I am pleased nor disappointed about this "news", as the club's mouthpieces have had us warming to the idea for a while and I have to admit it's better to have Ashley speak out some form of commitment to the cause than to have the club left in its recent limbo any longer. However, I sympathise more with the 30% of posters who say they are unhappy about this latest development than with the 70% who are.
Everything depends on your perspective I suppose. I am content (happy is putting it way too strong) with this newest twist given our dire situation and the fact it is seemingly impossible to flog the club in the current climate at a price deemed reasonable to Mr Ashley. I am however disappointed by the fact they haven’t been able to find a buyer capable of really moving us forward, and this announcement slams the door shut for that to happen in the foreseeable future. We are stuck with Ashley whether we want it or not, and we may as well give the man another chance to prove his worth and pull together in support of the club (and that includes the present owner), because it doesn’t seem like there will be a hero saviour who will magically right all the wrongs anytime soon.
Having said that, over one and a half year in Ashley’s tenure I am still waiting to be convinced by him and it’s fair to say my initial “waiting to be convinced” has gradually transformed into an unhealthy scepticism. Ashley has made huge mistakes, ranging from getting the due diligence wrong and not having money available to invest as a result, lousy communication with the fans (“it’s a FACT”, silence), terrible appointments (a management team unable to work together for the best interest of the club), running at the first sign of trouble and a lack of expectancy management.
He will not get a clean slate but he has bought some time with this, and I think for the majority of our fans this will be last chance saloon for Mr Ashley. He will have to prove in the next months he has learned his lesson and is willing to invest in order to move the club forward, not just sideways. For me, this entails attracting a level of manager capable of moving us back to the top half of the table consistently (not Joe Kinnear!) and backing that manager by bringing in the players he wants on a transfer and wage budget that has been agreed beforehand. Despite not addressing some key weak areas in our squad and falling out with each other, there have been some decent acquisitions in the summer, so it’s a matter of building on what’s there and making it work with the right manager in charge to oversee the on-the-field progress.
Making a football club successful is a long term proposition. Ashley has not made the best of starts, but since we’re stuck with him he gets my support for one more chance to move this club in the right direction. Although I am still sceptical he will duly deliver and promise to continue to voice my criticism when I see fit (i.e. when the club’s management is deserving of it), I dread to think what will happen if he doesn’t.. It’s up to you Mr Ashley to turn this ship around.
This is just taking the piss..