It's a conspiracy!After the latest five year plan was revealed in the rather grim statement by Newcastle United yesterday, I can’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu with regards to possible upcoming events.
I’ve never been one for the conspiracy theories, but the recent statement seems to have left more questions than answers. It is the hot topic of debate at the minute, and rightly so in my opinion. Since it’s release it has taken preferance over any reports of new signings, although we know why that is, player interviews, everything. There is simply nothing else going on that matters as much as the content of this statement currently as Toon fans around the world chew the fat and dissect just what the detail of each point means. Ironically this comes from a statement that was aimed at halting wild speculation in the first place, but is there a more sinister, secretive, intention at work here? (more…)
Mike Ashley: Playing a dangerous game.So now we know where we stand with Mike Ashley, we know what the plans and intentions are regarding the clubs latest five year plan, and upon first glance it makes grim reading.
However, this is my club, and there is only one person on here that really knows the depths of depression I can work myself into over affairs at Newcastle, he is just the same as me. So after I have been away, reflected, debated, slept, woke up, reflected a bit more, took the wife to work, popped into my work to check on things, and had breakfast, I have come to the conclusion that long term, Mike Ashley’s new strategy is just what the club needs. In five years time the club will be a much more viable prospect to invest or for someone to purchase. Which of course is great and all that, securing the future of Newcastle United blah blah. It’s the short term I worry about though, a theme I reflected upon in an article yesterday. (more…)
These two are going to face a backlash.Well the anticipated statement has finally arrived, and although it stops short of putting the club back up for sale, the contents aren’t pretty.
I am honestly a little bit lost for words right now having quickly skimmed over the contents, but my initial reaction is that it doesn’t sound pretty and we should settle down for what is going to be a long hard season next year. The statement begins by summarising the accounts from last season, with the headline being an operating loss of £37.7 million for the accounts just filed. It then goes on to forecast estmated losses of £32.5 million for the season just gone whilst also indicating that we have a £20 million overdraft that is fully comitted. Dire financial circumstances indeed which is something I think that deep down we knew all along. Those financial circumstances could become even more dire when I reveal the most chillng words of the whole statement in my opinion.
That is the fact that there are no plans for any capital outlay on any new players, and that the team from this season will form the basis of the team we will start the Premier League season with. Any new additions will have to be self funded by player sales by the looks of it. I am actually lost for words as I really thought that there may still be a surprise this transfer window and that Mike Ashley had learned that that the playing staff needs investment. Apparently not. (more…)
The quiet man is..... keeping quiet!We are at that time of the season again where inevitably the talk around any club will turn towards the transfer activities of the summer.
Chris Hughton has been quick to play down any expectations of wholesale changes to the playing squad, but is this a shrewd move to divert the press away from the smell of blood whilst plans are made in private? Or is it a genuine statement that the club is pretty much closed for business already?
There appears to be a consensus forming between fans that around four signings will be needed to give the team the best chance of extending our stay in the Premier League beyond next season, and this concensus appears to not be aligned with Hughton’s prophecy of expecting one or two new faces. This could lead to a problem not only on the pitch, it could also brew trouble in the stands aswell. The fact is that some fans are still very sceptical over owner Mike Ashley and his intentions for the club, something that could be clarified by the supposed release of an official club statement which is apparently due sometime soon. If it does turn out that there will be only one or two signings then I have a hunch that it will be seen by some as the owner not backing the team and could result in scenes of unrest not too different from what we witnessed last year. (more…)
A lot depends on these twoNewcastle United have now released the latest set of club accounts, and they don’t make good reading, that’s for sure. I’ll go into more detail later on, but the financial results show just how precarious things could have been if we didn’t have an owner with a huge personal fortune to bankroll us. Whether you love him, hate him, or sit somewhere in the middle of the two, it can’t be denied that Mike Ashley has put his hand in his pocket to keep the club afloat.
Of course we all know the turmoil of last season, but it’s only now that the true financial extent of it is becoming clear. As a football fan, I want to watch my team without worrying about anything else and I want to see the best players and biggest names playing for my club week in week out. However, football fans up and down the country have had to become increasingly more understanding of just what is happening to the financial side of things at their respective clubs. What is happening at ours isn’t pretty and gives a strong indication as to just why the club were unable to find a buyer when the ‘for sale’ sign went up. It will only get worse this time next year as the true cost of falling out of the Premier League will be revealed. There is however some light at the end of the tunnel, albeit a very distant light, but it is still there. (more…)
