Mike Ashley does not strike me as the sort of man who worries - TopicsExpress



          

Mike Ashley does not strike me as the sort of man who worries about whether people like him or not. Neither does he seem the type of businessman who listens to criticism, but even he must be tempted to get rid of Joe Kinnear. From the moment Kinnear revealed he was taking up the position in a clumsy interview on Sky Sports News back in June, the 66-year-old has done nothing that suggests he has the skills needed to be successful as Newcastle United’s Director of Football. Regardless of the thinking behind it – sources close to Ashley have stressed he wanted somebody he liked and trusted – Ashley must realise he was wrong to bring Kinnear back into football after almost nine years out of the game. If Kinnear’s interviews are an indication of his communications skills – rambling, confrontational and littered with inaccuracies – it is no surprise Newcastle failed to make any permanent signings this summer. When fans and pundits questioned Kinnear’s credentials we were described as stupid. As head of recruitment, with overall responsibility for the football side of the business, we were told to judge Kinnear on his signings. As he only managed to make one, a loan deal for Loic Remy, a player Newcastle had been set to sign in January before the striker bolted to QPR for more money, the evidence is in and it is damning. Regardless of official club statements released in manager Alan Pardew’s name this week, Newcastle failed to do what they set out to over the summer and the squad is weaker now than it was in May. The buck stops with the man who boasted he had more knowledge of the game than any who dared to suggest he might struggle. Shame Kinnear didn’t back his brash words with deeds. Pardew stressed after the 2-1 win over QPR that assured top flight survival back in May that he wanted to bring in new players. He asked for a centre-back, a winger and two strikers, not just to freshen things up, but to give the squad the strength in depth and competition for places a club of Newcastle’s supposed stature should have. He repeated himself all pre-season and, even as deadline approached, Pardew was still strenuously arguing his need for “one or two offensive players.” He knew the squad was small and he knew too many senior players did not have a serious rival for their jersey. Kinnear, though, failed to deliver. It was not solely his fault, Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr disagreed over some targets, but there were enough identified for Kinnear to have clinched at least one. Kinnear has done little more than upset supporters, embarrassing them in interviews just as he did during a short stint as manager in 2008/9. He tried his best, I’m sure, but while Kinnear was a good manager in the 1990s with Wimbledon, a wily operator and revered motivator, he does not appear to have the personality or ability to be of a Director of Football. He got the job for one reason, and one reason only. He is Ashley’s mate, but few believe he will be any more capable when the January window opens than he has been in his first three months. He should go now and Newcastle should cast their net wider than Ashley’s local pub for his replacement. Ashley, though, is stubborn and, given the constant excuses about a lack of money to spend, despite a record shirt sponsorship partnership with Wonga and a new television deal windfall, maybe Kinnear has done what Ashley intended. By not signing players , extra money is swelling the club’s coffers and, should he wish, be used to pay back another chunk of the £100m+ worth of interest-free loans Ashley used to clear debts and cover the cost of relegation to the Championship in 2009. Ashley took £11m back last year and is entitled to another £18m in this one if he wants it. The club’s media department deny he has taken the second repayment, which makes the lack of spending on players even more bewildering. If he has taken money out, he is perfectly entitled to do so, but even then there should have been a budget for new players given the health of the business – a vibrancy former managing director, Derek Llambias, highlighted a few months before resigning in protest at Kinnear’s appointment. Ashley has always been a reluctant spender, instinctively preferring to cut costs wherever possible, but in doing so he is danger of completely draining Newcastle of ambition and hope. As things stand, his targets appear to be restricted to staying up and making sure he does not have to spend any more of his own money on a project that went sour years ago. Many would like to see Ashley go with Kinnear, but he has been open to the idea of selling for five of the six years he has been owner and has not been able to find a buyer. In fact, if appointing Kinnear was a mistake, it was merely the latest in a long line. The biggest of which was also the first - Ashley’s decision to launch a takeover without conducting due diligence. Ashley does not enjoy being Newcastle’s owner, although for all of the bitterness generated by his uninspiring leadership, he has done rather well out of it. His sport shop’s logos, Sports Direct, cover St James’ Park, as well as the club’s training ground. It is extra exposure that helped the retail chain plunder huge profits and fuelled its expansion into Europe. Ashley even changed the name of the famous old stadium to the Sports Direct Arena for a while, but he has never paid a penny for advertising space that is potentially worth millions. Ashley would sell today if somebody offered him a chance to recoup the money he has put in, but all he can do is wait for someone to recognise Newcastle are possibly the last English club worth buying. A one-club city, in a football obsessed part of the country, which already has one of the biggest stadiums in the country and a history of under-achievement just waiting to be altered by a generous benefactor. Ashley bought Newcastle United in 2007 because he saw that potential, although it’s doubtful he ever wanted to help them achieve it. The suspicion has always been that one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs only ever wanted to sell it for a profit to somebody who does. He and Newcastle’s depressed supporters are still waiting for that person to appear. /Loraine
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 08:28:36 +0000

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