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I Can Understand The Cabaye Logic

11 years ago
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I can understand the logic behind the Cabaye transfer saga.

I’m in the process of selling a car. Personally, I think it’s worth a lot more, but I have a never ending stream of chancers telling me, “you’ll never get that for it – I’ll give you half”.

So I kept it. Fortunately, the government here haven’t introduced  a transfer window for vehicles (but I certainly wouldn’t bet against it) so I just sat back and waited.

Sure enough, after a couple of months up pops a sucker, sorry, buyer willing to pay the asking price.

The secret is not to NEED to sell the car, which unfortunately is usually not the case.

I have tried and tried over the years to see the good.

I have assumed that Mike Ashley got to be a billionaire as a result of business acumen, and the ability to learn.

Businesses need to turn a profit , so one would assume that he would at least want to ensure our survival at the highest level – after all, that’s where the money’s at!

He’s not daft, just a bit egotistical.

The man who ‘parks his tanks on other peoples lawns’ didn’t make the UK’s rich list by worrying about what the likes of you and I are saying.

When he bought Newcastle United Football Club it seemed like a half decent deal. He’d probably had a few beers with Sir John, while Freddie was taking a break with pneumonia, and fell for Hall’s Geordie charm.

There has to be like a code or something between magnates. “Nee tekkin the watta”.

“So that’s it, then John, apart from the outstanding electricity bill  there’s nothing else I need to worry about?”.

“Naa – yull be aalreet bonny lad, just sign there!”.

And off he went.

As history has shown, it turned out that the electricity bill wasn’t the only bill outstanding.

We were 2 months behind with Carricks – and those pasties don’t come cheap – and the turnstile repair man hadn’t been paid since 1974, oh and there’s this little matter of 120 million that’s still outstanding!

It’s almost comical when you look back, but it’s a significant part of the current status of the club, that you just cannot ignore.

I worked for a company for 20 years that based its pay rates on the bare minimum that it thought it could get away with. When resignations spiked they considered pay rises that were calculated to be just enough to stem the flow, but no more.

It really is amazing how much crap people are willing to put up with

We know Ashley is a gambler and there can be no doubt that a lot of discussion has gone into the minimum expenditure  required to keep the club afloat.

Pardew has said that we will only bring people in that are better than what we’ve got, for the money we can afford.

I was never a fan of Perch, but it would seem that getting rid of him, then not replacing him, “for the money we can afford”,  doesn’t make a lot of sense.

How many times last season did we depend on the likes of Perch to get us through the difficult times? OK he may not have been great, but at least he was there!

Ashley’s game plan is to just carry on and see what happens.

A cracker, eh?

Essentially we are a top 5 team. Well we were a couple of seasons ago and let’s be honest we only got rid of a few dodgy squad players and brought in busloads last January.

Stick with me here.

Ben Arfa, Cabaye and Cisse are quality players, who, on their day are unstoppable. OK their day may have been back in October 2009, but the fact remains.

We actually have the makings of a good team, if we could just get all the cylinders firing at the same time. OK I appreciate that the cylinders of a car don’t all fire at the same time, but I’m trying to make a point here.

Ashley has probably sat with JFK and Pardew and they have decided that with Remy on board and a few of the other players a little more settled, we can get through to January without being relegated.

Again, Mike probably hasn’t figured out yet that you can only be relegated at the end of the season, but that has to be a good thing surely.

If, by New Year we are anywhere near mid-table it will be a quiet January. If we are looking over our shoulders down into the 7th Pit of Hell, then expect the cheque book to come out.

Pardew summed it up when he said that we wouldn’t be buying a replacement for Cabaye until we knew he was going.

Using the same logic, wouldn’t it make sense to say that we would not be strengthening the squad until we know we need it?

As for the logic behind boycotting the games let me give you an insight into how Ashley’s mind probably works.

First of all – regardless of what you think of him, he’s not an idiot when it comes to money. At the end of the day while he may not make a huge profit, he certainly won’t make a loss.

He has handed the Toon a hundred million plus in interest free loans.

No buyer in his right mind will buy us with that level of outstanding debt.

Mike Ashley, by being the proverbial tightwad is gradually reducing that debt, making the club a more attractive proposition.

If you honestly want him out, support the club, buy the tickets, buy the shirts, reduce the debt.

I have some investments that I bought 3 years ago. Those in the know insist that the markets work on a 7 year cycle.

Some of my investments have made money and been sold. Others have dipped, recovered and will (hopefully) return a profit in the near future.

The basic thing about investments is that you only realise a loss when you sell.

John D Rockefeller once proclaimed that the secret to his great wealth was that he always sold his stocks and shares for more than he paid for them, whether it was just a nickel or a cent, he waited and made money.

Anyone who thinks that they can squeeze Ashley’s nuts and make him walk away, just doesn’t understand the business.

The club has to become attractive. This will only happen once the debt is cleared. This will happen more quickly if we continue to give our support.

See if you can put these words into a coherent sentence – Nose Spite Face Cut off.

Ashley will only sell at a profit. That’s what businessmen do. It really is just a matter of waiting until that happens.

In the meantime, anyone want to buy shares in Japan’s Nuclear Power Program?

PS

Newcastle’s Media Machine has released this statement;

‘Joe has worked hard on numerous targets, particularly an additional offensive player. However some of the options that were available within our financial means were not as good as the players we already had and there is no point bringing in new players unless they can improve us and take us forward’.

Something about that statement just doesn’t make any sense.

If the targets were not good enough why was Joe working hard on them?

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