Mike Ashley plans to remain Newcastle owner for at least two more years

[Tom 14013]

Mike Ashley plans to remain Newcastle owner for at least two more years

 

Derek Llambias and Mike Ashley, Newcastle United cropped

 

Mike Ashley is ready to stay on as Newcastle owner for at least two more years.

 

The Sports Direct tycoon has ploughed £280 million into Newcastle, including £150 million in interest free loans, and has concluded the only way to protect his assets is to establish United as a Premier League club again.

 

Newcastle’s vast potential was revealed this week when it was placed 20th in a list of the world’s richest clubs during last season.

 

Ashley is keen to stay in charge and right the “mistakes“ he has made, although crucially there has been no public apology yet for his regime’s treatment of legends Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer.

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Sources say Newcastle have struck a series of key business deals in recent weeks - including rebranding the ground with a companies name alongside @St James’ Park next season. That is part of the club’s watered down version to “sell naming rights“ of the stadium.

 

Newcastle are also exploring investment in two giant screens at St James’ which could show replays and carry adverts. Installation of the screens this summer will also give the city’s bid to be a host city in the World Cup 2018 a boost, meeting FIFA’s criteria.

 

MD Derek Llambias has insisted that Ashley and his management team want to put the past behind them... so they can go drinking in the Bigg Market after games again.

 

He said: “We’d like to be able to go out on the town after a win - we always used to and enjoy the crowd - but now it’s very difficult for us to do that.

 

“We understand that we’ve made mistakes in the past. We came out before and said enough’s enough, this is what happened. We need to move forward.

 

“I think the communication factor is basically that whenever we’ve tried to communicate it’s always backfired somewhere along the line so we’re quite happy to sit back and let our team do the speaking.

 

“The club’s not for sale - Mike took it off the market. He’s committed to getting the club back up to the Premier League and that’s why we spent so much money in the January window.

 

“He’s decided that’s it - he’s going to back it as much as he can. We’ll carry on, put it back where it needs to be and move the club forward on the original business plan we had.

 

“We are solid but we’re solid because we need to get that promotion.”

 

Newcastle entertain Barnsley today hoping to maintain unbeaten home record throughout the season and equal a 103 year old club record.

 

Manager Chris Hughton has revealed his players have banned talk of promotion until the job is done. He said: “I think there’s a confidence in the group - there’s no doubt about that - but I haven’t overheard one conversation where people are talking about promotion and being in the Premier League next season.

 

“It’s too early to talk about tasting promotion. Although we have a points difference between ourselves and Forest in third, we’re driven by the recognition that if you have a bad week, the whole picture can change.

 

“There’s a fair bit of toughness in the team - we’re a side that are capable of grinding out a result - but there’s also a decent amount of flair. There’s a lot of maturity in the team and I think we are able to win games in different ways.

 

“If we have to battle it out and produce a real dogged performance to get a result, we can do that. It is down to the personalities in the team. Nobody really wants to get carried away.”

[ewerk 31209]

I'll continue to judge them by their actions.

[Kevin 1]

[Sonatine 11545]

He'll be here until he's had his pound of flesh or someone offers a daft amount for the club

[Deano 0]

He'll be here until he's had his pound of flesh or someone offers a daft amount for the club

 

This.

 

I wonder up till now how much of his investment he has actually clawed back...if any.

 

I wouldnt mind him staying if he was to come out and say that we are building for the future and that we were infact NOT going to sell our best young stars.

 

Added to that he would have to invest heavily in the summer, get the correct players in and replace CH with a higher calibre manager.

 

Its not beyond him but i seriously doubt he will do what NEEDS to be done.

[NJS 4411]

Even if this is his intention aside from potential sales, he'll change his mind when we get relegated next season.

[LeazesMag 0]

so we are back to the days when just being in the top league is the height of ambition.

 

Welcome back Mckeag, Westwood etc

[Monkeys Fist 43075]

Sources say Newcastle have struck a series of key business deals in recent weeks - including rebranding the ground with a companies name alongside @St James’ Park next season. That is part of the club’s watered down version to “sell naming rights“ of the stadium.

He doesn't fucking learn , does he?

[brummiemag1 0]

5 years ago relegation would have been unthinkable but this clown Ashley has now managed to lower expectations to such an extent that a lot of people will now be happy to see us cling to 17th place by scraping around for bore draws playing shit defensive football next season.

 

He is now even getting credit for doing a decent job in some quarters - unbelievable

[peasepud 59]

5 years ago relegation would have been unthinkable but this clown Ashley has now managed to lower expectations to such an extent that a lot of people will now be happy to see us cling to 17th place by scraping around for bore draws playing shit defensive football next season.

 

He is now even getting credit for doing a decent job in some quarters - unbelievable

 

QFT

[LeazesMag 0]

5 years ago relegation would have been unthinkable but this clown Ashley has now managed to lower expectations to such an extent that a lot of people will now be happy to see us cling to 17th place by scraping around for bore draws playing shit defensive football next season.

 

He is now even getting credit for doing a decent job in some quarters - unbelievable

 

QFT

 

We always had low expectations at Newcastle. Stay in the top league = best players want to leave. Hide behind big crowds because there was nothing else to crow about. Eventually even the big crowds went away. Promotion seasons = glory days, when we should not be in that league to begin with.

 

He has undone EVERYTHING the past regime changed for the better. He will NEVER restore the expectations that the current generation of fans have grew up seeing and taking for granted.

[Christmas Tree 4831]

Ashley will put us in a far stronger position than we were under the last year of Shepherd

[LeazesMag 0]

Ashley will put us in a far stronger position than we were under the last year of Shepherd

 

but the Halls and Shepherd ran the club for more than a year. Will he ever put us in the Champions League and attract top players to the club ?

[Kitman 2207]

Ashley will put us in a far stronger position than we were under the last year of Shepherd

 

but the Halls and Shepherd ran the club for more than a year. Will he ever put us in the Champions League and attract top players to the club ?

 

I very much doubt it. Ashley is plainly not going to invest significantly in the club; imo the only thing that will give us more of a level playing field is if the PL cash cow collapses, so gates are the most important source of income again i.e. the smaller clubs can't afford to spend big anymore on the promise of future Sky TV money. I doubt we'll ever catch up with the top clubs under Ashley, unless we get a visionary manager who can build the club up from a low base.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Ashley will put us in a far stronger position than we were under the last year of Shepherd

On the pitch? Bollocks.

[Happy Face 29]

http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?...st&p=710372

 

I shit on spaccadacca.

[AgentAxeman 189]

I very much doubt it. Ashley is plainly not going to invest significantly in the club; imo the only thing that will give us more of a level playing field is if the PL cash cow collapses, so gates are the most important source of income again i.e. the smaller clubs can't afford to spend big anymore on the promise of future Sky TV money. I doubt we'll ever catch up with the top clubs under Ashley, unless we get a visionary manager who can build the club up from a low base.

 

 

this

[AgentAxeman 189]

http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?...st&p=710372

 

I shit on spaccadacca.

 

 

Happy, is that Johny Dekka as your avatar?? if so, inspired choice my friend!!

[Happy Face 29]

http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?...st&p=710372

 

I shit on spaccadacca.

 

 

Happy, is that Johny Dekka as your avatar?? if so, inspired choice my friend!!

 

 

It is

[peasepud 59]

Ashley will put us in a far stronger position than we were under the last year of Shepherd

On the pitch? Bollocks.

 

Off the pitch its bollocks too.

 

No matter how many times HF has pointed it out some people still refuse to acknowledge the fact that we're far deeper in debt now than we ever were under the past regime. How that makes us stronger is beyond me.

[OTF 7492]

Ashley will put us in a far stronger position than we were under the last year of Shepherd

On the pitch? Bollocks.

 

Off the pitch its bollocks too.

 

No matter how many times HF has pointed it out some people still refuse to acknowledge the fact that we're far deeper in debt now than we ever were under the past regime. How that makes us stronger is beyond me.

 

Using what numbers precisely? There's none that are available publically.

 

If you're right then Ashely will never be able to sell the club. The TV money will have been a BIG hit no doubt but let's say that was around £45million, then that amount would easily be covered by the sale of players and the large reduction in wages (close to 30 million from sales alone, Owen alone was on £5million a season, Viduka and Duff £3million each etc). Money from ticket sales and merchandise will admittedly be down significantly, but the running costs of the club have also being reduced by cutbacks in backroom staff etc. This is all without even mentioning the 11 or 12 million pounds afforded to the club by the premierleague in the form of a parachute payment, or the 1-2 million accrued from TV rights in the Championship (no doubt we'd have received the greatest amount of revenue in the Championship).

 

So tell me how we can be in far greater debt now? I'm assuming here that you're still counting any pre-existing debt that the club had as current existing debt (that is now owed to Ashely himself)? On the balance then that hasn't gone up as no interest will have been accrued on these pre-existing debts.

Edited March 8, 2010 by OzToonFan

[peasepud 59]

HF has the figures and has talked about them here before but even by the clubs own admittance we're in the crap.

 

Im sure Llambias has talked glowingly about how Sir Mike has pumped in something like £120-130m in loans to the club. When he took over there was something in the region of £70-£80m in debts (including the stadium mortgage).

[Phil 6]

HF has the figures and has talked about them here before but even by the clubs own admittance we're in the crap.

 

Im sure Llambias has talked glowingly about how Sir Mike has pumped in something like £120-130m in loans to the club. When he took over there was something in the region of £70-£80m in debts (including the stadium mortgage).

 

Does this mean you have nothing to backup your statement!?

[ewerk 31209]

I'm pretty sure we're balance sheet insolvent.

[peasepud 59]

HF has the figures and has talked about them here before but even by the clubs own admittance we're in the crap.

 

Im sure Llambias has talked glowingly about how Sir Mike has pumped in something like £120-130m in loans to the club. When he took over there was something in the region of £70-£80m in debts (including the stadium mortgage).

 

Does this mean you have nothing to backup your statement!?

 

Lets see now, we could take Llambias's statement from a week ago.......

 

If Mike and the banks weren’t willing to cover the cost of relegation Newcastle may well be in a Portsmouth situation. It is costing Mike £500,000-a-week this season to keep Newcastle running without making further cutbacks, yet some people are saying the club should be able to wipe its own mouth, that it should be able to run by itself with the income coming in.

 

My basic maths make that a £26m per annum loss just on the money Ashley is "putting in", however the first bit is interesting, "If Mike and the banks...." so that would mean they are also hodling some debt and ongoing losses. Add in the amount made from the transfer window with the sale of the likes of Bassong etc and we must be looking at an overall deficit of say, £50m in this one year? Add that to the original debt that was there when he bought the club (the debt racked up in building us a 52k seater stadium and purchasing players) and I get it to say £120m+, thats not taking into account the debt accrued in the period between Ashley purchasing the club and this season.

 

So yes, Id say I have a fair bit to back it up, how about you?