Mike Ashley confirms he wants to sell NUFC - see OP for full statement

[Guest LucaAltieri]

Gutted, tbh.

 

I still think he had the right idea; buy young and develop. The implementation seems to be the only place where any of us disagree.

 

For those screaming 'but we didn't want expensive players' ...there were just as many others waiting for that wow-signing.

 

Ashley was a man with a plan. A good plan at that. Now he's been run out by a handful of fuckwits who let their love for Keegan cloud their judgement.

 

...so what now? Even if we're taken over by some rich arab willing to blow Chelsea-money every season... then what? That still only puts us in a group of maybe 6 teams, all competing for the same players and same champions league qualification. We'll go back to signing the cash-minded and the washed-up looking for one last payday.

 

Alternatively we could find a buyer who is willing to continue the Ashley transfer policy. Then what? Aren't we right back where we started - just with the added turmoil of a takeover.

 

I think it's shameful the way this has all played out. The rent-a-mong crowd have simply got carried away with this illogical hatred of Wise. We don't even know if Wise had done anything. Has Keegan ever mentioned him as the source of the problems? It's all pure speculation and most definitely not grounds for running the owner out of town.

 

Disgusted.

[magpie418]

http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2007/02/wolfie_243x278.jpg

[Guest kirkpatrick9]

This is what I think.

 

Souness, Souness. Wasted resources. Every time I read it it makes me more annoyed at our past managers bad signings, e.g. Souness. It makes me annoyed: at how the club through bad buys has failed tp keep its place in the champions league, allowing Man Utd to grow out of control in the world market. It is also infuriating that you get clubs bank rolled out of their means like Chelsea, now Villa. As you know if these clubs were ran in their means NUFC would always be a top four club. It also comes clear to me that Ashley is not prepared to rush us into the world market we need ASAP, in that he is along term strategist in his aims to get us into the champions league to our top four parity. As a club with a top four fan base I'm against unbalanced investment outside of means, but since other clubs have it, then I just want justice parity restored. 

[Taylor Swift]

He had only signed a contract a year earlier. If, like you say, Milner should be paid as a 10m player then should he take a pay cut when he inevitably suffers a loss of form and plays like a 3m player? Should Smith be paying the club money because he's so shit? You sign a contract, you honour it. If you don't plan on honouring it, don't sign the fucking contract. And it wasn't even like Milner deserved a new contract - he was only a decent player in a mediocre team and actually missed the team's best run of the season!

 

Sorry, but the world just doesn't work that way.

 

Exactly. Which is why the greedy tit was sold. For a nice value as well

[Guest guinness_fiend]

Gutted, tbh.

 

I still think he had the right idea; buy young and develop. The implementation seems to be the only place where any of us disagree.

 

For those screaming 'but we didn't want expensive players' ...there were just as many others waiting for that wow-signing.

 

Ashley was a man with a plan. A good plan at that. Now he's been run out by a handful of fuckwits who let their love for Keegan cloud their judgement.

 

...so what now? Even if we're taken over by some rich arab willing to blow Chelsea-money every season... then what? That still only puts us in a group of maybe 6 teams, all competing for the same players and same champions league qualification. We'll go back to signing the cash-minded and the washed-up looking for one last payday.

 

Alternatively we could find a buyer who is willing to continue the Ashley transfer policy. Then what? Aren't we right back where we started - just with the added turmoil of a takeover.

 

I think it's shameful the way this has all played out. The rent-a-mong crowd have simply got carried away with this illogical hatred of Wise. We don't even know if Wise had done anything. Has Keegan ever mentioned him as the source of the problems? It's all pure speculation and most definitely not grounds for running the owner out of town.

 

Disgusted.

 

Precisely.

[TRon]

Great. The first person ever to put substantial amounts of his own money into Newcastle United is hounded out by supporters.

So now we have no manager, a dis-spirited team, contract issues to resolve, a season to get through and an owner with no reason or incentive to do anything about it.

 

To those who blame Ashley for the current crisis and Keegan walking (again), threw the "fatty" and "cockney" abuse at him and chanted for him to leave - well you got your wish, but do any of you have any bright ideas about what to do next ?

 

Wrong, 10s of thousands of people over the course of the club's history have put substantial amounts of their own money into the club - THE FANS.

 

AS for your other comments, great, so its the fans' fault for all this eh.

 

No-one's wish has been granted, a well run club on and off the pitch with a team and manager we can relate to and talk about. That I believe is the real kind of wish we all hoped for, no?

 

Well put HTT. The fans wanted him out and they are the customers so they are right. Now we need to put our concerted efforts into demanding a mega-billionaire buys the club and appoints a manager we can relate to.

[Taylor Swift]

Gutted, tbh.

 

I still think he had the right idea; buy young and develop. The implementation seems to be the only place where any of us disagree.

 

For those screaming 'but we didn't want expensive players' ...there were just as many others waiting for that wow-signing.

 

Ashley was a man with a plan. A good plan at that. Now he's been run out by a handful of fuckwits who let their love for Keegan cloud their judgement.

 

...so what now? Even if we're taken over by some rich arab willing to blow Chelsea-money every season... then what? That still only puts us in a group of maybe 6 teams, all competing for the same players and same champions league qualification. We'll go back to signing the cash-minded and the washed-up looking for one last payday.

 

Alternatively we could find a buyer who is willing to continue the Ashley transfer policy. Then what? Aren't we right back where we started - just with the added turmoil of a takeover.

 

I think it's shameful the way this has all played out. The rent-a-mong crowd have simply got carried away with this illogical hatred of Wise. We don't even know if Wise had done anything. Has Keegan ever mentioned him as the source of the problems? It's all pure speculation and most definitely not grounds for running the owner out of town.

 

Disgusted.

 

 

Still a chance that the fans' feelings will change after seeing that statement so there's still a chance that he'll stay.

[Tsunami]

Why didn't Ashley come out with such a statement about his feelings, plans, debt & transfer kitty when it was really needed; i.e. before this fiasco. If we knew what the score was we could have supported it or at least understood our limitations.

 

He has put this out to make him the victim. He could quite easily have avoided all of this. The club insider referred to KK last days as The Madness of King Kev and rolled out those ludicrous transfer targets. Change of tack from ridiculing KK to trying to get him back & now making him the victim.

 

I hope that a new buyer is found fast, if so & Ashley remains a fan I'd quite happily have him beside me. I suspect however we'll not see him as & when we've been sold. If we don't get a buyer then Ashley has clearly tried to place an onus on the fans to allow him to run the business along his business plans & any further disruption and its effects are down to us. In lots of ways he is right.

 

This to me is PR on an emotional scale & a says things that should have been said 18 months ago. He's playing games with us.

[Benwell Lad]

Great. The first person ever to put substantial amounts of his own money into Newcastle United is hounded out by supporters.

So now we have no manager, a dis-spirited team, contract issues to resolve, a season to get through and an owner with no reason or incentive to do anything about it.

 

To those who blame Ashley for the current crisis and Keegan walking (again), threw the "fatty" and "cockney" abuse at him and chanted for him to leave - well you got your wish, but do any of you have any bright ideas about what to do next ?

 

Wrong, 10s of thousands of people over the course of the club's history have put substantial amounts of their own money into the club - THE FANS.

 

AS for your other comments, great, so its the fans' fault for all this eh.

 

No-one's wish has been granted, a well run club on and off the pitch with a team and manager we can relate to and talk about. That I believe is the real kind of wish we all hoped for, no?

 

I think even you have to be smart enough to realise theres a difference between going through the turnstiles and writing off £100M of debt.

 

Yes, his decision to stop subsidising Newcastle does appear to have been caused by the actions and abuse of a section of the fans unless I just dreamt about all those anti-Ashley demonstrations and banners yesterday.

[Thespence]

In an ideal world, the next owners will be local backers who can afford to put a decent wedge into the club every year.

 

 

Here is the list of names you will be looking at:

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2008/04/25/dragons-den-star-jumps-up-region-s-rich-list-72703-20821736/

 

That top 10 is worth slightly more than 1 Ashley.

 

BINGO! That is why wishing for locals to takeover is bonkers.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

 

This to me is PR on an emotional scale & a says things that should have been said 18 months ago. He's playing games with us.

 

You could chance that 18 to 8 & be talking about Keegan tbh

[DJ_NUFC]

Can we have a protest now with the banners of 'Well, we didn't mean it LITERALLY...?'

 

Who's a mong on here?

[madras]

Why didn't Ashley come out with such a statement about his feelings, plans, debt & transfer kitty when it was really needed; i.e. before this fiasco. If we knew what the score was we could have supported it or at least understood our limitations.

He has put this out to make him the victim. He could quite easily have avoided all of this. The club insider referred to KK last days as The Madness of King Kev and rolled out those ludicrous transfer targets. Change of tack from ridiculing KK to trying to get him back & now making him the victim.

 

I hope that a new buyer is found fast, if so & Ashley remains a fan I'd quite happily have him beside me. I suspect however we'll not see him as & when we've been sold. If we don't get a buyer then Ashley has clearly tried to place an onus on the fans to allow him to run the business along his business plans & any further disruption and its effects are down to us. In lots of ways he is right.

 

This to me is PR on an emotional scale & a says things that should have been said 18 months ago. He's playing games with us.

if he had everyone would have said "heard it before from shepherd. i'd rather you said nowt and we'll judge you by your actions"

[James]

Wouldn't be suprised if Ashley then bought Leeds United, as I think the club are well within his resources, and he could bring the club back to where it belongs.

[magpie418]

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/jmo0498l.jpg

[madras]

Wouldn't be suprised if Ashley then bought Leeds United, as I think the club are well within his resources, and he could bring the club back to where it belongs.

hell ?

[The College Dropout]

Think it's for the best in the long term. Always thought he had the best intrests of this club at heart and this confirms it for me. Feel his mistakes simply boiled down to footballing inexperience.

 

By giving Keegan a paltry £12 million summer transfer budget?

 

We were still making a loss. He was trying to "balance the books".

[NE5]

In an ideal world, the next owners will be local backers who can afford to put a decent wedge into the club every year.

 

 

How much is the bloke who owns Sage worth?

 

There is not going to be a Geordie white knight riding in to rescue us, nor a consortium either.

Wylie is probably the only noorth easterner in that league nowadays but I doubt he would touch it with a barge pole having seen whats gone on in the last days.

 

The fans (some) wanted Ashley out. They may soon think they should have been careful about what they wished for.

 

plenty of people also wanted the last lot out, and should have been careful what they wished for.

 

Simple fact is we are back to square 1. We are looking for an owner who will have good intentions for the club, and also crucially understands football and the need to support their manager.

 

Its all a bit sad. Ultimately, the only losers are us, the fans. Some of us have stumped up a lot of money, and not been given what we quite reasonably expected to get for it.

 

 

[The College Dropout]

all innuendo and f*** all commitment. Not a bad bloke but never the right man in a million years

 

'you need a director of football' and just how the f*** would you know?

 

That's not what he said.

[Guest aoliversaknob]

Lifted this formm another website  It some up my feelings exactly.  (Copyright royalties are in the post Mr Rice).

 

Written by Scott Rice

Sunday, 14 September 2008 17:35

It has been ten days since the resignation of Kevin Keegan and this represents the first statement released from the club, with any official name attached. While the gesture, far too late to build bridges, is grudgingly appreciated it seems even now you do not understand the club, by which I mean the club’s main asset, its large bodies of fans. I take this opportunity to reply on behalf of those who share opinions similar to mine and who love the club like I do.

 

 

1.We the fans realize that the financial state of the club was precarious. We realized that before you bought the club (just not the extent you have subsequently revealed), We understand that this has come about due to the inept policies of the former owner and the ensuing managerial revolving door. This is why we are particularly disappointed that your board structure was such that it resulted in the departure of one of the few managers whom the fans identify as a success.

 

2.We the fans were happy with the mooted “Arsenal” model and contrary to your claims did not expect or demand vast sums to be lavished on the squad. We note, however , that Arsenal does not have a director of football and has appointed NOBODY who can overrule ****ne Wenger in contract or transfer decisions.

 

3.We the fans had two expectations for the transfer window. The Kevin would be given a reasonable transfer kitty (our net spend is close to zero) and that transfers would work as you yourself had described them. There is no evidence of the £20m investment, the TV windfall or the 3 year season ticket purchase taken up by many fans being invested in the first team squad. Initial investment was far more important than year on year contribution given the fragile state of the first team squad and the insufficient cover for key positions.

 

4.We the fans are disappointed that you did not take the one step that would have resulted in this situation being immediately resolved to everyone who matters at the club’s satisfaction. The removal of Dennis Wise and the introduction of a structure that answers to the manager in ALL football related matters.

 

This is why we are grateful that you have offered the club for sale and claim you will represent our best interests until that sale completes. It is our hope that this is more honest than previous statements about the club. It is our belief that you do not understand the club sufficiently, in light of the above, to lead us into a successful future.

[stozo]

By the way why do people think Keegan should have been given control over transfers when up until January he hadn't watched a game of football for 3 years? 

[Guest LucaAltieri]

Think it's for the best in the long term. Always thought he had the best intrests of this club at heart and this confirms it for me. Feel his mistakes simply boiled down to footballing inexperience.

 

By giving Keegan a paltry £12 million summer transfer budget?

 

We were still making a loss. He was trying to "balance the books".

 

The money was there "for the right players"... Woody, Modric (if I remember right)... for whatever reason the numbers simply didn't materialise. I doubt the cost of it was the stumbling block, though.

[madras]

In an ideal world, the next owners will be local backers who can afford to put a decent wedge into the club every year.

 

 

How much is the bloke who owns Sage worth?

 

There is not going to be a Geordie white knight riding in to rescue us, nor a consortium either.

Wylie is probably the only noorth easterner in that league nowadays but I doubt he would touch it with a barge pole having seen whats gone on in the last days.

 

The fans (some) wanted Ashley out. They may soon think they should have been careful about what they wished for.

 

plenty of people also wanted the last lot out, and should have been careful what they wished for.

 

Simple fact is we are back to square 1. We are looking for an owner who will have good intentions for the club, and also crucially understands football and the need to support their manager.

 

Its all a bit sad. Ultimately, the only losers are us, the fans. Some of us have stumped up a lot of money, and not been given what we quite reasonably expected to get for it.

 

 

the big mistake is to expect. we two have been in this long enough to know that.

[James]

In an ideal world, the next owners will be local backers who can afford to put a decent wedge into the club every year.

 

 

How much is the bloke who owns Sage worth?

 

There is not going to be a Geordie white knight riding in to rescue us, nor a consortium either.

Wylie is probably the only noorth easterner in that league nowadays but I doubt he would touch it with a barge pole having seen whats gone on in the last days.

 

The fans (some) wanted Ashley out. They may soon think they should have been careful about what they wished for.

 

plenty of people also wanted the last lot out, and should have been careful what they wished for.

 

Simple fact is we are back to square 1. We are looking for an owner who will have good intentions for the club, and also crucially understands football and the need to support their manager.

 

Its all a bit sad. Ultimately, the only losers are us, the fans. Some of us have stumped up a lot of money, and not been given what we quite reasonably expected to get for it.

 

 

 

Well from Ashley's statement, it sounds like Ashley was unable to make investments in our team due to how badly the previous lot fucked us up.

 

I'm grateful he came in when he did, because things could be much worse.

[Benwell Lad]

In an ideal world, the next owners will be local backers who can afford to put a decent wedge into the club every year.

 

 

How much is the bloke who owns Sage worth?

 

There is not going to be a Geordie white knight riding in to rescue us, nor a consortium either.

Wylie is probably the only noorth easterner in that league nowadays but I doubt he would touch it with a barge pole having seen whats gone on in the last days.

 

The fans (some) wanted Ashley out. They may soon think they should have been careful about what they wished for.

 

plenty of people also wanted the last lot out, and should have been careful what they wished for.

 

Simple fact is we are back to square 1. We are looking for an owner who will have good intentions for the club, and also crucially understands football and the need to support their manager.

 

Its all a bit sad. Ultimately, the only losers are us, the fans. Some of us have stumped up a lot of money, and not been given what we quite reasonably expected to get for it.

 

 

True. And some have screamed for the owner to quit and got exactly what they wished for.