The mood of Newcastle fans last night at Steve Harper’s testimonial match were in stark contrast to how the fans feel about how the club is bring run by owner Mike Ashley at the moment – seemingly on a shoestring.
Mike Ashley – why did he buy Newcastle?
And for the second summer transfer window running Newcastle have made no real investment in the playing squad at Newcastle, with the result that most Newcatsle fans expect a lower half finish in the Premier League this season.
The expectations are not high, to say the least.
But when you saw the turnout last night of over 50,000 at St James’ Park, it brings into stark perspective how Newcastle could (should) be challenging for a top four position in the Premier League, if only the owner would agree to spend the profits the club are now starting to make.
Each PL club will now get between £60M and £100M each season for the next three years, compared to £40M to £60M with the previous three-year TV deal.
And we saw a number of smaller clubs spend big money in the summer because of this coming windfall – but not Newcastle.
The powers that be at Newcastle (or in short Mike Ashley), must raise their ambitions for the club, and at the very least agree to spend the profits on new players and facilities, so we can get back to being a top team in England again.
If Mike Ashley doesn’t want to do that – then a very good question is why did he buy Newcastle in the first place?
Are there any Geordie Billionaires around these days? 😀
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212 comments so far
MontySmythe
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:03 PM
Comment #81I read this blog regularly and have never contributed previously but it’s good to see someone talking sense in ToonDarnSarf
Our fans seem to be so reactive to every situation.
Put yourself in Mike Ashley’s shoes, he’s done a great job of getting the club on a decent financial footing and I think the individual players we have are probably the best we’ve had since Bobby Robson was in charge.
He’s made a few mistakes (I think letting Keegan walk was the biggest) but fans shouting and screaming at him every time something doesn’t work out as we’d hoped is hardly likely to make him want to invest more in the club and I’m a believer in better the devil you know (remember how happy many were when Ashley took over). The club is in reasonable shape with a first 11 that should finish comfortably in the top half (not convinced Pardew is the man to make that happen though) . He’s far more likely to invest if you make it easy for him to like us rather than hating him.
As for getting fans involved in running the club, I think this is the worst idea, based on a meeting of one rebel fans group fund raiser a couple of years ago at the Labour Club I wouldn’t let half of them in to the ground never mind the boardroom.
Difficult decisions need to be made and if the fans were running it we’d be bankrupt inside 12 months.
I don’t care about stadium name change as it’ll always be known as St James’ Park to fans. (as per Gallowgate and Leazes end which have changed name but are still known by their originals)
I don’t care who our sponsors are.
I care that we have a bunch of decent players playing attractive football and it seems the coaching staff are trying to rectify this with less hoof ball so far this season.
Last season was the first in 4 that we haven’t progressed but I genuinely think we were incredibly unlucky with injuries (Take Gerrard and Suarez out of Liverpool or Bale out of Tottenham and they would have struggled). We had Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Coloccini & Krul missing for long periods who are probably our best 4 players.
Give the bloke a break as the club is an infinitely better position than it was when he took over and you never know if we’re nice to him he might be nice back. In life you reap what you sow and if we continue to reap hatred then is it any wonder we’re not receiving what we would like.
HWTL
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:04 PM
Comment #82TDS
It was done to take away the voice
He’s done alot to anger the fans and he doesn’t like the fact they have a 52,000 seater arena to express that in
Munster Mag
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Comment #83TDS and B+B , I’m beginning to wonder what your hopes and expectations are for NUFC. I dont know why you have to call him Mikey ( if you are friends, good for you , always a good man for a loan …) but despite the fact that guys like Billson went on record as saying he would be hugely disappointed if all we signed was Remy, I still find myslef reading fellows comparing us to West Brom, Palace etc etc. Outside of Manchester (2)and Liverpool FC we can proably claim to be the biggest club in the north of england. Maldini is impressed, ex players call for ambition, and guys on this site continue to play mini accountant and tell us how well run we are, when we can probably expect that the likes mighty Swansea will perform better than us again this season, unless europe hurts them. Where’s the ambition guys – and please dont tell me that I’m trying to bankrupy NUFC by doing a Leeds…..
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:09 PM
Comment #84TADS
That’s sad. But surely the fans can just adjust and find new people to join in with? I know this was a problem years ago (before MA) with the lack of a singing corner.
jayphoto
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:09 PM
Comment #85@quasimodos tailer – aye sorry pal, compelete accident! misread your name, im on the iphone on the train! No offence intended!
Yea definately agreeing, Lee was an absolute steal, my point was that we still offered what other teams offered for him and ultimately what charlton wanted for him, whereas now we’re offering a couple mil less than what teams want and what other teams are offereing
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Comment #86Also some need to stop looking at in paper and stop discounting the human factor
On paper we may well have a strong squad, stronger than the season we finished 5th
But the season we finished 5th we had new players who had arrived after being assured of the clubs European ambitions
Like the fans they have seen those ambitions downsized, promises unfulfilled and the tune of the club very much changed
The players seem as dejected and detached as the fans
Nufc-83
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Comment #87jayphoto // Sep 12, 2013 at 11:08 AM
@TDS Passion in the lads we’ve got now, i wouldn’t add ben arfa into that! He plays for himself and himself only! Great talent, but he would leave in a heartbeat if the right offer came in! It won;t though as he’s far too selfish to play for a top team and his stats don’t lie! Hes fantastic going past people, but his short passing can be woeful! He has zero vision and widely lashes at chances! Some go into the top corner granted but more often than not they fly out of play!
I’d add Cisse into the lads with passion! Met him a while back and the lads truly in love with the club! he speaks like a newcastle fan! He’s a really open guy! Doesn’t get on with our fearless leader Pardew at all though, seemed to really dislike him
What a load of rubbish if ben afra went to a top team he would be 10x the player he is for us and probably outshine a number of the top teams players for the following reasons:
– When he plays for us he is often double or triple marked due to the fact that teams are not worried about are other players – at a top team they couldn’t do this as the other world class players would rip them apart.
– At a top team they would have strikers that actually make good runs and provide movement and space- for us our sts are generally stationary or offside and so he ends up shooting.
I am not saying ben afra is god and would be the best player in the world at a top club but when he tries so hard in such a poor side then gets blamed for losing the ball or shooting it annoys the hell out of me.
Transfer Sage
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Comment #88one tony
Fair play pal, just going off what I have seen around europe. Guessed it would be similar world wide.
Wonder what spur’s following will be without bale???
jayphoto
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Comment #89tailor*
Rotonda heights
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Comment #90Roy
I think ash has only been successful in retail. He tried getting into films with the same results as he’s running NUFC.
Quasimodo's tailor
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:14 PM
Comment #91Jayphoto. No problem. Enjoy your journey.
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:14 PM
Comment #92TDS
How? It’s moved and broken up all the time
I believe it was even bought up in the last club meeting with fans and they were presented with a scripted answer that really wasn’t an answer at all
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Comment #93Munster Mag
Wow…talk about twisting what I’ve been saying…
1 – when I compared our transfer window with the likes of West Brom and Palace, I also compared it to Arsenal and Man Utd. You missed off this bit…
2 – 4th biggest club in the north of England…maybe…pretty much on a par with Everton these days. Makes us 7th/8th biggest club in England
3 – Anyone would be impressed with the ground yesterday, but people used to be impressed by playing at The Dell.
4 – It’s sad when fans like you are already writing off a very good squad and assuming that Swansea and the likes will finish above us
5 – I am also on record as saying that just signing Remy is a below par transfer window
6 – I want ambition like the rest of it. What’s your point? I want what is best for the club, just because I’m not one of a dozen groups calling for MA to leave who frankly can’t organise a p*ss up in a brewery, doesn’t mean that I don’t want ambition and change.
jayphoto
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Comment #94@nufc83 – issue with Ben Arfa is never that he gives the ball away! Its his decision making! And his composure most of the time in front of goal! So many times i see him not choose the pass when its a better option or blaze over from 8/9 yards! Thats what sets him apart from world class players!
In england, ben arfa style players are really uncommon, but in france, players that can go round 3 or 4 players each time are much more common! Boudebouz would be a good example of this, Thauvin another! For the talent Ben Arfa possesses he could be twice the player he is with application! If you speak french (not sure if you do or not) and could read his interviews in France that don’t always get published in the UK, he does nothing but talk about other teams! Be very interested to see if he has any interest in signing this new contract he’s being offered! Think he’ll go the way of enrique personally
Jail for Ashley
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Comment #95Rotunda,
If he wanted to get back into films, I think he would make a very good Oliver Hardy.
roy
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Comment #96Rotonda, if only the man would drop the Howard Hughes act and lay his cards on the table as to what his vision and hopes are for NUFC. All i see in Pardew and Kinnear is no ambition one of them relegated us and the other had a bloody good try last season to relegate us.
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Comment #97TADS
That’s exactly the kind of question that the club needs to address and address properly. There’s no reason at all that they couldn’t do that.
Rotonda heights
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Comment #98KK & SBR didn’t seem to have any problem attracting top players to come to the North East, so it’s not necessarily a geographical thing. If you were a top player would you sign for Pardew and JFK?
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:19 PM
Comment #99Rotonda
Maybe he was trying the wrong film market?
He’d be very successful in the adult market, he’s used to shafting people
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:19 PM
Comment #100jayphoto
So you may as well slag off Gazza, Ginola, Robert, Asprilla and others with that argument. They could all have been better if they had more application and focus. But they were all damn good players and so is Ben Arfa.
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:21 PM
Comment #101TDS
There is a reason, he doesn’t give a sh*t
For me there will never be an appeasement whilst he’s the club, he has no respect for the club or the fans and imo vice versa
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:21 PM
Comment #102Rotonda
KK and SBR were managing in an era when:
1 – Chelsea and Man City were not stupidly rich
2 – we were there or thereabouts the CL places
3 – the owners had the money (or the desire to put us into debt) to pay huge wages and transfer fees
4 – we already had very good squads to add to (as I believe we do now)
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Comment #103TADS
There has to be a reason though. He doesn’t just do it to f off the fans.
I know some fans (like you) have reached the end of the line with Ashley, but it’s pointless just banging on the same drum.
If he doesn’t sell up, are you just going to invest all your energy into demanding that he does? Or are you also going to put some energy into making things better with him as owner?
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:24 PM
Comment #104TADS
There are obviously some fans who have reached the end of the line with Ashley, including yourself it seems. But there must be some reason other than just to mess with the fans.
So are you going to invest all of your energy into demanding he leaves even if he has no intention to? Or are you going to invest some energy into making things better with him as owner?
roy
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:26 PM
Comment #105There is no question we have a decent squad its the man who puts the round pegs in square holes Pardew that concerns me.
Transfer Sage
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Comment #106you can get top players to the north east…you get top players in russia
each player is different, some combination of location, money, club status, league playing in, ambition…each player is different.
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Comment #107TDS
By all means tell me your master plan to open a line of communication seeing as no fan group has been able to in six years
He’ll be gone the second his money’s paid back
Of energy can spent in finding a way to make that happen or make him see he will never get his full investment back all the while he allows the club to stagnate then great
Jail for Ashley
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Comment #108TDsarf,
I think it’s a little unfair for you to tell the rest of the blog that these groups you’ve been contacting couldn’t organize a pi $$ up in a brewery when they are working very hard to get something done.
jayphoto
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Comment #109@tds never said HBA Wasn’t a damn good player, he is! To be honest in terms of skill and technique, i’ve only seen a couple at NUFC better, beardsley, and perhaps from what i’ve seen on videos Tony Green? Just saying it’s frustrating as he could and should be a namestay in the french team (hes second in talent to only ribery for me) and be talked about in the same breath as players like suarez and rooney! Its down to him that he’s not as he’s got everything!
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:31 PM
Comment #110Roy
You could argue pardew is a square peg
He has limited managerial capabilities and is not really suited to a club of this stature
Yet he gets the blame over the man who’s put him in this position
Blackley and Brownlie
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:41 PM
Comment #111TDS
The previous regime wasted tens of millions (£30M?) on signing the likes of Owen, Luque, and Boumsong. Can you imagine if Mikey did that just to get players in and keep fans happy?
This is how I see it and I’m happy to stand corrected. In fact, I’d like to be proved wrong if I learn something and gain a better understanding.
If Mikey extracts money to repay some of his interest free loan I would argue that that is a good thing for the club. I have been discussing with B&B the issue of Mikey being NUFC and NUFC being Mikey with all the money in the same pocket. I think this is an important point because it goes to the question of how you judge Mikey and what he is doing. There are a lot of misconceptions. If B&B is right, then I’m off beam and so I’m keen to hear his views until it’s bottomed out.
I’ve been discussing with Ibiza the value of the club for the same reasons. He thinks I’m not getting his point about returns on investment, but I’m just trying to establish the basics first. (Not easy on mobile. I’m on pc now.)
The club has long had large liabilities as a result of the stadium works and player purchases in instalments. Freddie Shepherd effectively borrowed from future income for the pleasure of the then paying public. (Mikey doesn’t do that; he responsibly pays up front, investing within our means and not mortgaging the future.)
After Mikey bought the club for £130M, he discovered that he had overpaid as a result of these unknown liabilities. If had done due diligence, he would have realised the previous regime had been borrowing from the future (us now) and he would have discovered the instalment arrangements. He would also have discovered that some of the debt had to be repaid immediately on change of ownership. Thus, the club wasn’t even worth anything near the £130M that Mikey paid for it (perhaps nearer £100M but that’s just my supposition; co-incidentally the difference of £30M being the amount wasted on the likes of Owen, Luque and Boumsong). But the club’s value was always going to be the same whether Mikey had discovered the liabilities or not. The value of the club itself, the thing we’re concerned about, did not change one jot on the change of ownership and I wonder whether some people fully appreciate this?
The loan from Mikey is a liability of the club. If the club can get rid of it, it’s great for the club. Of course, instead of lending the club money, which was essential to help it carry on its normal business, Mikey could have given the money to the club. If he had done this his wealth would have been more or less the same, because he owns the club and it would have been £100M better off. When the club repays Mikey that loan from annual profits, it is not detrimental to the club in the same way that it would be if Mikey was taking salary or dividends like the previous regime did in big measure. In many ways, it is financially beneficial. The Hall/Shepherd extractions hit the club’s balance sheet, Mikey’s doesn’t.
B&B – The club is a separate legal entity. Thus, if Mikey writes off the loan, our club is so much richer. The balance sheet is £100M to the good and balance sheets, including cash held, are extremely important to the strength of a business. If he wrote off the loan, NUFC would be worth say £200M and not £100M to a new purchaser. That is why I don’t agree that everything is in the same Mikey pocket sloshing around.
Nufc-83
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:41 PM
Comment #112Jayphoto fair enough i just think if he was in the right team he would be mentioned in the same breath as suarez, rooney etc. Imagine if he only had to skip past one player rather than the 3 he generally has to beat for us. His decision making is not the best i would agree but he is still a top class player and could slot into any team in the world.
Scottiedog
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:42 PM
Comment #113We need a new manager and NOT a new owner.
Personally I think we should make an approach for Zola as his game would really suit our squad and he is used to working with Limited budgets.
Nufc-83
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:44 PM
Comment #114B&B why are you calling him Mikey is he a personal friend its turning my stomach!
toonarmydownsouth
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Comment #115Scottie
And who appoints the manager? Who kept him on in the summer seemingly happy enough?
Jail for Ashley
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Comment #116tads,
The reason Ashley gave Pardew an eight year contract was becuase he thought that if he could achieve a top five finish with a threadbare squad then he should be able to keep us in the PL without any more substantial investment, it very nearly went horribly wrong.
Transfer Sage
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:50 PM
Comment #117blackley
Good points made there. I would say that just because the club is debt free won’t increase it’s value to the same value of the debt…not necessarily anyway. Which I think is what you said.
The only two things I disagree with are the players shepherd bought…might not have been good and he was ripped off but did it with the best intentions of the club as a playing side, maybe not financial side. These players failed but many he bought succeeded too. Just easier to spot failures when a lot of money is wasted.
The second issue was paying over many years….if you can do a deal with a club so you pay this transfer fee over years it makes it easier to buy as spreading over time. Means some years if you need a few players you can spread it over the time instead of all upfront (or missing out on one/two leaving yourself short). If you pay the other club over time it may (or may not) be interest free….club to club agreement not done through a bank (like loaning money for players)
WWSBRD
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:50 PM
Comment #118I’d rather have Pardew than Ashley, no point curing a symptom and ignoring the disease
jayphoto
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:51 PM
Comment #119Imagine if we’d have had Graham Carr scouting the players backed with the money spent by Shepherd and SBR managing them……
Frustrating to have seen all the elements for a world class club just at different times in the last 15 years!
Would have loved to have seen HBA on the right in KK’s team, or Cabaye in the centre for SBR’s side or even Shearer or Ferdinand up top for us in this side!
Transfer Sage
Sep 12, 2013 at 12:52 PM
Comment #120scottie
plenty good managers we could go out and get, zola being one.
The thing is managers are always less of a risk than players, much easier to adapt mentally (tactically) to a league than physically like a player.
So with some good scouting and thorough interviews no reason we couldn’t find a good manger to take us on.