Unbelievable

So does anybody know what the man thinks about football fans from the North East of England?

I don't disagree with any of that. It's just a response to those who are gagging for news, suggesting f*** all is happening. Who suggested that? I'm not going to link to all the threads and posts where people are panicking and speculating about the lack of news, it'd take too long. That's not even to mention people worrying about the players being linked in comics like the Star. I don't recall anyone suggesting f*** all is happening, I do remember people being worried by Fat Sam's comments about the board causing him to miss out on his targets because they're moving too slow. Exactly.. I'm getting a bit tired of people putting words in other people's mouths to ridicule them.. The people who have been sceptical lately have not suggested that we as supporters have a right to know how much money will be spent, as has been suggested, nor have they claimed that Allardyce was doing nothing to bring new players in, as seems to be suggested here.. All these quotes suggests to me is Allardyce putting his head down and continuing work on bringing players in. He can't bring the players in if the new owners aren't willing to open their wallet though..

Bottom half of the table material.. Would you have defended Freddy if he wouldn't have brought in defensive reinforcements?

I'm sure what you say about West Ham was probably said 12 months ago. That settles it then.. They're going down..

Did the club make a profit in 2000? The year they paid a dividend to shareholders. I couldn't care if they compensate losses with profits from another year, they made a loss that year yet still paid a dividend. What do you mean you don't care? They would still be profits, only from a different fiscal period. You also have to remember that dividends are paid out to ALL shareholders equally. Some people make it sound like dividends were being used as a bonus payout to management. Others make it worse by suggesting this was OUR money somehow..

Check the accounts for 2000, loss and dividend payment. You can probably compensate losses with profits from previous years. Football is no different from any other business in this respect. Doesn't change the fact that any dividend needs to have been earned as profits before.. As I say, dividends are DEFINED AS paid out profits.. Can't seen how you can question this to incriminate Shepherd. It certainly doesn't make your argument more convincing.. 2000 accounts Operating profit before player trading £766,000 Player Trading £19,874,000 Operating Loss £19,108,000 Loss after interest and taxation £15,544,000 Dividends paid £3,836,000 Retained loss for year £19,380,000 And I've never understood how they did !! The only thing maybe that they split group and company results to somehow make it legal ?? Well, as a company owner in Holland I presume you have a similar system to us in the UK, where it is possible to offset one year's losses with the previous years profits paid out as dividends, for example: 2007 MyCo makes a 30k profit, I pay out 10k in divis, the remaining 2ok is retained in the company 2008 MyCo makes a 5k loss. I can still pay out the retained profit from 2007. Of course, a company can only ever pay out profits it has actually made (in the fiscal period running or previously retained). No expert on UK fiscal law, but I presume it must be something like this..

Check the accounts for 2000, loss and dividend payment. You can probably compensate losses with profits from previous years. Football is no different from any other business in this respect. Doesn't change the fact that any dividend needs to have been earned as profits before.. As I say, dividends are DEFINED AS paid out profits.. Can't seen how you can question this to incriminate Shepherd. It certainly doesn't make your argument more convincing..

It's a good job then that Mr Mort is a philantrophe who is merely here for a 'sabbatical'.. Difference being, Mort's wages comes from Ashley's pockets now, not ours, as he owns the club lock stock. FWIW I've never cared about people making lots of money, so long as they provide value for money or earn it and I've never felt FS has done that on either front. SJH has so I have no problem with him making a mint, FS and DH though... Same difference as far as I'm concerned. Before the Halls and Shepherds effectively owned the club. The kept executive positions, paid themselves accordingly and took a part of profits from the club as divis. Do you think things will be different with a new owner..? I believe the consensus was Mr Ashley is in it for the money.. Is he a philantrophe now as well? Money then - ours/or rather the club's money Money now - Ashley's Are we all getting a free season ticket and free burgers and drinks at SJP? Or did Shepherd get his stake in the club on a golden plate? I think you're kidding yourself if you think the new owner will threat us any less as a way of making a buck than the old one..

I agree From what I am picking up on this board is that too many people expected an instant fix and the immediate signing of a whole new squad of 20 players and because its not happening, the doom and gloom is starting to decend again. We have to stop thinking like this and remember where we were at the end of the season. No way was this going to be fixed quickly. in the interview he mentions being patient about the long term stability etc....he also says day by day more players are slipping away,doesn't sound like he is being too patient to me. If SA wants to be honest, what would really help us is to explain why they are slipping away. If its because they are going to clubs that are simply offering them more money then it would help us fans. I think most people on this board agreed with SA when he said that we only want players who want to play for the club. If money is there perogative then we have to support SA/Board in not begging them to come. Eventually we will get the right players and will have taken the first steps towards becoming a stable club. Watch what happens to West Ham or Fulham or Wigan if they are relegated next season. Totally f*****. I would rather didnt just chuck money at anyone just for the sake of it. It bothers me that without knowing anything, all of a sudden its all Sams and Ashleys fault. How would that help us? Also, I don't understand the consensus that West Ham are relegation candidates because they are spending big.. To me it looks like they are another club that will stand in our way if we want to challenge for Europe, just like Porthsmouth has done last season by getting in better players..

I thought we also paid dividends while making a loss. Urm, you can't by definition. Dividends are paid out profit.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dividend

It's a good job then that Mr Mort is a philantrophe who is merely here for a 'sabbatical'.. Difference being, Mort's wages comes from Ashley's pockets now, not ours, as he owns the club lock stock. FWIW I've never cared about people making lots of money, so long as they provide value for money or earn it and I've never felt FS has done that on either front. SJH has so I have no problem with him making a mint, FS and DH though... Same difference as far as I'm concerned. Before the Halls and Shepherds effectively owned the club. The kept executive positions, paid themselves accordingly and took a part of profits from the club as divis. Do you think things will be different with a new owner..? I believe the consensus was Mr Ashley is in it for the money.. Is he a philantrophe now as well?

Well, that is what he said isn't it. I just wonder how long this "moment" will last. I can't see how the quote can be interpreted positively. Don't worry.. They'll put a spin on it and before you know it he will have meant we aim to blow the spening of other clubs out of the water, but only after the internal review is done.. </sarcasm>

It's a good job then that Mr Mort is a philantrophe who is merely here for a 'sabbatical'..

Can't say you're excited that someone who knows what he's doing has been appointed? He knows what he's doing in a law farm, not a football club. Surely you recognise there is a subtle difference? As far as the chairman is concerned, the club is a business, just like everywhere else. Sam Allardyce is in charge of the footballing side. Even if you think that, a lawyer is not by definition a good chairman of a company? Again, there is a subtle difference.. He's a man that a Billionaire has been working with all his life, got to say I trust his opinion over yours He is taking through his arse anyway. Every biotech company is headed up by Lawyers just as a simple example. To say a lawyer by defintion doesnt make a good chairman is nonsense. Company leaders can come from anywhere, finance, marketing, sales, HR or even legal. What a load of rubbish.. I said: "a lawyer is not by definition a good chairman of a company" You say I said: "To say a lawyer by defintion doesnt make a good chairman is nonsense." Who's talking through their arse?

Can't say you're excited that someone who knows what he's doing has been appointed? He knows what he's doing in a law farm, not a football club. Surely you recognise there is a subtle difference? As far as the chairman is concerned, the club is a business, just like everywhere else. Sam Allardyce is in charge of the footballing side. Even if you think that, a lawyer is not by definition a good chairman of a company? Again, there is a subtle difference..

Can't say you're excited that someone who knows what he's doing has been appointed? He knows what he's doing in a law farm, not a football club. Surely you recognise there is a subtle difference?

Like I mentioned earlier Mort is here on sabbatical, which by its nature isn't perminant (its usually a year). Also he's a lawyer, not a Football person so I really see little reason to choose him as a long term Chairman. More likely he's there to be Ashley's eyes at the club during the initial takeover and to complete the internal review. Why do I think Ashley wouldn't try to run the club himself? Firstly he's a very good business man and so surely realises he doesn't have the knowledge to run a Football club day to day. Secondly he's a very private person who definitely wouldn't want to be the clubs figure head. Has this been reported? If so, I must have missed it.. Yep, it's been reported. What did you say?

I was assured by a number of people the other day that Mort was only here for a sabbatical and wouldn't take over from Shepherd permanently. Didn't take long to prove them wrong. Can't say I'm overly excited by having a laywer (!) as our new chairman..

I'm surprised by how many people on here would happily pay this much for such an average player! I could easily find 10 players in the Dutch league that pi$$ all over him abilitywise and would cost less.. Any club with a decent scouting network should be able to do much better than to pay over-inflated prices and wages for British middle of the road players like this..

Like I mentioned earlier Mort is here on sabbatical, which by its nature isn't perminant (its usually a year). Also he's a lawyer, not a Football person so I really see little reason to choose him as a long term Chairman. More likely he's there to be Ashley's eyes at the club during the initial takeover and to complete the internal review. Why do I think Ashley wouldn't try to run the club himself? Firstly he's a very good business man and so surely realises he doesn't have the knowledge to run a Football club day to day. Secondly he's a very private person who definitely wouldn't want to be the clubs figure head. Has this been reported? If so, I must have missed it..

Thanks for that ChezGiven, much appreciated!

Hehe.. Still I find it strange that if this has been going on for weeks as Parky claims nobody has ever seemed fit to comment on it before, unless they have been asked to keep it quiet, in which case it is equally strange that they are no coming out in numbers to confirm it.. If it's true, at least it shows they are aware we exist, which is progress considering how mute they have been so far..

As sceptical as I have been and still am to a certain extend, I have to say I'm impressed by and applaud Mort approaching the fans to exchange ideas. Good stuff, and the sort of thing that will put my mind at ease if they keep it up. As a sidenote, it certainly explains why some people who normally are quite outspoken have been in the "be patient, let's wait and see"-camp for a while. How long ago have people been approached for this?

I don't think Sam will want to let him go for that, and a fully fit Dyer at 28 years old would have to cost over 5M in my opinion.