The Footie Thread

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Lucifer MorningStar said:
No chance he starts ahead of Diaz or Olise unless Olise switches to more of 10 role.
But does seem a better Move to Bayern as there would be plenty of game time in Europe and against lower German teams.

Think they’re starting to move on from Gnabry though so potentially replaces him in a few months.
Click to expand...


They lost Musilia for the season and Sane left

At the weekend they played Olise as the 10 and Gnabry wider

They do want one more for the line as their back ups are quite young
 
Arthur Wedge said:
They lost Musilia for the season and Sane left

At the weekend they played Olise as the 10 and Gnabry wider

They do want one more for the line as their back ups are quite young
Click to expand...
Wasn’t aware of them losing Musiala that’s a big blow. The move makes even more sense then and will definitely get the playing time. I’m a huge fan of Olise for obvious reasons so him in the 10 is no big surprise he has the tools to play anywhere across the line behind Kane.
 
Lucifer MorningStar said:
Wasn’t aware of them losing Musiala that’s a big blow. The move makes even more sense then and will definitely get the playing time. I’m a huge fan of Olise for obvious reasons so him in the 10 is no big surprise he has the tools to play anywhere across the line behind Kane.
Click to expand...

Yeah they lost him to serious iniury during that Club World Cup thing
 
clubchamp98 said:
Don’t think he refused to play though did he?
Click to expand...
He told the manager that he wasn't in the right frame of mind to play, but disputes he refused to play. On the salaries they get paid, it is pretty much the same thing imo. Poor from any player. As others have already mentioned, look how the two Palace players are handling their likely departures from the club. You wouldn't know it was happening, they might not happen still. Still training, playing and giving everything.
 
Arthur Wedge said:
When it comes to Isak then someone is not telling the truth

Isak is saying the club made promises to him and the club saying they didn’t - it’s quite bold in some to go public and make those claims

They may not be contractually binding but it’s not going to look good to players if a club is breaking promises
Click to expand...
From what I've read, (and like most fans I am stuck with reading stuff and deciding what is possibly accurate, grey, or simply downright fiction in order to generate clicks), my understanding is that Amanda Staveley told Isak the club would review his contract at the end of the 23/24 season with a view to giving him better terms. Staveley and her husband then left the club during that summer (July 2024) and a new management team were put in place including Paul Mitchell as Sporting director. Mitchell reviewed the clubs PSR standing and decided that the club could not afford to revise Isak's contract at that time....but might be able to look at it in the future subject to an easing of PSR (which has now happened, as the losses from the initial period when Staveley joined and started investing in players, have now disappeared from the 3 year cycle) and potential future revenues available should we qualify for CL football....which was achieved on the last day of the season.

I believe that the club, over this summer, have been looking to negotiate an improved contract with Isak, but he has been unwilling to sign, ostensibly because the improvements don't go as far as he thinks they should (£300k/wk)....but perhaps more likely because he has an idea that there is a better offer out there waiting for him.

So....was the previous "promise" back in 2023/24 of a level of... "yep we want to look at offering you a revised contract in the future"? Or did Staveley draw a knife across her forearm, do the same to Isak, press forearms together and declare blood brother/sisterhood and solemnly vow that Isak would be on 300k a week in the summer?....because THAT is a promise. As ever though, the truth will be somewhere in between, but my gut instinct is that it was a lot closer to the former than the latter.

However, it is interesting to see that Isak's performances dropped off a cliff after the Carabao Cup final, as he bagged just 4 goals in 10 league games. Almost a case of thinking, trophy secured and job done, now I can relax and wait to see what the summer brings.

First nine games of the season: 2 goals
Next 19 games: 17 goals
Final 10 games after the CC Final: 4 goals

I think Isak was aware of Liverpool's interest (and not just interest in the gutter press and random click bait media outlets...but direct communication either to him or his agent) well before the end of the season.

Given that the season ended on 25th May, and Isak went on the clubs pre-season training camp to Austria on 14th July, if he was so hell bent on leaving...why did he travel? Why did it take until Liverpool made their interest publicly known on 15th July, for him to down tools (he missed the Celtic pre season friendly on 19th July supposedly with a strain and from around the 21st July has been training alone...either at his old club in Spain or separately from the rest of the squad at Newcastle). Why did it take Liverpool a further 2 weeks (1st August) to submit a bid (at a lower level than they communicated their initial interest to be)?

My own view, trying to be as objective as I can, is that no-one emerges with any credit from this utter debacle. I genuinely believe...

  • Newcastle told Isak that an improved contract would be offered, a change in management personnel resulted in that offer being postponed to a later date. This is the "promise" that has been broken.
  • Liverpool tapped the player up sometime around or shortly after the Carabao cup final. (I don't blame them for this...it certainly goes on all the time...they have simply lit the blue touch paper and stood back, occasionally stepping forward to subtly fan the flames at opportune moments)
  • There has been an information/rumour campaign orchestrated by Isak's agent (Vlado Lemic), dropping snippets to the press in all of its forms, fueling wild speculation and further destabilizing Isak's relationship with the club.
  • Isak's agent himself is looking for a big payday....the agency (Universal Twenty Two) has no other player of the caliber of Isak on their books, nobody at all who can generate the sort of agents fees that will occur when Isak is sold. As a result of this "vested interest" Isak has been steered down a path which is not putting himself in the best of lights and has now been pushed past a point from which it is impossible for him to return. Being nearly 60 now, my initial thought was that Isak should have resisted some of what was pushed upon him, but, looking back to when I was 25 myself, I can see how difficult in reality this would be, at that age you really know nothing, have very little life experience (especially as a footballer where virtually everything is done for you) and would perhaps naturally rely on the guidance of folk with more experience more than would be ideal. Isak has, in short, been badly advised...sure it might be beneficial in the long term financially, but there will have been a significant hit on his personal integrity, professionalism, public persona, call it what you will.
  • Newcastle's backroom organization is a real mess and has been since the Dan Ashworth calamity. The subsequent internal changes, and the lack of filling key positions has left a hole that even an army of Dutch schoolchildren with multiple thumbs, couldn't remotely begin to plug. What the team has achieved on the pitch, is in no small part, a miracle when you consider the off pitch turmoil that has been occurring...however, that doesn't excuse the blatant incompetence of those above Eddie Howe and the incompetence of the owners in ensuring that key personnel are (not) in place. Seemingly PIF have a reputation for making such appointments slowly...this doesn't work in football when 6 months is over half a season...other teams manage will leave you behind in such a short space of time...the Man City's, Liverpool's, Arsenal's and Man Utd's are far more experienced in this aspect of "the game". This has been clearly reflected in our summer recruitment efforts and must play a part (now matter how small) in Isak's thinking.
  • Communication from the club has been an utter failure...hiding behind "thigh strains", "Isak wanting to explore options", "Isak not for sale under any circumstances"...Howe has been hung out to dry by his superiors, having to tread a fine line between the truth of the overall situation, and what might be correct thing to say to protect the public position of the club in respect of this mess, giving them the widest possible scope for negotiation.
No credit anywhere.
 
Last edited:
nickjdavis said:
From what I've read, (and like most fans I am stuck with reading stuff and deciding what is possibly accurate, grey, or simply downright fiction in order to generate clicks), my understanding is that Amanda Staveley told Isak the club would review his contract at the end of the 23/24 season with a view to giving him better terms. Staveley and her husband then left the club during that summer (July 2024) and a new management team were put in place including Paul Mitchell as Sporting director. Mitchell reviewed the clubs PSR standing and decided that the club could not afford to revise Isak's contract at that time....but might be able to look at it in the future subject to an easing of PSR (which has now happened, as the losses from the initial period when Staveley joined and started investing in players, have now disappeared from the 3 year cycle) and potential future revenues available should we qualify for CL football....which was achieved on the last day of the season.

I believe that the club, over this summer, have been looking to negotiate an improved contract with Isak, but he has been unwilling to sign, ostensibly because the improvements don't go as far as he thinks they should (£300k/wk)....but perhaps more likely because he has an idea that there is a better offer out there waiting for him.

So....was the previous "promise" back in 2023/24 of a level of... "yep we want to look at offering you a revised contract in the future"? Or did Staveley draw a knife across her forearm, do the same to Isak, press forearms together and declare blood brother/sisterhood and solemnly vow that Isak would be on 300k a week in the summer?....because THAT is a promise. As ever though, the truth will be somewhere in between, but my gut instinct is that it was a lot closer to the former than the latter.

However, it is interesting to see that Isak's performances dropped off a cliff after the Carabao Cup final, as he bagged just 4 goals in 10 league games. Almost a case of thinking, trophy secured and job done, now I can relax and wait to see what the summer brings.

First nine games of the season: 2 goals
Next 19 games: 17 goals
Final 10 games after the CC Final: 4 goals

I think Isak was aware of Liverpool's interest (and not just interest in the gutter press and random click bait media outlets...but direct communication either to him or his agent) well before the end of the season.

Given that the season ended on 25th May, and Isak went on the clubs pre-season training camp to Austria on 14th July, if he was so hell bent on leaving...why did he travel? Why did it take until Liverpool made their interest publicly known on 15th July, for him to down tools (he missed the Celtic pre season friendly on 19th July supposedly with a strain and from around the 21st July has been training alone...either at his old club in Spain or separately from the rest of the squad at Newcastle). Why did it take Liverpool a further 2 weeks (1st August) to submit a bid (at a lower level than they communicated their initial interest to be)?

My own view, trying to be as objective as I can, is that no-one emerges with any credit from this utter debacle. I genuinely believe...

  • Newcastle told Isak that an improved contract would be offered, a change in management personnel resulted in that offer being postponed to a later date. This is the "promise" that has been broken.
  • Liverpool tapped the player up sometime around or shortly after the Carabao cup final. (I don't blame them for this...it certainly goes on all the time...they have simply lit the blue touch paper and stood back, occasionally stepping forward to subtly fan the flames at opportune moments)
  • There has been an information/rumour campaign orchestrated by Isak's agent (Vlado Lemic), dropping snippets to the press in all of its forms, fueling wild speculation and further destabilizing Isak's relationship with the club.
  • Isak's agent himself is looking for a big payday....the agency (Universal Twenty Two) has no other player of the caliber of Isak on their books, nobody at all who can generate the sort of agents fees that will occur when Isak is sold. As a result of this "vested interest" Isak has been steered down a path which is not putting himself in the best of lights and has now been pushed past a point from which it is impossible for him to return. Being nearly 60 now, my initial thought was that Isak should have resisted some of what was pushed upon him, but, looking back to when I was 25 myself, I can see how difficult in reality this would be, at that age you really know nothing, have very little life experience (especially as a footballer where virtually everything is done for you) and would perhaps naturally rely on the guidance of folk with more experience more than would be ideal. Isak has, in short, been badly advised...sure it might be beneficial in the long term financially, but there will have been a significant hit on his personal integrity, professionalism, public persona, call it what you will.
  • Newcastle's backroom organization is a real mess and has been since the Dan Ashworth calamity. The subsequent internal changes, and the lack of filling key positions has left a hole that even an army of Dutch schoolchildren with multiple thumbs, couldn't remotely begin to plug. What the team has achieved on the pitch, is in no small part, a miracle when you consider the off pitch turmoil that has been occurring...however, that doesn't excuse the blatant incompetence of those above Eddie Howe and the incompetence of the owners in ensuring that key personnel are in place. Seemingly PIF have a reputation for making such appointments slowly...this doesn't work in football when 6 months is over half a season...other teams manage will leave you behind in such a short space of time...the Man City's, Liverpool's, Arsenal's and Man Utd's are far more experienced in this aspect of "the game". This has been clearly reflected in our summer recruitment efforts and must play a part (now matter how small) in Isak's thinking.
  • Communication from the club has been an utter failure...hiding behind "thigh strains", "Isak wanting to explore options", "Isak not for sale under any circumstances"...Howe has been hung out to dry by his superiors, having to tread a fine line between the truth of the overall situation, and what might be correct thing to say to protect the public position of the club in respect of this mess, giving them the widest possible scope for negotiation.
No credit anywhere.
Click to expand...
Yeah this sums up how I feel, My dad is a Geordie and feels the same, really disappointed he is.
 
nickjdavis said:
From what I've read, (and like most fans I am stuck with reading stuff and deciding what is possibly accurate, grey, or simply downright fiction in order to generate clicks), my understanding is that Amanda Staveley told Isak the club would review his contract at the end of the 23/24 season with a view to giving him better terms. Staveley and her husband then left the club during that summer (July 2024) and a new management team were put in place including Paul Mitchell as Sporting director. Mitchell reviewed the clubs PSR standing and decided that the club could not afford to revise Isak's contract at that time....but might be able to look at it in the future subject to an easing of PSR (which has now happened, as the losses from the initial period when Staveley joined and started investing in players, have now disappeared from the 3 year cycle) and potential future revenues available should we qualify for CL football....which was achieved on the last day of the season.

I believe that the club, over this summer, have been looking to negotiate an improved contract with Isak, but he has been unwilling to sign, ostensibly because the improvements don't go as far as he thinks they should (£300k/wk)....but perhaps more likely because he has an idea that there is a better offer out there waiting for him.

So....was the previous "promise" back in 2023/24 of a level of... "yep we want to look at offering you a revised contract in the future"? Or did Staveley draw a knife across her forearm, do the same to Isak, press forearms together and declare blood brother/sisterhood and solemnly vow that Isak would be on 300k a week in the summer?....because THAT is a promise. As ever though, the truth will be somewhere in between, but my gut instinct is that it was a lot closer to the former than the latter.

However, it is interesting to see that Isak's performances dropped off a cliff after the Carabao Cup final, as he bagged just 4 goals in 10 league games. Almost a case of thinking, trophy secured and job done, now I can relax and wait to see what the summer brings.

First nine games of the season: 2 goals
Next 19 games: 17 goals
Final 10 games after the CC Final: 4 goals

I think Isak was aware of Liverpool's interest (and not just interest in the gutter press and random click bait media outlets...but direct communication either to him or his agent) well before the end of the season.

Given that the season ended on 25th May, and Isak went on the clubs pre-season training camp to Austria on 14th July, if he was so hell bent on leaving...why did he travel? Why did it take until Liverpool made their interest publicly known on 15th July, for him to down tools (he missed the Celtic pre season friendly on 19th July supposedly with a strain and from around the 21st July has been training alone...either at his old club in Spain or separately from the rest of the squad at Newcastle). Why did it take Liverpool a further 2 weeks (1st August) to submit a bid (at a lower level than they communicated their initial interest to be)?

My own view, trying to be as objective as I can, is that no-one emerges with any credit from this utter debacle. I genuinely believe...

  • Newcastle told Isak that an improved contract would be offered, a change in management personnel resulted in that offer being postponed to a later date. This is the "promise" that has been broken.
  • Liverpool tapped the player up sometime around or shortly after the Carabao cup final. (I don't blame them for this...it certainly goes on all the time...they have simply lit the blue touch paper and stood back, occasionally stepping forward to subtly fan the flames at opportune moments)
  • There has been an information/rumour campaign orchestrated by Isak's agent (Vlado Lemic), dropping snippets to the press in all of its forms, fueling wild speculation and further destabilizing Isak's relationship with the club.
  • Isak's agent himself is looking for a big payday....the agency (Universal Twenty Two) has no other player of the caliber of Isak on their books, nobody at all who can generate the sort of agents fees that will occur when Isak is sold. As a result of this "vested interest" Isak has been steered down a path which is not putting himself in the best of lights and has now been pushed past a point from which it is impossible for him to return. Being nearly 60 now, my initial thought was that Isak should have resisted some of what was pushed upon him, but, looking back to when I was 25 myself, I can see how difficult in reality this would be, at that age you really know nothing, have very little life experience (especially as a footballer where virtually everything is done for you) and would perhaps naturally rely on the guidance of folk with more experience more than would be ideal. Isak has, in short, been badly advised...sure it might be beneficial in the long term financially, but there will have been a significant hit on his personal integrity, professionalism, public persona, call it what you will.
  • Newcastle's backroom organization is a real mess and has been since the Dan Ashworth calamity. The subsequent internal changes, and the lack of filling key positions has left a hole that even an army of Dutch schoolchildren with multiple thumbs, couldn't remotely begin to plug. What the team has achieved on the pitch, is in no small part, a miracle when you consider the off pitch turmoil that has been occurring...however, that doesn't excuse the blatant incompetence of those above Eddie Howe and the incompetence of the owners in ensuring that key personnel are in place. Seemingly PIF have a reputation for making such appointments slowly...this doesn't work in football when 6 months is over half a season...other teams manage will leave you behind in such a short space of time...the Man City's, Liverpool's, Arsenal's and Man Utd's are far more experienced in this aspect of "the game". This has been clearly reflected in our summer recruitment efforts and must play a part (now matter how small) in Isak's thinking.
  • Communication from the club has been an utter failure...hiding behind "thigh strains", "Isak wanting to explore options", "Isak not for sale under any circumstances"...Howe has been hung out to dry by his superiors, having to tread a fine line between the truth of the overall situation, and what might be correct thing to say to protect the public position of the club in respect of this mess, giving them the widest possible scope for negotiation.
No credit anywhere.
Click to expand...

Think it sums it up well

A lot of “work” ( use the term lightly ) is orchestrated by agents

There is no doubt we want the player and he has been a target for a while

The agent will have told us that he wants to join and happy to agree terms etc etc

But it was clear it wouldn’t be an easy transfer, sorted out others and went back to Isak - put a bid in , was turned down so now just waiting for Newcastle to get their signings sorted so that a deal can be arranged

Think issue is Newcastle are struggling because of a lack of DoF to sort the deal

And they have the same issue with Wissa , put in a bid which was turned down

I suspect that deal will get down and then Newcastle and Liverpool will sort the Isak stuff out

I’m not happy how it’s working out, I’m seeing far too much nasty stuff between fans of the club online which is disappointing as Newcastle was a club I felt there was always a connection there
 
...also...any negative reaction (especially by fans) to the statement put out by Isak will also be no doubt used by his team/agent as justification for Isak's actions.
 
Arthur Wedge said:
And they have the same issue with Wissa , put in a bid which was turned down
Click to expand...
I think our initial bid for Wissa was in line with a level set by Brentford that would allow Wissa to leave...another one of those instances where there was a figure that should have been "secret" but somehow was communicated to the "buying club". Brentford rejected this bid which is why Wissa is up in arms....another case of a "broken promise"? :LOL:

Now it looks like we might meet Brentfords valuation of £35 maybe £40m and the noise is that Brentford want £60m....that ain't going to happen for a player of 28 in the last year of his contract.
 
Lucifer MorningStar said:
Up the Royals 😊
I’m actually surprised how well represented we are on here but always good to meet fellow fans.

I posted in the EFL thread a couple of times it is definitely an echo chamber 😂

See if we can get many guys off here to watch us v Bolton tomorrow on Sky Sports. I’m really not optimistic about the game can see us going 4 straight defeats, ironically we’re. It far off it but as you say we definitely need a striker and our manager needs to figure out his best tactics soon before we start plummeting and he gets his P45.
Click to expand...

Neilds (Rotherham) and Starter (Birmingham) post occassionally. Think Piece is a Watford fan too but doesn't post much these days.

The mighty Ding get everywhere 😅

I'm dreading the game tonight, was tempted to go up, watch it then stay with a friend and play The Manchester Golf Club tomorrow but decided to give it a miss and focus on the massive all dayer Saturday in Wycombe away. We've lost 5-2 there in the last two season, so let's hope it's not a hatrick of 5-2's! I have to say I've seen enough of Hunt to think he's not the one, losing Nigel Gibbs was a huge blow as he was the brains behind last season.

Bolton haven't been brilliant themselves but reckon it'll be 1-0 to them.
 
Orikoru said:
Is he even a great player? Had one great season, but before that looked fairly ordinary.
Click to expand...
I’m with you! I would say he’s a decent player not a great player. He had one standout season and his value has bumped up. I’d argue anything over 25m is to much for him but transfer fees are kind of irrelevant nowadays a players worth ultimately what a clubs willing to pay I guess.

But I’d argue there’s better options as a no1 choice than him. I’d say Newcastle need him and at least one more on top
 
Lucifer MorningStar said:
I’m with you! I would say he’s a decent player not a great player. He had one standout season and his value has bumped up. I’d argue anything over 25m is to much for him but transfer fees are kind of irrelevant nowadays a players worth ultimately what a clubs willing to pay I guess.

But I’d argue there’s better options as a no1 choice than him. I’d say Newcastle need him and at least one more on top
Click to expand...
Who would you name that they might get, at this point? I'd also say that with the supply line Newcastle have, you don't need to be exceptional to score a good chunk of goals.
 
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