A message to NUFC fans ahead of Steve Bruce’s ‘imminent’ appointment..

So, Steve Bruce’s appointment is now considered ‘imminent’ and he’s expected to be announced in the next 48 hours as the new manager of Newcastle United.

The abuse directed at him has been widespread and will only get bigger, with many justifiably outraged at the idea of an incompetent ex-Sunderland boss replacing Rafa Benitez, however I think it’s a good time to remember who the real enemy is here – Mike Ashley.

I am not suggesting we should now turn up in our thousands at St James’ Park and get behind Bruce (we should do the exact opposite!), but we must now allow our anger and frustration to be directed at the symptom, Steve Bruce, when it’s the disease, Mike Ashley, that’s really responsible for the shambolic summer we’ve been forced to endure.

This is the man who’s stripped us of all hope and excitement for the new season, not Bruce.

This is the man who’s let us believe a takeover could’ve been in the offing without a single shred of communication all summer, not Bruce.

This is the man who made no genuine attempt to keep world class manager Rafa Benitez, not Bruce.

This is the man who refused to sign Rondon and has failed to replace our £30m top scorer with just weeks of the window left, not Bruce.

This is the man who’s yet to sanction one signing so far this summer, not Bruce.

This is the man destroying our club, stripping us of our assets and betraying legends, not Bruce.

This is the man who laughs in our faces and continues to crush our dreams just to earn a few quid, not Bruce.

This is the man who’s made our replica shirt the most expensive in England and upped season ticket prices, not Bruce.

Many will question a man taking the job under an owner who has done all of the above, but Bruce – a Geordie and boyhood Newcastle fan who’s been out of the top flight for years – was never going to turn down this offer.

Bruce is an absolutely unforgivable Rafa Benitez replacement, because of his managerial record more so than his time at Sunderland, but it’s vital we remember that Mike Ashley is the real enemy here.

If we allow Ashley to get away with this, he’ll genuinely believe he can get away with absolutely anything, with this summer being the lowest of the low – and that’s saying something after 12 years of misery and mistakes.

As a result, we must make a stand. Time to #BoycottArsenal, #BoycottSJP and #SupportOurToon.

Let’s empty the stands and fill the city on the opening day of the season next month, with us urging fans to watch the game with friends / family in local bars or pubs – a way of supporting local businesses and enjoying matchday’s WITHOUT lining Mike Ashley’s pockets.

With a takeover ‘stalling’ and Steve Bruce lined up, the situation couldn’t be clearer – It’s time to hit Ashley where it hurts and make some short term sacrifices in a bid to get our club back.

Let’s take a stand – together!

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

122 thoughts on “A message to NUFC fans ahead of Steve Bruce’s ‘imminent’ appointment..

  1. Boycotting one game is not enough the ground should stay empty until the **** keaves

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  2. Bruce should know what to expect and decline job. If he’s a true Geordie and loves the club.

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  3. Oh quit with the true Geordie slants man the bloke is from walker and could not be more of a Geordie. The fact he is taking the job when he knows how deep this cuts is the reason he should shoulder some of the blame but the FCB is the problem him and SKY TV.

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  4. Totally agree, apparently Steve is an alright guy, always seems nice enough on tv like. Is he the right guy for the job, probably not but it is what it is now.
    Giving him and his family abuse gets us nowhere and will make us look awful, it’s not his fault we are where we are, only one man and his mini me responsible for that.
    Boycott everything associated with MA, club, merchandise, SD and other MA owned outlets, target them for protest all season.

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  5. Is it true Nolan is also coming in too?
    That would explain his little MA love in on talksport then.

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  6. Steve Bruce didn’t have to take the job, its not as if he was out of work. He is either For Ashley or Against and he has shown he is For. He will say he HAD to take the job to help NUFC but in reality he took it to help himself and Ashley.

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  7. Smash the fat bastards shops up and his house most wanted man in the north east, what’s it like to be absolutely hated ashley your finished in toon

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  8. It is strange to see Mark Douglas saying Bruce will be involved in recruitment along with Nixon. He has been in The Championship for years now and is hardly likely to have been looking at the same players.

    I highly doubt we will be buying from the PL as that is too expensive. Maybe some loans and Bruce could help there. Abroad? Would Sheff Wed be looking at the same players Rafa had his eye on? Would Bruce be running the rule over Joelinton? He probably has a few contacts but I doubt he will have any say this window. There simply isn’t time.

    The other players will get will be Ashley specials where the club have identified low buy out clauses and players running down their contracts. I doubt Steve will have been scouting these either.

    Everybody ridicules Dennis Wise for his recruitment via YouTube but that is a far as it will go this window for Bruce. We will have to rely on Nixon and Rafa’s prior identification of players. That might not actually be a bad thing as long as we get Schar and not Joselu from his list.

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  9. As for Joelinton, the Brazilian from Hoffenheim. I think it is much more likely we will get Joe McLinton the Scot at Accrington Stanley.

    (BTW I made him up in case you were going to google it)

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  10. Olly: we all know Rafa is a much better Manager than Bruce but I can play with statistics and show a different picture. Let’s take Liverpool out of it because they were a much better financed team and were a perennial top 4 team before AND AFTER Rafa Managed them. Bruce was stuck with the dregs that were perennial relegation fighters. You would never think of Hull as a PL team even and the Mackems were pretty **** for 10 years before getting relegated.

    So, what has Rafa done at NUFC since we were promoted? We got a total of 44 points and then 45. So a total of 89 in 76 games.

    POINTS PER GAME: 1.17

    Bruce’s PL points per game: 1.12

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  11. This will go against the narrative on every twiiter feed, blog and Chronicle comments page, but…

    You have to look at Bruce’s teams in the PL. Strugglers who shouldn’t even have been there in the first place. Birmingham, who he had got promoted, Wigan, Hull and Sunderland.

    He Managed to keep a few up with no budget. He might seem the PERFECT Ashley Manager.

    That doesn’t mean I want him at NUFC but if they do actually give him what they say they will, you never know.

    I don’t think he is as **** a manager as he is being portrayed because people are not considering the quality of the teams he has Managed in the PL and the budgets. It is like saying Warnock was **** last year because Cardiff were relegated.

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  12. Look at where Bruce’s ex-teams are now!!! And the only one relegated under him were Hull. Their owner had pissed off the entire city so Bruce was under intense pressure. Ring a bell. Hopefully the outcome won’t be the same this time 🙂

    He didn’t get the Mackems relegated. They sacked him when they were 16th and stayed up.

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  13. I am not Anti-Rafa or Pro-Bruce but there is some method to the madness if your “ambition” is to finish 15th. Multiply his points per game for totally **** clubs by number of games in a season and you get 43 points.

    I know you will say the PL has changed. But has it that much? Are Brighton, Norwich, Villa, Burnley, Southampton and Sheffield really that much better than us?

    We need a striker or we are fcked. But who knows. Couldn’t be worse than Joselu.

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  14. We will appoint Bruce and spend about £50m and have a weaker squad than last season. Bruce has no chance. I have zero sympathy.

    In Jabba world this is a perfect appointment. He’s not interested in progressing the club, he’s interested in staying up. He thinks Bruce can do it. That’s why he knows nothing about football.

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  15. I am not defending this slow motion train wreck or the appointment of Bruce. Just saying Bruce has not been quite as bad as some are saying and the PL clubs he managed have maybe punched above their weight. But we are setting up for another relegation battle and that depends on whether we get a decent striker and keep the rest of what we have.

    They have dug themselves a massive hole by messing around with Rafa’s contract and another failed takeover.

    I could write a scathing rant or article about this but I am sure there will be plenty of them without me chipping in 🙂

    #IwouldratherhaveBrucethanPardew

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  16. So Bruce turned up this morning at Sheff Wed as no compo agreed. God I hope Wednesday play hard ball and demand £5m. That will leave Jabba up the creek.

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  17. Every days a circus with the Toon, gotta give the hacks something to write and talk about.

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  18. Given it’s now a long time since Rafa left, and that Charnley has apparently been in Europe, you have to suspect NUFC has been knocked back by some pretty good and well known managers with Steve Bruce well down the list of stand bys.
    Does it matter anymore who the manager is? The ambition is to finish 17th with minimal spend on some bang average players. And a cheap manager.
    If Bruce doesn’t get it then god knows who we’re likely to end up with. If it’s Hughes I will quit for good.

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  19. Georgia – If it’s Hughes that will make you quit for good you have the patience of a saint. Hasn’t what’s already happened over the last 12 years brought you to that conclusion already ?

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  20. Saint Georgia? I’ll have to lift my dress next time I walk up to SJP 😆
    Couldn’t resist Suet.

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  21. It’s an all time low when you are even dragging your heels signing your 6th choice manager like!!!

    I really think these f@ck ups would struggle to secure an out of work manager!!!

    Another week goes by and no significant progress ?.

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  22. Barca have even beat us to Griezmann now as well ?

    Andy Carroll on a free it is then ??‍♂️

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  23. Here’s the stupidest thing of all. They’ll have to spend more on getting Bruce than it would have cost to keep Rafa. Incompetent or what. On top of that Rafa only really needed a striker and a fullback, Perez would have stayed and we would still have a top class coaching team.
    Total bellends!

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  24. Olly -could you (and the Chron, Mag etc etc) jut stop printing pictures of the odious one. Even if the piece is about him just no more imagery please.

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  25. Bruce is a grown man capable of assessing a situation and making conscious decisions for which he can be held accountable. No sympathy for him if he signs as he’ll have chosen to do so and he’s a sad and desperate substitute for Benitez, who despite the fact he was far from infallible is league’s better

    Not sure how Ashley doing errr .. well .. nothing let newcastle fans believe takeover was in the offing is credible statement. That feels more down to fans and media speculation and debate .. on this blog alone there were countless articles around a takeover or not

    I dont kjow how much a business/ pub subscription to sky or bt is but in any case Please explain how watching Newcastle through subscription services does not put money into Ashley’s business. Common view is that tv money and tv exposure for his tat was the prime reason he’s at Newcastle .. I never really believed he was at sjp for the newky broon.. vile stuff

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  26. Bruce’s Managerial record is not that bad. Arteta or Gerrard would have been a total crapshoot. Not defending this Rafa circus but you can’t say Bruce is a **** manager, especially since we had the likes of Pardew, Kinnear and Carver. He is definitely a step up from them.

    You could say “is this what we have come to”? Yes it is, no ambition, and that is why Rafa walked.

    https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/steve-bruce-profile-man-likely-16576866

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  27. Waugh is leaving The Chronicle. I don’t think he will be missed and they have about 50 others who can step in.

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  28. I know I could be accused of being an Ashley apologist here but I am far from it. This has been a shItshow for at least 10 years. We had the appeasement appointments of Keegan and Shearer and then a succession of also-rans and never-weres. Rafa came to us, remember and that was a desperation appointment by Charnley to save his own job. Now we are going back to their former model and Bruce is better than all of them. That’s the best that can be said.

    I don’t know if this takeover was ever real and the Rafa contract dragging on for 18 months was a nightmare. Now all I see is anger. Especially on Eds and the Chronicle comments. The atmosphere is totally toxic so Bruce has his work cut out.

    I don’t see a boycott of a few thousand fans or a few thousand season tickets not renewed as hurting Ashley financially. It could hurt the team and cause relegation though. Is that what we want? Sure, it would hurt Ashley financially but it would hurt us fans as well. Plus, Brucie is a bit of a promotion specialist.

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  29. I think Ashley is a curse, but let me at least do some straw clutching and have a bit of fun with a Bruce appointment. What do we ever really see of a NUFC Manager? We see the press conferences and the Sky pre and post match reports. That’s about it. Everything else is represented on the page and on blogs. At least Bruce seems like a nice guy who is relatively humble and doesn’t crack under pressure. Compare that with some of his predecessors or alternatives.

    Allardyce: takes all credit for a win and blames his players for a loss. Even more arrogant than Pardew, so much so that you just want to slap him so hard that he spits that fcking gum out. He even chews arrogantly.

    Pards: many stories of his absolute arrogance and talks total shyte. Cracked in his last 10 games for NUFC and could not answer a question. Looked like a whipped dog and aged 10 years.

    Carver: “best manager in the world” was only one quote from one of his pressers. His press conferences were an incoherent mess. What must his coaching have been like?

    McClaren: went from self assured and happy before the game to either a grinning chimpanzee or deer in the headlights after. He simply froze if we lost. And the last few games you could tell by his words, but mainly his face that he had no clue anymore. It was like the Wally with the Brolly scenes revisited.

    Steven Gerrard: could be the second coming of Bobby Robson and I would still have to turn the sound down. THAT VOICE. When did scousers go from cheeky chappy John Lennon to clear your throat, high pitched whining?

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  30. Does Sean Longstaff going on the China trip mean he has recovered from his injury?

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  31. Bruce has Managed some teams that should never have been in the PL and kept them up. Wigan, Birmingham, Sunderland and Hull. I think that we would all agree that NUFC are a much bigger club than all of these, even under Ashley. And yet: Points per game in the PL:

    Rafa NUFC = 1.17
    Bruce (all of the **** clubs) = 1.12
    Dyche Burnley = 1.11

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  32. Bruce has two relegations on his CV. Previous managers at least don’t have that!

    Eric, many fans don’t now even care what division we play in. This isn’t NUFC. It’s Mike Ashley’s NUFC. Big difference!

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  33. Stuart: weren’t Bruce’s relegations with Birmingham who he brought back up and Hull? I would say both were lucky to even spend a couple of seasons in the PL.

    I am not even defending the choice of Bruce, I am saying his record is better than it is being made out to be because of the quality of clubs he has managed. Of course, that says something in itself because the bigger clubs were not willing to go for him. Villa are the biggest club he has managed and they were in deep trouble when they hired him and he steadied the ship.

    Looks like we’re haggling again anyway over compensation.

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  34. Look, I am not happy at all that Bruce appears to be our next manager. On Ed’s site and the Chronicle comments it is total hysteria. Ed’s latest stat comes from Duncan Alexander. Only 2 managers with more than 250 premier league games and a winning % of less than 30% are Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson.

    Of course that is a pretty bad statistic that does not take into account the **** clubs Bruce had to manage. I am not even protecting him, I don’t want him as our Manager. But I can play with stats as well:

    Rafa Benitez winning % in last 2 seasons = 30.16%

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  35. Haggling over compo for Steve Bruce … ? it’s really come to this! I agree with Eric that I don’t think he is as bad as some make out, but that doesn’t mean to say that I want him as our head coach. To be honest, I never thought I’d say this but I just don’t care anymore.

    Until Ashley is gone it makes no real difference who we get. ??? RIP NUFC.

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  36. DT: like you, I did not want Bruce to be our Manager but when the interest became real I decided to look at his career on Wikipedia. I hadn’t followed his career at all closely so wanted to have a look and not just take what was said on social media for granted which was totally angry at everything that had happened in the past 2 months. It turns out he is not that bad. He does what Pardew used to do and has a honeymoon period but then falters. We desperately need him to have a honeymoon period to heal these wounds created entirely by Ashley. Just don’t give him a bloody 8 year extension if by some miracle he keeps us up.

    Bruce has some balls if he takes on this task.

    We are boxed in now. We have no alternatives. And he is boxed in as well as he will have p!ssed off the Wednesday fans.

    What a total fcking mess.

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  37. The fact that we’re only four weeks away from our first game and haven’t even got a manager let alone bought any players would better believe at any other club. But not this one. I now believe it’s impossible to be shocked by what they do. Well, unless it was a positive shock that is.

    It’s a farce but by Ashley’s NUFC it’s not a surprise.

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  38. Working on the basis that they have well and truly cocked this up and Bruce isn’t allowed to leave on thecheap like they thought, who would be their next choice? They would definately need to be out of work. My bet would be Moyes or Ranieri.

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  39. John Gibson tells it like it is in a really elegant and trademark style. The only journalist the Chron have ever had who can genuinely claim to be a writer.

    It’ll be no surprise if both the takeover and Bruce stories just disappear into Mike Ashley’s spider web.

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  40. I am not trying to be Bruce’s Champion. But I do think he is getting a bit too much stick and his managerial abilities are better than his hammering on social media deserve. He is bottom 6 PL/Top 6 Championship which is what we are.

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  41. It appears SB is going to cost rather more in compo than first expected … what a surprise… £6.3million including the backroom staff if press to be believed ??. That’s the price of at least 2 strikers according to Ashley… ????

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  42. Stu, god not Moyes, it’s depressing enough without a dour manager. If he comes in i’m defo not following anymore.

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  43. kimtoon:
    Stu, god not Moyes, it’s depressing enough without a dour manager. If he comes in i’m defo not following anymore.

    dito

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  44. Eric, Gibbs has explained it perfectly in the piece Kim put up. It doesn’t matter who come in they’re going to get stick. The fact Bruce is the lower end of any expectation just makes it worse.

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  45. Bruce travelled with Wednesday today to their friendly. I wonder what Charnley is doing as we speak? He should be looking at other options but he won’t be. He will be so immersed in his own little world where he thinks the club are always right and will eventually wear Wednesday down he will be left looking even more of a t1t than usual.

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  46. Had we not shafted Houghton in the past, he would be my out of work manager of choice I reckon.
    Another not mentioned is Puel – who I don’t think done all that badly at Saints or Leicester.

    I’d rather have either of those over Moyes, or even Bruce to be honest.

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  47. Chris Hughton won’t come back Sharpy. He’s met with and tangled with Ashley before.

    Puel – don’t know anything about him but nobody seems to like him. Lee Clark would be as good a bet as Bruce.

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  48. So according to Pete Graves of SSN – he reckons the PL has still not received proof of funds.

    That doesn’t sound promising at all – and that’s on BZG not Ashley.

    Very disappointing, but means we have to get on with preparing for the new season – coz it doesn’t look like this takeover will happen before it – if at all!!.

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  49. What’s the betting that somewhere along the line, BZG and jabba have done or are doing business together, just not over a club purchase. Property deal or something i reckon.

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  50. Sharpy17:
    So according to Pete Graves of SSN – he reckons the PL has still not received proof of funds.

    That doesn’t sound promising at all – and that’s on BZG not Ashley.

    Very disappointing, but means we have to get on with preparing for the new season – coz it doesn’t look like this takeover will happen before it – if at all!!.

    Sharpy – you only get to that stage if you agree a deal and sign a SPA. My opinion is that Ashleys terms are unacceptable to any buyer. He will own and want to retain the club badge, he will also want to keep the merchandise deal and then the advertising rights…

    How can any buyer accept them terms?

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  51. Well, we are going back to the blueprint of the last days of McClaren when he had some input on transfers but the chief scout had the main say. Were we relegated because of the system or the coach? I would say the latter. That team was probably the best team ever to be relegated. FFS, these are the players McClaren got – Mitro, Wijnaldum, Mbemba, Shelvey, Townsend.

    And Charnley was allowed to spend the surplus they had built up for several years on players. If that is what we are returning to, I think we MIGHT be alright. I still think the club have gone about things entirely the wrong way, especially with Rafa’s contract and not having alternatives at the ready but we have an OK squad that with the right additions could be OK. We will be in a relegation scrap again though, and it is quite possible even the Bruce deal will fall through.

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  52. This social media feeding frenzy has caused a lot of its own problems. Life would have been so much easier had they just talked to Kimtoon 🙂

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  53. I know my view is not in the majority, that certain groups of fans have worked themselves up into a frenzy based up shyte from certain sections of the press and social media. Some fans were hanging on every word of a dentist FFS and a talk show host in Dubai. If that was talk-sport would they have given it a second thought?

    I went on Eds for a couple of weeks and they have about 10 In-The-Knows who have never been right on anything. One in Dubai supposedly had inside information. You couldn’t question any of them or ask for accountability. I did, and was shouted down and in an extremely abusive way. The point is that they have worked themselves up into their own lather. I think they probably think I am banned by Ed, but I am not, it is just not healthy on there at the moment so I choose to stay away.

    And BZG didn’t help with their statements which who knows were true or brinkmanship. And finally there is the club with their bloody no comment policy.

    It is still a mess mainly of Ashley’s making because normal clubs do not operate this way.

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  54. And then there is the boycott. I have mixed feelings on this. Part of me says it won’t do anything because Ashley has Dictator powers and it won’t affect him enough financially to make any difference. On the other hand, a statement must be made against his mismanagement that in my opinion makes us about 50-50 for relegation again. This is about all the fans can do – IF it gains enough support. I reckon 10,000 stay-at-homes would be a tipping point.

    The real tipping point though would be if/when we have a bad start. I think that could snowball, but also could lead to self fulfilling relegation due to a toxic atmosphere in the whole town.

    I don’t want us relegated, but I am sick of Ashley.

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  55. I think there are a fair few fans that are now Ashley Out at all cost. I get this from Twitter, Blogs, Chronicle comments and the reports of meetings of fan groups. But is this representative of all fans or just the most vocal minority who are pushing their views on others? There were only about 300 attendees at the NUST (and other groups) meeting last Monday.

    Has Ashley p!ssed everyone around so much that it will unite the disparate supporters groups and they will be able to cause meaningful change or even organize a protest that more than the most militant will attend? I doubt it judging by their incompetence in the past.

    One thing they are setting up is a march on Charnley’s house. Why bring his family into it?

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  56. AND, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this move for Bruce fell through leaving him and us in the ****. Who next? An Ashley special like Kinnear or Pardew? A Charnley special like Carver, meaning Redfearn until January?

    I really don’t know. They would probably have to go all in on Gerrard or Arteta after saying they wanted PL experience.

    And of course the club are saying privately that Big Fat Sam was never offered the job. For once I don’t blame them for not going public because Allardyce needs that sort of publicity to fuel his ego.

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  57. Stuart79: Sharpy – you only get to that stage if you agree a deal and sign a SPA. My opinion is that Ashleys terms are unacceptable to any buyer. He will own and want to retain the club badge, he will also want to keep the merchandise deal and then the advertising rights…

    How can any buyer accept them terms?

    Stu – you have to be balanced in this mate.

    BZG came out and said things are progressing nicely and the paperwork was with the PL – they said that just last week.
    If that is not the case, and Ashley is d!cking about, then come out and say that – coz let’s be right, if they haven’t got to the stage of submitting the paperwork, it’s highly unlikely a takeover will ever happen.

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  58. According to The Mirror it looks like Mikey is getting the band back together. They say Bruce wants Carr to be involved.

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  59. Eric, it also states he’s the worst paid manager in the league and is incentivised for avoiding relegation and for every place we finish above the relegation zone he will get more. That perfectly explains his ambitions for the club. People must stop going.

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  60. I also find it bizarre that we haven’t signed anybody. What are they waiting for? The new manager won’t have a say anyway so if they have players lined up just buy them. Unless they have no idea who they need and who they want to buy…

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  61. Carr is in his 70’s ffs.
    I think he’s always been in the background whispering sweet nothings in Lee’s ear and mikes for that matter.
    ” no Lee, don’t buy that bloke Rafa want’s, too old, no sell on value, mike will have your nuts if you sign him”
    We are basically going right back where we were post Rafa. They have looked at Rafa’s vision and decided it’s too expensive to go that route and anyway since when did we need to be successful ?
    Up to date training ground is for superstars, we don’t need to worry about that since we are only after young up and coming talent that we can sell on. They won’t care about the facilities since they know they are just stopping by for a season or so before they make their way to a well run successful club, everyones a winner at Ashley united.

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  62. SSN say Longstaff hopes NUFC and Manure can come to an agreement on a fee for him. He also understands if the club won’t sell him.
    It’s clear the lad doesn’t see his future with us anymore which is completely understandable given recent events.
    This really saddens me, end of last season we were starting to look a really cohesive unit, the 3 amigos up front , tidy at the back and Hayden and Longstaff in the middle and now it’s all broken up. What an utter waste of progress, all it would of took was a bit of investment in the facilities and a couple of good signings from Rafas list plus Rondon for £16m to keep the services of an elite coach.
    Staggering level of self destruction, our owner truly has no clue how to run a club, unless of course it’s deliberate and i wouldn’t rule that out right now.

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  63. Kim – you, and all of us for that matter, keep forgetting that Ashley’s only interested in one thing and it’s not NUFC!

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  64. kimtoon:
    SSN say Longstaff hopes NUFC and Manure can come to an agreement on a fee for him. He also understands if the club won’t sell him.
    It’s clear the lad doesn’t see his future with us anymore which is completely understandable given recent events.
    This really saddens me, end of last season we were starting to look a really cohesive unit, the 3 amigos up front , tidy at the back and Hayden and Longstaff in the middle and now it’s all broken up. What an utter waste of progress, all it would of took was a bit of investment in the facilities and a couple of good signings from Rafas list plus Rondon for £16m to keep the services of an elite coach.
    Staggering level of self destruction, our owner truly has no clue how to run a club, unless of course it’s deliberate and i wouldn’t rule that out right now.

    Kim – you’re absolutely right.

    Even with the lack of investment over the last 2 PL seasons – secure Rafa and we were around 4-5 players away from competing for those 7-10 places and I think getting those players could have been done at as little at £50-70m.

    I don’t buy into this theory that Ashley does things just to p!ss the fans off – though admittedly it feels that way sometimes.
    But the bloke is a billionaire, and I don’t think you get there acting on emotion. He does whatever makes the most financial sense – regardless if it pleases or p!sses people off.

    That’s why I keep coming back to the thought this takeover IS happening.
    Every he is doing at the moment seems to be for short term financial gain – but would be long term financial disaster – unless he’s not in it for the long term.

    The only other explanation I can come up with is some kind of mental breakdown – coz it simply doesn’t make any sense in the sane world.

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  65. It’s devastating to think we could loose Longstaff and Dubravka before this window closes.

    I think most expected Hayden and Gayle may leave this summer – and it’s entirely possible they still will.
    Perez and Rondon already gone.

    I just don’t see how a new manager, needing potentially up to 6 first teamers, beds them in and hit some the ground running.

    We put ourselves well behind even the promoted teams imo.

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  66. Sharpy, yeah we are well adrift now mate, heartbreaking. I will be furious if he sells dubs too, he’s been so good in goal and we will really need him this season.
    Really i’m starting to give no *****, after all doesn’t look as though Jabba does.

    Shi t couple of weeks, just been diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis as well and need long term meds, but at least the meds are helping now.

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