Jimbo

Aye, Owen just missed a sitter.

Don't think the stock market will be open on a bank holiday. Good point.

And at least Ashley's cash was fleeced fair and square from the nation's Charva fraternity.

Lets hope there is more trading on monday.

I think Boss Hogg would have been more accurate.

source? http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/p...XSEQ10657279NCU

The pity is, he'll do whats in the best interests of Freddy Shepherd.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...ted/6693039.stm Newcastle's board has requested a meeting next week with the club's potential new owner Mike Ashley. United's board want to discuss in more detail Ashley's offer and plans for the club following his acquisition of Sir John Hall's 41.6% stake. On Wednesday, Hall told BBC Radio Newcastle: "We've had quite a few people come to us, but many of them weren't right. "I feel Ashley and his team are right. He'll take us to a new dimension." Hall added: "I'm certain he'll be good for the club or I wouldn't have sold to him." Ashley purchased the Hall family's stake for £55m with the ultimate aim of clinching a complete £133.1m buy-out of chairman Freddy Shepherd and the remaining shareholders. Shepherd, who has a 29.8% stake in the club, is thought to be shocked by recent events, but Hall has backed Ashley - who made his fortune through sportswear firm Sports World. "He knows the passion of the fans, he knows how much it means on Tyneside," Hall said. "I've talked to him enough to be assured they've got the passion for the club as we all have. "You can't run a club without being attached to it. You can't run a club without feeling for it because it is about people, it's about the passion of the people. "He knows the supporters are passionate." Shepherd and the Newcastle board are due to meet shortly to consider Ashley's offer of 100p per share. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Ashley needs a 50% share to take control of the club, including who sits on the board That means Shepherd could lose control of the club even if he does not sell his 29% stake Ashley needs Shepherd's shares in order to reach the 75% required to delist the club from the Stock Exchange If Ashley manages to buy more than 50% of shares, he will have day-to-day control of the club and if he gets to 75%, he will be able to delist the club from the Stock Exchange. Hall will remain involved at St James' Park as life president but admitted the time was right for him to step aside. He said: "I think I've done the best thing but one can never tell. I'm 74 now and for some time I've felt the family need to take a new direction. "It's been known we've wanted to sell our shares and move on to other things. "We probably ran out of ideas a bit. You've got to make changes every now and again. "There's no room for old men. I've got a lot of experience but it's a young man's game."

Superb !!!

To be fair I think Jacques Santini did the "turning", Le Guen and Houllier did a good job of keeping the ball rolling.

Ashley's efforts to gain complete control of the club may be held up by current chairman Freddy Shepherd's incapacity as he recovers from a fractured rib. Shepherd was out of circulation when news of St James' Holdings Limited's £133.1million takeover bid broke on Wednesday and, although a board meeting has been called, it is as yet unclear when that will take place. The board of Newcastle plc will issue a recommendation to shareholders after discussing the offer, which amounts to around £77.8million for the remaining shares. While City analysts do not believe Ashley will have any difficulty in reaching the 50%-plus mark which was the condition of his 100p-a-share offer, Shepherd's decision - he holds a stake of around 29.8% - will be key to his hopes of acquiring the 75% he would need to make full control almost inevitable. Ashley's investment has prompted hopes on the part of the fans that he could be prepared to pour more of his estimated £1.9billion fortune into strengthening on the pitch. Manager Sam Allardyce, who was himself taken by surprise by this week's developments as he was on holiday, is already planning his summer spending, but may yet have a bigger-than-expected budget with which to play. Accordingly, the rumour mill has thrown up a series of new names as potential targets with the latest being Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and Liverpool winger Bolo Zenden. Gudjohnsen, 28, spent a season working with Allardyce at Bolton before his £4million move to Chelsea in July 2000. There is talk of the Iceland international returning to England after one season in Spain, and sources close to the Magpies boss have not played down his interest in a player who has also been linked with derby rivals Sunderland. Zenden, 30, has been told he can leave Liverpool after two years despite starting Wednesday night's Champions League final in Athens. The Dutch international was a target for former Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson during the summer of 2001, but opted instead to join Chelsea in a £7.5million move, and Robson then turned to Frenchman Laurent Robert.

Pan's Labyrinth Really enjoyed it.

Is that you Brock ?

Had you never heard of that before ?

Former chairman Hall this week finally cut his financial ties with the Magpies in a deal that had netted his family £55million. Ashley, the owner of Sports Direct International with an estimated worth of £1.9billion, is pushing ahead with his plans to gain a controlling interest, with the ultimate aim of clinching a complete £133.1million buyout of chairman Freddy Shepherd and the remaining shareholders. Hall, who revealed he had rebuffed a number of rival bids, insists he would not have sold his stake had he not believed Ashley to be the right man to take the club forward. "We've a had a few people come to us - quite a few - but many of them weren't the right ones for the club," Hall told BBC Radio Newcastle. "I feel basically Mike Ashley and his team - they're the right ones. "He'll take us to, in my view, a new dimension. "I'm certain he'll be good for the club or I wouldn't have sold to him." Ashley is regarded as a somewhat reclusive figure but Hall is certain he has the passion for football to win over the Newcastle supporters. "Even if he is quiet, he knows the passion of the fans, he knows how much it means on Tyneside," Hall said. "I've talked to him enough to be assured they've got the passion for the club as we all have. "You can't run a club without being attached to it. You can't run a club without feeling for it because it is about people, it's about the passion of the people. "He knows the supporters are passionate." Hall revealed takeover talks had been ongoing for some months, adding: "He's very much like me in a way. "He's a self-made man, a very, very hard worker, a nice chap. He knows sport. "He's 42 now and look what he's done. He's got this global business and global interest in sport." As for Ashley acquiring the remainder of the shares, Hall said: "They've got to go for the rest of the shares. If they get them, I'm sure they'll invest. "He wants to buy the club. "He's made a takeover bid for the rest of the shares and it's now up to the rest of the directors to decide what to do. "Someone like him will probably like control to make the investment." Hall will remain involved at St James' Park as life president but admitted the time was right for him to step aside. He said: "I think I've done the best thing but one can never tell. I'm 74 now and for some time I've felt the family need to take a new direction. "It's been known we've wanted to sell our shares and move on to other things. "We probably ran out of ideas a bit. You've got to make changes every now and again. "There's no room for old men. I've got a lot of experience but it's a young man's game."

Just watched the double episode season finale, I'm more confused than I was before !

Shepherd's "impossible" quote was refering to if him and the Hall's didn't sell, now the Hall's have sold makes his comment impotent.

Aye agreed. The offer letters are due out the back end of next week apparently, but he'll only need a couple of the financial institutions to sell up so surely it'll go through quicker than that. I just hope Shepherd sees sense, realises he's a beaten man, and gets out sharpish. This could all be done and dusted in a few weeks if he does. If the price is right he'll go

Ashley deal will end Shepherd's Newcastle reign By Nick Harris Published: 25 May 2007 Freddy Shepherd will be ousted as the Newcastle United chairman in the near future by the prospective owner, Mike Ashley, irrespective of whether he agrees to sell his 29 per cent stake, The Independent has learnt. Ashley, 42, who amassed his £1.9bn fortune via his Sports World group of retail outlets and major brands, bought 41.6 per cent of the club from Sir John Hall on Wednesday, triggering a takeover bid for the rest of the shares. Shepherd, who is in hospital recovering from pneumonia and a collapsed lung, seemed to be in a fighting mood when he said: "There is nothing Mike Ashley can do with this club unless he gets a 75 per cent stake. He can't take full control." A club source also told the local Chronicle newspaper: "Freddy is saddened by the news [of Ashley's share purchase]... All the negotiations have been done without his knowledge. He feels like he has been stabbed in the back." But Ashley only needs to cross the 50 per cent threshold to gain day-to-day control, including the power to change the board. Shepherd effectively faces a decision to either sell out and pocket around £39m, or refuse to sell and face the ignominy of having no influence. Ashley's City advisers are working on the "reasonable assumption" that Newcastle's institutional shareholders (who hold around 20 per cent of the stock) will accept his 100p-per-share offer, as will many of the supporter-shareholders, who hold 10 per cent. That will give Ashley between 60 and 70 per cent of the company. Ashley hopes Shepherd will sell his own stake and quietly move aside, but if Shepherd does not, sources say Ashley will press ahead with running the club as he sees fit anyway. "Anywhere above 50 per cent ownership will give Mike effective control of the club," a source said. "Even if Freddy Shepherd does not sell, he will have no meaningful involvement." Shepherd's health problems make it unlikely that he will make any decisions on his shareholding until the middle of next week at the earliest. Ashley needs Shepherd's shares to surpass the 75 per cent holding that would allow him to delist the club from the Stock Exchange. Being a listed company costs money (several million pounds), and obliges Newcastle to report to the City twice a year and produce an annual report. These would be inconveniences that Shepherd would enforce by holding his stake, but not be obstacles to Ashley's long-term plans. Ashley is happy to leave Newcastle's new manager, Sam Allardyce, in charge, and will probably back him heavily in the transfer market this summer. But he has yet to make public any other plans for the club's future. It is not known whether he will press ahead with the proposed £300m development of St James' Park announced by Shepherd last month. That involved an expansion in capacity to at least 60,000 seats, as well as the construction of a conference centre, two hotels and an apartment block. No planning application has been submitted. The main attraction of the club, aside from the lucrative new television deals that kick in next season, is its huge local pulling power and its potential as a global brand.

Mike Ashley believes he will take control of Newcastle without needing to receive the backing of Freddy Shepherd. The sports shop magnate bought a near 42 per cent stake in the club from Sir John Hall on Wednesday for £55m. Ashley has effectively offered Shepherd almost £38m to acquire his near 30 per cent stake in the club, but his advisors believe he will get the backing of enough shareholders to pass the 50 per cent ownership that will effectively signal the end of the Shepherd era anyway. There are also suggestions he may have been buying small pockets of shares in the build up to his buy-out of the Hall family. Shepherd, who spent Wednesday evening in hospital because of a lung infection brought on by a cracked rib, has vowed to fight Ashley in his bid for full control. But with less than a 30 per cent holding in the club, that looks like a futile scrap for the 63-year-old. If Ashley passes the 50 per cent mark, and he is so supremely confident of doing so he expects to do it within two months, he will take control and would then most likely sack Shepherd as chairman. Shepherd could not have been given a much bigger vote of no confidence than that which the local Tyneside paper provided on Thursday night. In an on-line poll, more than 96 per cent of Newcastle fans believe a takeover will be good for the club, ending Shepherd’s decade in charge at St James’ Park.

Youve only got one toe The scariest thing is, I was probably revising for my GCSE's when that photo was taken.

Rocky Balboa I cringed when I heard that "Rocky 6" was being made, I've been a huge fan of the Rocky films from the genuine greatness of the first Rocky film through the utter cheese of the rest of them, but do you know what, I thought it was bloody brilliant !!!! Superb !!!!!

I had to replace the logic board on my iPod because I managed to snap off the data connector at the bottom, can't fault the iPod, it was due to my ham-fistedness rather than any inherant fault.

Why the essay? A simple "fuck off" would suffice... Shepherd: Flock off ?

Isn't that Jimbo? Jimbo uses it at the front ...he uses it at the back Nah, I cum so much most of the time only air comes out.