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Luque : I went to United for money


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Luque: I came to United for money

 

Sep 21 2007 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

 

ALBERT Luque has admitted he never wanted to join Newcastle United but was made an offer “too good to refuse”. Nevertheless, the Spanish winger claims he took a big pay cut to end his life as a “tourist” and escape a club with “no vision”.

 

The forward joined for £9.5m from Deportivo La Coruña in August 2005 but was sold to Ajax at a £7.5m loss two years later after making a negligible impact. Luque started just six Premier League games, scoring three goals in 34 appearances in all competitions and now claims he never wanted to join the Magpies.

 

“I gave Newcastle a negative reply when they called,” the 29-year-old recalled. “I was having a great time at Depor. I put in fine performances, lived in a beautiful town and there was no reason to leave. (But) they came up with an offer too good to refuse. I had a talk with then-chairman, Freddie Shepherd, and told him how much I wanted to earn. It was a ludicrous amount, but he didn’t bat an eyelid. The negotiations with Deportivo were also over in no time. (President Augusto Cesar) Lendoiro told Shepherd the asking price was £9.5m and Shepherd simply said ‘yes’ twice.”

 

Luque joined a full Spanish international and a regular in one of La Liga’s best sides. Many felt a lack of motivation was to blame for his failure to transfer that talent to English football and his comments to Voetbal International do little to dispel the theory.

 

“I was going to earn lots and lots of money at a club I had never paid attention to before and move to a town I knew nothing about,” he said. “I hardly knew any of my new colleagues and hardly spoke any English. I tore a hamstring in my second league appearance, was on the sidelines for three months and when I returned there was a new manager (Glenn Roeder).

 

“He ignored me completely. I often started on the bench and even more often was forced to watch from the stands. I never got an opportunity to adapt to the British style.”

 

Although Luque claimed to get on much better with Sam Allardyce, he had reached the end of his tether when the 52-year-old arrived. “It gradually dawned on me I was not one of Roeder’s signings and no matter how well I did at training, he would only include me in the starting line-up for a cup competition they don’t take seriously in England,” he said.

 

“Sam Allardyce told me on his first working day I deserved a genuine chance. He had seen me at Deportivo and was sure I couldn’t have lost the knack. I did believe him, but I was fed up with life in Newcastle. After two dismal years I didn’t want to stay any longer. I was frequently linked with Spanish clubs in those two years, but they couldn’t meet my wage demands. I earned an incredible amount and was not willing to let it go. But this summer I came to the conclusion that money is not the only thing in life.

 

“I told Newcastle’s new chairman, Chris Mort, money was not an issue any more, provided they let me go. I was fed up with leading a tourist-like life.”

 

Luque blamed the running of the club for the failure to lift a domestic trophy since 1955, and believes they will be much better off now Roeder and Shepherd have left. “They have a lot of potential and money to spend, but no genuine vision on how to run a club or create conditions to ensure success,” he explained. “The stadium is invariably packed and 5,000 to 10,000 fans support their team vociferously at every away game. But the club never raises silverware.

 

“I was signed alongside Jean-Alain Boumsong, who cost £8m. He did not feature in Roeder’s plans either and was another example of money down the drain. I am glad Shepherd and Roeder have gone and delighted Mort and Allardyce have taken over. They have made a good impression on me. I just hope the players and fans see some success at long last.”

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was a good read, seems a good honest lad to be honest. Shame it didn't work out for him, i'll still never understand why he wasn't given a chance in 1st team after the 2 wonder strikes vs liverpool reserves. He at least needed 5-10 games on the trot but never even got that.

 

So glad that fat pig is not in charge of the running of the club anymore. Can't really blame Luque for being offered whatever he wanted to join, damn Shepherd, damn him.

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was a good read, seems a good honest lad to be honest. Shame it didn't work out for him, i'll still never understand why he wasn't given a chance in 1st team after the 2 wonder strikes vs liverpool reserves. He at least needed 5-10 games on the trot but never even got that.

 

Because he is :huh:

 

If he'd ever been bothered (to do anything other than pick up his wage packet) he'd certainly have got more chances.

 

Yes he wasn't settled in well and yes the injury wasn't good (and then the change of manager), but all those are excuses, not reasons for how he was.

 

 

 

So glad that fat pig is not in charge of the running of the club anymore. Can't really blame Luque for being offered whatever he wanted to join, damn Shepherd, damn him.

 

But yes it shows (again) what a complete moron FFS is/was. ;)

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was a good read, seems a good honest lad to be honest. Shame it didn't work out for him, i'll still never understand why he wasn't given a chance in 1st team after the 2 wonder strikes vs liverpool reserves. He at least needed 5-10 games on the trot but never even got that.

 

Because he is :huh:

 

If he'd ever been bothered (to do anything other than pick up his wage packet) he'd certainly have got more chances.

 

Yes he wasn't settled in well and yes the injury wasn't good (and then the change of manager), but all those are excuses, not reasons for how he was.

 

 

 

So glad that fat pig is not in charge of the running of the club anymore. Can't really blame Luque for being offered whatever he wanted to join, damn Shepherd, damn him.

 

But yes it shows (again) what a complete moron FFS is/was. ;)

 

How could he do anything if he's not getting on the pitch? Roeder didn't give him a chance, he even resorted to playing Pattison at left mid and we all know how that turned out. Not saying he wasn't shit because he was while he was with us, but players need games, especially foreign ones. We'll never know what might have been but I and I suspect many others would have at least liked the comfort of seeing him start 5-10 games on the trot and then decide for sure that he was shit.

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How can anyone get criticism of Shephersd out of this and excuse Luque is beyond me.

 

If a player doesn't know us and is a bit reluctant then there is nothing wrong with giving him more money to encourage him to sign.

 

All that article proves to me is that I was far too generous to the lazy sack of shit.

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honest article that paints fat fred in a pretty poor light. fair play to him. who would have turned down the money shepherd was foolish enough to offer? shame he didn't have the desire to do anything for us. hope he flops at ajax too

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Did people honestly think the likes of Luque, Owen, Emre, Parker etc came to a club who had just finished 14th in the league because they loved the club and thought we were going somewhere under Souness?

 

Beye and Rozenhal(?) have said themselves they came for the money just recently so it's not just Shepherd who does it, I've no problem with that as long as they put the work in while they're here.

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How could he do anything if he's not getting on the pitch? Roeder didn't give him a chance, he even resorted to playing Pattison at left mid and we all know how that turned out. Not saying he wasn't shit because he was while he was with us, but players need games, especially foreign ones. We'll never know what might have been but I and I suspect many others would have at least liked the comfort of seeing him start 5-10 games on the trot and then decide for sure that he was shit.

 

 

Luque never did a lot when he was on the pitch, and he always looked very disinterested. His goal scoring record (at Newcastle) is deceiving in this respect and is pretty similar to Crouch's for England (going by that he should be the best forward England have ever had).

 

From what has been said by players and staff he was pretty terrible behind the scenes so maybe in a way he was lucky to get the starts he did.

 

Could he have been something else? We'll never know, but it'll be interesting to see what he's like at his new club.

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...that said, Roeder was a moron not to select him over dross like Pattison.

That's the biggest thing to come out of that article for me: Roeder is a fucking petty little cunt. As if we needed reminding.

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You can't blame him at all for taking the money that was on offer.

 

He is set for life, now, and so are his children, and their children.

 

That said, he looked quite good at first, but after that he obviously didn't try at all and he can be as honest as he likes in as many articles as he wants, but I won't start liking him any time soon.

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If you're not a Newcastle fan, dont live in this country and know nothing of the city, in all honesty what is going to be the attraction? We've never won a trophy or come near the top of the premiership for years. Once the players are in the door through the money we provide, only then can they get a feel for the place and hopefully will grow to enjoy playing their football here. Like the majority of people, you go for a job as it offers better pay (most of the time) so its no different in football. Luque was lazy though, and his attitude is poor even if he is honest.

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If you're not a Newcastle fan, dont live in this country and know nothing of the city, in all honesty what is going to be the attraction? We've never won a trophy or come near the top of the premiership for years. Once the players are in the door through the money we provide, only then can they get a feel for the place and hopefully will grow to enjoy playing their football here. Like the majority of people, you go for a job as it offers better pay (most of the time) so its no different in football. Luque was lazy though, and his attitude is poor even if he is honest.

 

Solano a prime example of giving a damn.

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Shepherd had basically lost the plot i'm sure of it. Sure money is a motivator, but it should not be the only reason to join a club, this doesn't paint Luque in any good light at all, and shows how stupid Shepherd really was. Makes you wonder whether we actually even talked to Luque about anything other than money, plus the fact he turned us down once and we went back is a bit daft too.

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