Mike Ashley strikes back

Daysha

I have enjoyed sport since I was a boy. I love football. I have followed England in every tournament since Mexico '86. I was there to see Maradona and his hand of God. I know what it means to love football and to love a club. I know how important it is to other people because football is so important to me.

My life has been tied up with sport. It was the passion that I felt for sport that helped me to be successful with my business. That success allowed me to mix my passion and my business.

I bought Newcastle United in May 2007. Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football. When the fans are behind the club at St James' Park it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is magic. Newcastle's best asset has been, is and always will be the fans.

But like any business with assets the club has debts. I paid £134 million out of my own pocket for the club. I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it. The club is still in debt. Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees. I shall be paying out many more millions over the coming year to pay for players bought by the club before I arrived.

But there was a double whammy. Commercial deals such as sponsorships and advertising had been front loaded. The money had been paid upfront and spent. I was left with a club that owed millions and part of whose future had been mortgaged. Unless I had come into the club then it might not have survived. It could have shared the fate of other clubs who have borrowed too heavily against their future. Before I had spent a penny on wages or buying players Newcastle United had cost me more than a quarter of a billion pounds.

Don't get me wrong. I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football. Newcastle does not generate the income of a Manchester United or a Real Madrid. I am Mike Ashley, not Mike Ashley a multi-billionaire with unlimited resources. Newcastle United and I can't do what other clubs can. We can't afford it.

I knew that the club would cost me money every year after I had bought it. I have backed the club with money. You can see that from the fact that Newcastle has the fifth highest wage bill in the Premier League. I was always prepared to bank roll Newcastle up to the tune of £20 million per year but no more. That was my bargain. I would make the club solvent. I would make it a going concern. I would pour up to £20 million a year into the club and not expect anything back. It has to be realised that if I put £100 million into the club year in year out then it would not be too long before I was cleaned out and a debt ridden Newcastle United would find itself in the position that faced Leeds United.

That is the nightmare for every fan. To love a club that overextends itself, that tries to spend what it can't afford.

That will never happen to Newcastle when I am in charge. The truth is that Newcastle could not sustain buying the Shevchenko's, Robinho's or the Berbatov's. These are recognised European footballers. They have played in the European leagues and everyone knows about them. They can be brilliant signings. But everybody knows that they are brilliant and so they, and players like them, cost more than £30 million to buy before you even take into account agent commissions and the multi-million pound wage deals.

My plan and my strategy for Newcastle is different. It has to be. Arsenal is the shining example in England of a sustainable business model. It takes time. It can't be done overnight. Newcastle has therefore set up an extensive scouting system. We look for young players, for players in foreign leagues who everyone does not know about. We try and stay ahead of the competition. We search high and low looking for value, for potential that we can bring on and for players who will allow Newcastle to compete at the very highest level but who don't cost the earth.

I am prepared to back large signings for millions of pounds but for a player who is young and has their career in front of them and not for established players at the other end of their careers. There is no other workable way forward for Newcastle. It is in this regard that Dennis and his team have done a first class job in scouting for talent to secure the future of the club.

You only need to look at some of our signings to see that it is working, slowly working. Look at Jonas Guttierrez and Fabricio Collocini. These are world class players. The plan is showing dividends with the signing of exceptional young talent such as Sebastein Bassong, Danny Guthrie and Xisco.

My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy. I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long term plan. A long term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish.

One person alone can't manage a Premiership football club and scout the world looking for world class players and stars of the future. It needs a structure and it needs people who are dedicated to that task. It needs all members of the management team to share that vision for it to work.

Also one of the reasons that the club was so in debt when I took over was due to transfer dealings caused by managers moving in and out of the club. Every time there was a change in manager millions would be spent on new players and millions would be lost as players were sold. It can't keep on working like that. It is just madness.

I have put Newcastle on a sound financial footing. It is reducing its debt. It is spending within itself. It is recruiting exciting new players and bringing in players for the future.

The fans want this process to happen more quickly and they want huge amounts spent in the transfer market so that the club can compete at the top table of European football now. I am not stupid and have listened to the fans. I have really loved taking my kids to the games, being next to them and all the fans. But I am now a dad who can't take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted. Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United.

I am putting the club up for sale. I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want.

This will not be a fire sale. Newcastle is now in a much stronger position than it was in 2007. It is planning for the future and it is sustainable.

I am still a fan of Newcastle United. We, my kids and I, have loved standing on the terraces with the fans, we have loved travelling with the away fans and we have met so many fans whose company we have enjoyed. We have absolutely loved it but it is not safe anymore for us as a family.

I am very conscious of the responsibility that I bear in owning Newcastle United. Tough decisions have to be made in business and I will not shy away from doing what I consider to be in the best interests of the club. This is not fantasy football.

I don't want anyone to read my words and think that any of this is an attack on Kevin Keegan. It is not. Kevin and I always got on. Everyone at the club, and I mean everyone, thinks that he has few equals in getting the best out of the players. He is a legend at the club and rightly so. Clearly there are disagreements between Kevin and the Board and we have both put that in the hands of our lawyers.

I hope that all the fans get to read this statement so that they understand what I am about. I would not expect all of the fans to agree with me. But I have set out, clearly, my plan. If I can't sell the club to someone who will give the fans what they want then I shall continue to ensure that Newcastle is run on a business and football model that is sustainable. I care too much about the club merely to abandon it.

I have the interests of Newcastle United at heart. I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do but it won't happen overnight and it may not happen at all if a buyer does not come in.

You don't need to demonstrate against me again because I have got the message. Any further action will only have an adverse effect on the team. As fans of Newcastle United you need to spend your energy getting behind, not me, but the players who need your support.

I am determined that Newcastle United is not only here today, but that it is also there tomorrow for your children who stand beside you at St James' Park.

Mike Ashley.

Thoughts, opinions etc?

happydayz182

makes alot of the harsher critiscm look unjustified

gixerfixer

Was making sense until he said Jonas Guttierrez and Fabrico Collocini are world class players.:eek: Stopped reading it right there. This guy knows nothing about football if that's his opinion and Newcastle will be better off without him.

Chong

It does seem like he is genuine.

What says Charlie Mc Hugh, Oi Charlie!!!

Adamcp898

anyone want to sum it up, bit too much to read :P

happydayz182

gixerfixer wrote: »

Was making sense until he said Jonas Guttierrez and Fabrico Collocini are world class players.:eek: Stopped reading it right there. This guy knows nothing about football if that's his opinion

but both of those play for argentina one of the greatest international teams in the world.....

String

Wow if there isnt a big money take over I can see newcastle being in serious money trouble. A shame for a club with tradition.

GrumPy

If there aint a big money take over, we are totally fux0red!!

gixerfixer

happydayz182 wrote: »

but both of those play for argentina one of the greatest international teams in the world.....

That dont mean they are world class. Messi,Kaka,Torres,Ronaldo etc..are world class. Those guys arent. Lucas and Anderson have played for Brazil the most successful team in the history of the game..are they world class then?

AARRRGH

He's right. Football has gone mad. He is trying to create a sustainable business model.

Kevin Keegan is a nice fella, but he's a bit thick. I would not trust him running absolutely everything in a football club. I read recently his transfer list were names like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Kaka. Come on, that's just retarded.

BaZmO*

DrMorphine wrote: »

Wow if there isnt a big money take over I can see newcastle being in serious money trouble. A shame for a club with tradition.

Bah! Every club has tradition, it's just a pity Newcastle's is that of being a farce.

Anyway, looks like the fans got what they wanted.

elshambo

Bit of a whitewash statement;
There is a lot of truth there, more than any of the Newcastle supporters outside St James's mouthing off are coming out with

BUT

He didnt know how much debt the club had when he took over
He didnt know about the money owed in transfers
He didnt know about the Sponsor income etc was already spent

BECAUSE

He apparently didnt do Due Diligence/examine the books before he took over the club
Thats he fault, nobody elses!

and he IS the bloke who told Big Sam and Keegan he expected them to be challenging for Champions league spots straight away based on how much he spent

Doesnt say much for the fans/keegan that they are making him look smart(ish)

Villain

The fact that many newcastle fans thought this guy was a saviour and Keegan returning would bring them good times just goes to show how the love of a club can blind people's senses.

I only feel sorry for 1 person here, Shay Given one of the best keepers in the PL for seasons and he is still at this mess of a club.

Charlie

Wow, so many points to make, and I will invariably miss a few, so bear with me.

- Firstly, he seems to try and get people onside by revealing how much debt he has had to deal with, and the fact that money for sponsorship was already spent. Fair enough, he put his hand in his pocket, but make no mistake about it, Mike Ashley is responsible for having to do that no one else. He was the one who decided not to carry out due diligence. He is a a businessman. He would not have made such a foolish move in a takeover of a rival company, so why didn't he apply the same business sense when taking over NUFC. ADUG, for all the billions they are worth, are still carrying out due diligence on City. I'm sorry Mike, but I have no sympathy for you on that one.

- He seems to imply that without him riding in like a white knight, we would have been fcuked. Again, this seems like him trying to get the sympathy onside. In this current climate, does he honestly not think that another buyer wouldn't have been there? If it wasn't him, it would have been someone else.

- He then outlines what he was willing to spend each year. £20 million pound a season. You're fooling no one Mike. He failed to omit from that statement that his net spend in the last transfer window was actually a profit of £2+ million, and his net spend since he has taken over, is a miserable £8 million.

- He talks about splashing out on Sheva's and Robinhos. You might get the odd chav fan on SSN that will demand those, but I can promise you that the vast majority of our fans don't expect that sort of money to be spent. What we do expect is that we spend on par with teams like Villa, and do not sell our best assets.

- He bangs on about the Arsenal model. How fcuking naive. Arsenal pull off the coups like Cesc, because a) they have a genius like Wenger, who is in a world of his own, and; b) Wenger spent years building up that network of contacts. Please tell me Mike how Dennis Wise equates in anyway to this.

- He then has the cheek to make out his transfer policy is working. Don't get me wrong, Colo and Spidey are awesome signings, but those alone don't cut it, not by a long shot. Yesterday we had to play Shola Ameobi, a chap we were desperately flogging to championship teams; a 33yr old Nicky Butt; and David Edgar, a chap who has about 10 appearance total to his name. Our bench was empty of anything of worth also. Mike Ashley's recruitment team allowed the window to pass by without signing a left back, a position we (and Keegan) have been crying out for, which was highlighted by yesterday's performance. Further, they have not only failed to repair a threadbare squad, but have sold assets like James Milner without replacing him. Mike Ashley's recruitment team has failed miserably in its primary responsibility, to ensure the squad is adequate in numbers to make a fist of the season.

- The fans don't expect European football overnight Mike, that's something you demanded (and in May, gave Keegan a bollocking over such, after he said we were worlds apart from Champions league teams). All we want is a squad capable of moving up the league of an incremental basis. You have failed to provide us with one. Look back at my posts, this season I considered 7th or 8th to be great progreess if we could pull it off.

- I mightn't read this statement as an attack on KK Mike, but I would regard allowing Dennis Wise and Derek Llambias (a former casino manger and a former League 1 manager) to buy and sell players behind Kev's back, and breaking numerous promises to him, as an attack on him. You have forced him to live up to his image as a 'quitter' and to walk away from the job he loves. I also consider this story, written by your cockney mate Rob Beasley (a man seen sitting in your directors box last season, and who has extensive links to Tony Jiminez and Paul Kemsley) as a vicious attack on a principled and decent bloke.

- Bringing your family into it is cheap, and Heather Mills-like. Do you honestly expect that a fan would attack a child. Nice soundbite though to get the violins out.

- The only reason we want you out Mike is because you have made a dogs dinner of running the club, and treated the fans appallingly over the last 2 weeks. You alone could have avoided all this Mike.

I know all of the above sounds ungrateful and spiteful, but I have long since lost my patience with Mike Ashley. Anyone who has read my posts over the last year would know that I have constantly defended him, giving him the benefit of the doubt. However, the events of the last 2 weeks were the last starw for me and have made me look a mug in my defenses of him. It all became clear, all the rumours proved true. This statement is the first time anyone from the club's hierarchy has come out and spoke to the fans since this mess began. It has taken nearly two weeks for this to happen, in which time the fans have been left out in the cold, speculation allowed spiral out of control, and the club has been dragged through the mud (on a monumental level) yet again.

Mike Ashley is a thick skinned bloke, you don't become a billionaire without being one. Don't be fooled by this 'poor little me' routine he is now wheeling out. My only sympathies for him would be that I genuinely believe that he got into to this to have some fun, an not turn a profit, and his time at NUFC will probably leave him with a sour taste for football in his mouth. But then, none of us asked you to buy a new plaything.

Charlie

AARRRGH wrote: »

He's right. Football has gone mad. He is trying to create a sustainable business model.

Kevin Keegan is a nice fella, but he's a bit thick. I would not trust him running absolutely everything in a football club. I read recently his transfer list were names like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Kaka. Come on, that's just retarded.

Take a look at the paper thin squad we have, and explain to me in what way that makes a sustainable business model.

You need to stop reading the Sun mate. Do you honestly believe that Keegan expected to sign Kaka and co. This was a vindictive story planted by Ashley ad co. to try and discredit Keegan.

Adamcp898 wrote: »

anyone want to sum it up, bit too much to read :P

Savman

Wow. Great read in fairness, very candid.

The $64,000 question is will this satisfy the delusional geordies? Probably not, because it's further instability. Toon fans are fooling themselves if they think Ashley is the worst case scenario.

He's not the victim he portrays himself to be but he is dealing with unrealistic expectations, it's a mess of a club still living in the supposed glory days of Asprilla and Beardsley under Keegan, where -oddly enough- no silverware was won.

Way to go making a bad situation worse.

String

Newcastle already linked with 2 big consortium's interested anyway so just matter of time

Charlie

Savman wrote: »

Wow. Great read in fairness, very candid.

The $64,000 question is will this satisfy the delusional geordies? Probably not, because it's further instability. Toon fans are fooling themselves if they think Ashley is the worst case scenario.

He's not the victim he portrays himself to be but he is dealing with unrealistic expectations, it's a mess of a club still living in the supposed glory days of Asprilla and Beardsley under Keegan, where -oddly enough- no silverware was won.

Way to go making a bad situation worse.

This old chestnut. Do you honestly think if NUFC we're making small but sustainable progress each year, similar to Pompey, Villa etc. that we would be crowing bout it?The vast majority of fans just want to see a side put out that has a go, and some sort of progress each year, both of which were definitley achieveable under KK.

Very few of us expect to be challenging for the league, or contending for champions league football. But it's an amusing stereotype, much like the one where all Liverpool fans are thieving gits, and all Spurs fans Jewish.

BaZmO*

charlie mchugh wrote: »

much like the one where all Liverpool fans are thieving gits, and all Spurs fans Jewish.

aren't they?

Raskolnikov

Paper-thin squad? You're having a laugh! If you want to see a real example of a paper-thin squad, take a look at Aston Villa.

Villain

BaZmO* wrote: »

aren't they?

What about Chelsea, I found a pic the other day:

smemon

To be honest this sounds like a sales pitch to me... he's basically coming out saying 'this club has a sound future because of me', 'i won't sell this for peanuts' etc...

Reading that, it sounds like Newcastle have a promising future on and off the pitch with heavy emphasis on youth development.

The reality is the club is a mess on and off the field and their best player is their keeper which says a lot about them :rolleyes:

You only have to look at the number of managers they've had in recent years to show the problems that lie at management/board level.

Helix

Raskolnikov wrote: »

If you want to see a real example of a paper-thin squad, take a look at Aston Villa.

you mustve missed the last 6 weeks of the transfer window did you?

quarryman

Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football.

yep, the fans that will cheer until they concede an early goal and then boo for the remainder of the game.

But I am now a dad who can't take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted.

yep, best fans in football alright. More like most deluded, over-expectant, impatient, fickle fans in football.

eagle eye

That statement is just a PR exercise when faced with crisis. There are many holes in it also.

Here are just two.

If he loved the club so much and was so interested why was he partying in New York spending 250k when the whole club was up in a heap over the KK thing?

In that statement he mentions that the aim of Newcastle is to have a young team and not to splash out money on older players. Why on Earth does he sell James Milner then?

Charlie

This was posted on another forum, and I think it sums up how alot of us fans feel.

Reply to Mike Ashley's official statement

It has been ten days since the resignation of Kevin Keegan and this represents the first statement released from the club, with any official name attached. While the gesture, far too late to build bridges, is grudgingly appreciated it seems even now you do not understand the club, by which I mean the club’s main asset, its large bodies of fans. I take this opportunity to reply on behalf of those who share opinions similar to mine and who love the club like I do.


1.We the fans realize that the financial state of the club was precarious. We realized that before you bought the club (just not the extent you have subsequently revealed). We understand that this has come about due to the inept policies of the former owner and the ensuing managerial revolving door. This is why we are particularly disappointed that your board structure was such that it resulted in the departure of one of the few managers whom the fans identify as a success.

2.We the fans were happy with the mooted “Arsenal” model and contrary to your claims did not expect or demand vast sums to be lavished on the squad. We note, however , that Arsenal does not have a director of football and has appointed NOBODY who can overrule Arsene Wenger in contract or transfer decisions.

3.We the fans had two expectations for the transfer window. The Kevin would be given a reasonable transfer kitty (our net spend is close to zero) and that transfers would work as you yourself had described them. There is no evidence of the £20m investment, the TV windfall or the 3 year season ticket purchase taken up by many fans being invested in the first team squad. Initial investment was far more important than year on year contribution given the fragile state of the first team squad and the insufficient cover for key positions.

4.We the fans are disappointed that you did not take the one step that would have resulted in this situation being immediately resolved to everyone who matters at the club’s satisfaction. The removal of Dennis Wise and the introduction of a structure that answers to the manager in ALL football related matters.

This is why we are grateful that you have offered the club for sale and claim you will represent our best interests until that sale completes. It is our hope that this is more honest than previous statements about the club. It is our belief that you do not understand the club sufficiently, in light of the above, to lead us into a successful future.

BaZmO*

eagle eye wrote: »

If he loved the club so much and was so interested why was he partying in New York spending 250k when the whole club was up in a heap over the KK thing?

Because he's a Billionaire and that's what Billionaires do. I love the way Newcastle fans think that he should stop living the high life just because he bought their club. If your club gets bought by a Sugar Daddy that's what you should expect.

Charlie

BaZmO* wrote: »

Because he's a Billionaire and that's what Billionaires do. I love the way Newcastle fans think that he should stop living the high life just because he bought their club. If your club gets bought by a Sugar Daddy that's what you should expect.

I've said this before, I had no problem with the money he was spending. He could have spent 10 million on that piss up, and it wouldn't hve mattered a jot to me.

What did piss me off, and I think was another example of one of Ashley's gross mismanagement, was that when his club was in meltdown, and the fans were left isolated without any form of communication from the club, Ashley refused to get on the first plane back and try and sort things out with Keegan (something which Keegan personally requested), preferring to dance the night away in NYC. It's because of sh/t like this that I am not buying his crocodile tears from today's statement.

Getting back to things though, George Caulkin of the Times has written, imo, a superb piece. (NOTE: When he refers to the small minded snubbing of Shearer in his piece, he is referring to the fact that Alan Shearer and John Beresford were both sacked today from their respective positions as club ambassador and matchday speaker, for 'speaking out' last week against the events at St. James, something which seems to have gone under the radar of Sky et al this evening. Reported here.)

The end of a car-Toon era at St James

Mike Ashley: an apology. In common with many news organisations over recent days, The Times may have inadvertently suggested that one Michael James Wallace Ashley has somehow been responsible for the slow death of Newcastle United. We now accept, without reservation, that this allegation is completely false. We are happy to set the record straight.

Ashley, in fact, has done the opposite. Through mismanagement and folly, from the whittling of Kevin Keegan’s authority to the point of resignation, through the appointment of Dennis Wise, the absence of public leadership, a refusal to communicate until yesterday’s statement, a witless summer in the transfer market and the small-minded snubbing of Alan Shearer, supporters are mobilised.

Newcastle are not dying, Newcastle are reborn and contrary to appearances, Saturday was an uplifting occasion. The 2-1 defeat by Hull City was alarming in that it pointed to a long season of grind – and vindicated Keegan’s longstanding concerns about the depth of the squad – but the turmoil that surrounded it was inspirational. Anger is an energy and it is forcing Ashley out.

Amid the chaos, the protests, the chants, the march and the boycott of merchandise, the football felt like an irrelevance, so with more apologies – this time to Hull, whose composure would usually warrant greater attention – this cannot be a traditional match report. What follows is a series of random observations.
Related Links

* Ashley: ‘You want me out so I shall go’

1.There is a Light That Never Goes Out. The DJ at St James’ Park knows his stuff and the Smiths song that played after the final whistle was apt. Newcastle’s future may be uncertain, but here was a substantial reminder of Geordie ardour. Powerful, emotive, raw and important.

2. Newcastle, united. There have been lean spells on Tyneside and much underachievement, but rarely has there been a universal target of disapproval. Freddy Shepherd led a discredited regime, but the former chairman’s failings were often disguised by a Hollywood signing, unpopular managers or errant players. Now the opposition is focused.

3. Where’s Waldo? Neither Ashley nor Wise were present on Saturday, but if the notion of accountability suffered, the cacophony will have echoed as far as London. In the directors’ box, Derek Llambias sat amid empty seats. When a banner reading “Cockney Mafia Out” was carried around to raucous applause, the managing director smiled. It was less a demand than a prediction.

4. Sing your hearts out for the lads. A selection of songs, which will not be available in any shops: “Taxi for Ashley”; “He’s thick, he’s fat, he is a f***ing t***, Ashley, Ashley”; “He’s a dwarf, a dwarf, it’s plain to see, to see, he’s smaller than you and me, he’s a dwarf, a dwarf”; “Sack the board”; “There’s only one Kevin Keegan”. And from the away end: “Are you Grimsby in disguise?”

5. Crisis, what crisis? Late on Friday night, Hull’s first-team squad moved to the Malmaison hotel after an altercation with a wedding party at their country retreat. Phil Brown’s close association with Sam Allardyce, the former Newcastle manager, was apparently a source of dispute; the home team looked more fatigued.

6. Danger, genius at work. Ashley, we are informed, had a five-year plan. He wanted younger, hungrier (cheaper) players. But while injuries may be prevalent, Newcastle confronted Hull with no recognised full backs and a substitutes’ bench featuring Frank Danquah, Mark Doninger and Ryan Donaldson. Xisco looked like the new Shola Ameobi. The old Shola Ameobi was jeered off.

7. And in other news . . . a match took place. Marlon King scored twice for Hull, initially through a penalty and then, in the second half, after turning inside Charles N’Zogbia. An unmissable tap-in from Xisco in the 82nd minute did not herald a come-back but more frustration. Danny Guthrie was dismissed after two red-mist lunges on Craig Fagan.

8. A fine mess. Whatever else happens in NE1, the Toon Army is marching. What Saturday proved is that ownership of a club is about more than billionaires and directors of football and Newcastle has been taken back by their fans. As Ashley said yesterday: “I have listened to you.” So apologies, Mike. And thank you. And, now, goodbye.

There is a poster on another Forum I use who every time hits things nail on the head. Regarding Ashley's statement he had this to say:

1. Debt. No point going on about the missing debt as if he had performed due diligence like any sensible businessman he would have been made well aware of the cost of ownership.

2. £134M was seriously underpriced for our club. Once the hidden debt was added on it became a more realistic valuation of the club in comparison with similar sized premiership clubs.

3. If he did not buy NUFC to make money, then why impose a business model that had a net spend of £0 over 3 transfer windows. Are we to believe he bought the club to break even? If so, kindly explain where the £30M sky revenue or £30M season ticket revenue went to? We have spent less than several Championship sides - is that our spending level despite 50,000 every second week?

4. Shevchenko's and Berbatovs? A left back and a little cover here and there is all the fans expected. It was your stupid boast to the corporates regarding a wow signing that got peoples hopes up.

5. To quote Arsenal is a disgrace. They have no director of football. Wenger is in total charge. Keegan didn't even get the final say on who to buy, never mind scout the players.

6. What experience did the loathesome Wise have to help facilitate such an extensive scouting model? Vetere accepted, our scouting system is tripe. As for our broker man Jiminez, how many times did we lose out to the Spuds? Coloccini took since April and the way we webstered Gutierrez was frankly appalling and we would be in uproar if someone did likewise with us.

7. Spending within itself? Its net spend is zero! Does that mean 30 or so clubs in the uk are spending beyond their means?

8. When did the fans protest because they weren't at Europe's top table? Never. They protested because you tried to sell the entire squad to make a quick buck and sacked anyone (KK, Shearer, Beresford) who objected.

9. You cannot take your kids to a game because you don't want them to hear you being called a liar and worse by fans for treating their club like a cash cow. Your safety or theirs was never an issue and frankly it is insulting to suggest otherwise. Was Llambias assaulted yesterday?

10. Speaking of kids, is the ideal image you want to portray one of pouring champagne on floozies? Yes, you're a real role model. Off spending $200k on drink when the club that is the lifeblood of families across the north-east was in turmoil.

11. You've set out your plan clearly. Indeed you have. Asset strip the club to reduce your investment to maximize your profit when selling, all because you're too poor a businessman to carry out a due diligence before spending in excess of £100M.

And finally, the biggest issue of all. Communication. All effective businesses communicate with their clients. You, however, chose to wait until the business was on the verge of implosion before uttering a word. After all this is dealt with, I still wouldn't spend a single penny in any of your businesses now I have seen first hand how you run them.

Your tenure has been a disgrace and you will not be missed. THAT is your legacy to this club, nothing more.

leninbenjamin

having read Ashley's statements and the fans response, i notice one thing; they've misinterpreted his words. he said he'd be putting 20million into the club on an annual basis. However, he did not say that this would equate into a transfer kitty. Considering the levels of debt the club have i would assume this 20 million these days is simply to keep the club from going under.

i still think the Newcastle fans are being incredibly naive over the whole thing. By the sounds of it Newcastle's debts are sizeable, and given the current financial crises this seriously hampers the clubs ability to repay them. I think it's very unrealistic of fans to have expected serious investment this window. How can the club have been expected to fork out money for new players when they are struggling to service the existing debts? How can the club be expected to expand the squad when they are already seriously over their wage budget?

I actually think if you stand back and look at it rationally Wise has done a good job. Coloccini and Gutierrez are both very good signings, and i know little of the others but they seem promising. considering the problems with the balance sheet i think they have quite a decent squad. As for his impact on the Keegan issue, i don't know. I wouldn't believe Keegan wants Ronaldinho and Kaka, but i do think that the papers may be correct in suggesting he had unrealistic expectations.

Requiem4adream

gixerfixer wrote: »

That dont mean they are world class. Messi,Kaka,Torres,Ronaldo etc..are world class. Those guys arent. Lucas and Anderson have played for Brazil the most successful team in the history of the game..are they world class then?

I think some relativity should be applied here. How many genuine "world class" players are out there? A handful maybe. hmmm. It really depends on interpretation. That aside, for their ages and positions, both players are potentially excellent. I wont get into "x class" but they are very good signings regardless of how he wants to spin it. I saw them both 1st hand at O.T. opening game of the season, Gutierrez in particular was outstanding and looks a prospect.

I'm not a newcastle fan but Ashleys statement will probably garner him more sympathy than before. Most neutrals had him down as a Spin-King, probably much more suited to politics than football. In short, the statement hasn't done any harm.

As for this comment above:

"Do you honestly expect that a fan would attack a child. Nice soundbite though to get the violins out."

Ehhh what? Of course he's not suggesting some loon might attack his child. Some loon might very well aim a few slaps in his direction though. What parent in their right mind would bring their kids to anywhere there might be trouble? He's dead right.

Whatever his reasons for buying the club, bottom line he knows when the writing is on the wall. He should probably be commended for making his intentions public so quickly, the likes of a Doug Ellis might have battened down the hatches. Personally i had never heard of Mike Ashley pre-newcastle and i'm sure Mike Ashley probably wishes it had stayed that way :rolleyes:

Charlie

leninbenjamin wrote: »

having read Ashley's statements and the fans response, i notice one thing; they've misinterpreted his words. he said he'd be putting 20million into the club on an annual basis. However, he did not say that this would equate into a transfer kitty. Considering the levels of debt the club have i would assume this 20 million these days is simply to keep the club from going under.

Well if it as you say, £20 million total, then someone should have advised him against buying a football club. £20 million across all boards is a a pittance to invest. But even if this is to be accepted, where has the lucrative new tv money that every other club has been out splashing gone too? Even if he was only investing money to keep things ticking over, the tv money would have financed a good bit more than what we have shelled out since he ha been here.

We have one of the highest turnovers in the prem. yet our net investment has been on par with Championship teams. It doesn't add up, particulalry if Mike is saying he cleared the debt.

leninbenjamin wrote: »

i still think the Newcastle fans are being incredibly naive over the whole thing. By the sounds of it Newcastle's debts are sizeable, and given the current financial crises this seriously hampers the clubs ability to repay them. I think it's very unrealistic of fans to have expected serious investment this window. How can the club have been expected to fork out money for new players when they are struggling to service the existing debts? How can the club be expected to expand the squad when they are already seriously over their wage budget?

As I have stated numerous times, the majority of us did not expect 'major investment'. All we wanted was some strength and depth in our numbers. You only had to look at the first 11 and the bench on Sat. to see how in need we are of strengthening in numbers.

But if we are to stick to your argument, should Mike Ashley not have made this statement 6 months ago, rather than allow us enter a transfer window, and ask fans to sign up to 3 yr season tickets (and raise all other season tickets), when he knew the net investment in transfers would be £0 million pounds (well that's a lie, he actually cleared a profit on the window to the tune of £2 million)

leninbenjamin wrote: »

I actually think if you stand back and look at it rationally Wise has done a good job. Coloccini and Gutierrez are both very good signings, and i know little of the others but they seem promising. considering the problems with the balance sheet i think they have quite a decent squad. As for his impact on the Keegan issue, i don't know. I wouldn't believe Keegan wants Ronaldinho and Kaka, but i do think that the papers may be correct in suggesting he had unrealistic expectations.

Like I have repeatedly said, Wise who whoever (I suspect they were Veter Jiminez deals) brought in Colo and Spidey should be applauded for those buys. However, they failed us in so many other areas. We have needed a left back since last season. Before we even sold Milner we needed another creative midfielder. And on top of that, we need general cover for areas such as RB, CB, and CM. All of this was neglected, James Milner was sold without a replacement brought in, and a Spanish u21 intl. forward was signed, when that was a position we certainly didn't need filling.

However, the biggest crime Wise is guilty of, is dealing behind KK's back, something which he himself stated in Feb. he would not do, and that KK would have final say on all transfers. To compound all this, he was busy on transfer deadline day offering our squad around to all and sundry. Luckily for us, deals couldn't be struck, but I shudder in fear to think what sort of bare bones team we would have been left with had he been successful. So please, forgive us if Dennis Wise isn't held in high regard amongst NUFC fans.

Also, you talk about Keegan's expectations. None of this came about because of his expectations (however gross the media want to portray them) or transfer funds. Keegan left because within the closing 48 hrs of the transfer window, deals for bringing plaers in and shipping players out, were being done behind his back, and without his input. This is something which Wise, Mort (ex-chairman) and Ashley himself are all on record as saying would never be done.

eagle eye

BaZmO* wrote: »

Because he's a Billionaire and that's what Billionaires do. I love the way Newcastle fans think that he should stop living the high life just because he bought their club. If your club gets bought by a Sugar Daddy that's what you should expect.

Firstly I'm not a Newcastle fan, secondly the most important part of what I posted was that he was in New York partying when the club was in a heap.

Get a grip and stop posting trolling rubbish.

Charlie

Requiem4adream wrote: »

I'm not a newcastle fan but Ashleys statement will probably garner him more sympathy than before. Most neutrals had him down as a Spin-King, probably much more suited to politics than football. In short, the statement hasn't done any harm.

You put him down as a spin king in the past??? This statement alone raises doubts as to how informed you are on this big mess. You do realise that the only public statement he gave before this, during his whole time at the club, was in a newly launched magazine, which fans could pay £3.50 to pay for. Spin king is a tag which can only be applied to him post yesterday's statement.

I think though a more apt title would be liar. In that other statement he charged fans the pleasure to read in full, he stated the following:

If the deal is right – and that means it’s the right player who Kevin wants – then we will do that deal.

Kevin himself is very particular on who he wants. To use his words, they have to have the right heart for Newcastle United. That is massively important for him – if they don’t, then he is not interested.

His own employee Dennis Wise was on record as confirming such when he said:

I'm here to help Kevin, bringing young players through and also recommend certain players to him," said Wise.

He'll say yes and no, he has the final word, no-one else. Everything that happens will be run past him

Yet in the last 2 weeks, the club have gone against these statements and undermined Keegan by buying and trying to sell players behind his back. This was compounded when they issued their own statement last Saturday, claiming Keegan was only ever to be in charge of "training, coaching, selection and motivation of the team". That's absolutely farcical in light of what Ashley and Wise were on record as having said.

Requiem4adream wrote: »

As for this comment above:

"Do you honestly expect that a fan would attack a child. Nice soundbite though to get the violins out."

Ehhh what? Of course he's not suggesting some loon might attack his child. Some loon might very well aim a few slaps in his direction though. What parent in their right mind would bring their kids to anywhere there might be trouble? He's dead right.

So what part of 'we' in "But I am now a dad who can't take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted" does not imply he was including his children that statement regarding assault.

Perhaps more importantly is why Ashley bringing his kids into the frame, when to most peoples recollection, he has never been seen with his kids at matches, but is usually seen surrounded by burly minders, downing pints in record time. I suspect he is raising the issue as a cheap ploy for sympathy.

He is trying to portray yesterday's statement as a frank account of events, but it couldn't be further from that. It is all a bunch of PR bs, from a man who realises he needs to save face if he is to salvage any sort of a decent sale price.

Requiem4adream wrote: »

Whatever his reasons for buying the club, bottom line he knows when the writing is on the wall. He should probably be commended for making his intentions public so quickly, the likes of a Doug Ellis might have battened down the hatches. Personally i had never heard of Mike Ashley pre-newcastle and i'm sure Mike Ashley probably wishes it had stayed that way :rolleyes:

You're having a laugh surely. Quickly??? You do realise the sh/t hit the fan nearly two weeks ago, and this is the first statement from any senior member of the club to the fans. Had Mike opened a line of communication much sooner, and be seen to at least be trying to do the right thing ( getting stuck in, rather than making it rain on NYC doly birds), then their would have been no need for this outcome. He alone is ultimately responsible for all this, and people really need to stop buying his sob stories.

Requiem4adream

Gotta admire your enthusiasm charlie but calm down a touch. IMO Any chairman sitting with the fans swigging beer is definitely not doing so for the good of his health, far more likely to be a P.R. (/spin) exercise. That's just the way it looked.

As for the "sh1t hitting the fan 2 weeks ago", guys like Doug Ellis hang on YEARS after sh1t hitting the fan, ducking n diving or worse throwing 2 fingers to the fans..... 2 weeks is pretty speedy if you ask me in terms of accepting his fate. Tbh i think you're pretty set in stone about your ideas on this and wont listen to dissenting ones but he'll be gone soon so all is well that ends well!!

I dont get the Keegan fascination either, his record as a manager isn't exactly something to write home about it is it? I like him a lot but i wouldnt peg him as a class manager.

leninbenjamin

charlie mchugh wrote: »

Well if it as you say, £20 million total, then someone should have advised him against buying a football club. £20 million across all boards is a a pittance to invest.

with respect, a club with Turnover as high as Newcastles shouldn't require outside investment. and despite what you think, yes 20 million is a lot to fork out annually on a side that doesn't even hope to make the Champions League. there are smaller clubs in the premiership that don't even need that level of investment.

charlie mchugh wrote: »

As I have stated numerous times, the majority of us did not expect 'major investment'. All we wanted was some strength and depth in our numbers. You only had to look at the first 11 and the bench on Sat. to see how in need we are of strengthening in numbers.

but how can you even expect this from a club that's riddled with debt and already operating above it's means?

charlie mchugh wrote: »

But if we are to stick to your argument, should Mike Ashley not have made this statement 6 months ago, rather than allow us enter a transfer window, and ask fans to sign up to 3 yr season tickets (and raise all other season tickets), when he knew the net investment in transfers would be £0 million pounds (well that's a lie, he actually cleared a profit on the window to the tune of £2 million)

he needed to raise cash for the club badly. it was a c*ntish thing to do, but it was still in the best interests in club. being honourable will never turn the red into black.

charlie mchugh wrote: »

However, the biggest crime Wise is guilty of, is dealing behind KK's back, something which he himself stated in Feb. he would not do, and that KK would have final say on all transfers. To compound all this, he was busy on transfer deadline day offering our squad around to all and sundry. Luckily for us, deals couldn't be struck, but I shudder in fear to think what sort of bare bones team we would have been left with had he been successful. So please, forgive us if Dennis Wise isn't held in high regard amongst NUFC fans.

Also, you talk about Keegan's expectations. None of this came about because of his expectations (however gross the media want to portray them) or transfer funds. Keegan left because within the closing 48 hrs of the transfer window, deals for bringing plaers in and shipping players out, were being done behind his back, and without his input. This is something which Wise, Mort (ex-chairman) and Ashley himself are all on record as saying would never be done.

you're speculating. nobody knows the exact reason, unless your a fervent subscriber to press bull****. As i said, i'm not saying Ashley and Wise weren't acting the **** in all this, but i do feel the Newcastle fans are really jumping the gun on this and letting their passions cloud their judgement. Perhaps there was good reason for offering those players around, has it ever occurred to you that Wise may have had another few deals lined up but didn't have the cash? either way we don't and probably wont ever know. Besides, Newcastle fans should know more than anyone else that Keegan can at times be a potentially unstable and combustible character. i just would find it hard to believe if he were the perfect angel in this whole scenario.

Pepe LeFrits

While I do think that Newcastle fans are misinterpreting some of Ashley's points I can understand where they are coming from. I wouldn’t question his motives personally as it seems clear to me that he wanted to bring the club forward, and I’ve no problem with his ideas for doing so, but his execution has been very poor and that is what he will rightly be judged on. I think he probably had a romanticised view of his role at the club when he bought Newcastle and thought that would afford him the benefit of the doubt on any controversial decisions he would have to make – but it clearly didn’t.

lee_arama

Well in fairness, the guy has, by his own words, dropped a quarter bill into the Toon. I imagine he's hardly lying since this would be found out in short order.

I think the mistake he made was in getting King Kev in in the first place. Maybe he should have gone for Wise or Ince from the get go? It's not really my place to say as I really really really hate Newcastle as a club.

However, Ashley is right when he says that too many midtable clubs think that they can challenge for Top 6-8 status on a regular basis, when in fact they're lucky to be still solvent.

I foresaw the Hull defeat (but unwisely chose to back West Ham as I tend to do every week). As it stands I can't see Ashley giving the Toon anymore money and since it hardly looks the best of investments there's a real possibility that this is the beginning of the end...

Relegation anyone?

kraggy

Well according to sky news, he has officially put the club up for sale.

Frisbee

gixerfixer wrote: »

Was making sense until he said Jonas Guttierrez and Fabrico Collocini are world class players.:eek:

Their not world class but their both quite good players imo...

therecklessone

charlie mchugh wrote: »

- He then has the cheek to make out his transfer policy is working. Don't get me wrong, Colo and Spidey are awesome signings, but those alone don't cut it, not by a long shot. Yesterday we had to play Shola Ameobi, a chap we were desperately flogging to championship teams; a 33yr old Nicky Butt; and David Edgar, a chap who has about 10 appearance total to his name. Our bench was empty of anything of worth also.

It's worth noting you were missing Jose Enrique, Barton, Guiterrez, Beye, Duff, Martins, Viduka, and at a push Alan Smith through injury and suspensions on Saturday. Not quite Chelsea-style reinforcements, but by my count 4 if not 5 of those would be starters.

If he did not buy NUFC to make money, then why impose a business model that had a net spend of £0 over 3 transfer windows. Are we to believe he bought the club to break even? If so, kindly explain where the £30M sky revenue or £30M season ticket revenue went to?

Servicing debt and paying your wages bill I'd imagine (to recap, 72% of turnover goes in wages, that is unsustainable for a side with no European football).

To quote Arsenal is a disgrace. They have no director of football. Wenger is in total charge.

Ultimately Wenger answers to the board of Arsenal though, albeit directly rather than through a DOF.

Doing away with Wise and putting Keegan back in charge won't change the underlying problems, you'll still have too high a wage bill, and an owner who is not prepared to pour any more of his money into the club. Newcastle should be a sustainable business unit in itself, based on stadium capacity and merchandising alone. That is is not is due to the previous owners, not the present one.

That said, Ashley has bungled his way through his time at Newcastle, despite his business acumen (prior to the purchase...;)) he looks and acts like a buffoon.

It's funny though, if Ashley had over-ruled Wise on the sale of Milner (or if the move for Scweinsteiger had been successful), KK would still be in charge, and the buffoon would still be wearing his replica shirt and swilling pints in his seat among the home fans, and Toon fans would have something shiny to distract them for another 6 months.

Charlie

therecklessone wrote: »

It's worth noting you were missing Jose Enrique, Barton, Guiterrez, Beye, Duff, Martins, Viduka, and at a push Alan Smith through injury and suspensions on Saturday. Not quite Chelsea-style reinforcements, but by my count 4 if not 5 of those would be starters.

But this highlights the shortcomings of Wise and co. We have been crying out for cover for both full back positions, as well as a new left back in general. A new CM was needed for cover alone, but as soon as it became apparent that Barton would be missing a good chunk of the season, this too should have become a priority. A winger was always needed if Milner was too be sold, but again, this was compounded when Duff became injured. Despite all these galring warning signs, the recruitment team failed to bring anyone in in the last days of the window, and then proceeded to put the whole squad potentially up for sale on deadline day.

If we're gonna namedrop, look at the NUFC bench Harper, Cacapa, Danquah, Doninger, Donaldson, Bassong, Nacho. Thats an absolute piss-take, compounded by the fact that nobodies like Ameobi and Edgar were in the starting lineup, and a midfielder was shoehorned into leftback.

therecklessone wrote: »

Servicing debt and paying your wages bill I'd imagine (to recap, 72% of turnover goes in wages, that is unsustainable for a side with no European football).

Well if this was to be the case, then Ashley should have made a public statement of his plan, 6 months ago, or when Keegan took over. Instead, he conned people into signing up to 3 year season tickets, allowed expectations to be raised when we were linked heavily to the likes of Modric and Woodgate, and sent out mixed signals by chastising Keegan for publicly saying we were miles off from challenging for European football (surely a given if our outlay is to be so minimal). All of those combined surely leads to fans expecting some sort of decent investment in the first team. I am not talking about wow signings, but signings nonetheless.

therecklessone wrote: »

Doing away with Wise and putting Keegan back in charge won't change the underlying problems, you'll still have too high a wage bill, and an owner who is not prepared to pour any more of his money into the club. Newcastle should be a sustainable business unit in itself, based on stadium capacity and merchandising alone. That is is not is due to the previous owners, not the present one.

From the getgo, most people didn't want rid of Wise, you know that from my defense of him over the past months. We saw sense in the model that supposedly let the manager manage, but provided him with a recruitment team to assist him in bringing in players.

I think most would still be open to such a model, as long as Keegan did have final say on who comes and who goes. Wise would need to be replaced by another DOF though because his actions during the transfer window, particularly the last day of it, has made his position untenable. But I wouldn't be advocating that the whole structure is done away with.

therecklessone wrote: »

It's funny though, if Ashley had over-ruled Wise on the sale of Milner (or if the move for Scweinsteiger had been successful), KK would still be in charge, and the buffoon would still be wearing his replica shirt and swilling pints in his seat among the home fans, and Toon fans would have something shiny to distract them for another 6 months.

And this is why I have no sympathy for the man, despite his best efforts to squeeze some out of me with his sob story. Many owners find themselves in a jam, finding a manager the fans will trust, who the fans will give time. KK is a godsend for a NUFC owner in that respect. All Ashley had to do, and tbh, still could, is sack Wise, replace him with a recognized DOF (i.e someone with actual fcuking experience in the job), perhaps one that KK has had a working relationship with in the past, and assure fans that Keegan would this time have final say on whether a player joins or leaves the club. That doesn't sound that hard or that unreasonable, yet Ashley has failed at his repeated chances to offer up such a compromise.

Charlie

SSN reporting that he is in Dubai, discussing a takeover with Zabeel Investments. All well and good until you here he is asking for £480 million, the greedy git. How are we ever going to shift him if he is looking for that sort of mad money.

I think that makes it loud and clear that his sob story earlier in the week was a load of tosh. He has spent about £230 million net on the club, and imo, that is all he should be getting back (really should be taking a loss if honest) as he has made a dogs dinner of running the club. How can he even contemplate making anything near a good profit for what has been a horrid year of mismanagement. In any other industry, he would be cutting his losses a best at the moment.

More comes from here

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is seeking a staggering $860 million to sell his club to Dubai investors, Arabian Business has learned.

The figure – more than double what Ashley has invested in the club – is contained in documents handed to representatives of Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum earlier this week.

The documents are currently being studied in greater detail, and it is understood that a takeover offer at a “much lower” price could be made.

Both Dubai-based Zabeel Investments – which is building an eco-friendly hotel with Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt - and Dubai Investment Group, part of Dubai Holding, are being considered to front any deal.

However, Zabeel Investments chairman Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi stressed that he had not been directly approached over any takeover deal.

AARRRGH

Requiem4adream wrote: »

I dont get the Keegan fascination either, his record as a manager isn't exactly something to write home about it is it? I like him a lot but i wouldnt peg him as a class manager.

Yeah, it says a lot about the intelligence of the average Newcastle United fan.

Mike Ashley owns the club, so he can do whatever he wants. If that includes getting rid of a manager he felt was not "on board" his plan for the club, then so be it.

Charlie

AARRRGH wrote: »

Yeah, it says a lot about the intelligence of the average Newcastle United fan.

And that sweeping generalization says alot about your intelligence.

AARRRGH wrote: »

Mike Ashley owns the club, so he can do whatever he wants. If that includes getting rid of a manager he felt was not "on board" his plan for the club, then so be it.

And we the fans are his customers. We can boycott club merchandise and related products, and protest if we want. Free world and all that.

eagle eye

AARRRGH wrote: »

Yeah, it says a lot about the intelligence of the average Newcastle United fan.

Mike Ashley owns the club, so he can do whatever he wants. If that includes getting rid of a manager he felt was not "on board" his plan for the club, then so be it.

What age are you 12 or something?

Yes Newcastle United football is a business, but that business depends on keeping the fans/customers happy.
Immature disrespectful uneducated comments just annoy me.

Charlie

I found an excellent piece that summaries my own feelings, and those of most other toon fans, and express our valid contempt of Ashley and Co. in a way I haven't been able to do so far. To any of those who have had a pop at us for protesting against Ashley, I emplore you to have a read.

By Scott Wilson »

HAVING digested Mike Ashley’s emotive Sunday night statement, the over-riding opinion of most Newcastle supporters appears to be: “Too little, too late”.

Why has it taken the biggest set of supporter demonstrations for more than three decades to force the Magpies owner to end his selfimposed media blackout and attempt to outline his vision for taking the club forward?

And why, in more than 1,600 carefully-constructed words, has he still failed to address the one burning issue that continues to make his position untenable in the eyes of the Geordie masses?

Why has he backed former Swindon manager Dennis Wise ahead of two-time European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan, and why does he feel his London-based cabal of friends are the best people to run Newcastle?

Unless he addresses those two issues, his attempts to portray himself as the saviour of a club that might otherwise have gone to the wall will count for nothing.

Even as they stuff their “Cockney Mafia” T-shirts into the bottom of their clothes drawer, most fans would be willing to concede that Ashley has done some good in his 16 months at the helm.

He has addressed a debt that was rapidly getting out of hand, signed two or three young players who appear to have potential and, lest we forget, generated immense goodwill with his appointment of Kevin Keegan in January.

But in the space of eight months, he has lost that goodwill forever. He has lost it because he has displayed a blind faith in a group of associates who are simply not qualified to carry out the job they are being asked to perform.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a scouting and recruitment system that divides labour between a series of highly-trained specialists, although for the process to have worked, Keegan needed to be aware of it from the moment he was appointed.

But there is something wrong when that system stands or falls on the judgement of Wise, someone whose previous scouting experience stretched to the recruitment of a couple of League One midfielders for Leeds United, and Jimenez, a former Chelsea doorman whose only business experience appears to lie in the field of property development.

While other Premier League clubs were staking their futures on the expertise of specialists, Newcastle were displaying blind faith in a group of Ashley’s friends.

When those friends alienated Keegan, the one figure Magpies supporters trusted implicitly, the ensuing fall-out was always going to make it all but impossible for the current regime to remain.

Ashley had to choose which way he was going to jump and, as Friday night’s failed negotiations proved, he chose Wise and Jimenez over Keegan.

The club’s supporters, as they were always bound to, chose differently.

And for all the club’s attempts to portray Keegan as a misguided romanticist who hadn’t watched a game of football in three years, and the at least partially valid argument that Newcastle’s fans have displayed unjustified loyalty to a serial quitter, there are rational reasons to suggest they were right to side with their idol.

For all his faults, Keegan was not naïve enough to assume that Newcastle would be in the market for a Thierry Henry or a Ronaldinho.

And while Ashley might have claimed in his statement that the fans wanted “huge amounts spent in the transfer market so they can compete at the top table of European football now”, those words merely perpetuate a well-worn myth that supporters at St James’ Park are completely detached from reality.

Keegan didn’t want Henry or Ronaldinho, he wanted Carlos Cuellar, Stephen Warnock and Sami Hyypia.

The club’s supporters didn’t demand miracles, they merely expected that their manager’s demands would be met to the best degree possible.

Instead, Wise and Jimenez ploughed their own furrow and signed a striker and an attacking midfielder on transfer deadline day, ignoring the obvious gaps at centre-half and full-back that will now plague Newcastle for the whole of the first half of the season.

Crucially, they also displayed a staggering indifference to the supporters’ sensibilities by failing to explain their decisions.

Ashley and his cohorts have erected a wall of silence that has placed an implacable barrier between themselves and the fans.

That bred suspicion then contempt, as supporters bridled against a regime based more than 300 miles away that appeared utterly indifferent to their fears and concerns.

When those fears began to be realised, further silence meant supporters lost any semblance of faith in the people running their club.

In the business world, Ashley’s shunning of publicity has been interpreted as a sign of strength. But in the mediafuelled world of football, it has undoubtedly created a position of weakness.

His relationship with Newcastle supporters has already passed the point of no return.

Killme00

£480 million, couldnt he just buy Liverpool for that?

AARRRGH

charlie mchugh wrote: »

And that sweeping generalization says alot about your intelligence.



And we the fans are his customers. We can boycott club merchandise and related products, and protest if we want. Free world and all that.

eagle eye wrote: »

What age are you 12 or something?

Yes Newcastle United football is a business, but that business depends on keeping the fans/customers happy.
Immature disrespectful uneducated comments just annoy me.

Right, I'll try once more:

Everything will go back to normal in a few weeks whether or not Keegan is brought back to the club. People are being totally deluded/stupid if they think otherwise.

Newcastle United is a business, and they couldn't give a **** about the few hundred "hardcore" fans who will refuse to go to anymore Newcastle United games if Keegan isn't brought back.

Mike Ashley has all the power here. The protesting fans are deluded.

Charlie

AARRRGH wrote: »

Newcastle United is a business, and they couldn't give a **** about the few hundred "hardcore" fans who will refuse to go to anymore Newcastle United games if Keegan isn't brought back.

Mike Ashley has all the power here. The protesting fans are deluded.

You do realise that Mike Ashley has put the club up for sale as a result of the first weeks boycott. If fans get a whiff that he is dragging his heels in over a sale, then those boyycotts and protests will get even worse.

You say that Mike Ashley is holding all the cards here, I think you're way off the mark. 6 months ago, Ashley lost £200 million on spreadbets he placed on the financial market. As of the last week, his main asset, his Sports Direct Business, has dropped in value by over 40% from when it was floated less than a year ago. I don't think Ashley is in a position, nor would want to, play a game of chicken with the fans, that will result in his investment in NUFC tanking by the day.

What's so hard to graspe that the fans are the lifeblood of the business that is a football club. Without them, that business loses a hell of a lot of its value, and the resulting PR that such boycotts and protests have, can have a damaging effect for an owners ancillary business. Before Mike Ashley got involved with NUFC, no one even knew what he looked like (literally, the Times Richlist couldn't source a photo for him). Now, his name has been dragged through the mud by his own mismanagement, and the mistakes of those he appointed.

BaZmO*

Are the boycotts not a catch 22 though? Sure Ashley gets hurt but it could also damage the club financially?

AARRRGH

charlie mchugh wrote: »

You do realise that Mike Ashley has put the club up for sale as a result of the first weeks boycott. If fans get a whiff that he is dragging his heels in over a sale, then those boyycotts and protests will get even worse.

You say that Mike Ashley is holding all the cards here, I think you're way off the mark. 6 months ago, Ashley lost £200 million on spreadbets he placed on the financial market. As of the last week, his main asset, his Sports Direct Business, has dropped in value by over 40% from when it was floated less than a year ago. I don't think Ashley is in a position, nor would want to, play a game of chicken with the fans, that will result in his investment in NUFC tanking by the day.

What's so hard to graspe that the fans are the lifeblood of the business that is a football club. Without them, that business loses a hell of a lot of its value, and the resulting PR that such boycotts and protests have, can have a damaging effect for an owners ancillary business. Before Mike Ashley got involved with NUFC, no one even knew what he looked like (literally, the Times Richlist couldn't source a photo for him). Now, his name has been dragged through the mud by his own mismanagement, and the mistakes of those he appointed.

I agree with you, but this is football, and in particular it's Newcastle United, so the fans will complain but in the end will put up with whoever owns the club.

People are being overly dramatic - everything will settle down in a few weeks.