Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce was scheduled to hold talks with Obafemi Martins last Friday in an attempt to keep him at St James’ Park.
We all now know that the Nigerian striker has a £13M release clause in his contract which could be triggered by any club prepared to pay that amount before the transfer window closes on midnight of August 31st.
We have been told that clause is causing Big Sam some severe heartburn.
A Pensive Oba Martins
How many goals can I score for Newcastle next year?
Arsenal have been rumored to be preparing a bid to as they try to find a replacement for the departed Thierry Henry to Barcelona. Martins, who scored a commendable 17 goals for Newcastle last season following a £10M switch from Inter Milan, has yet to decide on his future.
However, as we have pointed out yesterday Martins looked particularly happy at training last Friday at Newcastle’s training ground at Little Benton – and hardly looked like a player who was fretting over his future at Newcastle.
We expect that Allardyce will be able to persuade Oba that his future indeed lies at Newcastle – but to do so Sam will probably want to renegotiate his contract to remove that release clause. To do this Oba (or should we say his agents) have said they would want a wage rise to around the amount Owen receives at Newcastle.
While this is what has been reported we think it’s probably closer to the truth to say Oba wants some wage rise – which he’ll probably get – but not to the level Michael currently receives. We think Oba will work well with Sam – who can help guide Oba’s career to the great heights a lot of Newcastle fans expect.
We have still heard nothing official on Oba’s plans – but we are hoping that he sees his future at Newcastle – under the revolution Sam is currently putting in place on Tyne-side.
Comments welcome.
13 comments so far
valle
Jul 15, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Comment #1Arsenal have so far bought 2 new Henry replacements, how many do u think they need?… They also have Bendtner comming back who Arsene rates very highly.
Ed Harrison
Jul 15, 2007 at 12:52 PM
Comment #2Well – i certainly hope they don’t want Martins – but he also needs to say he wants to be at Newcastle.
doc
Jul 15, 2007 at 2:42 PM
Comment #3Sell him for 13 buy gudyonsen (sorry about spelling but couldnt be bothered to check it), and we would still have 4/5 good quality strikers
plus £ to spend on the defence, and xmas party
Ed Harrison
Jul 15, 2007 at 4:20 PM
Comment #4doc – here’s a hint that i’ve learned about the Gudjohnsen spelling in last month or so – start with gud – then johnsen – that’s the way i remember it.
We’d love it if we bought Eidur – especially now we can spell the name 😀
mark
Jul 15, 2007 at 4:32 PM
Comment #5we should not sell martins as he is a quality forward and mike ashley has more than enough money to splash out money on gudjohnsen plus we need some more quality which gudjohnsen would bring
C DAWSON
Jul 15, 2007 at 5:48 PM
Comment #6ALRIGHT FELLO GEORDIES… I hope oba stays at the toon because last season he knocked in 17 goals and it took him a fair few games to get started so he could easily be a 25+ a season, and with owen aswell were LAUGHING this season. and dont forget viduka aswell he could really shine aswell.
Big Toon Al
Jul 15, 2007 at 6:43 PM
Comment #7Ed – i’m sure not too long ago, possibly a month or so, martins did say he was very happy at newcastle and planned to stay? or did i dream that up haha.
i reckon he will stay, if you look at the quality in depth at arsenal up front (silva, van persie, adabayor among others, as well as the prospective £15m signing of Rodrigo Palacio from Boca) he would have just as hard a battle for a place there, plus with so many competitions on their cards i dont think they have a real target, whereas here we have clear goals, are startin to build solidly and seem to be movin in the right direction – if he has the right fotballing brain on him he should know where his future lies – black and white.
also i live round the corner from the Benton training grounds and it’s near Longbenton – not Little Benton. Though the vacinity is just in Benton i believe. bumped into Peter Ramage at work at the local supermarket the other day and asked him if he had any inside goss.. to no avail haha.
Al
michael
Jul 15, 2007 at 8:07 PM
Comment #8No way they’d 13million for a player who only scored 12 in the EPL. The 5 in Europe were against mickey mouse opposition. He’s not worth 100,000 pounds a week either. Probably won’t start if MV +MO are fit and then he’ll take the hump and feign injury.
I don’t understand why we just don’t buy Ronaldhino, Kaka, Cannovarro, Terry and Gerrard. Then we’d make top four right? I hope BILLIONAIRE BUSSINESSMAN Michael Ashley is pottering about on this blog site, and not off the south coast of France on a huge boat with his no doubt gorgeous wife, model (whoever empties his nutsac) and takes my advice to heart.
AB
Jul 15, 2007 at 8:40 PM
Comment #9Christiano Ronaldo took 2-3 years to settle into the Prem and look at the player he is now.
We don’t buy the big names because we are a club a little short in stature at the minute. We’re not in Europe, we’ve just got rid of a joke of a Chairman and we’re building. No class player is going to want to drop down the leagues (the top-4 is a mini-league of its own) if they are still getting regular games in Europe.
I think Martins is going to have a good season coming, regardless of who he starts with and I hope it’s with us. I also don’t think players should have to come out every week and state their loyalty each time a national rag wants to sell some papers.
Archie Brand
Jul 16, 2007 at 6:13 AM
Comment #10Oh Dear, Where to start.
Well first of all – AB, which league were you watching last year. The top 2 were way out in front, but as for the top 4? Dont think so.
Ed Harrison – there are 2 things that make me concerned about you – the first is that you have actually gone to the trouble to devise a way of spelling Gudjohnsen – there’s obviously something pretty major missing from your life.
The second applies to you, but not you alone. When did we suddenly become so insecure that we need players to continually voice their commitment?
Modern society is raising a nation of oversensitive wusses with no confidence.
We’re unappreciated unless someone stands behind us repeating how well we’re doing. I may be 280 pounds and only 5ft 6, but if you call me fat I’ll burst into tears and run off head for 10 sessions of counselling and self affirmment – not to mention the lawsuit.
Now, of course, I cant accept a player unless he commits whole heartedly to my team. The fact that he could commit and then move anyway doesnt seem to matter – think Henry.
As for Martins’ worth – he’s shown that he has skill – he was just demotivated towards the end of last season – as was everyone in Black and White.
So Arsenal would have no problem splashing the cash on him, if they had the desire.
So we had Shearer, Kluivert and Owen – Is Ronaldinho really so far out of grasp? I dont think so. At that level money talks. If Ashley wants a trophy signing then you cant get much better – and how much would that bring in in merchandising?
Better make sure he has good insurance though – broken legs can be very expensive. I even doubt if Ronaldinho would make it through a training session with Taylor.
Ed Harrison
Jul 16, 2007 at 8:30 AM
Comment #11Archie – only two things – well that’s not too bad. 😀
Guilty as charged on the spelling.
I suppose on Martins we were just told that they were meeting on Friday and would like to hear the results of that. Maybe that is insecurity – but still would like to know what Martins is doing.
jim
Jul 16, 2007 at 9:35 AM
Comment #12I thought at the end of the season when Roeder was sacked(?) and Sam appointed that martins said he hoped Sam would keep him at Newcastle. Arsenal who seem to be the only side who the papers have said express an interest in him seem to be getting linked with other strikers now so hopefully the heat has gone off Oba. I want him to stay because he has tremendous pace and is exciting to watch. he should come out and express his intentions to stay with Newcastle, like Owen has done (although only after nobody had came in for him) Maybe he is worried about competition for places now with Viduka being here. That should make him more determined to fight for his place and prove himself.
AB
Jul 16, 2007 at 12:23 PM
Comment #13I was watching the Prem and regardless of the final standings (even if the top 4 were at least 8 points clear of anyone else) the top 4 are a league unto themselves. I wasn’t just talking about the points on the board, more the draw of the clubs. If you’re in Europe then you attract the bigger names, which keeps you in a better position.
The Arse finished where they were without Van Persie and Henry for most of the season, so yes I still see them strides ahead of the competition.
As for the “Ronaldinho out of our grasp” comment, you’re deluded. Shearer came to the Toon when we were flying high and it’s his home town club. Kluivert was past it and wanted some money. Owen wanted an escape from Real and Liverpool didn’t want him. Now lets look at the Ronny situation:
Home Town club? No
Toon in top 4? No
Ronny past it? No
Money grabber? Maybe, but then I don’t think he’s short of it at Barca
Escape? No
Ooh I can see the attraction!