Mike Ashley - 3 years at the helm.Between the vast swathes of speculation in these last few weeks, I nearly managed to forget that a certain anniversary is about to be upon us.
That is an anniversary to mark Mike Ashley having owned Newcastle United for three years! Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun eh?
Technically, Ashley completed the sale three years ago this coming Sunday, but with me being faced with the very real possibilty of having a stinking hangover from Saturday night, and the fact the nearly all of us will be wrapped up in the World Cup by then, I thought it would be best to, errr, ‘celebrate’ this milestone prematurely and get it out of the way. To say Mike Ashley’s reign on Tyneside has been a turbulent one would be a wee bit of an understatement. His tenure includes having had five different managers in three years, two failed attempts at a sale, and one very big falling out with Kevin Keegan, and that is the one thing Ashley will probably find the hardest to come back from, plus countless others that I have probably either forgotten or haven’t got enough time to write about. (more…)
Ashley needs to play his part now.Reports at the weekend from a certain news outlet claimed that Newcastle had been in touch with them to clarify any rumours about transfer speculation, and whilst they were at it the club casually clarified that “no new capital outlay” actually meant no money to spend.
Now of course this has played right into the hands of some who choose to believe what the Sunday Sun publishes, and has raised fresh doubts and given a new avenue for criticism towards the club, despite an official statement saying that the club would not be confirming or denying anything unless it came through official channels, a fact that appears to have been forgotten by quite a few people. When it suits eh? (more…)
Needs to clarify some things.In light of the recent bodged up statement that was released a few days ago now, the club have felt compelled to issue another brief statement to clarify things a bit more.
You could argue that there would have been no need for it had the original statement been of the required quality which someone somewhere will have been paid quite a bit to write up. Ashley should ask for a refund as his attempt at PR and clarity backfired spectularly and has created quite the storm around the club. I’m going to have a go at writing my own statement later, just to see if I can do a better job than the PR and, media department, but first let’s deal with this latest release which says;
“In relation to recent media speculation following the statement made by the Club on May 9, Newcastle United would like to make it clear that owner Mike Ashley is not looking for his interest free loan to be repaid, or to take any money out of the club.”(more…)
What are they up to?There is one piece of Newcastle United’s latest statement which has caused much consternation with some fans, it reads:
“The first team squad that won the Championship this year will form the basis of the team for next year in the Premiership, there is no plan for new capital outlay on players”.
This led to a rash of disingenous and sensational stories from the usual mischief makers in the media, led of course by the Guardian’s Louise Taylor declaring that Newcastle United will definitely not be buying any new players for the coming season. Now, this may indeed be the case, or it may not, only time can tell for certain on that one. However, to clear up a misunderstanding, saying that there will be no “capital outlay” on players in the 2010/11 season does NOT necessarily mean that players will not be purchased under any circumstances, or that existing players would have to be sold before any new transfers could be even contemplated. (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…)
