macca888

Oh yes, Mowbray who has just murdered Celtic, Curbishley who is l;argely responsible for putting WHU where they are now and Grant who looks like his face has been shagged by a double decker bus. Great choices. Not forgetting Hughes, Van Gaal and Jol who are either unobtainable or would want millions to spend, which we havent got yet. Great choices mate. Stick with what we have and have faith in the bloke.

If they play like WBA did against us at our place or like they did at WBA s place, we might struggle. It will be close though.

It's a fair shout but we aren't seriously going to bomb out Hughton if we get promotion, in the real world that just doesn't happen. At the moment we don't even know Hughton's capabilities. For all we know he might go on to be one of the shrewdest managers in English football. Hughes would be a good choice otherwise though. I cannot believe that some of you are praising the bloke to the high heavens and then commenting on replacing him in December. Some of you are even calling him mnot a proper manager. In my opinion, Chris Hughton deserves a medal as big as a frying pan for what he has achieved, both on and off the park for this club over the past 12 months. You might want to look back to the days after Keegan walked out in a strop. How many so called managers were allegedly approached to take on one of the most difficult jobs in football with no money to spend? Yeah, I reckon Kinnear was 40th choice. And in the summer, our only option was a bloke who worked on a week by week contract under tthe most severe pressure and yet has bonded the players, the management team, even the fans together with a season beyond anyone elses expectations. Yeah, lets tell him how great he is now, but we can plan for his failure by December!!!!!!!!! Feck me. Give the bloke a decent chance for gods sake. Just as a reminder, cast your mind back to 1992 when the lord god almighty cannot do anything wrong, I am so wonderful Kevein Keegan was appointed. How many years management experience did he have? Chris Hughton will never be another Keegan playing style wise but I believe he has the potential to be another David Moyes type and that can only be good for NUFC. WELL DONE CHRIS...................BIG FECKIN TIME.

Here is my view on things, for all you Ashley Haters. 2007...........Bought a club in financial meltdown, struggling on the park with little or no valuable players and a new manager not of his choice. Failed to conduct due diligence therefore incurring a shitload of hidden costs. Backed the manager in the transfer market. 2008........ Failure on the park evident, manager had to go, made mistake of appointing the fans choice but managed safety due to a decent end of season run. Still in financial meltdown and allegedly paid off 110 million pounds of debt from own pocket. Appointed a european style management structure with little chance of success due to the personalities involved. 2009........Manager walks out due to no available money, clashes over transfer policy of Wise etc, playwers underperforming, appoints coach as stand in manager, appoints probable 40th choice manager, Kinnear, illness, injuries, players getting stroppy, more under performance, another stand in manager, yet another stand in manager, club up for saler, no buyers...relegated by ONE point. 2010..........club up for sale again, reduced price, no takers, temporary manager, disillusioned players sold, noone purchased, severely reduced revenue, club still severely in debt, economic crisis reduced owners assets by half, no longer a billionaire, club appoints coach full time manager, players respond, owner takes backward seat, reduces debt further by trimming staff, resources etc, club still winning, top of the league, player strength low, need recruits, spends money in January, club still top, ploughs more of personal money to pay salaries, remains inj background, club off the market, advises days of over spending over, plans on young players, introduces new scouting strategy, more sponsorship, new sponsorship, CLUB STILL TOP, has a plan over a number of years to improve aon and off the park. YES, we have had three years at least of total ineptitude by many more people other than Ashley. I doubt you can blame him for the attitude of so called players, injuries to so called superstars, inability of so called managers and the complete and utter inability to achierve results. One thing is for sure, we are now better off financially than when we were under the last days of FS. There is a financial plan in place and if this means we need to live within our means, then so be it. Othyers in ffuture years will fall by the wayside due to over spending, like Portsmouth and possibly even Hull, Burnley etc. Hopefully, we will not and under Ashlery, I believe he has learned a lot of lessons both on and off the park and in years to come, will lead the club to better times as long as he is given a chance to do so. The past is history. Get over it and look to the future. If you dont l;ike it, feck off and support mackemland.

live here in Oz at 4:30 am, getting up for it then off to work afterwards. I reckon 2-0 up by half time, one of goals being a penalty and then stroll through the 2nd half to end up 2-0

German player called FUCHS plays for OFI in Crete

Personally, I think this kind of comment is way off the mark. Newcastle were in a god almighty mess. We needed relegation to sort the club out. I don't think we have changed as much as I would like but as previously mentioned we have an upwards momentum at the moment. Our aim for next season should simply be 17th. Stay in the league. From then our target should be an increased number of points year on year. A gradual, slow building process that keeps us financially stable, based on a good transfer model-something along the lines that Sir Bobby employed. Good young players in, and let them develop with a few senior heads around them. That is a sustainable approach- We are not ready for European football and won't be for some time. Perfectly put, in my opinion, and not even a mention of the name, ASHLEY. For those people on nhere, they shoul;d really underatand this post. It perfectly summarises the club at the present stage therefore implying Ashley IS steering the club in the right direction. Well done Patronising rubbish. In what way?

Personally, I think this kind of comment is way off the mark. Newcastle were in a god almighty mess. We needed relegation to sort the club out. I don't think we have changed as much as I would like but as previously mentioned we have an upwards momentum at the moment. Our aim for next season should simply be 17th. Stay in the league. From then our target should be an increased number of points year on year. A gradual, slow building process that keeps us financially stable, based on a good transfer model-something along the lines that Sir Bobby employed. Good young players in, and let them develop with a few senior heads around them. That is a sustainable approach- We are not ready for European football and won't be for some time. Perfectly put, in my opinion, and not even a mention of the name, ASHLEY. For those people on nhere, they shoul;d really underatand this post. It perfectly summarises the club at the present stage therefore implying Ashley IS steering the club in the right direction. Well done

Is Mike Ashley steering Newcastle United in the right direction? He never took over in 1956. Happy.............you missed the point again. I will try again. What is past is past. You cant change that. History is history. You can moan, whinge, complain and protest until the cows come home but it will do no good. However, you could give the bloke the benefit of the doubt and see what he is trying to do and support him and the club. You can change the future. It doesnt mean you have to like him personally but you can appreciate the policies he is putting in place which quite clearly, is to try an avoid what happened under the shepherd regime. I thank him for that because if we continued down that path, we would oprobably have ended up another Portsmouth or Leeds. Thankfully, by putting in astute financial plans and re-building towards the future, Ashley and crew are steering us on the right path, whether you like it or not. Astute financial plans If he came out and told us what his plans were, where he sees the club being in five years time and how he intends to get us there - then we might have reason to give him the benefit of the doubt. That he wont implies that theres something he doesnt want us to know, or that he doesnt have a plan and is just making it up as he goes along, or he just cant be arsed to let us know because its his club and none of our business. In the three years since he bought the club Ive only heard Mike Ashley utter two words, and they were f*** Off in Goal III. no we wouldn't. we'd say talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words, just like we did in freds last years and we would have if mckeag,westwood et al had to have a public face. edit.... no one would give a s*** about his public relations if we were doing well. fred/hall got away with loads when we were doung well. If his intentions are good, lets hear them. Why hide good news? as i said earlier, doesn't matter what he says, people would just return with "actions speak louder than words" etc. So if he came out and said my plan is to spend just enough on the squad to avoid relegation for the next five years and use the extra PL income to claw back my losses everybody would just say it didnt matter because actions speak louder than words would they? Where has he said this? Just answer the question, if you are able to. Do you understand the concept of future tense? if he said ''' i've been bankrolling this club for 2 years and putting my hand in my pocket more than anyone in the clubs history" what would you say ? Id say - if you want us to move on why do you keep harping on about the past? Why not talk about the future instead? fair point...............would you believe him either way ? If we could look into his eyes and hear the inflection in his voice, it would tell us a lot more about what kind of man he is, and that really is what we need to know. At the risk of going off on tangent its a bit like Tiger Woods, or Bill Clinton. Judge me on my as yet nonexistent future actions wasnt enough. They had to face the music before the process of redemption could start in earnest. If theyd got a spokesperson to say sorry now stop moaning theyd have been slaughtered. oh cmon, be serious for a moment. Why has Ashley got to come out on camera to explain anything? Do you ever hear from the Glaziers, the Lerners or the numerous owners of Portsmouth over the past year. Of course you dont. That is the job of the managing director, like Storrie, Gill and in our case Llambiase. Admittedly, I wish we still had Mort instead of Llambiase but therre is nothing we can do about that now. We are stuck with him. At least he does write in the program though.

Is Mike Ashley steering Newcastle United in the right direction? He never took over in 1956. Happy.............you missed the point again. I will try again. What is past is past. You cant change that. History is history. You can moan, whinge, complain and protest until the cows come home but it will do no good. However, you could give the bloke the benefit of the doubt and see what he is trying to do and support him and the club. You can change the future. It doesnt mean you have to like him personally but you can appreciate the policies he is putting in place which quite clearly, is to try an avoid what happened under the shepherd regime. I thank him for that because if we continued down that path, we would oprobably have ended up another Portsmouth or Leeds. Thankfully, by putting in astute financial plans and re-building towards the future, Ashley and crew are steering us on the right path, whether you like it or not. Astute financial plans If he came out and told us what his plans were, where he sees the club being in five years time and how he intends to get us there - then we might have reason to give him the benefit of the doubt. That he wont implies that theres something he doesnt want us to know, or that he doesnt have a plan and is just making it up as he goes along, or he just cant be arsed to let us know because its his club and none of our business. In the three years since he bought the club Ive only heard Mike Ashley utter two words, and they were f*** Off in Goal III. no we wouldn't. we'd say talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words, just like we did in freds last years and we would have if mckeag,westwood et al had to have a public face. edit.... no one would give a s*** about his public relations if we were doing well. fred/hall got away with loads when we were doung well. If his intentions are good, lets hear them. Why hide good news? as i said earlier, doesn't matter what he says, people would just return with "actions speak louder than words" etc. So if he came out and said my plan is to spend just enough on the squad to avoid relegation for the next five years and use the extra PL income to claw back my losses everybody would just say it didnt matter because actions speak louder than words would they? Where has he said this? Just answer the question, if you are able to.

Actions speak louder than words. Absolutely right. Answer the following question truthfully. HOW MANY OF YOU EXPECTED PLAYERS TO BE SOLD IN JANUARY AND ONLY LOAN PLAYERS BROUGHT IN TO REPLACE THEM?

Is Mike Ashley steering Newcastle United in the right direction? He never took over in 1956. Happy.............you missed the point again. I will try again. What is past is past. You cant change that. History is history. You can moan, whinge, complain and protest until the cows come home but it will do no good. However, you could give the bloke the benefit of the doubt and see what he is trying to do and support him and the club. You can change the future. It doesnt mean you have to like him personally but you can appreciate the policies he is putting in place which quite clearly, is to try an avoid what happened under the shepherd regime. I thank him for that because if we continued down that path, we would oprobably have ended up another Portsmouth or Leeds. Thankfully, by putting in astute financial plans and re-building towards the future, Ashley and crew are steering us on the right path, whether you like it or not. Macca, again you're being pathetically grateful for the tiniest of mercies. I'll try again. What is past informs the the future. This is not a hollywood movie. People don't learn valuable life lessons and change. You can put your faith in the inherrent goodness of human nature over and over and be walked over again and again. As you can see above I've given this bloke the benefit of the doubt in the past. but as George Bush said, Fool me once, shame on erm - shame on you. Fool me you can't get fooled again. What the fuck on you on about now? People dont learn valuable lesson and change?? What a load of nonsense. If anyone in life makes a mistake and doesnt accepot responsibility for it and changes, then you are more or less setting yourself up for another fall. We are talking abut a bloody business here. A business that was clearly failing. A business that could no longer exist within its own financial commitments. A BUSINESS SETTING ITSELF UP FOR A FALL. Ashley took over that business and made a lot of mistakes and admitted to them. He had to deal with the financial black hole left him by the previous regime. He appointed the wrong managers (including KK) and probably acted on bad advice on how his plan failed resulted in relegation last season. It was relatively clear that this season was armeggeddon for us both on and off the field. Everyone recognised that, hence the protests, the chanting at games, the attempt to sell the club and the NUST stance. We could have gone the same way as Leeds as continued into freefall. Cleartly, salary costs had to be reduced, players had to be sacrificed and transfers fees brought in to assist the reduction of the debt. He could have sold more players, that has been well reported. But, he didnt. He kept a very high wage bill, certainly for this division and probably more than many in the PL, supported the manager in January with money to sign players and got rid of some deadwood in Geremi. We are reaping the fruits at the moment. The depths have been hit and everyone is surprised at whewre we are today. We appear to have a reasonable squad, certainly capable of surviving next season in the PL with the addition of a few new realistic faces. He has continually supported the club financially, something which Shepherd and cronies failed to do and he has obviously set a business plan together for the club, within its means and not overstated. Is Ashley styeering the club in the right direction? I think anyone who is not biased against the man would have to admit that he is and doing a bloody good job under very difficult circumstances. He has the backing of a good management team in Hughton etc and the players. That will do for me. We could after all have a disorganised rabble like NUST or the bloke who tried to buy the club in the summer runni9ng things with fucking Shearer as manager. Then, we would definitely be in a whole lot of shit............IN MY OPINION.

Is Mike Ashley steering Newcastle United in the right direction? He never took over in 1956. Happy.............you missed the point again. I will try again. What is past is past. You cant change that. History is history. You can moan, whinge, complain and protest until the cows come home but it will do no good. However, you could give the bloke the benefit of the doubt and see what he is trying to do and support him and the club. You can change the future. It doesnt mean you have to like him personally but you can appreciate the policies he is putting in place which quite clearly, is to try an avoid what happened under the shepherd regime. I thank him for that because if we continued down that path, we would oprobably have ended up another Portsmouth or Leeds. Thankfully, by putting in astute financial plans and re-building towards the future, Ashley and crew are steering us on the right path, whether you like it or not.

We lasat won the FA Cup in 1955. Are you still celebrating that????????????

I thought if you were commenting on the atmosphere at games and the sentiments towards Ashley then you'd be someone that was going to games. Talking to people in the pubs afterwards and that. Not a soopafan dig or owt, bu you've got no basis for asking question 6. Well,let me tell you this. Living on the other side of the world doesnt make me any less of a fan than those who have season tickets to SJP. That comment is just blatantly ridiculous. In fact, I probably get to see more NUFC games televised here than you do over in the UK. You might want to remember that there are many other fans on this forum who are in the same situation as me and probably wouldnt take your comments lightly. You might like to know that I have had a heavy involvement with NUFC matters for many years and have plenty of contacts through the club over those years. Most of your replies to my questions were quite interesting and whilst I agree with some and disagree with most, this is a forum of opinions for world wide supporters of the club and you should be wary of making comments regarding other fans opinions, even if they do live far away. With regard to question 6, I think the majority of posters on this forum will readily admit that protests against Ashley have diminished over time at games, whether they like it or not. Furthermore, I cannot think of a single fan whom isnt pleased, surprised and elated that after a difficult period, Newcastle United are currently top of the CCC. I would say that you are certainly in the minority. I never for one second suggested it made you any less of a fan. I'm just saying people in and around the stadium have a clearer picture of what the feeling is toward Ashley in and around the stadium. I don't see how that could be at all contentious. nothing to get defensive about. There's not been any 'protests' since the Hull game last seasonff. I don't agree that there's been any diminishment in the hatred of Ashley since the opening game against West Brom. Your last sentence is absurd. Yoiu could as easily say I cannot think of a single rape victim whom isnt pleased, surprised and elated that after being visciously raped, they are still alive. First of all, I dont think Ashley really cares anymore what the minority think, despite comments by Llanbiase recently. The team is performing and getting results and despite all the past problems, there is still 40 odd thousand turning up at SJP for every home game which is way way above his wildest expectations at the start of the season. This is going round in circles. It's not a minority Secondly, the comment regarding being happy with our current situation as a football club compared to a rape victim is non sensical. How the hell can you make such comparisons is beyond me. I know Bill Shankly once said that football is a matter of life and death but violation of a human body as a comparison to the demise of a football club is just plain idiotic. Do you write for the daily mail? Have a sense of humour man. I was highlighting how pathetically grateful you come across for the smallest of mercies with the most extreme analogy. I was joking about the holocaust with the lads at the match the other night too. I am basically a positive person and I dont like to dwell on the past. What is done is done and as someone else said previously on trhis thread, it is time to move on which appears to be what the club is trying to do, without over committing itself financially. To be unhappy to be top of the CCC at this present time after a couple of years of total mayhem is just plain daft. Again, pathetically grateful. You sound like a cuckolded husband thanking his wife for letting him smell her battered gash after she took on the local rugby team. I actually have read some comments from posters on this forum who would be happy to stay in the CCC because we are winning games, although I can say I dont agree with them. Too much negativity and hatred is blinding too many people on here and it is well and truly time to back the club, from top right through to the tea lady, if we are to get back to where we once were under SBR. It will take a few years but if we are financially healthy and have a committed youthful playing staff eager to impress, then I can see the club back up there with the likes of Everton, Villa and even Spurs. Where we were 3 years ago Where we were 3 years ago???????? 1..On the brink of financial meltdown under Shepherd!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2. Having aging, overpaid, injury prone unmotivated superstars like Viduka, Owen, Luque, Boumsong, Dyer, Insomnia and Martins failing to produce week in, week out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3..A succession of failed managers like Allardyce, Souness and Roeder in charge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, I would really love to be back in those days of being threatened with relegation year after year. And before you say it, I tend to put the past behind me and look to the future. Being top of the CCC allows me to think the future is better than what is was. You obviously are up set at being top of the CCC? Maybe that could be because Ashley and Co. are proving you wrong? Maybe you live too much in the past? Maybe you wish you were a supporter of MiddlesBrough instead of NUFC and be happy to have failed to achieve a top 6 position in the CCC therefore failing to achieve an opportunity of immediate promotion back to the PL? Maybe you are just a pessimist?

Seconded. soopafan Is that the best you lot can come up with? Jeez, you need a reality check.

I thought if you were commenting on the atmosphere at games and the sentiments towards Ashley then you'd be someone that was going to games. Talking to people in the pubs afterwards and that. Not a soopafan dig or owt, bu you've got no basis for asking question 6. Well,let me tell you this. Living on the other side of the world doesnt make me any less of a fan than those who have season tickets to SJP. That comment is just blatantly ridiculous. In fact, I probably get to see more NUFC games televised here than you do over in the UK. You might want to remember that there are many other fans on this forum who are in the same situation as me and probably wouldnt take your comments lightly. You might like to know that I have had a heavy involvement with NUFC matters for many years and have plenty of contacts through the club over those years. Most of your replies to my questions were quite interesting and whilst I agree with some and disagree with most, this is a forum of opinions for world wide supporters of the club and you should be wary of making comments regarding other fans opinions, even if they do live far away. With regard to question 6, I think the majority of posters on this forum will readily admit that protests against Ashley have diminished over time at games, whether they like it or not. Furthermore, I cannot think of a single fan whom isnt pleased, surprised and elated that after a difficult period, Newcastle United are currently top of the CCC. I would say that you are certainly in the minority. I never for one second suggested it made you any less of a fan. I'm just saying people in and around the stadium have a clearer picture of what the feeling is toward Ashley in and around the stadium. I don't see how that could be at all contentious. nothing to get defensive about. There's not been any 'protests' since the Hull game last seasonff. I don't agree that there's been any diminishment in the hatred of Ashley since the opening game against West Brom. Your last sentence is absurd. Yoiu could as easily say I cannot think of a single rape victim whom isnt pleased, surprised and elated that after being visciously raped, they are still alive. First of all, I dont think Ashley really cares anymore what the minority think, despite comments by Llanbiase recently. The team is performing and getting results and despite all the past problems, there is still 40 odd thousand turning up at SJP for every home game which is way way above his wildest expectations at the start of the season. Secondly, the comment regarding being happy with our current situation as a football club compared to a rape victim is non sensical. How the hell can you make such comparisons is beyond me. I know Bill Shankly once said that football is a matter of life and death but violation of a human body as a comparison to the demise of a football club is just plain idiotic. I am basically a positive person and I dont like to dwell on the past. What is done is done and as someone else said previously on trhis thread, it is time to move on which appears to be what the club is trying to do, without over committing itself financially. To be unhappy to be top of the CCC at this present time after a couple of years of total mayhem is just plain daft. I actually have read some comments from posters on this forum who would be happy to stay in the CCC because we are winning games, although I can say I dont agree with them. Too much negativity and hatred is blinding too many people on here and it is well and truly time to back the club, from top right through to the tea lady, if we are to get back to where we once were under SBR. It will take a few years but if we are financially healthy and have a committed youthful playing staff eager to impress, then I can see the club back up there with the likes of Everton, Villa and even Spurs.

Perhaps we had a fee agreed with the club for Moses, wages were agreed then his agent doubled what he wanted from the deal. It could easily be either of these but I have a funny feeling that Wigan can offer him better wages at this point as they are in the Prem and we aren't. NUFC in the Championship on 5-10k/wk or Wigan in the Prem on 10-20? It's not either, it's the reason that I mentioned. It's not just Best though is it. I can't think of a single player since Ashley bought the club where we've been in competition with another club for a player and ended up signing that player, the only player in that time I can think of who we've signed where the selling club didn't want rid is Coloccini (also Gutierrez, but that situation is just bizarre, he shouldn't have been their player anymore), and we have been unable/unwilling to stop any player leaving who wants to move to another club. Maybe I've missed someone, or maybe its just a coincidence, but it's a worrying trend IMO. Of course operating like that and avoiding a bidding war has obvious financial advantages and puts the club in the driving seat when negotiating contracts, and I'm sure some will be over the moon about it and happy that anyone who expresses any discontent is shipped out the door, but it does mean you have to pick up and make do with the left overs, and if any player develops while at the club he's inevitably going to leave for a club that will offer him more. At Championship level this policy is fine as there are a plethora of players out there who are good enough to play at this level, and we can afford to miss out on some as any player we miss out on will not be significantly better than some other player we can go for. The Premiership is another kettle of fish though, it's one of the best leagues in the world, and to compete in it you have to have some of the best players in the world - there's a much smaller pool of players that are good enough to be good in the Premiership. Fishing around for the scraps in that pool is highly unlikely to lead to anything better than survival. For fredbob - I'd sincerely like to thank the man who got my club relegated for not f***ing it up any further once he realised the players he wasn't able to get rid of and the coach Keegan brought in might be able to get the team promoted, and for replacing the recalled loan players and long term injuries with cheap permanent signings & other loans. Cheers Mike, great job, appreciated. Happy? Some reasonable comments there about promotion and the quality of players we could afford to bring in. However, take out the top 4 plus City, Spurs and possibly Villa, all other teams in the PL will be scraping for players within their individual budgets and nowhere near the budgets afforded by the likes of clubs owned by rich owners. Chelsea have already commented on spending 100 million pounds whilst Liverpool and Man U will spend big. City will too. Most other clubs cant live with that and that is why I believe that sooner or later, there will be a breakaway superleague for rich clubs and the rest will be left to wonder, why not us.

Aologies again, right first time........................now on the Cointreau

Apologies.........Drew with Middlesbrough

UV Gordon Strachan admitted last week that we beat Middlesbrough to the signing of two players in January, one being Routledge.

Careful or you could end up being more hated than Ashley LOL........I am sure I will be brought back down to earth with the sub zero temperatures when I bring my family back home for next christmas. I must admit that I do miss a really good pint of Exhibition though.

I thought if you were commenting on the atmosphere at games and the sentiments towards Ashley then you'd be someone that was going to games. Talking to people in the pubs afterwards and that. Not a soopafan dig or owt, bu you've got no basis for asking question 6. Well,let me tell you this. Living on the other side of the world doesnt make me any less of a fan than those who have season tickets to SJP. That comment is just blatantly ridiculous. In fact, I probably get to see more NUFC games televised here than you do over in the UK. You might want to remember that there are many other fans on this forum who are in the same situation as me and probably wouldnt take your comments lightly. You might like to know that I have had a heavy involvement with NUFC matters for many years and have plenty of contacts through the club over those years. Most of your replies to my questions were quite interesting and whilst I agree with some and disagree with most, this is a forum of opinions for world wide supporters of the club and you should be wary of making comments regarding other fans opinions, even if they do live far away. With regard to question 6, I think the majority of posters on this forum will readily admit that protests against Ashley have diminished over time at games, whether they like it or not. Furthermore, I cannot think of a single fan whom isnt pleased, surprised and elated that after a difficult period, Newcastle United are currently top of the CCC. I would say that you are certainly in the minority.

One final point, apologies for the spelling errors in the last post. It is friday night here in Oz and my excuse is too many glasses of chardonnay on the beach while the kids were having an evening swim in the sea.

Id say it was more a case of those who are confusing our successes this season with a well run club and think Ashley has turned into Jack Walker because we bought a few bargain basement players in January, and those who want to see clear tangible evidence the club is heading in the right direction before they can forget about three years of half truths and abject mismanagement. You might think being top of this league is proof were heading in the right direction, but others think its a fluke and in the absence of any hard facts about what Ashleys plan was last summer youre in no position to say whats rational and what isnt. Ultimately time will settle this debate, and until its had its say perhaps you should get off your high horse. This is an excellent answer from Fredbob and basically, cuts to the chase. It is fair to say that there will never be 100% agreement on whether Ashley has the club heading in the right direction or not because whilst some of us are prepared to admit he has made many mistakes, at least he appears to have learned from them and the club is better off for it, being in prim,e position to gain promotion. Form those like Melandro who feel that whatever Ashlery does will never compensate for relegation, let me ask you the following questions: 1. Are you unhappy we are top of the CCC? 2. What would your opinion be of Ashley if he fully backed the manager's requests this summer and bought several quality players which resulted in a top 6 finish next season? Dont say it is fantasy because we have done it before. 3. Have you ever made a mistake personally that has resulted in a catastrophe which you have had to deal with to ensure your plans have been re-directed on to the right tracks? 4. Do you really, honestly think that Ashley is totally to blame for the fiasco last year therefore absolving any blame from Souness, Shepherd, Roeder and Allardyce, not to mention the petulant Keegan? 5.. Are you able to admit mistakes have been made in the past and that the fortune of the club is ahead and not back? 6. By the way, as each home game passes, is it not evident that the anti ashley protests are getting less and less vociferous? 7. Who do you suggest takes over the running, ownership of our club from Ashley because as far I am concerned there is not a lot of options on the table, is there? So therefore, for the good of the club, wouldnt it be more pertinent to generate your efforts to support a club that is obviously making every effort to atone for past mistakes rather than digging up ancient history? 8. Finally, what gives the likes of Melandro the god given right to insult excellent posters who have an opinion to moffer on the subject? Simple answer to this is if you dont like the post, dont reply. If you feel the need to reply, then keep it polite, like many others on this forum who have disagreed with some of my posts, as an example.