In a game where foreign owners are coming in... then bailing out and clubs are becoming increasingly managed from foreign shores.... where do you stand on Mike Ashley right now? I've always defended the commercial side of what he does at NUFC as I've understood it's necessity. You could even argue that his tight control on finances is now allowing us to have a decent sized squad and Rafa at the helm. So..... if you were to be able to influence him staying or going..... where would you stand. IN or OUT. I'm firmly IN.
Still out until I see long term evidence he is willing to back the manager for more than just two seasons. He has done Rafa and mcclaren - he has now changed the policies which were killing us too. If they stay in place, support is there, and he is up for genuine change then fine but as it stands I'm not convinced
When I look at the likes of Hull, Cardiff and Blackburn and even our six fingered friends down the road and then compare to what Cashley has done in the last two years or so then I'm firmly in the "In" camp.
This for me - no doubting the enormous **** ups he's made for one second, but we could be one hell of a lot worse off when you look at other clubs Better the devil you know???
I think everyone can balls up. As a lot of lads have said in the past he was ill advised at worst. He's now changed things and for that at least he needs credit. I'd much rather Mike at the helm than some dodgy chinese consortium or some Bond-like villain like Tan.
Want to hold fire until I see what he does when we get back up. He might be just trying to buy his way back into the PL at the moment and then just treat the club as a cash cow once we are there.
Well as long as Rafa has autonomy to make decisions and is properly in charge of transfers, and Ashley sticks to just being chairmen, I'd reluctantly say in. Still can't stand the blithering imbecile though.
This is the key point - is this simply a means to an end. He owes the club frankly. Not only have the support remained throughout all his stupidity - the club has grown his main business. That was his aim and now we've helped achieve that, I personally think he owes the club some loyalty. He has stumbled on a guy with solutions to the problems. He needs to back this up year on year. We don't actually ask for much despite the bullshit presented by rivals and the press. A professionally run club with professionals trying their best will do.
I don't think that is unreasonable though. Rafa has a great cup record. Leicester, Swansea, Birmingham and Wigan have all won something in the last 5 years. Others have come close. We have gone close before. To do it though we need to sustain the current attitude towards the competitions we enter.
He has made some **** ups but he appears to have learned. Charnley is a complete tool aswell mind but credit has to be given he got in Rafa and the best part is this time he has also learned. I am for once turning up looking forward to the match win lose or draw because I know things are being done correct.
I wouldn't want to change anything at the moment as the penny seems to have dropped with Ashley and the whole running the club on a shoestring seems to be a thing of the past. It's a shame it has taken the best part of a decade and two relegations for that to happen but we are in pretty good shape at the moment I feel and I'd like to see what the Rafa era can achieve. I do have reservations about Ashley's track record of penny pinching and his amazing propensity to **** things up but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. And like has been said, some of the people buying football clubs are pretty scary prospects and most know nothing about running a football club so we'd be back to square one.
There is no doubt he ****ed up massively for many years. However, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he ****ed up for the right reasons. After seeing what Fat Freddy did to the club, and just how unsustainable we were, I think a lot of the decisions he made at first were the medicine we needed. Like all medicines though, there is a maximum dosage and he exceeded it. We suffered from lack of investment in players, always looking for a bargain, and the club being treated like a cold hard business. As others have said, I suspect he was badly advised for a while, but he seems to have learned his lesson. Time will tell how long it lasts.
he is a twat he changed the name of our ground ffs we are in the championship because of the way he ran our club
I think it's easy to get carried away just now as Newcastle United sit on top of the Championship, in the QF of the EFL Cup and have Rafa Benitez as Manager. Mike Ashley has a long track-record of crimes and they won't be forgotten simply because the 'roses are in bloom' just now. Sure, lots of clubs are owned by clueless foreigners, but it took Ashley EIGHT YEARS to start getting it right here.
All undeniably true. I think the question, though, is whether you would prefer him to the next owner whose name gets chosen out of a hat. I wouldn't. MA has made his mistakes and is beginning to do some things right. The next owner ? Who knows.
I think he's changed his tune since the TV money went up (even though you lot went down ), now he may see a brighter future, especially if this is just the start. I don't think for one second you're ever going to be his priority though.
