Saw this on Facebook... An open letter from owner Mike Ashley to the supporters and staff of Newcastle United: "I am writing to you in the immediate aftermath of the relegation of our Club - a bitterly disappointing outcome for all of us. Newcastle United rightly has a proud and long tradition of competing at the highest level and I therefore understand and share the pain that supporters will be feeling at this difficult time. Many of you have expressed strong views about what we could have done differently. I respect those views but I would like to reiterate that it has always been my intention to try to achieve the very best for Newcastle United. We invested heavily in the squad over last summer and again in January, but we have been unable to secure Premier League status despite the recent efforts of the team under the formidable stewardship of Rafa Benitez. I've said in the past that when I take on a challenge I am prepared to go through both good times and bad. There can be no doubt that relegation is a terrible blow but I want to assure you that the Club will now be doing everything it can at all levels to try to ensure a swift return to its rightful place in the Premier League. We have done it before - we can do it again. In the meantime, I thank the fans for their passionate support, in particular for Rafa and the team at recent fixtures , both home and away. Clearly it is now time for a period of careful consideration whilst we reflect upon the lessons that need to be learned from the last 12 months to restore this great Club to the very top flight of English football"
This end bit is key for me... Clearly it is now time for a period of careful consideration whilst we reflect upon the lessons that need to be learned from the last 12 months to restore this great Club to the very top flight of English football" After he praises the fans and Rafa at he beginning it, to me suggests a veiled inference that there will be changes at the top.
"Formidable stewardship" caught my eye. That suggests to me that he wants Rafa to stay and oversee our 'return.'
Really ? I just thought it was a load of bland generic PR that was just a faceless and monotone as the waffle Charnley came out with. No doubt some PR stodge wrote both statements for them.
Hmm................ didn't Ashley once state that appointing Alan Shearer as manager was the best decision that he had ever made....................... and then never spoke to Shearer again and effectively left him in limbo whilst giving the job to Houghton. Lets hope 'Rafa's formidable stewardship' doesn't mean, 'thanks Rafa, nice try, now you **** of and ill save my 5 million quid!!f'
".............the pain that supporters will be feeling at this difficult time" Who ****ing died!! Keith Bishop is a complete tool.
Have to love the response on here. Fans complain about lack of communication and then when the Club do communicate fans complain about who is saying what and whether it's meant or not. Bottom line for me is that I don't care who says what as ultimately only actions count. Nice to see the Club communicate but let's see what actions actually follow and judge the Club on what it now does before the next season starts.
Let's hope that whatever happens they don't drag it out for weeks on end and lose time actually sorting the team out.
Seems that he has given that fool Charnley a mandate to retain Rafa. It won't be about money, they have already wasted millions. It will be about trying to keep the only senior figure at the club who knows what he is doing. Rafa, one would presume will want control of those things that a manager of his calibre would be expected to control. He will also need to weigh up whether or not he can trust Ashley. That's the crux of it, trust. If Ashley has any sense, he will do everything to keep Rafa at the helm and then back him unconditionally. If Rafa stays and is subsequently shafted, he is big enough and brave enough to say so. If he stays, and then is forced out by false or broken promises, l can foresee a massive backlash unlike any previously experienced by our current Board.
Agree actions not words, wait and see what happens next, retain Rafa is an action that would speak far more than any words at the moment.
In all fairness... He appointed an Ex-England manager who won a trophy with a local team on limited resources and then gave him a ton of cash. I actually don't blame Ashley much for this relegation, the measures he took in the last 12 months since our brush with relegation should have been enough. The letter comes across well and ultimately it is the actions which follow which he should be judged by. I dislike Ashley a lot less now than i did last time we were relegated.
Ashley is hoping like **** that somehow the imbecile Charnley and himself can pull a rabbit out of the hat and persuade Rafa to stay. He's damned lucky that he's getting away with it too some extent. We had words this time last year, followed up by mindless action and then inaction when it mattered most. Until something tangible occurs, Rafa staying, Charnley/Carr out, I think I'll take anything he says with a pinch of salt. Ashley is ultimately responsible for the clowns he's employed to run the club, so the buck stops with him.
I hear what you're saying and the position we now find ourselves in definitely suggests something went wrong! However, if you ask most fans and pundits what they think is wrong with modern club owners then "too quick to act" and "too short term" would be high up on the list. Nowadays sacking a manager the moment things start going badly is the norm and the easy/lazy way out. I respect the fact that Ashley stood by his man with first Pardew and then McLaren for a while, really gave them a chance. He gave McLaren too long when he clearly was not working but if the alternative is the annual merry-go-round which happens at other clubs then I'm glad he tried to avoid it.
But according to Ashley he has absolutely **** all to do with running the club, managerial appointments, player recruitment etc. What Ashley needs to do now if this is true is get the **** involved and get those two imbeciles out of the door PDQ. Statements that have clearly been written by some no mark PR pleb to try and empathise with the fans means jack to me. Take action now. Charnley and Carr MUST GO!! They are the common denominator in all of this abject failure.
Everyone can see this apart from Ashley. Can't see what his problem is, he's hoying money away employing those two ****wits.
It really is baffling. Those two have spunked millions and millions of his cash. Why would you invest your hard earned in a multi, multi million pound, high profile business and put the guy that sorts the tea and biscuits in charge!! Does Charnley have Ashley / goat pictures somewhere? It's the only plausible explanation!!!
