Mike Ashley bought Newcastle in the early summer of 2007 and he paid around £133M for the shares of Sir John Hall and former Chairman Freddy Shepherd.
The he put about £100M into the club in late 2007 to pay off a loan the club had that he knew nothing about – so much for his due diligence before the sale.
And then in our last Championship season back in 2009-2010 he loaned the club a further £29M to see us through that season.
In total it looks like Mike has invested around £262M in Newcastle – and that’s a rough estimate.
Lee Charnley and Mike Ashley
It really could be thumbs up for Newcastle
With the huge money coming into Premier League clubs these days – anywhere from £100M to £180M a year at the moment, depending on how well each club performs in the Premier League, the price of PL clubs will increase significantly in future years.
That’s especially true if the money the clubs get keeps increasing as seems likely after the £650M deal that has reportedly been made in China for the TV rights to the games there.
There will be football people in big demand in the Premier League and they include managers, coaches and of course the players, who should all prosper from the big money PL clubs will be making.
As far as Newcastle go, Mike Ashley did the best thing he has ever done for the club and maybe one of the few good things he has done in nine years of ownership, when he went all out in May to keep Rafa Benitez on board.
Mike and Managing Director Lee Charnley deserve great credit for getting Rafa to stay on and that was also helped greatly by the ever faithful Geordie fans.
Mike has left the club in the hands of Rafa on the football side of things and Lee for the overall running of the club, with Lee the chief executive and Mike hardly involved much these days.
It seems there is no longer any Football Board according to the Chronicle, so these two men run the club and they seem to get along famously.
If Rafa is as successful in the future as he’s shown he can be over his first eight months at the club, then Newcastle could be a club challenging at the top of the Premier League in two or three years time.
After all, that’s why Rafa agreed to stay on – to win trophies at Newcastle.
If that happens then the club will be worth a lot more than the £262M investment Mike has put into the club.
If we do get promoted this season, then it would be good to see Rafa and his coaching staff signed up for a new and improved long-term contract.
If Mike Ashley was willing to do an eight year deal with Alan Pardew, then why not a 10 year deal with Rafa?
That would further ensure that if Mike continues a hands-off approach at Newcastle, Rafa (with Lee Charnley’s executive help) can make the club maybe even more successful than it’s ever been?
It may not happen – but that’s the hope Newcastle fans have these days – that Rafa can indeed make Newcastle great again.
Not only that, but he can also win some trophies for the club for the first time in over 47 years since Joe Harvey won the Inter-City Fairs Cup back in 1969.
If Rafa does that, then heaven only knows how much the club will be worth on the open market.
We imagine the amounts could be staggering a few years down the road – if Newcastle can indeed become a top club again in England and in Europe.
The future could be golden for Newcastle United.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
8 comments so far
Lee Charnley Bunga Party
Nov 25, 2016 at 12:54 PM
Comment #126 Nov 2016: Newcastle v Blackburn (22nd)
2 Dec 2016: Nottingham Forest (18th) v Newcastle
10 Dec 2016: Newcastle v Birmingham (5th)
14 Dec 2016: Wigan (23rd) v Newcastle
17 Dec 2016: Burton (20th) v Newcastle
26 Dec 2016: Newcastle v Sheff Wed (9th)
30 Dec 2016: Newcastle v Nottingham Forest (18th)
2 Jan 2017: Blackburn (22nd) v Newcastle
We could be almost promoted if we keep up the hard work in these games!
Jail for Ashley
Nov 25, 2016 at 12:54 PM
Comment #2Worth a repost as it clears it all up.
Pavel.
From NUFC.com
Newcastle’s unbeaten run in all competitions is now eleven games* and nine wins+ in a row.
* All-time record is nineteen games from Apr to Oct 1992
+ All-time record is nine games in 1994 (last one of 1993/94, first eight of 1994/95)
Therefore, victory over Blackburn Rovers at SJP on Saturday would be the first time in the club’s entire history that they’d won ten in all competitions in a row.
In league fixtures only, we’re unbeaten in nine^ with eight wins~ in a row:
^ All-time record is seventeen games from Feb to May 2010
~ All-time record is thirteen games in 1992 (last two of 1991/92 first 11 of 1992/93)
Rafa’s side secured their fourth successive away win, which is still some distance off the record tally of six that was recorded during 1992 (last one of 1991/92, first five of 1992/93).
Jail for Ashley
Nov 25, 2016 at 12:58 PM
Comment #3Lets not talk about the money he has siphoned out eh!
Bobbybee
Nov 25, 2016 at 1:01 PM
Comment #4The future certainly looks good at the moment. I’m happy to cut Ashley some slack, because whatever the reason he went all out to sign Rafa long term, it’s benefitted the club greatly. Doesn’t mean he’s off the hook, but as long as this carries on, that’ll do for me. The less we see of him the better the club is doing it appears. I know some won’t see it that way and I understand the reasoning behind that thinking, but he’s never bothered me that much either way. Just another dodgy owner in a long long line of them. Keeping Rafa happy is all I ask of Ashley. Whilst Rafa’s here, the club will prosper and that means everybody is happy. Here’s to a long and prosperous relationship with two unlikely partners.
Bobbybee
Nov 25, 2016 at 1:11 PM
Comment #5Lee, looking at that list the only difficult game there I think is Birmingham. They’ve come a long way quickly and are playing some very nice football. I think that will be a cracking game and advise anybody thinking of taking a game in before Christmas to pick that one. Two teams that like to play football with a sold out crowd – nice early Christmas present I reckon.
posada
Nov 25, 2016 at 1:19 PM
Comment #6Ed mentions a 100 Million pound loan that Ashley knew nothing about.
That’s nonsense. Everyone knew about that loan.
Part of that debt financed the improvements to the ground. The capacity went up from 36000 to 52000. So that debt was self financing.
It took Mike Ashley ten years to appoint and trust the right people.
It also took the horrible year with SM in charge to bring him to his senses.
I have no time at all for the managers and directors pre Rafa. They clearly just told the owner a load of old pony. Probably while they were on six figure wages and more.
lesh
Nov 25, 2016 at 3:11 PM
Comment #7Posada
I’m not sure that a ground capacity increase of 16000 would go near clearing the £100m loan you mentioned.
Let’s assume say 30 home games a season, each with a full house at say £15 a ticket, that’d bring an extra 16000 @ £15 – say £240k a season.
Now, £100m with extra income of about £240k a season and that’s the £100m paid off in about 400 years. And that’s assuming there’s no interest charged on the loan.
The cost of increasing capacity in relation to additional income convinced Fenway (?) Liverpool’s owner, not to proceed with plans to expand Anfield.
lesh
Nov 25, 2016 at 3:16 PM
Comment #8Correction to the maths – additional income estimate £7.2m a season – not £240k
Even then, £100m / £7.2m = 14 years to pay the loan off at 0% interest.