bobbydazzla

He's a Newcastle fan, grew up in the north east.

I've said this on here before, I knew John Irving when we were in our teens and he was a passionate fan of NUFC. I've found it hard to comprehend that he's had a leading role in Ashley's regime, when it's clear that they're intent on destroying the club from within. Maybe the current antics have been too much for him and he's decided he needed to get out.

This nails it for me. The vast majority of people in the the ground are incapable and unwilling to drive any change. And change at NUFC will only come when the reputation, revenue and share price of Sports Direct is threatened or actually starts to see negative results as a result of the activity of NUFC fans supported by national media. This football club is a small part of Ashley's empire, but it's the most visible and vocal. He bought NUFC because of the increased press we could create for the SD brand. Let's turn that to our advantage and make sure that coverage is about zero hour contracts, dodgy pre-pack administrations etc . It's his achilles heel. Until recently Tesco was an unstoppable retail business. But the tide has turned as shoppers move away and a number of scandals emerged. Tesco lost £6.4bn last year. The same could happen to Sports Direct, it's not impossible.

He couldn't give a shit about fans not going to games. But constant media references to Sports Direct and their zero hour contracts, toxic brand, unethical redundancy processes, dodgy pre-pack administration and government enquiries into his business activity is not the news that SD shareholders will be happy to read about in the international press on a daily basis. He can't risk damaging the Sports Direct brand, so that's his achilles heal. A determined and intelligent campaign by NUFC fans who have the support of mainstream media means we can talk about our frustrations with the management of the club, but more importantly can put the SD brand in constant focus for many negative reasons. And the media seem to have an appetite for this at the moment. NUFC is a small part of his business operations but also the most visible and we have a genuine opportunity to become a really big thorn in his side.

I jacked a couple of years ago. Stopped the season ticket, stopped away games, stopped watching matches or highlights on the telly, stopped listening to radio coverage. I often don't know when or who we're playing. If I see the scoreline after a match I don't celebrate if we win, I'm not miserable if we lose. I'm completely numb about what happens at NUFC. I've got better things to do than waste time and money on the shite that Ashley and his cronies want us to lap up like bleating braindead sheep. A few weeks back I was in town on a match day so nipped into the boozer to see the lads I used to go to the match with. Out of a group of 20 season ticket holders every single one told me the same thing - "It's shit, I can't be arsed to go, but if I didn't go I'd never see me mates, so I've got to keep going". There were plenty of shit times in the pre-Ashley era but I've never seen such widespread malaise amongst a very loyal and passionate group of lads. Ashley has ripped out the soul of the club.

Knew John Irving when we were kids and he loved NUFC.

I knew John Irving pretty well in our teens and he was a passionate fan and loved going to the match. It's a real shame that he's now happy to be the mouthpiece for this regime. But I guess he gets paid enough that he's willing to toe the line. That's even worse if he used to be a fan. I'd always assumed he was just a numbers man with a passing interest because of his job. When I knew John in the early 90’s he was a huge Newcastle fan. Simon Esland was similar, a big Newcastle fan that ended up landing a high profile job at the club. Although he’s now left and gone back to Vodafone.

I knew John Irving pretty well in our teens and he was a passionate fan and loved going to the match. It's a real shame that he's now happy to be the mouthpiece for this regime. But I guess he gets paid enough that he's willing to toe the line.

He's regularly said he'd love a shot at designing our kit. And until recently Nike also had a geordie and Newcastle fan as Global VP of Football Footwear. But sadly we still ended up stuck with the Puma shite.

All their top designers, especially the tailored in England ones have moved to Nike. It's anyone's guess how they do now. Ah that's a shame. Bizarrely I don't like any of the current Nike efforts. One of the main designers for Nike football is a geordie and a Newcastle fan. He focuses on their key clubs - Inter, Barca, Man U etc.

After Pardew's comments about "The Board" in relation to Kinnear's exit it made me wonder about who, other than Ashley, makes key decisions and how much they have the best interests of the club at heart. Lee Charnley is obviously a key player behind the scenes. John Irving appears to be much more involved. I knew him pretty well in our teens and he was a passionate fan, I find it hard to believe that he'd be in favour of many of the antagonistic moves during Ashley's reign. And the same could be said of Simon Esland when he was at the club, our paths crossed a few times before he joined NUFC and he was also a passionate fan. He wasn't on the Board but he was rolled out regularly to face the wrath of the fans. Lambeezy and Mort have both been and gone, with the general consensus being that Mort was decent but Lambeezy was as bad as Ashley. Kinnear was an incompetent fall guy and Pardew seems to have limited influence and is scared shitless of criticising his paymasters. So other than Ashley, is there anybody else involved in key decisions and why are they getting it so wrong, on so many occasions ?

As far as I can see only a few things would get him out: 1 - If SD began to significantly underperform based on things that were happening at NUFC 2 - He received an offer for the club that allowed him to turn a decent profit and a smug exit 3 - If we weren't in the top flight for a number of seasons and his use of NUFC as a vehicle to market SD beyond the UK stopped

I cancelled mine a few years back because of Ashley's treatment of the fans and club. I thought I'd really miss the games and at first it felt strange not going, but you soon get used to it. As someone else had said - view it like an abusive relationship, there comes a point when walking away is the only thing you can do. And cutting off an income stream is the only way to damage Ashley. He's not arsed about anything else other than money.

Agree 100%. And as a result I've barely watched a game this season. Fortunately I've got better things to do.

After 20 years of fanatical support this season has been the one where my interest in NUFC and football has finally stopped. The season ticket went a few years ago, I never go to games, I don't watch matches or highlights on the telly, I don't keep an eye on the scores or who we're playing. I come on here from time to time to see what the headlines are and it makes me glad I'm not spending a large percentage of my time embroiled in the world of football. It's an industry that's sold its soul. If you want to win things you need to be Man Utd or owned by a foreign billionaire. And clubs with long histories are being ruined by clueless money men. It's more important for clubs to be engaged with foreign "consumers" than it is to look after your local community and fanbase. Cretinous mercenaries are being paid obscene amounts of money to kick a ball about when the country barely has a pot to piss in, people are trying to scrape by in a bleak economic landscape and valuable local services are cut due to a lack of funding. Top flight football is no longer a sport, it's a global entertainment business. And it's shite.

Racism is still rife amongst a section of our away following. We may take large numbers but some of our fanbase are ignorant arsewipes. e.g. West Ham away 2008 - large group of our lot making monkey noises on the tube when we went past a black family who were stood waiting on the platform Villa away 2007 - large group of our lot banging on the bus windows and making monkey noises at the black residents of Aston Blackburn away 2007 - bloke behind me at the turnstile saying he wouldn't be searched by a p*ki And I still remember a home game in 1994 - bloke at match calling an opposition player a "black c*nt". People round him told him to shut the fuck up and asked if Andy Cole was also a "black c*nt". Idiot replied saying he wasn't black cos he played for the toon.

Forgot this was on tonight until I was coming back through town earlier and saw groups of 15 year old wannabe hooligans heading towards the station clutching cans of ale and kitted out in Stone Island jumpers and Adidas trainers. 1 or 2 were so mortal they could barely stand up.

Chris Waddle is loads worse.

Vive la resistance !

Looks like SD on the main ITV camera, HD on the close up cams etc. Wankers.

is Robben on glue ?

merci Mimi

The media spotlight is now firmly pointed on us and I think that may have a detrimental impact on our form as the pressure starts to build. Low expectations have served us well this season as we've gone about our business of winning games without people genuinely seeing us as a threat to the Top 4. I just hope that even if we fall away in the last few games that those of us in the ground for the Man City game remain positive and the squad get a proper ovation for their efforts once the final whistle has blown, regardless of the result on the day. Staying ahead of Chelsea is achievable, but tough. Getting ahead of Spurs would be amazing, but incredibly tough. So I reckon we'll finish 5th.

I despise Manchester United more than anything else in life. And the fact they're likely to win the title with such an average side is particularly galling.

Shouldn't let the Champs league rejects in for starters.