It's never dull at St James' Park, is it? Just as the dust was settling after Ryan Taylor and Jonas Gutierrez's release last week, a couple of staggering accusations have been levelled at the club. The decision to let the pair go left a really bad taste in the mouths of each and every Newcastle United fan and went some way to proving that nothing has changed despite what owner Mike Ashley said a couple of weeks back. Not least because it was revealed how Lee Charnley and Newcastle's football board decided to let the pair know of their respective futures. The powers that be at Newcastle got former (we hope) head coach John Carver to ring Ryan Taylor, and then got the former United utility man to pass the phone over the Jonas during the same call. Letting two of your loyalist employees know they are essentially sacked like that is utterly scandalous and lacks a severe amount of class. Is anyone surprised about that though? Then, Jonas let us know of even more foul play by the club when he revealed how a very complimentary and positive interview by club captain Fabricio Coloccini wasn't all that it seemed. Spiderman tweeted: https://twitter.com/elgalgojonas/status/605487030005604353 These two revelations tell us that nothing has changed at the club and so far, the lack of a head coach brought into account also, Ashley's interview before the West Ham game on the final day of the season was nothing more than a smoke screen to paper over the cataclysmic cracks in the club at the moment. Business as usual. Let's start with Jonas' release. There's little doubting that his form in the second half of the season was deserved on a new one year deal at the very least. His release (Raylor can have no complaints based on his form since his return although it would have been nice to see him given another role at the club), coupled with Ashley's comments, suggested that Newcastle would be looking to significantly strengthen in certain areas. One on those key areas is the wings where Jonas would have played next season no doubt. This notion was completely discredited when Sammy Ameobi, a player that has proven over the last three years that he is nowhere near good enough to hold down a regular Premier League first team place, was offered a new deal. On the face of things, this suggests that Mike Ashley's interview was a ploy to sell more season tickets and nothing more (the deadline for applications/renewals was conveniently extended around the time he spoke). Jonas, undoubtedly one of the bigger earners at the club was sacrificed while one of the cheaper members of the squad in Ameobi was kept on. Jonas is streets ahead of Sammy but at the end of the day at Newcastle United in 2015, money talks and the cheaper you are, the seemingly more valuable your stock becomes. Hopefully Ashley will oversee Charnely's search for a new head coach and then back the new man significantly. But the way the opening week of the summer has played out, Newcastle fans shouldn't be holding their breath. As you were...
