There is a major reason for my re-initiation of blogging and this man is it. I want to be very clear in my views of how the club is currently being run.
1, I appreciate Mr Ashley's investment in the club and saving a badly run business to set us back on a level playing field. If FFS had continued to run the club in the same way then the current financial crisis could have had serious implications and it would have been likely that we would have been developing greater amounts of debt
2, The club is a football club and not a business. Unfortunately short term affects long term much more than in any other business and you have to invest in the right talent to fill short term gaps while looking to unearth gems for the coming years
3, The fans are the most imprtant part of the community and they need to be respected. This is their (our) club not the owners. It needs to be remembered. To this point the board need to communicate and take the fans views on board. This is not a desire for mass rule, but rather to allow them to 'optimise the business for the consumer'.
4, As Mike noticed straight away this is a passionate community who know their stuff. No person is bigger than the club and that means that Llambias and Wise need to show us value or ship out? Chris Mort developed great respect in a short time by talking to the fans and making sense. Now we don't know what is going on?
5, Mike is not a football man and needs to understand the importance of a good manager. Kinnear is a hard worker, but a man motivator - and in that sense a poor mans Keegan. We need a manager who can take the club forward. We need a young and exciting manager with experience of the English leagues who will play football on the ground. Fulfil that and the fans will give the manager time.
6, We are accepting that we need to build, so lets strip out the over paid dross and build the club for a 3 year plan. There is talent in the squad so lets build around them.
7, The club has been a joke for the past 10 years from a PR perspective and it is essential to sort our own house out. If a player steps out of line (Barton) then they should go. If a manager has a rant (JFK) then he should be repremanded. If the chairman goes out on the booze he should grow up!
8, The club needs investment. We need to plan what, where and when. If we are going to let players go then we need to have options lined up to replace them otherwise we will suffer. Leaving everything to the last day of the transfer window shows no business sense.
9, The club needs leadership. Whether Mike Ashley or a good chairman, we need someone to make us Newcastle United again!
10, Finally we need to be told the truth. Twice promise big signings in tranfer deadline day by the Chairman... twice failed to deliver. Mike please just be honest!
It all sounds so simple, but unfortunately I don't have the faith in the club at present that we'll see much of this actioned.
