Northern Monkey

Oh, please. We know it's a shite story. but don't start the "we're bigger than Spurs" crap again. Because it makes us look stupid.

 

It's not a "we're bigger than spurs thing," it's a spurs fan perpetuating the tabloid driven crap that annoys me.

You asked why he'd invest in the shite that is Spurs. Well, he invested in us, and we're worse.

who cares where he goes, so long as he fucks off?

Keano for Spors! You heard it here forst!

I had to read that aloud, to get full the full benefit.

well if owen runs all over the pitch and knocks in quite a few goals then maybe he might be on my side but hes just been a waste of money

who would you have starting for us (if all were fit)?

alrite guys, hate to be one of those "my uncles friends dog" people but i work for sports world in manchester and am the only newcastle fan there. the manager of the store was telling me 2day that his boss had sent him an email saying that mike ashley is definitely considering selling. i hope to god that his manager just read the speculation and doesnt no anymore. i dont want a biscuit baron in charge of my club!

 

I was talking to someone last night who has a good mate pretty high up in Sports World and apparently it's fairly common knowledge in the higher ecehelons of the organisation that Ashley is none too happy with the state he's found the club in and would be willing to sell if there was a suitable buyer.

 

If that's the case then all the talk of what a great, self-made, businessman he is, is utter sh!te.

No-one goes into a 150m investment without a thorough investigation of the business they are buying, if that was his way he wouldn't of made it any further than the half arsed local sports shop he started out with.

Forgetting the fact that no-one really knows what Laura thinks, his business history is that of buy low and build it up.

There is no history of selling out, there is no history of giving up on one of his investments that he has taken full ownership of.

If all he wanted was a quick turn around why delist the club?

 

Earlier in this thread I mentioned that the media here likened him to Howard Hughes. Hughes was constantly hounded in the press with rumour and speculation and this was the 1950s, imagine what it is like in this day and age of everything being scrutinized on football forums, in the tabloids, television and radio - the media has to justify its existence therefore it looks for any angle, something I doubt Ashley would of even considered before thinking about buying a football club, let alone the one with the largest neurotic fan base in the world.

Ashley for the money he paid could have bought almost any premier league club, he didn't and there must be a reason why.

 

 

I was also under that impression but I read somewhere that because he didn't make an offer to buy the club outright, he bought pieces that built up over time, he couldn't undertake due dilligence where the prospective purchaser gets to take a look at the state of the business including the accounts. That's why he quickly undertook his "internal review" to find out exactly what he'd got himself into. The review has revealed that the club is in a worse state than he anticipated, including £80 million of debt.

 

Perhaps his chairman is now advising him to sell and take even a small profit.

 

 

 

Possible but let's be honest most of us knew the club was at least 60m in debt just from the various NUFC finance sites that have been about for the last 3-4 years.

You'd hope a man who allegedly prides himself on the people that he surrounds himself with business wise might actually had someone look into things, a trawl or two of most NUFC message boards and you'd be at least aware of the concerns for the clubs debt levels.

Like I said, the media needs to justify its existence and perpetuating rumour and speculation is an easy way to drive headlines.

(By the way, Mike, if you or one of your many advisors are reading this - you stepped up to the plate, now follow through and actually turn our club into the huge club it has always had the potential to become.)

 

Nail on head.

 

I agree with all of that as well, but didn't Mort say recently that there had been some sort of creative accounting going on that had "hidden" a lot of the debt. I'm not an accountant so I don't know the technicalities, but I got the impression that the new lot had been a little outsmarted by the old lot. 

I don't think there was any real statement from Mort about financial or accounting malpractice, was there? Every company in the country does soem form of creative accounting, or uses the loopholes available to it.

If Mort did say anything, it's more likely to be to buy more time for the review, curb fans expectations of loads of cash being pumped in, or to get the fans onside by having a dig at the Fat Man.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/result/

 

 

Jol still on thin ice and Harry poised

Derek McGovern 22/08/2007

Hardened punters have learned one thing from bitter experience - you can always rely on top football clubs to tell it like it isn't.

 

So Michael Ballack is deliriously happy at Chelsea, Thierry Henry was never going to leave Arsenal, Owen Hargreaves is a tremendous signing by Manchester United, and Martin Jol is staying put at Spurs.

 

Despite what Spurs were saying last night, White Hart Lane boss Jol has the shelf life of a lasagne. He's a dead man walking, though for the moment he ain't doing any walking.

 

An 8-13 chance on Betfair mid-afternoon yesterday to be first Premiership manager axed, Jol had by last night drifted to 9-4.

 

Significantly, though, that still made him Sack Race favourite, suggesting not too many punters are prepared to swallow the Spurs statement hook, line and tinker.

 

Juande Ramos had been odds-on with many bookies to succeed Jol following the arrival of a Spurs delegation in Seville over the weekend.

 

But many punters are beginning to believe the real Tottenham target is a man with almost as powerful a command of the English language as Ramos - Portsmouth's Harry Redknapp.

 

After the betting uproar that surrounded his return to Portsmouth, Redknapp would rather run a mile carrying Frank Lampard on his back than spark another major gamble but it's bad news for him that the other central figures in this latest rumour are also high-rolling punters.

 

Tottenham vice-chairman Paul Kemsley is a big-league poker player who once part-owned a racehorse with Redknapp - it was slower than Robbie Keane - and who at one stage last season was reported to be trying to lure the veteran boss to White Hart Lane.

 

His best pal is Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, and it could be that Kemsley has told him the Londoners are up for grabs and has invited his gambling buddy to pool their resources.

 

And with a pedigree like theirs, keen gambler Redknapp would be the ideal choice for manager.

 

Redknapp was available at 18-1 yesterday to be next Spurs boss although by the time most firms reopen their books today, the Pompey chief will be much shorter.

 

 

 

Depending on whether Ashley can sell Newcastle at the right price for him, it seems that there may be some truth in the supposition in the Mirror.  Kemsley is the one trying to push Jol to the exit door and was at the meeting with Ramos. 

 

Sorry but why the fu<k would Laura want to invest in the sh!te that is spuds?

Please leave the sh!tty tabloid media where it belongs.

Oh, please. We know it's a shite story. but don't start the "we're bigger than Spurs" crap again. Because it makes us look stupid.

It's great for us to not be the ones fucking things up at this stage of the season.

 

The way Spurs have handled this is shocking. Two games ffs.

 

Oh yes.

 

Hopefully Berb might see this as an opportunity to jump ship.

I think his people may have played their part in engineering this to make that possible?

If he does go, it strengthens a Big Club, which is a shame, but it weakens one of our "rivals", so thats good.

Dont think thats the case.I think we have good strikers who are able to play in any type of formation used,but I think 4-3-3 is not a good formation especially with Viduka playing.We need to revert back to 4-4-2 which I think will suit Viduka's type of play much better.

You managed to disagree with yourself there I think.

 

My main point is,if you want to play with Viduka,4-3-3 is a bad choice.You have to play in the 4-4-2 formation where the balls will come from the wide area and he would then be able to head the ball in which he is mostly good at.If not,then his talent is truly wasted.

he couldn't cope with the ball in the air or on the ground at the weekend. And we can't blame "not settled into the premiership yet"!

Is this why Sam (not so subtly) has tried to offload Martins/Owen?

 

Owen no case need be made this system is totally alien to him and against everything he needs to thrive.

 

Martins although has pace, dosen't really make the instinctive runs (wide and cycle back in) that is needed. Further he isn't the best at

holding onto the ball to bring other into the game.

 

Does Shola even know what the big boys talk about?

Some good points. None of our forwards seem up to a 433, either out of style (Owen), lack of instinctive play (Obafemi Mitty), style and to a point ability (Viduka), and inability to be a decent Prem player full stop (Ameobi).

Hope the FA's insurance is paid up.

'lil Mikey will come on dressed in one of those inflatable sumo suits, flanked by minders.

alrite guys, hate to be one of those "my uncles friends dog" people but i work for sports world in manchester and am the only newcastle fan there. the manager of the store was telling me 2day that his boss had sent him an email saying that mike ashley is definitely considering selling. i hope to god that his manager just read the speculation and doesnt no anymore. i dont want a biscuit baron in charge of my club!

 

I was talking to someone last night who has a good mate pretty high up in Sports World and apparently it's fairly common knowledge in the higher ecehelons of the organisation that Ashley is none too happy with the state he's found the club in and would be willing to sell if there was a suitable buyer.

 

If that's the case then all the talk of what a great, self-made, businessman he is, is utter sh!te.

No-one goes into a 150m investment without a thorough investigation of the business they are buying, if that was his way he wouldn't of made it any further than the half arsed local sports shop he started out with.

Forgetting the fact that no-one really knows what Laura thinks, his business history is that of buy low and build it up.

There is no history of selling out, there is no history of giving up on one of his investments that he has taken full ownership of.

If all he wanted was a quick turn around why delist the club?

 

Earlier in this thread I mentioned that the media here likened him to Howard Hughes. Hughes was constantly hounded in the press with rumour and speculation and this was the 1950s, imagine what it is like in this day and age of everything being scrutinized on football forums, in the tabloids, television and radio - the media has to justify its existence therefore it looks for any angle, something I doubt Ashley would of even considered before thinking about buying a football club, let alone the one with the largest neurotic fan base in the world.

Ashley for the money he paid could have bought almost any premier league club, he didn't and there must be a reason why.

 

 

I was also under that impression but I read somewhere that because he didn't make an offer to buy the club outright, he bought pieces that built up over time, he couldn't undertake due dilligence where the prospective purchaser gets to take a look at the state of the business including the accounts. That's why he quickly undertook his "internal review" to find out exactly what he'd got himself into. The review has revealed that the club is in a worse state than he anticipated, including £80 million of debt.

 

Perhaps his chairman is now advising him to sell and take even a small profit.

 

 

 

Possible but let's be honest most of us knew the club was at least 60m in debt just from the various NUFC finance sites that have been about for the last 3-4 years.

You'd hope a man who allegedly prides himself on the people that he surrounds himself with business wise might actually had someone look into things, a trawl or two of most NUFC message boards and you'd be at least aware of the concerns for the clubs debt levels.

Like I said, the media needs to justify its existence and perpetuating rumour and speculation is an easy way to drive headlines.

(By the way, Mike, if you or one of your many advisors are reading this - you stepped up to the plate, now follow through and actually turn our club into the huge club it has always had the potential to become.)

Nail on head.

If we play the ball to Viduka's feet sometimes he might have half a chance of contributing to the team. Lumping 50 yard balls up to him whilst he's marked by 2 central defenders makes it almost impossible for him to control the ball and get it to a player in a black and white shirt.

we didn't play all long balls, and he was just as ineffective with the ball on the ground.

It's great for us to not be the ones fucking things up at this stage of the season.

 

The way Spurs have handled this is shocking. Two games ffs.

Oh yes.

Fuck England, but if Owen comes through the game unscathed, and closer to match fitness which would be of benefit to us, I'll be happy.

i don't understand or agree with the "fuck England" thing, but i agree with the benefit to us.

I hope sam doesn't get any bloody ideas.

 

They can't be any less effective than Martins and Viduka were at the weekend.

 

An unfit midget and a workhorse > fit midget, fat man

 

Hmmm.

i'm going with the unfit midget and the wrong-haired workhorse. Go team!

They f****** make me wanna puke!

 

Do you remember what they were like when that Ken Bigley got his bonce lopped off?  RIP

 

God it was so funny when Boris Johnston had a go at them!  ;D

 

Boris Quotes!

 

The article, in the issue dated 16 October, says people in Liverpool "cannot accept that they might have made any contribution to their misfortunes, but seek rather to blame someone else for it, thereby deepening their sense of shared tribal grievance about the rest of society".

 

It says Liverpudlians "wallow" in their "victim status", adding it is part of the "deeply unattractive psyche" of many in the city.

 

Typical Scouser Response

 

"He doesn't even know how many people died at Hillsborough. They wrote that it was 'more than 50'.

 

"I doubt whether he has ever been to Liverpool.

 

"We don't see ourselves as victims. We're a friendly city and we stand by each other when one of us gets hurt or killed."

 

 

 

".......unless we have to rip CL final tickets out of the hands of children, or storm the turnstiles/use forged tickets to get in, and risk another tragedy. But that won't be our fault, it'll be the Italians again. And Millwall fans. And ley lines. But not us".

 

Exackkhly! (in a scouse accent natually!)

 

There twats!

in fairness, my hatred is directed at Liverpool fans specifically, so an Irish or Scandinavian-type accent would be more appropriate.

They fucking make me wanna puke!

 

Do you remember what they were like when that Ken Bigley got his bonce lopped off?  RIP

 

God it was so funny when Boris Johnston had a go at them!  ;D

 

Boris Quotes!

 

The article, in the issue dated 16 October, says people in Liverpool "cannot accept that they might have made any contribution to their misfortunes, but seek rather to blame someone else for it, thereby deepening their sense of shared tribal grievance about the rest of society".

 

It says Liverpudlians "wallow" in their "victim status", adding it is part of the "deeply unattractive psyche" of many in the city.

 

Typical Scouser Response

 

"He doesn't even know how many people died at Hillsborough. They wrote that it was 'more than 50'.

 

"I doubt whether he has ever been to Liverpool.

 

"We don't see ourselves as victims. We're a friendly city and we stand by each other when one of us gets hurt or killed."

 

 

".......unless we have to rip CL final tickets out of the hands of children, or storm the turnstiles/use forged tickets to get in, and risk another tragedy. But that won't be our fault, it'll be the Italians again. And Millwall fans. And ley lines. But not us".

I hope sam doesn't get any bloody ideas.

They can't be any less effective than Martins and Viduka were at the weekend.

Time will tell I guess, but Allardyce obviously rates him and I think he will be an improvement overall from Sibierski.

An improvement on a player who wasn't good enough? I should fucking hope so.

I think Roy Keane deserves an Honorary Mention...

for what?

Why should we trust him anyway?

We need him to successfully run a business, whether or not we trust him means fuck all.

I wasn't really interested in arguing his ability as I'm undecided on what he will bring to Newcastle but his Premiership record is 85 in 202, you honestly don't think this is a good return considering some of the teams he's had to play in?

its not a bad return.

As for whathe offers to us, not a lot, as far as i can see. He was never  a great signing fo rus anyway as far as i'm concerned, and seemed to be more of a sign of our continuing presence as an average-sized, average club signing average players at the time.

He scored about 1 in 3 at Boro, i think, which is not great, but had a better ration at Dirty Leeds. At his age, i don't expect him to improve, or do a lot for us.

alrite guys, hate to be one of those "my uncles friends dog" people but i work for sports world in manchester and am the only newcastle fan there. the manager of the store was telling me 2day that his boss had sent him an email saying that mike ashley is definitely considering selling. i hope to god that his manager just read the speculation and doesnt no anymore. i dont want a biscuit baron in charge of my club!

 

I was talking to someone last night who has a good mate pretty high up in Sports World and apparently it's fairly common knowledge in the higher ecehelons of the organisation that Ashley is none too happy with the state he's found the club in and would be willing to sell if there was a suitable buyer.

i heard from [insert un-named person here] that he is completely happy, and wants to get the club crest tattood on his private area because [insert unfounded and completely unprovable shite here]. SO that pretty much ends the debate.

Accidentley removed that post but I'm not pretending anything, I was just arguing that I don't think Viduka needs creativity around him to score goals as I don't think he relies on that.

his goalscoring record is not great overe the years, maybe because he doe sneed more creativity? I don't think he's good enough to do it by himself.

There was no booing from anywhere near me , in level 7 , so dont try and use the bring back the noise campaigners as an easy route to blame because it aint happening mate.

 

never said I was blaming you or the ultra's, just said that i sounded as if it was coming from the area you were in (from the front of lvl 7, it appeared to be coming from the back).

Seemed to be coming from the posh seats from where i sat.