On Monday we head to a ground where we haven’t won since 1994 expecting nothing more
than another pasting, the travelling fans will be more hopeful for a shot on target to cheer; a goal from this set of no hopers is too optimistic. £52 for any football match is taking the piss nevermind one with the restricted view you get at Anfield, so big thanks to the Spirit of Shankly group for voicing their disapproval of this daylight robbery committed by their own club.
In terms of starting places it’s difficult to pick any players actually worthy of a starting
place after Sunday, with half of our players on the field that day not good enough for the 
Premier League football full stop; and the other half the sort of players who decide whether they’re going to turn up when they get out of bed in the morning. Given the scandalous way in which our squad is trimmed each and every transfer window a lot of these players are in the line-up on default. Regardless of anything else this Gouffran in central midfield patter has to stop, there were many reasons for how last Sunday was a disaster but the main one in my eyes was that not one of our midfielders was able to take the ball down and begin to string a few passes together so we could grow into the game. Sammy also needs to be dropped out of sheer principle, even if there is nobody else; play a plank of wood and it can be of more use.
Liverpool themselves are cluttered with injuries and suspensions but must surely feel as 
though they’re strong enough to win this one comfortably, we miss the chance to see Gerrard make his final appearance against us which is a blessing given the way he has tortured us at times over the years. I worry about what the likes of Coutinho and Sterling are going to do to our backline, expect a sending off from one of our lads here. Daniel Sturridge will probably also be licking his lips at the chance to get back in goalscoring form here
As I’m sure you’re all aware there has been a campaign set up with considerable support to boycott the next home game against Spurs, I’ll be in Leazes Park with the rest of the disillusioned.
I can’t remember the last time I actually looked forward to a Newcastle United match and 
the 90 minutes and journey home from Sunderland last week was my lowest point following the club, half of our support were vocal in their disgust and the other half (myself included) stood absolutely shellshocked at how we were outfought and outthought. If like me you see the match as a social occasion, the only chance you get to see particular friends, and that the game itself these days inconveniences all of that, join us. If you’re repulsed by seeing a football team representing a city with some of the highest unemployment in the country with a legal loan shark emblazoned on their shirts, join us. Somewhere along the lines we lost the link between community and football club, at around about the same time as supporters we lost our collective thunder; this is the only power we have. We know that we can’t hit Ashley in his pocket, only relegation could do that. But if this is successful it will gain worldwide attention and make a mockery of the Premier League ‘brand’, which is leading us down a blind alley where English football will be cluttered full of Mike Ashley’s owning uncompetitive football clubs scraping by on the bare minimum whilst making record breaking profits from record breaking TV deals. Nobody is seriously suggesting that this will run Mike Ashley out of our city, and I understand that not every supporter has an activist streak; but this represents a great opportunity to regain some pride in ourselves as supporters. Let’s not let it slip.
RYAN BELL
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Good question, I guess, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether it’s paid back straight away as part of a purchase or over time once a buyer has bought the club as ultimateky they’d be buying all of the assets and liabilities of NUFC, I guess they’d prefer to gradually repay as it’s easier for cash flow purposes
I have a feeling that the mortgage payment that MA had to immediately cough up for came as a sting and maybe he feels someone else should have to immediately pau up a loan when he sells, but that’s just a guess mind
If I was Ashley I would slap myself around the face for buying without checking the hidden extras, sell up and move on. However, the TV money is very appealing and I would snaffle that away until my outlay was secure.
I suppose the thing is, he bought a business that made heavy losses and earned income of approx £80m and he now owns it making profits and with revenue of £130m…… Plus he’s proved you can use this business to get your products to reach global audiances via the oversea premier league tv deals
I expect he’d be wanting to sell for more than he paid
Oh, some of my words disappeared. I went on to say I still wish he would do one and let me get back to buying NUFC goodies before I’m too old to care.
He would know what charges were held against the club when he bought it. The most basic enquiry would highlight that.
Are you suggesting that he wouldn’t have had a strong enough covenant to renew the mortgage with Barclays?
He chose to repay the mortgage rather than renew it and it’s the club and it’s supporters who are paying the price.
The post further up won’t let me reply so I’ll use this one for both if that’s ok
1. What I said was “it’s costing nothing in terms of interest” meaning there is no direct charge going through our P&L in relation to interest.
He and the club are the ones who have decided the interest/free advertising trade off, it wasn’t my suggestion or idea to do that. Given the club’s poor position of being in negative equity Id suggest a commercial bank would have concerns about loaning NUFC amounts of money such as £120m. Therefore Id expect this risk to be reflected with a higher interest rate or unpopular securities to be needed?
Personally, if we must have a loan then id rather it was without interest, but that’s just my preference, someone else could argue interest paid reduces a tax liability, so it’s a good thing, each to their own
It says in the accounts that it had to be repaid within 60 days on change of ownership, that’s not my suggestion, it’s just what it says in the accounts, doesn’t say anything like he just “chose” to pay it
Hope it works. Sadly a lot of people will say there’s no point and turn up to a ground which is more like a trip to the theatre on match. The days of passionate football fans has gone to be replaced by people who view it as a nice day out. There is no way fans of man u or Liverpool would have stood for this nonsense for so long so let’s hope people show some pride and respect for themselves and the club’s history and boycott the game. For those who smugly say there’s no point remember what happened after protests in the 80s which helped mckeags removal and began the setup which led to the keegan era.
Bang on Tom, They are just a bunch of “Day Trippers” who see people organizing protests etc as rabble rousers who are ruining their day out !
The difference being in 1991 John Hall was prepared to pay £3m to McKeag to purchase 80% of NUFC and then mop up the remaining shares…… Hall/Dix and his group did a good job in piggybacking on the bad feeling between fans and board and played the takeover well…… Right now, there is nobody in the shadows looking for our support to help them pay North of £300m for NUFC.
If ever there was someone (or a consortium) looking to purchase NUFC now is the time to go public and give people something to believe me because you can bet your last penny, no amount of singing “get out of our club” etc will make Ashley, still at least £280m deep in his investment/loans just get up and walk away.
Whilst a boycott is a nice/neat little physical showing of supporter disgruntlement to a tv audience, it’s really not enough to remove the current owner.
Fair play to anybody who’s reached the point where actually doing something that goes against what we’ve been brought up believing, that going to the match and supporting Newcastle is your duty, and is prepared to go somewhere else whilst the team are playing.
It’s not for me though, and personally I won’t be doing that, but good luck to all who do
My militant tendencies have risen to the fore and I will be in Leazes Park (but I won’t be slagging off those who do attend the match). I accept the club accounts can be as open or shut, as the owner wishes, but Ashley doesn’t appear to have taken back any of his initial personal loan to the club. A handy ‘sod off’ to any prospective buyers?
If we take what the club say at face value (IE in their fans forum minutes) then the loan is being used to justify free advertising for sports direct & other companies under the mash umbrella.
Personally I don’t really have a problem with the loan being outstanding, It’s no big deal as it’s not costing anything in terms of interest
But if someone says, please can I buy NUFC, will Ashley deduct his free advertising from the purchase price or add his personal loan to the going rate for the club?
Hang on Chris. How’s it costing nothing if Sports Direct and associated brands are enjoying free advertising?
The facts are that our commercial revenue has bombed under Ashley and even after the latest reported increase in commercial revenue, it’s still less than it was in the final year of the Hall & Shepherd era,
The stadium and perimeter advertising enjoyed by Sports Direct has to equate to £10m plus per season. Given that interest rates have been held at virtually zero for six years, a £10m+ per annum cost on a loan of £120m or thereabouts makes it very expensive. Personally, I’d prefer an interest bearing loan from a commercial bank on terms which are transparent and with a definite end date.
I was brought believing that you shouldn’t tolerate somebody holding you in utter contempt.
I was brought up believing that you shouldn’t tolerate somebody lying through their teeth to you.
I was brought up believing that you shouldn’t tolerate somebody taking the piss not only out of my football club but the heritage of the city it belongs to.
I was brought up believing that loan sharks were bad people not those to advertise.
I was brought up believing that it was immoral to blatantly ride roughshod of peoples hopes and dreams.
And I was most certainly brought up believing that I wouldn’t be prepared to pay somebody for the privilege of treating me like a cunt.
Enjoy the Tottenham game Chris.
Thanks Alan, enjoy whatever it is you do
This is gathering momentum. We must have confidence in this and stick together.
Already boycotting? Get over to Leazes Park. Numbers matter!
Spread the word.
I’ll be in the park as well.
And lads, listen, even if there’s a few thousand of us, it matters!. It is only one game and while we are not coherent enough as fans like AC Milan for example are, so we won;t have a completely empty stadium, we have an opportunity to make St James’ park look like it has never done before in the premier league, with huge gaps in it.
That sight will be a shock to the premier league system and Sky TV and Mike Ashley. That will represent a club truly in crisis. Its only one game, go to the pub with the lads before as usual and instead, just this once, go to the park not the ground. It’ll be a better crack than the match as well.
Its one match lads, howdy lets fucking do it. Get some pride back.
#Boycottspurs
Couldn’t agree more. I won’t be in the ground, the seat next to me is shared between 3 members of the same family and 2 will be in the park with me and the other is away. Such a great opportunity to demonstrate how we feel.
I support a boycott fully but i think it will go down in flames like last season’s walkout in all honesty.
I can see a crowd of about two thousand fans standing in the rain getting soaked whilst tier upon tier of “Wongaloids” fill the stadium.
We will be made to look like daft cnuts as usual and Ashley will claim another victory against us with the media putting the boot into us !
Once upon a time ……. I would do every chore/job possible to make sure I was completely free to sit and watch/listen to every away game, sharing every move, good or bad, with friends on Twitter and elsewhere. Hanging on until the last seconds for that equaliser/decider, ready to punch the air and make far too much noise. My kids used to hate it and the cats/dog would eye me with disdain/bewilderment. It’s the complete opposite now … the kids (when home) are relaxed and the dog is calm and the hoovering etc is done during the game, a welcome relief and escape. I hate it though and want my good times back. Can’t stand the fear and lack of expectations.
Never want us to lose but a bit of a drubbing on Monday (which is likely) might help sway a few unsure about the boycott
I will be in the park, as will my son.
I know what your getting at Steve, but relegation is never a blessing.
We got back up last time at the first attempt, although playing well, we were lucky, the squad was short on talent and numbers then, but we managed to side-step injuries throughout the campaign, as someone got injured, someone came back. And we had good characters in the dressing room, who told the truth to other players, I would be surprised if we have more than one like that now.
Keep together people.
The end of the season can’t come fast enough. I am beginning to believe that even relegation would be a blessing given the shite have to continue to endure these days.
Not bothered about the match re Spurs but I am really looking forward to the protest.Hope all those that have boycotted come back for this, in addition to all others who wish to make their voice heard.This one is for all the true Newcastle heroes of the past-and hopefully for the future!