PIF and RB Sports & Media

[Scotty66]

Looking back at how we were run and the managers we had it's absolutely staggering that we didn't sink to League 1 and stay there. 

[TomYam]

2 hours ago, Wolfcastle said:

Never really known a professional operation here.

Hall and co were great promoters and the job they did speaks for itself but it had a fun feel to it, this feels like Mr Burns fleet of ten high priced lawyers by comparison

 

 

 

We haven't had a leading professional operation here since the Edwardian era!

 

I'd argue the Hall era began in 1988 and led to in-fighting and relegation. Depending on your opinion, he either got had brilliant foresight to sign KK as manager or it was a deperate last roll of this dice that came up double six. We then went on a wonderful journey for a few years before Hall jumped ship when we hit choppy waters. Everything at the club was built on sand and when it was evident we needed roots investment he shut up shop and then sold up to the first person who was prepared to pay the inflated sale price (Ashley).

 

Our owners are trying to make up decades of ground on the most professionally run clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and ManU - especially in marketing.

[BlazeT44]

57 minutes ago, Scotty66 said:

Looking back at how we were run and the managers we had it's absolutely staggering that we didn't sink to League 1 and stay there. 

 

Makes me so thankful for the likes of Chris Houghton and Rafa...!! 

[duo]

Never need an excuse to re-post this. Sums up the takeover so well..

 

 

[Groundhog63]

7 hours ago, TomYam said:

We haven't had a leading professional operation here since the Edwardian era!

 

I'd argue the Hall era began in 1988 and led to in-fighting and relegation. Depending on your opinion, he either got had brilliant foresight to sign KK as manager or it was a deperate last roll of this dice that came up double six. We then went on a wonderful journey for a few years before Hall jumped ship when we hit choppy waters. Everything at the club was built on sand and when it was evident we needed roots investment he shut up shop and then sold up to the first person who was prepared to pay the inflated sale price (Ashley).

 

Our owners are trying to make up decades of ground on the most professionally run clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and ManU - especially in marketing.

This. John Hall's a fraud. Massive tory donating fraud to boot. 

People arse licking him and remembering the glory days are like a bloke pining for his ex-wife because she gave him the best blowy ever whilst forgetting, when she binned him off, the house was repossessed and all the credit cards were maxed out

[Whitley mag]

Hall can be given credit for bringing in Keegan and showing ambition, they undoubtedly lit the blue torch paper, however I think Keegan and Freddie Fletcher were the football and business brains behind the success.

 

Unfortunately Hall seen the £ signs like the crooks before him and milked the club through ghost offices and factories, using clubs money to buy Woolsington then siphoning it off much like Ashley has with the Gallowgate land and making millions out of floating the club, then selling the club to an individual who despite his claims he knew was only interested in promoting his tat empire.

 

The current owners are in a different league to all that have went before on current evidence.

[Wallsendmag]

1 hour ago, Groundhog63 said:

This. John Hall's a fraud. Massive tory donating fraud to boot. 

People arse licking him and remembering the glory days are like a bloke pining for his ex-wife because she gave him the best blowy ever whilst forgetting, when she binned him off, the house was repossessed and all the credit cards were maxed out

 

Usually agree with you on most football related matters but can't on this one mate! I loved SJH and my best times and memories of being a NUFC supporter are from when he owned the club.

 

When he took over we were playing in a crumbling wreck of a ground with no protection from the elements unless you were prepared to pay for a seat. The club was skint, crowds were dwindling and the team were heading into Division 3 and oblivion. 

 

He brought in Keegan. He immediately galvanised the whole club. He rebuilt the stadium into one of the best in Europe at the time and we had an unbelievable team out on the pitch. Amazing times and memories which I wouldn't swap fro anything. We literally went from relegation to Division 3 certainties in 1992 to a 3rd place Premier League finish in 1994! 

[RUHRLYASLEEVESUP]

1 minute ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Usually agree with you on most football related matters but can't on this one mate! I loved SJH and my best times and memories of being a NUFC supporter are from when he owned the club.

 

When he took over we were playing in a crumbling wreck of a ground with no protection from the elements unless you were prepared to pay for a seat. The club was skint, crowds were dwindling and the team were heading into Division 3 and oblivion. 

 

He brought in Keegan. He immediately galvanised the whole club. He rebuilt the stadium into one of the best in Europe at the time and we had an unbelievable team out on the pitch. Amazing times and memories which I wouldn't swap fro anything. We literally went from relegation to Division 3 certainties in 1992 to a 3rd place Premier League finish in 1994! 

100% agree, Sir John did a million times more good for the club than harm.

[Groundhog63]

3 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Usually agree with you on most football related matters but can't on this one mate! I loved SJH and my best times and memories of being a NUFC supporter are from when he owned the club.

 

When he took over we were playing in a crumbling wreck of a ground with no protection from the elements unless you were prepared to pay for a seat. The club was skint, crowds were dwindling and the team were heading into Division 3 and oblivion. 

 

He brought in Keegan. He immediately galvanised the whole club. He rebuilt the stadium into one of the best in Europe at the time and we had an unbelievable team out on the pitch. Amazing times and memories which I wouldn't swap fro anything. We literally went from relegation to Division 3 certainties in 1992 to a 3rd place Premier League finish in 1994! 

I agree with all that magnificent blowy stuff. I orgasmed as well. 

 

However he never put a penny in. Milked it then made a wedge. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheBrownBottle]

It’s worth remembering that we rebuilt the ground and the team through our money.  The Halls and Shepherds put a relatively small amount in and got massive returns - and I’m not just talking dividends.  Cameron Hall benefitted from massive contracts to rebuild SJP - what little was put in likely found it’s way straight back.

Loved the team we had, KK and the era generally.  But the reality is that was down to us having the most expensive tickets in the country, selling tops and other paraphernalia and basically having one of the highest club turnovers in Europe (the earliest I can find with Deloitte has us 4th in European football in 97-98).

[Wallsendmag]

27 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

It’s worth remembering that we rebuilt the ground and the team through our money.  The Halls and Shepherds put a relatively small amount in and got massive returns - and I’m not just talking dividends.  Cameron Hall benefitted from massive contracts to rebuild SJP - what little was put in likely found it’s way straight back.

Loved the team we had, KK and the era generally.  But the reality is that was down to us having the most expensive tickets in the country, selling tops and other paraphernalia and basically having one of the highest club turnovers in Europe (the earliest I can find with Deloitte has us 4th in European football in 97-98).

 

We certainly didn't have the most expensive tickets in the country. That was Chelsea by an absolute mile! My season ticket cost £45 in  1991, was held at the same price in 1992 and jumped up to £178 in the new Leazes End in 1993. Pretty sure we outsold everybother club in England for replica shirt sales for a time though. Hall took a gamble on us and it paid off. To take a club from where he found us to where he left us was nothing short of amazing. Standing there in a crumbling wreck of a ground with 14,000 others was a pretty grim experience before he came in and rescued us. I don't begrudge him a penny of what he walked off with.

 

[TheBrownBottle]

1 hour ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

We certainly didn't have the most expensive tickets in the country. That was Chelsea by an absolute mile! My season ticket cost £45 in  1991, was held at the same price in 1992 and jumped up to £178 in the new Leazes End in 1993. Pretty sure we outsold everybother club in England for replica shirt sales for a time though. Hall took a gamble on us and it paid off. To take a club from where he found us to where he left us was nothing short of amazing. Standing there in a crumbling wreck of a ground with 14,000 others was a pretty grim experience before he came in and rescued us. I don't begrudge him a penny of what he walked off with.

 

The Halls took possibly as much as a nine-figure sum out of the club.

 

And by 1995-96 the club had the highest average season ticket prices in the country, though not necessarily the highest individual tickets.

 

Also worth noting that post-Taylor just about every club in the top couple of divisions has stadiums which look very different to what they did in the early-‘90s.  If it wasn’t Hall, it would have been someone else.  Even the Mackems had a 48,000 all-seater by the end of the decade. 
 

edit: changed ten- to nine-figure.  John Hall is not a billionaire.  In a very real sense (Viz reference)

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by TheBrownBottle

[geordie_b]

6 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

The Halls took possibly as much as a ten-figure sum out of the club.

 

10 figures? Really???

[TheBrownBottle]

3 minutes ago, geordie_b said:

 

10 figures? Really???

Yep - though the below doesn’t account for the money made by Cameron Hall for ground redevelopment. 

 

https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2009/feb/11/newcastle-united-freddy-shepherd-john-hall

[1964]

2 minutes ago, geordie_b said:

 

10 figures? Really???

Yeah, isn't that a £billion, sounds like a Dr Evil ransom demand 

[TheBrownBottle]

1 minute ago, 1964 said:

Yeah, isn't that a £billion, sounds like a Dr Evil ransom demand 

Haha yep, apologies, it’s late and I’m knackered.  Nine-figure sum  

[TheBrownBottle]

Tyneside wasn’t exactly in a depressed state when Ashley bought the Halls and Shepherds out from my recollection.  Most seem pretty happy to see them off.  Ashley of course was a fucking disaster, but that couldn’t be known then 

 

edit: the general point I was making tbh was that the club’s rise and rise was built around the fans - it was the support that provided the money to build KK’s team (and his brilliance as a motivator and love of proper football which fed back into us).  It wasn’t a Jack Walker-style club.

 

This time when we rise back up the money won’t really come from us anymore, of course - though it is the support again which attracted the new owners to the club.  So this time, we’re indirectly driving it - but they wouldn’t be here without the support being as big and as crackers as it is. 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by TheBrownBottle

[Groundhog63]

John Hall's a cunt. The end ?

[Wallsendmag]

31 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

The Halls took possibly as much as a ten-figure sum out of the club.

 

And by 1995-96 the club had the highest average season ticket prices in the country, though not necessarily the highest individual tickets.

 

Also worth noting that post-Taylor just about every club in the top couple of divisions has stadiums which look very different to what they did in the early-‘90s.  If it wasn’t Hall, it would have been someone else.  Even the Mackems had a 48,000 all-seater by the end of the decade. 

 

There's an awful lot of presumptions, possiblys, and may haves in that statement.

 

And we certainly didn't have the highest season ticket prices in the country at that point. I had a season ticket throughout that time and can't remember amy sharp increases. In fact even when Mike Ashley took over in 2007 ST prices in the Leazes/Gallowgate were onky around the £400 mark. Checkout what Ken Bates was charging Chelsea fans in the mid 90s!

[TheBrownBottle]

9 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

There's an awful lot of presumptions, possiblys, and may haves in that statement.

 

And we certainly didn't have the highest season ticket prices in the country at that point. I had a season ticket throughout that time and can't remember amy sharp increases. In fact even when Mike Ashley took over in 2007 ST prices in the Leazes/Gallowgate were onky around the £400 mark. Checkout what Ken Bates was charging Chelsea fans in the mid 90s!

Likewise, and season ticket prices shot up from the early to mid-90s.  In fact average ticket prices went up more than threefold on average between 1991 and 1997.  They plateaued after that.  No matter how good we are at that point, I reckon plenty would be unhappy if their season ticket was three times more expensive by 2028. 

 

Then you had nearly 10,000 paying £500 for the bond scheme.  And Platinum club tickets for £3k (how much are they these days?).  NUFC tops were £40 a pop in the mid-90s - and I’d be willing to bet we sold more then than in recent times.  That’s the equivalent of £85 today.

 

The club was funded by the supporters, not the Halls or the Shepherds.  That was our money going in which bought KK’s side. 

[Wallsendmag]

4 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Likewise, and season ticket prices shot up from the early to mid-90s.  In fact average ticket prices went up more than threefold on average between 1991 and 1997.  They plateaued after that.  No matter how good we are at that point, I reckon plenty would be unhappy if their season ticket was three times more expensive by 2028. 

 

Then you had nearly 10,000 paying £500 for the bond scheme.  And Platinum club tickets for £3k (how much are they these days?).  NUFC tops were £40 a pop in the mid-90s - and I’d be willing to bet we sold more then than in recent times.  That’s the equivalent of £85 today.

 

The club was funded by the supporters, not the Halls or the Shepherds.  That was our money going in which bought KK’s side. 

 

Ticket prices shot up all over the country though in the mid 90s when the Premier League really grew in popularity. We were no different to any of the other big clubs at the time. We certainly weren't exorbitant like some are suggesting. The Platinum Club I didn't agree with but the bond scheme was 100% optional and lets not forget was a Freddy Fletcher idea that he'd previously done whilst a director at Rangers.

 

Mike Ashley put around 20k season tickets up in price by over £120 from one season to the next (17/18 to 18/19) and few batted an eyelid, and that was to watch a pointless club that wasn't even trying.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Wallsendmag

[The Prophet]

 

[Groundhog63]

3 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

The Halls took possibly as much as a nine-figure sum out of the club.

 

And by 1995-96 the club had the highest average season ticket prices in the country, though not necessarily the highest individual tickets.

 

Also worth noting that post-Taylor just about every club in the top couple of divisions has stadiums which look very different to what they did in the early-‘90s.  If it wasn’t Hall, it would have been someone else.  Even the Mackems had a 48,000 all-seater by the end of the decade. 
 

edit: changed ten- to nine-figure.  John Hall is not a billionaire.  In a very real sense (Viz reference)

 

 

 

I refer you to my previous comment, viza vi, he's a cunt ?

[Cattletrucked]

49 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said:

I refer you to my previous comment, viza vi, he's a cunt ?

He maybe is a cunt, but he’s the cunt who probably saved us from oblivion at the time and contributed to us all seeing probably the best football we’ve seen in our lives. Aye he fucked up in the end, but if it wasn’t for him initially we could’ve been playing Hartlepool now. 

[TRon]

Hard for me to associate Hall with anything other than good times tbh. He gave us the best time of our lives, yes he made money out of it, and that was probably his main motivating factor, but we spent big then. It was our money, but at least he made sure we invested it in the team and aimed for the top. I think that's about all you could ask for back then.