Archive for May, 2009

Barton won’t be forced out of Newcastle, says agent

• Troubled midfielder ‘doesn’t want to leave’, according to McKay
• Shearer says £64,000-a-week player will not be selected

Joey Barton’s agent has warned Newcastle United that the troubled midfielder will not be pushed out of St James’ Park this summer. Alan Shearer has made it clear to Mike Ashley that if he is to become the relegated club’s manager full-time, Barton’s presence cannot be tolerated and there will be no place for him in his squad.

Newcastle’s owner is in full agreement and hopes Barton’s £64,000-a-week wages will shortly be removed from the payroll, but Willie McKay suggested that Barton is in no hurry to be moved on and may dig his heels in. “Joey has three years left on his contract at Newcastle,” said McKay. “He doesn’t want to leave.”

Barton spent the latter stages of the season serving an indefinite suspension from the club following a verbal attack on Shearer in the dressing room after his sending off in a defeat against Liverpool.

Ashley is believed to have taken legal advice on the possibilities of sacking a player whose Tyneside tenure has been scarred by, among other things, a stint in prison, but instead opted to quietly move the player on this summer.

Although Barton – who knows he would not be welcomed back with open arms and could be isolated were he to report for pre-season training on 1 July – would prefer to play Premier League football, he does not want to take a pay cut.

Despite his chequered past, several managers remain enamoured of his undeniable talent and Bolton’s Gary ­Megson and Blackburn’s Sam Allardyce, who brought him to Newcastle from Manchester City for £5.8m two years ago, are believed to be weighing up offers. Bolton had a £2m bid for Barton rebuffed by Joe Kinnear in January, but Newcastle would happily accept the same sum now to be rid of him and his costly remuneration.

Megson and Allardyce could, however, face competition from Harry Redknapp. It is understood Tottenham have made an inquiry about Barton. Yet, asked about his client possibly transferring to Bolton, Blackburn or Spurs, Mckay said: “No, no, no, there’s nothing doing – Joey has a three-year contract left at Newcastle.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle fans are ­becoming anxious that after four days of negotiations with Ashley, Shearer has still not signed a managerial contract. Club sources, though, remain optimistic that an announcement could be “imminent” and emphasise the legal complexities involved in drafting such agreements.

Ashley’s financial advisors have had to check that all Shearer’s demands make business sense.

Wigan set Bruce Sunderland deadline

• Steve Bruce’s future set to be resolved today
• Dave Whelan wants £3m for manager

The Wigan Athletic chairman, Dave Whelan, has announced that he wants £3m compensation from Sunderland for the club’s manager, Steve Bruce, and expects a decision by the end of today.

Whelan has given Bruce permission to talk to the Sunderland chairman, Niall Quinn, but wants the manager’s contract to be bought out.

Bruce rejoined Wigan in November 2007 after Whelan agreed a compensation package with Birmingham City and the chairman told Sportsweek on Radio Five Live: “I paid Birmingham a compensation fee and I think it is only fair they buy his contract out. I paid Birmingham £3m and I am asking for the same amount back.

“There are a lot of managers on the market at the moment you can get for nothing. It depends whether Sunderland feel they want to pay £3m. If they want real, real quality managers Steve is up there.

“I said to Steve and to Niall that if you are going to do a deal, do it quickly. Niall spoke to me and said ‘I understand we can’t mess about on this and by Sunday evening we will have a decision for you’.”

Whelan said that he will not draw up a shortlist of potential replacements until he has heard for certain that Bruce is leaving the renamed DW Stadium. “I don’t want to lose Steve,” he said. “I really haven’t got one [a replacement] in mind at present. It is not something I do – I wait to see what the outcome is and face reality.

“There are quite a lot of people on the market at present and there are some good lads out there who don’t have jobs.”

Capello dismisses Wenger’s Walcott burn-out fears

• Capello: Walcott should play in Under-21 championships
• ‘His holiday was in the winter. He is happy to play’

Fabio Capello has said Theo Walcott should play for both England’s senior squad and the Under-21s this summer, despite the complaints of the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger.

The Frenchman has said the winger is at risk of burn-out from playing too much during the close season but the England coach, like Walcott himself, believes it is in his interest to play. Walcott was named in the Under-21 squad last Wednesday.

“Stuart Pearce [the Under-21 coach] spoke with the players and the player was happy to play with the Under-21s,” Capello said. “I also understand Arsène Wenger because he said he needed to take a holiday. But he did not play in the winter. His holiday was in the winter. He is happy to play. This is the most important thing.”

England play World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan away, on Saturday, and Andorra at home four days later, with the European Under-21 championships in Sweden running from June 15-29.

Ronaldo signing ‘essential’ for Madrid

• Cristiano Ronaldo seen as vital to new galáctico era
• ‘Should have been bought as Beckham’s replacement in 2007′

Real Madrid’s pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo is essential for the club’s image and financial interests, their president in waiting Florentino Pérez has said.

Pérez, the overwhelming favourite to regain the Real presidency this week, said the Spanish club should have bought Ronaldo in 2007 and said the signing of Manchester United’s world player of the year was as essential as the purchase of David Beckham in 2003.

“Madrid should have bought Cristiano Ronaldo as Beckham’s replacement two years ago,” Pérez said in the Sunday Times as he outlined a vision for the club that would once again involve glamorous galáctico signings that could attract sizeable global commercial income.

“When Beckham arrived, our sponsors significantly raised their payments to us and we rescued the finances of the club. What happened in the last few years is that the club did not reinvest in the type of players to continue with that model. I want to put that right. If Cristiano Ronaldo comes in, we would have a Nike-endorsed player putting on an adidas shirt every week.”

Pérez has already outlined plans to bring Kaka and Franck Ribéry to the Bernabéu from Milan and Bayern Munich respectively. Ronaldo himself was evasive about his future plans in the aftermath of United’s Champions League final defeat by Barcelona in Rome.

Ashley attempts to offload Newcastle

• Chairman stands to lose up to £150m
• ‘I’ve lost my money and I’ve made terrible decisions’

Mike Ashley last night plunged Newcastle into yet more uncertainty by putting the club back up for sale, admitting he had made “terrible” decisions since taking over on Tyneside.

Ashley stands to lose up to £150m after reportedly deciding to offload the club for a cut-price £100m, just a week after being relegated from the Premier League.

With a number of leading players expected to leave this summer, it also raises question marks over the future of caretaker manager Alan Shearer, who spent all week trying to negotiate a permanent deal to stay in charge.

“It has been catastrophic for everybody. I’ve lost my money and I’ve made terrible decisions. Now I want to sell it as soon as I can … advisers will be appointed shortly,” Ashley told The Sunday Times.

Ashley will appoint Keith Harris, chairman of Seymour Pierce, or bankers at NM Rothschild this week with a mandate to achieve a quick sale, although in reality it could take several months, for he failed to find a buyer when he tried to sell the club for £400m last year.

Having bowed to the fans’ pressure to leave St James’ Park following the resignation of Kevin Keegan, Ashley had no luck attracting a takeover despite reported interest from South African and Nigerian investors, and opted to put a hold on his plans to sell, until now. Asked if he regretted his decision to buy the club two years ago, Ashley, who owns the sportswear chain Sports Direct, said: “Of course I regret it. I never said I was an expert in football clubs.

“I was just a fan – although a very wealthy fan. But I’m not so wealthy now. I put my money into it and I tried my best. But I accept my best was woefully short. I am genuinely sorry for everybody about what has happened.”

Ashley paid £134m for his 100% stake in Newcastle two years ago but has since poured around £110m into the ailing club without earning the success he or the fans hoped for.

Shearer, meanwhile, had been set to agree a four-year deal to remain as Newcastle manager, yet Ashley’s latest admission may leave his position in the balance.