Mike Ashley

[ChezGiven]

Some good points, Chez, but I'd take issue on a couple.

 

Unless you were being ironic, I can't see how you can suggest that Ashley either wanted the club relegated, or didn't care whether or not we went down. Relegation is always going to be costly in so many ways, and could have been a disaster if we hadn't got back up first time. It was the culmination of the terrible double decision a) to appoint Keegan and b) to put him in a DOF structure. Chaos followed, and Ashley completely lost control of the situation.

 

Secondly, you quote Sean Custis, and this idea that 'another' fuck-up is probably just around the corner, given Ashley's record. In practice, the major fuck-up over Keegan and Wise dwarfs anything else you could label as a mistake, and that style of mistake won't be repeated. As you half-acknowledge yourself, a number of the decisions which have subsequently been labelled by many as fuck-ups (The Carroll sale, the Hughton sacking, Pardew etc) now don't look so bad after all.

 

Ashley's a difficult bloke to read. He's had an unorthodox business career, and he's very much his own man now when it comes to running the club. It's interesting that he made a lot of money in business by taking old brands that had supposedly run out of steam (Slazenger, Lonsdale etc) and re-invigorated them. A lot of the players we've bought (eg Ben Arfa, Marveaux, Santon) have had careers which have hit the buffers after a promising beginning, or have been seen as high injury risks (Ba, Gosling) He seems to like to take a punt on players who, for one reason or another, may be under-rated by general opinion in the game, but whose potential can still be tapped. He likes to go against the grain. He's got to grips with the job more now and seems more confident, and I'm optimistic about where we're going.

If i'd known it was going to be a top story on newsnow i might have written that first paragraph differently. The reason it was so rambling is that its impossible to put any judgement on the regime without addressing the past. You've got to discuss what happened to Keegan to put it to one side, accept that it happened and move on. I wasnt half acknowledging that some subsequent decisions have turned out better than predicted, i was tentatively trying to make that very point, with all the careful caveats involved at this stage.

 

The fact that we were relegated plays a strong role in certain narratives about us being a yo-yo club, happy to tick along and make a profit, no ambition etc. The utter incompetence that led us there is in contrast to the whats followed. Signing Ryan Taylor and Kevin Nolan does feel a little bit like preparing for the championship tbf. The cost of relegation was £22m after depreciation etc but we got £25m off the wage bill and sold at least £20m worth of players. It seems ridiculous to suggest it but as you say, he's unorthodox.

 

I remained positive over the summer because i disagreed with the default assumption that Nolan, Barton and Enrique going were part of a pattern. 3 very separate situations on both sides of the table. Treat them as the same event and its easy to start seeing it as Ashley squeezing money out of the best and best paid players, replacing them with cheaper alternatives. Treat them separately and having seen how Pardew wants the team to play, there are interesting arguments for those two midfielders leaving and the replacements coming in. Only the Enrique deal was in the end driven by money, taking the deal this summer rather than later for less or nothing.

 

It wasnt a successful summer but it wasnt bad. I now, like everyone, can see that they never intended to sign a striker after Ba (i knew this the day Ameobi got his deal but didnt want to accept it). Why risk £10 on Ruiz when you can turn Best into a 15 a season striker and sell him next year?

 

 

[Mr Logic]

Why bother going to the length of trying to sign Ruiz, seriously, just to try and appease fans? Doesn't really seem to fit Ashley's MO, hardnosed decision maker unconcerned with what others think.

 

It wasnt a successful summer but it wasnt bad. I now, like everyone, can see that they never intended to sign a striker after Ba (i knew this the day Ameobi got his deal but didnt want to accept it). Why risk £10 on Ruiz when you can turn Best into a 15 a season striker and sell him next year?

 

I agree with you, but do you think Pardew knew their intentions. He either strung us along worthy of a BAFTA, or was strung along just as much as we were.

[TRon]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

[Colocho]

Why bother going to the length of trying to sign Ruiz, seriously, just to try and appease fans? Doesn't really seem to fit Ashley's MO, hardnosed decision maker unconcerned with what others think.

 

It was opportunistic.

[Parky]

Well thought through post Chez. Like it when you put a bit of effort in.

 

I just wonder if you've managed to cover all bases.

[Keefaz]

Ultimately, he's going to fuck it up sooner or later. It's Mike Ashley, ffs.

[Guest Eric]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

 

You mean a publicity stunt by the two people who text David Craig and send him bacon sandwiches. The same people who were forced to admit they lied to us via the media. Stop excusing them man, it's beyond embarrassing.

 

There was supposedly a helicopter there, but I think everyone knew there was no chance of it happening and that was probably the idea as Pardew said he knew long before then nobody would be getting signed, much to his annoyance.

[Colocho]

What is there to fuck up?

 

He has a manager who is apparently a close friend, willing to be a face for his regime, and happy to work with his remit.

He has his company's logo plastered all across the stadium - being seen by tens of (if not hundreds) of thousands every weekend.

There are three or four players in the squad that after a good season could be worth five times what we paid for them (in the case of Tiote).

 

Things have never been better at NUFC for Ashley...

[Keefaz]

What is there to fuck up?

 

He has a manager who is apparently a close friend, willing to be a face for his regime, and happy to work with his remit.

He has his company's logo plastered all across the stadium - being seen by tens of (if not hundreds) of thousands every weekend.

There are three or four players in the squad that after a good season could be worth five times what we paid for them (in the case of Tiote).

 

Things have never been better at NUFC for Ashley...

 

You have severely underestimated Ashley's fucking-up skills. He's fucked his way up out of better situations that this, my friend. He can do all the fuck-ups: the 'surely not?' fuck-up, the 'surely not again' fuck-up, the surprise fuck-up, the bold fuck-up, the underhand fuck-up. He's fucked-up more times that you've had hot dinners--he's fucked up more times than he's had hot dinners: and that's a shitload.

[Christmas Tree]

Some good points, Chez, but I'd take issue on a couple.

 

Unless you were being ironic, I can't see how you can suggest that Ashley either wanted the club relegated, or didn't care whether or not we went down. Relegation is always going to be costly in so many ways, and could have been a disaster if we hadn't got back up first time. It was the culmination of the terrible double decision a) to appoint Keegan and b) to put him in a DOF structure. Chaos followed, and Ashley completely lost control of the situation.

 

Secondly, you quote Sean Custis, and this idea that 'another' fuck-up is probably just around the corner, given Ashley's record. In practice, the major fuck-up over Keegan and Wise dwarfs anything else you could label as a mistake, and that style of mistake won't be repeated. As you half-acknowledge yourself, a number of the decisions which have subsequently been labelled by many as fuck-ups (The Carroll sale, the Hughton sacking, Pardew etc) now don't look so bad after all.

 

Ashley's a difficult bloke to read. He's had an unorthodox business career, and he's very much his own man now when it comes to running the club. It's interesting that he made a lot of money in business by taking old brands that had supposedly run out of steam (Slazenger, Lonsdale etc) and re-invigorated them. A lot of the players we've bought (eg Ben Arfa, Marveaux, Santon) have had careers which have hit the buffers after a promising beginning, or have been seen as high injury risks (Ba, Gosling) He seems to like to take a punt on players who, for one reason or another, may be under-rated by general opinion in the game, but whose potential can still be tapped. He likes to go against the grain. He's got to grips with the job more now and seems more confident, and I'm optimistic about where we're going.

 

Good post

[Colocho]

What is there to fuck up?

 

He has a manager who is apparently a close friend, willing to be a face for his regime, and happy to work with his remit.

He has his company's logo plastered all across the stadium - being seen by tens of (if not hundreds) of thousands every weekend.

There are three or four players in the squad that after a good season could be worth five times what we paid for them (in the case of Tiote).

 

Things have never been better at NUFC for Ashley...

 

You have severely underestimated Ashley's fucking-up skills. He's fucked his way up out of better situations that this, my friend. He can do all the fuck-ups: the 'surely not?' fuck-up, the 'surely not again' fuck-up, the surprise fuck-up, the bold fuck-up, the underhand fuck-up. He's fucked-up more times that you've had hot dinners--he's fucked up more times than he's had hot dinners: and that's a shitload.

 

What fuck-ups do see on the horizon?

[BottledDog]

It wasnt a successful summer but it wasnt bad. I now, like everyone, can see that they never intended to sign a striker after Ba (i knew this the day Ameobi got his deal but didnt want to accept it). Why risk £10 on Ruiz when you can turn Best into a 15 a season striker and sell him next year?

 

I'm really struggling to believe that anyone at the club including the money men didn't want that shirt back on the pitch and back in the club shops sooner rather than later. We had every intention of getting in a striker but were unwilling to take risks, and not just risks on whether or not they get value for money either. There is massive pressure on whoever comes in to fill that number 9 shirt, something they have sadly added to by taking so long, and I think once it got down to the likes of Maiga the personalities of these players were becoming too much of a question mark.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Yeah, of course we wanted a striker, we just weren't necessarily prepared to pay the money it would have taken to get one. Obviously that approach has pros and cons.

[Keefaz]

What is there to fuck up?

 

He has a manager who is apparently a close friend, willing to be a face for his regime, and happy to work with his remit.

He has his company's logo plastered all across the stadium - being seen by tens of (if not hundreds) of thousands every weekend.

There are three or four players in the squad that after a good season could be worth five times what we paid for them (in the case of Tiote).

 

Things have never been better at NUFC for Ashley...

 

You have severely underestimated Ashley's fucking-up skills. He's fucked his way up out of better situations that this, my friend. He can do all the fuck-ups: the 'surely not?' fuck-up, the 'surely not again' fuck-up, the surprise fuck-up, the bold fuck-up, the underhand fuck-up. He's fucked-up more times that you've had hot dinners--he's fucked up more times than he's had hot dinners: and that's a shitload.

 

What fuck-ups do see on the horizon?

 

God knows. It's the fuck-ups you don't see that kill you. He could sell the pitch to Sheikh Mohammed tomorrow. He could convert SJP into a Sports Direct megastore. Who knows what madness he'll come out with?

[Mr Logic]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

 

You mean a publicity stunt by the two people who text David Craig and send him bacon sandwiches. The same people who were forced to admit they lied to us via the media. Stop excusing them man, it's beyond embarrassing.

 

There was supposedly a helicopter there, but I think everyone knew there was no chance of it happening and that was probably the idea as Pardew said he knew long before then nobody would be getting signed, much to his annoyance.

 

Reading through the Ruiz thread it's still unclear really. There are quotes from Ruiz's agent saying we made a move, but even that doesn't prove there was real intent. Pretty much everything else could be down to manipulation of the press as far as I can see.

 

But I repeat, why would Ashley/Dekka go to such lengths. They don't seem to care how they offend the fans in any other area.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

There's no way Ashley is capable and/or bothered about manipulating the press to the extent that some people have said. Even if he was, the stories planted by him would be indistinguishable from the 99% of made up bollocks that already fills the papers during the transfer window.

[Dave]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

 

You mean a publicity stunt by the two people who text David Craig and send him bacon sandwiches. The same people who were forced to admit they lied to us via the media. Stop excusing them man, it's beyond embarrassing.

 

There was supposedly a helicopter there, but I think everyone knew there was no chance of it happening and that was probably the idea as Pardew said he knew long before then nobody would be getting signed, much to his annoyance.

 

Reading through the Ruiz thread it's still unclear really. There are quotes from Ruiz's agent saying we made a move, but even that doesn't prove there was real intent. Pretty much everything else could be down to manipulation of the press as far as I can see.

 

But I repeat, why would Ashley/Dekka go to such lengths. They don't seem to care how they offend the fans in any other area.

 

They revel in the fans' disappointment.

 

[madras]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

 

You mean a publicity stunt by the two people who text David Craig and send him bacon sandwiches. The same people who were forced to admit they lied to us via the media. Stop excusing them man, it's beyond embarrassing.

 

There was supposedly a helicopter there, but I think everyone knew there was no chance of it happening and that was probably the idea as Pardew said he knew long before then nobody would be getting signed, much to his annoyance.

 

Reading through the Ruiz thread it's still unclear really. There are quotes from Ruiz's agent saying we made a move, but even that doesn't prove there was real intent. Pretty much everything else could be down to manipulation of the press as far as I can see.

 

But I repeat, why would Ashley/Dekka go to such lengths. They don't seem to care how they offend the fans in any other area.

 

To revel in the fans' disappointment.

didn't craig he see was told by the twente chairman that they had accepted 'our' bid ? was he in on it aswell ?

[Dave]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

 

You mean a publicity stunt by the two people who text David Craig and send him bacon sandwiches. The same people who were forced to admit they lied to us via the media. Stop excusing them man, it's beyond embarrassing.

 

There was supposedly a helicopter there, but I think everyone knew there was no chance of it happening and that was probably the idea as Pardew said he knew long before then nobody would be getting signed, much to his annoyance.

 

Reading through the Ruiz thread it's still unclear really. There are quotes from Ruiz's agent saying we made a move, but even that doesn't prove there was real intent. Pretty much everything else could be down to manipulation of the press as far as I can see.

 

But I repeat, why would Ashley/Dekka go to such lengths. They don't seem to care how they offend the fans in any other area.

 

To revel in the fans' disappointment.

didn't craig he see was told by the twente chairman that they had accepted 'our' bid ? was he in on it aswell ?

 

So you really believe the Twente chairman rang David Craig from Sky Sports News out of the blue (as he claimed he had) to tell him about a transfer deal?

[madras]

Did anyone from the club actually acknowledge that we did try and sign Ruiz? There was a few here who thought it was just a publicity stunt by Skt tv.

 

You mean a publicity stunt by the two people who text David Craig and send him bacon sandwiches. The same people who were forced to admit they lied to us via the media. Stop excusing them man, it's beyond embarrassing.

 

There was supposedly a helicopter there, but I think everyone knew there was no chance of it happening and that was probably the idea as Pardew said he knew long before then nobody would be getting signed, much to his annoyance.

 

Reading through the Ruiz thread it's still unclear really. There are quotes from Ruiz's agent saying we made a move, but even that doesn't prove there was real intent. Pretty much everything else could be down to manipulation of the press as far as I can see.

 

But I repeat, why would Ashley/Dekka go to such lengths. They don't seem to care how they offend the fans in any other area.

 

To revel in the fans' disappointment.

didn't craig he see was told by the twente chairman that they had accepted 'our' bid ? was he in on it aswell ?

 

So you really believe the Twente chairman rang David Craig from Sky Sports News out of the blue (as he claimed he had) to tell him about a transfer deal?

no i don't, thats my point. i don't really believe the info that we had a bid accepted came from us either as it's pretty easy for that to be shot down.

[Stottie]

Could we have kept Enrique without a massive pay rise? The other two yes, but maybe not him.

 

I believe Ashley saved the club financially but has made some very serious mistakes. If Golfmag is right in that he got Arry as far as a precontract, then I suppose him pulling out and the subsequent Keegan + Wise debacle that got the ball rolling towards relegation may have involved more bad luck than Ashley is given credit for. Had he replaced Fat Sam with a stable setup, who knows what might have happened from there. He could still be sitting with the away fans.

 

As for the current team, we'll have to see how many games we can get out of HBA, Marv, Ba, Santon etc. Abilitywise the first three look absolutely fine, but its too early to judge whether they are good signings in case some of the issues they've had elsewhere re-emerge. Cabaye looks a definite steal, as was Tiote. For a team with untested players in key positions and a problematic preseason, our first fixtures have been very kind indeed. I think we've finally started getting a bit of luck. Another slice of luck has been Leon Best, because when Carroll was sold, there was absolutely nothing to suggest that Best would be able to score in the Premiership. He's been a big bonus to the club. Nine times of ten not replacing a player as prominent as Carroll would put you in the doo-doo.

[Dave]

Redknapp would have walked just the same as Keegan under those conditions IMO. Probably why he pulled out in the first place, if there's even truth in us going after him.

[quayside]

Redknapp would have walked just the same as Keegan under those conditions IMO. Probably why he pulled out in the first place, if there's even truth in us going after him.

 

Redknapp himself said he'd been offered the job, Keegan said Redknapp had been offered the job.

 

Of course they could both have had casino debts owing to Llambias and agreed to take part in a conspiracy......

[Dave]

 

I've never believed that shit. I just think there's no way Redknapp would have accepted Dennis Wise above him, not having final say on transfers etc etc. He's an old-style, 'want control of everything' manager like KK IMO.

[Christmas Tree]

Loving all the "Ashley Apologists" having their fun (at last) , its like some Gay Pride march from the seventies 

 

"We're out and we're staying out"!