We think Mike Ashley is a frustrated man right now, because of all the reports in the gossip press, on things he’s not doing, and not even thinking of doing.
Mike Ashley – getting a raw deal from the press?
But that’s probably only a definition of what the gossip press prints.
We don’t want to come over as patronizing to the owner, but we do think Mike is getting a bit of a raw deal in the press, and of course you can’t blame our fans for believing some of the news.
Recent reports suggested Newcastle had held informal discussions with American private equity firm InterMedia Partners over the sale of the club.
Fresh speculation then emerged, just one day later, that claimed a construction company owned by the family of Osama bin Laden were considering a bid, but those claims were later rebuffed by both parties in the Evening Chronicle earlier this week.
In a bid to communicate about these reports Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, who very rarely speaks at all to the press, has talked to the London Evening Standard today:
“That (the rumour of a sale) is not true.”
However, Ashley has for the first time admitted he is seeking additional investors in the club and added:
“I would say that I am keen to have partners in Newcastle. That’s a very expensive seat I sit in.”
On the recent news on the Saudi Binladen Group (SBG), Ashley continued:
“I think I’ll start with people from Newcastle, not in some cave in Afghanistan.”
So from what Mike says it does look like he’s trying to lighten his financial load a little by possibly selling some small interest in the club to others, which could include consortiums.
Maybe that explains why SBG told the Evening Chronicle they were not interested now but could be in six months time.
That probably means they would be interested in investing in Newcastle, and that means they could be willing to buy say 10% of the club.
There seems nothing wrong or untoward about that, as far as we can see.
We think the confusion could be that Mike is indeed seeking partners, who are unwilling to invest in Newcastle United – and we think Mike can sell 20% without losing any control at all.
But these attempts may be being interpreted by the press as Mike trying to sell the club lock, stock and barrel – that seems like a plausible explanation.
As long as Ashley retains ownership of a sufficient percentage of the club, he will still be in complete control of all decisions affecting Newcastle United.
And it would be good for the club, if we do get new investors (partners) because no doubt Mike will want to them to put some money in our transfer fund, as part of the deal. 😀
He’s a very savvy and experienced businessman.
Finally, we wonder why Mike didn’t put this communication out via the Newcastle United official web site or even the local Evening Chronicle.
Comments welcome, but please keep them civil.
186 comments so far
Fernando
Jul 11, 2008 at 8:42 AM
Comment #161@BROON ALE- That Oba goal was a bit special but not as special as winning a cup at the new wembley!
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 8:43 AM
Comment #162Chuck-good summary, that is my gut feeling, bit of an ego buy, everyone fails to make money buying football clubs, but I will show them….
ronaldeano
Jul 11, 2008 at 8:49 AM
Comment #163the cup that none of the ‘big’ clubs give a toss about anyway!
Thats how you beat Chelsea, they couldent be arsed to give you lot a game that day.
@Fernando, come back with your sad comments when you have finished 3rd 4th and 5th in succession and got into the last 16 of the champions league!
you sad little man 🙂
Hadji
Jul 11, 2008 at 8:59 AM
Comment #164Ronealdano….They want the whole Primera divizion in their team.
The Entertainers
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:03 AM
Comment #165I doubt Ashleys ‘Cave’ remark was aimed at the Bin Laden family.
But rather the gutter press, who were linking us with Osmam himself.
And for me Ashley can have as many digs at him as he feels. Whats he going to do, take him to court ?
ronaldeano
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:08 AM
Comment #166@Hadji, Spurs will NEVER be bigger or better than the great Newcastle united!
They win a trophy and qualify for the uefa cup. So what!
The likes of Fernando and his other sad mates that waste their time on a ‘bigger’ clubs blog site, seem to think that they are going to win the PL, uefa cup blah blah…. When in fact, their non-English speaking manager sent his team out against the toon last year and was put firmly in his place by KK and the lads! We are the ones who should be in Europe next year, not the lucky spuds that cought Chelsea on an ‘off day’!!! And they KNOW IT!!!! 🙂
Ben_BKK
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:23 AM
Comment #167“WIGAZ // Jul 10, 2008 at 14:29
Getting bored off lack of transfer activity so on fifa 08, my toon team:
Given
Beye
Taylor
Woodgate
Shorey
Quasmera
Butt/Huddlestone
SWP
Joe Cole
Owen
Van Nistlerooy
Oh if only thats we could start with this side on opening day against the mancs! ha ha!
Hope some transfers happen soon!”
I have to say, I think my FIFA 08 team would own yours 😛
Given
Sergio Ramos Taylor Micah Richards Clichy
Joe Cole Fabregas Nasri
Sergio Aguero Martins Van Persie
Now, imagine THAT team on the first day of the season 😉
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Comment #168The entertainers, the family would, they have nothing to do with caves or terrorism, they do business with the USA and everywhere else. I think you may be right about cash tied up.
Anyhow lets hope they dont and we just get on with business as usual.
He would be better getting a £50m loan and make sure the club stays up if he cant get investors, the NUFC as a business is fairly sound and fairs well through recession, so he needs to keep it good, the other businesses he has take big hits in recession. NUFC shouldnt suffer due to the other businesses failures, they should stand up on their own. It may not take £50m for us to secure a slightly higher position anyhow.
AndyT
Jul 11, 2008 at 9:56 AM
Comment #169Ian,
Do you know what the club was like before Sir John Hall stepped in? Do you know how much it deteriorated under the chairmanship of Freddy Shepherd? Do you know that the entire wealth of Freddy Shepard and his family is 55million, which includes the 33million he got for his share in Newcastle United. Do you know that he could never have bailed the club out of the debt he put it into and with what has happened over the last year in credit markets would have had the choice of raising money through net negative transfer spending or selling the club to someone who could clear the debt. Do you know he was totally unprepared for the credit market collapse and was actually planning to borrow more money to finance big Sam transfers and salaries.
I would love to see a fanatical toon supporter with the readies to bank roll it forever take over and give the manager a £100M a year transfer pot. But I think its more likely that santa, the tooth fairy and the bogeyman will be announced as our next three signings. What I could never do is wish for Freddy Shepherd to have any roll whatsoever at Newcastle United.
(with the possible exception of him paying back the 33 million and being given the job of match day toilet cleaner – that I could just about stomach).
domtoon
Jul 11, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Comment #170Off topic I know, but I have to say I simply cannot wait to go to the next game at White Hart Lane. I’ll take another 1-4 thank you very much! One of the best games I’ve ever been to and for a season as bad as last that is saying something.
domtoon
Jul 11, 2008 at 10:05 AM
Comment #171AndyT well said man.
AndyT
Jul 11, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Comment #172Ian,
The business failures that you are talking about – that would be this then:
“The UK’s leading sports retailer posted underlying pre-tax profit of £85 million in its first year as a listed company, with underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) down 29.9 per cent to £150 million.
However, the results were slightly ahead of expectations, boosting the company’s share price by 3.6 per cent in morning trading to 71.75p.” Taken from yesterdays InTheNews.
It must be hard for mike to be only getting a £16 million dividend before tax this year – not to mention the few million those city boys that hate him so much will be getting.
I have to say you are spot on with a couple of things. Newcastle should be able to stand on its own without needing to be bankrolled by some billionaire who wants a toy. And as you said, Newcastle United does look well prepared to ride out the upcoming recession. However that is only because Mr Ashley has cleared the debt that would have wreaked havoc with the ability to generate cash over the next few years and wiped out any profit the club was/is making.
Stardust
Jul 11, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Comment #173Ian
I have long read your blogs and associated you with either Sunderland or the Shepherds. Now after the hideous quote”Freddy is still sitting with his millions, they should let him back in, but keep him in a quieter role and see if they can get some other North East men in. Not those Halls as they got us in this mess to start with. Freddy didnt want to leave so I do not see why he couldnt come back.” I now know your motives…..more importantly so does everyone else on here – hang your head in shame.
domtoon
Jul 11, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Comment #174And second to that Ian, which judge would hear a case against Ashley based on his cave comments?
Hmm none.
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Comment #175I am not associated with the Shepherds, and some of you appear to have got things wrong with Freddy Shepherd, he got us up to fifth in the table with Bobby Robson, the HALLS and their mob MADE Freddy Shepherd get rid of Robson, they out voted Freddy who is still a friend of Robsons, THEN they left him to sack him while they nicked off on holiday so you plonkers would associate Freddy with the sacking and not them, and you bought it, THAT is when things went wrong and how can you say that is Freddy’s fault?
This situation is getting worse than that one, Owen hasnt signed, Nzogbia wants out, Martins may be sold, if thye all go and players like our latest signings are brought in then where are we going to be???
A lot worse off than where we were when they sacked Robson and then the pillocks got rid of Bellamy backing Souness, this is worse than that situation.
This club isnt in a good shape, it hasnt got a squad and there is football to play, we wont get goals just because we are low on debt!!
AndyT
Jul 11, 2008 at 1:24 PM
Comment #176Ian
Holy cow he got us up to 5th – so that would make him responsible for us playing in the Champions League then would it, especially as the first time we qualified it was only the top 3 that got in?
Not sure if you can remember just a bit before the time you are talking about a certain Mr John Hall having got rid of some crappy previous management and directorship spent a couple of years turning the club around (and admittedly came quite close to getting us relegated to the third flight of english football for the first time ever, something every other club in the north east has managed except us he he) but then with a certain Kevin Keegan took us to an absolute runaway of the (as it was then) first division, to challenging for the premiership title and three consecutive seasons in the champions league (although the third one we didn’t get past the qualification round). In that time the club built a relationship and reputation that was fantastic, with people throughout the world knowing the club, its players and its manager. It built up relationships in South America and Asia (many of which have not been sustained) and had good relationships with many theoretically feeder clubs in Europe. Sir John Hall stepped aside because he didn’t think he could take them to the next level and a friend of his son (Freddy Shepherd) and his son (Douglas Hall) then took over the reigns with the objective of kicking on to win trophies and consolidate us a regular chamions league team.
So pardon me if getting us back to 5th once, a couple of intertotos, while screwing every penny he could out of the club, slagging off the fans and ruining our reputation hasn’t particularly endeared me to the chap.
AndyT
Jul 11, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Comment #177By the way Ian, what are your comments on this review of Sir Bobby’s autobiography?
“In his 2005 autobiography Sir Bobby Robson provides detailed criticism of Shepherd’s chairmanship, claiming that while manager he was denied information regarding the players’ contracts and transfer negotiations. He also criticised Shepherd and Douglas Hall, the club’s deputy chairman, for their focus only on the first team and St James’ Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous, although equally important, areas such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts.”
Trust me I’ve read SBR’s autobiography and although he may still be a friend of Shepherd, he definitely does not portray him as benefactor of Newcastle United and to be honest Sir Bobby Robson is a person I would believe over just about any other person on the planet.
If you want a classic example of people upsetting the city, how not to run a board and how to alienate your customers you could take a look at the type of press that Shepherd managed to generate from press such as the New York Times http://www.iht.com/articles/1998/03/25/soccer.t_18.php
One of the few things I would seriously criticize Sir John Hall for is that he allowed these two prats back in the following season. And it took him a further 8 years to find somebody who had eh wherewithal to actually get rid of them for good.
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 1:39 PM
Comment #178Andy T, no-one could have said a bad word about Sir John Hall in front of me before the Bobby Robson incident, we all know the history with keegan etc, you need not repeat it on any of these sites, but then he changed and to me, Hall ended up his own a**e with his history and Freddy, who I agree isnt the most tactful man on the planet, all of a sudden was getting everything together, we were going places with Robson and this time we were looking rock solid, then we had the daft fighting in the ‘dressing room’ as people put it, but Robson simply said they were kids and it happens in football but I think Hall was concernd that his glory years were going to be outdone and took the chance to get rid of Robson.
Because even though we are all Shearer fans, when the Bellamy and Shearer problem started really Shearer should have gone as he was close to retirement, Bellamy was top scorer and if we had brought another good young player alongside Bellamy we would have moved up again and 9 times out of 10 Robson had a brilliant eye for good young players so he would have chosen a very good replacement.
Hall has a reputation for not being a very nice bloke apparantly and it has come from so many different places that it looks like their may be some truth in it. Keegan isnt a big fan of his as he left him out to dry when he got to the top of the premiership, there was supposed to be more funds released to keep the club up there.
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 1:41 PM
Comment #179Andy T, who said Shepherd was perfect?
No-on on here. But he is a Newcastle fan that is for certain and he did buy big players and backed the manager.
Stardust
Jul 11, 2008 at 1:45 PM
Comment #180AndyT – Here Here! That’ll shut up Ian Shepherd or Ian Quinn whatever his name is!
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 2:18 PM
Comment #181Andy T I think you are Ashley in disguise!!!
Stardust Dennis Wise????
I like the way you think Ashley is going to secure us success!!! If we dont secure some of the current squad and buy a couple of reasonable players I see us as candidates for going down.
domtoon
Jul 11, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Comment #182Come on lads don’t fight.
FFS backed the managers with cash, but the stailibity was nowhere to be seen, resulting in a huge debt.
Mike Ashley appears to be the polar opposite (so far), with the exception that instead of a huge debt, we stand to make instead something far nicer – long term stability, and a good youth system which will produce top stars for the future. When things really get going (2-3 years from now), I’m sure the cash will flow, assuming all goes to plan with the Toon results!
Ian
Jul 11, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Comment #183agree domtoon, it is only the here and now i am concerned about, i agree about the youth policy.
AndyT
Jul 11, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Comment #184Ian,
If I was Ashley I wouldn’t give a rats ass about any of the stuff that I’ve talked about. Despite what people might think after what I’ve posted on here I’m not a particular fan of Mike Ashley. What I don’t believe is that there is anyone better around (certainly not Shepherd) or that he has done anything to particularly harm the club. Do I think that Freddy Shepherd has better credentials as a Newcastle United supporter, absolutely, but what he has done with the trophy signings – achieved precisely nothing other than hamstringing the club financially. Over the whole SBR sacking thing – there was already an agreement that he would step down at the end of the year. Do you know the worst year Man U ever had in the premiership. It was the year that Taggart was going to quit at the end of. I dont think SBR had lost the dressing room, but I think it was in that same sort of position where there were two options to get out of it. Sack the manager or give him a longer contract.
Do I think that Mike Ashley is a nice person – by all accounts no.
Do I think that Sir John Hall is a nice person – by all accounts no.
Do I think that Freddy Shepherd is a nice person – I bet you can guess.
They are all bastards, they are all rich they are all business successes. Shepherd had 10 years at the club, grew richer as a result, indebted the club beyond his means to bail it out and achieved nothing other than to take the club backwards in spite of throwing some cash around.
My position is simply this, if you get down to brass tacks, there isn’t really a better option than Ashley right now. What most people are shouting for has been tried for a decade and taken us backwards. What we actually need to do is get behind the club, get behind the chairman, get behind the manager, get behind the staff, get behind the team and SUPPORT the club.
Stardust
Jul 11, 2008 at 3:52 PM
Comment #185Again Andy T – Fantastically put! Lets see what cousin Shepherd comes back with!
gallowgatecorner
Jul 12, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Comment #186Mike Ashley made his comments to a financial journo as he tried to explain away the awful trading results of Sports Direct.
The truth is that he has biten off more than he can chew and that is why Newcastle are shopping in the bargian basement and cutting wages and putting up season tickets by 19 per cent.
A saviour my a###
Sad to see that men like Mr Harrison and other Newcastle fan sites are taken in by Ashley.
He is no better than Shepherd and at least his predecessor backed his managers and put money up for players.