That's my understanding of it. He wanted Lambert out so he could move Osvaldo in permanently, to start. Just so happens that Dani decided to go ****ing mental shortly after, too.
If that is true, Nicola couldn't have wanted Rickie out for footballing reasons. Suggests there was a book balancing problem...WHU's offer for a player of SRL's age was too good to refuse.
Lots on here at the beginning of last season were worried with Clyne out and this untried youngster playing at RB. We have a history of producing fullbacks and maybe RK has seen enough in McCarthy to be happy with him as backup. 18mil is stupid money for a good player but no world beater, losing Clyne would have hurt more and noway would we even get 8mil for Clyne. If the players want to leave then its upto the board to screw as much money from the other club and then ensure that RK has the funds to build a team that he wants. Its a shame that Callums career will now stagnate for a few years
What about MP coming in , RL is THE HERO , MP wants him gone , NC agrees ................ Not footballing reasons , I agree , but an ego trip ?
I wonder what Newcastle fans are thinking of this, given that I've seen £10m quoted as the amount Arsenal paid for Debuchy just the other day. First choice RB for his country, arguably one of the best RBs in the PL, should be roughly at the height of his career right at the age of 28, 18 months of regular PL football behind him. And yet they get somewhere between £2m and £8m less than what it looks like we will get for Chambers. Could Ashley/Pardew have put up more of a battle?
Was up in Newcastle recently...the fan I stayed with did not seem to mind losing Debuchy...though more money never hurts. Mind you, she just wants to see the back of Ashley...red-faced with anger despite the decent financial position he has got them in to. She thinks he has contempt for the fans.
I do hope they go along with it (they won't) be great to put faces to the most idiotic section of our supporters so I can either avoid them at St Mary's, or punch their lights out if they come near me.
I'm considering closing all my online accounts and returning on September 2nd to see if everyone's topped themselves. Or, if they've calmed down, assessed the new signings and decided to get behind the boss. We'll see.
Not a bad shout. I need to keep coming on here to vent my anger though, otherwise I'd just start punching things.
And IIRC Rickie wasn't exactly in sparkling form at the time. Taking sentiment out of the picture, you can see why NC thought it might be a decent deal at the stage RL was at. Mind you, he would have been wrong, but you can forgive that.