Mike Ashley

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Good article that.

 

Did anyone see Joey Bartons (yeah......I know) tweet last night about 'giving MA an excuse get rid of Pardew'? He tweeted it whilst we were 3 down but the tone was interesting. As though it's common knowledge that MA wants rid/is looking for an excuse.

 

The article above also suggests that MA/JFK are 'waiting for an excuse'.

 

Strange given MA has never seemed to need an excuse.

 

I half expected him to be gone this am. I think the only thing keeping him in a job is the sheer lack of replacements on the market.

 

Ashley is  an idiot, should have sacked pardew in the summer when there were quiet a few interesting managers available.

 

I think i would be shocked if he actually sacked him...

 

I can see it happening if the next few results go against us, especially another battering at the hands of Liverpool, and we'd all welcome that.

 

However, the reality of who might replace him will soon kick in.

[Cronky]

Good article that.

 

Did anyone see Joey Bartons (yeah......I know) tweet last night about 'giving MA an excuse get rid of Pardew'? He tweeted it whilst we were 3 down but the tone was interesting. As though it's common knowledge that MA wants rid/is looking for an excuse.

 

The article above also suggests that MA/JFK are 'waiting for an excuse'.

 

Strange given MA has never seemed to need an excuse.

 

I half expected him to be gone this am. I think the only thing keeping him in a job is the sheer lack of replacements on the market.

 

I can't see that Ashley would 'need an excuse' to sack Pardew. There wouldn't be a public outcry if Pardew went - only if Kinnear took his place, which I don't think will happen.

 

I just think Ashley was prepared to give Pardew another season to put things right. Kinnear was appointed as Ashley's personal football adviser. What Ashley habitually seems to under-estimate is the political issues that come with these kinds of decisions in football clubs. If that kind of move was made within the management structure of Sports Direct, no-one would give a damn. But a football club is an institution in the public eye, and that has repercussions.

[Tachikoma]

Yeah, that seems plausible enough. If that is the case Pardew might not have much longer left barring a miraculous upturn in form, because the next 7 games will almost certainly plant us in the bottom 3 on the form we're having.

[Dave]

Not sure about that regarding no public outcry. A lot of fans and certainly the media continue to cling to the 5th as more representative of his ability. And he's certainly been let down in the transfer market. Until Ashley goes this won't change anyway.

[Big Geordie]

Attendances are taking a hit, now I would say. I know there was a full house v Hull, but that was on the back of two wins v Fulham and Villa.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Attendances are taking a hit, now I would say. I know there was a full house v Hull, but that was on the back of two wins v Fulham and Villa.

 

True, it also didn't look full at Everton away which is very rare for us.

 

I know people who wanted tickets and the club said it sold out. They must have rejected the full allocation early on and to hell with anyone else wanting tickets.

[Wallace]

Attendances are taking a hit, now I would say. I know there was a full house v Hull, but that was on the back of two wins v Fulham and Villa.

 

True, it also didn't look full at Everton away which is very rare for us.

 

I know people who wanted tickets and the club said it sold out. They must have rejected the full allocation early on and to hell with anyone else wanting tickets.

 

They definitely took the lower allocation.  However, there were tons of empty spaces in the away end so we either didn't sell all the tickets or people decided not to bother coming.

 

[Big Geordie]

.com reckoned there was less than 1000 there.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Attendances are taking a hit, now I would say. I know there was a full house v Hull, but that was on the back of two wins v Fulham and Villa.

 

True, it also didn't look full at Everton away which is very rare for us.

 

I know people who wanted tickets and the club said it sold out. They must have rejected the full allocation early on and to hell with anyone else wanting tickets.

 

They definitely took the lower allocation.  However, there were tons of empty spaces in the away end so we either didn't sell all the tickets or people decided not to bother coming.

 

 

Makes you wonder as two of the lads in question were asking everywhere without getting any joy at all. I know there was a coach on fire on the motorway but that wouldnt account for too many missing fans

[Wallace]

Typically two opposing viewpoints in the local papers today. 

 

The Journal reckons that Kinnear has no interest in the manager's job and is supportive of Pardew's need for a strong physical goal-scoring centre-half whereas The Chronicle reckons that Kinnear will be the next manager.

 

 

 

[Guest Roger Kint]

Typically two opposing viewpoints in the local papers today. 

 

The Journal reckons that Kinnear has no interest in the manager's job and is supportive of Pardew's need for a strong physical goal-scoring centre-half whereas The Chronicle reckons that Kinnear will be the next manager.

 

 

 

 

I would guess Ryder is basing his on Wraith's comments whereas the Journal may have worked on theirs(please God )

[TRon]

I wonder if attendances would take a hit if JFK got the job?

 

Whatever the attendances, those that do turn up on match days are not likely to give Kinnear or Ashley an easy ride if JFK is installed as manager. I just can't see why either would put themselves through that rather than just appoint a proper manager. I know everyone assumes that Kinnear will be the next manager but I don't think so.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I wonder if attendances would take a hit if JFK got the job?

 

Whatever the attendances, those that do turn up on match days are not likely to give Kinnear or Ashley an easy ride if JFK is installed as manager. I just can't see why either would put themselves through that rather than just appoint a proper manager. I know everyone assumes that Kinnear will be the next manager but I don't think so.

 

Yep, at least Pardew appears like a relatively normal manager to most fans. JFK is an absolute mess.

[Disco]

Attendances are taking a hit, now I would say. I know there was a full house v Hull, but that was on the back of two wins v Fulham and Villa.

 

True, it also didn't look full at Everton away which is very rare for us.

 

I know people who wanted tickets and the club said it sold out. They must have rejected the full allocation early on and to hell with anyone else wanting tickets.

 

They definitely took the lower allocation.  However, there were tons of empty spaces in the away end so we either didn't sell all the tickets or people decided not to bother coming.

 

 

Whole of the Upper Bullens was empty. There was a decent piece in the Mag about the denigration of our away support t'other day. Taking a reduced allocation at Cardiff n all incase the club are bankrupted by unsold tickets.

[merlin]

Not sure about that regarding no public outcry. A lot of fans and certainly the media continue to cling to the 5th as more representative of his ability. And he's certainly been let down in the transfer market. Until Ashley goes this won't change anyway.

 

How can a large percentage of either fans or media think that ONE 5th place finish is representative of Pardew's real ability when he has demonstrated with 4 clubs that it isn't ?

These people must have very little idea about track records and CVs.....

[Big Geordie]

More on the St James Park advertising. Have to say, am not surprised.

 

http://nufcdaily.wordpress.com/2013/...lie-yet-again/

 

The club lie yet again!

Not coming down any time soon

 

You will remember last week that I did an article about how Sports Direct do not pay any advertising for the hideous boards that adorn St James’ Park, and I reported how someone was interested in buying the space for local businesses and even the Sir Bobby Robson foundation. While I did not hold out much hope that the person in question would get very far with his endeavour, what I didn’t expect (but probably should have expected) is that the club have misled the fans once again.

 

This is the article posted on The Mag, outlining the issue,

 

“Last week I wrote an article about making an offer to sponsor some of the advertising boards around the ground and I nominated Sir Bobby Robson’s Charity to be advertised. May I start off by saying thank you to everyone who made an offer to help. The offers altogether were in the region of about £3,000 EVERY HOME GAME!!!!!

 

This followed Newcastle United directors stating in the minutes of a fans forum;

 

‘The club explained that the advertising boards in question were installed with Sports Direct branding as a showcase for unused space. Sports Direct don’t pay but it would be sold if other advertisers wanted the space.’

 

After my original email to the club and 5 unanswered voicemails left for people in the marketing department of the club, I heard nothing back. That is until now…

 

I was contacted by someone high up in the marketing department of the club (I have their name but won’t publish it here) and this is exactly what I was told;

 

“The club hold back ALL advertising boards, both L.E.D and normal boards, for official partners who pay a lot of money to keep them there”.

 

The person instantly dismissed me when I spoke of the Sir Bobby Foundation and said that is something they would not do. Not once was a price discussed in this very short phone call so they did not want to know if I was willing to pay £1 or £1million per board, that didn’t matter to them.

 

So basically the club has lied (shock horror) in either their recent meeting with NUST & Co at the Fans Forum, where they stated “Sports Direct advertises for free”, or alternatively to me on the phone when they said, “official partners pay a lot of money to keep them there”.

 

Please note he did say that official partners included Thomas Cook and Puma.”

 

There are lies entangled within this situation somewhere, either from the marketing department, or from the club representatives who were answering questions to the fan’s forum. Either way, the club has, once again, been proven to be misleading the fans once more.

 

If the official partners are paying money to “hold back ALL the boards” then why would they want Sports Direct being plastered on it? Surely if our official sponsors are paying for the boards, they would want their own logo adorning the board?

 

To tell you the truth, I’m not surprised. This club is rotten to the core and they are showing themselves up time and time again.

 

What do you think? Who is lying to whom? Did the club reps lie when they said they would sell to advertisers? Or did the marketing rep lie when they said official sponsors pay for the boards?

[r0cafella]

More on the St James Park advertising. Have to say, am not surprised.

 

http://nufcdaily.wordpress.com/2013/...lie-yet-again/

 

The club lie yet again!

Not coming down any time soon

 

You will remember last week that I did an article about how Sports Direct do not pay any advertising for the hideous boards that adorn St James’ Park, and I reported how someone was interested in buying the space for local businesses and even the Sir Bobby Robson foundation. While I did not hold out much hope that the person in question would get very far with his endeavour, what I didn’t expect (but probably should have expected) is that the club have misled the fans once again.

 

This is the article posted on The Mag, outlining the issue,

 

“Last week I wrote an article about making an offer to sponsor some of the advertising boards around the ground and I nominated Sir Bobby Robson’s Charity to be advertised. May I start off by saying thank you to everyone who made an offer to help. The offers altogether were in the region of about £3,000 EVERY HOME GAME!!!!!

 

This followed Newcastle United directors stating in the minutes of a fans forum;

 

‘The club explained that the advertising boards in question were installed with Sports Direct branding as a showcase for unused space. Sports Direct don’t pay but it would be sold if other advertisers wanted the space.’

 

After my original email to the club and 5 unanswered voicemails left for people in the marketing department of the club, I heard nothing back. That is until now…

 

I was contacted by someone high up in the marketing department of the club (I have their name but won’t publish it here) and this is exactly what I was told;

 

“The club hold back ALL advertising boards, both L.E.D and normal boards, for official partners who pay a lot of money to keep them there”.

 

The person instantly dismissed me when I spoke of the Sir Bobby Foundation and said that is something they would not do. Not once was a price discussed in this very short phone call so they did not want to know if I was willing to pay £1 or £1million per board, that didn’t matter to them.

 

So basically the club has lied (shock horror) in either their recent meeting with NUST & Co at the Fans Forum, where they stated “Sports Direct advertises for free”, or alternatively to me on the phone when they said, “official partners pay a lot of money to keep them there”.

 

Please note he did say that official partners included Thomas Cook and Puma.”

 

There are lies entangled within this situation somewhere, either from the marketing department, or from the club representatives who were answering questions to the fan’s forum. Either way, the club has, once again, been proven to be misleading the fans once more.

 

If the official partners are paying money to “hold back ALL the boards” then why would they want Sports Direct being plastered on it? Surely if our official sponsors are paying for the boards, they would want their own logo adorning the board?

 

To tell you the truth, I’m not surprised. This club is rotten to the core and they are showing themselves up time and time again.

 

What do you think? Who is lying to whom? Did the club reps lie when they said they would sell to advertisers? Or did the marketing rep lie when they said official sponsors pay for the boards?

 

Shock Horror!

 

I don't think anyone expected anything other than this. It's good to see the club bullshit being exposed, too bad we don't see any such work from the Chronicle etc.

[Scoot]

That just doesn't surprise me one little bit to be honest.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

They should just have said originally something like "Mike Ashley uses the advertising space as a benefit of owning the club". It's annoying, but people would have had a harder time showing it up.

[Big Geordie]

Agreed. I think it's investigation like this that will raise awareness. Would be good if one of the local rags got ahold of it, but then again - they have to tow the club line.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Pretending nobody else wanted the space was one of the stupidest PR moves I've ever seen. Not that it's surprising.

[r0cafella]

Pretending nobody else wanted the space was one of the stupidest PR moves I've ever seen. Not that it's surprising.

 

Aye our commercial and PR departments are clearly non existent.

 

 

[AlanSkÃrare]

I sent an email to [email protected] (the customer service mail-adress on nufcdirect.com) asking who'd receive my money if I bought this season's strip. I said I wanted to buy the strip, but only if Newcastle United rather than Sports Direct benefited from it, which was difficult to tell from the website as it's seemingly being run by SD.

 

I was given a reference number and promised an answer within 1-5 working days. This was on the 8th of September. Since then, I've mailed them three times asking for an answer.

 

I know it's not the biggest problem, but if supporters buying from the club online shop are actually aiding SD rather than Newcastle United, they (we) deserve to know so.

[Guest neesy111]

I sent an email to [email protected] (the customer service mail-adress on nufcdirect.com) asking who'd receive my money if I bought this season's strip. I said I wanted to buy the strip, but only if Newcastle United rather than Sports Direct benefited from it, which was difficult to tell from the website as it's seemingly being run by SD.

 

I was given a reference number and promised an answer within 1-5 working days. This was on the 8th of September. Since then, I've mailed them three times asking for an answer.

 

I know it's not the biggest problem, but if supporters buying from the club online shop are actually aiding SD rather than Newcastle United, they (we) deserve to know so.

 

The silence speaks volumes.

[Guest icemanblue]