Reading the article in the Journal the more it kaes me think what the hell was Nolan thinking??? He's not gaining much more financially and in my opinion is wasting 2 years of his career by taking a huge step back ( that is assuming West Ham come straight back up) But for us £4.5 Mill for a player we paid £4 mill for who will soon be 29 years old makes sense to me. NEWCASTLE United will look to bounce back from the £4.5million sale of captain Kevin Nolan by launching a double swoop for Switzerland winger Tranquillo Barnetta and Saint-Etienneâs France midfielder Blaise Matuidi. After a tumultuous day on Tyneside, skipper Nolan was on the brink of joining West Ham in a deal worth £55,000 a week. He will be handed the captaincy at Upton Park, where he will be reunited with former boss Sam Allardyce. Newcastle will respond by moving for Matuidi, a long-term target, and also looking to broker a deal for Barnetta â watched by scouts during Switzerlandâs recent draw at England. Striker Demba Ba and defender Neil Taylor are also expected to complete moves imminently. But how much consolation that will be to a fanbase left desperately disappointed by Nolanâs departure is an entirely different matter. United had wanted to keep Nolan and offered him an improved contract, but the player felt it undervalued him and was also angered by the treatment of his friend Joey Barton â who led the howls of protest on Twitter and on Sky yesterday. For their part, Newcastleâs hierarchy are intent on implementing a new culture at St Jamesâ Park, and are showing little sentiment. They are intent on not handing long, expensive deals to players into their 30s and want to build a team with more pace and energy than this yearâs side. Barnetta and Matuidi fit that bill, although whether they can replicate the incredible influence of Nolan on and off the pitch is another matter. The former Bolton man has been a hugely successful United captain â but after feeling let down over the breakdown of contract discussions, he has opted to drop down a division to sign a lucrative, longer deal in East London. The £2.86million-a-year contract is an improvement on the three-year deal offered by Newcastle, which would have kept him at United until he was 32. That incentivised deal would have seen his wages of £40,000 bumped up to £50,000 a week (£2.6million a year), with additional rewards for the club finishing in the top ten. He turned that down because he wanted a longer deal â and West Ham swooped to hand him one which improved his terms and offered him longer-term security. It is a blueprint which many have supported but probably not at the expense of Nolan, the man who wrote his name into United folklore by scoring a hat-trick against Sunderland last October. Boss Alan Pardew has opted to keep his counsel until the move has been officially announced, but undoubtedly Nolanâs departure will come as a bitter blow. United will now redouble their efforts to recruit new players and The Journal understands both Swanseaâs Taylor and Hammers striker Ba are set to be unveiled as Newcastle players by the end of the week. But that will not be enough to pacify some United fans, who will fear the worst when it comes to their influential âplayers committeeâ. Indeed, Nolan is the first of a quartet of influential stars who look set to leave this summer. Barton â so critical of United yesterday â is available for transfer after both his contract talks and relationship with key powerbrokers at the club broke down. Newcastle are yet to receive a firm enquiry about the midfielder, who has not been offered a new contract after turning down a deal back in January. Another dressing room lieutenant, Alan Smith, has also been told to leave, while The Journal understands that Steve Harper also harbours concerns about his future. Weekend reports claimed Tim Krul would be promoted to number one goalkeeper â a development which would pique the interest of Harperâs long-term admirers Celtic. http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/n...-double-swoop-61634-28887512/2/#ixzz1PQXsqL6w For someone that claimed to love it at NUFC so much ad wanted to achieve things at SJP this just shows a lack of ambition to me.
More than likly, but I still see it as lack of ambition from Nolan. He had a cult status at SJP and he knew it, and tried to use it to squeeze more out of MA. If he truely loved the club the money really wouldn't have mattered, instead it's back to the championship and start all over again for him. The contract they've gave him is mental, 5 years at £55K a week!!! I think MA is doing the right thing and sticking to his guns. End of the day he runs the club NOT the players
Despite his goals i think Nolan is honest enough to notice that the games passed him by a lot last season. He is happy to drop a division where he will still get recognised for his excellent performances as it will be easier. Good luck to him but onwards and upwards!!!
He turns 29 next week, he has 2 years left on his contract so I don't understand what draws him to the championship playing at the likes of Barnsley and M'Boro when he could be playing at Old Trafford. I can only think of Allerdyce.
hey, did we actually sign a replacement before we flogged someone !!! (cabeye for nolan) nah this is newcastle man..................
Im all for getting rid of Smith as well, since he's a pretty useless and expensive. But I don't want us to lose all of our senior players. Look at the difference between Chelsea and Manu to Arsenal. All three have brilliant teams but the first two have a decent mix of senior and young players which appears to have been the perfect recipie for success at Man U for the past billion years.
NUFCaw what is your picture it's been bugging me for ages thought it was a pic of you when young at first