Newcastle United 2013-2014: Judge Us On Our Signings

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Joe D Reid

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Taking those together, we'll see Cisse dealt and then bring in Carroll. Unless there is somehow yet another underrated Senegalese striker kicking around Ligue 1 somewhere.
 

Infield Infidel

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Cabaye. We keep him and we'll be ok. He keeps everything together. Give him whatever he wants
 
I love Cisse but he's 28 and if he wants more money, and Ashley won't give it to him, well, I'll miss the handful of awesome goals he scores. Gouffran played well down the stretch.
 
Colo is solid but he'll probably want out. He ain't young Perhaps we finally get Douglas out of Twente (unless Liverpool gets him :(
 
Santon, if he wants out, would fetch a decent fee. 
 
Tiote's not going anywhere they way he played down the stretch.
 
Full season with Gouffran, Sissoko, MYMB, and DeBuschy in summer camp would presumably behoove the squad
 

mascho

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Rumors that Anzhi are going to offer €18 million for Cisse.

http://hereisthecity.com/2013/05/30/anzhi-offer-newcastle-united-18-million-for-papiss-cisse-reports/
 

Infield Infidel

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Seven Costanza

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Interesting scuttlebutt around Cisse refusing to wear a Wonga shirt for religious reasons.  Wonder how that will turn out.
 

Seven Costanza

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Not that I agree with his stance, but in my book, Virgin Money is a somewhat legitimate financial enterprise compared to Wonga and their 4000% interest rates.
 
Interestingly neither Ben Arfa or Tiote (other Muslims on the squad) have said anything about not wearing the shirt. 
 

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.
Since the religious objection is due to the Sharia prohibition of accepting interest or fees for loaning money, wouldn't he find Virgin Money (or any banking or financial institution) just as objectionable?
 

Seven Costanza

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One would think. Although in my edited post I posit that maybe there's levels of objectivity for these sorts of things.
 
More plausible though is that he's just using this for leverage to get a pay raise- i.e. give him more $$ and he'll shut up.
 

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.
Yeah, I don't mean to question the man's religious beliefs, but the timing of this and his demanding a pay raise to stay with the club seemed like more than a coincidence.
 

Seven Costanza

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I'd much rather see the club splash 11 million on Andy than 6 on Bent. 
 
A rejuvenated Carroll on Tyneside would be a thing to watch.  I think it would really light a fire under his ass and the supporters. 
 

Infield Infidel

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Mike Ashley is a fucking joke
 
Joe Kinnear has revealed he is to make a shock return to Newcastle United as the club's Director of Football on a three-year contract.
 
the former Wimbledon, Luton Town and Nottingham Forest boss, who suffered a heart attack while in charge of the Dons in 1999, is set to make a dramatic comeback - and he insists he will have the final say on transfers.
 
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1477550/joe-kinnear-shock-return-newcastle-united?cc=5901
 

Seven Costanza

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I just don't get it.
 
At all.
 
What a joke.
 
I only hope this is an attempt at forcing Pardew to resign (apparently he doesn't have a release clause in his 8 year contract) to save some dough.  Followed by Kinner himself getting fired.  
 
The man's had a job in professional football 6 months out of the last 9 years.  And he's the new Director of Football.
 

soxfan121

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Mike Ashley sounds like a wonderful troll. I haven't seen this many pissed off fans over a hire since the fall of 2011. 
 

teddykgb

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Seven Costanza said:
I just don't get it.
 
At all.
 
What a joke.
 
I only hope this is an attempt at forcing Pardew to resign (apparently he doesn't have a release clause in his 8 year contract) to save some dough.  Followed by Kinner himself getting fired.  
 
The man's had a job in professional football 6 months out of the last 9 years.  And he's the new Director of Football.
 
Come on, he says he's a good judge of talent! He's perfect for the role!
 
This is one of the most insane things I've seen in all of sports.  You'd honestly have a hard time finding a person who was less qualified for a major job in sports.  How awesome would it be to be a fly in the room for that first meeting with Pardew? He's quoted as talking about the deficiencies he's seen in the squad... Newcastle would have been better off just hiring their most vocal message board poster for this role.
 

cjdmadcow

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This news has fantastic comedy potential for non-Newcastle fans for the upcoming season and I have to agree that it's a decision by Mike Ashley that makes no sense whatsoever. Director of Football, responsible for recruitment...yeah, right on Joe.
 
Ashley is not alone in losing his business marbles when it comes to owning football clubs, there seems to be some disease that takes hold when what appear perfectly sane and highly successful businessmen step through the doors of the club they've bought. I mean, just look at these numbers for Ashley...
 
According to Sports Direct's last accounts for 2012, revenue was at 1.8 BILLION GBP, Ashley sold 86M GBP worth of property back to Sports Direct and he owns 410M shares in the company which are currently valued at over 5 GBP each. There's no disputing the fact that he is an extremely successful, and extremely rich, businessman so to get there he must know what he's doing.
 
So what the hell goes through his head when he steps through the doors at SJP? 
 
It must be time to resurrect the infamous video of the last time Kinnear was at Newcastle and he was introduced to the press. NSFW...probably.
 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/joe-kinnear-confirms-newcastle-united-1956564
 

cjdmadcow

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cjdmadcow said:
This news has fantastic comedy potential for non-Newcastle fans for the upcoming season...
 
I didn't expect the comedy to begin almost immediately...
 
Speaking on talkSPORT radio last night, his comments regarding some of the Newcastle fans will only help his acceptance, surely?:
 
"I don't know what angle they've got, if they want to sit down and argue with me... Some are talking out of their backsides, a load of tosh. I'm not accepting it, as simple as that. I have certainly got more intelligence than them, that's for sure."
 
Some of his other claims to fame:
 

  • Joe Kinnear said he played 400 times for Tottenham during his playing career. He actually played for them 258 times.

  • Kinnear claimed he had signed Tim Krul during his first spell at the club. Krul actually arrived at the club in 2005, three years before Kinnear.

  • When discussing the difference in the squad since he left the club in 2009, Kinnear commented that "James Perch is still there". Perch didn't arrive at Newcastle until July 2010.
Kinnear also came in for criticism for his mispronunciation of a host of players' names, including Yohan Cabaye (Cabard), Hatem Ben Arfa (Ben Afry), Jonas Gutierrez (Goltierrez) and the Ameobi brothers (Anamobi).
After the interview, Sammy Ameobi tweeted: "Wow at least get my name right".
Steve Harper, whose contract at Newcastle expires at the end of June, tweeted: "Just listened to the amazing interview that you're all tweeting about from last night.... #canspeakopenlyonapril1sorryjuly1"
 

cjdmadcow

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Something went wrong with my edit, so to complete the post...
 
Certainly looks like Steve Harper isn't sorry to be out of this particular circus.
 
Still a bit strange that there's been no word officially from the club yet, which makes me wonder if this is all one big wind-up by Ashley. Either way, the whole thing is bizarre.
 
Edit: More detailed report here: http://tyneandwear.sky.com/newcastleunited/article/71062/joe-kinnear-im-more-intelligent-than-newcastle-united-fans and full transcript here: http://t.co/6kyc3A1cdB
 

Joe D Reid

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What the shit?
 
I realize that's not really a useful post, but that's the only thing I can think to say. Exactly how many times was Kinnear kicked in the head over the course of his 1,100 appearances for Tottenham?
 

soxfan121

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Joe D Reid said:
What the shit?
 
I realize that's not really a useful post, but that's the only thing I can think to say. Exactly how many times was Kinnear kicked in the head over the course of his 1,100 appearances for Tottenham?
 
Isn't he also an 8-time Golden Boot winner? (according to Nick Cafardo)
 

Infield Infidel

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The call to bring in Kinnear was Ashley's alone. 
 
It may be a power move to try to get Pardew to resign, since he has six years left on his ridiculous contract Ashley gave him. 
 
Newcastle: Always interesting, rarely good
 

Infield Infidel

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Seven Costanza

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I'm getting pretty close to just saying F it and joining my better half on the dark side. 
 
This is just so absolutely baffling.  How does a guy who started/runs a billion dollar company make a decision like this?  On what planet does this make any sense whatsoever?
 

Joe D Reid

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Llambias resigned. If Graham Carr leaves, I don't know what I'll do. I'll hate life continually.
 
 
Also, there's mixed reports, but Kinnear may have already squashed a deal for Douglas, who we've been trying to get for a year and would be a god damn free transfer. How do you fuck up a free transfer?
http://tyneandwear.sky.com/newcastleunited/article/71218/transfer-talk-newcastle-united-pulled-out-of-douglas-deal-by
 
The link says Kinnear has his own transfer targets in mind and wants to focus on them. Knowing nothing about Kinnear other than what happened during his previous Newcastle tenure and what his fat face looks like, I assume that his primary criterion for a defender is that he look capable of shoeing a townie in an alley after closing time. 
 

mascho

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The way my "sports offseason" is going right now, I fully expect Kinnear to force Pardew out, and appoint Doc Rivers in his place.  And sign Aaron Hernandez to play striker.  
 

Infield Infidel

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 The Geordies' owner, sportswear tycoon Mike Ashley, wanted to introduce a trusted outside figure (Kinnear) in a bid to snuff out the damaging power struggle.
Pardew has complained that some of the players landed by Carr have not been good enough - a view the latter hotly disputes.
 
Toon insider explained: “Carr and Pardew are at daggers drawn. Carr says that the players he has brought in are good enough, Pardew says they are not.
“Kinnear has been brought in as a trouble-shooter, as Ashley does not know what to do - he doesn’t know who is right or who is wrong.
“Kinnear has been brought in to do Ashley’s dirty work.
 
 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/newcastle-joe-kinnear-hired-end-1972369
 
The Story is worth it for the weirdest Pardew pic alone. 
 
If the Pardew/Carr tiff is real, and I remember hearing of it last season, I would side with Carr, and get a manager who will use the players more correctly. But Pardew has 6 years left on his deal, and seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't quit if only to make Ashley pay, and Ashley is obviously a cheapskate. This could quickly become a disaster
 

LondonSox

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This is the equivalent of the Knicks bringing back Isiah Thomas again.

Kinnear has been a disaster and a heart attack waiting to happen.
This will not end well.

I think Ashley is actually doing a good job with the finances of the club, the issue is he knows nothing about football and for whatever reason whoever has his ear is recommending the wrong people. Kinnear is not a solution to anything. Pardew was a bizarre hire (his last job was to just avoid relegation with tevez and west ham) and his first year looks increasingly like a fluke. The think is it's not even his hire, it's hiring a guy with no leverage or any other options an eight year contract with no outs.
I have no clue what the guys is thinking.

Get a guy with a clue in to run the football side
 

fletcherpost

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I read that Ashley was super pissed off this season that he had to fork out 20+ Million in transfers in December. Some of those targets were slotted in for the close season and would have been cheaper, but they needed to deal with the possibility of relegation so he had to stump up the cash - reluctantly. The manger had to/has to take some responsibility but Pardew isn't that kinda guy...he favours collective responsibility...'We're all in this together' i think he said towards the end of last season. AShley as some have alluded to wanted someone to be his eyes and ears on Tyneside and so Kinnear gets the nod. Why Ashley is keen on Kinnear I don't know. Ashley wants to run the club like a proper business, but might not know how that's actually done.  And it's not just Pardew who got the 8 year contract, many of his backroom staff got the same length of contract. it could get messy and costly. 
 

PedroSpecialK

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Best Director of Football in EPL
 

Joe Kinnear insists he is "head and shoulders" above every other director of football in the Premier League because of his experience.
 
The 66-year-old's appointment was greeted by a less than favourable response on Tyneside, but having started work in earnest at St James' Park on Monday, he believes he is more than qualified for the job.
 
He told the Shields Gazette: "Every top club in the land has got one [a director of football]. We haven't – that's the difference.
 
"The manager can't do everything. I'm probably the only football manager to be a director of football. I don't know any other ex-managers who have.
 
"I've been a manager for 35 years. I've been manager of the year. I've won every award there is in football as a player. I think all those qualities put me head and shoulders above every other director of football."
 
...
 
However, Kinnear is convinced he can form a working partnership with the manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr as the club set about the task of improving the squad for next season.
 
He said: "Some directors of football have never played the game. I'm lending my experience as a manager for all those years – 10 years at Wimbledon, two years at Nottingham Forest, two years winning promotion at Luton and, of course, almost two years at Newcastle. I would still be there had it [a heart attack] not occurred."
 

Infield Infidel

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"Some directors of football have never played the game - i’m lending my experience as a manager for all those years - 10 years at Wimbledon+, two years at Nottingham Forest#, two years winning promotion at Luton and, of course, almost two years at Newcastle*.
+ in reality, 7 years and 2 months 
# in reality, 10 months
*in reality, 137 days

 
per nufc.com
 

Infield Infidel

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Steven Harper NOT retiring, just signed free agent deal with Hull City
 
This is just to note that Newcastle is the only club in the Prem yet to have signed anyone this window.
 

mascho

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Cisse refuses to travel with the club in the ongoing dispute over Wonga.  
 
Continued rumors linking Cabaye and PSG.
 
Arsenal to bid for Krul?
 
I had set up a Google News alert for Newcastle United stories.  I might need to put a halt to that...too depressing.
 

mascho

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In a bit of bright news, apparently Cisse has agreed to wear the Wonga logo.  Perhaps being photographed walking out of a casino late at night weakened his stance a bit.  
 

Infield Infidel

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Stewart Downing might be coming in from Scouse for £5M. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/05/liverpool-stewart-downing-newcastle
 
Remy is signed on a loan.

 
Gomis' deal is still on-going because of a disagreement between him and Lyon http://www.nufcblog.com/2013/08/06/this-could-be-the-hold-up-with-newcastles-gomis-deal/
 
The Frenchman is apparently due 5% of any transfer fee (about £340K), but the report is that Lyon think that payment is null and void, because Gomis was involved in a sex scandal while at Lyon.
The alleged offense happened in January of 2012, when the Lyon striker was implicated in the (alleged) sexual assault of a 38-year-old woman, but just like Loic Remy in May of this year, Gomis said he was innocent of the charge.
But as so often happens in these cases, the player was never charged for the offense, so legally he did nothing wrong, but his club are claiming that Gomis arrest on suspicion of being involved in the gang rape, brought damage to the brand and image of Olympique Lyonnais.
That seems a difficult charge to make stand legally, since Gomis was never charged with any crime, and it seems that Lyon are jumping through hoops in order to save money.
 

Joe D Reid

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Seven Costanza said:
Cabaye not in the matchday squad.
Per the BBC, that comes after Arsenal put in a bid for him. Wenger must actually have had Kinnear's phone number after all.
 
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