Should we be grateful to Ashley

[ex_pat_magpie]

Don't get me wrong. I'd like to boast of being the biggest Ashley hater ever, even going back 14 years when I suspected that all of his Bonhomme with the fans was false.

But according to reports while the sale which has just gone through looked as if it would fall through he appears to have had other offers which he either turned down or discarded for some reason or other.

Just think, had he sold to one of those, taken the money, and ran then we could have finished up with another almost as bad as Ashley himself, and then have to have gone through another fourt een years of misery

[toonlegend]

Don't get me wrong. I'd like to boast of being the biggest Ashley hater ever, even going back 14 years when I suspected that all of his Bonhomme with the fans was false.

But according to reports while the sale which has just gone through looked as if it would fall through he appears to have had other offers which he either turned down or discarded for some reason or other.

Just think, had he sold to one of those, taken the money, and ran then we could have finished up with another almost as bad as Ashley himself, and then have to have gone through another four**** years of misery

NO NO NO

and knowing ashley he stuck with amanda, jamie & co either because
a) it was better for him
b) they would cause the biggest controversy/uproar afterwards

[Sclox]

Glad you brought this up Bill. I disliked the man and what he did to the team - without question.

However.....his last dealing with us was perhaps (time will tell) his greatest. We were excited when he first took over, we hung our hats on him and I think we ended up hating him because we were disapointed with what followed - we expected so much more.

Has he redeemed himself? He did very well from us for a very long time and offered nothing but vindictive gestures and actions - it was abusive but I think he may have broke even in my mind with this sale.

I can't believe I said that.

I hope history doesn't repeat and these PIF lads get sick of daft cnts demands for managers, players, stadiums, free beer, pies, this that and the other and patiently stay the course.

I trust them and I will not be raising a dissenting voice for a very long time about anything no matter what they do.

[MidsMagpie]

For keeping the takeover alive and taking on the Premier league yes he deserves credit.

[Zippity]

Mind, I don't believe for a second he had higher bids than this one.

[MagpieKit]

I think he deserves credit for hiring the best lawyers available to take on the premier league which is what led to this Takeover finally going through. He also deserves credit for leaving the club in a good position from a sustainability POV meaning FFP will not be an issue for the club for the next 5 years.

However, his motivation for the lawyers would’ve been to recoup losses if the takeover didn’t go through and we’re only sustainable because he didn’t reinvest money in the club or team which resulted in constant relegation battles (some lost), terrible facilities and a stadium with broken seats, dirty windows, iPads for TVs and no beers at the bar.

His good came from his bad decisions and greed.