Can't see, got no faitth in Carr, Charnley or Ashley.
Really?
Can't see, got no faitth in Carr, Charnley or Ashley.
I still think we will lose him. He'll have options and likely PL options too.
It would be great if we could keep him and obviously the noises he is making is that if they give him the control he wants then he is up for it. I just can't see Ashley/Charnley giving up the control. They have a ready made excuse to find someone cheaper.
I still think we will lose him. He'll have options and likely PL options too.
It would be great if we could keep him and obviously the noises he is making is that if they give him the control he wants then he is up for it. I just can't see Ashley/Charnley giving up the control. They have a ready made excuse to find someone cheaper.
I am still preparing myself for the fact that he is more likely to leave than to stay, even though it is hard to keep the hope from bubbling over into expectation. I suspect that the most likely reason for him leaving will simply be a better offer coming along though. I actually think Ashley will want to keep him as he will see the potential for getting back into the premier league quickly, and so getting his premier league advertising back. Where it falls down is that he has tasked Lee Charnley with securing that agreement. He is basically asking a turkey to vote for Christmas, as it is hard to imagine that Rafa's demands will not include the break up of the current structure - as that is exactly what we need. We probably would need Ashley to take over the negotiations from Charnley so that he could listen to what was needed. I don't expect that to happen though.
I think it will be all down to whether there are any other options for him elsewhere. Cant imagine the town not given him exactly what he would want cos if Rafa walks away and suggests that Ashley and co. bottled it then there will be hell on! Just wondering that he may keep himself signed on but with a release clause saying that if a top club were to approach him then he will be allowed to discuss terms with them. Maybe halfway through next season or even at the end. He could possibly get Newcastle promoted but then get head hunted before the start of the next campaign.
The other issue in all this is the football league's financial fair play rules. I believe the limit on losses is 13 million a year. This means Rafa (if he were to stay) couldn't strength the squad that much. It would also depend on which players leave, who much we could get for them and the value of the wages they take with them.
The other issue in all this is the football league's financial fair play rules. I believe the limit on losses is 13 million a year. This means Rafa (if he were to stay) couldn't strength the squad that much. It would also depend on which players leave, who much we could get for them and the value of the wages they take with them.
Good lad
I've just eaten 2 bowls of porridg a banana an orange and two cheese scones for breakfast.
Hope he stays with you lot. He'll bring you back up ASAP. I still believe had you gotten him sooner you'd have stayed up.
Agree with a lot of that. There are a number of unknown factors too though that may play a role in his decision.
We don't know how important it is to him to stay in England. We know he has said it is his preference, but don't know how much it would sway him if a really big job offer came up abroad. Looking for positives (from our point of view) we may get lucky in the fact that the two big jobs that seem to have possibilities for openings in England are Everton and Man United. Both are clubs where a significant portion of their fans wouldn't want him due to his Liverpool past. Both jobs would also risk his reputation with Liverpool fans which he seems to genuinely cherish. However, we've seen before that he has taken on jobs at clubs where he has known he was not a popular choice.
Another unknown is that none of us know how big a gambler he is and how prepared he is to take a risk. There was really no risk to his reputation in coming here for 10 games. He would be a hero if he saved us and relegation would be down to MacClaren. If he stays next year it is a risk though. The championship is not an easy league to get out of and he would be opening himself up to plenty of stick if he didn't get us promoted. Set against that, we are such a **** up of a club that if he did get us up and managed to build something good then he would be seen as some sort of genius. I think a lot will come down to how those two possibilities weigh up in his head. If there is a sticking point in Ashley agreeing to his terms it could possibly be that he would want assurances on transfers and keeping players to such an extent that it took most of the risk out of it for him. That would then turn it round onto Ashley as to how big a risk he was willing to take with our finances when promotion would still not be guaranteed.
As you said though, the most likely stumbling block is likely to be one that is completely out of our hands when a big club makes him a very good offer.