One of the leading stories floating around this morning is Douglas Hall claiming Bobby will be given massive financial backing over the summer.

Any truth in what he is saying?

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Answers

Story by Bob Cass on ESPN's soccernet website, is that Hall is pledging a £100 million transfer kitty for the summer.

I'd like to believe this is true!!!

See link below:

http://www.soccernet.com/england/news/2001/0318/20010318nufchallmoney. html

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Douglas Hall has promised Newcastle fans a £100million transfer and pay package aimed at toppling Manchester United from their perch, with Rivaldo top of their shopping list.

Hall, the deputy chairman and major shareholder, referred to Barcelona's Brazilian when he said: 'I've always believed we should be able to attract players of the quality of Rivaldo.

'Now I believe we can go for players of the highest calibre all over the world. That's the ambition of everybody in the boardroom.

'We've invested heavily in the past on the ground. We've managed to trade very well this year in terms of player purchases and player sales. Now we're ready for the future.

'If it comes to a case of paying out on wages and transfers, we are better placed than most Premiership and top European clubs to compete because of our recent prudence.

'The most important thing for us at the moment is to win the Premier League.

'We haven't been very successful over the past three years but because of the way the club has been run, we've got ourselves into a position where we can go for the best.

'The debt for the stadium is long term and well within our financial capabilities. For the first time in a lot of years there will be cash in the bank before the season starts.'

Hall discounted speculation that he is looking to sell his 48per cent stake, although rumours are rife that an over-seas buyer is ready to come in.

He said: 'I love the club and the north-east and the best thing I could do would be to pass on the family's shares to my children.

'I'd be absolutely crazy to get rid of the Hall shareholding at present day values.'

He slammed the lack of confidence from potential City investors, saying: 'The City is underestimating the value of Newcastle but there is nothing I can do about that. No matter what story we tell them, they don't understand the potential, the value and the cashflow at this club and we've given up trying to make them understand.

'All the people who have invested in this club have seen the share prices fall, which is crazy, and there is no explanation for it.

'Our turnover is not as big as that of Manchester United but we may have a bigger stockpile of cash because we haven't gone crazy on transfer fees.

'I don't want to create wage escalation but, given circumstances such as the transfer system changing, money allocated for buying would go on salaries; if it stays we could compete with fees such as the £18million Leeds spent on Rio Ferdinand. We will take each step as it comes.

'In my opinion we are already bigger with more financial stability than the likes of Barcelona and other top European clubs.

'The next stage is success on the park, which is where we started under Kevin Keegan. Hopefully, Bobby Robson can make some prudent purchases, whether it be with transfers or wages, but they won't be small. They will be large.'

Hall, who has maintained a three-year public silence since the row over ill-judged remarks on the club's fans, explained his long-term reticence by insisting: 'I haven't been hidden away. I haven't been in the shadows.

'It's been a difficult time after the problems we had in the Press but I have been active in running the family business and looking after Newcastle United's interests.

'I have been constantly liaising with Freddy Shepherd, who has done a tremendous job as chairman without any credit at all.

'The Hall-Shepherd team has never stopped working for the benefit of this club.'

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

'The next stage is success on the park, which is where we started under Kevin Keegan. Hopefully, Bobby Robson can make some prudent purchases, whether it be with transfers or wages, but they won't be small. They will be large.'

Large? Is Micky Quinn coming back then?

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

There's also an interview in today's Sunday Times. Sounds incredibly optimistic under the current circs. The headline is "Unlikely Lads". Apologies for the long post, but it's worth reading in full:

WHEN Douglas Hall strode into the Magpie Room restaurant at St James’ Park last week, some of the waiters initially failed to recognise him, while others did a double take. Domiciled in Gibraltar these days, Newcastle United’s deputy chairman and majority shareholder had returned to Tyneside for a short break minus his trademark moustache, sporting a new close-cropped haircut and ready to speak to journalists for the first time in three years.

It is 36 months since the Toongate scandal brought Hall and Freddy Shepherd, Newcastle’s chairman, instant notoriety in the wake of their drunken, laddish boasts to an undercover tabloid newspaper reporter disguised as an Arab sheikh.

For days, the national news was dominated by the fallout from the pair being quoted calling Geordie women dogs and laughing about Newcastle fans being ripped off when buying replica shirts.

Since then, Shepherd has overseen the firing of Kenny Daglish, the hiring and firing of Ruud Gullit and the appointment of Bobby Robson, as well as the transformation of St James’ Park into a magnificent 52,000-capacity arena.

While the chairman has been hands-on at the ground most days, Hall fled the country, opting to pursue business interests abroad and watch Newcastle on Sky. Small wonder rumours have recently been rife that Sir John Hall’s son wanted out and was poised to sell his majority stake. Pouring scorn on such suggestions, Douglas confounded the doubters by pledging to provide sufficient funds to finance a realistic assault on the Premiership next season.

"I’ve hidden in the background because I got more than I could stand from the newspaper and it’s taken me a while to come back," said Hall.

"Although I’ve been in the shadows, it’s not as if I haven’t been doing anything for this club. I’ve been abroad looking after my business and investments in Newcastle United. The newspaper thing was unfair, but it’s history now and my intention is to pass my shares on to my children."

Cynics might say that with £50m owed on the ground redevelopment alone and the bank balance still recovering from the excesses of Kevin Keegan, Dalglish and Gullit, Hall has little option but to stick around because the club would struggle to attract viable buyers.

He demurred. "There is no debt at the club that is not manageable," he said. "The ground is being paid for over 17 years, so it’s like a mortgage. You don’t see yourself as being in debt just because you’ve got a mortgage.

"For the first time in a lot of years, there is cash in the bank to spend on the team," Hall continued. "And we will not let our fans down. We are ready to invest heavily in either transfer fees and/or wages to provide a winning team.

"We’ve invested heavily in the stadium and we’ve got the best ground in the country, so now for the players. Newcastle fans can look forward to an exciting time next season. Our signings won’t be small, they’ll be large. We’ll make sure we compete at the highest level in the Premiership and, hopefully, in Europe. I’ve every confidence we can compete with anybody."

Sceptics could see this as a ruse to boost season-ticket sales, but Hall and Shepherd insist they are not in the business of making empty promises. "Newcastle is better placed than most Premiership clubs and most European clubs to compete," said Hall. "We’ve had to be financially prudent over the past couple of years because bad purchases were made, but the manager has done well in selling players, the board has had a good year financially and we’re ready to compete again. We haven’t yet got as big a turnover as Manchester United, but we’ve possibly got a larger stockpile of cash than Manchester United because we haven’t gone crazy in the transfer market over the past couple of years.

"In my opinion we’re already bigger and more financially stable than the likes of Barcelona. We might not be as successful on the pitch, but we are more financially stable. Freddy Shepherd has run the club in difficult circumstances for the past three years without any credit at all."

The chairman and majority shareholder cannot anticipate any kudos unless Newcastle hoist a trophy or two. As Hall acknowledged: "The most important thing is to try to win the Premiership. We’d love to qualify for Europe in May and have a good Uefa Cup run next season, but the Premiership is the priority and our ambition is that Newcastle will attract players of the highest calibre.

"My dream in the past was to see Rivaldo play here and it is that type of player we will try to get. This club should attract players of the quality of Rivaldo."

Such words should be music to the ears of Robson, who, due to a combination of long-term injuries to key first-team players and a lack of transfer funds, has found this season extremely frustrating. Recently, the 68-year-old former England coach admitted he sometimes wondered if he might not be better off "on the first tee on some golf course in Hawaii" before revealing that, had he faced similar problems at any club other than his beloved Newcastle, he would have seriously considered quitting this summer.

Shepherd is at pains to point out that the manager will soon be furnished with a generous budget: "Dalglish and Gullit didn’t come here to bugger the club, but unfortunately things didn’t work out and, thankfully, Bobby has stabilised the situation. He’s been unfortunate with injuries, but we’ve created a stable platform and the team is poised to strike back."

To do so effectively, Hall believes Newcastle need to be involved in next season’s Uefa Cup. "If we get European qualification we can attract anybody here," he said. "It’s difficult to attract top signings if we don’t get into Europe, but we would still be well- placed. Look at our manager — who is better respected than Bobby Robson? I believe Bobby will attract top players. This is where it all takes off again."

Over the new year, Tyneside was awash with talk that Robson would be replaced by Aston Villa’s John Gregory and his entire coaching entourage in June, but Shepherd has since made plain such rumours were groundless. More recently, Keegan, who lives in the northeast and is keen to return to management, was spotted dining with Sir John Hall and Max Clifford, the publicist, in a Marbella restaurant. However, it was a social encounter and there is no chance of Keegan returning to the club he took to the brink of the championship in 1996.

"Things would have been different if we hadn’t lost that 12-point lead and the title in 1996," said Shepherd. "This time, though, our challenge will be different: under Keegan, there was a bit of all-fur- coat-and-no-knickers about it."

He was presumably referring to Keegan’s ill-advised decisions to scrap Newcastle’s reserve team and ignore the youth policy. Credit should go to Dalglish for rebuilding the youth-development system and helping to ensure that promising current first-team players such as Shola Ameobi were properly developed.

Like Gullit, Dalglish suffered the consequences of failing to appoint the right first-team coach, something Robson rectified with the recruitment of Mick Wadsworth, a former Carlisle, Scarborough and Colchester manager who was part of Robson’s England backroom team during Italia 90 and is regarded as one of the best coaches around.

Under poorer management, Newcastle’s injuries and lack of ready cash could have precipitated a dalliance with relegation, but Robson’s often makeshift side have frequently played good football, beating Liverpool and Leeds during a campaign in which consistency has proved elusive. The Toon Army harbour lofty aspirations, and recent defeats by Charlton and Manchester City prompted a stream of outrage in the letters pages of the local papers, with some fans calling for Robson’s head. As befits a man with the nerve to order black pudding in the Magpie Room (two AA rosettes and a soaring reputation for excellent food), Shepherd refuses to countenance such criticism. "You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realise that if we’d had Carl Cort, Alan Shearer, Nikos Dabizas, Kieron Dyer and Rob Lee properly fit all season, we’d have done a lot better," said the chairman.

Money for high-calibre replacements may shortly be on tap, but will Europe’s most coveted individuals want to live on Tyneside? "If they don’t, they will be players who don’t want to join the second largest club in England," retorted Shepherd. If Robson could bring Newcastle their first trophy of the new millennium he would retire happy, but Shepherd is anxious to defer his departure as long as possible.

"It would be ridiculous for me to give a 68-year-old guy a two-or three-year contract because you guys [journalists] would be constantly saying, ‘He’s only got three months left, who is going to replace him?’ Instead, I’ve given Bobby a 12-month rolling contract, which means that every morning he wakes up he’s got a 12-month deal in front of him.

"I’ve never worried about Bobby resigning out of frustration. Sure he gets down after defeats, but then he’s back out there rallying the troops."

Refusing to be drawn on questions about Shearer’s credentials to succeed Robson, the chairman insisted that he does not have a long- term successor in mind. Even so, Hall could not resist peering into his crystal ball. "I’d like to think that in 10 years’ time we’ll be investing further in increasing the capacity of St James’ Park," he said. "If the team is successful, there will be no limit to the number of Newcastle fans who would turn up. But first we need to win the Premiership."

With that, Hall was off, driving down the A1 to Durham to become just another, largely unrecognised, face in the crowd as he watched his son turn out for a school rugby team.

"Because of the trouble we had, I’ve kept quiet," he said. "It’s been a difficult three years."

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

" Bunch of arse! "

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

We all so desperately want the same as Douglas Hall, and indeed Freddie Shepherd; the difference is that they have the opportunity and the responsibility for making it happen.

I don't want to rubbish what Mr. Hall has said, and would be the first to congratulate him if it were to happen. However, the track record of this management duo since they took over a rapidly-growing company, with a hugely entertaining team that was 2nd in the PL, is very, poor.
The Club and the team appears to be in a steep spiral of decline, possibly now facing a third successive relegation fight. None of this offers any real hope that the same management team can turn things around. I sincerely hope this conclusion proves to be incorrect.

I frankly don't know where the £100 million that Mr. Hall describes will come from, but have no reason to believe he is being disingenuous in committing to it so publicly. What I would say to him is the following:

"Firstly, please don't make the same mistakes again. Throwing a second £100 million at expensive stars is no more guaranteed to provide long-term success this time around than it did last time. Get the foundations right this time.
Give the highest priority to getting in place the Youth Academy, first-class training facilities, and the best possible professionals to manage and operate these facilities.
With regard to the playing squad, take a medium term view to building a high quality squad, integrating as many in-house developed players as possible. Buy selectively and judiciously, and only after carefully screening out poor characters.
The fans will be patient if they see the Club is moving in the right direction. Despite the popular media view, they don't expect instant success, but they do expect to see real, steady progress being made.
Finally, communicate fully and openly with the supporters: take them into your confidence, tell them your plans, and work hard to keep them up-to-date. This is the only way to get everyone pulling in the same direction. For far too long we've been carving each other up and pulling in disparate directions: working together we could become an unbeatable combination."

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

i'm with hiro.

rivaldo? ha ha ha ha. that's the best one i've heard all year. almost as good as last year's Scholes to Sunderland story. in fact, it's probably better. if you wanted an indication of how out of touch, inept, clueless and desperate Shepherd and Hall are, there is your quote ladies and gentlemen....

i truly despair. My prediction is Bill McGarry for next manager...

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Is Richard Dinnis not available ?

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Jack Charlton? I hear he's bored of fishing thesedays.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Brilliant comments from Hall. I'm pleased to see that Clarky has not denied that the man means what he says but I'm disappointed to see that so many think this is a pre-season, pre-ticket-sales lie.

Rivaldo? ha ha ha ha. says min. Well min Shearer? hahahahaha. The most expensive player in history, snatched from under the noses of the World's richest club. And the architect of that transfer? The main driving force behind it? None other than Douglas Hall himself. Freddie blanched at the propect but Hall said he wanted him and they went and got him. I see no reason to doubt Hall but I do urge caution and urge you to differentiate what Hall actually said from Newspaper spin.

Hall is quoted as saying "I've always believed we should be able to attract players of the quality of Rivaldo(emphasis mine). It is the newspaper which says that Rivaldo is top of the shopping list, so let's not run away with the idea that Rivaldo is the actual target. Doug didn't say that as far as I can see.

Let me straight away point out also that he did not say that they will have £100m to spend in the close season. Some comment was made about a £100m package for transfers and wages. No indication of a time frame was given either so I don't know if this is over 1 or more seasons.

Personally I'm extremely pleased to know that Hall is still on the scene and what he said confirms to me what he told me directly at the AGM - that he wants to stay and they are ambitious for the club. I wish he had felt able to be more public with comments like these in recent months while spirits were falling but I'm pleased he's back. Douglas is the Organ-grinder (stop sniggering at the back there!), and Freddie just the monkey when all's said and done. Let's take our man at face value. Most were prepared to believe a lot of entrapment drivel in the NotW so the least we can do now is accept what he said in a proper interview. Take the man at his word - he got Shearer and he believes we can get absoloute top quality. He has achieved it before and I see no reason why we can't again.

I do hope though, like Clarky, that care is taken to get the balance right. Home grown players are good for the team spirit, with expensive foreign players, we have to be very sure that they will settle on Tyneside and be able to give their best in this environment. Mind if they can't play in a stadium like ours with fans like ours then they must have no hope.

Keegan proved himself a master of investment in players. Since then the story has been very patchy with all 3 successors getting it wrong more often than not in their buying policy. I'd be very nervous about spending vast sums without some very thorough checks on all aspects of our proposed buys.

Once again, a message I return to often - SUPPORT is the name of the game. Our main man has spoken - it behoves us to take him at face value and support him - to my knowledge I don't think he has lied to us in the past.

Welcome back Doug - let's see if you can go one better than your dad. (I mean silverware not Lord Douglas Hall)

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

If this was an interview with Sir John, I would take it at face value. The way I see it is Douglas Hall would have loved to have sold the club, and over the last two seasons has probably been looking for a buyer. In the meantime his instructions to his sidekick Freddie Shepherd will have been something like. "Keep it ticking over freddie, but don't let Robson waste any money on more players, Tell him he can spend the money that he raises from the dross that Gullit and Dalglish bought, but that's it . NO MORE MONEY, I'm selling up !" What's happened? Robson has disposed of a lot of the deadwood, but with limited resources hasn't been able to get the real quality players that he would have liked. This has led to the club sliding down the table . The confidence from fans, players and coaching staff is at a low point. And the club is unsellable. If Douglas Hall had really intended to keep his 48% share of the club, then why has he left it so late? At Xmas when other clubs were buying the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Jesper Grønkjær, Robbie Keane, etc, NUFC were still using the uncertainty of the transfer market as an excuse for not strengthening the team. A couple of decent signings a couple of months ago would have given us a chance to get into Europe , which would have led to the club getting their invested money back by being involved in a prestigious competition and guaranteeing that St James' would again be full next season. Instead, Douglas Hall opted to remain in Spain with his head buried in the sand, hoping Bobby Robson's magic wand would do the trick. It hasn't, and now we find ourselves in a situation where we have again achieved nothing this season. There is a slim chance of relegation , but more than likely we'll finish in around the usual 13th spot. Given this likely scenario I can see there being empty seats next season, which will affect merchandise sales and put the club in further decline. Action had to be taken from Hall. He now hopefully realises that there are two options. Invest some money and have something that's worth owning , that he can sell at a later date, or stay in Spain and hope that some mug will buy your share in a club destined to sink into perennial mediocrity.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Jonno,

Then DH obviously STILL hasn't learnt his lesson when dealing with the press. Taken literally, i can't disagree about players LIKE Rivaldo but that wasn't the IMPLICATION of what he was saying...therefore i have no sympathy whatsoever. A foolish and irresponsible thing to say either way.

As for Shearer. Well that's an entirely different set of circumstances. Local lad, we were effectively guaranteed European football for the next year, solid squad of players, competition for places, a trophy not a million miles away.

Now compare the that with where we are now.

It's pie in the sky talk and another insult as far as i can see. It just serves to prove how far we've fallen since the 'heady' days of 95/96, not explain how far we have to go. It's harking back and i fail to see what it achieves except massages DH ego and let's us all now that we have to 'keep the faith'. As if we needed reminding. Faced with the attitude of players and the board, i'm getting angrier and angrier.

I'd like to believe it. I really would. I'd love to see 'moaning min' eat his hat. But i feel this is yet another false dawn and by the time the summer comes round, it may well already be too late.

Closing. Stable. Horse. Door. After. The. Bolted. The. Has

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Meant to add, it's very good to have you back though. You've been missed.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

'fraid I'm in the brigade of being rather sceptical about this interview. It sounds to me like an attempt to buy success, which doesn't often work and not for the long term anyway. Whether that's what he meant or not, I don't know. I'd be far happier if he'd said he was invest X millions in getting state of the art training facilites built this summer, X millions getting the youth academy up, AND X millions for Bobby to bring in players. That would show us having true ambition, a real plan, and probably also help bring top quality players in when we can't promise European football for at least another season.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

But Ciara, DH has been away in Europe for the last 3 years (which is more than you can say about the team). As far as he knows, we've built the new training facilities and accedemy at Woolsington. After all, that was the plan 3 years ago. All that's needed now in his eyes is a few fresh faces to top it all off. If only those stupid journos had told him - rotten barstewards - do you wonder why he doesn't trust them?

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001