If we finish in the top 4.....

[Dr Gloom 22151]

Do you think Ashley will sell the club?

 

And more importantly would you now want him to?

 

I've felt for a while Ashley has been focusing only on his exit strategy - his main aim has been to cut costs and make the club as attractive an investment as possible to give him the biggest return possible when he does finally sell.

 

Up until now, no one has come in. He overpaid and we didn't look an attractive proposition at the price the owner would want.

 

But surely now, if we do qualify for the CL, with one of the best wage/turnover ratios and reduced debt, that might not be the case.

 

But does Ashley still want to sell up? Has this season reignited his passion for the club? And will we see more transfer windows like the last one where we report a net spend instead of a net profit on player sales?

 

Has our unexpected success this season changed your view? Would you like to see how things pan out under the existing owner or is a takeover still the preferred option?

 

[jonasjuice 0]

Will we ever find out who Cartman's Dad is?

[Christmas Tree 4827]

Can't believe anyone would want a takeover. Stability is what we need.

 

I think his thoughts have roller coastered as have the fans, however I felt since relegation there was a determination from him to stick two fingers up at the football world and do it his way.

 

Now that he has the whole club purring from top to bottom and isn't getting abuse every week AND is managing to work wonders at Sports Direct at the same time, why would he sell.

 

The benefit to SD from it's association with us will only increase the better we do.

 

Personally I hope this continues for years to come.

[Dr Gloom 22151]

Well I never thought the success of the team on the pitch was a priority for him. I felt his main concern was turning his expensive investment into a saleable asset. Plus he seemed in contempt of the supporters. I'll never forgive him for renaming the stadium.

Because of that I wanted him out.

 

Now, for the first time since the Keegan debacle, I'm not sure. I'm still certain there must be a better owner out there. But I'm interested to see if he continues to build the team. The foundations are there now. The key question for me is whether we see another window in the summer like we did in January.

 

If he does still have an eye on the exit, he won't get a better price than this summer if we do finish 4th.

[Toonpack 9952]

Do you think Ashley will sell the club?

 

And more importantly would you now want him to?

 

I've felt for a while Ashley has been focusing only on his exit strategy - his main aim has been to cut costs and make the club as attractive an investment as possible to give him the biggest return possible when he does finally sell.

 

Up until now, no one has come in. He overpaid and we didn't look an attractive proposition at the price the owner would want.

 

But surely now, if we do qualify for the CL, with one of the best wage/turnover ratios and reduced debt, that might not be the case.

 

But does Ashley still want to sell up? Has this season reignited his passion for the club? And will we see more transfer windows like the last one where we report a net spend instead of a net profit on player sales?

 

Has our unexpected success this season changed your view? Would you like to see how things pan out under the existing owner or is a takeover still the preferred option?

 

Nothing has changed IMO, his policy is his policy.

 

He's not going to make a huge return on his investment unless we turn into Man Utd.

 

With FFP what would a new owner bring to the table??, the days of splashing hundreds of millions you don't have (as a club) are gone (or should be).

 

I would guess he's loving it just now, doing it his way and being succesful (relatively). Long may it continue.

 

On the SD thing even if he was using the club as a vehicle, the vehicle has to be better than also rans for it to be really beneficial. SD want to expand into/conquer Europe and then longer term the States (it's in their financial report). He wants it all tbh. For NUFC to help in that NUFC has to be succesful.

 

As I've said ad naseaum billionaires don't do "run of the mill".

[Christmas Tree 4827]

I struggle to see how you would get a better owner. You could either get a city style buy out where it's a plaything rather than solid foundation and you would end up with the egos and crap that goes with it. Would that make you as proud as you probably feel of this lot.Or you get a yank conglomerate hoping to bleed you dry and debt you up to the eyes.Or finally a Freddy type. Not quite enough money and not hard to enough to make the financials work.The good thing now with Ashley is that he has learnt his football trade the hard way. No other owner has made the mistakes, taken the abuse or turned it around like he has.Whether it's paying cash for players up front, the way they deal with agents or the way we now won't be held to ransom over players wages it really is a set up from top to bottom that is giving us a real chance to develop something solid and lasting.

Edited April 22, 2012 by Christmas Tree

[Monroe Transfer 0]

I struggle to see how you would get a better owner.

 

This will not end well.

 

For that reason, I'm out (of the thread).

[Brock Manson 0]

Given he has all of his own money loaned to the club, it'll take a massive price to buy him out.

 

There may be a wealthy Qatari or two eyeing us up to take over now that we're having a fantastic season but in all honesty I think the way Ashley has set us up financially is something the club needs to keep doing for many years to come. I think he knows that until that money has been recouped once the club is more sured up and able to repay the debt, he's not going to get any realistic bids. He's therefore put in place a business model that protects the investment and means he's not sitting on top of a humongous financial liability. Don't forget he's a businessman - if the club goes tits up under his charge he looks like an arse.

 

That's not to say we should sell all our best players at the first whiff of opportunity (because mainly I don't think we're likely to sell our prize assets so readily now), but to recruit players based on attitude and ability rather than reputation and fame. Invest more heavily into the scouting network and the academy to bring through players like Vukic and Ferguson etc so that in the long run we'll be competitive yet not haemorrhage money and end up with players on mega bucks who don't give a shit.

 

I'm enjoying this season far more than seeing us towards the end of the Shepherd era when the likes of Sounness and Allardyce completely ripped the club apart. Now that we're on the cusp of European football again, it's almost like we're back to the good old days. We've seen signs this season that the board have in place a strategy to ensure this won't be just a one - off occurrence but we'll recruit the right players at the right price to strengthen the team and have another positive season of progression.

 

If we ever did get a new owner, it would be vital that Ashley sells to someone who is responsible enough to keep on adhering to our current policy of buying the right player and not reverting back to the old times of spunking money on past it players who won't give their all to the cause.

[PaddockLad 17657]

Two questions, how much has he put in and how much is he likely to et back?......the latter is a lot less than the former, but he may feel we're at "the top of the market" if we get into the champions league. Even if he does, is it fair to say he'll be 60-70 mill short of what hes put in?...that being the residual debt from the Hall/Shepherd years that we're currently not paying any interest on. I think he'll stay for the time being and see where he can take us becuase it makes it all the more likely he'll get his money back and he fianlly seems to have come up with a system for running all facets of the club that works. I feel a lot more posistive about all that than I did 12 months ago, and obviously thats down to results.

 

The one thing pissing on his parade is the sense that we're an advertising hoarding for his core busuiness. That fuckin sickens me, as the club is getting nothing in return. I dare say if things continue to improve on the pitch that will matter less and less, possibly even to me

[aimaad22 4222]

Given he has all of his own money loaned to the club, it'll take a massive price to buy him out.

 

There may be a wealthy Qatari or two eyeing us up to take over now that we're having a fantastic season but in all honesty I think the way Ashley has set us up financially is something the club needs to keep doing for many years to come. I think he knows that until that money has been recouped once the club is more sured up and able to repay the debt, he's not going to get any realistic bids. He's therefore put in place a business model that protects the investment and means he's not sitting on top of a humongous financial liability. Don't forget he's a businessman - if the club goes tits up under his charge he looks like an arse.

 

That's not to say we should sell all our best players at the first whiff of opportunity (because mainly I don't think we're likely to sell our prize assets so readily now), but to recruit players based on attitude and ability rather than reputation and fame. Invest more heavily into the scouting network and the academy to bring through players like Vukic and Ferguson etc so that in the long run we'll be competitive yet not haemorrhage money and end up with players on mega bucks who don't give a shit.

 

I'm enjoying this season far more than seeing us towards the end of the Shepherd era when the likes of Sounness and Allardyce completely ripped the club apart. Now that we're on the cusp of European football again, it's almost like we're back to the good old days. We've seen signs this season that the board have in place a strategy to ensure this won't be just a one - off occurrence but we'll recruit the right players at the right price to strengthen the team and have another positive season of progression.

 

If we ever did get a new owner, it would be vital that Ashley sells to someone who is responsible enough to keep on adhering to our current policy of buying the right player and not reverting back to the old times of spunking money on past it players who won't give their all to the cause.

 

This.

 

This is the first time in a long time we've looked like a proper club that with the ability to challenge for something big. Stability is key now, never thought I'd say this but we need the fat one now. As long as he doesn't show his face too often

[Christmas Tree 4827]

Atyourservice summed it up beautifully yesterday with the "cockney mafia in" poster.

[Kitman 2207]

Who knows what Ashley will do, he's a maverick.

[Baggio 0]

If the right offer comes in he will sell, it's always been like that so a better question is would us qualifying for the CL attract someone to come and offer the money Ashley wants to buy us?

 

It's possible but I'm wondering what a new owner could offer us with the FFP rules in place?

[Kitman 2207]

If the right offer comes in he will sell, it's always been like that so a better question is would us qualifying for the CL attract someone to come and offer the money Ashley wants to buy us?

 

Probably needs someone who knows little about football, and is happy to do without due diligence

[Ally 0]

Whilst the club is much more 'sellable', I'd be surprised if he sold. Things are going well, revenue will be going up and if we get into the CL then the balance book will look strong.

[Toonpack 9952]

Two questions, how much has he put in and how much is he likely to et back?......the latter is a lot less than the former, but he may feel we're at "the top of the market" if we get into the champions league. Even if he does, is it fair to say he'll be 60-70 mill short of what hes put in?...that being the residual debt from the Hall/Shepherd years that we're currently not paying any interest on. I think he'll stay for the time being and see where he can take us becuase it makes it all the more likely he'll get his money back and he fianlly seems to have come up with a system for running all facets of the club that works. I feel a lot more posistive about all that than I did 12 months ago, and obviously thats down to results.

 

The one thing pissing on his parade is the sense that we're an advertising hoarding for his core busuiness. That fuckin sickens me, as the club is getting nothing in return. I dare say if things continue to improve on the pitch that will matter less and less, possibly even to me

 

Apart from interest free loans, of course.

 

If the clubs doing well he can call it the Vibrating Ribbed Butplug Stadium for alI I care tbh

[ChezGiven 0]

if he could make profit from a sale he'd sell it in a heart beat, he's not a supporter or a fan of us in general tbh its a business and he likes making money.

[Dr Gloom 22151]

If the right offer comes in he will sell, it's always been like that so a better question is would us qualifying for the CL attract someone to come and offer the money Ashley wants to buy us?

 

It's possible but I'm wondering what a new owner could offer us with the FFP rules in place?

 

it's still debatable what the uefa doctrine will mean in reality, how it will be enforced and whether oil rich foreign owners will find ways to sidestep the rules.

[Lake Bells tits 1]

Its not debatable, it will never work, will make fuck all difference. The big clubs will find a way around it and UEFA wont have the resources nor an incentive/will to go chasing them.

What are they going to do, ban barcelona and real madrid from the champions league? Aye, that will be a massive success like. Ironically the only ones suffering will be smaller clubs who shit in their bed or do something stupid.

The only solution would be a cap on wages and that will never happen.

Edited April 23, 2012 by Lake Bells tits

[henda11 0]

If he were to sell though, who would you preferred new owner be if you had a choice?. And i don't mean, go on wikipedia and search for the richest men in the world list and pick.

 

I think Richard Branson would make a good owner.

[Lake Bells tits 1]

If we are to play the what if game, you know what you have - but not what you are going to get.

Mike is a wanker, but right now his model is getting us places for peanuts compared to what others are spending to try to break into the top-4.

There is a certain smug satisfaction in that...

 

The thing is we dont know what kind of owner he is until the summer window closes. Will he sell off half the team or build on it? Hero or zero, time will tell.

[Park Life 71]

Who knows what Ashley will do, he's a maverick.

[Andrew 4857]

He's the English John McCain! Llambias is his palin

[dbsweeney 0]

If the FFP rules do have an effect, what we'd want in an owner rather than Ashley is someone willing to keep the same recruitment policy, infrastructure building, and wage structure, but isn't so willing to sell players if any old offer comes in (unless it's ridiculous money).

I still get the feeling that MA would be keen to sell a good portion of our top players if money comes in, regardless of whether he thinks we can't replace them with equal quality or that it'll have a negative effect on our league standing.

I'd still be keen to have Anil Ambani come in. He's extremely rich, yet isn't likely to be silly with his cash. He'd keep our current top players, and could keep our same recruitment policy going. Plus, he's a Toon fan!

Edited April 23, 2012 by dbsweeney

[Lake Bells tits 1]

Ashley would no doubt sell ben arfa for 30 mill and gamble on a replacement for 3. Hes a gambler at heart.

Another aspect I feel we are missing out on is mixing up young talents with more established players in their prime. We have a few but they are remnicents from old rather than intended veterans.

There is a saying "you cant win titles with kids", a good side has a mixture of young and hungry players, a few 30-something year olds and a few in their mid/late 20s who know what its all about.

They wouldnt be brought in for resale value but to balance the side, I cant see us doing that at the moment.