Mike Ashley (former owner)

[BennyBlanco]

My enjoyment of football has regressed to the point of disinterest over the past 10 years and I lay the reason for that solely at the door of Ashley. From being very aware of many players from all of our domestic leagues and around the world, enjoying catching whatever match was on TV and even getting engrossed in Football Manager every year, I now cannot even watch a match without an empty, soulless feeling. Again, all down to Ashley and his tepid servants pardew, carver, macclaren, kinnear, llambias, wise, bishop, charnley and now bruce.

 

I felt a rekindling of excitement around Rafa and that first takeover really got my hopes up. And that's what this is about. Hope. It should be a pleasant thing, but it's being used as a measure of control over the white-feathers who still attend, praising bruce and ashley like good little sycophants. Hope keeps them in line. If llambias did follow through with his "you don't know how nasty we can get" we might have seen more of a backlash against them. Throw them a player every now and then and the masses are less unhappy to the point they think that is happiness. It's not just in Newcastle though, the entire world seems to be Eternians voting for Skeletor to rule them.

 

But you all know all this. I don't know if i'll ever have that same feeling of enjoyment around football when ashley leaves but it's an experiment I'd like to try.

 

I'm exactly the same, well put. I can't even enter fantasy leagues now, and office football chat for me now consists of "Liverpool looking good". Used to spend hours chatting about football, reading about it, playing FM, Fifa, watching videos of it. Just lost interest now. Think most NO posters must feel the same though as so many have vanished from here.

 

This is me. I haven’t felt genuine pride and excitement since the championship season if I’m being totally honest - part of the reason I still love Rafa, he gave us something in the club to love again.

[Guest chopey]

Ashley has done a cracking job keeping this latest takeover under the radar, I wonder if it's got out to do with the press who seem a lot keener on click bait than actually asking questions and probing on behalf of the fans.

[themanupstairs]

My enjoyment of football has regressed to the point of disinterest over the past 10 years and I lay the reason for that solely at the door of Ashley. From being very aware of many players from all of our domestic leagues and around the world, enjoying catching whatever match was on TV and even getting engrossed in Football Manager every year, I now cannot even watch a match without an empty, soulless feeling. Again, all down to Ashley and his tepid servants pardew, carver, macclaren, kinnear, llambias, wise, bishop, charnley and now bruce.

 

I felt a rekindling of excitement around Rafa and that first takeover really got my hopes up. And that's what this is about. Hope. It should be a pleasant thing, but it's being used as a measure of control over the white-feathers who still attend, praising bruce and ashley like good little sycophants. Hope keeps them in line. If llambias did follow through with his "you don't know how nasty we can get" we might have seen more of a backlash against them. Throw them a player every now and then and the masses are less unhappy to the point they think that is happiness. It's not just in Newcastle though, the entire world seems to be Eternians voting for Skeletor to rule them.

 

But you all know all this. I don't know if i'll ever have that same feeling of enjoyment around football when ashley leaves but it's an experiment I'd like to try.

 

Post of the fucking year this! Brilliantly said.

[Carlito]

My enjoyment of football has regressed to the point of disinterest over the past 10 years and I lay the reason for that solely at the door of Ashley. From being very aware of many players from all of our domestic leagues and around the world, enjoying catching whatever match was on TV and even getting engrossed in Football Manager every year, I now cannot even watch a match without an empty, soulless feeling. Again, all down to Ashley and his tepid servants pardew, carver, macclaren, kinnear, llambias, wise, bishop, charnley and now bruce.

 

I felt a rekindling of excitement around Rafa and that first takeover really got my hopes up. And that's what this is about. Hope. It should be a pleasant thing, but it's being used as a measure of control over the white-feathers who still attend, praising bruce and ashley like good little sycophants. Hope keeps them in line. If llambias did follow through with his "you don't know how nasty we can get" we might have seen more of a backlash against them. Throw them a player every now and then and the masses are less unhappy to the point they think that is happiness. It's not just in Newcastle though, the entire world seems to be Eternians voting for Skeletor to rule them.

 

But you all know all this. I don't know if i'll ever have that same feeling of enjoyment around football when ashley leaves but it's an experiment I'd like to try.

 

Spot on.

 

I also used to follow multiple leagues myself and be relatively up to date on everything. Over the last 10 years though my interest has declined to the point where it's even a struggle to keep up with, or even care about what our own club are doing. It's turned into a broken record.

 

I've been on here long enough to remember what it was like during Freddie Shepherd's time in charge, but for as bad as those latter years of his reign were, at the very least there was still a hint of optimism, hope and not knowing what the following season would bring. Every time a new season rolled around, to me anyway, it always felt like a fresh start and a chance to try and get back up into the top 6 or 7 with a good cup run. Now however, we know as soon as one season ends we're going to be spending the next one, and the next one cemented in the bottom half and should be thanking which ever behind the times manager the regime chooses, just for being able to keep us above water. Steve Bruce is doing a great job, don't you know!

 

The hope we used to have for the club trying to be the best it could be is now solely geared towards getting a new owner on board who has the right intentions. I suppose the silver lining is at least those of us over 30 are able to remember what the club once was. When Souness got the boot it felt like a dark cloud over the club was finally gone. I can't even begin to imagine what the place will be like when Ashley finally leaves.

 

Im old now ( 57 ) so i can recall from way back in the early 70s . The unpalatable truth is that the Keegan / Robson years were merely a blip in a vast landscape of ambitionless nothing . I can remember Pop Robson ripping into the board for lack of ambition when he left the club for pastures new . The Keegan years especially were a wild ride but i think we all mistook a break in the clouds for everlasting sunshine . The one factor which both kept ambitionless owners  / boards in place and made the Keegan years possible was the fans . The fans who by turning up and legitimising such low horizons kept the crap regimes in place and who by staying away helped the Hall / Keegan renaissance into place . The central lesson ive learned over the years with this club is that WE and only WE the fans have the power to remove corrupt owners . All we have to do is realise that power ...

 

One small point aside, I totally agree with you mate. What I would say though is that the Keegan/Robson years represented growth, rather than a temporary break from the norm. Spurs, while they've always been a big club, are a great example of where ambition can take you if you look at their fortunes since the branding of the Premier League. They've grown consistently over the last 15 years while we've consistently declined. In terms of league finishes you could almost say the 2 clubs have traded places. 15 years ago, 12th would have been considered a disaster for us but now it's deemed an outstanding job.

 

Adding to that, I also think a major problem now compared to back then is that social media plays a big part in influencing a person's decision. In 2020 a person can go on twitter, see someone saying protests/boycotts won't achieve anything and they suddenly adopt that opinion as their own, then you get the whole domino effect which is keeping the fanbase divided and ultimately at a stalemate. I've lost count of how many tweets I've read where someone responds to any suggestion of a boycott or protest with "I won't be told what to do! It's my right to go and support the team! You're not a true fan, and good riddance to you if you're not going to turn up! You're not needed" etc.

 

In my opinion this is why any form of protest/boycott needs a popular figure leading the way. Someone to unite everybody and make those that aren't prepared to do anything at all realise that the fanbase together is stronger.

[D. Yimentov]

A sustained boycott campaign led by club legends and supplemented by professionally produced youtube videos might, just maybe, get some of the SDFC fans on board.

 

Shearer wouldn’t do it because of his job but the rest of The Entertainers might be up for it. Could maybe get Joey Barton in on as well for the comedy.

 

 

[thomas]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

[Guest neesy111]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

[TBG]

I absolutely refuse to believe that the likes of the daily rags, Jim White, Richard Keys, talkSport, the bloke down the pub with a two headed dog, once again made up shit about a takeover. It feels different this time.

[FloydianMag]

I absolutely refuse to believe that the likes of the daily rags, Jim White, Richard Keys, talkSport, the bloke down the pub with a two headed dog, once again made up shit about a takeover. It feels different this time.

 

Hope you’re right but I won’t hold my breath.

[SweMag]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

I don’t see what’s wrong with people having hope of a takeover. If you think it’s a ”fakeover” keep it for yourself instead of having a go on others. Not very contributing.

[Happinesstan]

It's self-perpetuating now.

[Guest neesy111]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

I don’t see what’s wrong with people having hope of a takeover. If you think it’s a ”fakeover” keep it for yourself instead of having a go on others. Not very contributing.

 

The irony coming from a new poster. :lol

[Nattfare]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

The club?

[SweMag]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

I don’t see what’s wrong with people having hope of a takeover. If you think it’s a ”fakeover” keep it for yourself instead of having a go on others. Not very contributing.

 

The irony coming from a new poster. :lol

 

I’ve been at this forum before your time neesy 

[Wilson]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

Just curious.... What exactly do you think these people are buying when you laugh at them?

 

Is it that they believe there's a takeover attempt? (this is where I'm at but don't for one second believe it'll happen)

 

Is it that they believe it'll actually be sold? (fair enough if so)

 

Is it that they believe the absolute bull shit spouted in the rags and twitter? (again fair enough if so)

 

Is it that you believe it's all an Ashley plan, there's no one interested and if people believe otherwise it's laughable?

 

Genuine question by the way because I see a lot of these type of comments and assume it's because the poster thinks it's a 'fakeover' which (to me) means it's an ashley ploy.  Which (again to me) is laughable.

[LV]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

I don’t see what’s wrong with people having hope of a takeover. If you think it’s a ”fakeover” keep it for yourself instead of having a go on others. Not very contributing.

 

We’ve all got ‘hope’ of a takeover. We just don’t believe it, after ten years of lies. Bit weird aren’t we.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

It doesn’t really matter if it’s made up, a vague interest being overplayed, a genuine interest that Ashley will sabotage by being a cunt. Either way the chances of a takeover are absolutely tiny.

[LV]

I got sucked in last time and believed ‘things were different this time’

 

Turns out it was all bullshit, everything was overplayed, the media stirred it all up for clicks and even people on here made shit up for their own kicks at the expense of their fellow fans.

 

So yeah, I’m a little jaded.

[Paully]

My hope is that the WSJ have reported the interest several times and not The Scum etc. There is no way that this is a fake bid as the Saudis would have denied it by now.

 

If this falls through then there is only one wanker to blame and we all know who that is.

[Ankles Bennett]

If this takeover did have legs it looks as though the Saudis will be turning their attention to Manu again.  The Glazers have indicated they will sell 80% for £1bn and retain 20%.  That looks a better deal than £3bn for 100% ownership.  Especially as it would cost them around £1bn to buy us and to bring us up to Manu level in terms of training facilities etc. 

[loki679]

It's the boredom phase.  We still hold out hope but as each day passes with nothing happening and we slowly begin to realise it was all bullshit again we gently glide into the phase where we all pretend it's nowt to do with us before moving on to openly mocking the 'mugs' who got all excited (us until a few weeks ago) and select one or two unlucky members who will be forever pilloried for specious reasons through no real fault of their own (not you, Odin).

[Kanj]

I have some connections with the Glazers and everything written about them in the press couldn’t be more incorrect. I’d be shocked if they ever sold Man United unless they got a fuck off offer that was legit. Anyway, they openly spend the cash on the Bucs and have spent a ton of money improving the Bucs stadium and the surrounding area. They support the hell out of the community as well.

[Kanj]

My hope is that the WSJ have reported the interest several times and not The Scum etc. There is no way that this is a fake bid as the Saudis would have denied it by now.

 

If this falls through then there is only one wanker to blame and we all know who that is.

 

100% agreed. I also asked someone who knows the Reubens personally and received the same  confirmation that they were involved in the bid. The issue is Mike[/member] Ashley

 

 

[Sean]

My hope is that the WSJ have reported the interest several times and not The Scum etc. There is no way that this is a fake bid as the Saudis would have denied it by now.

 

If this falls through then there is only one wanker to blame and we all know who that is.

 

100% agreed. I also asked someone who knows the Reubens personally and received the same  confirmation that they were involved in the bid. The issue is Mike[/member] Ashley

 

 

 

You'd like to think Staveley isn't so fucking thick that she hasn't learned from the last time that Ashley isn't interested in selling wouldn't you?

 

I mean, she made him 3 serious offers that he indicated he'd accept, then he had a curry with her, went on holiday for a few weeks then called her a time waster. 

 

Now, she's supposedly got some of the richest people on Earth wanting to buy. And yet...they haven't bought us.

 

So I am questioning her motives at this point.

 

Let's remember BZG was bollocks from the start (although plenty were absolutely adamant that was real of course), so it's not as if our fanbase hasn't been fooled before by a fakeover.

 

And Paully, a journalist is only as good as their sources. And when it comes to this club and takeovers, there's never any shortage of sources passing pure shite to journalists.

[Sean]

wait are there still rumors swirling around about a takeover?

 

Yes and people are still buying it. :lol:

 

Just curious.... What exactly do you think these people are buying when you laugh at them?

 

Is it that they believe there's a takeover attempt? (this is where I'm at but don't for one second believe it'll happen)

 

Is it that they believe it'll actually be sold? (fair enough if so)

 

Is it that they believe the absolute bull shit spouted in the rags and twitter? (again fair enough if so)

 

Is it that you believe it's all an Ashley plan, there's no one interested and if people believe otherwise it's laughable?

 

Genuine question by the way because I see a lot of these type of comments and assume it's because the poster thinks it's a 'fakeover' which (to me) means it's an ashley ploy.  Which (again to me) is laughable.

 

Did you believe BZG were involved in a takeover attempt, yes?

 

Well, they weren't.

 

What makes you so sure this time is different?