Angelus71 4 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastl...mail%3A20090617 AS Newcastle United’s new owners begin to scrutinise the club’s books, football agents are on red alert as they wait for concrete news regarding Alan Shearer’s future as manager. Although a takeover could be several weeks away from completion, The Journal revealed yesterday that Shearer could still be appointed in the next few days, which has heightened the sense of anticipation on Tyneside that another regrettable saga in the club’s chequered history is finally coming to a close. The sale of United moves on to a significant new stage today when the window for interested parties to confirm they have the funds needed to buy the club closes, and the due diligence process begins. This will also enable owner Mike Ashley to gauge the opinion of all the interested parties and should all of them – and that is understood to be the case – want Shearer as manager, the former skipper will be confirmed as manager almost immediately with his appointment no longer a barrier to any takeover. Should that favourable verdict materialise, Shearer will throw himself into the job with gusto as he tries to make up for lost time, with no pre-season friendlies arranged and no plans in place for the start of the Championship season, even though Newcastle’s fixtures will be released later today. If Shearer is confirmed as manager, it will also spark a frenzy in the transfer market, with Newcastle’s new boss likely to be one of the most wanted men in football in the coming weeks, as agents look to discover whether their clients have a future at St James’s Park, or any chance of getting a move to Tyneside. Despite their drop into the Championship, most agents believe Newcastle will still have tremendous pulling power this summer with Shearer at the helm because of his reputation as a player. That appears to have been supported by the fact highly-coveted players like Leeds United striker Jermaine Beckford, Norwegian midfielder Per Ciljan Skjelbred and Tottenham right-back Chris Gunter are waiting to discover Shearer’s fate before they commit to another club, even though the start of pre-season training is just two weeks away. With new owners also presumably promising significant financial backing, United are sure to be linked with an array of players in anticipation of a major spending spree. Although Shearer has effectively been stuck in limbo since the end of the season, he has not been idly wasting his time. The Journal understands he has lined up a number of potential transfer deals in the belief his position as manager would eventually be resolved this summer. However, given the new owners will have to stabilise the club financially following relegation, of more pressing interest for many agents will be the need to offload some of the over-paid and under-performing stars who took the club down last season. Shearer is likely to take a savage approach to player retention, with only a handful assured of their place in the squad next season as he looks to completely overhaul the playing resources at St James’s Park. Fabricio Coloccini, Jonás Gutiérrez , Geremi, Joey Barton and Alan Smith can all expect to be moved on, while Sebastien Bassong is attracting plenty of interest from top-flight clubs after he admitted he wants to leave Newcastle rather than step down to the Championship. Australian front man Mark Viduka, Brazilian central defender Cláudio Caçapa and Michael Owen’s contracts will expire at the end of the month, automatically saving an estimated £230,000-a-week – or roughly £2.76m a year – on wages. ............................................... Bastards, I've just got out of bed and read this, at first I thought we had a new owner! Edited June 17, 2009 by Angelus71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezGiven 0 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 230,000 x 52 = about 12m a year saved on wages. Fuck me, that is a disgrace. Thick as mince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 26733 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 How long before we're giving out the number of the 'Transfer Hotline' and inviting bids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitman 2188 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 230,000 x 52 = about 12m a year saved on wages. Fuck me, that is a disgrace. Thick as mince. I noticed that too. Unbelievably poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now