Am I alone in hoping that MA & DL are also around for the next eight years???

Pardew's new deal is fantastic news IMO. It shows that if for whatever reason we have a shaky season and finish say 12th - 14th then there will be no knock on affect to Pardew, unlike previous managers. Point in case being David Moyes, the season after guiding Everton to 4th they went on to finish 16th (I believe) and they stuck with him, probably the best decision in their recent history.

For the first time since Sir Bobby we now have stability, this can surely only be a good thing. It gives Pardew greater authority when dealing with player problems (Demba Ba etc) and along with many other plus points it will also be a massive draw to any future targets, knowing the manager that wants to sign them will be around for the long haul.

Anyway, on to my thoughts regarding MA & DL. For me they have now gone full circle, and from wanting them out a few years ago I now want them around for the long term.

My main reason behind this thought is that they have a plan (something I don't think we've ever had during my 17 years as a supporter), and yes that plan can sometimes be frustrating, failure to sign a full back and centre half in summer spring to mind. However, at least we know their reasoning behind not signing the players we believed we need/needed, whether it be the asking price being too high in relation to the players age or unrealistic wage demands etc.

I could go on a lot more but I tend to get bored when reading long winded articles so I've tried to keep it short and to the point. I believe slowly and surely we are getting more and more transparency from the club, and the way in which they want to achieve both their goals and our goals is admirable (signing young players with potential, having the wage cap in place and trying to make the club self sufficient).

So my well done is not only to Alan Pardew, his back room staff and Graham Carr, but also to Mike Ashley & Derek Llambias.

Here's to hoping for a very successful next eight years and beyond!

 

I'm with you - I totally agree - looks good for all parties. But let's hope it doesn't end in tears!

 

I don't know. I like the fact we're doing thorough scouting on the players we bring in, and not paying over the odds. The problem is that with some deals the selling club has only wanted a small amount more than what we offered (going by reports, which aren't always reliable). For the club to progress we're going to sometimes have to pay a little bit extra for players, especially with the reputation we got from Cabaye and Tiote. I think that clubs just aren't going to sell to us for small fees anymore.

There's also the issues of advertisement on the stadium. I'd like it cleared up whether the club is actually receiving any money from Sports Direct or not (or if the fee is being waived for a reduction of the club's debt to Ashley, etc.).

 

As I've said before, if they stop being so tight with the cash, then yeah.

I don't want for us to just go around sticking small bids for players, then **** it if we can't get them for cheap.

I would hope that are success brings more cash, which means we can start bidding for high caliber players for reasonable prices. I don't want us to spend above our means, but I don't want us to to the opposite extreme.

 

Whilst I agree with the above about spending a bit extra on the right player (I was as frustrated as anyone about the Debuchy deal falling through) I actually think if Debuchy was say 24/25 then the club would have paid a higher amount for his services.

We bid around 11 million for Luuk De Jong, which shows if we rate a player and his best years are ahead of him we're not afraid to bid reasonably big. Other than Shearer and Colo I can't remember any player we've paid over 10 million for that has been a success and even Colo flopped in his first season.

As I said we now have a plan that MA, DL, Carr and AP & his team all believe in, at times I'm sure Pardew gets frustrated at our tough negotiating policy, but at the end of the day this is a long term plan and no one player is worth deviating from our plan for whether it's a player already at the club or a player we wish to sign.

 

In some cases then yeah, it's good that we aren't being held to randsome, but in some cases we've been far too tight and we took a ridiculous risk going another season without buying defenders.

 

I wish you were alone, but you're probably not, unfortunately. Ashley and Llambias typify all that's wrong with modern football.

 

If Ashley, Derek and Pardiola are all still here in 8 years, then that probably means things are going well - otherwise they would have sold up and/or sacked Pards.

So yes, I'd be happy for them to be here in 8 years, or even 20.

 

I agree that they do seem to have a plan and it seems to be slowly but surely working. Like all plans it wont all run smooth and some mistakes will be made but hopefully things will continue to improve. I too was baffled and annoyed by some of their earlier decisions and think they too probably reget some of them but they are winning me around. I also hope they stay on.
Agree that something should be said as to what NUFC gets from Sports Direct for the stadium deal. Even if they said that the interest on Mike Ashleys personal debt from the club (which at present is reportedly interest free) is being compensated for by having the stadium deal for Sports Direct then for me that would actually be fair enough.
One of the biggest problems tho is that they always say nothing. Better communication with the fans is badly needed. (or any real communication for that matter). I believe that the fans can go along with things even if they dont always all agree with them as long as they are explained reasonably. I think they still dont quite realise just what NUFC means to the fans and how much the fans want to know about the club and want to understand what the plans are for the good of the club even if they dont always all agree with some of them.
As for signings this summer i do think we have gambled a bit too much and could have brought in one or two more players. We dont know the full stories so it hard to tell what is the truth though. Agree that sometimes paying a little more should be done at times though, on a tactical basis if it is felt that a signing could really make a difference surely with £750,000 available for every extra place in the league sometimes spending a little more can be beneficial in the long term not to mention the ability to play stronger cup teams and hopefully make more progress there too.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with Marvos view regarding the amount of Sports Direct advertising on display at the ground . I think it's now far to OTT, and it is looking like some tacky jumble sale down the local church hall. I realise Ashley owns the club and that it would be unreasonable to expect that he will not take advantage of this fact ref promoting his business, but do we really have to endure the tacky SD logo everywhere you look.

 

I agree totally.
Would rather have MA than the likes of the Venky's

 

Whilst I agree there are still some things I'm not 100% happy with at the club, it takes a very stubborn individual not to admit he's got things right recently - we're a better run club (at least financially if nothing else) than most in the premiership, and we managed to finish 5th last year with the system we've got in place, way above expectations.

 

The SD adverts used to hit you right in the eye as soon as you walked into the ground, but you get used to it after a while and don't notice it.

 

Have to agree with this, it really doesnt bother me. Its a football ground, it has adverts, so what.

 

as for not paying over the odds - and not budging even slightly on asking prices - they are setting a precedent & a reputation.
Newcastle will not negotiate, this will stop agents and selling clubs pushing for that extra little bit on transfer fees

In the long run this is a good move.

Everything about football at this level is about money, and Ashley & co. are doing it right. Long term planning, financial security. A world away from the Shepherd era, and this is a good thing.

 

I'm afraid I try to like Ashley, but I can't. I realise he's steadied the ship and heading towards financial stability, I admire the way he has stuck to his guns on some decisions he's made, and realise he has won the respect of many of our fans.

Personally, I don't trust the bloke. He's raped our ground with his vile advertising, taken over 100 years of history from us by renaming the ground with his cheap tatty name, and I can't help but have the feeling that his next car crash decision is just around the corner.

 

I'm not really bothered and don't believe its particularly important who is at the helm provided they don't try to fix something which isn't broke. We are in good place in terms of how we are being run and need to stick to the model hich has took us this far. The common denominator with big clubs is that changes in ownership and chariman rarely see much change in how they operate. you have to tweak your model to keep pace with an ever evolving marketplace but the core values on which a Man U or Barcelona operate remain in place. We need stability throughout and we need to stick at it for the long run if we really want to aspire to something greater.

I understand why some might think we won't progress if we don't pay the extra 1m or 2m for certain players. Personally I'm glad we don't. I also just don't think we've come across that situation to be honest. Look at Debuchy there is no way of knowing what the actual situ was, but what is obvious is that no other club thought he was worth the extra either! So why should we when we have 3 good right backs already?

 

How has he taken the history away? It's still the same place, regardless of what it's officially called.

 

So glad I read the thread first as this was pretty much what I was going to say.

I agree with most that things are looking better than they have done for some time, and stability is something the Club was without for a very long time. Ashley has put us in a far better financial position than most and we have a buying/selling policy that in the main works for us.

But in the back of my mind I can't help but think that where there is Ashley there is an own goal waiting to happen ......

 

No matter what MA calls the ground and it may become known as to outsiders, it's always going to be SJP to us.