Dokko Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 If it bothers you that much you search for it, i did one, 1st article: (probably not good enough for you, but then again i'm not really arsed (not about you btw, about proving a point)) He was reclusive end of, in business and personal life. http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/tm_headline=billionaire-s--133m-bid&method=full&objectid=19182749&siteid=50081-name_page.html Philip Beresford, who ranked him 54th on the 2006 version of the list, said neither he nor his staff could ever manage to contact Ashley and described him as "easily Britain's answer to the late Howard Hughes". & He is thought to live alone in a large house on the edge of a Hertfordshire village. The building is hidden by trees, and CCTV cameras keep watch over the locked gates at the entrance to the half-mile drive. His neighbours say they never see him. At the nearby pub, nobody has heard of him. When the local newspaper attempted to find out more about him a few months ago, they eventually resorted to placing an advert in their own pages appealing for information - and no one responded. Guess the guy wasn't reclusive afterall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezGiven Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 One journalist says he reclusive because he doesnt give interviews and another (in the journal) repeats it. Fine, its called an angle and its one that doesnt stand up to the evidence of his behaviour since he arrived in Newcastle. Being a 'private' person doesnt make you a recluse. Nor does it mean that there hasnt been a superb PR strategy implemented by his team. In fact, is he that private a person? All these journalists without an interview have to write something. Not wanting to put words in your mouth, i think you are saying that all of his behaviour isnt PR but is in fact because he has had some 'road to damascus' moment since taking over the club and come out of his shell through his love for the toon. If this is you POV then, as i said before, you have no idea what i'm talking about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohmelads Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Didn't Mort say he (Ashley) didn't like being in the public eye, shortly after he joined? I vaguely remember words to that effect in one of his interviews. It's a minor detail really, we can see he clearly isn't a recluse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Knightrider Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 There is something not quite right with the whole thing for me that I can't put my finger on. Don't get me wrong I think he'll be a good thing for the club, especially short term, but I won't get myself carried away nor do I trust him fully either. However the signs are promising and the more he shows up, mixes with fans and gets a real feel for the club the better the marriage between the two will be and probably the longer it will last too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Logic Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Aye, walking into the Strawberry pre-match is the antithesis of being a recluse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnypd Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 we're his mid-life crisis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Knightrider Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 we're his mid-life crisis. Most probably. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbers Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Didn't Mort say he (Ashley) didn't like being in the public eye, shortly after he joined? I vaguely remember words to that effect in one of his interviews. It's a minor detail really, we can see he clearly isn't a recluse. When he took over,i remember mort saying "you are unlikely to see mike ashley at the games",however he seems to be enjoying himself and seems pretty genuine to me.Prolly cant stay away now tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 PR isn't a dirty word so I don't understand people getting too bothered when it's mentioned. Of course what Ashley and Mort are doing is PR, that doesn't mean that they are not acting natural in what they are doing. Ashley not going mad about Sports Direct has no bearing on how he reacts to being our owner as football is a game which is based around passion. I'm not surprised that Ashley has been taken in by owning the club and sampling the atmosphere which is associated with the club, city and area in general. As for Mort, he's also doing some good PR but again that should be natural to somebody if they are good in business, it's a part of the job but doesn't make it any less genuine. They are both doing very good jobs and I think we're lucky to have them, enjoy the ride as everything looks set to bring back the good times. Everybody within the club seems to be fighting for the same cause, once again we are looking as if we all want the same thing, a bit of success. If I had to mark the change that we've seen so far out of 10 I'd probably go for 8.5. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 When he took over,i remember mort saying "you are unlikely to see mike ashley at the games",however he seems to be enjoying himself and seems pretty genuine to me.Prolly cant stay away now tbh. I'm sure Mort said that Ashley was unlikely to be seen in the directors box, he'd be more likely to sit in the middle of the Gallowgate wearing a black & white shirt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 If it bothers you that much you search for it, i did one, 1st article: (probably not good enough for you, but then again i'm not really arsed (not about you btw, about proving a point)) He was reclusive end of, in business and personal life. http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/tm_headline=billionaire-s--133m-bid&method=full&objectid=19182749&siteid=50081-name_page.html Philip Beresford, who ranked him 54th on the 2006 version of the list, said neither he nor his staff could ever manage to contact Ashley and described him as "easily Britain's answer to the late Howard Hughes". & He is thought to live alone in a large house on the edge of a Hertfordshire village. The building is hidden by trees, and CCTV cameras keep watch over the locked gates at the entrance to the half-mile drive. His neighbours say they never see him. At the nearby pub, nobody has heard of him. When the local newspaper attempted to find out more about him a few months ago, they eventually resorted to placing an advert in their own pages appealing for information - and no one responded. Guess the guy wasn't reclusive afterall. None of that makes him reclusive, it means no more than he had no interest in his local pub and he was concerned about his security. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustynrg Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 So you've read 40 hours worth of articles about him and nowhere have you read where he's a recluse and unknown to most of his staff? Riiigghht. Here are a few links for you, they weren't hard to find, just type in Mike Asley Recluse in google. Why can't we all just be pleased he's obvioulsy enjoying life at SJP instead of dissecting his every fart forgodssake. We moaned endlessly about Fat Freddie, let's be pleased and optomisitc and get the positive vibe going for once. http://uk.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUKL0776077820070607 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ashley_(businessman) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2007/02/14/nrecluse14.xml http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2138093,00.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChezGiven Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 So you've read 40 hours worth of articles about him and nowhere have you read where he's a recluse and unknown to most of his staff? Riiigghht. Here are a few links for you, they weren't hard to find, just type in Mike Asley Recluse in google. Why can't we all just be pleased he's obvioulsy enjoying life at SJP instead of dissecting his every fart forgodssake. We moaned endlessly about Fat Freddie, let's be pleased and optomisitc and get the positive vibe going for once. http://uk.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUKL0776077820070607 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ashley_(businessman) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2007/02/14/nrecluse14.xml http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2138093,00.html Whats being discussed here? Whether he is a recluse? Or whether the whole team behind him have managed the public relations side of things enormously well? Oh and the research i did on him when he took over the club suggested that the one-dimensional 'recluse' tag he had recieved in the financial press was a load of horse shit dreamt up by overpaid analysts and journalists. His very behaviour since taking over the club (that has perversely been used in this debate) completely nails the perspective of him as a down to earth regular bloke with a healthy scepticism for the wankers who write for the financial sections. NOT the one-dimensional bollocks that was printed after the floatation. His engagement with the geordie public means that attempting to win some bizzare side argument about his PR strategy being 'just because he fell in love with us as he was a recluse beforehand' makes you look like a naive idiot tbh. Oh and that 40 hours research and pov (posted on the main site here just after the takeover) sought of seems to be actually backed up by his willingness to get Blu Bambu the round in. But yeah, you're right, he was a recluse and thats the most important issue at hand here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Like any corporate figurehead, I'm sure Mike Ashley's behaviour is motivated to some degree by a desire to generate positive PR. Sports Direct have had some horrendous PR since it became a public company, damaging Ashley and his company in the eyes of many analysts and potential investors. Unquestionably his role as Newcastle's "sugar daddy" humanizes him to a large extent and helps his (previously negative) image. To me, it's an ideal situation. It benefits the club to have the club benefit Ashley, if that makes sense. If we are indeed his distraction, his plaything, his midlife crisis, as some have previously written, then all the better. The better Newcastle do, the better PR for Ashley. The fact that he has likely been legitimately taken in by the atmosphere at and around SJP and the city is fantastic. It will only deepen what may have started as a flight of fancy. In short, it's a symbiotic relationship. We help him, he helps us. Perfect. Now bring us Kaka in January. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 PR isn't a dirty word so I don't understand people getting too bothered when it's mentioned. PR is a bad word lately though. Blame it on the cynicism of our times or a general mistrust of public figures, but those two letters conjure up images of spin doctors, damage control, deceitful manipulation and ignoble ends in the minds of many. edit: not that I think M&M are up to it -- I believe that while there is positive PR being generated by their actions it's not the primary goal of their actions to generate it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I want to smack his pig-faced son/nephew. He's got one of them pig-faces that you just want to smack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bobblyrage Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Whilst realsing Ashley isnt one of us, I reckon he can fall in love with the club. From what I see the man wants to win, regardless of the context, be it clothing line, shop chain or football club, and if this is true then maybe, just maybe, he won't take failure with us and take us all the way to the top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowndsy Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I want to smack his pig-faced son/nephew. He's got one of them pig-faces that you just want to smack. a bit like yours Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Harry-Norway Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Seems like a good idea-make him a song TOON ARMY-i now you can,so go ahead make a good song for Mike Ashley-keep him in TOON,he`s great for the club and the future Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sicko2ndbest Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Seems like a good idea-make him a song TOON ARMY-i now you can,so go ahead make a good song for Mike Ashley-keep him in TOON,he`s great for the club and the future Theres only one Mike Ashley One Mike Ashley He owns sports direct And loves getting wrecked Watchin the toon army walk along or Theres only one Mike Ashley One Mike Ashley He got rid of Fred Knocks all rivals dead Walking in an Ashley wonderland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 He's fat, he's round, he owns the fucking ground. Mike Ashley! Mike Ashley! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest elbee909 Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 He's fat, he's round, he owns the fucking ground. Mike Ashley! Mike Ashley! THERE'S ONLY ONE RICK ASTLEY Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nguyen Van Falk Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 He's fat, he's round, he owns the f****** ground. Mike Ashley! Mike Ashley! THERE'S ONLY ONE RICK ASTLEY www.portsnap.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I want to smack his pig-faced son/nephew. He's got one of them pig-faces that you just want to smack. a bit like yours Oi. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Seems like a good idea-make him a song TOON ARMY-i now you can,so go ahead make a good song for Mike Ashley-keep him in TOON,he`s great for the club and the future Theres only one Mike Ashley One Mike Ashley He owns sports direct And loves getting wrecked Watchin the toon army marching on or Theres only one Mike Ashley One Mike Ashley He got rid of Fred Knocks all rivals dead Walking in an Ashley wonderland FYP The first one is better Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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