Still an Ashleyite? Who's with me?

[johnnypd]

i'd probably stick a few on moyes if we lose keegan.

 

everton just broke their transfer record so moyes may be placated for now. can't see him working with the current set up either, nor any self respecting british manager. it'll either be an up and coming coach who will take their chances for a shot at the limelight, someone close to Ashley & co like wise or poyet, or a foreign manager less clued up on our situation and more accepting of the continental set up.

[cubaricho]

This thread is like a bastion of sanity in the midst of a shitstorm.  I agree with a lot of what has been said in this thread.  Ashley's vision for the club is one I can really get behind and I really admire doing things the right way.  That being said, I really hope Keegan has a part to play in this because I really love the way his football teams play on the pitch - no fear and 110%, a rare thing to find in a football team.  Also, I'd really hate to see this whole thing boil over due to Barton and Smith talk.  The people that run this club are adults and should be able to sit around a table and hash these kinds of things out like men and not, as you all say, throw their toys out the pram.  One of my favorite posts from this thread is the I MISS MORT post - don't we all.  He seemed a really level headed and genuine guy and I feel like him and Kevin had a much better relationship than Llambias(sp?) and Kevin do which might be the focal point of this whole debacle and where it all stems from.  So overall my main point is that I love the direction this club is going and I love the football being played on the pitch (4 points out of six not-so-easy matches!) and I hope everyone involved (except perhaps Llambias) can stick around and keep this ship headed to the promise land.

[Guest optimistic nit]

moyes looked like he was about to kill himself throughout the whole of july and august pretty much. i very much doubt he's placated, even if they did spend 15million on transfer day. they still had a shocking window overall.

 

and johnny i'm going to assume you know as much about our current set up as i do, which is fuck all, and in a worst case scenario its probably no worse than spurs were with their director of football, indeed i think ashley modelled our system on spurs', given that he's friends with their chairman and that didn't stop them signing ramos.

 

city's cituation also didn't stop hughes signing for them. if you think keegan has no control over who he signs, what about hughes? scolari as well. they signed bosingwa before he had even been appointed, and wasn't anything like the favourite for the job. you're just being sensationalist and you're overacting massively.

 

if we're the only club to impose such draconian restrictions on our manager then why did hughes leave blackburn, why has moyes been looking like a ghost of late, who signs city and chelsea's players, why do spurs have a director of football, where is liverpool's war chest, why did it take 3 months to sign berbatov, after being linked for a year and what happens if anyone comes in with a reasonable bid for one of west ham's players?

[Guest optimistic nit]

This thread is like a bastion of sanity in the midst of a shitstorm.  I agree with a lot of what has been said in this thread.  Ashley's vision for the club is one I can really get behind and I really admire doing things the right way.  That being said, I really hope Keegan has a part to play in this because I really love the way his football teams play on the pitch - no fear and 110%, a rare thing to find in a football team.  Also, I'd really hate to see this whole thing boil over due to Barton and Smith talk.  The people that run this club are adults and should be able to sit around a table and hash these kinds of things out like men and not, as you all say, throw their toys out the pram.  One of my favorite posts from this thread is the I MISS MORT post - don't we all.  He seemed a really level headed and genuine guy and I feel like him and Kevin had a much better relationship than Llambias(sp?) and Kevin do which might be the focal point of this whole debacle and where it all stems from.  So overall my main point is that I love the direction this club is going and I love the football being played on the pitch (4 points out of six not-so-easy matches!) and I hope everyone involved (except perhaps Llambias) can stick around and keep this ship headed to the promise land.

 

i'm not going to call for anyone's sack based on the info we currently have, but i dont like llambas. not saying we should sack him, but i dont like him as much as liked mort.

[CaliMag]

This thread is like a bastion of sanity in the midst of a shitstorm.  I agree with a lot of what has been said in this thread.  Ashley's vision for the club is one I can really get behind and I really admire doing things the right way.  That being said, I really hope Keegan has a part to play in this because I really love the way his football teams play on the pitch - no fear and 110%, a rare thing to find in a football team.  Also, I'd really hate to see this whole thing boil over due to Barton and Smith talk.  The people that run this club are adults and should be able to sit around a table and hash these kinds of things out like men and not, as you all say, throw their toys out the pram.  One of my favorite posts from this thread is the I MISS MORT post - don't we all.  He seemed a really level headed and genuine guy and I feel like him and Kevin had a much better relationship than Llambias(sp?) and Kevin do which might be the focal point of this whole debacle and where it all stems from.  So overall my main point is that I love the direction this club is going and I love the football being played on the pitch (4 points out of six not-so-easy matches!) and I hope everyone involved (except perhaps Llambias) can stick around and keep this ship headed to the promise land.

 

i'm not going to call for anyone's sack based on the info we currently have, but i dont like llambas. not saying we should sack him, but i dont like him as much as liked mort.

 

Whether it was his idea or not Mort tried to LEARN about NUFC, the fans (meeting with many different groups, fanzines, etc) the players, the existing set-up, the community leaders etc. After a few months he actually knew what the lay of the land was - Llambias has come in to run NUFC like a business and has not put the effort or shown the knowledge of Mort, probably because Mort already did it so why repeat the experience (they thought). Seems like a mistake - might be Ashley's? Could it have helped avoid the fuss? Who knows, but I doubt Llambias and Ashley expected things to end up the way they did Tuesday and now the consequences are hitting them.

 

I think when Mort came in most of us were skeptical (posh sooothen barrister tw@t) - I would have never guessed we'd be missing him.

[Guest sittingontheball]

As much as I love Keegan, I back Ashley entirely for wanting rid of Smith and Barton.

 

I said the same thing in the main thread. Sellng Milner for 10M plus was also a good move in my book.

I suspect Keegan has been fighting the wrong battles.

 

Tbh, I just want things to settle so we can see what Xisco is made of. It could be a great signing.

[NJS]

The setup looks okay in theory and we have signed what look at the moment like decent players.

 

However I'd like to see the long term strategy combined with a possibly one-off splurge to get us up a few places. I'd rather have manageable debt and challenge for top 6 than be "stable" and mid-table.

 

Also those who think it's okay for Ashley to step in just because they don't like Baton and Smith - would they support him if it was Given and Martins? - the principle's the same - the manager should make those decisions.

 

 

[macca888]

As I have said in another thread, if Keegan decides to walk away, then it is only because he has failed to integrate himself into the current strategic management strructure devised by the club to be more organised, visionary and work within a budget whilst still dealing with the debt left by the previous administration.

 

Keegan is an old style manager, mentored by out dated tacticians and a self admitted limited tactician himself. Since his days as a player under the likes of Shankley, Paisley, Cox etc, the game has changed massively to the point where football is no longer a sport but a business and communication tool worldwide.

 

As a business, clubs are required to operate in management structures, within set budgetary allocations and design strategic short and long term plans to enable success both on and off the pitch.

 

Unfortunately, there are a number of issues that are currentely affecting the short term plans for the club and these need to be addressed immediately:

 

1..    As a number of posters on here have already identified, I firmly believe the club misses the management style of Chris Mort. I think he showed wonderful business acumen and superb communicatiin skills whilst he was at the club and the current appointee has failed dismally in replacing Mort certainly in the communication side of thoings. I was also under the impression that Llambias was leaving the club soon anyway. We really desperately need a Mortlike spokesman back as soon as possible.

 

2...As much as I wanted KK to succeed, I have always felt that emotionally, the job was always going to be too big for him uopn his return to the changes in the game since he last stint in charge of the club. The fact that he knew of the Wise/Vetere/Jimeniez appointments prior to taking the job should have seen a more team management side of business at the club. Unfortunately, as has been shown in the past too many times for KK, his ego will not allow this type of strategic management and therefore, he should retire altogether from football management.

 

3.. Not one of us really knows what has gone on behind the scenes but one thing is for sure, I bet a months salary that Ashley and his management team would have neither sought nor initiated this latest fracas as the club and that whatever happens over the next few days, it will be clear to all concerned that any truces made will never result in a full trust between all parties and that the only result will be in KK leaving the club sooner rather than later.

 

Finally, as I said in another post, you can castigate Ashley and Co. as much as you like, but if it was not for his intervention in buying the club 15 months ago, we would probably all be following Gateshead or Blue Star by now. The previous administration had put the club in so much debt, with little saleable assets, that the only way for us was down. Ashley saved the club from this and is still paying off the debt left behind. His management style is to ensure we do not fall into this position again and if he has to penny pinch for a season or two to avoid this and build up a business that is once again, financially marketable, then the long term plan is the better moption. Unfortunately, it is my belief that KK wanted instant success and that was never going to happen.

 

To summarise, Ashley and Co. are thinking with their heads, KK is thinking with his heart and we know that his backing of Milner, Smith and Barton was pulling on the heart strings. The 12 million we got for Milner was definitely a terrific result, whether Keegan likes it or not. 

[gazza ladra]

Me, I'm a Keeganista. You will die like a pig when the revolución comes!

 

I am all for the idea of buying young prospects and building the club from the ground up. Fiscal responsibility. All that.  But this idea of selling players out from underneath the manager is ridiculous and Keegan is 100% right to be furious. To sell Barton on the trade deadline without a replacement [it's reminiscent of selling Woodgate out from underneath SBR-- leaving us with Bramble and O'Brien] and against the wishes of the manager (and player) is wrong.

 

What makes Keegan a great manager is the passion he brings to the team. He has faith in his players and they have faith in him--they will play for him. And, realistically, that is far more important than "playing for the shirt".

 

I don't really rate Milner or Smith. 12m for Milner is too good to pass up and I think that Keegan could see the logic there -- especially as Milner had requested the transfer. But selling Barton now for 3m is farcical. He's a better player than that.

 

I think Barton will come through for Keegan and the club-- when available I'd expect he'd start in a Keegan side. A lot has been written about his character-- or lack of character. But two things about him stick out in my mind. He got in trouble a couple of seasons back for an interview in which he was critical of a lack of dedication displayed by his teammates. The reaction in the papers was over-the-top. But to my ears he got it right.  Also, there was that bit a couple seasons back where he took a dig at Gerrard (?) and Lampard for releasing autobiographies after the World Cup. Thought he was right there too.

 

Keegan sees something in Barton and he's backing his players.  I think Barton will back him as well.  Can't see anyone playing for Dennis Wise.

[NJS]

Finally, as I said in another post, you can castigate Ashley and Co. as much as you like, but if it was not for his intervention in buying the club 15 months ago, we would probably all be following Gateshead or Blue Star by now. The previous administration had put the club in so much debt, with little saleable assets, that the only way for us was down. Ashley saved the club from this and is still paying off the debt left behind. His management style is to ensure we do not fall into this position again and if he has to penny pinch for a season or two to avoid this and build up a business that is once again, financially marketable, then the long term plan is the better moption. Unfortunately, it is my belief that KK wanted instant success and that was never going to happen.

 

To summarise, Ashley and Co. are thinking with their heads, KK is thinking with his heart and we know that his backing of Milner, Smith and Barton was pulling on the heart strings. The 12 million we got for Milner was definitely a terrific result, whether Keegan likes it or not.  

 

Usual bullshit first used by the Halls - no way would the club fold.

 

What was the point getting £12m for Milner if it wasn't spent? Are we that short of money considering the unspent ST money and the new TV deal?

 

Being a sound steady business in the current football climate is unambitious in my view - the gates will dwindle which will affect that plan anyway - taking for granted the full houses is a major mistake.

 

 

[Kitman]

If Keegan is going because he has been undermined continually by Wise and co on transfers, it doesn't make the job very attractive.  I wonder who's going to want to manage a mid lower table side with a small squad, injury problems and apparently little say in transfers?  Hardly attractive is it?  And for all the brave new world stuff on here, what do we really know about Ashley seeing as he won't communicate to any great extent with the fans since Mort has gone?  My impression is that City investors think his Sports Direct empire is hardly a rip roaring success.  And what's the big deal about having no debt if we can afford to carry some and get some decent players in?  I don't believe we couldn't have attracted a couple more quality players.

 

I can't say I'm happy with this turn of events at all.  I'd rather they backed Keegan when he said he needed 4 players including a specialist left back, the need for which is obvious imo.  I'm also suspicious about Wise and Jiminez's competence. 

[Guest Darth Toon]

I can see the point that Ashley seems do have a decent vision, but if what we're hearing is correct about undermining his manager then his way of going about things looks to be seriously flawed.

 

If it's a choice between Keegan and Ashley then give me KK every time - the man is one of us, and unites the region and makes the club tick like no-one else has in my lifetime, or probably ever could again.

 

The very thought that he could be forced out while a smug fucking cockey shitehawk like Wise is still in my club really sticks in the throat.

[Karjala]

If he gets rid of Wise and Llambis then yes

 

if not no!

This.

 

Ashley should come out, and say KK is his man for the job and sack those two fuckers.

[gazza ladra]

If he gets rid of Wise and Llambis then yes

 

if not no!

This.

 

Ashley should come out, and say KK is his man for the job and sack those two fuckers.

My vote.

[cp40]

Well ... I've taken in everything all through today now, and now I'm left here feeling like I honestly prefer what Ashley and his team want to do.

 

Nothing has pleased me more this season than the performances of the new players we have brought in, particularly those who appear to have been recruited by Ashley's recruitment team. Sunday saw us add two more individuals who further seemed to be brought in by Jimenez et al. and both of whom seemed to be highly rated by their former teams, one of whose leaving practically had his former teams fans in tears. What has made this even more immensely satisfying is the fact that these signings were pretty unheralded and not overly costly or over the top, it felt good to finally unearth some gems of our own for once.

 

If Ashley and his lot really wanted to get rid of more of our older players, who other teams wanted can we really blame him? How many times did we all lament their performances early last season when they were alll absolutely useless? Many a time we all wanted them all out and Ashley was sitting right amongst us, while we were all displaying our disgust at their performances. I'm sure he would have been more than happy to replace them with more of the sort he already brought in, who were already proving to be very succesful buys. Can we balme him for this?

 

Why the hell is Keegan allegedly holding on to the likes of Smith, Barton and Milner anyway? I mean honestly! Owen I can at least understand to some extent, and even then, I would probably still prefer to see what kind of player could be brought in by this team to replace Owen, given the chance to do so.  Milner is an average player who we were offered beautiful money for and it was a no brainer. If Keegan had a problem with this then he's being silly. Smith is just awful and we should have accepted any payment for him straightaway. As for Barton ... I'm sure it took a hell of a lot of convincing for Ashley to bring him here in the first place and it was a huge show of faith for him to do so, and look at what Barton did in return. I think it was harsh of Keegan to demand for Barton to be supported, and the owner should have been allowed to let him move on if he wanted.

 

All in all I really am beginning to struggle to see what exactly I should be mad at Ashley for. I actually like what he was doing and I would have loved to see as many as possible of the old faces move on in return for some younger, fresher and hungrier players in all honesty.

 

Ashley has made one mistake in all of this, and it was in getting the wrong manager in. Not because Keegan is bad or difficult in any way, because I do admire him a whole lot, but because he just wasn't the right person for Ashley's job specifications.

 

 

 

Your A Wanker, When Ashley sells up and buys another business, I assume you are going to stop supporting the toon and go and support his.....Shop?

 

After all you are an Ashleyite..

[macca888]

Ashley has already admitted in several occasions over the last couple of months that he has no intention of selling up and that he is in it for the long haul.

 

Furthermore, he is acting extremely responsibly by seeking business partners to take some of the financial load of his companies to enhance the club further. On top of this, he is marketing the club in Asia and possibly Africa by setting up partnerships.

 

There is absolutely no evidence at al that Ashley is thinking of selling up. Infact, quite the reverse with the very active and responsible long term business plans he is establishing for the club.

 

He is a refreshing change from the Shepherd administration which Ashley is still paying for and once this debt is all managed, then the purse strings should be reasonably substantially released.

 

Rome wasnt built in a day. Be patient.

[Guest Chris P]

I'am with you and keegan has to stay

[Cronky]

This thread is like a bastion of sanity in the midst of a shitstorm.  I agree with a lot of what has been said in this thread.  Ashley's vision for the club is one I can really get behind and I really admire doing things the right way.  That being said, I really hope Keegan has a part to play in this because I really love the way his football teams play on the pitch - no fear and 110%, a rare thing to find in a football team.  Also, I'd really hate to see this whole thing boil over due to Barton and Smith talk.  The people that run this club are adults and should be able to sit around a table and hash these kinds of things out like men and not, as you all say, throw their toys out the pram.  One of my favorite posts from this thread is the I MISS MORT post - don't we all.  He seemed a really level headed and genuine guy and I feel like him and Kevin had a much better relationship than Llambias(sp?) and Kevin do which might be the focal point of this whole debacle and where it all stems from.  So overall my main point is that I love the direction this club is going and I love the football being played on the pitch (4 points out of six not-so-easy matches!) and I hope everyone involved (except perhaps Llambias) can stick around and keep this ship headed to the promise land.

 

i'm not going to call for anyone's sack based on the info we currently have, but i dont like llambas. not saying we should sack him, but i dont like him as much as liked mort.

 

Whether it was his idea or not Mort tried to LEARN about NUFC, the fans (meeting with many different groups, fanzines, etc) the players, the existing set-up, the community leaders etc. After a few months he actually knew what the lay of the land was - Llambias has come in to run NUFC like a business and has not put the effort or shown the knowledge of Mort, probably because Mort already did it so why repeat the experience (they thought). Seems like a mistake - might be Ashley's? Could it have helped avoid the fuss? Who knows, but I doubt Llambias and Ashley expected things to end up the way they did Tuesday and now the consequences are hitting them.

 

I think when Mort came in most of us were skeptical (posh sooothen barrister tw@t) - I would have never guessed we'd be missing him.

 

Convenient though it might be to think that's it's down to Llambias, there were signs of tension during Mort's watch as well. Keegan was supposed to be annoyed at what he saw as the feeble attempt to sign Modric, and that led to Mort putting the Board's case to the fans via the programme. Then we had the outburst after the Chelsea game.

 

Basically, Keegan wants to work in the way that he worked before with the Halls, where he has direct access to the owner with the purse strings and can pressure them into forking out for the players that he wants. That's an attitude that's bound to be popular with many fans, because that's all they want the owner to do - pay up. Trouble is, you can't run a business like that. Even under the Halls, there came a day when the purse strings had to be tightened, and that's when Keegan upped and left.

[Mr Logic]

Nothing has pleased me more this season than the performances of the new players we have brought in, particularly those who appear to have been recruited by Ashley's recruitment team. Sunday saw us add two more individuals who further seemed to be brought in by Jimenez et al. and both of whom seemed to be highly rated by their former teams, one of whose leaving practically had his former teams fans in tears. What has made this even more immensely satisfying is the fact that these signings were pretty unheralded and not overly costly or over the top, it felt good to finally unearth some gems of our own for once.

 

Wonder what they'd look like after a couple of months playing for Allardyce? IMO Keegan gets minimum 10% extra from any player he works with, don't underestimate that factor.

[Guest helios_centric]

I dislike the cabal that he has running the club. I think it's unwieldy and unnecessary. It smacks of the sort of modern day bollocks most large companies seem to operate where everyone has a fancy title and pulls together for the good of the team blah blah. In reality though it seems that everyone often has their own agenda, watches their own back and is frustrated by their own boundaries.

 

I prefer the manager to have more control, I don't know what qualifies Wise to sit in judgement over Keegan (if that is indeed the case as many people seem to claim) and I really think our new chairman needs to find a voice to communicate properly with the fans. A statement to clarify exactly who does what might help the fans understand. A lot of the probelm the fans have had dealing with this change has been that nobody seems too sure who is in charge of what. Do they even know themselves?

 

Having said all of that, I want Ashley to succeed but I do think he has made some mistakes thus far and he really needs to find a way to sort this out with Keegan. Some heads need to roll and some roles need to be adapted to make this work. It isn't just Keegan being an awkward dinosaur here - no manager worth his salt is going to operate within Ashley's structure. To be honest, I would have zero respect for any manager who could come in and ask permission from upstairs for any decision he needs to make. You have to trust your manger's judgement or he isn't really a manager.

 

Perhaps I am Canute against the tide here, but this whole incident leaves me very disenchanted with the modern game. I don't know if it is just my imagination but I have detected a noticeable backlash recently against the way the game is being changed by mega money and billionaires playing with their train sets. Clearly the Premiership (and surely in time other European leagues) is going to become one huge playground for the world's megabucks billionaires to strut their stuff and show off their financial clout. I'd prefer it if they just tried to build a bigger yacht than their competitors like they used to and leave us all alone.

[Cronky]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Keegan was simply spoiling for a fight so that he could get out with a nice lump of compensation. Take a look at the players where there was a supposed dispute -

 

Milner - player asks for a pay rise one year into his contract. Board refuses, player asks for a transfer in writing. Board get an offer of £12 million, which I think most people would agree is generous. Perfectly sensible to sell.

 

Owen - player on an inflated salary is in the final year of his contract and refuses to sign another one. You can't be held to ransom like that, so it's reasonable to say - sign or go.

 

Barton - A tricky one, but most fans would actually agree with Ashley rather than Keegan - he's now damaged goods and needs to start somewhere else.

 

Smith - he doesn't deserve the criticism that he gets, but again he's not a player that you should be making a stand about keeping surely.

 

Modric - Mort publicly stated that we actually bid more than Spurs in transfer fee and wages. What more can you do when the player doesn't want to come?

 

The new system as a whole has brought in some good players and the team has improved. What's the problem? And I don't believe for a second that Keegan wasn't aware of how things were going to work when he first signed up.

 

In short, I can't think of an area where I'd say Ashley and co were clearly in the wrong in their judgement. If the manager is getting into arguments with them, you have to wonder whether he's deliberately putting himself in the firing line.

[Tachikoma]

As I have said in another thread, if Keegan decides to walk away, then it is only because he has failed to integrate himself into the current strategic management strructure devised by the club to be more organised, visionary and work within a budget whilst still dealing with the debt left by the previous administration.

 

Keegan is an old style manager, mentored by out dated tacticians and a self admitted limited tactician himself. Since his days as a player under the likes of Shankley, Paisley, Cox etc, the game has changed massively to the point where football is no longer a sport but a business and communication tool worldwide.

 

As a business, clubs are required to operate in management structures, within set budgetary allocations and design strategic short and long term plans to enable success both on and off the pitch.

 

Unfortunately, there are a number of issues that are currentely affecting the short term plans for the club and these need to be addressed immediately:

 

1..    As a number of posters on here have already identified, I firmly believe the club misses the management style of Chris Mort. I think he showed wonderful business acumen and superb communicatiin skills whilst he was at the club and the current appointee has failed dismally in replacing Mort certainly in the communication side of thoings. I was also under the impression that Llambias was leaving the club soon anyway. We really desperately need a Mortlike spokesman back as soon as possible.

 

2...As much as I wanted KK to succeed, I have always felt that emotionally, the job was always going to be too big for him uopn his return to the changes in the game since he last stint in charge of the club. The fact that he knew of the Wise/Vetere/Jimeniez appointments prior to taking the job should have seen a more team management side of business at the club. Unfortunately, as has been shown in the past too many times for KK, his ego will not allow this type of strategic management and therefore, he should retire altogether from football management.

 

3.. Not one of us really knows what has gone on behind the scenes but one thing is for sure, I bet a months salary that Ashley and his management team would have neither sought nor initiated this latest fracas as the club and that whatever happens over the next few days, it will be clear to all concerned that any truces made will never result in a full trust between all parties and that the only result will be in KK leaving the club sooner rather than later.

 

Finally, as I said in another post, you can castigate Ashley and Co. as much as you like, but if it was not for his intervention in buying the club 15 months ago, we would probably all be following Gateshead or Blue Star by now. The previous administration had put the club in so much debt, with little saleable assets, that the only way for us was down. Ashley saved the club from this and is still paying off the debt left behind. His management style is to ensure we do not fall into this position again and if he has to penny pinch for a season or two to avoid this and build up a business that is once again, financially marketable, then the long term plan is the better moption. Unfortunately, it is my belief that KK wanted instant success and that was never going to happen.

 

To summarise, Ashley and Co. are thinking with their heads, KK is thinking with his heart and we know that his backing of Milner, Smith and Barton was pulling on the heart strings. The 12 million we got for Milner was definitely a terrific result, whether Keegan likes it or not. 

 

I can appreciate that Ashley and Co. have done a (relatively) good job, but surely they should have no say as far as team affairs are concerned? If they were allowed free reign over transfers, any manager we hire from now on will be nothing more than a glorified coach, and I can't see us getting anyone better than Keegan if he leaves.

[BONTEMPI]

If Ashley is going to remain the sole owner of the club and change the structure so Kevin has full control over who goes and who stays then yes i'd support him, also getting in investors so we can if we needed to compete with the top 5 now on transfer targets.  I'm not saying go out and buy everything in sight like Man City are as that's just sickening, but like Man u we can always get a top class player in if the manager requires it.

 

Wise and co can stay if it's only to scout players and that's as far as their involvement goes, as to be fair they've  got some really solid players in which should be the base to push on from.

 

Everyone needs to stick together on this, and that md of ours is the one that may need pushing out the door.  I don't think Keegan has a problem with Wise overall but it's the MD that's tried to sell players behind his back.

 

UP THE TOON!

[Guest Dev]

I'm on the side of whoever wanted to get rid of Smith. We'll probably never know the facts, but whoever blocked that sale - into the bin!

[TRon]

There are some very good posts in this thread rather than the reactionary rubbish being spouted by a lot of people. Regarding Ashley, I ask myself the question "What has Ashley done wrong?"

 

Attempt to sell Barton?

Attempt to sell Owen?

Successfully sell Milner for £12m?

Unearth players like Colo, Jonas, Guthrie and these new guys?

Make Keegan Manager?

 

You could argue that Owen shouldn't be sold, but he's been offered a contract and doesn't seem committed to sign it yet.

 

Like someone else said in this thread, Keegan seems to be fighting the wrong battles, and if he'd just stick to what he's good at this could all work very well.