Reports have emerged that Joe Kinnear was sacked by Newcastle United, and did not resign as was claimed in the exceedingly brief statement made by the club last night.
Club owner Mike Ashley is believed to have been incensed by the terms of the sale of Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain, the last straw in a list of shambolic misjudgements in the Irishman's eight-month tenure.
The club released a curt, two-line statement on Monday night stating that Kinnear had resigned, but according to the Journal (UK), the director of football was asked to leave when Ashley was unhappy with the exact details of Cabaye's £20 million move to the French champions.
Kinnear's departure brings to an end a chaotic spell on Tyneside. His low points included falling foul of the club by giving an unauthorised interview before officially taking up his position, and by upsetting Cabaye with his handling of Arsenal's interest in the Frenchman last summer, if his pronunciation difficulties didn't do that already. He also claimed credit for the signing of Tim Krul, who had in fact been recruited by Graeme Souness. And let's not forget this astounding tale.
