More than 5,000 voted in a recent poll organized by the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust (NUST), to judge the support – or the lack of it – of Mike Ashley running Newcastle United.
Mike Ashley – we agree he’s not popular but 96% against him?
And the results, which were reported by John Gibson in an article written yesterday on the NUST site, showed that 96% were unhappy with the way the club was being run by the Londoner.
That poll was when this web-site was on hiatus, and we noted a number of strange things about that particular poll.
The follow-on questions only assumed you had voted negative for Ashley – and any reader could vote multiple times – so angry fans could register their vote multiple times and probably did.
We voted both ways only to check out the poll.
Over 5,000 votes were cast, but those were not 5,000 fans, as being reported, but 5,000 votes.
Hey, it’s not that we are supporters of Ashley, but fair’s fair, and an accurate poll is what we are after – that’s all – so please don’t write to us accusing us of being big Ashley supporters.
We’d like to get a better view of the support against Ashley, and again we don’t dispute he’s unpopular, but surely not 96%.
In the NUST poll only 1% claimed they were ‘very happy’ with the way the club was run with a further 3% ‘satisfied’.
Most fans are not happy with Ashley and that’s very true, but we have a hard time believing the figure is as high as that.
So we are running our own poll to get a handle on what the percentage really is – and while we will not get 5,000 votes, each reader can only vote once.
The NUST has to be very careful of losing credibility by going over the top in their criticism of Ashley.
Their statement recently that Ashley was making £7M a month out of the club was just ridiculous and stupid, when the Newcastle club’s revenue this year will be around £50M.
And while we may be proved wrong and it may be as high as 96%, we wanted to get our own figure, because we’re fairly confident their recent poll was not accurate.
So please cast your vote vote in our new poll on the home page.
The poll is worded as follows: Do You Approve Of The Way Mike Ashley Is Now Running Newcastle United?
Comments welcome.
33 comments so far
Daftus Doofus
Feb 3, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Comment #1“Do You Approve Of The Way Mike Ashley Is Now Running Newcastle United?”
WE DO NOT approve one little bit and people will do well to remember that a leopard never changes its spots.
We do not think that Ashley has invested in the long term future of the club, he has only invested to try and ensure promotion.
We think that Ashley will own a team that is nailed on certainties for relegation next season should they be playing in the Premier League.
We dont think that Ashley can be trusted and we will be absolutely delighted when the day comes that either Ashley sells up or is incarcerated in Durham jail for price fixing.
Rockerfuller
Feb 3, 2010 at 11:50 AM
Comment #2I’m Not Ashleys biggest fan, like most newcastle fans, but i think he’s trying to change his ways, and even if he does sell the club in the summer at least we’ll be rid of him, hes done nothing wrong this season and i for one am still happy to keep him here until we get someone with the money and the passion to get our club back where we belong.
Daftus Doofus
Feb 3, 2010 at 11:51 AM
Comment #3We think that the NUST has and will always have far more credibility than this blog – sorry Ed, but there it is.
The Entertainers
Feb 3, 2010 at 11:53 AM
Comment #4Just a side note and not sure how new the poll is about Ashley on this site, but at the moment only a few vistors have cast there vote.
BUT CURRENTLY MOST VOTERS ARE HAPPY, YES HAPPY WITH THE WAY THE CLOWN IS RUNNING THE CLUB!!!!!!!!!
I cant for one moment understand,comprehend, relate to these deluded fans and their pathetic reasoning to support to a man who albeit removed us from any red we were in with the bank. But in doing so removed us from our place in the best league in the world, drove a wedge between two of the cubs former heros in Shearer and Keegan, made PR blooper after PR blooper and currently is partly responsible due to the lack of funds for probabley the worst style of football i have seen at St James Park in many a season!
But hey we live in a democracy and if that tripe is what you want to pay your good money on watching then why the hell havent you supported the likes of Bolton or Stoke years ago!
Get a grip,yes we are top of the league and bought a handful of average CCC players,but that is down to bloody good managment on CH behalf and nowt,NOWT to do with the assest stripper in charge!
Rant over!
NewcastleMole
Feb 3, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Comment #5@Ed
“The NUST has to be very careful of losing credibility”
Does the NUST have any credibility? 😀
NewcastleMole
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:00 PM
Comment #6@The Entertainers
Couldn’t agree more mate
Spitfire
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Comment #7Forgive me but any poll like this is too simplistic and too subjective. To get a true picture you would have to carry out a multiple question survey using a Lickert scale or similar so that proper data analysis could be done. Obvious flaws are :a NUST poll will naturally attract NUST sympathisers and skew any conclusion. A poll today ( post transfer window) would have different results from one (say) carried out when we lost out on Victor Moses. Clarity and distinction has to be drawn between the running of the club and the running of the team. Also I would venture clarity and distinction has to be drawn between Ashley and Llambias. These are just immediate points that spring to mind. I am sure there are many many more to consider. A straw poll is just too crude.
NewcastleMole
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Comment #8@Spitfire
Also i don’t know when the poll was conducted but the TV documentary about him wouldn’t of helped give a clearer picture
leazescorner
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:20 PM
Comment #9The Entertainers
I agree that he has done everything wrong up until now, he has made in my opinion 3 good signings in Simpson, Williamson and Routledge. Hall and Best, well we shall see.
But are you one of these people that just sings get out of our club at matches? He isn’t going anywhere, unless someone can fork over £100+ for the club in the summer, he will remain.
And in terms of CH, has he really done that good of a job? Considering the players we have, I would be shocked if we werent top of the league. Being at the game last saturday against Leicester made me realise what a muppet CH is! His constant picking of Nicky Butt away from home alone is enough to push me over the edge, but his tactics are dire. His safety first tactics away from home will cost us the lead at the top, and the lack of creativity at home is very poor. Cardiff are a team who can score goals and unless CH gets a whiff of ideas before then, we are done for.
najikhin86
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Comment #10@entertainers: 🙂 🙂 🙂
Daftus Doofus
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Comment #11“Most fans are not happy with Ashley and that’s very true, but we have a hard time believing the figure is as high as that.”
Seeing as we no longer reside in the UK and do not attend Newcastle games, it is evident that we do not realise the depth of feeling against the FCB!
MacToon
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:47 PM
Comment #12The Entertainers, I notice that (generally) the farther away people live from SJP the more acceptable they are of the situation especially considering our league position.
Polls like these are fun and shouldn’t be taken too seriously, like Spitfire says they can be too simplistic however the NUST poll is more confusing and imo biased. Most people going onto that poll are there for a reason, looking for a way out of this hell with Ashley therefore their answers are more predictable. I obviously had the opportunity to complete their poll but did not.
This owner is evil and only cares about himself, I refuse to be taken for a ride by him, I do not like being lied to by him and his employees.
I worry about the future of our club.
Wilad
Feb 3, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Comment #13Although I’m not a fan there has been clear cost restructuring and he is running our club in a more sustainable fashion. I do believe that we can put the past behind us and look what he does over the next 12 months as he could have dumped us in adminstration and left us to crash and burn.
HWTL
Robby Bobson
Feb 3, 2010 at 1:16 PM
Comment #1496% of people who go onto a protest groups website dont like the person they protest against.
SHOCK!
jackdnufc
Feb 3, 2010 at 1:33 PM
Comment #15I could not agree more with Spitfire in regards to the way polls like this one are run. I also agree with Wilad that it would have been easier and a hell of a lot less costly for Ashley to place us into administration. However, he is a gambler and has the chance to make more than the money he’s put in over the last season if he does sell so that one is open to debate and with his past running of the club most would feel as though he wants to get as much money back as he can. The hate towards him from last season is deserved yet this season it would be hard to describe his running of the club anything less than satisfactory and that is exactly what its is. I am not saying I’m delighted he’s still here, nor I’m I saying its been great this season but you cannot judge him this season purely on the bases of last saying football works on a season by season bases (obviously). If we are to cast judgement on how he has handled the running of the club we first need to make sure that the players get us promoted n the first place and then see how much Ashley is willing to invest in new ones over the summer. There is absolutely no point of accusing him of doing things that he hasn’t already done, even if you are suspicious of his motives! We want a new owner because he clearly has no passion for the club, and he sent us into relegation but this season has been no worse than alright to be fair. I will stand corrected if he screws us in the summer but for the time being he is being steady in his running of the club.
HWTL
listie
Feb 3, 2010 at 1:57 PM
Comment #1696% of a group that want Ashley out, what a surprise.
Thats a bit like asking the Labour party who they are going to vote for in the election Labour or Tory!!!
NUST have i’m in no doubt the right intentions, but they way they are going about it is just making them look like clowns. We had just started to begin to shake off the ” laughing stock” of football title, then these guys come along! After the stupidity of claiming Ashley is making a millions every month, then this.
I’m no Ashley lover, but then i’m no Ashley hater, I just have common sence on my side, so far thing look ok, top of the league and new CCC players brought.
People who are saying we have brought in very average players are 100% correct if we are in the EPL, but we are not we are in the fizzy pop league, and at the moment we need fizzy pop players. If we get promoted, then we will need champagne players andwe will really see how much MA has changed.
bri_2k4
Feb 3, 2010 at 2:22 PM
Comment #17hang on did it actually take a poll to relise that we all hate him i reallty do want him out but if its going to usettle the team by him sayin were up for sale like the last time i would rather him leave in the summer and to be quite frank i dont think a fan ownership will work for a club like ours we need a local fella who has a lot of cash and some one who no’s what there doing wee need a owner with money wholl spend a prity penny and a chairm who loves football and everything about newcastle or else theres no point we are currently being run by a man who has casinos. were gunner win the league any way lol woop woop
OHurley
Feb 3, 2010 at 2:28 PM
Comment #18I have to say in all fairness- I think the administration has done a decent job THIS season. Could’ve been better, but light years ahead of the previous two seasons for sure. BUT- the question of whether he’s doing this just for promotion, and then back to the same old Ashley, is a VERY pertinent question. I reserve judgement until I see what happens 1) at the end of this season, and 2) what happens during NEXT transfer window. I think this is fair. Who knows, maybe the b@st@rd had an epiphany… (I’ll be the blue guy in the corner holding my breath…) 😀
MacToon
Feb 3, 2010 at 2:38 PM
Comment #19“it would have been easier and a hell of a lot less costly for Ashley to place us into administration.”
I think you would find Ashley losing a shed load of money if this had happened and was never a realistic option.
BeeGuy
Feb 3, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Comment #20MA is no fool. He realizes his team has no real value out of the PL. So he will spend to make be reasonably sure he has at least a mid-table quality roster on going. Look for the youth program to deliver more lads into the squad. With many European teams in financial difficulty, he will keep himself positioned to sanp up deals on quality players or join any new “super league” that might come about.
Davies
Feb 3, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Comment #21Am I happy with the way the club is being run at the moment?
Yes.
The owner is supporting the manager, but not bending over for him. Our finances are better than they have been for a long time, and a long way better than most other clubs. We have had a good transfer window and are top of the league.
Why wouldn’t I be happy?
Would I want the current entity that is NUST running my club?
Absolutely not.
They have proven, so far, to be unreliable and have made themselves look incredibly stupid and quite dishonest by publishing figures like the £7m Mike Ashley was supposedly making from Newcastle, or the 96% figure above.
Anybody still raging about this man probably has more deep seeded hate issues that anything else.
True, I find it hard to forgive some of the mistakes of the past under this owner, but they are in the past. I don’t believe he ever set out to lose money on his investment or to upset the entire Geordie nation. I think he took some bad advice and everybody, including him, has paid the price.
Can we please just move on and stop pointing our finger at Ashley for every single mistake anybody associated with the club makes.
Davies
Feb 3, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Comment #22Daftus Doofus – If you don’t like this blog, don’t read it. Then, at least I won’t have to read your inane posts.
The entertainers – You used to be such a reasonable poster on here. You now appear to be one of the reactionaries that believes Ashley is the Devil and has put us in this position purely to piss everyone off. Grow up will ya lad. Keegan behaved as badly as anybody in that ridiculous affair and Shearer wasn’t ready to manage us. He may never be.
The rot had set in long before Ashley got here and you know it. Would you rather have Fat Freddy back? Seriously? I’m no fortune teller, so I won’t say that we’d be in league one now if FFS didn’t up sticks, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Please don’t mistake my being happy with the way the club is being run at present with me being an Ashley fan, for I am not that. Deluded fans are not people like me, who have accepted our position and see our current managment digging us out of it as being a good thing.
Deluded fans are wankers like you who think we have a God given right to be in the premier league because we are Newcaste United and not have to earn it. We had the quality to stay up last season, but the players bottled it on the pitch.
Stop pointing your idiotic finger at one person and accept that we just weren’t good enough last sesaon. All of us.
CAToon
Feb 3, 2010 at 5:19 PM
Comment #23Looking at Pompey, what comes to mind is “there but the grace of God go I.” NUFC would have been in far worse shape a few years ago, given our wage bill, doggy finances, and poor management. You think life in the CCC is bad, consider league one. Has Ashley been a disaster, no. Irritating, yes. But can fans honestly say they would rather have had the old regime in place, at a time when financial markets froze up.
In theory, NUST is exactly the direction NUFC should take. In practice the PR blunders the trust has made is simply embarrassing, spiteful, childish, disrespectful to the fans….wait, sounds more like a dig at MA…bad if I get the two confused.
baro
Feb 3, 2010 at 5:26 PM
Comment #24Are you 4% who are on his side stupid or what?
Why the hell would you like him?
jimiley
Feb 3, 2010 at 6:16 PM
Comment #25Mike Ashley has saved NUFC and fans are now coming on board. In a few years time when we are challenging for the league people will see him for what he has achieved and will treat him with the dignity and respect he deserves.
OHurley
Feb 3, 2010 at 6:38 PM
Comment #26jimiley-
Class comments there, m8. Only time will tell. I think that MA’s business plan has made practical sense. Sure it sucked for a time, and we won’t really know what the future will look like until the end of this season/beginning of next season. I think looks all right though. I wouldn’t be surprised if we pick up at least two good solid premiership signings next window. And probably 3 or 4 decent signings, lads that will keep us up like. We’ll see.
baro
Feb 3, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Comment #27jimiley-
maybe you are right. But if he gave the manager last year some money for new players, than we wouldn’t of been here in coca cola championship league. But, than he stuck with us and is helping Chris Hughton this year. He did bad than good.
baro
Feb 3, 2010 at 6:52 PM
Comment #28I wish KEVIN KEEGAN was still our manager, he was world class, and the best.
Daftus Doofus
Feb 3, 2010 at 7:54 PM
Comment #29“Daftus Doofus – If you don’t like this blog, don’t read it. Then, at least I won’t have to read your inane posts.”
We think that you should keep your trap shut. We also think that your personal insult aimed at the Entertainer is disgraceful.
We think that Sunderland FC is more suited for people of your ilk!
Charlietoon
Feb 3, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Comment #30So a guy called Daftus Doofus is the only person who lends more credibilty to the NUST than this blog. lol nuff said really
I for one do like how Ashley is running the club NOW but that does not mean I can forget what he has done in the last two years.
The Entertainers
Feb 3, 2010 at 10:39 PM
Comment #31@Davies
Thankyou for our kind words
But anyway to your points.
1# Reactionary? Well i supported Ashley to begin with and after a number of years in charge now and watching this mess we have ended up in i dont think i’m being a reactionary without good cause! Rather reactionary than spineless and tolerant.
2# Again i have commented fairly on the Keegan debarcle and dont believe he comes out of the situation smelling of roses. However to blame Keegan and forget about Keegans acheivements at SJP , wellshame on you.
3#Shearer not ready >? How do you know MA didnt give him a chance and neither by the sounds of it would you. At least he brought back some pride amongst the fans again.
4# Would i take FFS back~?No. But what i do know is i enjoyed my football more under him than i am under Ashley!
5# Deluded ? I didnt for moment believe we should have a right to stay in the top league, but we DO have a right to be treated better by the heirachy at SJP and deserve better football than i’m curretly paying to watch.
Oh and as for pointing my finger at one person, i’m not. Oh no i could have mentioned Lambias, Wise and Kinnear.
Your defence of Ashley and snipes at Shearer, Keegan and fans like me are the tripe a deluded, spinless, far too tolerant Ashley sympathiser would say.
One final comment you ended with. last season we werent good enough. ALL OF US. Clearly mate you werent and still arent!
Bao Zheng
Feb 4, 2010 at 8:21 AM
Comment #32There is some interesting information beginning to come out about the NUST sponsors, could be some of them are only in it to transfer Toon pension funds to their own account? While I am not a fan of Big Mikes either I would have to concede he has got more right than wrong lately.
mel
Feb 4, 2010 at 7:04 PM
Comment #33This was answer from NUST about £7m profit when I emailed them – the figures certainly don’t look as ridiculous as Ed and other comments would have you believe :
The figures are from the projections for this season (since July)
Which were incomings £64m outgoings £62.5m – Profit of £1.5m
But :
Player Transfers : predicted 0 : estimated actual £19m ( +£19m)
(Martins/Duff/Bassong/Beye)
Players Wages : predicted £45m : estimated actual £34m ( £11m)
Gate receipts : predicted £22m : estimated actual £27m (+£5m)
(based on 34,000 crowd)
Other Wages : predicted £8m : estimated actual £4m (+£4m)
Tv revenue : predicted £5m : estimated actual £7.5m (+£2.5m)
Catering/Shirt Sales/Sponsorship/SD perimeter advertising – (+£3.5m)
ie £45.0m higher than predicted + above £1.5m = £46.5m over 7 months
Also consider :
Promotion brings in £51m extra ( £11.25m if not)
Staff reduction (about 200 people) and other overhead areas are still
being reduced to produce more savings. If Geremi removed from books
then another £1.5m saved
Also we believe that there are significant assets in St James Holdings.