Mike Ashley: Is it all that bad?Over the past few years of the Ashley regime the NUFC faithful have had good reason to become discontented. However after drifting into yet another football based discussion at work, I had to think to myself, IS IT ALL THAT BAD?
Before I even begin I will clarify, this is not a pro-Ashley post, I have little time for him personally. Yet I am still firm in the belief that I would rather have Ashley and his crew in charge than a certain Fat Owner we all seem to remember.
Yes he’s broken up level 7, sacked the king, got us relegated and hired a man who looks like a Badger (Llambias) But he has also set us on a sound financial footing for hopefully many years to come. OK he’s setting us up to sell for a profit as soon as he has the chance, but at least NUFC will still be around in a few years time.
Look at Everton, can you imagine the summer of discontent that they have had, not buying anyone, let alone loaning someone as their wage structure and stadium demands are slowly killing the club? To top all that off they sold their best player on deadline day without time for a replacement (Sounds all too familiar) (more…)
Alan Pardew: Up to the task?Speculation about any departure by Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew is incorrect according to John Carver, but what of Pardew’s prospects for the season ahead anyway?
There has been some speculation that Alan Pardew might walk after being let down by Ashley and Llambias in the transfer window, although Assistant Manager John Carver dismissed that idea yesterday.
Carver said: “Why is his position in doubt? This has been a good start for us. We have picked up seven points from three matches and we are into the third round of the Carling Cup. We are going in the right direction.
“If you had told people we would have what we have now, they would have snapped your hands off. How can people question the position of the manager? It’s absurd.”
It sounds a bit like Carver has got the wrong end of the stick actually. I think any speculation was about whether Pardew might decide to leave rather than being sacked. I don’t think many people thought his position was in ‘danger’ as such. (more…)
Unwavering support.Yesterday evening I attended a fan meeting at The Irish Bar. It was a bit weird being in the Irish with 20-20 vision but once I got used to sobriety, we began discussing the items on the agenda.
In that meeting were some of the online elite of Newcastle United fan reporters. Malcolm Dix, shiteseats, Newcastle United Mad, MAOC, Steve Wraith and various other supporter groups. Myself, naturally, being the guest of honour.
Joking aside, the meeting in total lasted around 3 hours or so and we discussed a good few things and especially regarding the supporters group, the club, campaigns and various other things.
This article is primarily to bring awareness to certain fans. My notes are actually subjects for articles and I feel I’d be doing some of them a disservice given the weight of some of the points that were made. (more…)
“Get ’em off Mikey boy.”As published in today’s ‘People‘ newspaper, this is a photo of Newcastle United’s proud and dignified owner, Mike Ashley, doing a striptease and flagellating himself to Tom Jones’s “You can leave your hat on” from the soundtrack of “The Full Monty” film.
According to the newspaper, Ashley was pictured at a birthday celebration for a Sports Direct employee at a Chinese restaurant near the company’s headqurters in Mansfield. It reported that:
“As he undressed, workers yelled “More” and “Get ’em off Mikey boy.”
Then quoting from a reveller at the Ash bash, it read:
“Mike was in great form. The DJ started playing that song and all the blokes were egged on by the girls.
“Mike was one of the first up, to applause and cheers. He didn’t think twice about stripping, especially as he’d sunk a few pints.
“Mike gets stick from some people but he’s a brilliant boss.”(more…)
Llambias: Understands fan's frustrations?Most of you will be aware by now that yesterday, Newcastle United’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, issued a statement on the club’s performance in the latest transfer window. It read:
“Now that the transfer window has closed, we have had some time to reflect on the business we have conducted over the summer.
“Our aim was to secure young players who represented value for money and could add real strength to the squad. The majority of our transfer dealings were completed in the early part of the window and we feel we have signed some players of exceptional quality. Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Mehdi Abeid, Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan were all brought in early and we have seen these players settle quickly into the squad and perform well on the pitch.
“Earlier this week we were delighted to sign Davide Santon from Inter Milan to fill our left-back position after the departure of Jose Enrique. Davide is an excellent young prospect and we’re sure he’ll be another superb addition to the squad. We also welcomed young goalkeeper Rob Elliot from Charlton Athletic who will help us retain healthy competition for that position after loaning out Fraser Forster to Celtic.(more…)
