Calvert-Lewin has become an injured object of desire

Steve Bruce finally sacked by Newcastle. Bet he's relieved that's finally over, as he walks away with about £8 - £10 million in his sky rocket!!

There's only one man for the Barcodes right now. Big Sam will be sitting by the phone rubbing his hands.

Watch them pull someone like Simone out of the bag!

In honesty, this will be interesting. I don't want to sound sour grapes, but I'm not sure a big name will risk it until they see the landscape in January given where Newcastle are right now.

Do they have someone lined up though? I'll get onto my mate!

No major surprise that Bruce has parted company with Newcastle, Graeme Jones takes charge for their next game, Martinez to arrive soon?

More importantly, the rumours have started that the Barcodes are targetting Dominic Calvert-Lewin to bolster their attack; if that happens and in January, we may as well call it a day.

Rumours are there are three lined up, Eddie Howe, Fonseca and Favre. Graham Jones will apparently be in charge at Palace this weekend.

Barry, so that's Calvert-Lewin going to Arsenal, Real Madrid and now Newcastle!!

It will help with our FFP Rob, £210M from 3 different clubs! :)

If it's Newcastle, Barry, I'd want £210M just from them.

As soon as the takeover was complete it was only a matter of time before Bruce would be sacked, but he will walk away with quite a few million to stick in the bank. I am sure that the new owners have already decided who will be taking over, and the press are saying they have spoken to Howe, Fonseca and Favre.

I am sure whoever takes over will get the normal new manager bounce, but they will have to wait till January to bring in better players. The question is: Will the players they have be good enough to get them out of a relegation spot before the window opens?

I don't think any of the top names will go there with the uncertainty of relegation, hence why no mention of Conte as a prospective manager. They will probably go for a couple of big name players who they can get on loan in January, hoping that can get them out of relegation.

Even next season, I don't see them getting the very top players but, whoever gets the job initially, I think they will be replaced once Newcastle have established themselves in the Top 6 or Top 7 in the Premier League. But, provided they don't get relegated, the money over the next 4/5 years should see them competing for the top honours.

'The Premier League approved the £305M takeover after receiving "legally binding assurances" that the Saudi state would not control the club.'

So, if it's proven the Saudi state do own the club (which we all know they do), will the Premier League be able to force them to dispose of it? I very much doubt it.

What it does demonstrate is that the Premier League is either morally bankrupt or a load of wankers; probably a morally bankrupt bunch of wankers.

Apart from the RS, I have never wanted a club to be relegated as much as I want Newcastle to go down this season.

Interesting prediction from my very good friend who is a long-time Newcastle season ticket holder and lives in the north east so has a good ear to the ground.

"We'll appoint someone to replace Bruce, spend very little in January as it will be too late to save us. We'll be relegated, but bounce back first time. Build from there slowly, making sure we focus on the academy and development. Buy solid players, not fantasy footballers"

Interesting perspective and view.

Fonseca seems to be top of the list, which is interesting as – according to him – he turned down Spurs because they wanted him to be more defence-minded than he would like to be. The Barcodes first priority this season is to avoid going down, for which they need a solid defence.

My hope is that the knobheads in charge get it horribly wrong, appoint a Hollywood coach, and make a right mess of it. Let's face it, we're the blueprint for that.

How pathetic that the Premier League clubs have blocked Newcastle from getting sponsorship. Nothing but jealously.

I hope they spend billions and completely smash the Premier League. Win the league every year. I would love that.

So Newcastle are the new Everton. They will overpay for players and will hit a wall, same as us, when too many of them fail. We know all too well it's about recruitment and balance.

They may not even be in the Premier League next season so who do they get that will stick with them? Will players take reduced wages? Will a manager stick with them and will he be able to get them back up again?

I don't know what kind of pull Newcastle will be to players. With no European football, they surely can't go crazy with the wages. There was space for Chelsea and Man City but, as we have found out, there are a few others more attractive to the top players and will remain so.

Back to Everton... how far will we fall if both Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin get sold in the next 12-18 months. It's looking more likely.

Calvert-Lewin seems a very likely target for them – along with Richarlison and Digne. I expect this might happen – which is a shame. Unlikely to be January but (assuming Newcastle Utd stay up) this might well go ahead in summer.

Unfortunately Calvert-Lewin is exactly the sort of profile they will attract for the next few years until they move up a level.

My hope is that they get a foreign manager in who goes for someone like Vlahovic of Fiorentina or Isak of Real Sociedad instead.

Newcastle are not the new Everton. I can see them having a proper plan, and will go about it slowly. Unlike us who spent money like it was going out of fashion. Look how it's left us. Cash strapped with a very poor squad.

A few different topics here.

First of all, the media seem determined to undermine Calvert-Lewin and the Blues by unsettling him with rumours that have no basis whatsoever. Why they are allowed to publish this propaganda without any foundation is beyond me.

Secondly, the new owners of Newcastle will either have to do a major selling plan to top coaches and players or slowly make their way up from the dire position they are in now.

Yes, money talks… but does it do the walk? It took Man City over 5 years to make any inroads and they had less competition than there is now and all the top coaches are spoken for.

Paul @16,

I think you'll find that it will be just as difficult for the Geordies as it has been for Everton, to try and make up that huge gap that exists between the established Top 6 clubs and the rest.

Erstwhile Champions League certainties, Arsenal and their neighbours are finding it increasingly difficult to hold their place at the top table and both would be very surprised to find themselves in the Top 4 at the end of this season.

Moshiri and company took a huge gamble with managers and players arriving that they hoped would catapult us quickly into the mix. Unfortunately for Moshiri, the club, and the Evertonians, it didn't quite work out that way due to some ridiculous contracts being handed out.

We have been saddled with too many players who have failed to make a positive impact at Everton; some are still here, some have left for less than we paid for them.

Good management and prudent spending will take you so far, but it's not as simple as many seem to think it is, to try and build a team in this era of football, the fact that we could lose both Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin by this time next season is a testament to that.

Everton FC isn't cash-strapped as you describe it, they are hampered by making too many mistakes in the last few years and it will take another 12-18 months to rectify those, meanwhile, the team/squad, which is the most important thing to most of us, suffers from inadequate numbers and a lack of overall quality.

Newcastle may well do things far better than we have at Everton, but I don't think they'll find it much easier and will probably make some major mistakes along the way too, they could also find themselves in the championship next season, if their current form continues between now and January. At least Everton is in a position whereby it can be in the premier league next season with another 9 wins or equivalent from the remaining fixtures.

Paul # 16.

The other key point is that Newcastle Utd have a lot more money now than we've ever had. They are now up there with PSG, Chelsea and Man City, looking down on the likes of Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Man Utd and Liverpool. It won't be immediate but success will happen.

I wonder what the attraction would be for Dom? If any? Yea, they can offer him crazy money and being part of a predestined ascent to the very top... But I would have thought we would want to at least offer some resistance to it simply happening.

Of course we don't have a great record for hanging on to our top players. We seem to be easily persuaded when enough noises are being made in the media and especially when there's a lot of money on the table.

There have been few that have bucked the trend: Baines not going to Man Utd... er... that's about all I can think of. All the rest have taken the opportunity to move on: Barkley, Lukaku, Stones, Fellaini, Rodwell, Arteta, Lescott, Rooney, Jeffers, Dunne, Barmby, Speed... I'll stop there.

"I hope they spend billions and completely smash the Premier League. Win the league every year. I would love that. "

OK, Kevin - calm down.

Paul/Barry

The ESL has apparently resurfaced with the pioneers now offering two divisions with promotion and relegation BUT the key thing is spending caps based on income. So aside from UEFA and the EPL even fake leagues like the ESL are trying to hold clubs other than "the usual suspects." down.

Did our Glorious Leader not say that, when a club found itself at a crossroads, it would ask itself: "What would Everton do?"

I presume, once the Saudi's stop peeing themselves with laughter, 🤣 they will do the opposite.

Michael,

As Danny O'Neill's mate points out, it's going to be tough to turn things around this season, even allowing for the January window. I can't see Calvert-Lewin wanting to head to Newcastle right now. Most likely, they'll get a big name foreign star, eg, Robino type.

Then, once things have turned around, they'll go for the likes of Calvert-Lewin, picking off the "best of the rest" like Man City did, nabbing Milner, Barry, Lescott, a few Arsenal players from the teams competing for Top 6.

Kieran @ 22,

I think you're right in that the 'established' clubs will continue to rule the roost, both in terms of power and in their quest to keep their other rivals at arm's length.

A revised European Super League with promotion and relegation sounds fair and proper but, as you say, the chances are that the 'usual suspects' would never find themselves in a relegation dogfight and clubs similar to Everton would rarely if ever compete for the ultimate prizes.

The level of indebtedness that the major players already have is mind-blowing but, despite that, they can continue to trade without sanctions, whilst the clubs with lower levels of debt find themselves hamstrung by rules which favour the most powerful clubs on the planet.

It seems to me that Everton FC and other similar clubs are complicit in the way that the game has 'progressed' and Everton's lack of success in the last couple of decades has helped to convince even its most ardent supporters that this is the way of the world and there's little any of us can do about it.

With all that cash and nowhere near any financial restrictions, I'd be surprised if they buy nobody in the next transfer window even if it is just to keep any new manager happy.

Don't understand though why anybody would have a valid reason to stop sponsorships other than jealousy; if you ban one, then ban them all or state your reasons for allowing all other clubs to have sponsors, the deeper it goes the more it smells.

Newcastle will be a very interesting watch.

If it were me, I'd appoint someone sensible who will keep them up and move them up to 12th or so. That person is Sean Dyche.

They can then look to move to 6th, 7th or 8th, after which they'll be close enough to Europe to recruit some stars. They need to stay up without a doubt, and Premier League nous is the only way to do it.

They would do well to have the following side in place by 1st February:

Manager: Dyche*

Dubravka
Ayling* - Laschelles - Tarkowski* - Lewis
Ward-Prowse* - Choudhury* - Willock
Saint Maximan - Wilson - McNeil*

Subs: Darlow, Clark, Manquillo, Hayden, Ritchie, Almiron, Origi*

Barry 25

"Everton FC and other similar clubs are complicit in the way that the game has 'progressed' "

I agree with that, but also see a bit of hypocrisy. Everton have been against spending restrictions, telling us Moshiri wants to spend but can't. They've tried to get around this by having USM (owner linked) for example buy "first rights" on stadium naming. But, along with 17 other clubs, they just voted to stop Newcastle doing the same.

I would think that, if Moshiri really still has a desire to splash the cash, that Everton should join Man City and Newcastle Utd in fighting to remove the handcuffs. They always seem to have a very short-term protectionist view -- meaning protecting the holdings of Kenwright, and now Moshiri, as opposed to the club itself of course.

Mike @20, what about Jagielka turning Arsenal down.

Robert # 27,

You're absolutely right that Step 1 is to appoint a manager to make sure they stay up.

I'd be surprised if it's Dyche because of the lack of glamour – and the fact he'd be sacked as soon as someone more glamorous was available.

But as things stand now, they're a really poor side that is going down.

It would be good for us if they do go down, because it would keep a bid for Calvert-Lewin at bay.

Stepping out of my comfort zone now and will gladly be shot down by someone with Paul the Esk type knowledge and wisdom.

But in hindsight, a good thing that Usmanov remains in the shadows?

Or am I just totally missing the point about sponsorship. I've been reading that owners or joint owners can't sponsor. But an external party still can? I may be wrong.

He has no option, Danny, as long as Usmanov does not take ownership, we can still strike up some sponsorship deals from him.

You can guarentee if they scrapped the FFP rules, within a small timeframe Usmanov would be the new owner of Everton Football Club. FFP is stopping Usmanov being the owner, without a shadow of doubt.

If that time comes, you can guarantee, Usmanov would not put up with how Moshiri is being taken for a mug, by the chairman and his band of even weaker board members.

As you know by now, my opinion of the club being in stagnation for over 25 years coincides in one person wanting his own little toy, and he will do everything he can to not let go of it. By taking on weak board members, he is still calling most of the shots.

He lost us the Kings Dock through his stubbornness with Paul Gregg, took over 20 years to finally find us a buyer, god knows how many walked away on hearing his terms to still be the puppet master.

But rest assured, Captain Bill will be at Bramley-Moore Dock, cutting the ribbon, with his lovely Denise and Farhad looking on.

Think this is where me and you will disagree, Danny; I have no love whatsoever for the fraud still there. Each to our own opinions, so apologies to any I may have offended who still back and support the guy.

Why would Dom go to Newcastle? They could go down, they will not have European football for at least 2 years, even if they stay up.

Dominic is more likely to go to Arsenal or to Spurs as a replacement for Kane. That could happen in January, otherwise the summer.

I too hope that the Geordies go down. The game stinks and the Premier League are setting the moral tone by allowing the Saudi state to cleanse its filthy hands by buying into the league.

The only crumb of comfort is the prospect that one of the current "Big Six" will lose their place at the top table. Just like Chelsea and Man City, it will happen, but it might take 4 or 5 years to achieve Champions League.

I wonder if Martinez is on their radar? I could see them with Vertonghan, Tielemans, Witzle, Hazard, and – in a year – Lukaku!

Brian # 32. Well said and totally agree with you.

Robert 30,

You never know, horses for courses and all that. Remember when we brought in Sam and despite denials obviously knew it was just as a short-term stop-gap to avoid relegation before we sacked him. Could see Newcastle doing the same with some unlucky soul, maybe Dyche.

I am rather intrigued by the possibility of Newcastle competing for the top market players. Adding one more club of stars that is less a team than a squad of mercenaries would not bother me a bit.

How it plays out long run is probably as Robert sees it but the turnover at the top and some possible financial strains could be fascinating. As revenues start to come back, maybe this isn't such a development at the club level but seeing the empty suits pulling levers to find solutions might actually create an opportunity for Everton to sneak in if we handle some future deals competently.

A reload under Rafa might not be a thing to fear.

Newcastle Utd will not be hiring a top manager this season, they will bring in a Fat Sam or a Sean Dyche to simply stabilize the club and avoid relegation. They will be paid a stupid amount to achieve this and will accept a 1-year contract for the fee they will receive, and can retire to the Bahamas.

I commented before on Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison and hope Everton stand firm on no transfer for them. We could and should ask for a ridiculous price for them, but would have to pay another ridiculous price to replace them.

Both players are only young and we should build around young players and not sell them, and that is why we have to bring in more quality in January.

Bad news: Calvert-Lewin has injury setback, out for weeks.

The rumours he'll be out until Christmas surfaced about a week ago, Pete. Club seems to have gone very cloak and dagger on reporting or providing updates. Or is that just me?

Danny @39,

The club has only recently posted this:

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from a quadriceps injury and will remain out for a number of weeks.

The Everton striker has not played since the Blues' Premier League clash at Brighton & Hove Albion on 28 August, when he scored from the penalty spot in a 2-0 victory.

Calvert-Lewin will continue to receive specialist treatment and an update on the England international's fitness will be provided in due course.

I get that speculation and not reporting until there's something to say, Barry. It just seems there's been something going on in the background with Dominic.

Quad is not an easy injury to recover from. It tends to break down again easily. A bit like hamstring.

Isn't the quad the injury that Gbamin had? He had a particularly bad time of it.

Fingers crossed that Calvert-Lewin is not rushed back.

Brian #32

I second Rob's endorsement @34.

Brian @32,

Believe me, Uncle Bill is not the worst owner or chair in Premier League history for the simple reason that we have never been relegated during his time 'on the scene'. I'm betting that the fans of at least 30-odd clubs who have suffered relegation this century would swop him for the 'geniuses' they have been burdened with since we last won anything!

Robert (27),

That would be the sensible way to go about it, if you were the Newcastle owner. Nothing very glamorous, no fancy foreign stars – mainly English manager and footballers who have experience of playing in the Premier League and who can battle through the winter to get them to safety.

But, even the players you mentioned would entail an investment of £100-120 million. Their priority this season has to be to stay up.

Normally never listen to Talksport, but it happened to come on the car radio. Newcastle Utd and Steve Bruce was the topic. Absolute overhypped drivel and nonsense. The media are so ahead of Newcastle's progress, they are out of sight.

As for Calvert-Lewin, he plays better in his absence than he actually plays on the pitch, according to the media and a number of ToffeeWeb threads.

Hopefully Newcastle Utd are prepared to pay his off-field worth.

I wouldn't say disagree, Brian @32. I just haven't ever really got too involved in the Kenwright debate to the level others have.

Understatement of the decade time, but I agree he has hung on to his trainset way too long. It's almost like the Chairman version of his golden boy, Moyes. He done what he had to do but couldn't and didn't take us further and stayed too long when change was required.

I thought when Moshiri took over, that would be him done. But he obviously hoodwinked him too. And still is doing so.

I'll admit, I'm a late comer to the Kenwright debate, but I've always seen people's reasoning on it. I'm just not sure we had many other options. Particularly in the late 90s / early 2000s. But, like I say, I wouldn't claim to be educated in the detail.

Talkshite Jerome. Brave man. Respect.

Danny, leaving Kenwright on one side for a minute, just how has Moshiri's involvement brought any improvement on the field? Or is a new stadium of more importance?

Derek 44,

Kenshite isn't the worst if you look at it from a certain point of view. Scrooge wasn't the worse mortgage lender, he foreclosed on all those paupers so he didn't have a lot of accounts in arrears. But how many lives did he destroy?

How many JD Power awards did he win for customer service? Did his business grow or simply stagnate as he auctioned off foreclosed hovel's to cover mortgage losses?

So yeah, Jacob Marley was probably worse by writing sub-prime mortgages to street urchins, but not being the "worst" isn't saying much.

If l was a Newcastle fan, l'd be wanting Slaven Bilic.

Kenshite, Ha! I was going to leave that but a good malicious moniker gets me going. He isn't/wasn't Ken Bates-Peter Ridsdale bad and he doesn't give off the vile stench of a Vincent Tan but his days of living off getting us thru tough times is over.

He could have reduced his role and gone out with respect but he hung around too long and tried to remain an influence which was not in the club's best interest. Even he would have to admit that some changes were needed and he could not be the one to shepherd them into existence.

Thanks, Brian, I had to read up on Jagielka as I'd forgotten that play by Wenger.

Perhaps you could add Sylvain Distin as I see he turned down a move to West Ham? But maybe not as he was getting on by then. I can't believe he spent 6 seasons at Everton.

Perhaps Newcastle might be interested in Calvert-Lewin in preparation for a season in the Championship. After all, according to some on this site, that was the level he should be playing at.

Hopefully Newcastle Utd's owners will be taking a good look at Koeman's situation at Barcelona..

Hi Derek @48. Coming back on your question. The simple and rather sad response in terms of near term on the pitch is that it hasn't (Moshiri's involvement).

As with most of us, I can only give a view as I don't have insider knowledge, I don't know about priorities, but I think he had 2 tracks running concurrently:

1. Tactical "here and now". Spend big to get us into Europe and challenge for silverware.

2. Strategic. The stadium and if what I've been reading recently is to be believed, a re-design of the academy structure under Brands.

Tactical got cocked up big time. Millions wasted on players and managers that by and large haven't improved the squad. The team (12 - 14) is good. When all fit. And that problem remains because as with last season and before, it's what lies beneath that hurts us in terms of results once the injuries kick in.

Strategic looks promising. We're just going to have to wait for it. And probably wrap up the tactical plan into that now. I don't know the ins and outs of FFP, so don't know how long it will be before we can unlock Moshiri's purse strings again. I just hope he has learned his lesson on who he takes advice from.

Failing that we might just get lucky. Football always has an element of luck in it!!

£120M in January for Calvert-Lewin.

Or £115M if you also take Delph.

Hopefully they are impressed by the skill of Iwobi and Gomes.

Brian W @ 32,

I have lost or mislaid or failed to copy your and Jim's mobile numbers following the after match evening in The Crown, I am blaming either the Hammers' deafening singing or the effect of the Coors, inducing 'alcohol amnesia'. Please remind me (07565 140075) and we can hopefully repeat similarly and quieter possibly at The Bramley Moore. I can't make the Watford game, but should be at the Spurs one. 👍💙

Dominic is going nowhere.

Michael Kenrick has been playing the long game for a number of years now: prospective purchasers will have been monitoring his match reports, and will have been persuaded that Calvert-Lewin's weak neck muscles, poor positional play, and inability to strike a football mean he should be avoided.

Very droll, Peter!

Reported on the BBC this morning that Newcastle are in talks with Tuchel, but I think they need an interim manager to see out this season and ensure survival, so the calls for Allardyce or Howe on short contracts might be a fair shout

Is there any particular reason Premier League clubs don't have buy-out clauses like they do in Spain?

Newcastle need to "sports wash" their money so anticipate will make some big bids for England players with salaries to match. It would not surprise me if Calvert-Lewin is moth balled until the next window. Richarlison is one of those players who I suspect has little say in where he plays so if the "cartel" want to profit from a move suspect will have no say on his next move. I would hope that they are made aware of why Andy Cole moved on and was commonly referred to as
"Wor Blackie" even by the local press.

Sports Watch! Brilliant phrasing Paul. Not sure I can go with the rest of that but I don't have access to the meta-sports press stuff here in the states. Hope your wrong but good commentary.

Dale,

I had a friend who went to University in the North East, it was a long time ago that he found it incredulous that Andy Cole was referred to as "Wor Blackie" in the local press. Rumour has it that his move to Manchester United followed his parents receiving racist abuse when they went to watch their son, the Newcastle fans not being aware of their relationship to the centre-forward.

With regard to a potential move for Dominic Calvert-Lewin that is a story in "The Telegraph", allegedly he is close to top of the new owners' "wish list". Hopefully it is purely speculation based on Everton looking to finance their new ground move. The £40 million fee quoted seems very light tho.

I cannot remember the name of the documentary but our owner was once accosted by a camera crew with regard to the source of what they believed was dubious wealth.

Paul Jones

Not being funny mate but what “local press”? I know times change but I was at Uni in the mid 90s and political correctness was in full flow, so the idea the Newcastle press were stuck in the 1930s racist mindset seems implausible. Not to mention, Andy Cole was hardly the first black player at Newcastle. Did his parents hear racist remarks at a game. Yes that I believe and sadly they'd probably hear the sane today. But the local press? I just can't believe that but if you've actual proof beyond hearsay then I'm all ears.

Newcastle should take a good luck at similar teams that have had investment.

For example us, and learn what not to do. But in appointing Fonseca they appear to be copying our mistakes.

Oh well, more fool them.