

John wrote...

Hey Lee,

Definitely must admit I am disappointed at missing out on aimar. He is a quality player but I am more disappointed at the fact that we are not moving quick enough. I agree with all those who thought aimar might have been a gamble also because he has not shown his true form at zaragoza therefore this may not be hugely detrimental to us. But what is concerning (like many others have said) is our inability to close deals, the modric transfer was deeply disappointing and it did not help that he snubbed us for tottenham. We desperately need some attacking midfielders...look at the situation with arshavin for instance, we could have signed him for 8m but our reluctance has cost us again because now zenit wont settle for anything less than 24m.

I think a frank assessment is that our club lost its ability to penetrate the market for good players when we failed to steady the ship after robson went. Although we signed michael owen and luque they were for the wrong reasons. They only came becuase we threw money at them and also we were not in desperate need of luque. Our priority then was a good centre back not craig moore and good full back not babayaro. I mean honestly if he was that good he would firstly have been tied down at chelsea or would have gone for higher than 1m.

I'm sick and tired of us being linked with players and not doing anything. I mean last season we were linked with a move for barzagli. After this season it is clear we need a centre back and cover for right and left back. Well just a couple of weeks ago Wolfsburg signed both Zaccardo (very cheap fee) and barzagli. I don't know if they are world class but they would have definitely done a good job for us. And its not like they would choose Wolfsburg ahead of us. I am very concerned at our squad size. Steven Taylor recently mentioned that although its not a big squad it has quality...well that may be true to an extent but when you have a squad as small as ours and in a league which the standard of football is much more demanding than ever I think you need atleast 8 World Class players not 2.

I'm looking around us and i'm seeing the type of players our surrounding clubs are signing, Tottenham - Modric, Gio (an amazing coup- where were we he's a world class player in the making, what was our policy again with signing these type of players?). Even portsmouth are way stronger than us at the moment. We will be lucky to be in the top 10 next season.

Ashley promised us that he would turn us into a force again but he is disappointing, I understand he is trying to get our club under control but sometimes you have to look at the business your in. Quite frankly were not up there in global merchandising. Ashley needs to understand that making money really lies in continental qualification - Get quality players in give them the wages they want, once we are in europe then start chopping and changing financial structures within the club. We cannot afford to implement this cost saving policy at this moment in time...the premier league is becoming too strong for that. We need to rely on some sort of pulling factor like europe. No one seems to care anymore that we have great fans, fans which wont be found at clubs like barca and madrid and milan etc, or that we have a wonderful stadium.

We seem to be talking an awful lot about recruiting players. We allegedly signed people on our board with expert negotiating abilties but so far we have struggled at the negotiation stage.

As for now i am going to be patient still until the end of the window but i am so concerned because it would be ideal to get our players in before pre-season so they can know eachother and get fit for the season.

Also if Keegan was not the manager i would have been fuming at the signing of guthrie. But i trust him and know keegan has a plan. I just hope ashley will allow him to execute his plan FULLY.

Apologies for the very long post but I really want us to do well even more so because we have finally got an excellent manager at the helm king kev, which we have not had since robson. I sincerely hope ashley realises just how lucky he is to have been able to appoint keegan as the manager of his club...he needs to give him the opportunity to operate with as many quality tools at his disposal.

Hope this gets posted..Sorry again Lee for this very long post!

Posted by: John  | July 17, 2008 7:05 PM

scott orton wrote...

well im panicking i wanted crouch to replace shola and viduka but he goes to portsmouth aimar good player would like him or deco in midfield thats not going to happen now who we get guthrie (world class pmsl) end of the day we cant attract big names players anymore
whats going on wigan could attract bigger players than us im on a downer
lets pray and hope but i think kk will leave and ashley wants to sell

Posted by: scott orton  | July 17, 2008 7:20 PM

dipton brickworks fc wrote...

Fundamental principle: don't buy players who would rather be elsewhere.

Posted by: dipton brickworks fc  | July 17, 2008 7:34 PM

Deaco wrote...

This is seriously worrying. We are thin on the ground to say the least and we are not allowing any type of movement on wages etc. We need to be in the thick of it and KK needs to be leading it. He must be going bonkers right now and his current silence is very woorying and smells of a man not happy with things. If Ashley wants to make this club profitable then he needs to start investing. The investment so far has been a few million considering we sold Parker, Dyer, Emre etc. We have missed out on Modric, Woodgate and Aimar that we know of. These are not bright days for Newcastle

Posted by: Deaco  | July 17, 2008 8:23 PM

RAY WILSON wrote...

Hi Lee. One more transfer is down the pan then. It seems MA is prepared to sacrifice everything for his wages policy. As the guy Aimer has his best years behind him it may not turn out to be that bad -in this particular case and we should judge these situations on their respective merits. What is more concerning is the club were prepared { apparently to sell Andy Carroll -had the price been right } How far is asset stripper MA prepared to go before we end up in the Nationwide or whatever its called now and before Kevin gets totally wicked off and walks. I now fear for my club -we certainly have a bramer here in MA- I really wish he could sell the club and walk because he is not one bit interested in helping this club to get even to the next step of the ladder. We have a great manager who is toon through and through -we have 52000 passionate fans and a full stadium every home game -we now lag behind several teams both in spending power and league placings-not one of those teams could even generate 52000 fans -even if they surpass their current position-yet we are still going to lag behind them-this management team is taking us down hill fast and if there is not a change in thinking we will lose KK and with that any chance we ever had of being able to accomplish any sustained improvement in the fortunes of this great club-get real Ashley and wake up we are not stupid.

Posted by: RAY WILSON  | July 17, 2008 9:16 PM

blue wrote...

ASHEY HAS TO GO. WE MOANED AT FAT FRED BUT THIS MAN IS SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF NEWCASTLE. HOW ARE WIGAN,FULHAM, AT THIS MOMENT SPENDING MORE THAN US. ASHLEY WILL TAKE NEWCASTLE TO THE GUTTER. BE WORRIED BE VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS SEASON YOU THOUGHT LAST SEASON WAS BAD I FEAR RELAGAION IS ON THE CARDS. WE HAVE MORE COACHES AND BACK ROOM STAFF THAN PLAYERS LOOKS LIKE ROBBIE ELLIOTT IS OUR NEW COVER FOR LEFT BACK. IM SO SORRY TO SEE NEWCASTLE IN THIS STATE FAT FRED WOULD HAVE BOUGHT 4 PLAYERS IN BY NOW, HE ALWAYS BACKED HIS MANAGERS. HATE ASHLEY!!!!! HE HAS MORE MONEY THAN SENSE, AND OUR FUTURE YOUNGSTERS GOT BATTERED BY 6 GOALS BY A PART TIME TEAM. LEE CAN YOU TELL ITS GOING TO GET BETTER BECAUSE THE LARGE CRACKS ARE APPEARING CANT EVEN FUND AIMAR DEAL. HOW MUCH WAS M.OWEN AND WHO BOUGHT HIM.

Posted by: blue  | July 17, 2008 10:18 PM

Anonymous wrote...

I HOPE KEV WALKS, HE DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE TREAT LIKE THIS, WISE AND HIS CHRONIES HAVE NO AND NEVER WILL HAVE ANY AFFINITY WITH THE TOON. HE HAS FAILED TO DELIVER AND HAS TO BE GIVEN THE BULLET WITH ALONG WITH HIS CHRONIES, WHAT THET SAVE ON THERE WAGES WILL MORE THAN COVER GETTING A FEW CLASS PLAYERS IN. WHAT WISE KNOWS ABOUT FOOTBALL AND HAS ACHIEVED CAN BE PUT ON A POSTAGE STAMP COMPARED TO KEVIN.
ALL TYHIS GARBAGE ABOUT GETTING THE WAGE BILL DOWN AND GETTING THE CLUB RUN ON A MORE SOUND FOOTING JUST ONE BIG SMOKESCREEN, ASHLEY HAS SOLD KEEGAN DOWN THE RIVER, WITH HIS EMPTY PROMISES, HE BROUGHT KEVIN IN TO MAKE THE CLUB MORE ATTRACTIVE TOO SELL QUICKLY, WITH ASHLEY GETTING DEBTS DOWN KEEGAN IN CHARGE, WAGE BILL DOWN, GIVING HIS MATES FANCY TITLES, BUT NO ONE HAS COME IN WITH THE MONEY HE IS WANTING, SO HE IS GONNA HAVE TO PUT HIS MONEY WERE HIS MOUTH IS, OR CUT HIS LOSSES AND CLEAR OUT OF TOON.
EVERYONE KEEPS HARPING ON ABOUT THE GOOD RUN AT THE END OF SEASON, BUT WE ONLY BEAT THE FULHAMS AND READINGS OF THIS WORLD, WE LOST TO EVERTON, CHELSEA,
SCRAPED A POINT TO WEST HAM, THIS SEASON IS GOING TO BE EVEN HARDER, IF SOMETHING POSITIVE DOES'NT HAPPEN SOON.
LEAVE TRANSFERS TO KEVIN, HE WON'T HAVE TROUBLE GETTING THEM IN, HE NEVER HAS WERE EVER HE HAS MANAGED.
ASHLEY HAS TO REALISE QUICKLY HE CANNOT RUN THIS CLUB LIKE HIS 2ND RATE SPORTS SHOPS, IF YOU WANT QUALITY YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT AND LETS BE RIGHT KEVIN KNOWS QUALITY, NEVER BOUGHT MANY DUDS LAST TIME AND WHEN THEY WERE SOLD ON, DIDNT MAKE MANY LOSSES IN HIS REIGN 1ST TIME.
ASHLEY WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE, BACK SPECIAL K AND REAP THE REWARDS BECAUSE IF HE WALKS, YOU ARE SITTING ON A TYNE BOMB, FANS WILL NOT PUT UP WITH IT NO LONGER, HAD TOO MANT YEARS JUST IN RECENT TIMES OF BEEN BADLY LET DOWN.

Posted by: Anonymous  | July 17, 2008 10:35 PM

John Mellow wrote...

I'm shocked at the lack of activity on Newcastle's behalf. The season will start with everyone saying "How are we going to manage this?". We need help quick.

Posted by: John Mellow  | July 18, 2008 2:03 AM

Andrew Humphreys wrote...

I have to agree with those who say Aimar isnt the world class star he used to be.

Facts are: at the start of the decade when he was at Valencia he was being hailed as a top talent - then he moved to Zaragoza and got relegated with them, nobody but us and benfica were in for him - if he was a world class midfielder surely more clubs would have been in for him! Arsenal perhaps (theyre crying out for midfielders, and if Wenger dont rate him then he cant be good!).

But what i do agree with is that he would have been a good signing for us, hes the best we can hope for, hope that keegan could of brought back his form but we simply aint gonna sign any world class stars anymore, we need to face up - we just aint good enough

Posted by: Andrew Humphreys  | July 18, 2008 8:42 AM

Michael Oneil wrote...

Can someone lend me 400 million quid to buy Ashley out, to save this club that my community and family have blindly supported over many generations?

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 18, 2008 8:51 AM

Michael Oneil wrote...

Barcelona, one of the world's greats, is owned by its 100,000 fan-members. Why can't we....?

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 18, 2008 8:59 AM

jon wrote...

hopeless...gone...ashley get out!

Posted by: jon  | July 18, 2008 10:24 AM

Barry Mac wrote...

I bet Newcastle United wont bring the subject of how many season tickets they have sold to the publics attention because I would guess that sales are well down due to rising prices and no "exciting" signings.

Do you have any info about this?

Posted by: Barry Mac  | July 18, 2008 11:51 AM

CP wrote...

Hello

I´m portuguese...I´m a Benfica supporter.

I didn´t know that there was so much conversation about Aimar in England. We just knew about Newcastle´s interest a few days ago.

Porto, another portuguese club, tried to steal Aimar from Benfica in the last days.

I think the decisive point to Aimar´s coming to Benfica was Quique Flores and Rui Costa. He was one of the best players I´ve ever seen (my favourite) and with Zidane he was the best "10" (playmaker) I´ve seen. And he is a great man, a true gentleman. He wrote a letter to Aimar...the kind of thinks that football needs.

Regarding Newcastle, since I was a child I heard about you. Allways with great players but never with a great team. And I think that´s your problem. Your managers go for the names and not for the characteristics they need in the players to form a solid team.

But you had one of the players I had most fun watching...Shearer...what a player...fantastic...

I live in a Island too...it belongs to Azores...an portuguse archipelag

Sorry for the mistakes

Greetings

Posted by: CP  | July 18, 2008 1:28 PM

Michael Oneil wrote...

Obrigado senhor!

At least Aimar has a chance of winning a trophy with Benfica....:-)

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 18, 2008 3:06 PM

Mark Green wrote...

Ashley may have the right Philosophy trying to buy young talented players with a future for no more than what they are worth.
However, recently knock backs may point to the fact that Newcastle may have to offer above a player's worth to get them to come to the north of England.
Until we are back in Europe that may always be the case.
No-one wants more foreign mercenaries in the team but we do need 1 or 2 players if we are going to improve on our position and have a chance to get back into europe.

Posted by: Mark Green  | July 18, 2008 5:50 PM

Michael Oneil wrote...

'No-one wants more foreign mercenaries in the team'

Of course not..much better to have a few more decent English chaps like Joey Barton

Posted by: Michael Oneil  | July 18, 2008 11:46 PM

Shane wrote...

look he didn't come......end of. why do newcastle fans feel like they have to opinonate everything as if (a) it actually matters (b) they know what there talking about. If we know so much about everything to do with footballers ( and I thnk that most are champ manager and fifa football experts)we should buy the club.

Aimar hasn't come...big deal. Remember Luque, Emre and the whole peltra of others who all ended up beng crap and overpaid. If aimar came here played brilliant then he deserves the big bucks. the club not the player should alway be in charge.simple as

Posted by: Shane  | July 19, 2008 1:14 PM