Happy Face

If they do what?

NUSC have to prove themselves to be a fully subscribed workable member driven organisation reprasenting the majority of fans opinions and have an impact on club policy BEFORE you'll subscribe? What a strange and defeatist attitude towards a supporters club in its infancy. Of course Ashley and his gang have had two years without any positive effect whatsoever, but they just need more time, which you're happy to give them.

That's definitley what they're called. No, the new chairman did. He's long gone. And Llambias himself has said, once Mort left the MD and the owner made a conscious decision to keep away from the limelight. Why don't you put in the time and effort to set up the alternative then? I don't see how dissolving and then setting up an identical organisation under a different name will make any difference whatsoever. Professional? You think there's going to be enough paying members to employ a full time staff who do it for anything but their love of the club?

Yes, but what Happy Face has chosen not to relay is that they were not profits that stayed in the club as that graph doesn't take into account dividends paid out. "In the 9 years the club has been a PLC, a profit after dividends has been made only twice. In those two years the profit was £200,000, in the 7 other years the losses have totalled £62m." It wasn't intended as an approval of the previous owners who I gave plenty of shit for the money they took out of the club. So you were just throwing in a 'half truth' then? Not at all. There are no dividends being paid at the club now. Without dividends, the previous owners pretty much able to run the club within it's means while spending enough on talented players to stay competetive by staggering debt repayments. However they chose to reward themselves massive payments which was a disgrace. Without dividends, the current owners are running at a massive loss because they insist on paying off debt immediately, even if it means no investment in players.

Yes, but what Happy Face has chosen not to relay is that they were not profits that stayed in the club as that graph doesn't take into account dividends paid out. "In the 9 years the club has been a PLC, a profit after dividends has been made only twice. In those two years the profit was £200,000, in the 7 other years the losses have totalled £62m." It wasn't intended as an approval of the previous owners who I gave plenty of shit for the money they took out of the club.

Whatever they communicated directly to Ashley et al, the aforementioned statements etc cloud whatever was reasonable and fair about their official approach/es. It's all well and good approaching the regime directly and being civilised about it, but not so much when you're indirectly attacking them in such a manner. They're entitled to do what they want really but such methods were only going to be counter-productive. I think the tone of them wasn't right, and I imagine Llambias was aware of such a tone. If they've moved on past that then good on them. I've said elsewhere some of the stuff they've come out with didn't sit right with me. But for every one of us, there's a member exasperated with the softly softly approach and how toothless the NUSC are being. I'd not condemn the efforts of everyone involved off the back of a couple of perceived mis-steps. Remember also, that before the NUSC said a word Ashley suggested Newcastle fans would assault his children in an official statement, so nobody is blameless.

Seems like you can't fathom that no organistion is going to be able to speak for EVERY member. The whole point is to bring all those from either extreme into the middle ground where we have a shared moderate voice and both sides of the argument can be represented. Rather than fans being more concerned with bickering amongst each other (lest we forget Keith), they need to be united in support of the club. Which by itself is fair enough. Yet I still don't see the point in this rally. It's for people like you. Who see the NUSC as a destructive splinter group. To win you over so we're all pushing in the same direction. I don't see any direction to push in, that is the problem. We can rally, we can protest, but we can't force Ashley to spend money in the way we want (because it's his money) , and we can't force someone else to buy the club and show him how it's done (because there isn't anyone). That means the only "direction" is to protest loudly without any solution. What is the point of that other than to give players an excuse to lose morale? The NUSC are applying pressure simply by having meetings and garnering the press coverage as it has done so far. There doesn't need to be boycotts or booing, just constant pressure on those running the club to do better. Doing nothing is to give your tacit approval to those in power.

What is? The one where they threaten boycottery and that? i can't find it. Off the top of my head: the initial statements, that countdown clock, that ridiculous Christmas poem. Those weren't sent to the club when the approach was made. I see what you mean, but I think those things only reflect the contempt those running the club have shown fans.

What is? The one where they threaten boycottery and that? i can't find it.

Seems like you can't fathom that no organistion is going to be able to speak for EVERY member. The whole point is to bring all those from either extreme into the middle ground where we have a shared moderate voice and both sides of the argument can be represented. Rather than fans being more concerned with bickering amongst each other (lest we forget Keith), they need to be united in support of the club. Which by itself is fair enough. Yet I still don't see the point in this rally. It's for people like you. Who see the NUSC as a destructive splinter group. To win you over so we're all pushing in the same direction.

to protest Committee member Neil Mitchell: "We're tired of the divisions within the fanbase. "It feels like divide and rule, and these divisions are easily exploited by the club. "There's only one way to bring everyone together, and that's through having a shared voice. "We want to find common ground, and move forward. If the Supporters' Club can achieve that, then brilliant. "The Everton rally is something we talked about before the meeting. We can't stand by and do nothing. "We looked at the options we had, and we wanted to do something positive, and visible." It's all very well claiming that NUSC want to work with the club, but the tone is still very much "them and us". I just don't see what it will achieve other than ramp up the hostility. I get the impression the NUSC would prefer it to be us and us, but them haven't been forthcoming.... *The tone was.... http://www.newcastle-united-supporters-club.co.uk/statement-1912.php What's wrong with the tone?

Given only handed in his transfer request on jan 31, iirc. A full month after he got his lawyer to tout him about.

Seems like you can't fathom that no organistion is going to be able to speak for EVERY member. The whole point is to bring all those from either extreme into the middle ground where we have a shared moderate voice and both sides of the argument can be represented. Rather than fans being more concerned with bickering amongst each other (lest we forget Keith), they need to be united in support of the club.

The debt has been mentioned from almost day 1 so option 2 looks less likely and yes they should share some blame for the debts. A very small share and they claim to be able to stop the losses in roughly 18 months time. By then, Ashley will have put in another £30 million if he does no more than pay our debts. According to NUFC-finances, the club only lost money in one of the last four years Shepherd was in charge. http://www.football-finances.org.uk/newcastle/profit2.gif

to protest Committee member Neil Mitchell: "We're tired of the divisions within the fanbase. "It feels like divide and rule, and these divisions are easily exploited by the club. "There's only one way to bring everyone together, and that's through having a shared voice. "We want to find common ground, and move forward. If the Supporters' Club can achieve that, then brilliant. "The Everton rally is something we talked about before the meeting. We can't stand by and do nothing. "We looked at the options we had, and we wanted to do something positive, and visible."

And to keep up the "NUFC fans are mongs" sentiments in the papers/on the tv - wouldn't want to let those get away. Can you link me to the most recent example of that please?

I find it harder to read with the black background and white and blue text. I thought Black and white was crucial. But had the same feeling, I'll have a look at the other templates.

For those that don't see any contradictions, I've put a bit of context around these quotes here.... http://nufc-ashlies.blogspot.com/ Feel free to comment, correct, critisise, condemn or congratulate.

f***ing lying b****** eh. Yes, it's like me saying it's freezing outside and you coming back in May and calling me a liar because it's warm and sunny at that time. NE5 would just put it in his signature complete with one of these. mackems.gif I posted this elsewhere, but got no response. Just to repeat... I originally came up with that one as a bit of black humour. It never rains but it pours for NUFC. I do believe that it raises a valid point (however small) of concern about the professionality of those in charge though. As an aged manager at Newcastle, Bobby Robson would have regular health checks and impart the results to the fans, constantly reassuring us he was still as much of a full shilling as he'd ever been (about 4p ). To have complained of feeling a bit unwell on the Saturday and undergone bypass surgery within less than a week, I've assumed that Kinnear was not being monitored in the same way or his condition would have been flagged. I don't know if Kinnear was purposely avoiding such checks and misleading his employer, I don't know if his employer took him on without requiring regular checks, I don't know for certain if such checks would have identified the problem. But as he gave his breathless answers, pausing after every 3 words yet still unable to expurgate himself enough in interviews to avoid FA charges, and given his history, I worried about about his state of health long before the West Brom game. Did his employers?

If anyone has a quote where they say there was more debt than they expected I'd love to see it. I know Shepherd has claimed they didn't do due diligence, has anyone in the club? Until then I can't say he's lying, just passing the buck despite everything having been made clear according to Mort, the man involved from the get go. Found it.... Can you clear up exactly what your point is? either: They went into this with their eyes wide open as initially claimed but rather than turn it around in any way after 2 years in charge, they have still managed to increase the cost of running the club by over £14M (see the latest submitted accounts). This being the case shouldn't they share the blame? Or the original story was created to maintain a facade of professionalism, which crumbled under the enormity of the debt which has revealed the truth, in which case you have to seriously question the wisdom of the purchase in the first place, as well as wonder what other skeletons are in the closet.

If anyone has a quote where they say there was more debt than they expected I'd love to see it. I know Shepherd has claimed they didn't do due diligence, has anyone in the club? Until then I can't say he's lying, just passing the buck despite everything having been made clear according to Mort, the man involved from the get go. Found it....

If anyone has a quote where they say there was more debt than they expected I'd love to see it. I know Shepherd has claimed they didn't do due diligence, has anyone in the club? Until then I can't say he's lying, just passing the buck despite everything having been made clear according to Mort, the man involved from the get go.

Martins...get your coat. Yep. Owen and Martins cost far too much and offer far too little. There's nothing wrong with a front line of Ameobi and Xisco with Carroll and.....erm......Duff, yes, that'll do, Duff on the bench.

It's a marvellous world where a t*** can take the piss out of his customers year after year and they worry about upsetting him if they complain. Is that what you say? Ok let's take a hypothetical situation, where by you were a Newcastle supporter living in a remote mountain range, doing research for years, and did not have access to television to watch your beloved NUFC. Would you stop following the club? Do you follow the club purely for the entertainment value? Or do you support the club in a competitive spirit, wanting it to be the best and win every game? Movie-goers are customers, theater-goers are customers, if you go to a restaurant you're a customer. If a restaurant was badly run and managed, you'd stop going, end of. We are fucking football supporters! There is none of this customer service shite, regardless of how much you pay for your ST, corporate box, or Sky subscription. This is why, what Ashley does is of paramount importance, as it affects the club, and our lives. In turn, and since he owns the bloody damn thing, it is even more important that we establish a good relationship with him and his people, for the good of Newcastle United. Ah fuck it. Wrote the above post in between 5 phonecalls at work. Dunno if it still makes any bloody sense. Just because we don't stop going, doesn't mean we can't complain. Say my brother was running the family restaurant, which had been with us for generations, and I had to keep going back, but he was doing a really shit job, I'd tell him what wasn't working and what would, and I'd keep telling him until he got it right, and if he kept getting it wrong I'd complain louder and louder, and if he still looked like going under, I'd plead with him to sell to someone that knew what they were doing. Or I could just keep eating whatever slop he served up and wait it out until it all went down the pan.

I'd say it's definitely pro-Ashley, although nowhere near as much as it was before January. I think you are in the anti-Ashley camp so anybody who doesn't share your view comes across as pro-Ashley. I'm more than happy to be proved wrong with regards to Ashley. But there's no excuse for everything that has happened so far, ranging from the Keegan fiasco, to the contrary statements to the fans time and time again, the lack of communication, offering Kinnear a full contract, risking the survival of the club this season. I have no problem that we are skint and I agree that it's time we took a more prudent approach, which annoys me when they have came out in the past and send money is there if we need to spend it. They also can't come out and talk about things such as the high wage bill and the poor financial mismanagement from the previous regime without taking some responsibility themselves due to the high wages/turnover ratio we have. As most of the high earners on the books were signed under his ownership. So of course I'm anti-Ashley if that's what you call it, and he doesn't deserve my backing as far as I'm concerned. Not until he's proven me wrong and undone the damage of all of the above and a lot more. I'll still be in my seat in the Gallowgate for the rest of this season supporting the team, and next season, and the season after that. But by all means it doesn't mean I have to back a regime at the club that have shown pretty much nothing but contempt for myself and a lot of fellow fans. Spot (as they say) on.