colinmk Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I don't understand Ashley. He's an incredibly successful, self-made billionaire, so he understands business. Yet, for all his "I'm sorry, I really am" nonsense, he then does exactly the worst thing he could possibly do, in making it clear how desperate he is to sell the club, regardless of the huge hit he will take, and entirely oblivious to the massively unsettling influence on the whole club at a time when that is the absolute last thing it needs. When a club gets relegated, the key things to coming straight back up include - prominently - keeping together the nucleus of "a squad", but he's done exactly the opposite and made it clear anyone is up for grabs at the right price. Even if you give the benefit of the doubt of "well, he doesn't understand the football business", he's still a wildly successful businessman, surely he realises that if he keeps his head, steadies the ship and does the right thing, he can both get the club promoted quickly and recoup far more of his money than the 100m he's willing to accept now. It just does not make sense on either front, he's clearly not an idiot, he's clearly a good businessman even if he's got his fingers burned in football (he's far from the first or the last), so why on earth set sail on this disastrous course? I know I'm probably preaching to the converted here, but it really looks like he's determined to get the worst outcome possible, and with the instabilty he's created, I think there's as much chance you could finish bottom half of the table as there is top half next year (and I mean that entirely not in a gloaty fashion, but as a neutral observer). What a strange, strange man. Exactly Brummie, it minces my head it really does. I've also thought about what the chances are that we could get such a fucking stupid guy who is actually a billionaire to take us over? I mean out of all of them there surely can't be another this stupid? So out of all the billionaires in the world we got the most stupid one....not sure how many there are but it's fucking crazy it really is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 You wonder what the people around him are actually saying to him. Are they yes men or is he just ignoring them? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Man U got Michael Knighton back in the 80's (well nearly anyway) so it can happen to the best of them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fading star Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Ashley’s a one trick pony. Excellent at cutting costing so he can sell tat to chavs, but completely useless at product development. It's all about price and nothing to do with quality. Post relegation the amount of investment needed to turn round the business is vast, and Ashley won’t gamble any more money on his limited business acumen. The problem for NUFC appears to be that he’s not prepared to take the hit his incompetence warrants and is holding out for an unrealistic price. I hope I’m wrong but fear none of the interested parties will stump £100m after they've undertaken due diligence. Based on the available information I’d put the club’s value at somewhere about £50-60m, though if he isn’t wiping off the £100m he lent himself he’ll be lucky to give the club away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianovthetoon Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Ashley's tenure has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion, you know what is going to happen but are powerless to stop it. pretty much everything he's done he's either made the wrong decision or done the right things in such a cack handed manner that theyve backfired. it beggars belief that he is this successful self-made billionaire, master of the markets. if you knew nothing of his history before NUFC you would assume he was some unemployed moron dragged in off the streets without the first clue about anything. Are we absolutely sure that we arent part of a new Channel 4 reality show Instead of Big Brother we proudly present Big Daft Cunt, the programme where a self made Billionaire turns an established Premier League Football Club into nothing more than a Sunday League Team Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowen Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I don't understand Ashley. What a strange, strange man. I won't lie, I didn't read the bit in the middle. I liked the start and finish though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gekkotime Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I don't understand Ashley. He's an incredibly successful, self-made billionaire, so he understands business. Yet, for all his "I'm sorry, I really am" nonsense, he then does exactly the worst thing he could possibly do, in making it clear how desperate he is to sell the club, regardless of the huge hit he will take, and entirely oblivious to the massively unsettling influence on the whole club at a time when that is the absolute last thing it needs. When a club gets relegated, the key things to coming straight back up include - prominently - keeping together the nucleus of "a squad", but he's done exactly the opposite and made it clear anyone is up for grabs at the right price. Even if you give the benefit of the doubt of "well, he doesn't understand the football business", he's still a wildly successful businessman, surely he realises that if he keeps his head, steadies the ship and does the right thing, he can both get the club promoted quickly and recoup far more of his money than the 100m he's willing to accept now. It just does not make sense on either front, he's clearly not an idiot, he's clearly a good businessman even if he's got his fingers burned in football (he's far from the first or the last), so why on earth set sail on this disastrous course? I know I'm probably preaching to the converted here, but it really looks like he's determined to get the worst outcome possible, and with the instabilty he's created, I think there's as much chance you could finish bottom half of the table as there is top half next year (and I mean that entirely not in a gloaty fashion, but as a neutral observer). What a strange, strange man. Well the only logical explanation I can come up with is that it's either one of his financial gambles (ie. he thought he can get the club on the cheap and sell it in 1-2 years), or he's just had a midlife crisis in 07. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasy Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I don't understand Ashley. He's an incredibly successful, self-made billionaire, so he understands business. Yet, for all his "I'm sorry, I really am" nonsense, he then does exactly the worst thing he could possibly do, in making it clear how desperate he is to sell the club, regardless of the huge hit he will take, and entirely oblivious to the massively unsettling influence on the whole club at a time when that is the absolute last thing it needs. When a club gets relegated, the key things to coming straight back up include - prominently - keeping together the nucleus of "a squad", but he's done exactly the opposite and made it clear anyone is up for grabs at the right price. Even if you give the benefit of the doubt of "well, he doesn't understand the football business", he's still a wildly successful businessman, surely he realises that if he keeps his head, steadies the ship and does the right thing, he can both get the club promoted quickly and recoup far more of his money than the 100m he's willing to accept now. It just does not make sense on either front, he's clearly not an idiot, he's clearly a good businessman even if he's got his fingers burned in football (he's far from the first or the last), so why on earth set sail on this disastrous course? I know I'm probably preaching to the converted here, but it really looks like he's determined to get the worst outcome possible, and with the instabilty he's created, I think there's as much chance you could finish bottom half of the table as there is top half next year (and I mean that entirely not in a gloaty fashion, but as a neutral observer). What a strange, strange man. Keeping this lot of cowardly losers together is suicide and to be honest our wage bill is no doubt far more then twice what any cub has ever gone down with. So we have to sell a lot of players if we don't want to lose £40-£50m in one season. Also its only certain player who have been put up for sale, not all of them. Having said that I agree with your general point about Ashley. He's picked the worst time to go all out for a sale. You'd think a good businessman would have had a plan for relegation, how to cut costs while giving us a chance to get back up so he could then sell and make all his money back. Ashley seems to do the wrong thing at the wrong time over and over again, how the fuck did he ever make so much money?, he's a fucking idiot!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Ashley’s a one trick pony. Excellent at cutting costing so he can sell tat to chavs, but completely useless at product development. It's all about price and nothing to do with quality. Post relegation the amount of investment needed to turn round the business is vast, and Ashley won’t gamble any more money on his limited business acumen. The problem for NUFC appears to be that he’s not prepared to take the hit his incompetence warrants and is holding out for an unrealistic price. I hope I’m wrong but fear none of the interested parties will stump £100m after they've undertaken due diligence. Based on the available information I’d put the club’s value at somewhere about £50-60m, though if he isn’t wiping off the £100m he lent himself he’ll be lucky to give the club away. Most of this is closest to the mark about Ashley - 'One trick Pony' is about his level.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianovthetoon Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 http://www.newcastle.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=158310 Probably a load of shite, but what the hell it's a glimmer of hope Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
levelsevenlee Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 http://www.newcastle.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=158310 Probably a load of shite, but what the hell it's a glimmer of hope So he's holding out for the money he put in to buy the likes of Taylor, Nolan, Smith and Colo. Any chance we could net off the money he made by selling the players that actually could play football!?!? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sicko2ndbest Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 All quiet on the north eastern front again today. Who in their right minds will pay 100mil for a club saddled with an unsustainable wage structure with players willing to sit on the remainder of their contracts. Ashey asking for 100mil is getting more laughable by the day. With the wages he must be paying out each month getting rid of the clb for half that amount (50mil) would be an accomplishment in itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jungle Barry Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 http://www.newcastle.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=158310 Probably a load of s****, but what the hell it's a glimmer of hope "a managerial appointment slated for the 28th of June" Which is a sunday, do many managers get appointed on a sunday? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Harry Redknapp was pretty much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I don't understand Ashley. He's an incredibly successful, self-made billionaire, so he understands business. Yet, for all his "I'm sorry, I really am" nonsense, he then does exactly the worst thing he could possibly do, in making it clear how desperate he is to sell the club, regardless of the huge hit he will take, and entirely oblivious to the massively unsettling influence on the whole club at a time when that is the absolute last thing it needs. When a club gets relegated, the key things to coming straight back up include - prominently - keeping together the nucleus of "a squad", but he's done exactly the opposite and made it clear anyone is up for grabs at the right price. Even if you give the benefit of the doubt of "well, he doesn't understand the football business", he's still a wildly successful businessman, surely he realises that if he keeps his head, steadies the ship and does the right thing, he can both get the club promoted quickly and recoup far more of his money than the 100m he's willing to accept now. It just does not make sense on either front, he's clearly not an idiot, he's clearly a good businessman even if he's got his fingers burned in football (he's far from the first or the last), so why on earth set sail on this disastrous course? I know I'm probably preaching to the converted here, but it really looks like he's determined to get the worst outcome possible, and with the instabilty he's created, I think there's as much chance you could finish bottom half of the table as there is top half next year (and I mean that entirely not in a gloaty fashion, but as a neutral observer). What a strange, strange man. The worst of it is that most of us had got over the heartbreak of relegation and were looking forward to a determined promotion push under Shearer, but even that is being denied us. The only way forward left is a buy out of the club but do I feel confident that Ashley will be able to strike a deal? No. We have been down this road before and making deals isn't his strong point. Failed January signings, failure to sell the club in the past and even failing to strike a deal with Keegan when given a second chance all point to this going tits up as well. Ashley is on the run and his team have all bolted south which is probably the safest place for them at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weznufc Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 any 1 seen this.. Newcastle United have reportedly received two 'serious bids' and are now considering the merits of each, while the club also expects late offers from two other consortia. According to a source at St James Park, United owner Mike Ashley expects the sale in 'less than two weeks' with a managerial appointment slated for 28 June 2009, although, any comment on whether it would be Alan Shearer was not made. Managing director Derek Llambias is due back on Tyneside on Tuesday and will oversee the sale til the end with bankers Seymour Price hopeful of finally wrapping up a sale for the Championship club. It has also emerged that one of Ashley's demands in addition to the £100 million asking price is to recoup any funds that he allocated to the club from his personal account for purchases in the transfer market over the past two years - amounting to as much as £15 million. The extra £15 million is what has kept the sale from going through sooner, with Mike Ashley still hoping for a buyer to give in to his demands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie jamie Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 where are they getting the story from cant see it being reported elsewhere and they are hardly a reliable source Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weznufc Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 http://www.newcastle.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=158310 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. TC Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Ah, vitalfootball. How could we have doubted its veracity? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianovthetoon Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I could see the £15M being what we expect to receive from the sales he allowed on credit, whereas he paid upfront for Nolan et al. I know he's openly put this £100M price tag on the club but prospective bidders really have him in a corner. He's not prepared to invest further money, so he has to sell at any price really. If he lets the club go to rack and ruin, his investment depreciates at an alarming rate. If we were staring League One in the face due to his mis-management he'd be looking at a fraction of that amount. My gut feeling is that we'll be sold, but not at £100M. I'd see a scenario where the amount paid was undisclosed as it would allow him to walk away with a little dignity. He's quite frivolous as was shown with his HBOS gamble, and basically this is another gamble that hasn't paid off. The hit he's going to take won't financially ruin him, but I doubt if it's done his credibility any good. Before he bought us, most of his business dealings were only reported in small inches in the business sections of Newspapers, being a football club owner has brought pretty much every deal he has done under scrutiny. His "apology" and actions following that have been too little, too late, and his only hope of coming out of this with some dignity is to sell to people who can genuinely take the club forward. If he gets a couple of firm offers below his asking price I'm sure he'd be advised by Seymour Pierce to take what he can and run as a matter of damage limitation instead of hanging in for dear life and getting nothing. I also think we can take Alan Shearer's continued silence on the matter as a positive thing too. This is more than likely because he knows far more than he is able to let on. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he is waiting for everything to be signed off, and that as soon as that happens the players will quickly start to find their way in and out of the club. If this doesn't happen, it's probably going to mean a few years in the football wilderness, maybe even a spell in League One as a worst case scenario. But as has been shown with Southampton we'd eventually end up in the hands of people who care. It will mean ridicule on the scale we have heaped on the mackems year after year but at least we'd take the fat cunt down with us, portrayed as a cry baby who would rather ruin one of the fine institutions of English Football, than let people with the will and financial backing we require. Whichever way this goes I'm just looking forward to us eventually having a clean slate, start from scratch and be able to look to the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Cracking post Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jungle Barry Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I could see the £15M being what we expect to receive from the sales he allowed on credit, whereas he paid upfront for Nolan et al. I know he's openly put this £100M price tag on the club but prospective bidders really have him in a corner. He's not prepared to invest further money, so he has to sell at any price really. If he lets the club go to rack and ruin, his investment depreciates at an alarming rate. If we were staring League One in the face due to his mis-management he'd be looking at a fraction of that amount. My gut feeling is that we'll be sold, but not at £100M. I'd see a scenario where the amount paid was undisclosed as it would allow him to walk away with a little dignity. He's quite frivolous as was shown with his HBOS gamble, and basically this is another gamble that hasn't paid off. The hit he's going to take won't financially ruin him, but I doubt if it's done his credibility any good. Before he bought us, most of his business dealings were only reported in small inches in the business sections of Newspapers, being a football club owner has brought pretty much every deal he has done under scrutiny. His "apology" and actions following that have been too little, too late, and his only hope of coming out of this with some dignity is to sell to people who can genuinely take the club forward. If he gets a couple of firm offers below his asking price I'm sure he'd be advised by Seymour Pierce to take what he can and run as a matter of damage limitation instead of hanging in for dear life and getting nothing. I also think we can take Alan Shearer's continued silence on the matter as a positive thing too. This is more than likely because he knows far more than he is able to let on. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he is waiting for everything to be signed off, and that as soon as that happens the players will quickly start to find their way in and out of the club. If this doesn't happen, it's probably going to mean a few years in the football wilderness, maybe even a spell in League One as a worst case scenario. But as has been shown with Southampton we'd eventually end up in the hands of people who care. It will mean ridicule on the scale we have heaped on the mackems year after year but at least we'd take the fat c*** down with us, portrayed as a cry baby who would rather ruin one of the fine institutions of English Football, than let people with the will and financial backing we require. Whichever way this goes I'm just looking forward to us eventually having a clean slate, start from scratch and be able to look to the future. nice one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sicko2ndbest Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 notw Meanwhile, the takeover of the Toon moved a massive step closer on Friday night when two groups had £80million bids accepted. Two parties - one American influenced and one North East-led - have matched broker Seymour Pierce's valuation of the club. A further £20m will have to be paid if Newcastle can get promoted back to the Premier League. The identity of the groups remains so secret that even Mike Ashley - the owner set to lose £150m from his ill-fated two years in charge - does not even know who they are. A source said: "It is getting very close but it is so sensitive that the identities have to remain secret. "They have both proved they have the funding to take over and the process is speeding up. There could be a third or a fourth bid early this week, but those two are at the front." A deal could be struck by the end of the week - but the club's wage bill will be slashed from £75m to £30m for Toon's debut in the Championship. Obafemi Martins, on £4m a year, could be heading to either Hamburg or Schalke 04, and £3m-a-year Fabricio Coloccini could go to Sevilla. At least 10 other players will also go by August. The deals could bring in £12m. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustynrg Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I like this bit:- "At least 10 other players will also go by August. The deals could bring in £12m." Christonabike, we must be shite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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