Mike Ashley's 35m

That's only the one's we're getting who are out of contract, like Marveaux and Abeid. The international transfer window opened on the 8th June.

Look at the wording in the different deals:

 

Cabaye's a France international, so the quality is there as far as I'm concerned, it's just whether he adapts to the league. And wasnt signed to be a goalscorer anyway, he's a creative player.

 

Are you Alan Shearer? Just because a player isn't a household name in England doesn't mean he's unheard of and a mystery, it just shows how self-centred the English tend to be with their football knowledge.

 

Yeah Ba is an injury concern, I have said as much myself in the past but his ability is unquestionable.

Marveaux is well known and has also attracted interest from Liverpool so he is far from being a minor player.

Cabaye is well known throughout europe as one of the linchpins of a very successful Lille side.

So yeah I would say injury concerns aside they are very good additions.

 

You could also say that Nolan HAD to score goals, as his contribution in other areas, eg his complete inability to pick a pass or run, meant that he didn’t really bring other players into play. If Cabaye is a real play maker, we may find the goals are spread across the team more evenly.

Back to the original subject, it seems that a lot of people have this image of the machiavellian Ashley sat in a big chair counting all the money he has ‘stolen’ from the poor folks of Newcastle. As much as some folks - including those helpful Mackems offering their input (even though our owner is perceived by many as some sort of super villain, at least we go to support our team!) – would like to believe that MA is simply coining it in, I’d guess the truth is that after decades of mis-management and overpaying, followed by relegation, this hallowed £35m is to deal with all aspects of new players, wages, fees etc. included.
When the initial statement came out promising that the entirety of the Carroll fee would be going on new signings I think only the truly deluded would have thought this meant transfer fees only. It seems that due to the loans we have taken out, wages, running costs and so on, the gate and TV revenues will service the day to day costs whereas the sale of Carroll allows us to invest in the squad. This may not be exciting or inspiring, but it is realistic, particularly when we don’t have the draw of bigger clubs and we have seen firsthand the damage that can be done as a result of over-paying for players both in terms of fees and wages.

 

Is it really worth writing about? Not being funny but I don't think there was a naive enough man alive who thought it would. I expect Enrique will go and maybe one other to pay for the new signings. We've made a profit in I think all bar one window in Ashley's time here, there is no reason to think it will be any different this time. I do love all the justification of this from our fans though. Personally I accept Newcastle for what we are presently, a selling club. He wants to make a profit out of owning a football club. That is difficult to do and you need to take risks. The risk they are taking is they can maintain PL status while replacing current players which cheap foreign players. I know this upsets some deeply but I just think everyone should take a what will be will be attitude.

The 35m. It was a lie pure and simple. If they did reinvest it in the team as was suggested at the time to appease fans, Newcastle would be investing circa 50m in the team this summer. 4m from Nolan, plus the 35m and whatever budget had already been earmarked. We'll say a nice conservative 10m. The board has been dishonest since they arrived and will continue to be. The only thing that frustrates me is some of our fans trying to justify the boards decision making (investments in training ground, Tiotes contract, putting various spins on the original 35m statement) I don't really give a damn anymore, I'm just happy to turn up on a Saturday and support my team, regardless who is playing for us. I'll have seen worse, I'll have seen better.

 

Carlton Cole and Emile Heskey are England internationals, Boumsong was a French international, it doesn't make them great players, it doesn't even make them good players. Saying Cabaye is unknown, as i said, isn't me saying he is **** but it is a gamble. I wouldn't say that is a self centred English view either, it is simply a valid point.

I agree, that we might not be so dependant on the goals from midfield if Ba stays fit and particularly if we sign another striker, or play Ben Arfa in behind Ba.

If that is the case, it is a very risky strategy and we could well find ourselves lining up with a Shola & Lova strikeforce, which as the years go on becomes less and less daunting.

 

Agree 100% Blacky. Maybe the meaning was lost because of the word used, unknown. He's not some nobody, but he is completely unproven in the league. It's a big risk and would much rather have seen Nolan stay and him bought, with a view to Nolan staying one more season while he settles in. (Guthrie and Smith could have been sold to finance it since we've misplaced the 35m). Typically it takes players a season, to a season and a half to settle in. Some do manage it quicker but I think it largely depends on the type of player you are. Pace sometimes allows players to have more of an impact in their first season. Whereas technical players like Cabaye take time to adapt, a la Solano who looked cack for a season and a half, with some loons calling for him to be sold. Turned out an absolute legend. I think Cabaye is a good signing, but because of the Nolan sale, we've put a lot of pressure on him to perform from the first kick. Not the way a well run club would do it but so be it.

 

Tiote was "unknown" yet turned out to be quality. You seem to to forgetting that cabaye has been watched by Graham Carr and signed on his say so, just as tiote and Ben arfa were. We won't know how they adapt until they play but I have 100% confidence in our chief scout who has an unquestionable eye for talent.

 

The title of this thread gives it away. The 35 million belongs to Mike Ashley, not Newcastle United

 

Also consider that we were in for more expensive players like Gameiro and potentially Gervinho, who chose not to come to the club -- even though the club may have been willing to spend the money to bring them in. But there's no point in spending the money on **** players just because it's there.
But frankly, players who are worth 10+ million are almost always going to aspire to play in Europe right away, and in many cases, ALREADY play for sides that are in Europe. Getting Cabaye was a steal considering they will have a new stadium and will play in CL, and that he was on the cheap.

For those pleading to see 35m spent this summer, who do you realistically want right now?

 

Iv just seen Tiote in Town outside the apple store

 

Completely different scenario to the granite like Tiote to be fair. His ability to adapt so quickly to the league lay in the fact he was taylor made for it. Not to mention that he has somehow managed to slip under the radar unnoticed despite being one of the best defensive midfilders in world football. As for Ben Arfa, I rate him very highly but we have no idea how his first season would have turned out. I think he might be a bit special so maybe he would have been great, but more likely is he would have went through peaks and troughs of form. Once in a million those types to be honest so to get two in one season was fantastic work by Carr. However it would be incredibly stupid and naive to just expect all of our signings to turn out like that. Look at Man U/Chelsea, big clubs with some of the best scouts and scouting networks on the planet, yet they still get the odd one wrong.

Carr already has and will in the future get it wrong too. That's just the nature of his work. All of our transfer dealings so far have been good in my book barring the sale of Nolan, and the unsettling of Barton. We need more and in particular we need a first choice striker. Good ones cost money and we'll have to bite the bullet. Hopefully some of the young players will be pushed on too as I like the policy of giving them a go. Young players, their families and advisers will take note and make us an attractive propersition to young players looking for a stepping stone to the big time.

 

I honestly believe if the right player comes along Ashley will pay.

But other than Sturridge (and we don't know what's been said behind closed doors from Chelsea yet) then I can't see anyone worth stumping up the cash for who would actually come to us.

The last thing we want to do is embarass ourselves like Blackburn did earlier aiming for Beckham and Ronaldinho.