Does Mike Ashley have cruel intentions?
Posted on June 30th, 2011 | 38 Comments |
This ‘5 year plan’, which I assume has been extended every year since he took charge after some abject failings (like relegation in 2009), has some positive factors incorporated. I like the idea of young, home grown players running out at St James Park and the focus on youth and development should be welcomed by many of us.
If you refer to Ashley’s statement back in 2008 it declares:
“My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy. I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long term plan. A long term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish”.
I think we all want to see that don’t we?
Ashley has also created an extensive scouting network, spearheaded by Graham Carr and his band of merry men, instructed to scour France and the rest of the continent, in search of diamonds in the rough, unheard of players, those who’s career is in front of them and not behind them. In the same 2008 statement Ashley stated:
“Newcastle has therefore set up an extensive scouting system. We look for young players, for players in foreign leagues who everyone does not know about. We try and stay ahead of the competition. We search high and low looking for value, for potential that we can bring on and for players who will allow Newcastle to compete at the very highest level but who don’t cost the earth”.
Now, the scouting network has bought us some success so far, with players such as Cheick Tioté. I can’t include our recent signings as successes yet, until they pull on the shirt and show us what they can do in the Premier League (I live in hope that they will be of the Tioté mould, and not of the Xisco calibre by the way).
Ashley’s reasoning for looking for bargains is as follows:
“The truth is that Newcastle could not sustain buying the Shevchenkos, Robinhos or the Berbatovs. These are recognised European footballers. They have played in the European leagues and everyone knows about them. They can be brilliant signings. But everybody knows that they are brilliant and so they, and players like them, cost more than £30 million to buy before you even take into account agent commissions and the multi-million pound wage deals
Ashley also stated though that he will fund large signings for the right kind of player:
“I am prepared to back large signings for millions of pounds but for a player who is young and has their career in front of them and not for established players at the other end of their careers”.
From my point of view, the two statements above are stating the obvious. I know Newcastle can’t attract the Drogbas of this world, because not only do we not have the financial muscle, we don’t have anything to offer in footballing terms either. We are a long way from European football at the moment, our current squad is not good, or big enough, for the rigours of European nights incorporated alongside Premier League games throughout a season. As for Champion’s League, which would attract the crème de la crème of the world’s elite footballers, well, we are a million miles from that at the moment. Those with the true financial muscle in England are vainly flexing it to assure themselves of Tuesday and Wednesday night battles against Europe’s premier clubs, but mixed in with the spending forces of Chelsea and Manchester City are low spending Arsenal.
Arsenal are the model Ashley is trying to incorporate. They have been scouring the continent unearthing young talent for years. Players such as Anelka, Fàbregas, Vieira, Petit and Ljungberg were not massively well known, but bought Arsenal domestic success, and in some instances financial success, such as Anelka being signed by Arsenal for 500k, and being sold 2 years later for £23 million. Now this is what Graham Carr is vying to do currently for Newcastle, finding the stars of the future and securing them to the club. Alongside Arsenal’s excellent scouting network there is also the ‘Professor’, Arsène Wenger, aiding in the development of players and to a degree, he has been very successful at it. A student can only truly flourish under the guidance of a master.
Alan Pardew is currently the Arsène Wenger to Ashley’s version of the Arsenal model. With the aid of many cigarettes and a large quantity of vodka last season, I accepted Pardew as being our manager and will continue to try to refrain from displeasure at the appointment. I, like many of us, will continue to get behind him and the team. Ashley believes Pardew is the man for the job and that is why he is here on a five year contract. My preference was actually to look abroad for a ‘professor’ of our own but that is another matter. I do welcome stability to the club as we crave it, our record for sacking managers is laughable, we won’t get anywhere if we keep chopping and changing every 5 minutes.
In essence Ashley must trust Pardew to be the man, therefore he must back him like the Arsenal board, to spend money when it is available if he truly does want Newcastle to be a success on the pitch, and not just in his bank account. Although Arsenal don’t spend massive amounts, they do free up funds for transfers when it is available and have spent big on players such as Theo Walcott and Andrei Arshavin in the past. We are only on year 2 of this ‘5 year plan’ so we must remain patient if the model is indeed in effect, and for the bigger amounts to be spent on players.
Arsenal have been relatively unsuccessful trophy-wise in recent seasons, but the system they incorporate has bought them more success in the last fifty years than ourselves. How many millions have we spent in recent times only to achieve nothing?
So can this model work for Newcastle? I think it can, as long as Ashley surrounds himself with people who are knowledgeable on business matters and football matters. As long as Ashley doesn’t just want to recoup the funds he put into Newcastle when he bought the club in 2007. There is a difference between saying and doing, actions speak louder than words.
I await with baited breath what will happen and what Ashley’s true intentions are. All should become clear soon, and I personally will try to remain calm and patient. I am sure many of you who have read this will hold no hope for future success at Newcastle United under Mike Ashley, and looking at what has happened in the past during his tenure, I can fully understand. I am not the most positive of people when pondering about the club being run by him, but I live in hope that the ‘Arsenal model’ is incorporated properly and he is not just using it as an excuse to supporters. Newcastle look for players around the world who have sell on value, who will only increase in value over time. It is a sensible way to conduct business, but I disagree that because a player is approaching 30 they are of no value to the team any more. The club still needs senior heads in the dressing room, Arsenal were at there most successful when they had a mixture of youth and experience in their team. Personally I think the Arsenal model will work and benefit the club in the long run, I just hope that Ashley has put it into effect for the right reasons.
So what do you think Ashley’s intentions for the club are? To push forward and look toward success? Or is it just damage limitations for him now and he just wants to recoup the money he invested? Has he got the correct recipe for this model to work, or is he still missing some vital ingredients?
You decide.
NUFCBlog Author: Jimbob
Backpacker extraordinaire and current resident of sunny Sheffield. Loves Marmite, hates peanut butter. Sleeps twice a day, wrestles Polar Bears because he can and regards himself as cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce.
Jimbob has written 40 articles on this blog.
I guess it’s a balancing act between young talent, and re-sale value.
It would seem that few players expecting to start in Aug will be 17/18 yr old starlets from the youth academy. So players with some relative age/experience, i.e Cabaye at 25 yrs, have been drafted in on good deals/freebies.
It’s a gamble that Cabaye/Marv/Ba – will gel together, and remain fit/injury free – But they at least seem talented and can inspire the youngsters in training.
Sooner or later tho, we Need To Spend Money. Nothing crazy (in PL terms), but given that nolan’s sale means we’ve not spent a penny, I’d like to see 20m SPENT on players:
1x 10m QUAILTY SRIKER
1X 5m CB
5m – rb/lb spare/extra striker …