One of the biggest EVER protests planned

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying don't protest, or that protesting won't have an effect. I can't go as far as hoping we lose but I do understand why some do.

My issue is purely with wanting to know who is affecting our club. I guess my opinion is clouded by too many greedy bastards trying to jump on the NUFC gravy train and take the piss out of the fans. I worry that there might be another Fat Freddy behind this who will come along and come close to destroying our club for personal gain like Shepherd did. Hopefully I'm completely wrong. but I wish it wasn't anonymous and I can't support it while it is.

 

And having to rely on easily photoshopped screenshots of a paypal page as a guarantee of transparency and honesty.

 

It is never acceptable to have the vile abuse floating about at present. It matters not how bad he has been at his job, his excuses or his sucking up. Its just plain wrong and the act of a ****wit. As for Carvers stupidity. It is just that, Carvers stupidity. two wrongs don't make a right and if everyone just stoops lower and lower, where does it end? Someone doing something really stupid. Nobody wants that.

Personally I think this also has the potential to hurt the prospect of Pardew leaving. We have seen on many occasions he just digs his heels in for the sake of it or to make a point. To be fair the point is having some trouble penetrating some peoples skulls . I do accept that if everyone was to stop going, that would have some impact. Protests? Not ever on all known evidence. If we have learnt anything under Ashley's tenure, it is that he does not respond to threats, protests or people trying to persuade him to do something. He makes his own decisions, in his own time and nothing forces his hand. If Pardew was sacked after Saturday, it wouldn't have been influenced by the protest at all. It would be Ashley wanting to protecting his investment. Why is this campaign going to be different? It isn't and I'm not sure what it will take for people to understand it.

It is never acceptable to me to wish your team to lose either. It goes against everthing being a footballer supporter is about. Each to their own of course, but for me, it just makes no sense.

 

I'm assuming you're ignoring the protests that made him put the club up for sale...twice?

 

Did he sell the club? No he put a price tag on it no one in their right mind would meet. Don't be fooled into thinking the fans forced him to do anything. This club was seen as a commercial vehicle for his business from the start. Sir John Hall confirmed as much. Now and again he pays a bit of lip service while he continues on his merry way. All said and done, has he ever got out of the club as requested, or sacked a manager as requested? No and you can only judge a businessman by what he does, not what he tells you.

 

The most impressive protest for me would be a total sit out, an empty stadium on three sides as the free hospitality crowd would still be in the milburn stand, could even engage the opposition fans to join in and not travel, as a statement it would certainly hit the media nationally and very likely internationally.

 

It would have a big impact. But what about the guy who is proud not to have missed a game in 40 years? Does he put that to one side cos Pardew is more important? Or the fans from elsewhere who have looked forward to a rare chance to get to a game? Not disagreeing with you, but its never simple.

 

Counter-productive. As has already been pointed out so many times, Ashley is paid £60m by Sky/BT every year to advertise SD to 1 billion people globally every week. It matters not one lick whether there's 50,000 people in the ground or 50 people. That money is there to prop the club up and if a few million disappears we'll just sell Cabella and replace him with Obertan.

In fact, having an empty ground would INCREASE the free advertising! Ashley would be delighted with that, and it would make Pardew's life fcking easy because then it would be clear that everyone blames the owner.

All of which is ludicrous anyway. You look at Fulham and Cardiff down the arse end of the Championship, Coventry's terminal issues, etc. Our transfer policy is flawed sure enough, the lack of ambition or genuine care from the owner is clear, but we're the best run club - OPERATIONALLY - more or less on the planet. Even look at Freddy *spit* Shepherd; allegedly loved the club, not enough to gamble with its' existence though. Sir John made a stack of cash out of it and he had to be held to ransom by KK over transfers all those years ago. The problem with football isn't Ashley, he's a symptom of a wider problem created by Sky, exacerbated by BT and magnified by Russian and Arab wealth.

It's football - it's very fcking simple. Pick a team, try and play decent football, win games or at least fcking try. Anything less is unacceptable and that's where we are. Get in that ground and hound Pardew out. If the man hasn't the decency to walk out, he deserves all the bile coming his way.

 

You're obviously in the extreme do anything vile camp, as for Freddy Shepherd he gambled with the clubs financial existance, if Ashley hadn't come along he may very well have bankrupted the club the state its finances were in with debt loading, as for your capitalist bad model football pre Sky and backwards needed the capitalists to fund it, even in the 50's and 60's clubs needed the leading business men of their time to help fund them. As for Sky, BT etc they wouldn't be here if people didn't buy, sometimes you remind me of people who I work with they talk wistfully of our industrial heritage of the ship yards, coal mines, steelmills and football as the working mans game, I remember the violence, the threats, the intimidation, the mud, the stink of the toilets, powercuts, black and white telly, nothing open on a Sunday or after 5pm, pubs open 11am to 2pm and 6pm to 10.30pm etc etc etc.

 

Aye, but we had Texan Bars and Spangles back then - so swings and roundabouts

 

But what he did is put us up for sale twice, once for only 100 million.

 

He never confirmed a figure at any stage from what I can remember. The papers speculated on what he might accept. They also speculated that he kept moving the goalposts.

His words at the time sound eery now

"I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do, but it won't happen overnight and it may not happen at all if a buyer does not come in.

'You don't need to demonstrate against me again because I have got the message,'

Here we are 6 years later, there is yet another protest, and we still have the same situ of him ignoring the fans wishes, continuing with his running of the club and employing who he likes and for how long he likes. When the DOF was mooted to be Kinnear, fans were up in arms, did it stop him? Nah. When Pardew was rumoured the new manager and the disappointment washed over the fanbase and many vented their spleens at the idea and loss of Hughton, did it stop him? Nah. When WONGA were rumoured as the new sponsor and the fans made it clear this was not acceptable, did it stop him? Nah. I can probably list another 20 decisions taken the fans have vented or protested about, not once has he caved. The phrase "rhino skin" was invented for him.

 

100 million for a Championship club who was perceived as being finished.

 

even though . I dislike pardew it needs to be aimed at the owner ..

 

Don't comment on things you obviously don't have a clue about

 

The best protest for me would be to sing pardew out the whole game and nothing more..... The impact of the current protests will be in the performance on the pitch. These protests are bound to have an impact on the players and the performance. Meaning we may lose... And pardew will have another excuse. "The players felt to much pressure"

The fact is, natural course will eventually mean pardew will be sacked. If we look like being relegated ashleynwill have no choice. At the moment... We look like being relegated. It's just a matter of time not pressure which will push pardew.

 

Clearly the original poster does not know we have won 5 prem games out of the last 26. And all against lower table opposition.

 

Save the hull city they were hardly convincing wins either. West ham could have gone either way until the late third and I'm sure the whu defence was a real make shift one at the time. Cardiff were all but relegated and villa and palace were hard, uncomfortable, slogs.

 

I just cannot fathom this not suporting the team lark. We have a set of supporters coming to the stadium solely to help us lose? To be honest I wish anyone of that mind would just stay away. They don't belong there. Protest before the game, protest after, but for ****s sake don't impose your negativity on everyone else.