Is Mike Ashley steering Newcastle United in the right direction?

[stalker]

A lot of people raise the issue of wages being 50% of turnover but this doesn't make sense to me. 7 or 8 years ago it was apparently appropriate for wages to be around 50% of turnover (not sure how they worked this out but I'll accept it was correct then). However, in the intervening years revenues have increased massively (in the premiership) but other costs, with the exclusion of wages, shouldn't have altered that much. Therefore the 50% figure which is consistently bandied about appears no longer to be appropriate to me and I don't know why people preach it as the gold standard of financial management.

 

I think the idea is if you are running a football club as a business (as opposed to the Man City, Villa model) it's virtually impossible to make it work if you spend more than 50% of your income on wages.

 

The last set of accounts for us were when we were in the Premiership in 2007/2008. Income was £100m wages were £70m and other running costs were £50m so we lost £20m as a result. Whereas if wages had been at 50% of our income we would have broken even - so in our case the theory sort of works.

 

Fair point although I'd imagine a large amount of the other costs were debt repayment.

[Guest jonlane86]

I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses.

Hasn't this myth been put to bed yet?  How many times does it need repeated that Ashley signed every contract at the club.  The debt was cleared the day he walked in and no interest is payable.  Ashley has more than doubled the Shepherd debt though.

 

Bullshit

[Happy Face]

I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses.

Hasn't this myth been put to bed yet?  How many times does it need repeated that Ashley signed every contract at the club.  The debt was cleared the day he walked in and no interest is payable.  Ashley has more than doubled the Shepherd debt though.

 

Bullshit

 

Which players did Ashley not sign?

 

What was the clubs debt in 2007?

 

What is the clubs debt now?

 

What exactly was bullshit?

[Ronaldo]

Loves that white shirt.

[BottledDog]

Christ, Scunthorpe have only won 3 games less than Boro. Thank fuck we have an owner taking us in the right direction compared to Gibson. What the fuck happened to him then?

[macca888]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

Most people?  I don't think so.  You're clearly among the minority in this thread.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

Which players still in the squad did we receive offers for?  EVERYONE was up for sale AFAIR.

 

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

Why would he throw away £250m

 

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

Having lost 3 players in January, the squad would have been down to 15 men with previous first team experience.  No defensive cover whatsoever and 1 spare midfielder.  He had no choice having neglected the first team for a year.

 

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

He did.  As has been pointed out, Geremi's departure covered salaries

 

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say?

You mean apart from the court case where he admitted he's a liar, the fraud investigation, the naked streaking across the pitch, the BBC program about unethical business practices and the disastarous announcement that the stadium would be renamed?  Yeah, pretty quiet otherwise...off the pitch.

 

I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses.

Hasn't this myth been put to bed yet?  How many times does it need repeated that Ashley signed every contract at the club.  The debt was cleared the day he walked in and no interest is payable.  Ashley has more than doubled the Shepherd debt though.

Most of your replies are heresay and lacking in any form of evidence.

[macca888]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

[magorific]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

Ashley got lucky with Hughton, end of. If he had so much faith in him, why wait until the end of October to give him the permanent job?

It's Hughton and the players who stayed who have "steered" us back in the right direction. Yes, Ashley has probably kept us on course by coming up with sensible money in January, but he would have been a complete moron not to see that minor investment in our squad would result in promotion and all its benefits.

 

[macca888]

I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses.

Hasn't this myth been put to bed yet?  How many times does it need repeated that Ashley signed every contract at the club.  The debt was cleared the day he walked in and no interest is payable.  Ashley has more than doubled the Shepherd debt though.

 

Bullshit

 

Which players did Ashley not sign?

 

What was the clubs debt in 2007?

 

What is the clubs debt now?

 

What exactly was bullshit?

Mate, your entire post lacks a clear understanding of the financial meltdown the club was facing due to the sale of the club to Ashley. If he had conducted due diligence on the clubs accounts like he shouild have done, I doubt he would have purchased the club and we would most probably be playing in the Northern League by now. That is how badly off we were under the fanciful freddie Shep. Spending all sponsorship mponey on a flop like Owen and signing those superstars like Boumsong and Luque wasnt done by Ashley but we are still paying off those fees now.

 

With losing so much revenue after relegation, he had no other alternative but to financially back the club in order to get back up first time. He could have sold more playuers but he didnt. Nolan was wanted by Megson at Bolton, Smith by Allardyce at Blackburn and Taylor by Moyes at Everton. Offers were made and Ashley could have raked in another 12 to 15 million pounds for that little lot. We wont mention the reported offers by Wolves and Stoke for Andy Carroll in January either, will we?

 

Undertstand the facts first before you spout all this crap, mate. Quite plain and simple, he could have wiped off more of the debt if he sold these players but it wasnt in his best interests to do so in spite of the fact he was ready to make a substantial loss on his investment if someone offered him 100 million for the club last summer.

 

Give the bloke a chance and look forward, not back.

[macca888]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

Ashley got lucky with Hughton, end of. If he had so much faith in him, why wait until the end of October to give him the permanent job?

It's Hughton and the players who stayed who have "steered" us back in the right direction. Yes, Ashley has probably kept us on course by coming up with sensible money in January, but he would have been a complete moron not to see that minor investment in our squad would result in promotion and all its benefits.

 

So, you have basically admitted he made the right decision to appoint Hughton and that he is not a moron after all. What is your point or are you another one who is living on past history?

[Happy Face]

Most of your replies are heresay and lacking in any form of evidence.

 

 

If he had conducted due diligence on the clubs accounts like he shouild have done, I doubt he would have purchased the club and we would most probably be playing in the Northern League by now. That is how badly off we were under the fanciful freddie Shep. Spending all sponsorship mponey on a flop like Owen and signing those superstars like Boumsong and Luque wasnt done by Ashley but we are still paying off those fees now.

 

With losing so much revenue after relegation, he had no other alternative but to financially back the club in order to get back up first time. He could have sold more playuers but he didnt. Nolan was wanted by Megson at Bolton, Smith by Allardyce at Blackburn and Taylor by Moyes at Everton. Offers were made and Ashley could have raked in another 12 to 15 million pounds for that little lot. We wont mention the reported offers by Wolves and Stoke for Andy Carroll in January either, will we?

 

Undertstand the facts first before you spout all this crap, mate. Quite plain and simple, he could have wiped off more of the debt if he sold these players but it wasnt in his best interests to do so in spite of the fact he was ready to make a substantial loss on his investment if someone offered him 100 million for the club last summer.

 

Give the bloke a chance and look forward, not back.

 

 

Do you see the irony?

 

Where did I indulge in any heresay? I said that Geremi's wage covers that of the new players, and whether it does or not, it definitley covers a huge proportion.  That's about it I think....unless you provide links to show other clubs stating they made offers for other players.

[macca888]

The point is that it is not just Geremi's salary that saw us with somewhere between a 36 to 42 million pound salary annual commitment. In spite of selling Geremi and signing 4 permanent and 2 loan players, our outgoing are still disproportionate to our income and Ashley is funding the difference voluntarily. He could have said stuff it, and sold more players, but he hasnt. He has backed the manager and our position in the table should be just as much a tribute to Ashley as it is to Hughton and the players.

[quayside]

A lot of people raise the issue of wages being 50% of turnover but this doesn't make sense to me. 7 or 8 years ago it was apparently appropriate for wages to be around 50% of turnover (not sure how they worked this out but I'll accept it was correct then). However, in the intervening years revenues have increased massively (in the premiership) but other costs, with the exclusion of wages, shouldn't have altered that much. Therefore the 50% figure which is consistently bandied about appears no longer to be appropriate to me and I don't know why people preach it as the gold standard of financial management.

 

I think the idea is if you are running a football club as a business (as opposed to the Man City, Villa model) it's virtually impossible to make it work if you spend more than 50% of your income on wages.

 

The last set of accounts for us were when we were in the Premiership in 2007/2008. Income was £100m wages were £70m and other running costs were £50m so we lost £20m as a result. Whereas if wages had been at 50% of our income we would have broken even - so in our case the theory sort of works.

 

Fair point although I'd imagine a large amount of the other costs were debt repayment.

 

No. The other costs are things like the running costs of SJP (and the training ground), the write off of player transfer costs, publicity etc. There was no repayment of debt in 2008, and even if there was it wouldn't form part of the overall profit or loss. In fact if what we are told is correct there has been no repayment of debt since 2007 when Ashley took over, which is when he replaced the club's existing external debt with his own money.

 

 

[Guest bobthemag]

Look, those people on here who cannot see the woods for the trees (and I dont have to name them) need to understand several points here.

 

Ashley has admitted to the mistakes and is trying to rectify them

The previous regime took this club to the brink of oblivion. They have to share the blame.

Ashley is trying to put the club on a sound financial footing and I, for one, will be glad to see the back of these so called superstars who have been holding the club for ransom for years.

Rome wasnt built in a day, or in our case, rebuilt. Ashley seems to have decided to keep the club. Love him or hate him, he has backed his current manager and we have had an unexpectedly excellent season. Maybe he has turned the corner and promotion being achieved against everyones expectations. Crucial period will be next season to see whether we can build on it.

I am no Ashley supporter but I find the one eyed opinions of some on this thread to be childish, lacking in knowledge and simply downright unsupportive of the club.

 

Simple answer to this, if you dont like it, go and support someone else, maybe like Leeds or Middlesbrough, perhaps even Portsmouth, Palace, Chester City, Luton, Hull City or the plethera of other clubs facing financial meltdown in the years to come. We were so close under Shepherd and like it or not, Ashley saved our bacon...............fact.

 

he had a chance to rectify his mistakes when he appointed KK again but didn't support him.

 

I imagine quite a lot of people have supported Newcastle for many years, watch them every game home and away, and aren't about to stop 

 

So what mistakes had he made before appointing Keegan?

 

what planet do you come from ?

[Guest bobthemag]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

[OzzieMandias]

Look, those people on here who cannot see the woods for the trees (and I dont have to name them) need to understand several points here.

 

Ashley has admitted to the mistakes and is trying to rectify them

The previous regime took this club to the brink of oblivion. They have to share the blame.

Ashley is trying to put the club on a sound financial footing and I, for one, will be glad to see the back of these so called superstars who have been holding the club for ransom for years.

Rome wasnt built in a day, or in our case, rebuilt. Ashley seems to have decided to keep the club. Love him or hate him, he has backed his current manager and we have had an unexpectedly excellent season. Maybe he has turned the corner and promotion being achieved against everyones expectations. Crucial period will be next season to see whether we can build on it.

I am no Ashley supporter but I find the one eyed opinions of some on this thread to be childish, lacking in knowledge and simply downright unsupportive of the club.

 

Simple answer to this, if you dont like it, go and support someone else, maybe like Leeds or Middlesbrough, perhaps even Portsmouth, Palace, Chester City, Luton, Hull City or the plethera of other clubs facing financial meltdown in the years to come. We were so close under Shepherd and like it or not, Ashley saved our bacon...............fact.

 

he had a chance to rectify his mistakes when he appointed KK again but didn't support him.

 

I imagine quite a lot of people have supported Newcastle for many years, watch them every game home and away, and aren't about to stop 

 

So what mistakes had he made before appointing Keegan?

 

what planet do you come from ?

 

So you can't think of any, then?

[quayside]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

 

Take your point if you mean uniting the fans in the short term, but we don't know whether all the players would have united under Shearer. Ashley has made many mistakes but I can't see a scrap of evidence that rejecting Shearer was one of them.

[Guest bobthemag]

Look, those people on here who cannot see the woods for the trees (and I dont have to name them) need to understand several points here.

 

Ashley has admitted to the mistakes and is trying to rectify them

The previous regime took this club to the brink of oblivion. They have to share the blame.

Ashley is trying to put the club on a sound financial footing and I, for one, will be glad to see the back of these so called superstars who have been holding the club for ransom for years.

Rome wasnt built in a day, or in our case, rebuilt. Ashley seems to have decided to keep the club. Love him or hate him, he has backed his current manager and we have had an unexpectedly excellent season. Maybe he has turned the corner and promotion being achieved against everyones expectations. Crucial period will be next season to see whether we can build on it.

I am no Ashley supporter but I find the one eyed opinions of some on this thread to be childish, lacking in knowledge and simply downright unsupportive of the club.

 

Simple answer to this, if you dont like it, go and support someone else, maybe like Leeds or Middlesbrough, perhaps even Portsmouth, Palace, Chester City, Luton, Hull City or the plethera of other clubs facing financial meltdown in the years to come. We were so close under Shepherd and like it or not, Ashley saved our bacon...............fact.

 

he had a chance to rectify his mistakes when he appointed KK again but didn't support him.

 

I imagine quite a lot of people have supported Newcastle for many years, watch them every game home and away, and aren't about to stop 

 

So what mistakes had he made before appointing Keegan?

 

what planet do you come from ?

 

So you can't think of any, then?

 

malandro listed some. Paying big wages and moaning about it later too. What do you think of him losing KK and what do you think of the quality of our recent signings, on long contracts

[Guest bobthemag]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

 

Take your point if you mean uniting the fans in the short term, but we don't know whether all the players would have united under Shearer. Ashley has made many mistakes but I can't see a scrap of evidence that rejecting Shearer was one of them.

 

Listening to the anti Ashley chanting at games and feeling, it will take a lot to change that.

 

 

[quayside]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

 

Take your point if you mean uniting the fans in the short term, but we don't know whether all the players would have united under Shearer. Ashley has made many mistakes but I can't see a scrap of evidence that rejecting Shearer was one of them.

 

Listening to the anti Ashley chanting at games and feeling, it will take a lot to change that.

 

Doesn't address what I said. What evidence is there that rejecting Shearer was a mistake? The fans have certainly had a bit of a chant about Ashley but does that mean rejecting Shearer was a mistake? Fans shout about a lot of things. There was a lot of moaning about Caroll and Jonas (and others) earlier in the season, so does that prove that Hughton sticking by them was a mistake? 

[Guest bobthemag]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

 

Take your point if you mean uniting the fans in the short term, but we don't know whether all the players would have united under Shearer. Ashley has made many mistakes but I can't see a scrap of evidence that rejecting Shearer was one of them.

 

Listening to the anti Ashley chanting at games and feeling, it will take a lot to change that.

 

Doesn't address what I said. What evidence is there that rejecting Shearer was a mistake? The fans have certainly had a bit of a chant about Ashley but does that mean rejecting Shearer was a mistake? Fans shout about a lot of things. There was a lot of moaning about Caroll and Jonas (and others) earlier in the season, so does that prove that Hughton sticking by them was a mistake? 

 

don't you think the anti-Ashley feeling would have stopped if Shearer had been appointed ?

 

 

[Happy Face]

The point is that it is not just Geremi's salary that saw us with somewhere between a 36 to 42 million pound salary annual commitment. In spite of selling Geremi and signing 4 permanent and 2 loan players, our outgoing are still disproportionate to our income and Ashley is funding the difference voluntarily. He could have said stuff it, and sold more players, but he hasnt. He has backed the manager and our position in the table should be just as much a tribute to Ashley as it is to Hughton and the players.

 

Again, Ashley is entirely to blame for that.

 

And again, you keep insisting we should suck cockney cock because he's not sold (or failed to renew) any more players than Given, Nzogbia, Martins, Owen, Viduka, Duff, Beye, Bassong and Geremi.  Like being grateful to your lass for only shagging 9 other men.

 

And again show me the evidence any clubs were actually interested in paying even a proportion of the wages of Smith, Barton, Butt, Colo, Taylor, Ameobi or anyone else and that Ashley knocked them back.

 

And I'm not even saying it was wrong to sell the players he has. I just don't think for one second the selling stopped for football reasons.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

He's hardly 'entirely to blame', that would be to suggest he came into the club with everything financially OK. Which he clearly didn't.

[Happy Face]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

 

Take your point if you mean uniting the fans in the short term, but we don't know whether all the players would have united under Shearer. Ashley has made many mistakes but I can't see a scrap of evidence that rejecting Shearer was one of them.

 

Listening to the anti Ashley chanting at games and feeling, it will take a lot to change that.

 

Doesn't address what I said. What evidence is there that rejecting Shearer was a mistake? The fans have certainly had a bit of a chant about Ashley but does that mean rejecting Shearer was a mistake? Fans shout about a lot of things. There was a lot of moaning about Caroll and Jonas (and others) earlier in the season, so does that prove that Hughton sticking by them was a mistake? 

 

don't you think the anti-Ashley feeling would have stopped if Shearer had been appointed ?

 

 

 

 

Why do you care so much that people don't like or trust  Ashley anyway.

 

Fans hating their chairmen/owners is part and parcel of the game.  It's true at the vast majority of clubs, even the succesful ones like Man U and Liverpool.

[quayside]

It is obvious for all to see.

 

Whilst he was largely responsible last season with some bad decisionmaking, the fact that the following has occured leads most people to believe he has learned from his mistakes.

 

He could have reduced the salary commitments further by selling more players.............he didnt.

He could have called in the administrators when all was against him....................he didnt

He could have refused to back his manager with signings in January..............he didnt

He could have refused to pour more money into the club to pay salaries in January.....................he didnt

This season has largely been reasonably quiet off the park, wouldnt you say? Less interference and allowing the manager and the players to get on with their jobs,

 

Like I said in my previous post, he has learned a few things and the fruits are there for all to see. Top of the CCC. Allegedly, Middlesbrough were a better run club than us and look where they are in comparison. They will probably not make the play offs. I think a great deal of the clubs problems stemmed from the Shepherd era, especially on the financial side of things and Ashley, for some time now, has been covering those loses. Time will tell whether the improvement continues but I would call ytou a liar if you said to me that you would have expected us to be in the position we are now, if asked for an opinion back in August.

 

Credit where credit is due and the next 12 months will be crucial for this cluib. The start has been made and maybe, just maybe, sensible financial control allied with shrewd signings could see us continue to improve over the next few years.

 

they will have to be shrewd if the reported wage levels are anything to go by, do you think the recent signings are good enough for the premiership, do you know the length of their contracts ?

 

 

Bob, we wont actually know until we see the likes of Routledge, Williamson etc play in the EPL. What I will say is that the likes of Dann, Johnson at Birmingham, Lescott at City, Baines at Everton and quite a few others, have come from lower divisions and done well in the PL so it is not beyond the realm of mpossibility that our signings will also succeed. Furthermore, if you look at the teams near the bottom of the PL, I dont think any of them are that much better than us, if at all. Also, there are plenty of good quality players around who would more than likely jump at the chance of coming to NUFC at realistic prices and whilst most peoplke on here would like to see Arsenal type football played, realism says that workmanlike performances are the order of the day under Hughton and that hasnt done the likes of Birmingham, Villa, Everton any harm this season at all. Maybe we can see a sim ilar response next season.

 

I've seen these players, I'm not going to watch the smoggies or anybody else, as you are telling people to do, but I don't think they are as good as the players he has sold. What do you think of them ?

 

You are probably right there, to a certain extent. However, the players who left, no doubt, with the undoubted skill they had, failed miserably to mput that skill to good use for the club. Ask yourself, how many have suceeded since they moved! Given, Milner are the only ones I can think of. Viduka retired, Owen spent most of the season benched as did Beye, Martins at Wolfsburg? What has he done there? Even Edgar at Burnley cant get a game there. So, as for their undoubted skill, yes, they were skillful but only when they felt like it which wasnt very bloody often, was it? The players coming in have substantially less salaries, points to prove and who knows yet, maybe  huge successes in the PL. I would much rather be top of the CCC at the moment than bottom of the PL. Your comment about managers was very relevant and certainly a major mistake by Ashley last year, which so far, he has learned in his backing of Hughton. I actually think CH will do well next year and believe he deserves a great deal of credit for this season's success. Ashley put his faith in him and he has rewarded that faith, so far. Lets look ahead and not back.

 

I don't think Hughton will do well, especially with one hand tied behind his back and being forced to buy cheap players. Ashley lost his best chance of succeeding when he lost Keegan, he then had a chance to rectify it by backing and appointing Shearer, if only to unite everybody in the short term, but he blew that as well.

 

He had the support of supporters at first but he has lost it himself.

 

Take your point if you mean uniting the fans in the short term, but we don't know whether all the players would have united under Shearer. Ashley has made many mistakes but I can't see a scrap of evidence that rejecting Shearer was one of them.

 

Listening to the anti Ashley chanting at games and feeling, it will take a lot to change that.

 

Doesn't address what I said. What evidence is there that rejecting Shearer was a mistake? The fans have certainly had a bit of a chant about Ashley but does that mean rejecting Shearer was a mistake? Fans shout about a lot of things. There was a lot of moaning about Caroll and Jonas (and others) earlier in the season, so does that prove that Hughton sticking by them was a mistake? 

 

don't you think the anti-Ashley feeling would have stopped if Shearer had been appointed ?

 

Briefly - and then Shearer would have been judged on results. And if the team hadn't delivered on the pitch it would have been the same carnage as if Hughton hadn't delivered. But the fact is Hughton has delivered so there is no evidence that Ashley made a mistake in this case. And btw Hughton had far more experience of coaching and training football teams than Shearer. And yes of course he was cheaper....