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Newcastle Utd (and Viz)

catcherintherye said:
Essentially yes. Thats just my opinion though, and I tend to go on the balance of probabilities. Maybe he comes in and runs the club himself and sits at most games as you see with Chelsea/City.

I wouldn't be too disappointed if the option outlined above came true though. It will be less glamorous and exciting, probably take a bit longer but also less risky. If the Saudi's are all in on it, they will probably come into an area they know nothing about, lash money about and certainly initially it will probably not work. There is a chance they lose interest.

If you have serious business people, essentially utilising their liquidity in a more measured way when needed, but also demonstrating to them that it's not a black hole but a profitable venture it has far more longevity and less risk attached.
Click to expand...

I think I'd be more excited about a measured approach, like you say, it shows consideration and a long term view. We might need to make a Robinho-type signing to announce ourselves as a more ambitious club, but I'd want the core of the squad to be good players who've bought into the project. Might be an unrealistic rose-tinted view of the future, but it's what I hope for.
 
The Fish said:
I think I'd be more excited about a measured approach, like you say, it shows consideration and a long term view. We might need to make a Robinho-type signing to announce ourselves as a more ambitious club, but I'd want the core of the squad to be good players who've bought into the project. Might be an unrealistic rose-tinted view of the future, but it's what I hope for.
Click to expand...

It's funny really the Robinho thing. I see a lot of fans, even some Everton fans want us to have that marquee moment. I mean that first summer we tried hard for Witsel, Mata and Coulibaly and none came off. We have tried for Zaha last summer, Costa and Cavani the summer before etc. Most of them pushed by the owner it's fair to say.

I think it kind of summarises the mentality of the modern football fan, for better or worse. We all want that instant excitement hit of a new signing. In a lot of ways it's what a new signing is. I watched that Sunderland till I die program, and the signing of Will Grigg seemed to be as much about making the fans happy as any common sense.

People seem to forget that Robinho was a bit washed up at Real Madrid and was actually poor for City. It's strange people attach such value to it. The summer Robinho arrived they signed Kompany with none of the fan fare for a fraction of the price and no fanfare. They signed De Jong, Given and Zabaletta who would all play key roles for them. Barry came the year after, Toure, Silva and Aguero the year after that. This was the base of the team they built.

I do understand people want the totem of "arriving" but I just think that comes from winning games. I think you need to get serious players in, and keep them to be able to do that. I have no issue with big players, but as I said the other day, if all they are moving for is money it's a bit of a problem.

I mean in the late 90's, we signed Gazza, Richard Gough, Mark Hughes all who had been great players in their day. They all did quite well for us though, because they knew and respected the manager Smith. It was about more than money. When Ginola arrived, he stunk the place out and didn't want to be there. Looking back, especially with Duncan up top, we probably had the best mid 90's team in 2001/2!
 
mikeh72 said:
Why would he have sold the club to Sheikh Mansour just one year after buying it himself????!?!?!?!?!
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Because it was Ashley's intention from the start to buy the club then 'flip it' and sell it on quickly for a fast buck.
He did have discussions with the Management Team of Sheikh Mansour on more than one occassion but from all
reports behaved exactly like Ashley behaves and ADG simply walked away. Newcastle Football Club was seriously
on the radar of ADG as it met all of the required criteria. I would hazard a guess that if Ashley had behaved like a
professional, serious businessman in those meetings Newcastle would be where City are now.
You reap what you sow and all that...
 
PaulPowersTash said:
Because it was Ashley's intention from the start to buy the club then 'flip it' and sell it on quickly for a fast buck.
He did have discussions with the Management Team of Sheikh Mansour on more than one occassion but from all
reports behaved exactly like Ashley behaves and ADG simply walked away. Newcastle Football Club was seriously
on the radar of ADG as it met all of the required criteria. I would hazard a guess that if Ashley had behaved like a
professional, serious businessman in those meetings Newcastle would be where City are now.
You reap what you sow and all that...
Click to expand...

What an absolute god Mike Ashley is.
 

catcherintherye said:
It's funny really the Robinho thing. I see a lot of fans, even some Everton fans want us to have that marquee moment. I mean that first summer we tried hard for Witsel, Mata and Coulibaly and none came off. We have tried for Zaha last summer, Costa and Cavani the summer before etc. Most of them pushed by the owner it's fair to say.

I think it kind of summarises the mentality of the modern football fan, for better or worse. We all want that instant excitement hit of a new signing. In a lot of ways it's what a new signing is. I watched that Sunderland till I die program, and the signing of Will Grigg seemed to be as much about making the fans happy as any common sense.

People seem to forget that Robinho was a bit washed up at Real Madrid and was actually poor for City. It's strange people attach such value to it. The summer Robinho arrived they signed Kompany with none of the fan fare for a fraction of the price and no fanfare. They signed De Jong, Given and Zabaletta who would all play key roles for them. Barry came the year after, Toure, Silva and Aguero the year after that. This was the base of the team they built.

I do understand people want the totem of "arriving" but I just think that comes from winning games. I think you need to get serious players in, and keep them to be able to do that. I have no issue with big players, but as I said the other day, if all they are moving for is money it's a bit of a problem.

I mean in the late 90's, we signed Gazza, Richard Gough, Mark Hughes all who had been great players in their day. They all did quite well for us though, because they knew and respected the manager Smith. It was about more than money. When Ginola arrived, he stunk the place out and didn't want to be there. Looking back, especially with Duncan up top, we probably had the best mid 90's team in 2001/2!
Click to expand...
Aye, but was Robinho not the player that announced that they were ambitious and meant business? I totally agree the wasn't great for them and he was in decline, but still, it was definitely a "Man City have signed who?!" moment, wasn't it?
 
The Fish said:
He wanted to buy a club and have a bit of fun, then flip it. When that didn't happen he decided instead to use us as a vehicle to promote his actual passion. There's a good piece in The Athletic about Ashley with testimony from people who know him or have dealt with him. Ashley actually had meetings with Sheikh Mansour prior to their Man City takeover, but in a move that will come as no shock to anybody, he turned up dishevelled, was rude and they sacked him off. The conventional wisdom is Staveley is acting as a buffer between him and the Saudis so his behaviour doesn't knacker another deal.
Click to expand...
Mate, every fan base with an owner they don't like claims they would have been bought by Mansour if it wasn't for those pesky kids. You're preaching to the converted here, we were completely making up this conspiracy way before you lot were.
 

The Fish said:
Aye, but was Robinho not the player that announced that they were ambitious and meant business? I totally agree the wasn't great for them and he was in decline, but still, it was definitely a "Man City have signed who?!" moment, wasn't it?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure really. I think improving, finishing in the to 4, winning a title etc did that. Without success you are just idiots wasting millions of pounds.

I mean we've spent big, but I don't think we've signalled any intent.
 
PaulPowersTash said:
Because it was Ashley's intention from the start to buy the club then 'flip it' and sell it on quickly for a fast buck.
He did have discussions with the Management Team of Sheikh Mansour on more than one occassion but from all
reports behaved exactly like Ashley behaves and ADG simply walked away. Newcastle Football Club was seriously
on the radar of ADG as it met all of the required criteria. I would hazard a guess that if Ashley had behaved like a
professional, serious businessman in those meetings Newcastle would be where City are now.
You reap what you sow and all that...
Click to expand...

genuine question and this is not meant as a dig at you or your club. Do you feel a sense of “so what” about any trophies you win. I mean thank god you have won them as it’s stopped the RS doing so but just picking up your point that if things had gone differently then it would be Newcastle where you are now rather than City. Essentially none of what you’ve achieved is of anything to do with Man City, your academy or your fan base. It’s just been bought by someone who has no attachment to your club. To me that seems pretty hollow. How do you feel about it?
 

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