Land rights wrongs

In light of Jabba's apparent plan to sell off the lease on land next to the Gallowgate End, NUST has rightly posed a couple of key questions. First, what impact would any sale have on the possibility of being able to extend the stadium at some point in the future, when we might be attracting fans rather than boring the usual 50,000 to tears? And second, where would the revenue raised from the sale go - straight into Jabba's back pocket? It would be interesting to know the club's responses, though I wouldn't hold out much hope of dialogue given the frostiness of their relations following the Fans Forum ban.

Meanwhile, in addition to a public meeting about the land sale, NUST are also organising a comedy night. No need, really - watching our games at present is to witness high farce...

Charnley steps up as Jabba cashes out

So the new man filling the managing director shoes vacated last June by Derek Llambias isn't new at all - it's former club secretary Lee Charnley. He marked his appointment with the release of a lengthy mission statement that largely reiterated what was communicated in the most recent Fans' Forum. The Ronny Gill's Neil Cameron has analysed it closely and written a sharp critique, so I won't dwell on it for too long except to flag up one particularly staggering admission: "We don’t look at transfer windows in isolation, but rather as a full trading year, and our intention for the first team is to sign one or two players per year to strengthen the squad."

It's a marker of the club hierarchy's delusions if they genuinely believe that one or two signings a year would be sufficient to ensure progress. As underlined by our last three matches, the brutal truth is that the squad needs a significant overhaul in the summer - perhaps four or five players in several different areas, and that's before we even start talking about the possible sales of the likes of Tim Krul and Mathieu Debuchy. A couple of additions would be likely to see us neither advance nor stand still but regress in relation to all those around us. It's a policy that's very hard to square with the claim that "our primary focus will remain the Premier League", given that it would be a recipe for relegation to the Championship...

Charnley's statement pours more than a bucket of cold water on any hopes we might have had that the £200m Jabba has just pocketed from the unexpected sale of Sports Direct shares might be put towards bankrolling a serious summer spending spree. Fat Fred (remember him?) has crawled out from under his rock to claim that he would "not be surprised" if Jabba was actually gearing up to cash out of the club too - and to hint at a desire to resume control should Jabba choose to sell up. You know things are grim if that prospect looks like salvation of sorts. Better the devil you used to know than the devil you've had to put up with for the last seven years?

Question time

So, other than the club's reflections on the latest set of accounts, what else was there of note to come out of the most recent Fans Forum?

1. JFK wasn't solely responsible for the programme notes attributed to him - in reality he "was involved in the drafting of the notes but that the overall messaging was determined collaboratively and could be read as communication from the board". Just as we all suspected, in truth - there's no way that, left to his own devices, he could be trusted to produce something scrupulously profanity-free...

2. A request for more information on JFK's departure met with a terse "no further comment to make", while it was confirmed that filling the director of football role he vacated "would be reviewed in the summer" (with the option of scrapping it altogether presumably also on the table).

3. There was an equally terse response to a fans' representative who, quite reasonably, said "he would like to see the Club attempting to improve the tone of coverage afforded by NCJ Media by ending the current ban": "The Club referred to its comments in the previous Fans Forum meeting and had nothing further to add." Nice to know they're open to dialogue, isn't it?

4. When the issue of revenue raised through Sports Direct advertising in St James' Park was mentioned, it was explained that while this doesn't reduce the debt the club owes to Jabba, it does grease his palms sufficiently to allow him to keep the loan interest-free.

5. The club's apparent lack of ambition was, understandably, a hot topic. It was claimed that "the aim for the Club is always to finish as high up the league table as possible, with top ten a minimum requirement this season". All fine and well, but how does that square with making just two signings in the last two transfer windows, both loans, and selling our best player without securing a replacement? The actions of a club setting itself up to fail - and to hang the manager out to dry.

6. As regards Dreamboat, there was plenty of flannel: "In respect of the transfer, the board explained that the Club did not want to sell the player. However, the player was adamant he wanted to leave. The Club made a substantial bid for a replacement but an agreement could not be reached with the prospective selling club. The Club also pursued other options but particular clubs were unwilling to sell. The board explained that the January window is disruptive for clubs and that there are far more options available to it in the summer window." No mention of the fact that the informal agreement struck with Dreamboat in August meant we'd known of the likelihood of his departure months before it happened and so had no excuse for not having a plan in place. At least there was a hint of regret, if not an outright apology - "The board suggested that if it was to be self-critical, it should have had a young player who could naturally step into the squad as it aims to in all positions" - though of course that compounds the failings of our transfer dealings by flagging up the failings of our academy.

7. While it was explained that the Away Fans Fund was "designed to be spent on the clubs' own fans who travel and the designated away end in their stadium", the club wasn't very forthcoming with details on how the £200,000 we received had actually been spent.

8. Following a suggestion in a previous Fans Forum, Gael Bigirimana has been appointed as our Equality Ambassador, a role which involves working closely with the Newcastle United Foundation and Kick It Out. At least it'll give him something to do, given he currently appears to be nowhere near the first team...

9. The Silver Fox formally pledged the club's support for the Football v Homophobia campaign before the home game with Spurs. A very welcome move - only the previous week I had expressed dissatisfaction and bafflement at our silence on the issue.

Quote of the day

"Matchday and commercial revenue is a key driver because that's where the Club can compete with - and outperform - its competitors to enhance its spending capabilities. Ultimately the income the Club generates, particularly, given the restrictions of the Premier League FFP Rules, from matchday, commercial i.e. non-TV income, will directly impact on the strength and quality on the pitch."

The club's board issue a veiled warning to supporters contemplating a boycott over Jabba's continued ownership of the club: do so (whether by simply staying away or by refusing to give money to club catering services and bars, the course of action proposed by Neil Crossley and Time4Change) and you'll be harming the club and the team rather than the owner.

The comment appeared in the statement accompanying the accounts for the year ending June 2013. Commercial revenue was up on the previous season (24.2 per cent to £17.1m), presumably partly due to the contribution of sponsorship from Wonga, though the purchase of a club-branded onesie for me by my work colleagues will also have helped...

Matchday revenue was also up, by 15.9 per cent to £27.8m. Given that this was partly attributed to the additional Europa League matches, which also contributed to the media revenue, then one does wonder why that competition is apparently regarded with distaste. The answer, I suppose, lies in the fact that media revenue overall was down eight per cent to £51m, that this is tied to our league position and that last season's lowly finish wasn't offset by our European adventure. In this regard, it could be argued that we should prioritise the Premier League and that Europe was a distraction (a source of injury and fatigue) that proved costly in terms of our league position. I'd maintain that we should have built a squad that could cope with the dual demands, but I doubt that's the way the powers-that-be would see it.

One positive (particularly in relation to many other clubs) is that we're no further in debt than we were last year - we still owe Jabba his £129m loan, but it's interest-free and there's no timescale for repayment (though presumably that does mean he could suddenly insist on it).

Update: In his post about our accounts on his Football Economy blog, Wyn Grant notes: "The argument that lacklustre spending by Ashley will be justified by the arrival of financial fair play rules is something of a gamble. It still remains to be seen how these complex rules will be implemented in practice or whether they will be subject to a legal challenge." A very valid point - as laudable and honourable as our apparent determination to play by the rules is, we might be left looking like chumps if others flout them and suffer little or no punishment as a consequence.

Crisis - what crisis?

I debated whether or not to bother dignifying this article with a response, but... a hearty round of applause to the Torygraph for giving Little Saint Mick a platform from which to air his jaundiced, ill-informed views on our club and fans.

Where to start? How's about with the observation that we're "eighth in the league". That much is true - as I think is the suggestion that, with the existing squad, the club is "punching at their correct weight". Lower mid-table is where I'd expect us to be - the previous two seasons having been pretty freakish aberrations.

However, he also claims we're "far more likely to qualify for Europe than get involved in a relegation scrap" - again arguably true, but this overlooks the fundamental mistrust with which the Europa League is eyed by the club hierarchy. Our ambitions should of course be realistic and proportional, and European qualification is still achievable - so why not go for it? If the current squad isn't strong enough to compete in the additional fixtures that accompany qualification, then there's a simple solution: bolster the squad in the summer. But the appetite to do so simply doesn't seem to exist.

Owen also has a point in characterising our transfer policy as one of signing players cheaply and selling them on for a significant profit. Dreamboat would of course be a great example. I think most of us would agree, perhaps grudgingly, that if Jabba isn't prepared to put his hand into his pocket and fund the club in the manner of an Arab oligarch, then this is a sensible course of action. What he omits to mention, of course, is the crucial second stage of the model, the one that makes it sustainable: that departees need to be adequately replaced. Again, Dreamboat is a prime example of where we're failing.

Then there are the comments on JFK: "It appears that he was not a successful appointment as director of football". The understatement is laughable. Owen claims that this is a simple mistake now rectified, not something we should be up in arms about - but then when it comes to drawing huge wages from a club to which we contribute financially in return for fuck all, he should know. The aside that "there was a feeling the game had moved on too much for him to be given such a role" hints that he's aware of the flimsiness and ridiculousness of his own argument.

Much of the rest of the article is a lazy reheating of the usual tedious trash about fickle fans with unrealistic expectations and the goldfish bowl of life on Tyneside ("the scrutiny is unyielding"). He harps on and on about us being a "crisis club" once again - seemingly unaware that that's a term bandied about by the media rather than the supporters. A club in crisis sells newspapers. The media uses poor results on the pitch as an angle, when in reality the grumblings of discontent have been constant for some time now. Few of us would say we're in the midst of a "crisis" - we would, however, justifiably observe that our current league position obscures a multitude of problems, including a complete disconnect with an owner who appears to give no regard whatsoever to the people who have made and continue to make the club what it is today.

Quote of the day

"I am sad to see anybody lose their job and he did a lot of good work here – but the decision was the board’s decision."

Let's unpick this statement about JFK from the Silver Fox, delivered during his pre-Chelsea press conference.

1. Come on, you're not "sad" at all and you're fooling no one by pretending you are. You're as delighted as the rest of us that you've won that particular battle.

2. Likewise, you're fooling no one with that platitude about him doing "a lot of good work". He did fuck all - unless, that is, you consider pissing off countless players and staff by mispronouncing their names to have been a positive contribution.

3. "The decision was the board's decision" - when you say "the board", you mean "Jabba", right? And so JFK didn't jump but was indeed pushed after all? That would confirm that Jabba has at least some semblance of common sense, and that, as many of us suspected, our outgoing director of football didn't have the decency to admit he was failing in his remit and do the honourable thing by resigning.

The Silver Fox did also say, though, that he wasn't opposed to the idea of working with a replacement, if the role is retained and filled - and indeed he suggested, in a slightly wistful tone, that gone are the days of managers being intimately involved in transfer negotiations. Not a viewpoint you'd expect King Kev ever to endorse...

Adidas get shirty

Poor Jabba. He's been barred from flogging the strips of the club he supports in his own chain of shops. That's Chelsea, in case you're wondering. Perhaps the Newcastle shirts will be positioned a bit more prominently now there's more space.

Jabba's journal

At the till of our local Poundland today, I noticed copies of a publication called the SportsDirect Magazine. Apparently this was launched back in the summer, with "the aim of boosting the retailer's media presence, following the launch of its online content platform SportsDirect News in May". Suddenly the local press ban makes more sense - Jabba's trying to build a rival media empire of his own...

Fans Forum not for 'em

Jabba Strikes Back continues. Not content with banning the local press, the club have now barred NUST from participating in the newly revamped and much trumpeted Fans Forum. The inaugural meeting of the forum only took place in September but NUST's permanent place has already been revoked. Their alleged crime? Publishing minutes of the meeting 24 hours earlier than the club's own (delayed) minutes. The pettiness of the decision is mind-boggling. I think we've got an answer to our question of "whether the notoriously cloth-eared Jabba will be prepared to listen"...

As NUST have taken pains to point out, the ban was handed out in the same week that they held a conference on Football Governance and Fan Engagement at Newcastle University Business School, which received coverage on the BBC's Politics Show. Their statement on the ban rightly flagged up the fact that "the Government's Culture Media and Sports Select Committee have recommended that football clubs develop meaningful and structured relationships with supporters" - something that Jabba and Newcastle appear determined to avoid.

Quote of the day

"This kind of fight is nothing new — see recent examples at Manchester and Southampton — but the club should keep in mind that the press often tend to be the victors when football bosses get too big for their boots. For NUFC fans, it’s another example of people at their beloved club throwing their weight around for the sake of it, and this time the local press has sadly become unwitting target."

Sebastian Payne of the Spectator weighs in with some commentary on the ludicrous press ban.

Fog on the Taedong

Just when you thought things couldn’t get much worse, along comes Jabba to provide an easy source of further ridicule. 

This time, he’s taken umbrage at the recent local press coverage given to the Time4Change march and as such has banned the Ronny Gill, the Journal and the Sunday Sun from the club. 

Ironically, it is those same publications which are often criticised for being too pally with the club, too willing to toe the party line but not anymore. 

Presumably Jabba is already starting his own Sports Direct edition of Pravda which will be available in the club shop and carry exclusive interviews and match reports in which every player is at least a 7 out of 10 and our goals are feted regardless of results. Pyongyang upon Tyne anyone? 

Press bans aren’t themselves a new thing, with the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards singled out last season over his stories of a Francophone clique in the dressing room and indeed, many years ago, I had a conversation with then Newcastle correspondent Alan Oliver who described a six-month ban during Keegan’s first reign, which he described as one of the hardest periods of his professional life. 

The reality is, for Lee Ryder et al, they are now going to have to work twice as hard to fill the voracious appetite of their readership for stories about our club. However, they can do so without fear of causing offence, which means they can report honestly about both the club and possibly also Wonga (who they had started to embrace).

Perhaps a critical approach to the club’s main sponsor might see some pressure exerted by Wonga, which in turn might see Jabba re-open the doors to the local press.

Until then it makes our owner, and by association our club, look small, petty-minded and frankly ridiculous, causes greater uncertainty and means we once again find ourselves worrying more about relegation than about bouncing back from Sunday's defeat.

Update:

You can read the text of the club's letter here and the National Union of Journalism's response can be found here.

Enough's enough

Today's match will see fans protesting against Jabba's reign under the banner "Time4Change". Earlier in the week, the organisers explained the motivation behind and aims of the protest to the Ronny Gill, and it all made good sense to the pair of us here at Black & White & Read All Over, as it has to NUST and the proprietors of .com.

We're perhaps less vehemently opposed to Jabba than many supporters and recognise the positives of his period of ownership - namely getting our finances in order, removing debt (except to him) and maintaining accessibility (as evidenced by the BBC's latest Price Of Football survey results and our taking the lead in the move towards more affordable prices for away tickets).

However, those positives are outweighed by the negatives: the sackings of King Kev and Chris Hughton, the rebranding of the stadium, the sponsorship deal with Wonga, the appointment of JFK and (perhaps most significantly, as the protest's organisers point out) a lack of ambition and direction that has seen us fail to capitalise on an admittedly fortuitous fifth-placed finish. Promises of investment have been repeatedly made and repeatedly broken, with little evidence that we've learned from previous mistakes.

In last weekend's interview on Sky Sports, the Silver Fox saluted the business acumen that makes Jabba a "genius" (a questionable claim, given that Sports Direct's success is largely founded on ruthless and unethical practices such as zero hours contracts), but also said our owner "sometimes can't understand how [football] works and it confuses and upsets him, and when he is upset he does things that aren't brilliant for the football club". We can only speculate as to what Jabba made of being portrayed as some kind of baffled toddler by his employee, but when even the manager is prepared to make such a statement you know it is indeed time for change.

Mystery man unmasked

It was only the last installment of A Month Of Saturdays that I began by describing Jabba as "something of a mystery man" and posing the question: "What do we actually know about him?" Now, thanks to an article profiling him in the Independent, we perhaps know a little bit more.

We know, for instance, that he's "a brilliant boss" because he's more than happy to strip down to his undercrackers to the strains of Tom Jones and gyrate around at parties in Chinese restaurants. I wonder if King Kev or ASBO - who once memorably described him as a "cretin" and "the Ayatollah" - would agree.

We know that, when it comes to rival businesses, he has no mercy: "Mike’s ruthlessness is just unbelievable. He set out to destroy his rivals in the 1990s and 2000s, and now look at them. They’re all but finished. The competition is destroyed. There’s no question: if you get on the wrong side of him, he’s not a very nice man." Acting as a wrecking ball for JJB was easy - just whistleblow on their attempts to fix prices of replica football shirts. Hence the continued antipathy between Jabba and Delusional Dave Whelan.

We know that he has a sense of humour - even if that often manifests itself as at the expense of those who line his pockets by filling St James' Park week in week out, chuckling at the abusive chants of fans protesting about any of the numerous unfathomable decisions he's taken during his tenure. (As an aside, I'm not sure where the claim of anti-Semitic abuse against him comes from - certainly it's not something I've heard or seen reported anywhere else.)

We know (at least according to someone "familiar with the negotiations") that his intention in buying the club was to flog it off almost immediately for a hefty profit. "But the deal never came off. And what do you call a deal that goes wrong? An investment. Newcastle’s become a very costly investment for Mike meant to make a quick buck but didn't work out."

And we know why he's sticking around - according to the same source, "He will never sell that club at a loss. It’s just not in his make-up". Biding his time, then.

But what we still don't know is what really makes him tick. What makes him feel compelled to lob a spanner in the works just as soon as the machine finally seems to be functioning to full capacity and efficiency again? Perhaps we'll never know.

The manager bites back

As you might have anticipated, the Silver Fox's first public pronouncements since the reappointment of JFK made for interesting reading.

Much of his energy was, predictably, directed at vigorously defending his own apparently precarious status and position amidst the shake-up: "I'm my own man and I will manage this football club to the best of my ability". (Some would suggest that "the best of my ability" doesn't really amount to an awful lot, but I'll let that go.)

However, he also took the opportunity to take a couple of nicely subtle swipes at the man Jabba's brought in for him to report to. The first was evidence of his disgruntlement at the way his players have had their names mangled: "Some of the things Joe said, he's apologised for, especially getting the names wrong of our players. That needs to be corrected, because there's a certain respect needed there". Consider your wrist slapped, JFK.

The second jibe was buried within the Silver Fox's attempt to rationalise the departure of Derek Llambias: "Mike feels Joe probably knows the scene better than Derek. That might be Mike's opinion, but as far as I'm concerned the most important factor for Joe is transfers". In other words, and by implication, Jabba's opinion that JFK is an upgrade on Llambiarse is wrong. I don't doubt it.

The Silver Fox also struggled to communicate exactly how the new off-pitch structure will operate in practice. Certainly it seems somewhat convoluted, with individual roles somewhat ill-defined and a very real danger of too many cooks spoiling the broth - not least when one of said cooks is JFK. How long before the Silver Fox does a Keegan, driven out by what he perceives to be unwelcome and unwarranted meddling and interference?

A sign of the times

It tells you a lot about the club at this present moment in time that, while a clueless clown like JFK has been handed a hefty salary for doing fuck all other than mispronouncing players' names, it's left to the fans to fundraise for a plaque in memory of former player and manager and genuine legend Joe Harvey. Permission has been graciously granted to erect the plaque, at least, but it's staggering that financial support has not been made available too. Jabba's fond of adorning the ground with the Sports Direct logo - surely it's not asking much to expect him to fork out for the plaque. But then, as with the renaming of Shearer's Bar without consultation and the Gategate affair, he doesn't seem to have much of an appreciation for either club legends or history - quite the opposite, in fact...

Quote of the day

"I am not after his job. Alan knew there was a director of football coming in. He felt a little isolated and Mike sussed that."

JFK speaks.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, which the Guardian have since picked up on, our new director of football clarifies that he's only here to support the Silver Fox and hits back at the criticism he's received from the Lion of Gosforth.

While his criticisms of Shearer may have some validity in a coaching sense, the fact that he continues to air them through the press rather than simply maintain a dignified silence continues to be a nightmare. Frankly whoever is controlling media relations at St James' Park wants to place a muzzle on JFK as soon as possible.

As it is, his portrayal of Jabba as a sympathetic employer trying to put a comforting arm around the Silver Fox by employing JFK seems akin to the moment where a mafia boss hugs a previously trusted lieutenant before he is taken away and shot for some past misdemeanour.

Ich bin ein Director

It's official.  JFK has been confirmed as our new director of football on a three-year contract.

Some things really are enough to make you want to swear. A lot.

JFK managed to jump the gun slightly, going on TalkSport yesterday to talk about his role, the players in our squad and his own staggeringly large ego and Stalinist approach to historical revisionism.

If his failure to identify players names correctly wasn't just cringingly embarrassing, it might be OK. After all, the story about Big Lad hooking up with England Under 21s and telling Howard Wilkinson that SBR called him Carl Cort is a classic, and one told with warmth and affection by the player.

With JFK though, it's different. He already has form for helping to push an admittedly disgruntled player out of the club by getting his name wrong, and now he's at it again, managing to mangle the majority of the playing staff and fellow board member Llambiarse into the bargain.

Other horrendous examples of the man not knowing his arse from his elbow include the description of Big Lad as "a young kid ... getting better and better". Last time I checked he was in his thirties and entering the last year of his contract. Perhaps he meant Little Big Lad, who is younger and hopefully still improving, albeit from his Twitter account is already unimpressed with JFK's inability to get his name right.

According to the man himself, he has spent his whole life picking up the phone to Taggart and that his name will open a few doors for us in the transfer market. Firstly I suspect that most managers have had better things to do than talk to JFK every day for, well frankly, ever. Secondly, I can't for one second see how a man whose managerial pinnacle was with Wimbledon fifteen years ago is a bigger draw that a man who has taken a side to an FA Cup final and last season reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Perhaps his comment "I can open the door to any football manager in the world" was just another example of him getting his words muddled and he meant to say "I can open the door for...", which makes more sense.

It should also be pointed out that any idiot can see that we need a striker adding this summer. Even I managed that, and I haven't played 400 games for Spurs.

As TBW has suggested, perhaps this is an example of Jabba reasserting his authority over the Silver Fox while also removing an excuse for failure next season.

What is clear is that if JFK is to sit above Graham Carr and the manager, then it's to be hoped that they can relate, or that Jabba and Llambiarse at least recognise that of those three the most important to our long-term future is Carr.

If JFK can keep his head down and be kept away from the press he loves so much, then we might be able to ignore him. Given that his every utterance is a PR disaster in the making, we must also hope that Wonga also use every ounce of their corporate muscle to get the club to keep a muzzle on the man.

And there was me hoping for a quiet summer.

Quote of the day

"Mike would openly say that, in the summer, we should have bought another player."

You have to wonder how happy Jabba will be at having his manager admit his mistakes for him. Still, hopefully it's true and therefore hopefully he'll be backing the Silver Fox in January to the tune of the three new faces he wants.

Pies and pie charts

That prodigious gut indicates that Jabba is fond of pies - though he seems to be as keen to put his fingers in them as to stuff them down his gullet. Last week financial regulations forced Rangers to reveal that he is the club's third largest shareholder, with 8.9%. So, fans of the fallen giants, you'd better get used to the idea of playing at the Sports Direct Arena because there's no doubting he's got substantial clout.

As we've said before, the potential for distraction and loss of focus is a bit concerning - particularly with a critical transfer window fast approaching.

SDA ya ken?

According to the Daily Heil, Jabba is in talks with Scottish tax dodgers Rangers about renaming Ibrox as the Sports Direct Arena.

Given Jabba's business model of piling cheap sportswear high and selling it off cheap, one can only speculate why he thinks he'll find a target market in Glasgow.

Joking aside, for Rangers fans worried/angered by this move, as Newcastle demonstrated the reality is that while some sections of the media will inevitably embrace the rebranding, for every football fan Ibrox will remain Ibrox, in the same way that St James' Park remained the same, regardless of the name which was officially stuck on the wall outside.

If it brings in some cash which helps Rangers climb back to the top flight of Scottish football, then from their perspective it might be worth the sacrifice.