Do believe Ashley is getting the financial side right?

[Park Life 71]

It had to be done, we were way out there beyond our means and lines of credit and so on were becoming tricky so the legend goes. I don't really know all the ins and outs, but once we stopped competing in Euro the purse strings had to be tighned....Or not?

Edited August 1, 2011 by Park Life

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

I think he's done an amazing job. For starters, we bought 35 million cones for the training ground. You'd think that'd be all of the Carroll money gone, but no: being an obese financial genius, he bought them in bulk and got a discount. This left enough money to pay for Cabaye's dental work in the US, so next preseason he can join the tour there.

[Park Life 71]

WILL THIS SUMMER BE THE TIME TO RE-EVALUATE MIKE ASHLEY?

April 27, 2011 - by Ian 6 Comments Categories: Latest, Premier League

He has been the focus of the ire of Newcastle United supporters for much of the last three or four years, but Mark Brophy is wondering whether, with the team back in the Premier League and comfortable in mid-table, this summer might be a chance to re-evaluate the club’s owner, Mike Ashley.

 

The recent publication of Newcastle United’s financial results for last season made humbling reading for many fans. Not because they make plain the folly of the club’s previous spending, although they do. Nor because they have highlighted how far the club has fallen since the days of Champions League qualification almost a decade ago, although they have. No, the humbling part of the results is that they show exactly how dependent the club has become on Mike Ashley, the focus of many fans’ ire.

 

Supporters convinced of their dislike of Ashley almost from day one have pointed to his repeated transfer-window profits and his attempts to sell the club as further proof of his desire to claw back his money and ditch his failed experiment now it’s turned out to be less fun than he thought it would be. Such fans might also say that funding by Ashley only became necessary because of his chronic mismanagement, and that he therefore forfeits the credit for making up any shortfall in Newcastle’s finances.

 

What is indisputable is that the financial mess was already in place when he bought the club, and that even though transfer profits have been generated during Ashley’s tenure in charge, those profits haven’t covered the operating losses of the club. Mike Ashley has personally injected between £15m-£17m of funds in recent years to balance the books, on top of the cash generated by player sales. He’s currently owed roughly £140m by the club. It’s harsh to accuse someone of asset-stripping when they are paying a proportion of the wages out of their own pocket.

 

So does Mike Ashley deserve thanks for keeping the club afloat over the past few troubled seasons? Is he in fact bringing down costs to drive the club forward? Thanks to the wage bill being reduced by about a third since relegation and the football staff re-establishing the club in the top flight, this season the club will have made an operating profit before transfer dealings are taken account of. Money is beginning to be generated rather than swallowed up. Assuming there to be no catastrophes between now and August in the form of relegation, the manager leaving, or a summer-long attempt to sell up, for the first time under Ashley there will also be no excuse not to start building the side. Without finance or circumstances to fall back on as a reason not to spend, it’s make-or-break time for his claims to be in it for the good of the club.

 

Demonstrating a wish to help the club progress doesn’t need silly money to be spent on players. What is required is merely to continue within the club’s means as it has done for the last four years, the difference being that this summer Newcastle are in a financial position to spend an appreciable net amount, even if he starts to take back some of his loans, and still end up in the black. Adding more of the transfer surplus from the current season would mean most concerns about the first team could be addressed. The wisdom of his financial plan could be acknowledged without the constraint of worry over the direction the football side of the club was heading in, ever-present up to now.

 

Should that happen in the summer, Ashley’s entire time in charge may have to be re-evaluated, and though many fans might feel a little shamefaced about it, they may be delighted that his motives turned out to be laudable all along. The flip-side to all of this is that if a transfer profit is made again, or if the transfer window closes on another frustrating summer without appreciable recruitment, then all fans will know exactly where they and Ashley stand. Without past excuses there can be no more hiding behind future intentions. His desire only to run the club on a shoestring and sell on promising talent at a profit with the long-term aim of recouping his investment will be finally confirmed. Purely financial ends with no agenda of sporting improvement will not be acceptable to those patiently filing through the turnstiles, and they will no longer be able to ignore the evidence of it. In that case, let the battle lines be drawn."

[Ayatollah Hermione 13768]

Aren't we still losing money?

[Happy Face 29]

I don't think anyone can doubt he's getting it right, the question is at what cost.

 

There's only a few teams that are able to make money in the Premier league. Those that reach the Champions League...and West Brom.

 

They take relegation as an acceptable hazard of not spending beyond their means. They invest only in promotion, not necessarily in survival. They can survive on parachute payments and the take it as a bonus when they survive.

 

That's a far cheaper, less risky approach to getting a club stable.

 

It's not an approach ANY fan should be happy with though. Let alone fans of a club that were in the Champions league very recently.

 

It's also not an approach Ashley has EVER owned up to. Preferring to peddle the lie that we could break into the top ten with zero (or negative) investment.

[Guest alex]

I don't think anyone can doubt he's getting it right, the question is at what cost.

 

There's only a few teams that are able to make money in the Premier league. Those that reach the Champions League...and West Brom.

 

They take relegation as an acceptable hazard of not spending beyond their means. They invest only in promotion, not necessarily in survival. They can survive on parachute payments and the take it as a bonus when they survive.

 

That's a far cheaper, less risky approach to getting a club stable.

 

It's not an approach ANY fan should be happy with though. Let alone fans of a club that were in the Champions league very recently.

 

It's also not an approach Ashley has EVER owned up to. Preferring to peddle the lie that we could break into the top ten with zero (or negative) investment.

Yup.

[manc-mag 1]

I don't think anyone can doubt he's getting it right, the question is at what cost.

 

There's only a few teams that are able to make money in the Premier league. Those that reach the Champions League*...and West Brom.

 

They take relegation as an acceptable hazard of not spending beyond their means. They invest only in promotion, not necessarily in survival. They can survive on parachute payments and the take it as a bonus when they survive.

 

That's a far cheaper, less risky approach to getting a club stable.

 

It's not an approach ANY fan should be happy with though. Let alone fans of a club that were in the Champions league very recently.

 

It's also not an approach Ashley has EVER owned up to. Preferring to peddle the lie that we could break into the top ten with zero (or negative) investment.

 

Agree with much of that, but would add the codicil * reach and remain in the Champions League. ie you can spend to reach the Champs League, but if you only get there once and fail to repeat that the following season, you can have committed yourself to several years worth of Champs League expenditure (contractually) without the Champs League income. Leeds being the most obvious example. That's not to defeat your overall point, but it needs flagging up for completeness.

 

It's a fucking expensive club to enter these days too btw, much more so than in seasons of yore.

 

Obviously it's common ground that he's not prepared to finance a Champs League push anyway though.

[Guest alex]

Btw Parky, nice timing.

[Neville Neville Neville 0]

I would say that he incompetently lucked into a near spot-on but very precarious balance between team quality and finances from january of our championship season...and has subsequently tried hitting it repeatedly with a big fuck-off sledgehammer, only to finally and fatally connect this summer

[duo 0]

It all boils down to what it is he wishes for the club.

 

If he wishes to try and claw the money back he lost when he bought the club then make a quick exit then he's doing a cracking job.

 

If however, he wishes to increase the profile of the club, increase the fan base and in turn increase the value of his asset then he's doing terrible.

 

It's a simple rule of business - You've got to speculate to accumulate. I think we all agreed £35Mill for any Carroll if spent wisely could have helped push this club foward. Even after he'd gone we still had the nucleus of a decent side, with a bit of grit. Sadly as the summer has gone on, players and fans a like have realised that money will never see the light of day. They can do all the smoke signals they like but the fact of the matter is none of it has been spent on players. As such, this has brought unrest in the club so much so the board are trying deperately to keep a lid on it. With each passing day, all the hope, and optimism we had for the coming season is being erroded away yet again.

[Kitman 2204]

looks to me like he's taking the usual Sports Direct approach of going downmarket in all aspects. We need a real sugar daddy not a fat plastic one. The sooner he sells up and fucks off with his Groucho Marx looky likey MD, the better imo.

[Craig 6670]

I think he genuinely believes he's doing the right thing. But it's crystal clear that he hasn't the first clue about running a football club. It's equally clear to me that he thinks it's on a par with running a business such as Sports Direct. That, Mr Ashley, is far and away your biggest mistake of all.

[dbsweeney 0]

For all the much-vaunted financial control he's brought (and which I believed in at one stage) ... what he's really doing is gambling with the club's Premiership status.

 

If we get relegated again, then how are we going to go financially? How will balancing the books look then?

[OTF 7243]

Running the club and its reputation into the ground.

[Ollie Burtons Grandad 0]

For all the much-vaunted financial control he's brought (and which I believed in at one stage) ... what he's really doing is gambling with the club's Premiership status.

 

If we get relegated again, then how are we going to go financially? How will balancing the books look then?

 

Thing is, if we go down this season (and our odds are shortening rapidly) can you see us getting out of the Championship with the dross we will be left with?

[snakehips 0]

LardAsh just wants his money back asap. Simple. What's not simple (unfortunately for him) is the rate at which he gets it back; the team in The Prem gets his money back quicker than a team in the Championship. Because of these vastly differing rates of return, he is forced to try to keep the club in the top division by spending modestly on what he hopes are nothing more than adequate players to keep us there. He would love these adequate players to be hidden gems - so he can sell them on at big profit - but that would just be added bonus to keeping the team in The Premiership.

 

LardAsh has his hands full in trying to keep us in the top division and that is why he can't simply say 'Fuck it' and chuck it all in the air.

 

Luckily for him, there are tens of thousands of hard working folk who also can't simply say 'Fuck it' and chuck it all in the air, but their reason for staying are far, far different from his. I can't help feeling LardAsh doesn't give a fig about these people and their emotional attachment to the club - I can imagine him privately sneering at them - and for this I despise the man.

[dbsweeney 0]

For all the much-vaunted financial control he's brought (and which I believed in at one stage) ... what he's really doing is gambling with the club's Premiership status.

 

If we get relegated again, then how are we going to go financially? How will balancing the books look then?

 

Thing is, if we go down this season (and our odds are shortening rapidly) can you see us getting out of the Championship with the dross we will be left with?

 

Exactly!

 

We won't be the 'new Leeds', but we might become the 'new Middlesbrough'.

Edited August 2, 2011 by dbsweeney

[dbsweeney 0]

I think that for a lot of supporters who were on the fence about Ashley and Dekka, or who disliked him but were still willing to see what happened (and I was one of them)... it's this pre-season that's tipped them over to seeing that the only way this club is going is downwards.

 

There was the cash, the promises, the fact that we'd done better last season than some expected, and a solid squad on which to add and build.

 

Instead, we have an underfunded, thin squad with no personalities to give the St. Crispin's Day -type speech to provide motivation ,and an angry set of supporters. Morale seems so low, and we're still two weeks away from when the guys even step onto the pitch.

[manc-mag 1]

I think that for a lot of supporters who were on the fence about Ashley and Dekka, or who disliked him but were still willing to see what happened (and I was one of them)... it's this pre-season that's tipped them over to seeing that the only way this club is going is downwards.

 

There was the cash, the promises, the fact that we'd done better last season than some expected, and a solid squad on which to add and build.

 

Instead, we have an underfunded, thin squad with no personalities to give the St. Crispin's Day -type speech to provide motivation ,and an angry set of supporters. Morale seems so low, and we're still two weeks away from when the guys even step onto the pitch.

 

Thing is I think most people basically anticipated the events of this close season, it's just they remain hard to take when they happen.

 

The ones on the chopping block are the ones who belong to the big spending era, there's no other criterion at work other than that. He won't renew big wage earners contracts because to do that means he can't go offering modest salaries to new recruits. Incomers will be aware there are people on big money at the club but he needs to be in a position to say those contracts are a historical relic and no longer on offer. If he departs from that script he knows he cant flannel Johnny Frog with a two bob a week offer. At the very best, the likes of Barton and Enrique might exceptionally have been awarded new deals which were on a par with their last deal, but they, being no different to any other type of player, would have been wanting improved terms, regardless of what they say via Twitter. So it had to happen (and sadly it still has to happen in the case of Enrique), but it's still a fucking kick in the teeth when it does. Particularly when it happens in circumstances where a player of such intrinsic importance ends up listed on a free-which at the risk of pointing out the obvious, doesn't even fit with the Ashley transfer profiteering model.

[manc-mag 1]

And in terms of applying that to incomings on the other hand, effectively you can never "spend the Carroll £35 million" because 3 x £12 million players (or whatever) would automatically assume they should be on £60 or £70 odd grand a week minimum. That type of player therefore becomes a non-target.

 

So basically it's got to be cheap whatever he does and we keep seeing players leave for non footballing reasons (or counter intuitive footballing reasons) until the entire team belongs to the cheaper model. Collo's the last of the huge earners I believe, so it continues until then I guess.

 

Economics aside, the footballing risk of that strategy is obvious.

[Barney 0]

It all boils down to what it is he wishes for the club.

 

If he wishes to try and claw the money back he lost when he bought the club then make a quick exit then he's doing a cracking job.

 

If however, he wishes to increase the profile of the club, increase the fan base and in turn increase the value of his asset then he's doing terrible.

 

It's a simple rule of business - You've got to speculate to accumulate. I think we all agreed £35Mill for any Carroll if spent wisely could have helped push this club foward. Even after he'd gone we still had the nucleus of a decent side, with a bit of grit. Sadly as the summer has gone on, players and fans a like have realised that money will never see the light of day. They can do all the smoke signals they like but the fact of the matter is none of it has been spent on players. As such, this has brought unrest in the club so much so the board are trying deperately to keep a lid on it. With each passing day, all the hope, and optimism we had for the coming season is being erroded away yet again.

 

I agree with all that.

[LeazesMag 0]

I don't think anyone can doubt he's getting it right, the question is at what cost.

 

There's only a few teams that are able to make money in the Premier league. Those that reach the Champions League...and West Brom.

 

They take relegation as an acceptable hazard of not spending beyond their means. They invest only in promotion, not necessarily in survival. They can survive on parachute payments and the take it as a bonus when they survive.

 

That's a far cheaper, less risky approach to getting a club stable.

 

It's not an approach ANY fan should be happy with though. Let alone fans of a club that were in the Champions league very recently.

 

It's also not an approach Ashley has EVER owned up to. Preferring to peddle the lie that we could break into the top ten with zero (or negative) investment.

 

which is what I've said almost from day 1.

 

Nice to see people [not you] moaning on at the actions of the club though, when they have what they said they wanted [not Parky either].

 

It's all very depressing. Less than 2 weeks to go to the start of the season, and less than a month to the end of the transfer window. Pushing for europe is not what we are doing, it isn't so long ago that people said that qualifying for europe through the Fair Play league was beneath us.

Edited August 5, 2011 by LeazesMag