Are we over ambitious?

On a personal level I'd say I aren't over ambitious.
What I'd like to see is a decent standard of football, 11 players playing their heart out and good communication from the club to us, their customers.
I'd like to see us in the top 8-10 and flirting with Europe now and again and also giving it a go in the FA Cup one year.
Is that expectation or ambition...? Not sure but gone are the days where I expected us to be in the CL each year and smashing records to sign players... the money men have put the brakes on that.
If our club can deliver on a couple of the above... I'd be a happy bunny though.

http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/newcastle-united-fans-ambitious/?

Newcastle United fans suffer from chronic over-ambition for their beloved club.

Perhaps due to a lack of silverware since 1969, Toon fans desperately want to see the club succeed and thrive – perhaps even to the detriment of it.

With a 50,000+ stadium, fervent away support and one of the most storied histories in world football, why should fans be content with middle of the road?

newcastle united fansEvery transfer window without a marquee signing, every lost derby, every year without a trophy, is seen as another betrayal on the history and potential for Newcastle United Football Club.

The hatred and vitriol aimed at owner Mike Ashley has reached new levels in recent weeks with social media constantly threatening boycotts, protests and campaigns to drive the businessman from the club and, hopefully, into the arms of someone who will be less strict with their purse strings.

The accusation Ashley does not invest in the club is founded in a belief that where Manchester City and Chelsea have gone (from mid-table mediocrity to title-chasing megastars) Newcastle United should be able to follow.

As the days of the 2014 January transfer window drew on, #NoAmbition was the hashtag of choice for disgruntled Newcastle fans. They were taking aim at an owner who has invested more than £200m into Newcastle United thus far and continues to not charge interest on the loans he has given the club.

“Ambition!” They cry. “Spend money!” They mean.

They want success, they want results and damn the finances. A club is, after all, more than just the bottom line on a bank statement. It is the heart and soul of the community and Newcastle United is the heart and soul of Tyneside.

Flash back to the situation last January, with the club hovering perilously above the drop-zone following an unforeseeable injury crisis and Demba Ba’s departure to Chelsea, Ashley invested more than £25m directly into the first team:

Mathieu Debuchy – £5.5m

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa – £8.5m

Moussa Sissoko – £2m

Yoan Gouffran – £500,000

Massadio Haidara – £2m

Combined agents fees – £7m



Debuchy arrived six months after a summer of will-he/won’t-he when Lille changed their asking price following the right back’s excellent performances in the World Cup.

Gouffran and Sissoko were both scheduled to be free transfers in the summer but were brought forward (at extra cost) by six months to help the club’s dangerous league position.

It is also worth remembering the club had also sanctioned the spending of a further £8m on Loic Remy before QPR got wind of the transfer and offered the striker exorbitant wages the club were unwilling to match (given it would blow the wage scheme out of water).

Summer last year and Geordies looked enviously 12 miles down the road as Sunderland signed scores of players to bolster their first team squad. Newcastle failed to permanently sign one player, only bringing in previous target Loic Remy on loan.

The Black Cats subsequently had a record-breakingly bad start to the season and were in the drop zone until mid-January. Newcastle’s £2m loan signing? Scored eight in his first 10 league games as the Magpies cantered into the top half of the league.

Newcastle refused to be drawn into a bidding war with West Ham to bring the once much-loved Andy Carroll to Tyneside. The Hammer ended up forking out £15m for the Tyneside born striker, who didn’t make an appearance until after Christmas.

Look elsewhere in the Premier League and you can see a litany of high-priced flops in the striking department: Ricky Van Wolfswinkel (£8.6m), Andreas Cornelius (£8.5m), Dwight Gayle (£8.5m), Aroune Kone (£5m), Dani Osvaldo (£15m), Roberto Soldado (£26m), Victor Anichibe (£6m) and Jozy Altidore (£6m – of aforementioned free spenders Sunderland) all have poorer records than Remy.

Newcastle’s one January arrival of Luuk De Jong (on loan with an option to buy) is a much more financially responsible (albeit less sexy) method of securing players. The club essentially have a six month trial period to test drive the player and discover if he is worth a large outlay.

The way scores of fans reacted to the big budget signings by Fulham of unknown Kostas Mitroglou and Hull of over-priced Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long makes one think they lament the days of yore, when Newcastle would chuck unseemly large amounts of money at also-rans and has-beens such as Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Alan Smith.

Even manager Alan Pardew cannot escape from criticism, despite registering wins against Manchester United (at Old Trafford), Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC. All of whom have considerably greater financial clout than Newcastle.

The main shot taken at him is that he is “spineless” for refusing to condemn the lack of transfer activity and the lack of investment in the first team. You will be hard pressed to find any worker, in any job (much less a job in one of the most watched professions in the world) publicly criticise their boss. Pardew is faced with no choice but to be diplomatic.

With the calamitous appointment and subsequent reign of Joe Kinnear, the last thing the club and fans should want is a bust up between manager and owner.

Despite a majority of good results and good performances this season, one catastrophic performance against Sunderland and Newcastle’s season has been labelled a disaster by fans desperate to see the club challenge for, at the very least, a Europa League spot. Settling for mid-table is not in Newcastle fans’ nature, despite a reputation as unpredictable.

The importance of derby results cannot be overstated but confronting the manager with a season ticket, while still in the top half of the table, is nothing less than overkill.

A replacement for Cabaye was obviously the priority last month with his departure seemingly inevitable. Continued interest in Clement Grenier and Remy Cabella but both fell apart, to much derision. Pardew was obviously seething at the decision but kept his tongue.

The livid fan might have been better advised to throw his season ticket at Ashley but fans forget, without his takeover of the club Newcastle United could well be in the same situation as Portsmouth or Leeds United, if it weren’t for his takeover in 2007.

Fans deride the club for being a laughing stock with sponsors such as Wonga and, more recently, Papa John’s, but would they rather see the scenes at Elland Road on January 31st or the relative quiet of St James’s Park? Would they rather face liquidation or “languish” in 8th place.

There is, of course, a middle ground. A tightrope of fiscal responsibility combined with on field success.

Ashley may aim for Arsenal but Everton are arguably the benchmark, a club with almost as little financial outlay as Newcastle.

The fans may light-heartedly mock Bill Kenwright’s investment into the squad but their league position over the last 10 years has slowly improved and now the club play attractive, attacking football and are a direct challenger to cross-town rivals Liverpool.

Everton fans have had to suffer a dismal derby record against Liverpool for their troubles but now they are paying the dividends. If Newcastle’s record was as poor, message boards would go into meltdown.

Ashley, a businessman first and a football club owner second, wants the club to succeed. Even the most cynical Toon fan would concede the better Newcastle United do the more exposure his lurid Sports Direct advertising gets and the higher bids he can attract for the best players.

Ambition is a great thing for any supporter to have. It is natural for a fan to want their club to be the best but Newcastle fans, nearly 50 years after their last major trophy, want it now. Damn the expense. Damn the risk. And up the risk.

***I feel like I should include the disclaimer: I am not an Ashley stooge with this column. Of course there’s still lots I would change!

 

One catastrophic performance against Sunderland , do you not read the newspapers Albert

 

Ludicrous statement; every fan of every club is over-ambitious. City fans will moan if they don't beat Barca, Barca fans will moan if they don't beat City. Fans from Bayern, Real Madrid, City, Chelsea and Barca will all complain if they don't win the CL. We'll moan if we get beat by Chelsea, regardless of how over-ambitious that particular target is.

I'm not convinced any fan is simply 'happy' with their lot in life, in football terms at least.

 

I'm not happy that I've got to get the coach to the game at 5:30 in the morning, I think MA should put a private plane on for us.

A little consideration would go a long way.

 

The bloke who wrote that article is either a moron or a paid Ashley lackey. Unfortunately there are a lot nowadays who look down on othere as financial simpletons just because they have a tuppence ha'penny accountancy qualification.

It's probably just a wind up.

 

What a bargain gouffran was... Could make a big profit there big mike

 

Shhhh we all know this but I dont think anyone else is going to cotton on. He does his job too quietly.

 

what's this volesfaced tosser suggesting? dont expect to ever win anything or any customer service?

 

I so love your animal imagery mate. Are you well?

 

There I was thinking it's because we have a net transfer spend of minus £45million over the previous 5 years. Tens of millions below the second bottom spenders. Oh well, now I'm enlightened. Volesfaced indeed.

 

Not really. According to forbes NUFC is the 7th biggest club in the league by revenue. Now, while I do agree that we shouldn't go off the rails splashing cash on has-beens &c., clearly the club can and should be doing more to strengthen the squad. Sure, selling Carrol was - especially in retrospect - good business, but there's no way that we should have let Cabaye walk out the door without at least bringing in 1-2 potential replacements. Also, given our financial muscle, the squad is just too thin. It really ought to be deeper.

The way I see it is that Ashley is his own worst enemy in this respect. He's penny pinching now to the point that he's hurting himself in the long run. Sensibly managed the club could be nailed on for top 8 finish (provided nothing exceptional happens) and be in the position for good cup runs and/or an occasional top four challenge. Spending a little bit more and trying to improve the squad window over window could easily get us there - and we can afford it! - and it would also increase revenue and the value of the club.

Thing is the club isn't really being sensibly managed. For sure the current regime is better than the spend yourself into oblivion accomplishing nothing either one we had, but the obsession with penny pinching is harmful to the club's overall prospects too.