Woodgate to Madrid

DapperGent

Apparently Real Madrid are quite close to signing Jonathon Woodgate

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/3578830.stm

He's a quality defender but I don' think it would be the best idea for a club with a thin squad at the back to be buying such an injury prone player. Newcastle would be crazy not to interested in ridding themselves of him though, particularily at that price. They could get three quality players for the money who would play a whole season.

gandalf

Merged - beaten to the post !!!! Cam't believe Real are now after Woodgate from Newcastle for £15 stg !

midget lord

I read a similar report on teamtalk. He's a quality defender alright, but is he a galictico? Maybe they just want to concentrate on winning things now instead of looking pretty. I think it would be a good move for him too, associating with MO and DB and training with Morientes, Raul and Ronaldo will only help improve his game.

eirebhoy

Madrid would have some team if they signed Woodgate and pushed Helguera in the holding role (thus pushing Beckham out of the team ). Their defence was always their weakness and with the signing of Samuel and possibly Woodgate they'd have one of the strongest defences in Europe.

KdjaCL

With figo gone at end of season either Beckham on right or [insert next best right winger ever]

Not a bad move, very good player who sadly plays in one of the worst defences in england. With Leeds and Radebe (decent centre half) beside him he was an excellent player in PL and CL and if Rio is worth 20 odd million he is certainly worth 15.

And if even if Helguera doesnt move back into the middle not a bad thing to have that choice Samuel Helguera Woodgate and that other lad Bravo??? (who was crap last season but is still reckoned to be a decent CB,spains next hierro according to Gulliem)


kdjac

mr_angry

I think Raul Bravo is seen as Mardid's long-term replacement for Roberto Carlos. He was pushed into the middle last year because they had no available centre-halves, and it was a bit of a disaster in the end.

Funnily enough, it seems to be a good move for everybody concerned. Good for Real, good for Newcastle, and good for Woodgate. I wonder if they'd consider taking Kieron Dyer aswell?!? Anyone else see him on sale on eBay yesterday?

eirebhoy

KdjaC wrote:

And if even if Helguera doesnt move back into the middle not a bad thing to have that choice Samuel Helguera Woodgate and that other lad Bravo???

IMO, the reason they came 4th in the league last season was because Helguera was played at the back. He is a great defender and I know they had no other option but a midfield of Figo-Beckham-Guti-Zidane is too attacking. If they do get Woodgate, Helguera will have to play in midfield unless they buy another holding midfielder.

Big Nelly

mr_angry wrote:

I wonder if they'd consider taking Kieron Dyer aswell?!?

Heard the Birmingham want to take him on a year loan! then Newcastle dont have to sell him and he can come back next season when Bobby is gone!

Big Nelly

Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer has apologised for his refusal to play where manager Sir Bobby Robson wanted him to in last Saturday's Barclays Premiership clash with Middlesbrough.

The 25-year-old, who was booed by sections of the crowd at St James' Park when he appeared as a half-time substitute in England's 3-0 victory over Ukraine on Wednesday night, issued a statement after meeting club officials on Thursday.

"My refusal to play in the position the manager asked me was wrong," he said. "I sincerely regret the whole incident.

"Certain players were injured and for the good of the team and the club, I should have accepted what Sir Bobby said without question.

"But, ultimately, the manager picks the team and I apologise to him and to our supporters wholeheartedly."

Sportinglife is source

Big Ears

Woodgate aint going , yes he's a World Class defender (in a my / a Newcastle fans opinion) But he played 19 league games last season , that half , he's injury prone , and no big club would buy him unless he gets out of this in jury stage .(like Gerrard and Owen have appeared to .)

Plus I beleive this is just speculation on a slow news day , and with Newcastle apparently being unsettled at the moment one of they're players is the perfect choice , to spread an untrue rumour about .

gandalf

If he does go scratch Newcastles short chances of winning the league.

Big Ears

gandalf wrote:

If he does go scratch Newcastles short chances of winning the league.

yup .

leeroybrown

Well at least the Toon fan's who've had a speculative bet at 50-1 won't be too put out knowing they'll loose their money at 100-1 instead.

KdjaCL

eirebhoy wrote:

IMO, the reason they came 4th in the league last season was because Helguera was played at the back. He is a great defender and I know they had no other option but a midfield of Figo-Beckham-Guti-Zidane is too attacking. If they do get Woodgate, Helguera will have to play in midfield unless they buy another holding midfielder.

Like Viera?

Still have a few days left

kdjac

johnor

Real were also saying that they didnt want to be playing the Gallatico's in every match...mos tof them played the whole season last season. I think the move would defo be to push Helguera into midfield and play Samuel alongside Woodgate. Real seem to be raiding the premier league alot lately all deals are done by the same guy too or so the media say. Shame Cannavaro deal fell thru he is one I would rate as a gallactico that would be some defence

Casillas,Salgado,Carlos,Samuel & Cannavaro.

Pepe LeFrits

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,1-1148334,00.html

Looks like he's on his way.

eirebhoy

This deal has all gone through very quick and i think Robson was more than willing to sell Woodgate. There was a journalist from Newcastle on Newstalk a few weeks ago and he said that Woodgate's injury is more serious than people think and it could really affect his career. If he can stay free of injuries it'll be worth the 15m but I doubt he will. He only played 26 games and Newcastle have made a profit of £6m, although half of that would have gone on his wages. Newcastle would certainly need a top class centre back and I can't think of a replacement atm.

Big Ears

kaids wrote:

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,1-1148334,00.html

Looks like he's on his way.

:mad: :mad: :mad: , can we have a smiley with tears added ? .

Shepard said that it wasnt about the money and it was about letting Woodgate join one of the biggest clubs in the World .

First I say , **** Shepard , I want someone else as chariman , say Robson after Shepard and a few other suits forced him to retire (what a twist that would be )

second I say if Newcastle want to become the best team in England and one of the best teams in the World , they shouldnt sell the best defender in England and one of the best defenders in world .

Best of luck to Woodgate if he wants to join a circus , maybe he could have his own act called affray .

Dewey

I really surprised Newcastle are selling Woodgate for only £15million, i thought they would of tried to hold out for £18million.

A few months ago when Arsenal were linked to Woodgate Shepard said they can have him for £20million plus Henry and Vieira going to Newcastle.
So now he is selling one of the best defenders in England to Madrid for only £15million and with no players going to Newcastle in a swap deal.

Just who are Newcastle going to replace him with?? And is Shepard going to give Sir Bobby the hole £15mill to spend on a defender??

eirebhoy

Dewey wrote:

A few months ago when Arsenal were linked to Woodgate Shepard said they can have him for £20million plus Henry and Vieira going to Newcastle.

He was joking :

Shepherd told the Evening Chronicle: "Jonathan Woodgate is not going to Arsenal or anywhere else for that matter.

"He will only leave St James' Park over my dead body. He is our future and one of the players we are building our team around.

"Mind you, Arsenal can have him if they let us have Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira - and I might ask for a few quid as well."


Well he's gone from saying "over my dead body" to selling him to Madrid. I think the injuries have a big part to play in this.

Dewey

I know he only joking but i thought for the chairman to say something like that then it would take a ****e load of money for Woodgate to leave Newcastle but i think £15million is abit cheap for a player like Woodgate.

Big Ears

Dewey wrote:

I know he only joking but i thought for the chairman to say something like that then it would take a ****e load of money for Woodgate to leave Newcastle but i think £15million is abit cheap for a player like Woodgate.

Deflated transfer market , its odd that an England defender (who is not established as a first team starter for England) is sold for more than the price on an established England striker , who is apparently a Gallactico(have the quality of them Gallactico's been coming down of late ? ) .

So in that respect the transfer dosen't look too bad .

redspider

I think the problems at Newcastle are running deep. It doesn't make sense to sell Woodgate as they need him this season. They may not get 4th without him which should clearly be their no.1 priority. They seem to be cashing in while they can, not a good sign.

Whats unusual also are the comments from Bobby Robson. Why would a manager be happy to see his best defender leave and state that "why should we deny him the chance to play for Real"? Its as if Bobby has started to give up slightly on Newcastle in his heart. I dont blame him for doing so as the chairman let it slip (or said it on purpose) that this season would be Bobby's last. That was no way to treat Bobby and undermines his coaching/motivating skills as the season progresses.

All very strange I think and it looks as if Newcastle will struggle to maintain a challenge for 4th. Things may go ok at St James Park and if goals go in, Kluivert, Bellamy, Shearer, can all join in, but at the back they could be short. I also think they got rid of Solano too easily last season and it may have ultimately cost them their 4th and all important CL qualification spot.

I think it could be a tough season for Newcastle, and I expect them to finish 5th-8th place.

DapperGent

redspider wrote:

Why would a manager be happy to see his best defender leave and state that "why should we deny him the chance to play for Real"? Its as if Bobby has started to give up slightly on Newcastle in his heart.

I think it could be a tough season for Newcastle, and I expect them to finish 5th-8th place.

He is their best defender but it's good money for an injury prone, essentially unproven player.

If the money is reinvested straight away on some experienced if not as talented defenders I reckon Newcastle will be the better for it. If not as you say they're in the lower end of the 5-8 spots in all probability.

Quite honestly I expect him to fail his medical. I have my suspicions about Madrid's real intention of signing him, this happened last year with some Argentinian bloke who mysteriously failed his medical only to sign for Zaragoza a couple of weeks later. Could all be a ruse to show that they are "trying" to sign defenders.

Maybe I'm a bit cynical but Real Madrid are (with the exception of Chelsea)the world's worst excuse for a football team , they really get on my tits.


Gabriel Milito, that's the guys name.

Healio

Could the series of bust-ups in the dressing room possibly have anything to do with this ludacris transfer, it seems we are not being told the full story of whats going on behind those closed doors. The Dyer story is over (for now anyway), the constant reports of an unhappy Shearer, Robert and his continuing link with a move to France, Viana has his problems, Robson and Shepards fall out, and now Woody's exit, it seems as if something isnt right at Newcastle, and if the whole mess isn't sorted out soon, we could end up slipping right back down to where Sir Bobby took us up from. Certainly worrying times for us Newcastle fans, and an anxious season lies ahead.....................

midget lord

Big Ears wrote:

Deflated transfer market , its odd that an England defender (who is not established as a first team starter for England) is sold for more than the price on an established England striker , who is apparently a Gallactico(have the quality of them Gallactico's been coming down of late ? ) .

So in that respect the transfer dosen't look too bad .

In all fairness BE, owen was 3 weeks away from a bosman free.

DapperGent

midget lord wrote:

In all fairness BE, owen was 3 weeks away from a bosman free.

Essentially yes. I'm surprised Liverpool got the money they got for him.

evilhomer

If he does go, who will newcastle replace him with? Andy O' Brien and Titus Bramble are hardly world class defenders. I know woodgate hasn't played a lot of football lately but if he does come through this long injury spell he will be a bargin for Real Madrid.
I can't think of any good defenders that would be available on the transfer market at this stage to replace him. Newcastle will probably get in a couple of old experienced defenders just to get through the season and buy big next season! IMO,

Who do you all think? who will robson sign to replace Woodgate?

eirebhoy

midget lord wrote:

In all fairness BE, owen was 3 weeks away from a bosman free.

Owen's contract was due to expire in June 2005 which means clubs were allowed talk to him at Christmas. Where did you get 3 weeks?

I do agree though that if Owen also had 3 years left on his contract he would have went for a lot more.

yom 1

woodgate officially signs

from the beeb
"Real Madrid have signed Jonathan Woodgate from Newcastle for £13.4m.
There had been concerns the 24-year-old defender, sidelined with a thigh injury since April, would not pass his medical at the Bernabeu on Friday.

But the centre-back, who played in 37 out of 128 possible games during his time at Newcastle, has signed a four-year contract with Real.

Woodgate, expected to earn £80,000 per week, joins England team-mates David Beckham and Michael Owen at the club.


"Newcastle United and Real Madrid wish to announce that terms have been agreed today for the transfer of Jonathan Woodgate," a United spokesman said.

"The player passed his medical examination and will join Real Madrid on a four-year contract, plus an optional one year, today.

"Newcastle United record their appreciation at the manner in which Real Madrid have concluded negotiations, which speaks well of the relationship between the two clubs."

Injury-prone Woodgate suffered various injuries during his time at Newcastle, playing only 37 of the 128 games for the Magpies since his move from Leeds in January 2003.

Leeds would not stand to make any money from the deal, as BBC Sport can confirm they did not negotiate a sell-on clause when they sold Woodgate.

The player arrived in Madrid on a flight from Munich where he had a consultation with a German specialist over the thigh injury which has kept him out of action since April.

But Real Madrid appear convinced the problem will clear up and coach Jose Antonio Camacho has brought in Woodgate, as well as Roma's Walter Samuel, to bolster his defence"

Big Ears

ah crap ! , is Colicinni(Sp?) a centre back ? .
Id like it if we had dabizas back , but that aint gonna happen .
Robbie Elliot isn't a good enough centre-back and neither is Bramble .
For some reason I don't think Bramble will ever get those mistakes out of his game .

Is Paulo Cannavaro(Fabio's brother) still at Parma ? , because they are always willing to sell , and a quality centre-back at the same age as Woodgate would be a perfect replcement , especially if he wasnt injury prone .

DapperGent

eirebhoy wrote:

Owen's contract was due to expire in June 2005 which means clubs were allowed talk to him at Christmas. Where did you get 3 weeks?

The transfer window closes in 3 weeks by the time it opened again Owen would have had less then six months left on his contract thereby making him eligible to talk to and agree a pre-contract agreement with any club he wanted for a free transfer in June.

No club would have paid a transfer fee in January for a player thy could have for nothing in June. So essentially Liverpool had three weeks to sell Owen or they would have lost him for nothing.

As I said already I'm shocked they got £8m + a player for him.

midget lord

Thanks for clearing that up for me dapper old bean.

smemon

a stupid decision by newcastle. after bringing in quality like carr, butt, kluivert they go and shoot themselves in the arm by selling woodgate.

DapperGent

smemon wrote:

a stupid decision by newcastle. after bringing in quality like carr, butt, kluivert they go and shoot themselves in the arm by selling woodgate.

I think it's a great bit of business, £13.4 million for an injury prone centre back is fantastic.

It's bad business if they don't spend all or most of it straight away and get good players for the money,but on a simple cash for player basis it's a great deal.

Big Nelly

I think its a gud move! he spends most of the season sittin on his ass in London wit da mot from BigBrother! Kate watever! 13.4 mil and you can get Fabio Cannavaro for about 5mil from Milan!! now there is a quality defender! think the transfer has been confirmed now

4 year contract wit option of another year.....13.4mil according to Sportinglife!! he actually passed da medical! :rolleyes:

midget lord

neilbrady79 wrote:

he actually passed da medical! :rolleyes:

the doctor must have been caucasian

eyerer

neilbrady79 wrote:

you can get Fabio Cannavaro for about 5mil from Milan!!

don't think so mate
how long did woodgate have left on his contract at newcastle?

Big Nelly

eyerer wrote:

don't think so mate
how long did woodgate have left on his contract at newcastle?

Reports of Madrid getting Cannavaro for 3mil-5mil but not sure how true they are.....maybe Bannor can shed some light

Think Woodgate signed a 5 year contract with Newcastle.........

Reading here and Shepard says they already have a defender to replace him....maybe Huth or Dawson....cost about 3mil each!

Healio

Big Ears wrote:

Id like it if we had dabizas back , but that aint gonna happen .

He is the one player we dont want back, since he left we havent given away half as many penalties as when he was there.

eyerer

neilbrady79 wrote:

Reports of Madrid getting Cannavaro for 3mil-5mil but not sure how true they are.....maybe Bannor can shed some light

Think Woodgate signed a 5 year contract with Newcastle.........!

the woodgate question wasn't related to the quote, i just wanted to know to compare the price with owen
maybe i'm wrong but 5mil seems very cheap for one of the most highly rated defenders, you'd have to ask why collocini was/is going for 3.5 or something if cannovaro was around the same
i'd also have to ask why there isn't a great deal of clubs looking at him, for that price

AngelofFire

Great move for young Woodie, Real now have an exciting young defensive partnership in Woodgate and Samuel.15 million is a lot of money. Newcastle were right to accept it, they could probably buy Ayala as a replacement for that much.

midget lord

Sorry, ayala is already taken.

PiE

By whom (if not Valencia)?