Ashley To Take More Hands On Role

[Tooj 17]

http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastl...61634-21055602/

 

Ashley steps up United control

 

Jun 11 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

 

NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley is taking a more hands-on approach in the running of the club following a plea from Kevin Keegan for him to take more control of key areas like player recruitment.

 

The Journal has spoken to a senior member of the United hierarchy and has been given the clearest insight yet into how the club is being run as Ashley prepares for his second season at St James’s Park.

 

And the news will be reassuring for United fans as it is Ashley himself who is pulling the strings, having initially decided to take a back seat while chairman Chris Mort took control of day-to-day matters at St James’s Park on his behalf.

 

Ashley made the decision to become more directly involved in the club following the meeting in London with Keegan last month, when United’s manager suggested that, if he wants Newcastle to be successful, he has to spend more of his work time devoted to it.

 

Ashley will define the direction that the club takes in its recruitment policy and will also decide on the wages that will be offered to Michael Owen and Steven Taylor when they hold their next round of contract talks.

 

In return, Keegan has been assured he has the final say on individual transfer deals, while there was also a strong denial from the boardroom yesterday that the manager is under pressure to sell any of the club’s top earners in a bid to slash the wage bill.

 

The Journal can also reveal that, while the Magpies have still not made any progress in the transfer market this summer, it is understood this will change when Keegan returns from holiday in a fortnight’s time, confirming that it is the manager and not executive director (football) Dennis Wise or head of recruitment Tony Jimenez who is dictating which players are signed.

 

Nevertheless, Keegan has been told by Ashley that he wants a long-term approach taken, rather than simply a few quick fixes before the start of the new season.

 

That would appear to rule out moves

 

for senior internationals, with the Magpies concentrating on signing young, emerging players instead of established stars who are coming to the end of their careers.

 

This approach has been agreed to by Keegan, as long as he also rates the player in question and is also able to decide which players are allowed to leave this summer. The Magpies have so far sold Turkish midfielder Emre to Fenerbahçe for almost £4m, while Czech Republic centre-back David Rozehnal made his loan move to Lazio permanent yesterday, with a fee of around £3m coming the Magpies’ way.

 

Shola Ameobi will also be sold before the start of the season, with Norwich keen on pushing through a deal which could net Newcastle almost £4m.

 

The Journal has also learned that the club are willing to punish Joey Barton following his imprisonment for assault last month by cutting the player’s wages to around £30,000 a week.

 

However, they have only raised the issue with his advisers and will not make a final decision about whether to terminate his contract until after he has been tried in another court case. Barton has also been charged with assault following a training-ground incident when he was at Manchester City involving then-team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

 

Keegan, as revealed in The Journal last month, has made it clear to the board that he would like to keep the troubled star, who was sentenced to six months following an attack on two people in Liverpool last Christmas. But the matter could be taken out of his hands if the 25-year-old receives another prison sentence following his next trial, which starts on June 30. Nevertheless, the move to halve Barton’s wages does not mean the club has made the cutting of the wage bill the main priority this summer.

 

Keegan has handed the list of players he is willing to sell to Wise, who has informed the players’ agents they can leave. This would appear to suggest Alan Smith will not be leaving this summer as his agent, Alex Black, has already insisted his client is staying at St James’s Park despite a poor first season on Tyneside.

[Bombadil 0]

http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastl...61634-21055602/

 

Ashley steps up United control

 

Jun 11 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

 

NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley is taking a more hands-on approach in the running of the club following a plea from Kevin Keegan for him to take more control of key areas like player recruitment.

 

The Journal has spoken to a senior member of the United hierarchy and has been given the clearest insight yet into how the club is being run as Ashley prepares for his second season at St James’s Park.

 

And the news will be reassuring for United fans as it is Ashley himself who is pulling the strings, having initially decided to take a back seat while chairman Chris Mort took control of day-to-day matters at St James’s Park on his behalf.

 

Ashley made the decision to become more directly involved in the club following the meeting in London with Keegan last month, when United’s manager suggested that, if he wants Newcastle to be successful, he has to spend more of his work time devoted to it.

 

Ashley will define the direction that the club takes in its recruitment policy and will also decide on the wages that will be offered to Michael Owen and Steven Taylor when they hold their next round of contract talks.

 

In return, Keegan has been assured he has the final say on individual transfer deals, while there was also a strong denial from the boardroom yesterday that the manager is under pressure to sell any of the club’s top earners in a bid to slash the wage bill.

 

The Journal can also reveal that, while the Magpies have still not made any progress in the transfer market this summer, it is understood this will change when Keegan returns from holiday in a fortnight’s time, confirming that it is the manager and not executive director (football) Dennis Wise or head of recruitment Tony Jimenez who is dictating which players are signed.

 

Nevertheless, Keegan has been told by Ashley that he wants a long-term approach taken, rather than simply a few quick fixes before the start of the new season.

 

That would appear to rule out moves

 

for senior internationals, with the Magpies concentrating on signing young, emerging players instead of established stars who are coming to the end of their careers.

 

This approach has been agreed to by Keegan, as long as he also rates the player in question and is also able to decide which players are allowed to leave this summer. The Magpies have so far sold Turkish midfielder Emre to Fenerbahçe for almost £4m, while Czech Republic centre-back David Rozehnal made his loan move to Lazio permanent yesterday, with a fee of around £3m coming the Magpies’ way.

 

Shola Ameobi will also be sold before the start of the season, with Norwich keen on pushing through a deal which could net Newcastle almost £4m.

 

The Journal has also learned that the club are willing to punish Joey Barton following his imprisonment for assault last month by cutting the player’s wages to around £30,000 a week.

 

However, they have only raised the issue with his advisers and will not make a final decision about whether to terminate his contract until after he has been tried in another court case. Barton has also been charged with assault following a training-ground incident when he was at Manchester City involving then-team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

 

Keegan, as revealed in The Journal last month, has made it clear to the board that he would like to keep the troubled star, who was sentenced to six months following an attack on two people in Liverpool last Christmas. But the matter could be taken out of his hands if the 25-year-old receives another prison sentence following his next trial, which starts on June 30. Nevertheless, the move to halve Barton’s wages does not mean the club has made the cutting of the wage bill the main priority this summer.

 

Keegan has handed the list of players he is willing to sell to Wise, who has informed the players’ agents they can leave. This would appear to suggest Alan Smith will not be leaving this summer as his agent, Alex Black, has already insisted his client is staying at St James’s Park despite a poor first season on Tyneside.

 

Oh no.

[TheMoog 0]

Now this is the sort of report I wanted to read (apart from the Smith bit), if only it could be made bigger news by the national press - of course they'd only report our stuff if it was negative though.

[Hadrian 0]

brilliant , something makes me feel like keegans played the media and the board and got his own way here

like he's got mike as close to him, the club and major descisions, as he could .

[bassplayerjj 0]

just sign at least 5 players better than what we already have!!!!!!!!!!

[Asprilla 96]

£11m for 3 players who didn't feature much for us last year is excellent.

 

Pleased with the tone of that article, except for the Smith bit of course which has already been said.

Edited June 11, 2008 by Asprilla

[Fop 1]

£11m for 3 players who didn't feature much for us last year is excellent.

 

Pleased with the tone of that article, except for the Smith bit of course which has already been said.

The problem is we were thread bare as well as lacking in specific areas last season (and arguably the season or 2 before that).

 

If we don't strengthen the squad some and we get injuries like we had under Roeder's 2nd season we could realistically be relegated.

 

It's great to get rid of deadwood as well as restructure wages..... just so long as the baby isn't thrown out with the bath water.

[snakehips 0]

I wonder who the 'senior member of the hierarchy' is Probably Terry Mac or the kit man

 

I honestly think this is a bit of a nothing story tbh because of the following bit:

 

 

Ashley will define the direction that the club takes in its recruitment policy and will also decide on the wages that will be offered to Michael Owen and Steven Taylor when they hold their next round of contract talks.

 

 

Ashley must surely have done the first bit, which would have taken around a couple of hours (tops) and will also have decided the wages for Owen and Taylor by now. So the 'more hands on' role seems like boolsheet to me.