We’ve read a few reports about Mike Ashley’s sale of £100M when he recently sold 25M of shares of Sports Direct – the company he founded back in the 1980s.
Mike Ashley – sold £100M of Sports Direct stock recently
We issued the report on that yesterday, and a number of the later reports seem to suggest that it could be something to do with investing in Newcastle United, but we’d be very surprised if that is the case.
You have to remember that Mike’s money is completely separate from the Newcastle United Football club business accounts, and the only way Mike has “invested” his own money into the club is by loaning Newcastle around £130M – and it’s a zero interest loan – so Newcastle are saving on the interest they were paying when Ashley took over the club – and at a 5% interest rate, that’s around £6.5M every year – there’s a good player right there every season.
That loan money will need to be paid back at some point, but since the owner has said he doesn’t need to be paid back anytime soon, we assume that when he eventually sells Newcastle, whenever that is, it will be part of the total transaction of selling the club, and he’ll get his money back at that time.
We certainly don’t need money for players this summer, since Newcastle only need to bring in a couple of good players.
But of course there is always that St. James’ Park expansion we talked about a few years back, which was to increase the total seating capacity up to 60,000 at the stadium – and at some point that’s got to be one of the steps to make Newcastle into a top English and European football club – and of course it increases our match-day revenues too.
But before that happens we need to be doing consistently well in the Premier League, so we can fill the extra 8,000 places at each home game.
We’re sure Mike’s sale of some of hi stock is nothing to do with Newcastle United Football club – and it’s probably nothing more than Mike diversifying his investments away from Sports Direct.
But there again, we’ve been wrong before ………
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
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116 comments so far
beefman13
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:47 PM
Comment #41Jail, wurzel pulled a few faces but he only had the one!!!!
Sop you know for sure someone wouold have boughgt us????
Maybe the same sort as bought pompey and leeds and sheff wed, maybe we could have streve gibson? boro are rolling in the cash arnt they.
Havnt got a p[ot to piss in any of them, maybe leeds in a year couple ofd years but they have been lomg gone down and past the coca cola, just as pompey will be and sheff wed are.
At least just beacuse i support the owner it does not mean i have to support his manager, at this moment in time AP gets on my nerves, if he gets his finger out and changes his daft team formations and certain players then i will welcome that no problem.
You just have a hatred of MA and will still not give the bloke any credit, people like you would rather have the toon fail than him succeed i have mates like that myself, although they wont admit it, just like you wont.
As i have said Pardew got credit last season of me, this season he has bugged the hell out of me, if i aint happy with something they will know about it and that includes the owner, but i know he will always try to grow any investment, so that can only be good for us.
Mister Tuff
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:49 PM
Comment #42Ian Toon evening -seeing were throwing a few quotes around. I am reminded by a quote from the famous Spanish Jesuit priest called Baltasar Gracian. :-
“A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity.”
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:52 PM
Comment #43Beefman…Got to jump in there as I actually believe JFA would love nothing more than for Ashley to prove him wrong. I think he just doubts his real motives and that any good he does is for eventual financial gain, which to some extent will be true, Ashley isn’t a charity worker.
For me, the club being successful and Ashley making money from it go hand in hand, but I suppose there could be a limit to the success and still reap eventual financial gain. In fact, your thoughts on Pardew would tie in with that quite nicely.
Haven’t you been asking why Ashley wont spend some money on getting in a decent manager? If he was just after success wouldn’t he do just that?
Personally I quite like Pardew, just throwing out some ideas.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:55 PM
Comment #44And on the Ian witch hunt…Lets say that Ian did make up Pushy Pardew to back his opinions up. At worst it would be a tad sad that he felt the need to do so, but it doesn’t really take away from his viewpoint on all things NUFC. He’s giving his opinions, like everyone else, those are not lies, are they?
Jail for Ashley
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:57 PM
Comment #45Beefman,
You obviously don’t know your onions as Worzel had a variety of different heads each having a different face thus giving him multiple personalities beefman, as for continually liking us with Leeds etc there is a fundamental difference in that we don’t have dilapated clapped out stadiums and can rely on 52K turning up week in week out, I cant say for sure that somebody would have bought us as you can’t claim as fact that we would have went into freefall and as for claiming I would rather see us fail then you don’t know how wrong you are.
check the toastie
Feb 27, 2013 at 8:58 PM
Comment #46Beefman – thats the diference between you and me, i thought we played shit most of last year as well, can count on one hand were we clearly looked the better team. We have won games since our new super signings have come in but again, have yet to see us seriously outplay anybody.
Jesus Boro are even giving Chelsea a game, the way we went on after beating them it was if we had won the league, we did outplay them mind, best we have played for years actually.
Maybe i will start to think Pardew can take us forward once we go away from home and outplay teams such as Wigan or Spurs, for all Rodgers gets pelters his team have outplayed Spurs, Arsenal, Man City and have been unfortunate to walk away without wins, cant really say the same about us.
Just not convinced by Parsnip, hope he proves me wrong, such a negative tw#t though.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Comment #47Check…You mentioned both Pardew and yourself in that last line, who are you referring to as the negative tw@?
Yours jokingly
Ibizatoon
Ian Toon
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:01 PM
Comment #48Ibiza- I didn’t even have an imaginary friend as a kid. I thought Pushy was more in praise of you than me! But thanks.
Mister Tuff
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:02 PM
Comment #49My god things are getting worse -we need to call in the Witch Finder General.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:07 PM
Comment #50Ian….Did you not? I found my imaginary friend to be the most insightful and agreeable of people 🙂
Don’t let it bother you, not that I believe it does.
Mister…Do you have his number or do we shine some form of signal in the sky in the shape of a broomstick or cauldron?
beefman13
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:13 PM
Comment #51Jail, leeds have a massive fan base and would fill out Elland Road no problem if succesful, to be honest with the massive amounts of money poured in to the premiership, season ticket sales are not going to make a big difference to the vast majority of clubs, pompey could generate some serious noise and they did not have half our capacity.
Check, dont get me wrong we punched well above our weight last season, and hung on for dear life in a lot of games for sure, the MA haters always bring up the fact how lucky we were last season , i watched many a game when i thought we should have been stuffed, AP`s tactics of holding back and retreating on a lead worked in all fairness last season, he has tried it this season as well on many occasions and very lately it has worked but it is god awful imo whwn i see the defensive midfielders coming on to do it when we have players on the bench who could further push us forward in games, im not talking all out attack but controlled possesion nulifying opponents with movement and the ability to get past players, i dont want to be sitting on the edge of my seat for 30 plus mins just to protect a lead, especially at home, its Russian Roulette, it can work but it can backfire as it did on various occasions last season and we got a serious smacked arse, we have a better calibre player now in our squad we just do not have to do it.
Mister Tuff
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:15 PM
Comment #52Ibiza -might have trouble making contact -the last one I knew about operated about 400 years ago so he probably hasn’t got a mobile. I can try someone else in my guise as Reverend Tuff.
Brother Ian -oh lost sheep of the blog -repent -wash away thy sins by bathing in the Jordan (Mmm might have a problem there -The Tyne will do as its a bit nearer) and we can all be friends again.
Hallelujah.
Amen.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:19 PM
Comment #53Rev….So many professions lost due to not keeping up with the times. Sad state of affairs really.
beefman13
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:23 PM
Comment #54Ibiza, there are many fans who hate MA to the extent of praying he falls flat on his face which would be folowed by NUFC doing the same thing if it happened, i personally have a very close mate who would be on the phone to me for ages telling us how crap we were in the first half of the season, i actually agreed on most what he said about team performances, Pardews tactics players played etc.
Now we are doing better he dosnt ring me after the games, he dosnt want his opinion defeated to the point were even if it meant NUFC failing as long as he was right he would be happy, i think there will be many many fans like him.
We all love to be right in our opinions, but it is so small minded if that opinion means the difference between our beloved club succeeding and failing just to prove a point, christ, world war one was about opinions that did not match and would not give.
Jail for Ashley
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Comment #55Beefman,
We can go round and round here, I think you will find it is those who are on Pardews back who quote how lucky we were last season.
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:33 PM
Comment #56Beefman…Well danced around 🙂
I think the type of fan you are referring to is your catchy type and not your JFAs of the blog. I reference catchy not because he dislikes Ashley ( I think he is actually pro Ashley), but in that he has hoped we do badly so that it would end Pardews reign, but as you say, that would be at the detriment of our club, which he supposedly loves….hmmm.
Of course we’d all like our opinions to be right, but I would say it’s near impossible to be right all the time (I personally don’t know about this, it’s something i’ve been told…of course), but I completely agree with what you’re saying. At the end of the day I don’t care who was right or who was wrong, I just want our club to do well. As it turns out I think there are many great improvements on previous years and whilst Pardew still has some way to go, I know things could be a lot worse, so I am happy to bide my time and see how he performs in the future.
ONLINE GUY
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:36 PM
Comment #57Axe ? Chelsea defender ..playing agin Boro right now ..got to be Ruud Gullit’s love child ?
Ibizatoon - Back by popular demand
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:37 PM
Comment #58Right then, far too serious on here tonight. I hope everyone has a pleasant evening.
Until next time.
Jail for Ashley
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:40 PM
Comment #59Beefman,
World war bleedin one was about alliances ,greed and power not on the opinion that it was better to eat boiled eggs from the top orbottom.
Mister Tuff
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:41 PM
Comment #60Differing opinions is the fuel that drives football blogs, the sports pages of newspapers, punditry etc etc. If we all thought the same there wouldn’t be much to discuss. A lot on the blog will probably agree on most things with only a minority of issues where there is disagreement We all have ideas/opinions about players/managers/ owners/tactics being good or bad. That is how it should be. Granted within the mix are some lets say exotic posters who we all know. However I think it is wrong to call into question whether a poster is a proper fan because his opinion differs from someone else’s.
Jail for Ashley
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:45 PM
Comment #61Mister tuff,
A good example today was I didn’t agree with WW… over Demba Ba playing central this season, we didnt call each other morons or thick just respected each others opinion.
beefman13
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:51 PM
Comment #62Jail, yes you are right about the alliances, but the nations leaders would not change theirs, or give or take, causing the deaths of millions upon millions of people, all to prove a point. they just would not give and take.
Bloody hell Ibiza, i thought you were the gene kelly of the skirting around the issue ie have a pop at someone then tell the at the end of the post but i can see were you are coming from ha ha.
Jail for Ashley
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:02 PM
Comment #63Ok beefman, if you can call wanting all of Europe and its colonies an opinion you are right.
beefman13
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:02 PM
Comment #64I think it was a Croatian who assasinated Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, and as the Austrians and Germans were in allegeance with each other, and we were with the Croatians and other opposite sides to the alleageance with Germany And Austria, it all kicked off to put it mildly, i think they wanted to execute the Croatian, but he was in a country that was in a different allegeance and would not hand him over, Germany then invaded some country and we gave them ex amount of time to withdraw, which of course they did not, so we declared war on them as usual, and then as usual kicked there kraut butts!
Jail for Ashley
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:08 PM
Comment #65He was a Serb.
G
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:28 PM
Comment #66ONLINE GUY@57. Good shout
G
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:30 PM
Comment #67beefman13@64. I think you will find that World War 1 started because some bloke called Archie Dukes shot an Ostrich.
beefman13
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:31 PM
Comment #68I agree with you Jail,(FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING) I WAS GOING TO PUT SERB OR CROATIAN , BELIEVE ME IF YOU WILL, goodnight.
yo-yo
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:37 PM
Comment #69ONLINE @ 30
nostalgia ain’t what it used to be 🙂
Earl
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:43 PM
Comment #70Pretty off topic, but have you guys seen Rafa Benitez’s Press conference? he’s going akaboos with Chelsea fans on Sky Sports News. Its great TV! Honestly I think they bloody deserve it! The bloke never had a chance from the day he got the job!
G
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:49 PM
Comment #71Wouldn’t worry about going off topic Earl, don’t think anybody has referred to the subject matter since the posts entered double figures. Rafa’s interview is pretty spectacular like. Should make Mediawatch on f365 pretty good reading tomorrow lunchtime.
achtoon
Feb 27, 2013 at 10:52 PM
Comment #72Where is this shit about coming back from being behind as being a good thing come from year. The reason its taken two years to happen is because last season we spent most of the time in front and we had a great defensive record. This season weve generally been shit. Coming from behind just means youve got a crap defense
Earl
Feb 27, 2013 at 11:03 PM
Comment #73ahhh man its gunna be on SkySports all day Tomorrow. The best thing about it is Chelsea play West Brom at the weekend, I can’t imagine what the reception he will get from the fans, thats if he even stays in charge that long. I fear another Steve Kean fiasco on the horizon, if they can even go that low! I thought he was correct on what he said like. the fans have been awful towards since he arrived.
Earl
Feb 27, 2013 at 11:04 PM
Comment #74* meant to say they play West Brom at home
~ Phoenix Warrior Perch~
Feb 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Comment #75Rafa’s Interview for those that missed it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6hhO-i4qVQA
RonVanDam
Feb 28, 2013 at 12:17 AM
Comment #76Im also going off topic. If L’fool are offering AC plus 20m for Ben Arfa, theoretically Arfa is worth 55m
Toon Tang
Feb 28, 2013 at 1:00 AM
Comment #77if benitez had been alot slyer about things and kept his head down he could have had had alot of fun with his position as manager and left the place in a right state for the next in line.
i woulda done everything in my power to piss off the chelsea fans more and more and more until it were time to leave
Toon Tang
Feb 28, 2013 at 1:03 AM
Comment #78he coulda played the reverse crimbo tree formation or told the team to shut up shop whilst still at 0-0 during a home game against weak oposition.
or worn a liverpool shirt on matchday
Kc-Toon
Feb 28, 2013 at 1:43 AM
Comment #79http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydF8_mNzMdc
Almost forgot how good Benny can be on his day, Imagine Cabaye releasing the play, Ben arfa, Sissoko and gouffran hitting swansea on a counterattack, and cisse tapping the ball into the back of the net. I just hope hes fit enough for a starting place
nightfa11
Feb 28, 2013 at 2:36 AM
Comment #80to give a comment on this cabaye hba transfer talk..
i think it would be stupid for them to leave..if they go to man utd, real, etc..they would be just one of hundred players who won the league or cl with those clubs, while here..lets face it..we’re close to having a team that could fight for titles..so..while here theyd have a unique status..IF we win sth that is..which nufc is capable off..with a tweek or 2…this is how u write history..& not getting lost among hundreds of players who won cl with real or milan or..