Breaking news: Sir John Hall sells his share

[The Fish 10963]

Any idea if any prospective owners were at the game? I heard that Ashley wasn't, but won't read anything into that.

[LeazesMag 0]

Wonder what Leazes thinks.

 

 

I hardly know what to say

 

Cough cough

[Guest alex]

Wonder what Leazes thinks.

 

 

I hardly know what to say

 

Cough cough

Always one to let things lie eh?

[ohhh_yeah 2991]

'I was going to the Landmark restaurant before the match and was right among the crowd - I have never felt so much joy, happiness and hope in many years.'

'They were all stopping me and wanting to talk about the players, manager and owners. That excitement, it brought back a lot of memories.'

'That was a golden moment but, without everything - what we did in saving the club and building a stadium and a team everyone fell in love with - Newcastle United would not be what it is today.'

'I was in Hong Kong when I got a call to say, 'The club is going bust'. The words are seared in my memory. That call cost me £860,000! We were a bunch of Geordies who changed the complete structure of a football club and gave it ambition, we just weren't big enough to carry it on into this era.'

'I was running a property business, my family business. It was my job to look to the future and predict change. When Roman Abramovich came in at Chelsea, he was a billionaire. I said, 'I cannot compete. I'm not putting my business at risk, borrowing to buy a player for £20million'. For him, it was loose cash. So, I made the decision to get out.'

'Now look at Chelsea… we were always told Abramovich was here for reasons other than football.'

'It's time for the powers-that-be to sit down and say, 'How do we control football?'. When billion-pound TV deals came in, football started to appeal to a different type of investor - people who know money. They're not interested in the sport. It's another means to make another billion.'

'Had the European Super League happened, it would have destroyed the game completely for the ordinary fan. Football should be about every club having a dream, not solely about the money you have. When people say, 'Newcastle is the richest club in the world', I shudder. I don't want to be known as that. There is more to life than money - it is how we use it.'

'If you're not going to ban (foreign and state-funded ownership), you have to put restrictions on it. Too much money is leaving the game. How can we use that in a better way?'

'For me, the Premier League and Government have a responsibility to put a taxation on transfer fees and put money back into sport. Sadly, I cannot see any system stopping it at the moment. It is the greed of the clubs trying to break away from the Premier League that horrifies me. I hear they are still trying to challenge it. Stuff them, I say.'

'No. I ran out of time. It was my club. I had been fixed on Newcastle since a boy. I used to stand on the roof terrace and shout, 'Sack the board!'.

'By the time I was chairman, I had a greater vision of the North-East and where it needed to go, economically. What I learned, owning a football club, is that you are responsible for people's lives. That will never leave me. The tens of thousands of fans when Alan Shearer signed… incredible.'

'So, I always thought, 'How can we use football to regenerate the area?'. I spoke to Sky, and they needed content to fill their channels. I thought, 'I'll get in here early'. I wanted to bring all sports under one roof, a Newcastle sporting club - rugby, basketball, ice-hockey. But I was before my time, it took a lot longer for the money to come in via television.'

'But that was my dream, to sportswash the area, to give it a new image, to get away from unemployment and poor housing. I was trying to do something. I hope the new owners can take that on.'

'I have spoken to them and, while talking is easy, I think they have a genuine desire to take this club to where it should be.'

'The Premier League say the owners are fit and proper, and the British Government is selling arms to the Saudis. So, as supporters, that decision has been made.

'I also believe they have bought the club cheap at £300m. They are talking about Chelsea being worth £3billion - so there is a huge gap between the current and potential value of Newcastle. They will only accelerate that value by winning.'

'I would like to think so. I am convinced they will bring success. Eddie Howe seems very good and I expect they will back him.

'The one time I stood in Kevin's way was when he wanted Peter Beardsley. I thought he was too old. That proved to me, you have to let a manager sink or swim. He swam with that one!

'But yes, at my age, you start thinking about how long you've got. Even if a title comes after me, I don't mind. We set those roots for the future.'

[sammynb 3508]

All nice sentiments and platitudes but no mention of the fourteen years of absolute misery and disrespect he put the club into, of the mistake he alone made.

[ewerk 31195]

8 hours ago, sammynb said:

All nice sentiments and platitudes but no mention of the fourteen years of absolute misery and disrespect he put the club into, of the mistake he alone made.

 

I don't think it's unfair to say that most of us were taken in by Ashley at the very beginning, though Leazes may care to dispute that.

[ewerk 31195]

9 hours ago, ohhh_yeah said:

'If you're not going to ban (foreign and state-funded ownership), you have to put restrictions on it. Too much money is leaving the game. How can we use that in a better way?'

 

This is nonsense. What owners are taking money out of their clubs? Man Utd certainly. And you could argue that the way the Burnley owners leveraged their purchase is doing the same but the idea that people are buying football clubs to make a profit is rubbish.

Edited April 28, 2022 by ewerk

[Howmanheyman 33828]

Priced a fair few fans out at the beginning of the ride and a Thatcher disciple, so thanks for getting involved and starting the turnaround but don't pretend you and shepherd never made a small fortune out of NUFC. 

[tinofbeans 91]

8 hours ago, sammynb said:

All nice sentiments and platitudes but no mention of the fourteen years of absolute misery and disrespect he put the club into, of the mistake he alone made.

he sold to the highest bidder? works out that person didn't give a stuff about the club. not really a surprise.... 

[NJS 4411]

23 minutes ago, Howmanheyman said:

Priced a fair few fans out at the beginning of the ride and a Thatcher disciple, so thanks for getting involved and starting the turnaround but don't pretend you and shepherd never made a small fortune out of NUFC. 

And was happy to fuck fans over with the expansion via the cunt he appointed (Fletcher). 

[PaddockLad 17643]

14 minutes ago, NJS said:

And was happy to fuck fans over with the expansion via the cunt he appointed (Fletcher). 

“save our seats”….. one of our little group nowadays was taken to all the home Fairs Cup games as a 8 year old in 1968/69  by his dad who was turfed out of the seat he thought was his for the rest of his life . He never went back and was bitter about it till the day he died…. 

[Craig 6700]

Keegan saved this club in 1992, not Hall. If Hall had got his way, we'd have signed no-one and most likely we'd have plummeted into Division 3. 

I appreciate he provided the capital to get this started, but the narrative peddled around that was the saviour of NUFC doesn't wash with me. His best decision was his choice of manager. He then focused solely on floating the club, handing it over to his fucking useless son and then flogging the place to a disingenuous cunt who Shepherd knew was bad news. 

Saviour, my arse. He used the club and its successes to his own advantage. 

[Tom 14013]

12 hours ago, ohhh_yeah said:

'The Premier League say the owners are fit and proper, and the British Government is selling arms to the Saudis. So, as supporters, that decision has been made’
 

The premier league, UK Government & Saudi Government are a shower of cunts though and as fans I think we’ve got a duty to know who we’re dealing with.

 

It’s ok to support your club but that doesn’t have to involve waving Saudi flags about or justifying the beheading of 81 “terrorists”.

[RobinRobin 11549]

3 hours ago, ewerk said:

though Leazes still blames Ant

FYP

[Craig 6700]

The majority of us were wrong BTW - we all rejoiced at the thought of Hall selling us to a billionaire and we also thought Shepherd was full of sour grapes. Although I didn't like how maverick Shepherd was with some of the investments he sanctioned (spunking all the Northern Rock money on Owen for example), he was bang on the money with his assessment of Ashley. Shame the majority of us were blind to it. 

[Tom 14013]

Tbh I think had the takeover happened a few years before it might have been alright, I’m fairly sure Ashley was up for spending before the financial crash & subsequent relegation. 
 

Then every was about being sustainable & “blowing our own nose” before becoming free advertising for 14 years

[Craig 6700]

On 23/05/2007 at 15:00, Ketsbaia said:

Another plus point, he's a bit of a recluse. I wonder what it will be like to have a chairman who keeps his mouth shut and doesn't embarrass the club at every turn.

Makes for difficult reading all these years down the line.

[Howay 12496]

4 hours ago, ewerk said:

 

This is nonsense. What owners are taking money out of their clubs? Man Utd certainly. And you could argue that the way the Burnley owners leveraged their purchase is doing the same but the idea that people are buying football clubs to make a profit is rubbish.

Spot on, one that we know of that tried was Ashley, and English owner. Let’s see how much the foreign Saudis siphon off in comparison…

 

The main scourge of the game is agents iyam, trying to constantly unsettle and move players around, some are so difficult that clubs refuse to sign any of their players, some demand fees so extortionate that it kills a transfer, etc. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Howay

[Craig 6700]

On 23/05/2007 at 21:09, trophyshy said:

Dear Mr Ashley,

 

Welcome to a great club.

 

I am confident you will respect the local and global toon supporters way more than a certain local neckender who has continually and embarrassingly demonstrated he is not fit for purpose.

 

 

You are more than welcome to my shares at your offer price. This will effectively mean, dividends included, I am more or less even on my original investment in the company. More importantly it will mean I can get myself one of these on which I can watch our not-too-distant challenges for silverware.......

 

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/542/philipsambilightgreenij7.jpg

 

Good luck to you and thank you, sincerely, for saving us from Jabba the Hutt.

 

Best wishes,

 

Trophyshy (for now).

 

Fucking hell, TS

[Monkeys Fist 43063]

I can delete that …

 

 

… £5. 

[ewerk 31195]

Can you do a bulk rate? £100 to delete all of CT’s content on here?

[Monkeys Fist 43063]

On 24/05/2007 at 13:45, The Fish said:

Dear Mr Ashley

 

I'm willing to sell my one share for 1p if it helps get rid of Mr Creosote and his out of date approach to business. I'll even pop it round your house if you like

£10

[Monkeys Fist 43063]

6 minutes ago, ewerk said:

bulk rate?

[Dr Gloom 22143]

On 23/05/2007 at 15:12, Dr Gloom said:

i much prefer the sound of this fella to that hedge fund that was sniffing around.

 

25th richest man in britain? can't be too bad.

[Dr Gloom 22143]

On 23/05/2007 at 17:06, Gemmill said:

Fucking hell, just when you thought there was no hope for this club, we sign Allardyce one week and then look like getting bought by a billionaire the next. Happy days are here again.