Good to see no chance of reproductive organ mutilation today Albert Also smart move wearing a mackem shirt so no one bat's an eye.
I will answer this, in the mindset of a billionaire owner who despises the worthless property he has just bought. This property being Newcastle United. In this scenario, I am not a Newcastle supporter, in the real world, I would NEVER buy the club I support even if worth £30 billion. I am simply a no name billionaire, who has lost all interest in the property, and couldn't care less about the fans. You can copy and paste this, simply replacing Newcastle United, with any club relegated over the last 15 years with a completely disinterested rich owner. Regarding each section of the club: The Board: I would retain the board, and current set up, with reduced wages. If they walk, I would simply replace them with championship level management. I would NOT invest in a higher grade of board members. I would retain the current set up, because changing it would require time, and time is not something I plan on investing. The club can make do, **** the fans, they hate me anyway. I would not hire football people if they wanted high wages, if pushed for people, I would re-shuffle unpopular people from my real business and place them at Newcastle. Two birds one stone. The Manager: Rafa Benitez's wage is simply far, far too high for where we are. Screw that. We will force him to take his relegation clause by making his time at the club post relegation, absolute hell. Once he has walked, we will find a manager who has managed a club, and done well, in far worse conditions. The likes of Ian Holloway, Nigel Pearson & Bruce, Mick McCarthy would also be an excellent choice. Pearson would be my first choice, he would be handed a long contract, doesn't matter if promotion is secured or not. If not, we will simply try again & again. If we degrade, and go down the ladder in the league, we will keep Pearson. It doesn't matter. As above, the ownership policy is: "**** the fans, they took the piss." The Players: The most brutal of the changes, would be the complete shooting point blank range of the useless ****es we call players. Wait, sorry, this is not a supporter owner. The first issue would be to look at wages, and anyone who is on too high, will be sold instantly. And offers for players worth more than £10 mill, will instantly be accepted. The players will be evaluated, ones who can hack it in the championship, can remain. Pearson can evaluate the squad himself, and pick some key areas which require investment. Investment: Relegation would mark the end of anything more than bare minimum investment in the football club. £80 million was spent, £80 million was wasted. To quote real life owner Mike Ashley: "You have a bank account, don't come crying to me when you run out." That would be the policy of the football club. In the first year, the goal would be to slump to promotion, so, Newcastle would STILL be the highest spenders in the championship, building a squad Pearson thinks can win. If promotion is failed, the spending will be bare minimum to retain play-off positions. Planning for the future: The planning for the future would be, to say the least, incredibly bleak. My main goal as the owner, is to sell the club as soon as possible, assuring that I regain the money I loaned the worthless heap of property I was duped in purchasing. If that was the fail, I would simply keep the club hanging, sucking up all money I can until the loan is re-payed naturally. Then the club would be sold for a far reduced price, to whoever the first buyer is. If administration is threatened, I would rather invest some cash than deal with the press. **** the press & once more, **** the fans. Only if Newcastle can regain promotion in the first year, will they ever have another sniff of slight success.
As the question was who do I want to come in, I would agree Hughton coming back in would get me smiling, but if we are actually asking who do we think we'll get should Rafa exit stage left as we fall through the trap door, I wonder if McCarthy would be in the frame. Looks like he's taken Ipswich as far as they can go, given they are bouncing around the playoffs but never really pulling anything consistent together, and I doubt he is going to get any more cash there, so he might be looking for a new position. May not be our first choice but I'd bet he'd kick some life into the players.
I don't think Pearson would tow the party line. He appears to have a back bone and some principles so that pretty much rules him out. Rafa is a desperate last roll of the dice. If we go down and he leaves then the next 'manager' will be another desperate puppet that is thankful for the opportunity to manage a club that in normal circumstances, ie the club not being run by Ashley, he would have no business being near . Isn't that Remi Garde bloke that we were after free again??
I'd be quite tempted to get Sherwood in if he's interested. Has done a decent job at other clubs as far as I'm concerned.
