Ashley: May be fat, but not a “Cockney”Has Mike Ashley reduced Newcastle United’s debt?
Hmmm.
Well, it has been several months since Newcastle United published their last set of audited accounts at Companies House (March 2011), and that was for 2009/10. However, at that time it did appear as if the debt had actually risen significantly, though it is hard to deny that the the club are in a somewhat less perilous position finacially since Mike Ashley took over the club from the gruesome twosome, Freddy Shepherd and Douglas Hall.
In June 2007 when Ashley finally gained full control of the club, it looked as if the club was £71 million in debt, however, after Ashley’s takeover, it became apparent that the mortgage on the ground had to be paid off, and the level of debt was actually £124 million. More details are available from the site NUFC Finances site.
In the last published set of accounts, published in March 2011 (for 2009/10), they revealed that the club’s net debt at that time stood at around £150 million, most of this figure being owed to a certain Mr.MJW.Ashley of Totteridge, Hertfordshire. It also revealed that despite a slightly misleading statement by Newcastle United in May 2010 which read: (more…)
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…)
