Wonder how the amigos will cope with the near/sub zero temp tomorrow. Wooly hats to go along with the gloves? Will Cordone wear a long sleeved shirt? Hopefully theyll just get stuck in to Keane/Beckham and Giggs- that'll warm them up!

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2000

Answers

Bottom line is...will Cordone's gloves outshine Spiceboy's gloves. At least our South Americans have an excuse for the gloves, Spiceboy is just a wimp!

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Was wondering very same mesel', even on Toosdy. However, dredging up the brain cells long since forgotten, yet previously populated with useless facts, I'm sure there's more snow in Peru, Argentina and Chile than Salford, Lahndaan or T&T. Methinks wor oppos will be as much, if not more inconvenienced by the inclement weather.

Mind you - I fully expect Taggart to put in an orrificial complaint if the temp is below freezing. Bollocks!

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

It seems there is a potential problem looming with Solano over negotiations on an extension to his Contract which ends at the end of next season.

Apparently, he is presently earning around £14k per week, and wants that doubled to ca. £28k which he reckons is the going rate for established PL stars.

If an extension can't be agreed it is likely the Club would look to sell him in the close season to avoid losing him on a Bosman.

I can't say I blame Solano. Everyone reckons he is one of the best wide m/f players in the PL, so it doesn't seem unreasonable that he is paid accordingly. Apparently, he is very happy here, so hopefully an acceptable compromise can be reached by the two parties to keep him here for another 2-3 seasons.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

I did a quick survey on the USA Today weather site (nothing else to do - stricken by gastro-enteritis like half of Belgium and France) and came up with the following. Sorry in advance for the formatting. The conclusion is that nowhere is as cold as Newcastle, by a long way. Even London is far colder than anywhere that our imports are used to. Temperatures are in Fahrenheit, and the monthly averages and highest and lowest ever for the coldest month of the year in each place. Even Madrid, which I thought was very cold when I have been there in January, is a lot warmer than Newcastle. I looked at Northern Spain, where Marcelino is from and it didn't seem much different. So get those Long Johns on and shin pads up to the chest.
Here goes:
Place Homegrown Month Avg hi Avg lo Warmest ever Coldest ever Newcastle Harper only JAN. 41 34 57 3 London Barton & ManU JAN. 45 36 61 15 Chile Acuna JULY 57 37 82 21 Argentina Bassedas JULY 58 41 88 19 Peru Solano AUG. 66 60 79 50 Spain Marcelino JAN. 51 32 68 14 Manchester None JAN. 44 35 56 10

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Cant believe Solanos only on 14K though he probably thinks this is a fortune coming from Peru. I have my reservations about his overall contribution especially in away games, but his creativity and committment to Newcastle earns him 25K in my book when u consider the sort of wages floating about the premiership.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Clarky,

Everything I have read, indicates Solano is presently on 28k a week and wants that doubled. They even mentioned the contract negotions, Solano's present wage and what he wants on Radio 5Live last night.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Already on 28K??? I cant see Daglish having offered 28K when he 1st came over- if hes asking more than 30K id tell him where to go, though that 'Merry Xmas Newcastle' on his t-shirt earned him lots of brownie points in my book! Anyone who interprets those last 4 words as racist are very cynical indeed :-)

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

I would have thought that the first figure of £14k a week now is more likely, and if we wanted now to buy a player as good as him you would have to pay £20k - £25 k to get them.

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000

Well - the situation seems a bit confused.
If he's on £14k - my guess - he's worth £28k, and will leave if he doesn't get close to that figure. In fact, they should give him a raise to £20k now as a gesture of the Club's good faith, and to help close the negotiations.
However, if he is looking for £56k - hasta la vista, Nobby!

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000

Dalglish (spit) was someone who liked to impress players by offering them ridiculous 'ig-club' salaries even if they were crap so I wouldn't be too surprised if Nobby was on mega bucks already.

When Berkoic moed to Celtic there was much comment/boasting that he had had his wages doubled from 15 to 30k per week. It was absolute nonsense as he would have moved for a bargain 50% pay increase (£7500 per week to you and me) but Dalglish wanted to 'prove' how big he was.

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001