One thing we are thinking about right now, is it could only be at Newcastle that a Billionaire buys the club, and then had them relegated within two seasons.
Brad Friedel – Villa aiming for 5th place
Somehow, that didn’t seem to happen at Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, to name some other clubs acquired recently by a Billionaire.
It could only happen at Newcastle, and even if don’t get relegated the club is in it’s worse state for many many years, let’s make no mistake about that. We’ve had less than 44 points now for the last 3 seasons, whether we are relegated or not.
And to think when Mike Ashley bought the club in June, 2007, we thought that was a great move for Newcastle. We thought we’d move up the Premier League – not in the ohter direction – and then out of it – oh well, tells you what we know.
Brad Friedel, Aston Villa’s American goalkeeper, who turned 38 last Monday, has warned Newcastle that Villa will not roll over and gift them three points on Sunday.
Spoil sports!
Friedel insists that Villa will be aiming to secure 5th place after Sunday’s game, and wants to put their recent poor form behind them.
Brad said yesterday:
“Our form has been a bit disappointing recently.” “But we are still fighting for a fifth-place finish and that might not bode well for Newcastle as we definitely have something to play for.”
“After finishing in sixth place last season, we do want to do better this season.” “I know we’ve already qualified for the Europa League, but we are professionals and we do want to do the best we can all the time and we do want to secure that fifth spot.”
Of course Friedel was on loan at Newcastle in 1994, when Kevin was managing the club, but we were unable to sign him because of work permit problems – but we suppose that means nothing to him now.
That’s a pity.
11 comments so far
Toon Graeme
May 22, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Comment #1Ashley has proved he is blind in his affairs at SJP and as a result of poor management and decisions it has led us to where we are.
Good leadership stems from the top not the bottom.
Johno Toon
May 22, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Comment #2I think he put his faith in the wrong people , I tthink he just thought things would kinda just look after themselves , unfortuntley for him and all of us he was wrong
boater
May 22, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Comment #3In fairness to Ashley he came in with some good ideas.. to resurrect the reserve and academy side… build a infrastructure that would enable scouting of young European prospects, etc. Unfortunatley he underestimated the fan power on tyneside and ended up doing everything he could to pander to the fans.
Biggest mistake of all for me… was hesitating to replace JK… those Houghton runs in a way may cost us more than the unspectacular JK and Shearer points tallies.
Let’s face it Shearer was a foolhardy appointment as the rest of the country said at the time… we specialise in foolhardy at the toon however.
Stardust
May 22, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Comment #4Well if we do go down – irrespective of where the blame lies, Ashley carries the can in every way.
Sad as I think he is a much better man than the previous scumbags.
lesh
May 22, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Comment #5You couldn’t make it up could ya
hitman
May 22, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Comment #6ashley played a dangerous game,everyone could see this coming
geordie deb
May 22, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Comment #7I think his intentions were right but he was out of his depth. His problem was not making the right management appointments at the time. If he had appointed an experienced football man like Dein from Arsenal, many of the poor decisions would have been avoided instead he listened too much to inexperienced people in key positions. I’m sure with hindsight he realises where it went wrong.
Sav
May 22, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Comment #8Up or down on Sunday, we need a strategy for at least 3 years with phase one determined by the Villa result.
Is Ashley really going to be around that long? The threatened sale in October was the single worst move of the season because it stymied any hope of a decent managerial appointment and demoralised players and fans alike. I’m not convinced yet that his continued presence reflects anything more than a failure to sell the club so far.
Will Shearer (or any other manager) be convinced otherwise?
And will Ashley be prepared to give Al the reins and the financial tools for the job?
lesh
May 22, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Comment #9Hitman, sure Ashley played a dangerous game,everyone could see this coming…. apart from him and his cronies.
I wonder if housedust, sawdust or whatever they call Ashely’s apologist saw it or was he blinded by the light?
lesh
May 22, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Comment #10Geordie Deb, he probably has recognised the mistakes he’s made but the important thing is learning from them and changing behaviours!
One thing for sure, it’s been an expensive lesson for him and I trust he thanks his advisor, Dennis Wise, for his valuable support.
ObaFan2
May 22, 2009 at 2:19 PM
Comment #11billionaire buys newcastle gets them relegated!
Amazing and as you say Ed could only happen here!