Ashley is worth about 800 million now...

[Parky]

Bit confused by this thread. What prompted it? How do you know he's worth £800m now?

 

Anyway, he used to be worth something like £1.2bn.

 

Is it making your head hurt?

[Parky]

We're starting to look as though we might not be as nailed on for promotion as we think. So Ashley won't risk saddling us with Premier League players (and wages) until we're definitely up. So not a lot will happen in January.

 

I'm asking about next season.

[Ronaldo]

I think it was estimated at about £1.9bn when he first bought the club.

 

That was at his peak before all the financial fallout.

 

I know, I was replying to LIIWBU.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Bit confused by this thread. What prompted it? How do you know he's worth £800m now?

 

Anyway, he used to be worth something like £1.2bn.

 

Is it making your head hurt?

Nope, just wondered what had prompted it. "How much do you think he will spend on us this time round?" This time round as opposed to when?

[bealios]

We're starting to look as though we might not be as nailed on for promotion as we think. So Ashley won't risk saddling us with Premier League players (and wages) until we're definitely up. So not a lot will happen in January.

 

I'm asking about next season.

 

If we don't go up, nothing at all. We'll be seriously fucked, and will lose any talent we have left.

 

If we do go up, and have a big gap opening up around Easter, I think the club will be on the market unofficially from about April/May, so Ashley will again spend nothing. I can't imagine him wanting to hang on for another season in the Premier League and risk being relegated and devaluing the asset again, so I think we'll definitely be sold this summer, quicker than we think. The longer he leaves it next year, my suspicion is that the more buyer will start factoring the risk that we'll be a Championship club the following year again.

 

 

 

 

 

[afar]

The last thing we want to do is saddle the club with masses of debt to buy short term success. We've been down that road before, it leads into the s***.

 

If people (rightly) hate Ashley now, it would be nuclear meltdown if it emerged he'd saddled us with another £50m debt, surely.

 

The danger though is that if we don't speculate to go up this year that we'll be stuck down in the championship for a number of years.

 

If we dont go up this year we will lose: Enrique, Jonas, S Taylor, Colo, Nolan, Carroll and possibly Smith, Loven and Harper. There will be bidders on all those players. At the same time the exodus will mean we have to hang onto Butt, simply to make up the numbers !! Do we trust Hughton and Ashley to replace that lot with players capable of winning promotion, I know I don't.

 

This year for the club is make it or break it, if we don't go up we could very well plummet down like Leeds did.

 

This all means that we simply have to think short term to ensure we make the signings we need to get back up. 

[TRon]

With regard to Ashley's "Arsenal blueprint" of signing young players who will increase in value, I'll be interested to see which of Kilgallon or Williamson is worth more this time next season. Although i suspect their both probably shite.

[Howaythelads]

Yeah, any spending will no doubt have to come from whatever the club can generate, as it would seem Ashley's annual £20 million sub has already gone in to make up the shortfall in income vs outgoings (mostly the wage bill, huge by CCC standards though much reduced from last season).

Maybe if he hadn't wanted to make a profit in the xfer window last Jan we wouldn't have been relegated by 1 point and he may not be supposedly stumping up this £20m.

 

I have to say, I'm surprised you continue to support this joker. Even for you, it's barely believable.

[OzzieMandias]

Yeah, any spending will no doubt have to come from whatever the club can generate, as it would seem Ashley's annual £20 million sub has already gone in to make up the shortfall in income vs outgoings (mostly the wage bill, huge by CCC standards though much reduced from last season).

Maybe if he hadn't wanted to make a profit in the xfer window last Jan we wouldn't have been relegated by 1 point and he may not be supposedly stumping up this £20m.

 

I have to say, I'm surprised you continue to support this joker. Even for you, it's barely believable.

 

So you'd favour the club getting back into debt?

[Howaythelads]

Yeah, any spending will no doubt have to come from whatever the club can generate, as it would seem Ashley's annual £20 million sub has already gone in to make up the shortfall in income vs outgoings (mostly the wage bill, huge by CCC standards though much reduced from last season).

Maybe if he hadn't wanted to make a profit in the xfer window last Jan we wouldn't have been relegated by 1 point and he may not be supposedly stumping up this £20m.

 

I have to say, I'm surprised you continue to support this joker. Even for you, it's barely believable.

 

So you'd favour the club getting back into debt?

Not while Fat Ash is running the show obviously, his degree of ineptitude is beyond belief, but generally my answer would be yes.

 

A club trying to achieve success on the field and has a debt that is managed is better than a club with no debt and going nowhere.

 

I note you don't deny your full and continued support for this joker turning the club into a pile of dogshit.

[OzzieMandias]

Yeah, any spending will no doubt have to come from whatever the club can generate, as it would seem Ashley's annual £20 million sub has already gone in to make up the shortfall in income vs outgoings (mostly the wage bill, huge by CCC standards though much reduced from last season).

Maybe if he hadn't wanted to make a profit in the xfer window last Jan we wouldn't have been relegated by 1 point and he may not be supposedly stumping up this £20m.

 

I have to say, I'm surprised you continue to support this joker. Even for you, it's barely believable.

 

So you'd favour the club getting back into debt?

Not while Fat Ash is running the show obviously, his degree of ineptitude is beyond belief, but generally my answer would be yes.

 

A club trying to achieve success on the field and has a debt that is managed is better than a club with no debt and going nowhere.

 

I note you don't deny your full and continued support for this joker turning the club into a pile of dogshit.

 

Why on earth should you expect a response to your cack-handed attempts to put words into my mouth?

 

Ashley has proved inept on various levels, and he's even worse at managerial appointments than Shepherd. Incredible but true.

 

That said, he's doing broadly the right thing by trying to get the club's finances under control, as watchers of recent developments at Man U, Liverpool, West Ham and Portsmouth will understand. It's not long ago that the dear departed NE5 was trumpeting Portsmouth as the very model of how an ambitious football club should be run. Well, they'll be paying a long time for that FA Cup, just as we're now also paying for the extravagances of old.

[TRon]

Yeah, any spending will no doubt have to come from whatever the club can generate, as it would seem Ashley's annual £20 million sub has already gone in to make up the shortfall in income vs outgoings (mostly the wage bill, huge by CCC standards though much reduced from last season).

Maybe if he hadn't wanted to make a profit in the xfer window last Jan we wouldn't have been relegated by 1 point and he may not be supposedly stumping up this £20m.

 

I have to say, I'm surprised you continue to support this joker. Even for you, it's barely believable.

 

So you'd favour the club getting back into debt?

Not while Fat Ash is running the show obviously, his degree of ineptitude is beyond belief, but generally my answer would be yes.

 

A club trying to achieve success on the field and has a debt that is managed is better than a club with no debt and going nowhere.

 

I note you don't deny your full and continued support for this joker turning the club into a pile of dogshit.

 

Why on earth should you expect a response to your cack-handed attempts to put words into my mouth?

 

Ashley has proved inept on various levels, and he's even worse at managerial appointments than Shepherd. Incredible but true.

 

That said, he's doing broadly the right thing by trying to get the club's finances under control, as watchers of recent developments at Man U, Liverpool, West Ham and Portsmouth will understand. It's not long ago that the dear departed NE5 was trumpeting Portsmouth as the very model of how an ambitious football club should be run. Well, they'll be paying a long time for that FA Cup, just as we're now also paying for the extravagances of old.

 

I think the only sensible course is to separate the two owners and treat each on their own merits. Shepherd's ambition was admirable but out of control and could have finished us. Ashley is proving to be a massive liar and his lack of sensible investment is proving just as short-sighted.  Buying make do and mend players to fiddle through is NOT the Arsenal blueprint.

[Yorkie]

And get a proper manager in...

 

I know this board doesn't agree, but I think he will get a new manager in.

 

Aye, in November i would have thought.

[Howaythelads]

Yeah, any spending will no doubt have to come from whatever the club can generate, as it would seem Ashley's annual £20 million sub has already gone in to make up the shortfall in income vs outgoings (mostly the wage bill, huge by CCC standards though much reduced from last season).

Maybe if he hadn't wanted to make a profit in the xfer window last Jan we wouldn't have been relegated by 1 point and he may not be supposedly stumping up this £20m.

 

I have to say, I'm surprised you continue to support this joker. Even for you, it's barely believable.

 

So you'd favour the club getting back into debt?

Not while Fat Ash is running the show obviously, his degree of ineptitude is beyond belief, but generally my answer would be yes.

 

A club trying to achieve success on the field and has a debt that is managed is better than a club with no debt and going nowhere.

 

I note you don't deny your full and continued support for this joker turning the club into a pile of dogshit.

 

Why on earth should you expect a response to your cack-handed attempts to put words into my mouth?

 

Ashley has proved inept on various levels, and he's even worse at managerial appointments than Shepherd. Incredible but true.

 

That said, he's doing broadly the right thing by trying to get the club's finances under control, as watchers of recent developments at Man U, Liverpool, West Ham and Portsmouth will understand. It's not long ago that the dear departed NE5 was trumpeting Portsmouth as the very model of how an ambitious football club should be run. Well, they'll be paying a long time for that FA Cup, just as we're now also paying for the extravagances of old.

It's obvious you support him and believe he's better than the previous lot. By trying as hard as you are to justify why you support this moron you are attempting to justify the impossible. You said the other lot were shit. Where does that leave Fat Ash?

[AyeDubbleYoo]

The last thing we want to do is saddle the club with masses of debt to buy short term success. We've been down that road before, it leads into the s***.

 

If people (rightly) hate Ashley now, it would be nuclear meltdown if it emerged he'd saddled us with another £50m debt, surely.

 

The danger though is that if we don't speculate to go up this year that we'll be stuck down in the championship for a number of years.

 

If we dont go up this year we will lose: Enrique, Jonas, S Taylor, Colo, Nolan, Carroll and possibly Smith, Loven and Harper. There will be bidders on all those players. At the same time the exodus will mean we have to hang onto Butt, simply to make up the numbers !! Do we trust Hughton and Ashley to replace that lot with players capable of winning promotion, I know I don't.

 

This year for the club is make it or break it, if we don't go up we could very well plummet down like Leeds did.

 

This all means that we simply have to think short term to ensure we make the signings we need to get back up. 

 

Yeah, totally agree with you there. It's essential that we go up this season, things will get infinitely harder if we don't.

 

The problem is that January is the only time to make signings that might help with that... and nobody will want to let players go that are much use to us.

 

It's a difficult one, and a gamble not to spend if players are available... let's hope that Mike's roll of the dice comes up this time.