Happy Face

Blimey. Is that achieved just by running the club on a skelleton staff? Don't think so, that would be under wages wouldn't it? Outsourcing merchandising and catering removes lots of costs. In 2007 commercial and matchday income (£61.2m) exceeded other costs (£24.7m) by £36.5m. In 2014 commercial and matchday income (£51.5m)exceeded all other costs (£24m) by £27.5m. So the £10m of dropped revenue has not been made alongside any drop in costs longer term. You'd argue outsourcing saved nothing and we're £10m down. But given that most other clubs have increased costs by about £20m as prices rise, then we have actually saved about £10m NUFC expenses were down £6m from 2007 to 2011 and only recently returned to 2007 levels. Taking the Villa example In 2007 commercial and matchday income (£18.9m) exceeded other costs (£12.8m) by £6.1m. In 2014 commercial and matchday income (£38.5m) exceeded all other costs (£28.3m) by £10.2m. So the £20m of increased revenue has coincided with a £16m increase in costs longer term. Suggests the club are only £4.1m better off in real terms.

Expenses (other than wages) are up an average £19m a year at the main Premier League clubs since Ashley Arrived. Nufc costs are down £700k in that time

NUFC commercial income compared to Villa since 2007

Everton have overtaken the NUFC commercial income in 14/15 They join Villa who did that previously.

Craig Hope, writing in the Daily Mail credits Ashley personally with putting up the funds spent so far: And Simon Bird, writing for Newcastle’s Media Partner The Daily Mirror tells his readers the Ashley approach to investing almost one hundred million pounds in one season All of this ignores the model in place at Newcastle United. Talk of Ashley pumping in a hundred million pounds in a season has been scoffed at by the owner himself. Remember his September 2008 statement It’s a point that was reiterated by Derek Llambias when he outlined the need for Newcastle United to be self sustaining in his statement when the club was promoted in May 2010 And again by Llambias’s successor Lee Charnley when he was appointed chief executive in April 2014 and specified that the club would live within it’s means Rather than a change in policy, the spending this season should be seen as nothing more than a continuation of this policy. The club spends what it earns from TV, matchday and commercial income and nothing more. In six out of eight seasons we have accounts available for under Ashley, the club has spent exactly as much as it was able to under this policy (or a little more until the club climbed out of the championship). Only twice in 8 years has the club fallen significantly short of that. In 2011 when Andy Carroll was sold and in 2014 Yohan Cabaye. The club did not rush to re-spend these two windfalls immediately. http://4c2lgc59e181vuma1n9bmo1c.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/assets/Income-And-Spending-At-Newcastle-United-Under-Mike-Ashley-780x500.png This led to cash reserves of £34.1m being in the bank come June 2014, while the club already had (and still has) the seventh largest revenue in the league. Newcastle United are not minnows relying on Mike Ashley to put his hand in his pocket to avoid relegation. They are Premier league heavyweights in comparison to the majority of other clubs and can afford this level of investment year on year, no matter who the owner is. Rather than Mike Ashley benevolently handing the club a portion of his wealth to avoid relegation, he’s persisting with the same policy of the club wiping it’s own nose. When the 2015 and 2016 accounts come out we’ll not be shown to have jeopardised financial stability or extended the loans provided by Ashley. Rather we’ll see that we have continued to spend what we can afford. Rather than current spending being a spree over one, two or three windows as McClaren has suggested, it will be the benchmark going forward and only grow with the next TV deal. There is no evidence that Mike Ashley has made any further investment in Newcastle United since the club was in the championship back in 2010. In fact, we know for a fact that he has taken money out since then. Ashley took £11m OUT of the club to repay a fraction of his earlier loans. This was stated in the accounts from 2012 when the amount owed to Ashley was reduced from £140 to £129m Wetting his beak with some of that Carroll money no doubt. For me it’s important that the distinction is made between how the club continues to be funded. Supporters should not be given the impression that the club needs or benefits from Ashley’s ongoing financial support to maintain Premier League status and potential investors should not be dissuaded from looking at the club because it’s perceived as a drain on an owner’s resources. http://www.themag.co.uk/2016/01/essential-reading-self-sufficiency-at-newcastle-united-mike-ashley/#sthash.fK86FPct.dpuf

Speculation on Ashley's downfall... https://exposingtherhats.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/big-mike-too-big-to-fail/

'Remarkable' might be a bit strong. After effectively taking a back seat post Keegangate, He's stuck to his word and neither puts in or takes out so the club just gets on with spending whatever it can generate. If they fuck up then he'll need to bail them out occasionally, though as we've seen, with loans rather than gifting the club cash. If it wasn't for the tacky Sports Direct association, horrific decisions over the stadium etc., and fucking shedload of questionable appointments, outside of getting someone pumping in money like at Man City, he could be classed as a fairly agreeable owner. He'll buy players who he can potentially sell for what he paid at a minimum, and he'll pay the going rate for wages to ensure he can attract players with potential to improve.. I've no problem with a self financing transfer model, especially when it's working, as that means we're seeing some good players going through the club. His problem for me is he only wants to spend in areas he can get a return. So he won't push the boat out and spend millions on a manager's basic pay to attract the best. Won't invest in an experienced, professional, proven academy and coaching staff. Won't pay to poach a top executive from another club.

Think I've had discussions on here in the past about why we were always going to be spending a good wedge this season. When I've graphed the club revenue alongside wages + expenses + transfers it's remarkable how well the lines match up. The shortfall in 2011 largely went to the £11m Ashley was repaid from his loan I think.

Some bullshit comment about how season tickets continue to sell in high volume and SJP is full to capacity at home games so no need to worry, nothing needs to change. Chatting to Marshall earlier he mentioned "50,000 every game" and caught my reaction so corrected himself to say "well not last week" then realised and said "or the game before" Apparently I'll be talking to Steve Tickle next

I don't think it is. I think it's a pain in the arse forced on them by uefa and they do it as quietly and as obstinately as they can. They don't email out the minutes or publicise it in any way other than if you go to the website and seek it out. They say as little as possible and with increasing frequency just say "Already answered, look at the minutes from last time". They don't have to it though do they? How well they do it is neither here nor there. Yes they do. Uefa rules.

I don't think it is. I think it's a pain in the arse forced on them by uefa and they do it as quietly and as obstinately as they can. They don't email out the minutes or publicise it in any way other than if you go to the website and seek it out. They say as little as possible and with increasing frequency just say "Already answered, look at the minutes from last time".

I'm meeting Lee Marshall before the game tomorrow to discuss the ticket price question I asked.

Club outright lying in the fans forum again. They reckon season tickets are always the best value.

They emailed me before to tell me "prime seats in the Leazes end" were available for £15. I logged into the site to have a look (no intention of actually buying) and they were actually £30 plus the booking fee. Loads of seats available in every stand. Only Kids that get £15 tickets in the Leazes. They were £5 last year. 200% hike

Ignoring the £5 tickets offered last season but not this, tickets prices are up an average 11.3% for this game. Really encouraging the support to help us pull away from the bottom

30% discount? I know membership is supposed to guarantee 5% off. But it doesn't do that. That's the problem there. Plenty of worse things are highlighted regularly. My ticket pricing complaints don't preclude any other criticism. Very few highlight the ticket issue because the club make it so complex that few bother to check if it's reasonable, which it isn't. Cheaper tickets are good, but every game has had a completely different price for kids. Five out of 6 for adults. People have no clue what a game will cost them until tickets go on sale. People have no idea that their season tickets cost more than these single tickets. People have no idea that season ticket prices have reduced since the price freeze 3 years ago, so some are paying more for their long term commitment. It's a twattish way for a club to treat their fans.

Was the latest Fans Forum last night? Any news?

Cheers I just asked Mark Douglas about it on Twitter as he was soliciting questions for his podcast. I've also been on DM with Taylor Payne who has said it will be his first question at the next fans forum.

http://www.themag.co.uk/2015/10/latest-newcastle-united-ticket-prices-are-even-more-difficult-to-understand/#sthash.rIkOOAhA.dpuf I've fleshed out the point in green with a lot of filler, but if anything ticket pricing has got worse at Newcastle, which I never thought possible.

Shame you did a 180 JUST before he went

that is fucking shocking. Imagine you're at work and the CEO quits, so they put the one that had been fetching sarnies and tea to your meetings and doing the minutes to do the job. It's not just that they're incompetent, it's that everyone in the organisation knows they're incompetent and the helplessness of the situations saps them of any desire or will to do their own job well.

Palace concede more shots to the opposition than every club bar us and the mackems and no club has a conceded fewer. Walking a tightrope.

56 League games before and after his appointment

There was an excellent statistical analysis of this phenomenon done last year... The Long Migration Of English Football