Cautious Lee.

Just for those who are yet to read the Lee Charnley interview, here it is below.

      1) Why is it taking so long to make a decision?

Some people won’t believe this but the approach for Alan from Crystal Palace came as a surprise to us. We didn’t expect it. People have asked us whether – because of the way the second part of last season went and the way we started this season – we had a contingency plan in the background. We didn’t. I didn’t have a number of candidates/options in the background, which some clubs do have when a Manager has a difficult period. There was no deal already in place for someone we could bring in. His leaving at this time was unexpected.

In safe hands?
In safe hands?

During the difficult periods our focus was on supporting Alan. I hope people are starting to realise now that when we feel we have the right person in that position, indeed any position, our focus is on supporting them in order that together we can ride through the rough periods that, inevitably, come.

Everything is not always going to be great or perfect but we think that as an organisation, one of our strengths is how we react and the support we give people when things aren’t going particularly well. The majority of which is private and behind the scenes which in my opinion is the way it should be.

People may well say that the position we now find ourselves in isn’t ideal and I accept that to a point, but as I have stated Alan’s departure came as a surprise. I must stress and repeat that we parted with Alan on very good terms.

I would re-iterate the quote I issued at the time of his departure in that we moved on significantly as a club during his four years, on and off the field, and Alan played a big part in that and I thank him.

2) Has there been interest in the job?

We’ve had about 80 applications of people interested in the role. That’s people within football.

Clearly a number of those can be easily discounted but what has been left is a good number of individuals who have different qualities, experience and strengths – some of those are willing and available to come now, others not until the summer.

The important thing to stress here is that there is a process I have been working through the same as I would if I were looking for any other senior member of staff. It’s not a case of someone getting the job because he’s a friend of a friend or he knows someone.

It is a proper structured process which I believe will in the end give us the best individual for the job.  When we put the statement out when Alan left we chose our words very carefully in terms of what we would be looking for as a replacement.

We are looking for a head coach – that will be his role – we’re moving away from the traditional manager, in terms of title and perception.3) Can you explain the role of head coach at Newcastle?

3) Can you explain the role of head coach at Newcastle?

Our overall strategy and structure won’t change – we’re looking for someone who will work within our parameters and will buy into and work with us in terms of what we do and how we operate.

The traditional English manager who would want full control is not what I’m looking for – they don’t fit within our structure or strategy.

This isn’t something new but it’s a refinement of the role Alan Pardew had. It’s a greater clarity for whoever gets the job, in terms of what they do, what their role is and what they can speak to the media about.

That way everyone – players, supporters, media – are clearer. He’s the head coach, not a traditional manager. He doesn’t have the final say on transfers and doesn’t get involved in every aspect of the business.

His job is to coach the players and implement and oversee a philosophy that goes through the first team, the reserves and down through the Academy to improve the players and to ensure we get the best out of them.

4) Will the head coach have some say on transfers?

The new head coach will have to set out to us what his playing style is, what his philosophy is and what he looks for in his team because that then impacts on what we look for in terms of recruitment. It all works together.

The head coach picks the team. We don’t interfere in that. If the relationship works in the right way and everyone is going in the same direction and believes in our strategy and policy then there is no point in us buying a player that the head coach doesn’t want because he doesn’t play him and we don’t get the best out of our investment.

When someone says: ‘Does he have any say on transfers?’ Yes. Does he have the final say? No he doesn’t. There’s a difference there.  We hope it’s a happy marriage.

We want someone who sees the bigger picture because my thinking will always be medium to long-term. When people talk about what we’re going to do in this transfer window, I am looking at the next transfer window and the window after and what impact it will have on that.

Are there better opportunities if we wait three or four months rather than committing now?  It’s trying to find that balance but also an individual in a head coach that trusts us. If we say ‘You aren’t going to get that now but you will in the summer’, it’s someone who is prepared to say ‘OK’ and trusts us to do that.

It’s also someone that for example, if we were to get an offer for a player that is at a value that we want to take, isn’t nervous about getting a replacement. There has to be a trust.  We want to make things better and improve things but sometimes our timelines might not meet.

His requirements might be short-term but our view on some occasions may well be we’d rather wait because we can get better options and better value. Between me and the head coach and Graham, it’s a relationship that will have to develop. He will have to trust and believe in what we do.

5) Is this another long term appointment?

We see this as a long-term decision.

We’ve got a number of options: clearly my preference is to try and find someone to bring in now. However, because it will be a long-term commitment, if I have to wait until the summer for what I believe is the right individual then I would rather wait than actually take someone now who I think isn’t the best fit.

I’m not going to take someone who is free and available now if we have a better option and options by waiting until the end of the season. I know that won’t be an entirely popular point of view but for me that is the most sensible thing to do. It is about the medium to long term and ensuring we get the ‘right one’.

6) How close are you to making a decision?

I hope that by the end of this week I will have a better indication of where we sit.  I’ll know the really, really credible individuals who would be of real interest to us and from there, whether a decision can be made now or whether that decision can wait until the summer.

There’s a wide range of options. There are some people who genuinely can’t move now, whether that be for personal reasons, contractual or a whole host of things – they can’t come now.  There are some that can, whether they are tied to other clubs but have a compensation element involved or are out-of-work.

What I have done so far is go through them, with Graham’s input, and really refine the candidates. I needed to make sure those individuals understand what the role is, understand what is expected of them here, understand the pressures that come with this role and understand what their philosophy is and the culture they would create and develop here.

7) Are you going to appoint a “yes” man to this position?

I’m confident at the end of this process the individual will be best suited for what we’re looking for and can work within the structure we have. I don’t think anything works and you’re never going to move forward if you have ‘yes’ people in key positions.

I know people label me as someone who says yes all the time, but believe me, if I said yes to everything suggested I wouldn’t last very long. It doesn’t work that way. They have to challenge me, I have to challenge Mike over things – that is how management works. That’s what I expect from all of my heads of department.

But do I want someone in who will continually try to change our strategy or put obstacles in our way? Clearly not. They will have to aligned with what we are doing.

8) What types of candidates are Newcastle looking at?

I know that the individual who comes in will be credible and best suited for this role. First and foremost, they have to be a good coach and with a track record of developing players and giving young players a chance is important.

For me, style of play is important. How they conduct themselves is also important as the head coach will play a key part in how the club is perceived through his conduct on and off the field.

9) What will happen in the January transfer window?

I saw the stuff Gary Lineker tweeted saying we’re hanging back from appointing a head coach so we don’t have to sign anyone which isn’t correct. Are we delaying to get through the January window? Absolutely not.

In all honesty, the January window is not one we ever envisaged being particularly active in. That’s partly because of the amount of business we did in the summer but also because January is a difficult market to operate in.

There are very few options whereby a club can achieve the quality required and also get value. There is often a reason as to why a player might be available in January.

We were forced to bring players in a couple of years ago in January because of where we were in the league and some of those transactions we brought forward from the following summer at significant cost.

As a general principle, January’s not an attractive window.  Another important thing to note and something often not mentioned is Premier League teams are only allowed to name 25 players – we’re currently at 25.

10) Will Newcastle sell any players?

I would never, ever rule out selling anyone because the worst thing I could do is over-promise and under-deliver. You will never, ever get me saying never but I would say we’re very difficult sellers.

We make it very difficult for people to get our players. We put them on long-term contracts. We are not easy sellers, despite that perception.  As we sit here today I can’t envisage any player we want to retain leaving.

11) Are you looking at new ways that Newcastle can communicate?

I think we do communicate but we need to find a better way to communicate.

Our view was that Alan was the one who was front and centre and will take all of the questions on all areas of the club. Alan was then left, sometimes, in a difficult position answering questions that he probably wasn’t best suited to answer.

This is an opportunity for us with a new head coach coming in – there’s more clarity about his role and what he does. His role is coaching and that’s what he can talk about.  If that’s the case it’s only right that I then support him in terms of the messaging going out.

If I’m saying ‘Only talk about team selection and the games’ there needs to be another voice. I think the information has been out there, through the fan’s forum and through the statements, but it’s how we get it out there that needs to improve.

12) Will you be taking a more prominent role personally?

I’m not someone who courts the media or has relationships with journalists giving them on or off-the-record information about players or any other elements of club business. I want to go about our or my business quietly and professionally. That’s where I want to be.

I do however accept we need to look at how we communicate and I think if we do that it will certainly help on lots of different levels.

Contrary to popular belief we don’t disregard people’s views – however our intention and focus and what we always aim to do is make decisions that we feel are in the best interests for the football club. They won’t always be popular and won’t always be liked but we make them for what we believe are the right reasons.

13) Has the role of Chief Scout Graham Carr changed?

On the football side we look at it as a triangle. That’s me, the head coach and Graham.

Graham’s role won’t change. In terms of this process he will be heavily involved and will support me with his knowledge, his feedback and his contacts to get some background information on the people we’re speaking to.

This will support other research and feedback we have sought and will seek on our preferred candidates. It’s a joined-up process we’re in. Clearly he will continue to be an important part of what we do in order to move forward on the field and his relationship with the head coach is something that needs to be strong.

14) Is Mike Ashley going to sell Newcastle and buy Rangers FC?

There is nothing to say on this other than to repeat what we said in the statement in September – I’d refer everyone to that.

 

To be honest it is nice to actually hear something from the man himself but it doesn’t really tell us much more than we already know. To me there is not enough communication from the club and it results in hearsay and wild speculation becoming truths. Also many fans have already made their minds up about the regime so no matter what is said publicly, it will be met with derision. It may well be a lose, lose situation regarding the clubs communication with fans. Say nothing and get slated for it, speak often and get slated for it. The club has created this current situation and how they go about building trust and friendly open lines of communication are any ones guess.

What are your thoughts?

654 thoughts on “Cautious Lee.

  1. Brett

    The grey thatch is always on display on Facebook. I have nothing to hide. I would love you to Facebook me to see your craggy face, skinny physique and pigeon toed feet.

    Would you? Would you hell cos you know there’s some truth in it.

    I know you don’t currently live in Westerhope.

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  2. 🙄 you’d be surprised. David Beckham wears my aftershave 😉

    🙄 I live in westerhope, always have and sadly, always will

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  3. Eh? I’ve never denied living in gatesheed. Proud to be from the place. I was born in the tanning booth on the west road like. I’m not so proud o that

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  4. haha youre not even from here?? you question me and others saying we’re not from Tyneside and you live in Gateshead 😳 😳

    I’d leave now mate its too embarrassing 😛

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  5. My guess is you are from Washington. I’m not a psychic but grandma Baba Vanga left me her crystal ball.

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  6. there u go Ive sent you a friend request. 😛 like I said, nowt to see, I hate facebook other than for business

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  7. Facebook – now that’s something I’ve not got into. Is there a Newcastle United Facebook site, page, tweet, whatever you call them? Has it got a sponsor? Do Facebook pages get sponsors? If not, maybe we could get Bill Gates (or Stuart) to sponsor it – more money to line that nice Mr Ashley’s pocket.

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  8. Oh dear. The raging bull is on the scene. He’s been fizzin lately. Brett, Big Dave & Stu have had his life.

    So wounded dog, do you feel that you made a humongous mistake not realising Ashley was a hopeless feckless owner of the club years ago, when I created and built the Reality Train?

    You e spent 5 years in the cattle cart. If only you had listened to Troy, Dave, Batty and Stuart.

    Oh dear. YCMIU. FTSOTB.

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  9. Vegas… dont get Big Dave started on the free facebook advertising!
    Coz he will huff and puff and whinge and complain and……do nothing about it! 😆

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  10. You can’t put up a decent argument to combat Stuarts point of view (and mine)

    Dis him when he’s off air. You sharp lose your temper and disappear when he eloquently puts his point across.

    It’s great blog entertainment. I normally get the lads around and get the blog on the big screen. Fee tinnies and a curry. What a neet we have laughing at Stuart and Dave howking yous.

    Bootifool.

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  11. Can see holes in that story Troy.. as soon as you mentioned mates, I knew you were bullshitting 😛

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  12. Aussie

    Big Dave & Stuart kept putting valid points across about the advertising and you failed to answer adequately.

    Why?

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  13. Troy, what do you want me to say that hasn’t been said over and over again…
    If you owned a stadium would You charge yourself to advertise a business you owned at the ground?

    Be honest and don’t let your anti Ashley agenda cloud your answer. ..saying that I fear it will 😕

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  14. Aussie

    Same answer as BD & Stuart.

    We are NUFC not SD. We need to build revenue. The commercial revenue is less now than when he took over in 2007.

    You are coming from a totally different angle which I see but don’t agree with. Tell me if I’m wrong. You believe because it’s his club he can do what he wants and the fact he’s paid off the debts (hugely increased by £40m by his incompetency following relegation) with an interest free loan he’s saving us money.

    Dave quite rightly points out that a conservative price of £10m per year is reasonable for the advertising SD receive but they get that free of charge.

    Put this into perspective. You could ask any UK football fan, who they thought sponsored premier league clubs.
    I would suggest the easiest one to answer would be SD for NUFC. True?

    I could hardly name more than 4 other clubs sponsors. Ashley has it blazened everywhere in the ground for the TV cameras.

    What are you missing about this? I seriously don’t get your point about it. Dave pointed out that’s £50m in 5 yrs.

    So when the club announce it’s an interest free loan, you are actually condoning their despicable lies.

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  15. God…didn’t even bother reading that after the first sentence. ..once again a simple yes or no answer is a bit much to ask for!

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  16. Holy **** this thread got interesting: British isle infighting, real Geordie vs. fake Geordie arguments, and Day 17 of the SJP advertising argument. Glad as **** my ancestors boarded the boat and headed west

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  17. As I predicted. Aussie fails to answer again. No wonder Big Dave gets frustrated with him.

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  18. MDS

    Why don’t you change your name to Yank Mag?

    Far more imaginative. The older generation might get it but it will go over the heads of the younguns.

    Do they still publish them?

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  19. @Aussie. it was very racist. I’d ask BDave to look into what he started 😳 quite embarrassing that we were associated with the Chron a few months back.. oh dear

    It was very civil on here for 5days until Troy got booted off blog.com 🙄 😆

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  20. Its a lovely day here on Tyneside… 😎

    whats it like over the water Troy in Durham? 😛

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  21. @Troy.

    Leave MDS alone… His name is just fine.

    I bet Bdave knows a few gun-toting, obese pizza eating Americans that don’t know the difference between Alaska and America. He’ll be telling us theryre all full of arrogance and boastfulness coz he saw Jerry Springer once 🙄

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  22. How bout you answer my simple yes or no answer Troy… without going off on a tangent!
    If you owned a stadium, would you charge yourself to advertise at the ground? Yes or no!

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  23. BDave & Troy

    DO you believe the story Ronald DB is peddling that we have asked his Bro to manage us in th Summer?

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  24. smoke screen mark.they might want to talk too fdb but it will go no further than that,fdb wiil want top wages to come here and ashley dosnt do top wages.

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  25. Troy @ 402: “You could ask any UK football fan, who they thought sponsored premier league clubs.I would suggest the easiest one to answer would be SD for NUFC. True?”

    Nope.

    I’d say people would know ManU, ManC, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool sponsors before Newcastle.

    Actually, of the people I know (ex-pats some of them, but just about all of them PL watchers) had no idea who Ashley was, never mind Sports Direct, until I told them.

    I know it’s hard to believe but Newcastle United is not the centre of the world. It just seems that way because you focus your attention on it

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  26. As for the old why would you charge yourself to advertise nugget ?
    1 why should the other SD shareholders make money and benefit from our club that has nowt to do with them.
    2 how can you say he is giving us an interest free loan when he is really giving himself a loan to cover up his mistakes for not doing DD then getting us relegated.

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  27. First answer was the truth before you put up the blinkers! Appreciate your honesty Troy!

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  28. Fuk me as a so called football fan you spend a lot of time worrying about SD shareholder dividends! 😆

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  29. Aussie

    I know you use the interest free loan as a reason to praise Ashley. Do you accept by providing free advertising for SD, it really isn’t an interest free loan?
    Yes or No?

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  30. Dear oh dear!

    Why is it only Ashley doesn’t charge his company to sponsor his club? Etihad is plastered all over City’s ground and they lay a handsome fee for that and Qatari Royal family’s businesses are plastered all over PSG ground and they pay a hell of a sum for that too. QPR have AirAsia all over the place and he pays a lot for that too! Should I go on? So it’s Ashley who is doing sonething highly unusual in football ownership. He’s weakening the club he owns for the benefit of his business. In other words he’s not bothered about the club.

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  31. Brett

    I’ve knee high dear aboot FDB. I have no idea who they are talking to. I’m confident we won’t get a quality coach. More of the same.

    I really find it astonishing that you are surprised this debacle wouldn’t happen if Pards left. What were you expecting? A queue of top managers walking over hot coals to manage us?

    How stupid does that quote look now?

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  32. If like you say we are NUFC and he is SD and he has paid the debt from SD money then he has every right to demand interest on the money he loaned. So in lieu of that he shouldn’t be chastised for free advertising. .
    That is based on your comments about their being two separate business entities. ..like you said! 😉

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  33. Pardew was the perfect foil for Ashley, a yes man who did the bidding, until he had built up enough credit points for a big club like Crystal Palace to come in an poach him from the wee club in the north…
    Charnley showed his management skills by having absolutely no inkling of Pardew’s impending departure, and being taken by surprise. Talk about a bloke NOT having his finger on the pulse. One of your most trusted and important employees and he flocks off and leaves you in the dirt. Now Mr Charnley, how did all that happen, I thought Pardew was locked into our master plan and buying into it all ? After all we did support him through thick and thin, especially the heed-but incident ?
    Mr Ashley, don’t worry, we won’t make that mistake again. I’m sifting through the applications as we speak, and we’ll get in exactly the right man who buys into our way of thinking. These managers are two a penny anyway, we’ve had 80 applications, we’ll get someone from that little lot who will toe the company line….for a couple of seasons at least…
    Newcastle United is a huge club at the end of the day…

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  34. Aussie why should he charge himself interest on a loan when the loan was only needed because of his **** ups ie not doing DD and getting relegated.
    So do you think he should reward himself for them **** ups ?
    That is a simple question that you might want to answer 😉

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  35. So Franks bro has said we have approached his bro about the job, now why would he lie about that? Not saying we’ll get him like but he has no reason to say that, it may be we have sounded him out but he’s said not now or no, who knows . If true though it shows a bit of ambition in regards to a future coach. Let’s wait and see who we get, I’m not holding my breath for someone great but I’m not gonna fret over it either, in the end Jabba will pay for any poor decisions with relegation again.

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  36. Ashley is the chief bottle washer, and signs the cheques at the end of the day. He can do what he likes, and as we all know, he does anyway.

    He doesn’t speak to the toon fans, he doesn’t speak to the media, he doesn’t speak to the financial institutions, he doesn’t even speak to Troy’s grandma Baba Vanga. Ashley worships at the temple of the great spondoolick, end of story.

    He is entitled to plaster “his” ground with SD paraphenalia as much as he likes, cos at the end of the day that is all the toon do, market SD for him worldwide.
    Having said all that it is still baffling that we don’t see or hear more from other major sponsors at NUFC ? FFS at FC Bayern they have car sponsors, bus sponsors..they have sponsors up the ying yang !! What are wor lot up to ? I’m sure that if there was more money to be made, then Ashley would be in on it ? Perhaps the bigger institutions really are sparring wide of NUFC ? Or maybe Ashley sees this as competition for his SD empire ? Or maybe he has just so much money anyway it isn’t worth the effort ?

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  37. Kim @ 430 as I am one of the culprits I apologise if it pisses you or anyone else off, but TBH I would much prefer to talk about what players we are going to bring in this window, or which quality manager we are getting to replace Pards, but I just cant see it happening so not much point .

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  38. Its SD money …what are you failing to grasp… if he did charge interest then you would be calling him out for that… you see, it doesn’t matter what he does..you will hate him for it… that’s why I don’t respect your views on it..you are so full of hate you can’t see past it…

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  39. Dave, no worries it’s a blog and all free to say what we want to mate. I only mention it as it’s very sad that in a transfer window when we are actively 😆 , looking for a coach we are reduced to talking about the clubs finances 🙄

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  40. Aussie – If he has paid the debt with SD money as you say and that entitles him to free advertising, why isn’t the debt going down? Surely the debt repayment would be in lieu of the free advertising?

    The bottom line is he is like no other owner in history of football. He doesn’t want success, he just wants PL football so his other businesses flourish.

    You still didn’t answer my Question two days ago; which other owners in the world work like Ashley where their football club’s ambitions are zero and their only interest is their other business?

    I have a question for everyone; Why should we continue to support NUFC? What’s in it for the supporters? What’s the point now?

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  41. There is no way that De Boer will come to the toon.
    Our strategy with the players is to sign them cheap, bring them to the SD shop window for a couple of seasons then sell them on for a profit.
    We can’t use the same strategy to bring in a Head Coach, although bizarrely enough it did work with Pardew. De Boer has much higher ambition than that…
    Our new head coach needs to be a good communicator, yes, oui, ja, si , wheyaye…. if he can get those right then he’s the man…
    Step up Johnny Carver…

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  42. To be honest Stuart. .I don’t know every owner in the world, so I can’t answer that ridiculous question. . The Venkies come to mind..however I wish I did have intimate knowledge of every owner in the world like you! 😉

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  43. We all know Jabba worships the great money god and SD are and have done really well out of it’s links with us, both on the advertising front and by taking over club merchandising sales. We also know they don’t take cups seriously and don’t want EL place. That said what can we do about it?, seemingly nothing, since too many fans are split on opinions, he has divided and conquered, job done. 🙁

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  44. MM, fdb, may not come but the fact is his bro said we’d approached him, so you would have to admit that we have at least looked beyond JFK and Paul Jewell 😉

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  45. In the end if Jabba and co were so made up with Percy why let him leave mid season, they didn’t have to let him go .

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  46. Stuart79@440, the reason why I support NUFC is because I am a geordie born 1 mile from Scotswood Road, and I’m afraid following the toon is in my genes.
    When I see the black and white stripes my heart races and I swell with pride.

    If I lived back on the Tyne I know 100% I wouldn’t go to the games, and give Ashley my money. If he or the club changed it’s ways, or the club started to follow another trajectory then I may be tempted to change my mind. Until then I’ll follow the games on the internet.

    I can imagine it’s difficult for you seeing your club being decimated.

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  47. The largest proportion of revenue comes from TV… so really everyone needs to stop watching the games all together to have a real impact!
    Who is with me! ………. thought as much! 😉

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  48. Aussie @ 437 if that was in answer to me you completly lost me but never worry about it, as for having no respect for me that doesn’t bother me at all & would maybe explain whhy you would accuse me of twisting your words but wouldn’t have the decency to tell me what and how I twisted what you said.

    Kim @ 439 yeah it is sad but for me it’s even sadder that some supporters seem to be happy enough with how things are at the club, I want my club to be ambitous and try to win things but cant see it happening under Jabba

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