macbeth

"I have read what Mr Shepherd as said. He is absolutely right in saying I want to play for a top 4 side. This why I joined this club. The chairman told me that he saw this club as being one that would compete at the highest level, that is what I want, that is what the fans want. By the start of next season I will be playing for my third different Newcastle manager. It is up to the chairman to get it right this time. He should be appointing someone that will make this place a place that is in the CL every year. That is his job, he does nothing else that I can see, he just appoints the best person to take us all forward. If the chairman keeps making the sort of appointments that allow this club to finish below Boro, Villa, Blackburn, Reading and Bolton then he will never attract the players I think are needed to get to the top 4. I want to end my career at Newcastle, in a trophy-winning side. The chairman's actions show to everyone he has little idea of how let me do this."

The £450,000 paid to Douglas Hall is relevant. It is relevant to me, and to the 1000 other season ticket holders who pay the money straight into his pocket. There is no known benefit to the club from employing Douglas Hall. His £140,000 bonus, may also be paltry to you, but I'd rather spend it on, say a coach or two for the academy than feed his lifestyle. Or maybe have a free raffle at each home game where one person in the ground wins their season ticket money back ? I was up in arms about Dalglish, but only cos I had "now you've a Scottish manager you'll win things" rammed down my throat at work The managers have come and gone, none bringing success. The chairman is the only constant at the club

Or perhaps adding these costs doesn't fit in with the sites idea that there's a lot more spending money available than we actually have. 18577[/snapback] The club has a £50.6m loan on the ground extension. There isa fixed interest rate of 7.43% on this loan. The loan is set up to be covered by future income from ticket sales and corporate hospitality receipts. The loan will be fully paid off by 2016. To ensure they have money set aside for the repayment of the loan the club has to keep a separate account in which they keep the repayment amount until it is required. They also have to keep a minimum of 50% of the annual payment in the accoutn at all time. On July 31 2004 they had £9.4m in this account, and view it is untouchable money. These payments come before everythgin else the club do. The annual payment is roughly £5m per year. This deal has been in place since 1999 when the ground was extended.