Done deal by end of month ,

[Scott Kirkland]

Takeover means Takeover.
If it is like Brexit then people will demand a people's vote. We can vote to keep Nufc in Ashley's hands.

[Kal]

Hold on to ya dookaz lads n lasses.

We'll have some news one way or the other come the end of the month.

Rory Stewart couldn't have put it better !

[ghostrider]

“Are we really so hard done by?”

First real post of any substance here – but here goes.

We are hard done by – because we know that with the right investment, the right management and the right players we can hope to win something again.

Does that not equate to any club who can have owners who will invest or be ambitious?
The issue is, how far do you go to chase something that is in the clutches of the elites, in the main?
We all tend to get fed on the scraps, it appears, regardless of spends.
My argument is in saying " are we really so hard done by", meaning, how many clubs would swap positions with us and how many sets of fans would take our overall set up on their own patch?
12th best positioned club in England. Could it be better?.....Of course. Could it be a whole load worse?....Look at Sunderland and many other clubs that have fans dreaming of much better but also realise they could be much worse off, even if it appears they couldn't.

We certainly could, but are still fighting it out in the premier league with decent players, many of them actually showing they have much more quality than many people gave them credit for.
A new owner guarantees us nothing until a new owner guarantees us something. Moneybags Khan, Mr ambitious, guaranteed a spend at Fulham but didn't guarantee success, nor did he guarantee relegation, yet it happened.

I’ve been supporting NUFC my whole life – the only thing won in that time is the Fairs Cup when I was 9 – far too long ago. There’s been a few cup finals along the way, and a real shot at the Premier League – all ended in failure but there was hope, belief and a city fully behind the team during those runs. Beyond that there was real hope and expectation that we could win something, and celebrate the success of our team.

I've been supporting Newcastle United all my life and in a similar vein to you in terms of years. I look at things differently.
I see all the near misses as my enjoyment and my success in my mind. I see the Keegan promotion to the premier league and the Hughton, Benitez promotions, plus the FA Cup final losses and league cup final loss, plus the second place finishes and champions league placings, plus Europa league qualifications and anglo Italian and Texaco cup winners, plus the charity shield loss...etc.
They're all my personal successes as they stand.

They excited me to heights of the time and gave me hope for excitement to come. I've had plenty of that as well as plenty of down time, like we all have.
I've seen the good the bad and the ugly like many of us have and that was well before the last 12 years, even though we've had some ugly in this tenure.
We've....or should I say "I've" had plenty of excitement in the last 12 years, much more than badness. Why?
Because I don't see the doom that others seem to see/perceive behind the scenes, yet I'll be more than happy to whine and whinge about what goes on, on the pitch if I see bad performances or players being well under par, including managerial tactics.

Since Ashley has been in charge there has been nothing but the resignation that at best we are fighting to stay in the Premier league. And we couldn’t even manage to do that on a couple of occasions. I want so much more than that for Newcastle, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that we could compete again.

Expect is a strong word. Are we entitled to expect and if so, is every other club entitled to expect similar?
Or is the argument that we are a sleeping giant and our fan base is huge as well as having a big stadium in a city that houses no other rival, so we deserve more than others?
Or does yesteryear history dictate that we should be doing it all over again?

Since Ashley's been in charge we've had hope but not the hope that many fans see as their end product, which is to win something what they class as, major. And that's fair enough, but it has to be hope and not expectation.
The real hope was getting into Europe when we were chasing that slot and missed out by a whisker of a champions league place but qualified for Europa under Pardew.
Getting promoted twice as champions from the championship was a hope but promotion almost became an expectation. Why?
Why did it become almost an expectation at a badly run club, as we've been conditioned to believe?
You see, it was my hope to win it and my hope to get promoted. My hope came true. It excited me in a way that only winning the FA cup or premier league could do....but how much more excitement?

I take things as they come. I want entertainment first and foremost after stability and they are my expectations. My hopes and dreams rest on a pile of what if's, under any and all circumstances that will inevitably come our way.

I live in a city where the local basketball team just won the NBA championship for the first time ever. The journey towards that over the last few seasons has been phenomenal resulting in the ultimate prize. It took the right management, the right investment and the right players and a massive commitment by the owners to compete and win. The feeling in this city now is unbelievable. Watching this unfold has been an amazing experience, and I am hugely grateful to be part of it.

Great if it can be sustained, but if not you have the excitement and the memory of that.
What has it took to get there, money wise and how does basketball actually sustain the ridiculous wages those players are on for playing on a basketball court?
No offence to you or basketball lovers but I find basketball absolutely mind numbing but each to their own.

If I feel that way about basketball, and my adopted-home town team I can’t begin to comprehend how I might feel if Newcastle actually won something significant – other than 10 games in a season, which seems to be what some people are content with.
Sadly it’s not going to happen with Ashley in charge.

It's not about being content with anything. I'm not content with winning 10 games in a season but I would be content in getting entertained throughout, win, lose or draw.
Anything that happens to gain a leg up from that is always a massive bonus, just as anything that drops from that is a massive let down.

New ownership is no guarantee of success, but at least there would be hope again, and some expectation that we could move forward. With Ashley – it’s been no hope, no progress.

Billionaire Mike Ashley came to Newcastle and handed us all the returning messiah, older but the same name and the same man, because he somehow (naively imo) believed he could reignite the past, or better it.
How many thought we were about to blow much of the competition out of the water?
How many took a drink from the billionaire or drank along with him and how many crowded around him as if he was their very own?
How many made a fuss when he sacked a manager who was 5 minutes into a job to replace him with that messiah?

How many dreamed of the entertainers days coming back and how many expected us to be challenging for Europe in short order?
And so on and so on.
12 years later there's hatred by some and dislike by many for that very same man.
I could go on and on with the good the bad and the ugly of it all but fans are fickle.
A hero one week and a zero the next is always on order for 99.9%.

Only messiah's tend to be given almost auto immunity, regardless of what happens, as long as things inside the club are not all giving for them.
If things are all giving and the messiah falters, only then will the Wolfpack encircle ready for the kill.
It's all horse for courses and people will take their own high ground as and when they see a crowd gathering, whether that's for the good the bad or the ugly.
The nature of the beast of the football fan.

[Sclox]

Its not a matter of the fans being fickle. In fact the opposite, the have been very fkn tolerant for years. Too tolerant.

So you are wrong there.

Football is a results business. As an owner, manager or player you are hugely rewarded and hero worshipped if you are successful and rightly so.

If you dont deliver you are there to be criticised moved on and again rightly so. Rafa delivered, he is hero worshipped - even Pardew got praise when he finished 5th and then got criticism when he began to fail on the pitch and fail off it by not standing up to Ashley and being his own man demanding more than Vernon Anita that summer. Once more, rightly so.

Which leaves this.

Ashley does not deliver in his job as custodian of the club and even attempting to fulfill the clubs potential through poor management, taking money from the club which cannot be denied - its in the public domain, lack of investment (I'd take an average PL amount of spend this summer- Villa has just spent 25 million). He is vilified for this and again rightly so - his aims are purely selfish and do not match up with the fans - his actions show a lack of care for the club.

I think what irks the fans, certainly me is not the blatent profiteering and money making which is bad enough, but the deceit, lies, misdirection and misleading messages - the hope he gave when you allude to Keegan coming in and the fans mixing with him in the stands which was swept away. If he was honest about the intentions I think I could live with it.

Until something changes he wears the cnt crown.

Elizabeth, I think your mindset is on the mark. Are you from Toronto?

[ghostrider]

Its not a matter of the fans being fickle. In fact the opposite, the have been very fkn tolerant for years. Too tolerant.

So you are wrong there.

A mix of many thoughts I'd say. Intolerant and tolerant, depending.
Fickle at times, without a doubt, for some.
We are all a mix of everything at specific times, depending on specific causes.
For me there's been far too much hatred for far too long and I believe it's been just as big a hindrance to the club as much as what people think Ashley has done. But that's just my general opinion of it.

Football is a results business. As an owner, manager or player you are hugely rewarded and hero worshipped if you are successful and rightly so.

Of course football is a results business but a football fan's life does not hinge on positive results, it hinges on the hope for a positive result and the joy of getting it or the acceptance of a try and a draw, or the despondent walk home after a defeat, try or not.
The weird part about football is, too much success can breed far too much expectancy and then far too much boredom when the cheque book is blank and the trophies can be bought for which they pay a high fee for that privilege.

It really is a funny old game, where you can be crucified for finishing 5th if the fans had a few sniffs of higher.

If you dont deliver you are there to be criticised moved on and again rightly so. Rafa delivered, he is hero worshipped

That depends on what the delivery actually is.
Europa was delivered and nearly the champions league but criticism didn't stop. A manager winning the premier league by a landslide after the team fights off relegation the season before and yet is sacked so far into a new season.
A lot of fickleness is in football from fans and owners/directors and media, etc.

- even Pardew got praise when he finished 5th and then got criticism when he began to fail on the pitch and fail off it by not standing up to Ashley and being his own man demanding more than Vernon Anita that summer. Once more, rightly so.

Stand up to an owner?
As in what?
How do you know he didn't ask for this and that?
Do you have any facts on this or are you speculating?

Which leaves this.

Ashley does not deliver in his job as custodian of the club and even attempting to fulfill the clubs potential through poor management

That depends what you expected him to deliver.
What is the club's potential against those money bag clubs that appear to be able to write cheques galore?

, taking money from the club which cannot be denied - its in the public domain

I think there's a massive case of six and two threes there, don't you agree?

, lack of investment (I'd take an average PL amount of spend this summer- Villa has just spent 25 million).

An average what?
What is the average you will accept and does it have to be a net spend and if so, why?

He is vilified for this and again rightly so - his aims are purely selfish and do not match up with the fans - his actions show a lack of care for the club.

Of course his aims don't match up with some fans. If they did then we'd be in the champions league or winning the FA cup like very few clubs manage outside of the elite band of clubs.
He's certainly no Mr flamboyant and he certainly doesn't push the boat out, but I'm not despondent like some. I'm of acceptance when I look at what we have and the potential to add a few to what we have, as sensibly as it will likely be.

I'm all for super football with top quality stars on show, but not at the expense of breaking the back of the club just to accommodate players who will likely end up as a big bunch of dressing room destroying mercenaries that become hard to shift... and this is my fear.
Maybe I'm just built differently as a fan because that's my stance.

I think what irks the fans, certainly me is not the blatant profiteering and money making which is bad enough, but the deceit, lies, misdirection and misleading messages - the hope he gave when you allude to Keegan coming in and the fans mixing with him in the stands which was swept away. If he was honest about the intentions I think I could live with it.

It takes more than one to tango, regardless of his lies and what not. Of course he's no angel but then again, do you seriously think businessmen/woman are all sweetness and light where only truth's prevail and are not swerved?

Until something changes he wears the cnt crown.

That's absolutely fine by me. You choose exactly what you feel. You're entitled to despise anyone you wish to and also you're entitled to think and believe anything you wish to believe and pass it off to anyone you think needs to see/listen to it.
I can do the same and it becomes a difference of opinion.

[elizabethreed]

Its not a matter of the fans being fickle. In fact the opposite, the have been very fkn tolerant for years. Too tolerant.



Elizabeth, I think your mindset is on the mark. Are you from Toronto?

Born and bred in Newcastle (Heaton) but have lived in Toronto for about 30 years. Obviously still follow NUFC, and get back to Newcastle 2 or 3 times a year. I’m relatively new to basketball, and only started because my son plays (and is pretty good player). Watching the Raptors develop into Champions over the last few years has been a fantastic experience – and the sheer joy and energy in the city at the moment is incredible. At 15 my son is fortunate enough to see his team win the whole thing. At 15 I saw us thrashed in the FA Cup final. I’m still waiting…….
Sure, we have had the odd thrill along the way (Keegan years especially) - but, closing in on 60 (!!) now, I want more than that. I'd like a real trophy - not just qualification for the Europa league or winning the Championship. With the right management, right investment and right players I don't think its unreasonable to hope for that

It’s clearly not going to happen under Ashley, so I’m hoping for a takeover while fully knowing that won’t guarantee any success at all. I for one would be ecstatic with that gamble when the alternative (sticking with MA) is a guarantee of no hope, and no progress as a competitive football team.


BTW _ elizabethreed is just a username – a nod to one of my favourite pieces of music by my favourite band

[ex_pat_magpie]

My sister and brother in law from East Sus*** are in Toronto at the moment visiting their son who's been over there with his in laws for a good few years now. It's well recommended apparently.

[usedtobeshearer]

Does that not equate to any club who can have owners who will invest or be ambitious?
The issue is, how far do you go to chase something that is in the clutches of the elites, in the main?
We all tend to get fed on the scraps, it appears, regardless of spends.
My argument is in saying " are we really so hard done by", meaning, how many clubs would swap positions with us and how many sets of fans would take our overall set up on their own patch?
12th best positioned club in England. Could it be better?.....Of course. Could it be a whole load worse?....Look at Sunderland and many other clubs that have fans dreaming of much better but also realise they could be much worse off, even if it appears they couldn't.

We certainly could, but are still fighting it out in the premier league with decent players, many of them actually showing they have much more quality than many people gave them credit for.
A new owner guarantees us nothing until a new owner guarantees us something. Moneybags Khan, Mr ambitious, guaranteed a spend at Fulham but didn't guarantee success, nor did he guarantee relegation, yet it happened.


I've been supporting Newcastle United all my life and in a similar vein to you in terms of years. I look at things differently.
I see all the near misses as my enjoyment and my success in my mind. I see the Keegan promotion to the premier league and the Hughton, Benitez promotions, plus the FA Cup final losses and league cup final loss, plus the second place finishes and champions league placings, plus Europa league qualifications and anglo Italian and Texaco cup winners, plus the charity shield loss...etc.
They're all my personal successes as they stand.

They excited me to heights of the time and gave me hope for excitement to come. I've had plenty of that as well as plenty of down time, like we all have.
I've seen the good the bad and the ugly like many of us have and that was well before the last 12 years, even though we've had some ugly in this tenure.
We've....or should I say "I've" had plenty of excitement in the last 12 years, much more than badness. Why?
Because I don't see the doom that others seem to see/perceive behind the scenes, yet I'll be more than happy to whine and whinge about what goes on, on the pitch if I see bad performances or players being well under par, including managerial tactics.


Expect is a strong word. Are we entitled to expect and if so, is every other club entitled to expect similar?
Or is the argument that we are a sleeping giant and our fan base is huge as well as having a big stadium in a city that houses no other rival, so we deserve more than others?
Or does yesteryear history dictate that we should be doing it all over again?

Since Ashley's been in charge we've had hope but not the hope that many fans see as their end product, which is to win something what they class as, major. And that's fair enough, but it has to be hope and not expectation.
The real hope was getting into Europe when we were chasing that slot and missed out by a whisker of a champions league place but qualified for Europa under Pardew.
Getting promoted twice as champions from the championship was a hope but promotion almost became an expectation. Why?
Why did it become almost an expectation at a badly run club, as we've been conditioned to believe?
You see, it was my hope to win it and my hope to get promoted. My hope came true. It excited me in a way that only winning the FA cup or premier league could do....but how much more excitement?

I take things as they come. I want entertainment first and foremost after stability and they are my expectations. My hopes and dreams rest on a pile of what if's, under any and all circumstances that will inevitably come our way.




Great if it can be sustained, but if not you have the excitement and the memory of that.
What has it took to get there, money wise and how does basketball actually sustain the ridiculous wages those players are on for playing on a basketball court?
No offence to you or basketball lovers but I find basketball absolutely mind numbing but each to their own.

It's not about being content with anything. I'm not content with winning 10 games in a season but I would be content in getting entertained throughout, win, lose or draw.
Anything that happens to gain a leg up from that is always a massive bonus, just as anything that drops from that is a massive let down.

Billionaire Mike Ashley came to Newcastle and handed us all the returning messiah, older but the same name and the same man, because he somehow (naively imo) believed he could reignite the past, or better it.
How many thought we were about to blow much of the competition out of the water?
How many took a drink from the billionaire or drank along with him and how many crowded around him as if he was their very own?
How many made a fuss when he sacked a manager who was 5 minutes into a job to replace him with that messiah?

How many dreamed of the entertainers days coming back and how many expected us to be challenging for Europe in short order?
And so on and so on.
12 years later there's hatred by some and dislike by many for that very same man.
I could go on and on with the good the bad and the ugly of it all but fans are fickle.
A hero one week and a zero the next is always on order for 99.9%.

Only messiah's tend to be given almost auto immunity, regardless of what happens, as long as things inside the club are not all giving for them.
If things are all giving and the messiah falters, only then will the Wolfpack encircle ready for the kill.
It's all horse for courses and people will take their own high ground as and when they see a crowd gathering, whether that's for the good the bad or the ugly.
The nature of the beast of the football fan.

Waffle

[elizabethreed]

Waffle

Spot on ...