Guest Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I hope this Ukrainian bloke is Donetsk owner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huss9 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ten-questions-want-ask-newcastle-5835966 The Chronicle has inside put ten questions to the man who holds the hopes and dreams of ever Toon fan in the palm of his hand Share on printShare on email Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Mike Ashley wasn’t available for interview yesterday. Meanwhile, in other news, night followed day, followed night The man who owns Newcastle United doesn’t do interviews. He doesn’t even have a right-hand man at the club any more to act as his mouthpiece. Football journalists whose job it is to cover the club – and this newspaper in particular – are constantly criticised by supporters for not asking the hard questions. They, quite rightly, demand to know what is going on at St James’ Park during these troubled and peculiar times. But who do we ask these hard question to? Alan Pardew, with the best will in the world, is only the manager. He can’t say what his boss is thinking. As for Joe Kinnear, the director of football, he can’t sign anyone or pronounce the name of existing players, never mind anything else. No the buck – and he has almost three billion of them – stops with Ashley and we can’t get near him. But after the summer transfer window closed without the club spending a single penny on a permanent player – which might be a first for any Premier League outfit – we need to ask the owner these hard questions. Even if there is little chance of receiving any sort of reply. 1. Do you actual like owning Newcastle United? Let’s start with an obvious one. It seems to me that you bought the club on a whim because it looked like jolly larks having your own Premier League team. You drank pints with the fans, stood with the travelling support and enjoyed the adulation for a bit. But then it went sour. Bad decisions, bad results and an awful relegation. You wanted to sell and nobody wanted to take the club off your hands. We are now a few years down the line and there is not the smallest hint that you take any enjoyment of being the owner of Newcastle United. You seem unwilling or at least incapable of strengthening the playing squad, which leads everyone to think that the club is a tool to promote Sports Direct and nothing else. Do you feel as if it’s a burden. You are a fantastically rich man. It’s not like being left with a mortgage you can’t pay. You can walk away any time you like. Just a thought. 2. Are you actively trying to sell the club? If so, do you have an asking price or anyone lined up as a potential buyer? From the outside looking in, that would appear to be your plan. Can I even go one further and enquire whether Rangers is next on your list? That is certainly the strong rumour doing the rounds in Glasgow since you became the third biggest shareholder. It would make a lot of sense because Rangers might be in the grubber now, but they will recover soon enough and that club has the potential to be a real cash cow. Will you only walk away if the next man is willing to pay over the odds? 3. Please explain Joe Kinnear. Honestly, at least try. If I were being a cynic, I would suggest your friend is only there to put pressure on the manager. His job was to sign players. He didn’t sign anyone – Loic Remy can hardly be described as his bit of business. In any other walk of life, this would surely mean at worst a sacking, or at best a severe reprimanding. As a successful and hard-nosed businessman, it seems odd to keep on a man who has quite obviously failed. Or is Kinnear there for another reason? 4. Are you deliberately ostracising Alan Pardew? Because that’s what it looks like. In public he has spoken time and again about getting players over the line. He has been left high and dry. Is this a tactic or incompetence on the part of Kinnear? Is the manager being forced out the door? If the DoF has done nothing wrong, then you are obviously happy with going into the rest of the season with a weaker squad than ended last season. Managers gets sacked for bad results. If Pardew goes, is Kinnear his replacement? 5. Do you care whether Newcastle win or lose? Does a result, good or bad, affect your mood? This is important. The fans live and breath this great football club. They are suffering right now. Did you sleep after last season’s derby defeat? Did you go in a bad mood after the humiliation at Liverpool? Or does it not make a blind bit of difference? 6. Why do you believe Newcastle supporters don’t deserve to know what you are up to? Rich men are not known for their empathy, this is true. But there are 50,000 people who pay good money, many of them who can ill afford it, into your coffers every home match. If they all disappeared, Newcastle United would be nothing. Surely to goodness they should be kept informed. I don’t mean revealing every minute of every meeting, but a bit of transparency would not hurt. Unless you have something to hide, of course. 7. What’s that website all about? You know, the Sports Direct News one that had Manchester United buying Yohan Cabaye on Monday night, and Newcastle in for Wayne Rooney a while back. It does you no service at all. It’s an embarrassment, in case you didn’t know. Shut it down. 8. Is annoying the supporters something you enjoy? Wonga, changing the name of the stadium, the appointment of Kinnear. Surely you knew what the reaction would be when those decisions became public. Many fans believe these are deliberate ploys to anger them. If that’s the case, it’s working. If not, then who told you that any of these choices were good ones? 9. Have we got this all wrong and in fact there is a grand plan? The thing is, Mike, nobody knows what you are up to. We can guess, but that’s really all it is, a guess. And when there is a vacuum, it tends to be filled with nagativity. Maybe you can see the way English football is going. Perhaps you have worked out that the bubble is about to burst and the other rich owners are getting bored and will leave the clubs with huge debts. And then Newcastle rise to the top. Do you know something we don’t? Is the club strategy in place because all your competitors are teetering on the brink? If so, well played. If not, please see points one to eight. 10. And finally, how much do you pay the North East Press pack to write nice things about you? This is one straight from the websites and social media. The fans would like to know what it costs to ensure us lot don’t criticise you, although I personally can’t remember one piece appearing that has praised you. If you could come out and admit that, in fact, you have no influence on the written media at least, then that would be nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 How can no one get near him, go to his local boozer where him and kinnear get lashed and ask him questions. If he leaves, find the next place he drinks in and ask questions. He has to be somewhere. Who was that jouno that used to get in deep and ask awkward questions of real bandits, he had death threats the works. He used to have aprog on ITV I think in the early mid 90s. Get him on the case. Dont sit and write atricles, do some serious digging. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocker Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 How can no one get near him, go to his local boozer where him and kinnear get lashed and ask him questions. If he leaves, find the next place he drinks in and ask questions. He has to be somewhere. Who was that jouno that used to get in deep and ask awkward questions of real bandits, he had death threats the works. He used to have aprog on ITV I think in the early mid 90s. Get him on the case. Dont sit and write atricles, do some serious digging. Donald Mcintyre? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Think the answers to those questions are pretty obvious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettNUFC Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Think the answers to those questions are pretty obvious. Basically the chronicle crying saying 'stop blaming us'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heake Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 How can no one get near him, go to his local boozer where him and kinnear get lashed and ask him questions. If he leaves, find the next place he drinks in and ask questions. He has to be somewhere. Who was that jouno that used to get in deep and ask awkward questions of real bandits, he had death threats the works. He used to have aprog on ITV I think in the early mid 90s. Get him on the case. Dont sit and write atricles, do some serious digging. Donald Mcintyre? I thought he meant that fat bloke with the glasses (Who`s name eludes me) who more than often used to get twatted every week. (He might be dead now) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordiedean Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 How can no one get near him, go to his local boozer where him and kinnear get lashed and ask him questions. If he leaves, find the next place he drinks in and ask questions. He has to be somewhere. Who was that jouno that used to get in deep and ask awkward questions of real bandits, he had death threats the works. He used to have aprog on ITV I think in the early mid 90s. Get him on the case. Dont sit and write atricles, do some serious digging. Donald Mcintyre? I thought he meant that fat bloke with the glasses (Who`s name eludes me) who more than often used to get twatted every week. (He might be dead now) Is he on about Peter Cook Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 While Peter Cook would have been a good choice to stake out at a drinking hole, the reporter guy was Roger Cook. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 While Peter Cook would have been a good choice to stake out at a drinking hole, the reporter guy was Roger Cook. Peter cook investigates would have been epic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 While Peter Cook would have been a good choice to stake out at a drinking hole, the reporter guy was Roger Cook. Peter cook investigates would have been epic. He had the outfit for it http://www.themovienetwork.ca/data/shows/GP064955_xl.jpg Ironically i think Roy Kinnear was in that film Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Roger Cook, ffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Roger cook or roger kewk in mackemese Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanSkÃrare Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Not looking to sell according to The Journal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Not looking to sell according to The Journal for the foreseeable future then This isnt news at all Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Not looking to sell according to The Journal Thought they couldnt get near him, how do they no? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Speculating he's not selling is a lot safer than speculating he is, that's what I would go with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallace Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 The media now seem to now be picking up on the free advertising and other loss of commercial revenue for the benefit of Sports Direct. "Newcastle moan that they can never attract the sponsorship revenues of bigger clubs. But their case is undermined by the dozens of Sports Direct adverts that plaster the stadium and pitch surrounds. No sum is specified in the accounts as to what this global advertising is worth to Sports Direct, but industry analysts say it could be worth millions. Sports Direct get it for free. The club's retail operation appears to be morphing from an division that used to provide revenue, to one being taken over by Sports Direct. More money going out of the club?" http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-transfer-window-report-joe-2247216? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'm not sure how strong that line of argument really is. I mean, we are giving some free advertising to SD for sure, but is the impact on our performance really that dramatic, and does it make a difference between spending and not spending? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icemanblue Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'm not sure how strong that line of argument really is. I mean, we are giving some free advertising to SD for sure, but is the impact on our performance really that dramatic, and does it make a difference between spending and not spending? It's a negative contribution, whichever way you look at it. It's space that could be put to better financial use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'm not sure how strong that line of argument really is. I mean, we are giving some free advertising to SD for sure, but is the impact on our performance really that dramatic, and does it make a difference between spending and not spending? It's a negative contribution, whichever way you look at it. It's space that could be put to better financial use. Sure, yep. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'm not sure how strong that line of argument really is. I mean, we are giving some free advertising to SD for sure, but is the impact on our performance really that dramatic, and does it make a difference between spending and not spending? Do you think any other clubs in the prem are stupid enough to give away advertising space for free in the richest and most viewed league in the world...its fuckin mental. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 When club officials regularly state we can't compete but at the same time aren't interesting in maximising revenue streams I'd say it's an important example of a wider problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallace Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 The club say they cannot compete financially with other clubs but they are obviously partially responsible for this themselves because of how far our commercial revenue has fallen since Ashley bought the club. It is very poor compared to supposedly lesser clubs. Other than the TV money, we seem to be dependent upon cost-cutting and player sales to create revenue. Cost-cutting can only go on for so long. At the very least, there seems to be a severe lack of nous within the club at how to generate revenue through other means. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'm not sure how strong that line of argument really is. I mean, we are giving some free advertising to SD for sure, but is the impact on our performance really that dramatic, and does it make a difference between spending and not spending? Do you think any other clubs in the prem are stupid enough to give away advertising space for free in the richest and most viewed league in the world...its fuckin mental. No, probably not, we should be making more of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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