Mike Ashley has balls of steel but will they protect him against King Kev?
Sunday, 11 May 08, 06:21 AM · Comments (4)
I don't normally post about other football matters, but occasionally if something interests me, I get carried away.
You can see the other twenty-eight items since August 2005 here. Newcastle United have interested me today.
The reason Newcastle have interested me is mostly because of Mike Ashley and his huge balls of steel.
If you didn't know, he really does have balls of steel. You don't get to where he is, picking up £2bn. on the way, without them. But he's going up against Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle United legend, in Newcastle. Who's going to win?
Now, I'm not doubting that Mike Ashley knows what he is doing when it comes to creating a successful business, or for that matter seeing one that is down on it's luck, picking it up on the cheap and making even more money out of the brand, but in the same breath, if that can be said about Ashley and business, the same can be pretty much be said for Keegan, football and more specifically Newcastle United.
The story in the News of the World today basically tells us that Ashley isn't going to fund big name players on big salaries and that Newcastle United need to scour the planet and find young up and coming talent.
The News of the World source even cites the likes of Aston Villa, Everton and Blackburn as teams to look at an emulate.
Now, the question I'd be interested in asking a few Newcastle fans (another point to this post), is can Kevin Keegan develop Newcastle without the funds and get top six football? I'm pretty sure that given time he could, I just don't think the Newcastle United fans want to wait around for that to happen and I think they're expecting more.
Ask an Everton fan and he's going to tell you exactly what I'm going to tell you right now; you might flirt with top four, but without significant funds, you'll not break into it and sustain it.
Which is the reason I've pitched this post as a battle between King Kev and 'balls of steel' Ashley. If there was one manager, I'm guessing now, a Newcastle fan would fancy could do it, given the right backing, surely it's Kevin Keegan?
Keegan didn't have the best of starts when he arrived back at Newcastle, but he's got this contagious winning mentality. Given the funds and the time, you've got to quite fancy that he'll spread that mentality through his players.
I think Mike Ashley not giving Keegan that opportunity is only going to mean one thing and with so many teams now competing for fifth and six, it's not going to be made much easier without any money.
Of course, it could just be that Keegan has to make that step to top six first, much like Martin O'Neill has had to in his two seasons and us Aston Villa fans quite fancy a summer spending spree now he's proven it.
The worry for teams like us, Spurs, Everton and as they were used by the News of the World source, Blackburn, would be a Kevin Keegan with bags of money - if it turns out he's not going to get it, then it's one less team to worry about for the immediate future.
Anyway, Newcastle United travel to one of those teams they are going to try and emulate today and I quite fancy they'll get a result. I just hope we do too as I've got a fiver on the perfect result.
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4 Comments · Add yours
Im surprised by this stroy, im a villa fan from newcastle n was under the impression ashley was gonna spend big. News of the world isnt the most reliable paper. I was expecting newcastle 2 b competing wiv us 4 europe nxt year. Keegan is great motivator n with a few gud signings the toon will b gud agen. Lets hope they can beat everton, n reo-coker 2 set up marlon 4 a winner at west spam
Newcastle are the fourth biggest spenders in the premiership over the last ten years and where has it got them?? If the story is true then Mr Cashley is spot on. Newcastle fans are so deluded they think they have a god given right to be a top four team!?! This has resulted in their manager merry go-round over the years and the wasting of so much money to apease these black and white idiots. Newcastle are not a big team and never will be.
I thought when he put Kev in charge he said that he'll be given the dollar. Either way, I think a lot of people were expecting him to fall on his arse with his return to Newcastle but I have been impressed with the way he's turned things around. I still think Allardyce should have been given a lot more time though.
Bags of money or not, Kevin Keegan doesn't scare me one bit. Sure his winning mentality might get them somewhere to begin with, but he can buy all the players he wants - his severely limited managerial skillset will mean he won't bother the likes of us.
Keegan can get results out of being passionate, and that's fine, in the short term. When the passion runs dry and he's left to win games using tactical know-how, he'll be exposed once again.