What are Ashley and co's intentions? Have they failed so far?

[Shearergol]

I'd be more gutted if I'd paid for 3 years worth of season tickets. What's that funding?

[Tachikoma]

Well, my main disappointment is that we didn't get someone to replace Butt, but then again Barton could do a good enough job in his place. Quite happy that we (potentially) look much better going forward now.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Unbelievable that anyone can be ashamed about the current state of our club, especially compared to the shambolic goings-on previously.

 

We are making good progress, yes the squad is a little on the small side but a lot of the shit has been shown the door. The players that have come in (6 by the way, not a small number in one window), look good so far, although very early to judge.

 

What would have happened under the old regime is that the likes of Carr, Babayaro and cronies would still be here, and maybe one big name signing would have come in.

 

The sad thing is some people would have been happier with that.

 

We've got to stop going along with the media shit and this inexplicable pessimism. The only thing I'm ashamed of at the moment is some of my fellow fans.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

At the end of the day the squad appears stronger than last season.

 

People have been banging on about getting rid of the likes of Emre, Carr, Babayaro, Ramage and even Milner for a couple of years.

 

People have constantly complained that we never seem to unearth gems that no-body has heard of.

 

People have quite rightly stated that we needed to spend on the defence.

 

Well since Ashley came in we have done all of the above.

 

Sod your Rooney, Berbatov, Robinho signings for now - as good as they all are we needed to buy balance not a star name this summer. We have added quality to the squad which should see us challenging for Europe this season. Thats progress from the last 2 years. Once we get Europe we can add the required quality to the squad to push on again.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

At the end of the day the squad appears stronger than last season.

 

People have been banging on about getting rid of the likes of Emre, Carr, Babayaro, Ramage and even Milner for a couple of years.

 

People have constantly complained that we never seem to unearth gems that no-body has heard of.

 

People have quite rightly stated that we needed to spend on the defence.

 

Well since Ashley came in we have done all of the above.

 

Sod your Rooney, Berbatov, Robinho signings for now - as good as they all are we needed to buy balance not a star name this summer. We have added quality to the squad which should see us challenging for Europe this season. Thats progress from the last 2 years. Once we get Europe we can add the required quality to the squad to push on again.

 

Phew, someone is still thinking straight.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

Oh and people have been complaining that we haven't been spending like Spurs this summer and have a low net spend.

 

Spurs have a net income this summer now.

 

And last season they had Berbatov and Keane up front with Bent and Defoe in reserve.

 

They now have Bent with a 17 year old loanee from Man Utd in reserve

[greydos]

At the end of the day the squad appears stronger than last season.

 

People have been banging on about getting rid of the likes of Emre, Carr, Babayaro, Ramage and even Milner for a couple of years.

 

People have constantly complained that we never seem to unearth gems that no-body has heard of.

 

People have quite rightly stated that we needed to spend on the defence.

 

Well since Ashley came in we have done all of the above.

 

Sod your Rooney, Berbatov, Robinho signings for now - as good as they all are we needed to buy balance not a star name this summer. We have added quality to the squad which should see us challenging for Europe this season. Thats progress from the last 2 years. Once we get Europe we can add the required quality to the squad to push on again.

 

Phew, someone is still thinking straight.

 

But will we get into Europe without adding enough quality first up?

 

I agree with what another poster said earlier, it hurts more that there are players who other teams have signed, who aren't necessarily in a better position than us and not for huge amounts of money. I'm thinking:

 

Malbranque

Sidwell

Shorey

Kompany

Wright-Phillips

Seb Larsson (Championship ffs, could have gotten him in surely)

Giles Barnes (i'd kill for a young pacy right-winger to understudy to our first choice Geremi at RM)

Carlos Cuellar

Finnan

 

I'm sure there are many others i can't think of at this moment who would have strengthened our first team or squad and wouldn't have cost the earth.

 

[Slugsy]

We won't get into Europe if we keep spending the way we have - not a chance in h*ll.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Maybe there are some players that might have helped us, but since when could we just buy any player that was available? Every other club is trying to do the same you know.

 

We are adding quality and removing dead wood, it won't happen in one season but I can't believe people are anything other than happy with the new regime and the way they have conducted their business.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

We won't get into Europe if we keep spending the way we have - not a chance in h*ll.

 

Spunking massive amounts of money on dodgy signings didn't exactly guarantee Europe though did it?

[Nobody]

We got what we needed on deadline day in an ACM and a tall striker.

We haven't got any big names in, but if Xisco and Gonzales are as good as Guthrie and Jonas, I'll be more than happy.

[Slugsy]

We won't get into Europe if we keep spending the way we have - not a chance in h*ll.

 

Spunking massive amounts of money on dodgy signings didn't exactly guarantee Europe though did it?

 

Its a different league, different dynamics - you have to spend if you are going to get anywhere near Europe now, arab money, Champs League money has changed the rules and while its not a guarantee, I can guarantee while we don't match these other clubs ambitions, we will fall further behind. 

 

[Slugsy]

We won't get into Europe if we keep spending the way we have - not a chance in h*ll.

 

Spunking massive amounts of money on dodgy signings didn't exactly guarantee Europe though did it?

 

Alternatively we could have 'spunked' massive amounts of money on good players?

[magpie418]

An old bull and a young bull are stood on top of a hill looking down at a herd of cows.

The young bull turns to the old bull and says "Let's run down the hill and fuck us one of those cows!", to which the old bull replies "No son, lets walk down the hill and fuck them all"

[Dave]

An old bull and a young bull are stood on top of a hill looking down at a herd of cows.

The young bull turns to the old bull and says "Let's run down the hill and fuck us one of those cows!", to which the old bull replies "No son, lets walk down the hill and fuck them all"

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

We won't get into Europe if we keep spending the way we have - not a chance in h*ll.

 

Spunking massive amounts of money on dodgy signings didn't exactly guarantee Europe though did it?

 

Alternatively we could have 'spunked' massive amounts of money on good players?

 

We could have done that in the past as well, but we rarely did. Maybe that suggests it is very difficult to do.

[Slugsy]

An old bull and a young bull are stood on top of a hill looking down at a herd of cows.

The young bull turns to the old bull and says "Let's run down the hill and f*** us one of those cows!", to which the old bull replies "No son, lets walk down the hill and f*** them all"

 

By the time they get down the hill, the cows will have f*cked off.

[Troll]

On betfair he's 1/2 to be the next manager to leave.

[Troll]

Oops, that was in the wrong thread.

[manorpark]

I'm as disappointed as anyone, but 'ashamed'? mackems.gif

 

I'm sorry for saying that.  I am just (like you say) disappointed, so very disappointed.  The reason I used the word 'ashamed', is because I have spent a whole lifetime, an entire lifetime, telling people around the UK and anywhere, the FACTS (not my opinion - I have always presented it as FACT) that we are a great club and we will prove it on the field 'some day very soon' ('then you'll all know' . . . )

 

I don't feel (for the first time in my life) that saying that has any credibility now.

 

The whole 'we are 2nd class' thing from Keegan last season (no matter what he meant by it, and no matter how others interpret it) started it off.  The employment of these London-based (not very good, obviously, at their jobs) non-entities makes it even worse.

 

Then we realise that (unlike other Billionaire-owned clubs) OUR billionaire isn't going to spend any of HIS money (yes, I know about the debts . . .) on the grander things of life.

 

Then we get this uninspiring/underhwelming transfer window.  OK, some of the new players have started well . .  but on a cold winters day at West Ham or Wigan??

 

Yes, perhaps the best word is disppointment, but perhaps you can see where the 'ashamed' thing came from.

 

Please, don't (anyone) ramble on pointlessly about 'depression' and 'doommongering'.  It is just how it seems to be for this club, right now - and I personally can't see KK living with it for long  -  but WE have to!

[AyeDubbleYoo]

The employment of these London-based (not very good, obviously, at their jobs) non-entities makes it even worse.

 

I've never seen the big problem with them being 'London based' (boo, hiss), as if being based in London is inherently evil or something.

 

I doubt they're signing many players from North Tyneside, I think they would spend a lot of time away from the city anyway. And as for them not being good at their jobs, I'd say the players we've brought in so far suggest otherwise.

 

It isn't their job to identify Robinho etc, anyone can do that from the comfort of their front room. We're digging deeper to spend more sensibly.

[manorpark]

The employment of these London-based (not very good, obviously, at their jobs) non-entities makes it even worse.

 

I've never seen the big problem with them being 'London based' (boo, hiss), as if being based in London is inherently evil or something.

 

I doubt they're signing many players from North Tyneside, I think they would spend a lot of time away from the city anyway. And as for them not being good at their jobs, I'd say the players we've brought in so far suggest otherwise.

 

It isn't their job to identify Robinho etc, anyone can do that from the comfort of their front room. We're digging deeper to spend more sensibly.

 

If you have worked in organisations with "remote management" or "remote power" then you will know what I mean.

 

But, simply, the undewhelming/uninspiring transfer window  (no?) confirms that they are not very good at the job they are supposed to be 'travelling around the world all the time doing'.  What they have done may be "ok" (no more than that) but they needed to have achieved far far far more (and 'better than ok').

 

We should not accept these mediocre standards, objectives, behaviours and personnel at this club. (Lets not excuse it all by talking about the past either).

[merlin]

we're not allowed to criticise until the transfer window is closed.... ....oh wait, the mantra is now - we're not allowed to criticise.

 

there's a few myths floating around that dont seem to tally with the actual state of affairs. and these refer to the behind the scenes team and the owner rather than on-the-pitch affairs, as that is what this thread is about. (fyi i think we've improved slightly on the pitch to what we had at the end of last season)

 

1. apparently we can't compete with other clubs and we should be pleased if we can break even in the transfer market as that's about our level these days. is that what people are really saying? all a sudden we're supposed to be worse off than we were a few years back?

 

the answer is - have they missed the past few years of investment by a billionaire owner and tv cash injection of at least £18m+ per season? we should have plenty of money to spend, either ashley is being tight with the purse strings & failing to push the boat out or the negotiation team of jiminez and wise is messing up badly. either way this reflects negatively on the owner. people are saying the failue to invest is down to us not being able to compete with other clubs. that is tautological - the truth is the other way round - if there is a reason we can't compete with other clubs it is BECAUSE we've failed to invest

 

2. apparently because we're not in europe we can't get top quality players.

 

the answer is - anyone with an ounce of sense knows this argument is bullshit so can we please put it to bed? yes being out of europe may mean we miss out on some of the targets who eventually move to much bigger clubs, but if you are willing to go that bit further in the pursuit of the best you will land your targets. there are plenty of players out there, it is not like Keegan would've had one player in mind for a position, so that if we miss out on that one player, we don't strengthen at all. in this instance we were able to land two top players which in itself invalidates the claim that being out of europe means we can't get quality. it's a self-defeating argument. Man City were able to attract players like Elano and Petrov last summer despite no european football. We were able to spend £36m in one window under Souness despite no european football.

 

for those making the argument that we can't compete with sides in europe, specifically yorkie, ask yourself this - how come we beat one of these fabled euro teams, Pompey, for the signature of Jonas? i'm guessing it is because we got in there early, did business professionaly and gave him what he wanted. when it came to Coloccini we ended up paying the extra money that deportivo wanted to secure him. these are two successes for which the backroom staff deserve credit, but it's not enough by itself, we should've done this in other instances too. of course in retrospect it now looks like the Coloccini move was paid for by the departures of Faye and Milner, and since Jonas came on a negligable fee/free, it seems to suggest the problem lies more with Ashley than with Wise and co.

 

3. earlier in the window people said we were prepared to spend big and compete. now people are saying we can't compete and must build slowly. why must we now build slowly but two months ago we were on the verge on spending big?

 

the answer is we dont have to build slowly or act in a conservative manner. people have compared this summer to robson's first transfer windows but the situations could barely be more different. we've not spent anything for two years now and robson's spending increase was sanctioned on the back of a new cash injection which at that time happened to be the stadium expansion. there is a direct parallel, a present day equivalent, in the injection of cash from new TV Money. this summer should've also witnessed a comparable surge in spending.

 

Totally agree - far too many people unwilling to face reality...the new Board have been a success in clearing debts but a failure in moving the club forward fast enough to keep pace with those behind even the top 6 ; we are a mid-table club for the foreseeable future and risk being overtaken by both the Mackems AND Boro, the latter whose Academy leaves ours standing...

 

The table will prove who is right by January.

[Slugsy]

we're not allowed to criticise until the transfer window is closed.... ....oh wait, the mantra is now - we're not allowed to criticise.

 

there's a few myths floating around that dont seem to tally with the actual state of affairs. and these refer to the behind the scenes team and the owner rather than on-the-pitch affairs, as that is what this thread is about. (fyi i think we've improved slightly on the pitch to what we had at the end of last season)

 

1. apparently we can't compete with other clubs and we should be pleased if we can break even in the transfer market as that's about our level these days. is that what people are really saying? all a sudden we're supposed to be worse off than we were a few years back?

 

the answer is - have they missed the past few years of investment by a billionaire owner and tv cash injection of at least £18m+ per season? we should have plenty of money to spend, either ashley is being tight with the purse strings & failing to push the boat out or the negotiation team of jiminez and wise is messing up badly. either way this reflects negatively on the owner. people are saying the failue to invest is down to us not being able to compete with other clubs. that is tautological - the truth is the other way round - if there is a reason we can't compete with other clubs it is BECAUSE we've failed to invest

 

2. apparently because we're not in europe we can't get top quality players.

 

the answer is - anyone with an ounce of sense knows this argument is bullshit so can we please put it to bed? yes being out of europe may mean we miss out on some of the targets who eventually move to much bigger clubs, but if you are willing to go that bit further in the pursuit of the best you will land your targets. there are plenty of players out there, it is not like Keegan would've had one player in mind for a position, so that if we miss out on that one player, we don't strengthen at all. in this instance we were able to land two top players which in itself invalidates the claim that being out of europe means we can't get quality. it's a self-defeating argument. Man City were able to attract players like Elano and Petrov last summer despite no european football. We were able to spend £36m in one window under Souness despite no european football.

 

for those making the argument that we can't compete with sides in europe, specifically yorkie, ask yourself this - how come we beat one of these fabled euro teams, Pompey, for the signature of Jonas? i'm guessing it is because we got in there early, did business professionaly and gave him what he wanted. when it came to Coloccini we ended up paying the extra money that deportivo wanted to secure him. these are two successes for which the backroom staff deserve credit, but it's not enough by itself, we should've done this in other instances too. of course in retrospect it now looks like the Coloccini move was paid for by the departures of Faye and Milner, and since Jonas came on a negligable fee/free, it seems to suggest the problem lies more with Ashley than with Wise and co.

 

3. earlier in the window people said we were prepared to spend big and compete. now people are saying we can't compete and must build slowly. why must we now build slowly but two months ago we were on the verge on spending big?

 

the answer is we dont have to build slowly or act in a conservative manner. people have compared this summer to robson's first transfer windows but the situations could barely be more different. we've not spent anything for two years now and robson's spending increase was sanctioned on the back of a new cash injection which at that time happened to be the stadium expansion. there is a direct parallel, a present day equivalent, in the injection of cash from new TV Money. this summer should've also witnessed a comparable surge in spending.

 

Totally agree - far too many people unwilling to face reality...the new Board have been a success in clearing debts but a failure in moving the club forward fast enough to keep pace with those behind even the top 6 ; we are a mid-table club for the foreseeable future and risk being overtaken by both the Mackems AND Boro, the latter whose Academy leaves ours standing...

 

The table will prove who is right by January.

 

Good post, though will reserve judgement on being taken over by the mackems - certainly the likes of Spurs and Man City.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

we're not allowed to criticise until the transfer window is closed.... ....oh wait, the mantra is now - we're not allowed to criticise.

 

there's a few myths floating around that dont seem to tally with the actual state of affairs. and these refer to the behind the scenes team and the owner rather than on-the-pitch affairs, as that is what this thread is about. (fyi i think we've improved slightly on the pitch to what we had at the end of last season)

 

1. apparently we can't compete with other clubs and we should be pleased if we can break even in the transfer market as that's about our level these days. is that what people are really saying? all a sudden we're supposed to be worse off than we were a few years back?

 

the answer is - have they missed the past few years of investment by a billionaire owner and tv cash injection of at least £18m+ per season? we should have plenty of money to spend, either ashley is being tight with the purse strings & failing to push the boat out or the negotiation team of jiminez and wise is messing up badly. either way this reflects negatively on the owner. people are saying the failue to invest is down to us not being able to compete with other clubs. that is tautological - the truth is the other way round - if there is a reason we can't compete with other clubs it is BECAUSE we've failed to invest

 

2. apparently because we're not in europe we can't get top quality players.

 

the answer is - anyone with an ounce of sense knows this argument is bullshit so can we please put it to bed? yes being out of europe may mean we miss out on some of the targets who eventually move to much bigger clubs, but if you are willing to go that bit further in the pursuit of the best you will land your targets. there are plenty of players out there, it is not like Keegan would've had one player in mind for a position, so that if we miss out on that one player, we don't strengthen at all. in this instance we were able to land two top players which in itself invalidates the claim that being out of europe means we can't get quality. it's a self-defeating argument. Man City were able to attract players like Elano and Petrov last summer despite no european football. We were able to spend £36m in one window under Souness despite no european football.

 

for those making the argument that we can't compete with sides in europe, specifically yorkie, ask yourself this - how come we beat one of these fabled euro teams, Pompey, for the signature of Jonas? i'm guessing it is because we got in there early, did business professionaly and gave him what he wanted. when it came to Coloccini we ended up paying the extra money that deportivo wanted to secure him. these are two successes for which the backroom staff deserve credit, but it's not enough by itself, we should've done this in other instances too. of course in retrospect it now looks like the Coloccini move was paid for by the departures of Faye and Milner, and since Jonas came on a negligable fee/free, it seems to suggest the problem lies more with Ashley than with Wise and co.

 

3. earlier in the window people said we were prepared to spend big and compete. now people are saying we can't compete and must build slowly. why must we now build slowly but two months ago we were on the verge on spending big?

 

the answer is we dont have to build slowly or act in a conservative manner. people have compared this summer to robson's first transfer windows but the situations could barely be more different. we've not spent anything for two years now and robson's spending increase was sanctioned on the back of a new cash injection which at that time happened to be the stadium expansion. there is a direct parallel, a present day equivalent, in the injection of cash from new TV Money. this summer should've also witnessed a comparable surge in spending.

 

Totally agree - far too many people unwilling to face reality...the new Board have been a success in clearing debts but a failure in moving the club forward fast enough to keep pace with those behind even the top 6 ; we are a mid-table club for the foreseeable future and risk being overtaken by both the Mackems AND Boro, the latter whose Academy leaves ours standing...

 

The table will prove who is right by January.

 

Only point I'm picking up on is re the Academy.

 

I'd give the board credit for the number of young players being bought to fit into the academy and reserve team regardless on your thoughts with the first team signings