Mike Ashley
Mike Ashley, The Geordie Abramovich with a cockney accent.
Ashley has put the club up for sale after fans demonstrated against "The Cockney Mafia."
In 2007 Ashley, full name Michael James Wallace Ashley, came in at number 25 in The Sunday Times Rich list, he was worth in the region of £1.9 billion, his wealth has been amassed in quite a short time and almost entirely comes from retail. Ashley only left school in 1980 and started off with nothing, everything he owns comes from hard work and good luck, what he owns is what he himself has earned. Other than that we know very little about him, very few people actually know a lot about him and what is known seems to remain private. We know he was married and later divorced, he has three children from his marriage, a marriage which is rumoured to have cost him £50 million in a divorce settlement. Chicken feed when put up against his current wealth but still a massive amount and probable proof that some things are worth more than money as he's ensured that his children and ex-wife are well supported.
Mike was known throughout the media as a recluse before the takeover, that has certainly changed. Mike has been seen at most games sitting in the director’s box at both home and away games wearing his Newcastle shirt. This was put to an end when we played away to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light; Mike wasn't allowed to do this so instead sat in with the away support, still wearing his Newcastle shirt. We have no idea if it's true but we understand that Mike not only sat and was photographed with the fans, he also travelled to the match on the supporters coaches. I guess those stories about the recluse can now be put to bed.
For some reason Mike has become more that just the club owner, he could have done that and carried on with his normal life. It would appear that this outsider has bought into the club both financially and emotionally, let's just hope that he can separate the two; we don't need another supporter making the same rash decisions which have been made in the past, some which have been to the detriment of the club. So far he does appear to have enough about him to understand that being the owner and being a fan carry totally different responsibilities.
There Are More Questions Than Answers.
We've added the ones people have sent to us here if you have any to add then just drop us an e-mail at questions@nufcmismanagement.info or use the link at the bottom of this page.
Jonny Nash once released an album which doesn’t sum up Newcastle United FC at this moment in time, the album was called “I Can See Clearly Now.” One of the tracks however sums us up perfectly.
“There Are More Questions Than Answers.”
The words of the song go like this:
There are more questions than answers
Pictures in my mind that will not show
There are more questions than answers
And the more I find out the less I know
Yeah, the more I find out the less I know.
The answers seem to arrive at a much slower rate than the questions.
Firstly, what does Mike Ashley expect to gain from the purchase of the club? He’s known as a private man so it’s not the free press which goes with owning and running Newcastle United. Shepherd was never out of the papers, Ashley doesn’t seem the type to go out of his way to steal as many newspaper columns inches as possible. Ashley has enough money to live the high life for centuries so he can’t really be looking to use the club as a personal “Cash Cow.”
Or could he? Businessmen who become as rich as Mike Ashley has in such a short space of time must be driven by something. Ashley doesn’t seem to be too egotistical but we have no idea if his ego is driving him, we also have no idea if he just hasn’t stopped to think of how rich he actually is.
The Mike Ashley fortune has been built up so quickly that he may just not realize how rich he really is although his living quarters seem to suggest that he does, his ability to ensure that his ex-wife is more than comfortable for the rest of her life while hardly denting his spending power maybe another indication of his knowledge of his wealth.
I guess that none of us are really too bothered if Ashley looks upon the club as a “Cash Cow” as long as he has plans which benefit the club. We’ve been told that he wants to see the club challenging at the top, that’s something that every supporter of the club wants to see happen.
Mike Ashley hasn’t really said a lot about his plans, we’ve heard quotes from un-named sources who are allegedly close to the man himself, anybody could make these claims and they are hardly worth the paper they have been printed on, they are at best hollow promises and will remain that way until we have direct quote from Ashley or a named source who is in a position to speak with authority.
Quotes like: "He will drive the club from behind the scenes. "He will not be the face of the club. He is a very private guy. "He will not be going in with any half measures. He is a winner. "That is what he has done in the past with all his business and his intentions for Newcastle United are no different. "He will not come in and let it wane or drift. He will come and push the club and take it to the highest level possible." They might as well be written on toilet paper for all the good they will do.
Why have you bought into our football club?
What are your plans for Newcastle United FC?
Where do you see the football club next year, in 5 years and 10 years time?
How long do you plan on staying around?
To a lot of people the club is more important than anything else, a win means a good week ahead, a loss means a bad week, how will you handle this responsibility? And, do you understand what the club means to the supporters?
Is the club seen by you as an investment vehicle or a rich Boys toy?
Do you have any plans for the ground and the other land which the club owns? We have heard that you plan to increase the capacity of St James’ Park, is this true?
Somebody buying something from your shops which doesn't meet the buyers expectations will soon be forgotten about, this isn't the case with a season ticket sale which costs in the region of £500. Do you feel any responsibility towards the paying public, the supporters?
Names are being mentioned as being linked with you and your plans for the club, we’ve heard David Dein and Arsene Wenger mentioned, are these names of people you can see coming to the club? Or, are the media making them up and just inventing “A source close to Ashley?”
We’ve been told “Mike Ashley is determined to establish Newcastle as a Premiership powerhouse, having drawn up ambitious plans to transform the club into the biggest and best in top-flight football.” How do you plan to do this? What ambitious plans have you drawn up?
Ashley is now in a position to almost do anything he wants with the club, we see this as the perfect opportunity for Mike Ashley to come clean with his plans for the club which we support, over to you Mike.
We don’t expect 24/7 news, we do think that the plans for the club should be known, especially with all of the good will which is being shown towards Mike Ashley by the fans.
