Newcastle agree Robson settlement
Sir Bobby Robson has reached a settlement "in principle" with Newcastle over his final pay-off after his sacking as manager in August 2004.
The 72-year-old former England boss has been receiving his basic salary from the club each month since his departure from the Tyneside outfit.
Robson's contract expired in June 2006, prior to him being dismissed.
The club could have stopped paying him if he had taken up another post following his exit.
Details of Robson's settlement come as Newcastle announce a profit of £5.1m in the six months leading up to January this year. The figure is an increase of £4.5m from the previous six months but chairman Freddy Shepherd said it would have been more had it not been for Robson's sacking.
"I think the most significant figure is the £2.1m we have paid out as a result of the management change," Shepherd said. "If that had not been in there, we would have been under the 50 per cent wages-to-turnover ratio."
Nufcmismanagement view:
It might have been wiser to have shown a bit more consideration towards the only good manager you've appointed to-date, you turned Sir Bobby into a "lame duck" by announcing to the press and in doing so, the players, that it was his last season as manager.
You created the mess and the football club paid for it by having to compensate him, you even turned this into a farce by trying to prevent him from releasing his book, were you worried about what he might say?
You and your boardroom mate panicked when a few results went against the team, you panicked when the season started the same way as the two before, the two which had the club qualify for Europe.
You panicked and 50,000 supporters paid for it.