Llambias, have you no shame whatsoever?

Posted on December 1st, 2011 | 108 Comments |

Llambias: Shameless opportunist?
Llambias: Shameless Opportunist?
As I reported yesterday on these pages, Newcastle United’s managing Director, Derek Llambias, has responded to Joey Barton’s allegations about himself and owner, Mike Ashley, with a threat of legal action.

This is almost certainly an empty threat by the perfidious M.D. as he knows what happened, and what would probably happen if he attempted to take it to law. However that is not the main subject of this particular piece, it is just the context. The main reason is the ineffably crass and tasteless way that Llambias began his statement. He attempted to use the recent tragic and untimely death of ex Magpie legend Gary Speed, as well as the name of the club, to assume the moral high ground in his and Ashley’s dispute with an ex-player. It did the excact opposite.

The statement began:

“In a week when one of Newcastle United’s most beloved footballers passed away, it is disappointing that once again Joey Barton makes the headlines.”

As if people didn’t get the message the first time, he also returned to the reference twice more at the end of his statement. After engaging in a public war of words in the week of Gary Speed’s death, using his name in a ploy to win people over to his and Ashley’s side of the argument (something which Barton did not do), he then concluded:

“However, in this week of all weeks, we really do not wish to engage in a public war of words with Joey Barton.

“Our legal advisors are dealing with the matter now and we would encourage Joey to concentrate on his football at Queens Park Rangers.”

“Our thoughts and attentions remain firmly with the family and friends of Gary Speed.”

How dare he attempt to use the immense sadness over Gary Speed, and his great history with our club (something which Llambias played no part in whatsoever) in an attempt to gain sympathy for his and Ashley’s highly dubious cause. It just smacks of shameless opppotunism, and the particularly tragic and peculiar circumstances surrounding Speed’s passing just makes it worse.

This is enough, but beyond that, it is just the latest piece of shabby behaviour which traduces the name of Newcastle United, the last being his recent expletive laden comments about Kevin Keegan, Chris Hughton, Alan Shearer and Andy Carroll. Of course, there have also been others, not least his attempts to mislead on a number of issues.

Whilst we may be doing well on the pitch at the moment, make no mistake, the reputation of our club’s owner and his subordinate is already dirt within the football community in general, and the club will pay a price for their shabby and disreputable behaviour in the long run.

Shame on you Derek Llambias.

Llambias’ full statement read as follows:

“In a week when one of Newcastle United’s most beloved footballers passed away, it is disappointing that once again Joey Barton makes the headlines.

“It is also unfortunate that Joey chose to draw such a disparaging comparison between himself and the employees of Sports Direct, who through hard work and dedication are the recipients of one of the most generous bonus schemes in UK retailing.

“It may not be a lot of money to Joey, but over 2,000 Sports Direct employees earning £20,000 will receive shares worth over £44,000 over the next two years.

“However, in this week of all weeks, we really do not wish to engage in a public war of words with Joey Barton.

“Our legal advisors are dealing with the matter now and we would encourage Joey to concentrate on his football at Queens Park Rangers.”

“Our thoughts and attentions remain firmly with the family and friends of Gary Speed.”

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1093 articles on this blog.

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108 Responses

  1. Some people actually supported Llambias, and said how “diplomatic” his statement was. The dot com article was so damn sympathetic towards Llambias that I wanted to bash my own monitor in. You know, right now, just because the results are going our way, suddenly LLambias and Ashley are heroes, no matter how many mistakes or poor decisions off the field they make.

  2. C’mon workyticket, Joey Barton is not a saint either… Tell Joey Barton to get over Newcastle, and mind his own business… Give a bit of credit to the board, we are 4th in the league

  3. Haven’t posted on here for a while and heavily biased one sided articles like this are the reason why… Joey Barton is no better than the “scum” that run our club. Why aren’t you having a go at him… Poor article Worky.. I won’t get started on the self righteousness……

  4. As alot of you will know I am not a lover of Lame arse or his fat pal….
    HOWEVER, I am a huge fan of Joey Barton….OR i WAS!!
    His gob and rants are embarrassing him greatly in my opinion and are actually making him look like he thinks he is bigger than the club!!

    I am not condoning Lamarses response to Joey Buffoons comments, I think that what started as handbags has been blown up to be baseball bats…..and the scum press are loving it.

    Neither will come out of this with any credit so they should just SHUT THE F!!CK UP, and get on with what theyre paid to do….in Lamearses case…..not a great deal!

    The quicker we get rid of Lamarse and forget about buffoon, the better in my eyes, then we can all be relatively happy!!

    If lamearse went, you can bet your Mortgage that Buffoon would start whining about something else at the club….the half time orange was bitter etc.

    Keep your opinions to yourself Buffoon…..your making yourself look an arse!

    And for the record, I wouldnt have paid you a bean if you worked ofr me and got sent to nick for beating someone up who had no chance against you.

  5. Poor article. None of this would have been necessary if JB would have kept his gob shut. I thought the statement was well said & all you are doing is just finding another negative towards the board.

  6. Everybody knows Barton is scum, should our MD be stooping to that level?

    Did Chris Hughton respond to Llambias drunken rant…….no because he has class.

    Whilst using the death of Speed to score points is abhorrent, so to is the fact that Llambias thinks the Newcastle public are so thick that they won’t see through his sick agenda.

    He states that he does’nt want to get into a war of words, then does exactly that and mentions Gary Speed twice.

    Barton and Llambias should both be ashamed, we are rid of one, please let us be rid of the other very soon.

  7. Oh yeah and barton is an angel !! Do me a favour. Barton has pushed everyone’s buttons to the limit. It’s what he does. Barton’s an ultimate media whore and everything has to be about him. Talk about timing, barton’s just as bad using Gary’s death in yet another of his boringly never ending all about me, shop steward, ”I know my rights” barrack room lawyer rants. 2 sides my friend, always 2 sides. As for calling people cretins, Barton has a rap sheet as long as his arm. Who really is the cretin ? Maybe the penny is finally dropping just about now that he is not needed and not indispensable. At least Nolan can see that. Cretins are people who do not learn from their mistakes, I would say our board is.

  8. Now irrespective of what I think of Barton’s recent statements or Llambias…this article stinks of hypocrisy.

    You accuse Llambias of using Gary Speed’s death to gain sympathy for his highly dubious cause yet you are using Llambias’s reference to Gary Speed as means to vent your spline over Llambias so by default YOU, yes YOU are using the immense sadness re Gary Speed as a means to gain sympathy for your highly dubious cause.

    Your just the same as Ashley & Llambias & you’ve proved how ‘fcuking horrible’ you can be…

  9. It is not often I side with Llambias but he is spot on here. Barton is a bitter little man who knows he has made a massive footballing mistake.I think it is fair enough to respond to Barton’s constant jibes. Remember Barton felt the need to label “suicide” as selfish hours after Gary Speed died. He has an inability to know when to keep his mouth shut. The writer of this article is looking to pick faults with the board but for once they have the tone spot on.

  10. Nick – I’m afraid that’s an insult to cretins who may well behave better than JB.. Barton may be a psycopath but he isn’t handicapped. And whilst I am no fan of LLambias, when I thought about Gary Speed R.I.P. and his life and career , I couldn’t help comparing that “noble knight” with others like Ranger, Barton, Carroll, Balotelli etc. who are so arrogant and ungrateful for what life has given them – unlike Gary.

  11. @9 Witters couldn’t have put it better myself, horrible article hope you choked when writing it!

  12. Excellent article Workey I 100% agree with what your saying. Lambias is just using the death of a club legend in a morbid game of one upmanship with Joey. All of a sudden it seems the board can do no wrong with some people quite sad really.

  13. Worky is spot on, his previous article transcribing Joey’s statement puts the heirarcy of the club into perspective, and shines a little light onto their unscrupulious, and occasionally “Horrible” working methods.

    I would say tho, that to some extent, I’d like nobody else pulling the strings at the top – than a heartless business duo. It certainly seems to be working in terms of our league position, transfer dealings, managerial appointments, and dressing room morale.

    I was as sad as anybody when CHouht got sacked, feeling it was very harsh treatment…but ultimately it allowed for the entry of Pards, who’s proven himself as a far superior manager (in context).

    There’s no space for big soft geordie hearts at the very top, and if we were talking about prize fighters, and somebody said “we got this ‘orrible c*nt Mike Tyson, he chews peoples ears off and attacks women”….i’d have to say “I’d rather him in my corner, than theirs!”

  14. Barton’s a tw@t – to much time, money and to little sense, I think I’d support Llambias on this one even if I dislike him – it’s sad to see Barton continually slag off people, he moved on and would imagine he got a hefty signing on fee, a 5 year contract on huge wedge and a get out clause if they they get relegated, if I were a QPR fan I wouldn’t be happy at all

  15. No, this is just muckraking.
    Barton needs to remember he plays for someone else now, Llambias needs to remember to not rise to the bait and DO HIS JOB.

    that is all.

  16. lualua – I think there’s a world of difference between being an unreserved supporter of the board and thinking that Joey Barton is a complete sphincter who (if he loves and respects the fans of this club) should keep his evil mouth shut! I don’t get why he’s doing it – other than sour grapes as he realises the club is healthier and playing better without him. Perhaps it would have been wiser for the board just to ignore him but if they don’t respond then what he has said is on record and unchallenged. And yes, as I’ve said before, this week I can’t help comparing a professional and honourable man like Gary Speed with the low-lifes who seem to prosper in football these days. Did anyone hear anything from Gary about the Toon, other than positive, after he was sold off?

  17. its a hard one to find a balance between Lambs and Barton so I wouldnt of bothered writing an article because support for either looks bad. its like choosing between Fred west and the Yorkshire ripper…

  18. It was Barton who started the war of words in a week of mourning. So he should be questioned more than any1. Lambs shouldnt of responded as he is a total creep and his words would always be taken out of context.

    As a supporter of Newcastle and Speed I think we should stop giving these two low-lifes air-time and stop commenting and writing articles about them until after Sats game.

  19. I fully support the club. Barton is the polar opposite of Gary Speed, and you ate out of touch !

  20. Joey Barton should not have opened his increasingly tiresome mouth. Derek Llambias should not have dignified his remarks with a response. Both at fault. Now they should both just leave it there.
    On one thing Llambias is right.
    This is a week to remember Gary Speed.

  21. Barton’s gotta be allowed his opinion, and maybe it is sour grapes, but if that’s what u get fed, that’s what u’ll taste.

    i dont think he’s doing it to damage the club, and believe him when he says he’s happy that the Toon are doing well – his comments are aimed squarely at the top 2. His timing might not be perfect, but when has it ever been?

    If he wasnt this outspoken, when would we ever get this kind of insight into how the club runs? The only difference is that as Toon fans, sitting in 4th, our grapes taste lovely and sweet!

    Lets not forget, when all this is supposed to be going on, he didnt go on strike, or refuse to play…but helped us gain promotion.

    I’m not his biggest fan, but if someone had sh*t in my mouth, i’d like the opportunity to brush my teeth.

  22. Milner,

    excellent point. would rather have a pair of ruthless but ultimately very successful businessmen running us than the likes of shepherd saying to Luque ” how much would you like? ”

  23. Did anyone listen to the podcast?

    Barton talks shit man.

    People in most walks of life who are sent to jail lose their jobs. Barton thinks it’s an insult that Newcastle offered him the chance of retaining his job but at lower pay.

    Barton’s a ‘man of principles’ he says.

    As much as I loathe Llambias, I can’t see a great deal of outrage in his statement.

  24. I’m sorry I disagree with you Ed. What did DL say that was so wrong? He spoke about garry speed and the tragic death of him. Yes NUFC can do without JB whining on, its got boring and repetative from Joey. You can read what you like into DL’s motives or statement but it does not criticise NUFC at all so whats all the hubub about. Blame Joey… No surprise he was chucked out of NUFC, the same will happen at QPR.

  25. the current regime’s PR management is bloody atrocious.

    Llambias is as bad as Barton. they both just love the sound of their own voice.

  26. @milner..Lets not forget, when all this is supposed to be going on, he didnt go on strike, or refuse to play…but helped us gain promotion.

    lets not forget Barton not being Available for nearly two seasons because of misdemeanors and got red carded needlessly bfore our relegation game at Villa..

    short memories indeed

  27. 4 words describe your vitriolic response to what is a perfectly well constructed & considered response from DL to the rantings of a frankly deranged & deluded individual who seems unable to move on with his life!
    You have used this simply as an opportunity to spout your own rant without really reading the staement or reading into it something that simply is not there!
    Those 4 words I’m afraid are quite simply “YOU ARE AN ARSE”.
    When the history of NUFC is re-written, regardless of how much you, I or anyone else find it difficult to accept much of what has gone on since MA took over, he will be by far not the worst thing that ever happened to NUFC.

  28. Horrible article! How can anyone support that
    Arse joey barton. He hates the fact that we
    are doing much better without him.
    We replaced him with a quality player in cabaye.
    Does anyone really miss him?
    He should shut up and move on with his new team.

  29. For those who criticise WT just remember this is a blog designed to attract a wide variety of opinions. Judging by the number I’d say he’s done a good job :)

    and Dani M. says:

    “Some people actually supported Llambias, and said how “diplomatic” his statement was. The dot com article was so damn sympathetic towards Llambias that I wanted to bash my own monitor in. You know, right now, just because the results are going our way, suddenly LLambias and Ashley are heroes, no matter how many mistakes or poor decisions off the field they make”

    Agreed. I wrote yesterday that some, not all, NUFC fans are fickle, fair weather and/or just plain gullible. If you think Fatman and his arse licking scumbag sidekick are good for this club then stick to that opinion whatever the results or the name of the ground. On the other hand if you dont then keep it going until that glorious day :)

  30. IF we werent doing so well in the league (perhaps a CB or Demba got injured – might be all it took), then i’m sure there’d be a lot more support for Joey’s comments.

    Joey didnt reference Speed in his rantings, it was all aimed at u know who, the only one to ref Speed….is again, u know who.

    Frankly Speed’s very sad death should not have been linked to what is an unrelated personal hatred between joey and DL/MA.

  31. Joey ‘Che Guevara’ Barton, what a card, what a piece of work, how like an angel.

    Eeee!

    Next!

  32. I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation
    preuent your discouery of your secricie to the King and
    Queene: moult no feather, I haue of late, but wherefore
    I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custome of exercise;
    and indeed, it goes so heauenly with my disposition;
    that this goodly frame the Earth, seemes to me a sterrill
    Promontory; this most excellent Canopy the Ayre,
    look you, this braue ore-hanging, this Maiesticall Roofe,
    fretted with golden fire: why, it appeares no other thing
    to mee, then a foule and pestilent congregation of vapours.
    What a piece of work is a man! How noble in
    Reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving
    how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel!
    in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
    world! the paragon of animals! and yet to me, what is
    this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no,
    nor Woman neither; though by your smiling you seeme
    to say so

    So to speak.

  33. Interesting to see we were 5th top spender in Agents fees, i guess all those freebies had additional costs, afterall:

    Here is the list of total money spent on agents (Oct 2010 – Sep 2011):

    1. Manchester City – £9,663,700
    2. Tottenham Hotspur – £7,571,815
    3. Liverpool – £7,000,242
    4. Chelsea – £6,457,747
    5. Newcastle United – £6,380,488
    6. Arsenal – £4,648,532
    7. Manchester United – £4,457,103
    8. Blackburn Rovers – £4,227,056
    9. Sunderland – £3,735,384
    10. Aston Villa – £3,163,320
    11. Everton – £2,931,127
    12. Queens Park Rangers – £2,499,214
    13. Stoke City – £2,207,698
    14. Bolton Wanderers – £1,941,896
    15. West Bromwich Albion – £1,305,576
    16. Wolverhampton Wanderers – £1,107,918
    17. Fulham – £951,245
    18. Norwich City – £710,251
    19. Wigan Athletic – £659,800
    20. Swansea City – £248,633.00

    Here are the financial for the last three years through last June for Newcastle:

    2008-2009 – £37.7M loss
    2009 – 2010 – £33.57M loss
    2010 – 2011 – £4.7M loss

    Our £4.7m loss pales in comparison to City’s £197m loss! And we’re within spitting distance of them in the league:

    HWTL!!!!

  34. @32…..On the other hand if you don’t then keep it going until that glorious day :)….what you mean when Ashley sells to an American corporate who literally turn the club into an offshoot of Coca-Cola? If football keeps going the way it seems to be then it will be unrecognisably crap in 10 years time and I for one won’t be going. The club’s being run properly for the first time in 50 years and people are moaning!…You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs, we need to get used to players coming and going, it’s the only way, even if the next one is Collocini….it will be sad because he is an excellent player, but if that’s the only way to get the wages down then so be it. Player power is ruining football and scum agents are the nub of the problem…ultimately it’s always we fans who pay!

  35. DeeCee @ 16 …….”No, this is just muckraking.
    Barton needs to remember he plays for someone else now, Llambias needs to remember to not rise to the bait and DO HIS JOB.”

    Agree totally. And Barton will have a smirk all over his face on reading this pathetic article. He has achieved what he continually sets out to do, i.e. continuing to scrub away at a sore and driving a wedge between the club and it’s supporters. And you have gone for it hook line and sinker, workyticket.

    Barton is all about self promotion and cares little for the well being of NUFC, it’s staff or it’s fans. If he did he would be congratulating the team on it’s success so far not dredging up old issues which don’t show him in a particularly good light anyway.

  36. Joey is generally an erudite & articulate guy, but he does understand the dynamic between some disgruntled fans & the board/owners of NUFC.
    He can also play the fiddle.

  37. JoeSoap says:

    “@32…..On the other hand if you don’t then keep it going until that glorious day :) ….what you mean when Ashley sells to an American corporate who literally turn the club into an offshoot of Coca-Cola?”

    as opposed to an offshoot of Sports Direct ?

  38. Yes I agree about the sports direct…which is precisely the point I was trying to make. Jumping out of the frying pan into the fire from Ashley to another corporate owner is not going to make things better, and in lots of ways could make it worse for the fans. Giving in to wage demands from greedy agents and players like Citeh is not going to end up better for the fans in the long term!

  39. “Money so they say
    Is the root of all evil today
    But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re
    giving none away”……………………………Including Arab oil sheiks, they all want something in return!

  40. Joey is a WUM, Ashley and Lambias are arseh*les, we all know this and always have so there aint much point in giving either side air time.

    Having said that our arseh*les are a bit better than some of the arseh*les we could have in charge. The Venkeys are one lot who spring to mind as well as the aforementioned (by others on this blog) American and far eastern ones.

    I think I would rather talk about cafes or, even footballing topics!!

  41. JoeSoap says:

    “Giving in to wage demands from greedy agents and players like Citeh”

    Have you seen the list ? We’re not that far behind in the paying greedy agents charts !

    Bottom line is this club could be run more efficiently and with better people in charge at the top. No need for greedy corporate fat cats just normal, common sense individuals with an understanding of what makes this club tick.

  42. ….i’m guessing ‘free-agents’ come with higher agent fees cos the agent has a powerful position: “He’s free, lots of clubs want him, if u want him, chuck me a nice slice of pie and tell him you’re the best club”

  43. In all fairness both of them shudnt have said anything at all. Joeys knows hes made a mistake in leavin NUFC and is jus tryin to put newcastle in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as hes done throughout his career at nufc. hes jus a self. oppsessed c*nt.

    Lamearse shudnt b comentin on gary speed he knows nothin of. garys time at nufc therefore crnt say sweet fa.

    The sooner both of them give themselfs a shake n gt over themselfs (both thinkin they are better than every1 else) the better and the club which is what its all about can move forward and b a succes

  44. A pair of arse holes.

    Except one arse hole is still here and the other is not, whioch makes him a slightly bigger arsehole!

    the END

  45. Low life meets low life in public. Llambias should know better and not respond to Barton, certainly not in the way he did by shedding crocodile tears over Gary Speed. But we are at least seeing what he meant by saying “you don’t know how f*****g horrible we can be.” Actually, I don’t think Llambias knows himself how f*****g he really is any more than he even cares.

  46. I don’t suppose that anyone on here has noticed that Llambias hasn’t denied any of Barton’s claims?

    Instead, he has just deflected the subject on to the death of Gary Speed and Sports Direct.

  47. Did’nt realize how many reactionary pro Llambias/Ashley fans (many who’s monikers are new to me on this blog)we had.

    For some obviously the team doing good cancels out all the negatives associated with our owner and henchman.

    Joey is a wind-up artist, so what ?
    As far as i’m aware you still have freedom of speech in the UK, even under a mostly conservative government.

    Well that is, sort of, there’s still things like the special powers act, etc.

    Guess you are one of the few countries left that still has a hereditary monarch (constitutional monarchy ?) which explains most of the reactionary statements, still tapping the old forelock to your betters i see.

    One would think following his recent drunken diatribe,
    That most of you would recognize Llambias for the sleazy bully and Ashley hatchet man he is.

    Of course Ashley sez nowt, therefore not to blame, yeah right.
    Possibly many of you have yet to figure Ashley is a control freak and that nothing associated with NUFC, happens without his knowledge and agreement.

    Well this most recent attempt to intimidate Joey (who is who he is) will never happen and they should have just ignored him, but bullies are bullies and tend to react.
    Sure they can threaten him with libel, but if what he sez is true ?
    Aint gonna happen.

    Personally i get a kick out of it and hope he continues to annoy the shit out of them.
    Just leave Gary Speed out of it!

  48. I noticed a certain anti US slant, concerning ownership of EPL clubs.
    What exactly is wrong with US ownership, after all Man.U. is still doing well, as is Arsenal.
    The owners at both Villa and Sunderland have spent heavily on players over the last few seasons, too bad their managers proved to be, not up to the task.
    The Fenway group at Liverpool have also invested a large wedge, not to mention, their predecessors who almost went broke investing in the side.
    Face it where would these clubs be if it were not for US investment.
    Hell i wish we could find an American outfit to buy this jerk out, but oh! i forgot all is forgiven as we are presently in fourth place.

  49. chuck says:

    December 1, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    “I noticed a certain anti US slant, concerning ownership of EPL clubs.”

    No Chuck, it’s just whiskers at Man U and Hicks and Gillet at Liverpool for reasons you should know about already (leveraged debt to buy the club etc), nothing to do with being Shermans per se. Hicks and Gillet’s American successor at Liverpool, Henry, along with Randy Lerner and Ellis Short haven’t been treated differently to anyone else, and have been praised when praise is due.

  50. Well outta here, hear the bluefin are in closer to shore and the stripers are still around, gotta take a last shot while the weather holds, still room in the freezer.
    Later.

  51. chuck says:

    December 1, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    “Did’nt realize how many reactionary pro Llambias/Ashley fans (many who’s monikers are new to me on this blog)we had.”

    Some of ’em are highly suspicious Chuck, and never post on football topics, just Ash bashing ones.

    I’m not saying it’s related but one or two “black hat” PR companies have used interns to post phony comments in ‘blogs, forums and such using “persona management” software in an attempt to manipulate opinion.

  52. workyticket says:

    “I’m not saying it’s related but one or two “black hat” PR companies have used interns to post phony comments in ‘blogs, forums and such using “persona management” software in an attempt to manipulate opinion.”

    In plain English that means Fatman is getting Spoons to write nice stuff about him so the fans can read, digest and think “maybe he’s not all that bad after all” !

    So anybody praising Fatman to the rooftops especially the SDA decision, is a plant. Not a vegetable/flower type plant though :)

  53. Andy Mac says:

    December 1, 2011 at 7:13 pm

    “So anybody praising Fatman to the rooftops especially the SDA decision, is a plant.”

    No Andy, I’m sure that many are genuine. But as I wrote, some have been quite suspicious.

    The great pioneers of that sort of thing have been the Zionist lobby in Israel and the US, and in the so called “War on terror”, US government agencies. However, as I already mentioned, some PR companies who aren’t above using “black hat” methods have been adopting the same kind of tactics on occaision with the help of “persona management” software. This software helps sockpuppets keep track of numerous online identities. I’m not saying that Ashley and Llambias have PR companies who employ these kind of sockpuppet tactics, just that a few comments in recent months have been a little suspect when scrutinised closely.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)

  54. A lot of GHQ Cheletenham employees are using this (and other blogs) as a training resource apparently.

    And speaking of vegetable/flowers, there are a lot of flowers that are edible and can be served in many delectable ways.

  55. Shame on Barton, should mind his own business in London. He just regret blasting the hierachy on twitter in the summer cos he could have been part of a top 4 team (or not don’t think we could have accomplished top 4 with Barton).
    Don’t agree with the article. Barton should be ashamed NOT Llambias (in this case)

  56. Grumpy Old-Toon says:

    “And speaking of vegetable/flowers, there are a lot of flowers that are edible and can be served in many delectable ways”

    Give us some delectable flower recipes G O-T as I cant be arsed talking about cafes any more :)

    PS Is Del Liars Fatman’s Sock Puppet or his Meat Puppet ? :)

  57. Hmmm, yes he is Clint…

    Just read a snippet from Pardew saying he won’t play and doesn’t know if he’ll play the following week.

    Off in January you think? Could just be coincidental but kinda echos Carroll last year…

    Hmmm.

  58. jimbob,

    who knows man, but i won’t be ulcerating my gut over it.

    It could, conversely, mean that they’ve learned valuable lessons about bringing players back too quick?

    Depends on one’s POV, really.

  59. If he does leave that will demonstrate just how stupid the Fatman is. Presumably we’ll still go through the “£20m bid turned down on Deadline Day” routine only for the Fatcopter to be prepared ready to whisk the boy off to pastures new at the very last minute. Probably have to add a few million to the sale price just to cover the fuel cost to Stamford Bridge. :)

    Note to Fatman supporters I did say “if”

  60. He’s probably not even injured & he’s just taking a long time to actually walk to chelsea, in a bid by ashley to save on transport costs.

  61. I think he’ll be off, but as you say, It will not grind my gears.

    Well unless it’s a last day “not enough time to find a replacement” scenario…

    We really need cover in defence… That would be my priority, and signing up Colo… We cannot let him go in January.

    Ambitions will be known in January… Does the owner want to push on if we’re still around the top 4, or make a few more pounds in the bank at the risk of slipping lower in the league…

  62. Maybe,
    Tiote isn’t a cert after Guthrie has done so well in his shoes?
    Maybe, just maybe there really is a proper, healthy competition in the squad & players have to actually earn the right to play. Then have to effectively ‘lose’ the right not to?

    Who’d ‘a thunk?

  63. I was going to mention how brilliantly Guthrie has done Clint but the issue with him is his fitness… He tends to get injured a lot doesn’t he. As does Gosling.

    But we know that potential injuries to players doesn’t tend to equate in our MD’s mind… We should have bought extra cover in the summer, but we didn’t.

  64. Jimbob says:

    “I think he’ll be off, but as you say, It will not grind my gears”

    CLiNT FLiCK says:

    “Maybe,Tiote isn’t a cert after Guthrie has done so well in his shoes?”

    Do you two actually support this club or are you just sockpuppets ? :)

  65. To be fair I hate the January transfer window… And the actual month itself as you realise you’ve increased weight after Christmas, while your bank balance has equally decreased.

  66. I must have been away when Pardwho the Shitestirrer said this :

    “Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has declared about Chelsea’s interest for Cheikh Tiote: ‘It is going to cost a lot of money, a whole bunch of of money because we’re in that position now. I think any of our players that get linked to other clubs, these clubs are going to need to know they’ll need to pay a shed load of money to get anyone out of this football club”

    So thats not a “No” then Pardwho ?

  67. The answer is no.

    And keep in mind, as apparently DL needs to be reminded, that NUFC Ltd. and Sports Direct International are two completely seperate entities. Consider it: our MD feels the need to defend a business in which he has no part and is in no way directly related to NUFC. But beloved former players and managers? He feels no need not to insult them. Now he’s trying to make points off of Speed’s passing. He’d probably do the same if Keegan or Shearer passed tomorrow, despite having gone out of his way to insult them just a few weeks ago.

    For everyone who commented on Barton above: it’s irrelevant. This is about Llambias-as our club’s MD we surely have more of reason to have an opinion of him than of a former player. Bringing up Barton is the same as a kid pointing out that someone else “started it” when called out for bad behavior (and one of you above actually does that: unbelievable, or maybe the commenter is 8 years old). Whether or not Barton is a jerk is irrelevant to the question of whether or not Llambias is a jerk. Again, DL is running our club and Barton is not, so I’d guess that his character would be of more interest and critical concern to us.

    Memphis @ 7: well said.

    As worky says, a lot of people not very good at thinking for themselves imagine MA and DL are heroes now because we’ve won a few games. Really disappointed with the short-sighted posts here.

  68. Nah Andy, just that there is more in life than getting pissed off with footballing matters…

    Like the Three phone network… They’re shite and piss me off.

  69. Andy,

    nice paraphrasing mate.

    You should join a political office or the bbc or something.

  70. Why don’t you ask Clint? Or Hugh? Or Geordiedug? Or Micktoons?

    It takes me hours to do the fckers, and I just happen to have 20 minutes free to have a chat on here. Something I have not been able to do in a couple of weeks. I said I’d let you know by the Wednesday if I can do it…

    So to answer your question… Yes.

  71. Don’t understand the swooning over Guthrie. He’s filled in usefully but has been a downgrade from Tiote. He doesn’t have the tackling or skill on the ball of Tiote, though Danny’s a very good passer and has the vision to play CM.

  72. jimbob,

    tbf to worky, you’re previews are excellent mate.

    Not that worky’s aren’t also very good.

  73. I do my best CF :)

    Maybe we could jointly help WT out with a “Tactical Analaysis Preview” for this weekends game if JB is too “stressed” ?

    Agree with you JB “Three” are the shite’est of all the shite mobile phone providers !

  74. tunyc,

    no one’s swooning mate, he’s done well & like i said, made you have to lose the shirt.

  75. I think Worky’s previews have been top notch.

    I enjoy doing them, but as I’ve explained in an email, it’s difficult finding the time at the moment to be able to sit down and right something worth posting. Got a few things to get sorted, and once they’ve been smashed, I’ll be able to get back on the match preview horse and ride it.

  76. Andy Mac says:
    December 1, 2011 at 9:26 pm

    “When do you need it delivered WT ? The format and stuff I can get from CF.”

    Before tomorrow evening Andy. I’ll sort out all the formatting / images etc. Clint and Jimbob always leave that kind of thing to me anyway.

  77. Well in Andy,
    ave a go mate, don’t know if you’ve done one before, if not, gan on man.

  78. CLiNT FLiCK says:

    “Well in Andy, ave a go mate, don’t know if you’ve done one before, if not, gan on man.”

    So thats a “You’re on your own then matey” type of comment :)

  79. Andy,

    actually,
    i do happen to think that the tactical side of stuff you comment on is a strong point mate.

    Flattery will get you some way…?

    :)

  80. CLiNT FLiCK says:

    “Andy, actually, i do happen to think that the tactical side of stuff you comment on is a strong point mate.

    Flattery will get you some way…?”

    Feck off :)

    Anyway I’ve already got my headline “Chelski looking to bridge the gap between Newcastle” Geddit ?

  81. Andy Mac says:

    December 1, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    “So thats a “You’re on your own then matey” type of comment”

    I know the feeling Andy :-)

    I’ve telt ye that I’ll format it and brush everything up / sort out a suitable image and all that stuff.

  82. 35.

    To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick’d out of ten thousand,
    Ay, sir: and it’s not DL or MA. more likely JB

  83. Well I’m just thankful theres only a handful of ya….jesus fcukin christ (or so says some CIA generated computer detection program designed to seek & destroy artificial rogue human beings with the intention of oblivion)

    Have you heard yourselves…fckin idiots

  84. Witters says:

    December 1, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    “Well I’m just thankful theres only a handful of ya”

    Handful of what Witters? Civilised, intelligent people who can respectfully disagree without resorting to childish insults?

  85. When is Santon going to start playing? £6million is a lot of cash for sitting on the bench. That wont make him happy either, I think its time he started.

  86. 102 – tooneye.

    I was thinking the same thing the other day, but at the moment there’s a risk changing the team around. He is young, he will settle the season, and when Simpson goes, he’ll slot into the team.

  87. Couple of comments, one from WT & the other from Chuck…………..”Some of ‘em are highly suspicious Chuck, and never post on football topics, just Ash bashing ones.” and………….“I noticed a certain anti US slant, concerning ownership of EPL clubs.”———

    er suspect you mean me here[unless I’m becoming as paranoid as some of you lot seem to be]? My comments regarding Ashley are not supporting him or opposing ——merely trying to take a balanced view. The man is totally unknown to me and I suspect most others who comment on these boards, yet some of us presume to know exactly what he’s thinking and how he works and none of it is good! I really don’t care if Ashley owns the club or an American corporate business, what I do care about is how football in general is going and the rapid slide toward a feeding frenzy by owners and players where both are extracting the maximum outlay from us fans to watch the game. Look at the ticket prices at the clubs who are spending the most, with the players’ wages spiralling out of control. If Tiote does move to Chelsea in the new year I suspect it will be more to do with the tripling of his wages than the possible 30million transfer fee to the club. I’m no financial business expert but I suspect the business is setup in such a way that Ashley cannot just pocket this cash as he didn’t with the Carroll money, he’s a cold hard-nosed business man and he will be doing all he can to maximise his business income and I suspect that is better for the club & us fans in the long term. He’s not a complete idiot and will be listening to advice from his football experts about how best to deliver a quality ‘product’ to his paying customers. I may be setting myself up for a fall here, but I’m pleased with the way the club is currently being run [that could all change I know]and tired of the constant abuse directed over any subject from re-naming the stadium to the witterings of some chavvy player who’s no longer at the club, being thrown by childish people who think that we’re all really walking in some kind of football wonderland where players will crawl on their hands & knees to play for the Toon ‘cos they love it….Chr*st on a bike grow up!!!!

  88. I’m wondering how many people have read or listened to what Joey Barton had to to say about A) the owners of the club and B) Gary Speeds tragic death. Alot of the stuff I have seen so far on the net has taken his comments out of context. When talking about the owners of the club it was in a radio programme for QPR and he was answering a question. I see people commenting saying he expected to be paid when in jail but that is rubbish he said “people say the club paid me while I was in jail but that is not true not that I expected to get paid” he also mentions that the owners tried to force him to sign a contract when he was in jail for 1/5 th of the money he was on. In relation to Gary Speed like patchy1 said his comment has been taken out of context he is displaying sympathy for the family and alot of people who have been in that situation of losing a loved one in that manner have said his comments are 100% correct. I just think people should look at everything he has said before commenting and if they still have a negative opinion of what is said that is fine at least it is then an informed opinion.

  89. Just copied and pasted what I wrote on another site could not be bothered to type it again so that is why it says Patchy1 lol

  90. lualua says:

    December 2, 2011 at 10:56 am

    “I’m wondering how many people have read or listened to what Joey Barton had to to say about A) the owners of the club and B) Gary Speeds tragic death. Alot of the stuff I have seen so far on the net has taken his comments out of context.”

    And they were somewhat misquoted and paraphrased too lualua. Some people are so blinded by the fact that we’re fourth at the moment that they’re in denial about other stuff which will affect the club in the long term. That’s why they’re resorting to the same old stereotypes about Barton, stereotypes that they used to critcise fans of other clubs about. They have also turned against Harper and others who have served the club well in the past such as Nolan and Enrique, and have sided with Ashley and Llambias instead. Some people only have a short attention span and are easily led by the nose by cunning people such as our current owners.