HawK

Except he's been like this ever since KK left.

the whole lack of transparency isn't unique to us (though we're clearly an exaggerated form of it with Ashley making random decisions on a whim) and is more a symptom of modern football itself, the only true way there can be transparency is if the fans had a share in the club and someone on the board and the only realistic way I can see that happening is an edict from the FA to force clubs into having that fan ownership ala Germany which is not bloody likely. Agreed but he has taken it to a whole new level. There can't be a club anywhere in the world with an owner making such ludicrous decisions with absolutely no explanation. Abramovich on his day is as bad as Ashley for it but with the huge cash put in to make up for it. Venkys too are beyond ridiculous What? He actually wants the club to win things. Chelsea have the highest Net spend since Abramovich took over out of any club in the world, even City, Madrid included. That's an owner who wants to win and uses the finances at his disposal to do so.

My FM games are so much more fun than supporting MA's Newcastle.

Without a doubt.

Andy Carroll, to his credit, had him figured out very early on in his senior-team career.

1am download of my brain. Between two different websites, -£40m to -£45m net spend over the previous 5 years. Other big clubs that follow that model with similar figures are Atletico, Everton, Sevilla and a bit 'worse off' Ajax at -£60m net. Porto have netted approximately £150m in transfer profit over the last 5 years. The difference between us and the likes of Atletico, Ajax, Porto etc. is that they exist in reasonably non-competitive leagues, which allows for the income to be continuously re-invested winto attracting young starlets to CL-capable clubs. The fact we are where we are in the league is a minor miracle and a testament to our careful recruitment as we exist in the most competitive and expensive league in the world. The biggest irk is untapped potential, there is no reason to not have paid advertising in the ground to generate income other than a complete disrespect of our club at the most fundamental level by treating it purely as an advertising vehicle. Does anyone remember the reason Mike Ashley gave SJH for buying the club? He wanted to use it to market his SD brand to Asia. Fast forward 5 years and it seems not only is that the main reason for owning the club, but he's now pocketing transfer money to seemingly gamble on the stock market without paying money back into the club. You could argue he saved the club from financial ruin, but a massive chunk of repayable debt incurred was caused directly by his purchase of the club in the first place (stadium loan). By not re-investing transfer fees, his style of ownership and financial control screams 'crook' to the highest degree. It seems what he's doing is essentially the same as borrowing £Xm then using the clubs own turnover and profit to pay that loan back, leaving with 0 outlay and a club as an asset for no expense at all - funded by trousered TV money, increased SD sales from free advertising and transfer profit. It wasn't always this bad, at the start he did invest and we got the likes of Colocinni, Guiterrez and KK. The man WANTED us to do well. Then all the death threats started and the open letters, and I genuinely believe he has absolutely zero consideration for this club any more than as a cash cow with a complete disdain for the fans and customers. It really wouldn't surprise me if he owns up in 20yrs time that the second recruitment of Kinnear was to spite the fans. The man is not adverse to speculative investment and risk taking, he has an absolute fortune in liquid capital if he wanted to make a fist of turning us into a world force. The fact he bluntly refuses to do it now suggests to me that he really does not care one iota about the fans or the club. He doesn't admit mistakes, and the only way Pardew is going to be gone inside his 8yr contract is to join another club. The court case in the aftermath of KKs departure painted bare his ruthless and spiteful business practices, where he was PROVEN in court that he was intentionally attempting to mislead fans and lie to them. Fans = customers = stakeholders. He only has himself to blame, but as he's been caught out he's just taking it out on the club and the fans. While fans remain apathetic he keeps winning, until damage is done to his brand he'll never go or never change. How hard is it really, if people wanted change, to just not turn up for a couple of home games in a row? A couple of gates of less than 5k, with everyone outside the ground with anti-SD banners. It would kill him, it may even lead to a sit-down where he might change his outlook, or he'll just up sticks and cut his losses.

Was amazed to see in that Sporcle thing the other day that Le Tissier scored 25 Premier League goals one year, that's phenomenal for someone who wasn't an out-and-out forward. Probably the most naturally talented footballer other than Messi I've ever seen. He was born to play football.

If we went out and spent €45m on one player in the summer, all we would have done is balance the transfer books of the past 5 years. Then there's TV money (£XXXm per year) Then there's the money we've lost from not taking paid advertising within the ground. Cold hard facts and some people still give this club money. Money talks, spend somewhere else. I am :/

http://www.transferleague.co.uk/league-tables/transfer-league-table-last-five-seasons.html http://i60.tinypic.com/2i89btt.jpg

'Happy' is the wrong word, but I think some of us are accepting that, given all the circumstances, the right decision is to accept PSG's offer. It's not like any football club is completely in control of everything that can go on. He's a good player, but as Tmonkey has pointed out, he has his flaws, and £20m is a good price. If it's true that he could leave for far less in the summer, then really there's no choice. I do get tired of hearing that it's all down to Dr Evil and his mad schemes to fleece the club. There's a far simpler explanation, and one that would affect every club in our position. Exactly. Nobody likes it, in fact it's s***. But super-rich clubs generally buy the players of the rest. Sadly at the moment we're part of the rest. Except our owner chooses for us to not be a 'super-rich club' when in reality he's one of the wealthiest men in the PL. Adds insult to injury doesn't it?

23m for a very good central midfielder at 28 is not a bad deal. Considering we only ever use transfer funds generated from player sales to purchase players and never TV money, Sponsorship or Gate Receipts, the silver lining is 23m is a good whack to get someone in.

Well if One Direction was rejected, they can always go with 7 Chins.

Is this a wind-up..!?? Never thought I'd see the day, but it shows how short fans' memories are and how successful the club have been at dumbing down expectations..

Lua Lua won the Cypriot cup..

Besides, he made some of our team look so good that pundits were asking why Barton and Nolan weren't in the England fold, because he didn't need 3,4,5 balls in to get one on target. Put so many on a plate for Nolan that he was outscoring Lampard. One chance, one goal aerially. Hand on heart, better in the air than Ferdinand was and he was an absolute beast in the air. Broke my heart when he left, nothing to back it up to hand but my opinion is that Mike Ashley with a 35m offer simply said 'You better start driving, son'. This was the beginning of the end for NUFC as I knew it, as I realised that we weren't going to ever be one of the big clubs any more.

Was absolutely unplayable when he played for us in the second half of the championship season and the first half of the prem. So much potential, the injury he suffered just before the mega-bucks transfer and the transfer itself has killed him football-wise. He could have been fantastic as a no. 9, holding the ball up, flicking it on. The goal against Liverpool from outside the area when the defenders just stood and didn't know what to do and he thumped it with his left foot to the bottom right corner from the left side. But he's no-where near that now. What a waste.

I'll put my neck out and say he's the best centre mid we've had in the PL era.

Wrong club for Marveaux, would work well at a team that keeps it on the deck and plays slow, possession football.

To save himself paying interest to a bank to be fair. had he done due diligence he would have discovered this. The majority of the debt is caused by Ashley's acquisition in the first place - Stadium loan.

Easy enough for me, win despite him, lose because of him. Project that to league finishing positions too. The best squad in living memory and people are conditioned to believe that current ambitions are acceptable. It wasn't long ago Newcastle were mixing it with the best, 3rd-best supported team in the country. Any lack of commercial revenue bullshit excuse is directly Ashley's fault too. Add up player sales, subtract player buys, factor in TV money and you can see this club is being bled dry. Voting with feet is the only way, my money's been going to a different club and will continue until the philosophy changes. Viva los Liones, Athletic!

Immediately

Shame the next one is more than likely when he leaves... in 2026. It'll be nice when Mike puts Pards on his hover the board and sends him on his our way. How I read that

That goal against Dmitri Kharine from 'nigh on the centre circle when he punted it against Sir Les and it went off his knee with so much force it went the whole length of the pitch and in. Don't see goals like that any more, nutty keepers lol