Wallsendmag

Just remember those famous words from one of our legends; "The club can never go anywhere under Mike Ashley - I promise you that". Kevin Keegan

Some people on Twitter saying they've successfully claimed back Direct Debits from their bank for tickets that they've cancelled but paid in advance for.

The club can't demand a penny off you as it's not a credit agreement that you enter into with them and it won't affect your credit rating either. Effectively though as you are paying in advance you'll probably lose some money but surely it's better than continuing with your payments and helping fund the destruction of the club.

Zero. He'll walk away with his head held high as soon as his contract expires.

I've said from the start. The club simply isn't for sale. He doesn't want to sell it. If someone comes in with what would be considered an acceptable offer then the goalposts are shifted into a position to make a sale impossible. There's no way this club has been for sale for over a Decade and failed to find a buyer. It's potentially one of the biggest and most profitable in the country with all the foundations already in place. I've no doubt that this Bin Zayed group are serious buyers but I've also got no doubt that Mike Ashley is not serious about selling. Checkmate.

Funny to think that one of the things the Ashley apologists tell us is that he made football more affordable yet here we are where there are season ticket holders paying £50 a game. Unless you go with a child and are happy to sit up in level 7 he's priced many fans out of going to SJP anyway. Done them a favour though really.

I watch Rugby League these days. Became more and detached from NUFC and football in general over the past few years. Just doesn't excite me like it used to, the odd game apart (last seasons CL Semi Finals for example). We bought season tickets at Newcastle Thunder last season and we absolutely love it! £250 for me, wor lass and the bairn for the full season which is unbelievable value. In comparison I went to 3 NUFC games last season (least amount since I started going in 1984) and on average I paid £40 a time and one of those matches (Crystal Palace) was one of the worst sporting spectacles I've witnessed. If, as expected this takeover fails, Rafa walks and some nomark manager replaces him with ashley still at the helm I know I'll be able to detach myself completely from it all. If the takeover goes ahead I'll go to the odd game but I'll never buy another season ticket. Those days have long gone now. I'm just not interested enough.

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. have to agree, the paddocks were the place to be pre 1992 E Paddock, underneath all the singers in the Milburn Stand, was absolutely brilliant!

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.

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.

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.

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. The fanbase is a completely different one to what it was in 1988. Most of the people who turn up now aren't capable of showing the hostility the crowd of 30 years ago could.

Why do people keep saying this? Just because we haven't spent hundreds of millions on players, the conclusion is that MA is somehow fiddling the numbers? As if he's not proven himself to be a dreadful custodian of the club without the need to invent some squirrelling away of incoming cashflows. And FWIW, SD's recent misadventures have not cost MA a bean in terms of cash. Didn't he take out another £33m last year, yet the club debt never drops? This is despite the club turning in a profit. No it went down to £111 from £144 Staggering how he's managed to increase the debt whilst spending nothing on players, full houses every week and Sky throwing money at him.like it's going out of fashion.

Why do people keep saying this? Just because we haven't spent hundreds of millions on players, the conclusion is that MA is somehow fiddling the numbers? As if he's not proven himself to be a dreadful custodian of the club without the need to invent some squirrelling away of incoming cashflows. And FWIW, SD's recent misadventures have not cost MA a bean in terms of cash. Didn't he take out another £33m last year, yet the club debt never drops? This is despite the club turning in a profit.

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?

Without Rafa we go down though, make no mistake. Agree. Then he gambles on coming straight back up. It's not what you want to say as a supporter but 3+ years of Championship football is ultimately what this club needs in its present form. I don't see any other realistic scenario where Ashley leaves. I think you're wrong on everything' time will tell though and we will know within the next couple of weeks either way I'm clearly not wrong on everything as some of the things I've said have already happened. If Ashley plays to form I'll be right this time as well. Never hoped to be proven wrong more in my life but after 12 years of Ashley I've got a good idea of how he operates and getting shot of one of his few well performing businesses would surprise me.

Without Rafa we go down though, make no mistake. Agree. Then he gambles on coming straight back up. It's not what you want to say as a supporter but 3+ years of Championship football is ultimately what this club needs in its present form. I don't see any other realistic scenario where Ashley leaves.

I still don't believe Ashley has any intention of selling. He's in control of one the biggest, most profitable clubs, in the most lucrative league in the world, where he can trouser ridiculous amounts of money and at the same time can showcase his other businesses to a worldwide audience of Billions. Anyone thinking he's giving that up is totally deluded. It simply works perfectly for him. He basically has to do nothing to make a fortune. Allegedly the club has now been up for sale for in excess of 10 years. That's right, one of the truly huge clubs of English football has been up for sale for over a Decade and has failed to attract a buyer. I'm sorry like but I'm not having that. I reckon that in all that time well over half of pro clubs in England have had a change of ownership yet one of the most lucrative of them all can't find a buyer? Really? I'm not doubting there might be genuine interest from this latest group but they'll be finding out, as others have, that Ashley has no genuine intention of parting with the goose that continues to lay golden eggs for him. Obviously if someone were to hoy silly money at him, say £500m+ that's a different scenario all together, but let's face it, that's not happening.

Who's spun a tale? And who's fooled? And who's gained? You will have to explain that fucking nonsense in more depth, please. Fool

They'll spin another "takeover tale" in January and the same fools will fall for it again. Ashley must be pissing himself laughing!

"I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football". Mile Ashley, September 2008.

Agree with this. He's even shown he's prepared to take the hit of relegation if it's just for a year. He's a gambler, it's how he operates. Aside from that he makes a fortune out of NUFC, and that's before you account for the SD advertising. I still dont believe he's going anywhere soon but time will tell I suppose.

Thought he was hopeless tbh. Heart the size of a pea as well. His "performance" at Everton must still rank as the worst individual performance I've ever seen from a NUFC player in 35+ years of watching them.

Our average (1 year standard) season ticket price is the 6th highest in the league. Only Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool are more expensive. Another Ashley myth is that he's made football more affordable as well. If we were looking to break into the top 6 and use that money to attract those players you’d accept it. Personally I wouldn't pay it no. We're not in a particularly wealthy area of the country here and the ticket prices are becoming unaffordable regardless of the clubs ambition.