The £35 million conundrum.

You may or may not be aware, but as a result of the transfer window Newcastle find themselves sitting on a hefty wedge of cash.

Now unfortunately I wasn't privvy to any part of the deal for Andy Carroll, so I don't know how the payment will be structured, but from piecing together certain bits of information, my original thought of it being a structured payment over a certain amount of time seems to have been a bit premature.

From what has been said by Alan Pardew, and from the revelation that most of the fee that Chelsea paid Liverpool for the services of Fernando Torres was paid up front, combined with Mike Ashley's sheer tight-fistedness, I'm wondering whether or not we have been paid in full for Andy Carroll, or at least nearly in full.

Pardew claims that all of the money will be spent on the team, although it will have to finance any fee plus any wages that the new players require. This is fair enough, although I stupidly assumed that we might actually get all the cash to spend on what really is a limited squad. It's something we will have to wait to see what happens, and I'll reserve full judgement on it until the end of the summer. Mind you, I don't have a very positive feeling about if I'm being honest.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't trust the board. I do agree with some things that they are trying to achieve, like trying to stabilise the finances of the club, but when it comes to spending money there always seems to be something that crops up, or a deal that couldn't quite happen, or a relegation, or a sale and so on.

I don't quite trust what Alan Pardew says yet either. Please don't misconstrue that as I actually think he has come across really well since he arrived at Newcastle, but he hasn't been here long enough to earn my faith and trust.

This is why I remain sceptical over our proposed summer investment. That plus one other reason.....

Think back three years ago, when Kevin Keegan was here. This was when things were looking up and our money problems weren't as obvious as they are now. I distinctly remember us fans being promised 'record-breaking transfers' and 'exciting times with real investment'. As a result people flocked to take advantage of the new three year season ticket deal that was being offered at the time.

Here we are three years later, and with this three year deal due to run out in the summer it makes me wonder whether or not this promise of the £35 million investment will actually materialise? Maybe I'm being cynical, or paranoid even, but the fact that season ticket renewals are not far off, combined with what has happened before makes me that way.

If the spending does go ahead then fair enough, fair play, the squad is strengthened and it makes sense blah blah blah. I'm not confident though, especially when you consider this Newcastle United 'won't be taken for a ride'. It's a shame really, as now it has been made publicly aware that we are apparently looking to spend in the summer, all clubs will be looking to take us for a ride.

Time will tell I guess.