NUST: Running out of time?

Posted on January 10th, 2010 | 221 Comments |

The NUST's Malcolm Shiels, Steve Hastie and Mark Jensen.
The NUST's Malcolm Shiels, Steve Hastie and Mark Jensen.
The Newcastle United Supporter’s Trust have recently completed the first phase of their “Yes We Can” campaign, a 6 week “education” programme.

Now, they have embarked on phase two of the campaign. On the NUST’s website. It says of the new phase that they are:

“…setting out our plan that will lead to negotiations with our club on a ‘fan led movement’ that will bring about new ownership with as little pain as possible for both sides.”

As a part of this launch of the second phase, NUST Spokesman, Mark Jensen, said in an interview on Friday that this phase would:

“Convince serious figures in the financial community that Newcastle United, run properly, is a viable, long-term investment”.

He then added on the January transfer window:

“It’s clear the appetite for fan involvement in the club is still strong and we see this month as key.

“It’s vital to bring in the right players who can make an impact in the Premiership.”

But surely, the last thing the Newcastle United Supporters Trust would want is for the club to be promoted? This would almost cartainly mean that the NUST would then have to raise MUCH more money than the £100 million they projected for. Unless they have a contigency, their whole plan would have to be reworked to take account of the new reality. That is, if Mike Ashley would agree to sell them the club in the first place, which they still haven’t confirmed. When the club’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, offered them a meeting to discuss the scheme in November of last year, NUST Chairman, Neil Mitchell, pointedly refused and said of the proposed meeting:

“Deals in smoke-filled rooms will not be part of our negotiations. The idea of the campaign is to bring trust and integrity back to the club and to reflect the values of the city as a whole.”

Meanwhile, as time is rapidly running out on the scheme, there is still no meeting with a high level representative of the club or Mike Ashley, and no business plan, which would be essential before the NUST even start to raise concrete funds to launch some kind of takeover bid. The way things are at the moment, the “serious figures in the financial community” mentioned by Jensen will almost certainly say “Thanks, but no thanks”.

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Comment on this post

221 Responses

  1. It’s never going to happen and i wouldn’t want it to! Fair play and all that for coming up with the idea and the willingness to give it a go, but i thinks it’s time for them to admit they are woefully out of their depth.

    Cue Stardust, this should bring him out :D

  2. not going to happen. they would need 250-300m not only to meet the asking price but ashley would no doubt want his 100m loan back up front right away just because its nust who had been insulting him from day one. then theres running costs which they probably havent even thought about and above all else i don’t think they’re that bright

  3. toonsy says:
    January 10, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    “It’s never going to happen and i wouldn’t want it to! Fair play and all that for coming up with the idea and the willingness to give it a go, but i thinks it’s time for them to admit they are woefully out of their depth.”

    toonsy, I think I’ve got to the heart of it. The financial ‘brains’ behind the NUST is a woman called Lynn Steele from a company called “SIPP Brokers”, who sell and collect management fees for Self Invested Personal Pensions.

  4. Aye Worky she was on the radio a couple of months ago spouting a load of tripe.

    Best they can hope for is a small percentage in the club, and that is a long, long shot!

  5. Stu – Getting a small percentage share is an even longer shot when they get offered a chance of a meeting with the current regime but stick 2 fingers up at them!

  6. Stuart79 says:
    January 10, 2010 at 7:27 pm

    “Aye Worky she was on the radio a couple of months ago spouting a load of tripe.”

    “Tripe” like this? (from my NUST notes):

    Shortly after the NUST’s “Yes We Can” campaign was launched in October 2009, NUST Financial expert, Lynn Steele of “SIPP Brokers”, a seller of ‘Self Invested Personal Pensions’ explained how the deal was going to work:

    “We need around 4,000 investors to put in the £20,000 and then we have the magical £100m figure as HM Revenue and Customs will top it up with £5,000 in tax relief. The money could come from businesses, individuals or from pension pots.”

    “We need around 4,000 investors to put in the £20,000 and then we have the magical £100m figure as HM Revenue and Customs will top it up with £5,000 in tax relief. The money could come from businesses, individuals or from pension pots.

    “We haven’t tried yet and we already have £20m committed, I think it could be very easy to get the rest with some effort.

    “It could take three to six months to get the money raised if we are using the pension model. If we get more than £100m then we can put more money into the club.”

  8. Stuart79 says:
    January 10, 2010 at 7:40 pm

    “What’s Jim Mcdonald doing in that picture with them other two NUST mobsters?”

    LOL. A slightly squashed version of Jim McDonald.

  13. “then there’s the running costs which they probably haven’t even thought about”
    Well done Joseph because in all the rubbish I’ve seen or heard spouted agains NUST this is the most stupid – do you seriously think that they haven’t considered ALL the financial aspects of this in particular running costs
    And then you compound your own stupidity with the comment “and above all else I dont think they’re that bright”
    Of the ones that I know, one is a Solicitor of over 20yrs experience, one is an Accountant with a similar level of experience and Mark Jensen as most Newcastle supporters are aware has runs what is probably the most successful and best fanzine in the country for god knows how many years – I would doubt very much that sensible people would question their level of intelligence
    Put ya brain in gear before you spout personal crap like you just have about lads who are trying to do something about our current situation whether you agree with them or not

  14. At 1st I thought there was a possibility that something might come of it and I am registered with NUST but for along time now there is as much chance of me winning the lottery as them being successful. I now worry about what is really behind it all

  15. look more like the blues brothers, just after they got let out, lets be serious here would any of you lot hand over hard cash to those guy’s if they approched you.
    not quite the dragons are they?

  16. Big Dave says:
    January 10, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    “I now worry about what is really behind it all”

    Dave, did you read comment 6? There’s a huge potential conflict of interest there.

  18. Sam says:
    January 10, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    They cannot be too clever as they are spouting all this crap and haven’t even seen the books let alone done due dilligence, so they don’t know what they would be taking on. Yet they still persist with the idea, not knowing how much money they will actually need.

    If Ashley sells for £100m there will bethe debt (approx £100m) to be paid. How are they going service that, as well as provide money for new signings and wages ect…?

    If we get promoted Ashley may well turn that debt into equity, but they will still have to find that extra £100m because the value of the club goes up with the equity.

    They shouldn’t be saying anything until they know how much they need to raise to purchase the club and how much it would cost to run the club and pay off existing debts.

    Utter amatuers!

  20. Since no-one who has expressed an interest with NUST has yet been asked for any money, I don’t get why people are so negative and can’t keep an open mind. We’ve had to put up with far more in the way of broken promises, U-turns, subterfuge, conduct unbecoming and downright lying from MA and DL – and that’s only when they actually deign to communicate with the fans! Yet some people on this blog seem to rate them as shrewd, business-like and totally well-intentioned – whilst pouring vitriol on the NUST and everyone associated with it.
    Why? Sorry, I really don’t get it. I know there’s such a thing as the”devil you know”, but it’s hard to understand the comments.

  21. So Newcastle is going to knock you back a cool £350m-£400m then Joseph?

    Bit steep like… 8O

    The asking price will go up if we get promoted but so too will the value and so too will the interest in other investors, it’s all mostly relative.

    As long as they get the right people in place and do things the right way, I have loads of admiration for this lot. I spoke to Malcolm and Mark and they are genuine supporters who believe they are doing the right thing and voluntarily going about making something happen.

    For those ridiculing them, if it fails you can all smugly tell them that you told them so.

  22. bowburnmag says:
    January 10, 2010 at 8:36 pm

    Sorry Bowburn I’m a ridiculer.

    I do however have a huge amount of admiration for these guys with the effort their putting in.

  23. Well said sam and magpie. Maybe the rest of you ought to start a counter campaign “No We can’t”. Then again maybe it should be “No You can’t”. United.. Not!

  24. Sometimes we Geordies are our own worst enemies. Our expectations are so high that some think its our god given right to be back in the top flight and no doubt once we are will EXPECT that we should be back challenging at the top in no time what so ever. And if it doesnt pan out the way we want it each week, its on the players backs, it disgusts me, hearing my fellow supporters jeering at a player for a missed pass here and there. Its just bloody fickle.

    I honestly cant believe the hostility that these visionaries have been met with. Neither can I believe that this thing (‘Yes We Can’) isn’t worth taking a chance on.

    Sometimes I wonder if its just so those that spread the negativity can say ‘I told you so’ if it does go wrong. I for one would rather be wrong and have tried than have just bleated on that ‘It’ll never work’ an wallowed in self-righteousness.

    Some people really need to take a reality check.

    Fan representation and even ownership of a club like NUFC is a lofty goal, and shouldn’t be expected to just materialise over night. No mater how long it takes, the ideal that these lads are following is worth backing, if it ensures we don’t want to be at the mercy of the Halls, Shepherds and Ashleys of this world.

    Just my opinion like.

  25. Stu – nothing wrong with not believing that this can work because it’s a hell of a long shot.

    And NUST have done some things which I haven’t necessarily agreed with. I’m just with magpie6699 on this one. I don’t understand after everything that has happened, why there isn’t more compassion for one another.

    The least people can do is consider that this isn’t some rip-off. It may turn out to be foolhardy but it’s not dishonest.

  26. Funny how half the commentators on here assume NUST have no idea of debts, running costs, due diligence, none of which Ashley – by his own admission – did before he took over. I don’t recall many protests then. Maybe if people’s intelligence matched their ability to knock people who actually try to make a change their would have been.

  27. I highly doubt it will work and I don’t think I want it to either.

    I’d actually rather Ashley just stays, keeps a low profile and puts in at least adequate transfer money.

  28. “They cannot be too clever as they are spouting all this crap and haven’t even seen the books let alone done due dilligence, so they don’t know what they would be taking on. Yet they still persist with the idea, not knowing how much money they will actually need.”

    I cant see them being able to approach it any other way. Ashley has made it clear that anyone that wishes to get to the due diligence stage must provide proof of their funds by depositing the 100m in an account which will allow him to verify their genuine intent. NUST dont have that yet, so how could they perform due diligence. They have to work with what they have, and whilst we as the fans don’t back them all the more difficult things will be.

    I dont think these guys seriously expect people to chuck their hard earned in to the kitty without seeing a solid roadmap of how they expect things to work, before during and after any purchase. And as one above said, they havent actually asked any one to blindly cough up.

  29. Support for the NUST has slowly crept in on this thread, when before I just thought it had minimal support.

    I’m not going to knock them, not at all, I just don’t agree.

    I’d prefer that either Ashley stays and oversees a sustainable project into keeping us in the premier league, being sensible with money and slowly but surely taking us up the league – or another cash strapped bloke comes in.

    It’s not that I doubt these guys credibility or intelligence – i’m sure they wouldn’t jump into it blindly, but I think everybody would feel better with a rich bloke with money to burn, so to speak, as in, we could put in some serious investment if it was required.

  30. “I’d actually rather Ashley just stays, keeps a low profile and puts in at least adequate transfer money.”

    Oh dear.

  32. “It’s not that I doubt these guys credibility or intelligence – i’m sure they wouldn’t jump into it blindly, but I think everybody would feel better with a rich bloke with money to burn, so to speak, as in, we could put in some serious investment if it was required.”

    Respectfully, I cant disagree enough. I’d rather support NUFC no matter what league and know what we have a say in our clubs destiny than allow fools like Ashley and Lambias mismanage our pride and season ticket dosh.

  33. bowburnmag –

    What’s your expectations this transfer window?

    What do you think we need and what do you think we’ll end up with?

    I honestly think we will end up with a couple of loan signings and wouldn’t necessarily rule out the two loan players we had returning.

    Although I think the whole club needs a lift to be honest, there’s such a negative feel to it, and I personally think it’s due to the transfer window and the really low expectations everyone has that we will actual be active in this window.

    Actually buying a couple of players will lift the players, the staff and the supporters and it might just relieve a bit of the negativity towards the current regime.

    What are your thoughts on that?

  34. Thomas, alexkid – well put. Too many closed minds – maybe you’re right about people who like to say “I told you so”. OK – their views are noted and they can wallow in their glory if / when it fails.
    I’ve bought shares in the past, sold them to MA at a big loss (so what), and invested thousands over the years in the hope of getting some enjoyment out of the club – sometimes I have, sometimes I haven’t.
    If “Yes we can” does fail / is a scam and people run off with my £7.50 or whatever the committed expense turns out to be – what the hell, it’s peanuts compared to the rest of the money I’ve wasted. And at least it brings HOPE of something better than the deceitful, barrow-boy mentality owner we have now.

  35. I think they need Aunty Pam rather than Jim McDonald or Roy.

    At least she will be able to negotiate a good deal and the chance of us having better sandwiches.

  36. “Respectfully, I cant disagree enough. I’d rather support NUFC no matter what league and know what we have a say in our clubs destiny than allow fools like Ashley and Lambias mismanage our pride and season ticket dosh.”

    Well i’ll respectfully return the feeling. I don’t believe what some fans do in that, they’d rather watch us in the conference without Ashley here than in the Premiership with him. I just think it’s a bit ridiculous in all honesty.

    I don’t want a say in our club’s destiny, and why not? Because I don’t want you, the guy above, our any other fan to have a say in the running of the football club. I want proper business people to run the business, and I want a good coach to be given full control – not any body else whatsoever.

  37. Toon says:
    January 10, 2010 at 8:47 pm
    Funny how half the commentators on here assume NUST have no idea of debts, running costs, due diligence, none of which Ashley – by his own admission – did before he took over. I don’t recall many protests then. Maybe if people’s intelligence matched their ability to knock people who actually try to make a change their would have been.

    Ashley didn’t do due dilligence but he had the money to pay for that mistake.

  38. With all respect, I can’t understand at all how people can say they would rather have NUFC in the gutter, they get ripped off with their investment, or they back a campaign with the only thing going for it is the link with the fans – instead of having an owner, who, has made mistakes – but at least he has some money to run the club and make some proper signings.

    Just my view though – I can see this making fans divided in opinion yet again.

  39. “Well i’ll respectfully return the feeling. I don’t believe what some fans do in that, they’d rather watch us in the conference without Ashley here than in the Premiership with him. I just think it’s a bit ridiculous in all honesty.”

    Just the opinion of one Andy, and we are each entitled to our own no matter how it differs from the next man.

    But seriously though….

    “I want proper business people to run the business”

    Does Ashley fit that description? A Man that is being investigated by every financial body under the sun?….

    “and I want a good coach to be given full control..”

    And will this ever happen under Ashley? Also you can apply this question to your statement about putting in adequate transfer money.

    All I’ve seen so far is a man that is asset stripping a business in order that he can get back is foolishly invested cash.

  40. Stu – I edited your post because it looked like you were quoting me… :)

    Gotta go and watch a film with the better half but before I do one…

    Aye, I agree with you regards the negative vibes, and like I said the other say, some fans will not be happy til he’s gone. And I respect that.

    However, as I’ve said in a couple of articles, for the interim we are where we are and I’m actually enjoying being back at the games, if not enjoying the football. There’s a sense of camaraderie, despite what this thread of posts suggests.

    I share alex’s sentiments though I, as I’m sure he too, would like us to play to the highest level. So promotion would be nice, and it may increase chances of a sale. I think it’s better for all involved if Ashley moves on because I see there being more chance of us being promoted and sold than I do widespread reconciliation, even if I haven’t ruled it out entirely.

    Promotion could be jeopardised if we don’t strengthen. Threfore I would like, but am not expecting, a left-back/centre-half (see what Man City think about Lescott coming here), a midfielder with some pace and verve (maybe that Kaka kid from abroad) and somebody who can consistently put the ball in the back of the net (maybe test Liverpool’s resolve with a cheeky loan enquiry for Torres?).

    Seriously, yes a couple of permanent purchases would help but not if it’s for the sake of it, i.e. Harewood at a knockdown.

    Reet, that’s me done with waffling but I think this league is poor. If we somehow avoided injuries until the end of the season we have enough to go up.

    As for the article topic – as long as worky allows me, the Bowburn branch of .org is behind NUST all the way for now.

  41. NUST have conducted themselves like the amateurish despicable morons they are.

    ANYONE saying these people know what they are doing is an equally culpable foolish misguided fool.

    Anyone with any level of experience in this field knew from day 1 that they were engaged in areas of complexity, business and law that was way out of their comfort zone and experience – the same goes for their “advisors” who equally apparently didnt know how to conduct the campaign.

    If they dont even know how to go about legally and ethically raising cash they can not claim after the event to be trusted with any money LET ALONE PENSIONS (which are their to care for the elderly in their time of need).

    They claim it to be a serious investment for the financial community but still to this date they do not offer detailed financials how the club will run for the next 5 years. Nor can they even issues shares at x and sell x amount as they do not know the current price (which is ever changing with circumstance and new financial transactions / likelihood of promotion)

    NUST are egocentric morons masquerading and NUFC fans. They have their own agenda – which appears to be the seeking of power and greed.

    Anyone defending them is inexperienced, possibly romantic and a gullible fool.

    NO ONE SHOULD TRUST THESE INCOMPETENTS – ONE LOOK AT THEIR PHOTOGRAPH LET ALONE PROSPECTUS TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

    IN NUST NO ONE SHOULD TRUST – THEY THREATEN THE LONG TERM FUTURE OF NUFC MORE THAN ANY GROUP IN HISTORY.

  42. “Just my view though – I can see this making fans divided in opinion yet again.”

    On that we agree, I don’t think we’ll agree 100% on everything, and I can understand why some might think that it might cause problems in a fan ownership model.

    Thats the thing about democracy “Its the worst form of government, except all of the others that have been tried.”

  43. Pfft I hate this topic, as it feels like when I try to explain my view on it I have to go proper into it, but I shall try…

    … Without doubt Ashley has made mistakes. I do believe though, that in a recession, with a club playing in the championship and previously still paying “top 4” wages – change and money saving was needed. It’s not fantasy football and it’s not exciting signings every window, but it puts the club in good financial terms. I think the stadium name change, the employment of companies to maximise revenue and the gradual improvement of the youth level, is a long term vision of a self sustaining club – spend a bit, make a lot – which is something which can also be successful.

    To be fair though, about the coach thing – he’s backed Hughton, as well as listening to the fans about Keegan. Listening to the FANS about Keegan. Could the NUST attract top coaches, or offer them the money they’d require?

    I think Ashley could do it right here – I think for the club to move forward we have to put aside this hostility, maybe even give him a chance, and just see where it takes us.

  44. Stardust,

    I share your views on the actual campaign but I think it’s little harsh to go round calling them egotistical morons ect…

    They may be doing what they believe is right and they may believe in it but that doesn’t make them morons – Just mis-guided individuals who are way out of their depth.

  45. Again, I agree with Stardust.

    You’ve got to stop posting so well, man. I feel dirty agreeing with you all the time!

  46. Where to start, Stardust.

    “culpable foolish misguided fool.” I havent met meany fools that aren’t foolish.

    “NO ONE SHOULD TRUST THESE INCOMPETENTS – ONE LOOK AT THEIR PHOTOGRAPH”

    Book by a cover anyone? As for their prospectus, I don’t believe they’ve released the full details of that yet?

    “IN NUST NO ONE SHOULD TRUST – THEY THREATEN THE LONG TERM FUTURE OF NUFC MORE THAN ANY GROUP IN HISTORY.”

    A valid opinion, as are they all. Care to elaborate on how you arrive at this conclusion?

  47. To be fair I might just stop caring. It’s all relative whether they may or may not take over – as well as Ashley may or may not sell…

  48. Stuart79

    Ashley didn’t do due dilligence but he had the money to pay for that mistake.

    …..

    Stuart is right.

    Ashley just wrote a cheque to cover the problem, sadly NUST can’t do that.

  49. “Pfft I hate this topic, as it feels like when I try to explain my view on it I have to go proper into it, but I shall try…”

    I’ll go with you on that one, I hate disagreeing with fellow supporters, after all, we all want the same thing when push come to shove. I’d much prefer to be standing side by side cheering our team on for some entertaining footy.

    And I agree on all of your other points, with the exception of the stadium naming rights. But I quite simply am no longer able to trust Ashley to carry out the acts you refer to, hes completely blown any chance of my trust for a long, long time.

    When you say “Listening to the FANS about Keegan.” I’m not sure what you mean?

  50. Rangerman, Stuart, I agree with the worry of the NUST only seemingly being able to raise enough to buy the club and barely run it for a few seasons.

    With the NUST, would they be spending £10M a transfer window? All the while criticising Ashley for his money saving? Would there ever be serious investment into other places – youth development, scouting set up, marketing, global branding?

  51. Stardust says:
    January 10, 2010 at 9:16 pm

    “They have their own agenda – which appears to be the seeking of power and greed.”

    Stardust, if you kept your hair on for one minute, you’d would realise that there is a huge conflict of interest within the NUST which answers the question, “Cui Bono”? The main financial person behind the scheme runs a SIPP brokerage and management firm.

  52. Andy, agree with your last post. These are concerns that we should all rightly have.

    All I ask is that people keep an open mind to what NUST are doing, until they do release a detailed plan of how they intend to move forward.

    I’d prefer to judge them on the facts of their initiative, once they are available.

  53. AndyNUFC says:
    January 10, 2010 at 9:32 pm
    Rangerman, Stuart, I agree with the worry of the NUST only seemingly being able to raise enough to buy the club and barely run it for a few seasons.

    With the NUST, would they be spending £10M a transfer window? All the while criticising Ashley for his money saving? Would there ever be serious investment into other places – youth development, scouting set up, marketing, global branding?

    NUST were being interviewed on radio recently and were asked how they would invest in player transfers, they replied that we haven’t invested in players (net spend) under Ashley in the transfer windows so it’s not as if we could be worse off.

    What he forgot to mention was that even when the club was making a profit in every transfer window under Ashley he was still needed to put £20m a year in for running costs.

    They don’t know where that £20m is coming from..

  54. I meant that as in, I don’t believe the fans could run this club – as much as some believe they could, and I think that’s what their attraction to the NUST is.

    For some reason I just believe some fans think “Arr we just want Ashley out and al put me money in and al the fans will be able to choose who we buy and get Shearer in as the manager, good times”. Maybe i’m being naive though.

    Our fans are brilliant. Most of the time. Other times though, when we jump straight onto players, managers backs, and want this or that (Keegan) we can be destructive to the club. Sometimes I listen to fans and think they reckon they’re the real owners of the club and like they have the power, and will, make or break the club whether it suits them how it’s being run.

  55. Alex – not wanting to be too harsh but – if you had ever raised finance before, if you had ever given presentations to investment boards and equity groups in four countries, if you had ever pulled together boards of directors to meet the needs of new and rapidly expanding businesses, if you had ever compiled complex investment documents and financial projections for corporations which included groups with up to 100 sub companies, if you had ever implemented complex international financial cross jurisdictional structures including TAX and VAT, if you had ever done any of those things (and a hundred other) you would know that these people are so far out of their depth they are going to drown everyone associated with them.

    Ironically the only thing that could save them is the charity of Mike Ashley if he lets them buy a conditional nominal share.

    Laws exist in this land to stop people like NUST preying on innocent unsophisticated investors. They havent – they campaigned from day one gathering in the gullible and romantics. they targeted those same peoples pensions – without even telling them the financial consequence of it. PENSIONS I say again – there to care for the elderly in poor heath at the end of their lives!

    The only right way to do this was to pay for, prepare, gather and present this information first. THEY DIDNT.

    As I say they have conducted themselves in the most despicable fashion I have ever seen – and with the naivety and brashness of a caveman with a club looking for a date.

  56. “NUST were being interviewed on radio recently and were asked how they would invest in player transfers, they replied that we haven’t invested in players (net spend) under Ashley in the transfer windows so it’s not as if we could be worse off.”

    THIS.

    In other words – we’d rather die in the hands of fans than suffer under a figure of hostility who actually has money to help us survive.

  57. Stuart79

    Ashley didn’t do due dilligence but he had the money to pay for that mistake.
    <<<<< your right and he has but painfully so have we stu

  58. I maintain my long held opinion about NUST, that their hearts may be in the right place but they haven’t got a clue and cannot be trusted with people’s hard earned cash. This has always had doomed for failure written all over it. You do not need to be a high flying businessman to work that out – just follow what has happened since the summer when this was first mooted. A lot of the dialogue has been very amateurish and I would hate to see people allocating large chunks of their pensions on some misguided scheme to prove their love for NUFC.
    I am not one of the ‘I told you so’s’ regarding anything negative happening at the club, but this will never work in a million years, so the sooner they pack it all in the better. For the council to be thinking of endorsing it is also a scandulous abuse of power and possibly misleading for the more gullible or vulnerable members of the community.

  59. Alex I do have an open minded, like I stated before – it’s not down to us and we’ll just have to see how the whole thing works out. In the mean time, on the facts in front of me and my own personal opinion, that’s just how I feel on the matter. Whoever is running the club, i’ll always give a chance if I feel that somewhere along the line they have the right idea.

  60. Worky

    “Stardust, if you kept your hair on for one minute, you’d would realise that there is a huge conflict of interest within the NUST which answers the question, “Cui Bono”? The main financial person behind the scheme runs a SIPP brokerage and management firm.”

    I dont go along with the fact they are Marionettes – they have shown when they knee-jerked and set up NUSC that they act in rage – this is a continuance. As I said all along – theyre in the advisor funnel – with those who are self interested taking them into further areas of complexity and cost/reward – this will continue until they realise they have a large bill to pay (the scheme is that far fetched no self respecting advisor would do it on contingency)

  61. Andy – you raise a very valid point “For some reason I just believe some fans think “Arr we just want Ashley out and al put me money in and al the fans will be able to choose who we buy and get Shearer in as the manager, good times”. Maybe i’m being naive though.”

    What do people do if/when their idol Shearer fails – do they sack him – if they do they will wait far too long and the infighting will be fierce. Thereon where does the 15million compensation fee to him come from?

    No doubt they have factored the likelihood of dismissals, in their ridiculous plans.

    We, unlike other clubs, have no history of self governance, and we are far too reactionary and revolutionary to be trusted.

  62. Actually I think it would be a good idea for the supporters to have representation on the board at the club, whether through as Stardust says a nominal shareholder or just through the good will of the current regime.

    If there was a fans representitive on the board it would sure take a lot of pressure off Llambias and Ashley. They could take a back seat from a PR point of view and let the rep do all the explaining.

  63. Stuart now that is probably the most sensible thing i’ve heard on here. A fan representation would be good and provide no excuses for lack of communication, or just have the broken record line of “Cockney Mafia Out” everytime fans don’t like something.

  64. Stardust says:
    January 10, 2010 at 9:45 pm

    “I dont go along with the fact they are Marionettes – they have shown when they knee-jerked and set up NUSC that they act in rage – this is a continuance. As I said all along – theyre in the advisor funnel – with those who are self interested taking them into further areas of complexity and cost/reward – this will continue until they realise they have a large bill to pay (the scheme is that far fetched no self respecting advisor would do it on contingency)”

    Stardust, I actually agree with you there, but I do think that you should structure your own arguments more along those lines rather than just banging on about them being incompetent morons. That was my original point anyway, sort of, I think?

  65. Stuart – the club have always had an official supporters club with official meetings – they simply had to join it.

    But they have kneejerked, campaigned and marched whenever they could – and their continuous anti board press releases will do them a power of good lol.

    They have fired so much venom at the club – sorry – the “toxic asset” they probably have no good will left.

  66. Worky – appreciate what youre saying – but quietly spoken words are ignored by all in this issue – the press are happy to build it up to watch it fail

    Id rather they say the anti feeling was as strong as the pro feeling is and the scheme fail now than further down the line.

    Sometimes the time is right to label a spade a spade and to point out the blindingly obvious. And the word “morons” fits perfectly in my opinion lol.

  67. Stardust says:
    January 10, 2010 at 9:55 pm
    Stuart – the club have always had an official supporters club with official meetings – they simply had to join it.

    We don’t hear from them, why?

    We don’t hear about their meetings with the club either. Surely all they had to do was let everyone know what was being said at these meetings.

  68. I think it was Stuart earlier saying: the best nust(‘the fans’?) can hope for, is buying a ‘share’ (%) of the club from ashley.
    Or words to that effect? Cos they won’t be buying the whole 9 yards.
    Sounds about right.

  72. Come to think of it, they had one after Keegan left and a few of the NUSC members went and acted like arseholes, so the club haven’t bothered since.

  75. Rangerman says:
    January 10, 2010 at 10:05 pm
    They haven’t had a meeting since Ashley put the club up for sale the first time.

    I can only imagine that it was the club that instigated the meetings ban.

    The supporters club would surely want to know what was going on within the club.

    Were top of the league, looking good for promotion and yet were still such a fractured bloody club!

    Do we have a plan for the future? Do we still have any scouts in the UK, let alone across the world?

    Do we have a plan for promotion? Do we have a plan for staying in this league?

    So many questions that the club need to answer.

    The best way to do this is for them meetings to be re-instated.

  76. Rangerman says:
    January 10, 2010 at 10:05 pm

    “They haven’t had a meeting since Ashley put the club up for sale the first time.”

    Perhaps they think they can use the fans to force Ashley into selling on their terms? Their arrogance over the 10% proof of funds and refusal to meet seems to suggest that to me.

  78. What you on about, Worky?

    Btw the minutes from previous meetings are on the official club website.

  82. @ Stardust and Worky

    I agree with the both of you that NUST seem to be way out of their depth, inexperienced and ill-prepared.

    However, do you really think they are being dishonest and you really think they are trying to make money out of this?

    I find that hard to believe, as they will still attend matches and sit with family and friends, would they really rip people off knowing they’d have to face them every home game?

  83. stardust never oh and iam getting acused of licking urs and workys arses :lol: dont know why they mention worky cos he just ignores me all the time

  84. ranger cheers 3000 so how do they reckon they have the right too speak for us bet u fazine has a lot more members

  86. Tino – never seen you ever agree with me – its a miracle!

    Tino I am not saying they are dishonest in their ambitions (even though some of their statements appear to be dishonest – for example the 20m pledged when they launched without a financial model in place – its a nonsense)

    But human nature tells you when men are presented with an opportunity for growth that is normally out of their league – they become greedy – for the dream of money and power.

    Whatever their individual motives – power, monetary gain and the bind pursuance of it are at the heart of – because if they stopped for one second to get proper advice, to test their rationale – they would see the error of their ways.

    They are moths to the flame – but unfortunately – they are moths that are picking up poor peoples life savings on the way.

  88. I wouldn’t say they are ripping people of, Tino.

    This is however a great publicity stunt that will generate tham a lot of members, members that all pay £10 each every year, 3,000 = £30k that has gone into NUST with little apart from a flag and a few leaflets to show for it.

  89. Worky, I think you might have your wires crossed between the NUFC Supporters panel and the NUST. For the record NUST have regular meetings at venues around the NE.

  90. Stardust says:
    January 10, 2010 at 10:39 pm

    Tino – never seen you ever agree with me – its a miracle!

    —————————————————–

    Aye i never thought i’d see the day either! :)

    I don’t think NUST are trying to rip anyone off and i think their intentions were good but they are like someone who goes on x-factor or Dragons Den, they’ve been told they should give up and they’re no good at what they’re doing but they keep going regardless!

  91. Batty – what you been up to? Upsetting folks again? Rumour has it Stu has been using superglue to stop the leak – things are a bit bunged up – you have to stop before someone explodes.

  95. right iam off me lads travelling off back down too base in an hour or so then hes gannin on thursday nite lads

  96. – Batty

    I’m sure i echo the whole blog when i say i wish your lad good luck, a safe journey and a safe stay. My respect goes out to him and all our soldiers.

  97. Tino 11 says:
    January 10, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    “However, do you really think they are being dishonest and you really think they are trying to make money out of this?”

    I think there is a large conflict of interest that one of their number is from a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) broking and management company and blithely talks about people investing their pensions in a scheme which doesn’t even have a suitable business plan (until the FSA pulled them back into line). That is VERY worrying.

    I also think that they would be irresponsible to put ordinary fans money on the line while refusing to meet a representative of the club to discuss whether they will even sell and under what terms. To presume that 10 million would be acceptable as proof of funds is arrogant in the extreme, and even if the bid fails, they will still withold £500,000 of this £10 million of fan’s money in “administration costs”, plus earning interest on it along the way. This is also very worrying.

    I wouldn’t dream of casting aspersions of any individual members of the scheme, but from my experience of business, the scheme itself just looks completely wrong. With their strategy of anti communication and insult so far, it’s almost as if they actually want it to fail.

  99. Anyone started a Facebook petition to bring back Ed Harrison’s NUFC Blog does anyone know?. This is good, but the banter isn’t the same. Cheers

  105. CLiNT FLiCK says:
    January 10, 2010 at 11:07 pm (Edit)

    …”it’s almost as if they want it to fail”.

    “Mmmmm!”

    Clint, have you ever seen Mel Brooks’s “The Producers”? :-)

  106. Eeee!
    back in the day a game was called off cos the pitch was frozen, snow on the pitch, thick fog etc.
    Now it’s : oh! it snowed 3 days ago, 2 towns away-Strange.
    & Lee Clarke’s odds shortening for burnley job.

  107. Damn right i have worky, several times, love it.
    Good analogy.

    :)

    ‘Springtime for hitler…’

  108. Roy cropper, explain please?! this is a website where I know a lot of the old lot from .com are, I was merely asking if anyone had petitioned for a decent blog to be reopened, apologies if I caused offence.

  109. batty – tell the young ‘un all the best from the Bowburn massiv. Stay safe and be proud batty jnr

  110. Ok,
    football gripe no. 2 (in a series of ‘infinity’)
    I’m watching ACoN on eurosport & i’d love to know why on earth, & this goes for british channels too, do they have the crowd so quiet in the mix that you get
    virtually no atmosphere coming through, all you can hear is the commentators inane prattle?
    Thrill suckers!

  111. Batty as the others have said I hope Batty junior stays safe during his time out there. Sure it’s going to be a nightmare time for you and your family, so stay strong. We’re proud of them all.

  112. dondick – you spell my surname with a capital C , that apart i think your completly bonkers.

    same applies to 104.

  114. Hopefully the morra… ;)

    Right, bairn is just about back off to kip so going to watch end of the flick.

    Catch you lot later!

  116. OMG,
    what a game, angola v mali, 4-0 to angola with 16 mins to go,
    mali comeback to 4-4 in over-time.
    Amazing.

  117. Batty
    Hope your boy stays safe.

    BBM
    The striker report should be easy, same as the fecking midfielders, mostly crap.

    As for NUST, buyer beware.

    Believe Ashley is not really interested in bringing anyone in, the guy has made it clear, all he wants is promotion so he can sell the club at a better price.
    It`s clear there`s no plan for any long term ownership.
    Whether this side will get promoted or not remains to be seen.
    But apparently he is willing to gamble on it happening, which could be a bigger mistake than his gamble on avoiding relegation last season.
    No promotion will be catastrophic economically and could result in a long stay in the second tier.
    I almost wish it would happen for spite, hey I said almost folks.

  118. Chuck, you can never make sound judgements based on spite. That’s where too many Toon supporters go wrong, they seem to think that they can.

  119. I’m not sure the majority of Newcastle fans are spiteful to be honest worky (though clearly the world has it’s fair share of spite so it’s stands to reason some will be coloured black and white), though I would argue that Mike Ashley was spiteful when he said he was no longer prepared to subsidise the club. Not that didn’t have a point but it was there for all to see. He could have reacted differently and gone a different way but he went in a right strop and chucked the towel in.

    Anyway, I’ll try and sort out some stuff later but pretty busy today and it’s the start of a big three weeks on the project so you’ll have to get writing again for a bit. This was a canny start mind, eh? :)

  122. Mornin, all.

    I think there are problems with the NUST thing – but I also know that just about all great changes start out like this. Of course it’s going to be difficult, and may take years to get to anything – but don’t underestimate the combined power of passionate people with money.

    I’d really like to see NUST get a decent stake in the club initially, with voting representation on the board. That’s a foothold and a platform to start from and can only help. If that’s how it stays, it’s still worth it.

    Of course it may come to nowt, but I doubt it. Money talks, and I’d be surprised if NUST couldn’t get a decent lump of cash together – £50m or so initially, which would be welcomed by any owner, including Ashley. He could show openness, recoup some of his lost cash (to pay for OFT legal defence) and plug some of the gaps in understanding that he’s openly admitted exist.

    I’m all for it, and if I’ve got £1500 to put in and they produce a decent prospectus, I’ll probably go for it. Even my bro-in-law, who’s a financial adviser and football bloke, says he would do the same if his team (Liverpool) were lucky enough to have a similar opportunity.

  123. Off topic but i see McSheffrey at Birmingham has been told he has no future there and the club will listen to any offers. Pace, left sided, could be worth a shout as a squad player?

    Thats where i think we will struggle to get players to come to us. Our starting 11 pretty much picks itself and new players in, like a Mcsheffrey, Beckford, Kilgallon would more than likely be bench warmers.

  125. That is our problem, Toonsy – we have a complete 1st team but with insufficient flair. 11 ‘good enough’ players with several capable of occasional purple patches, but mostly only just better than their understudy on the bench. I like and appreciate these guys – but we just need more consistent flair and ability right across the park.

    That makes it much harder to deal with than having a few yawning gaps. To move up a notch – as we’ll hopefully have to come May -you pretty much have to upgrade the entire team.

    Of our current batch, the players I think can probably stay in a top-half Prem team are:

    – Harper (easily)
    – Colo (hopefully)
    – Taylor
    – Enrique (hopefully)

    er….. that’s it, I think. Possibly Jonas, and if Nolan continues to improve, him too. Less sure about Smith, Guthrie and any of our strikers.

    The rest can make up a good, guts-and-glory bottom-half team in the mould of Bolton a few years ago; no more.

    HOWEVER, I don’t think that’s a problem and if we get through January without shipping anyone useful out, I think we should be ok to get promoted. Stage 1 complete.

    Then you spend some of the guaranteed new revenue on an initial player splurge to get about four prem-quality players and some more depth. Enough to ensure staying up.

    Then you start upgrading each position, year on year as finances allow, and try to just finish a couple of places higher each time.

    That’s how you get there and stay there. I just hope people have the patience to see it happen.

  126. I’m starting to hope we don’t get Beckford; I have an unnerving feeling that he’s a bit of a cock who believes his own hype.

    Not sure who I would like to see in, though. More loans makes sense for now – CB, RW, striker and possibly a Kieron Dyer type with working legs. And it would be good to see some more younguns coming in after a year or so of no movement there. Another Tamas or Nile would be good to see.

  127. Aye Aye, radgies!!!!
    Here man, divvent have a gan at NUST like! The phoned is up like the other day to see if a would be the middle man, cos they kna am big mates wi Big Mick and Dekka like! The seem alreet to me like.
    That Mark Jenson says like, “HERE TROY, WILL YE BE THE MIDDLE MAN LIKE, COS A KNA YI BIG MATES WI ASHERS LIKE”

    A says, “HOO JENNERS MAN, AM NOT DEING IT FOR NOWT LIKE! A WANT SOME MONSTER MUNCH OOT O THIS LIKE!”

    Pure radgies if the think am deing it for nowt like. To be fair like, Jenners says he would give is a multi pack of pickled onion Monster Munch if a phoned Big Mick up and arranged a meeting.

    Cushty man!! Ha! Jenners didn’t realise a was sitting wi Big Mick and Dekka, having a bong doon wor hoose. Big Mick was howling like a hyena on Acid!!

    Anyways, a telt Jenners like, “HERE JENNERS, NEE BOTHA WOR KID, BUT THEY BEDDA BE PICKLED ONION LIKE, COS THEY’RE ME FAVOURITES!”

    Ha, anyways, aal keep yi’s updated like cos me, big mick and dekka are meeting Jenners later the day.

    Ave telt Jenners like, not to pull nee wheelie’s on his BMX when he comes in me street like, cos aal the youngin’s kna am the best BMX’er roond here like.

    He says he wouldn’t like. A trust him like cos he kna’s am a pure radgey like!!

    Anyways, laters, gaters!

  131. A desperate plea for help i think batty, the yanks were supposed to have asked for 400 million in loans, and were knocked back. they will be the death of that club, hopefully!

  134. I cant believe yous are getting worked up with this NUST campaign. For me its great they are trying to do something positive to remove fat ash. If at the end of the day it doesnt work out then thats mores the Pity. The likes of stardust getting his pink knickers in a twist is a sad indictment of his sad little character. NUST are not pulling the wool over anyones eyes if they invest. All the pitfalls are explained on their website. Take a look instead of speculating doom.

  135. SJT;nowt going on at toon,but thats par for course,missed your posts last couple days m8,only thing some press saying ash and co are in LV trying to sell as its the break in football in US,nowt to do with gambling,hope battys kid is ok,should be if hes out like him

  136. Not been on much icedog cos my comments are taking ages to pop up on the blog so any quick witted toon banter is out of the window fella :)

  141. 123 Pump up the volume…take me into insanity…E’s Are Good.

  143. SJT;see your point m8,but for a old “get” like me slower the better,in my young days we used carr/pigeon ha,mind you have found if WORKY puts up new blog,comments dont seem to follow on from last one,could be me ime no c/wizz but like site keep it goinging mate

  147. Just scrolled up and re-read Stardust’s rant.

    Wow. What an unbelievably ill-informed and unsubstantiated rant. I’m actually starting to believe what I previously thought was a joke – that he really is either Llambias or Ashley, or someone very closely connected to them.

    The fact is NOBODY has a clue how trustable or capable NUST are until the appropriate documentation arrives. Up to now all we’ve seen is a very well-publicised public awareness campaign – one which has obviously worked.

    Until then, casting such libellous conjecture upon the people involved is just childish stupidity.

    Stardust – either hire a good lawyer, or butt out, man. When we have some information to judge by, judge then. Until then you are just soiling your credibility even further.

  148. Much better than Ed’s blog this,less articles more banter…there was no flow on the old one having ten articles a day was way too much.

  149. Batty – Bonds are financial instruments used to raise capital. In effect another mechanism for loaning cash.

    There are several different types of bond, in this case I am assuming they are being issued due to the terms of the debt Man U has with the banks (I believe it was stated at one point they were paying 11%) therefore bonds are more efficient.

    Bonds are in effect sold to the market and can be traded. Often in times such as these they are issued at a discount, that means they are sold for less than their maturity value. So if they were to be worth £10 on maturing, they could be sold at £9.

    Bonds are issued for more than a year – they are long term debt often more than 10 years, so as a consequence they have to pay interest. So each investor gets annual interest on their money as well as the mark up on the bond itself.

    Furthermore, if the company can not afford the interest (or chooses not to) it is possible for the interest to be rolled up and paid at the maturity point – so interest upon interest is due also)

    Bonds are issued by large corporations, governments etc etc – I am not surprised that Man U are trying this in these markets – though my view is that they already see the signs of a weakening team and if in the years to come they drop out of the top 4 – they would be bust.

    Bonds can also be traded – i.e on holding title you can sell you bond (which will be worth £10 at point x) to the markets. So you can sell it for (9.50 the next day and make a profit) or they can be held onto to enjoy extra profit on maturity – terms depending.

    But make no mistake BONDS ARE DEBT. IF financial success does not continue one option is to issue more bonds to cover the debt that can not be repaid.

    Bonds are also higher up the credit line should the club go bust – they get paid before shareholders. (but in long term debt situations – the Glazers would be long gone by the time the thing collapsed)

    I disagree totally with this borrow money to be successful – in time – football as we know it will be non existent. Clubs must work within their financial parameters, but its no good putting those things in pace in 20 years time, as by then – the superclubs will control the market for sponsorship, shirt sales etc around the globe – so it will never be a level playing field ever again – and you will end up with a top 4 of global football every year.

  150. SJT – Its not a case of less articles byt choice mate. I’ve been scratching my head this mornign and can’t find owt worth writing about really.

    Any suggestions?

    I know the banter flows better bit its still better to have at least 1 new article a day, at the very least.

  151. Whumpie says:
    January 11, 2010 at 12:53 pm
    Just scrolled up and re-read Stardust’s rant.

    Wow. What an unbelievably ill-informed and unsubstantiated rant.

    Whumpie – ignorance is bliss – your ignorance that is – read my post 55 – as I said – I can substantiate my understanding – can you validate yours?

  152. Mike can do no wrong is Stardust’s eyes…each to their own though.
    The club has been knocked back years under this regime and I think the top and bottom of it is that Mike has very bad advisors and got into a situation (club ownership) thinking it was like sport retail and failed to appoint anyone that could bring something worthwhile to the Club.

    The club has no plan B and would need far more cash than Ashley is prepared to invest to secure premiership football for a second season) if we get promoted),we are in a deep rut mostly dug by Mike and Co..but Stardust just blames fans and bed sheets.

  153. SJT – far from it actually. But I do defend the club and board those who attack from a position of ignorance and hate.

    Ashley has made many mistakes – but havent we all. The overriding fact for me is that he has invested 300m of his own money into NUFC – more than any man in history.

    Trips off the tongue – easy to say – but an unfathomable amount of money from which in time we will benefit.

  154. sirjasontoon says:
    January 11, 2010 at 1:01 pm

    “Stardust just blames fans and bed sheets.”

    Those nasty bed sheets have alot to answer for!

  155. So Mike has gone to Vegas to sell the club and not for a gambling bender, funny how he has to do these things when the transfer window is open, bit like hiding behind the curtains when the tick man knocks i suppose.
    Cant believe that people are still seriously saying that he has done a good job at the club, mind you they need a thousand words of bollocks jargon to make their argument but i still say yet, they are mackems absolutely ripping the piss and enjoying every minute of it.

  156. I suppose since it’s in the public domain we might as well get some feedback…

    Hugh and I always argued against worky, who had his own valid reasoning, that we should have less articles and more banter. You lot are what’s really making this blog now and the craic just rolls in from one day to the next. Plus by having less articles, hopefully the quality of them would be better.

    It’s been a while since I feel like I’ve done a really reflective ‘blog’ in the traditional sense. More recently we’re just leading in with speculation so that everyone can have a bit of banter. Including other club’s fans. And it freshens up the topics for discussion, though inevitably it always come back to a common line of debate, Ashley, transfers etc…

    It’d be interesting to know what everyone else thought?

  157. Bedsheets Killed NUFC.

    Stardust-Mike can do no wrong in your eyes,tomorrow is always going to be a brighter day,but it never seems to come.

    I can assure you Stardust that this club will do nothing under this regime,I am not one for believing all the rumours but there has been a few in the last couple of days that Mike plans to sell (again!) in the summer….I have mixed emotions on the subject because A I can’t stand to see the destruction continue and want rid – B How will we build for next season with another sale during a transfer window?

    Either way I see another EPIC FAIL.

  158. sirjasontoon says:
    January 11, 2010 at 1:01 pm

    “Mike can do no wrong is Stardust’s eyes…each to their own though.
    The club has been knocked back years under this regime”

    Mike Ashley has made some whopping mistakes, but the club was really knocked back by the last regime.

  159. The articles are fine BBM,Like I mentioned on the old nufcBlog it was just overblog and no continuity as conversation always got cut short and got lost.

    This Blog is far better and feels more local,less wumming as well which is a bonus!

  160. Off thread but relevant to the ambition or otherwise of MA and his cronies.

    Here’s Jose pleading for signings (deja vue…. again!) and one scenario being suggested is that if we don’t sign anyone in January, we’ll have the opportunity to sign loans in February.

    Sound familiar?

  162. Worky – just a suggestion for the blog – it seems a few of the lads like to come on for ordinary banter – would be be possible to put a chat box at the side for them?

    That way each thread maintains integrity yet the blog has a living breathing soul.

    Appreciate you may think its a bad idea and or impractical.

  163. Stardust – worky will answer in due course but that was my suggestion as well.

    Unfortunately, I think he’s limited to what wordpress can do for us…

  164. Leave the blog as it is…It’s cool to go off topic and chat amongst ourselves and have a good waffle.

  165. Worky – just a suggestion for the blog – it seems a few of the lads like to come on for ordinary banter – would be be possible to put a chat box at the side for them?

    Stardust get off your high horse or set up your own blog with chat application and you can talk to yourself all day.

  167. ime no money whiz,but the man has lied from day one,i cannot trust such a person.i havent got a take on nust,they say they would never take the toon forward no cash for trans ect,when has ash given any,said has put 20mill in for running costs do you really belive him? a lot of clubs have gone down in the past kept there best players,and came back up,i know we pay silly wages,but we still have v large crowds comparded to other clubs,some highearners have gone,see N/F,have bid 3mill for moses, av crowd 19thou,can some whizz put me right,rant over

  169. Re @160, It might’ve helped if I’d attached the link!

    http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2010/01/11/jose-enrique-give-us-the-signings-we-need-72703-25572426/

    Off thread but relevant to the ambition or otherwise of MA and his cronies.

    Here’s Jose pleading for signings (deja vue…. again!) and one scenario being suggested is that if we don’t sign anyone in January, we’ll have the opportunity to sign loans in February.

    Sound familiar?

  170. bowburn – As i said earlier, i think 1 fresh blog a day is a minimum really. It keeps things fresh and there is planety of time to get the banter going.

    What we don’t want is a similar situation to Ed’s where all the articles were pushed out at once, in my opinion :)

  174. Lesh – this is noticeable in Enriques article “There are Premier League players who want to come here now because they want to come and play at our fabulous stadium, it’s unbelievable”

    Harewood aside – any others I wonder?

  176. BBM- ave you seen this one on NUSTs site “Sources have told us that Mr Ashley is making up to £7m profit out of our club every month and whilst that’s not confirmed – do the maths – wages halved, no expenditure on transfers, crowds up, new advertising revenue before the end of the season and the assets of SJP Holdings”

    LOL the absolute morons – Ashley must be amazing – 84m profit on a turnover this year of around 37m.

    Is there ever a day where NUST dont show themselves up to be imbeciles.

    Maybe their new slogan “We cant add up, but we believe our own hype – Invest your grannies savings in us – you know you want to”

    Oh yes and “give us 200m to run the club please” and at the next committee meeting they are looking for someone with a CSE in arithmetic.

  177. BBM – On the survey – Did you notice they have alluded once more to the prominent local business head leading it.

    I stated this would be the case – how many months ago? – I stated there would be people who emerge from the shadows – the ultimate benefactors and majority shareholders, the future dilution of shares, the eventual refinancing of the club, leaving ordinary fans penniless and the benefactors rolling in it – its FFS all over again….maybe now you’ll understand I know what I am on about.

    In the same survey they again ask people to consider contributing from their pensions – surely even you BBM – must be thinking “what the hell”

  178. Morons and imbeciles, pretty strong words and easy to say from a keyboard, why dont you go to one of the meetings and tell them what you think instead of continually boring the backside off us.

  179. Stardust says:
    January 11, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    “Sources have told us that Mr Ashley is making up to £7m profit out of our club every month and whilst that’s not confirmed – do the maths – wages halved, no expenditure on transfers, crowds up, new advertising revenue before the end of the season and the assets of SJP Holdings”

    That’s completely untrue. Were the NUST saying that? Or just someone who had written in to them?

  180. Aha!

    “Dear Supporter

    …

    Mike Ashley and his sources have made it clear in Sunday’s papers that
    he has no intention of staying at a club where he is not wanted, but
    he wants to stay until the summer. We can only assume that he wants to
    recoup all of his investment and more on top. It looks like a sp****
    January transfer window, but we live in hope, but to indicate now he
    would sell in the summer will destabilise the club before a return to
    the premiership (fingers crossed!), and will push up potential
    transfer fees.

    The Trust has never got into a slanging match with Mr Ashley and Mr
    Llambias and neither does it intend to, we’re interested in our club
    and more importantly its future. One final thought for you to consider
    before you fill in the survey – sources have told us that Mr Ashley is
    making up to £7m profit out of our club every month and whilst that’s
    not confirmed – do the maths – wages halved, no expenditure on
    transfers, crowds up, new advertising revenue before the end of the
    season and the assets of SJP Holdings. Make no mistake – Mr Ashley is
    not going to lose on his investment in Newcastle but it’s now time to
    think about the club, city and community not himself.

    Please complete the survey – January and February can make our club
    the club we want – it’s that close.

    If you haven’t already signed up and would like to back the Yes We Can
    campaign please do so here

    Regards

    Neil Mitchell

    Interim Chair

  181. Worky – its on their homepage lol – best take a screenshot – the club might want to sue the arses off them and take them for the 100m before they have raised it lol.

  182. Its worth an article in itself – the interim chair printing it.

    Its like a public confession of how incompetent someone can actually be. He has his arm in the air waving – its me – its me – I really am that stupid.

  184. Dear Supporter

    You will be aware that the Yes We Can campaign launched by the NUST
    started up again on 6 Jan after the festive break, with the clear
    message to the current owners that ‘supporters mean business’. The
    response to the first e-mail has been astounding with 3 people a
    minute (for the first couple of hours) signing up to the campaign for
    greater fan say in the way our club is run. Over 1000 people have
    signed up on the back of that e-mail and on 15 Jan we’ll be announcing
    our advisers on our next moves.

    Yes We Can and the Trust have one aim – to give supporters a say in
    the running of our club and with Newcastle City Council backing that
    principle on 13 Jan, we are gathering an unstoppable momentum.

    We would ask that you take a couple minutes of your time to fill in
    our Survey (10 questions).

    This survey will be used to show interested potential partners the
    strength of feeling in the city and beyond about the current regime –
    the answers you give will form the basis of potential negotiations but
    are not binding on you. Its a massive marketing exercise to see if the
    fans are up for it.

    Complete Survey here

    Mike Ashley and his sources have made it clear in Sunday’s papers that
    he has no intention of staying at a club where he is not wanted, but
    he wants to stay until the summer. We can only assume that he wants to
    recoup all of his investment and more on top. It looks like a sp****
    January transfer window, but we live in hope, but to indicate now he
    would sell in the summer will destabilise the club before a return to
    the premiership (fingers crossed!), and will push up potential
    transfer fees.

    The Trust has never got into a slanging match with Mr Ashley and Mr
    Llambias and neither does it intend to, we’re interested in our club
    and more importantly its future. One final thought for you to consider
    before you fill in the survey – sources have told us that Mr Ashley is
    making up to £7m profit out of our club every month and whilst that’s
    not confirmed – do the maths – wages halved, no expenditure on
    transfers, crowds up, new advertising revenue before the end of the
    season and the assets of SJP Holdings. Make no mistake – Mr Ashley is
    not going to lose on his investment in Newcastle but it’s now time to
    think about the club, city and community not himself.

    Please complete the survey – January and February can make our club
    the club we want – it’s that close.

    If you haven’t already signed up and would like to back the Yes We Can
    campaign please do so here

    Regards

    Neil Mitchell

    Interim Chair

    The Newcastle United Supporters Trust is the trading name of Newcastle
    United Supporters Society Limited, registered under the Industrial and
    Provident Societies Act 1965 -78. Registration Number 30721R

    Are these people for real?

    Can anyone actually say their not half wits now?

    Why would they print this? Surely they have done the maths – £84m profit per year on a turnover of £50m????

    Perhaps Ashley is a great business man after all!

    Utter idiocy!

  185. Worky – so I now have permission to freely use the word morons (or is that offensive to morons – this lot are much more stupid)

  186. Stardust says:
    January 11, 2010 at 2:56 pm
    Worky – its on their homepage lol – best take a screenshot – the club might want to sue the arses off them and take them for the 100m before they have raised it lol.

    Would that get spent on the playing staff then? lol

  187. Stuart LOL

    That one article shows the kind of gullible fools (like BBM lol) that they are targeting for investment.

    Kneejerk reactionaries that will only see that 7m a month line and give them their money.

    I say again – BEWARE the figurehead behind this scheme – they will be over time the ultimate benefactors.

  188. Stardust says:
    January 11, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    Worky – its on their homepage lol – best take a screenshot

    I’ve done a screenshot.

    The best part of the whole article is:

    “The Trust has never got into a slanging match with Mr Ashley and Mr Llambias and neither does it intend to”

  189. These guys must be members of the Labour party!

    I couldn’t think of another group who could shoot themselves in the head with a bigger gun if they tried!

  191. How dare Jose Enrique suggest we need more players!!! This is just a thinly veiled attack on Mike Ashley who has spent £300m on this club. As an employee Mr Enrique should be ashamed of himself and say that everything is rosy in the NUFC garden and we should be actually selling players in order to subsidise Mike and Derek enjoying their well deserved break in Las Vegas!!!

  194. Well, it will be interesting to hear how the pro NUST lot support this load of drivel. How can they be so moronic, and how can the council support them???? Stardust I’m amazed you haven’t challenged the council yet before their meeting. My god you couldn’t make this up, it’s appalling

  195. Sorry Deb – I havent.

    At the end of this NUST will have made us all to an even bigger laughing stock than we currently are.

  196. “One final thought for you to consider
    before you fill in the survey – sources have told us that Mr Ashley is
    making up to £7m profit out of our club every month and whilst that’s
    not confirmed – do the maths – wages halved, no expenditure on
    transfers, crowds up, new advertising revenue before the end of the
    season and the assets of SJP Holdings. Make no mistake – Mr Ashley is
    not going to lose on his investment in Newcastle but it’s now time to
    think about the club, city and community not himself.”

    “Sources”, ay? You’re wanting a few thousand off me because your “sources” are telling you that “apparently” Ashley is making £7mill a month?

    Ok, let’s go into your explanation for this. Wages halved. Sorry, was the club supposed to double wages once we’d dropped to a lower league?
    No expenditure on players? hmmm, loans, signing on fees for free agents, wages isn’t expenditure? Maybe the NUST want the club spending loads and changing the squad every window?
    Crowds up? No they aren’t.
    New advertising revenue… In fact bugger it. Let me explain something to you please, if Mike Ashley has money, ok, as the owner of Newcastle United, that means… WE HAVE MONEY. He’s ploughed money into the club to keep us afloat and tried every opportunity to stop us squandering cash and finally it’s paying dividends for us – we’re top of the league and going into the Prem with the money books in the green finally.

    This group gets on my nerves more every time I hear something about them.

  197. Worky

    The best part of the whole article is:

    “The Trust has never got into a slanging match with Mr Ashley and Mr Llambias and neither does it intend to”

    Do you think he’s on some kind of medication?

  198. Nahhh come on Deb it’s got to be a group, who wants to be taken seriously… referring to “sources” as credible evidence that Ashley is “making £7million every month”.

    If Ashley was making £7Mill every month, why did he put £20mill into the club at the start of the season?

  199. Seeing as the Council are preparing a motion (lol) I think Id like to propose that Worky renames this article “NUST – credibility has ran out”

    OR NUST Monkeys and Morons

    Or NUST Gimps and Goons

  200. Maybe NUST are lying!!!

    Mike Ashley lied

    Freddie Shepherd lied

    Douglas Hall lied

    Sir John Hall lied

    Maybe thats something they think will get respect.

  201. Stardust
    You continue to impress the shit out of us with your encyclopedic mind and witty reparte, is their anything in this world or out for that matter you are ignorant of ?
    Such an attention seeking “Drama Queen”

  202. Stardust says:
    January 11, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    “Seeing as the Council are preparing a motion (lol)”

    I’m ashamed to say that I tittered at that too.

  203. Chirpy Chuck – Thanks for the glowing compliment. Chirpy -always smiling – what a guy.

  205. Drama I can accept – Queen on the other hand.

    I’d like to pass a motion on that opinion. ;)

  206. Stardust: nice posts at 149 and 176. The first is well-informed and the 2nd does support your case for NUST being a bit, well, short in the ability/credibility stakes.

    But I stand by my original post – your first rant didn’t back anything up with facts and was just name-calling. You’re capable of better than that.

    We have indications of what they’re like (not all promising) but nothing at all to support the idea that they are crooks. You ask me to back up my argument, but my argument is simple: we have no real information upon which to base an opinion. Let’s wait until we do before forming one.

  207. By the way, Stardust and Stuart: I should make my feelings about Ashley and his ‘team’ clear:

    1. He’s made daft mistakes, but been man enough to own up to them. I can forgive that.

    2. He’s repeated them and so far, hasn’t seemed to learn. I have trouble forgiving that, as it speaks volumes for the type of man he is. BUT he can redeem himself this month and I’m hopeful that he will.

    3. Keegangate very clearly and unambigiously told us that he and his team indulge in some very underhand, dishonest and dishonourable actions. That is the type of people we KNOW own our club and what I cannot forgive.

    HOWEVER

    If we get through January with no more key player sales, then make use of loans or more signings to stay at the top, AND he keeps supporting the club financially (and I really can’t see how people can deny he’s doing that) then we can still get a good end result when he does come to sell. He can sell and recoup most of his investment. We get a new, hopefully more trustworthy and decent owner and management team, and a solid financial footing which – let’s face it – did not exist before Ashley came along.

    Sorry if that sounds like bet-hedging, but that’s the way it is. He’s done some good. He’s also done horrific damage. The end result may be good.

    It will NEVER justify the means.

  208. Yep Whumpie fair enough – I suppose as this is an area of business I deal in – when I see their statements and the release of information I react – its a bit like a Carpenter standing by as someone hits a nail into the wall using a saw blade – you know its wrong. Lets see who the ultimate benefactor is going to be – their motives are already in question – as they have chosen to use the pension funds of ordinary folk to get control without stepping forward.

    Worrying troublesome times indeed.

    We are driving down the road with warning signs everywhere but people in positions of power – like councillors – are lending their weight to the campaign – when they are so far out of their area of expertise they should shut up. People will get burned in this scheme – make no mistake.

  210. This whole thing is a farce.
    These people are putting themselves forward as ‘the fans’ running/taking over the club. I’m not saying that they don’t support NUFC, but i am saying that they would quickly become a ‘Star chamber’ type committee & i’d be surprised if they ‘allowed’ anyone else a say, even if they claimed it would be a democracy.
    They seem to lurch from one PR debarcle to the next.
    I guess that’s within the tradition of NUFC like. :)
    Can’t see them getting it together to buy the club outright, & if they dumbed down their aspirations & went for a % ‘stake’ that could turn out to be the worst decision Ashley would ever make.
    It would be like inviting cancer in.
    They won’t get into a slanging match with Ashley cos they won’t talk to him & it’s an admittance of their reluctance to be transparent.
    Not a good sign.

  212. Look, it is fascinating that we have some people who “know “that Mike Ashley really is a Saint or at least a good Samaritan, pouring millions of money into the club every month, onto his last chip in Las Vegas, and otherwise the club would be in administration so God Bless Mr Ashley!
    On the other hand there are others who say that he’s at best invested nothing (after the original purchase), everything else is a loan he expects to get back, he’s sold players worth millions (Milner, Nzogbia, Given etc), he’s got crowd revenues and merchandising beyond his wildest hopes, we have the parachute payment blah blah, and now ( a new one) he’s making £7 million a month.
    I have never been of the opinion that accounting / business is the exact science that it pretends to be, from my own experience of Finance Directors of not-for-profit organisations employing thousands of staff magically landing a budget of £750 million on the nail to within £20K at year end – yeah, right!
    But the extremes of opinion about MA, the NUST etc, with (as I’ve said) such vitriolic certainty and sarcasm attached, astonish me. Does anyone (apart from Stardust, when he’s not advising God on how to run the universe) really understand the club’s finances – what comes in, what goes out and the net balance? Shouldn’t it be clear?

  213. We must be the best ran club in World football if we can go from being technically insolvent to making an annual profit of £84 million in the space of 2 and a half years!

  216. Workyticket – cos I was dropped on my head when I was a baby! Didn’t know I could!
    dohhh!

  217. The funny thing is the NUST were claiming their sources were telling them Ashley was going to put us into administration a few months back!

  218. magpie6699 says:
    January 11, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    “Workyticket – cos I was dropped on my head when I was a baby! Didn’t know I could!
    dohhh!”

    I’ve been deleting most of them for ages now.

  219. Sure ashley has put a chunk of dosh into the club, but face it, he had no choice.
    However as of right now, if he could get back a decent amount, he would dump the club in a heartbeat.
    Truth is there will be no substantial signings, maybe no signings if he can bring in some loan cover.
    It`s gonna be a gamble on promotion with what we got.
    Then first close offer and he`s outta here.
    Hope he does`nt let the door hit him in the ass !

  220. Ooo!
    I dunno chuck.
    We have no guarantees that ahsley is gonna sell up if we
    get promoted, just heresay.
    I can’t see it me self like.
    He’s just as likely to hang around if we get back up.
    Think about it, the club’ll be probably worth more, he’ll have to find a buyer, again.
    & there aren’t that many people willing to take a risk atm.

  221. Gotta go by the signs, if he was cosidering staying, he would have attempted some form of mending fences with the fans.
    To continue as the despised owner is not an option.
    Also the discontinued policy of buying youthfull players with potential.
    For that matter simply the discontinued policy of buying players.
    No , he`s outta here, may be forced into buying this window simply to ensure promotion, but it`s obvious if he can recover a decent amount of his investment, he`s gone !