Mike Ashley: Shrewd? Or just plain lucky?I think I am more upset that I’m not as upset as the majority of fans are about the nasty re branding of St James Park.
I was surprised to see the new name as I thought it was going to be blah blah blah @ St James Park, but we all knew this was on the cards and I’m afraid it’s a fact of modern day business winning over football tradition.
Unfortunately the stadium rights are there to be sold and its now a complete package that basically says your name on the roofs, on the inside, on the outside and on the name for the right price (I’m so pleased Ashley doesn’t own Kit Kat as well!) I am gutted but that dominant, mighty fortress and jewel in the Geordie crown will always be St James’s Park to me and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this.
What interests me more is that this seems like Mike Ashley has thought about what hes doing first and finally has a strategy in place for Newcastle United football club. Most entrepreneur’s like him are years in advance when it comes to business strategy and with the timing and leaking of this with things the way they are makes sense as it will probably all have died down come the Manchester City game? It also asks the question do we have a long term plan in place, ie buying cheap players with something to prove, no big contracts, selling players at the right time etc… (more…)
Hurrah for the two Dannys!When Danny Guthrie arrived at Newcastle I instantly thought of the time we signed Robert Lee!
I know, hang on a min how the hell did I come up with that comparison? Also, in the seasons that have followed he has been mostly a bit part player only showing flashes of what he is capable of. But the comparisons were there as it was one of Keegan’s first players to arrive after taking charge for the second time. He wasn’t expensive and has that very hard quality to find in a midfielder, in that he’s a box to box type of player with a broad range of passing, has an eye for goal, who can win the ball and drive the team on like a poor mans Steven Gerrard!
Also with Dan Gosling, when we also managed to sign him on a free with the feeling amongst the fans that finally we are looking at sensible up and coming players and not getting ripped off paying for expensive big names who don’t perform. Having arrived injured we are still waiting to see the best of the former England U21 who had shown so much potential at Everton and warranted the cheeky deal that we managed to get him on. (more…)
I couldn't help myself!I swore to myself I wouldn’t get involved and would stay away from this fight as Ashley has got the fans at each other throats with the current state of affairs at SJP but after reading a recent ‘blog by my colleague on here, and the fairly large response to it, I couldn’t hold my water any further!
I had decided i would reserve my judgement on the current regime and thought it would be fair to see where we are at after the window has closed and we are a few games into the season, hopefully with a new striker and some sensible investment in place, I had hoped we wouldn’t be having the Ashley argument again as we all just want NUFC to move forward with sensible investment. But after the appalling lack of squad strengthening and ambition from the current regime, the nonsense printed in the Chronicle’s Q&A and amazingly some fans actually backing Ashley as a master of business and Professor in the school of running a football club, I feel the need to point out a few things missing from this boiling pot. What immediate springs to my mind is:
What about the fans feeling more interested and enthused and therefore more inclined to forking out more money to support Newcastle United as well? (more…)
Krul: Sparkling form.After the victory over a very average Fulham team, it is still far from being all rosy in the NUFC garden.
Apart from the obviously self imposed transfer chaos, club policies, missing transfer revenues and off field dramas filling up the headlines before, during and after the game, some fans don’t seem content with another vital three points and are fault finding at every opportunity. I am dismayed at the criticism being directed towards Newcastle and Holland’s current Number 1 after arguably his man of the match performance on Sunday?
It is has been an excellent start to the season with the momentum picking up nicely on the pitch and we are looking in decent shape so i am quietly optimistic that with a few extra faces though the door before deadline day, we should be ok this season.
But am I in the minority when it comes to Tim krul?(more…)
Coloccini: Domino effect?As we fumble, twist and turn our way though this current transfer window, is it me or can August just not end quick enough now?
As transfer windows go this has certainly been a roller coaster ride of emotions, ranging from optimism that we might invest and strengthen the team with those early signings, to realism that we are Sports Direct the football club, and will be run that way accordingly with every player up for grabs at the club, with cheap foreign bargains being the way forward in Ashley’s eyes.
After a fantastic start to the season I have tried to reason with myself that surely we wont sell anyone else? As we could build on this start to the season, and with a couple more additions to the squad we might stay clear of trouble this season. But with rumours pretty much every day about comings and goings i find myself cringing as I read the daily news feeds, expecting to see rumours turning into bids for our top players with Ashley seemingly happy to sell regardless of the team. (more…)
