fredbob

He was looking to sell in the summer if InterMedia Partners are to be believed. He then confirmed he was looking for an "investment partner" if he is to be believed. I don't see what your point is in relation to what I said? Its all just speculation you're relying on, is it not? I believe he was looking to reduce his stake by finding investment partners. I also believe he did try to flog the club to this American crowd. It is all "IF" you're relying on, is it not? Not really, I'm relying on what he said his plans were, rather than what some other people are saying his plans were. People who, if the story carried any real weight, would have had to sign a confidentiality agreement anyway. You said "IF" Keegan was still here. Keegan is gone & he is selling up this is all happening now. He wanted partners because as he said football is expensive, so he was looking to reduce his stake in Newcastle United or was he expecting people to pump cash in for zero shares? As I said the whole Keegan fiasco gave him a reason to sell the lot. If anything - thats a reason not to sell the lot, in fact its a major reason not to sell the lot. We can go in circles for a lifetime if you keep replying, I understand your viewpoint. I have a fluid mindset which means my opinion can change, I have seen your 40 pages with NE5 & your unwillingness to alter your opinion (as NE5 does) which makes it a waste of my time chatting with you after the first 5 or so replies. You haven't grasped the concept that every sale can not be done at peak selling time sometimes people sell because they no longer want something. Oooo very cutting. Pretty ironic to be to be honest, i dont see your mindset changing that much - despite being challenged by different people. Im actaully struggling understand the concept of a billionaire businessman who is willing to "cut his losses" and isnt looking to maximise his profits on a sale. What kind of a businessman does that??

He was looking to sell in the summer if InterMedia Partners are to be believed. He then confirmed he was looking for an "investment partner" if he is to be believed. I don't see what your point is in relation to what I said? Its all just speculation you're relying on, is it not? I believe he was looking to reduce his stake by finding investment partners. I also believe he did try to flog the club to this American crowd. It is all "IF" you're relying on, is it not? Not really, I'm relying on what he said his plans were, rather than what some other people are saying his plans were. People who, if the story carried any real weight, would have had to sign a confidentiality agreement anyway. You said "IF" Keegan was still here. Keegan is gone & he is selling up this is all happening now. He wanted partners because as he said football is expensive, so he was looking to reduce his stake in Newcastle United or was he expecting people to pump cash in for zero shares? As I said the whole Keegan fiasco gave him a reason to sell the lot. If anything - thats a reason not to sell the lot, in fact its a major reason not to sell the lot.

I dont buy into this "cut his loss" and run - surely he'd of known he could of made a killing if he'd of left the club in a healthier situation. There doesnt seem to be any good reason to back the system over Keegan if he was always looking to sell. We could of had the public fall out - he could of got rid of wise and given keegan and the fans what they wanted and then he could of sold with the enveryone surrounding the club happy - even that alone would of given him more of a profit. I dont think he backed the system over Keegan. Otherwise there would have been more of a concerted and immediate effort to replace Keegan and move on. Once Keegan walked, in my opinion, he chose selling the club over both Keegan and the system. The whole idea that he wanted to sell all along just doesnt sit right with me - if Ashley wanted to sell, then he'd of sold when the club was at its most profitable point, he wouldnt of allowed Keegan to leave and would of given what the fans wanted. He could of spent money in Jan knowing that he could get it back inthe asking price. Selling now makes no sense whatseover without acknowledging the extreme pressure he was under from the fans. He was in it for the long run, if anything, selling now is proof that this was the case becasue if his intention was to sell up for an early profit then even he'd of known that this time was too early to sell.

Because he wasnt looking for a quick sale, The Keegan rumpus gave him the ultimate exit strategy. What?? Come one man, you know you're grasping at straws with this one!! Why does he need an exit strategy? If he wants to sell he's well entitled to sell. Just like Sasha Gaydamak. He said "I would say that I am keen to have partners in Newcastle. That’s a very expensive seat I sit in.". He also talked at later date about about selling some shares to locals as well. So he was looking to reduce his stake & then after the rumpus he thought f*** it I will sell the lot. The message was clear he wanted out when InterMedia Partners piped up telling everyone about a sale. Man those straws must be getting frayed with that iron like grip! Is that actually your argument? "he thought f*** it" It is not my argument it happened on 14/09/2008. That doesnt make sense one bit - now i know why you cut the rest of my posts. Surely he'd of had the foresight to realise that the best time to sell THIS club in particular would be when we were on the up?? The idea that he thought that now, with no manager and off field turmoil would be the best time to sell is proposterous. Come on man, admit it, you're struggling with this one. Really I am not. I see Robster understands & thinks similar. So basically what your proposing is that Ashley was struggling with the cost of the club (even though he didnt need to commit a single penny until Jan at least) so decided to sell at a time when the club is probably least valuable to him? Ok.

I dont buy into this "cut his loss" and run - surely he'd of known he could of made a killing if he'd of left the club in a healthier situation. There doesnt seem to be any good reason to back the system over Keegan if he was always looking to sell. We could of had the public fall out - he could of got rid of wise and given keegan and the fans what they wanted and then he could of sold with the enveryone surrounding the club happy - even that alone would of given him more of a profit.

Because he wasnt looking for a quick sale, The Keegan rumpus gave him the ultimate exit strategy. What?? Come one man, you know you're grasping at straws with this one!! Why does he need an exit strategy? If he wants to sell he's well entitled to sell. Just like Sasha Gaydamak. He said "I would say that I am keen to have partners in Newcastle. That’s a very expensive seat I sit in.". He also talked at later date about about selling some shares to locals as well. So he was looking to reduce his stake & then after the rumpus he thought f*** it I will sell the lot. The message was clear he wanted out when InterMedia Partners piped up telling everyone about a sale. Man those straws must be getting frayed with that iron like grip! Is that actually your argument? "he thought f*** it" It is not my argument it happened on 14/09/2008. That doesnt make sense one bit - now i know why you cut the rest of my posts. Surely he'd of had the foresight to realise that the best time to sell THIS club in particular would be when we were on the up?? The idea that he thought that now, with no manager and off field turmoil would be the best time to sell is proposterous. Come on man, admit it, you're struggling with this one.

Because he wasnt looking for a quick sale, The Keegan rumpus gave him the ultimate exit strategy. What?? Come one man, you know you're grasping at straws with this one!! Why does he need an exit strategy? If he wants to sell he's well entitled to sell. Just like Sasha Gaydamak. He said "I would say that I am keen to have partners in Newcastle. That’s a very expensive seat I sit in.". He also talked at later date about about selling some shares to locals as well. So he was looking to reduce his stake & then after the rumpus he thought f*** it I will sell the lot. The message was clear he wanted out when InterMedia Partners piped up telling everyone about a sale. Man those straws must be getting frayed with that iron like grip! Is that actually your argument? "he thought fuck it"

Because he wasnt looking for a quick sale, The Keegan rumpus gave him the ultimate exit strategy. What?? Come one man, you know you're grasping at straws with this one!! Why does he need an exit strategy? If he wants to sell he's well entitled to sell. Just like Sasha Gaydamak. You say it was getting too expensive for him but if he can get £300m for the club now, how much do you think he'd of got if he left us in a much helathier situation higher in the league with Keegan at the helm? All entirely a possilbilty. And how much money relaisitically would he have to spend from now until he could of sold at the end of season? Hardly any money is spent in January. And finally, do you think the club is more apealling to investors and buyers a few days after the transfer window has shut with no manager and a club in dissaray or do you think it's be more appealing at the end of the season with a big trasfer window to work with? None of it these conspiracy and doom mongering ideas makes sense whatsoever - Ashley was in for the long run - if he wasnt he certainly knew that the best time to sell was definitely not now. Even selling in Jan would of been a better time for the club and for him. i don't think it gave him an exit strategy (as by it's nature it's deliberatly engineered). had keegan not walked or the reaction to it muted he'd still be here. i'll leave you to make your own minds up as to wether you'd want that. Precisely.

Because he wasnt looking for a quick sale, The Keegan rumpus gave him the ultimate exit strategy. What?? Come one man, you know you're grasping at straws with this one!! Why does he need an exit strategy? If he wants to sell he's well entitled to sell. Just like Sasha Gaydamak. You say it was getting too expensive for him but if he can get £300m for the club now, how much do you think he'd of got if he left us in a much helathier situation higher in the league with Keegan at the helm? All entirely a possilbilty. And how much money relaisitically would he have to spend from now until he could of sold at the end of season? Hardly any money is spent in January. And finally, do you think the club is more apealling to investors and buyers a few days after the transfer window has shut with no manager and a club in dissaray or do you think it's be more appealing at the end of the season with a big trasfer window to work with? None of it these conspiracy and doom mongering ideas makes sense whatsoever - Ashley was in for the long run - if he wasnt he certainly knew that the best time to sell was definitely not now. Even selling in Jan would of been a better time for the club and for him.

I believe he found football a bit too expensive. The whole farce with that New York company, the expensive seat line, the "Geordie businessmen say to me" crack was all cry for HELP ME & him trying to reduce his stake. The Keegan rumpus gave him the ultimate exit strategy. His Lieutenants Steve Hayward & Chris Mort (on-loan but he had no fixed return date) was another sign Doesnt even get anywhere near explaining why he'd back the system over the manager who was doing well at the time if he'd realised this was too expensive a gig and was looking to sell for the quick profit. Conjecture and supposition it is then. Either he was looking for a quick sale or he wasnt.

The thing i dont get is that if Ashley was always looking to make a quick profit then what was the point in backing his structure over the manager, especially a manager that seemed to be doing well? Surely, as a businessman who's amassed a £2bn fortune, he'd realise that the best time to sell a club would be when they were on the up? He could of done it after one single successful season which was always a possibility after the start we had. Load of bollocks if you ask me.

Its strange but its been 4 years since we actually saw a consisent team who were playing well. Have to say i really liked the balance in the squad we had at the end of last season wth the 433. So id go for Beye Colo Bassong Enrique Guthrie Barton Jonas Owen Martins Viduka/Xisco There is alot of good qualities in that midfield which would make it work if you ask me, the most important feature being that they will all track back and provide excellent cover for the defence, whilst not changng anything natural to their respective games. That midfield is a definite upgrade from last seasons Butt, Geremi and Barton. The front 3 speak for themselves, there is an excellent blend there of pure ace, astute link play and supreme finishing.

Well Fred's saying we'd be fishing in the Bosman market but im saying that was a good year for Bosmans. I wasnt questioning the calibre of players per se. Just extremely bitter at whats happening currently. bitter ? What for ? Hmmmm, can i enter into a legitimate debate with NE5 regarding the board?? I think i'll give that one a wide berth. not necessarily. Only if I think you have got it wrong, but if so I'd back it up ? Well, in a nutshell, people dont seem to have a thoroughly legitimate reason for wanting Ashley to leave after a season in charge and it boils my piss that the majority of fans who have no concrete evidence about the situation represent my views on the club on a national scale. It seems to be generalisations, conjecture and supposition. It just annoys me that the fans are responisible for what occuring now - when it could quite easily of been whats happening at West Ham. speaking for myself.........I wanted him out quite early on when it seemed to me that he had little understanding of football - coupled with the fact that the direction he wanted to take wouldn't bring success as it seemed that the emphasis was on becoming a selling club rather than getting success on the field. A handful of people saw this too. And absolutely nothing happened to ever change my mind. Thats good enough reason to want him out for me, in fact its a primary reason and the biggest reason possible probably. This wasn't difficult to spot, having seen such a board like this in the past. Anybody else who supported the club pre-1992 would have recognised it unless they were clueless or had their heads buried in the sand. On Sunday Supplement this morning, Rob Beasely was defending Ashley [pretty much confirming he knows him personally when quizzed by Oliver Holt] for all hes' worth, while Holt or Matt Dickinson said words to the effect that Ashley was probably the worse owner of a premiership club ever, or the worst owner that had bought a club. You shouldn't be bitter about it, believe me, this is how it was for decades before the Halls and Shepherd walked through the door. Thats fair enough - i respect that you have a perspective on the club that i dont but i genuinely beleive that Ashley wanted the best for the club, i liked the sytem that he implemented, i liked the scouting structure that he had amassed which seemed to look beyond the major teams of the major leagues and i like the fact that he paid off more debt than he needed to, i also liked how he got rid of a lot of deadwood. I also liked the fact that he seemed to sign some good players - something we havent seen for a long time. I acknowledge that we ended up spending very little and believe me i was ready to criticise the board for this being the case, but in my eyes the resignation of keegan threw a different perspective on the reason why we didnt acquire more players. I am more than ready to believe in the structure. you cant call something a failure unless you have eliminated all external causes of failure.

Well Fred's saying we'd be fishing in the Bosman market but im saying that was a good year for Bosmans. I wasnt questioning the calibre of players per se. Just extremely bitter at whats happening currently. bitter ? What for ? Hmmmm, can i enter into a legitimate debate with NE5 regarding the board?? I think i'll give that one a wide berth. not necessarily. Only if I think you have got it wrong, but if so I'd back it up ? Well, in a nutshell, people dont seem to have a thoroughly legitimate reason for wanting Ashley to leave after a season in charge and it boils my piss that the majority of fans who have no concrete evidence about the situation represent my views on the club on a national scale. It seems to be generalisations, conjecture and supposition. It just annoys me that the fans are responisible for what occuring now - when it could quite easily of been whats happening at West Ham.

Well Fred's saying we'd be fishing in the Bosman market but im saying that was a good year for Bosmans. I wasnt questioning the calibre of players per se. Just extremely bitter at whats happening currently. bitter ? What for ? Hmmmm, can i enter into a legitimate debate with NE5 regarding the board?? I think i'll give that one a wide berth.

Funny interview if it was from someone else. Personally think its really unproffessional and not something the club needed, not in that context anyway. Would of had no issue if he'd articulated his criticsims of the press in an eloquent manner but that is ridiculous, what kind of message does that send to the people? If anything that will focus attention on us as a club and i iamagine sharpen the criticsims of us - will only get more and more tedious. Poor form!

Well Fred's saying we'd be fishing in the Bosman market but im saying that was a good year for Bosmans. I wasnt questioning the calibre of players per se. Just extremely bitter at whats happening currently.

So basically if Shepherd were still in charge we would of been fishing in the bosman market?

Cant see why we dont move him to RB - that way Bassong can move into the centre. Taylor isnt that bad on the right.

Is Keegan the only class manager that has won f*** all of worth in a 16 year career? Name me a crap manager that hasnt been sacked in a 16 year career Curbishley?

I disagree. Apart from the fact that Sidwell passed his Chelsea medical before Ashley even bought SJH's shares, Ben Haim turning us down for Chelsea, Glen Johnson wasn't out of contract, Sir John Hall saying all major shareholders had agreed on a fee before he met Ashley's people and him thinking Allardyce would have go the fans back on side, he makes some good points. Basically confirming that if he were still charge, we'd of been shopping in that market anyway.

I'd say a high percentage of them are the same people. Like dogs chasing cars, as soon as they catch it, they move on to the next one.

Woudlnt go that far to be honest - takes a bit to achieve what SJH did, however i fully supported the plans he had for the club - he did make one big error of judgement and that was bringin Keegan back, the oppurtunity to rectifythat mistake has now gone. It would be interesting to see how many of the fans would blame Ashley for relegation if it were to happen and how many fans would blame themselves for not allowing him to rectify the situation in time a la West Ham. This whole episode has massively dented my faith in the fans.

We're absolutely banking on Keegan having the managerial skill to eventually get us into the top 4, becasue if heavy ivestement does come in - and we dont eventually get there as a result then the nufc manager merry-go-round will start all over again - it'll be like Shepherd never left. Welcome back to 2004.

So the sale is inevitable then! Fair enough. We risked Keegan falling out with Wise only to give him the option to risk falling out with Shearer? One or the other please.