Dear Mike Ashley (warning long post)

[Mick]

 

I agree.

 

Admire the HTT post as well, and it has a lot of sensible points...

 

But the change and 'proof' you (HTT) seek from Mike Ashley can't be provided in anything other than the long term, so if people really want what you say you want, and they seem to, they'll have to be prepared to ease off Ashley for 3-5 years and let him try to make it work.

 

We can't go mental over one transfer window and/or a couple of seasons where we struggle.

 

Trust is required and those in power at the club have to earn it.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

Be canny if that was printed as a full page letter in the chronicle/journal

How much would that run. 

 

I like that letter and would help fund it. 

 

http://www.ncjmedia.co.uk/pdfs/advertisingRatesPage/NCJMediaCoreTitlesRatecard2009.pdf

 

Putting it in Births, Marriages & Deaths seems cheapest at first glance.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

But the change and 'proof' you (HTT) seek from Mike Ashley can't be provided in anything other than the long term, so if people really want what you say you want, and they seem to, they'll have to be prepared to ease off Ashley for 3-5 years and let him try to make it work.

 

We can't go mental over one transfer window and/or a couple of seasons where we struggle.

 

I agree and I would be prepared to wait and see, but we need to know of any plans first and not ambiguous statements and cheap talk like what we've had before but genuine plans that we can hold the powers that be to.

 

A detailed statement signed by all for example that can be handed to NUSC and fanzines and fansites as a form of gentlemens agreement, in return we can make promises that no boycotts, protests, marches etc. will be carried out.

 

I know it seems crazy but I think that is what it will take to put a halt to this all.

 

Imagine if that did happen, it would lift the negative vibes and create a sensational positive story for the press. It would be an unprecedented thing in football, fans and owner shaking hands on an agreement. It would create a lot of good PR which is badly needed.

 

I realise I'm speaking in total vain here but I'd love for something like that to happen.

 

[Mick]

or, [email protected]

[AyeDubbleYoo]

But the change and 'proof' you (HTT) seek from Mike Ashley can't be provided in anything other than the long term, so if people really want what you say you want, and they seem to, they'll have to be prepared to ease off Ashley for 3-5 years and let him try to make it work.

 

We can't go mental over one transfer window and/or a couple of seasons where we struggle.

 

I agree and I would be prepared to wait and see, but we need to know of any plans first and not ambiguous statements and cheap talk like what we've had before but genuine plans that we can hold the powers that be to.

 

A detailed statement signed by all for example that can be handed to NUSC and fanzines and fansites as a form of gentlemens agreement, in return we can make promises that no boycotts, protests, marches etc. will be carried out.

 

I know it seems crazy but I think that is what it will take to put a halt to this all.

 

Imagine if that did happen, it would lift the negative vibes and create a sensational positive story for the press. It would be an unprecedented thing in football, fans and owner shaking hands on an agreement. It would create a lot of good PR which is badly needed.

 

I realise I'm speaking in total vain here but I'd love for something like that to happen.

 

 

That's actually a potentially brilliant idea, although I agree it's a long shot. I remember those 'pupils agreement' things we had to sign at school, agreeing to not hit the teachers and that!

 

Maybe the fans could draft something like that setting out the obligations on both sides... the club, NUSC and (for example) the five biggest fan sites.

 

I'm still a bit uncomfortable that some people are expecting a business to reveal much more about their workings than would ever be possible, but other than that I think it could work.

 

Dreamland maybe...

[EthiGeordie]

  Great HTT we need some sort of campaign like we use to have for Hitzfeld Ashley is not stuborn like FFS. We need to be serious and know what we need to achive with our campaign.

[Guest toonlass]

Well done HTT. Fantastic post, and sums up what a lot of people are thinking. We just want some truth and some clarity.

[OzzieMandias]

Be canny if that was printed as a full page letter in the chronicle/journal

How much would that run. 

 

I like that letter and would help fund it. 

 

http://www.ncjmedia.co.uk/pdfs/advertisingRatesPage/NCJMediaCoreTitlesRatecard2009.pdf

 

Putting it in Births, Marriages & Deaths seems cheapest at first glance.

 

It'll easily fit in there if we simply edit HTT's post down to its salient points.

 

Dear Mike Ashley,

 

Please tell us what's going on. And get a decent manager. And some good players.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Newcastle fans

[Toon Amy]

Why don't you just ask Lee Ryder or Luke Edwards if they will publish it in the paper? Shy bairns get nowt. It is worth asking.

 

As the owner of this website I am sure they would at least consider it. You have made some good points and speak for many of us.

[Dave]

[Thespence]

EPL

 

Why do you refer  to the PL as that? It is called the Premier League not the English Premier League. The SPL is called that because it is called the Scottish Premier League.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

As the owner of this website I am sure they would at least consider it.

 

Only I don't own the site and never really did either.

[wyn davies]

did Ashley actually inform the fans like he said he was going to following the close of the transfer window or was that yet again more lies?

[BottledDog]

did Ashley actually inform the fans like he said he was going to following the close of the transfer window or was that yet again more lies?

 

All quiet at the moment but guess Llambias' interview may answer some questions.

 

What did he actually promise to do? Got any quotes from Ashley?

[Dave]

Of course not. It came via Kinnear as usual...

[BottledDog]

Of course not. It came via Kinnear as usual...

 

What interview was that from?

 

Ah well, it would make sense. There you go Wyn, no lies, just a Kinnear brain fart.

[BottledDog]

How HTT, have you put your open letter out to any of the papers or even NUSC? Must be worth a shot.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

How HTT, have you put your open letter out to any of the papers or even NUSC? Must be worth a shot.

 

Nah, far too lazy for that and to be honest it would need an editor to hack away at it as it is quite long and unreadable in parts.

[BottledDog]

How HTT, have you put your open letter out to any of the papers or even NUSC? Must be worth a shot.

 

Nah, far too lazy for that and to be honest it would need an editor to hack away at it as it is quite long and unreadable in parts.

 

Heh, fair play, though it makes a damn sight more sense and is a good deal more constructive than the majority of the stuff NUSC gets in the press to be fair.

[sicsfingeredmong]

It's all good & well to try and attempt a route of open dialogue HTT - ie. explain the circumstances, pull him into line - but let i remind you of a similar occurrence - where interested parties tried a similar thing. About 10 years ago. around 2000 if i recall.

 

Umbro - Sports Direct's major suppliers - and Ashley's immediate rivals tried a simlar course of action with a maverick sales merchant in the form of Ashley. Ashley was undermining the retail value of Umbro's chief product, and driving Umbro's other major retail customers to the wall by selling replica shirts at a price the likes of JJB were unable to match.

 

It may officially be known as collusion - as ruled by the Fair Trading body - but look at the situation from Umbro's angle. In an ideal world they don't want a/ the replica shirt market dominated by a single retailer, and with just one retail customer - ie. Sports Direct - on it's books in the UK. Ashley would've held the balance of power in terms of being able to set a purchase/wholesale price, and they would've lost a foothold into a major market if Ashley had jumped ship towards another distributor. And b/ their product was being devalued, by Ashley's maverick selling practices. Looking at it that way Umbro were imo attempting to pull Ashley into line, by opening constructive dialogue with him - along with Ashley's immediate competitors.

 

What did the Umbro and Co receive for their troubles? When you read about the manner as to how Messr Ashley stitched them all up, the answer is an act of deceitful 'corporate back-shanking/stabbing of the highest order'.

 

Our club imo has become an extension of his sports chain. Ashley, with his association/ownership of a major club, has added an dimension of legitimacy to what is a cheap/knockdown retail empire...... or as as HTL described it, a poor man's JJB. As witnessed by him blowing the whistle on the likes of Umbro, Whelan and Co he is a man/operator who doesn't take kindly to being told the sort of path he should be taking where his business operation is concerned.

 

And that's what the club is now, Ashley's business operation. And as such, input such as the above - or enmasse - will imo be met with a sense of dismissal.

 

You're wasting your breath HTT. Blokes like Ashley, who have track record on their side, can't be trusted or negotiated with. Keegan failed to open dialogue with him at the end of the Summer transfer window, and he was effectively snubbed off while the owner was too busy getting pissed on then other side of the Atlantic.

 

One day somebody will have obvious motive - ie. what Ashley is doing the club/converting the club into a bonafide 2nd rater - and opportunity on their side.

 

I knew quite a few lads - some older than me, more combative - who were on the verge of following a similar route, as McKeag stubbornly clung to his his seat of power. All it takes is motive, an otherwise unlikely opportunity, and a few pints/diminished responsibility added to the mix.

[Mick]

It's all good & well to try and attempt a route of open dialogue HTT - ie. explain the circumstances, pull him into line - but let i remind you of a similar occurrence - where interested parties tried a similar thing. About 10 years ago. around 2000 if i recall.

 

Umbro - Sports Direct's major suppliers - and Ashley's immediate rivals tried a simlar course of action with a maverick sales merchant in the form of Ashley. Ashley was undermining the retail value of Umbro's chief product, and driving Umbro's other major retail customers to the wall by selling replica shirts at a price the likes of JJB were unable to match.

 

It may officially be known as collusion - as ruled by the Fair Trading body - but look at the situation from Umbro's angle. In an ideal world they don't want a/ the replica shirt market dominated by a single retailer, and with just one retail customer - ie. Sports Direct - on it's books in the UK. Ashley would've held the balance of power in terms of being able to set a purchase/wholesale price, and they would've lost a foothold into a major market if Ashley had jumped ship towards another distributor. And b/ their product was being devalued, by Ashley's maverick selling practices. Looking at it that way Umbro were imo attempting to pull Ashley into line, by opening constructive dialogue with him - along with Ashley's immediate competitors.

 

What did the Umbro and Co receive for their troubles? When you read about the manner as to how Messr Ashley stitched them all up, the answer is an act of deceitful 'corporate back-shanking/stabbing of the highest order'.

 

Our club imo has become an extension of his sports chain. Ashley, with his association/ownership of a major club, has added an dimension of legitimacy to what is a cheap/knockdown retail empire...... or as as HTL described it, a poor man's JJB. As witnessed by him blowing the whistle on the likes of Umbro, Whelan and Co he is a man/operator who doesn't take kindly to being told the sort of path he should be taking where his business operation is concerned.

 

And that's what the club is now, Ashley's business operation. And as such, input such as the above - or enmasse - will imo be met with a sense of dismissal.

 

You're wasting your breath HTT. Blokes like Ashley, who have track record on their side, can't be trusted or negotiated with. Keegan failed to open dialogue with him at the end of the Summer transfer window, and he was effectively snubbed off while the owner was too busy getting pissed on then other side of the Atlantic.

 

One day somebody will have obvious motive - ie. what Ashley is doing the club/converting the club into a bonafide 2nd rater - and opportunity on their side.

 

I knew quite a few lads - some older than me, more combative - who were on the verge of following a similar route, as McKeag stubbornly clung to his his seat of power. All it takes is motive, an otherwise unlikely opportunity, and a few pints/diminished responsibility added to the mix.

 

A couple of points, firstly, Ashley did become a "Whistle Blower" but he did it because a cartel was trying to fix the price of goods which they sold and he wouldn't go along with it.  To hold that against him is nothing short of desperation on your part.

 

Any retailer should be able to charge whatever they want for the products which they sell and it's then up to the buyer to decide where they will and will not buy goods from.  If Ashley had become the sole supplier of Umbro goods then that could have brought different problems but that was never going to happen.  As soon as one company tries to monopolise in an open market then another retailer will come along and go for selling in bulk at a reduced profit margin.  I can purchase almost any consumer goods from anywhere in the world via the internet, usually cheaper than I can from home so the same could have happened with Umbro sports goods if Ashley has gained a monopoly.  From what I can tell, Ashley's motives were to get people into his shop to purchase branded products then pick up some of his cheaper unbranded stock, I can't see anything wrong with that as it's down to consumer choice. 

 

Price fixing is illegal in this country, and rightly so.  You've looked at the situation from Umbro's point of view, it's hardly surprising that they would want to keep an inflated selling price to give the retailers an inflated profit margin, an illegal profit margin it has to be said.  You’re trying to make Ashley out to look the bad one in this and that is incredible from a consumer’s point of view.

 

As for the poor man’s JJB, you’re having a laugh.  JJB were on the “At Risk” list just before Christmas when business experts were worried that they may go into receivership because it didn’t look as if they could afford to pay the rent on the shops which they use.  Also Ashley’s company exceeded expected turnover and profits the last time they posted results, that was within the last couple of months, they are doing well under difficult economic conditions for most retailers, especially those that sell goods which are not classed as essentials.  We're being told that this is the worst recession for 100 years, worse than the depression in the 1930's.

 

I’m digressing here, what has that got to do with HTT’s post anyway?

 

Secondly, Ashley did speak to Keegan when he returned from the USA, he didn’t fail to “open dialogue” at all.  As far as I'm aware he was in America when everything kicked off and he returned within a short time scale, as far as I remember he was in contact with Keegan within 24 hours of his return to the Country and a meeting was arranged and held.  None of us know what was said or what demands were made by either party, if any.

 

If you're going to hit him with a stick at least do it for valid reasons and carry out a bit of research before doing so.  I think enough valid reasons exist for having a go at him without making them up

 

[Benwell Lad]

It's all good & well to try and attempt a route of open dialogue HTT - ie. explain the circumstances, pull him into line - but let i remind you of a similar occurrence - where interested parties tried a similar thing. About 10 years ago. around 2000 if i recall.

 

Umbro - Sports Direct's major suppliers - and Ashley's immediate rivals tried a simlar course of action with a maverick sales merchant in the form of Ashley. Ashley was undermining the retail value of Umbro's chief product, and driving Umbro's other major retail customers to the wall by selling replica shirts at a price the likes of JJB were unable to match.

 

It may officially be known as collusion - as ruled by the Fair Trading body - but look at the situation from Umbro's angle. In an ideal world they don't want a/ the replica shirt market dominated by a single retailer, and with just one retail customer - ie. Sports Direct - on it's books in the UK. Ashley would've held the balance of power in terms of being able to set a purchase/wholesale price, and they would've lost a foothold into a major market if Ashley had jumped ship towards another distributor. And b/ their product was being devalued, by Ashley's maverick selling practices. Looking at it that way Umbro were imo attempting to pull Ashley into line, by opening constructive dialogue with him - along with Ashley's immediate competitors.

 

What did the Umbro and Co receive for their troubles? When you read about the manner as to how Messr Ashley stitched them all up, the answer is an act of deceitful 'corporate back-shanking/stabbing of the highest order'.

 

Our club imo has become an extension of his sports chain. Ashley, with his association/ownership of a major club, has added an dimension of legitimacy to what is a cheap/knockdown retail empire...... or as as HTL described it, a poor man's JJB. As witnessed by him blowing the whistle on the likes of Umbro, Whelan and Co he is a man/operator who doesn't take kindly to being told the sort of path he should be taking where his business operation is concerned.

 

And that's what the club is now, Ashley's business operation. And as such, input such as the above - or enmasse - will imo be met with a sense of dismissal.

 

You're wasting your breath HTT. Blokes like Ashley, who have track record on their side, can't be trusted or negotiated with. Keegan failed to open dialogue with him at the end of the Summer transfer window, and he was effectively snubbed off while the owner was too busy getting pissed on then other side of the Atlantic.

 

One day somebody will have obvious motive - ie. what Ashley is doing the club/converting the club into a bonafide 2nd rater - and opportunity on their side.

 

I knew quite a few lads - some older than me, more combative - who were on the verge of following a similar route, as McKeag stubbornly clung to his his seat of power. All it takes is motive, an otherwise unlikely opportunity, and a few pints/diminished responsibility added to the mix.

 

Ashley breaks trading cartel to sell overpriced replica shirts at a price the man in the street can afford. - What a tw@t ! 

It really shows how prejudiced some people are against him, although I'm sure Dave Whelan would agree with every word.

I know he's presently blamed for everything from the recession to global warming so we may as well persecute him for having the audacity to sell cheap football shirts too.

[OzzieMandias]

[Toon Amy]

As the owner of this website I am sure they would at least consider it.

 

Only I don't own the site and never really did either.

 

Oh, I thought you did or jointly did set it up anyway, sorry.

 

Who does then?

 

 

How HTT, have you put your open letter out to any of the papers or even NUSC? Must be worth a shot.

 

Nah, far too lazy for that and to be honest it would need an editor to hack away at it as it is quite long and unreadable in parts.

Well, ask people on here to sort it out to something readable then. It only needs tweaking... why be so negative?

[JH]

As the owner of this website I am sure they would at least consider it.

 

Only I don't own the site and never really did either.

 

Oh, I thought you did or jointly did set it up anyway, sorry.

 

Who does then?

 

Mike Ashley.