Dear Mike Ashley,
I am a lifelong Newcastle Fan, Born and bred in the south; But my love and passion for Newcastle United is just like any other fan.
The ‘Entertainers’
Growing up in the 90s when we under the ownership of John Hall and Freddy Shepherd; We had a team we could be proud off, a team who entertained, a team who everyone enjoyed watching. Newcastle may not of won anything but we had a few cup finals to enjoy, Fans looked forward to the weekend, We looked forward to going to games; even if it was a cold Tuesday night in south London! There were games we took part in that will live long in the memory and ones that I will pass onto my kids. Beating Man United 5-0 at home; Albert chipping Schmeichel. Or how about Tino Asprilla scoring a hat trick when we beat Barcelona at home in the Champions League!
In my lifetime I’ve enjoyed the “Entertainers” under Kevin Keegan. I was also lucky enough to be alive to see the legend Bobby Robson manage our great club. Memories that will always live with me and memories that you cannot take away from me. Our Previous owners had taken us as far as they could and believed selling the club could take Newcastle to the next level. Fans believed it too – We rejoiced when we were sold to you, A billionaire – Finally our club looked like it could compete at the very top.
A Business not a Football Club
Well how wrong we all were, you may be an astute businessman, buying reputable brands, sucking the life out of them. You make as much money as you can and once you have move on to next one. Well Mike this is not how you run a football club, for too long we have seen you asset strip our club. You sell our best players for profit while buying cheap replacements. I’m not going to sit here an list all of them but selling Andy Carroll for 35 million on the last day of the transfer window and replacing him with Shefki Kuqi on a free is the perfect example. In your 10+ years of ownership what have you achieved? one Top 5 finish, 2 relegations. In recent times we have been known as the “Balance Sheet Champions” because of us making profit in transfer windows due to your lack of investment in player recruitment – we would rather be Premier League champions.
Lack of Investment
When you appointed Rafa Benitez as our Manager, Our best manager since Bobby Robson, a master tactician; one of the best managers in the world. This after having to deal with the Joe Kinnear saga, You sacking Chris Hughton, Having to deal with Pardew for 4 years and appointing Steve McClaren. It seemed like times had changed, You were ready to back the manager and change the fortunes of the club. How wrong we all were again; Benitez came in too late to keep us up even though he did his best. A year in the championship rebuilding and coming back up at the first attempt should of been the start of something. Strengthen the squad to compete but after 3 transfer windows since we were promoted it is obvious that our squad is still very much a “championship” squad; A Squad that will struggle to compete in the Premier League. This is reinforced with Newcastle not winning a game this season and languishing in the relegation zone.
You Don’t Care About Us – The Fans
I am not going to sit here and beg you to invest in this team and see Newcastle fulfill it’s potential whilst we have Rafa at the helm because frankly we are way past that. You are happy using St James Park as free advertising for Sports Direct; advertising space which could earn the club lots of money with the right deal. You were happy to rename “Shearers Bar” at St James Park; A Bar dedicated to our greatest ever player, our greatest ever scorer! All because he criticizes your regime by stating the facts and telling the truth? Mike, you frankly don’t care about us – the fans. The fans who sold out the stadium week after week in the championship; The fans that ensure there are high season ticket sales year on year. The Fans who spend lots of money on replica shirts and team merchandise; The fans who are the reason Rafa is still the manager of our club!
Protests
I welcome the various fan movements protesting against your ownership, it shows we the fans are in control; we are the reason this club could fall apart. You have made people fall out of love with football, with their beloved Newcastle. You have made fans look towards the weekend with resentment, Not look forward to games and we could soon see boycotts to show you that we will not be defeated; we just want our great club back! why is it always when there is a bit of heat or attention about your regime you are seen in the press to “back the manager” or “take the squad on holiday if they avoid relegation”. Why is it in late September the press will report that someone is “preparing a takeover bid”; and when it comes to the January transfer window you will refuse to spend because “the club is about to be sold”. You may have a clever PR team to try and get fans back on side but it won’t work anymore; Stop insulting our fans! enough is enough!
Time to Go
On a personal level, I have always said I would always support the team not the regime. But Mike quite frankly I have had enough and will not go to another match until your gone. Gone are the days I look forward to watching Newcastle at the weekend. Gone are the days i look forward to checking the latest score. It’s saying something when I look more forward to checking the rugby scores! So Mike your time is up, now is the time to sell up. Rafael Benitez is the sole reason the club is valued in your eyes at £350million. If we get relegated the price will fall significantly so do the right thing. IT’S TIME TO GO!
Kind Regards
Arun Lakhani
@alakhani
I advise you highly to boycott Sports Direct, By following this link you will find alternatives – https://www.sportsredirect.com/
You can find my article about the effect Rafa Benitez has had at Newcastle here
