Mike Ashley (former owner) (still alive)

[D. Yimentov]

Does Mike realise he doesn't need to do this to sell tickets? He doesn't need to spend money on PR gurus and he doesn't need to pay the hacks to write stuff for him. He could change our shirts to red and white stripes and personally kick every fan in the goolies as they clicked their way through the turnstyles and the super fans would still go.

 

You're wasting your money, Mike.

[Stifler]

Its been less than three days.

It doesn't get any bigger than this in terms of takeovers.

And it feels like its died on its a**e already, allowing for the 3% trainspotting element.

There is no fakeover left to be unleashed after this that could get so much as a flicker so I do wonder what they have in store for us in the future. Like the club as a whole the law of diminishing returns has long since been enacted.

It is his best chance to sell. Club is already on the decline in terms of status, income and support and the only thing I see that can stop this is Ashley's not being here.

It’s been less than 3 days. How has it died on it’s arse?

Not saying the thing is true or not, but it’s been 3 days.

 

It doesn't seem like anybody thinks its likely to happen. Most are far more convinced it wont. It takes less time to get to this stage with each passing charade. And this is big - if it was just Kenyon it wouldn't have even got this far. So if it is charade we've (and the media for that matter) become immune to its purpose. In 3 days.

We as fans are not convinced because we have been through so many stories, and until it happens a lot us won’t fully accept it.

Those in the media largely believe it will happen. There are a few who are making a story out of it by saying Rafa is coming back, and Ashley has 2 other bidders as well. These to me though are cheap lazy stories which will get people clicking, they aren’t based on anything and are just a journalists way of making a story out of an existing story. Think of those article like Lee Ryder’s ‘10 things we have learnt’ articles out of matches, or day to day running of the club.

[Wolfcastle]

What do we believe here?

 

- The club is ostensibly for sale, Mike does enter into negotiations with genuine would be buyers and then breaks it off at the last minute knowing all along that was never going to sell.

 

- The club is really for sale but Mike just keeps moving the goalposts once negotiations have begun and buyers just get sick of him.

 

- The club is not for sale at all and there never have been negotiations but Mike has buttered up the media to run these stories.

 

I see all three of these possibilities thrown about but they're mutually exclusive. It can only be one of them.

 

I believe its simply - The club isn't for sale and never was.

Said that as far back as Barry Moat but am on the record of going with that one through the last number of fakeovers.

Not being for sale doesn't stop interested parties contacting him.

It really is the only logical explanation for all of this. Everything else feels like a stretch for a reason. It never steered anybody wrong yet.

Even if one day that's wrong it will still be 50-1.

[Wilson]

Aye, second option. He gets it so far, then starts with the advertising/merchandising demands.

 

I believe he'd happily sell on his terms, and his terms will mean he's not losing a penny via advertising etc. Which in my opinion is never going to happen.

 

 

[KaKa]

I think there's also a chance he does this to generate interest in the club.

 

I think he wants to sell provided he can get a great deal and continue to use the club for advertising his brand.

[TRon]

Does Mike realise he doesn't need to do this to sell tickets? He doesn't need to spend money on PR gurus and he doesn't need to pay the hacks to write stuff for him. He could change our shirts to red and white stripes and personally kick every fan in the goolies as they clicked their way through the turnstyles and the super fans would still go.

 

You're wasting your money, Mike.

 

He could be just waiting for someone to give him a boatload of money and allow him to keep his merchandising contracts. Kenyon was probably game but he didn't have a pot to piss in.

[Stifler]

I think there's also a chance he does this to generate interest in the club.

 

I think he wants to sell provided he can get a great deal and continue to use the club for advertising his brand.

’I’m about to sell to one of the richest people in the world’ is hardly going to get people to bid to buy the club.

[Wolfcastle]

Its been less than three days.

It doesn't get any bigger than this in terms of takeovers.

And it feels like its died on its a**e already, allowing for the 3% trainspotting element.

There is no fakeover left to be unleashed after this that could get so much as a flicker so I do wonder what they have in store for us in the future. Like the club as a whole the law of diminishing returns has long since been enacted.

It is his best chance to sell. Club is already on the decline in terms of status, income and support and the only thing I see that can stop this is Ashley's not being here.

It’s been less than 3 days. How has it died on it’s arse?

Not saying the thing is true or not, but it’s been 3 days.

 

It doesn't seem like anybody thinks its likely to happen. Most are far more convinced it wont. It takes less time to get to this stage with each passing charade. And this is big - if it was just Kenyon it wouldn't have even got this far. So if it is charade we've (and the media for that matter) become immune to its purpose. In 3 days.

We as fans are not convinced because we have been through so many stories, and until it happens a lot us won’t fully accept it.

Those in the media largely believe it will happen. There are a few who are making a story out of it by saying Rafa is coming back, and Ashley has 2 other bidders as well. These to me though are cheap lazy stories which will get people clicking, they aren’t based on anything and are just a journalists way of making a story out of an existing story. Think of those article like Lee Ryder’s ‘10 things we have learnt’ articles out of matches, or day to day running of the club.

 

The Mail will be the only paper that knows anything being as how that's who Bishop feeds. There tone is anti-Staveley again and anti-deal yet again. Even those that appear to believe it may well not but its a story, so why not.

[madras]

I think there's also a chance he does this to generate interest in the club.

 

I think he wants to sell provided he can get a great deal and continue to use the club for advertising his brand.

’I’m about to sell to one of the richest people in the world’ is hardly going to get people to bid to buy the club.

It could if the other party values it higher than "the richest people in the world".

[Stifler]

Its been less than three days.

It doesn't get any bigger than this in terms of takeovers.

And it feels like its died on its a**e already, allowing for the 3% trainspotting element.

There is no fakeover left to be unleashed after this that could get so much as a flicker so I do wonder what they have in store for us in the future. Like the club as a whole the law of diminishing returns has long since been enacted.

It is his best chance to sell. Club is already on the decline in terms of status, income and support and the only thing I see that can stop this is Ashley's not being here.

It’s been less than 3 days. How has it died on it’s arse?

Not saying the thing is true or not, but it’s been 3 days.

 

It doesn't seem like anybody thinks its likely to happen. Most are far more convinced it wont. It takes less time to get to this stage with each passing charade. And this is big - if it was just Kenyon it wouldn't have even got this far. So if it is charade we've (and the media for that matter) become immune to its purpose. In 3 days.

We as fans are not convinced because we have been through so many stories, and until it happens a lot us won’t fully accept it.

Those in the media largely believe it will happen. There are a few who are making a story out of it by saying Rafa is coming back, and Ashley has 2 other bidders as well. These to me though are cheap lazy stories which will get people clicking, they aren’t based on anything and are just a journalists way of making a story out of an existing story. Think of those article like Lee Ryder’s ‘10 things we have learnt’ articles out of matches, or day to day running of the club.

 

The Mail will be the only paper that knows anything being as how that's who Bishop feeds. There tone is anti-Staveley again and anti-deal yet again. Even those that appear to believe it may well not but its a story, so why not.

The Mail got 1 interview from Ashley which was basically a written statement and didn’t expose anything that wasn’t already well known.

Samual from then on has kept licking Ashley’s hoop in order to get another of these interviews. There is nothing to suggest that Ashley has been in contact since, or anything to suggest that they throw them any information which isn’t already public knowledge.

 

Likewise, Caulkin has interviewed Staveley has always kept in contact with her. There is nothing to suggest that she’s said anything to Caulkin yet about the deal either.

 

The difference between Caulkin and Samual is that Samual will arse lick and write pro-Ashley stuff in an attempt to get an interview. Caulkin won’t do that with Stavely, either she talks to him or she doesn’t.

[KaKa]

I think there's also a chance he does this to generate interest in the club.

 

I think he wants to sell provided he can get a great deal and continue to use the club for advertising his brand.

’I’m about to sell to one of the richest people in the world’ is hardly going to get people to bid to buy the club.

It could if the other party values it higher than "the richest people in the world".

 

Yeah, besides it just keeps the club in the news as being available to buy for the "right price".

 

Think MA will probably see this as one of his best chances to sell with us looking fairly safe compared to the previous years.

 

I think we'll continue to see this year in and year out going forward as long as he's here.

[nufcjb]

Why was there supposed to be developments on this farce today again? Can't be arsed to go through the pages.

[jdckelly]

Why was there supposed to be developments on this farce today again? Can't be arsed to go through the pages.

reports said tuesday or something

[themanupstairs]

What I find the strangest is that billionaire's keep being stupid enough to believe Ashley is actually looking to sell. Surely they have an iota of intelligence? Surely they might, you know, contact previous 'failed bidders' and ask them what the craic is? But nope, just an endless procession of fools failing to get Ashley to sell.

 

Doesn't really add up in the slightest.

 

Or maybe not everything is played out in the media and known to the general public? There's no doubt that Ashley is a massive prick to deal with but we don't know for certain that he won't sell at any price. Assuming the bid/deal is genuine, I'm pretty sure Staveley would know what it would take to get him to sell, and has informed these potential suitors accordingly.

[Sean]

What do we believe here?

 

- The club is ostensibly for sale, Mike does enter into negotiations with genuine would be buyers and then breaks it off at the last minute knowing all along that was never going to sell.

 

- The club is really for sale but Mike just keeps moving the goalposts once negotiations have begun and buyers just get sick of him.

 

- The club is not for sale at all and there never have been negotiations but Mike has buttered up the media to run these stories.

 

I see all three of these possibilities thrown about but they're mutually exclusive. It can only be one of them.

 

I believe its simply - The club isn't for sale and never was.

Said that as far back as Barry Moat but am on the record of going with that one through the last number of fakeovers.

Not being for sale doesn't stop interested parties contacting him.

It really is the only logical explanation for all of this. Everything else feels like a stretch for a reason. It never steered anybody wrong yet.

Even if one day that's wrong it will still be 50-1.

 

He likes playing people also, Keegan, Shearer, Rafa etc. I believe some have actually tried to buy the club from him (Staveley), some have been pure bullshit (Kenyon and BZG with their love letters to Ashley before disappearing being fairly obvious jokes).

[Sean]

I think there's also a chance he does this to generate interest in the club.

 

I think he wants to sell provided he can get a great deal and continue to use the club for advertising his brand.

 

I've got 10 pound coins here, I want to sell them for £20. Do I really want to sell them? No. That's Ashley with this club.

 

Edit: well actually I would want to sell them for that. but in effect it means I'm not looking to sell. What I mean is the fact he'd sell for well above what something is worth doesn't equal wanting to sell.

[TwoForJoy]

To get Ashley to sell the buyer is going to have to out manoeuvre him. Agree to his demands of advertising and club shop so he thinks he's got a great deal. Get the keys to the gaff then cancel the all the contracts and pay whatever he manages to sue for in court.

[D. Yimentov]

What do we believe here?

 

- The club is ostensibly for sale, Mike does enter into negotiations with genuine would be buyers and then breaks it off at the last minute knowing all along that was never going to sell.

 

- The club is really for sale but Mike just keeps moving the goalposts once negotiations have begun and buyers just get sick of him.

 

- The club is not for sale at all and there never have been negotiations but Mike has buttered up the media to run these stories.

 

I see all three of these possibilities thrown about but they're mutually exclusive. It can only be one of them.

 

I believe its simply - The club isn't for sale and never was.

Said that as far back as Barry Moat but am on the record of going with that one through the last number of fakeovers.

Not being for sale doesn't stop interested parties contacting him.

It really is the only logical explanation for all of this. Everything else feels like a stretch for a reason. It never steered anybody wrong yet.

Even if one day that's wrong it will still be 50-1.

 

He likes playing people also, Keegan, Shearer, Rafa etc. I believe some have actually tried to buy the club from him (Staveley), some have been pure bullshit (Kenyon and BZG with their love letters to Ashley before disappearing being fairly obvious jokes).

 

In that case Stavely's involvement might be reason for a bit of optimism.

[Toon No9]

Ashley has said before that he will only sell the club to someone that has the money to take the club forward.

 

He is now dealing with Stavely/PCP who got close before, plus one of the richest man in the world and the second richest family in England!

 

If they aren't able to take the club forward no one is.

 

And that is compared to Ashley himself, who is taking the club backwards every season.

 

Just get it done this time!

[AyeDubbleYoo]

It's almost like he was lying.

[Tiresias]

It's almost like he was lying.

[maze]

It's almost like he was lying.

 

[TooonDoom]

So lets say he rejects the offer from the trillionaire, a couple billionaires and the lass.  I don't see how he can easily spin it.  When people see this and realise he will never sell there will be at least a couple hundred more season ticket cancellations.

 

 

 

[Charlies]

So lets say he rejects the offer from the trillionaire, a couple billionaires and the lass.  I don't see how he can easily spin it.  When people see this and realise he will never sell there will be at least a couple hundred more season ticket cancellations.

 

I honestly cant see how he could reject it, if it's true obviously. But then again it is Mike Ashley.

[BennyBlanco]

Not really surprised that we've heard nowt today. Apart from someone conjecture on who would be chairman and some odd timescales that were seemingly plucked from someones arse - we didn't really learn a lot yesterday either. The whole "other interested" parties line is straight from the Ashley playbook though, bit of disinformation of his own to get his own back for the initial leak. It stinks of going tits up again, we'll hear nowt now until the end of the window and it will all be quietly brushed under the carpet and it'll be business as usual. The Chronicle for me have really shown how far they've sunk with the clickbait they've farted out since the news broke - "Just how rich are the Saudis", "6 things you didnt know about Amanda Stavely" and on and on and on. Lee Ryder is f***ing useless, Mark Douglas doesn't seem a bad bloke or particularly s**** journo either - but for me the local rag should have it's hooks into the inner workings at the club and should serve to cut through the bollocks of the tabloids - they've behaved even worse. It must be very frustrating for someone like Douglas watching Lee Ryder smash his laptop with his arse to churn out some of the absolute f***ing crap that he does and get paid for it.