Both good and bad?When Mike Ashley rode into toon he took the Freddy Shepherd Gang by surprise. Shepherd claims he was ambushed while he lay incapacitated on a hospital bed and before we knew it rumour quickly became fact and Ashley had bought Newcastle United, not exactly with a suitcase full of money but without any of the this due diligence nonsense that troubles most businessmen.
Thus began a new era in the club’s history and it’s one that has managed to divide fans almost throughout. The partisan divisions – often drawn along the lines of Ashley v Keegan – are, in my opinion, unnecessary. I believe it’s perfectly possible for a person to do some good things and some bad things and I don’t believe Mike Ashley is any different in that respect. With rumours once more circulating about the sale saga nearing a close I wanted to try and take a balanced view of Ashley’s time at Newcastle.
One of the main things I thank Mike Ashley for is prising the club away from Freddy Shepherd. I’ve heard arguments suggesting that we wouldn’t have been relegated if Shepherd had remained in charge and maybe that’s true, but I believe the club would have been in dire straits financially. (more…)
Edging close perhapsReports in The Mail and The Mirror are suggesting that Newcastle United may be sold by the end of this week. We’ve heard it all before of course but one of the newspapers will get it right one day and maybe it’s today.
Last week Newcastle issued a statement saying that Ashley’s £100m asking price has been met and all deals were now at the ‘sale and purchase stage‘ and apparently senior staff at the club have been told to brace themselves for ‘a big week‘ this week.
It was speculated that the sticking point was the loan facility with Barclays, so presumably – if a sale is imminent – that has now been sorted out and Barry Moat is in a position to take over the club.
If Moat takes over it is of course widely thought that Alan Shearer will be appointed as manager, although whether or not that’s a good idea still divides fans. At a function last week Shearer was indicating that he would not wait for Newcastle forever and was prepared to consider managing another club, but if the takeover is as close as the newspapers are suggesting it looks like Shearer won’t have to do that. (more…)
Damning emails?It’s the News of the World, so don’t take it too seriously, but they claim that Keegan has a bunch of emails that will prove Mike Ashley made his position untenable and he was therefore constructively dismissed.
‘Sources close to Keegan’ (hmm) claim that the emails will blow Ashley’s case out of the water. One such source said:
“There are emails people have never seen. If the truth comes out about what went on, then Ashley and Wise will be decimated. The last thing Kevin wanted to do was walk out but his position was impossible.”
The article then goes on to claim that all parties in the tribunal have signed a declaration stating that they will not leak information, although that doesn’t seem to have prevented the leaked information that somehow seems to have found its way to the News of the World. (more…)
The Messiah.First of all this is not some kind of clever backlash at the recent posts from Bowburnmag or Excelsior designed to get people reading and commenting on this article. It is something I’ve been meaning to write for sometime now, but I’ve never had the time.
For sometime now I’ve been a bit confused over peoples thoughts that somehow Kevin Keegan taking up to £10,000,00 out of NUFC is a good thing. I just can’t see any sensible scenario where NUFC being left £10,000,00 less in the kitty is some how for the best. Am I missing something here? Have I not spotted some tiny detail that explains all of this? I really don’t think I have, but I am willing to be shown what I’ve missed, so I too can finally see why this is a good thing to happen to a club that needs every penny it has.
My personal opinion on the matter is that it is not a good thing, that Keegan wants to take £10,000,000 out of the club. How can it be? Ashley won’t invest any money, so we need to hold onto what money we do have, so we can invest it in the team. £10,000,000 would get some cracking players to boost the squad for a Championship promotion campaign. I also think a lot of people don’t realise that it isn’t Mike Ashley being taken to court, it is Newcastle United Football Club. Just think about that for a moment. (more…)
Firstly, many thanks to bowburnmag and workyticket, for granting me authorship on this fine site…I promise to blog responsibly, visually and as often as I can.
The illustration is an old image of mine, appropriate for this week as KK’s battle begins, and shows Big Al triumphing over “The Chunky Cockney Monkey”…with KK looking on as referee.
I’m with BBM on this issue; the more pressure brought to bear of this rotund fool, the quicker he’ll want to sell. I’m for censuring the man but supporting the team. Difficult I know, but external forces are being marshalled to help us. The Mirror reported Keegans claim, this morning, as being something that could facilitate a quicker sale of the club. Any prospective new owner would not want their first act to be shelling out £10m for KK’s compensation. An out of court settlement (after a withering judgement from the Premier League this week), could see Barry Moat’s bid accepted…finally!
Our old friends the Serious Fraud Office are putting their wagons in a circle, and calling Ashley out for a fight! Charles Sale (Daily Mail columnist) reports today that “sources” close to Ashley say, he does not want the “distraction” of “running” Newcastle United (sorry, I wasn’t aware that the club was being run by anyone) while simultaneously fighting a lengthy, costly and (potentially) ruinous court case. In which case, a quick sale seems on the cards….I know, I hear you laughing when I say “quick”. The sooner this ‘incompetent’ is out of our lives, the sooner the healing can begin…and, god knows, we’ve a lot of healing to do. (more…)
Firstly, many thanks to bowburnmag and workyticket, for granting me authorship on this fine site…I promise to blog responsibly, visually and as often as I can.