Is there something particular about Newcastle's insistence on signing French / French-speaking players? Doesn't seem to have served them particularly well these last few years.
Is there something particular about Newcastle's insistence on signing French / French-speaking players? Doesn't seem to have served them particularly well these last few years.
They're cheaper. I'm pretty sure they recruit exclusively from France, Belgium and Holland.
The last time they bought a player, for money, from a league better than France, was in January 2012 when they bought Papiss Cissé from Freiburg. All transfers since then have been from France or Holland, and any within England have exclusively been from lower league other than Jack Colback on a free. Even their sole venture into Spain was from the second tier.
Graham Carr is some kind of fucking It Girl round those parts, properly in there with all the agents.
Will film myself having a wank if we sign Shelvey.
Yeah but he'll have been ordered to do so by the bosses because those are 'value' leagues to buy from, full of young players who have had good coaching all their lives but without the sugar daddies around to push their value up. The worst value leagues to buy from are the likes of Turkey and Russia, which are the opposite of that.
It's just football club as trainers shop.
No doubt. Ashley is a wanker.
Porto and Benfica have got that model sorted, by the way. Free access to as many South Americans as they want on the cheap (supply chain), a shit league for them to smash (product development), guaranteed Champions League football every year (shop window), and then a selection of mug leagues in both western and eastern Europe to sell to for profit (chav customers).
There's no chance of any of the above going wrong ever, either. Newcastle think they can do the same but all they have is the supply chain. Every other piece of the attempted jigsaw is missing.
So many of their fans still seem to believe that they're even attempting to win, which is odd. I genuinely think Ashley would rather come 12th than 6th.
I think you're wrong with your last point, everyone knows his goal with the club is to do as little as possible to stay in the league and snort the TV money. It's been protested against for years now, but what can you do.
£8m bid for Tiote apparently. Fucking hell.
They don't even really have the supply chain, since that relies on the players who come in doing enough to become saleable assets. It was only about four years ago people were raving about the Newcastle scouting system and their four deep lists of cover signings for anyone who left. Was that just the result of a bit of a scouting purple patch?
The scouting of the players still seems on point, the better players just wouldn't touch the club now, especially after seeing Yanga M'biwa, Ben Arfa, Cabella and now Thauvin just wasting their time at the club, so we're now going super budget and ending up with twats like Riviere.
They're still putting in bids for the likes of Batshuayi and Lacazette though, which is pretty fucking fanciful at this point.
Lewis Grabban for £7m?
Jesus
If Norwich hadn't signed him from Bournemouth for half that it would be a decent deal.
Looks like Shelvey to Newcastle is pretty much done.
I can't imagine it has anything to do with Carr, so Schteve being on the board must have had an effect. If he somehow brings Carroll back I'm posting my video.
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It's for my own analysis for now.
There's quite a bit on Sky Sports about Andros Townsend 'wanting' to join us as well, although that's in reference to possibly joining West Brom in exchange for Berahino. If Townsend wants to go to the Euros this summer, he's going to have to move, so it'd make sense.
Saivet, Shelvey, Wijnaldum; Sissoko, Townsend, Austin
Looking like going down means at least a hint of desperation it seems.
The year we went down it was Lovenkrands for free, then very last minute deals for Nolan and Ryan Taylor, which was more about getting rid of N'Zogbia. Don't think even he can handle the gamble of losing out on next season's TV money.
Liverpool Football Club PLC or whatever have TRADEMARKED 'The Normal One'
Football is so shit these days.
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Did Bareth Gale ever release those heart celebration jewelry pieces he has the rights to?
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*jewellery.
I'm more concerned that Jürgen Klopp thinks he's normal.
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I love Jurgen, just for the right reasons (he provides top entertainment). Liverpool fans think he's something he isn't.
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Sorry have Cess actually signed a Championship defender on loan?
Klopp makes Liverpool likeable, which is the result of something far greater than normality.
Bolton look set to sell our best players, including our best ever 2 academy graduates, which is something that will totally destroy football for me. Vela looks set to go to Cardiff for a cut price 500k, whilst Clough will be off somewhere for apparently 3m, which actually means 1.5m.
If both stay fit, they would make decent prem players at the very least.
I don't get the big problem with the Caulker signing. A decent young English defender who spent the first half of the season at Southampton and played over 30+ Premier League games last season... on loan for 6 months. I'd rather that then splunking $8m on some Slovenia randomer. He could be gash, but he is better than us playing Lucas Leiva at the back.
In my eyes he's no better than giving our youngsters a go, despite me not knowing who said youngsters are.
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Ilori must be a bomb scare.
IMO clubs in a higher division should not be allowed to loan players from lower divisions.
Remeber when Ashley said that the only reason Sportsdirect.com was plastered all over the stadium was just to show what potential sponsors could have? About 5 years ago
Looks like @Foe.