Mike Ashley...

Judging by the fans meeting tonight our own was the main point of discussion with many fans wanting him gone. I have to be honest I don't think Mike Ashley selling up is the answer.

Firstly, I don't want him to sell up because I don't want us to be sold to some multi billionaire owner where we buy success, when (if) we win a trophy I want it to be won because we've earned it. I just don't feel there's any long term game plan in spending hundreds of millions of pounds in one window because as much as we get to enjoy the success for the next five, ten even twenty years, there will be hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide that will pay for it in years to come when said owner suddenly gets bored.

Us going down that route would mean instant success now bud also a very good possibility that Newcastle United will no longer exist for my great, great, great, great, great grandson and where's the sense in that???

Secondly who's to say we won't get owners like Hicks and Gillette??? I mean they nearly ruined one of the greatest clubs in world football to the point where they were no longer going to exist (as much as I hate referring to them in that light as I hate Liverpool).

Now I know Ashley can be described as erratic at best in terms of some of his decisions etc. However he does have a plan, that plan is to develop and improve our youth system, it's to buy young hungry players and sell for profit until the club is financially in a position where they don't have to sell. His ultimate goal is to make Newcastle United self sufficient to the point where we can achieve constant top 6-8 finishes and challenge for cup honours.

It's sometimes easy to forget Ashley's long term plan in amongst all of the madness that comes with him as our owner. He makes crazy decisions that at best seem far from logical and it makes it easy to forget all of the good which he's done for our club (and there is plenty of it).

Bottom line is he saved the club and within three years of being a premiership team we have players such as Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Sissoko, Cisse, Debuchy, Santon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Colo, Krul, Tiote (once he regains form), Anita etc. You only have to look at Stoke, Sunderland and Fulham, who have all been in the premiership for over double our three years and they could only dream to have a few of the players I've just mentioned there. Whether you like him or not you'd be hard pushed to find another owner who has ever assembled a squad of players with the calibre of some of our's within three years of promotion.

Now I know last year was a filthy, horrible mess of a season. Many factors contributed, Europe, Pardew, Injuries, Ashley, Llambias, Stone, Carver, Woodman. Pretty much all of our backroom staff, our owner and our MD all failed. Ashley corrected his failure in January, we'll only know come September 2, 2013 if he's actually learnt from that failure.

I'm not technical enough to sort out a poll but I'd be interested to see how many people actually think Ashley selling up is the way forward for the club given then complete lottery regarding who could end up owning our club. For me it would be the wrong move for the reasons stated above. His biggest flaw is lack of communication but I can live with that for now as for all of the frustation it causes it also results in players such as Ben Arfa, Cabaye etc signing for us. I mean look at Shepherd who ran his mouth off about bidding for Rooney, end result is he now plays in red. If we'd done the same before the Cabaye deal I'm 100% certain he'd have never worn our black and white shirt.

So people, are you pro Mike or anti Mike...

 

The answer is don't ****ing go to any games ever again and much like curing any addiction that costs money and suffering the rewards will fantastic.

 

So you're anti Mike then

 

I think he's anti human

 

!

 

I can't blame him! id the idiots that support the club didn't allow this to happen it would not happen to be fair. They are even vocal about just how stupid they are saying " wah wah but I'll still sell my granny to support the team".

He exploits demand just like a drug dealer does. If they keep buying the product why give them anything better???

 

Jeez Boa, you need to check the dosage of that medication. I think a bottle is meant to last two weeks, not two hours.

 

I've got an ear infection and lost the big nail off bothe my big toes today.

Sorry I don't like myself when I get angry.

HTL

 

To be honest i am pro Ashley and can see some of what he has done and some of what is claimed he is trying to achieve although at times some of his decisions can be baffling and even he admits having made mistakes. Having said that, as he is in power he has the right to make those decisions and financially live or die by them and his record in business suggests that he is capable of achieving his aims whereas many who criticise do not have this record or the patience to see out a long term project with its inevitable lows as well as highs. Some of our previous custodians have no record to be proud of and indeed we seemed to be heading for ruin prior to Mike Ashleys arrival. I too would hate to see the rich spoilt kids type of team such as Citeh or Chelski here although at 52 having supported the lads since the late sixties i feel a bit of success would be nice to see before i die.

 

Sadly every owner of the club has also done this in my memory so Mike Ashley is not alone. The question is whether any of them can bring some success whilst doing it. The previous owners failed, noone else wants to try at the moment so we have no option but to see if Mike Ashley can do it. Obviously you have the right to walk away and people have the right to criticise but likewise people also have the right to stay. Sadly at the moment a fans co-operative running the club is not financially possible but hopefully this will come in the future.

 

This! (except the bit about being 52 )

 

Pro Mike, if Shepard hadn't sold us we would be crying out for someone like Ashley when we found out the extent of the financial situation, Im not his biggest fan but he's no mug and knows what he's doing!

 

So four in favour of Mike and one against so far...maybe I'm not in the minority after all.

 

You could put up an actual poll to gauge views.

Not sure such a small base will be representative of the many thousands of Toon fans mind.

 

^^^^ I'm all over this ! An absolutely brilliant perspective on things and very well presented.

I had muy doubts about Ashley like the rest of us I guess, especially when you sit in the ground and see a Cockney Mafia Out banner being passed around and you wonder how bad things can actually get.

The turning point for me was our relegation season. A lot of owners would have quite happily cashed in and sold everybody worth selling, made a good few quid and brought in championship, and possibly even next tier down level players. Without any relegation clauses in contracts we got rid of a lot of the prima-donnas and mercenaries (I ****ing hate you Michael Owen) and were left with players who actually wanted to play for the club and fight for the cause. Again Ashley could have quite easily shipped out the likes of Colo, Krul, Saylor, Barton, Gutierrez, Nolan etc and saved a massive lump of geld in salaries but it didn't happen. Ashley even pumped in £20m of his OWN money just after Christmas that season to cover players wages, players who could have, and under a different regime most probably would have been shipped out to trim the wage bill. It was a gamble that paid off as we bounced straight back up....and then sold Andy Carroll 6 months later for £35m !

So for all his idosyncracies and crazy ass decisions, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt...unless its something that is just plain ****ing ridiculous. Bringing JK back is bordering on that, but for now I'm prepared to wait and see how this pans out. There's an agenda there that is prompting so many conspiracy theories on these boards but my feeling is that there is only one person who knows the whole story and reasoning behind it and that is Mike Ashley himself. JK won't have a clue, he'll have been brought in and given his remit and he'll get on with it. Whether that's to piss Pardew off so he walks (saving Ashley a **** load of compo), or to give Pardew's head a ****ing wobble when it comes to putting square pegs in round holes...who knows. One thing I know for sure is that Ashley will not accept another close call like the one we had last season as I feel he genuinely loves NUFC and everything that comes with it. He'd be a fool not to realise how much of a good thing he will be on to if he cracks things and gets it right and they obviously do have a plan.

The other thing I like about him being in charge is that all the filthy scum over the other side of the water are lining his pockets on a daily basis by kitting themselves and their pasty babies out in sports direct merchandise, so effectively they are paying our players wages. We do to, but its obviously funnier when you look at it from the other side of the coin. I wonder if the filth would boycott Greggs if he bought them out...probably not ?

I've got nowt against Sports Direct by the way...you can't knock it for cheap golf shoes, balls, tee's etc and footy gear for me and the little lad....shame im in ****ing australia now...I've never wanted a SD shop on my doorstep more than I do now, but I'm gonna order a load of stuff and get it delivered here soon cos things here are just ****ing silly money....petrol and beef is dirt cheap tho !

TTFN

 

Are you serious ? The same players that almost got you relegated last season..

 

In the period between the sacking of Hughton and the appointment of Kinnear, I would rate Ashley as a good owner. Aside from trying to get through last summer on the cheap, I have no complaints between these two dates.

The appointment of Kinnear is a very questionable step and the way it has been handled seems almost deliberately designed to be as disruptive and destabilising as possible. While it has to count as a fairly important black mark against him, his performance is still above average. I would want to know a lot about who was going to replace him before I wished him gone.

 

I actually think that it's a positive move by Ashley. Okay, whilst Kinnear isn't the person whom I would have wanted but it seems that he's there to replace Llambias more than anything else.

If we look at Llambias' record on the board then I think that anonymous would be be the kindest thing to say about him. Frankly, I thought that he was utterly useless and whilst he may be good at running other businesses he seems not to have had a clue about football. I can only presume that this is a move to get someone else in whom Ashley trusts who is more of a football man.

Of course it could all blow up in Ashley's face if Kinnear goes off on a power trip but anything has to be better than the ineffectual goings on at the board level.

I would expect to see another appointment to the board sooner or later to really replace Llambias as I can't see Ashley wanting to do it. But as long as Kinnear doesn't get the Chair then this can only be a positive move. Let's face it; it can't be any worse than it is at the top. At least we have someone with a bit of fire in his belly appointed and, no, I am not a Kinnerar apologist as I couldn't stand his tenure as manager but this has to be better than nothing.

The first thing that Kinnear will perhaps do is to have a word or two (some of which may be found in the OED) with Pardew about his selections. If Pardew starts to play people in their correct positions then, for me, the price of Kinnear's ticket will be paid for.

The club is in a coma from the top down at the moment and it could be said that a bomb needed to go off under their arses. Perhaps Kinnear is just that.

I reckon he'll do his thing, sort the crap out and then retire 'on health grounds' in six month's time with the club in a better position. And do I believe that? Yes, I have laid Newcastle NOT to go down this coming season for a lumpy sum.

 

I don't like the regime at all. You can point to many positives that have come about as part of him taking control, whether that be economics of the club, the scouting, the 5th place finish or the quality of playing staff amassed. They're all great things. However my point remains the same, why can't you have all that and good PR, staff appointments that don't cause widespread unrest etc. I get that its a case of better the devil you know for some following the likes of Douglas Hall and Fat Fred, but as a supporter I'm greedy. I want the best for Newcastle United in every department.

I'm not a fan of Ashley. I'd much prefer someone who was better at communicating and wasn't prone to such rash and at times, mind boggling decisions. The problem is nobody is desperate to take the club on and give Mike his money back. So to me those last night shouting from the rooftops, those claiming we have to force him out by staying away, are being incredibly naive.

So all said and done, I'd happily welcome a regime that is going to deliver on all levels rather than just the few which we are treated too by Mike. and the boys. I don't give a damn where that money comes from either, but like Freddd I'd want the club handed on in a responsible manner. However I see it as futile to kick up major fuss as a fanbase about the current regime because it has zero impact.

 

Anti Mike

How the **** that clueless ****wit is a successful businessman is beyond me.