So who's going to buy the club?

[Elliottman]

The only reason i dont think he wants to sell is because all is being reproted is him doing everything he can to put people off. very high asking price and refusing to negotiate.

 

well, if he doesnt, he better fucking get a manager in quickly then!

[TRon]

It's only a week since he put the club up for sale. You can't expect him to have done a deal already.

 

Potential buyers know that he's keen to sell, so they'll be testing him out with low offers.

 

I think he's genuine about wanting to sell, because he must be very hacked off with the way things have turned out.  The thought might be in the back of his mind that the present storm might blow over, and the mood become more conciliatory, but I doubt it.

 

That's three potential buyers two of wich have complained that Ashley isn't prepared to negotiate. There's nothing wrong with having a set price and sticking to it but when you are asking for double what most analysts consider is reasonable, you would at least expect some give and take. Ambani flew back complaining it was impossible to reach Ashley to have any meaningful discussions, now the Arabs are saying Ashley won't even listen to lower offers. He's certainly not desperate to sell that's for certain.

[Guest Darth Toon]

Aye, he doesn't exactly seem to be covering himself in glory.....

 

Ashley’s fruitless trip to Dubai is ridiculed

 

Potential investors are aware that Ashley spent £130m to gain sole ownership of the club, and invested around £110m to write off a significant proportion of Newcastle’s debts, so there has been an und e r s t a n d - able reluctance to match the e x o r b i t a n t figures that are understood to have been mentioned as the starting point for any discussions.

 

To make matters worse for the Magpies, a senior Middle Eastern source has confirmed that three separate valuation reports were widely circulated around the region prior to Abu Dhabi United Group completing their takeover of Manchester City.

 

Those reports, one of which was compiled by a Britishbased financial firm, BDO Stoy Howard, all valued the six or s e v e n Premier L e a g u e clubs that are considered to be viable takeover targets.

 

At least two of the reports value Newcastle United at no more than £200m, considerably less than 50 per cent of the fee that Ashley is hoping to realise from the club’s sale.

 

A representative of Zabeel Holdings, an investment company owned by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, is understood to have expressed an interest in a possible £200m purchase, only for Ashley to refuse to discuss the offer any further.

 

No further talks are planned, with Ashley’s personal reputation also having taken something of a battering during three unsuccessful days in the Persian Gulf.

 

The Newcastle owner was photographed in a bar during the Holy month of Ramadan – something that has not gone down well in Islamic circles – and has been ridiculed for his unsuccessful attempts to secure a one-to-one meeting with some of the most powerful business figures in the world.

 

A Dubai-based source said: “To be honest, the whole thing’s become a bit of a laughing stock over here.

 

Firstly, nobody just flies over to Dubai and gets to meet the type of people that Mr Ashley seems to have been interested in linking up with.

 

“That just doesn’t happen.

 

Gordon Brown couldn’t just jump on a plane and speak to them – so I don’t know why the owner of Newcastle United thought he could.

 

“And if you are trying to set up meetings, you do it discreetly.

 

“You don’t go having your picture taken in a bar at goodness knows what time of the evening.”

 

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastle/3686440.Ashley___s_fruitless_trip_to_Dubai_is_ridiculed/

 

[Bad Mongo]

So, are he and the board just on holiday to wait until things blow over, pretending to do business?

[Guest fraser]

After their year Arsenal could buy us and use us as a feeder club.

[Guest black n white]

I dont think the club will be sold until janurary

1. They cant add to the squad

2. If we are still in the bottom half come then the club will be a lot cheaper

 

[geordie jamie]

I dont think the club will be sold until janurary

1. They cant add to the squad

2. If we are still in the bottom half come then the club will be a lot cheaper

 

 

I cant see it being any time soon i hope were wrong through.

[Cronky]

He bought the club for £130 million, and then spent £110 million to ease the debt, making an outlay of £240 million. Within a week, he's supposed to settle for £200 million. Am I missing something here?

[Baggio]

He bought the club for £130 million, and then spent £110 million to ease the debt, making an outlay of £240 million. Within a week, he's supposed to settle for £200 million. Am I missing something here?

 

Every pound he sells for less is a pound extra for transfers according to some.

[TRon]

He bought the club for £130 million, and then spent £110 million to ease the debt, making an outlay of £240 million. Within a week, he's supposed to settle for £200 million. Am I missing something here?

 

The bit you're missing is that he could try negotiating if he's serious about selling the club otherwise why put it up for sale?

[themanupstairs]

 

Ashley: Right-o boys, let's head out to Dewbai and pretend we're off on some serious bizness lolz

 

Wise: grayt idee boss! im with ya

 

LL: hmmm

 

Ashley: We'll make believe that we're selling the club, but instead we'll get sat in the boozer all night and do fuck all

 

Wise: grayt idee boss! im with ya

 

LL: hmmm

 

So Ahley and his cronies head out there, safe in thinking that we think they're off to do serious business with some mega rich arabs, when their sole intentions are to suck cocktails and sit around chatting shit until this craze blows over.

 

But alas! lo and behold, a few people out in Dubai recognise our 3 partners in slime, and blow the whistle on their antics. And now Ashley and co. are further embarrassed, having had no idea that their malicious plan to fool us yet again could have been exposed to the righteous and just media in the UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really now. Are there people out there who believe the above is what really happened? Give me a fucking break!

[sparta]

why not get bill gates to buy the club  that would shut good old abro up for good 

[Guest Darth Toon]

But alas! lo and behold, a few people out in Dubai recognise our 3 partners in slime, and blow the whistle on their antics. And now Ashley and co. are further embarrassed, having had no idea that their malicious plan to fool us yet again could have been exposed to the righteous and just media in the UK.

 

I don't think anyone has a particular problem with them having a few drinks in a bar, but when combined with several leaked stories about a supposed ridiculous asking price, and at least one group reporting they failed to show for a meeting at the same time people are bound to be suspicious.

 

I think the last few weeks have shown PR isn't really Ashley's strong point - whether that's because he's genuinely clueless or just doesn't give a fuck I don't know but either way it's giving the press plenty of bait for their feeding frenzy.

[TRon]

BELEAGUERED owner Mike Ashley could have sold Newcastle United to Dubai investors THREE MONTHS ago.

 

And, we can reveal, the buyers would have put a Geordie management team in place at St James’s Park.

 

It would have been the ideal answer for disgruntled fans who demonstrated in their thousands at the Hull City match against what they saw as a Geordie club run from London.

 

However, Mr Ashley chose to turn his back on the offer – only to scurry off to the Middle East this week supposedly searching for buyers in the wake of the mass uprising on Tyneside.

 

I have papers in my possession which reveal that Mr Ashley was approached on behalf of a prospective buyer to open talks as long ago as June 11.

 

The letter from a City firm of solicitors was sent directly to Ashley’s lawyer at Freshfields Chris Mort, who acted as United chairman in the first year after the club was bought out.

 

It referred to “Middle East-based clients” who had expressed an interest and talked of Geordies who could help front the club and keep its roots in the local community, something seen by the City as essential and a key point in having any deal accepted by United fans.

 

Incredibly the London brokers they never heard from former chairman Mr Mort or Mr Ashley, which led to my source saying his clients are “extremely annoyed and disgusted”.

 

The offer of talks was never officially withdrawn, although it is unclear whether the Dubai-based investors would still be willing to do business.

 

The St James’s Park crisis arose after the Toon Army produced banners proclaiming “Cockneys out” in a storm of protest against Mr Ashley, Dennis Wise and Tony Jimenez.

 

The ferocity of their objections was such that a shaken Ashley announced he had “got the message” and promptly flew to the Middle East seeking prospective buyers.

 

However several overtures to the likes of Dubai Investment Capital and Zabeel Investments seem to have petered out, with Mr Ashley actually refusing to turn up to one meeting because an initial offer of £200m was seen as insulting.

 

Mr Ashley bought the club for £133m 16 months ago and has spent around £100m clearing debts.

 

Reports from the Middle East suggesting Ashley has asked a staggering £480m has led to fears on Tyneside that his desire for a huge profit is pricing the club out of the market.

 

From the Chronicle today. It's a piece by John gobshite Gibson, which doesn't do much for it's credibility, but there does seem to be a general theme running of potential buyers being cold-shouldered. Fair enough back in June as I don't think Ashley had any intention of selling, but nothing much seems to have changed since he's put the club up for sale.

[indi]

So the City thinks it's "essential" that the club has a geordie management team!?! fuck off!!

[Guest TheKingOfNewcastle]

Why did Gibson sit on his 'scoop' for four months before revealing it?

[ikri]

So the City thinks it's "essential" that the club has a geordie management team!?! fuck off!!

 

I didn't read that as a geordie management team, but that they wanted a geordie (or several) to be the public faces of the bid, like hiring Graham Wylie (Sage Software) or someone similar as chairman with Ant & Dec as the PR guys (for example).

[TRon]

So the City thinks it's "essential" that the club has a geordie management team!?! fuck off!!

 

Unfortunately the piece is written by Gibson, who never had many marbles to begin with and age isn't improving the situation.

[afar]

The more stuff that comes out, and who knows how much of it is true, the more and more convinced I am that he really has no intention of selling unless he gets an offer that he just can't turn down.

 

The thing is he could have ridden out the storm, if he pulled out all the stops and got in a replacement for KK who fit within the system and had the talent to motivate the players. If results began to pick up, the events of the last few weeks, although never forgotten would have been pushed to the back of the minds of the supporters.

 

But what I can not fathom atm, is what the hell is he thinking ? No one is stupid enough to hand him a huge profit on the club, maybe he knows that and is fully aware that he'll not sell. But why in the whole process make the managers job untouchable ? Why devalue your asset even further? Why put the club in danger of losing it's PL status and making your asset worth considerably less ?

 

He's an extremely cautious man when it comes to public speaking, I doubt his statement was made in the aftermath of the Hull protests. Surely he would have known the potential issues he would have by saying what he did.

 

So what now for him, what's his next move ? Seems like this plan to offload onto the rich arabs, if he was serious about it, has failed.  Does he have a back up plan ? Or does he now issue a statement to say, I tried, no one was interested so your stuck with me ?

 

I really believe something has to be done within the next week, first and foremost to make the manager's role attractive, I think the game tomorrow will highlight the need to do that. He could issue a statement that he's not selling now and hanging around, he could set a realistic price for the club and start negotiations to sell it or he could sack Wise and announce that he's abandoning the DOF structure and that the next manager he employs will have the control he requires. Whatever he does, to avoid disaster he has to act quickly now.

 

Sorry for the incoherent rambling, I've forgotten what my point was myself now

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

The original 'I got the message, I'm selling' statement is looking more like an emotional and instinctive reaction to the protests and the general hatred directed towards him. Nobody is immune to that kind of reaction.

[Bad Mongo]

The original 'I got the message, I'm selling' statement is looking more like an emotional and instinctive reaction to the protests and the general hatred directed towards him. Nobody is immune to that kind of reaction.

 

You seriously think he wrote it himself?

[AyeDubbleYoo]

The original 'I got the message, I'm selling' statement is looking more like an emotional and instinctive reaction to the protests and the general hatred directed towards him. Nobody is immune to that kind of reaction.

 

You seriously think he wrote it himself?

 

I don't know, I haven't heard anyone doubting it until now. Even if he didn't, that's all the more reason to think what I was implying, that he might decide to hang on after all.

[Wallace]

I just cannot work out what is going on - it is like he is messing with our heads.  Everything that is said or done contradicts something said or done earlier. 

 

If he wants to sell the club, then the way he has gone about it is bizarre.  I am sure, that it could all have been done discreetly.

 

Whatever his intentions are, they need to sort it out quickly because it is affecting everyone and especially the players.  A few of them may well want to be off in January and probably the better ones and if we are struggling, it will be difficult to attract players to the club.  I think the last few weeks have caused untold damage.  And they need to find a good manager urgently.  I am sure if the club was sold, that if the manager was doing well, he would be kept on.

 

 

[Teasy]

It's only a week since he put the club up for sale. You can't expect him to have done a deal already.

 

Potential buyers know that he's keen to sell, so they'll be testing him out with low offers.

 

I think he's genuine about wanting to sell, because he must be very hacked off with the way things have turned out.  The thought might be in the back of his mind that the present storm might blow over, and the mood become more conciliatory, but I doubt it.

 

That's three potential buyers two of wich have complained that Ashley isn't prepared to negotiate. There's nothing wrong with having a set price and sticking to it but when you are asking for double what most analysts consider is reasonable, you would at least expect some give and take. Ambani flew back complaining it was impossible to reach Ashley to have any meaningful discussions, now the Arabs are saying Ashley won't even listen to lower offers. He's certainly not desperate to sell that's for certain.

 

That happened before the club was up for sale.

[Alberto2005]

Getting a bit boring tbh.