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

[Kasper]

Mike Ashley was going to spend 200m in January. I can't say how I know this but believe me it is true.

[Chris_R]

I'm terribly sad that the moronic element within the club (And we have more than our fair share of them unfortunately) seem to have driven him out, but I must say one thing:

 

Why the hell couldn't he have released that statement (Or at least the first half of it) last week? I'm pretty confident that if he had, then all would have been well. All the demonstrations were in favour of Keegan simply because he was the only one who was willing to communicate with the fans over the last few months. Nothing at all has come out from the club beyond a couple of terse statements regarding KK's departure, and we've all been left completely in the dark over Ashley's intentions for the club and his vision for the future.

 

It's widely acknowledged that Ashley has attempted to extend an olive branch to Keegan to get him to stay, perhaps in light of the statement released we should be adult enough to do the same to him?

 

 

He drove himself out, he's an idiot to think the fans would be happy to see KK leave over Dennis Wise.

 

 

 

How did he drive himself out exactly?

 

Keegan resigned, Wise has done nothing wrong other than help bring about Ashley's vision for the club. The signings we've brought in have been terrific so far, and Keegan is a chequebook manager who cannot operate without a chequebook.

 

I love KK as a motivator and man manager and do think he has a good eye for a player but a world-wide scouting network is undoubtedly going to unearth more players than one man.

[Guest Magpie007]

the mongs will get what they want  

[Dave]

The bit about not being able to take his kids to games again is desperately sad.

 

I'm surprised at how emotional that statement is. He tried his best but ultimately underestimated just how much Keegan is loved here. Putting a system in place was fine up until they prevented him having the final say. It really is as simple as that.

[cosmic]

Does anyone think he already have some potential buyers sussed out? Having said publicly he would sell is probably just to stop the noise and anger. I agree with some of the points raised earlier - why now and not last week?

[Guest Anth.Nufc]

Hmm im happy that he is selling tbh, end of the day its the only way the club is going to move forward again. but if he had have just sacked wise etc maybe he could have just carried on. 

 

 

Why? I mean, I hated Dennis Wise as a player as much as anyone, I was in the Leazes when we beat Chelsea, Cole scored 2 (Including a stunning left-foot drive past Kharine) and Wise got sent off and was up singing "He's a dwarf" with the best of them, but can someone PLEASE try to explain what he's done wrong here and why he deserves sacking? If you can stick to facts as well instead of guesswork then I'll be really impressed.

 

Can I say I know for a fact that Wise has been the problem, yet I can't post how I know this, but believe me it is true.

 

99.9% of newcastle believe wise has had his say in transfers etc, which has led to what mess where in now. So that is a good enough reason for me.

[Robster]

Hope you are all happy with your contributions to the circus. Clowns.

 

If Ashley had tried to speak to the fans he so enjoyed sitting amongst, he would have discovered that they arent all like the idiots in front of the SSN cameras and he might have understood what our true concerns are.

 

 

[Shak]

I've decided I want some Indian multi-billionaire to buy us, rehire KK and give him an unlimited transfer fund and have us buy success.

 

Fuck it, it'll be a bit of a laugh.

[Guest Alan Shearer 9]

I agree with pretty much everything in that statement.

 

He says he would have put in 20m a season without wanting anything back, but that wouldn't mean that it would be our transfer budget. If the financial side was ran well and we maximise our potential off the field, we could be in profit and thus wouldn't actually need his 20m. The 20m would just be a top-up, which is surely more than enough.

 

Sad to say, we're still suffering the effects from Freddy's time here and because some of our fans have unrealistic expectations of transfer budgets and how quickly we should challenge, we're now stuck in a really shit place. We haven't seen the way the club would actually be run if we didn't have all this leftover debt and revenue spent.

 

Sad state of affairs that someone with a real plan for the club's short-term and long-term future has now been pushed out before he could even implement all his plans.

 

Top post.

[Syrette]

why now and not last week?

 

Because he was trying his hardest to make things work and to make the fans happy?

[Tooj]

 

Can I say I know for a fact that Wise has been the problem, yet I can't post how I know this, but believe me it is true.

 

Can you explain a bit more on that then? Not how you know but how Wise' cause the problem

 

Keegan couldn't stand the site of Wise, yet Wise ended up actually being in charge of player recruitment and sales, and was bypassing Keegan over these. Which is what cause the implosion on deadline day.

[Mowen]

The bit about not being able to take his kids to games again is desperately sad.

 

I'm surprised at how emotional that statement is. He tried his best but ultimately underestimated just how much Keegan is loved here. Putting a system in place was fine up until they prevented him having the final say. It really is as simple as that.

 

Absolutely. Thanks for trying, now please sell it to someone who can take us forward. That's the best legacy you can leave here now.

[pedro111]

I have mixed feelings about this after reading the statement.

 

If only he released this statement weeks ago all this could have been avoided.

 

Newcastle fans NEED to know what is going on at their club and the vision for it.  Ashley's total silence on all things Newcastle in recent weeks and months was the biggest contributing factor in this shambolic episode I feel.

 

I think he is a decent man, with good intentions so seeing him go if and when he does will be tinged with a little bit of sadness for me because of what might have been.

[Thespence]

I wonder if that is how he really feels or the penny dropped with his PR team that Newcastle fans are emotional fools & so they whack that heartfelt statement out. I would like to think it is the former but think it may be mix between the 2.

[Dokko]

I'm terribly sad that the moronic element within the club (And we have more than our fair share of them unfortunately) seem to have driven him out, but I must say one thing:

 

Why the hell couldn't he have released that statement (Or at least the first half of it) last week? I'm pretty confident that if he had, then all would have been well. All the demonstrations were in favour of Keegan simply because he was the only one who was willing to communicate with the fans over the last few months. Nothing at all has come out from the club beyond a couple of terse statements regarding KK's departure, and we've all been left completely in the dark over Ashley's intentions for the club and his vision for the future.

 

It's widely acknowledged that Ashley has attempted to extend an olive branch to Keegan to get him to stay, perhaps in light of the statement released we should be adult enough to do the same to him?

 

 

He drove himself out, he's an idiot to think the fans would be happy to see KK leave over Dennis Wise.

 

 

 

How did he drive himself out exactly?

 

Keegan resigned, Wise has done nothing wrong other than help bring about Ashley's vision for the club. The signings we've brought in have been terrific so far, and Keegan is a chequebook manager who cannot operate without a chequebook.

 

I love KK as a motivator and man manager and do think he has a good eye for a player but a world-wide scouting network is undoubtedly going to unearth more players than one man.

 

Who appointed KK? If you appoint a chequebook manager (bullshit btw) then guess what? You need to give him a chequebook, or guess what? It doesn't work.

 

Wise should have been in charge of the kids, while KK was out putting together the squad he wants, and that's how we all thought it was going down until a few weeks ago.

 

No manager worth his salt will have someone as basic, low profile and ugly as Dennis Wise dictating on the players he gets to play with, and for that reason, and the backing of Wise's role and Wise himself, Ashley has done all this to himself.

 

 

[Tachikoma]

I agree with pretty much everything in that statement.

He says he would have put in 20m a season without wanting anything back, but that wouldn't mean that it would be our transfer budget. If the financial side was ran well and we maximise our potential off the field, we could be in profit and thus wouldn't actually need his 20m. The 20m would just be a top-up, which is surely more than enough.

 

Sad to say, we're still suffering the effects from Freddy's time here and because some of our fans have unrealistic expectations of transfer budgets and how quickly we should challenge, we're now stuck in a really shit place. We haven't seen the way the club would actually be run if we didn't have all this leftover debt and revenue spent.

 

Sad state of affairs that someone with a real plan for the club's short-term and long-term future has now been pushed out before he could even implement all his plans.

 

 

Now if only he didn't bother with this DoF business.

[Taylor Swift]

The bit about not being able to take his kids to games again is desperately sad.

 

I'm surprised at how emotional that statement is. He tried his best but ultimately underestimated just how much Keegan is loved here. Putting a system in place was fine up until they prevented him having the final say. It really is as simple as that.

 

Everything up until Colo's and Bassong's transfer was ok, but what happened? What did KK demand that the board wouldn't agree to? Why did Wise and co have to sign two players behind KK's back?

 

Still quite a few unanswered questions but some people already see this is as a black and white thing, which it ain't.

[Guest Alan Shearer 9]

The bit about not being able to take his kids to games again is desperately sad.

 

I'm surprised at how emotional that statement is. He tried his best but ultimately underestimated just how much Keegan is loved here. Putting a system in place was fine up until they prevented him having the final say. It really is as simple as that.

 

And if he doesn't KK lets us down by throwing a hissy fit and the whole city goes fucking apeshit. Great.

[Chris_R]

Hmm im happy that he is selling tbh, end of the day its the only way the club is going to move forward again. but if he had have just sacked wise etc maybe he could have just carried on. 

 

 

Why? I mean, I hated Dennis Wise as a player as much as anyone, I was in the Leazes when we beat Chelsea, Cole scored 2 (Including a stunning left-foot drive past Kharine) and Wise got sent off and was up singing "He's a dwarf" with the best of them, but can someone PLEASE try to explain what he's done wrong here and why he deserves sacking? If you can stick to facts as well instead of guesswork then I'll be really impressed.

 

Can I say I know for a fact that Wise has been the problem, yet I can't post how I know this, but believe me it is true.

 

Well I dunno about everyone else but that's me convinced. 

[tmonkey]

I hope that statement clears up one thing - that Shepherd and Hall Jnr fucked the club over financially during their time here. Who gives a shit about a brief flirtation in the top four (a feat which they undid anyway within two years) when Shepherd has effectively done exactly the same thing as Peter Risdale, mortgaged the club's future on shit signings.

 

The real criminal in our fall from grace is Shepherd. Fuck him.

[NG32]

I'm terribly sad that the moronic element within the club (And we have more than our fair share of them unfortunately) seem to have driven him out, but I must say one thing:

 

Why the hell couldn't he have released that statement (Or at least the first half of it) last week? I'm pretty confident that if he had, then all would have been well. All the demonstrations were in favour of Keegan simply because he was the only one who was willing to communicate with the fans over the last few months. Nothing at all has come out from the club beyond a couple of terse statements regarding KK's departure, and we've all been left completely in the dark over Ashley's intentions for the club and his vision for the future.

 

It's widely acknowledged that Ashley has attempted to extend an olive branch to Keegan to get him to stay, perhaps in light of the statement released we should be adult enough to do the same to him?

 

 

He drove himself out, he's an idiot to think the fans would be happy to see KK leave over Dennis Wise.

 

 

 

How did he drive himself out exactly?

 

Keegan resigned, Wise has done nothing wrong other than help bring about Ashley's vision for the club. The signings we've brought in have been terrific so far, and Keegan is a chequebook manager who cannot operate without a chequebook.

 

I love KK as a motivator and man manager and do think he has a good eye for a player but a world-wide scouting network is undoubtedly going to unearth more players than one man.

 

Dont remember KK speashing loads of cash in our first season in the prem, we bought Beardsley for 1.5 million and went up to the top division with an unknown striker in Andy Cole.

 

Our football shone through. Thats why were good.

 

 

[Wullie]

In a way I'm disappointed because I really wanted Ashley to succeed here when he first came in and was optimistic about the future until this all kicked off. He's made his position totally untenable though by siding with his lackeys ahead of KK.

 

He had the chance to put all this right immediately and preferred to get pissed in New York instead so his sentimental bollocks won't wash with me.

 

I do very much take issue with the fact he seems to think we want him out because he won't spend Chelsea money. He doesn't seem to understand that you can't run a successful Premiership club while breaking even on transfers. He's right that Arsenal are the exception to that rule but Arsenal have always said that is because Wenger can spend what he likes but prefers to do things his way. Unless you have Arsene Wenger, it's a plan that is doomed from the outset (especially when your squad's shit in the first place).

[bobbydazzla]

"why the f*** did he not put this statement (minus the selling bit) out the day the keegan thing started.  This is all it would have taken for the whole episode not to have happened."

 

this is the question all fans of NUFC should be asking the club. He's waited till the s*** hit the fan before being honest with us. That's the most infuriating thing

[Guest geordieracer]

Newcastle fans make Newcastle United a laughing stock again

 

utterly ashamed and embarrassed

 

He's not some multi billionaire, yet he comes in and splashs hundreds of millions to save the club

 

Keegan walks out because Ashley won't give him a bottomless pit of money to spend, its ridiculous

[fredbob]

The bit about not being able to take his kids to games again is desperately sad.

 

I'm surprised at how emotional that statement is. He tried his best but ultimately underestimated just how much Keegan is loved here. Putting a system in place was fine up until they prevented him having the final say. It really is as simple as that.

 

So what happens if keegan targets the wrong type of players?