Wandy

This is why it's so important that people cancel their season tickets. It's clear as day now that this deal is on a knife edge and Ashley is looking for a reason to pull out so if he sees that 45K+ season tickets are renewed after letting Rafa go he will know that he can stay here for as long as he wants without repercussions. If however he sees a fanbase in total revolt and the club about to completely implode as the new season is about to kick off he will surely know that the game is up and now is the time to finally sell up. The club is literally at the most crucial crossroad in it's history. We are either about to become great again or fall into the wilderness for a generation.

Fake tweet or not, they will be making a statement of some sort soon. And it will be along the lines of "the club can confim it is in talks with a number of interested parties for a possible sale, however since a resolution is still some way off we ask the supporters to get behind the search for a new manager so that we can have the best possible start to the new season". They can get fucked. Either sell to BZG within the next four weeks or they can watch the club burn down to the ground.

He won’t until after the 30th i’d imagine Why leave it until then if he knows he is gone for good?

Has he issued his own "thank you & goodbye" statement to the fans yet?

Jesus. If this has truly been a wind-up by this Odin character then there is actually a bigger cunt out there than Mike Ashley. How long has this Odin character been a member on here?

We don't have time to wait another 6 weeks for this to happen. There needs to be a major announcement by the end of the week or this saga is over.

If there is no announcement from either party by this time next week then it's obviously off.

What about people on the 10 year deal who have paid for next season upfront? Can they get their money back?

If it's not happening then I can only think that Ashley has decided he can live with the club plummeting through the leagues and will get his money by stealing the parachute payments over the next few years then selling the club at a pittance to someone who will maybe allow him to retain a stake or keep SD as the sponsor or controller of club shops.

I will accept it when NUFC under Ashley appoint their own successor to Benitez. Until then, everything happening stiil suggests to me a takeover is in the works. Something needs to be said by both parties within the next 10 days though You’ll be disappointed trust me. Maybe. But for now I will indulge myself in a final sliver of hope before the worst possibly happens. After that I will just walk away from NUFC, probably for good.

I will accept it when NUFC under Ashley appoint their own successor to Benitez. Until then, everything happening stiil suggests to me a takeover is in the works. Something needs to be said by both parties within the next 10 days though

The darkest hour is just before the dawn.....

This is a nonsense cliche that has grown over recent years. The modern-day SJP crowd is not all that different to that from the 1980s. People in the stadium are simply quietly depressed but they are still capable of getting every bit as angry at a game than any of the 80s lot. NUFC are not Chelsea FFS, it's a club comprised of people largely from an ordinary/lower working class background and most of those people are in it for the long haul, no matter what. I was there in the late 80s and remember it all vividly. The main parts of the ground where all of the vitriol came from were the Gallowgate Corner & Scoreboard. Even the West Gallowgate was considered to be full of what would now be called "customers" but it was enough for the Corner and Scoreboard to create the anarchy that started off the snowball of negativity around the club. Most of those in the 20,000 crowds that we were getting back then used to simply shrug their shoulders at it all too but the small pocket of militancy was enough to turn it all to shit and send us into the 2nd Division. SJP may have 50000 crowds next season but will only take 1000 of the remaining vociferous ones to start off a new spiral of doom. The main part of the ground where all the vitriol came from in the late 1980s was the Milburn Stand (Leazes section) so you've got it wrong straight away. They made it more uncomfortable for McKeag (to the point where he couldn't go to games for his own safety) than the Gallowgate, or the young lads in the Leazes did. I never said that the Gallowgate Corner/Scoreboard were the only places that had militant elements. Yes, I remember the Milburn Stand Leazes wing very well and they did make a racket too, but the main dissidence came from the Gallowgate. That's probably the only difference in the SJP crowd now...you wouldn't get that kind of intimidation from the Milburn Stand. You can thank Freddie Fletcher for that though with the disgraceful bond scheme that ended up in most of those lads being chucked out of their seats in the Milburn. You said the main parts of the ground where the vitriol came from was the Gallowgate Corner and Scoreboard. I'm simply saying that wasn't the case. The Milburn stand leazes section were far more vocal (and effective due to their proximity) in their chants against McKeag than the Gallowgate. Today's crowd have sat and suffered Ashley in silence for years now. If you are suddenly expecting them to explode in a fit of rage next season I think you might end up disappointed. Your saying that a hundred or so people in the Milburn were more influential than a fair few thousand in the Gallowgate? Not a chance man. For a start, those in the Mllburn had the benefit of a roof over their heads, which amplified their noise. No doubt they were the main source of intimidation for McKeag and co but that's not the point I am making. The nasty atmosphere in the stadium was generated mainly by those on the terraces. The atmosphere in SJP next season won't need to be at the intimidation level of 1988/89 to have the effect of sending the club into a spiral, it just needs to be suitably negative. And with no Rafa to keep the ship afloat that is what is nailed on to happen. It was a lot more than 100 like In fact until Keegan arrived in February 1992 it was the noisiest part of the ground for a good 2/3 years. There's zero hostility inside that stadium now. People would rather sit in silence or boo at a misplaced pass than aim any abuse at the directors box, not that Ashley makes many appearances these days anyway. Most of the militant ones have already walked away. Ok, a couple of hundred maybe. Disagree that they were the noisiest, as I say they just had the benefit of a roof. There has been zero hostility over the last few years simply due to Rafa holding it all together. Once he has gone that will change, no doubt about it. Again, probably not on the intimidating level of 1988/89 but the vibe will be equally as negative.

This is a nonsense cliche that has grown over recent years. The modern-day SJP crowd is not all that different to that from the 1980s. People in the stadium are simply quietly depressed but they are still capable of getting every bit as angry at a game than any of the 80s lot. NUFC are not Chelsea FFS, it's a club comprised of people largely from an ordinary/lower working class background and most of those people are in it for the long haul, no matter what. I was there in the late 80s and remember it all vividly. The main parts of the ground where all of the vitriol came from were the Gallowgate Corner & Scoreboard. Even the West Gallowgate was considered to be full of what would now be called "customers" but it was enough for the Corner and Scoreboard to create the anarchy that started off the snowball of negativity around the club. Most of those in the 20,000 crowds that we were getting back then used to simply shrug their shoulders at it all too but the small pocket of militancy was enough to turn it all to shit and send us into the 2nd Division. SJP may have 50000 crowds next season but will only take 1000 of the remaining vociferous ones to start off a new spiral of doom. The main part of the ground where all the vitriol came from in the late 1980s was the Milburn Stand (Leazes section) so you've got it wrong straight away. They made it more uncomfortable for McKeag (to the point where he couldn't go to games for his own safety) than the Gallowgate, or the young lads in the Leazes did. I never said that the Gallowgate Corner/Scoreboard were the only places that had militant elements. Yes, I remember the Milburn Stand Leazes wing very well and they did make a racket too, but the main dissidence came from the Gallowgate. That's probably the only difference in the SJP crowd now...you wouldn't get that kind of intimidation from the Milburn Stand. You can thank Freddie Fletcher for that though with the disgraceful bond scheme that ended up in most of those lads being chucked out of their seats in the Milburn. You said the main parts of the ground where the vitriol came from was the Gallowgate Corner and Scoreboard. I'm simply saying that wasn't the case. The Milburn stand leazes section were far more vocal (and effective due to their proximity) in their chants against McKeag than the Gallowgate. Today's crowd have sat and suffered Ashley in silence for years now. If you are suddenly expecting them to explode in a fit of rage next season I think you might end up disappointed. Your saying that a hundred or so people in the Milburn were more influential than a fair few thousand in the Gallowgate? Not a chance man. For a start, those in the Mllburn had the benefit of a roof over their heads, which amplified their noise. No doubt they were the main source of intimidation for McKeag and co but that's not the point I am making. The nasty atmosphere in the stadium was generated mainly by those on the terraces. The atmosphere in SJP next season won't need to be at the intimidation level of 1988/89 to have the effect of sending the club into a spiral, it just needs to be suitably negative. And with no Rafa to keep the ship afloat that is what is nailed on to happen.

This is a nonsense cliche that has grown over recent years. The modern-day SJP crowd is not all that different to that from the 1980s. People in the stadium are simply quietly depressed but they are still capable of getting every bit as angry at a game than any of the 80s lot. NUFC are not Chelsea FFS, it's a club comprised of people largely from an ordinary/lower working class background and most of those people are in it for the long haul, no matter what. I was there in the late 80s and remember it all vividly. The main parts of the ground where all of the vitriol came from were the Gallowgate Corner & Scoreboard. Even the West Gallowgate was considered to be full of what would now be called "customers" but it was enough for the Corner and Scoreboard to create the anarchy that started off the snowball of negativity around the club. Most of those in the 20,000 crowds that we were getting back then used to simply shrug their shoulders at it all too but the small pocket of militancy was enough to turn it all to shit and send us into the 2nd Division. SJP may have 50000 crowds next season but will only take 1000 of the remaining vociferous ones to start off a new spiral of doom. The main part of the ground where all the vitriol came from in the late 1980s was the Milburn Stand (Leazes section) so you've got it wrong straight away. They made it more uncomfortable for McKeag (to the point where he couldn't go to games for his own safety) than the Gallowgate, or the young lads in the Leazes did. I never said that the Gallowgate Corner/Scoreboard were the only places that had militant elements. Yes, I remember the Milburn Stand Leazes wing very well and they did make a racket too, but the main dissidence came from the Gallowgate. That's probably the only difference in the SJP crowd now...you wouldn't get that kind of intimidation from the Milburn Stand. You can thank Freddie Fletcher for that though with the disgraceful bond scheme that ended up in most of those lads being chucked out of their seats in the Milburn.

Agreed. It will be a turbocharged version of 88/89. Ironically, I can see Ashley trying to pull a similar stunt to that of Gordon McKeag and co back then by rolling out some signings to try make up for the loss of Rafa, just as McKeag did back then by signing John Hendrie, Dave Beasant, Andy Thorn etc to try to appease the masses for the summer sale of Paul Gascoigne. It was futile though as despite some initial optimism the bitterness of the Gazza sale soon came back to the fore when things started off badly. The exact same thing will happen with a Rafa-less NUFC. I was there at Goodison that day too and you just knew what was coming for the rest of the season. Cottee scored after 30 seconds and the writing was on the wall immediately. I was at Anfield for the 2-1 too...and swear I had a mini-heart attack when the final whistle blew. Ironic that we won at Anfield in a thoroughly dismal season, lol.

This is a nonsense cliche that has grown over recent years. The modern-day SJP crowd is not all that different to that from the 1980s. People in the stadium are simply quietly depressed but they are still capable of getting every bit as angry at a game than any of the 80s lot. NUFC are not Chelsea FFS, it's a club comprised of people largely from an ordinary/lower working class background and most of those people are in it for the long haul, no matter what. I was there in the late 80s and remember it all vividly. The main parts of the ground where all of the vitriol came from were the Gallowgate Corner & Scoreboard. Even the West Gallowgate was considered to be full of what would now be called "customers" but it was enough for the Corner and Scoreboard to create the anarchy that started off the snowball of negativity around the club. Most of those in the 20,000 crowds that we were getting back then used to simply shrug their shoulders at it all too but the small pocket of militancy was enough to turn it all to shit and send us into the 2nd Division. SJP may have 50000 crowds next season but will only take 1000 of the remaining vociferous ones to start off a new spiral of doom.

Anyone who thinks that a Benitez-less NUFC with Ashley still at the helm will be able to move on from this takeover saga as if nothing has happened is utterly deluded and kidding themselves. The club will cease to be a cash cow for Ashley and will become an iron-clad albatross around his neck as it plummets into the Championship. It doesn't matter if SJP is still packed next season and played to a zombie atmosphere for games. The slightest bad turn will expose the anger and bitterness, the media will feast on it and everything will quickly snowball into an unstoppable negative force. And with no Benitez to turn water into wine and no time to buy players for the new yes-man manager the first bad turn will happen very early in the season. I'm guessing a lot of people aren't old enough to know what NUFC is like when there is real doom, gloom and hostility towards the powers-that-be. In short, it's not pleasant, and next season will make the 88/89 season look like a picnic in comaprison. When NUFC are relegated next season under Ashley he will be spending all of his time, money and energy in keeping the club away from the Championship trapdoor. There will be no coming back this time.

No doubt Ashley would love to hold on to NUFC for a lot longer but unfortunately for him he has painted himself into a corner whereby he simply has to sell this summer. The reasons for this are two-fold....firstly he is haemorraging cash from his other business interests and secondly he has a manager of NUFC who cannot be replaced without the whole club imploding in a manner not seen before in its entire history. If Ashley is a smart gambler then he knows all of this and also realises that now is the time to walk away from the table. He has got his money back, made a tidy profit and had 12 years of exposure for his tatty brand. If he stays at the table then his asset will turn to dust over the next 12 months and wont ever recover while he is the owner. Is Ashley a smart gambler though? Would a smart gambler have even bought the club in the first place without doing due diligence and finding out there was £110m worth of debt he knew nowt about? Buying NUFC in 2007 wasn't a gamble, it was a no-brainer. That he didn't do his homework properly does not detract from the fact he still landed what was one of the biggest clubs in the world at the time, based on turnover. He has not had the vision and intelligence to weather the small financial issues the club had at the time and continue to build it into the giant it could be and thus make him a fortune in profit and now his miserly, negative direction has brought him to this postion where it is sell or bust. I will give him one last small piece of credit before he f*cks off and say he does realise this and is cashing in his decent stash of chips. If he had any real business sense or knowledge of football though that stash could have been a mountain of chips. His loss.

No doubt Ashley would love to hold on to NUFC for a lot longer but unfortunately for him he has painted himself into a corner whereby he simply has to sell this summer. The reasons for this are two-fold....firstly he is haemorraging cash from his other business interests and secondly he has a manager of NUFC who cannot be replaced without the whole club imploding in a manner not seen before in its entire history. If Ashley is a smart gambler then he knows all of this and also realises that now is the time to walk away from the table. He has got his money back, made a tidy profit and had 12 years of exposure for his tatty brand. If he stays at the table then his asset will turn to dust over the next 12 months and wont ever recover while he is the owner.

If he is staying put then all I can think is he knows Rafa is staying. Otherwise he must just want the club to burn down to the ground for a bit of fun. It would be the only explanation for letting a phoney takeover rumble on for a month without comment, allow Benitez to leave and then massively hike up ticket prices.

IMO all of the events that are happening indicate that the takeover is done & dusted. Point blank refusal to communicate with the press or issue a statement to the supporters as he has nothing to lose by shunning all and sundry, SD signs coming down, ground improvements at SJP, and now a huge hike in ticket prices seemingly without a care. Its like he has washed his hands of it and will let the new owners deal with the fallout.

The other way of looking at it is why would he hike the prices up so much in the midst of a takeover if he's not going to be here to reap the benefits of it? You would expect him to leave things they are. Like I say...as a final "fuck you". That's if he knows for certain the club is sold, of course.

"Fuck it....I won't be the owner next season anyway so I'll give them another massive increase in their ticket prices as a litte parting gift....the Geordie caahnts"