Unbelievable

ChezGiven, how do you know this? If it's from one of the three members a confirmation would be nice. It would be great if this was true, although I'd not entirely understand why he would want to liaise with a few individuals from an Internet forum rather than address all the club's fans.

Any links yet?

The fact that Ashley is carrying out a thorough review of the club as a first step might lend some credence to the idea of Mort being brought in on a temporary basis, surely? He's a lawyer, isn't he? And a close confidant of Ashley, so therefore the perfect kind of person to conduct that review, I'd have thought. Doesn't mean he will be temporary, but suggests that it is a possibility. Then why is he currently the deputy chairman? He could have done the internal review as a non-executive person. Surely, everybody in the club would have known he represented Mr Ashley, so what's the need for the job title tag?

Mort isn't here as the Chairman. As far as I remember he isn't even here for the long term. When he was appointed I seem to remember it being mentioned that he was merely taking a sabbatical from his normal job. No doubt he has significant power, probably second only to Ashley. But I definitely don't think its planned for him to take over the day to day running of the club long term. But rather to oversee the likes of Shepherd and be Ashley's eyes in the club in the early days of the take over. He'll also be here to speerhead the internal review. Allright, my contribution was actually in response to your suggestion that Ashley wasn't going to be the chairman himself and would appoint somebody else who could be held accountable. I assumed you meant Mr Mort, but obviously not. He is currently the deputy chairman behind Shepherd though, so it's not a big leap of thought to think he will be next in line once the club say goodbye to Shepherd himself. What makes you think Mort will not be our chairman and how do you know Ashley is not the kind of man to run the club himself, as you suggested in your earlier post?

It would be more reassuring if the chairman he appointed actually had any previous experience in how to run a football club. By all accounts he's appointed one of his closest and most trusted employees, who used to be a lawyer in the city. I don't think Mr Mort will be fired easily if things don't go to plan, whatever that is; it's more likely Allardyce (who was appointed by Shepherd before the takeover) will be the first person out the door if that happens.

It's incredible that so few on here seem at all bothered, and in fact celebrate the fact, that Ashley will soon delist the club and take it into private hands. We still don't know anything about his intentions, and very soon there'll be no transparency, very little information about what's going on. It's exciting to get rid of a crap chairman and bring in a billionaire, but it's healthy to ask questions. I guess it is a double edged sword, really. You want a billionaire owner who will invest s*** loads of money in the club? OK, but you're going to have to put up with the fact that he can do what he wants with the club with practically no scrutiny. You're going to have to live with the fact that being a billionaire's play thing is something we've all wanted for our clubs, but the flip side is that you are subject to his every whim. This is great when things are going well, but it is going to be interesting when things get tense. We're still on the extended honeymoon with our new owners, your marriage hasn't even started yet, but I think that expecting everything to be rosy is naive. The only way we'll be able to judge them is on experience, and that means what happens over a few years, not what they do in the first year (look at Magnusson at West Ham, desperately trying to buy instant success and appreciation - would you want to be run like that?). Until then, a little healthy scepticism can be a good thing. True enough, but I don't see any evidence (yet) to believe that Newcastle will be treated as a 'plaything' by MA. More likely he sees it as a business that has acheived some success but has immense untapped potential... not to mention the links in with his other sporting companies. We can't deny that we don't know a lot about what Ashley is like, so let's not get carried away. But at the same time I think a lot of the scepticism is over the top and comes from the fact that people have unrealistic expectations about the signings we should be making/have made. Assuming you are talking about Tsunami, myself and possibly a few others, I'm sure you can quite easily point out a few examples of us having unrealistic expectations with regards to the transfer budget and targets..? I don't think you can, as our scepticism has really nothing to do with money or specific players. It's to do with something much more important: how he wants to run this club. Of course, it's easier and more comforting to assume that people who ask questions are spoilt and naive 12 year olds who think the new owner will fail if he doesn't get in Kaka or Messi before September..

The success of supercasinos and building plots is strictly dependent on how well a football teams performs on the pitch is it? You're right that my cynicism is based on pure speculation and is therefore unfounded. The whole point of the message however is that it is just as foolish to be overly optimistic purely based on speculation, rendering it just as unfounded as my cynicism. This in turn is the exact reason why I want Ashley to come out and make statements regarding the many unanswered questions about his intentions and plans..

Fair enough. My apologies..

Looking at your statement in bold, if there is a way to make more money out of his new acquisition or to be more certain about making money (less risk) by doing anything else than investing big on the pitch and trying to get us back in the higher regions of the Premieship table and into Europe (which is what most people assume the long term ambition and/or plan to be), do not you think he will consider it? Was there not talk of plans for a supercasino in Newcastle? Did Shepherd not recently launch a plan to build a stadium expansion and top class hotels etc at the tune of 300M? Have there also not been talks in the past of moving the stadium to outside the city centre? Is it therefor unreasonable to think that the 130M paid to take over the club could have been about more than the club alone? I mean, we're talking hundreds of millions worth of development plans here. This in combination with the fact that 130M is not altogether that much for a football club of this size and potential in this day and age (yes it is a lot of money even for a billionaire, but it's only a fifth of Man U and Liverpool's worth, and reportedly not even half of what Spurs is valued at and value is not absolute (130M is a lot of money), but it is relative (what can 130M buy me in today's marketplace)) means nobody can claim to know for sure what is on the agenda. I'm not saying I think this is the case as you suggest, it's just I'm aware that there are possibilities beyond the "everything's going to be better than before by definition" view that most people on here seem to hold. When there was talk of a takeover by a hedge fund six months ago people's first concern was that they tend to strip and sell in parts at a profit. Now we've been taken over by an individual businessman we know next to nothing about and nobody even wants to ask questions!? I don't reject the notion that I may be verging on cynical, but in my book people who are not concerned at all by wanting to know what the new owners have in stock for us are verging on naive.

Just reread your post. Where did I put words into your mouth exactly? He's under no obligation to speak, nor will he ever be as he owns the club and we don't have a say in anything. What's more worrying is that there's no pressure on him to come out and speak. You may be right that it doesn't serve any purpose at this point in time to complain, but I feel many people on here will soon come round to the idea that the new owers and directors need to keep us, the fans/customers, informed of their plans. If he doesn't the honeymoon period will soon be over as UV correctly points out, and everything that is currently interpreted to be positive by the majority will then be looked at more sceptically.

You might be able to hold in your curiosity, and tbh I'm the same, but you must concede that the vast majority of fans are not like this. He or his appointed people have hardly said a word since we first heard of him, and as others have said, people have filled the void with rumours consisting of their own positive hopes and ideas for the club. He's currently in a honeymoon period with most supporters who believe the previous board was terrible and have fallen for the grass is always greener delusion. This won't last, and eventually the void will be filled with stories and hearsay assuming worst case scenarios rather than best case ones. IMO it doesn't bode well for supporter relations in the future. we've been told enough for the time being. whose to say ashley even has answers yet. these statagies take time to decide. Lets stop panicing i think, people only want new answers because its a new board. shepheard didn't ever give his opinions on an international scouting network. We've been told f all. The only person from the owner's group of people who's opened his mouth is Mr Mort, and than he essentially said nothing noteworthy.. You seriously believe Ashley and his men would have no answers to these questions!? As a very succesful business man (as everybody is all to keen to point out, as if that somehow guarantees he will be a good chairman for NUFC - for all we know is only interest may be in a supercasino or something) you think he would spend 130M on a football club without having a plan/strategy? It's pretty obvious to me the reason why people want answers is because there is a new owner.. We all knew what things were like with Shepher and Hall. It wasn't always good, but it was at least predictable. With the new owners and no questions being asked and answered, we know next to nothing, yet everybody happily assumes everything will be better than before as a given.. As for Shepherd's opinion on scouting networks, he probably didn't even know what they are, but that is not interesting anymore as it's in the past. What's interesting and important is what the new owners think about these issues..

It's funny how people don't seem to realise that the effects of this takeover will endure well beyond this transfer window. Well, actually it's not.. We are not saying we don't trust the new owner/chairman to make money available to strengthen our defense, as that is the very least he should do. There are many other questions that require answers though (see above for some examples) and I can't believe people keep discarding them by pointing at what's happened so far in the transfer window, and what they assume will happen in the remainder of it.. Also, I'd like to know from people who say we should await the end of the internal review (which I can understand) if they expect clarification on (a number of) these issues once the review is completed?

Which is interesting with regards to my last point: somebody who doesn't commit to something cannot be held responsible. What if he did sell SJP and let us slump to the Championship but somehow managed to walk away with a profit (theoretically speaking of course)? We couldn't even object to that as he never led us to believe he would do as you say, i.e. the european football, big club assumptions (which is all they are). Is it unreasonable to ask for a plan? It seems to me like you're being way to trusting just as I'm maybe a little too sceptical. Personally I am aware of this but the reason I keep banging on about this is because I think everybody is way to relaxed about assumming what the plan will be.. See my comment on question 1. Some operational, tactical and strategic objectives would be good, i.e. a short and long term plan. I will believe it when I see it. We cost 130M, which is a bit of a snip if you look at other club's prices and the price development. It could just as well be a case of buying low, selling high. The man is a business man after all. A commitment for the long haul (spoken out, not assumed) would be nice as this seems to be what everybody wants, but may not be what the man has in mind at all. I dare him to lie about this sort of thing though. I think we've seen examples before of situations where fans made owners/chairman's life miserable because they didn't live up to their own stated ambitions. Without stated ambitions, it's hard to claim somebody didn't do what they promised.. Good Or he could say he is the kind of chairman that sets a budget and leaves it to his people to do the wheeling and dealing without his involvement. Alternatively he could say he intends to be in SJP at least 1 day a week to keep an eye on how the operation is going. He could say all sorts of things about his intended involvement in commercial and football matters. I think this is something very interesting/important to the fans.. That's your opinion. A chairman/owner who does not attend games will not have a feel about what's going on at the club at any given time, i.e. are fans booing the manager or certain players? What's the atmosphere like and does something need to be done about it, etc. So why not ask!!! This may be as crucial to our future as appointing the right manager or splashing the cash on the right proven goalscorer.. It is HIS club though. Any manager is only there temporarily. It is ultimately up to him what kind of club he wants us to be. If that means investing in young talent (like under Robson or what Spurs are currently doing) it means that's what Sam (and the possible DoF) will need to focus on. More to the point, if we get a chance to buy a promising 16 year old Portuguese player for 1M who may be the next C. Ronaldo, but eqally could be the next M. Nobody, will he be willing to risk the investment or will he look on and go for the finished article at a higher cost but with less risk involved? Good Good I think it is, or at least it will be when the current contracts expire. Does he want his own NUFC channel for example, the way Chelsea and Man U have amongst others..? Will he try and find a way to broadcast our away matches online for a small charge? All things that directly concern the fans.. As I said, it's only a small list of things I came up with while typing. I'm sure there's dozens more. I think it would be good if he took some time out of his busy schedule and gave a openhearted interview or maybe even in talkin session in which he outlined plans and answered people's questions..

Well for one, your assumption that he's said PL in 3 years is simply not true as far as I know. He's never said anything regarding his amibtions and intentions if I remember correctly. It's all rumours and hearsay in the press. It's that we want to know rather than assume. If you think you already do because Oliver said that's what his sources inside the club tell him good for you. I and a few others would like to know from the horses mouth what he wants to do with this club. Questions like: - What are his aims? - Is he here for the long haul? - What are his plans with SJP? - What kind of owner/chairman does he envision being? - Will he attend the games? - Does he think a Director of Football is the way forward in football? - Will he invest in talent or does he want finished articles? - Does he want to invest in our youth academy and what will he expect to get out of it? - Does he want to be in the expanded G14? - What are his plans with regards to future tv coverage of toon matches? - Does he want a primarily English/British squad or does he not really care? - Is it important for him that Geordies remain in key positions in the club? - Will Shearer keep his ambassador of the club role? - Is Shearer regarded as a possible manager for the future? - Does he value the importance of an elaborated scouting network? - ... Millions of questions really, and I think it would be reasonable now he owns the club to tell the fans of his intentions rather than keeping us in the dark, although it seems the majority is fine with assuming rather than knowing because of having been told. Somebody who never states his intentions can hardly be judged by how well or badly he did in realising them, isn't it? That's one of the reasons why I think as fans we should put a little more pressure on the new owners: as "loyal customers" we have a right to know what will happen to "our" club..

Sam's arrival preceded the takeover though, so he may not have been Ashley's preferred choice for the manager position..

Based on what? A relegation campaign where he was ordinary at best, or the few run-outs he's had at Arsenal where he's been found wanting? Poor footballer who if he was on the books at Charlton or Fulham, nobody would go near him. Nut, I think this might be an interesting read for you: http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=476901&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=1490&title=Wenger's+right-back+collection

And now for the core question of this thread, do you KNOW this for a FACT or are you, as I suspect, just PRESUMING..? Yes - I'm PRESUMING - just as I'm PRESUMING that the sun will come up tomorrow..! None of us know that for a fact, but its a reasonable assumption - just as reasonable as assuming that a VERY successful modern businessman, who has just paid a king's ransom for a football club with prospects, will allow his managers to do the job themselves - failure to do so will result in the sack but I am willing to bet that Ashley WILL allow Allardyce a crack of the whip...its a matter of personal opinion whether you think he will be better than Shepherd - I happen to think he WILL, but you, of course, are entitled to your own opinion - WHICH IS...! I don't have an opinion, but we've not been given much to base an opinion on, which is my point really. A lot of people put a lot of faith in Ashley because he's made a lot of money. In one of the very few articles I have read about him that contained quotes from the very media-shy man himself he admitted to having made bad errors of judgement with the floating of his company, mainly due to the lack of having wanted to do everything himself rather than leaving communication and public relations to the professionals. I would think more fans of this football club would want some assurance that he has learned his lesson, and would want to know how he sees NUFC as a part of his business portfolio. I have read discussions here in the past in which people were all complimenting Barcelona and Schalke on the way the clubs were run, almost as a democracy and certainly with respect to and input from the fans. As it stands, with Ashley we seem to be at the complete opposite of the scale, yet people are happily giving him the benefit of the doubt just because we were so desparate to get Shepherd out, it can't be any worse.. I don't share this optimism yet, not until I see or hear what the plan is anyway. which I think is a more sensible and cautious approach..

And now for the core question of this thread, do you KNOW this for a FACT or are you, as I suspect, just PRESUMING..? I'd be perfectly justified asking you the exact same thing about your recent complaining posts. I'm not presuming anything.. Just looking for some clarification. Do you agree with Merlin (and with him the majority on here it seems, it's just merlin has made the point very explicitely) that Ashley WILL give Allardyce a free rein, WILL have a more professional approach than the previous chairman and WILL NOT be interested in personal gain as he's already got plenty? Or do you agree with me and a few others that WE DON'T KNOW any of this, and we will either have to wait and see what happens (in which case I reserve the right to question developments that seem contradictory to what most people just presume will happen) or Ashley will have to come out and communicate directly with us about what his intentions are..?

Embarassing, tbh. In your other thread, you were crying that we weren't linked with Deco any more in the papers. Now we're linked with UBERDECO and you're upset about that. You're just a whinger at the moment. Also, it's the NOTW. It's not true. Relax. Yes, you're right.. It's embarassing to ask questions about what´s happening. Real fans can be perfectly happy with the potential signings of such average players as Quedrue and Young one day, than without a second thought indulge in us going after arguably the best football player in the world the next. You´d have to be crazy to find all these rumours strange and wonder what´s really going on behind the scenes.. No need to know what Ashley´s intentions are.. A lot of mindreaders on this forum apparently. Alternatively, maybe... none of them... are true... Rather than accusing me of being a) not a real fan and b) crazy, maybe you should acknowledge that papers are full of s*** and pipe down. Err, I wasn´t accusing anybody of not being real fans or being crazy, just pointing out that if me and a few others were asking for Mr Ashley to come out and make his intentions clear we were being treated like WE were crazy.. I acknowledge the papers are full of shit, but I'd say that's all the more reason for the new owner of the club to communicate with the fans and let us know his intentions. I find it mindboggling that there are so many people who aren't interested in hearing this and have decided to just wait and see what happens without questionning it, even if that means targetting crap one day, and superstars the next..

And now for the core question of this thread, do you KNOW this for a FACT or are you, as I suspect, just PRESUMING..?

Embarassing, tbh. In your other thread, you were crying that we weren't linked with Deco any more in the papers. Now we're linked with UBERDECO and you're upset about that. You're just a whinger at the moment. Also, it's the NOTW. It's not true. Relax. Yes, you're right.. It's embarassing to ask questions about what´s happening. Real fans can be perfectly happy with the potential signings of such average players as Quedrue and Young one day, than without a second thought indulge in us going after arguably the best football player in the world the next. You´d have to be crazy to find all these rumours strange and wonder what´s really going on behind the scenes.. No need to know what Ashley´s intentions are.. A lot of mindreaders on this forum apparently.

Nah, much more to it than that.. It´s not about spending silly money, it´s about targeting and bringing in the players that will take us up a level, rather than Carr and Babayaro Mk II It's the second week in July. Doesn´t really matter when you make bad buys does it? Whether you buy them in May, July or end of August, you have to pay their wages for the full length of the contract also when they are of little value to you anymore (Babayaro and Carr are prime examples in our current squad).. Dave, are you happy with our current transfer targets?

Nah, much more to it than that.. It´s not about spending silly money, it´s about targeting and bringing in the players that will take us up a level, rather than Carr and Babayaro Mk II

It's not like you don't know what his answer will be, isn't it? It's not really relevant anymore either.. Better concern yourself with the question of what Mr Ashley will want to do with this club.