Newcastle United: The Selling Club

Posted on May 1st, 2011 | 57 Comments |

Alan Pardew: A man on a contradictory mission.
Every player has a price.
If we were to listen to the naysayers and those in desperate need of a long course of anti-depressants, the starting XI will be gone come the summer transfer window.

We have always been a selling club, will always be a selling club and unless Ashley leaves, we will remain a selling club. After all, the proof is in the pudding and so far Ashley is just looking to line his pocket with gold. A nugget of truth that somehow ties into todays gutless performance – everybody is for sale. Or something.

The fact is, we aren’t. I know, it’s incredible to think that, but we aren’t a selling club. This season we have sold Andy Carroll.

No, that isn’t a pause for dramatic effect; that’s actually the only sale we’ve had this season. Yes, players have been sent on loan. Yes, players are ‘rumoured’ to be leaving, but if paper talk was 100% true then we’d have Messi and Ronaldo roaming the midfield with Podolski knocking in 80 goals a season and a bench made up of Gervhinho, Hulk, Robben and Shola Ameobi.

I know, I know. Shola Ameobi playing in black and white? Surely a dream come true!

Some fans have really shown their colours since that fateful day at Villa Park. Since Keegan’s departure and relegation, a lot of fans have shown the plastic that lays beneath their black and white face paint, and frankly it’s disgusting. A sale of a player is no longer “a player looking for pastures new” as it’s all money going into Mike Ashley’s pocket.

“But Thump! What about last season! We sold lots of players last season and what happened to the money for those transfers?!”

We sold lots of players last season, yes. We were just relegated and we needed to lighten up the wage bill. The famous ‘dressing room chat’ that Kevin Nolan headed in which it was asked of those who did not want to be at the club, simply, to leave.

Beye, Bassong, Martins et al. Beye wanted to leave and can’t get a game at Villa. Bassong shone in an average team; every time I’ve watched him at Spurts, he looks very much out of his depth. Martins is an interesting case though. He claims he did not want to leave and was asked to leave by the officials in order to lighten up the wage bill but if he wanted to stay so much, wouldn’t he have accepted a wage cut?

Of course he wouldn’t. Martins is, was and forever will be a big spender and has a history of debt and court orders. Can you honestly see him in a Championship team, accepting a wage cut? He’s currently been sent back to Rubin Kazan due to an injury, and it appears Mr. McLeish hasn’t thought about signing him up on a permanent deal come the summer.

Let’s talk about the man of the moment – a Mr. Andy Carroll. When we saw him making more and more appearances under Alan Shearer, we were excited about this young prospect. A lanky striker who wasn’t afraid to attack and put his body on the line to prevent a potential goal. The first time he caught my attention was in the closing minutes of a game in which he blocked a shot shortly after coming on and immediately going on the offence and taking a shot on himself.

Then came the Championship season. He began to show the power, strength and brute force under Chris Hughton, as he managed to net 19 times in all competitions. The following season he was granted the famous number 9, and questions were asked of him. He has a strong personality and took it on. Cue the “it’s always been a dream of mine” speech and how much he “loves his hometown club” patter. As well as one of the most famous numbers in football, he was also given a handy new contract on which he bought a rolling petrol bomb new car.

Next thing we know, he’s off to Liverpool for £35 million with not so much as a goodbye.

The story as we know it is that he was called into the office, had the situation explained to him and demanded that Newcastle increase his contract or he leaves. The rest is history.

At the same time as we watched Carroll land in a helicopter and being taken for his medical, we were made aware of texts between him and a certain Steve Wraith.

Please take note of “I was pushed out of the door”.

I’m probably beginning to sound like a broken record, but if he was ‘pushed out of the door’, why did he agree terms? Why didn’t he simply say “no” and leave it as that?

Also, what happened to the interview he wanted to give? When asked at the press conference, he simply said “I’d rather not comment”, or something to that effect.

Either the lanky streak is lying, or Steve Wraith is lying, and wants to get his website some hits. (Hint: it’s the latter.)

The simple fact is, Andy is gone. He had the power to stay at Newcastle and he heard the cash registers. Are we a selling club? Of course we aren’t, we have made one ludicrous sale that has left us with a difficult end to the season.

Will we get £35 million to spend in the summer? Of course not. That money is for transfers, wages and the agents cut of the deal – it’s not as simple as “money for transfers”. Will Enrique be on his way in the summer? Perhaps, but again – that does not make us a selling club. If he wants to go, then let him go – no player is bigger than the club. Especially our club.

Forget about all the problems we have with Ashley, Pardew and whoever else. There is no Tottenham conspiracy. Ashley is not trying to take us down into the Conference and Pardew is not spunking his money back into Ashley’s purse. Do you know why? Because it’s bloody stupid to think that any man would treat his business, his investment, with such nonchalance.

A selling club is a team who sells it’s assets to stay afloat. Southampton is a selling club – Newcastle are attracting the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tioté.

We’re the 12th man and we’re here through thick and thin. We’re the ones cheering the players on even when we’re 4-0 down to a top Premiership side.

This is our club. The manager doesn’t matter. The owner doesn’t matter. The players are the ones who need us, so let’s do what we do best and make some noise for our black and white warriors.

Howay the lads!

NUFCBlog Author: Thump Some say his bones are black and white but that is yet to be medically proven. Currently writes for a few different publications and likes to assert his imaginary authority on nobody in particular. Beware: eats children. Thump has written 36 articles on this blog.

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57 Responses

  1. BRILLIANT ARTICLE!!! Definitly a very much needed boost after todays performance and I honestly wish that our boys who represent us week in and week out in black and white would read this!!! We may not have the ”best” players or the superstars but our players definitly play with heart and they put their all into this club and deserve credit for that!!! Come the summer and we will be in a position to possibly be fighting for a European spot next season with some new players up front! Even if Enrique leaves, yes he is brilliant and would be a big loss BUT we have Ferguson who has shown that he can take over and very possibly outshine many players on the pitch… I truly believe that next season will be one for the history books!!! Howay the lads

  5. Spot on. Nice, coherent balanced piece. As fans we sometimes let our passion for the club get the better of us and lose objectivity. Let’s keep all that passion but at the same time keep our heads. HWTL

  6. Well that’s probably the best thing i’ve read all day
    HWTL
    next weeks prediction :-D
    Newcastle 2 Birmingham 0

  7. A bit of realism – not from an “Ashley lover” as no doubt some fans will slag you, but from someone who is prepared to await events and not get too high or too low. Sometimes I think our blogs are frequented by a number of people who need treatment. Some are bipolar – we win and with our star players we will be challenging for Europe next year; we lose and we are certs for relegation and all our players are suddenly rubbish. Some have paranoia and see devilish dealings in every happening and pronouncement. The worst are those with Tourette’s who can’t stop themselves squawking “Ashley oot!” or “Pardew oot!” every blog – usually with a few obscenities thrown in.
    We have had worse times than this season – assuming we don’t get relegated – so let’s get behind the team AND the manager till the end of the season.

  9. Well done. Well done. A refreshing yet realistic take on the Toon that I agree with all the way. And as for Ferguson, I like him. If we can keep Enrique without overspending great. But that one piece of brilliance he had on the line when we lost to Stoke… real potential.
    HWTL

  11. Yeah Thump we know all that !
    Whats your point, a history lesson ?
    Look it`s not certain this side will win another game this season, it`s a Jeckle & Hyde side, even the Liverpool game consisted of two totally different halfs.
    We are at present not a good side, a lower half PL team along with the Wigans and West hams and Blackburns.
    The bench is bare and what other side in the league or manager for that matter would put out as awful a pair as Kuqi and Ranger ?
    Not to mention the pair they replaced.
    This club needs BIG help, yeah we will have some reinforcements come by the beginning of next season, the question is how many and who ?
    I don!t expect a lot, simply going on Ashley`s track record,but lets see ?
    Ben Arfa and hopefully Ireland wold be an improvement as would Gosling if he lives up to expectations
    But the fact remains we are and probably will remain short on quality and without a strong bench it`s bring in the kids and we all now know after watching Rangers first start, what a mistake that was.
    Do I sound negative, well then tell me what i should be happy about as a Newcastle fan, right now ?

  12. If you look at http://www.transferleague.co.uk/league-tables/2006-2011.html you will see what this transfer policy has done. Selling it selling, whether it is for survival or to generate cash.

    The Liverpool front 3 today (including sub) cost 50% more than Newcastle’s whole team and bench. Eeven including Ben Arfa, their striking trio cost more than our team.

    Whilst this piece presents an argument, you may want to provide more balance.

  13. great read. agree 100%

    some fans need to ease up on the conspiracy theories. to put things in perspective, there’s more likely chance that there are ninjas climbing around my house preparing to assassinate me right now, than loads of the stories going on.

    keep it cool.

  15. chris says:
    May 1, 2011 at 9:42 pm

    “is it true 20 million to spend from the sale of carol”

    That was Louise Taylor in the Guardian, Chris. :-)

  16. Chris, no that is not true, simply because no one knows. The club isn’t going to say they have x amount to spend, else every player they go for would conveniently cost x amount :P

    The British scumbag press will forever spew out anti Newcastle nonsense. I honestly think our tranfer budget will be done on a deal by deal basis. The money is there, but lets not spend it on another Enrique who’ll look awful for a year, good for another, then p!ss off elsewhere!

  17. what stikers would any one like to see at the club and should we get rid of all the strikers we have at the moment does any one think we will get top players next season that can take us forword is there players we should ship out

  19. Thump thats the best article written about us anywhere in a very long while , as for those saying we lack depth and quality at the moment , well there right but whose fault is that ? Ashley has actually made signings and not just sold , the january transfer window when we were in the ccc proves that . The fact is Ashley has had to cut the cloth over the last couple of seasons but did give money to Hughton to do a job and thats the point Hughton did a brilliant job but he also made a lot of signings and they were his signings , yes HBAand Tiote are quality but what about Perch, Routlidge , Lovenkrands , Williamson , Simpson and best are they players that can take us forward . Best and Simpson imo might yet the rest no . So who’s fault is it ? Ashley that has given what he could afford or the manager that made the signings .

  20. hi dave on todays performance we kneed to get rid of at least 7 or 8 players with ashley in charge would we be able to replace them with out geting has beens or championship or freebees

  21. Many, many thanks. I’m out of the loop here in Hollywood, California, but I love the Toon and have done for over 40 years. HWTL and bring on the next season!

  22. I’m certainly no Ashley fan. He sold the Toon in my FM11 game and I was dancing around like a Mackem finding out his sister is single again, but we’re stuck with him, and part of me thinks he’ll do right by us (though that could just be the black and white optimist in me).

    Chris, I think we’ll probably get around £28m for the window. Keep in mind that some of that money will be going to wages as well as contracts for existing contracts (Nolan, Barton, Enrique etc., and some of it may have already been spent on Tioté’s contract and the like). I wouldn’t take much word from Whese Keys Louise, but even if it was just £20m, it’s more than a lot of other teams will ultimately get.

    You’re right, John. There is a disturbing trend and I appreciate you bringing it up. Now let’s have a look at who we sold (I believe Roeder was in charge in the 2006 season): http://nufc.com/2010-11html/transfers.html

    Take a look at the ins and outs – we got big money for big players and bought cheap and sold large. Sorry to say but this isn’t a sign of a ‘selling club’ – we aren’t selling to keep the club in existence. It’s a sign of good business acumen, and please remember that Ashley took charge in 2007. I’d like to see the stats from the date Ashley took over, if truth be told.

    As for chuckles, I agree completely. That can only be combated with a deeper squad. We all knew coming into this season that it was going to be difficult and that we had a threadbare squad. Hughton being sacked midway through the season certainly didn’t help either, but we have what, 4 games until the end of the season? Let’s just get behind the lads for those games and come the summer, you’ll see reinvestment.

    For the time being, let’s just support the squad and remind the players why they’re honoured to play in our colours ;)

    Edit: Apologies if this doesn’t make much sense. Just read through it – blame it on The Dog.

  23. Really good reading this :) i def think we will get some new players in this summer, and maybe even spend some cash. The striker dep are just not good enough for a club that has a history of it`s own regarding number nines…
    Really hope Nolan, Barton, Enrique ++ signs new contracts though…

  24. I really can’t believe what I have read,you will be saying next that fatash is not a lier and that he treat KK fairly.also to say that it is not important who the owner and manager is,well I have to tell you it is because on them depends what type, and quality of football you watch or do you not care about that either?

  25. Nolan reckons his contract is done and dusted and I’m sure that Barton said he’d sign if Nolan did. Enrique said “when we’re safe” which throws up some red flags but he’s not the only left back in the world. As much as I like the lad, if his heart isn’t with the club then good luck to him, I say.

  26. Marshy: “It doesn’t matter how goals go in, as long as they go in.” – Chris Hughton.

    I think calling somebody a ‘liar’ is a pretty big step, and while Ashley may very well be one (99.9% sure that he is) – we’re stuck with him. As for Keegan, he’s the biggest liar walking! He approved the Milner transfer in front of the associated press, called Collo world class and then spat the dummy out. He wasn’t blameless and tried to take the club for fools (£12m he wanted, right?) despite his contract stating minimum payout of £2m.

    I can talk about the Keegan debacle all day. I actually wrote an article about it for True Faith way back when.

    We all love to see attractive, attacking football but I’ll take a scrappy 2-1 win as much as the next fan. It’s all about the points on the table, mate.

  27. Dips me lid to yer, Thump. Excellent article. Good to hear a rational voice among the usual rattle of empty vessels on here.

    HWTL.

    It’s always good to read true fans talking about NUFC instead of seeing some poor guy dribbling his neuroses all over the www. Love it. Just love it.

  28. aint posted for a long time….. think some are being a bit optimistic like.

    lose at home saturday and theres a good chance we will be going into wba on last day crapping ourselves,and wba are looking like barca compared to us.

    really hope thumps right bout things looking up in summer,but from where ive been sat, i really cant see it at all. tiote will be gone,why else sign such a huge contract? look what happened to last player who signed a 5yr contract? hope im wrong,i really do

  29. We are a selling club. We sell our best players. Carroll to Liverpool. If the club wanted to keep him we could have given him a wage rise, but Ashley wanted the £35 mill.

    Enriques going in the summer, thats not negative or pessimistic just realistic.

    Top class players dont stay at Newcastle any longer.

    Making comparisons with Southampton. Well ok, if thats what you see our benchmark as, thats fine. Lots of lower league clubs are selling clubs. I just happen to think differently and compare us to clubs who are larger. With our fan base it shouldnt be unrealistic to think of us competing with the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton.

    So yes i will shout for the team. But we are still a selling club, no matter what spin you wish to put on the club.

  30. We are much better than selling players than buying them. Woodgate, Dyer come to mind. Glad we got rid of them when we did. I dont think Andy will suffer from the same injuries but he may as that knee of his certainly seems to be a bot more fragile than it used to be. If he does anything but set the world on fire we’ll consider it a good sale in the future.

  31. 1 sale does not a selling club make! Sure people might not have wanted to see Carroll go but he showed his true colours on deadline day and as far as I’m concern

  32. 1 sale does not a selling club make! Sure people might not have wanted to see Carroll go but he showed his true colours on deadline day and as far as far as I’m concerned its good riddance to any player who’s first response to another club showing an interest is up my wages or I’m off! How long was he into his current contract at the time? Let’s not escape the fact here that however much people hate mike ashley, there is not a chairman anywhere in the world who would have turned down an obscene offer like that for a player still unproven at the highest level!

    Also, if selling one of your best players for well over his value makes you a “selling club” then so are man u for selling ronaldo, Liverpool for selling torres, arsenal for any number of players they’ve made massive profits on, and any other club too, every player has their price at the end of the day. Newcastle got a brilliant price for Andy Carroll, it was a great bit of business for them, now the task is to spend well in the summer.

    But this talk of a so-called “selling club” after 1 sale at way over value is simply ludicrous. All teams sell players, many bigger names and better players than Andy Carroll for as much money as they can, and then use the money to strengthen the squad with several players. That’s standard practice for any club and people would do well to remember that. Were man utd a selling club when ronaldo, Beckham or van nistelrooy went to madrid? Of course they weren’t, yet every one of them was equally important to man u as to Carroll was to the toon. Carroll wanted the move at the end of the day, players move on all the time, certain fans would do well to do the same, cos the constant moaning ain’t gonna bring him back. Not sure I would want him either with how he acts.

  33. Good article and I agree with most that is in it. Many Newcastle fans need a reality check on the situation at the club and this sums it up pretty well.

    One thing I would say though is that we are m kore of a selling club now than we probably ever have been. Let me explain:

    First, we are not one of the big boys anymore and have gradually slid down from being a top PL team since the days of Bobby Robson. A the same time other clubs have improved and gone above us.

    Second, we have changed from a club that buys big, expensive flops (yes… Sheaer the exception!), to a team that is a lot more canny in the transfer window and are looking for young players that will add value.

    Now, how do these two points make us more of a selling club than in the past you ask?

    First, by no longer being on of the big boys and instead being a mid table team there has been a great increase in teams that compete for players we’re after and that can get those players in. Look at the man citys, tottenhams, aston villas, etc. This results in players that would of previously wanted to come here ften going elsewhere and has the potential, unless we change our ways soon, to result in our own player opting to move on if they do well.

    This leads to the second point. Our current players. Due to being a bot more savvy in the transfer window and having adopted a youth policy we now have players playing for the toon that are young, of a good quality, fairly cheap and have a bright future. While this is great it also add to the chance of other PL teams (and teams across Europe) coming in forour players.

    For instance, when was the last time so many of our players wee attracting other clubs? a long time I’d say. In previous seasons out team has largely been compiled of a bunch of over priced PL flops which no team wanted to come in for, as they were not willing to pay a high transfer fee or huge wages for an average player- result: we were stuck with these guys till relegation.

    Its a good thing we now have players other clubs want, it shows we’re doing something right for a change, and while its a shame that some of our layers will inevitably move on to bigger clubs, it’s a hell of a lot better than the situation wwe’ve had in recent seasons.

  34. Reg,

    You said ‘Carroll to Liverpool. If the club wanted to keep him we could have given him a wage rise, but Ashley wanted the £35 mill.’

    While I also believe we have become more of a selling club lately (see my comments above), I disagree with yuor comment regarding the Carroll sale.

    The club s trying to balance the books and not let wages skyrocket like they have in the past. Carroll had just signed a new lng-term contract and if he was then given the 80,000 he was after it would of caused a knock on affect with other players wanting more cash.

    I also think Carroll and his agent would of known the club would knock this back. As the above article mentions the 35mil will be spent on a mix of transfers, wages, etc… its been stated as so, not sure why many fans forget this?!

    If we do get a big player in, such as a Gervinho, I would guess that a proportion of the the 35 mil would go not only on his transfer, but also on some of his wage bill if it was higher than the cap w ehave in place.

  35. if we are not a selling club then what are we?

    the rumor mill has it that modric and bale are on there way from spurs but spurs have said not for all the tea in china as they quite right want to keep there best players!

    now lets look at newcastle apart from the disgusting way they let our number 9 go the club is refusing to give contracts out or quash any speculation about enrique, barton or titoe going! and titoe signing a new deal means nothing as carroll had only recently signed before he was moved on

    and then we have the clubs stance that this summer is going to be tough for newcastle!!!! with the club looking to bring in more titoe type signings!!!! coz they are 10 a penny them tiotes! so lets buy 10 players for 3.5million!

    so im afraid there are 2 types of clubs the buying clubs including the big 4, liverpool,spurs,stoke,spurs,scum, villa which all have ambitous chairmen and backers and then there is the rest which newcastle are apart of. the selling clubs!

    im not a plastic geordie i dont boo any of our players (even shola) and i wish i was being more positve but im not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend it doesnt matter whom the manager or the owner is

    like kk said on the telly he reckons a couple more players will be sold then ashley will sell up which sounds about right to me on current form

  36. BRILLIANT!!! I just read this article as im about to go to bed……I CANT SLEEP NOW!!! Im so pumped up on our club! Everything you said is 100% true! THAT IS WHY NEWCASTLE UNITED IS THE GREATEST CLUB IN THE WORLD!!!!!

  37. Great Article, but we are a selling club. This is not to be argued.

    Of course, every player has his price and that include even the likes of C. Ronaldo and Zidane.

    However, the more successful, properly managed clubs would only have their best players sold once a replacement is in place. Man U had Ronaldo in for Becks. If this case is too extreme, you could just look at the “real” Arsenal model where they have so many youngsters ready to step up and do the job.

    Who do we have to replace Judas or even Milner?
    Yes, we all know that the offer was too good to turn down, but what the timing to sell the integral part of your squad? The Carrolgate is not the first and won’t be the last controversial transfers made by this board. They have the league performance second in the priority list to their earnings. That is clear to everyone.

    Having said that, do I want mega signings? No, it means nothing to me how much a player cost the club, let it be 100M or 100K. They are the same to me as long as they are black and white. I am not expecting too much, I just want to see all players well replaced.

    Finally, mark this word, all clubs and enterprises work in debts, a debt free property is only good when selling.

  38. “Because it’s bloody stupid to think that any man would treat his business, his investment, with such nonchalance.”

    But isn’t that exactly what he does? Buys the club on a whim. Appoints a manager who was a hit in the 90’s and should never have been brought back. Then refuses to give him (he gave it to Wise) money to spend when he spotted some of the greatest talent this club has ever seen. Then appoints Dennis Wise as head of player recruitment. Appoints an ex casino manager as chief executive. Appoints a dinosaur of a manager to take over. Sells best goalkeeper. Appoints an unknown manager to try and save us when it’s far too late. Refuses to even speak to him and appoints a coach as the manager. He does a great job and then sacks him to bring in his casino mate. His mate/board promise AC won’t be sold (but surely they’ve got a plan just in case….). AC promptly sold (good deal, agreed) but no-one had a plan so we throw in a £10m bid for an ex-player that left for £5m two years earlier. And he’s a striker isn’t he? Oh wait….

    Nonchalance: “Casual lack of concern”

    If this isn’t nonchalance, then what is? The man is a gambler and always will be. He gambled with the sale of Given (£5m!! Scandalous) and thought we’d stay up. Instead of saying, sorry Shay, we’ll let you go at the end of the season but we need you to keep us in this league. He lost. He gambled that Keegan/Shearer would get him over with the fans. He lost. He gambled that Kinnear would save us. He lost. He gambled on Hughton. He won. He gambled that pumping money into the club would get us back up. He won. He gambled on selling AC. It looks like he won. None of these are astute business decisions, it’s all gambles.

    He’s got us buying players to make a profit. I can’t see that he has any interest in putting the money in to make us a force. He wants to find his own stars (fair enough) but why? Simply to sell on at a huge profit. He got Ben Arfa for a steal at £5m and if he shows the form he was showing 2 years ago, I’d guarantee we’ll sell him in next few years when a bigger club comes sniffing. If someone offers us £15m for Enrique and £15m for Tiote, he’d take it. He’s done it before. Leopards don’t change their spots.

  40. What happened to our Milner etc money tho? and the normal transfer budget we would have every window? ie. the Carroll fee PLUS the jan gone window AND this summers?-REMEMBER we were told we were buying players in the jan window and thAt was without selling Carroll-added to the 35 million? were being conned man and made to conveniently forget about the twice yearly normal budget that we were promised to add to the Carroll sale which we were told would deffo be for transfers-that would give us way more than 35 million this summer! More like 60/70 million! sold down the river…..

  42. John – 12 – very interesting stats, although comparisons are difficult when we have had a relegation / Championship episode and others haven’t. I am struck by the fact that money doesn’t always buy you happiness – Villa and Sunderland are 2 examples, whereas you can see why Arsenal are held up to be the model. OK, they haven’t won anything in the last 5 years (wow, try 42 years!) but they are consistently top 4 / Europe and should have won a cup this year if the players had turned up on final day.

    Paul in Hollywood – 21 – I assume you’re asleep now as it’s 3 a.m. there – just wanted to say that we are just back from a fabulous trip to your neck of the woods. Visited SF for 4 days then LA for 6 actually stayed in Hollywood. Great fun! Saw the Kodak, Universal, Paramount, Hollywood Museum etc. Even saw Arnie Schwartzeneger on Rodeo Drive! Brilliant!

  43. Its amazing how everyone conveniently forgets that the club has been running at a loss for years and years now.
    Just because the debt has been covered doesn’t stop it running at a loss.
    I think we lost another £35M or so last yr too.
    Its kind of understandable that we sell certain players for ludicrous ammounts. But I do recall lower offers being rejected. There comes a point tho where it makes more sense to accept the stupid money than reject it.
    The same goes for any of our other players tooo.
    Of course the timing sucked. But that was as much to do with chelski/liverpoo than us.
    I’m more of an optimist than pessimist, so live in hope that the club will improve from where we are now.
    Keep the faith.

  44. Nice article Thump,
    good stuff mate.

    It’s interesting to see some people’s take on it too & some people’s absolute reluctance to change their tune regardless of the situation.

    :)

  45. Hope Enrique stays best left back in premier league. I would not sell him for 100 mill! Favourite player in the world. If he moves I would not be a happy chap.

  46. A load of nonsence.
    I’m sick of all this ‘Ashley is ok’ guff. He can only be judged on facts. The facts are he is a liar, as proved in a court of law, and stated by a judge. He has cut a profit from the sale of players on every single transfer window since Keegans last. And he is a fat cockney bastard! All facts!
    The rest, such as, we will spend all the Carroll transfer in the summer, and Newcastle would have been bankrupt if he hadn’t bailed them out are all pure heresay so far.

    If we hadn’t sold Carroll, would we have had no money to spend this summer? We certainly still needed to spend around £20 million on reinforcing a squad that included Carroll. And with the bumper increase on TV revenue, we should have expected that. And so i will not consider the cash from Carroll as reinvested unless we spend in the region of £50million in the summer. If we do, I may think better of Ashley, but how many of you Ashley supporters believe for one second that will happen?

  48. Great article spot on m8!! We need more positive articles like this around too many overly dramatic and depressed Newcastle fans around these days.

  50. Good post Thump,..

    I was going to post a reply but having read all the previous posts, I’d be here all day trying to make sense of some peoples apparent logic on this subject….. moronic springs to mind imo!!!

  51. We seem to go on re-living the recent history of the club, the chaos of an era which began immediatly after SBR`s firing.
    It`s a few years now but the bickering, division and resentment continue.
    Our fans are unhappy and divided and most see no real resolution in sight.
    Most, well certainly many, tend to blame Ashley and the type of people he hires.
    I cant see this being resolved untill both he and his cohorts are outta here and that includes Pardew and Llambias.
    It`s my belief Ashley is a control freak who only hires yes men, and in those two he`s certainly got two of the best.
    BSA had a mind of his own as did Keegan, Joey K. needed a job and so did Pardew.
    Strangely enogh the best guy he had there was a mistake,
    Chris. Hughton was johnny on the spot, in place and cheap and did a great job, both with the side and even finding cheapo`s, players for next to nothing.
    We will probably never know why Ashley fired him, possibly unlike Pardew he did`nt fit in, guy had scruples.
    Well get set for more of the same and pray for some oligarch to rescue us from this nightmare, because as long as the present owner is running things, we are going to have the same old, same old.

  52. Is Newcastle a selling club? Is ashley a selling person? Ashley has just made himself a tidy £270 million in the last year in his sports direct .com tool. Do I think Newcastle are a selling club? No. But I do think Newcastle are a selling tool. Spoetsdirect profits have sored this year to the sum if £270 million pounds so its in Mr. Ashleys best interests to keep Newcastle in the news. It’s subliminal people who think of Newcastle think sports direct. It’s the way it goes. I don’t think Newcastle are going to be a selling club but I do think Newcastle are going to be a selling tool for sports direct. And there is only one way the caching caching will keep ringing is if we are in the news. I can see a cycle he buys them in we like them he sells them we boo him we chant obscenities at him. His profits sore. Year after year after year. He won’t give a monkeys if we win lose or draw along as we are in the news. Now ill ask you all a question. What would you do for £270 million quid? Where would your priorities be? A business that makes you £270 million per year or a football club that he can play around with like a puppet in a string but only takes. So the real answer to the question Newcastle won’t be anythibg more than a media blitz for Mr. Ashley and if that means we buy or sell along as he and sports direct are in the news that’s all that will matter. So let’s all sit back and see the roller coaster that is sportsdirect.com @ st James park. Caching caching caching caching.

  53. i’m afraid that’s depressingly bang on chuck,i think with ashley it’s always going to be the same.
    i dont think he’s out to rob the club,or line his pockets as some fans think.
    ashley is probably one of lifes tight b*****ds,i think somewhere within his subnormal head,he wants the club to do well.the problem is,mike ashley being mike ashley,the retailer and gambler in his make up will always trip him up as a football club owner.
    the man has been the object of national ridicule,on numerous occassions,the one thing he does have going for him,is his willingness to show himself up.four years on from his whimsical purchase of newcastle united,he’s still in power.i take your point about him being a control freak,as that seems to be the situation as you look from the outside in.he’s only employing people who will agree with his “emperor’s new clothes”of a plan for the club.
    the sad thing is,he could turn it all around,if he would employ and trust the right people to run the club for him.as kevin keegan said “he wont even do that”,so as long as his sticks to his guns over his so called blueprint,i think he will always fall on stony ground,and lurch from one disaster to the next.
    the thing with that is,it will be the fans that will pay for the humiliation,every time.

  54. Can’t see how Newcastle is a ‘selling tool’ for sportsdirect, really?
    People are flocking to SD ‘cos it’s a cheap way to buy leisure gear in a time on austerity & idiotic govern-mental behaviour. Whilst we have rich people, out of touch with reality, running the country, we’ll have large wholesalers stacking high & selling cheap & making good profits.
    On the crest of the bubble 3-5 years ago SD was losing out.
    Now we’re back into a downward spiral, financially & governmentally, there will be profit in cheap goods.

    He’ll probably have a share offer for Toon fans in the next 5-10 years (like at SD)& we’ll end up owning the club, by mistake.
    :)

  55. As far as I can remember under Ashley, the only transfer window where we ended up with a better team at the end than when we started was the January of our season in the Fizzy.

    Every other window we have lost players and either not replaced them with sufficient quality, or at all. Argue all you like about whether we’re a selling club, but one think we aren’t is a club that’s building a squad to compete. Survival is sufficient and the less we can spend on doing so the better.

    It’s odd that when the team or individuals do well, I actually worry that this will cause problems by convincing Ash he doesn’t have to spend. For example; seeing Best and Ferguson performing above expectation for us this season concerns me that Ash will think he doesn’t have to strengthen up front and can get rid of Jose without replacing him.

  56. CLiNT FLiCK says:
    May 2, 2011 at 11:05 pm

    “People are flocking to SD ‘cos it’s a cheap way to buy leisure gear in a time on austerity & idiotic govern-mental behaviour.”

    Aye, that’s about the size of it Clint.

  57. Chuck and Trojan.
    Bang on, the two of you.
    There’s nothing any one of us here would rather have, than a team that we can be proud of, regardless that it has Andy Carroll, Lionel Messi or Shefki Kuki at the helm. We’d all love to have an owner we were proud of, wether that was Mike Ashley, Roman Abramovic, or someone like Jack Walker.

    Truth is we just don’t!
    And at the minute Ashley is the main reason for this.