From the clubs official website. Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has thanked Rafa Benítez, the players and the club’s supporters following the club’s tenth-place finish in the Premier League. The Magpies secured a place in the top half with a 3-0 victory over Chelsea at St. James’ Park on Sunday. The owner said: "I would like to thank Rafa Benitez for his magnificent achievement this season. "I would also like to applaud the players, led fantastically by the captain Jamaal Lascelles. "On many occasions throughout the season they have been described as a Championship side, which I personally consider to be derogatory. "Rafa, as always, has my full support, and contrary to some media reports that portray me as a pantomime villain, I will continue to ensure that every penny generated by the club is available to him. "I hope very much that Rafa will remain at Newcastle United. "Finally, I would like to thank the fans for their unrivalled support of Rafa and the team throughout the season."
I think FUN88 have actually been a cool sponsor. They do a lot to get involved with the fans. Mikes still a doosh though..
“Mike Ashley statement: It's a start but actions speak louder than words for Rafa and Newcastle fans” From the Ronnie Gill. I agree.
It's the right noises, can't complain about what he does or doesn't fund in the summer until later on. Enjoy top half of the Premiership!!
Pretty much as expected, exactly the same as the previous 3 years since he started saying this mantra. He has been true to his word and this is backed up by the accounts available to us. No reason to think he won't do the same again and maybe the fans can start to cut him a bit of slack and get rid of the remaining negative vibes. Hopefully a peaceful window but knowing our fans, there is never enough. Sounds like he hasn't had much interest which is a shame as he is talking like he is definitely staying. You'd have hoped if someone was serious about a takeover they'd have made contact by now. Hopefully he just didn't want to build up hope without anything concrete in place. I just hope we aren't going to have the same type as the January chancers who do nothing but disrupt our transfer business. Club unity is what is going to drive us forward though in what is a very competitive market. We are never going to compete financially with the top sides so we need all the other ducks in a row. Keeping Rafa is important so hopefully the budget we have generated is of interest to him. The sponsors are on board, the owner is, I think the manager is, the fans are bar a few moaning minnies and conspiracy theorists. If we can be smart with our money there is no reason we can't consolidate a mid table position next year.
Agree. We need to sign Dubravka as priority. I think it's unlikely we will get Kenedy although would be over the moon if we can finance That one, otherwise we need a replacelemt and then we must go full out for a really good CF. Outside of That we probably need a bit more squad cover but a CF is the most critical position to get right.
Dubravka is a done deal at 4m. To be honest you wouldn't get many keepers at the PL level these days for that sort of money. Lets say we have a budget of £40m plus sales. That leaves maybe £33m after wages, signing fees etc. I still Hernandez is good business on a free. Its a deal that maybe costs you £5m. Down to £28m. I think we will generate a minimum of £40m from sales (wages in etc). Back up to £68m. Say we can get the Kenedy deal done, its likely to cost us around £35m all in. I think this is a problem for us to be honest. You'd have about £23m left in the pot. Say we generate another £5m from sales which is doubtful but possible. You'd still only have £28m in the pot for a striker. You wouldn't have signed a left back or right back, you wouldn't have signed a central midfielder. Its a tricky one. Kenedy is a very expensive purchase for a club of our size unless there is some deal that can be done with Chelsea. I'd be tempted to see if we can do the Kenedy deal as a season long loan with a right to buy. It would free up a massive amount of money to develop the overall team without doing massive damage to our quality.
Should release the finance statements then, well overdue as it is. Show us all what Rafa's working with. I'm not a rocket scientist but once they are out even I'd have a basic understanding of "what the club is generating". Still think Rafa will see out next year regardless so is in no rush to sign a contract anyway.
Sure transfer budgets encompass wages, fees, agents fees etc etc. A transfer is the whole cost I'd imagine. If not then we should be in quite a strong position. I'd be very surprised though.
Only in the Derek Lambias school of accountancy. You aren't going to pay wages from 5 years down the line out of this year's transfer budget.
So only a years wages and the fees? That's what I was on about. Say 100k per week is £5.2, him and the agent will probably split another £5m, plus say a fee of £25m. I think it would be pretty expensive transfer to be honest.
Wages are completely seperate to transfer fees. On that point we will see some big earners go this summer like Colback, Haidara etc... so hopefully that will free up more to play with.
be very interesting to see who goes this summer. So much deadwood at the club! I did a thread last summer about who'd be leaving etc but CBA to do it again this year. Must be £30-40m worth of talent to ship out this year if Mitro and Mbemba are on the sale list, others like Saviet and Lazaar will bring in a few bob as well.
