As the band wagon gets rolling fuelled by the National press attempting to represent the voice of the Geordie nation, we give the real view from inside the Toon Army
The quotes coming out from Mike Ashley are what we want to hear:
"I want a team that will go all out to try to give Chelsea a walloping, that'll try to stuff Tottenham and that will be brave and bold enough to attack Man Utd”
“I want a team that is going to be admired up and down the country because of our brilliant, attacking football. Like they did when Kevin Keegan was in charge here. In those days everyone in the land loved to watch Newcastle in action. I certainly did. And I am determined it will be like that again."
"But this is a football club, remember — it's about passion, about dreams, about glory. If it's not, then why bother? Make no mistake I bother, I care and so I will try my hardest to make this club successful. And I know I don't stand alone — I stand at the head of the Toon Army.”
But most importantly his views on managing the team:
"I must admit that when I bought this club my gut instinct was to bring in my own team to run it straight away, including a new manager. That's no reflection on Sam, that's just the way I have always done things. But for once in my life I ignored my intuition and, looking back, that was a mistake. My instinct had never let me down in the past, in fact it's been one of my biggest strengths, one of the major reasons behind my success. Yet I went against that better judgement after buying Newcastle.“
By all accounts Ashley has reservations about handing the job to an unproven, unqualified contender in Shearer, hence the dual role of supporting him with Kevin Keegan.
Apparently Keegan, currently running his ‘Soccer Circus’ in Glasgow is keen to come but Shearer, on holiday in the Caribbean is uncertain. But how would this work, Shearer would not want to come in as number 2 to anyone but Ashley does not want an unproven manager for such an important appointment. Is Keegan keen to come as number 2 to Shearer or is he after being number 1 ??
What Newcastle need is Mike Ashley to stand strong against the frenzy of the National press and so far he is doing well. He is offering circa £5 million a year for the role and casting the net worldwide for the candidate who will give him what he wants.
Shearer and Keegan is the romantic view based on little substance, it is yet another short term fix. What the Toon Army want is Ashley not to be rushed into a hasty appointment, we want a clear vision and plan for the future.
As fans of Newcastle United we want to hold our heads high in the Premier league and have a team we can be proud.
Over to you Mike, we are proud to have you as head of the Toon Army, be strong, stick to your guns and give us a proven world class manager.
