Newcastle's managing director Derek Llambias has allegedly launched a stunning rant against former managers Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer and said that Andy Carroll was not worth the £35 million that Liverpool paid for him.
A report in the Sunday Mirror claims that Llambias was caught on tape slamming the Newcastle legends to Toon fans in a bar and former Magpies striker Carroll bore the brunt of the foul-mouthed abuse.
"I have to admit that £30m for Andy Carroll is a lot of money," Lambias reportedly said, before responding when one supporter asked him "Is he worth £30m?": "No - he's worth f*** all."
With Chelsea closing a deal worth £50 million for Fernando Torres on January's deadline day, Liverpool was under pressure to bring in a new striker and Llambias claimed that they could push for the entire Carroll fee up front.
Llambias explained: "It is about control. We had the control. We knew the Torres deal was there. We drew that f****** deal, perhaps the ultimate. So £30m? F*** off! Don't waste my time and I slammed the phone down.
"£35m? Everybody including Pardew [manager Alan Pardew] all agreed. But the £35m they wanted to pay over four years. It was rubbish. Mike (Ashley) said - and he is a brave boy Mike I promise you - get all the £35m up front. We got it all up front and then they never paid us on time and we charged them 12 grand f****** interest."
Llambias then turned his attention to one of Newcastle's most celebrated icons, former manager Kevin Keegan, and claimed that he was only brought back to the club for a second spell in 2008 to appease potential Arab owners who were trying to buy the club.
"Kevin Keegan can't take pressure. His f****** head is all over the place," said Llambias. "Mike (Ashley) was selling to the Arabs and they wanted Kevin Keegan. The Arabs wanted him, the fans wanted him - perfect!"
Another Geordie legend then got both barrels as Llambias admitted that the appointment of Alan Shearer in April was not right, saying: "Shearer was my choice and I have to hold up my hands - the wrong choice... he gave all the responsibility to (assistant Iain) Dowie. Rubbish!"
The most recent Newcastle boss to be sacked, Chris Hughton, was also the subject of the tirade as a fan asked why he was dismissed a year ago.
Llambias responded: "He would never have taken us where we want to be. That's my decision by the way. Chris can't make decisions. If I am asking about a player, Ben Arfa? He says 'I'm not sure, blah blah'. With Chris, he couldn't cope with where we are mentally. We are aggressive. You need to be aggressive. I don't want a manager below me who can't argue."
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