New Rich List

[Dave]

Looks like the weekly debate about Shepherd where the same point is raised all the time will happen in this thread

 

Weekly?!

[indi]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

[Mick]

Looks like the weekly debate about Shepherd where the same point is raised all the time will happen in this thread

 

Weekly?!

 

Yes, once a week on a Monday, once a week on a Tuesday, once a week on a Wednesday etc, etc, etc.

[Guest Spurs_from_Africa]

Dont want to bore anyone but for those asking why we are so high up, its cos of ticket prices, no debt, sponsorship etc.

 

Have to say though, Ive always found it quite impressive that newcastle and spurs are regularly on that list, despite the fact that Newcastle havent qualified for cl for the last few seasons and we havent qualified for the cl i its current form. we're the only 2 non-cl sides on that list arent we?

[Baggio]

Fair play to Spurs, they've done things the right way and overtaken us quite easily, all while remaining debt free.

 

No point in being bitter about it, it's up to us to close the gap.

 

i thought they had a shit board and their DOF system was a shambles...

 

Apparently not it seems.

[S.S.R.]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

There may be safer bets, but he's looking for a bigger return, and he's got the money to make the gamble.

 

When you consider Man Utd are worth four times as much as us, you can see the potential for growth. 

[indi]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

Erm, it is a fact. If I can get 6% on my meagre savings then he can get more on his HUUUGE savings.

 

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

 

 

[S.S.R.]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

Erm, it is a fact. If I can get 6% on my meagre savings then he can get more on his HUUUGE savings.

 

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

 

 

 

So the Halls were martyrs for sticking round then, instead of selling up and investing their money more 'effectively'.

 

Does that website promise to quadruple your money in ten years?

[indi]

This is the kind of deal he is able to do:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jun/05/9

 

£29m profit in eight weeks on an investment of £200m

 

That's 14.5% profit in eight weeks!!

 

You reckon he's going to make anything like that on NUFC!?!

[S.S.R.]

This is the kind of deal he is able to do:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jun/05/9

 

£29m profit in eight weeks on an investment of £200m

 

That's 14.5% profit in eight weeks!!

 

You reckon he's going to make anything like that on NUFC!?!

 

Aye, actually. Do measure success in how quickly he does it? How much are you willing to bet that the club is worth more than double what it is now in three years?

 

How come the season tickets are going up for next year? He's pissing millions away, apparently. Why does he need an extra £20 off me? Naive beyond belief.

[indi]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

Erm, it is a fact. If I can get 6% on my meagre savings then he can get more on his HUUUGE savings.

 

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

 

 

 

So the Halls were martyrs for sticking round then, instead of selling up and investing their money more 'effectively'.

 

Does that website promise to quadruple your money in ten years?

 

What exactly is your point? You seem to be just thrashing around bringing up random stuff and asking random questions.

 

The Halls had been trying to sell up for years, because Dougie and his sister had fucked up Cameron Hall so badly that they were pretty desperate for the cash. No they weren't Martyrs, but SJH has basically retired and his kids are brain dead no-hopers who basically sold off the family silver (nufc) to survive. They probably couldn't have done better with the money, for the simple fact that they're fucking idiots. Mike Ashley is anything but an idiot and it's quite clear he has the skill to use the money he's invested in NUFC more effectively if he so desired. He hasn't which suggests that making a shit-load of cash isn't his motivation for doing this. I'd suggest that although he probably intends to make some money (which is fair enough), he's doing this mainly as a "vanity project".

 

As for quadrupling his money, are you trying to suggest that there is scope for football to go through an equivalent period of growth over the next ten years as it did over the period that the Halls were involved with NUFC? I seriously doubt that's possible, what makes you think that it is?

[Unbelievable]

indi, why do you think so many foreign investors have bought Premiership clubs in recent years? Clearly, they believe there is the potential here for further growth..?

[S.S.R.]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

Erm, it is a fact. If I can get 6% on my meagre savings then he can get more on his HUUUGE savings.

 

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

 

 

 

So the Halls were martyrs for sticking round then, instead of selling up and investing their money more 'effectively'.

 

Does that website promise to quadruple your money in ten years?

 

What exactly is your point? You seem to be just thrashing around bringing up random stuff and asking random questions.

 

The Halls had been trying to sell up for years, because Dougie and his sister had fucked up Cameron Hall so badly that they were pretty desperate for the cash. No they weren't Martyrs, but SJH has basically retired and his kids are brain dead no-hopers who basically sold off the family silver (nufc) to survive. They probably couldn't have done better with the money, for the simple fact that they're fucking idiots. Mike Ashley is anything but an idiot and it's quite clear he has the skill to use the money he's invested in NUFC more effectively if he so desired. He hasn't which suggests that making a shit-load of cash isn't his motivation for doing this. I'd suggest that although he probably intends to make some money (which is fair enough), he's doing this mainly as a "vanity project".

 

As for quadrupling his money, are you trying to suggest that there is scope for football to go through an equivalent period of growth over the next ten years as it did over the period that the Halls were involved with NUFC? I seriously doubt that's possible, what makes you think that it is?

 

I love your 'Les Dawson's piano playing' theory, where you suggest that you have to be a successful millionaire/billionaire businessman to be able to invest your money so badly.

 

Mike is a shrewd man, so he must be doing something so stupid deliberately, because he loves us so much.

[ChezGiven]

Theres only one Rich on my list 

[indi]

This is the kind of deal he is able to do:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jun/05/9

 

£29m profit in eight weeks on an investment of £200m

 

That's 14.5% profit in eight weeks!!

 

You reckon he's going to make anything like that on NUFC!?!

 

Aye, actually. Do measure success in how quickly he does it? How much are you willing to bet that the club is worth more than double what it is now in three years?

 

How come the season tickets are going up for next year? He's pissing millions away, apparently. Why does he need an extra £20 off me? Naive beyond belief.

 

Oh the irony.

 

Anyhow, if I'd have said that I thought he wasn't expecting to make any money whatsoever then yeah, you could call me naive, but as I've clearly stated that I don't think that on at least a couple of occasions now, I'd suggest that the only naivety in this conversation is in your seeming belief that he couldn't get a better deal elsewhere.

 

Yes time is important. Ever heard of the time value of money? The fact is that he could quite easily make more money investing elsewhere than NUFC.

 

You think your extra 20 quid is the reason he took over the club!?! It'll take a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong time before that pays for his £150 million!!

 

If all he was doing was looking to make a quick buck, he'd have done what the Glaisers did at ManU and bought the club with debt and then transferred it to the clubs itself and like Gillette and Hicks would like to do to Liverpool, he certainly wouldn't have bought the club and paid off all its debts with his own money!!

[Luc]

Theres only one Rich on my list 

 

http://www.geocities.com/MIGHTORS2/Richie/RichieRich1.jpg

[indi]

indi, why do you think so many foreign investors have bought Premiership clubs in recent years? Clearly, they believe there is the potential here for further growth..?

 

Like I said before, they all have their own reasons, many of which are indeed to do with making money. I am not arguing that Ashley will not make any money, rather that making money was not his primary reason for doing what he has done. Here's my guess as to what each of their reasons are:

 

1) Abramovich & Chelsea - Rich man's play-thing. The motivation to break-even is coming from the management of the club, who are scared about what happens should he get bored and fuck off, or fall out with his mate Vlad.

 

2) The Glaisers & ManU - Cash Cow. They are looking to make an income from expanding the brand and increasing revenue, knowing that at some point in the future they can always sell-up and get back at least what they paid for it. Which could mean a huge profit for them personally, seeing as they've transferred the debt to the club, although whether anyone would be willing to take over the club with that kind of debt is another matter.

 

3) Gillette and Hicks & Liverpool - See ManU.

 

4) Learner & Villa - Good long term investment. Villa were debt free remember and had the stadium and fan base to make some money out of by making a relatively modest investment in the team and generally improving the way the club was run. Learner has done this before in the States and therefore knows how to do that what it takes to make money with sports teams. Villa were basically a good solid investment.

 

5) Egghead & West Ham - See Villa, but slightly more risky/less potential.

 

6) Thaksin & Citeh - Probably a bit from Villa and a bit from Chelsea + Thaksin needed to get the hell out of Thailand and probably wanted a bit of positive publicity in his new adopted home to sway public opinion against any future extradition request, not to mention getting his money out of the bank and invested asap, whilst he still had it.

 

7) Ashley & NUFC - Hard to tell, probably reckons he won't lose money and wouldn't say no to making some, but I reckon it's closer to Roman than it is to Malcolm.

[indi]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

Erm, it is a fact. If I can get 6% on my meagre savings then he can get more on his HUUUGE savings.

 

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

 

 

 

So the Halls were martyrs for sticking round then, instead of selling up and investing their money more 'effectively'.

 

Does that website promise to quadruple your money in ten years?

 

What exactly is your point? You seem to be just thrashing around bringing up random stuff and asking random questions.

 

The Halls had been trying to sell up for years, because Dougie and his sister had fucked up Cameron Hall so badly that they were pretty desperate for the cash. No they weren't Martyrs, but SJH has basically retired and his kids are brain dead no-hopers who basically sold off the family silver (nufc) to survive. They probably couldn't have done better with the money, for the simple fact that they're fucking idiots. Mike Ashley is anything but an idiot and it's quite clear he has the skill to use the money he's invested in NUFC more effectively if he so desired. He hasn't which suggests that making a shit-load of cash isn't his motivation for doing this. I'd suggest that although he probably intends to make some money (which is fair enough), he's doing this mainly as a "vanity project".

 

As for quadrupling his money, are you trying to suggest that there is scope for football to go through an equivalent period of growth over the next ten years as it did over the period that the Halls were involved with NUFC? I seriously doubt that's possible, what makes you think that it is?

 

I love your 'Les Dawson's piano playing' theory, where you suggest that you have to be a successful millionaire/billionaire businessman to be able to invest your money so badly.

 

Mike is a shrewd man, so he must be doing something so stupid deliberately, because he loves us so much.

 

Again, you simply don't seem to understand what I'm saying.

 

Does a rich man buy a big house as an investment? A Ferrari? A yacht?

 

No.

 

Does that mean he expects to lose a shit load of money on them when he sells them?

 

No, probably not.

 

But that doesn't mean he bought them in order to make a big fat profit, does it!?!

 

He's on record as saying that he wants to have some fun with his money. Afterall, he can't take it with him can he!?! I doubt he's going to run short any time soon.

[Martin Lol]

How would Spurs be so far ahead of  the Toon? I haven't got a hang up about Spurs like some on here just curious as to how they would have more! Surely league positions and them being in Europe does not account for a £16million difference? Bearing in mind we get a lot bigger crowds.

 

If these figures are accurate then it again highlights how mismanaged the club has been in the past! Though that's hardly a surprise!

 

Seeing as NE5 seems to be absent I will make his point on behalf of him: you don´t get in the top 15 of financial powerhouses in world football by being mismanaged. Now if only it could translate to some decent results on the pitch..

 

That's why we are seen as a big club by some.

 

Truth is if someone like citeh, villa or the spuds take on what we've gone through they'd sink.

 

Fanbase and mainly gate receipts keeps this club in the zombie like state its been in for years. The catch is ever present in the shell of a club we call our own.

 

Villa are the one team that under Ellis were financially well run off the pitch although that seemed to be to the detriment of the onfield activities at times.  Man City have had there tough times before Taksin bought it, Spurs would have gone to the wall if Sir Alan Sugar hadn't bought the club when he did.  City and Spurs didn't sink, I don't expect Newcastle to either.

[S.S.R.]

According to this:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PLCDetail/0,,10278~733426,00.html

 

in 2005 we made £6m before player trading and amortisation, and our pre-tax profits were actually only £4.5m, meaning that after tax we'd have make basically £fuck all.

 

 

 

Shepherd and the Halls got their cut before that.

 

Foreign investors coming out of every corner of the world, desperate to get a piece of the pie, season tickets and tv deals rising every year, but still, nobody makes any money out of it.

 

Who's denying that there's money to be made?

 

However, for a number of the investors that is not the primary motivation and I think Ashley falls into this category.

 

By the way:

 

2006 (pg 13 (16)):

 

"The board is not proposing a dividend at this time..."

 

So if they weren't getting their cut that year, do you reckon they would be this year?

 

There's also the fact that he could invest his money more effectively elsewhere, which you've conveniently ignored.

 

You keep stating that as if it is a hard fact, when it's opinion.

 

Erm, it is a fact. If I can get 6% on my meagre savings then he can get more on his HUUUGE savings.

 

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

 

 

 

So the Halls were martyrs for sticking round then, instead of selling up and investing their money more 'effectively'.

 

Does that website promise to quadruple your money in ten years?

 

What exactly is your point? You seem to be just thrashing around bringing up random stuff and asking random questions.

 

The Halls had been trying to sell up for years, because Dougie and his sister had fucked up Cameron Hall so badly that they were pretty desperate for the cash. No they weren't Martyrs, but SJH has basically retired and his kids are brain dead no-hopers who basically sold off the family silver (nufc) to survive. They probably couldn't have done better with the money, for the simple fact that they're fucking idiots. Mike Ashley is anything but an idiot and it's quite clear he has the skill to use the money he's invested in NUFC more effectively if he so desired. He hasn't which suggests that making a shit-load of cash isn't his motivation for doing this. I'd suggest that although he probably intends to make some money (which is fair enough), he's doing this mainly as a "vanity project".

 

As for quadrupling his money, are you trying to suggest that there is scope for football to go through an equivalent period of growth over the next ten years as it did over the period that the Halls were involved with NUFC? I seriously doubt that's possible, what makes you think that it is?

 

I love your 'Les Dawson's piano playing' theory, where you suggest that you have to be a successful millionaire/billionaire businessman to be able to invest your money so badly.

 

Mike is a shrewd man, so he must be doing something so stupid deliberately, because he loves us so much.

 

Again, you simply don't seem to understand what I'm saying.

 

Does a rich man buy a big house as an investment? A Ferrari? A yacht?

 

No.

 

Does that mean he expects to lose a shit load of money on them when he sells them?

 

No, probably not.

 

But that doesn't mean he bought them in order to make a big fat profit, does it!?!

 

He's on record as saying that he wants to have some fun with his money. Afterall, he can't take it with him can he!?! I doubt he's going to run short any time soon.

 

The concept of someone rich buying something to mess around with isn't hard to grasp, it's just that I don't believe he's doing that.

 

Oh, he just so happens to fancy a laugh at the same time there's a bandwagon of greedy people trying to sink their teeth into premiership clubs. What a coincidence.  But he's not like everyone else. He says so, it must be true. He wears a shirt and everything.

 

Funny how he raises the ticket prices, puts his logo - Cheap, nasty and completely at odds with the look of the ground - on our Gallowgate end and gets a hardon for the 39th game just like the other greedy fuckers.

[macphisto]

How would Spurs be so far ahead of  the Toon? I haven't got a hang up about Spurs like some on here just curious as to how they would have more! Surely league positions and them being in Europe does not account for a £16million difference? Bearing in mind we get a lot bigger crowds.

 

If these figures are accurate then it again highlights how mismanaged the club has been in the past! Though that's hardly a surprise!

 

Seeing as NE5 seems to be absent I will make his point on behalf of him: you don´t get in the top 15 of financial powerhouses in world football by being mismanaged. Now if only it could translate to some decent results on the pitch..

 

Well from what I can see we have got into the top 15 of football clubs by being mismanaged! I'm not going to get into a debate on this as it's been debated to death but we are where we are due to blind loyalty, socio-economic factors, and geography more than good management! Also being in the richest league in the world helps!

 

 

[indi]

 

 

The concept of someone rich buying something to mess around with isn't hard to grasp, it's just that I don't believe he's doing that.

 

Oh, he just so happens to fancy a laugh at the same time there's a bandwagon of greedy people trying to sink their teeth into premiership clubs. What a coincidence.  But he's not like everyone else. He says so, it must be true. He wears a shirt and everything.

 

Funny how he raises the ticket prices, puts his logo - Cheap, nasty and completely at odds with the look of the ground - on our Gallowgate end and gets a hardon for the 39th game just like the other greedy fuckers.

 

The logo thing is totally irrelevant to anything, it's a fucking advert, just like all the other adverts all over the ground, why are you being so precious about the appearance of a banner covering what's little more than a piece of grey corrugated-iron? You realise that the "Northern Rock" on the shirts is an advert and not a statement of regional pride?

 

The other things you mention are relatively small-fry, they're hardly going to get him well on his way to his third billion are they!?! He's not going to turn extra income down is he though, or were you expecting him to give you a free season ticket and that's why you're bitter?

 

I notice you've failed to address the issue of him using his own money, not only to buy the club, but to clear the debts, would you care to explain why he'd do this?

 

Do you think Abramovich is going to make much out of Chelsea?

[S.S.R.]

 

 

The concept of someone rich buying something to mess around with isn't hard to grasp, it's just that I don't believe he's doing that.

 

Oh, he just so happens to fancy a laugh at the same time there's a bandwagon of greedy people trying to sink their teeth into premiership clubs. What a coincidence.  But he's not like everyone else. He says so, it must be true. He wears a shirt and everything.

 

Funny how he raises the ticket prices, puts his logo - Cheap, nasty and completely at odds with the look of theground - on our Gallowgate end and gets a hardon for the 39th game just like the other greedy fuckers.

 

The logo thing is totally irrelevant to anything, it's a fucking advert, just like all the other adverts all over the ground, why are you being so precious about the appearance of a banner covering what's little more than a piece of grey corrugated-iron? You realise that the "Northern Rock" on the shirts is an advert and not a statement of regional pride?

 

The other things you mention are relatively small-fry, they're hardly going to get him well on his way to his third billion are they!?! He's not going to turn extra income down is he though, or were you expecting him to give you a free season ticket and that's why you're bitter?

 

I notice you've failed to address the issue of him using his own money, not only to buy the club, but to clear the debts, would you care to explain why he'd do this?

 

 

Nice to see you hold our ground with such high esteem. I would also be offended if we got an embarrassing sponsor on our shirts.

 

I'm not bitter about the tickets going up, or his other little money spinners - although I am fuming about the 39th game - it's just that they seem a little unnecessary for someone who supposedly is doing this for the love of the game, and your point that they are worth a pittance to him only serves to emphasise this.

 

I've already posted at great length - and tedium - about how he hasn't done us a favour by paying debts off. If the club wasn't in so much debt the Halls would have no doubt held out for much more, so it doesn't make a difference anyway. He's paid out for something that's worth what he paid for it. He's made a transaction, not a donation. 

 

From the tone of my posts, anyone reading would think that I was against Ashley, but I'm not. What I am against is the sycophantic attitude towards him, as if he's made a big sacrifice and done us a big favour, and somehow we owe him unquestioning loyalty.

 

He's just some rich bloke whose taken on a big responsibility and we shouldn't let him get away with doing anything he likes.

[indi]

 

 

The concept of someone rich buying something to mess around with isn't hard to grasp, it's just that I don't believe he's doing that.

 

Oh, he just so happens to fancy a laugh at the same time there's a bandwagon of greedy people trying to sink their teeth into premiership clubs. What a coincidence.  But he's not like everyone else. He says so, it must be true. He wears a shirt and everything.

 

Funny how he raises the ticket prices, puts his logo - Cheap, nasty and completely at odds with the look of theground - on our Gallowgate end and gets a hardon for the 39th game just like the other greedy fuckers.

 

The logo thing is totally irrelevant to anything, it's a fucking advert, just like all the other adverts all over the ground, why are you being so precious about the appearance of a banner covering what's little more than a piece of grey corrugated-iron? You realise that the "Northern Rock" on the shirts is an advert and not a statement of regional pride?

 

The other things you mention are relatively small-fry, they're hardly going to get him well on his way to his third billion are they!?! He's not going to turn extra income down is he though, or were you expecting him to give you a free season ticket and that's why you're bitter?

 

I notice you've failed to address the issue of him using his own money, not only to buy the club, but to clear the debts, would you care to explain why he'd do this?

 

 

Nice to see you hold our ground with such high esteem. I would also be offended if we got an embarrassing sponsor on our shirts.

 

I'm not bitter about the tickets going up, or his other little money spinners - although I am fuming about the 39th game - it's just that they seem a little unnecessary for someone who supposedly is doing this for the love of the game, and your point that they are worth a pittance to him only serves to emphasise this.

 

I've already posted at great length - and tedium - about how he hasn't done us a favour by paying debts off. If the club wasn't in so much debt the Halls would have no doubt held out for much more, so it doesn't make a difference anyway. He's paid out for something that's worth what he paid for it. He's made a transaction, not a donation. 

 

From the tone of my posts, anyone reading would think that I was against Ashley, but I'm not. What I am against is the sycophantic attitude towards him, as if he's made a big sacrifice and done us a big favour, and somehow we owe him unquestioning loyalty.

 

He's just some rich bloke whose taken on a big responsibility and we shouldn't let him get away with doing anything he likes.

 

What's embarrassing about it, well any more embarrassing than any of the other hoardings? Is it embarrassing to you to be sponsored by a now seemingly defunct bank, soon to be part of H M Treasury?

 

It's funny that you suggest that I don't hold SJP in very high esteem, yet you're the one that seems to think that a banner somehow lessens it's majesty!! It'll be special to me whatever it looks like, whatever they call the stands, however many seats it has, however shiny the bogs are, and regardless of how many banners they hang from the roof!!

 

The 39th game is a shit idea, yet all the clubs are supporting it, so to single Ashley out for special criticism is pointless and correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't actually seen him comment directly on it at all, yet you're going on as if it was all his idea.

 

Humour me and repost your reasons for explaining why he paid off the debt with his own money when he could have left it on the club or refinanced it or even added the cost of purchasing the shares to it like the Glaisers did and Hicks and Gillette want to do? Yeah, a debt free NUFC would have cost more, so what!?! It's not the price he paid, but the way he financed it that's important and you seemingly have no answer for that question. Well not one that I've seen. It's also worth bearing in mind that no-one else actually made a bid, so to assume that NUFC was a really attractive purchase is getting a bit carried away. Remember the Halls wanted to sell and went looking for a buyer, not the other way around.

[indi]

 

From the tone of my posts, anyone reading would think that I was against Ashley, but I'm not. What I am against is the sycophantic attitude towards him, as if he's made a big sacrifice and done us a big favour, and somehow we owe him unquestioning loyalty.

 

He's just some rich bloke whose taken on a big responsibility and we shouldn't let him get away with doing anything he likes.

 

Believe me I wouldn't let him get away with doing anything he likes - not that I'd be able to stop him like - but I don't see that he's done anything wrong as of yet, nothing malicious anyway. In fact a lot of what I've seen so far I like, a lot. However, I'll reserve my judgement on whether he's any good as an owner for a while yet, it's way too early to decide now.

 

Although the "he's only in it for the money" argument just doesn't make sense to me, for the reasons I've given.