Radgina 1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 If it's fun he's after, you can't go wrong with the kings of Saturday night entertainment. Ant n Dec ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manc-mag 1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 If it's fun he's after, you can't go wrong with the kings of Saturday night entertainment. Ant n Dec ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radgina 1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 If it's fun he's after, you can't go wrong with the kings of Saturday night entertainment. Ant n Dec ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 The full thing: I will run this club my wayMike Ashley breaks Toon silence Exclusive by Rob Beasley Mike Ashley dramatically broke his silence over the turmoil on the Toon and defiantly declared: "I had to act and now I'll do it MY way!" Newcastle's' billionaire owner insists he is ready to step out of the background to run the club the way HE wants to from now on. On Tuesday he will jet back from a Far East business trip to join forces with chairman Chris Mort as they strive to bring success to St James's Park. And there will be times when he swaps his trademark Newcastle shirt and returns to civvies as he plots the way ahead in the wake of the departure of boss Sam Allardyce. Today, in an exclusive News of the World interview, Ashley outlines his New Year vision for Newcastle including the qualities he's looking for in the club's next manager. He said: "I want a team that will go all out to try to give Chelsea a walloping, that'll try to stuff Tottenham and that will be brave and bold enough to attack Man Utd. "To date I have invested £250m to try and make it happen. "And I'm not the only one who could see it wasn't working with things as they were. "So when my chairman told me it was time for a change I knew it had to happen. "I just knew it was time for me to become involved. "After all I bought this club to make it a success and the harsh truth is there wasn't much prospect of that. "I bought this club to have some fun and I wasn't having much fun at all. So I did what I should have done in the first place and decided it was time to run the club the way I wanted. "I must admit that when I bought this club my gut instinct was to bring in my own team to run it straight away, including a new manager. "That's no reflection on Sam, that's just the way I have always done things. "But for once in my life I ignored my intuition and, looking back, that was a mistake. "My instinct had never let me down in the past, in fact it's been one of my biggest strengths, one of the major reasons behind my success. "Yet I went against that better judgement after buying Newcastle. "Now is the time to put away my Newcastle shirt. I'm not saying I will never go back on the terraces but now I have to be in the boardroom — I have to be hands on." Ashley was left desperately disappointed with the return on his massive investment. A procession of poor performances, ropey results and off-field problems was a shocking reward for his massive outlay. It was not Ashley's vision for the sleeping giants of English football. Passion He added: "I want a team that is going to be admired up and down the country because of our brilliant, attacking football. "Like they did when Kevin Keegan was in charge here. "In those days everyone in the land loved to watch Newcastle in action. I certainly did. "And I am determined it will be like that again." That sort of stylish, buccaneering football has only been rarely glimpsed at St James's Park this season and Ashley makes no apologies for demanding Newcastle play the way the loyal Toon Army desire. He added:"People might mock me for that and reckon that's all pie in the sky. "But this is a football club, remember — it's about passion, about dreams, about glory. If it's not, then why bother? "Make no mistake I bother, I care and so I will try my hardest to make this club successful. "And I know I don't stand alone — I stand at the head of the Toon Army. "Remember this is a club with a real passion running through it — not least from all those Geordie fans. "And I share that passion." Yet Ashley has still taken a battering over events last week with Allardyce elbowed after just eight months in charge of the Magpies. But those pundits who would have you believe Ashley's a mug punter who does not know what he is doing should beware. After all this is a guy who built his Sports Direct business empire up from nothing. A man who at just 41 years of age boasts a fortune of £1.6billion — put it another way that's one thousand six hundred million pounds. Some mug, then! Yet Ashley is big and brave enough to accept some of the blame, even though he sees positives in his controversial decision to take a back seat so far. He explained: "My thinking was to come into Newcastle United and examine the club from every angle and from every aspect. I wanted to see how it ran, how it worked, what the staff could offer and what the supporters were all about. "I wanted to understand what made this club tick, I wanted to find its soul. "I have done that now and taken a lot of flak along the way. "People have complained I have been in the background too much, not done enough. Are you sure? "Let's get this straight. I paid £140million to buy this club. "I've also paid off £100million worth of debt so today this club doesn't owe a buck to anyone. "And I also gave Sam funds for new players. "Yet I've been hammered by certain people and for what? "Yes, wearing my Newcastle shirt and sitting with the fans. "The critics were suggesting in some way that this was just a cheap trick that would boost sales of shirts in my own stores. "But anyone who knows anything about Newcastle knows all the fans already have their shirts so it's all nonsense, just unbelievable. "And do you know something? I don't regret those days with our supporters at all. "I might own the club but they are the heartbeat and I had a lovely time with them. "And I guarantee that you haven't seen the last of me out there with the lads and lasses. "I will do it again from time to time. That's because among the fans he felt at home but when he sat in his own directors' box he was condemned as unconventional. He explained: "I can't stand this self-imposed etiquette in the boardroom and directors' box. "You're supposed to wear a suit, a shirt and tie and behave like a headmaster. "Why? It's like one of those , snobby, snooty golf clubs where they have rules for this and that. It's nonsense and I won't go along with it. "I want to go to football and enjoy it. "I want to celebrate when my team scores, when my team wins. "It's a game of drama and emotion — of highs and lows, of highlights and heartbreaks. And I want to live it. "So from now on it's all down to me. Dream "I am here because I want to be here and because I want to win trophies. "That's it — period — to get trophies in the cabinet and have a ball doing it. I can't see anything wrong with that at all. "Buying a football club is something I've always wanted to do so it's living a dream. "I always said I bought this club to become part of its passion. "I'd like to think I've done that. Now I want to channel that passion into bringing success and I just can't wait until it happens" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia 0 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I know that pessimism is engrained in the ethos of Newcastle United but to be fair the whole article doesn't look too bad. Even if we are his plaything then he's going to ant us to be the best play thing in the league But seriously, he's paid off our debts and seems committed to the cause. Lets give him a chance before he gets the new Shepherd label. When he says fun he obviously means winning too, as a losing club isn't as profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob toonpants 3902 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 i think im in love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Good article. At least now we can drop the charade, as I said in the Mort thread, it's clear now that Mort was just the 'suit' so Ashley didn't have to feel uncomfortable with the other bosses. Kick him out to the legal section, and let's get this show on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 Sounds good, lets see some action. I'm pleased the replica shirt is being put away too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asprilla 96 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Yep! I like that attitude. THINK BIG, MAN!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10674 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 conetented with the noises, now lets hope his actions can match his message Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30167 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Good article. At least now we can drop the charade, as I said in the Mort thread, it's clear now that Mort was just the 'suit' so Ashley didn't have to feel uncomfortable with the other bosses. Kick him out to the legal section, and let's get this show on the road. So why then does Ashley say that it was Mort who decided it was time for a change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 The rhetoric is great, but how does what he's saying fit in with trying to appoint a mid-table plodder like Redknapp as manager? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJS 4355 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 The rhetoric is great, but how does what he's saying fit in with trying to appoint a mid-table plodder like Redknapp as manager? I honestly think they were applying the same logic as was applied to Allardyce. If he could get a club like Bolton to 6th/7th/8th with no money then he should be able to do better. That now becomes "well he's always played good football and got West Ham and Pompey to a decent position - just think how he would do with us backing him" You can think two ways - you can go out and get "guaranteed" success with a proven winner which as LM has rightly said we've done in the past without success or you can take someone who has shown signs that they could and impose an improved environment on them. For the record as I've said I think Redknapp wasn't a disastrous choice but I'd like to see better and I'd like to see them choose the "proven" option rather than the "potential" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Good article. At least now we can drop the charade, as I said in the Mort thread, it's clear now that Mort was just the 'suit' so Ashley didn't have to feel uncomfortable with the other bosses. Kick him out to the legal section, and let's get this show on the road. So why then does Ashley say that it was Mort who decided it was time for a change? You believe him? Try and fit that with the timeline of events. Either that statement is a lie, or Mort is a liar. Take your pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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