OTF

Great technique for a defender. Will be painful if he leaves. Two years to run is a worry if Nolan is anything to go off... Plus he's also getting to that age. Ashley will no doubt consider cashing his chips before his value drops. Will be on a sizable wage and Ashley will think he can replace him with an asset that will cost less and will appreciate in value. Hope he stays though, it really helps to have defenders who can play the ball out as opposed to Willo or Saylor who are specials for the hoof.

The quick decisive moves in the market are good for once. Hopefully they will continue and we'll be able to have a solid pre-season with our new players having a chance to play together. At least they'll all be able to understand each other. If Jona's is still here it's lucky he talks the international language of hand gestures. I enjoy the early optimism when new players are signed, let hope they can deliver on that once the season is underway. You can't knock the incoming business that the club has made thus far, but as I've said elsewhere I hope we're going for our targets as well as looking for opportunistic signings.

It's all a bit of fun, might be a new start for him and he'll quit carrying on like Kevin before he wisened up.

No need at all for Lua Lua now. Why pay 12m for N'Zogbia when this guy cost nothing?

Hopefully that's the end of the failed medical conjecture. All we need now is DEADMAN to report back on his overall rating in FIFA so we know we've signed a winner.

It is cause for concern for sure, have to have faith in our medical staff. At least we didn't try to compete with their reported wages that they pay free-transfers.

Another opportunistic signing. Looks a tricky player, the type that might struggle to adjust to the physicality of the league. Hopefully not though, could be a Pienaar style addition. The French thing is obviously working for us at the moment.

Bye bye Joseph, bonjour Le Toon.

NUFC.com reporting that's it's almost completed.

To be fair Coloccini started the most games for us last season - 37. Most appearances was Jonas with 39 (35 starting). Erique started 36, Barton played in 35, Nolan 32, Simpson 31, Williamson 29, Tiote 28.. so if he can manage high 20's it's not too bad.

According to some on here it doesn't matter how long players have to run on their contracts.. if they want to leave they will go and there's nothing the club can do to stop them. I think letting him go would be a mistake, for the wages and fee we paid for him (less than a million) he was good business. At times look liked a quality right back, but is not without his problems.

Sounds like Ba heard the offer from us, decided he'd need an extra 35K to compensate if he played for Everton and tried it on with them in a way that wouldn't offend.

It's funny seeing that sort of attitude from other clubs fans. Part of it is obviously a bitterness, the rest is outdated from previous times. The wage strategy has changed vastly since our relegation. Our fans and stadium are our biggest draw cards IMO.

4M!! article lost any credibility at that point. I don't think anyone will be too upset if he goes. Seemed to have defied his own ability in scoring those goals this season. Could do without seeing him flagged over and over for being offside.

The things people believe to make themselves feel better.

What are Joey and Jose on? Sol doesn't count unfortunately as he was only a 1 year contract.

Ba would be on at least that if the signing goes through as well. Unlikely to be signed on as long a deal, so if you say 3 years for him at 30K there's another £4.6M to take away, in total then you're looking at £18.1M remaining. That's also assuming that the creative accountancy crew don't include the £4M odd from Nolan's sale as well as his 40K a week salary saving over the next 2 years (£8.1m total).

That's all you needed to say.

That wasn't the case with Nolan. How would you know? It is documented by the club, Nolan's agent and the press that he was offered a new contract. That basically is the uncontrevertible truth. Of course a decision has been made to accept the 4.5m offer because Nolan and his agent made a decison (documented everywhere) not to accept the contract. Baffling how people dont understand this process, its not that complicated. What exactly is it that I don't understand. Nolan was/is contracted to us until 2013? He can get in a strop and demand to be sold until he's blue in the face whilst the club sit there doing nothing and keep him until the contract runs up. It's absurb that you can post the below in another thread when it's virtually the same in reverse.

It might happen all the time but the salient point is that regardless of how much behind the scenes talk takes place the player absolutely cannot leave without the selling club first agreeing terms with the buying one. If that doesn't happen the player stays. Is the suggestion now that Nolan engineered this move for himself after Newcastle wouldn't offer him a 5 year contract?

If he signs hopefully he can stay fit and buck our normal trend in terms of injury prone players.

That wasn't the case with Nolan. Regardless of the contract offered to him and his reluctance to sign it the club decided to sell him. Just like with Carroll, Nolan can't have talked to any clubs (more accurately other clubs can't have talked to him) prior to getting permission from Newcastle United. The club decided that they wanted to sell him. I don't know about you but if I was getting that sort of message from my employer I wouldn't be too keen to hang around.

T'was simply a "point of order", Alex and I snipe quite a lot, all in good fun, it was far from being a defence of CT per se and pedantry is fun. Since I have ignored LM I haven't quite completely recalibrated down the sensitivity of my "making things up" radar/defences. Good Answer. CT, you really haven't said a lot in that post. Do you think the sale of Nolan is a good one? Do you honestly think that Cabaye was signed to replace Nolan... or was Nolan's sale opportunistic because the club was able to force West Ham to offer what they felt was an acceptable figure? If Nolan had signed the contract that Simon Bird talks about would you have seen it as a good thing? Do you think the three players you have idnetified (Jonas, Shola & Lovenkrands) should be sold to facilitate their replacements, or do you think the 35M for Carroll shuold be enough to replace them whilst keeping them for depth? I think it was a pretty clear answer. In an ideal world you would just add to the squad should answer your questions on Nolan but in the real world NUFC are not going to pay him big bucks to as Chez puts it, possible not even make the bench. Would have been excellent if Barton (my player of the season ) and Nolan had signed in January. They chose not to. Re your last paragraph, unless you have your head in the sand its pretty obvious there is a hell of lot going on at St James with regard to replacing these three. Replace them in the squad or in the first team? - Lovenkrands was only in the first team firstly through the sale of Carroll and secondly through injury. Do you think the sale of Nolan is a good one? Do you honestly think that Cabaye was signed to replace Nolan?

To an extent in most cases, but often clubs would have a very good idea of who could be purchased from within a team without having to make excessive offers. Never a dull moment.

Brainwashed madness mate. The club did show loyalty by offering them both improved longer term deals which THEY turned down. Bit of perspective wouldnt go amiss. My statement holds true.