Newcastle United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014/15

mayflyatr

It was the same with Ba second half of last season when Cisse played through the middle as he was scoring goals.

There's no hiding the fact we are playing poorly, long ball or not. I would not say crisis yet, lets wait and see how we fair against Norwich, Reading and Villa. We had a very tough Christmas fixture list then adding all of the injuries.

I think the emergence of Anita plus Cabaye coming back will help our style of play with more option to play from defence into midfield. Those two boys are capable of bossing the midfield and running things for us the way we want and need. I would drop Tiote for Anita at the moment on form (I know Tiote has gone to the ACN).

We need a player like Andy Carroll back, he would improve our defending and attacking set plays to no end. Another centre half who is dominant in the air is badly needed.

Do you want Pardews head to roll here?

M5 wrote: »

there is no excuse for 11 losses from 14 (A crisis, not a bad run), 1 goal in over 300 corners, and leading the long ball league by quite a margin.

Yes we have been riddled with injuries, yeah we have a small squad but even will all assets available we have lost at home to WHU, scraped victories over WBA and lost heavily away on several occasions! The lack long ball tactics have been present for months even while at full stretch. The corners have been awful for over a year. Colocini, Tiote and Cabaye, some of the most composed players we have, have looked nervous and hurried, constantly looking for an opportunity to hoof it to a front two who are below average in the air. The treatment of Cisse while Pardew pandered to Ba who buggered off anyway. The list goes on and on

leonidas83

mayflyatr wrote: »

It was the same with Ba second half of last season when Cisse played through the middle as he was scoring goals.

There's no hiding the fact we are playing poorly, long ball or not. I would not say crisis yet, lets wait and see how we fair against Norwich, Reading and Villa. We had a very tough Christmas fixture list then adding all of the injuries.

I think the emergence of Anita plus Cabaye coming back will help our style of play with more option to play from defence into midfield. Those two boys are capable of bossing the midfield and running things for us the way we want and need. I would drop Tiote for Anita at the moment on form (I know Tiote has gone to the ACN).

We need a player like Andy Carroll back, he would improve our defending and attacking set plays to no end. Another centre half who is dominant in the air is badly needed.

Do you want Pardews head to roll here?

Hang on a second, the last thing we need is a player like Andy Carroll back, what has he scored since he went to West Ham, one goal or something, is that the best we can come up with.

Given the size of our club, support, stadium, revenue from merchandise we are one the most underperforming clubs in the History of the Premier League. The truth is we need new owners, people who have a vision for the club, who give the supporters the respect they deserve, & a manager who has one more than 1 or 2 good seasons in him.

We need change from the top down but unfortunately I cant see this happening anytime soon

TaosHum

I presume that for most people, the next three games will be the deciding factor on whether Pardew should be left in charge or let go?

What's the acceptable minimum we can take from Norwich (A), Reading (H) and Villa (A)?

Seannew1

TaosHum wrote: »

I presume that for most people, the next three games will be the deciding factor on whether Pardew should be left in charge or let go?

What's the acceptable minimum we can take from Norwich (A), Reading (H) and Villa (A)?

Like I said already,I expect 9 points from these games,anything less than 7 would be unacceptbale in my book.

LOTTOWINNER

Seannew1 wrote: »

Like I said already,I expect 9 points from these games,anything less than 7 would be unacceptbale in my book.

I would love 9 points, but I think if we don't get at least 4 points we will be looking down the barrel of relegation.

Salmon

In fairness it must be said that investment in players is a key component in the success of any team. What do we expect when the table below makes such depressing reading!

1. Man City £382,150,000

2. Chelsea £190,700,000

3. Stoke City £60,075,000

4. Aston Villa £53,550,000

5. QPR £35,650,000

6. Man Utd £34,150,000

7. Liverpool £26,800,000

8. Fulham £23,600,000

9. West Brom £15,915,000

10. Sunderland £11,850,000

11. West Ham £8,100,000

12. Norwich £6,950,000

13. Swansea £6,570,000

14. Tottenham £5,590,000

15. Wigan -£2,750,000

16. Southampton -£3,150,000

17. Everton -£10,815,000

18. Reading -£21,250,000

19. Arsenal -£21,280,000

20. Newcastle -£43,400,000

granted the carroll transfer distorts the figure but if that transfer is omitted we're still 17th! That's not acceptable considering how well the club is supported and the consistently high attendances at sjp. its all well and good breaking even but if we're forced to sell or best players in order to line the pockets of fat Mike its hard to follow the team! If he was serious about building the club up Iast summer was the time to invest, he failed to do so convincing me he's just looking for a cash cow!

M5

The problem with the next three games is that if we don't get 5 plus points it will be too late to do anything about it.

While it won't mean certain relegation it will mean that getting any points at all will be extremely difficult. If you don't get results in your easier games you'll get hammered in the tough ones. Let's hope we don't provide 2 examples in one season

bazual

As previously said the next 3 games are massive, I do believe we can win at home at should take a point from both away games so 5 points I believe is achievable but this all depends on what players are available.

What I would really like to know is why are we having so many injuries. Surely the amount of injuries can't be put down to bad luck. Is it different training routines, different physio techniques, different diets? Something has got to be to blame for this as it happens too many seasons at our club. Last year was our the luckiest year that I can remember for injuries, we had very few but before that it was one after another.

As for Pardew, its too late to change him know, he is here till the end of the season at least and if he keeps us up then he will stay as Ashley doesnt not want that hassle of changing a manager. This is a pure business to him and he wants it self sustained and to not have to get involved so he won't be got rid of unless we get relegated and even then he may even stay blaming injuries etc.

cadete

first time ive seen this(maybe posted before) and im not bartons biggest fan but what he says it seems like back then it was a bit of a case of them against us
http://youtu.be/Cl72ZAXS_MU

M5

bazual wrote: »

As previously said the next 3 games are massive, I do believe we can win at home at should take a point from both away games so 5 points I believe is achievable but this all depends on what players are available.

What I would really like to know is why are we having so many injuries. Surely the amount of injuries can't be put down to bad luck. Is it different training routines, different physio techniques, different diets? Something has got to be to blame for this as it happens too many seasons at our club. Last year was our the luckiest year that I can remember for injuries, we had very few but before that it was one after another.

As for Pardew, its too late to change him know, he is here till the end of the season at least and if he keeps us up then he will stay as Ashley doesnt not want that hassle of changing a manager. This is a pure business to him and he wants it self sustained and to not have to get involved so he won't be got rid of unless we get relegated and even then he may even stay blaming injuries etc.

We were without a defense on several occasions last season. Simpson played cb a couple of times iirc. We also lost ba tiote cbaye Taylor hba marveaux etc etc for long periods. We were not lucky with injuries last year. That's something bandied about to explain away the success last year.

Can't ever remember being without 9 of our first 11 though. There were lots of injuries under souness. Always seems to be more injuries when things are not going well. Hardly a coincidence

The injuries and consequent losses thought ma nowt evidently...

M5

cadete wrote: »

first time ive seen this(maybe posted before) and im not bartons biggest fan but what he says it seems like back then it was a bit of a case of them against us
http://youtu.be/Cl72ZAXS_MU

The first 4 mins of that is a poor reflection on Barton. Gloating that he was in jail and still refused to take a pay cut. That said it was poor business by DL and MA to mention sacking Barton. Their lack of knowledge about football bit them in the arse.

The other stuff while interesting enough to hear first hand was pretty well known i thought.

All in all neither party has covered themselves in glory. What worries me is what the next gaffe is going to be from the DL/MA.... The penny pinching in the summer has cost us millions due to lack of progress in the cups and loss of league position not to mention loosing Demba Ba

bazual

M5 wrote: »

We were without a defense on several occasions last season. Simpson played cb a couple of times iirc. We also lost ba tiote cbaye Taylor hba marveaux etc etc for long periods. We were not lucky with injuries last year. That's something bandied about to explain away the success last year.

Can't ever remember being without 9 of our first 11 though. There were lots of injuries under souness. Always seems to be more injuries when things are not going well. Hardly a coincidence

The injuries and consequent losses thought ma nowt evidently...

You are spot on M5 it seemed like we had no injuries last season but looking back now we did have a few at different times but I think the key was that they were not key players. Last season may have just been a team punching above their weight.

This season the same players are not up to scratch. Jonas my player of the season last year very poor, Simpson, Williamson, Tiote all very poor. Cabaye and Tiote only starting together for 2/3 games has had a huge influence as when they do player together they control the game and we in.


Player

---

11/12----12/13 so far
Krul

---

38

---

17
Santon/Taylor----19/23

---

21/0
Colo

---

35

---

13
Willo/Taylor

---

21/14

---

16/10
Simpson

---

35

---

15
Jonas

---

37

---

17
Tiote/Guth/Anit--24/13

---

13/0/14
Cabaye

---

34

---

10
HBA/Obertan

---

16/18

---

13/2
Ba

---

32

---

19
Cisse/Best/Shola-13/16/8---18/0/3

Seannew1

LOTTOWINNER wrote: »

I would love 9 points, but I think if we don't get at least 4 points we will be looking down the barrel of relegation.

4 points would really be unthinkable given our current situation. Norwich game will be the toughest out of the 3 games,they're a well organised side and Hughton has them playing some decent stuff,they ain't on the best run themselves so it'll be interesting to see which team responds better to their bad runs.I really am expecting a performance from the lads this game though,we really are due a performance,we've been let down recently. We should nick a win in the reading game,they aren't having the best season themselves so definitely winnable and Villa have been even worse than us recently and at that stage we should have Cabaye,Taylor etc etc up to speed along with some new signings so again we should be looking to win it. If results don't go to plan,Pardew can hardly spring the old, we had tough games,injuries blah blah crap again

M5

bazual wrote: »

You are spot on M5 it seemed like we had no injuries last season but looking back now we did have a few at different times but I think the key was that they were not key players. Last season may have just been a team punching above their weight.

This season the same players are not up to scratch. Jonas my player of the season last year very poor, Simpson, Williamson, Tiote all very poor. Cabaye and Tiote only starting together for 2/3 games has had a huge influence as when they do player together they control the game and we in.


Player

---

11/12----12/13 so far
Krul

---

38

---

17
Santon/Taylor----19/23

---

21/0
Colo

---

35

---

13
Willo/Taylor

---

21/14

---

16/10
Simpson

---

35

---

15
Jonas

---

37

---

17
Tiote/Guth/Anit--24/13

---

13/0/14
Cabaye

---

34

---

10
HBA/Obertan

---

16/18

---

13/2
Ba

---

32

---

19
Cisse/Best/Shola-13/16/8---18/0/3

Last year when we had injuries the likes of Guthrie, Perch, Best and Williamson came into the side and performed well above their level. While our disfunctional midfield is causing a poor defense and attack (wonder if bypassing it has anything to do with that?????), this puts added pressure on Williamson (who is a bottom half prem player) who's deficiencies have been exposed. Hes at least functional in a decent side. When its a slog he's useless unfortunately..

mayflyatr

Why not get Andy Carroll back? Just because he hasn't been scoring at West Ham??? He came good at Liverpool end of last season and got goals for us not to mention for England. He is not a 30 goal a season striker but will score and would bring alot more to our game. The main benefit of having a player like Andy in the team is his aerial domination in attack and defense, a team like Newcastle can only benefit from this attribute as you rightly pointed out our set piece defending is poor and attacking set pieces.

Newcastle will not achieve the success a club like ours deserves until the Ashley dictatorship moves on.

I think 7 points from the next 3 games is achievable although I fear the Villa game could be a banana skin. Norwich away by far the hardest fixture on paper so a point there is a result.

leonidas83 wrote: »

Hang on a second, the last thing we need is a player like Andy Carroll back, what has he scored since he went to West Ham, one goal or something, is that the best we can come up with.

Given the size of our club, support, stadium, revenue from merchandise we are one the most underperforming clubs in the History of the Premier League. The truth is we need new owners, people who have a vision for the club, who give the supporters the respect they deserve, & a manager who has one more than 1 or 2 good seasons in him.

We need change from the top down but unfortunately I cant see this happening anytime soon

cadete

mayflyatr wrote: »

Why not get Andy Carroll back?

because he is not good enough, and if he returns we are guaranteed to see nothing but route 1 stuff, the kind of football we have played alot of this season with no success. Carroll would be looking for 50k a week and that is 50k that would be much better spent on a player who can actually do more than head the ball. how on earth we got 35 million for him is really beyond belief, and to bring him back i would not pay anymore than 2/4 million tops on wages 30k he would be a direct replacement for shola imo.
I think its fair to say we all want to see 433/451/4231 with cisse down the middle and some decent football played which we showed last year we can do and even at times this year. carroll i think would be a huge backward step

mayflyatr

I expect we will see Carroll back at SJP very soon, it's well known Pardew is a fan and Carroll wants to come back....that is if Pardew turns things around and Ashley is happy with the fee and wages!!!!

Have read Loic Remy will turn down a move to QPR in favour of Newastle as he has friends there. Reckon playing in front of 53,000 fans than 18,000 may have been a factor. Sounds like money isn't if it's true.

leonidas83

Salmon wrote: »

In fairness it must be said that investment in players is a key component in the success of any team. What do we expect when the table below makes such depressing reading!

1. Man City £382,150,000

2. Chelsea £190,700,000

3. Stoke City £60,075,000

4. Aston Villa £53,550,000

5. QPR £35,650,000

6. Man Utd £34,150,000

7. Liverpool £26,800,000

8. Fulham £23,600,000

9. West Brom £15,915,000

10. Sunderland £11,850,000

11. West Ham £8,100,000

12. Norwich £6,950,000

13. Swansea £6,570,000

14. Tottenham £5,590,000

15. Wigan -£2,750,000

16. Southampton -£3,150,000

17. Everton -£10,815,000

18. Reading -£21,250,000

19. Arsenal -£21,280,000

20. Newcastle -£43,400,000

granted the carroll transfer distorts the figure but if that transfer is omitted we're still 17th! That's not acceptable considering how well the club is supported and the consistently high attendances at sjp. its all well and good breaking even but if we're forced to sell or best players in order to line the pockets of fat Mike its hard to follow the team! If he was serious about building the club up Iast summer was the time to invest, he failed to do so convincing me he's just looking for a cash cow!

But why shouldnt the Carroll fee be included, that money was never spent as we were told it would, on new players, instead we given lines such as its being spent on new contracts for existing players. That should have been factored in for the existing expenditure already.

The argument that Ashley consistently uses is that we were in extremely bad shape financially when he took over & he himself has had to use alot of his own money to finance us. Now he's looking for payback for these loans. Its beyond ridiculous really, Ashley knew full well the extent of our financial problems when he took over the club, this is a man who researches, analyses & details everything he does financially to avoid his biggest hate, waste. To think that he would buy into Newcastle not knowing anything but the truth is farcical.

Also he forgets he is the one mainly responsible for our relagation from the PL so the financial hit that the club had to take upon relegation should have been his to take & his alone. He uses this as a basis for us not spending any real money on a regular basis over the last few seasons.

We are never going anywhere under his ownership, he lacks ambition to take us into the top four & realises that the real profit is just to keep us going as a PL club while keeping costs at a minimum. He's confusing business with football. If all your concerned about is the bottom line you can forget about success as a football club

M5

leonidas83 wrote: »

But why shouldnt the Carroll fee be included, that money was never spent as we were told it would, on new players, instead we given lines such as its being spent on new contracts for existing players. That should have been factored in for the existing expenditure already.

The argument that Ashley consistently uses is that we were in extremely bad shape financially when he took over & he himself has had to use alot of his own money to finance us. Now he's looking for payback for these loans. Its beyond ridiculous really, Ashley knew full well the extent of our financial problems when he took over the club, this is a man who researches, analyses & details everything he does financially to avoid his biggest hate, waste. To think that he would buy into Newcastle not knowing anything but the truth is farcical.

Also he forgets he is the one mainly responsible for our relagation from the PL so the financial hit that the club had to take upon relegation should have been his to take & his alone. He uses this as a basis for us not spending any real money on a regular basis over the last few seasons.

We are never going anywhere under his ownership, he lacks ambition to take us into the top four & realises that the real profit is just to keep us going as a PL club while keeping costs at a minimum. He's confusing business with football. If all your concerned about is the bottom line you can forget about success as a football club

...and we have lost arguably our biggest asset due to underinvestment in the summer.

leonidas83

M5 wrote: »

...and we have lost arguably our biggest asset due to underinvestment in the summer.

Well when it comes to that you have to ask wtf was Derek Liambias doing. This was a relatively young striker who was struggling to find a new club because of his knee problems & here we go offering him a buy out clause of only 7m. True he had one or two decent seasons at West Ham but we were in the driving seat with that deal. There shouldnt be any buy out clauses for our first team squad & if there has to be they should be of a ridiculous amount like the Spanish clubs.

M5

leonidas83 wrote: »

Well when it comes to that you have to ask wtf was Derek Liambias doing. This was a relatively young striker who was struggling to find a new club because of his knee problems & here we go offering him a buy out clause of only 7m. True he had one or two decent seasons at West Ham but we were in the driving seat with that deal. There shouldnt be any buy out clauses for our first team squad & if there has to be they should be of a ridiculous amount like the Spanish clubs.

He had a "timebomb" issue with his knee and had failed medicals with 2/3 other clubs in the preceding 5/6 months. He was offered a pay as you play contract of 20k with 25k if he played. He insisted on the clause. It probably seemed fair enough as he had only had 1/2 a season wit WHU. The problem is that our drop in form (we finished AHEAD of Chelsea remember) has lead to him leaving for a club he sees as a better bet for CL footie. If we had been there or there abouts i doubt he would have left

Moneymaker

It's easy to say with hindsight that clause was a mistake.

If his knee went tits up(it still might) then we're stuck with a crocked striker no one wants.

Apperently Schalke and Dortmund eyeing up Remy now. Sigh.

BetterCallSaul

M5 wrote: »

The problem is that our drop in form (we finished AHEAD of Chelsea remember) has lead to him leaving for a club he sees as a better bet for CL footie. If we had been there or there abouts i doubt he would have left

If Chelsea came knocking, he would have left regardless of our league position.

We may of finished ahead of them last season, but they had the small distraction of winning the Champions League and FA Cup.

M5

BetterCallSaul wrote: »

If Chelsea came knocking, he would have left regardless of our league position.

We may of finished ahead of them last season, but they had the small distraction of winning the Champions League and FA Cup.

He had the option in the summer and last January remember. I'm not so sure

BetterCallSaul

M5 wrote: »

He had the option in the summer and last January remember. I'm not so sure

Nobody triggered the release clause in either window. It was just paper talk.

I can't believe any of our players would turn down a move to a side with realistic expectations of winning every competition they are in.

We can't compete with the likes of Chelsea. If it was a proposed move to Liverpool, then our league position may have come into the equation.

leonidas83

M5 wrote: »

He had a "timebomb" issue with his knee and had failed medicals with 2/3 other clubs in the preceding 5/6 months. He was offered a pay as you play contract of 20k with 25k if he played. He insisted on the clause. It probably seemed fair enough as he had only had 1/2 a season wit WHU. The problem is that our drop in form (we finished AHEAD of Chelsea remember) has lead to him leaving for a club he sees as a better bet for CL footie. If we had been there or there abouts i doubt he would have left

I know the details of the contract but he shouldnt have been given such a low buyout clause, fair or not. If he got injured, fair enough, there's nothing we could have done about that anyway but it should have been factored in that if this player had one or two good seasons there shouldnt have been such a low buyout clause. Ashley & Lambias are gas, on one hand they're penny pinching over everything & then they go out & do deals like that.

I think they got stung on this one because they saw a player willing to take a very modest wage & were enticed by this but didnt realise the potential & self belief this player really had.

M5

BetterCallSaul wrote: »

Nobody triggered the release clause in either window. It was just paper talk.

I can't believe any of our players would turn down a move to a side with realistic expectations of winning every competition they are in.

We can't compete with the likes of Chelsea. If it was a proposed move to Liverpool, then our league position may have come into the equation.

It was more than paper talk. Pardew and the club complained about it several times. For what ever reason he stayed... Perhaps other clubs were not willing to gamble on a big contract given the knee situation? All speculation of course

leonidas83 wrote: »

I know the details of the contract but he shouldnt have been given such a low buyout clause, fair or not. If he got injured, fair enough, there's nothing we could have done about that anyway but it should have been factored in that if this player had one or two good seasons there shouldnt have been such a low buyout clause. Ashley & Lambias are gas, on one hand they are penny pinching over everything & then they go out & do deals like that.

I think they got stung on this one because they saw a player willing to take a very modest wage & were enticed by this but didnt realise the potential & self belief this player had.

TBH i would have had no problems with it at the time. I remember thinking he was a donkey actually, even after a couple of games

BetterCallSaul

M5 wrote: »

It was more than paper talk. Pardew and the club complained about it several times. For what ever reason he stayed... Perhaps other clubs were not willing to gamble on a big contract given the knee situation? All speculation of course

The reason he stayed is because no one bid for him. If a top 4 club activated the clause in the summer, he would have left then. The media circus and uncertainty around him (if a bid came in, they had to accept it) is what Pardew was moaning about. It was always hanging over them.

No bid in the last two windows may have being down to his knee situation all right, but he was always on his way if a top 4 club came in for him, whether Newcastle were 5th or 15th at that time.

M5

BetterCallSaul wrote: »

The reason he stayed is because no one bid for him. If a top 4 club activated the clause in the summer, he would have left then. The media circus and uncertainty around him (if a bid came in, they had to accept it) is what Pardew was moaning about. It was always hanging over them.

No bid in the last two windows may have being down to his knee situation all right, but he was always on his way if a top 4 club came in for him, whether Newcastle were 5th or 15th at that time.

that was my original point, Chelsea were not in the top for at the time

tis just speculation either way anyhow. All of this is IMO

BetterCallSaul

M5 wrote: »

that was my original point, Chelsea were not in the top for at the time

Ha, they were in a top 4 position during the last January window though (we weren't) and they had qualified for the CL in the summer window.

M5

BetterCallSaul wrote: »

Ha, they were in a top 4 position during the last January window though (we weren't) and they had qualified for the CL in the summer window.

DOh,

yeah but there was not a huge difference in league position to be fair. perhaps he felt we had a chance of cl footy. This season when we stuggle he bails.

BetterCallSaul

M5 wrote: »

DOh,

yeah but there was not a huge difference in league position to be fair. perhaps he felt we had a chance of cl footy. This season when we stuggle he bails.

Yeah, I know where you're coming from M5, our league position isn't doing us any favours right now, that's for sure.

Reports this morning that Cabaye and Taylor may miss the full Norwich game.

mayflyatr

Reports this morning that Cabaye and Taylor may miss the full Norwich game.[/QUOTE]

Just read this, I would rather they missed the game instead of rushing them back too early.

Gutierrez, Colo and Cisse are back which is some good news. Should be a strong enough team out at Norwich.

What do people make of the news that Simpson wants a move to London to be closer to his girlfriend?

Seannew1

mayflyatr wrote: »

Reports this morning that Cabaye and Taylor may miss the full Norwich game.

Looks like Perchinho is out too,leaving us light in midfield again,I assume Bigirimana will start and Sammy Ameobi may even feature??

mayflyatr

Yes Bigi may start with Anita and Guttierez in midfield. Reckon it will be a 4-5-1 formation with Marveaux and Obertan wide and Cisse up front.

cadete

sky sports saying santon wanted by ac milan and the collo rumors still goin around about him returning to Argentina would be a complete disaster if we lost either in this window imo,
sadly no rumors of any1 willing to relieve us of guti

Seannew1

Anyone else have that feeling that Remy will NOT be coming??

BArra

i dont see him arriving to nufc, sky sports said he travelled to a training camp - similar fluff in past when nothing happened

cadete

supposedly he is not on the Marseilles panel to play a friendly tomorrow if that means anything but if he wants to wait for some other club before he comes to us im not interested we need people that want us not who take us when nothing better is around

Seannew1

With us though with always seems to happen is waiting until the very last minute and then missing out,eg summer 2011 when we had 35 million to spend on a new striker and lost out on Bryan Ruiz on the last day.

Paully D

Seannew1 wrote: »

With us though with always seems to happen is waiting until the very last minute and then missing out,eg summer 2011 when we had 35 million to spend on a new striker and lost out on Bryan Ruiz on the last day.

Purposely done by Ashley so it makes it look like he's trying to sign someone when he has no intention at all, just to keep the fans onside.

Seannew1

Demba Ba,chelsea home debut,booked for diving,good enough for him!

bazual

Seannew1 wrote: »

With us though with always seems to happen is waiting until the very last minute and then missing out,eg summer 2011 when we had 35 million to spend on a new striker and lost out on Bryan Ruiz on the last day.

Don't forget Charles N'Somnia that was a huge bullet that we dodged.

bazual

Seannew1 wrote: »

Demba Ba,chelsea home debut,booked for diving,good enough for him!

To be fair I wish him all the best, go knows where we would be without him, definitely not in Europe anyway and stuck at the bottom of the league. We may not even have got Cisse if we never got him. He is 28 this year and the older he gets the more likely the knee is going to give way so why not go to a club that has a bit of ambition and get paid for it too.

bazual

Can't see Remy coming either to be fair, more likely to see Erdinc or some other idiot being bid for. We should have done some sort of deal with Chelsea if possible to get Lukaku off West Brom for the rest of the season. Theres talk about Aubameyang too who has a decent record.

As for us being interested in James Tomkins, I see him on the same level as Williamson, just another body for the squad that Ashley can get on a cheap wage.

BetterCallSaul

Supposedly we have bid for Gaetan Bong. A left back, who plays in Ligue 1 for Valenciennes.

cadete

BetterCallSaul wrote: »

Supposedly we have bid for Gaetan Bong. A left back, who plays in Ligue 1 for Valenciennes.

interesting news maybe so santon can be pushed up to the wing?

Amirani

cadete wrote: »

interesting news maybe so santon can be pushed up to the wing?

Or be sold off to Mílan?

Paully D

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/exclusive-newcastle-in-turmoil-as-captain-coloccini-asks-to-return-home-8447038.html

Newcastle United have been rocked by the request of their captain, Fabricio Coloccini, to leave the club during the January transfer window. The 30-year-old told club officials today that he wanted to return home to Argentina.

His representatives flew to Tyneside for a meeting to tell the club that the player no longer felt he could stay and wished to leave before the end of the month. That is a massive blow to manager Alan Pardew's attempts to steer Newcastle away from the Premier League relegation zone. The club have won twice in their last 16 games and head to Norwich tomorrow without a league victory away from St James' Park this season.

Coloccini is currently the best paid player at St James' Park, on a salary of around £3m per year. He has become a hugely dependable and popular performer at the club and his display in the Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland earlier in the season brought comparisons to Bobby Moore from Pardew.

However, Coloccini's form has dipped recently and his father, Osvaldo, has expressed a wish for his son to be allowed to return home for what his agent called "personal matters". Newcastle must now decide whether to allow the £10m signing from Deportivo La Coruña in 2008 to leave during the transfer window. That may depend on whether they can find a replacement before the end of the month.

Coloccini signed a new four-year deal last year to stay at the club but the desire from the Argentina international now is to return home, possibly to join San Lorenzo, for whom he played for during the 2000-01 season and where his father is now employed. Osvaldo has admitted his son is eager to move back to the club for whom he played on loan from Milan for a season. Newcastle may have to consider the possibility of loaning the central defender to San Lorenzo, with the Argentinian side unlikely to be able to pay a major fee for a player who made the Premier League team of the year last season.

Pardew had provisionally included Coloccini in his squad for Newcastle's game at Carrow Road. But San Lorenzo's president, Matias Lammens, appears hopeful of securing a swift solution, having admitted today they are interested in signing him.

"Coloccini to San Lorenzo is the plan A, B and C," Lammens said. "He represents much more than football – he played here six months and was champion, his father works at the club and is a fan. The deadline is next week but we cannot do anything crazy with the budget."

After starting his professional career at Boca Juniors, Coloccini left the Buenos Aires giants for Milan in 1999. Although he remained on the books of the Italian club for five years, he spent almost the entire time out on loan in Argentina and Spain. Coloccini joined Newcastle in 2008 for £10.3m, with Pardew making him captain at the start of last season. But he has spoken of the difficulty his wife and family had in settling in England when he arrived four and a half years ago.

He said: "I came [to England] with my wife and my children. It was difficult for me but more difficult for my wife. She was at home, she didn't have friends. She is one of the people who made a lot of things for me and sometimes I think, when I play well or I give 100 per cent on the pitch, it is because I am well at home."

M5

Paully D wrote: »

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/exclusive-newcastle-in-turmoil-as-captain-coloccini-asks-to-return-home-8447038.html

Week old story, refuted by agent