At present has Mike Ashley got your backing?

[bealios]

I've tried to give the benefit of the doubt so far.

 

As has been mentioned before I'm not sure many people on here realise what a big deal removing the bank debt was. Not just the £8m or so it was costing per year, but the fact that when the facility came to be renewed, it would need to be renewed in the current banking market - pretty fucking difficult without paying sky high interest rates. Not exaggarating, it could have killed the club - not necessarily administration, but certainly a fire sale of players.

 

Behind the scenes the Academy has been improved, and we are finally starting to see a proper youth recruitment policy. The long term prospects of the club seems to be in good hands. Ironically isn't this the area Dennis Wise is officially in charge of?

 

BUT

 

There needs to be a balance struck between behind the scenes club survival and long term prospects, and the current first team performance, and this is were it has recently gone wrong. We're crying out for full backs, we will go down if we don't sign any in this window in my opinion. And I hope talk of giving Kinnear an extended contract is bullshit. As this window progresses I'm starting to lose a bit of faith.

 

If Ashley can give JFK a chance to fight of relegation with a few players in this window, and then appoints a coach in the summer who is used to and can work under the continental regime then I will recover a bit of faith in the fact that the club is being run properly.

 

 

[nobby_solano]

no, we're the laughing stock of the premiership, he has the power to change that and is seemingly doing sweet f.a other than letting it happen

[hakka]

Until Ashley spends some money on players.  He seems to not want to spend a thing on us and is risking relegation on it. 

[Disco]

Def a Feb 2nd for me, we might buy some players (although i fear we won't) and I'm very interested to hear what he has to say about the current debacle although why he has to wait to until then to address the fans i don't know (giving himself time to come up with excuses perhaps?)

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I've tried to give the benefit of the doubt so far.

 

As has been mentioned before I'm not sure many people on here realise what a big deal removing the bank debt was. Not just the £8m or so it was costing per year, but the fact that when the facility came to be renewed, it would need to be renewed in the current banking market - pretty fucking difficult without paying sky high interest rates. Not exaggarating, it could have killed the club - not necessarily administration, but certainly a fire sale of players.

 

Behind the scenes the Academy has been improved, and we are finally starting to see a proper youth recruitment policy. The long term prospects of the club seems to be in good hands. Ironically isn't this the area Dennis Wise is officially in charge of?

 

BUT

 

There needs to be a balance struck between behind the scenes club survival and long term prospects, and the current first team performance, and this is were it has recently gone wrong. We're crying out for full backs, we will go down if we don't sign any in this window in my opinion. And I hope talk of giving Kinnear an extended contract is bullshit. As this window progresses I'm starting to lose a bit of faith.

 

If Ashley can give JFK a chance to fight of relegation with a few players in this window, and then appoints a coach in the summer who is used to and can work under the continental regime then I will recover a bit of faith in the fact that the club is being run properly.

 

 

Basically what I think, I don't hate Ashley and I think his basic strategy was the right one, but he needs to put his hand in his pocket to stop us going down in the short term. And get a proper manager at the end of the season if he isn't selling up.

[UV]

 

Much like Chelsea owe Roman, either way, Chelseas future is much more stable with there form of debts than Liverpool are with theirs.

 

 

Liverpool are self-sustaining even with the debt. Chelsea are dependent on the whims and fortune of a single man.

 

Liverpool would lose money annually if they weren't in the CL, but Chelsea lose money annually even when they are in the CL and without debt repayments (I think).

 

Not sure how you can say Chelsea's future is much more stable than Liverpool's.

 

 

As for us, despite what the doom mongers will have you believe we were self sufficient pre-Ashley and were not about to go into financial meltdown. The debts have fluctuated over the years, and due to a period of relatively poor on field results and a need to replace the likes of Shearer they had increased in the latter years, this is true. It is also true for every other club in the league. To put it in perspective though, the debt was only a few million more in 2007 than it was back in 2001. The turnover in 2007 was £87m, the turnover in 2001 was £56m. We didn't go into receivership in 2001 and we weren't about to in 2007.

 

If you believe the figures Ashley comes out with ("I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it" 14/09/08) the club has managed to lose £40m+ in his first year or so of ownership (the net debt at 31/06/07 was £70m in the 06-07 accounts). I'm really not sure how the club managed to lose that much when net transfer spend was at most £10m over his entire tenure and TV revenues increased by £20m per year. I guess running the club "responsibly" is expensive work, but if we're losing that much per year now under Ashley I'm not sure why you think we're more stable now than we were previously.

[quayside]

100% yes. Anyone who isn't behind Ashley isn't a true Newcastle fan.

 

We moaned all the time that FFS should go and Ashley put his money where his mouth is, cleared the debt and any right minded Newcastle fan love him for it. unfortunately there is a poisonous minority at this club who have made him feel unwelcome and made us susceptible to foreign ownership. If we end up with someone like Tom Hicks, I hope you feel proud of yourselves you toxic bastards.

 

In one of the statements released by the club, they said something like 'club was still hemorrhaging money' or something along those lines, so are all the debts gone?

 

I think the debt still exists its just owed to Ashley instead of a bank, probably with no interest attached (which is exactly what Roman did at Chelsea). The club may well be haemorrhaging money. We lost £12 million in the year to July 2007 and in that year we had European football and good attendances. Not much has changed to the cost base since then. Same overheads, same high wages etc. But the income is probably down since then so a loss is likely. And the only person who can fund that loss is Ashley.

 

In answer to the thread - No. He's a chancer who hit the jackpot when he floated a dodgy chain of sports shops and thought it would be the ultimate toy to own a Premiership club. He had no idea what he was buying, didn't understand the importance of the club to the city of Newcastle, underestimated the ability of the fans to see through bullsh1t and he hasn't got a clue how to run it. Our best bet is somehow we survive and he finds a buyer in May.

 

 

 

If the debts have been paid off then we won't have the same overheads, considering those debts were costing us around £8 million a year (can't remember the exact amount).  Plus Premiership TV money has gone up by £20 million a season since then.

 

The 2008 accounts have just been filed (today), and I'm looking at them now. There's obviously a lot to take in. The club made a loss of £20.3 million before tax, although turnover was up for the reason you refer to.  Ashley stuck a loan of £100 million in, of which about £70 million was to pay off the old debt, the remaining £30 million was to fund working capital of the club basically. It cost £4.6 millionto get rid of Allardyce and co, and the in the final note it says Keegan resigned and it makes no reference to any compensation. 

[Guest toonlass]

100% yes. Anyone who isn't behind Ashley isn't a true Newcastle fan.

 

We moaned all the time that FFS should go and Ashley put his money where his mouth is, cleared the debt and any right minded Newcastle fan love him for it. unfortunately there is a poisonous minority at this club who have made him feel unwelcome and made us susceptible to foreign ownership. If we end up with someone like Tom Hicks, I hope you feel proud of yourselves you toxic bastards.

 

In one of the statements released by the club, they said something like 'club was still hemorrhaging money' or something along those lines, so are all the debts gone?

 

I think the debt still exists its just owed to Ashley instead of a bank, probably with no interest attached (which is exactly what Roman did at Chelsea). The club may well be haemorrhaging money. We lost £12 million in the year to July 2007 and in that year we had European football and good attendances. Not much has changed to the cost base since then. Same overheads, same high wages etc. But the income is probably down since then so a loss is likely. And the only person who can fund that loss is Ashley.

 

In answer to the thread - No. He's a chancer who hit the jackpot when he floated a dodgy chain of sports shops and thought it would be the ultimate toy to own a Premiership club. He had no idea what he was buying, didn't understand the importance of the club to the city of Newcastle, underestimated the ability of the fans to see through bullsh1t and he hasn't got a clue how to run it. Our best bet is somehow we survive and he finds a buyer in May.

 

 

 

If the debts have been paid off then we won't have the same overheads, considering those debts were costing us around £8 million a year (can't remember the exact amount).  Plus Premiership TV money has gone up by £20 million a season since then.

 

The 2008 accounts have just been filed (today), and I'm looking at them now. There's obviously a lot to take in. The club made a loss of £20.3 million before tax, although turnover was up for the reason you refer to.  Ashley stuck a loan of £100 million in, of which about £70 million was to pay off the old debt, the remaining £30 million was to fund working capital of the club basically. It cost £4.6 millionto get rid of Allardyce and co, and the in the final note it says Keegan resigned and it makes no reference to any compensation. 

 

Are you allowed to tell us this?

[Bad Mongo]

Mike Ashley did everything right up until the moment Kevin Keegan walked.

 

Everything he's done since then, particularly his capitulation after the initial supporter protests, has been an absolute, unmitigated disgrace.

 

If Ashley had just a bit more strength and stuck with his plans, we'd be sitting pretty at mid-table mediocrity just like West Ham.

 

Instead he's letting the club rot. That alone is enough for him to lose my support.

 

Mike Ashley did everything right until the moment Kevin Keegan walked in.

 

 

What utter bollocks. Right from the beginning, he's failed to support his managers in the transfer market. According to .com's list, Allardyce had 10 senior players sold or released (some permacrocks), replaced with 9 (one permacrock). Keegan had 6/7 out, 5/6 in (one permacrock on loan, another a youngster no better than the Ameobi he tried to sell). This with a squad already depleted since Roeder took over.

 

He did make the right noises, it's just too bad it was all a bunch of lies.

[quayside]

100% yes. Anyone who isn't behind Ashley isn't a true Newcastle fan.

 

We moaned all the time that FFS should go and Ashley put his money where his mouth is, cleared the debt and any right minded Newcastle fan love him for it. unfortunately there is a poisonous minority at this club who have made him feel unwelcome and made us susceptible to foreign ownership. If we end up with someone like Tom Hicks, I hope you feel proud of yourselves you toxic bastards.

 

In one of the statements released by the club, they said something like 'club was still hemorrhaging money' or something along those lines, so are all the debts gone?

 

I think the debt still exists its just owed to Ashley instead of a bank, probably with no interest attached (which is exactly what Roman did at Chelsea). The club may well be haemorrhaging money. We lost £12 million in the year to July 2007 and in that year we had European football and good attendances. Not much has changed to the cost base since then. Same overheads, same high wages etc. But the income is probably down since then so a loss is likely. And the only person who can fund that loss is Ashley.

 

In answer to the thread - No. He's a chancer who hit the jackpot when he floated a dodgy chain of sports shops and thought it would be the ultimate toy to own a Premiership club. He had no idea what he was buying, didn't understand the importance of the club to the city of Newcastle, underestimated the ability of the fans to see through bullsh1t and he hasn't got a clue how to run it. Our best bet is somehow we survive and he finds a buyer in May.

 

 

 

If the debts have been paid off then we won't have the same overheads, considering those debts were costing us around £8 million a year (can't remember the exact amount).  Plus Premiership TV money has gone up by £20 million a season since then.

 

The 2008 accounts have just been filed (today), and I'm looking at them now. There's obviously a lot to take in. The club made a loss of £20.3 million before tax, although turnover was up for the reason you refer to.  Ashley stuck a loan of £100 million in, of which about £70 million was to pay off the old debt, the remaining £30 million was to fund working capital of the club basically. It cost £4.6 millionto get rid of Allardyce and co, and the in the final note it says Keegan resigned and it makes no reference to any compensation. 

 

Are you allowed to tell us this?

 

Yes - the information is in the public domain. Every UK company must file accounts at Companies House. Anyone can access those accounts on the Companies House website for a fee of £1 per company. All this stuff you hear about not knowing what the finances are because the club isn't public is rubbish. Its easily available, you just have to wait for the accounts to be filed. As I said the accounts for the year to 30th June 2008 are now available for anyone to download.

[Guest toonlass]

Ahhh thats ok then.

[mrmojorisin75]

There maybe a thread like this if there is i'm sorry didnt see it

 

However lets forget all the drama of the past and not bring up the K man!  Just curious to know the answer to this - seems to be split down the middle, if the club is to grow surely we must back him right?

 

Has this guy got that in the majority here?  Can he ever?

 

1. since when has us backing him got anything to do with anything anyways?  people did that when he took over and they were totally fucked over

 

2. re the bit in bold, see number one...he has been backed and is shrinking the club into division 2, not growing it in any way shape or form

 

it's ashley who needs to take actions, i.e. spend money, that mean he earns the backing of the fans now - nothing else is either relevant or required

 

 

[BottledDog]

100% yes. Anyone who isn't behind Ashley isn't a true Newcastle fan.

 

We moaned all the time that FFS should go and Ashley put his money where his mouth is, cleared the debt and any right minded Newcastle fan love him for it. unfortunately there is a poisonous minority at this club who have made him feel unwelcome and made us susceptible to foreign ownership. If we end up with someone like Tom Hicks, I hope you feel proud of yourselves you toxic bastards.

 

In one of the statements released by the club, they said something like 'club was still hemorrhaging money' or something along those lines, so are all the debts gone?

 

I think the debt still exists its just owed to Ashley instead of a bank, probably with no interest attached (which is exactly what Roman did at Chelsea). The club may well be haemorrhaging money. We lost £12 million in the year to July 2007 and in that year we had European football and good attendances. Not much has changed to the cost base since then. Same overheads, same high wages etc. But the income is probably down since then so a loss is likely. And the only person who can fund that loss is Ashley.

 

In answer to the thread - No. He's a chancer who hit the jackpot when he floated a dodgy chain of sports shops and thought it would be the ultimate toy to own a Premiership club. He had no idea what he was buying, didn't understand the importance of the club to the city of Newcastle, underestimated the ability of the fans to see through bullsh1t and he hasn't got a clue how to run it. Our best bet is somehow we survive and he finds a buyer in May.

 

 

 

If the debts have been paid off then we won't have the same overheads, considering those debts were costing us around £8 million a year (can't remember the exact amount).  Plus Premiership TV money has gone up by £20 million a season since then.

 

The 2008 accounts have just been filed (today), and I'm looking at them now. There's obviously a lot to take in. The club made a loss of £20.3 million before tax, although turnover was up for the reason you refer to.  Ashley stuck a loan of £100 million in, of which about £70 million was to pay off the old debt, the remaining £30 million was to fund working capital of the club basically. It cost £4.6 millionto get rid of Allardyce and co, and the in the final note it says Keegan resigned and it makes no reference to any compensation. 

 

Are you allowed to tell us this?

 

Yes - the information is in the public domain. Every UK company must file accounts at Companies House. Anyone can access those accounts on the Companies House website for a fee of £1 per company. All this stuff you hear about not knowing what the finances are because the club isn't public is rubbish. Its easily available, you just have to wait for the accounts to be filed. As I said the accounts for the year to 30th June 2008 are now available for anyone to download.

 

Any chance of a rundown of the important bits if you have time? Would be interesting to see. 

 

/Might be worth a new thread.

[quayside]

100% yes. Anyone who isn't behind Ashley isn't a true Newcastle fan.

 

We moaned all the time that FFS should go and Ashley put his money where his mouth is, cleared the debt and any right minded Newcastle fan love him for it. unfortunately there is a poisonous minority at this club who have made him feel unwelcome and made us susceptible to foreign ownership. If we end up with someone like Tom Hicks, I hope you feel proud of yourselves you toxic bastards.

 

In one of the statements released by the club, they said something like 'club was still hemorrhaging money' or something along those lines, so are all the debts gone?

 

I think the debt still exists its just owed to Ashley instead of a bank, probably with no interest attached (which is exactly what Roman did at Chelsea). The club may well be haemorrhaging money. We lost £12 million in the year to July 2007 and in that year we had European football and good attendances. Not much has changed to the cost base since then. Same overheads, same high wages etc. But the income is probably down since then so a loss is likely. And the only person who can fund that loss is Ashley.

 

In answer to the thread - No. He's a chancer who hit the jackpot when he floated a dodgy chain of sports shops and thought it would be the ultimate toy to own a Premiership club. He had no idea what he was buying, didn't understand the importance of the club to the city of Newcastle, underestimated the ability of the fans to see through bullsh1t and he hasn't got a clue how to run it. Our best bet is somehow we survive and he finds a buyer in May.

 

 

 

If the debts have been paid off then we won't have the same overheads, considering those debts were costing us around £8 million a year (can't remember the exact amount).  Plus Premiership TV money has gone up by £20 million a season since then.

 

The 2008 accounts have just been filed (today), and I'm looking at them now. There's obviously a lot to take in. The club made a loss of £20.3 million before tax, although turnover was up for the reason you refer to.  Ashley stuck a loan of £100 million in, of which about £70 million was to pay off the old debt, the remaining £30 million was to fund working capital of the club basically. It cost £4.6 millionto get rid of Allardyce and co, and the in the final note it says Keegan resigned and it makes no reference to any compensation. 

 

Are you allowed to tell us this?

 

Yes - the information is in the public domain. Every UK company must file accounts at Companies House. Anyone can access those accounts on the Companies House website for a fee of £1 per company. All this stuff you hear about not knowing what the finances are because the club isn't public is rubbish. Its easily available, you just have to wait for the accounts to be filed. As I said the accounts for the year to 30th June 2008 are now available for anyone to download.

 

Any chance of a rundown of the important bits if you have time? Would be interesting to see. 

 

/Might be worth a new thread.

 

OK - will try and do it later, very busy right now.

[Skirge]

I was all for giving him another chance and once he took the club off the market I thought he was going to try and put things right. Seems he does not care at all and cannot be serious about keeping the club and trying to make it a top club again. All we can do is hope we some how stay up and in the summer we get lucky enough for a takeover to happen.

[mrmojorisin75]

I was all for giving him another chance and once he took the club off the market I thought he was going to try and put things right. Seems he does not care at all and cannot be serious about keeping the club and trying to make it a top club again. All we can do is hope we some how stay up and in the summer we get lucky enough for a takeover to happen.

 

skirge, are you not missing the point?  do you think the glazers care about manu?  or hicks/gillet about liverpool?  they couldn't give a fuck i'm sure but they're astute enough to know that success on the pitch = financial success in football

 

i don't give a shit if ashley cares about us, he should at least care enough about his investment to see us in better shape than we are surely to fuck?

[Skirge]

I was all for giving him another chance and once he took the club off the market I thought he was going to try and put things right. Seems he does not care at all and cannot be serious about keeping the club and trying to make it a top club again. All we can do is hope we some how stay up and in the summer we get lucky enough for a takeover to happen.

 

skirge, are you not missing the point?  do you think the glazers care about manu?  or hicks/gillet about liverpool?  they couldn't give a f*** i'm sure but they're astute enough to know that success on the pitch = financial success in football

 

i don't give a s*** if ashley cares about us, he should at least care enough about his investment to see us in better shape than we are surely to f***?

 

Thats the bit I don't get, why bother buying us in the first place, was he ever really planning on investing money in a good squad, it cannot be revenge after the way we reacted to the Keegan mess, Surley even if is not that petty.

[BottledDog]

100% yes. Anyone who isn't behind Ashley isn't a true Newcastle fan.

 

We moaned all the time that FFS should go and Ashley put his money where his mouth is, cleared the debt and any right minded Newcastle fan love him for it. unfortunately there is a poisonous minority at this club who have made him feel unwelcome and made us susceptible to foreign ownership. If we end up with someone like Tom Hicks, I hope you feel proud of yourselves you toxic bastards.

 

In one of the statements released by the club, they said something like 'club was still hemorrhaging money' or something along those lines, so are all the debts gone?

 

I think the debt still exists its just owed to Ashley instead of a bank, probably with no interest attached (which is exactly what Roman did at Chelsea). The club may well be haemorrhaging money. We lost £12 million in the year to July 2007 and in that year we had European football and good attendances. Not much has changed to the cost base since then. Same overheads, same high wages etc. But the income is probably down since then so a loss is likely. And the only person who can fund that loss is Ashley.

 

In answer to the thread - No. He's a chancer who hit the jackpot when he floated a dodgy chain of sports shops and thought it would be the ultimate toy to own a Premiership club. He had no idea what he was buying, didn't understand the importance of the club to the city of Newcastle, underestimated the ability of the fans to see through bullsh1t and he hasn't got a clue how to run it. Our best bet is somehow we survive and he finds a buyer in May.

 

 

 

If the debts have been paid off then we won't have the same overheads, considering those debts were costing us around £8 million a year (can't remember the exact amount).  Plus Premiership TV money has gone up by £20 million a season since then.

 

The 2008 accounts have just been filed (today), and I'm looking at them now. There's obviously a lot to take in. The club made a loss of £20.3 million before tax, although turnover was up for the reason you refer to.  Ashley stuck a loan of £100 million in, of which about £70 million was to pay off the old debt, the remaining £30 million was to fund working capital of the club basically. It cost £4.6 millionto get rid of Allardyce and co, and the in the final note it says Keegan resigned and it makes no reference to any compensation. 

 

Are you allowed to tell us this?

 

Yes - the information is in the public domain. Every UK company must file accounts at Companies House. Anyone can access those accounts on the Companies House website for a fee of £1 per company. All this stuff you hear about not knowing what the finances are because the club isn't public is rubbish. Its easily available, you just have to wait for the accounts to be filed. As I said the accounts for the year to 30th June 2008 are now available for anyone to download.

 

Any chance of a rundown of the important bits if you have time? Would be interesting to see. 

 

/Might be worth a new thread.

 

OK - will try and do it later, very busy right now.

 

No worries. Cheers.

[mrmojorisin75]

I was all for giving him another chance and once he took the club off the market I thought he was going to try and put things right. Seems he does not care at all and cannot be serious about keeping the club and trying to make it a top club again. All we can do is hope we some how stay up and in the summer we get lucky enough for a takeover to happen.

 

skirge, are you not missing the point?  do you think the glazers care about manu?  or hicks/gillet about liverpool?  they couldn't give a f*** i'm sure but they're astute enough to know that success on the pitch = financial success in football

 

i don't give a s*** if ashley cares about us, he should at least care enough about his investment to see us in better shape than we are surely to f***?

 

Thats the bit I don't get, why bother buying us in the first place, was he ever really planning on investing money in a good squad, it cannot be revenge after the way we reacted to the Keegan mess, Surley even if is not that petty.

 

said in another thread how erratic he's been during the whole thing, it boggles my mind...i hate things i can't understand and his motivation & actions throughout are inexplicable to me

 

well, i should say they're kind of explicable to the point of the current mess (if you assume he got his fingers burned buying the club & simply didn't understand what it entailed) because at the current point the only thing that DOESN'T make sense is not investing further in the team, and he's not doing it

[Skirge]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/01/21/quinn-calls-on-mike-ashley-to-put-up-or-sell-up-72703-22744126/

Quinn calls on Mike Ashley to put up or sell up

 

Jan 21 2009 by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle

Micky Quinn

 

MICKY QUINN has called for Mike Ashley to revive Newcastle United or leave Toon.

 

The legendary No 9 admits he is deeply saddened by the demise of the Magpies but feels that Ashley can still turn the club around – if he is prepared to rethink his ailing strategy at Newcastle.

 

However, Quinn feels that by simply going through the motions with the current director of football system at Gallowgate, where Dennis Wise pulls the strings, will only result in a mundane future for Newcastle fans and, worse still, empty stands at St James’s Park.

 

The black-and-white crisis sunk to new levels after the inept 3-0 defeat to Blackburn and their old boss Sam Allardyce.

 

And although Quinn doesn’t see Newcastle hosting the likes of Plymouth, Blackpool and Barnsley next term, he feels that anything other than a top-six ranking on Tyneside will always be unacceptable in the eyes of the Toon Army.

 

Quinn told the Chronicle in an emotional and candid interview: “I’m not sure what the exact answers are.

 

“But I do know the owner needs to sell up or decide to put some money in, I’m not sure, but something has to happen.

 

“They have to get a buzz around the place again, because at the moment it’s just not there.

 

“In fact, the last time I saw the Newcastle fans smiling was when I scored two against the Mackems in the Masters Football up there last summer!

 

“But I genuinely hope that they can turn it round.

 

“There is so much tradition up there that they can’t afford to just let things go through the motions.

 

“I felt that way in the FA Cup tie.

 

“It broke my heart to see all those empty seats at St James’s Park and watching the team bow out without a fight against Hull reserves.”

 

While United started the campaign hoping to challenge in at least the top 10 of the Premier League under Kevin Keegan, at the moment supporters will be grateful just to avoid dropping down to the Championship.

 

Quinn says he is alarmed by such a rapid drop in expectation levels on Tyneside.

 

He said: “I don’t think that Newcastle will go down at the end of the season, and relegation hasn’t entered my head too much, but that doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination they have been successful if they stay up.

 

“It’s another wasted year for the fans and I know they are pig sick.

 

“They have got enough good players to keep them up, but going out of the FA Cup was a nightmare for the supporters – especially after they had done the hard part and got a draw at Hull.

 

“Now they have to sit and watch everybody else play in the FA Cup this weekend without a game – that’s hard work for the Newcastle fans.

 

“But avoiding relegation is not a sign of success.”

 

Yet Quinn refuses to drop the subject of being bombed out of the cup at such an early stage.

 

He added: “Season after season the Newcastle fans have watched their team slip up in the early rounds of cup competitions.

 

“And it’s no wonder they are feeling short-changed.

 

“If you are a season ticket holder you have to ask what will you get for your money next year?

 

“Where is the value in committing yourself to the club for at least 18 matches?

 

“Michael Owen might not be here, Shay Given might be gone and there don’t seem to be any top-name players coming in, just those who aren’t household names.

 

“Joe Kinnear is the manager at the moment, but that doesn’t stand up for me.

 

“You have to look at what is being offered to the supporters and at the minute, there’s not much on the go.”

 

And even though Kinnear has spoken about extending his stay on Tyneside, Quinn isn’t convinced that the ex-Wimbledon and Luton chief is the answer.

 

He says: “People have talked about Kevin Keegan coming back last year and what might have been if he’d stayed.

 

“But he’s gone.

 

“And if people are honest enough, you have to ask if trying something new would be a better option rather than turning the clock back.

 

“The game has changed.

 

“They need a new fresh manager with fresh ideas and they need to bring in an influx of new players as well.

 

“I’m not sure if Joe Kinnear is the long-term answer.

 

“The Newcastle fans want to be challenging for the top six or top four and to do well in the cups – you shouldn’t lose sight of that.”

[Kanj]

I had a dream last night that JFK was sacked, and we were in advanced talks with a top-manager...Owen, Oba and Given spoke out about wanting to stay, given the change in management..........

 

f**k me, woke up for a second and thought it was true.

[garth]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2009/01/21/quinn-calls-on-mike-ashley-to-put-up-or-sell-up-72703-22744126/

Quinn calls on Mike Ashley to put up or sell up

 

Jan 21 2009 by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle

Micky Quinn

 

MICKY QUINN has called for Mike Ashley to revive Newcastle United or leave Toon.

 

The legendary No 9 admits he is deeply saddened by the demise of the Magpies but feels that Ashley can still turn the club around – if he is prepared to rethink his ailing strategy at Newcastle.

 

However, Quinn feels that by simply going through the motions with the current director of football system at Gallowgate, where Dennis Wise pulls the strings, will only result in a mundane future for Newcastle fans and, worse still, empty stands at St James’s Park.

 

The black-and-white crisis sunk to new levels after the inept 3-0 defeat to Blackburn and their old boss Sam Allardyce.

 

And although Quinn doesn’t see Newcastle hosting the likes of Plymouth, Blackpool and Barnsley next term, he feels that anything other than a top-six ranking on Tyneside will always be unacceptable in the eyes of the Toon Army.

 

Quinn told the Chronicle in an emotional and candid interview: “I’m not sure what the exact answers are.

 

“But I do know the owner needs to sell up or decide to put some money in, I’m not sure, but something has to happen.

 

“They have to get a buzz around the place again, because at the moment it’s just not there.

 

“In fact, the last time I saw the Newcastle fans smiling was when I scored two against the Mackems in the Masters Football up there last summer!

 

“But I genuinely hope that they can turn it round.

 

“There is so much tradition up there that they can’t afford to just let things go through the motions.

 

“I felt that way in the FA Cup tie.

 

“It broke my heart to see all those empty seats at St James’s Park and watching the team bow out without a fight against Hull reserves.”

 

While United started the campaign hoping to challenge in at least the top 10 of the Premier League under Kevin Keegan, at the moment supporters will be grateful just to avoid dropping down to the Championship.

 

Quinn says he is alarmed by such a rapid drop in expectation levels on Tyneside.

 

He said: “I don’t think that Newcastle will go down at the end of the season, and relegation hasn’t entered my head too much, but that doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination they have been successful if they stay up.

 

“It’s another wasted year for the fans and I know they are pig sick.

 

“They have got enough good players to keep them up, but going out of the FA Cup was a nightmare for the supporters – especially after they had done the hard part and got a draw at Hull.

 

“Now they have to sit and watch everybody else play in the FA Cup this weekend without a game – that’s hard work for the Newcastle fans.

 

“But avoiding relegation is not a sign of success.”

 

Yet Quinn refuses to drop the subject of being bombed out of the cup at such an early stage.

 

He added: “Season after season the Newcastle fans have watched their team slip up in the early rounds of cup competitions.

 

“And it’s no wonder they are feeling short-changed.

 

“If you are a season ticket holder you have to ask what will you get for your money next year?

 

“Where is the value in committing yourself to the club for at least 18 matches?

 

“Michael Owen might not be here, Shay Given might be gone and there don’t seem to be any top-name players coming in, just those who aren’t household names.

 

“Joe Kinnear is the manager at the moment, but that doesn’t stand up for me.

 

“You have to look at what is being offered to the supporters and at the minute, there’s not much on the go.”

 

And even though Kinnear has spoken about extending his stay on Tyneside, Quinn isn’t convinced that the ex-Wimbledon and Luton chief is the answer.

 

He says: “People have talked about Kevin Keegan coming back last year and what might have been if he’d stayed.

 

“But he’s gone.

 

“And if people are honest enough, you have to ask if trying something new would be a better option rather than turning the clock back.

 

“The game has changed.

 

“They need a new fresh manager with fresh ideas and they need to bring in an influx of new players as well.

 

“I’m not sure if Joe Kinnear is the long-term answer.

 

“The Newcastle fans want to be challenging for the top six or top four and to do well in the cups – you shouldn’t lose sight of that.”

 

 

Have to say he's talking a lot of sense.

[fredbob]

 

Much like Chelsea owe Roman, either way, Chelseas future is much more stable with there form of debts than Liverpool are with theirs.

 

 

Liverpool are self-sustaining even with the debt. Chelsea are dependent on the whims and fortune of a single man.

 

Liverpool would lose money annually if they weren't in the CL, but Chelsea lose money annually even when they are in the CL and without debt repayments (I think).

 

Not sure how you can say Chelsea's future is much more stable than Liverpool's.

 

 

As for us, despite what the doom mongers will have you believe we were self sufficient pre-Ashley and were not about to go into financial meltdown. The debts have fluctuated over the years, and due to a period of relatively poor on field results and a need to replace the likes of Shearer they had increased in the latter years, this is true. It is also true for every other club in the league. To put it in perspective though, the debt was only a few million more in 2007 than it was back in 2001. The turnover in 2007 was £87m, the turnover in 2001 was £56m. We didn't go into receivership in 2001 and we weren't about to in 2007.

 

If you believe the figures Ashley comes out with ("I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it" 14/09/08) the club has managed to lose £40m+ in his first year or so of ownership (the net debt at 31/06/07 was £70m in the 06-07 accounts). I'm really not sure how the club managed to lose that much when net transfer spend was at most £10m over his entire tenure and TV revenues increased by £20m per year. I guess running the club "responsibly" is expensive work, but if we're losing that much per year now under Ashley I'm not sure why you think we're more stable now than we were previously.

 

But then again, not only are Liverpool struglling to inject big finances (the sort of finances they made need to compete with City around) but how detrimental would not qualifying for the CL be for them? Its a much more detrimental situation to be in witht he owners not persoanlly financially tied into the club then one where the owner is and less suspceptible to walk away just like that, also Chelsea are a year away from breaking even....

[dcmk]

 

Much like Chelsea owe Roman, either way, Chelseas future is much more stable with there form of debts than Liverpool are with theirs.

 

 

Liverpool are self-sustaining even with the debt. Chelsea are dependent on the whims and fortune of a single man.

 

Liverpool would lose money annually if they weren't in the CL, but Chelsea lose money annually even when they are in the CL and without debt repayments (I think).

 

Not sure how you can say Chelsea's future is much more stable than Liverpool's.

 

 

As for us, despite what the doom mongers will have you believe we were self sufficient pre-Ashley and were not about to go into financial meltdown. The debts have fluctuated over the years, and due to a period of relatively poor on field results and a need to replace the likes of Shearer they had increased in the latter years, this is true. It is also true for every other club in the league. To put it in perspective though, the debt was only a few million more in 2007 than it was back in 2001. The turnover in 2007 was £87m, the turnover in 2001 was £56m. We didn't go into receivership in 2001 and we weren't about to in 2007.

 

If you believe the figures Ashley comes out with ("I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it" 14/09/08) the club has managed to lose £40m+ in his first year or so of ownership (the net debt at 31/06/07 was £70m in the 06-07 accounts). I'm really not sure how the club managed to lose that much when net transfer spend was at most £10m over his entire tenure and TV revenues increased by £20m per year. I guess running the club "responsibly" is expensive work, but if we're losing that much per year now under Ashley I'm not sure why you think we're more stable now than we were previously.

 

But then again, not only are Liverpool struglling to inject big finances (the sort of finances they made need to compete with City around) but how detrimental would not qualifying for the CL be for them? Its a much more detrimental situation to be in witht he owners not persoanlly financially tied into the club then one where the owner is and less suspceptible to walk away just like that, also Chelsea are a year away from breaking even....

 

...no.

[Guest]

Not anymore. He's got until Feb 2nd to turn me back around.