Well I’ve probably been the most critical of him in this thread, and if you go back and read my first post I still say he’s our best option.
My only point is that an Ashley takeover is not necessarily the amazing outcome that some people (such as yourself) have said it would be.
Well yes, he claimed there was £27m in transfer fees which he was on the hook for because he didn’t do due diligence (again - great owner!) but I’ve not seen anything to suggest the club was then at risk of bankruptcy unless you can provide otherwise?
Lol - the only time he saved them from admin was after they were relegated due to cost cutting under his ownership!
When Ashley took over NUFC they were a revenue powerhouse - ranked 14th in all of Europe by Deloitte. The graph below shows how far backward they went under Ashley - literally a...
Yes:
The whole thread is very informative for those who want to get a sense of where Newcastle were when Ashley joined, versus where they were when he left
Always makes me smile when people big up Ashley for that reason. “He managed to sell the team onto much wealthier, much more ambitious owners!” OK, well why don’t we get them on the phone then?
What’s his track record of buying a club and improving their league position and financial clout?
He gave Newcastle “PL football and survival” from a starting position of being one of the biggest spending clubs in England who played in Europe almost every year.
I know ‘Big Mike’ has plenty of fans on here, but the “Toon fans wanted the moon on a stick” stuff is just a tired cliche at this point.
The facts are facts - he took Newcastle backwards and set them back decades compared to who they were used to competing with. Were they not taken over by...
Just completely desperate that it’s even come to this.
Our best option is a widely disliked tracksuit merchant with a mediocre track record in football at best, who may not even want to buy us anyway. Great!
Also sat next to Hoffman, Joy, Ashley, King and Storey:
Vincent Tan
Sam Hammam
Dick & Dom
“Macho Man” Randy Savage
The ghost of Robert Maxwell
The guy from Fyre Festival
Sam Bankman-Fried
Barry Scott