Ashley speaks

[TBC]

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The original question which was missed off was how much money is available to Rafa to which he replies not enough.

Full interview at 7pm on Sunday, according to the schedule it's in for a half an hour slot.

[Double Agent Bruce a.k.a DAB]

ashley talking sense that time.

[Heisen]

Fair enough to be honest. If the money isn't there it can't be spent, it's as simple as that.

I think the biggest frustration for Rafa is probably he can't shift the deadwood to generate funds to bring players in, but that's partially his fault for lumbering us with the likes of Lazaar and Hanley that are now probably on gargantuan wages that nobody else wants to pay.

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I've got a bad feeling about this.

[Blue & Maroon]

Fair do's. Shows whatever the hacks that were posted on the other thread were saying is just bollocks.

[overseasTOON]

I've got a bad feeling about this.

Even worse than "the time I thought I was peeing blood but then remembered I ate a lot of beetroot the night before" type bad feeling?

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I've got a bad feeling about this.

Even worse than "the time I thought I was peeing blood but then remembered I ate a lot of beetroot the night before" type bad feeling?

Maybe not. That sounds pretty hard to beet.

[Jaiston]

It's a shame we have so much deadwood that no one else wants, would really have helped for getting new players in it seems.

[Double Agent Bruce a.k.a DAB]

And smart move by SkySports. Give us something to worry about before our first game. And if we managed to beat Tottenham, then will put the whole interview to kill the buzz. Diabolical.

[Fonda Trevanion]

Leaves the question though why can Brighton Bournemouth and Huddersfield outspend us and where has all of the income gone?
Wynaldum Sissoko Thauvin parachute payment????
And for someone with no cash hasn't he just spunked 200 million of his 'wallpaper' on a piece of land in London to develop flats?
The man can't lie straight in bed. The Chinese look very appealing right now but this greedy bastard knows a cash cow when he sees one.

[Holystone...]

He's making his case for not being an Arsenal or Spurs ( with them getting tens of millions for stadium naming rights etc), but to be fair the only mega players worth buying are proven goal scorers at this level and they are going for telephone numbers . Gayle and co will have a lot to do this season .

[Blue & Maroon]

Leaves the question though why can Brighton Bournemouth and Huddersfield outspend us and where has all of the income gone?
Wynaldum Sissoko Thauvin parachute payment????
And for someone with no cash hasn't he just spunked 200 million of his 'wallpaper' on a piece of land in London to develop flats?
The man can't lie straight in bed. The Chinese look very appealing right now but this greedy bastard knows a cash cow when he sees one.

Huddersfield have spent 38.5 mill is, the most expensive player being Mounié (11.5mil) a forward with a good record in France. Brighton have spent 26mill ish the most expensive being Propper (11.7mil) , neither of them are throwing the cash around, we've spent about 31mil so far and I'd expect us to spend a bit more on someone like Perez from Arsenal so we sit somewhere in between them with a view to spend more on targets we can afford/want to come here it's not as simple as just 'spending the money' because we have it. Also can't be arsed to go through every club but while our spending won't be at the top we definitely won't be at the bottom. Transfer spending in the long term is not the biggest factor in your finishing position anyway but that's a different story.

As for Ashley using us as a cash cow that is complete bollocks. Football is not big business or profitable business hence his investment to develop flats. No problem with him investing his money to make money, NUFC never will be or should be his number one priority.

[Tsi]

Leaves the question though why can Brighton Bournemouth and Huddersfield outspend us and where has all of the income gone?
Wynaldum Sissoko Thauvin parachute payment????
And for someone with no cash hasn't he just spunked 200 million of his 'wallpaper' on a piece of land in London to develop flats?
The man can't lie straight in bed. The Chinese look very appealing right now but this greedy bastard knows a cash cow when he sees one.

Huddersfield have spent 38.5 mill is, the most expensive player being Mounié (11.5mil) a forward with a good record in France. Brighton have spent 26mill ish the most expensive being Propper (11.7mil) , neither of them are throwing the cash around, we've spent about 31mil so far and I'd expect us to spend a bit more on someone like Perez from Arsenal so we sit somewhere in between them with a view to spend more on targets we can afford/want to come here it's not as simple as just 'spending the money' because we have it. Also can't be arsed to go through every club but while our spending won't be at the top we definitely won't be at the bottom. Transfer spending in the long term is not the biggest factor in your finishing position anyway but that's a different story.

As for Ashley using us as a cash cow that is complete bollocks. Football is not big business or profitable business hence his investment to develop flats. No problem with him investing his money to make money, NUFC never will be or should be his number one priority.

There was a table of transfer spending printed and we were 12th. Spurs and Stoke were joint bottom with zero outlay.

[Fonda Trevanion]

If we aren't a priority then why own us when he could get 2-300 million in his back pocket almost tomorrow. Answer is free advertising for his empire plastered for no cost to him all over the stadium. Not ONE penny has he EVER paid for that from one completely separate business to another. Charnley should get it costed properly and send a bill to SD backdated to whenever and to be paid in full in cash.

[TBC]

If we aren't a priority then why own us when he could get 2-300 million in his back pocket almost tomorrow. Answer is free advertising for his empire plastered for no cost to him all over the stadium. Not ONE penny has he EVER paid for that from one completely separate business to another. Charnley should get it costed properly and send a bill to SD backdated to whenever and to be paid in full in cash.

Commercially we have went backwards over Ashley's reign, something I've always found amazing considering he's a successful businessman. Makes it all the more frustrating when he's saying we can't compete because of it when he's done nothing to try and boost our profile since he's been owner.

[Captain Obvious]

He's a cronut

[Donkey Toon]

Leaves the question though why can Brighton Bournemouth and Huddersfield outspend us and where has all of the income gone?
Wynaldum Sissoko Thauvin parachute payment????
And for someone with no cash hasn't he just spunked 200 million of his 'wallpaper' on a piece of land in London to develop flats?
The man can't lie straight in bed. The Chinese look very appealing right now but this greedy bastard knows a cash cow when he sees one.

As it stands we have spent more than Brighton and slightly less than Huddersfield. We are about mid-table in the spending league. Why not wait until the end of the window before making this an issue?

Where has the income gone? To cover expenses. The accounts stated that Ashley had to put another £15m into the club to cover day to day expenses, even after the parachute payment and receipts to date on those transfers (which the accounts also stated were a net loss for the year in cash flow terms, meaning the money would be received in instalments). So in cash terms the club ended the 2016/17 financial year with sweet f*** all in the bank, and since will have received the prize money (£7m or so I think) plus whatever stage payments have come in on those transfers. Compare that to the £108m paid to Watford who finished 17th, with all teams above receiving progressively more.

As for his investing £200m in a property venture. What business is it of yours what he does with his own money? How do you think he is going to be able to continuously finance the club to the tune of millions if he isn't doing something to raise it in the first place? Isn't the nigh on £300m he has put into the club already not enough? Ever heard of the principal of the Fair Play Rules whereby the club is only supposed to spend money it generates itself?

Finally, Ashley has never taken a penny from the club and would have made more money if he just left it in the bank, so it is not a cash cow. If he wants to recoup some of his investment from free advertising I personally don't have a problem with that especially as his loans to the club are interest free.

[Blue & Maroon]

DT explains it better than me

[Donkey Toon]

If we aren't a priority then why own us when he could get 2-300 million in his back pocket almost tomorrow. Answer is free advertising for his empire plastered for no cost to him all over the stadium. Not ONE penny has he EVER paid for that from one completely separate business to another. Charnley should get it costed properly and send a bill to SD backdated to whenever and to be paid in full in cash.

So by that argument you will be happy for the club to back pay a commercial rate of interest to Ashley on the interest free loans he has made to the club then. They are after all separate legal entities.

Or do you just want to cherry pick the issue to suite your self-entitled needs.

[bodacious benny]

Yeah I've never really understood why a lot of our fans get bent out of shape about the Sports Direct advertising at the stadium. Ashley owns a football team and he owns a sports company, he'd be stupid not to use the club for some advertising. Personally I don't care what's advertised in or around the stadium. Even if we did sell the advertising space to another company I wouldn't have thought it'd bring in sufficient money to make much difference.