Newcastle United

[ChesterDave]

Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote, 26, has taken legal advice and will speak to the club over their kit deal with loans company Wonga, which conflicts with his religious beliefs.
Full story: Mail on Sunday

He'll get the move he has reportedly wanted for almost 2 years then

[Shaggy]

Joe Kinnear set to make shock return to Newcastle United as director of football in management shake-up

Newcastle United are set to appoint Joe Kinnear as a director of football in a startling shake up of the club’s management structure after last season’s brush with relegation.

By Luke Edwards

4:19PM BST 16 Jun 2013

Kinnear spent just over six months as Newcastle’s manager between September 2008 and April 2009, a volatile period in the middle of a campaign that ended with Newcastle suffering the humiliation of relegation to the Championship.

In that short period, Kinnear earned plenty of eye-catching headlines with his press conferences while putting out a series of fires in the dressing room for owner Mike Ashley caused by Kevin Keegan’s resignation.

It was memorable stint from one of football’s most colourful characters, but few fans remember it fondly and he won just five of his 26 games in charge.

However, Newcastle were not in the relegation zone when he left the club because of heart trouble and both Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias have remained close to him. Both were adamant the team would not have gone down if he had remained as manager.

Having already suffered a heart attack while manager of Wimbledon, Kinnear – whose appointment has now bewildered fans for a second time – will come back to the North-East without the pressure of front line management.

The idea has almost certainly to have come from Ashley, who still maintains Kinnear is the best manager he has worked with during his six years in charge of the club.

Ashley was far from impressed with the way the team performed last season – they finished fifth from bottom just 12 months after finishing fifth from top – and while he resisted the temptation to make manager Alan Pardew pay for it with his job, he has wanted to change the way the club is run.

Kinnear, who has been out of work since he quit as Newcastle’s manager, will take overall responsibility for the Academy and much of the football administration work currently done by Llambias.

He is also expected to work closely with manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr to help shape the first team squad, despite his apparent lack of involvement in the game over the last four years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/10123496/Joe-Kinnear-set-to-make-shock-return-to-Newcastle-United-as-director-of-football-in-management-shake-up.html

[Rowan]

Was with a load of mates in a beer garden when the news started leaking through. Absolutely hilarious. Everyone was going totally postal

[peekay]

Strong rumour going around that they are going to appoint Joe Kinnear as DoF

Maybe this is Ashley's insurance policy if Pardew continues his poor run.

What a let down for Newcastle fans. At the beginning of the summer they were hoping for Rafa and his team. From that to Joe Kinnear

[Shaggy]

Pete Graves @PeteGravesSky
Spoke to Joe Kinnear. 3 year contract at #nufc as director of football. Overseeing playing style and transfers.

[Gibbo]

Got to piss Pardrew off that.

[RichC]

WTF!!! Kinnear!!!

Surely this has to be an extremely late April fools

[peekay]

Pete Graves @PeteGravesSky
Spoke to Joe Kinnear. 3 year contract at #nufc as director of football. Overseeing playing style and transfers.

[Rowan]

Nope. Definitely done now.

[peekay]

Shaggy..I think your "literary and movie making talents" are wasted being a liverpool fan..You should start following Geordie football..The amount of material available to you there is immense..

[baitman]

[peekay]

Guardian sport @guardian_sport
2m

Kinnear: "I'm a very good judge of players, I'm a very good tactician ... I intend to make Newcastle far better than they are now"

Kinnear: " "Because I wasn't a Geordie I got rejected. My record speaks for itself. We was flying. You could get 1000000-1 that we were staying up

Kinnear: "I'm fit as a fiddle now. I've been working out in the gym - in best physical shape I've ever been in. Waiting for opportunity"

Mark Douglas @MsiDouglas 5m
"I'm looking forward to meeting media. I got to know #nufc inside-out. I didn't realise before I went up there Geordies are Geordies" #nufc

[red g]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKdETq7ZGgQ"]Joe Kinnear's explosive rant at the Daily Mirror - YouTube[/ame]

Top Ranting from Kinnear

[Lee]

That's a very decent rant to be honest.

[Chazza]

Somewhere Mick Harford is sitting patiently by the phone.