Toon Fans Start To Question Ashley!

Ashley can say there have been no trophies for 39 years, and he has a firm desire to do things differently, BUT .... bringing in players on deadline day is what we have been used to for too long and it does NOT work!

Those that know (Wenger, Ferguson, etc) don't throw players into the team and cross their fingers.

Players must adapt, settle in, THEN knit into the framework.

Waiting until the season starts, then buying players, is the Freddy Shepherd way ... and we know the consequences.

Last season we had a dream start to the season, not having to face a Top Four side until the last week in November. And if we had a settled side we would expect to be in the top five.

Allardyce had us in the relegation pack!

Towards the end of last season, Kevin Keegan spoke of a "big re-launch" being planned for this summer, but Ashley's chequebook does not seem to be the primary weapon.

Ashley spent his first 12 months at Newcastle finding his feet and, on occasion, made an arse of it.

Allardyce had to go ... and some even question why he got the job in the first place ... but that was NOT the doing of Ashley (Fat Fred was chairman when Big Sam was appointed).

But Ashley was shocked at the outcry when Harry Redknapp turned us down, because the majority of the Toon fans didn't want him.

Keegan was drafted in, with the board making an embarrassing U-turn saying "Keegan was our first choice anyway".

Someone had better tell Ashley (and QUICK) that Geordies are not as thick as Londoners try and make out.

The arrival of Dennis Wise, Tony Jimenez and Jeff Vetere to lead Newcastle's recruitment department was perceived by many fans as a threat to Keegan's position. Whether they fare any better than Shepherd and Dastardly Doug is another matter, or course.

Apparently, the philosophy of big money signings has now been shelved.

While some fans have expressed disquiet at the dearth of activity since the end of another disappointing campaign, something had better happen soon, because bumping the ticket prices up by 10% has not gone down well at all.

Is Ashley in for the long haul? Personally I think the first big money offer will see him off on his bike to renew his season ticket at White Hart Lane.

The Times described Newcastle as "previously perched on quicksand foundations, will now be run far more rigorously. Ashley is eager to get his money's worth; why pay Rolls-Royce wages for Robin Reliant performances?"
The fact is ... we expected the new billionaire owner to take Newcastle United (officially the 18th richest club in the world - with the 3rd best attendances in the country) onto the same level as the Top Four.

We have attracted star names to this club, and even broken the transfer record to sign Alan Shearer, but Ashley has made it clear "those days are gone".

Luka Modric turned down the Magpies and joined Tottenham Hotspur, and let's see where Galatasaray's Arda Turan and Bafetimbi Gomis end up.

Price increases for season tickets was too much for some, who won't renew, and some substantive questions remain.

Can Keegan and Wise work harmoniously?

He may have played and managed, but does Wise possess the necessary qualities to sit on the board of directors ... and the major question is ... WHY would he want to, when his ambition is to manage a club in the Premiership?

Keegan wants McDermott as his number two ... not Wise. The former Leeds boss seems to be sat on the roof of the Leazes like a vulture waiting for his chance.

Ashley claims he is to take a more active role in proceedings at Newcastle, working alongside Derek Llambias, the newly-appointed managing director.

With player wage caps; transfer money not as high as we expected; and talk of youth rather than experience ... Ashley is going for prudence rather than adventure.

And he wonders why the fans are starting to question him!