The Present State Of Play

[Tsunami]

?? This is a poll & my observations on the poll as it stands. I can hardly place my observations on the poll within another thread.

 

Your post was very helpful - how did you vote by the way?

[Guest Stubbs]

Who are these players we have missed? Certainly not Ben-Haim or Sidwell and if the wages for Edmilson were considered too high by the new board then thats fine by me. Who else-who else has been transferred recently that might have signed for us and is a defender.

 

We were in for Distin. It was just never publicised.

[Guest Verlaine]

?? This is a poll & my observations on the poll as it stands. I can hardly place my observations on the poll within another thread.

 

Your post was very helpful - how did you vote by the way?

 

I don't vote in the real world, why would I want to vote on internet message board polls started by people I have little or no time for?

[Tsunami]

You know nothing about me & I'm cool with that. You need to grow up son.

[Guest Verlaine]

You know nothing about me & I'm cool with that. You need to grow up son.

 

It was nothing personal. Nothing I ever say is. I was referring to your message board opinions.

[Guest optimistic nit]

Tsnami you're way too reactionary. OMG we've still not spent big money, ashley hasn't given us the details of his plans...

 

what do you want him to say? his ambitions, he said PL in 3 years (not achieveable, but he's said it nevertheless). How much money is available? he's already said money is available. What he's doing at the moment? he's already said he's conducting an internal review, which may have lead to the fraud squad being called in. What is there to update in a month? If he gives you an update will be seeing the same thread next month, and for every month after that?

[Tsunami]

Tsnami you're way too reactionary. OMG we've still not spent big money, ashley hasn't given us the details of his plans...

 

what do you want him to say? his ambitions, he said PL in 3 years (not achieveable, but he's said it nevertheless). How much money is available? he's already said money is available. What he's doing at the moment? he's already said he's conducting an internal review, which may have lead to the fraud squad being called in. What is there to update in a month? If he gives you an update will be seeing the same thread next month, and for every month after that?

 

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm trying to get across. I don't want world shattering signings, I don't expect to win the league - I don't expect us to win anything. I don't want MA to come out and say what money is available & I don't want us to pay over inflated prices for players that don't improve the current squad.

 

I would like to know a bit more about the plans the new owner has for the club I love. More so now, given that the new manager seems a little agitated about his efforts to strenghten the team. Time ticks on, the season start does draw closer. Stephen Carr played RB last night & Baba is our 1st choice LB.

[Tsunami]

You know nothing about me & I'm cool with that. You need to grow up son.

 

It was nothing personal. Nothing I ever say is. I was referring to your message board opinions.

 

If that is an apology; I accept it. Your post referred to me as opposed to the opinions expressed.

[Guest optimistic nit]

Tsnami you're way too reactionary. OMG we've still not spent big money, ashley hasn't given us the details of his plans...

 

what do you want him to say? his ambitions, he said PL in 3 years (not achieveable, but he's said it nevertheless). How much money is available? he's already said money is available. What he's doing at the moment? he's already said he's conducting an internal review, which may have lead to the fraud squad being called in. What is there to update in a month? If he gives you an update will be seeing the same thread next month, and for every month after that?

 

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm trying to get across. I don't want world shattering signings, I don't expect to win the league - I don't expect us to win anything. I don't want MA to come out and say what money is available & I don't want us to pay over inflated prices for players that don't improve the current squad.

 

I would like to know a bit more about the plans the new owner has for the club I love. More so now, given that the new manager seems a little agitated about his efforts to strenghten the team. Time ticks on, the season start does draw closer. Stephen Carr played RB last night & Baba is our 1st choice LB.

 

what hasn't he said that needs to be said? what over inflated transfer fees have we paid?

 

would you preffer it if he came out and said "i've told sam i will pay up to 8 million for cannavaro, he thinks he can get him for 4.5 though" "whats that, real are saying they won't accept a penny less than 8million for cannavaro, how odd". give me one other chairman who has said how much money is available. Villa chairman? i don't think so. Spurs? nope. West ham? more than other clubs can afford, but no specific figure.

[Tsunami]

Tsnami you're way too reactionary. OMG we've still not spent big money, ashley hasn't given us the details of his plans...

 

what do you want him to say? his ambitions, he said PL in 3 years (not achieveable, but he's said it nevertheless). How much money is available? he's already said money is available. What he's doing at the moment? he's already said he's conducting an internal review, which may have lead to the fraud squad being called in. What is there to update in a month? If he gives you an update will be seeing the same thread next month, and for every month after that?

 

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm trying to get across. I don't want world shattering signings, I don't expect to win the league - I don't expect us to win anything. I don't want MA to come out and say what money is available & I don't want us to pay over inflated prices for players that don't improve the current squad.

 

I would like to know a bit more about the plans the new owner has for the club I love. More so now, given that the new manager seems a little agitated about his efforts to strenghten the team. Time ticks on, the season start does draw closer. Stephen Carr played RB last night & Baba is our 1st choice LB.

 

what hasn't he said that needs to be said? what over inflated transfer fees have we paid?

 

would you preffer it if he came out and said "i've told sam i will pay up to 8 million for cannavaro, he thinks he can get him for 4.5 though" "whats that, real are saying they won't accept a penny less than 8million for cannavaro, how odd". give me one other chairman who has said how much money is available. Villa chairman? i don't think so. Spurs? nope. West ham? more than other clubs can afford, but no specific figure.

 

You are not even reading what I post!

[Guest optimistic nit]

hmmmmmm. i read that as "i want MA to come out with what money is available".

 

Still my first point stands, what do you wan't to know, that he hasn't already told us?

[Unbelievable]

Well for one, your assumption that he's said PL in 3 years is simply not true as far as I know. He's never said anything regarding his amibtions and intentions if I remember correctly. It's all rumours and hearsay in the press. It's that we want to know rather than assume. If you think you already do because Oliver said that's what his sources inside the club tell him good for you. I and a few others would like to know from the horses mouth what he wants to do with this club. Questions like:

- What are his aims?

- Is he here for the long haul?

- What are his plans with SJP?

- What kind of owner/chairman does he envision being?

- Will he attend the games?

- Does he think a Director of Football is the way forward in football?

- Will he invest in talent or does he want finished articles?

- Does he want to invest in our youth academy and what will he expect to get out of it?

- Does he want to be in the expanded G14?

- What are his plans with regards to future tv coverage of toon matches?

- Does he want a primarily English/British squad or does he not really care?

- Is it important for him that Geordies remain in key positions in the club?

- Will Shearer keep his ambassador of the club role?

- Is Shearer regarded as a possible manager for the future?

- Does he value the importance of an elaborated scouting network?

- ...

 

Millions of questions really, and I think it would be reasonable now he owns the club to tell the fans of his intentions rather than keeping us in the dark, although it seems the majority is fine with assuming rather than knowing because of having been told. Somebody who never states his intentions can hardly be judged by how well or badly he did in realising them, isn't it? That's one of the reasons why I think as fans we should put a little more pressure on the new owners: as "loyal customers" we have a right to know what will happen to "our" club..

[Tsunami]

hmmmmmm. i read that as "i want MA to come out with what money is available".

 

Still my first point stands, what do you wan't to know, that he hasn't already told us?

 

No idea why you would read it that way when it says the opposite. I try not to talk in riddles.

 

I would like a bit of an update. What that consists of I'd leave to Mike. The point is he hasn't said a thing since that first statement & things appear to have lost momentum in relation to getting players in.

 

Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes.

 

We are his customers, without us the product fails as the more lucrative streams of income will in turn fall away.

 

A bit dramatic maybe but he needs to give something.

 

 

[Guest optimistic nit]

what he wants to do with this club. - what are you expecting here. He's obviously going to say that he wants to put the toon back on the map regarding european footie etc... make us a big club again. He'd say that even if he wanted to sell SJP to an estate agency and have us play our home games at kingston park.

 

What are his aims? - What do you wan't here exactly? a 10 point step by step plan of short and long term goals? could possably be something he could comment on though. certainly would be more interesting than any answer he gave to question 1.

 

Is he here for the long haul? - is there any other answer than yes that he could give to this question? even if he wasn't in for the long hall (what would be the point of sorting all the backroom mess which will be very time consuming and costly if he was going to leave in a year) saying that he's only here for the short term would anger the fans, who he wants on his side, so he would say yes, imo, even if he meant no.

 

What are his plans with SJP? -would be worth knowing.

 

What kind of owner/chairman does he envision being?- what kind of question is that? "I plan to be a cross between abramovic and Levy, with a little glazier in the mix to spice things up a bit".

 

Will he attend the games? - don't really care. i doubt any chairman in history has mentioned after buying the club that he will be attending games, unless it was either a shite PR move, or he was expressly asked.

 

Does he think a Director of Football is the way forward in football? - hmmmmmmm. could be worth knowing, again not something he would say unless asked imo.

 

Will he invest in talent or does he want finished articles? - i assume you mean future talent, and i think that will be sam's call.

 

Does he want to invest in our youth academy and what will he expect to get out of it? - I would like to know this answer.

 

Does he want to be in the expanded G14? - Could be interesting.

 

What are his plans with regards to future tv coverage of toon matches... - Not his call.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of these questions, the youth academy one and maybe the Dof are the only ones i wouldn't mind knowing now, but really i wouldn't expect him to come out and say these things right away.

[Tsunami]

what he wants to do with this club. - what are you expecting here. He's obviously going to say that he wants to put the toon back on the map regarding european footie etc... make us a big club again. He'd say that even if he wanted to sell SJP to an estate agency and have us play our home games at kingston park.

 

What are his aims? - What do you wan't here exactly? a 10 point step by step plan of short and long term goals? could possably be something he could comment on though. certainly would be more interesting than any answer he gave to question 1.

 

Is he here for the long haul? - is there any other answer than yes that he could give to this question? even if he wasn't in for the long hall (what would be the point of sorting all the backroom mess which will be very time consuming and costly if he was going to leave in a year) saying that he's only here for the short term would anger the fans, who he wants on his side, so he would say yes, imo, even if he meant no.

 

What are his plans with SJP? -would be worth knowing.

 

What kind of owner/chairman does he envision being?- what kind of question is that? "I plan to be a cross between abramovic and Levy, with a little glazier in the mix to spice things up a bit".

 

Will he attend the games? - don't really care. i doubt any chairman in history has mentioned after buying the club that he will be attending games, unless it was either a s**** PR move, or he was expressly asked.

 

Does he think a Director of Football is the way forward in football? - hmmmmmmm. could be worth knowing, again not something he would say unless asked imo.

 

Will he invest in talent or does he want finished articles? - i assume you mean future talent, and i think that will be sam's call.

 

Does he want to invest in our youth academy and what will he expect to get out of it? - I would like to know this answer.

 

Does he want to be in the expanded G14? - Could be interesting.

 

What are his plans with regards to future tv coverage of toon matches... - Not his call.

 

Are you saying that you would also like a bit more info? That's good progress.

 

I'd be happy enough with a statement saying where he was with the internal review (no detail needed) & that he has actually spoken with Sam about the future and that a strategy for getting the required players is in place.

 

 

 

 

Of these questions, the youth academy one and maybe the Dof are the only ones i wouldn't mind knowing now, but really i wouldn't expect him to come out and say these things right away.

[Guest optimistic nit]

hmmmmmm. i read that as "i want MA to come out with what money is available".

 

Still my first point stands, what do you wan't to know, that he hasn't already told us?

 

No idea why you would read it that way when it says the opposite. I try not to talk in riddles.

 

I would like a bit of an update. What that consists of I'd leave to Mike. The point is he hasn't said a thing since that first statement & things appear to have lost momentum in relation to getting players in.

 

Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes.

 

We are his customers, without us the product fails as the more lucrative streams of income will in turn fall away.

 

A bit dramatic maybe but he needs to give something.

 

 

 

 

mis reading- was very simple, i was reading your post, didn't see the "don't" and thought you wanted to know how much money was available.

 

 

"Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes. "

 

you make it sound like it hasn't been like this for the last 3 years. When did shepheard ever answer any of the above questions, excluding the first one, which was the predictable "champions league football" then "challenge the top 4" then "5th place" and it continued in similar vein. Maybe i'm just used to it, or maybe i don't care what he says as the last owners words meant fuck all. Or maybe i don't find these things too important. unbelievable highlighted a few good questions, and a few pointless ones, but i don't really have any desire to know the answers to any of these at the present time, excluding the two mentioned in the post above, and if he doesn't want to answer these now i won't lose any sleep over it.

[Tsunami]

hmmmmmm. i read that as "i want MA to come out with what money is available".

 

Still my first point stands, what do you wan't to know, that he hasn't already told us?

 

No idea why you would read it that way when it says the opposite. I try not to talk in riddles.

 

I would like a bit of an update. What that consists of I'd leave to Mike. The point is he hasn't said a thing since that first statement & things appear to have lost momentum in relation to getting players in.

 

Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes.

 

We are his customers, without us the product fails as the more lucrative streams of income will in turn fall away.

 

A bit dramatic maybe but he needs to give something.

 

 

 

 

mis reading- was very simple, i was reading your post, didn't see the "don't" and thought you wanted to know how much money was available.

 

 

"Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes. "

 

you make it sound like it hasn't been like this for the last 3 years. When did shepheard ever answer any of the above questions, excluding the first one, which was the predictable "champions league football" then "challenge the top 4" then "5th place" and it continued in similar vein. Maybe i'm just used to it, or maybe i don't care what he says as the last owners words meant f*** all. Or maybe i don't find these things too important. unbelievable highlighted a few good questions, and a few pointless ones, but i don't really have any desire to know the answers to any of these at the present time, excluding the two mentioned in the post above, and if he doesn't want to answer these now i won't lose any sleep over it.

 

Shepherd didn't own the club; it was plc. FF put money where his mouth was & did try to talk up the club. There is no doubt he cared. There is also no doubt that he could be incredibly stupid and incompetent.

 

MA does own the club, we have no right as share holders to get any questions answered. This places, IMO, a responsibility on him to give us some information.

 

In the unlikely case that MA gets news of the views on here he'll be delighted that supporters really don't care if he tells them anything or not; and you can guarantee that he'd choose not too.

[Unbelievable]

what he wants to do with this club. - what are you expecting here. He's obviously going to say that he wants to put the toon back on the map regarding european footie etc... make us a big club again. He'd say that even if he wanted to sell SJP to an estate agency and have us play our home games at kingston park.

 

Which is interesting with regards to my last point: somebody who doesn't commit to something cannot be held responsible. What if he did sell SJP and let us slump to the Championship but somehow managed to walk away with a profit (theoretically speaking of course)? We couldn't even object to that as he never led us to believe he would do as you say, i.e. the european football, big club assumptions (which is all they are). Is it unreasonable to ask for a plan? It seems to me like you're being way to trusting just as I'm maybe a little too sceptical. Personally I am aware of this but the reason I keep banging on about this is because I think everybody is way to relaxed about assumming what the plan will be..

 

What are his aims? - What do you wan't here exactly? a 10 point step by step plan of short and long term goals? could possably be something he could comment on though. certainly would be more interesting than any answer he gave to question 1.

 

See my comment on question 1. Some operational, tactical and strategic objectives would be good, i.e. a short and long term plan.

 

Is he here for the long haul? - is there any other answer than yes that he could give to this question? even if he wasn't in for the long hall (what would be the point of sorting all the backroom mess which will be very time consuming and costly if he was going to leave in a year) saying that he's only here for the short term would anger the fans, who he wants on his side, so he would say yes, imo, even if he meant no.

 

I will believe it when I see it. We cost 130M, which is a bit of a snip if you look at other club's prices and the price development. It could just as well be a case of buying low, selling high. The man is a business man after all. A commitment for the long haul (spoken out, not assumed) would be nice as this seems to be what everybody wants, but may not be what the man has in mind at all. I dare him to lie about this sort of thing though. I think we've seen examples before of situations where fans made owners/chairman's life miserable because they didn't live up to their own stated ambitions. Without stated ambitions, it's hard to claim somebody didn't do what they promised..

 

What are his plans with SJP? -would be worth knowing.

 

Good

 

What kind of owner/chairman does he envision being?- what kind of question is that? "I plan to be a cross between abramovic and Levy, with a little glazier in the mix to spice things up a bit".

 

Or he could say he is the kind of chairman that sets a budget and leaves it to his people to do the wheeling and dealing without his involvement. Alternatively he could say he intends to be in SJP at least 1 day a week to keep an eye on how the operation is going. He could say all sorts of things about his intended involvement in commercial and football matters. I think this is something very interesting/important to the fans..

 

Will he attend the games? - don't really care. i doubt any chairman in history has mentioned after buying the club that he will be attending games, unless it was either a s**** PR move, or he was expressly asked.

 

That's your opinion. A chairman/owner who does not attend games will not have a feel about what's going on at the club at any given time, i.e. are fans booing the manager or certain players? What's the atmosphere like and does something need to be done about it, etc.

 

Does he think a Director of Football is the way forward in football? - hmmmmmmm. could be worth knowing, again not something he would say unless asked imo.

 

So why not ask!!! This may be as crucial to our future as appointing the right manager or splashing the cash on the right proven goalscorer..

 

Will he invest in talent or does he want finished articles? - i assume you mean future talent, and i think that will be sam's call.

 

It is HIS club though. Any manager is only there temporarily. It is ultimately up to him what kind of club he wants us to be. If that means investing in young talent (like under Robson or what Spurs are currently doing) it means that's what Sam (and the possible DoF) will need to focus on. More to the point, if we get a chance to buy a promising 16 year old Portuguese player for 1M who may be the next C. Ronaldo, but eqally could be the next M. Nobody, will he be willing to risk the investment or will he look on and go for the finished article at a higher cost but with less risk involved?

 

Does he want to invest in our youth academy and what will he expect to get out of it? - I would like to know this answer.

 

Good

 

Does he want to be in the expanded G14? - Could be interesting.

 

Good

 

What are his plans with regards to future tv coverage of toon matches... - Not his call.

 

I think it is, or at least it will be when the current contracts expire. Does he want his own NUFC channel for example, the way Chelsea and Man U have amongst others..? Will he try and find a way to broadcast our away matches online for a small charge? All things that directly concern the fans..

 

Of these questions, the youth academy one and maybe the Dof are the only ones i wouldn't mind knowing now, but really i wouldn't expect him to come out and say these things right away.

 

As I said, it's only a small list of things I came up with while typing. I'm sure there's dozens more. I think it would be good if he took some time out of his busy schedule and gave a openhearted interview or maybe even in talkin session in which he outlined plans and answered people's questions..

[Coxaux]

Tsnami you're way too reactionary. OMG we've still not spent big money, ashley hasn't given us the details of his plans...

 

what do you want him to say? his ambitions, he said PL in 3 years (not achieveable, but he's said it nevertheless). How much money is available? he's already said money is available. What he's doing at the moment? he's already said he's conducting an internal review, which may have lead to the fraud squad being called in. What is there to update in a month? If he gives you an update will be seeing the same thread next month, and for every month after that?

 

I think people are misunderstanding what I'm trying to get across. I don't want world shattering signings, I don't expect to win the league - I don't expect us to win anything. I don't want MA to come out and say what money is available & I don't want us to pay over inflated prices for players that don't improve the current squad.

 

I would like to know a bit more about the plans the new owner has for the club I love. More so now, given that the new manager seems a little agitated about his efforts to strenghten the team. Time ticks on, the season start does draw closer. Stephen Carr played RB last night & Baba is our 1st choice LB.

 

Christ on a bike, people really need to calm down over the whole takeover issue. Tsunami the premiership has endured takeover after takeover in recent years and I'm not entirely sure even one of the owners involved has come out to clarify the plans he has put into place yet. Why? Probably because it makes no sense. We know Ashley is the quiet type who turns his businesses into money making machines and that's what I fully expect from him. At the end of the day any fool knows that the only way to be financially successful in football is to be successful on the pitch and in turn the only way to do that is to have quality playing staff. Do you really think the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and any other Tom, Dick and Harry would have been taken over for such massive prices if their owners didn't intend to gain profit in the long run. Surely the price payed for the club alone shows Ashley's ambition?

 

There's still over a month of the transfer window remaining and I'm positive the management team isn't going to be sat with their thumb up their arses because it is blatantly obvious we need to strengthening at the back and Sam has stated this time after time. So why with every passing day do we seem to get more disgruntled posters? At the end of the day we have no idea what is going on behind the scenes we are simply speculating. I have faith in our management team and our owner, we just need to be patient.

[Unbelievable]

It's funny how people don't seem to realise that the effects of this takeover will endure well beyond this transfer window. Well, actually it's not.. We are not saying we don't trust the new owner/chairman to make money available to strengthen our defense, as that is the very least he should do. There are many other questions that require answers though (see above for some examples) and I can't believe people keep discarding them by pointing at what's happened so far in the transfer window, and what they assume will happen in the remainder of it..

 

Also, I'd like to know from people who say we should await the end of the internal review (which I can understand) if they expect clarification on (a number of) these issues once the review is completed?

[UV]

 

"Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes. "

 

you make it sound like it hasn't been like this for the last 3 years. When did shepheard ever answer any of the above questions, excluding the first one, which was the predictable "champions league football" then "challenge the top 4" then "5th place" and it continued in similar vein. Maybe i'm just used to it, or maybe i don't care what he says as the last owners words meant f*** all. Or maybe i don't find these things too important. unbelievable highlighted a few good questions, and a few pointless ones, but i don't really have any desire to know the answers to any of these at the present time, excluding the two mentioned in the post above, and if he doesn't want to answer these now i won't lose any sleep over it.

 

You might be able to hold in your curiosity, and tbh I'm the same, but you must concede that the vast majority of fans are not like this. He or his appointed people have hardly said a word since we first heard of him, and as others have said, people have filled the void with rumours consisting of their own positive hopes and ideas for the club. He's currently in a honeymoon period with most supporters who believe the previous board was terrible and have fallen for the grass is always greener delusion. This won't last, and eventually the void will be filled with stories and hearsay assuming worst case scenarios rather than best case ones.

IMO it doesn't bode well for supporter relations in the future.

 

[Guest optimistic nit]

 

"Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes. "

 

you make it sound like it hasn't been like this for the last 3 years. When did shepheard ever answer any of the above questions, excluding the first one, which was the predictable "champions league football" then "challenge the top 4" then "5th place" and it continued in similar vein. Maybe i'm just used to it, or maybe i don't care what he says as the last owners words meant f*** all. Or maybe i don't find these things too important. unbelievable highlighted a few good questions, and a few pointless ones, but i don't really have any desire to know the answers to any of these at the present time, excluding the two mentioned in the post above, and if he doesn't want to answer these now i won't lose any sleep over it.

 

You might be able to hold in your curiosity, and tbh I'm the same, but you must concede that the vast majority of fans are not like this. He or his appointed people have hardly said a word since we first heard of him, and as others have said, people have filled the void with rumours consisting of their own positive hopes and ideas for the club. He's currently in a honeymoon period with most supporters who believe the previous board was terrible and have fallen for the grass is always greener delusion. This won't last, and eventually the void will be filled with stories and hearsay assuming worst case scenarios rather than best case ones.

IMO it doesn't bode well for supporter relations in the future.

 

 

we've been told enough for the time being. whose to say ashley even has answers yet. these statagies take time to decide. Lets stop panicing i think, people only want new answers because its a new board. shepheard didn't ever give his opinions on an international scouting network.

[Unbelievable]

 

"Are you happy to be left in the dark and for things to continue you that way? At some point you will end up with an owner that has alienated himself from the fans & who has the power to sh*t on us as he wishes. "

 

you make it sound like it hasn't been like this for the last 3 years. When did shepheard ever answer any of the above questions, excluding the first one, which was the predictable "champions league football" then "challenge the top 4" then "5th place" and it continued in similar vein. Maybe i'm just used to it, or maybe i don't care what he says as the last owners words meant f*** all. Or maybe i don't find these things too important. unbelievable highlighted a few good questions, and a few pointless ones, but i don't really have any desire to know the answers to any of these at the present time, excluding the two mentioned in the post above, and if he doesn't want to answer these now i won't lose any sleep over it.

 

You might be able to hold in your curiosity, and tbh I'm the same, but you must concede that the vast majority of fans are not like this. He or his appointed people have hardly said a word since we first heard of him, and as others have said, people have filled the void with rumours consisting of their own positive hopes and ideas for the club. He's currently in a honeymoon period with most supporters who believe the previous board was terrible and have fallen for the grass is always greener delusion. This won't last, and eventually the void will be filled with stories and hearsay assuming worst case scenarios rather than best case ones.

IMO it doesn't bode well for supporter relations in the future.

 

 

we've been told enough for the time being. whose to say ashley even has answers yet. these statagies take time to decide. Lets stop panicing i think, people only want new answers because its a new board. shepheard didn't ever give his opinions on an international scouting network.

 

We've been told f all. The  only person from the owner's group of people who's opened his mouth is Mr Mort, and than he essentially said nothing noteworthy..

 

You seriously believe Ashley and his men would have no answers to these questions!? As a very succesful business man (as everybody is all to keen to point out, as if that somehow guarantees he will be a good chairman for NUFC - for all we know is only interest may be in a supercasino or something) you think he would spend 130M on a football club without having a plan/strategy? It's pretty obvious to me the reason why people want answers is because there is a new owner..  We all knew what things were like with Shepher and Hall. It wasn't always good, but it was at least predictable. With the new owners and no questions being asked and answered, we know next to nothing, yet everybody happily assumes everything will be better than before as a given.. As for Shepherd's opinion on scouting networks, he probably didn't even know what they are, but that is not interesting anymore as it's in the past. What's interesting and important is what the new owners think about these issues..

[Guest optimistic nit]

your putting words into my mouth now.

 

i don't assume everything will be as it was, but i feel Ashley is under no obligation to speak out at the current time, so complaining about it serves little purpose.

[Coxaux]

It's funny how people don't seem to realise that the effects of this takeover will endure well beyond this transfer window. Well, actually it's not.. We are not saying we don't trust the new owner/chairman to make money available to strengthen our defense, as that is the very least he should do. There are many other questions that require answers though (see above for some examples) and I can't believe people keep discarding them by pointing at what's happened so far in the transfer window, and what they assume will happen in the remainder of it..

 

Also, I'd like to know from people who say we should await the end of the internal review (which I can understand) if they expect clarification on (a number of) these issues once the review is completed?

 

Yes they do, some of us just reply to posts regarding the transfer window due to other poster bleating on about it. I've looked over your questions and really you summed it up at the beginning of your post, your far too skeptical. At the end of the day the new board will carry out their actions whether we like it or not, why worry about it?

 

Which is interesting with regards to my last point: somebody who doesn't commit to something cannot be held responsible. What if he did sell SJP and let us slump to the Championship but somehow managed to walk away with a profit (theoretically speaking of course)? We couldn't even object to that as he never led us to believe he would do as you say, i.e. the european football, big club assumptions (which is all they are). Is it unreasonable to ask for a plan? It seems to me like you're being way to trusting just as I'm maybe a little too sceptical. Personally I am aware of this but the reason I keep banging on about this is because I think everybody is way to relaxed about assumming what the plan will be..

 

Your concerns seem pretty unfounded. Why would a businessman buy a company to let it slump and rot, it makes no sense. I'm not an expert in this particular field but at the end of the day a businessman the be all and end all of a businessman actions are to make money. How the hell will he make money if he is planning to abandon us after paying a pretty big price to purchase us in the first place. A plan would probably be sensible but like Nyt pointed out any kind of plan presented to the plans is only going to read what they want us to read. Even if we desperately wanted to know the truth it would be naive to think it would be published in a neat little statement, so what exactly would it achieve?

 

will believe it when I see it. We cost 130M, which is a bit of a snip if you look at other club's prices and the price development. It could just as well be a case of buying low, selling high. The man is a business man after all. A commitment for the long haul (spoken out, not assumed) would be nice as this seems to be what everybody wants, but may not be what the man has in mind at all. I dare him to lie about this sort of thing though. I think we've seen examples before of situations where fans made owners/chairman's life miserable because they didn't live up to their own stated ambitions. Without stated ambitions, it's hard to claim somebody didn't do what they promised..

 

I think it's safe to assume whether your a billionaire or a pauper a 130 million pound isn't a snip, but just to clarify you seem to think this bloke is going to pay a massive fee for us, then run away and leave us in the gutter? There's skeptical and then there's damn right cynical...

 

Or he could say he is the kind of chairman that sets a budget and leaves it to his people to do the wheeling and dealing without his involvement. Alternatively he could say he intends to be in SJP at least 1 day a week to keep an eye on how the operation is going. He could say all sorts of things about his intended involvement in commercial and football matters. I think this is something very interesting/important to the fans..

 

Even if he left his people to do the wheeling and dealing I don't think most fans would care less if it brought us success on and off the field. Football became a business a long time ago, efficiency is everything.

 

It is HIS club though. Any manager is only there temporarily. It is ultimately up to him what kind of club he wants us to be. If that means investing in young talent (like under Robson or what Spurs are currently doing) it means that's what Sam (and the possible DoF) will need to focus on. More to the point, if we get a chance to buy a promising 16 year old Portuguese player for 1M who may be the next C. Ronaldo, but eqally could be the next M. Nobody, will he be willing to risk the investment or will he look on and go for the finished article at a higher cost but with less risk involved

 

Not being totally up to scratch on his football I would no doubt think he will leave it up to his manager. Why the hell would we be chasing the next Mr. Nobody and if we were it would surely be down to the management.