Andy Carroll aftermath(press conf/interviews etc)

[Sonatine 11578]

My computer is acting up and won't copy and paste, but there's an article in the Mirror today with Pardoo saying "That stuff about assurances, and the player was never for sale? I made it up cos I knew teams were sniffing around and I wanted to warn them off."

 

Canny.

 

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has revealed that his claim Andy Carroll would not be sold was ­simply a ploy to “keep the sharks away”.

 

Pardew and the Magpies’ top brass have been ­criticised for selling Carroll to Liverpool in a record-breaking £35million deal last week after saying the England striker was not for sale at any price.

 

But the Toon boss now admits that his apparently-defiant stance was nothing more than a tactic aimed at repelling predators.

 

Pardew said: “Part of my defence which, I have not really leaned on when I said he was not for sale, was me trying to keep people away because people were fishing round him.

 

“So I was trying to keep the sharks away as much as anything else. I didn’t want him to go – that is fairly ­evident. If the media think that is an embarrassment to me then I will accept that. I just thought it was the right tactic at the time.”

 

He accepts it was unrealistic to think ­Newcastle could hold on to their prize asset in an era when every player has his price.

 

And Pardew insisted the club had no choice once 22-year-old Carroll told him he wanted to leave.

 

The Magpies boss ­believes that even his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson would face the same dilemma if a wealthy club such as Barcelona came in for his star striker Wayne ­Rooney.

 

Pardew added: “You have to face reality. Unfortunately that is what we had to do when Liverpool came with their pockets ­brimming full of cash.”

 

This one?

 

He'd be better off just shutting the fuck up

[Hudson 0]

My computer is acting up and won't copy and paste, but there's an article in the Mirror today with Pardoo saying "That stuff about assurances, and the player was never for sale? I made it up cos I knew teams were sniffing around and I wanted to warn them off."

 

Canny.

 

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has revealed that his claim Andy Carroll would not be sold was ­simply a ploy to “keep the sharks away”.

 

Pardew and the Magpies’ top brass have been ­criticised for selling Carroll to Liverpool in a record-breaking £35million deal last week after saying the England striker was not for sale at any price.

 

But the Toon boss now admits that his apparently-defiant stance was nothing more than a tactic aimed at repelling predators.

 

Pardew said: “Part of my defence which, I have not really leaned on when I said he was not for sale, was me trying to keep people away because people were fishing round him.

 

“So I was trying to keep the sharks away as much as anything else. I didn’t want him to go – that is fairly ­evident. If the media think that is an embarrassment to me then I will accept that. I just thought it was the right tactic at the time.”

 

He accepts it was unrealistic to think ­Newcastle could hold on to their prize asset in an era when every player has his price.

 

And Pardew insisted the club had no choice once 22-year-old Carroll told him he wanted to leave.

 

The Magpies boss ­believes that even his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson would face the same dilemma if a wealthy club such as Barcelona came in for his star striker Wayne ­Rooney.

 

Pardew added: “You have to face reality. Unfortunately that is what we had to do when Liverpool came with their pockets ­brimming full of cash.”

 

This one?

 

He'd be better off just shutting the fuck up

 

 

Why dig yourself a hole Pards ?

 

 

Also liverpools pockets where never bimming with cash, they where going to charge Chelsea £15m than we wanted for Carroll.

[Guest]

DURING his eight uncompromising years in black and white, John Anderson saw them come and he saw them go.

Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne and Peter Beardsley – the glittering jewels in Newcastle United’s crown were all sold on when their personal ambition outgrew a club happy to peddle water in the old First Division.

United had become a stepping stone for the region’s best, signing for their hometown club on the understanding that if one of the leading lights came in for them, they’d be free to pursue personal plaudits with them.

Did this week’s big departure from St James’ Park prompt a sickening sense of deja-vu in Anderson?

Not a bit of it because, he argues, the Andy Carroll exit was a shrewd move by Mike Ashley.

Indeed, while there is understandable hurt on Tyneside at the sale of the big No 9, few can accuse United of not negotiating a good deal with Liverpool.

The Sunday Sun understands that most of the £35million transfer fee was paid immediately and there is a substantial sell-on clause inserted which will guarantee Newcastle a whopping pay day if the moves on again.

That will surely not pacify the Toon Army as they contemplate life without their homegrown hero and a possible relegation battle, but it does add context to a decision that has been portrayed in some quarters as an example that United’s power brokers will flog the family silver. And former favourite Anderson certainly believes supporters should be looking at the bigger picture.

The combative former Ireland defender was at St James’ Park between 1982 and 1990 and was part of a squad that saw a succession of stars depart during the Gordon McKeag era.

First Waddle took his talents to Tottenham before Gascoigne followed him to White Hart Lane – with the transfer of the brilliant Beardsley to Liverpool sandwiched in between.

But he does NOT think this week’s exit will be the beginning of the end for United as the home for top-flight talent.

“There are selling clubs and then there are selling clubs. Yes, Newcastle United sold Andy Carroll but that doesn’t make them a selling club in the traditional sense of the word,” he said.

“Are Manchester United a selling club because they sold Cristiano Ronaldo? No, they took a good price for him and Newcastle did the same with Andy Carroll.

“They turned down big, big offers but £35million is an incredible fee for the player. They had turned down £30million but took the final offer and I think it is good business to be honest.

“I keep looking at the list and Carroll is now the eighth most expensive player in the world. Is he the eighth best player in the world?

“He’s a good player, but not the eighth best, so Newcastle have got a fantastic price for him.

“Now we have to hope that every penny of that is invested in the club because you can get some decent quality players for £35million. How they spend this money is what really dictates whether or not this is a good move or not.

“Our attitude back then was that no one player is bigger than the club.

“Yes people are stunned by this – it came out of the blue after everything that had been said – but it is part and parcel of football. People move on – they always will, especially in the current climate.

“Even Liverpool couldn’t hold on to Torres, although they did what Newcastle have to do this summer.”

And before supporters accuse him of taking the club’s version of events as gospel, it is worth remembering Anderson is no apologist for the current regime. He shoots straight down the line in his role as a pundit for BBC Radio Newcastle, but thinks on this occasion there should be no comparisons between the mid-eighties sales and Carroll’s departure.

“It’s totally different. Totally, totally different,” he says. “There was an inevitability about their departures. We knew they were quality players and they would end up at top sides. Back then, we weren’t that club. The club wasn’t in the position it is now, the city wasn’t the draw it is now. And you have to remember that they were exceptional talents too.

“Gazza was unbelievable, as was Waddler and Pedro was some player too. It was a matter of when, not if.

“With Carroll, it came out of the blue. He’d said he wanted to stay, he had the No 9 shirt and he’d just signed a new five-year contract.

“It wasn’t inevitable at all, but Liverpool offered ridiculous money. You have to remember that.”

 

Agree with most of that.

[JonGoodwyn 1]