The Official Newcastle United Thread
Discussion
The Beaver King said:
Axionknight said:
A genuine question as I'm really not sure. What's the big deal with Mike Ashley? The fans seems to hate the guy but the club seems to have invested a lot of cash under his tenure (especially in January), what fkwittery am I missing?
There isn't any one thing that Ashley has done, but plenty of little things that have built up over time. Including, but not limited to:- Driving out Kevin Keegan
- Putting Dennis Wise in charge of the club
- Employing a load of his 'mates' (who know nothing about football)
- Spending almost no money on the club for extended periods of time, then spending big when forced (which is subsequently pissed up the wall by his clueless 'mates')
- A very public spat with Alan Shearer, which end with him renaming 'Shearer's Bar' into 'Nine'
- Slapping Sports Direct propaganda all over NUFC
- Renaming the stadium (which technically could revert back to Sports Direct Arena when the Wonga naming sponsorship ends)
- Going no-contact with the fans
- Removal of the singing section
- Employing ste managers because they are available at the right price
- Constantly buying untested players in the hope of finding a 'diamond in the rough' and selling them big, creating a team of mercenaries
- Trying to sell the club, but slapping a stupid price tag on it
- Ending Jonas Gutierrez' contract, even though he had just come back from cancer and was/is a huge fan favourite
- The whole 'buy cheap, sell high' mentality applied to everything at the club (even though we are in the top 20 richest clubs in the world)
- Sacking Chris Hughton, even though he did a fantastic job and deserved a chance to manage us in the PL
- Club merchandise is now outsourced to Sports Direct, so the club make no/little money on it
- Anything to do with Joe 'fking' Kinnear
Look at Leicester, man-for-man they are no better than Newcastle could be, but they would run through brick walls for Ranieri and their team mates. Who at Newcastle could you say that about?
The Surveyor said:
The Beaver King said:
Axionknight said:
A genuine question as I'm really not sure. What's the big deal with Mike Ashley? The fans seems to hate the guy but the club seems to have invested a lot of cash under his tenure (especially in January), what fkwittery am I missing?
There isn't any one thing that Ashley has done, but plenty of little things that have built up over time. Including, but not limited to:- Driving out Kevin Keegan
- Putting Dennis Wise in charge of the club
- Employing a load of his 'mates' (who know nothing about football)
- Spending almost no money on the club for extended periods of time, then spending big when forced (which is subsequently pissed up the wall by his clueless 'mates')
- A very public spat with Alan Shearer, which end with him renaming 'Shearer's Bar' into 'Nine'
- Slapping Sports Direct propaganda all over NUFC
- Renaming the stadium (which technically could revert back to Sports Direct Arena when the Wonga naming sponsorship ends)
- Going no-contact with the fans
- Removal of the singing section
- Employing ste managers because they are available at the right price
- Constantly buying untested players in the hope of finding a 'diamond in the rough' and selling them big, creating a team of mercenaries
- Trying to sell the club, but slapping a stupid price tag on it
- Ending Jonas Gutierrez' contract, even though he had just come back from cancer and was/is a huge fan favourite
- The whole 'buy cheap, sell high' mentality applied to everything at the club (even though we are in the top 20 richest clubs in the world)
- Sacking Chris Hughton, even though he did a fantastic job and deserved a chance to manage us in the PL
- Club merchandise is now outsourced to Sports Direct, so the club make no/little money on it
- Anything to do with Joe 'fking' Kinnear
Look at Leicester, man-for-man they are no better than Newcastle could be, but they would run through brick walls for Ranieri and their team mates. Who at Newcastle could you say that about?
Mind some of your points are quite
The Surveyor said:
I'm not a fan of Ashley, but how do any of those differ from stories of similar stupidity from other PL Clubs. We all love the hate him as he's got a mercenary and 'cheap' approach but how does any of that relate to the complete lack of motivation we see from the players who stepped over the line at the weekend. The playing staff are to blame, both the coach and the players. MccLaren has shown that he can't set a team up even with a semi-decent squad, and he can't instil any desire within those players to give 100%.
Look at Leicester, man-for-man they are no better than Newcastle could be, but they would run through brick walls for Ranieri and their team mates. Who at Newcastle could you say that about?
I will say, first of all, that I was just responding to a question about why there is a dislike for Mike Ashley for Newcastle fans. Look at Leicester, man-for-man they are no better than Newcastle could be, but they would run through brick walls for Ranieri and their team mates. Who at Newcastle could you say that about?
I am 100% behind what you are implying; the owner is not entirely to blame for the current situation, but his ethos has contributed a lot towards it. Believe it or not, 4-5 years ago, I actually believed in what Ashley was doing. Running the club like a business and getting it on a decent, financially stable footing. In fact, I still credit him for doing that now and it is not something to be forgotten. We had a huge debt at NUFC and he sorted that out, even making us profitable to a point.
The issue is the mentality that has trickled down through the club. We have tried to emulate a club like Everton's business model (buy cheap/sell high) without instilling the players with a sense of loyalty and pride. I would be happy being a feeder/stepping stone club for a few years, if it was a means to an end. It's not though, it is the end. We aren't looking to build like Everton/Leicester/Swansea/West Ham; we're happy treading water and doing the bare minimum to stay in the PL. Probably because the difference between 7th and 17th place is about £12 million quid; something you can make selling a reasonable striker.
Motivating the players, staff and on-pitch performance is down to the manager, granted; but when you look at the quality of managers we have brought in, is it any wonder the players struggle to get motivated or perform for the team...? In the last 10 years:
Glenn Roeder
Sam Allardyce
Joe Kinnear
Shearer
Chris Hughton
Alan Pardew
John Carver
Steve McClaren
Aside from Shearer, not exactly an inspiring list, and even Shearer wasn't really an manager. What I will say is that, maybe, some of them could have done some good stuff at Newcastle (Hughton - oh wait, he was sacked...). Hell, even Pardew managed a 5th place finish (Although he was carried by Cabaye, who was on a blinder that season. Oh and then sold) but they all had the same problem...:
"This is who you will buy"
"This is what you will say"
"This is the staff you can have"
All dictated from the top.
The signals given off by Newcastle United is not a club on the way up; it is a club that is happy to tread water and make some money. The players know this. I wouldn't be surprised if during contract negotiations it is told to them that if they sign for Newcastle and play well, they'll be sold to a CL club if they come for them.
We play like a team of blokes that have just met; no cohesion, no positional awareness, no drive to win. The only players that do look motivated are the new signings and they all give up after 6 months and revert to the same level set by the rest of the team.
A decent manager would make the world of difference with us; but it needs to be one who isn't shackled by the board and is given full responsibility for the team. If Ashley and Charnley stick to the 'running a club' stuff and leave the manager to manage the team, it will make a world of difference.
Anyway, that probably comes across as a load of ramblig ste. I've noticed that McClaren still hasn't been sacked so I've hit the wine
Up The Toon!
My week's going okay actually thanks. Work is stressful but that's just a couple of short notches above standard.
I'm really just praying this manager thing goes right and yes I'm a bit touchy about my city and its people.
You're Liverpool aren't you? Really pleased you've got the world's coolest dude in charge, hope he brings success.
I'm really just praying this manager thing goes right and yes I'm a bit touchy about my city and its people.
You're Liverpool aren't you? Really pleased you've got the world's coolest dude in charge, hope he brings success.
I wonder if it would be a permanent deal or one until the end of the season with a view to sign on a longer deal if they stay up?
I don't blame him personally - I bet he'd make a right packet/bonus if they stayed up under his leadership, and if they don't, well, no offense lads but they are pretty fked at the moment so it'd hardly be his fault if they still went down.
Win/win for Rafa, or win/doesn't lose, at least.
I don't blame him personally - I bet he'd make a right packet/bonus if they stayed up under his leadership, and if they don't, well, no offense lads but they are pretty fked at the moment so it'd hardly be his fault if they still went down.
Win/win for Rafa, or win/doesn't lose, at least.
I imagine it will go along the lines of:
- 10 game deal with massive bonus payment for avoiding relegation.
- Option to extend contract to 3 years if we stay up or walk if we go down.
- Full autonomy on transfer decisions and backroom staff.
- Bonus payments for Cup win or Euro League position finish (assuming we stay up).
- Probably bonus payments for Derby wins.
fathomfive said:
Sauce?
Nothing 'official' yet, but the story is being run by multiple news outfits including a few from Spain.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-...
https://www.reddit.com/r/NUFC/comments/49smjc/cade...
So it isn't nailed on, but it is looking very likely...
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