Mike Ashley: "I've loved owning Newcastle"

[Baggio]

Lets get it right you thought we would have been up to 5th only a few weeks ago if Keegan had stayed.

 

I stand by that but as I said we wouldn't have finished there without investment in January which I didn't trust Ashley to do

 

When have they all been out at once btw?

 

 

Last weekend in the second half - we're lucky a couple will be back for today.

 

 

 

So if Ashley does put money into the club in January then you will back down and admit Keegan was wrong to walk out?

 

As for last weekend, 4 midfielders out is going to hurt any team and not including LuaLua when he was fit and in the origianal squad was just as daft, but everyone who watched that game blames Kinnear and his shit tactics for throwing the game away in the second half, including yourself from what I read on toontastic.

 

So you're either blaming Kinnear for throwing the game away or you're saying it wasn't his fault because he wasn't left with enough midfielders, do you think Keegan would have thrown the game away last week under the same circumstances?

[NJS]

He has like, but Keegan gave that interview on TV, "not going to happen" were his words IIRC.

 

Keegan gave his typical emotional response to a defeat - I'm sure he still thought it was possible - even if it was doing groundwork over 3 years to get somewhere near them for someone else.

 

 

 

Aye OK.  Keegan says it, you say he didn't mean it,  & it gets passed off as "his typical emotional response".  A bit like his walk out perhaps?

 

Possibly yes - there is an element of blame which I've never denied - Keegan's "passion" is both a blessing and a curse but its what makes him inspiring most of the time.

 

 

Let's say you're right and Keegan had doubts about any chance we had and he was called to see Ashley who did actually want to challenge as you suggested.

 

What would be the obvious stumbling block to any compromise? - the level of investment.

 

I think this where things went wrong as I guess that Ashley told Keegan he would back him to a reasonable degree (though all the statments suggested nothing stupid). This backing then disappeared over the summer.

 

 

[Unbelievable]

No need, fredbob, thought it was a decent response with some obvious effort behind it myself. Can't hurt to remind people of quotes from the various people involved at different times, surely?

 

Sorry, its just like banging your head against a brick wall sometimes, thoses quotes are completely irrelvanent, we know thatKeegan has been undermined thats a fact, the 2 sides arent arguing this point which those quotes would back up.

 

I feel the debate should of moved onto why he was undermined? Was it a simple case of him never having full control on transfers and was expected to accomodate any player the club decided to buy? (Thats seems to be the line alot of fans are taking) Or was it a case of him actually having full say on transfers but was unable to identify suitable targets that fit in with the transfer policy the club was trying to incorporate and therefore forced the clubs hand to act?

 

In my opinion theres evidence that would suggest that the latter explanation is accurate.

 

 

 

Cracking discussion you guys had on a Saturday night (night out on the toon not like it used to be?)

 

From your two scenarios, I would suggest number one follows from number two.

[NJS]

So if Ashley does put money into the club in January then you will back down and admit Keegan was wrong to walk out?

 

 

The only reason he will spend money now is fear of relegation to protect his investment. If we were say 8th and Kinnear said give me some money as we've got a chance of UEFA he'd have got fuck all.

 

So you're either blaming Kinnear for throwing the game away or you're saying it wasn't his fault because he wasn't left with enough midfielders, do you think Keegan would have thrown the game away last week under the same circumstances?

 

It's a combination of both  - he made the worst out of the tools he'd been left by under-investment.

 

Keegan would have had the amazing plan of trying to score another goal.

 

 

 

 

 

[manorpark]

My grandparents' grandkids are doing it.

 

As I grew up in the 70s and  experiencing 74 at the age of 10 and knowing about 69 I had a view of Newcastle United as a club with a proud history that could on occasion have a sniff of winning something without being a top, top club. After relegation and a few years of s**** as I stated going to the matches I'd accepted that the chances of that sniff had receded so concentrated on just having a good time at the matches where football almost became secondary - you could say an "Ashley" type viewpoint.

 

John Hall and Kevin Keegan changed that attitude and stirred something in me and others that still burns - a desire to see us go beyond that attitude of the 70s and actually become a top club. Bobby Robson and yes Freddie Shepherd also shared that desire.

 

Mike Ashley has never spoken about wanting any of that - he has never named a target or an aim beyond financial stability - it was left to Keegan again when he was appointed to talk about at least having a go at the top 4 or maybe winning a cup.

 

What I see now is people arguing for going back to the defeatist attitude of the past where they talk about "enjoyment" and "stability" by which they mean not rattling any feathers or being scared of having a go because as far as I can see one club out of dozens who've tried have gone a bit tits up (Leeds). Even then they haven't folded - they could still come back but that's not good enough for the doom merchants who despite never having seen a "big" club fold for donkeys years seem to think we're heading there.

 

I'm 44 and possibly having 20 or 30 years left I would like to see us win something and more importantly try and win something. That may sound selfish but I also want it to happen for people who are kids now so that the won't have memories based on trudging around Cambridge and Shrewsbury. I've said this before - given how much debt the top clubs have I'd rather the club was in debt (though manageable) and competing than being "stable" and seeing 10th as a good season.

 

 

 

I am intrigued as to why you expect to die so young?  I don't know you, so perhaps you have an illness, if so please accept my apologies.  It just seemed such a strange thing to say, to expect to die so young.

[ChezGiven]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

[Baggio]

So if Ashley does put money into the club in January then you will back down and admit Keegan was wrong to walk out?

 

 

The only reason he will spend money now is fear of relegation to protect his investment. If we were say 8th and Kinnear said give me some money as we've got a chance of UEFA he'd have got fuck all.

 

You don't know that, you're just using that because it suits your agenda and lets you dodge having to admit that Keegan would have been wrong to walk.

 

 

So you're either blaming Kinnear for throwing the game away or you're saying it wasn't his fault because he wasn't left with enough midfielders, do you think Keegan would have thrown the game away last week under the same circumstances?

 

 

It's a combination of both  - he made the worst out of the tools he'd been left by under-investment.

 

Keegan would have had the amazing plan of trying to score another goal.

 

 

But injuries happen and it's up to the manager to make the best of what he's got on the day, I remember when Jenas had to play at left back because injury forced us into a change and it was down to Robson to make the best of the situation, he put Jenas to left back and if memory serves me right we went on to beat Spurs 1-0, I've also seen Reo-Coker at right back for Villa this season too when MON lost Shorey at left back so had to switch Young over there to cover, these things happen.

 

So you think Keegan would have gone for another goal? So do I, possibly by putting Viduka on and going 4-3-3, which would have won us the game.

 

[toonpete1892]

My grandparents' grandkids are doing it.

 

As I grew up in the 70s and  experiencing 74 at the age of 10 and knowing about 69 I had a view of Newcastle United as a club with a proud history that could on occasion have a sniff of winning something without being a top, top club. After relegation and a few years of s**** as I stated going to the matches I'd accepted that the chances of that sniff had receded so concentrated on just having a good time at the matches where football almost became secondary - you could say an "Ashley" type viewpoint.

 

John Hall and Kevin Keegan changed that attitude and stirred something in me and others that still burns - a desire to see us go beyond that attitude of the 70s and actually become a top club. Bobby Robson and yes Freddie Shepherd also shared that desire.

 

Mike Ashley has never spoken about wanting any of that - he has never named a target or an aim beyond financial stability - it was left to Keegan again when he was appointed to talk about at least having a go at the top 4 or maybe winning a cup.

 

What I see now is people arguing for going back to the defeatist attitude of the past where they talk about "enjoyment" and "stability" by which they mean not rattling any feathers or being scared of having a go because as far as I can see one club out of dozens who've tried have gone a bit tits up (Leeds). Even then they haven't folded - they could still come back but that's not good enough for the doom merchants who despite never having seen a "big" club fold for donkeys years seem to think we're heading there.

 

I'm 44 and possibly having 20 or 30 years left I would like to see us win something and more importantly try and win something. That may sound selfish but I also want it to happen for people who are kids now so that the won't have memories based on trudging around Cambridge and Shrewsbury. I've said this before - given how much debt the top clubs have I'd rather the club was in debt (though manageable) and competing than being "stable" and seeing 10th as a good season.

 

 

 

I'm only 21 and never attended any of the keegan games in the mid 90s due to being too young. This was the time we should have stood up and got something but for some reason, we wern't able to. I started to attended the games in the Dalgish era so have never personally witnessed the highs that keegan brought. Instead, I've supported the team through disappointing league campaigns and long cups runs:

 

98 FA cup final

99 FA cup final

00 FA cup semi final

04 Champions League st2

05 UEFA cup later stages

05 FA cup semi final

 

Apart from the couple of years when we were sniffing around the champion league spots, we have been rubbish in the league, consistantly coming mid table or even worse. These were the times when we should have moved forward but instead we've found ourselves going backwards, both on the field and financially. Newcastle United is part of me and although we've never won anything, and may never do, I have the memories of attending league games all over england, visiting small lower league teams in cup games, seeing the sights and experiences that europe offers, attending the great european nights at SJP and feeling the disapointment of failed FA cup final/semi finals.

 

I've spent hundreds if not thousands of pounds (birthday/christmas presents, part time jobs, pocket money, student loan etc) following the club, with no silverware to show. I'm not turning this into a competition of 'the better fan' but at the end of the day, I get mountains of grief off my uni mates for supporting this club and my simple response is 'I don't care'. A surprise victory will massively outweight a dissapointing lose at home, the excitment of travelling to a new place only to come away dissapointed then laughing and joking with like minded fans even when we suffer a stuffing. Get me talking about this club and I'll have stories upon stories to tell you. Thats what I love about it - there may not be any new additions to the trophy cabinet but I don't care:

 

Newcastle United is what you want it to be!

[Wullie]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

[Baggio]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

[ChezGiven]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

No, i'm sure you wont want to put a position on where we'd be under Keegan if he had stayed. Too low and you dis-respect his skills, too high and you shoot every argument about the squad investments in the foot. Tricky one to answer.

[Wullie]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

 

What's the point in speculating? More.

[Baggio]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

No, i'm sure you wont want to put a position on where we'd be under Keegan if he had stayed. Too low and you dis-respect his skills, too high and you shoot every argument about the squad investments in the foot. Tricky one to answer.

 

Judging from Wullie's last reply in the post above you've hit the nail on the head.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Fuck off Ashley.

[ChezGiven]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

 

What's the point in speculating? More.

 

Tells you whether he had a reasonably good plan in place back in January 2008, contrary to your supposition that he 'wants' us to be like fulham.

[Wullie]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

 

What's the point in speculating? More.

 

Tells you whether he had a reasonably good plan in place back in January 2008, contrary to your supposition that he 'wants' us to be like fulham.

 

Alright then I think we could reasonably have been looking at the top six because of how poor a Premiership it is this year. Ashley believed the squad was just as strong without its inspirational manager though which is why we're in the relegation zone.

[ChezGiven]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

 

What's the point in speculating? More.

 

Tells you whether he had a reasonably good plan in place back in January 2008, contrary to your supposition that he 'wants' us to be like fulham.

 

Alright then I think we could reasonably have been looking at the top six because of how poor a Premiership it is this year. Ashley believed the squad was just as strong without its inspirational manager though which is why we're in the relegation zone.

 

True, but Keegan was part of his plan which shows he did have some ambition for the club when he set out. Its all gone to shit now but you cant use today's situation to characterise his ambition in January.

[NG32]

Hey fat man, either come back and sort this fucking mess out or fuck off completly.

 

End of.

[Wullie]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

 

What's the point in speculating? More.

 

Tells you whether he had a reasonably good plan in place back in January 2008, contrary to your supposition that he 'wants' us to be like fulham.

 

Alright then I think we could reasonably have been looking at the top six because of how poor a Premiership it is this year. Ashley believed the squad was just as strong without its inspirational manager though which is why we're in the relegation zone.

 

True, but Keegan was part of his plan which shows he did have some ambition for the club when he set out. Its all gone to shit now but you cant use today's situation to characterise his ambition in January.

 

I'd say his 'ambition' was to use Keegan's way of getting more out of players than seems possible in order that he wouldn't have to invest in the squad.

 

It's even more of a kick in the teeth seeing the state of the Premiership this year, I think Villa and Hull are the only teams who have improved, everyone else, including the big guns, has lurched backwards. With KK and some real quality where we needed it, we could have taken great advantage of that, possibly even looking at a 2001-02 scenario. Sickener.

[NE5]

Ashley: "What a shame I've been forced to sell the club - I was going to spend loads of money and everything."

 

Aye, whatever. Get it sold, collect your thirty pieces of silver and fuck off you slimy cunt.

 

nothing but another attempted PR exercise, like all the other bullshit including buying pints for half the bigg market

 

 

[S.S.R.]

Ashley didn't want Keegan's input, he wanted a brand the fans believed in to sell three years worth of season tickets.

 

nothing but another attempted PR exercise, like all the other bullshit including buying pints for half the bigg market

 

[indi]

This is actually a genuine question, please read it at one:

 

Could anyone from the more hardcore Keegan supporters tell me at what point we move beyond talking about Keegan, accept that he's gone and Ashley remains and start trying to make the best of a bad job?

 

When do the needs of the club - staving off the threat of relegation, encouraging the owner to re-engage (ie spend money/hire a proper manager) - become important enough to outweigh people's personal views of the individuals involved and get everyone pulling in the same direction?

 

Even under Shepherd, when the club was in a much worse position financially and had equally bad periods on the pitch, it still felt like everyone was essentially pulling in the same direction most of the time, now it feels like the club's being torn apart by the people who are supposed to care for it the most. It reminds me of parents who have split up fighting for custody of their kids, they're both so obsessed with the battle and so sure that only they can look after them properly, that they don't notice that it's totally ruining their kids' lives. That's what NUFC is right now, a dysfunctional family. The only difference is that the parents (Ashley/Fans) can't split up, but instead of trying to peacefully coexist and get on with what's best for their kid (NUFC), they're still too busy fighting about whose fault it was. What we need is Relate.

[Baggio]

We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support.

 

Is that Arsenal who currently lie beneath another club with a new owner, one who have shown actual ambition and are looking good for a Champions League spot?

 

Lerner wants Villa to be the best, Ashley wants us to be Fulham. As NJS says, if we've no interest in competing we might as well go home.

 

NJS and many others, quite likely including yourself, thought we'd be having a fantastic season if Keegan hadnt left/walked. How does that tie in with what you have just posted?

 

The position the club would have been in under Keegan WAS Ashley's plan. His failure was not being able to execute that plan.

 

Nevermind though eh, Hall, Shepherd, Dalglish, Gullit, Roeder, Souness, Allardyce and Kinnear, all cunts the lot of them.

 

A fantastic season? No. Better than a relegation dogfight? Yes.

 

Out of interest, how many more points do you think we would have if Keegan had stayed?

 

What's the point in speculating? More.

 

Tells you whether he had a reasonably good plan in place back in January 2008, contrary to your supposition that he 'wants' us to be like fulham.

 

Alright then I think we could reasonably have been looking at the top six because of how poor a Premiership it is this year. Ashley believed the squad was just as strong without its inspirational manager though which is why we're in the relegation zone.

 

True, but Keegan was part of his plan which shows he did have some ambition for the club when he set out. Its all gone to shit now but you cant use today's situation to characterise his ambition in January.

 

I'd say his 'ambition' was to use Keegan's way of getting more out of players than seems possible in order that he wouldn't have to invest in the squad.

 

It's even more of a kick in the teeth seeing the state of the Premiership this year, I think Villa and Hull are the only teams who have improved, everyone else, including the big guns, has lurched backwards. With KK and some real quality where we needed it, we could have taken great advantage of that, possibly even looking at a 2001-02 scenario. Sickener.

 

I think everyone who owns a football club wants to bring in a manager that can get the best out of the players they've got to work with know matter how much they've got to spend, that's just the basics.

 

Selling Milner at the end without having time to get a replacement in has thrown it up in the air regarding how much we've spent but if that money is used in January then I don't see the problem, it wouldn't be the first time in the clubs history that we've sold a player and reinvested the money in the following window and it won't be the last either, credit to Lerner he spent plenty of money in the Summer but would you swap any of the players they signed this Summer for either Jonas or Colo? I know I wouldn't.

 

Our players are better than where we're now and you've even said yourself that if Keegan was here we could be pushing for top 6, add to that a few signings in January that go straight into the first team and I just can't see the problem, unless people think a top 6-8 finish is a good enough jump from where we were last year.

 

 

[indi]

Ashley: "What a shame I've been forced to sell the club - I was going to spend loads of money and everything."

 

Aye, whatever. Get it sold, collect your thirty pieces of silver and fuck off you slimy cunt.

 

nothing but another attempted PR exercise, like all the other bullshit including buying pints for half the bigg market

 

 

 

You realise that there's always a purpose behind someone conducting a PR exercise? People don't just do them willy nilly.

 

What do you think was the purpose behind this PR Exercise, and the thinking behind that?

[Spider Jerusalem]

 

I'd say his 'ambition' was to use Keegan's way of getting more out of players than seems possible in order that he wouldn't have to invest in the squad.

 

It's even more of a kick in the teeth seeing the state of the Premiership this year, I think Villa and Hull are the only teams who have improved, everyone else, including the big guns, has lurched backwards. With KK and some real quality where we needed it, we could have taken great advantage of that, possibly even looking at a 2001-02 scenario. Sickener.

 

I'd say his ambition when bringing in Keegan was to hoodwink the fans into buying three years worth of season tickets based on his previous relationship and relative sucess with us.  When do the first payments for those come out by the way?