Ashley has failed Newcastle United.

[Doug]

Mike 'Mr. Micawber' Ashley,

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery".

Hard to argue with the logic of those classical sentiments.

Ashleys way is the only way to ensure survival through the black hole of modern football finance.

 

 

[fredbob]

Darth

 

I seem to recall in an interview somewhere recently that Ashley advised that there was still 27 million pounds still to pay off from the spendthrift days of the previous administration.

 

If correct, this will also have an effect on the value of the club, if a new buyer decides to make an offer acceptable to him.

 

Macca, serious question, are you aware that nearly every club, and certainly every top 4 club has debts of hundreds of millions? It is partly why they are where they are in the league table. Anybody who thinks a club can seriously challenge for the title without debts or huge external investment is living is cloud cuckook land? I believe you have said elsewhere you would rather support a mediocre NUFC that balances the books well than a NUFC that spends more than its incomings in order to put a realistic challenge in to challenge the top clubs? Whilst I accept that position, I don't think many people will agree with you, and I also believe that you are missing a point: with all the billionaires looking to get in on the action the value of Premiership clubs is now less related to its incomings than ever; it's all about the profile of the club and whether it is perceived as being big and successful. When Ashley took over the general consensus was that in order to make money in this sort of venture you need to invest first (accrueing debts if you will). If Ashley hasn't grasped this concept he is well at risk of being in for a shock, especially if this running the club like a business lark will result in us relegated a few years down the line as the likes of QPR will invest heavily to take over the Premiership places left by clubs that will have failed to react to the changes quickly enough. It's a rat race now, and you need to race along to be in with a chance of winning, whether you like it or not..

 

As this is the crux of your argument ill address this point. Would i be mistaken to think that these clubs were pretty stable and successful before they acquired thse massive debts? Chelsea are "in debt" to Roman, Man U have been left with Glaziers debt, Liverpool with H+G and Arsenal have the stadium debt having all been reasonably successful  for many years now.

 

Nufc on the other hand have a fair bit of debt topped off with huge wages without the same level of success OR stability, its hardly a fair comparison in my eyes.

 

Its as though that if Ashley hadnt paid off the debt and in fact added to it, as well as the "roll royce" wages you'd be happier and appeased irrespective of the future of the club.

 

To me what spurs and arsenal have done is what we should be doing, improving the quality of the squad whilst splashing out on big signings but still keeping financially stable, as well as bloodeing younger hungrier players.

 

 

 

You don't seem to be aware of the extent of the situation at all. Here's some reading material for you:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/davidbond/2294763/Credit-crunch-could-hurt-Premier-League-clubs.html

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2301797/Deloitte-football-finance-review-Club-by-club-Premier-League-analysis.html

 

As I expect there is every chance you will not be arsed to do some investigation into this issue as it doesn't tie in with what you want to believe allow me to make it easier to digest from you by putting a few quotes here:

 

total borrowings in the League had rocketed from £674 million in 2005 to £1.6 billion in 2006

=> does that make a 70m debt for Newcastle United in 2007 so extraordinary?

 

 

Leading the way are Manchester United, whose owners, the Glazer family, refinanced borrowings of £660 million in 2006 to help pay for the club in their £800 million takeover in May 2005. According to figures released in January, United's pretax profits for the 12 months to June 30, 2007, were £42.28 million, only slightly more than their £42 million interest payments.

 

At Liverpool, the controversial refinancing by estranged American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett has left the club and parent company, Kop Football Holdings, with £350 million of debt and annual interest payments of £30 million.

 

Arsenal announced last month that their net debt had increased to £307 million for the six months to the end of November 2007. Much of that is accounted for by a £260 million bond which was taken out to pay for the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.

 

At the end of the 2006/07 season Chelsea had a net borrowing of £620 million, with a personal loan of £90 million from Roman Abramovich in that season alone

 

 

Regarding Aston Villa:

The club also recorded £63 million of debt in the summer of 2007.

 

Regarding Man City:

they are £103 million in debt.

 

West Ham have £142 million of debt

 

Boro were £85 million in debt at the end of the 2006/07 season

 

Regarding Fulham:

as of summer 2007 were £182 million in debt

 

I'm sure after seeing those figures you will agree that Newcastle United was not exactly in a unique debt situation here when compared to their (business) competitors? All in all it's all well saying it will all end up dramatically for those clubs involved and billionaires are cheating when they "buy" their way to titles, but ironically you could just as well claim the top clubs have so far "borrowed" their way to titles and trophies; care to explain to me how that is any less cheating than depending on external investment flat out?

 

That does seem pretty emphatic so i'd struggle to argue that too muc BUT for one point, the top4 clubs were acruing debt not in the same way that nufc had (having debt plied onto them AFTER being successful), and there revenue stream will be much higher than ours is, secondly does our turnover/expenditure ratio match the other clubs you mention - basically what im saying is that without a benefactor - were we in a financial position to be able to sustain and even add to those debts with our turnover/expenditure ration being so high (80%) without sponsporship money whiich had already been spent?

 

If not, then there only seems to be 2/3 options available for the club 1) reduce wages to a more sustainable level, 2)change the transfer policy to the benefit of the club, (i.e bring them in younger and cheaper, with lower wages and but the quality to become stars and also be a financial asset should they want to be sold and finally 3) clear the debts in one go.

 

Thats exactly what this board looked to do -are you telling me that Ashley should HAVE to foot the bill or do you think that the club should maybe of bloated its debts even more to appease short term thinkers like you?

[Mick]

 

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=48747.msg1480195#msg1480195

 

this is what is going on, and mick as usual hasn't got any idea.

 

 

 

I hope you've quoted the wrong post, we went from 2nd to 13th when Keegan left the first time.

[macca888]

Mick

 

I dont know why you bother even answering NE5. You should know already he is the village idiot of this forum.

 

 

[Parky]

Instead of managing the situation correctly and moving on with careful diligence it looks like the half-wits have decided to go to war with Keegan. Short sighted and will do no good for the club.

[NE5]

Mick

 

I dont know why you bother even answering NE5. You should know already he is the village idiot of this forum.

 

 

 

macca. Have you responded yet, after many years, to what I asked you about your "failure manager"

 

just to remind you , here it is . Go on then, prove to us you know what you are talking about.

 

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=48747.msg1481218#msg1481218

 

 

[Parky]

Kevin Keegan said:

 

“At the time at which I joined Newcastle United Football Club it was made very clear to me that I would have the final say on player movement in and out of the club.”

 

 

[Parky]

"It reminded me of a pre-season match at Doncaster. I was sitting at the back of the stand and Dennis, who had watched the first half much nearer the front, accidentally tried to take my seat when I had popped away for a half-time cup of tea. His reasons later became clear to me: he wanted to slip out unnoticed 10 minutes into the second half. At such a crucial time for watching and learning, as pre-season is, I was surprised - I would have thought he would have wanted to watch the game to the end, and talk with Kevin about where the team needed strengthening."

 

SBR.

 

 

[JH]

For once, I find myself nodding at bits of an Andy Dunn article:

 

MIKE ASHLEY CAN'T BUY DECENCY

Billionaire Newcastle owner doesn't know what class is

07/09/2008

 

THE whole club was abuzz over the ’big-spending soccer guy’.

A fan cradling a celebratory drink on the streets of Newcastle after hearing of Mike Ashley’s takeover on June 15, 2007?

 

No.

 

A champagne-drenched hanger-on in New York’s Pink Elephant nightspot, September 4, 2008 . . . a day when, 3,000 miles away, Newcastle fans were crying into their bitter over the imminent departure of Kevin Keegan.

 

You can buy football clubs, you can’t buy class.

 

You can buy enough Cristal to fill an Olympic swimming pool, you can’t buy decency.

 

You can buy mates with hundred dollar bills, you can’t buy friends.

 

You can’t buy respect.

 

And if that is what Ashley craved when he bought Newcastle United on some sort of roulette-wheel whim, then, for once in his life, he won’t get what he wants.

 

Everything is never black and white at St James’ Park but, whatever the rights and wrongs behind the latest farce on Tyneside, one thing is clear.

 

Any traces of respect for Ashley have disappeared quicker than the pint he necked at the Emirates (pictured right).

 

If a bloke has enough pocket money to put £125,000 behind a bar, then fine. If that’s the only way a boorish buffoon can ingratiate himself to flunkies and floozies in a flash bar, then it’s his business.

 

But while Ashley was draining the Pink Elephant’s vintage champagne stock, the stock of the football club he owns had never been lower.

 

And the pictures of him sweating amidst Manhattan’s shallow set showed he just does not care.

 

If he did, he would have been in Newcastle — not New York.

 

I’m not going to mount the sort of emotional defence of Keegan that swamped airwaves and print last week.

 

An honest, immensely likeable guy but a serial quitter.

 

He says he loves the supporters like family but, in a way, they are the ones he has let down. Their leader has laid down his sword and shield before the fight has really started.

 

If Keegan believes he was being shabbily treated, he could — with the unconditional backing of the entire Geordie Nation — have taken on the enemies within.

 

But his only weapon in battle is a letter of resignation.

 

Yet he still deserved much, much more than this.

 

And for all their delusions of grandeur, so did Newcastle fans. 

 

In many ways, theirs is a club like no other.

 

A club that dominates the city’s psyche in the same way it dominates the city’s skyline. And all Ashley needed to do was show a semblance of concern when another implosion rumbled close.

 

If he could not talk Keegan round, then at least he tried.

 

If he could not justify the transfer policies, then at least he attempted to explain them.

 

If he could not persuade Keegan to work alongside Dennis Wise, then he would be left with a tough decision to make.

 

But, instead, the fat controller went on the lash.

 

And probably thinks he has done nothing wrong.

 

After all, it’s just binge Britain billionaire-style.

 

But what he has actually done is show disdain for the common people he patronises every week with his replica-shirt wearing, boozy presence.

 

Ashley had a chance last week to prove that the club and its supporters had won a special place in his world.

 

That he has come to understand that a football club like Newcastle is the heartbeat of a community.

 

That it cannot be a mere trinket for a bored rich man.

 

The club needed leadership and direction from the very top but the man at the very top was p***ing it up in the Pink Elephant.

 

And for that, he might just as well stay in the Big Apple . . . because there is no longer a welcome for him in the Bigg Market.

 

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/andy_dunn/article22157.ece

[NE5]

anyone fancy making more cringeworthy comments in defence  of this little lot ?

 

 

[TRon]

For once, I find myself nodding at bits of an Andy Dunn article:

 

MIKE ASHLEY CAN'T BUY DECENCY

Billionaire Newcastle owner doesn't know what class is

07/09/2008

 

THE whole club was abuzz over the ’big-spending soccer guy’.

A fan cradling a celebratory drink on the streets of Newcastle after hearing of Mike Ashley’s takeover on June 15, 2007?

 

No.

 

A champagne-drenched hanger-on in New York’s Pink Elephant nightspot, September 4, 2008 . . . a day when, 3,000 miles away, Newcastle fans were crying into their bitter over the imminent departure of Kevin Keegan.

 

You can buy football clubs, you can’t buy class.

 

You can buy enough Cristal to fill an Olympic swimming pool, you can’t buy decency.

 

You can buy mates with hundred dollar bills, you can’t buy friends.

 

You can’t buy respect.

 

And if that is what Ashley craved when he bought Newcastle United on some sort of roulette-wheel whim, then, for once in his life, he won’t get what he wants.

 

Everything is never black and white at St James’ Park but, whatever the rights and wrongs behind the latest farce on Tyneside, one thing is clear.

 

Any traces of respect for Ashley have disappeared quicker than the pint he necked at the Emirates (pictured right).

 

If a bloke has enough pocket money to put £125,000 behind a bar, then fine. If that’s the only way a boorish buffoon can ingratiate himself to flunkies and floozies in a flash bar, then it’s his business.

 

But while Ashley was draining the Pink Elephant’s vintage champagne stock, the stock of the football club he owns had never been lower.

 

And the pictures of him sweating amidst Manhattan’s shallow set showed he just does not care.

 

If he did, he would have been in Newcastle — not New York.

 

I’m not going to mount the sort of emotional defence of Keegan that swamped airwaves and print last week.

 

An honest, immensely likeable guy but a serial quitter.

 

He says he loves the supporters like family but, in a way, they are the ones he has let down. Their leader has laid down his sword and shield before the fight has really started.

 

If Keegan believes he was being shabbily treated, he could — with the unconditional backing of the entire Geordie Nation — have taken on the enemies within.

 

But his only weapon in battle is a letter of resignation.

 

Yet he still deserved much, much more than this.

 

And for all their delusions of grandeur, so did Newcastle fans. 

 

In many ways, theirs is a club like no other.

 

A club that dominates the city’s psyche in the same way it dominates the city’s skyline. And all Ashley needed to do was show a semblance of concern when another implosion rumbled close.

 

If he could not talk Keegan round, then at least he tried.

 

If he could not justify the transfer policies, then at least he attempted to explain them.

 

If he could not persuade Keegan to work alongside Dennis Wise, then he would be left with a tough decision to make.

 

But, instead, the fat controller went on the lash.

 

And probably thinks he has done nothing wrong.

 

After all, it’s just binge Britain billionaire-style.

 

But what he has actually done is show disdain for the common people he patronises every week with his replica-shirt wearing, boozy presence.

 

Ashley had a chance last week to prove that the club and its supporters had won a special place in his world.

 

That he has come to understand that a football club like Newcastle is the heartbeat of a community.

 

That it cannot be a mere trinket for a bored rich man.

 

The club needed leadership and direction from the very top but the man at the very top was p***ing it up in the Pink Elephant.

 

And for that, he might just as well stay in the Big Apple . . . because there is no longer a welcome for him in the Bigg Market.

 

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/andy_dunn/article22157.ece

 

Pretty good article that.

[Guest elbee909]

anyone fancy making more cringeworthy comments in defence  of this little lot ?

 

 

 

Yeah, loads of people doing that, eh

[NE5]

anyone fancy making more cringeworthy comments in defence  of this little lot ?

 

 

 

Yeah, loads of people doing that, eh

 

nah, just one or two.

 

 

[Dave]

Such as?

[Unbelievable]

Such as?

 

The likes of Baggio/Wise I imagine..