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ianovthetoon

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    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/07/newcastles-condition-remains-critical.html

     

    Newcastle's condition remains critical

     

    George Caulkin

     

    In terms of seismic levels of surprise, Tuesday morning’s ‘development’ that the Profitable Group has withdrawn its interest in purchasing Newcastle United is right up there with the following sensational breaking news story: Britain can be a bit rainy. This is not a setback and nor should it be a cause of particular anguish because, put brutally, you cannot withdraw from a race you have not entered.

     

    Which is not the same as saying that events at St James’ Park are running smoothly. While the sale of the club drags on, the start of the new season is now hurtling towards us - 11 days and counting - and we hardly need to trawl through that familiar, depressing list of concern. But for the sake of recent coma victims or the masochistic, here goes; an absentee owner, no manager, no buys, no sales, a 6-1 defeat at Leyton Orient.

     

    The position Newcastle find themselves in has barely shifted within the last fortnight and it is a desperate one. Negotiations with interested parties are ongoing, but the proximity of the Coca Cola Championship must surely serve to focus the minds of those involved.

     

    Soon we will be caught up in the maelstrom of matches and a transfer window which would be a crucial factor for any new custodians of the club will be nearing its conclusion.

     

    We know that the extent of Newcastle’s overdraft - which is said to stand at anywhere between £35m and £40m - has tangled matters and that advice given to Mike Ashley by Seymour Pierce, the bank charged with selling the club, to reduce it by selling some high-earning players has not yet been taken. We know that after a short break, Keith Harris, Seymour Pierce’s executive chairman, returns to his desk this week.

     

    It has been stated in this space previously that a useful rule of thumb during the whole takeover process has been to give least attention to the companies or bidders who make the most noise. There are reasons for that, from the very real presence of confidentiality agreements with preferred bidders, to the more general theory that serious candidates simply do not need to whip up publicity.

     

    From the start, the Profitable Group - and they have not been alone - have not been shy in announcing their intentions, yet it is understood that while they made contact with Seymour Pierce, they never provided the necessary guarantees proving they could afford Ashley’s £100m asking price. For that reason, they were not provided access to the data room in which Newcastle’s troubled finances were laid bare.

     

    It scarcely matters whether Profitable had ambitious ‘plans’ for Newcastle, whether they spoke to Alan Shearer about his prospective appointment as manager, because from the viewpoint of those involved in the sale, they were never viable, substantive candidates, which is why they have not been mentioned here. For whatever purpose (motive in this whole issue would be an interesting, separate debate - why the hell did Ashley buy Newcastle in the first place?), they have effectively added to the confusion and instability surrounding the club.

     

    Only one group of people have suffered from the debacle and it is the same group as always; the club’s supporters. From Ashley and Derek Llambias, Newcastle’s managing director, they have heard next to nothing, genuine bidders are unable or, at this stage, unwilling to comment publicly and those who have broken cover have merely contributed to an interminable farce.

     

    In the meantime and with no public face to quash them, rumours spread across Tyneside. Will Ashley cut his losses and seek to place Newcastle, with their crippling wage bill, into administration (something which is being discussed openly at the club’s training ground)? Will the banks demand that a portion of the club’s overdraft is repaid at the end of this month, obliging Ashley to either pour in more of his own money or take a more drastic step? How will it all end? Will it?

     

    Until something changes, Newcastle cannot hope to set their own agenda. Is a 6-1 hammering at Brisbane Road a bigger sign of decline than an earlier 7-2 victory at Darlington a suggestion of uplift? Is the fact that 25,000 season tickets have been sold an indication of draining support or, given the context, a remarkable demonstration of loyalty? For now, everything at St James’ Park is viewed within a prism of disillusion.

     

    The recent takeover of Southampton showed that from a position of apparent despair, redemption can follow very quickly. There are absolutely no guarantees that something similar will happen at Newcastle (and the longer the wait goes on, the less likely it must become), but, equally, it still could. At present, fans can do little other than cross their fingers and ignore all the froth.

     

    The arrival of Leeds United on Wednesday for a pre-season fixture that is unlikely to sit comfortably in the friendly categorically will be another moment of psychology. There are parallels between the clubs which those of a black and white persuasion will not wish to contemplate but probably should, because Newcastle have consistently demonstrated that things can always get worse. But the Profitable Group are not another symptom of it; they are an irrelevance.

     

    :clap:

    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    when's that bank guy from his holiday?

     

    do u think that's why we've  not had any info?

     

     

    Someone's replaced Keith Harris while he's on holiday.

     

    http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/687/orville.jpg

    thats exactly how i picture kezman for some reason.

     

    Mike Ashley modelling the latest Lonsdale Tracksuit tbh

    Administration?

    in Football

    Posted

    Being a PLC or privately owned is irrelevant to whether a business can go into administration.

     

    I never said that a non plc cannot go into administration.

     

    That facts are Mike Ashley is still a very wealthy man,  he may have lost alot of money during the downturn but he is still worth around half a billion if not more.

     

    So if a club is owned by a man who is not in any major debt, the chances are it's not gonna go into administration anytime soon.

     

    Problem is, St James Holdings essentially owns the club, and is a company in it's own right. Ashley should keep it afloat but has no legal obligation to do so, meaning that he could still put us in to administration should he choose to do so. One thing's for certain - if it ultimately benefitted Mike Ashley, that's the route he would take.

    Newcastle United 0 - 0 Leeds United (FT) - 29/07/09

    in Football

    Posted

    Fading Star, this is abuse:

     

    f*** off you f***ing drama queen.

    Thanks for the clarification. The point I’m making is that if I respond in kind the situation will escalate into a slanging match. I’m confident I’d be able hold my own in a slanging match, but the general public read this board and it makes us look like morons.

     

    Obviously if the Admins want NOL to make NUFC supporters look like a bunch of foul mouthed illiterate kids that’s there choice, but I do think the reputation of the support would be better served if they we’re less tolerant of the shit hurlers.

     

    The irony......

    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    Would be fun to co-ordinate a row of people sitting in the East Stand, giving them all a t-shirt with a letter on which spelled out "Mike Ashley is a cunt, please leave now". No chanting about him, nothing just a simple message to the watching world on how we all feel. Plus if Ashley or Llambias have the balls to attend it would be straight facing them for the match!!

    Administration?

    in Football

    Posted

    I'm not 100% sure how all of these things work within the confines of the law, but could Ashley "sell" himself assets such as the training ground, the stands at SJP and land adjacent to SJP then lease them back to the club via another holding company. I seem to remember something similar happening when Leeds went through difficulties and one of the directors purchased Thorp Arch and leased it back to the club.

     

    If this was feasible would it make administration more appealing to Ashley? The only reason I ask is because the only saleable assets the club would have are the players and matchday revenue generated by 25000 plus people coming through the gates of SJP. Ashley could then watch as all the high earners are sold to cover the overdraft and a small percentage of his loan to the club, whilst the club is sold for about 20-30M. He could then sell the training ground, football ground and land back to the club owners for a similar sum, still taking a huge loss but recouping as much as he could reasonably hope to by selling the club as a going concern now

     

    It's a bit far fetched I know, and probably fraudulent but I'd put nothing past this man

    So how positive are you feeling about the takeover?

    in Football

    Posted

    copy and paste his post? i cant get onto F365

     

    Theres a lot but here is one of them:

     

     

    micksta wrote on Fri, 24 July 2009 20:10

     

    Extremely confident.

     

    The talks went on til well after 5pm.

     

    Massive things like takeovers don't get announced on Friday evenings or on weekends to be fair.

     

    sorry i dont know how to do it properly

     

     

     

     

     

    Freddy's gonna announce it by entering St James' on a cherry picker at Bobby Robson's game and tear down the Sports Direct Sign from the Gallowgate end.  If (and big IF) this is true it would be just like Freddy to get the news out on his takeover at this game

     

    So how positive are you feeling about the takeover?

    in Football

    Posted

    I know i dont usually post on here but................................................

     

    Theres a lad on F365 forum who is usually very reliable and he claims there was a meeting today and apparently the club is now under new owners and an anouncement is imminent. Also Shearer has apparently pulled out of Sunday so read of that what you will.

     

    Only passing on what i have read so...........  :pow:

     

    Meeting wasn't with some blokes from Hong Kong and Gianluca Vialli by any chance :joker:

    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    Wonder who 'the insider' is

     

    Hopefully Llambias cos he talks s****. Thing is if it's all cloak and dagger and as has been reported already, the most senior person at SJP is an accountant, no one will know a thing, more speculation, the people ITK are refusing to comment. In addition Hughton even said himself on Saturday that he doesn't expect to be in charge come the start of the season.

     

    If there's no news by next monday I'd expect them to bring someone in as it's getting too near the start of the season. If we start the season with Hughton and Calderwood I think Ashley is making his intentions quite clear, he wants to f*** us up big style

     

    You are right - that is EXACTLY what he wants to do to us. I have always said it was 'personal' for Ashley, he HATES what we did to him (as he sees it) over the DoF / Keegan affair.  I used to get told I was mad for thinking and saying that / for being so stupid and melodramatic (things 'like that' just don't happen!!)

     

    However, an elementary study of people-types (psychology) shows Ashley to be like that  -  and he will NOT CARE about any financial cost to him, at all.  HE has all the power, and we the supporters (and our club itself) have NONE.  What does it feel like to be turned over and sha**ed - to DEATH - big time, everyone?  Get used to it (if we even survive).

     

     

    If this becomes clear, I wonder whether there's any room for the PFA or FA to intervene and ask him what the hell is going on. Essentially he is bringing the game in to disrepute by running one of the biggest institutes in British Football in to the ground. If the company I work for treated our staff like that we would go to our union to see what the hell is going on, surely in Football this should be no different. It's a disgrace. I've tried to be optimistic about all of this, and whilst it could just be scaremongering from the press, who are equally frustrated by the lack of news forthcoming, I don't think I can remember any club going through this much shite. Leeds might have had a bit of mis-management and ultimately paid the price, but there's was down to debt. Essentially we don't have as much (on the basis Ashley owes himself most of the money), and we are lead to believe several parties are offering him a way out of the mess. Instead he chooses to keep silent on the whole matter, leave a complete prick with no knowledge of running a football club in charge, sitting looking smug and nodding in disapproval as his boss is called a wanker by several thousand people, and has to endure the humiliation of having underwear thrown at him. He must be getting paid well, be thick skinned or thick to put up with it. In any other business if your customers treated you with as much contempt you would know the time was right to get out of there.

     

    One thing's for certain, either good or bad, we're in for another interesting season. Some players have came out publicly about the state of the club, I thing their next point of call has to be the PFA. No one has come out to defend Ashley's actions and the promises of better communicaation from the club have proved to be false.

     

    All we really want is for someone to speak publicly and say where we are. If there are no bids, fair enough come out and tell us, tell us what the plan is, and whilst we'd be pissed off, at least we'd know what to expect

    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    Wonder who 'the insider' is

     

    Hopefully Llambias cos he talks shite. Thing is if it's all cloak and dagger and as has been reported already, the most senior person at SJP is an accountant, no one will know a thing, more speculation, the people ITK are refusing to comment. In addition Hughton even said himself on Saturday that he doesn't expect to be in charge come the start of the season.

     

    If there's no news by next monday I'd expect them to bring someone in as it's getting too near the start of the season. If we start the season with Hughton and Calderwood I think Ashley is making his intentions quite clear, he wants to fuck us up big style

    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    Chronicle reckons the fans could be quite vociferous against Ashley at the Sir Bobby game on Sunday. Wonder whether he or Lambs arse will be there. Could be a canny money making scheme selling nutella stained kecks outside the ground.

    RIP sale thread.

    in Football

    Posted

    http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/07/21/hughton-may-lead-toon-into-new-season-72703-24203665/

    NEWCASTLE United players have been told to expect caretaker boss Chris Hughton to be in charge for the first game of the season against West Brom on August 8.

     

    And when we approached the current United regime and investment bankers Seymour Pierce for answers regarding the future of the club today the response was a deathly hush.

     

    The Chronicle understands that former Spurs man Hughton looks certain to be in charge of the Magpies for the start of their Championship campaign.

     

    A Toon insider said today: “The players have obviously been asking questions about just what on earth is going on with the takeover.

     

    “Like everybody else, they have been told it is work in progress.

     

    “But a lot of them are concerned that the season is only just around the corner and the club has actually gone backwards since the last day of the season at Aston Villa because they have lost Alan Shearer.

     

    “It seems to translate to them that there is nothing happening behind the scenes.

     

    “They have also been told that Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood are more than likely to be in charge for the first few games of the season.”

     

    Awesome.

     

    Bunch of fucking imbeciles. All the players will be up for it come the start of the season. Is this cunt for real? It's starting to look like he wants to fuck this club up to the point of no return. Oh well, biggest ground in League 1 ever............

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