Figures 1-0 Football Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Two years ago today... Any chance someone could correct the link to the old thread in the first post on page 1? I like to read through the first pages occasionally just to relive that period of time. It was an amazing few days in the build up to him being confirmed. Cant edit it obviously, but: http://www.newcastle-online.org/forum/index.php/topic,97780.0.html For all those who want to read it tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Ah cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dokko Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I do actually think he'll give Ashley a chance to use the money we've accrued this season if we stay up. In theory we should be shopping in the £15-25m bracket that we claimed was out of our reach. No excuse this summer. Staveley will buy us if/when we stay up. She'll not be back. She will be. According to a lot on here (and tbf the bookies) we're basically safe. The biggest threat is Rafa walking, therefore if they want him they'll have to act before the season is finished. If you want to see her back in or anyone before Rafa walks then something needs to happen sharpish. I'd also be surprised if Ashley is willing to even entertain her and her parties after the fallout last time. This if any of it was a serious attempt to buy the club, i'm still uncertain as to her motives, but what i am certain of is the takeover talk and playing it out in the media nearly derailed our season. It was only after Ashley told her to fuck off did we start to get going again. I don't want the same happening again in the summer crippling us before we've even kicked a ball in anger. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I do actually think he'll give Ashley a chance to use the money we've accrued this season if we stay up. In theory we should be shopping in the £15-25m bracket that we claimed was out of our reach. No excuse this summer. Staveley will buy us if/when we stay up. She'll not be back. She will be. According to a lot on here (and tbf the bookies) we're basically safe. The biggest threat is Rafa walking, therefore if they want him they'll have to act before the season is finished. If you want to see her back in or anyone before Rafa walks then something needs to happen sharpish. I'd also be surprised if Ashley is willing to even entertain her and her parties after the fallout last time. This if any of it was a serious attempt to buy the club, i'm still uncertain as to her motives, but what i am certain of is the takeover talk and playing it out in the media nearly derailed our season. It was only after Ashley told her to fuck off did we start to get going again. I don't want the same happening again in the summer crippling us before we've even kicked a ball in anger. A lot depends on whether Ashley really wants to sell as well. He's got more chance of getting the £300m now it looks like we will stay up. But of course he might hike the price up now which will answer that question. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stifler Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I do actually think he'll give Ashley a chance to use the money we've accrued this season if we stay up. In theory we should be shopping in the £15-25m bracket that we claimed was out of our reach. No excuse this summer. Staveley will buy us if/when we stay up. She'll not be back. She will be. According to a lot on here (and tbf the bookies) we're basically safe. The biggest threat is Rafa walking, therefore if they want him they'll have to act before the season is finished. If you want to see her back in or anyone before Rafa walks then something needs to happen sharpish. I'd also be surprised if Ashley is willing to even entertain her and her parties after the fallout last time. This if any of it was a serious attempt to buy the club, i'm still uncertain as to her motives, but what i am certain of is the takeover talk and playing it out in the media nearly derailed our season. It was only after Ashley told her to fuck off did we start to get going again. I don't want the same happening again in the summer crippling us before we've even kicked a ball in anger. Rafa brought her to us, and I think Rafa has reached his breaking point with Ashley. He has the loyalty to see this season out, but he'll not stay around in the summer if there is no prospect of Ashley leaving, he's had 4 of Ashley's transfer windows to see that there is no action from his words, in fact it would have been about a year ago that he started sounding out Staveley because he had lost faith in Ashley. All in all I think this means Rafa staying is dependant on Staveley buying us (or more unlikely another bidder who backs Rafa), and think that has always been the case. I don't think Staveley would stop her attempts to buy us in the unlikely event that we do go down, but there would be no increase in her bid and there would be conditions attached to it. If we do stay up then I can see her increasing her bid a bit, and possibly getting rid of some/all of the conditions attached to the deal. All this depends on if Ashley does want to sell us, which we'll never know until he either sells us, or dies. I can't see him walking away from a deal that he may want because of past disagreements, first of all I don't think he gives as much of a toss about her as he claims, and it was a pathetic attempt to force her hand, but also he's got into bed with business people after he's pissed them off or they have pissed him off (Dave Whelen being one of them). She'll be back in for us, will her new bid be enough, and will Ashley want to sell, those are separate questions, but Rafa will remain for as long as Staveley is confident of buying us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happinesstan Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I'm not convinced Rafa is at breaking point. He's been frustrated, but if he thought Ashley was making a mug of him, surely he would have walked already. I think he wants to stay and relishes the challenge. If Ashley can somehow turn things into kept promises, by givingRafa all the money generated by the club this season, then we could be on a fresh page. It's just such a big if. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Crooks Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 It relies heavily on Ashley changing tact. Not going to happen, however adept Rafa may be at the politics. Fucking shame like first buzz around here in ages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 It relies heavily on Ashley changing tact. Not going to happen, however adept Rafa may be at the politics. Fucking shame like first buzz around here in ages. He doesn't need to change tact, he just needs to release the money that will be available. He did it for McClaren when we had some money in the pot, he should be able to do the same next season with the tv money rolling in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyt Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Two years ago today... Any chance someone could correct the link to the old thread in the first post on page 1? I like to read through the first pages occasionally just to relive that period of time. It was an amazing few days in the build up to him being confirmed. Cant edit it obviously, but: http://www.newcastle-online.org/forum/index.php/topic,97780.0.html For all those who want to read it tonight. On Tapatalk the photo accompanying that thread is Pards headbutting Meyler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 My gut (and probably optimistic) feeling is that he'll get a McClaren sized budget next year but unfortunately Ashley will still be at the club. That's not a god awful scenario but f***ing hell do I hope I'm wrong and we get taken over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happinesstan Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 My gut (and probably optimistic) feeling is that he'll get a McClaren sized budget next year but unfortunately Ashley will still be at the club. That's not a god awful scenario but f***ing hell do I hope I'm wrong and we get taken over. That's what I was going on. I'd completely forgotten about the possibility of a takeover. One of the luxuries of focussing on the positives on the pitch. A good takeover would be the best, but going forward without that as a possibility we are looking stable, and definitely have something to build on. We've bolted the horse to the cart, maybe this year we'll feed the horse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 My gut (and probably optimistic) feeling is that he'll get a McClaren sized budget next year but unfortunately Ashley will still be at the club. That's not a god awful scenario but f***ing hell do I hope I'm wrong and we get taken over. I'm probably too long in the tooth but when it comes to the long term future of the club, I have no more optimism. I think Ashley will lie to Rafa again, make promises that he won't keep, and then come September, Rafa might well leave. Ashley just isn't going to change. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawK Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Ashley has no intention of selling and hasn't for a very long time now. I maintain he's still annoyed that someone made it publicly known that they were interested (Staveley) as this makes it harder to easily appease the fans with such token gestures as feigning to sell the club which he does every couple of years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Ashley has no intention of selling and hasn't for a very long time now. I maintain he's still annoyed that someone made it publicly known that they were interested (Staveley) as this makes it harder to easily appease the fans with such token gestures as feigning to sell the club which he does every couple of years. I agree completely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Would Arsenal want Rafa? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interpolic Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 I think Ashley would definitely sell for a daft offer like £400m but it's all hypotheticals. Hoping Staveley comes back in the summer with an offer of £300m+ without clauses and Ashley is at the stage where he can't be arsed anymore. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Crooks Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 It relies heavily on Ashley changing tact. Not going to happen, however adept Rafa may be at the politics. Fucking shame like first buzz around here in ages. He doesn't need to change tact, he just needs to release the money that will be available. He did it for McClaren when we had some money in the pot, he should be able to do the same next season with the tv money rolling in. Long term, he would have to change for us to get anywhere. Say Rafa gets all that is available, same attitude just means he screws him further down the line. I know that's negative but it just is how it plays out. Hope he does give it him mind regardless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stifler Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Would Arsenal want Rafa? No, the board won’t sack Wenger, Wenger won’t walk, and the Arsenal fans won’t put up with Rafa’s style of football, and if they did the results would come too late. Going to Arsenal would be like him going to Madrid again, except this time he has no attachment to Arsenal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I think Rafa stays with a modest transfer budget. Last year of his contract, see us up and stable, job done leaving us in a better place than when he came in. Ashley will really have to make his life difficult this summer to force him out I feel, though iirc that compensation clause thing won't be in play right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I could see him signing a new deal, if offered. It sounds bizarre but his boss being a cunt will be completely outweighed by the love of the fans and the good little project he's got going here. He might only take a year extension but that will do for now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmonkey Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Heart says he'll stay. Geographically he has limited options if he wants to live near his family, he connects with the region that we're in and its fanbase, he's on a well paid contract, and he's had his fingers burnt at the "big" clubs post Liverpool. Alternative options elsewhere might not be any better if they have similarly untrustworthy owners (e.g. West Ham), and the remote chance of a new owner at NUFC would unlock some serious potential at a club that has all the infrastructure needed to get to the next few levels. Head says he'll go at the end of the season. He's been betrayed by Ashley in three transfer windows in a row, completely hung out to dry by people who have no interest in football beyond making money out of it, and has zero certainties going forward that the same won't happen in the summer and beyond. We got promoted because of Rafa's tactical abilities, nous, and steadfast approach despite having severe weaknesses throughout the team, and we'll probably stay up because of him too despite having a squad clearly not good enough for this league. He's the one who is keeping this clubs neck above the water despite Ashley/Barnes/et al trying their best to sink it. Why would he stay? It's like an abusive relationship that he's in, but an ironic one where he's the one saving the others hide. There's bound to be a few biggish clubs out there considering Rafa as a safe bet, e.g. post-Wenger Arsenal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Heart says he'll stay. Geographically he has limited options if he wants to live near his family, he connects with the region that we're in and its fanbase, he's on a well paid contract, and he's had his fingers burnt at the "big" clubs post Liverpool. Alternative options elsewhere might not be any better if they have similarly untrustworthy owners (e.g. West Ham), and the remote chance of a new owner at NUFC would unlock some serious potential at a club that has all the infrastructure needed to get to the next few levels. Head says he'll go at the end of the season. He's been betrayed by Ashley in three transfer windows in a row, completely hung out to dry by people who have no interest in football beyond making money out of it, and has zero certainties going forward that the same won't happen in the summer and beyond. We got promoted because of Rafa's tactical abilities, nous, and steadfast approach despite having severe weaknesses throughout the team, and we'll probably stay up because of him too despite having a squad clearly not good enough for this league. He's the one who is keeping this clubs neck above the water despite Ashley/Barnes/et al trying their best to sink it. Why would he stay? It's like an abusive relationship that he's in, but an ironic one where he's the one saving the others hide. There's bound to be a few biggish clubs out there considering Rafa as a safe bet, e.g. post-Wenger Arsenal. Good post TMonkey. I can't imagine him being particularly excited by another Ashley transfer window tbh. He's not the sort to suffer fools, so I'd think their relationship must be right on a knife edge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Howaythetoon Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I think he will leave after the season ends, unless Ashley sells up. I think he will have a good few offers and it wouldn’t surprise me to see one of or both West Ham and Everton go in for him, especially if WH stay up. He’d be a good fit for Arsenal too and I don’t think their fans would be averse to his style of football if it meant them not getting beat off shitty teams and becoming more competitive which Rafa would restore almost as default. He’s very pally with Wenger too so if he goes and the board asks him for any recommendations... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raconteur Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 You genuinely believe he would go to Everton, after what he achieved at Liverpool? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Good chance for us to get a real man like Gerry Francis or Al Curbs if this fraud leaves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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