Mike Ashley

[Minhosa]

Daily Mail have changed their tune since Dekka left.

 

Weren't him and Charlie Sale mates?

[mrmojorisin75]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

Depends how you look at it I suppose, let's just say he hasn't allowed the club to spend beyond it's means then and leave it at that.

[Ronaldo]

Shepherd.

 

Some fucking hilarious references to him in Bellamy's book, like. I miss him.

[Guest firetotheworks]

I didn't realise that Bellamy had a book out. Is it worth a read?

[Guest neesy111]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

Depends how you look at it I suppose, let's just say he hasn't allowed the club to spend beyond it's means then and leave it at that.

 

Yeap, but for driving growth across the club's various income sources he's been a disaster.

 

The people I feel sorry is those people who've lost their jobs behind the scenes etc under Ashley.

[Ronaldo]

I didn't realise that Bellamy had a book out. Is it worth a read?

 

Dude, it's an absolute must. Cracking insight into the SBR/Souness days.

[Kanji]

I didn't realise that Bellamy had a book out. Is it worth a read?

 

Dude, it's an absolute must. Cracking insight into the SBR/Souness days.

 

Agreed, great book.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious cunt of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

[DJ_NUFC]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious cunt of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

How do I do that clapping thing?

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Btw, I fucking hated FS and how he ran NUFC, mainly for his own personal ego and wealth. But even despite that, the man had ambition for NUFC and tried to deliver success. FS in many ways wanted his cake and to eat it, and eat it all. He wanted the big name signings, the big nights in the CL, trophies, attacking football etc. just like us all but he also wanted to make money and his family money too. He also wanted credit and to be seen as a big player in the world of football.

 

His fault though or rather his undoing and with it ours was that when it came to football he didn't have a clue. That's why he appointed the wrong men or got so many things wrong.

 

I do believe though that beneath his ego, and the money he took from the club, he was a fan at heart and he understood the one thing Ashley never will and that is what NUFC is all about or needs to be all about and that is competing for the best players, the best wages, the best managers etc. and the big honours and we did that under FS once or twice.

 

I even suspect with the appointment of Big Sam he was learning from his mistakes, that the club needed built up and modernised and that we couldn't keep spending good money after bad. I think the Owen deal and how that panned out was a real eye oepner. And to be fair to FS, the money he took out of the club he kind of invested back into it by buying up shares.

[PCW1983]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious cunt of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

Brilliant post, MA and his cronies have rammed financial FairPlay and our supposed whiter than white accounts so far up people's arses its coming out of their mouths

[Incognito]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious cunt of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

Brilliant post, MA and his cronies have rammed financial FairPlay and our supposed whiter than white accounts so far up people's arses its coming out of their mouths

 

I agree the FFP thing is what Ashley will use sooner or later as an excuse for the neglectful lack of investment over 2 summers. The thing is, it seems like we are the only club adhering to it  amongst clubs that aren't in the "big 4 or 5"

[Kanji]

Btw, I f***ing hated FS and how he ran NUFC, mainly for his own personal ego and wealth. But even despite that, the man had ambition for NUFC and tried to deliver success. FS in many ways wanted his cake and to eat it, and eat it all. He wanted the big name signings, the big nights in the CL, trophies, attacking football etc. just like us all but he also wanted to make money and his family money too. He also wanted credit and to be seen as a big player in the world of football.

 

His fault though or rather his undoing and with it ours was that when it came to football he didn't have a clue. That's why he appointed the wrong men or got so many things wrong.

 

I do believe though that beneath his ego, and the money he took from the club, he was a fan at heart and he understood the one thing Ashley never will and that is what NUFC is all about or needs to be all about and that is competing for the best players, the best wages, the best managers etc. and the big honours and we did that under FS once or twice.

 

I even suspect with the appointment of Big Sam he was learning from his mistakes, that the club needed built up and modernised and that we couldn't keep spending good money after bad. I think the Owen deal and how that panned out was a real eye oepner. And to be fair to FS, the money he took out of the club he kind of invested back into it by buying up shares.

 

Freddy Shepherd's ambition and vision for our club (obviously Sir John Hall prior to him) was and continues to be something we sorely miss. Their ambition with the right footballing man ie: a David Dein type character and we would no doubt fighting for European football every year at a minimum.

 

HTT: top post, a classic one at that. Glad to see you weighing in on this topic mate.

[Kanji]

Shepherd wanted to be the chairman, the fan, and the hero. He could have been all of that had his ego not clouded his judgment and given him the notion that he could make major footballing decisions that were ultimately flawed and out of his depth.

 

I agree with HTT, I think the Big Sam hire was his realization that he had mucked things up and needed to rebuild and modernize the club. Was it the right one? Well of course that's debatable for all...

[Incognito]

Shepherd wanted to be the chairman, the fan, and the hero. He could have been all of that had his ego not clouded his judgment and given him the notion that he could make major footballing decisions that were ultimately flawed and out of his depth.

 

I agree with HTT, I think the Big Sam hire was his realization that he had mucked things up and needed to rebuild and modernize the club. Was it the right one? Well of course that's debatable for all...

 

Whether Shepherd was the right man for Newcastle United is doubtful but his commitment to the cause and his passion for the club are sadly lacking in the current incumbant.

[Guest chopey]

Cracking post HTT, thats exactly how I feel, a football club with no ambition is like a Ferrari with no engine, great to look at but not fit for purpose

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I watched the Shearer signing Youtube clip on here last night and got very sad and angry. I noticed Sir John Hall kept saying the word "soccer" because he was at that time trying to create a global brand, to sell NUFC to the world.

 

Shearer, KK, he and everything was geared towards, as Shearer himself said in that unveiling, to not only winning the championship year after year but to dominate Europe. Fucking hell, this was a few years after we nearly went bust.

 

They were so visionary, so ambitious and so fucking ballsy. They achieved all of what they did by spending as KK put it our money, the fans' money. Ashley is a billionaire FFS! We are the anti-thesis of that club today and that is all down to Ashley. Even under FS we could at least compete or try to.

 

The said thing is and this is what pisses me off most about Ashley is that he should watch that clip and look at the league tables back then and our accounts and with the same ambition, balls and forward thinking and yes investment, we could be anything we want to and his shitty fucking brand likewise.

 

But he's a malicious cunt, someone who has no passion for football. Only margins and cost cutting and his baby SD.

 

But then why should he, he's not a football fan much less a Geordie. We are just another Sondico to him!

 

With him as our owner, we be what we were in the late 60s, 70s and 80s, only with a huge fuck off stadium.

 

A half empty one at that!

[hakka]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious cunt of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

While there is merit to the whole arguement that we are financially worse off, I'm not buying that fully. I think it's a case of won't compete over can't compete.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious c*** of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

While there is merit to the whole arguement that we are financially worse off, but I'm not buying that. I think it's a case of won't compete over can't compete.

 

We are. All our revenues are down or not at the level they ought to be compared to everyone elses which have generally risen. Ours hasn't.

 

I do agree that it is a case of we won't compete mind.

[hakka]

What I don't get is that despite whatever debts he has with the club which makes it too expensive to sell, surely the silly revenue money for being in the Premier League is starting to outweigh that debt to make it a worthwhile buying option even at a higher price.

 

An ambitious person who wants to spend around £50m post buying the club on players, who installs a half decent manager and coaching staff, could do wonders with building on what we have.

[hakka]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious c*** of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

While there is merit to the whole arguement that we are financially worse off, but I'm not buying that. I think it's a case of won't compete over can't compete.

 

We are. All our revenues are down or not at the level they ought to be compared to everyone elses which have generally risen. Ours hasn't.

 

I do agree that it is a case of we won't compete mind.

 

Why is revenue down? If Ashley doesn't want the club and wants to pay off his debt to sell it faster why isn't he making the club generate more revenue to speed that process up? - I'm assuming revenue from the league and Europe isn't the reason why our revenue is down compared to others? it's other revenue streams that are suffering? - Of which case if it is it just shows how cheap and short sighted the cunt really is.

[Wullie]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious c*** of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

While there is merit to the whole arguement that we are financially worse off, but I'm not buying that. I think it's a case of won't compete over can't compete.

 

We are. All our revenues are down or not at the level they ought to be compared to everyone elses which have generally risen. Ours hasn't.

 

I do agree that it is a case of we won't compete mind.

 

Why is revenue down? If Ashley doesn't want the club and wants to pay off his debt to sell it faster why isn't he making the club generate more revenue to speed that process up? - I'm assuming revenue from the league and Europe isn't the reason why our revenue is down compared to others? it's other revenue streams that are suffering? - Of which case if it is it just shows how cheap and short sighted the cunt really is.

 

Because generating more revenue would mean getting advertisers on board, and he's already got the only ads that he's interested in, those for his own company.

 

Generating revenue for NUFC will mean less advertising exposure for CheapTat.com, and that's all he cares about.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

What I don't get is that despite whatever debts he has with the club which makes it too expensive to sell, surely the silly revenue money for being in the Premier League is starting to outweigh that debt to make it a worthwhile buying option even at a higher price.

 

An ambitious person who wants to spend around £50m post buying the club on players, who installs a half decent manager and coaching staff, could do wonders with building on what we have.

 

Ashley's a notoriously difficult person to deal with, people in business will know of him, his ways etc. and that could well put people off.

 

One other thing is you have 3 very wealthy clubs in the PL in Man Utd, Chelsea, and Man City and below that you have Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs all capable of spending silly money.

 

To compete with that you are talking spending lots and lots every season. Its nbot worth it. Even for the mega mega rich. Not when you can have an everton for pennies or invest in a big club outside of the PL, a Leeds or a Wolves or one of the Sheffield clubs. Or even Rangers or Celtic who one day could end up in the PL.

 

We have missed the boat.

 

Fan ownership is the way forward for us. We'll never be able to compete at the very top but we could be well ran and show far more ambition than we are showing under Ashley.

[hakka]

 

ashley has managed the finances much better than FS ever did, but he's also managed to tear the heart and soul out along the way

 

He really hasn't, not by any measure.

 

I keep having this same argument with a mate of mine. Ashley has turned a club capable of competing financially with even the likes of Arsenal at the time, to one that cannot, in the manager's own words, compete with Southampton.

 

FS may have spent more than he should have on players and used future ST money etc. to do so and yes we were in debt but the club could handle it and because we actually had ambition, we were only ever a good appointment away from succeeding as we showed under Sir Bobby. Ha we kept Sir Bobby and gave him 50m even if it was borrowed, we would have succeeded somehow at some point.

 

Oh and while we did owe the banks a lot of money, we didn't owe anywhere near as much to them as what is owed to MA, a malicious c*** of a man who has zero interes in the club other than what we spend and where he can plaster his tacky two-bit SD brand.

 

While there is merit to the whole arguement that we are financially worse off, but I'm not buying that. I think it's a case of won't compete over can't compete.

 

We are. All our revenues are down or not at the level they ought to be compared to everyone elses which have generally risen. Ours hasn't.

 

I do agree that it is a case of we won't compete mind.

 

Why is revenue down? If Ashley doesn't want the club and wants to pay off his debt to sell it faster why isn't he making the club generate more revenue to speed that process up? - I'm assuming revenue from the league and Europe isn't the reason why our revenue is down compared to others? it's other revenue streams that are suffering? - Of which case if it is it just shows how cheap and short sighted the cunt really is.

 

Because generating more revenue would mean getting advertisers on board, and he's already got the only ads that he's interested in, those for his own company.

 

Generating revenue for NUFC will mean less advertising exposure for CheapTat.com, and that's all he cares about.

 

Ah yes, feeding both ends so he wins twice but the club suffers commercially and on the pitch.

 

:'(

 

 

[Wullie]

I think it's bollocks that you need vast fortunes to compete at the top level of the Premier League btw, I think it's long been used as an easy excuse by clubs like us who don't really know what they're doing.