Off to the shops...

I've been up sine 4:30 and am bored out of my skull...Thought I'd pose a question to you all that occurred to me the other day:

In the summer, we've heard our budget will be anything from the full £35m to nothing at all (Keegan: the eternal optimist). People have said, and quite rightly, that the Carroll money is pure profit, he cost nout and we got a proverbial **** load for him, had we not sold him, would we not have had any money to spend in the summer? Also, with the ever increasing likelihood that Enrique is packing his bags as we speak, what about the money made on his transfer? Where will that go?

Now, as we know (it is mentioned in every Lame-Arse interview) Ashley 'loaned' the club around £100m to clear our high-interest debts, so that we now owe him this money...

Let's say that, with TV revenue, Carroll cash, Enirque (and one or 2 others) cash and a lowered wage bill, we have around a £50m potential 'transfer' kitty...How would you feel if Ashley were to put £20m of this forward for transfers, £15m into paying the wages, and then took the other £15m for himself, in order to chip away at this £100m debt?

Those of you who desperately want Ashley out, surely this is the most sensible way to sever his links with the club? No-one will buy us, while he can still slap a further £100m onto the current value of NUFC as a product!

Those who are satisfied with the current regime (or at least, those who tolerate it) would you begrudge the man wanting to see a return on his investment after 5 years?

Personally I think it's going to happen whether we like it or not, and as long as it's all done above board and he acknowledges it in our financial books, it makes the most sense for all those involved!

Steady, intelligent investment (Tiote £3.5m, Ben Arfa £5m, Simpson 0.6m) and occasionally 'too good to turn down' sales so that we are sustainable business AND a steady ship, then let him take his money back!

 

As tempting as it would be to start whittling down the loan now, this summer is a crucial point in determining how the club will do over the next few years, and therefore how much money it will bring in. If I was Ashley I'd invest wisely this summer, hoping for a push for Europa, then he can start working on the loan with the greatly increased income that would bring.

 

Makes sense, what would you deem acceptable?

 

Couldn't quantify it to be honest. Enough to replace anything we're forced to lose, and to bring in a good striker or two, a winger and probably a centreback too.

 

The appalling manner in which he's run the club doesn't justify him making a profit. It was his **** decisions that have cost the club, and now us supporters are absorbing the loss for him. The debt was about £80m when he took over, but he inflated it by signing **** like Geremi and Viduka and then getting us relegated by changing the manager every 10 games, costing us lucrative sponsorship deals and loads of TV revenue.

Personally, I'd be satisfied with a net spend of £20m. If it's less than that I hope someone shoots the ****, if we make a profit again, then I'll shoot the ****.