Dear tf,

Warning! Commendable though it may be and no doubt accompanied with lashings of pathos, no matter what "protests" the NUFC rank and file may muster up about whatever might be going on with our club, they won’t make a damn of difference to whatever is being decided in the lofty towers of the SJP / USA Boardroom etc.. I know this somewhat defeatist line may be scorned upon by most in the Bunker but do we really want to subject ourselves to the same patronising shit that was heaped on the Man U "fans" when Glazer came a knocking?.

Lets get real... there will be no meaningful

- Boycotting of matches

- Boycotting of Club Clobba

- Solidarity to the R & F shown by high profile employees / players

...either!

Not enough to make a difference that is. The only Line I would offer is - lets all be a pain in the arse & bite their fucking ankles whenever & wherever possible so that they can be reminded that though we are compelled to do the things we do in the name of NUFC, we do it with utter contempt for the soulless pricks that exhibit such a breathtaking degree of arrogance towards the life & soul of any Football club - The Supporters. We can make a noise - but not a difference, not really, at that level the most you’ll get is a condescending sneer the like of "We know you’re the best fans in the world but..."etc. wankers!

So howay lads...No paper-mache effigy burning, new "grass roots club" starting, or any of that embarrassing Manc shit ...do what we do with dignity or don’t bother at all. & lets not forget, without the likes of you lot we have no real voice at all...Keep Rocking lads....

Graham Hall (exiled ex Cramlington)


Dear tf,

The proposed sale of Sir John Hall's shares is my worst nightmare. This is not some wealthy Russian benefactor wanting to buy our club, but a faceless bureaucrat who wants to see a good return for his pension fund portfolio, in the form of dividends.

The investment into the club will be minimal and the drain of funds out of the club will be massive. Once the club has been stripped of all assets it will be left in the dark depths of despair.

Sir John should do the decent thing and rebut their proposal, and hold tight until someone with the best interests of the club offers him a deal. However when has decency been a priority when their is money to be made?

Oh I hope I'm wrong.

Andy Hoggins


Dear tf,

If the sole intention of the US consortium is to make money out of the NUFC name, then surely they will have to increase the clubs image globally. To do this they need to aim for regular Champions League football and some big name international players. That is what brings the big sponsorship deals and media coverage. The signing of Alan Shearer, and to a lesser extent Michael Owen, had us on the back page of every paper in the world, and it is this kind of marketing that is needed to bring in the bucks.

Maybe I am just being the eternal optimist here, but the way the club are going at the moment, we are miles behind the top four, and falling further adrift. The current regime aren't likely to change things, and anyone hoping for a Russian billionaire to come and splash the roubles about is living in dreamland. Likewise, my hopes of a Geordie Abramovich investing the billions made from his Saveloy and Pease pudding empire, are dwindling.

What harm can it do to give this move a chance? Man Utd's fans don't have the power to overthrow the Glazers, because there are tens of thousands of cockneys/paddys/nips willing to pay the increased prices and continue "supporting" the brand even if their loyal fans boycott. At Newcastle United, this is not the case. If things don't work out, and progress isn't made on the pitch, then we have the power to hit the yanks where it hurts. But lets at
least see where it goes first!

It can't be in the interests of any investor to make us less successful. If that were the case, why not buy Bolton or Charlton for half the price? F*ck me, I hope I'm right! Keep the faith!

James Ramshaw

Ed: You are whistling to keep yourself cheerful, mate!


Dear tf,

I’ve read arguments for and against. The basic question is: Do we have any confidence in the current regime of Shepherd / Hall? Clearly, NO!

Sir John Hall rescued our club and almost took us to the top. However, he’s now a silent shareholder and has handed over the reigns to a clearly incompetent, unworthy embarrassment of a chairman who stumbles from one crisis to the next in my opinion.

If Polygon sees and investment opportunity in NUFC, why is that necessarily bad for the club? If they are interested in the share price rise, then fine. The share price will only rise if the team is doing well on the pitch, qualifying for Europe on a regular basis and challenging for the honours on a regular basis.

So what if the share-holders are American and not Geordie. Right now I’d rather have any investor who can remove Shepherd!

John, Geordie exiled in Munich

Ed: To suggest the share price will only rise because the team is successful is just not the case. The share-price will rise because the club is profitable. NUFC’s share-price could increase if the TV deal increases in value, season ticket prices are increased and sell out, the wage bill is reduced etc. None of that has anything directly to do with a winning team. Hedge Fund Investors don’t look at long term investment or commitment to a “product” – they are about short term gain on the back of sweating money out of something then moving on. Its what they do.


Dear tf,

The only thing we can be terrified of is the unknown, but going against the take-over just because the company is American sounds a bit xenophobic to me. In my view, at the moment the club is not being run properly. Not professionally, and not business wise. If a new company will do the job properly – and to manage a football club properly, means making it as successful as possible – then I'm in for that, and I don't care who in-charge, as long as it's a decent company.

Another matter is Owen. Everybody's moaning his injury but the truth is that the writing was on the wall. He didn't play for six months and was definitely not match fit, and all in whole he had a very poor season. He should have never been called for this World Cup, and the only reason he went there is because of his name. There are far better English strikers at the moment, and basically, a poor management by Eriksson might have just cost him is career. Some of this stuff is also concerning Wayne Rooney. Being brought back far too early is not the wisest thing in the world. It seems like NUFC is not the only team with lousy training methods.

Avi, Jerusalem, Israel

Ed: tf’s opposition to the sale of Sir John Hall is shares to a US Investment company is not because they are American, its because they are only interested in our money. They couldn’t point to Newcastle on a map. NUFC belongs to the supporters. NUFC is not about providing a profit for a footloose corporation with aggressive, greedy investors who will suck the club dry and move on. We love Elvis, Jack Daniels and The Simpsons. And Tamla Motown. And Stax and Philli. And BB King. And The Doors. And Velvet Underground. And Woody Allen. Not keen on George Bush though.


Dear tf,

Just one word - Barca! Fan power seems to work for them. Swap Catalan nationalism for Geordie passion... well I'm certain many others will have time to put it more eloquently, but surely if "El Barça és més que un club"*could apply to any English team it would be the Toon.

Cheers, Paul.

“More Than A Club!”

Dear tf,

Don't like the sound of all this takeover talk. Bunch of fucking yanks buying the Toon? What the fuck do these twats know about football or what the Toon is. All they interested in is money. Can see them coming in and fucking us right over. I say FUCK OFF, not interested. Rather have a Fat Fred than a bunch of cunts from Cherry Pie land owning the Toon.

LOVE LIFE, LOVE THE TOON!

Richie, Ryton