Dear Mike Ashley (warning long post)

[Liam Liam Liam O]

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.  Youre trying to make Ashley out to look the bad one in this and that is incredible from a consumers point of view.

 

As for the poor mans JJB, youre 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 didnt look as if they could afford to pay the rent on the shops which they use.  Also Ashleys 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.

 

Im digressing here, what has that got to do with HTTs post anyway?

 

Secondly, Ashley did speak to Keegan when he returned from the USA, he didnt 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

 

 

Well corrected Mick.

 

People miss this stuff by being in bed at 3am.

[Mick]

 

Well corrected Mick.

 

People miss this stuff by being in bed at 3am.

 

Shit, I had less than 2 hours sleep as I was up again at 04:45.