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I don't think Judas comes into it. These are professional footballers who will do whatever it takes to make the most of their careers. You can go all the way back to Beardsley, Waddle and Gasgoigne and you can't blame any of them for leaving. The only one who got to me was Andy Cole joining in the anti Keegan sngs at Middlesbrough. But then he was just a bit immature at the time.

I suspect I have seen a few more Toon games than you. He is not a great defender - count the number of times his winger ducks in front of him on right wing crosses into the box. He is a good defender though. I appreciate that you can only have 11 players on the pitch. You do need a squad of 22/24 decent players. We currently have about 14 Premiership standard players. Which is one of the reasons he wants away. That is why 2 ambitious hungry defenders for 1 defender who doesn't particularly fancy another season with us would be a good swap.

What would you do if the choice was either (a) re-sign him for 4 years on £75k per week, or ( sell him for £8m, buy 2 young defenders with the money both of whom would be on £25k per week. I know what I would do. He is good on the ball, has a great first touch and is hard to disposess. He is not a great defender, often being caught out of position. He and Jose don't create an awful lot going forward. He is injury prone and that will only get worse. I would take the money.

Every player has his price at every club in the world. Manu sold the player who was at the time the world's greatest because they received an offer that was more than their valuation. Having said that you have got to get the balance right. Spurs are a good example of that: they twice sold their most important player (Carrick and then Berbatov) because it allowed them to keep their total squad moving forward. Time will tell whether we will follow in their footsteps.

This is the conclusive proof we have been waiting for. You don't understand business. Football finance is a complete mystery to you. You are loud and crude and repetitive. And now - you cannot recognize a decent footballer. You are Fat Fred. I claim my prize.

I am not sure that I wouldwant to be high up that table. The most successful club, Manu, are in the bottom half. Sunderland are near the top.

You just can't leave it alone. Ever. you mentioned Shepherd sunshine. Do you want me to answer you or not ? Who mentioned Shepherd? And if you did answer me it would be the first time that you had answered a question. Ever.

You just can't leave it alone. Ever.

You rarely post on skunkers now because your relentless pro Shepherd/anti Ashley posts were so boring that everyone on there put you on ignore. Are you trying to achieve the same here?

Hope we get some better players in return than when Shepherd sold them Hamman.

Doesn't look right - wasn't Hughton in charge for some PL games in season 2008/9?

Thanks for the translation. I wasn't belittling BP but pointing out it wasn't an example of a successful Blue Chip. It's safety record has been pants for years and it is not as well rated as others in its sector like Shell for example. Or Sports Direct? Imagine if someone put on their CV that they had years of experience in a blue chip company and it turned out they stacked trainers at Sports Direct. You have missed the point. Which was that Sports Direct is not a Blue Chip. It is the most successful midcap retailer.

Thanks for the translation. I wasn't belittling BP but pointing out it wasn't an example of a successful Blue Chip. It's safety record has been pants for years and it is not as well rated as others in its sector like Shell for example.

what is a wum?

SD is small fry, its not even big enough to be called a mid-cap, its a national retail chain with low margins and very little value added. To cast Ashley as a captain of British industry is wrong. I never said he was a captain of industry rather the driving force behind one of the UK's most successful retailers. If you are not aware of the cock ups of BP and Voda you shouldn't get involved in a business related discussion.

If only running a premier league football club was the same as paying slave wages to 12 year olds in the philipines. If you think sports retailing is so easy you had betterexplain to JJB where they went wrong. And if you think Sports Direct is one of Britain's most successful businesses then you'd be utterly wrong Try Vodaphone, BP, GSK, HSBC etc. I've worked on bigger products than Sports Direct. Its a chain of tatty corner shops, not a flagship of British industry. You have picked the wrong Blue Chips. Voda and BP were involved in 2 of the biggest cock ups in commercial history. If you look at return on capital Sports direct is far more successful than all 4.

If only running a premier league football club was the same as paying slave wages to 12 year olds in the philipines. If you think sports retailing is so easy you had betterexplain to JJB where they went wrong.

If only running a premier league football club was the same as paying slave wages to 12 year olds in the philipines. If you think sports retailing is so easy you had betterexplain to JJB where they went wrong.

Given Ashley is running one of the most successful businesses in the UK, within one of the most difficult sectors, you have got to smile at some of the posts above suggesting the Club Board isn't up to the job.

I don't think that was the original question.

Fair point - he ran it on behalf of the Hall/Shepherd combo because Sir Johns lad was well beyond incompetent. However the fact he split the spoils with the Halls doesn't make him any less responsible for all the dumb decisions he made over the years.

Nick I think you are 100% right. I know quite a few ManU fans who stopped going when they won the treble in 1999 as they thought it couldn't ever get any better. The average ManU supporter now is fairly blase. A lot CBA going to the semi against City because they knew they would be back at Wembley in May against Barca or Real. Whereas we get carried away with the slightest sniff of success. Remember the 5-1 v Sumlin. We were walking on air for weeks!

I never said that Ashley was a great owner. Only that he was light years ahead of anything we have had before and deservers more time.

Can't believe how often this is debated. For as long as I can remember we have had the worst owners in football. All of them, without exception, took far more out of the club than it could afford. The result has been us being without a proper trophy for over 50 years despite being one of the best supported clubs. Ashley comes along - he puts money into the club. The first time in living memory an owner has done this. He deserves a chance. FFS don't compare him with Shepherd who just about bankrupted us.