Happy Face 29 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Perhaps an NUSC reprasentative or two could go along to the next one and make it a bit of a debate, rather than just being a platform for Llambias to have a dig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoggeordie 0 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Newcastle United MD answers your questions Feb 10 2009 by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle NEWCASTLE United fans are used to life on the black-and-white rollercoaster – but even by the Geordie fans’ own sky-high standards, the 2008/09 season has been the campaign from hell. Now in a four-part interview in the Chronicle and the Journal, chief sports writer LEE RYDER talks to Toon supremo Derek Llambias who lifts the lid on the silence at St James’s Park since he was appointed as managing director back in June, and exactly why there has been such a deathly hush around Gallowgate since Kevin Keegan sensationally walked out on the Magpies. Derek Llambias and Mike Ashley CAN you offer any explanation as to why there has been a lack of communication from the club and owner, particularly during the time when Kevin Keegan departed the club? EFFECTIVELY we can’t answer any questions on Kevin Keegan until we have made a settlement. We didn’t want to lose Kevin. SO why doesn’t Mike Ashley like speaking publicly and is there any chance that might change? THERE is a possibility Mike will speak publicly. I think Mike will continue to do generic statements through the website and the local Press. I think at the moment we want to clear up some of our outstanding issues, because Mike would want to tell people everything including the KK case. He would want to say what was happening and that would shoot us in the foot. He knows that and he’s the sort of guy who would sit and take a polygraph test. And he means it. WHY has Mike or yourself (Derek Llambias) been quoted in the national Press rather than the Chronicle, Journal and Sunday Sun? IT’S not like we have a relationship with anybody – sometimes these things are twisted. We haven’t got a relationship with anybody. If the truth were known, the relationships Mike wants to build are with the Chronicle and the Journal. He’s always made it clear that local Press are the most important to Newcastle United. That’s why we want to build up a relationship. Maybe I should have done this in June. It’s a long time ago but at the time we wanted to keep our format of a low profile. But August came, the window was there, then September 1 and it all got terrible. We found ourselves without a manager and it was difficult, then we really were the bad guys. If that hadn’t happened who knows? We were always going to come and talk to you guys. But once it got nasty, we had to be careful what we were doing. And that’s why we started attacking some of the papers. There were some things that were so outrageous that we had to ignore them, because if you antagonise them they get worse. But if you ignore it gets worse. It got to a point with our families and friends and some of the issues with fans where it got out of order. We’re not out there to antagonise we’re out there to get everybody on board again. CAN you offer an explanation as to why the communication has dried up? Historically with Sports Direct, Mike stayed under the radar for 20 years until he floated his company. Then all of a sudden people realised there was a £2.5billion company here. He stayed under the radar because he had very little Press communication. But we do realise owning Newcastle United is a totally different forum. When Chris Mort was here he was very proactive with the Press. He continuously spoke to the Press. So when I came on the board, Mike and I discussed it and we basically wanted to keep a lower profile. Then within no time at all KK happened. And then it just got worse and whatever we said got worse. So we decided to keep as low as possible, get on with our business plan, move forward with what we’re doing with our management team and to assist whatever manager was coming in as best as possible. CAN you explain why Mr Ashley completely ignored a request from NUSC to meet in a location of his choice to liaise with fans? WE’RE in dialogue with them. We have a monthly meeting and we need to get the record straight – we are in dialogue with NUSC. We have a monthly supporter meeting where a reasonably representative group of people who represent our fans tell us what for. They have been invited to be part of that forum so there are four or five of them coming along. It’s not true that we have blanked them. We have engaged with them and had dialogue since they formed. And we’re sitting down again with the group. Their initial approach was not in the correct tone. They are a small group and they are charging a subscription fee which was a bit strange to us. They are welcome to come along to our forums. That’s fine, they are coming on February 12 and there will be four or five of them. The whole idea of the panel is basically to give them an idea of where we are going and what the expectations for the future are. We don’t want to talk about Kevin Keegan, which is an issue they will insist talking about. Unfortunately, that’s not what the tone is. There are breakaway supporters groups. They (the NUSC) are a small group and given more credence than they deserve DOES this interview signal a change in management style which will keep the fans informed as to which direction the club is heading? THIS is a change in direction, yes. We’ll have regular meetings once a month and regular meetings if there are any issues. I’m not expecting to have one every time something goes wrong. Basically we wanted to address some issues. We’re not selling, we’re trying to stabilise our team and we’re back on track with our business plan. WHAT exactly does Dennis Wise do and will he be staying? DENNIS is our director of football. He is out there looking for players. He will remain part of our management structure. It works quite well with Joe and Dennis and ourselves. IF Mike Ashley cares about the club and listens to the fans, why didn’t he reinstate Keegan and get rid of Wise? IT’S a no-comment I’m afraid. It’s something we can discuss later. It was never a possibility. WOULD Mike consider re-appointing Chris Mort as chairman? THAT’S not going to happen. WHAT role does Tony Jimenez still have? HE’S gone. He went in October.” HOW can you justify running a company from London when the company’s head office and entire operation is based in Newcastle? WE don’t have an office in London. Let’s clear that up. Dennis is travelling most of the time but he’ll be here twice a week. I am here five days a week. Mike is in the Midlands and running Sports Direct. He comes down once a week, and he’s going to spend most of that time at the training ground. Being run from London is nonsense and it’s never been the case. It’s just that we’re Londoners. MANY fans believe you are destroying NUFC. Discuss. RELEGATION is a major fear for us too. Whatever players the manager has asked for, he’s had. Are we disappointed we didn’t get another midfielder? Yes. Are we disappointed we didn’t get another right-back? Yes. But that January transfer window is so awkward. As far as we’re concerned we see Newcastle United as having an exciting future. It’s not a question of anything else. Why would you buy a business and then just run it into the ground? HAVE you treated fans with contempt? I CAN understand why they feel like that. But no. Our silence is seen as contempt. But that is due to the outstanding issues such as arbitrations with courts and we’ve had to keep a low profile not to jeopardise any of those outstanding issues. We’ve made mistakes. Football is a new business to us, not running a stadium. Communication has been a mistake. Sometimes we feel like we’ve been bombarded and then when we have come out it’s been twisted. That has made us mistrusting of the Press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 26237 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Future transfers will be paid up front? Surely that doesn't make business sense unless we'd be getting a discount for it. Without having read the whole article I reckon they'd have been better off saying nothing at all than coming out with bullshit and lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 5899 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 £8mil in the summer? We profited more than that just from the last 2 windows. Not to mention wel be saving half that a year when Owen leaves in the Summer. Looks like its going to be a thoroughly depressing few years, even no mark teams who expect to get relegated spend more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 26237 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Perhaps an NUSC reprasentative or two could go along to the next one and make it a bit of a debate, rather than just being a platform for Llambias to have a dig. I'd be amazed if the club agreed to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCMag 0 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 £8mil in the summer? We profited more than that just from the last 2 windows. Not to mention wel be saving half that a year when Owen leaves in the Summer. Looks like its going to be a thoroughly depressing few years, even no mark teams who expect to get relegated spend more than that. relax, we've got scouts doing more hours than the clock looking to sign the next messi's and ronaldo's for a pittance. £8m is more than sufficient... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marko 0 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 That £8m really does worry me to be honest when you consider how thin the squad is and that we're losing Owen in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 "Ashley has spent net 38m on players since he's been here, including past deals." Not sure I believe that but who's to blame for that exactly? He is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJS 3974 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Reading that has made me completely change my mind and I'm now 100% behind the regime. Right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 That £8m really does worry me to be honest when you consider how thin the squad is and that we're losing Owen in the summer. If he's saying £8m now when he's trying to appease us fuck knows how little we'll spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 26237 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Whatever players the manager has asked for, he’s had. Honestly, the lies these fuckers are trying to sell us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 WE don’t have an office in London. Let’s clear that up. Dennis is travelling most of the time but he’ll be here twice a week. I am here five days a week. Mike is in the Midlands and running Sports Direct. He comes down once a week, and he’s going to spend most of that time at the training ground. Being run from London is nonsense and it’s never been the case. Down from Birmingham to Newcastle? Bit of a slip with your lies there Lambarse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 5899 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 SO why doesn’t Mike Ashley like speaking publicly and is there any chance that might change? THERE is a possibility Mike will speak publicly. I think Mike will continue to do generic statements through the website and the local Press. I think at the moment we want to clear up some of our outstanding issues, because Mike would want to tell people everything including the KK case. He would want to say what was happening and that would shoot us in the foot. How embarrassing that they have to lock away the owner because he cant be trusted to keep his trap shut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 "I think Mike will continue to do generic statements through the website and the local Press." I can believe that like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 "Ashley has spent net 38m on players since he's been here, including past deals."Not sure I believe that but who's to blame for that exactly? He is. Considering he's about £2M up on deals since he walked through the door it suggests he's covering £40M of unpaid transfer fees for Shepherd. You'd have thought you'd check stuff like that before buying like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish Mag 3 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 8 million budget. So had we bought Michael Johnson, with the money upfront of course, for 8 million last week I assume we would have had to spend the summer spending nowt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 “We hope to be like an Aston Villa." Arsenal not good enough any more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 8 million budget. So had we bought Michael Johnson, with the money upfront of course, for 8 million last week I assume we would have had to spend the summer spending nowt? Aye, good point. More lies basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I'm guessing this is now a brand new five year plan then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaMoUsE 0 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 how unsuprising was the whole interview. I could have written it myself . Llambias confirmed my ideology of him being a complete tosser anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 26237 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 "Ashley has spent net 38m on players since he's been here, including past deals."Not sure I believe that but who's to blame for that exactly? He is. Considering he's about £2M up on deals since he walked through the door it suggests he's covering £40M of unpaid transfer fees for Shepherd. You'd have thought you'd check stuff like that before buying like. I'd place no faith in their figures whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaMoUsE 0 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 (edited) does make a valid point about the subscription fee for NUSC. If it had cost nothing or even £1 they would probably have 20 fold more members. Edited February 10, 2009 by JaMoUsE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Annoying how sycophantic Lee Ryder is being by not delving deeper into those responses. Is he going for the Alan Oliver 'club insider with zero journalistic credibility' role now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 70 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Just read it. Says there is 8m available for transfers in the summer Mort wont come back Wise is staying long term Club haven't paid all of Martins and Duff transfer deals yet All of Northern Rock and Adidas money spent Club lost 34m last year, will lose 20m this year and 7m next year and will then be making money (presuming we stay up) We are a *ahem* buying club. Never have had offices in london JFK and Wise are working 'well together' in the management structure. Club are in dialogue with NUSC but find it strange you have to pay a tenner to support the team. Club wants to forget KK and move on, but NUSC insist on talking about him. Says NUSC get 'more credence than they deserve' Ashley has spent net 38m on players since he's been here, including past deals. All future transfers wiull be paid up front The board are on acontracts with standard salaries, with no bonuses. Club regret the silence around KK leaving The old 'tight ship' card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Pede 0 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Club are in dialogue with NUSC but find it strange you have to pay a tenner to support the team.Club wants to forget KK and move on, but NUSC insist on talking about him. Says NUSC get 'more credence than they deserve' An incredible unworthy and unwise dig at NUSC. The cluc shouldn't question the NUSC ways of business. That's seems more like a way of discrediting NUSC. It stinks of let sleeping dogs lie, but there are questions unanswred regarding the structure of Newcastle United. Eventhough they don't want to talk about it, doesn't mean they have lied about Keegan and Wises position. I find this whole talk about it costing money to be a part of NUSC completly futile and pointless, well... even childish. You rarely join any organisation, that takes care of your interests, for free. In Denmark it's pretty comon to have supporters clubs, and they cost money. Money spent on administration and merchandise. Llambias is bang out of order, commenting that. He should sit down with the NUSC and put forward his grievance. Not through the media. And the whole debt thing is in the air again, i see. Nice one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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