Money money money.

Posted on September 14th, 2010 | 60 Comments |

Ashley - Paid for signings out of his own pocket?
Ashley - Paid for signings out of his own pocket?
Some fans said that last season was the most important for our club in a long long time. Other fans claim that this season is the most important we have had for a long long time.

I sit in the camp of the latter to be honest, although essentially both of those statements are correct.

If we hadn’t have got promoted last season then we wouldn’t have been able to say the second statement, so in that way they are very much linked. The importance of this season can’t be underestimated. Relegation would be dire and would set the club back a few years at least. Players that stayed around to “right the wrongs” of last time would be moved on, either by choice or neccessity, and I believe that it would be much much harder to bounce back should we end up relegated again.

I know it is a depressing scenario, but that is all it is at the moment – a scenario. The reality is that this season is make or break for Newcastle United and that the club is very much still in dire straits finincially. It is getting sorted but it can’t be done overnight. An indication of the future direction of our club hinges on survival. If we can manage that then it will be one giant leap towards sorting out the mess that the club is in.

The club will apparently be self-sufficient if we can survive this season, according to The Journal anyway, and that will mean, again apparently, that all the extra revenue generated will be earmarked for squad enhancement. Sounds canny.

It is also claimed by The Journal that our modest summer spending spree was paid for out of Mike Ashley’s own pocket in the form of more interest free loans. The truth of that will only be revealed with the release of the official accounts, which I am sure many people will have a keen interest in.

Any amount of errors going back over a long time can be blamed for the situation we find ourselves in now. It isn’t just Mike Ashley’s fault and is a combination of many things from many years finally coming to a head. Ashley put the final nail in the coffin with some ridiculous decisions mind, but Shepherd and even John Hall must take their share of the blame aswell.

None of those mistakes can be changed now, and we have to play the hand we have been dealt. Is it frustrating? Yes, but deep down I think many fans will understand that our financial predicament needed sorting out at some point.

Survival will go a long way to putting us on the road to recovery!

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

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60 Responses

  3. @batty from previous thread. I am most certainly not flush mate, crap wages and a high mortgage rate prevents it :(

  4. This season is not like last. This time we are just trying to finish in a respectable position, not champions. So the odd game like Blackpool doesn’t really matter salong as we get the odd unexpected win like Villa. Only if we get a run of 3-4 games like that should we start to worry. In the next 4-5 games though we have some winnable games though so need to start preforming in these. The thing that annoys me time after time with Newcastle is that we often play well against big teams and get beat anyway and then don’t turn up against teams we should be getting 3 points from.

  5. I think we need to accept that we will not stand a chance of doing anything until we are self sufficient and if that means another couple of hard years so be it. they still arent as hard as when we were stuck in the ols 2nd before keegan came as a player !

    we have a manager who seems to be able to work with the owner I dont accept he is just a yes man, if you now CH from his beliefs that just doesnt add up.

    We have to accept that Ashley made mistakes just like every other owner. Would john hall have bought the club if he couldnt make millions ? I dont think so.

    the fact is he seems to be learning from them and trying slowly a step at a time to make things better.

    Graham Carr as scout, i remember him at northampton Steve Stone with the reserves etc show he is trying to surrroud himself with local people who understand the club and CH as manager is the steady hand we have long needed a manager not fuelled by his own publicity.

    Maybe things will get back to where we feel we should be but overnight it wont be. Ill take the steady route over West Ham and Portsmouth any day even if that does mean I have to accept and move on from seeing Ashley as a villain in everything he does.

    He is without a doubt a good businessman we might have to accept that he is trying as well to learn from past errors and give him a chance. I will anyway.

  6. Think you should have dropped in a mention of FIFA’s new ruling toonsy, about owners only being allowed put 12mil(??) into a club a season as of the 2012 season.

    People wont change by themselves, it’s like politics, they need to be dragged and shoved until they see the light. I feel we’re on the right track now, and I would say this season is our most important in comparison to last.

    Self sufficient by the end of this season if we stay up according to the Journal? hmmm not sure about that like, we can’t even seel off the naming rights to the ground! We’ll see eh when the figures are released.

    Hang on, when do the figures released run from -> to? Wont they only show figures from last season?

  7. I’ve never known so many football fans be interested in finance since ma bought us. All we used to be interested in was who was playing on Saturday.

  8. Just read the story and if true, confirms what I thought about where the money would come from if the ‘no new capital outlay’ statement meant what we thought it meant, Ashley’s pocket!

    Another thing, I noticed no quotes in the story, reliable? Nur!

  10. make or break this season?possibly,but has anyone factored in the”SECOND SEASON SYNDROME”.of course it would be a disaster if newcastle were relegated this season,you would be looking at losing collicini,jonas,enrique,possibly lose carroll as ashley would probably cash in on the cost of another demotion.
    on the other hand people like,guthrie,williamson,simpson,and some of the younger members of the squad who played against accrington,plus a few cheap additions during the summer could form the basis of another team to mount another fizzy challenge.
    then add nolan,amoebi,smith,r taylor,who would stay on as they see newcastle as a good thing for them as no one else will want them.those players i have mentioned,for me even now i think are deadwood.
    if we were to stay up,then what i alluded to earlier”SECOND SEASON SYNDROME”could kick in if we try another summer window of austerity.
    if we are still there next year,then a much better kitty will have to be made available to kick this club forward.
    your first year back in the bigtime,sometimes you can get through it on team spirit and adreneline.then after that the second season has to have a lot more thought put into it to take you onto establishing yourself in this league.will ashley be prepared to do this?,of course this is all hypothetical at the present time,but you always have to look ahead in football,me personally think some people are looking to just surviving this term,then everything will be okay.the reality is though the second season is far harder to stay in there in some respects,hull city and ipswich town from a few year back,being a casing point.
    can newcastle be relegated this season?of course they can,if the events of a couple of years back are to go by,any club can be sucked into the abyss and lottery of the drop.i know saturday’s home defeat at the hands of the mighty blackpool,may be seen as a blip to some.
    i personally think it was a crippling blow,and the second goal had some unnerving similarities to the goal marlon king scored for hull in the relegation season.
    the previous game against wolves,we should have won but worrying we failed to take our chances,sound familiar?.
    the stark reality is we have dropped five points against clubs,who will be hanging on by their finger tips come may.baring in mind we were relegated by a single point at villa.

  11. So if we had more money, where should it be spent? After consolidating, you simply just need to up the class in certain areas, but I think the spine of out team is Premiership quality. Be interested to see what people think.

    Willo—–Colo

    Tiote—Barton

    –Ben Arfa—

    —Carroll—

    All Premiership quality in my opinion, just need to add quality around that.

  12. TROJAN 69 says:
    September 14, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    ‘then add nolan,amoebi,smith,r taylor,who would stay on as they see newcastle as a good thing for them as no one else will want them.those players i have mentioned,for me even now i think are deadwood.’

    I think if we made it club policy to offer new players 3 year contracts instead of 5 it would solve alot of the deadwood problems. Only players like Carroll who have come through the club and obviouly have a future with us should be given 5 years contracts imo. Not the likes of Smith and Butt. If they don’t like it, go somewhere else, if they good enough and we want to keep them offer and extension simple.

  13. MT – except now it’s a Sunday or a Monday. There’s no room in the new football world for middle 30 farts like us.

    Hey, congratulations on the career etc by the way, never got chance to say.

    Directly contradicting the point you made, my feeling has always been that we will turn a small profit this year. Pretty sure a couple of people, including rangerman and some others agreed.

  14. ilm,that’s the questions that will have to be adressed,as i think nolan,smith,amoebi,r taylor should be shown the door at the end of this season,provided we stay up.i’m also frustrated by by jonas,35 grand a week for a guy that continually runs into blind alleys,and has no final ball.

  15. TROJAN

    Smith contracted until 06.2012

    Nolan contracted until 06.2013

    both on about highest wages at the club. Any coincidence do you think Hughton has made Nolan captain.

    We are stuck with these players until their contracts run out, nobody else will pay money for them. We can’t simply ‘show them the door’. It has took us until now to get shot of Nicky Butt. After a season in the championship on high wages where he hardly played I might add.

  16. Off-topic dramatic formation rejig of the day:

    Everton (A)
    ———–Carroll————-
    ———-Ben Arfa————-
    —–Nolan———Barton——
    Enrique—–Tiote———Jonas
    —- Camp—Willo—Colo——-
    ————Harps————–

  17. ———–Harper———–
    Perch–Willo–Collo–Enrique
    ———–Tiote————
    Benny——Barton——Jonas
    ——Carroll–Loven——–

    Is our only chance of getting anything imo, if Barton continues to behave and they all play 100% better.

  18. djg,that’s what i mean,players like smith,nolan,amoebi,etc that’s why they are tied to longer contracts at newcastle,they know no one else will want them so they see newcastle as a god send to them.

  19. If we get through the next couple of ‘austere’ years & stay in the prem.
    We’ll be in a position that we’ve never been in before, solvent.
    Correct me if i’m wrong like, but i’m sure it’ll be a first.
    Can’t remember anything but financial problems at the Toon, personally.

    Anyhoo,
    F*** that shit, it’s boring, boring, boring bread head bullsh.
    All the owners, chairmen etc. we’ve ever had have been class A1 C***S, & everyone knows it.
    While i’m no fan of MA, or any owner/capitalist c***, at least he’s a proper businessman & these days, forced by laws to do the thing by the book. Unlike the skanky gets of the past.
    So, as i said, f*** that shit!
    Anyone for HBA to start the next game with Tiote?
    Ah! Football.
    ;)

  21. clint >>>>While i’m no fan of MA, or any owner/capitalist c***, at least he’s a proper businessman & these days, forced by laws to do the thing by the book. Unlike the skanky gets of the past.<<<<< have they dropped the case against him then ?

  22. batty,
    did they drop a case of beer on him mate?
    :)

    There are more constraints than ever before. Any case against him is nowt to do with football, is it?

  26. Anyone going on thursday to watch the ressies at SJP? Its free, might have a few strawberries before kickoff if yee naa wot a mean. ;)

  27. batty,
    i’m just comparing him against the bent bazzas we’ve had owning the place before him.
    & throughout our history.
    ;)

  31. In my humble (actually, not really that humble) opinion, there are only two types of people working in professional football these days:

    1. Convicted criminals
    2. Criminals that haven’t been caught yet.

    I’m sure Ashley is as bent as a nine-bob like the rest of them, but I still think his business model for the club is sound, and for the past year he’s pursuing it very well.

    As Toonsy says: it all works if we can just avoid relegation; otherwise, it’s all a bit squeaky-bum-time.

    Not gonna happen, though. We won’t even be in the relly scrap by February.

  32. DJG: good on yer for supporting the ressies. I used to when I lived oop North-like, and wish I still could. Cracking entertainment, and some really interesting football to watch for little or no cash.

    I think anyone who can go should go to these matches; it’s as much a part of being a supporter as 1st-team games and beer.

  33. Whumpie@31, agree with you there, proper collection of shysters the lot of them, was reading an article at the weekend about Sullivan at West Ham and how tough it was running the club, what a laugh,him and his mate are proper bandits and like Ashley couldnt give a monkeys fcuk about supporters.

  34. Some fans said that last season was the most important for our club in a long long time. Other fans claim that this season is the most important we have had for a long long time.<<<<<< toonsy last season was and now this season is :)

  36. Isn’t every present season the most important…at the time. 2 seasons ago, it was important to avoid relegation…oops. Last season it was important to gain promotion…YAY! This season it will be important to stay up…and honestly, every season after that staying up will be important….from a “money, money, money” perspective.

    I get the spirit of the article though. I just think you have to take each season very seriously. For the fans, titles and trophies are nice and desired. For the owner, staying in the top is most important, just to maintain financial viability. If there is a trophy thrown in on top, then happy days. But I honestly think that MA is only trying to build a team that can stay up and keep the team viable. I think a solid run at trophies won’t be seen for a couple of years, until that financial security is felt.

  41. Whumpie @31

    I have been trying desperately to think of an upstanding citizen in the business … and I have drawn a blank.

    What a disgrace :(

  42. Evening all ;) I was just reading headlines on News Now and seen Nolan has been asking us AGAIN to keep supporting OUR team, when is this tosser going to learn to shut his trap and concentrate on putting as much effort into his game and on the pitch as he does on repeatedly asking us to support our team. it just grates on me that he thinks it necessary to ask, does he think we are a Bolton or Wigan type team FFS.
    Rant Over

  43. Big Dave – Aye but he isn’t the only skipper to rally the troops, and with respect, Boltan and Wigan fans aren’t known for getting the bedsheets out etc….

    Still, don’t let the facts get in the way eh? ;)

  44. Stu – Does he have to put that £20 million in? Do you know he isn’t? Do you know it hasn’t been spent on running costs?

    At the end of the day he may have just thought bollocks to it.

  45. I thought the competition for places would have helped us on Sat when in fact it appeared the opposite. In fact, I think the two week stoppage did us no favours, but, no matter how many chances we created, it was no excuse for blackpool turning up with a greater appetite and hunger to win.

    Guthrie, Simpson, Campbell, (Tiote & Benny) will all be fit and ready for action soon, (if Hughton doesnt give these two a full game soon he needs shooting by the way), and never mind that ‘im sure we will see him’ sh##e, get the buggers on we paid enough for them.

  46. Toonsy who was talking about bedsheets ? The ref to Bolton and Wigan is the thier Lack of support. The Toon dont suffer from Lack of support So Nolans so called rallying cry is not necessary, or do you think we need him to constantly ask us for support every few weeks ?
    What facts am I missing out on

  47. @NorCal – not sure winning trophies is going to help us be financially viable, depends on player bonuses etc, am pretty sure Nolan, Barton, Smith and the old crew will have huge bonuses written into contracts in the event we qualify for europe or god forgive win some silverware
    Winning the F.A Cup was one of the reasons Portsmouth hit administration

  48. stuart79 says:
    September 14, 2010 at 5:29 pm
    “So why has he loaned us the money? What happened to the £20m he was giving us every year?”

    Quite a while ago he said that though Stu, different time and different situation now.

  50. Big Dave says:
    September 14, 2010 at 6:14 pm

    “Toonsy who was talking about bedsheets ? The ref to Bolton and Wigan is the thier Lack of support. The Toon dont suffer from Lack of support So Nolans so called rallying cry is not necessary, or do you think we need him to constantly ask us for support every few weeks ?
    What facts am I missing out on”

    1) The bedsheet debacle/protest things ma not have been aimed at the team, or the stay away protests, but can you say they really helped the team? i never mentioned lack of support, I meant the ability our fans have to turn on the team.

    2) No we don’t need reminding of it, but instead of just using it as a stick to beat Nolan with, why not mention our former captains who have also used that marvelling line such as Michael Owen, Scott Parker and so on? Or is it a criticism purely reserved for Nolan despite the fact he isn’t the only one who as used it?

  51. SteveP, I didn’t mean to say that winning trophies would make us financially viable, forgive me if I misspoke(typed), I just meant that as fans we always want to see trophies and such to flaunt in front of rivals, but I don’t think we’ll see that until we ARE financially viable. I think that Ashley will take those as a mere bonus compared to just surviving season after season in the BPL and earning the cash needed to keep the club afloat and his wallet full…or at least from getting any more empty.

    One thing I think, is that Ashley probably wouldn’t let the club get to the point of depending on a top 4 placing because he needs the CL money. Sure, he’d be happy to get there, but I bet even when Newcastle gets back to the top 4, you won’t see ridiculous spending taking place just because there is more money coming in. I have a very strong feeling that Ashley has a long term goal of making money at this club while running it…unlike other owners who recognize a profit only after selling. He could infact be an oddity in that sense.

    I’ve been reading this book, it’s really quite interesting, Soccernomics. One of the things the book mentions is that no one makes money as an owner of a professional football club…I think MA may be trying to break that mold. But, I could be mistaken. I just get the sense from him that he takes business extremely serious, and selling Newcastle may be construed as a failure in his eyes…but owning it and turning profits may be paramount to geniusness. I am sure I am way off base and need to go back to concentrating on other thoughts. I somehow just get this feeling…

    On a much more depressing level, I have confirmed that I will not be making a trip across the pnd this year, so no games for me. It’s been like 4 or 5 years since I’ve seen a live game…pissing me off.

  52. Toonsy, hope you’re still doing away guides or I might get lost or attacked in some shithole pub :)

  53. Jay Jay – At Everton it is a distinct possibility :D

    I wouldn’t write one for Everton anyway, not based on my personal experiences. Unless you want to start drinking at 9am, get smashed on Cocaine and end up in a brothel. I could recount that like :lol:

  54. @NorCal – reckon you could be right,
    I actually read the UK version “Why England Lose: And other curious phenomena explained” – good book and well worth reading (renamed for US market in order to pull in the freakonomics crowd no doubt)

  56. SteveP, that’s the one. Yeah, I read Freakonomics too…another fascinating book, and I admit why I chose this one over a couple of others.

    I am not that far in, less than 100 pages, but so far it’s an outstanding and very interesting book.

  57. Ashleys already given the team 5 years worth of £20m a season Stu79, so thats not gonna happen again… I’m surprised that he paid for these last signing after the statement of intent, so if that wasn’t capital investment, what is???

  58. Toonsy im not useing at as a stick to beat him with, I just dont think he needs to ask us to stick with the team every few weeks thats all ;) As for Owen I cant ever remember him saying owt when he was our captain did he actually talk to us :)

  59. Was that what part the ‘no new capital outlay’ statement meant?
    I’m not gonna be bank rolling the team with the £20m’s i’ve been putting in.

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