Their immediate aim was to engage in talks with the administration at Newcastle United, which was mainly born out of the frustration brought on by the club deciding to move the singing section from Level 7 of the ground. You can read that particular article by clicking here.
Well good news on that score as they have today confirmed that United For Newcastle have held talks with representatives of Newcastle United and have managed to get some answers from the club regarding certain questions that some fans wanted answering. The full minutes are as follows…
– The club has guaranteed us they will, at very least, “look into relocating the singing section in another part of the stadium”, likely Leazes but they’ll look at the entire situation.
– The increased away tickets are indeed due to having to comply with Premier League regulations, the minimum they can offer being 3,000. The reason the maximum away capacity is now 4,000 is simply for evening matches where it’s on TV, and they feel they won’t sell the stadium out, so they can offer more to away fans and hopefully make more money. In games like the Sunderland matches, they’ll definitely not be given to the away team.
– The Carroll money will be reinvested, and the club are looking for more Tiote type players. Quality players that they can get for reasonable prices. Just because they have a lot of money, does not mean they’ll splash out over the odds for someone. Everyone in the club is aware that they are light, and “strikers are a priority.” They’ve also pin-pointed several areas that need cover, and will attempt to acquire decent cover in the summer. They accept that they need better players in order to push for Europe.
– The club’s ambition is to steadily improve. They want success on the pitch, but won’t bankrupt to do it. The apparent stinginess is simply Ashley’s way of doing things. The club now breaks even every month, and isn’t taking loans out. They want to be in good shape for the UEFA rules on finances for when they do get back into Europe. Wherever they finish this year, next year they will aim to better it.
– Much of the club’s investment goes on behind the scenes. For instance, apparently they are going to (or have) under-soil heated the training ground for the winter.
– The club have offered Enrique a new deal, and will sit down with him to discuss. Whether he wants to sign or not is up to him. They have a wage structure, with a cap which they wouldn’t confirm the amount of. Enrique’s deal will be within that structure, but ‘fair’ for the structure that’s in place.
– The club confirm they are not a selling club, but as with any football club, every player has their price. The only other circumstance in which they’ll sell is if the player says they want to go. They don’t want anyone who doesn’t want to play for the shirt.
– The club have confirmed they want to hold on to the likes of Barton, Coloccini, Enrique and Tiote, but admit that it will be a “difficult summer”. The club suggested that it’s a testament to their progress that people actually want to sign their players now, unlike during the relegation season when half the team wouldn’t have been touched by another club.
– The club’s ambition is steady, sustainable progress that aims for Europe.
– The club insist that the 10-year season ticket is a good deal, with the option to opt out at any time. There is no catch. The club has updated their ticketing system so all customers can now pay with direct debit which wasn’t possible before due to staff limitations and technical limitations. Even if the club reaches the Champions League in five years, those prices will be the same under the deal.
– The club accept their communication has been, at times, insufficient, and we suggested they look to put more information on the official club site. The club said they gave lots of information to newspapers and media, but accepted that they could not control if it was published. We suggested that in order to rebuild trust with the fan base, they should go above and beyond the call of duty for a while, in order to rebuild that support through transparency and integrity. The club said there would still be “situations they would not comment on”, like Carroll leaving, since they have their stance and won’t get drawn into an argument on it.
– The club accepts that “mistakes have been made in the past, and says that mistakes are still likely to be made in the future”. But that is ‘human error’, and everyone in the club has one aim: success on the pitch, and that is the long-term goal.
– With regards to SportsDirect sponsorship, the club insist that money does go to the club from SportsDirect, and since Ashley does not own the company but is merely a majority shareholder, it is not simply a case of moving money from one pocket to another. The club does benefit.
– The advertising on the Gallowgate roof and the dug-out seats is to advertise the stadium’s potential for advertisers. When pressed for an example of when any of those packages have actually been sold to another company, they did not have one.
– The money that comes in from this advertising is all used to keep the club breaking even financially.
It was a productive meeting, with several points put across effectively from both sides. Unfortunately, the club would not confirm that they would take a strategy to communicate more effectively with any great enthusiasm however; they have promised to us that they will attempt to relocate the singing section rather than let it go. We hope that this meeting will help us form an effective relationship between us and Newcastle United, to ensure the voices of fans can be heard by the club on a regular basis.
United For Newcastle
To be honest, this is what the NUST should have tried to do. If they had adopted the less confrontational approach of United For Newcastle and had not started running around like a horny male dog with two… well you know, trying to mount any negative news about the club, then they might have gotten somewhere rather than being treat like the discredited organisation that they ultimately are.
It’s good that the club agreed to engage in dialogue, and there were some interesting points raised and covered to be fair.
What do you make of it?
New thread here 😉
toonsy(Quote)
Sounds all very promising and just nice to hear from the club for once!
dan4toon(Quote)
Toonsy-
Good read, man. Seems like UfN really have the right idea.
“Ya kill more flies with honey than ya do with ****.”
It’s good to have an official (or almost official) statement from the club confirming that they DO have ambition, the Carroll money will be reinvested in the summer, and most importantly that the club is breaking even. Good point too that the fact that many of our players are coveted by other clubs is a testament to our recent success. Indeed, during our relegation season, we could not have *given* some of our players away.
All in all, seems like this lot know how to get stuff done.
Oh, and yeah. If they don’t preserve *a* singing section *somewhere*, I will be very upset. Might have send some hate mail to the fat git.
Also, despite our success and the “onward and upward” attitude being currently fostered, I think it’s still entirely appropriate to refer to MA as “The Fat Git”. Even if we beat the special one’s Madrid team in the CL next season.
OHurley(Quote)
fair play, seems like some concerns were asked, and answered.
I Love Mike(Quote)
That is some very positive stuff comng from the club. I am really hopefuuly going forward , with or without any player currently in the squad. I feel for once there is a plan for players coming and going. We as fans might not always agree with it but i do trust the judgement of the board.
Johno Toon(Quote)
We’ve sure come a long way from the “Ashley oot” brigade
OHurley(Quote)
The club have confirmed they want to hold on to the likes of Barton, Coloccini, Enrique and Tiote, but admit that it will be a “difficult summer”. The club suggested that it’s a testament to their progress that people actually want to sign their players now, unlike during the relegation season when half the team wouldn’t have been touched by another club.
——————————————————————————
I laugh at this somehow. 😆
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
Anyway,just when i suppose to ask you all the idea of chaging the current onwer for the better of NUFC,this article somehow prevent me to ask. 👿
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
These guys seem a decent buch- amazing that NUST couldn’t grasp that protests and false accusations were unlikely ot result in communication or change.
This is in fact going to be a rough summer- clubs will be lining up for barton, collo, tiote and enrique.
MDS(Quote)
JT trust mate? dont think we are quite there yet m8 😐
icedog(Quote)
MDS-
That’s one more reason I hope we get them all signed on contracts. Then WE have the option. And if we sell, it will be for a LOT more money. Can’t fault the club for making tons of money for our class players. I mean, if we had 100mil or so to invest in other players, think of the depth we could build. Sure it would be building a team from the ground up, but let’s be honest. From a business perspective, it makes sense.
Still hope we hang on to everybody. I like these guys. They play hard, win often, and smite the mackems
OHurley(Quote)
Must be dinner time over there hehe. Y’all done gone and got quiet.
OHurley(Quote)
If all this is true I would be very happy. They have made mistakes and had poor communication but if they are willing to learn from the mistakes and improve thats all we can ask for.
I think its funny how they took that picture with the fan at Brum and he said Mike and Derrick were joking on and both ‘pissed as farts’. Can you imagine if you got on a plane and the pilot was drunk, or went for surgery and the surgeon was drunk. Shows what type of job they do doesn’t it. 🙂
DJG(Quote)
‘To be honest, this is what the NUST should have tried to do. If they had adopted the less confrontational approach of United For Newcastle and had not started running around like a horny male dog with two… well you know, trying to mount any negative news about the club’
😆
DJG(Quote)
O!HURLEY just finished me stottie,gammon/pinapple m8,wont be quiet when big dave comes on,always starts bother him like 😀
icedog(Quote)
Toonsy your right I said at the time NUST would have been far better to try to built a relationship with the club rather than attack it at every chance they got,
and instead of wasting there time trying to take over which was never going to happen they would have been better trying to get a supporters group that could represent the fans but then there was no money in that 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
Ice 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
DAVE whats this i heard from wor batty that you have a thing for the fat gits mrs,you dirty dog 😡
icedog(Quote)
Ice I would rather have something to eat mate 😉 1 mrs is enough for me 😆 .
So are you still up for a win against Bolton 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
DAVE of coarse 3 points m8,unless this ****,has caused a bit dressing room un-rest 😡
dave you see this kind of reminds me of jay jay,the ginger bit at the end like 😆
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arau05NlQFI
icedog(Quote)
Ice 😆 how da hell did you find that ❓ I meant to ask you if you still have that cop think you sent me I cant find the one you sent ❓
Big Dave(Quote)
DAVE kna m8 i got rid bit funny 😉 to keep on compter,had nowt to do with me wink wink,just showed me mates was told to get rid
icedog(Quote)
No probs me old bean 😉 where is he has he been about today or has he been working with MA 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
DAVE hes been aboot a lot today on 2blogs 😉 he won £320,then £1250 later on,so hes had a good day.
think he might put a few quid in the gits pot 😀
icedog(Quote)
Asamoah Gyan’s recent comments.
“Of course I’m a big fan of Manchester United and will like to play for them if the chance comes my way”
Well, at least it’s not just our players talking up moves, eh? 😆
~ El Toro ~(Quote)
Fuk that will keep him going for weeks with the sports direct 2nds that the Fat Man is flogging him cheap 😆
Talking of Jay earlier wonder how he is havn’t seen him on in ages.
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave – Jay just text me. He is fine 😉
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy thats good I was just about to send him a msg on face book
Big Dave(Quote)
Toonsy 😀 numbered comments 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
Indeed. Now I know I’ll have a play about tomorrow to get them in the right place 😉
toonsy(Quote)
I was hoping that this was the way the club was going. Good to hear.
JerseyGeordie(Quote)
I’m finally taking a holiday after summit like 2 years 😯 Hope I don’t get too pissed an need another holiday 😆
JerseyGeordie(Quote)
JG – Drinking is bad 😛
toonsy(Quote)
Reet, off to work. Catch you all in a bit 🙁
toonsy(Quote)
TOONSY steady away m8,least the knobs getting a rest 😀
icedog(Quote)
Toonsy any excuse to play with your knobs 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
Couple of things:
The fact they say, its going to be a difficult summer. To me that translates to:
– they expect players to go
Then, we are looking for more Tiotes:
Means they arn’t going to pay big fees for players – which is fine, considering what the likes of Ben Arfa, Tiote, and say Van Persie for Arsenal cost.
But one concern for me is the advertising in the stadium:
Sports Direct on the main stands, on the dugout seats etc… They planned to use as an example to get advertising from external sources for the past two years!!! Still it says Sports Direct???
When exactly do they plan on finding these sponsors, because IMO they don’t.
The rest seems quite possitive, apart from us facing the probability the board isn’t going to fight very hard to keep players.
JJ(Quote)
Big Dave/Dog/All Y’all
LoL, why’s it happen that every time I wanna get on here and bullsh!t with y’all I get busy with damned ole customers?! lol.
Toonsy- stop floggin’ the monkey and post a few more articles! jk
OHurley(Quote)
OHurley I just thought that you didn’t want a bit of banter with us
Big Dave(Quote)
To be honest you can’t knock any of that, sustainable growth is what we need and every player in the league has a price
We def need to invest in the squad but agree that signings like tiote, Enrique are the way forward
Nice to see Enrique come out and say English press have taken out of context but to be fair the only way we’ll keep our best performers is to show them we have ambition to aim for champions league in a few seasons – there is not that much difference between us and spurs in the first 11 when fit but they have another 5 players in the squad who are decent enough to play at that level whereas we have to rely on youngsters stepping up at the mo
4411(Quote)
We’ve got a pretty thin squad so good that we ain’t in FA cup tomoz – annoyingly I have no football to look forward to 🙁
4411(Quote)
To be fair I didnt like their statement – I hate people who write about themselves in the third party – as it usually suggests personality problems – but it seems like it hit the right note and was answered well – and received well (and not distorted) by UFN
Well done to all I say
Stardust(Quote)