manorpark

This was a good laugh and (as said) lightens things up a bit. I remember fashion shows like this previously, with the likes of Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, Barry Venison (!) and so on, strutting their stuff down the catwalk!

I think we can tbh. Not referring to this story in particular or any details. Just the fact that we've stories about offers for the club and prospective bids pretty much from the time he took control of the club suggesting that maybe he is willing to listen if the right offer came up. No smoke without fire, that type of thing. I think we can tbh

SELL?? Do you have such a short memory??? It is only a few weeks since Mike Ashley spelt it all out for you . . . _________________________ I WILL RUN THIS CLUB MY WAY - Mike Ashley breaks Toon silence, Mike Ashley dramatically broke his silence over the turmoil on the Toon and defiantly declared: "I had to act and now I'll do it MY way!" Newcastle's' billionaire owner insists he is ready to step out of the background to run the club the way HE wants to from now on. On Tuesday he will jet back from a Far East business trip to join forces with chairman Chris Mort as they strive to bring success to St James's Park. And there will be times when he swaps his trademark Newcastle shirt and returns to civvies as he plots the way ahead in the wake of the departure of boss Sam Allardyce. Today, in an exclusive News of the World interview, Ashley outlines his New Year vision for Newcastle including the qualities he's looking for in the club's next manager. He said: "I want a team that will go all out to try to give Chelsea a walloping, that'll try to stuff Tottenham and that will be brave and bold enough to attack Man Utd. "To date I have invested £250m to try and make it happen. "And I'm not the only one who could see it wasn't working with things as they were. "So when my chairman told me it was time for a change I knew it had to happen. "I just knew it was time for me to become involved. "After all I bought this club to make it a success and the harsh truth is there wasn't much prospect of that. "I bought this club to have some fun and I wasn't having much fun at all. So I did what I should have done in the first place and decided it was time to run the club the way I wanted. "I must admit that when I bought this club my gut instinct was to bring in my own team to run it straight away, including a new manager. "That's no reflection on Sam, that's just the way I have always done things. "But for once in my life I ignored my intuition and, looking back, that was a mistake. "My instinct had never let me down in the past, in fact it's been one of my biggest strengths, one of the major reasons behind my success. "Yet I went against that better judgement after buying Newcastle. "Now is the time to put away my Newcastle shirt. I'm not saying I will never go back on the terraces but now I have to be in the boardroom — I have to be hands on." Ashley was left desperately disappointed with the return on his massive investment. A procession of poor performances, ropey results and off-field problems was a shocking reward for his massive outlay. It was not Ashley's vision for the sleeping giants of English football. Passion He added: "I want a team that is going to be admired up and down the country because of our brilliant, attacking football. "Like they did when Kevin Keegan was in charge here. "In those days everyone in the land loved to watch Newcastle in action. I certainly did. "And I am determined it will be like that again." That sort of stylish, buccaneering football has only been rarely glimpsed at St James's Park this season and Ashley makes no apologies for demanding Newcastle play the way the loyal Toon Army desire. He added:"People might mock me for that and reckon that's all pie in the sky. "But this is a football club, remember — it's about passion, about dreams, about glory. If it's not, then why bother? "Make no mistake I bother, I care and so I will try my hardest to make this club successful. "And I know I don't stand alone — I stand at the head of the Toon Army. "Remember this is a club with a real passion running through it — not least from all those Geordie fans. "And I share that passion." Yet Ashley has still taken a battering over events last week with Allardyce elbowed after just eight months in charge of the Magpies. But those pundits who would have you believe Ashley's a mug punter who does not know what he is doing should beware. After all this is a guy who built his Sports Direct business empire up from nothing. A man who at just 41 years of age boasts a fortune of £1.6billion — put it another way that's one thousand six hundred million pounds. Some mug, then! Yet Ashley is big and brave enough to accept some of the blame, even though he sees positives in his controversial decision to take a back seat so far. He explained: "My thinking was to come into Newcastle United and examine the club from every angle and from every aspect. I wanted to see how it ran, how it worked, what the staff could offer and what the supporters were all about. "I wanted to understand what made this club tick, I wanted to find its soul. "I have done that now and taken a lot of flak along the way. "People have complained I have been in the background too much, not done enough. Are you sure? "Let's get this straight. I paid £140million to buy this club. "I've also paid off £100million worth of debt so today this club doesn't owe a buck to anyone. "And I also gave Sam funds for new players. "Yet I've been hammered by certain people and for what? "Yes, wearing my Newcastle shirt and sitting with the fans. "The critics were suggesting in some way that this was just a cheap trick that would boost sales of shirts in my own stores. "But anyone who knows anything about Newcastle knows all the fans already have their shirts so it's all nonsense, just unbelievable. "And do you know something? I don't regret those days with our supporters at all. "I might own the club but they are the heartbeat and I had a lovely time with them. "And I guarantee that you haven't seen the last of me out there with the lads and lasses. "I will do it again from time to time. That's because among the fans he felt at home but when he sat in his own directors' box he was condemned as unconventional. He explained: "I can't stand this self-imposed etiquette in the boardroom and directors' box. "You're supposed to wear a suit, a shirt and tie and behave like a headmaster. "Why? It's like one of those , snobby, snooty golf clubs where they have rules for this and that. It's nonsense and I won't go along with it. "I want to go to football and enjoy it. "I want to celebrate when my team scores, when my team wins. "It's a game of drama and emotion — of highs and lows, of highlights and heartbreaks. And I want to live it. "So from now on it's all down to me. Dream "I am here because I want to be here and because I want to win trophies. "That's it — period — to get trophies in the cabinet and have a ball doing it. I can't see anything wrong with that at all. "Buying a football club is something I've always wanted to do so it's living a dream. "I always said I bought this club to become part of its passion. "I'd like to think I've done that. Now I want to channel that passion into bringing success and I just can't wait until it happens"

The league is very predictable in that there are only 3 in it every year. Take away the Champions League win by Liverpool (fantastic achievement, obviously) and it's really the 'Big 3' imo. Our team on the pitch shows NO signs of helping us achieve this (or, of even WANTING to) but we are one of the few clubs with the earning potential (which also has a multi-billionaire owner, for 'top-up' monies!) which can get into and above the "current 2 or 3" most successful English clubs. BUT . . . We need to do it QUICKLY, or (as even Sir John Hall was saying, regularly, in the late-nineties) WE WILL GET LEFT BEHIND !

You say you are 33? Well, 33 is a bit old to STILL not realise that you can feel very strongly and really 'care' about something (lots of things) that happened on our planet before you happened to arrive on it. I think I was about 9, when I first realised that "it didn't all start and end with me!"

I only go back to the 70s, but 90% of todays players appear to have SO little genuine football ability, they would be unlikely to get into reserve teams from those days. There is this "automatic" assumption made by many people (mainly the young-uns who have 'nowt' to compare it to!) that MODERN IS BETTER / NOW IS BETTER. Whereas the reverse is usually true!! Todays players are "fitter" / "eat better" / "drink less" / "run a bit faster" . . but better?? - FAR from it!

Don't know what it's called, but that one that goes "we are young . . we are free" you know? That would be good.

Late fifties or early sixties - Russ Conway with Billy Cotton. My mother was madly in love with Russ Conway!! She kept saying what a great pianist he was, even though he only had three fingers and a thumb, on one hand. Also, less of this "old timers" stuff, Mr Embryo. You do realise (or don't you?) that by 'approximately' the week after next (it will seem to you, absolutely) you will be "grown up and well past it / half dead" in the eyes of the next generation of little kiddiewinkies on here! but do you remember being played regularly at the match ? whats this bit about the week after next ? i'm probably seen as well past it or half dead already. Yeah - me too!!! Been going to the match since 1967 (off and on) then permanently from 1970, but I don't actually remember that. What I do remember, for many years, was a sort of 'big-band' or orchestra type instrumental (marching tunes??) type tunes, being played before the match and probably at half time. Does anyone remember them - seemed to be for years into the seventies - marching 'military-type' music?? yip i remember that. i deffo remember the russ conway stuff from the season afetr we got relegated. standing in the e-wing with my spud-u-like at about 2pm and they must have put the album on aevery week for at least a season or two Are you talking about when we got relegated in 77/78? It just seems odd that they suddenly started playing piano music from the 1950s!! It is also odd that I don't remember it, as I so remember my "mother and Russ Conway and his fingers" (!!) so I would have thought I would remember hearing it then! Having said that, my memory is sh*t . . where am I??

Late fifties or early sixties - Russ Conway with Billy Cotton. My mother was madly in love with Russ Conway!! She kept saying what a great pianist he was, even though he only had three fingers and a thumb, on one hand. Also, less of this "old timers" stuff, Mr Embryo. You do realise (or don't you?) that by 'approximately' the week after next (it will seem to you, absolutely) you will be "grown up and well past it / half dead" in the eyes of the next generation of little kiddiewinkies on here! but do you remember being played regularly at the match ? whats this bit about the week after next ? i'm probably seen as well past it or half dead already. Yeah - me too!!! Been going to the match since 1967 (off and on) then permanently from 1970, but I don't actually remember that. What I do remember, for many years, was a sort of 'big-band' or orchestra type instrumental (marching tunes??) type tunes, being played before the match and probably at half time. Does anyone remember them - seemed to be for years into the seventies - marching 'military-type' music??

Late fifties or early sixties - Russ Conway with Billy Cotton. My mother was madly in love with Russ Conway!! She kept saying what a great pianist he was, even though he only had three fingers and a thumb, on one hand. Also, less of this "old timers" stuff, Mr Embryo. You do realise (or don't you?) that by 'approximately' the week after next (it will seem to you, absolutely) you will be "grown up and well past it / half dead" in the eyes of the next generation of little kiddiewinkies on here!

Two questions: 1 - Who is at "the bottom" then? 2 - Who are "the big boys" then? Why do some people not know that the 'current' three most successful clubs (or "four", or "two" or whatever) have not always been that and will not always be that . . . It is all just temporary. Also, why do some people think mid-table is at the bottom, when talking about us? Both things appear to be borne out of having some kind of 'Inferiority Complex'.

Your population figures for Newcastle in 2001, are incorrect, by about 100,000 people. It depends which part of the 'census figures' you get your information from, but I recognise the 189,863 figure you quote, as I have come across it before. This figure comes from only a few of the Newcastle City postcodes, and excludes most of NE3 (for example) and many other Newcastle City postcodes. It specifically excludes any of the city's growth after 1974. It is a very misleading figure. I have written to them about it and they have acknowledged that it only includes about 60% of the postcodes within the city boundary. They say it relates to "a geographical area that existed pre-1974" and that it is quoted to "compare like with like" and to show population trends. Ridiculous!!! Anyway, Newcastle's population is somewhere around the 260,000 to 280,000 mark.

As far as I know he has not appointed a 'number 2' yet. Don't know if he even will. Certainly, it has not been stated to be either Cox, McDermott, or Pearson.

Not sure who he is. I think I can 'just' remember my grandfather's, sons other twin son, talking about him though. Vaguely.

Grammatically . . you are correct!! (but . . . at times !!!)

I can never remember a time in my life when I 'only' mixed with people of exactly my own age. Particularly in relation to supporting NUFC, I (and everyone else, young or old, that I knew) always knew all about the current situation at the club, and all previous situations at the club - and ALL our famous players and managers. I cannot understand why or how "when you were born" should have even the tiniest little influence on anyones level of knowledge about our club. If you are a supporter, that is. I know that it is sometimes regarded as 'cool' to act ignorant (amongst some people) but it camnnot be regarded as 'cool' (surely) to post on a NUFC forum, and act IGNORANT about NUFC? (whether you were 'only-born-yesterday' or not . . .) Do I expect my children to understand my ramblings about Souness, Bellamy and Robert? No. Dont think the original poster was trying to be cool, it was a genuine question. Football is much less about generations and history these days, and it therefore isn't suprising a younger person doesn't know who Cox is, especially as Cox's achievements almost 25 years ago, aren't up there with the league challenges, and domestic and european cup runs we have experienced in recent years. James - I don't think he was trying to be cool either! I do not agree with you, when you say that "football is much less about generations and history these days". I find that the genuine football fan these days (of any age) is "basically" exactly the same as they (of any age) always have been. There is, however, a larger-than-previously group of supporters who appear to glorify in "not knowing" what genuine supporters have always known. As we agree, it is not necessarily about 'appearing cool', it is more about trying to demonstrate that "what happened in the past" is not as important or at all relevant, as what is happening now. This does not apply only to football, of course. They seem unaware that 'now' is only what it is, because of what led up to it (ie, the past!). However, to put it simply - any REAL 'died in the wool' obsessive NUFC fan - like most of us are - (apart from really, really young children of course) will know a lot about this wonderful club, and not just what was in the Chronny or on Sky over the last few years, since he/she started going to the match!

I suspect he probably means exactly the opposite of what he said!

I can never remember a time in my life when I 'only' mixed with people of exactly my own age. Particularly in relation to supporting NUFC, I (and everyone else, young or old, that I knew) always knew all about the current situation at the club, and all previous situations at the club - and ALL our famous players and managers. I cannot understand why or how "when you were born" should have even the tiniest little influence on anyones level of knowledge about our club. If you are a supporter, that is. I know that it is sometimes regarded as 'cool' to act ignorant (amongst some people) but it cannot be regarded as 'cool' (surely) to post on a NUFC forum, and act IGNORANT about NUFC? (whether you were 'only-born-yesterday' or not . . .)

GOD help us, if this is the level of ignorance of our 'new generation' of NUFC supporters!!

Where does this "50 long years" come from?? It keeps being trawled up, usually (though) by the 'pig ignorant' London Media! It is 39 years since we won the European Fairs Cup (as the UEFA Cup used to be called) and in those days it was a MUCH bigger tournament than now (far harder to win) as only one team went into the European Cup (as the Champions League used to be called) so all those 'second, third, and fourth placed teams' went into the Fairs Cup from most countries.

True! Sadly, I can't seem to find one desparate enough though!!

In fact, it seems the ideal place for her.

Even other LOCAL papers are joining in. There was an article in the local evening rag for London (called the 'London Evening Standard') about us, can't find the link now though. Now, there is one from a local rag in Peterborough! http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/wos/King-Kev-ruler-of-Cloud.3694788.jp Why are other peoples local papers as obsessed with us as the national (they are just 'other London local papers', I suppose!) papers are??

It is a good sign that there are so many diverse views portrayed on here. I keep telling myself

A bit old? Will not contribute much on the field? Sometimes I cannot believe what I am reading!! Who helped Real Madrid win the league title a few months ago? Amazing thought processes (or lack of) revealed on here at times . . .