fredbob

It's actually quite secure. Consistent Champions League Last 8/4 results did give them very good revenue figure. They may have kinda short term liquidity problem but if the debts are asked to paid back immediately they do have the ability to pay off the debt. I agree though that their financial position aren't good and is already overspending. Couldn't afford another big-spending summer---and Benitiez may leave because of lack of funds. So what do you think will happen if they dont qualfiy for the CL? They borrowed 100% of the Torres fee and the repayments have started to kick in. They couldn't raise the finance for a new stadium. If they failed to qualify for the CL then Torres and maybe even Gerrard would be sold. Yes if required Gillett and Hicks could use their provate finance to repay any debt, but they would struggle to raise the same level of debt finance on their current model. Its a bit like saying Ashley has £800m in the bank so NUFC are safe and cash rich. The owners and the club are two seperate entities. They'd find themselves in a simlar position that we did in 2004 in my opinion. The CL money will be supplementing the debt repayment and if that we to go for one season it would be a seaon where potentially £50m (?) has gone missing. Liverpools debt is not safe at all in my opinion, Hicks and Co could fuck it up, massively.

It's actually quite secure. Consistent Champions League Last 8/4 results did give them very good revenue figure. They may have kinda short term liquidity problem but if the debts are asked to paid back immediately they do have the ability to pay off the debt. I agree though that their financial position aren't good and is already overspending. Couldn't afford another big-spending summer---and Benitiez may leave because of lack of funds. So what do you think will happen if they dont qualfiy for the CL?

Good point. Young - Talented - Big potential - Black - :thup:

? Just seems like a player we dont need. Would demand big wages as well, is already on a lot if i rememeber correctly. Huge potential but not specifically what we need. He's said this evening he doesn't want to leave anyway. Ah ok! Didnt know that. Obviously.

? Just seems like a player we dont need. Would demand big wages as well, is already on a lot if i rememeber correctly. Huge potential but not specifically what we need.

If Ebondo signs then the only players Id be interested in would be Johnson and maybe Richards.

Sad to see him go really, he deserved a lot more to be honest, not going to shed a tear but him leaving did make me question my faith in the the current set up. Im praying there's a big picture to all this. Hopefully its £10m and a player - id be happy with that.

I haven't looked at it. By the way, I've responded to some of your previous posts directed at me, and predictably you have joined the list of those who are unable to reply and prove me wrong, when you would love to if you could. Are you someone else that insisted we would be better off without the fat bastard [for anybody] ? Which questions have you asked me, sorry if I missed them but your perpetual arse kissing of Freddy Shepherd sends me to sleep. Which fat bastard are you on about, Shepherd or Ashley? well, we are certainly not better off since the last ownership change are we, but I thought that soopa Mike was going to be the saviour to end all those embarrassing days of qualifying regularly for europe ? We are financially more stable than we were under Freddy "Lets hoy some more cash at the problem and hope we get somewhere" Shepherd. You should know that from your sneaky peaking at the financial report thread. We will have to see where we are come May to decide how bad Ashley has been. If we finish 13th or so you could say we are on a par with Fat Fred couldn't you? Well you wouldn't cos obviously you are blinkered. While Mike Ashley is not the man to take the club forward, Freddy Shepherd certainly wasn't either. But at least Ashley isn't taking money out of the club to line his own pocket, unlike Fat Freddy. I haven't looked at the thread, because I know it will be full of people like you slating the old board for anything you can think of, such is your cluelessness. You and people like you were told for ages by myself and one or two others that getting rid of the old board wouldn't necessarily lead to more success and a better club, you were wrong. You are being told again that Ashley is taking the club downwards and downwards, his policy is wrong, you are disputing it, but you are wrong again. I think you have mistaken me for someone else. I have said time and again that Mike Ashley is not the man to take this club forward. But deluding yourself that Freddy Shepherd was is just stupid. Freddy Shepherd was running this club into the ground financially, and getting a nice wage packet out of it too. Its all well and good for Shepherd to come out now and say that Ashley is doing things wrong, but we would have been crippled had Shepherd still been at the helm. He needs to give himself a shake, and you too, and you both need to realise that the reason we are in this mess is because of Fat Fred's policy of throwing money into a bottomless pit to try and put things right, instead of sorting out the fundamental problems with the club. I don't think Ashley is the right man for Newcastle, and never have, but no-one else would have taken the club on and put the money in he has to stop us going to the wall. Others looked at the books and ran! nobody wanted the club in 1991 for less than we were paid by Spurs for Gazza, had one foot in the 3rd division and were 16 games from relegation to the 3rd division and folding. Since then we have been one of the biggest and best clubs in the country. We are now setting up a club that is being run on similar lines to pre-1991 again, and this setup began when Ashley bought the club and not before. I wonder how many people said anybody but the fat bastard would be better for the club but are now doing u-turns and saying Ashley isn't the right man. What are you basing this on? Is it the league table? Because we were mid table mediocrity before Ashley came. Is it the fans? Because they were just as pedantic before Ashley came as they are now. Is it the spending that made us big? Just because Freddy Shepherd would throw millions away on no-hopes does not make us big? As I already said, and you ignored completely, I do not and never have believed Ashley to be the right man for our club, but if you believe that Freddy Shepherd was not instrumental in putting us in the position we are in today then you are just mad. The first 10 years after we got promoted in 1965 finished like this 15th, 20th, 10th, 9th, 7th, 12th, 11th, 9th, 15th, 15th the next 10 read 15th, 5th, 21st, Div2, Div2, Div2, Div2, Div2,Div2, 14th The next years, up to 1992 11th, 17th, 8th, 20th, Div2, Div2, Div2, Between 1993 and 2007, in the top league only 3rd, 6th, 2nd, 2nd, 13th, 13th, 11th, 11th, 4th, 3rd, 5th, 14th, 7th, 13th Qualifications for europe between 1965 and 1992 = 4 Qualifications for europe between 1992 and 2007 = 9 Between 1992 and 2007, only 4 clubs qualified for europe more than us. Between 1992 and 2007, we have the 5th highest average position in the country. England internationals or other high quality current internationals bought during the first 3 periods = Nil. England Internationals or other high quality current internationals bought during the 4th = you tell me, a canny few. Work it out. Ashley is setting up the club to be run like it was run before 1992 by the way. If you dispute this, then take my word for it, you are wrong. What do those stats prove to you?

I'm not really very pleased for you that you think a club of our standing with one of the biggest support in the country is a selling club again. What do you think we will do when the crowds drop to 30,000 or less ? Worth it to get him off the wage bill which is too high, not sure if you're aware of the reasons for this. I take it you're of the opinion that we should keep borrowing to cover thehigh wage bill until we're either successful or bankrupt? All you need to do is back your manager - its as simple as that. I'm pleased for you that you are still obviously happy we haven't wasted any money in the last 12 months. "Wasted" being the operative word, yes.

Its strange that NE5 has this parallel world where Shepherd running the club into the ground is a lesser evil than Ashley saving the club and being tight with the purse strings becasue of it. (Assuming he IS actually being tight).

I'm not really very pleased for you that you think a club of our standing with one of the biggest support in the country is a selling club again. What do you think we will do when the crowds drop to 30,000 or less ? Worth it to get him off the wage bill which is too high, not sure if you're aware of the reasons for this. I take it you're of the opinion that we should keep borrowing to cover thehigh wage bill until we're either successful or bankrupt? All you need to do is back your manager - its as simple as that.

Bobby Robson looked at both Balde and Boumsong as possible replacements for Woodgate. Indeed, Robson told Shepherd Boumsong wasn't worth it on a free, then Souness convinced Shepherd he was worth £8m. You couldn't make it up so he is saying that the chairman of the club should act on the advice of an ex manager rather than the current one, and you are agreeing with him ? haha, you couldn't make it up. I don't expect to see you accusing the chairman of the club interfering in transfers in future, having now said you think he should I think the point is more that you back the right manager. Or "Top Boss" if you prefer oh well, I don't think the club, or any club, deliberately appoint a manager they think will do a poor job. You've still got your unrealistic hat on today haven't you Most people who ask you a question on here must wear that unrealistic hat. Have you been in the finances thread yet? nope. Haven't read it. I'm sure it will be full of people obsessed with finding fault with Shepherd and telling us how you can be successful in football by spending nothing and not running up debts, just like manU, Arsenal and Liverpool do. You'll not find one person who say you can be sucessful by spending nothing. Try again.

Truely poetic. Lets not have a debate about the managers, lets just all get along and make sure no ones toes get trampled on. Has anyone else noticed how Keegan fans take similar stances on Keegan "criticisms" (if you can call it that) as NE5 does to Shepherd's... In fact its the same sort of argument, if you dislike Shepherd it means you love Ashley, if you rate SBR much higher than Keegan it means to think Keegan was a s*** manager. (What a hypocrite you are by the way, you can spend weeks and months talking absolute unsubtantiated s*** about the club [you claim to love] and people take it but when someone slights Keegans character based on facts we get this crap) This isnt me defending Ashley incidentally, this is purely an example of your hypocrisy, Translation : I got nothing, but i'm still going to not admit I was wrong and just spout off unrelated s***. Keegan both times has left us stronger than we were before he arrived, it's not his fault that dopes appoint other dopes to replace them and undo everything he did I got nothing on what? Keegan wasnt a great manager thats a fact. Theres nothing else to it mate, i appreciated what he did in the past for us but that doesnt mean im eternally grateful, nobodies immune from critisicm, especially someone who walks out the club like Keegan has. I could quite easily go into his overall managerial record and point out the avergagness of it, or i could easily go into how he knew little about our squad when he re-signed (he loves nufc remeber) or how he doesnt attend games in non formal roles (loves nufc remember) but ill not bother becasue no doubt it'll be ignored by the majority. The over reaction to some of the criticisms posted on the board highlight the problem that was casued by the blinkered fans when it all kicked off in the summer - none of you could see the big picture and we're paying for it. What's his overall managerial ability got to do with anything? No one's denying the fact SBR was a better manager overall and his resume shows that, but there is no way you can argue that SBR time was better than the job Keegan did in his first reign. And so what if Keegan doesn't attend our games anymore, that's just Keegan, football as a whole has always taken a backseat when he's out of the game to life - he doesn't go to anyones games, if he was still rocking up at Anfield or Hamburg or Fulham on a regular basis that point may actually mean something. What are you on? Do you even know what you were replying to when you had a pop at my post? Can you even point out where i said SBR did a better job? That whole post is absolute nonsene, im not even sure which point of mine you're trying to argue.

Not paying what debt? I'm comfortable not giving Mike Ashley his money back yet, yes. I don't expect his meagre £600m has him buying the Asda SmartPrice stuff just yet. We won't agree because we have differing views of the squad. You think Ashley is going to get his chequebook out and that we'll stay up, I think he won't and we'll go down. We'll see in May - I simply can't get my head round the amount of people with their heads in the sand. One look at the form guide and the fixture list (available at all good paying fanzine websites) should show you that relegation is more likely than not at this moment in time. From that point of view, unless he can find a top class manager happy to be let around by the hand by Dennis Wise (and a witch doctor who can fix up Oba and Beye right this second), yes, I'd rather take the risk of strengthening and I don't give two fucks if Ashley has to foot the bill because as owner, it'll be his fault and his responsibility. Fair enough. Although if we sign a couple of decent players this window (as has been hinted) will it chage your view at all? Not really. It's January 25th, signings are not looking likely and we're 2 points off 20th with a very difficult run-in. If we stay up I'm not going to praise him for saving us when he's the one who got us into this bother in the first place. If he pushes on in the summer with a real manager and funds, I might think about putting up with him even if I don't trust him as far as I could throw him. Sorry Wullie, but that's one of the most short sighted, narrow minded things I've ever read on here. He is, man. Not the only one but most certainly the main culprit - like Shepherd, the man pulling the strings has to take the blame. I know you like to defend him but when will you give up absolving him of blame? When we're lining up at Blackpool next season? I've never absolved him of blame, he's made some monumental fuck ups. Well then we agree. His monumental fuck ups have led us to where to we are now. Yep, should never of appointed Keegan in the first place - stupid mistake.

Not paying what debt? I'm comfortable not giving Mike Ashley his money back yet, yes. I don't expect his meagre £600m has him buying the Asda SmartPrice stuff just yet. We won't agree because we have differing views of the squad. You think Ashley is going to get his chequebook out and that we'll stay up, I think he won't and we'll go down. We'll see in May - I simply can't get my head round the amount of people with their heads in the sand. One look at the form guide and the fixture list (available at all good paying fanzine websites) should show you that relegation is more likely than not at this moment in time. From that point of view, unless he can find a top class manager happy to be let around by the hand by Dennis Wise (and a witch doctor who can fix up Oba and Beye right this second), yes, I'd rather take the risk of strengthening and I don't give two fucks if Ashley has to foot the bill because as owner, it'll be his fault and his responsibility. Fair enough. Although if we sign a couple of decent players this window (as has been hinted) will it chage your view at all? Not really. It's January 25th, signings are not looking likely and we're 2 points off 20th with a very difficult run-in. If we stay up I'm not going to praise him for saving us when he's the one who got us into this bother in the first place. If he pushes on in the summer with a real manager and funds, I might think about putting up with him even if I don't trust him as far as I could throw him. And you're perfectly entitled to that opinion. So if he pays off the debt, and saves us from relegation and adminastration and appoints a good manager and invests a decent amount in the summer you'd "put up with him"? Fair enough.

outstanding ignorance of mandiarse type proportions. mackems.gif Please tell us how many other managers have won 4 titles with 2 different clubs and 3 manager of the year awards ? BTW, the biggest cunts in NUFC's history are the people who ran the club down for over 30 years between the 1950's and 1992, and Mike Ashley is well on the way to matching their acheivements. I'm also pleased for you that you think Mike Ashleys lack of "trophy signings" has seen the club make such rapid progress You picked the wrong post to belittle NE5, after all he did name 5 other managers which make his point.

Not paying what debt? I'm comfortable not giving Mike Ashley his money back yet, yes. I don't expect his meagre £600m has him buying the Asda SmartPrice stuff just yet. We won't agree because we have differing views of the squad. You think Ashley is going to get his chequebook out and that we'll stay up, I think he won't and we'll go down. We'll see in May - I simply can't get my head round the amount of people with their heads in the sand. One look at the form guide and the fixture list (available at all good paying fanzine websites) should show you that relegation is more likely than not at this moment in time. From that point of view, unless he can find a top class manager happy to be let around by the hand by Dennis Wise (and a witch doctor who can fix up Oba and Beye right this second), yes, I'd rather take the risk of strengthening and I don't give two fucks if Ashley has to foot the bill because as owner, it'll be his fault and his responsibility. Fair enough. Although if we sign a couple of decent players this window (as has been hinted) will it chage your view at all?

Its easier for Lerner to invest as well as he isnt being strangled by the wage bill, he can afford to take more gambles with finances as the wage ratio isnt too high and taking up too much revenue. Basically he can afford to speculate to accumalte, if we were to do the same the success would have to be pretty instantaneuos, bascially CL qualification, we'd also be taking up more of the revenue with the excessive wages, if it werent to wrok out then Ashley would be having to finance the falilure again and again. If he invested as heavily as he has and Martin O'neil didnt get anywhere then he'd curb the spending, its also worth noting that Carew aside he isnt funding the transfers to overpaid stars but young up and coming stars on lower wages, meaning theres the safety net of resale and low wages. Theres no doubt in my mind that Ashley is willing to speculate to accumlate - but not in these conditions and not unchecked. I don't even know where to start on what's wrong with that post. Give it a go. This shit about the wages is absolute drivel - Ashley has sanctioned just as many wastes of space on massive wedge as Shepherd left us with for a start so that's not a get-out-of-jail-free card - for every Damien Duff, there's an Alan Smith. Some of them came in for nowt anyway so you expect to pay more in wages. What we're paying in wages would not touch the £100m that Villa have spent in transfers alone on top of the wages they'll be giving out. How much do you think players like Reo-Coker, Davies, Milner, Cuellar, L. Young, Shorey will be taking home? At a combined cost of nearly £50m, it won't be peanuts I assure you. Lerner has slashed ticket prices at 42000 Villa Park while we continue to pay top whack for more than that at SJP meaning our matchday income is also higher than theirs (now with three years cash, even moreso in the short term). What exactly gives you 100% certainty that Ashley is willing to spend money? I'm yet to see one thing that suggests that. Finally, how did your post answer my question? Will Villa's books not begin to show a massive loss over the next couple of years due to amortisation of a large number of expensive players? This was before the system and policy no? Might be wrong but players like Viduka came before Ashley. If he carries on adding to it now then I'll take this back. How many of them were signed in O'neils first 2 years in charge? If thats what we're comparing us to. Also, its the whole speculate to acculamte way of doing things, they started at a much lower wage ratio and were therefore in primed positon to invest all the sky money and Leners money, they can add to the wage bill. We just cant becasue ours was so high in the first place. Its a fair point about the season ticket sales, to be honest im not sure how they all tie in. He's spent the most ever on a centre half, the most ever on a full back, he put in what would of been a club record transfer for Modric (unless you think this was a PR stunt) he made bids for Woodgate and Aimar and he paid off a £100m debt. The intentions there. Yes possilby but that will go hand in hand with they're increased revenue from season ticket sales and shirt sales, extended UEFA cup run, more money from higher league positiosn and also the magical potential CL qualification.

Absolutely, i agree with what you're saying (incidentally despite the nature of my posts, im of the opinion that the account sheets dont excuse Ashley from spending, which i think he'll do in the summer, im of the opinion that the account show how important the policy and system was), Im just of the opinion that Ashley has done a good job regarding transfers considering and that if the squad was good enough in the summer then we cant just start cirticinsing him for it being "crap" now becasue we have injury problems its slighlty unfair. In fact this whole argument is pretty moot until Feb 2nd, thats the only time we can tell if he is or isnt going to spend and if he does or doesnt recofine the issues. (This is a shit post bytheway )

Our accounts show that we have a £100 million loan on hte books that we might have to repay, I would have thought that it will have to be paid off at some stage or written off. Either way it is technically debt as long as it's on the books although Ashley owes Ashley. Even if it isn't costing anything we can't spend it twice, it's gone. But if it's debt that we don't have to pay off, it's not really debt is it - not in terms of how the club operates day-to-day. If Ashley is going to potentially devastate the club by taking us down because he's worried about his own loan, he's an even bigger cunt that I thought he was - fucking stupid as well if he thinks he'll get it back in the Championship. Of course it's still debt, it still has to be paid back even if it's when the club is sold, as will any debt have to be paid back that you're suggesting he adds to it. I'm not suggesting he adds to it, unless the season ticket money has already been spent on something else. The season ticket money will go into running the club this season, unless you're talking about the 3 year money which will obviously be spread over 3 years, unless you think he should spend it all up front now like Shepherd did with the sponsorship money and worry about the drop in income next season. All up front? No. Secure our status as a Premiership club? Yes. Unless you think his losses will be less should we drop into the Championship. What happens if he tried to "secure our status" and we still go down whilst not paying the debt? Two things which would of changed everything, if Jonas was signed for £12m and Milner was sold for what he was worth. Thats how flimsy this all is. Why ever bother spending anything on players in that case? Why not just get 11 lads from the Sunday league and say "it's in case we go down?" I don't understand what your last statement has to do with anything. Jonas would not have been signed if he'd cost £12m for a start. Im not sure what to say to all this. For some reason, at the beggining of the season this squad was good enough for a top 8 finsih with Keeganin charge, but now its not good enough to stay in the prem? Spot the gap in logic. Assuming Ashley is willing to spend, what if he thinks this squad is good enough to stay up? Its certaily what the majority of us thought in August, I still think it now. Typical throw the money at the problem attitude. We'll spend this Jan, but it wont help a huge deal, we wont all of a sudden shoot up the table, what we need more desperately than signings is a good manager. Which we won't get. Are you comfortable with us not strengthening and being relegated? Im of the opinion that we will stregthen. Year after year fans complain at the clubs lack of movement in the tansfer market competely ignoring the nature of the market where the advantage is firmly with the selling club. The players we'll be looking at will be being looked at by other clubs, it makes no sense for the club to sell too early,not unless they get an offer they cant refuse, they're in a win win, they either sell later and make extra money or keep the player. Are you comfortable with investing not paying the debt and still getting relegated? I imagine with high wages, high debt, lower revenue it'd be Ashley's repsponsibly to foot the entire bill. As for the good manager bit - thats with what im far more concerned with - we're at the corner a good manager who can bring it all together and work within the policy is all we need to turn that corner.

Its easier for Lerner to invest as well as he isnt being strangled by the wage bill, he can afford to take more gambles with finances as the wage ratio isnt too high and taking up too much revenue. Basically he can afford to speculate to accumalte, if we were to do the same the success would have to be pretty instantaneuos, bascially CL qualification, we'd also be taking up more of the revenue with the excessive wages, if it werent to wrok out then Ashley would be having to finance the falilure again and again. If he invested as heavily as he has and Martin O'neil didnt get anywhere then he'd curb the spending, its also worth noting that Carew aside he isnt funding the transfers to overpaid stars but young up and coming stars on lower wages, meaning theres the safety net of resale and low wages. Theres no doubt in my mind that Ashley is willing to speculate to accumlate - but not in these conditions and not unchecked. I don't even know where to start on what's wrong with that post. Give it a go.

Our accounts show that we have a £100 million loan on hte books that we might have to repay, I would have thought that it will have to be paid off at some stage or written off. Either way it is technically debt as long as it's on the books although Ashley owes Ashley. Even if it isn't costing anything we can't spend it twice, it's gone. But if it's debt that we don't have to pay off, it's not really debt is it - not in terms of how the club operates day-to-day. If Ashley is going to potentially devastate the club by taking us down because he's worried about his own loan, he's an even bigger cunt that I thought he was - fucking stupid as well if he thinks he'll get it back in the Championship. Of course it's still debt, it still has to be paid back even if it's when the club is sold, as will any debt have to be paid back that you're suggesting he adds to it. I'm not suggesting he adds to it, unless the season ticket money has already been spent on something else. The season ticket money will go into running the club this season, unless you're talking about the 3 year money which will obviously be spread over 3 years, unless you think he should spend it all up front now like Shepherd did with the sponsorship money and worry about the drop in income next season. All up front? No. Secure our status as a Premiership club? Yes. Unless you think his losses will be less should we drop into the Championship. What happens if he tried to "secure our status" and we still go down whilst not paying the debt? Two things which would of changed everything, if Jonas was signed for £12m and Milner was sold for what he was worth. Thats how flimsy this all is. Why ever bother spending anything on players in that case? Why not just get 11 lads from the Sunday league and say "it's in case we go down?" I don't understand what your last statement has to do with anything. Jonas would not have been signed if he'd cost £12m for a start. Im not sure what to say to all this. For some reason, at the beggining of the season this squad was good enough for a top 8 finsih with Keeganin charge, but now its not good enough to stay in the prem? Spot the gap in logic. Assuming Ashley is willing to spend, what if he thinks this squad is good enough to stay up? Its certaily what the majority of us thought in August, I still think it now. Typical throw the money at the problem attitude. We'll spend this Jan, but it wont help a huge deal, we wont all of a sudden shoot up the table, what we need more desperately than signings is a good manager.

I agree with the Llambas thing, the going into hiding thing (as in he should of just soldiered on with his plans) and the kinnear blaming everyone else, the talent is there. The rest is horsehit.

Our accounts show that we have a £100 million loan on hte books that we might have to repay, I would have thought that it will have to be paid off at some stage or written off. Either way it is technically debt as long as it's on the books although Ashley owes Ashley. Even if it isn't costing anything we can't spend it twice, it's gone. But if it's debt that we don't have to pay off, it's not really debt is it - not in terms of how the club operates day-to-day. If Ashley is going to potentially devastate the club by taking us down because he's worried about his own loan, he's an even bigger cunt that I thought he was - fucking stupid as well if he thinks he'll get it back in the Championship. Of course it's still debt, it still has to be paid back even if it's when the club is sold, as will any debt have to be paid back that you're suggesting he adds to it. I'm not suggesting he adds to it, unless the season ticket money has already been spent on something else. The season ticket money will go into running the club this season, unless you're talking about the 3 year money which will obviously be spread over 3 years, unless you think he should spend it all up front now like Shepherd did with the sponsorship money and worry about the drop in income next season. All up front? No. Secure our status as a Premiership club? Yes. Unless you think his losses will be less should we drop into the Championship. What happens if he tried to "secure our status" and we still go down whilst not paying the debt? Two things which would of changed everything, if Jonas was signed for £12m and Milner was sold for what he was worth. Thats how flimsy this all is.

Its easier for Lerner to invest as well as he isnt being strangled by the wage bill, he can afford to take more gambles with finances as the wage ratio isnt too high and taking up too much revenue. Basically he can afford to speculate to accumalte, if we were to do the same the success would have to be pretty instantaneuos, bascially CL qualification, we'd also be taking up more of the revenue with the excessive wages, if it werent to wrok out then Ashley would be having to finance the falilure again and again. If he invested as heavily as he has and Martin O'neil didnt get anywhere then he'd curb the spending, its also worth noting that Carew aside he isnt funding the transfers to overpaid stars but young up and coming stars on lower wages, meaning theres the safety net of resale and low wages. Theres no doubt in my mind that Ashley is willing to speculate to accumlate - but not in these conditions and not unchecked.